Posted by
Michael on Tuesday, September 25, 2007 3:14:21 PM
H/T to Allen Estrin 
Ahmadinejad wowed the audience at Colombia alright, but not quite in the way
this "news agency" describes:On second day of his entry in New York, and amid standing ovation
of the audience that had attended the hall where the Iranian President
was to give his lecture as of early hours of the day, Ahmadinejad said
that Iran is not going to attack any country in the world.
Before President Ahamadinejad's address, Colombia University
Chancellor in a brief address told the audience that they would have
the chance to hear Iran's stands as the Iranian President would put
them forth.
He said that the Iranians are a peace loving nation, they hate war, and all types of aggression.
Referring to the technological achievements of the Iranian
nation in the course of recent years, the president considered them as
a sign for the Iranians' resolute will for achieving sustainable
development and rapid advancement.
The audience on repeated occasion applauded Ahmadinejad when he touched on international crises.
It's hard to not be wowed when a leader of a large and ancient country answers a question about his nation's questionable treatment of homosexuals with, "In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country ... I don't know who's told you that we have this."
The IRNA piece reminds me in an eerie way of another bit of totalitarian propoganda,
the series of shorts (which I'm not totally sure of the origin) on North Korean society and its vertically challenged leader, Kim Jong Il. The masses clapping in applause, praise of the great nation's technological achievements, it's all cut from the same cloth. And as humorous as it may sounds, it is depressingly sad when considering the people that live under these regimes.