Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H09nvdPF0KQ
This speech caused a mass walkout in the UN today. I strongly suggest watching it.
I am not Ahmadinejad's greatest fan. His leadership as mayor of Tehran saw the changing of moderate theocratic laws into hardline fundamentalist ones, curtailing women's freedoms enormously (as well as other negative aspects of Abrahamic theocracy). Despite having been unfairly mistranslated, it's still clear his anti-Zionism incorporates at least a measure of antisemitism; the speech at one point refers to the demonising of 'anyone who questions the holocaust' (well... yes). He also refers to monotheism (amongst other attributes such as the pursuit of prosperity and happiness) as a fundamental condition of humanity.
The US, France, Britain, and a number of other countries staged their walkout well before he reached these statements. Instead I think what bothered them was the ten-minute, calmly listed indictment of western colonialism and of the USA's global actions in particular.
I was on the highest high watching this, and then the lowest low. How can he say this, and then wish to reduce under theocracy half his population to subaltern? I want to make some fancy politically interpretative post about the decline of western hegemony and the arab spring and all this, but I can't. I don't have hope for any of it.
This speech caused a mass walkout in the UN today. I strongly suggest watching it.
I am not Ahmadinejad's greatest fan. His leadership as mayor of Tehran saw the changing of moderate theocratic laws into hardline fundamentalist ones, curtailing women's freedoms enormously (as well as other negative aspects of Abrahamic theocracy). Despite having been unfairly mistranslated, it's still clear his anti-Zionism incorporates at least a measure of antisemitism; the speech at one point refers to the demonising of 'anyone who questions the holocaust' (well... yes). He also refers to monotheism (amongst other attributes such as the pursuit of prosperity and happiness) as a fundamental condition of humanity.
The US, France, Britain, and a number of other countries staged their walkout well before he reached these statements. Instead I think what bothered them was the ten-minute, calmly listed indictment of western colonialism and of the USA's global actions in particular.
I was on the highest high watching this, and then the lowest low. How can he say this, and then wish to reduce under theocracy half his population to subaltern? I want to make some fancy politically interpretative post about the decline of western hegemony and the arab spring and all this, but I can't. I don't have hope for any of it.