SUBSCRIBE NOW WELCOME BACK. Do you want to continue reading where you left off? New Republic subscribers can pick up where they left off no matter which device they were previously using. SUBSCRIBE NOW

Go Home Ahmadinejad "in His Own Words"

THE SPINE SEPTEMBER 23, 2007

Ahmadinejad "in His Own Words"

BY TNR STAFF

To help poor Lee Bollinger out in his encounter with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, here are some quotations from the Iranian president that might put his appearance at Columbia University in a proper and clarifying perspective. A'jad is a nutcase, not becuase he is a religious fanatic but because he thinks the world is going the way of Islam. Why does he think this? Because Iran, the great Muslim power, is on its way to having nukes. That's what he thinks science is. And that he is on his way to match it. And my guess is that he plans to use these nukes...or whatever he has of them.

This compendium comes from Realité-EU, a highly reliable and productive research institution.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS

Show all 39 comments

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

39 comments

More's the pity that we have had neo-Con wingnuts like MP calling the shots in the Middle East. That's been such a success at containing the threat from Iran. Who but these geniuses could have thought up invading a country without a current nuclear potential and getting hopelessly bogged down there as the best means of persuading Iran to desist? Plainly, a huge success. All of us can be grateful that the country has been run for seven years by people who think like MP. But for him, I don't think the rest of us would know anything at all about Ahmadinejad.

- roidubouloi

September 23, 2007 at 8:16pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

I'd wager we could come up with a list of "Martin Peretz 'In his own words'" that would read about like Ahmadinejad.

- roidubouloi

September 23, 2007 at 8:17pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

I challenge you to come with anything MP said that is as good as the following: "We don't shy away from declaring that Islam is ready to rule the world." 1 "The wave of the Islamist revolution will soon reach the entire world." 2 "Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi." 3 "Soon Islam will become the dominating force in the world, occupying first place in the number of followers amongst all other religions." 4 "Is there a craft more beautiful, more sublime, more divine, than the craft of giving yourself to martyrdom and becoming holy? Do not doubt, Allah will prevail, and Islam will conquer mountain tops of the entire world." 5 Just one or two quotes will do, braggart, or are you just livid that Peretz took your hero BOLLINGER down a peg or two?

- jacksondyer

September 23, 2007 at 10:08pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

From 60 minutes: "What I'm saying, I am being very sincere here. I'm a Muslim. I cannot tell a lie."

- jacksondyer

September 23, 2007 at 10:25pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

Peretz isn't half the writer that Ahmadinejad is. The latter manages to express himself without once quoting the nearest seven-year old insult. Livid is your state of being, not mine. Only in your livid imagination does calling someone a "bozo" take them down a peg. And in this case, I'm just not going to bother. The rantings of Peretz are too well known to anyone here. As for lying, George Bush and the Republicans lie early and often, according to no less an expert than Martin Peretz who thinks that's why they'll lose the next election. Your point? Oh, never mind. Blurt a few of your expletives and move on.

- roidubouloi

September 24, 2007 at 1:31am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

about punching the lights out of anyone who offends you. What a dazzling intellect you have! Try that one again. It shows off your rhetorical skills to great effect. And say, did you learn that from the books you've been busy reading?

- roidubouloi

September 24, 2007 at 1:47am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

Most people don't bother to boast about having read a book as you do. It's kind of like boasting about eating breakfast.

- roidubouloi

September 24, 2007 at 1:50am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

It seems that the story my father used to tell about La Guardia using Jews to guard Nazis was not apocryphal. Either he had the details wrong (he was 16 at the time), didn't quite remember them, or I didn't understand them correctly as a kid, but this is the story from today's Times: "In 1938, as Nazis persecuted the Jews overseas, Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia and Police Commissioner Lewis J. Valentine created a special police squad to protect visiting German officials and the German consul general in New York. It was led, not by accident, by Jews: Capt. Max Finkelstein, president of the department's Shomrim Society; Lt. Jacob Lickers; and Sgt. Isaac Goldstein. The idea had perhaps been inspired by former President Theodore Roosevelt. When Mr. Roosevelt served as police commissioner in the late 1800s, he assigned 40 Jewish police officers to keep the peace at a speech given by Hermann Ahlwardt, a visiting anti-Semitic German author."

- roidubouloi

September 24, 2007 at 8:45am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

at Columbia New York Sun Editorial "Dean Coatsworth seems to be laboring under the illusion that had Columbia actually hosted Hitler in the late 1930s, World War II and the war against the Jews might have been prevented. The dean appears to be ignorant of history. The archives of the New York Times disclose that in December 1933, Columbia's president, Nicholas Butler, extended an invitation to Hitler's ambassador, Hans Luther. A protest was made by the Social Problems Club, which, according to the report in the Times, said: "Inviting the Nazi envoy to lecture on the foreign policy of his government and giving him an official reception means not only failing in our duty to oppose the Nazi onslaught on culture and in our duty to defend our German colleague but signifies, if not an open endorsement of the Nazi actions, at least placing their principles on the same level with other viewpoints."

