Like a Clown, Except No One Laughs

The title of this post pretty much sums up my view of Ahmadinejad. I mentioned his stupid half-assed "conference" before. But I think it bears repeating just how idiotic and hypocritical this event is. Significantly, there are other Iranian leaders who have chided Ahmadinejad for holding the views that he holds. Among them, the previous President, Mohamed Khatami.

Interestingly, this week, Iranian students openly protested Ahmadinejad while he was speaking to them. I am not sure whether they were specifically upset about the holocaust conference or just generally upset about crackdowns on press and academic freedom in Iran. Either way, Ahmadinejad seems to be losing respect very quickly - both at home and abroad.

Speaking of crackdowns, here are some other conferences that Ahmadinejad may want to consider holding - in the interest of academic freedom and serious inquiry:

• The Zahra Kazemi Conference: How did a Canadian photojournalist get tortured, raped and mudered whilst in the custody of Iranian police? This case deserves serious academic inquiry.
  
• The Ramin Jahanbegloo Conference: How did Iranian authorities crack down so aggressively on an academic when they now claim to be great friends of academic freedom? As far I know, he's being held without any charge.
  

Ahmadinejad is an idiot, and it seems that both the world and his own people know it.

Though I am not sure that this is necessary, I want to make a final point in this post: I am no AIPAC stooge. I was not supportive of the way in which Israel prosecuted its summertime war in Lebanon. Likewise, I have linked to a number of posts by Juan Cole and others suggesting that the language emanating from Tehran is perhaps not as jingoistic as is being reported in a lot of Western media.

So you see, I'm not a reflexive Israel-supporter or neocon warmonger, nonetheless, Holocaust "revision" is so stupid and hateful that I will not abide it. Ahmadinejad's record on academic freedom is such that it shreds his last fig leave of credibility for this stupid "conference."
Tags: Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, The Holocaust.