Real Reasons for the Ahmadinejad Protest

From Matt Stoller,

Just in case it's not obvious enough what the right is doing in New York City today by protesting Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's appearance at Columbia University.

1) Empowering Ahmadinejad: He's not particularly important within Iran, but this kind of mindless attention helps him domestically.

In demonizing Mr. Ahmadinejad, the West has served him well, elevating his status at home and in the region at a time when he is increasingly isolated politically because of his go-it-alone style and ineffective economic policies, according to Iranian politicians, officials and political experts.

2) Leading Us into a New War: Wars require villains. Ahmadinejad, as an ineffective buffoon with a weak domestic power center, wasn't enough of a villain. He must be built up into an all-powerful character that can only be removed by American force. The divestment from Iran campaign, currently swirling around the states, is accomplishing this, and will almost certainly continue, at least PR-wise, into the next Democratic administration. This will make negotiations much harder and the path to a military strike much more likely.

3) Attacking Free Speech at Columbia: Dismantling or weakening institutions that stand up against the right or could conceivably do so is one of the long-term conservative movement strategic interests. The Freedom Watch ad calling Columbia University 'appeasers' is meant to intimate, and it often works in subtle ways.

Anyway, just in case you were confused about Republican patriotism, here's a short primer. The right is suppressing speech, building up the power of an avowed 'villain' Ahmadinejad, and trying to lead us into a larger and more devastating war.

Update: Earlier today, by a vote of 76-22, the Senate passed the Lieberman-Kyl amendment, which threatens to “combat, contain and [stop]” Iran via “military instruments.” Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) called the amendment “Cheney’s fondest pipe dream” and said it could “read as a backdoor method of gaining Congressional validation for military action.” (ThinkProgress)

~BT

Updated: Columbia President Lee Bollinger throws down

From the Columbia Spectator's Ahmadineblog,

[Lee Bollinger's] first point is about the freedom of scholars and journalists in Iran. “I call on the President today to ensure that Kian will be free to travel out of Iran as he wishes,” Bollinger said, before extending a faculty position to Kian, the Iranian scholar with a doctorate at Columbia who is under house arrest in Tehran.

Bollinger is hitting the point home, citing statistics about the relatively high number of scholars, children and journalists jailed.

The money quote:

“Mr President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator.” Bollinger.

On the Holocaust,

Bollinger is grilling Ahmadinejad on the rights of free speech, Holocaust, and Isreal . He asks Ahmadinejad - why are you so afraid of Iranian citizens expressing their needs for change? Bollinger then proposed that Bollinger lead a delegation of Columbia professors to Iran to address University’s about free speech.

He then moved on to the denial of the Holocaust. Denial, Bollinger said, of the most documented event in human history “makes you ridiculous … you’re either brazenly provactive or completely uneducated.”

Bollinger then moved on to Israel. He said that with 800 collegagues in Israel, destruction of Israel is a personal offense. “Do you plan on wiping us out too?”

He then asked the President why he funds terrorism, why he is waging a proxy war against the United States in Iraq, and why he will not suspend Iran’s uranium enrichment program, even as sanctions are hurting innocent people.

He finished “I doubt that you will have the intellectual courage to answer these question … I expect you to exibit the fanatical mindset.” He finished by saying that he hopes Ahmadinejad is removed from power.

Well done! I believe it was the right decision to allow him to speak on campus and I am especially happy that he is being challenged. Unfortunately, Bollinger's prediction that the Iranian President wouldn't answer the tough questions seems to be true:

In response to the first question,

Whether Ahmadinejad seeks to destroy it. Ahmadinejad said Israel has the right to self-determination.

Coatsworth [the moderator] tells Ahmadinejad he didn’t really answer the question and tells him he needs a one word answer to the question “do you seek the destruction of Israel” Ahmadinejad refuses to give an answer, instead going back to the argument that we need an international solution to Palestine.

wow.

