Via television, the scene at Columbia today is fascinating. Lee Bollinger introduced the Iranian president with a blistering speech describing him as a "petty and cruel dictator" and essentially rooting for his downfall. The crowd roared with approval. But when Ahmadinejad took the the podium and scolded Bollinger for telling his audience what to think, a sizeable contingent applauded that, too. Now he's prattling on about The Prophet (boringly enough that CNN has cut away from live audio). The Times's Sewell Chan is blogging it. Update: In response to a question partly about the treatment of gays in Iran, Ahmadinejad just denied that there are gays in Iran:

In Iran, we don't have homosexuals like in your country. We don't have that in our country. In Iran, we do not have this phenomenon. I do not know who has told you that we have it.

The audience at once booed and laughed in his face; even Ahmadinejad seemed slightly ashamed. Quite an extraordinary moment. Jonah adds a punchline. More: Massie notes that Ahmadinejad's answer may simply demonstrate the efficiency of Iranian government policy. --Michael Crowley