Columbia University Crossed the Line
So says Benjamin Netanyahu, former Prime Minister from Israel. This clip is about a week old, but it is incredibly good. It’s one of those little blurbs that gets lost in the shuffle that speaks loads of wisdom that is lost on even the most respected thinkers of our time.
PM Netanyahu makes some extremely good points - the first being the fragility of democracy.Then there’s the insidious attitude of apathy so prevalent among the left side with regard to the danger jihadists like Mahmoud present. They see him as a harmless funny little man, just as Hitler was perceived, and not so long ago. Mahmoud and Hitler share far too much in common. I shudder to consider what liberally bent teachers are telling our kids - that all leaders of all foreign nations are respectable diplomats with sovereign authority which should be appreciated and respected. Not where I come from. Respect is earned, no matter who you are, and Mahmoud is the least deserving of all.
Our nation’s forefathers would never have given a platform of legitimacy to a terrorist bent on world domination the the genocide of any people. The thought is ludicrous. There are public spaces for that, including the internet and news networks like Al Jazeera. A state sponsored university however is a platform of legitimacy - by the mere invitation the University legitimized Ahmadinejad’s genocidal and holocaust denying views. It matters little how degrading was the introduction that the leader of that forum gave to Mr. Mahmoud “I want a jihad”. Would such an audience be given to a known pedophile as if he was a respectable diplomat? There is no doubt that he is developing a nuclear weapons program. Even after it’s built, a nuclear energy plant would cost him far more than Oil-based energy. If he want to save his economy the economical thing to do is build refineries.
But Mahmoud wants fissionable material - easily garnered from nuclear waste. He has also made it clear that the bomb will drop will drop on Israel as soon as it’s developed. What I find amazing is the apathy among the liberal left - almost as if they’re saying “not my problem”, but Netanyahu is probably closer to understanding their apathy as being a lack of understanding or belief.
There’s been so much of this crossing of the protective line of democracy that we’re playing a veritable game of hopscotch with the devil, and it’s only a matter of time until we loose the game.
PM Netanyahu makes some extremely good points - the first being the fragility of democracy.Then there’s the insidious attitude of apathy so prevalent among the left side with regard to the danger jihadists like Mahmoud present. They see him as a harmless funny little man, just as Hitler was perceived, and not so long ago. Mahmoud and Hitler share far too much in common. I shudder to consider what liberally bent teachers are telling our kids - that all leaders of all foreign nations are respectable diplomats with sovereign authority which should be appreciated and respected. Not where I come from. Respect is earned, no matter who you are, and Mahmoud is the least deserving of all.
Our nation’s forefathers would never have given a platform of legitimacy to a terrorist bent on world domination the the genocide of any people. The thought is ludicrous. There are public spaces for that, including the internet and news networks like Al Jazeera. A state sponsored university however is a platform of legitimacy - by the mere invitation the University legitimized Ahmadinejad’s genocidal and holocaust denying views. It matters little how degrading was the introduction that the leader of that forum gave to Mr. Mahmoud “I want a jihad”. Would such an audience be given to a known pedophile as if he was a respectable diplomat? There is no doubt that he is developing a nuclear weapons program. Even after it’s built, a nuclear energy plant would cost him far more than Oil-based energy. If he want to save his economy the economical thing to do is build refineries.
But Mahmoud wants fissionable material - easily garnered from nuclear waste. He has also made it clear that the bomb will drop will drop on Israel as soon as it’s developed. What I find amazing is the apathy among the liberal left - almost as if they’re saying “not my problem”, but Netanyahu is probably closer to understanding their apathy as being a lack of understanding or belief.
There’s been so much of this crossing of the protective line of democracy that we’re playing a veritable game of hopscotch with the devil, and it’s only a matter of time until we loose the game.
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Bibi is the “funny little man” intent upon genocide, not the Iranian President. This video is a load of garbage.
Funny how President Ahmadinejad is the figurehead leader of a country that has the biggest population of Jews in the Middle East outside Israel; funny how he never said “wipe off the map” — a mistranslated canard and an idiom that doesn’t even exist in Persian; funny how Iran’s nuclear industry was encouraged by the US in the 50s and 60s when it overthrew Iran’s democratically elected leader (yes Iran has a lot of oil but not a lot of oil refining infrastructure, and in any case, sweet crude is finite); funny how Israel knows its existence is not threatened by Iran, only its regional supremacy; funny how Israel does have nukes, is perpetrating genocide against the native Palestinians it displaced, thumbs its nose at seventy UN resolutions, is a rogue, worse-than-apartheid state, and unlike Israel, has signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Think for yourself and read independently. Think outside the FOX.
Comment by Peacemonger — October 5, 2007 @ 12:46 pm
Your commentary is stunning in its claims. The IAEA says there is no evidence that Iran;’s nascent nuclear program for civilan use is for weapons, do you know more than the IAEA who inspected the sites? What evidence do you have that the Iranian President wants a jihad? Or that “he’s made it clear” he will drop a bomb — what ruibbish. Where’s your evidence? Credible links will do.
As for the Constitutional Framers, they’d be turning in their graves at the neocon hijacking of American democracy. If you’re looking for a dictator, look no further than your own government.
Comment by Peacemonger — October 5, 2007 @ 12:51 pm
Have you ever wondered why even Ahmadinejab wouldn’t dare say in his UN speech that an Israeli PM is genocidal? Because such a ludicrous idea is beyond laughable and even he knows that.