~BT

Update: President Bollinger also sent an email to the members of the Columbia community this morning. (thanks Jason)

It is vitally important for a university to protect the right of our schools, our deans and our faculty to create programming for academic purposes. Necessarily, on occasion this will bring us into contact with beliefs many, most, or even all of us will find offensive and even odious.

But it should never be thought that merely to listen to ideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas, or the weakness of our resolve to resist those ideas, or our naiveté about the very real dangers inherent in such ideas. It is a critical premise of freedom of speech that we do not honor the dishonorable when we open the public forum to their voices.

The great majority of student leaders with whom I met last week affirmed their belief that this event, however controversial, is consistent with the values of academic freedom we share at the center of university life. I fully support, indeed I celebrate, the right to peacefully demonstrate and engage in a dialogue about this event and this speaker, as I understand a wide coalition of our student groups are planning for today. That such a forum and such public criticism of President Ahmadinejad's statements and policies could not safely take place on a university campus in Iran today sharpens the point of what we do here. The kind of freedom that will be on display at Columbia has always been and remains today our nation's most potent weapon against repressive regimes everywhere in the world. This is the power and example of America at its best.

Columbia Spectator columnist J.D. Porter, via Ivy Gate:

In general, students seem to be pro-invitation, anti-Ahmadinejad. As far as I know, no one has taken a poll, but that stance shows up pretty consistently in everyone's coverage, and in my own conversations with fellow Columbians.

Ahmadinejad Speaks at Columbia

I am watching CNN's live feed of the Iranian President's speech at Columbia. The Columbia Spectator has a great blog tracking all the events on campus.

The BWOG another Columbia blog, also has some great coverage.





[Picture credit BWOG.net]

More to come soon...

~BT

Climate "skeptic" refuses to reveal funding sources

From Kevin over at DeSmogBlog.com,

Climate "skeptic" Pat Michaels is feeling the heat today after publicly released court documents show Michaels refusing to reveal his funding sources for his consulting firm, New Hope Environmental Services. In the documents Michaels lawyer states that: "Many of New Hope's clients provide funding to New Hope with the understanding that the funding will be confidential." Michaels has long been criticized for his views on climate change and his connections to the fossil fuel industry.

~BT

How the GOP & Moveon.org support the troops

From Firedoglake,

You have to wonder what on earth the Republicans (and Joe Lieberman) were thinking when they voted down Senator Webb’s plan to ensure that our nation’s soldiers are rested and mentally and physically ready to go into battle. What could possibly justify the continuation of the cruel, punishing policies that send soldiers back to war when they are not yet fit to fight?

Reuters:

Fellow Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a co-sponsor of Webb’s plan, said Republican senators were heavily lobbied by the administration against the measure.

“The White House has been very effective of making this a loyalty test for the party,” Hagel said after the vote.

After voting down the Webb amendment and the failing to restore Habeas Corpus, what important business did the Senate vote on? Debating the appropriateness of a political ad, of course. 72 senators voted to condemn a newspaper ad by the liberal anti-war group Moveon.org. Yes, you read that right.

Here's a real democrat, Rep. Pete Stark, on the subject, via Matt Stoller at Openleft.com:

"I commend MoveOn for their ad and for speaking truth to power," said Stark. "Up is not down, the earth is not flat, and the surge is not working. General Petreaus betrayed his own reputation by standing with George Bush in opposition to the timely withdrawal of all of our brave men and women from Iraq. I thank MoveOn for their patriotic ad and call on Petreaus to help Bush end a war the President should have never started."

In an email I received from Moveon.org today:

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday, an amazing thing happened. After the Senate's shameful vote, and after President Bush called MoveOn "disgusting,"¹ our email started to fill up with messages like this one:

I'm currently in Iraq. I do not agree with this war, and if I did support this war, it would not matter. You have the RIGHT to speak the truth. We KNOW that you support us. Thank you for speaking out for being our voice. We do not have a voice. We are overshooted by those who say that we soldiers do not support organizations like MoveOn. WE DO.

YOU ARE OUR voice.

