Here's what I thought you'd like to hear about today:

1. Ahmadinejad at the UN - Hastening the end of the world
2. Waterboarding - We have ways to make them talk
3. Islamic Violence and the Pope - It does seem rather easy to provoke them these days

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Ahmadinejad at the UN - Hastening the end of the world

The President of Iran addressed the UN General Assembly this week, and his speech is a marvel of misstatements and dissembly. As an example of how many saw his performance, here is Michael Goodwin in Jewish World Review:

The hall was two-thirds empty when Ahmadinejad took the stage about 7:30 p.m. The delegates didn't miss much, except a squirrelly, 30-minute recitation of his complaints against America and Israel and promised his nuclear ambitions were peaceful. Adopting the pose of the defender of the world's oppressed, the Iranian president demonstrated top-notch acting ability.

With a straight face, he cited instability in Iraq and elsewhere in the region as concerns. Never mind that many of the terrorists get their funds and weapons from Iran. Only the UN could stage such a farce.

Rush Limbaugh paid more attention to the end of the speech. Here is a clip from Rush's show, with an actual clip of Amandinejad at the UN from C-SPAN. Transcript from NPR.

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He is a proven liar, who is building nuclear weapons in clear defiance of the UN. That they would welcome him to their building to talk is an outrage. I like the approach Senator Voinovich took at a recent Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. C-SPAN had the video. Mr. Straight talk minces no words in this exchange with State Department Nicholas Burns, undersecretary of state for political affairs.

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I think the State Department understands the issues. And while Iran has not stopped their development of nuclear weapons, nor their enrichment programs, the State Department has succeeded in their diplomatic efforts to isolate Iran, and are gradually building a consensus to take action against them.

Some on the left still don't see the risks. Here is Matt Yglesias on the President of Iran.

Mahmoun's Style

I keep talking about this with people in real life, but it deserves a blog mention as well -- Mahmoun Ahmadinejad has a pretty sweet hipster style. It all starts with a beard not unlike the one I and many of my twentysomething male friends sport. But it goes deeper. The man went without a tie to address the UN General Assembly. And I was in a bar where the TV was showing his interview with Anderson Cooper (it's DC, these things happen) and while there was no sound, he certainly looked witty and charming. There was also this clip of him walking down some hallway shooting the shit with Kofi Annan. It's like diplomacy! Bush should try it. One gets the sense that he's getting his stody red tie-wearing ass kicked this session by sundry third world goons and it's really not a proud moment for the United States

No it's not a proud moment for the United States, when a large swath of people think a mad mullah invoking the end of the world is cool-looking.

Waterboarding - We have ways to make them talk

Those against aggressive interrogation have two key points.

1. It's torture, so it's wrong.
2. It doesn't work. People will say anything to make it stop, including lies, so the information can't be trusted.

I think both are inaccurate characterizations. So does the CIA, apparently. Brian Ross, ABC investigative reporter was on The O'Reilly Factor with Bill O'Reilly, where he described how those on the inside see the debate. Thanks to Hot Air for the video.

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One of the aggressive interrogation methods described by Ross is the playing of loud music. As reported by Media Matters, the lefty "truth squad" of the right wing media machine,

O'Reilly, both in his September 12 "Talking Points Memo" segment and his later interview with Human Rights Watch counsel on counterterrorism Katherine Newell Bierman, cited two examples of "harsh measures," that the Times article reported the CIA used on Zubaydah: "Well, the CIA allegedly stripped Zubaydah, who had been wounded by the Pakistani authorities, put him in a freezing room, and used Red Hot Chili Peppers on him -- no, not the vegetables, the rock band." O'Reilly told Newell Bierman that calling these methods "torture" was "just nuts." During his discussion with conservative radio talk show host Laura Ingraham the next day, O'Reilly asked, "Red Hot Chili Peppers ... they're blaring it. The guy [Zubaydah] is naked, shivering, blaring this crazy music. Is that torture?" Ingraham replied that "Make him watch Tucker Carlson on Dancing with the Stars ... would be torture," and argued that "even using the word 'torture' really has become meaningless, because I think the question is, will the tough techniques that are used ... are they useful?

Media Matters showcases that clip as an example of the right wing noise machine devaluation of the concept of torture. I cite it because I believe what O'Reilly was saying.

In the interest of complete information sharing, here's a clip from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, doing their version of Good Time Boys from their CD Mother's Milk. I play; you decide.

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I don't know about you, but I would find it unpleasant to hear that for long periods of time. But is it torture, or just a very effective way to soften someone up to turn in their buddies in the terrorism business.

There is always the Monty Python solution, from their Spanish Inquisition skit. Now this is torture.

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I'll talk!

Islamic Violence and the Pope - It does seem rather easy to provoke them these days

On the Corner on National Review Online, Mona Charen writes:

From an Islamic Scholar

Yesterday NPR host Diane Rehm featured a discussion between The Very Reverend David O’Connell, president of Catholic U. and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Prof. of Islamic Studies at George Washington U. Nasr was well-versed in the history of Western Civilization as well as articulate and calm. But according to the segments I heard, he took issue with O’Connell’s description of the violence perpetrated against Christians worldwide following the Pope’s remarks as “unprovoked.” He interjected “But it was provoked.” Diane Rehm equably restated his position (I paraphrase) “So you think words are violence.” He confirmed.

Call me crazy but I’d prefer to be called nasty names to being beaten or beheaded any day of the week. How about you Prof. Nasr?

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Notice how Nasr asks what would happen if the pope quoted a passage that blamed the Jews for the death of Jesus, Deicide. I think we all know what would happen. People would have conversations. Editorials would be written. Maybe even some blog posts. But does he really think we would see Jewish people in Westchester County burning the pope in effigy? Please.

That's it for now podcatchers.