How unlucky can you be to have these three as your presidents? I am iranian by birth, american by choice and french by nostalgia; these three guys are today at each other’s throats. Sarkozy is still the more tolerable of the three (which is not a big accomplishment).
I actually think that he can do something for france (that will be another post, another day) but now his foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, wants to bomb Iran. Bush is as trigger-happy as always and Ahmadinejad wants to wipe Israel from the face of the earth. I just read on today’s LA times that he is a hero to the underrepresented muslim/arabs of this world and has the audacity to go to Columbia university and be jeered! I am waiting to see him on Charlie Rose tonight; his second 60 minutes gig was as ridiculous as the first one: bad questions, worse answers (and lots of giggles!) NY times has this article about the subject. Life is tough…
“At least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity, idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols.” Aldous Huxley
I suppose that they are the 21st century’s answer to “Abraham, Martin and John”. May they share their common fate….
At least the big plus for Ahmadinejad is that he actually sits down and talks with 60 minutes and allows himself to be subjected to such mediocre questions. I seriously doubt hat either the fresh testosterone Sarkozy, or the Decider will have the courage to go on Iranian equivalent of 60 minutes.
I couldn’t have said it better. It is so sad that world leaders cannot sit and talk without threatening violence, war. Just think how much money there would be for health care and education if less or none was needed for warfare!
As much as I dislike Ahmadinejad I must agree with BMZ about his ability to take the tough questions and not dodge the press like Bush. He is a better speaker than Bush though (not that it takes much effort!). But all three leaders are variations of the same theme coming in with much fanfare and ruining all their political capital with a series of bad decisions (except Sarcozy, whom we’ll just have to wait and watch for now). But in Bush and Ahmadinejad’s case, their divine mission was too grandiose for their own abilities. To say the least, these are interesting times!
Your last email reminded me of the other day. I was jogging in Paris and one could see South Africa’s flags everywhere. I think their rugby team was playing on that day. As I was looking at the happy faces of those South Africans in Paris I was thinking. They moved from apartheid to freedom in South Africa. We are moving from freedom to religious apartheid in Iran, Military propaganda in U.S. and neo-conservatism in France. Maybe we should first jail our presidents for a few years before electing them. It worked for South Africans why not, it could be working for us too.
I would rather take out Sarkozy of the equation. He is an inspired do-gooder, but not a prophet like the other two. Sarkozy is a democrat to the core.
Being the Assoc.Sec.Gen of IAEWP – NGO (U.N.)in the past, for ten years (this is a peace education organisation active in 104 countries,
affiliated with U.N.), one of the things I have learned is that a great majority of people are working directly or indirectly for the military-industrial sector in the world. (Directly by working for a weapon industry; indirectly by working for any industry which feeds the military industries from manufacturing buttons for military uniforms, to working for companies which import weapons as examples.) The economists of the world industrial leaders are explaining that, if there is no war, a great percentage of human population would die of unemployment and hunger. If there is war, only some hundreds of thousands or less would die. Hence the world leaders, especially the leading industrial countries do approve war. Bertrand Russel says in his “In Praise of Idleness”, more we work, more we contribute to wars. Less we work, more we contribute to peace.” It is that bad. As a peace educator, the only way out of this war circus, we thought, would be if the war industries destroy themselves and perform a “suicide”. Some attempts are being made to convert the war industries into useful industries, but these are like drops of water in the ocean. All world political leaders are actors in this world circus, where gaining the political votes of the ignorant masses is considered “democracy” and any tricks in that endeavor “legitimate”.
Askin Ozcan
Author
PS. In the story “Victory of The Comedians”,
in my book “WISDOM IN SMILE”, I am touching on
this subject humorously as the only way out.
Je retrouve bonne et mauvaise l’idée de lui laisser parler à l’université de Colombia :
Bonne dans le sens où l’amérique montre que c’est une démocratie et de ce fait le monde pourra entendre les conneries de cet homme arriéré (en particulier sur la question des homoséxueles : un joke)
Mauvaise dans le sens où malheureusement il est représentant du peuple iranien et comme tu dis bien comment il a pu devenir president.
Des questions restent en suspend.
A DARIO, INCONTRO ORIENTE-OCCIDENTE
NATO IL 23 SETTEMBRE 2007
PER UN MONDO SENZA BARRIERE
POUR UN MONDE SANS BARRIERES
BARAY-E DONYA-I BI MAN’HA
FOR A WORLD WITHOUT BARRIERS
COME MI SONO INNAMORATA DELL’IRAN?
EBBENE, CREDO CHE ALL’ORIGINE DI QUESTO AMORE VI SIA UNA ZIA FANTASTICA E FANTASIOSA CHE, INCONSAPEVOLMENTE, GETTO’ IL GERME NEL MIO CUORE DI BAMBINA, QUANDO PER L’OTTAVO COMPLEANNO MI FECE DONO DI UN’EDIZIONE INTEGRALE DELLE MILLE E UNA NOTTE.
POSSIEDO RADICI VAGHE E CULTURE MULTIPLE, PERCHE’ DA QUANDO SONO NATA MI HANNO SPOSTATO O MI SONO SPOSTATA DA UN LUOGO ALL’ALTRO.