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 9:38am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

Someone should fact check the NY Times on this one. Their story about Ahmadinejad in the Times today was a whitewash. In any case Roosevelt may have assigned 40 Jews (out of how many?) to guard an antisemitic speaker in the late 1800's but LaGuardia's guard was led by some Jews it wasn't composed only of Jews. The story itself was so cursory that it was hard to say what went on in those demonstrations.

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 9:44am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

"Are you an auto-didact, jackson?" What the hell is an autodidact. I wasn't boasting about having read a book. I read more books in a month than you do in a year, buster. My aim in asking you about your reading habits was to find out about your level of ignorance which as demonstrated in these forums is quite high.

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 9:47am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

"I missed that one earlier from you" You missed more than that, roindabout. If you are up for another round of insults, I am game. President Bollinger isn't here to protect you, roindabout. You are on your own, boy. So, if you think you are man enough, go for it.

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 9:51am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

an autodidact is someone who is self taught. In our circs, it usually means someone who was not conferred with a university education and degree. And as a rule, autodidacts tend to be a bit insufferable, not possessed of a discerning intellectual antennae, and susceptible, hook, line and sinker wise, to the latest information that he or she reads...until he or she reads another, sometimes 180 degree contradictory book. I have no idea if jackson or anyone on Talk Back is an autodidact. If I had to guess - and using his Harvard animus as a guide - I would guess that thomson falls into this category but I would not bet money on it.

- MrCookie1

September 24, 2007 at 9:57am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

"Peretz isn't half the writer that Ahmadinejad is. The latter manages to express himself without once quoting the nearest seven-year old insult." Ahmadinejad not resorting to insults? What a dumb comment. This is indeed worthy of roindabout. Has Columbia sunk so low that it admitted you as a student? My goodness. If you think Ahmadinejad does not use clich

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 10:03am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

I know, Cookie, that was a rhetorical question. Thanks for your thoughts, though. btw, why are you up so early? It must be about 6AM in good old California, no?

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 10:05am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

I am and have always been, an early riser. On M/W, I get up @ 4:00 am and on T/Th/F @ 5:00. I am always in my office by 6:00, about two hours before anyone else. I read my mail, send notes to staff, plan, and take peeks at Talk Back and the news. By 8:00 or so, it heats up and I am engaged, though i do find time to check in on Talk Back for quickies...

- MrCookie1

September 24, 2007 at 10:14am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

Cookie, but not that early.

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 10:27am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

More insufferable than autodidacts are so called credentialed individuals like roicolumbianoid who can not stop boasting about their credentials and status while not able to hold their own in even the simplest discussion. These are like the hero of Aesop's fable who kept boasting about his great athletic feats at Rhodes. Once he was challenged by a crowd in Athens: "Hic Rhodus, hic saltus."

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 10:30am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

I'm not an early riser. The complete opposite in fact. My father used to say: "people who get up early have something to hide".

- The Ignorant Populist

September 24, 2007 at 10:31am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

Mr. Ahmedinajad, what makes you think that you are relevant? By that question I don't mean to ask about the relevance of Ahmedinajad's country, I mean the relevance of Mr. Ahmedinajad to what goes on in and what comes from his country. The real power in Iran lies with Khamenei and the Gaurdians Council. With very few exceptions, Ahmedinajad's power is to whatever goals he shares with the council and virtually nothing at odds with it.

- sighthnd

September 24, 2007 at 10:56am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

you father was on to something...

- MrCookie1

September 24, 2007 at 11:32am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

Sputter, sputter, sputter, rage, sputter, incomprehension, rage. So, you looked up auto-didact and found out what it means. The answer is obviously, yes. It shows. In addition to your incapacity for rational argument, it is obvious that you are deeply resentful of people who have credentials. Perhaps that explains your equally obvious and sense of utter inadequacy that you relieve by raging on these pages. Do you earn a living or are you a ward of the state? You are indeed so incapable of even the most minimal comprehension that you failed even to observe that my point was not that Ahmadinejad is not insulting, but that, unlike you and Martin Peretz, he does not need resort to the language of small, barely educated children to convey his insulting thoughts. He at least has a vocabulary. In your bewildered state, you don't even notice that I don't "exchange insults" with you. Why would I bother? I don't go around punching four-year olds either. You seem to think you are very intimidating. I just find you incredibly childish. For someone as uneducated as you, calling someone a "moron" or an "idiot" obviously constitutes an insult. In the adult world, we encounter these "insults" only when admonishing our grade-school children not to talk this way. Adults don't find this sort of thing insulting, only ridiculous. That's what you are, jackson, ridiculous. So, little boy, have at it. Go ahead, make your day. Splutter on.

- roidubouloi

September 24, 2007 at 11:41am

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

posted by roidubouloi on 2007-09-24 01:50:14 posted by roidubouloi on 2007-09-24 08:45:45

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 12:03pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

Is this supposed to be your repost? Did you say something, moron?

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 12:04pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

from Ahmadinejad to David Duke to roindabout take refuge in free speech. This is laughable since most of these tyrannical jerks couldn't care less about free speech.