And then came the donations. By midnight, over 12,000 people had donated $500,000—more than we've raised any day this year—for our new ad calling out the Republicans who blocked adequate rest for troops headed back to Iraq.

The message from MoveOn members was loud and clear: Don't back down. Take the fight back to the issues that matter.

So today we're shooting for a very ambitious goal: Reach $1 million so we can dramatically expand the campaign we launched yesterday going after politicians who support this awful war. Can you chip in $25 toward our goal?

~BT

Giuliani must face the NRA

Via The Caucus,

The sportsmen (and the politicians who love them) are set to converge on the capital this weekend as the National Rifle Association holds a “Celebration of American Values.”

Speakers include some of the movement’s best-known conservatives, both on and off the presidential ballot, including Newt Gingrich, former Attorney General John Ashcroft, Fred D. Thompson and Senator John McCain. But perhaps the most-watched remarks will be those given by Rudolph W. Giuliani, who was a vocal supporter of gun control as mayor of New York.

During a 1995 appearance on PBS’s “The Charlie Rose Show,” Mr. Giuliani was critical of the influential gun group.

“I agree that it’s the person who uses the gun that is the source of the real problem, but the gun is also the source of a very big problem,” he said, referring to the classic N.R.A. slogan, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”

He continued, “And the N.R.A.’s in essence defense of assault weapons, and their unwillingness to deal with some of the realities we face here in cities, is a terrible, terrible mistake.”

“This really should be an indication. Let’s have national licensing and gun control,” Mr. Giuliani says in another interview currently circulating on YouTube. “Ninety-five percent of the shootings in New York City occur with guns from outside of the city of New York, and they’re really victimizing us at this point with the craziness of this ‘you can buy any gun you want, anyplace you want, you wait five days…’”

That video also has a clip of him calling a Second Amendment objection to the gun control laws he endorses “an overstated argument.”

I'm not sure how Rudy actually wins the Republican nomination. Can we expect a flip-flop on gun control too?

~BT

Vilsack attacks Giuliani

Tom Vilsack, the former Iowa governor, attacked Rudy Giuliani's past personal life in a television interview with a New York Television station. From a fellow Penn blog, The Appletonian:

When asked about Rudy being the Republican nominee in an interview with a New York TV station, he said the following: "I can't even get into the number of marriages...and the relationship that he has with his children." Vilsack went on to say that Rudy has "a very interesting past."

I think it is great that Democrats are going after Rudy Guiliani's personal life. The conservative attack machine will trash whichever Democratic presidential nominee that is chosen and delve into their past personal life. So, they might as well make the same point about Rudy and other Republicans for that matter.

Because we are still in the primary season, this partisan attack appeals to the Democratic activist base and at the same time makes it harder for Rudy to gain the support of social conservatives that he will need to get the nomination.

I say, good for Vilsack and hope there's more where that comes from. It's time Democrats respond to the constant attacks from the right.

~BT

Penn Endowment Grows to $6.6 billion, a 20% Return

Great news!

The University of Pennsylvania's endowment returned 20.2 percent for the fiscal year that ended June 30, bringing its total market value to $6.6 billion. The endowment has grown more than 65% during the past three years thanks to strong investment returns, new gifts and the reinvestment of reserves.

It's about time Penn had a good investment return, unlike previous years when Penn had dismal performance relative to our Ivy peers. Last week, the Daily Pennsylvanian had a softball Q&A with Penn's Chief Investments Officer Kristin Gilbertson which didn't mention any of the recurring divestment issues and how Penn can use its huge endowment to affect change through socially-responsible investment principles.

~BT

George Bush: Betrayal of Trust

Moveon.org, a great organization of which I am a proud member, has put together a new ad that calls Bush out for betraying the trust of the people and tells Congress that his plan isn't going to cut it. Read the facts at https://pol.moveon.org/betrayaloftrust/

~BT

Loonie reaches parity with US Dollar

The Canadian dollar, known to us Canadians as the Loonie, has reached parity with the American dollar for the first time in 30 years. This has been a story Canadians have been following for years now as the Loonie has risen over 60% over the last 5 years. In real terms, that means that my Penn education now costs less than half as much as it did my freshmen year and that since my assets are denominated in Canadian dollars, my net worth has risen 60% relative to my American peers. Not bad.