DA PICCOLA NE HO SOFFERTO.
OGGI NE SONO FELICE, PERCHE’ LE RADICI FORTI ALIMENTANO UNA GABBIA DI SOFFOCANTI PREDESTINAZIONI.
CE QUI PARLE EN MOI, CE QUI M’INQUIETE ET QUI DEMAIN ME POUSSERA ENCORE SUR LES ROUTES DE LA VIE, CE N’EST PAS LA VOIE LA PLUS SAGE DE MON AME, C’EST CET ESPRIT D’AGITATION POUR QUI LA TERRE EST TROP ETROITE ET QUI N’A PAS SU TROUVER EN LUI-MEME SON UNIVERS.
NABAYAD AZ MARZ-HA-YE KESHVAR-E KHASI KHAREJ SHOD TA DONYA-YE DIGARI RA KASHF KARD.
TULAN VA ‘ARZAN DAR IRAN SAFAR KARDAM VA ZABAN VA AFSANE-HA VA A’IN-HA VA AGZYE-ASH RA YAD GEREFTAM, BEDUN-E INKE SARZAMIN-E RISHE-YE-MAN RA TARK KARDE BASHAM, MI-PORSAM AGAR RASTI FARHANG-E GARBI VA FARHANG-E SHARQI BE-VOJUD HASTAND VA-YA BAR ‘AKS HAR-DO AYA AZ KHOD-E MAKHLUT-E EBTEDA’I KE MARDOMAN-E MOTAFAVET VA TABAQAT-E MOTAFAVET KHALQ KARDE AND, FARHANG MAJMU’E-I AZ ‘ONSOR-HA-YE MAKHSUS AST KE QODRAT-E VAQT AZ MAKHLUT ESTEKHRAJ KARDE AST, BE ADAB VA ROSUM ARZESH GOZASHT VA BE-VASILE-YE E’MAL KHOD TASMIM GEREFTE VA BE TANZIM MADAREK-E TARIKHI VA ADABI VA FALSAFI VA DINI RASIDE AST.
DAR PAYAN-E IN SAFAR ETMINANI DAR MAN BE-VOJUD AMAD.
ETNEKHAB-E AVVAL-E ADAMI KE AN SUY-E JENS VA FARHANG VA DIN VA TABAQE-YE KHAS AST:
“DAR KODAM TARAF BAYAD ISTAD?
DAR TARAF-E TAVANAYAN YA AZODEGAN?
DAR TARAF-E NEVISANDE TARIKH, BARANDE-YE VAQT, YA DAR TARAF-E TARIKH BE-SEDA DAR NAYAMANDE?
BE-KODAM MARDOM VA BE-KODAM TABAQE DOVAL-E GARBI ERTEBAT DARAND KEI AZ MARDOMAN SHARQI VA EKHTYAJESHAN SOKHAN MI-GUYAND?
I AM VERY, VERY SORRY FOR MY COMMENTS IN FRENCH
I AM ITALIAN AND I HOPE YOU EXCUSE ME.
THE WRITER, WHICH WAS FOR MANY YEARS MY CLOSEST FRIEND, COULDN’T FIND THE WORDS TO DESCRIBE HER THOUGHTS AND FELINGS WITH SAME CLARITY IN ENGLISH.
IT WAS IN THE SUMMER OF 2002 THAT THE IRANIAN GENLEMAN’S GRACIOUS INFLUENCE HAS SHAPED AND ENCOURAGED MY “BRILLIANT” CAREER.
Roma, 25 settembre 2007
A. Daniela Zini
membre CdA Reporters sans Frontières
Ba Birmani jaryan Iran sambal shod.
Soal az President : Aghayeh Ahmadi Nejad Safar New Yorketoon tchi shod?
Ahmadi Nejad : Hitchi agha, ye kami sokhan rani kardimo ba Birmani sambal shod.
Si l’Iran a la bombe, la Turquie, l’Arabie saoudite, l’Egypte, la Lybie auront la bombe…
Il n’est pas très difficile d’imaginer ce que cela peut donner. Il conviendrait peut-être de relire “La tentaion du vertige” d’André Glücksmann…
While there can not be any legitimate argument on your views about these musketeers, I think when it comes to Ahmadinejad one important point and one key issue have been overlooked.
The point is that his courage (or stupidity!) is admirable. He comes to a “hostile” land and even more significant, is willing to face the people & the media while the language barrier is yet another factor against him. He patiently listens to insults that although deserved should not have come from a host and in the manner that they did.
The key issue is that when he states “homosexuality does not exist in Iran the way it is in America” he happens to be right on the money. Those familiar with Iran & its culture should understand the meaning of his comment. In Iran open homosexuality, gay rights, same sex marriages, publicities including TV shows, and extensive media coverage do not exist.
i’ve heard so many things about ahamdinejad’s visit in the past few days…
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-09-25-iranians-us_N.htm?csp=34
http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070925/FOREIGN/109250077/1001&template=nextpage
http://flickr.com/photos/jsgraphicdesign/1434960716/