>[Iran] has the biggest population of Jews in the Middle East outside Israel
Hitler’s Germany also had the biggest population of Jews in Europe.
Incidentally, the phrase “wiped off the map” is more accurately translated as “eliminated” or “wiped off” or “wiped away” from “the page of time” or “the pages of history”, rather than “wiped off the map”. Either way New York Times deputy foreign editor Ethan Bronner (not Fox News) observed that “all official translations” of the comments, including the foreign ministry and president’s office, “refer to wiping Israel away”.
>Think outside the FOX.
Too bad for you that you can’t limit freedom of the press in the US, eh? Sucks to be you where people can get both sides of the story. Your Shia paradise awaits you in Iran. With luck your “perfect human” Imam will appear and destroy all the unbelievers in the world and then you can comfortably turn on an American TV.
Comment by Dave Austin — October 5, 2007 @ 1:40 pm
Ayatollah Mohammad-Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi is Ahbadinejad’s “spiritual mentor”, by his own admission Mesbah is his “ideological mentor and spiritual guide”. Mesbah (a purely religious leader with political powers) is the most extreme Islam Fundamentalist that Iran has had on their Assembly of Experts for decades. He fully supports dropping the atom bomb on Israel.
Read all about his beliefs here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Taghi_Mesbah_Yazdi
Comment by Dave Austin — October 5, 2007 @ 1:56 pm
>If you’re looking for a dictator, look no further than your own government.
Clueless aren’t you. A dictator by definition is a political leader who cannot be removed by popular consent.
>As for the Constitutional Framers, they’d be turning in their graves at the neocon hijacking of American democracy.
Democracy? Our founding father despised the idea of a democracy. Do some research. That’s why they came up with the electorate system. Thomas Jefferson called democracy mob rule. What they created was a constitutional republic. If they’re rolling in their graves it’s because what they created is being perverted into pure mob rule (democracy) at the behest of the extreme left.
Comment by Dave Austin — October 5, 2007 @ 2:09 pm
I’m quite aware about the Founding Fathers attitude toward popular democracy. That still doesn’t address the neocon cabal that have hijacked policy and the dissolution of checks and balances with Bush’s “decidership”. I admit my tone was disrespectful and for that I apologize, nevertheless I contest your claims. Have I wondered why Ahmadinejad would never say an Israeli PMK was genocidal? First, how do you know he’d “never” say that — Israel is already set on a genocidal and ethnic cleansing course and in all your comments not a whiff of mention of the Palestinians.
Your freedom of the press claim is laughable. Unprecedented concentration of press does not equal freedom, its a recipe for a narrowing of views.
I also don’t buy your definition of dictator, policies can be just as dictatorial during a leader’s term regardless of popular consent - most Americans want troop withdrawal but that’s not happening. And I assume the growing impeachment movement, if were to ever succeed which is doubtful, would just be disdainfully deemed “mob rule” by you. Can’t have it both ways.
Comment by Peacemonger — October 6, 2007 @ 5:43 am
Wikipedia is not an authoritative source, and I’m surprised you cite it given your views on mob rule. How about citing someone actually remotely conversant on Iranian politics, such as scholar Juan Cole?
Comment by Peacemonger — October 6, 2007 @ 5:50 am
#6> We are in agreement that Bush has done a rotten job in many ways. When he first started campaigning in the late 90’s I disliked him as I knew immediately that his personality was entirely unsuitable for the office he now holds. It also frustrated me to no end how others of my party praised him so, andit further frustrated me (and other republicans like me) how the Democrat party consistently chose a candidate that was just as extreme but on the other end. The last election should’ve been a slam dunk for them, but they got greedy and thought they could get in someone with one of the most liberal voting record.
I’m afraid we’ll never agree about Israel. I’ve encountered many Jews that bewilder me (In fact most American Jews I’ve encountered seem almost anti-Zionist - though I chalk that up to their culture of guilt), but as a whole their opinions run the gamut. I’ve never met such a diverse group of opinions in such a small group of people. I’m sure there are many that meet your description but in my experience they are the exception. Netanyahu for example gave tremendous concessions to the Palestinians in hopes that they would be cooperative to form an agreeable 2 state solution, but he was rewarded with suicide bombs, and the families of the suiciders celebrated the deaths. I find the Palestinians only understandable through the psychology of anger - and I for one do not believe that any future has any room for the way they glorify acts of violence and anger.
The only future for the Middle East lies in the ability to forgive and cooperate, and as far as I can tell those are two qualities that Palestinians despise and consider foolish and weak. In fact, they engender a culture of hate and teach their children to embrace it at the earliest age possible and do not want a 2 state system but rather have done all they could to fight it.
With regard to your “concentration of press”, I’d say (ABC + CBS + NBS) > Fox. That puts the concentration in the liberal camp.
Incidentally, my tivo is set to record CBS news, not Fox. Always has been.
Comment by Dave Austin — October 7, 2007 @ 9:56 pm
#7> I do listen to Juan Cole’s opinions, but from what I understand most of his knowledge is academic, and before he even began his career he seemed fairly biased toward Palestine. Also he seems to personally insult people who disagree with them which indicates a personal investment which isn’t good for journalism. I think he’s where President Carter got most of his opinions.
I’d be interested in what he thinks about Ahbadinejad, though I’d certainly take what he’d say with a grain of salt.
Comment by Dave Austin — October 7, 2007 @ 10:10 pm