This story here has to do with the US dollar weakness against all major currencies and will likely continue its decline as global current account imbalances work themselves out.

With oil closing at record highs above $80 and the mortgage crisis continuing to take its toll, things are not looking good for the US economy.

Cross-posted at Canadian Liberal @ Penn

~BT

Jena 6: It's time for action!

On September 20, there will be a Day of Action in support of the Jena 6. From Color of Change:

Last fall in Jena, Louisiana, the day after two black high school students sat beneath the "white tree" on their campus, nooses were hung from the tree. When the superintendent dismissed the nooses as a "prank," more black students sat under the tree in protest. The District Attorney then came to the school accompanied by the town's police and demanded that the students end their protest, telling them, "I can be your best friend or your worst enemy... I can take away your lives with a stroke of my pen."

A series of white-on-black incidents of violence followed, and the DA did nothing. But when a white student was beaten up in a schoolyard fight, the DA responded by charging six black students with attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

It's a story that reads like one from the Jim Crow era, when judges, lawyers and all-white juries used the justice system to keep blacks in "their place"--but it's happening today.

...Robert Bailey (17), Theo Shaw (17), Carwin Jones (18), Bryant Purvis (17), Mychal Bell (16) and an unidentified minor, were expelled from school, arrested and charged with second-degree attempted murder. Bail was set so high -- between $70,000 and $138,000 -- that the boys were left in prison for months as families went deep into debt to release them.

On Penn's campus, Efe Stella Johnson the chairwoman of the United Minorities Council (UMC), recently sent out an action alert to UMC members. I hope this is just the beginning of further campus activism. The UMC also launched a blog this semester which you should check out.

It is also great to see that there is a broad coalition of national civil rights organizations including the NAACP and ACLU, supporting this effort. Last week, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced that it will be a part of the civil rights community seeking justice in the case of six black teenagers who have fallen victim to severe racial bias at the hands of judicial authorities in Jena, Louisiana.

Over at Openleft.com, Matt Stoller shows the stunning contrast between independent coverage and how the traditional media is distorting the story. And, that's not even mentioning the complete lack of national news coverage since the incident happened last year! Watch both of these reports, one from Brian Williams and one from an independent outfit, and note the difference in narration and the use of facts. It's really, well, stunning.

You can join the Facebook event here. Be sure to wear black on Thursday September 20th and take a stand against racism!

~BT

Yep, I think we have a trend

• Fox censors Sally Field's political comments about the war at the Emmy's.

• University of Arizona young Democrat banned from forum over t-shirt

• The Bush administration's anti-protester manual
  

• Nicole and Jeffery Rank arrested because they refused to take their t-shirts off at a Bush event on the 4th of July.

• University of Florida student who was arrested and tasered at a John Kerry event.
  

Mattew Good on the subject:

Dissent is something guaranteed us, though a right that is universally despised by those in power. We possess the right to dissent, to freedom of speech and expression, so that we have the power to voice discontentment, even if just a single person standing on a street corner.

Yet our perception of democracy is a convoluted one in that it does not particularly exist in this country, nor in most that claim it as their foundation. In reality, plutocratic governance is a far greater reality, and has been for centuries. Those that have the power to economically influence are of greater importance to government than the average citizen, that is the unfortunate state in which we are all born into.

~BT

Updated: Out of control!

U.S. Sen. John Kerry's speech at the University of Florida came to a dramatic close Monday, shortly after a vocal audience member was hauled off by police and shot with a Taser gun.

After watching this video, I am really frustrated and disgusted with what happened.

This afternoon, John Kerry released a statement saying "In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way."

Meanwhile, Tom Nolan, a criminal-justice professor and former cop who teaches at Boston University, has his own views of the incident which were e-mailed to reporters by the university's media-relations office. Nolan doesn't side with the campus police.

