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The denizens of Low Library have just released the calendar for Columbia’s 2008 edition of the World Leaders Forum, fresh with a snazzy new website chronicling the Columbia tradition’s past, present and future. Have a look at their new multimedia section, and you’ll see that this site is no laughing matter.
But the speakers this year? Bwog is still scratching its head on that one. While last year’s version sparked considerable hooplah with the invitation of a certain Iranian politician, it seems that this year’s lineup may lack a bit of the sparkle that a certain petty and cruel dictator’s speech last year may have offered.
That is of course not the case, if you find a spiel by Olafur Ragnar Grimson, President of the world’s oldest democracy (Iceland) scintillating. If the leader of a small, island nation speaking is not your cup of tea, perhaps you might be interested in a scheduled speech by Primer Minister Anders Fogh Rasumussen of Denmark or President Danilo Türk of Slovenia. While this year’s World Leaders’ Forum may not dazzle as much as last year’s, there is always the Obamacain spectacle to look forward to this time around.
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21 Comments
@Comrade Card Catalog I WANT MORE GURBANGULY BERDIMUHAMMEDOW!
@i think this post is far more illegitimately insulting to democratically elected leaders than PrezBo ever was.
@yo yo yo Perhaps bwog hasn’t been paying attention in recent years. Most of the world leaders that come here hail from small countries and often go unnoticed. As someone pointed out earlier, Saakashvilli came last year. How many people realized that he was here when he came?
@yo yo Not gonna lie, I’m excited for Anders Fogh!
@Alum Each year, more leaders are added after the initial announcement. Ahmedinijad was added late, for example. Since the most desirable speakers are often also the ones whose schedules are most packed while in NYC, the ones added late tend to me bigger draws than the initial batch.
@Also Evo Morales two years ago was pretty interesting as well. Even the seemingly ‘boring’ leaders can be lively talks.
@a fan Wow, Evo Morales was here?
I loved his role as the Army major on “Jericho” and in that movie “La Bamba”!
@Again Bwog You guys are off your game. It’s clearly labeled as the “Sixth Annual Heads of State Visit” with a note that the names will be up soon. Stop making so many dumb mistakes.
@hey try reading the entries below it, and you’ll realize those are at least some of the specific speakers mentioned in the blur for “sixth annual heads of state visit.” then again, that might take away your time to make uniformed comments.
@not putin it wont be putin — world leaders forum invites leaders that come for the opening session of the UN and are in new york anyway. putin will not be there for the opening session but medvedev will.
@rtfjg saakashvili was here not too long ago…dont count on a repeat visit
@Armin Rosen He was invited back this year, according to the programming director of the Harriman Institute: http://commentariat.specblogs.com/index.php/2008/09/09/update-yushchenko-cancels-saakashvili/
@just wait bigger names will be announced within the next week.
i promise.
@... yep, that’s exactly how it worked last year.
$5 says we’ll see either medvedev, putin or most likely saakashvili or gurgenidze.
of course, getting tickets to any of these will be next to impossible.
@right so that’s how it works every year. No in reality poster 3 has is right. Sorry sophomores and freshmen who expect an ahmadinejad worthy speaker every year. Mostly its some semi important people, but no one groundbreaking.
@ehh it varies year to year. there weren’t many interesting people between 2003 (hamid karzai + vladimir putin) and last year’s ahmadinejad visit.
@people... Pervez Musharraf, Jalal Talabani, Madeline Albright, Bill Clinton, Vaclav Havel, and Aleksander Kwasniewski just to name a few.
@??? bill who?
@bill clinton and havel didn’t come as part of the WLF, but the others are true
@aww They put Web 2.0 reflections underneath the video and slideshow icons.
@Link You forgot the “h” in the World Leaders Forum link.