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 12:06pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

"Meanwhile, counter-protesters have methodically covered over Hillel-placed posters depicting allegations of Iranian government brutality against homosexuals and women, juxtaposed against Ahmadinejad quotes such as "everyone who recognizes Israel will burn in the fury of Islam." Groups such as Columbia Coalition Against the War voiced concern at demonization of Ahmadinejad, which it said increases the probability of war. In a statement, the CCWA called for a boycott of the rally, which they believe will be perceived on campus and around the U.S, as pro-war. The event also has drawn criticism from the socialist group Revolution." Iranian President stirs protests, counter-moves at Columbia

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 12:25pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

what difference does that make? They're not going to use it. The Iranian government maybe religious nuts, but an entire country committing mass suicide? I doubt it. Of course, they may put a big black cloth over it and have everyone come to worship it.

- Icewiz

September 24, 2007 at 12:30pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

- roidubouloi

September 24, 2007 at 1:11pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

Ooooh, ouch, you said "moron" again. Are we feeling powerful this morning little jackson? Full of fight? Ready to take on the world again with kindergarten epithets? Defending the faithful with grunting? It seems you went to bed as a toddler throwing a tantrum and woke up the same way. Poor baby.

- roidubouloi

September 24, 2007 at 1:18pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

your posts are getting even more moronic than usual.

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 1:31pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

Please, guys, use the telephone or the US Postal Service.

- Mickey Weinber

September 24, 2007 at 3:00pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

Please, guys, use the telephone or the US Postal Service.

- Mickey Weinber

September 24, 2007 at 3:00pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

"as a rule, autodidacts tend to be a bit insufferable..." etc. Why not throw in bow-legged and chubby as well? The truth is that I'm a bit surprised at this platitude you allowed yourself to exude here. In fact, autodidacts don't tend to be anything, just as U-certified scholars don't. Autodidacts are neither a sect nor an ethnic group, and even those don't "tend" as much as all that. If after all you are looking for the lowest, most generalizing common denominator of autodidacts, look in the direction of insatiable curiosity or restive, nonconforming character, or both. However, in reality you'll just find that wild curiosity coupled with circumstances that didn't afford the person to study in recognized institutes. As you very well know from everyday experience, the Us turn out aside from the mere few and far apart brilliant thinkers, an overwhelming mass of mediocre, flat, off-color, and simplistic minds. I suppose the same can be said of autodidacts, but by some happy coincidence not of the ones whom I've met in my lifetime. Perhaps thanks to their nonconformist attitude they're more creative, inventive, and original thinkers than the U-products, and their corpus of knowledge is in all 100% of the ones I've come across simply astounding.

- babigail

September 24, 2007 at 3:27pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

I had missed it, but jacksondyer actually is one of the most creative, inventive, and original thinkers I've ever come across. It's simply astounding how many different ways there are to deploy the words "moron," "idiot," and "jerk," not to mention "door-knob." Who'd a thunk it if he hadn't shown us the way?

- roidubouloi

September 24, 2007 at 3:50pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

Will you relax already? Take something for god's sake! Not EVERYTHING said here is about jackson and your never ending fight! You've decided he was an autodidact, but I don't know this for a fact or for anything else. Can't a woman express her opinion about the fucking autodidacts without your perpetual bickering? man!

- babigail

September 24, 2007 at 4:29pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

ah...but you obviously have never heard Steve Carlton...or Tom Cruise....

- MrCookie1

September 24, 2007 at 4:46pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

I was talking about autodidacts. Not celebrity dropout material.

- babigail

September 24, 2007 at 4:53pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

There are of course, as you say autodidacts and autodidacts. The difference these days between an autodidact and someone at a University in the US is that an autodidact has a chance to read material that he or she disagrees with once in a while. Most universities these days compel students, in the humanities, at least, to follow some sort of ideology preferably conjured by so called critical theorist who like to pass themselves off as leftists. In any case we are all autodidacts to a degree. All true understanding as opposed to acquisition of information is arrived at by the subject through cogitation, through reasoning. The subject has to think out for himself or herself the nature and meaning of the phenomena with which he or she is engaged. People who rely on others to do their thinking for them, such as graduate students who have to follow the views of their Professors are not engaged in a true reasoning process.

- jacksondyer

September 24, 2007 at 5:28pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

You do have a penchant for trying to censor what other people have to say, on a variety of grounds. You should publish a short (or perhaps long) list of what you consider out of bounds. I have no idea whether or not jackson is an auto-didact, and I don't care. Nor was I psychoanalyzing him. I was using humor to defend against his attacks. Sorry you don't get the joke or see the point. Meanwhile, on another thread, the tone, while combative, is no longer rude and I welcome that and will do my part to keep it that way. All in all, I don't think you need to police other people's dialogue. If you don't like it, don't read it. If you choose to participate, then expect to receive as good as you give.

- roidubouloi

September 25, 2007 at 3:34pm

You must be a subscriber to post comments. Subscribe today.

SHARE HIGHLIGHT

0 CHARACTERS SELECTED

TWEET THIS

POST TO TUMBLR

SHARE ON FACEBOOK

Close