“The deployment of an immobilizing, less-lethal weapon in an auditorium crowded with students to bring an unruly student (who was being arrested for a misdemeanor charge) under control, by no fewer than six police officers, is a shocking and dangerous breach of police protocol."

You can check out all the details at Andrew Meyer's website. I hope the march they have planned is well attended and that the outrage on campus can be wielded in a constructive way to not only change police policies but also shed light on how dissent is consistently stifled on and off campuses across the country.

~BT

Update: About 200 people marched to the University of Florida Police Department Tuesday afternoon to protest the arrest and use of a Taser.

An online post announcing the march, which started at the Plaza of the Americans, had called for officers involved to be suspended and investigated, policies involving disrupting speech and using weapons such as Tasers to be re-evaluated and all charges against the student to be dropped.

Also,

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has released a statement condemning the use of a Taser gun in the arrest of University of Florida student Andrew Meyer on campus Monday.

Executive Director Howard Simon said aside from the possible use of excessive force, the response of the University Police Department "squandered the free speech rights of both Kerry and Meyer."

Update 2: The two officers involved in the tasering have been suspended and police report that the arrested student told them: 'You didn't do anything wrong'.

Update 3: I was also reminded of another Taser incident in a library at UCLA.

Update 4: An eye-witness account via Dailykos diary that paints a very different picture. (h/t to Billy)

College Republicans want us to remember 9/11

The Penn community got a visual reminder of the sixth anniversary of the Sept. 11th attacks, courtesy of none other than Penn's College Republicans. The College Republicans chairman, Jack Abraham, who I have much respect for, said "it's not just for conservative people or Republicans". Of course it isn't, this political event was designed for maximum impact and was financed by the Young America Foundation, the premier conservative youth organization. They want us to think that this is simply a memorial and the DP is kind enough to oblige with their prominent coverage. Will they be remembering all the of the deaths resulting from Bush's failed Iraq adventure which he has pursued in the name of all of those 9/11 victims? I think not.

The reason for this political event is no different than why Giuliani mentions 9/11 at every opportunity and why for him "every day is an anniversary of Sept. 11". Republicans and the conservative movement want the American public to keep their focus on the attack on 9/11 and the 'terrorists' purely as a political strategy. They don't want people talking about the failed war in Iraq or asking questions about why we are even there, since Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. Is it simply a coincidence that General Petreaus testified the day before the anniversary of 9/11? In fact, he was originally scheduled to deliver testimony on September 11th.

This is just another example of the power and resources that conservative groups have on campuses across this country. Even though they are significantly smaller in numbers, at least at Penn, they are much better funded and have substantial connections to the broader conservative movement.

Luckily, the progressive movement has begun to realize the importance of supporting progressive students and is beginning to organize on campuses. Through Campus Progress, progressives on college campuses are now able to access the same types of resources as our conservative peers. With the Penn Dems and a slew of advocacy groups, I hope to soon be writing much more about progressive organizing on Penn's campus.

~BT

Olbermann: Bush is 'playing us'

Yesterday, Keith Olbermann delivered his latest special comment focusing on Bush's recent photo-op in Iraq.

~BT

Let there be news!

In another sign that the school year is about to begin, the DP published its first issue (PDF) this past week. It was comprehensive and had a number of articles of interest:

• Penn unveiled a new layout for its main website www.upenn.edu. It looks great!
• Penn has also launched a new emergency notification system dubbed "PennAlert". It allows the University to send alerts to students, staff and faculty via text message. I'm all for it! Considering it is strikingly similar to the project that the Undergraduate Assembly has been working on for over a year to bring Mobile Campus to Penn.
• Penn moved up to 5th in the annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report
  

The DP's internet portal Dailypennsylvanian.com also got a makeover. It is still ad-heavy but is an improvement. I'm looking forward to seeing what the DP's opinion blog The Spin will publish starting on Sept. 5th.

Oh, and don't forget to sign up for Progressive Dispatches via email.

~BT