No gays in Iran according to PM

HA HA i probably shouldnt laugh but but in the face of such denial and ignorance what can i do



IRANIAN President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad skirted a question about the treatment of homosexuals in Iran, saying in a speech at a top US university that there were no gays in Iran.
"In Iran we don't have homosexuals like in your country," Mr Ahmadinejad said to howls and boos among the Columbia University audience in New York. "In Iran we do not have this phenomenon. I don't know who has told you that we have it," he said. Mr Ahmadinejad was challenged during his appearance on Amnesty International figures that suggested that 200 people had been executed in Iran so far this year, among them homosexuals. "Don't you have capital punishment in the United States? You do too. In Iran there is capital punishment," he said. Mr Ahmadinejad took the stage at Columbia University after a blistering welcome from the school's president, who said the hard-line leader behaved like "a petty and cruel dictator." Ahmadinejad smiled as Columbia President Lee Bollinger took him to task over Iran's human-rights record and foreign policy, as well as Ahmadinejad's statements denying the Holocaust and calling for the disappearance of Israel. "Mr President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger said, to loud applause. He said Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust might fool the illiterate and ignorant. "When you come to a place like this it makes you simply ridiculous," Bollinger said. "The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history." Ahmadinejad rose, also to applause, and after a religious invocation said Bollinger's opening was "an insult to information and the knowledge of the audience here." "There were insults and claims that were incorrect, regretfully," Ahmadinejad said, accusing Bollinger of offering "unfriendly treatment" under the influence of the US press and politicians. Mr Ahmadinejad has been using his trip to convince sceptical Americans Tehran doesn't need nuclear weapons and is not heading to war with the US. He is to address the United Nations General Assembly, where he is expected to ask for an end to sanctions against his regime. He is also expected to once again taunt President George W. Bush, who will push the Security Council for tougher sanctions. Two resolutions have been imposed against Iran for its refusal to renounce its disputed nuclear program. Mr Ahmadinejad defends the nuclear program as solely designed to generate electricity. On the eve of his departure he struck a defiant tone, saying warnings of military action and more UN sanctions would have no effect on the nuclear drive. In an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes Mr Ahmadinejad denied Iran was secretly trying to build nuclear weapons and was continuing to enrich uranium despite UN Security Council objections. "Well, you have to appreciate we don't need a nuclear bomb. We don't need that. What need do we have for a bomb?" he said. "In political relations right now, the nuclear bomb is of no use. "If it was useful, it would have prevented the downfall of the Soviet Union. "If it was useful, it would resolve the problem the Americans have in Iraq. The time of the bomb is past." He also said: "It's wrong to think that Iran and the US are walking towards war. Who says so? Why should we go to war? There is no war in the offing." He dodged questions on whether Iran had blood on its hands by providing weapons, including missiles, to insurgents in the Iraq war. "I'm very sorry that because of the wrong decisions taken by American officials, Iraqi people are being killed and also American soldiers. It's very regrettable," he said. The US military made fresh accusations yesterday that Tehran was supplying insurgents with sophisticated ground-to-air missiles to attack American troops. The President, who controversially asked for permission to lay a wreath at the World Trade Centre site of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, expressed disbelief Americans found his request offensive. "Usually you go to these sites to pay your respects. And also, to perhaps air your views about the root causes of such incidents," he said. Mr Ahmadinejad, a Holocaust denier who has said Israel should be "wiped off the map", has ignited protests after he was invited to speak at New York's prestigious Columbia University. Columbia has said he has agreed to take questions. New York City council member David Weprin said the invitation to speak was a "slap in the face to all New Yorkers and especially to those families who lost loved ones on September 11 right here in New York City". New York assemblyman Don Hikind said: "There is no excuse to have this madman, this little Hitler who is running around all over the world killing our soldiers. This is immoral. This is outrageous. "This is sick."

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