By: Alex Pearlman
For whatever reason, the weeks before, during and after the United Nations General Assembly meets always brings out the crazy in the world’s leaders. Here are the 2009 highlights from the world’s favorite dictatorial, irrational, exaggeratory and always amusing people.
Gaddafhi: The Libyan leader spoke for nearly an hour and a half to the United Nations General Assembly last week, going way over the fifteen-minute limit in his first-ever address to the UN on Wednesday. In his rambling rant, the robe-clad 67-year-old welcomed President Obama, congratulating him on his first address to the UN, and said that he hoped Obama could be President of the United States forever. Gaddafhi also mentioned that President Kennedy was killed because he wanted to investigate Israel’s nuclear reactor, the UN was too far away to travel to, the Security Council’s veto powers are against the idea of the UN, and that swine flu was manufactured by capitalists in a lab.
Basically, this guy, who has been in power since 1969, is an attention whore who is simply confused by the world around him. And it doesn’t help that his hair is fake and he looks like he’s had so much Botox, his face will never move again. Absolutely nutty.
Four stars for amusement.
Netanyahu: Israel’s Prime Minister accused the UN of being biased towards Palestinians during his speech to the General Assembly on Thursday, questioning the UN’s use. “The jury is still out,” he said. Netanyahu also pulled out a number of World War II-era documents, the building plans for Auschwitz concentration camp, and yelled, “Are these a lie?”, a question that was directed at Iranian President Amhadinejad, who has repeatedly called the Holocaust a lie. Netanyahu also reiterated that Israel did not commit war crimes and asked Palestinians to “say yes” to Israel.
Netanyahu is both right and wrong here. Yes, the Holocaust happened. And as the leader of the Jewish state, he is well within his rights to wave around Nazi documents as proof, no matter how crazy he looks doing it. However, the only job the UN does properly is ascertaining whether war crimes took place during a war. And no matter how many times Israel yells, whines, and bangs their fists in disagreement, they committed war crimes in Gaza this year, as well as a number of times in the past.
Two stars.
Ahmadinejad: In a speech that was boycotted by most of the countries it was directed at, the Iranian President addressed the UN on Wednesday and in his usual, fiery rhetoric denounced the Western world and Israel, called for global disarmament – just as President Obama, PM Gordon Brown and President Sarkozy were announcing that Iran had a secret nuclear facility – and asserted that Iran’s elections were “glorious and fully democratic.” During the speech, hundreds protested outside the complex against Ahmadinejad.
I hate this guy. He’s completely evil, insane, and wildly intelligent, which is the worst combination ever.
Five stars for always being a jackass. If only Kanye West could interrupt people who shouldn’t be allowed to speak.
Zelaya: Three months after being ousted in a military coup, exiled Honduran president Manuel Zelaya surprised everyone by showing up at the Brazilian embassy in the capital, Tegucigalpa, on Monday, Sept. 21. Zelaya was overthrown in June after attempting to get rid of term limits and had tried twice to enter his country, both times being stopped by the military. The ex-President has remained in the embassy with his wife since returning to Honduras.
Damn straight. If I were ousted in a coup and wore a giant white cowboy hat all the time, I would certainly sneak back into my country and hide out with Brazilians. What else can you do?
Five stars for standing up to a South American military.
Mugabe: The African leader who has previously blamed cholera on the British, blown inflation so out of control that no more zeros will fit on the currency, and been accused of being a blatant racist toward white people, addressed the UN on Friday. Mugabe accused the U.S. and Europe of “filthy, clandestine, divisive antics” and said that they were attempting to divide the government. Since his power grab in 1980, Mugabe has been President of Zimbabwe and has plunged the country into a depression so deep, it’s hard to imagine they will ever recover, all the while blaming Western racism for his country’s problems.
In true dictator fashion, Mugabe blames his troubles on everyone else. But, honestly, it’s his antics that are tired.
One star for lack of creativity.
