It's Winter Break! Bwog will be moving in slow motion.

No Petty, Cruel Dictators This Time

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.


Posted by Link : #1 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 4:42 PM (from campus)
You forgot the "h" in the World Leaders Forum link.
Posted by aww : #2 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 4:53 PM
They put Web 2.0 reflections underneath the video and slideshow icons.
Posted by ehh : #3 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 5:11 PM
it varies year to year. there weren't many interesting people between 2003 (hamid karzai + vladimir putin) and last year's ahmadinejad visit.
Posted by just wait : #4 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 5:11 PM (from campus)
bigger names will be announced within the next week.

i promise.
Posted by ... : #5 (in reply to #4) · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 5:42 PM (from campus)
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.
Posted by rtfjg : #6 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 5:53 PM (from campus)
saakashvili was here not too long ago...dont count on a repeat visit
Posted by not putin : #7 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 6:02 PM (from campus)
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.
Posted by right : #8 (in reply to #5) · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 6:21 PM (from campus)
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.
Posted by Again Bwog : #9 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 6:36 PM (from campus)
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.
Posted by Also : #10 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 7:14 PM
Evo Morales two years ago was pretty interesting as well. Even the seemingly 'boring' leaders can be lively talks.
Posted by hey : #11 (in reply to #9) · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 7:21 PM (from campus)
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.
Posted by Alum : #12 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 7:28 PM
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.
Posted by Armin Rosen : #13 (in reply to #6) · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 7:53 PM
He was invited back this year, according to the programming director of the Harriman Institute: [external link to commentariat.specblogs.com]
Posted by a fan : #14 (in reply to #10) · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 8:34 PM (from campus)
Wow, Evo Morales was here?

I loved his role as the Army major on "Jericho" and in that movie "La Bamba"!
Posted by yo yo : #15 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 8:57 PM (from campus)
Not gonna lie, I'm excited for Anders Fogh!
Posted by yo yo yo : #16 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 10:25 PM
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?
Posted by people... : #17 (in reply to #3) · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 10:32 PM
Pervez Musharraf, Jalal Talabani, Madeline Albright, Bill Clinton, Vaclav Havel, and Aleksander Kwasniewski just to name a few.
Posted by i think : #18 · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 11:14 PM (from campus)
this post is far more illegitimately insulting to democratically elected leaders than PrezBo ever was.
Posted by ??? : #19 (in reply to #17) · reply · track
September 9, 2008 at 11:58 PM
bill who?
Posted by bill : #20 (in reply to #17) · reply · track
September 12, 2008 at 2:50 PM (from campus)
clinton and havel didn't come as part of the WLF, but the others are true
Posted by Comrade Card Catalog : #21 · reply · track
September 13, 2008 at 7:04 PM (from campus)
I WANT MORE GURBANGULY BERDIMUHAMMEDOW!
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