Return to Transcripts main page

Glenn Beck

Iranian President a Religious Zealot?; Iranian Tells Truth Behind Iranian President`s Speech; Hillary Campaign Has "GQ" Story Pulled

Aired September 25, 2007 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLENN BECK, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, oh, more Ahmadine-drama as President Bush and President Tom square off at the U.N.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The best way to defeat extremists is to defeat their dark ideology.

BECK: We`ll have all the latest craziness.

And the real story behind Iran`s recent treatment of women and homosexuals. Remember, he said they are so great over in Iran. We`ll separate scary reality from this nut job`s rambling rhetoric.

Plus, more Hillary high jinks. "GQ" pulls the plug on an unflattering profile of Clinton after some old-school pressure from Muggles (ph) Clinton.

All this and more tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BECK: Well, hello, America.

Over the last couple of days there have been thousands of hours of news and analysis about President Ahmadinejad, and you can watch all of it and listen to all of it, but quite honestly the next four minutes are more valuable for your understanding of this man than all those other hours combined.

I may be wrong about a lot of things. I am not wrong about this.

There is a simple reason why almost everybody in the media is missing the point on this guy, and it all starts with this question that I`d like to pose to you. Do you really believe that the media understands your faith? I don`t. I think they belittle my faith. They misrepresent it. If you`re lucky, they`ll just dismiss your faith altogether.

To them if you`re a Christian, oh, you`re lumped in with all abortion doctor-killing hate-mongers, and a Jesus saves sign in the heartland is an advertising sale for a sale at the Piggly Wiggly. That`s what that is.

If they misunderstand you, how do you think they`re going to understand a religion that is practiced in a closed society thousands of miles away on the other side of the planet? They`re not.

Let me try to make it really simple for you. Here`s "The Point" tonight.

From -- from here on out, ignore everything Ahmadinejad ever utters in a speech, except for the last or first ten seconds of his speech. Those are the only parts of his speech that matter, and here`s how I got there.

Let me give you a hypothetical. Let`s just say that President George W. Bush went on national television tonight, and he said that he firmly believed that we are currently in the tribulation period, as described in the book of Revelation. Consequently, according to the president, the second coming of Christ will, without a doubt, happen in the next year.

Let`s also say that the president stated on national television that he believes that he can bring Christ back even sooner than that if he would just start a war with the literal anti-Christ, which the president would say is Iran.

Then, let`s make the leap that he believes the sooner he can create chaos and wash the world and cleanse the world in blood, the sooner Christ would return with peace and justice.

Now, if the president actually truly believed those things, what would he do? He would first probably start preparing the site for the actual return of Christ by rearranging everything to match up with the scriptures, right?

Then, he would probably create a religious army so Christ would recognize him. Let`s call it the army of Christ, to battle the anti- Christ, and then he would provoke them into war with threats and violence.

If George Bush did all of those things, if George Bush did any of those things, do you think our media might just label him a religious zealot intent on killing millions? They would label him the most dangerous man on the planet.

Do you think the rest of the world might rise up and realize, "Hey, wait a minute, this guy might be insane"? Of course they would.

But, gang. If you haven`t figured it out all by now, all of this is exactly what Ahmadinejad believes. To him it`s not Christ who is going to return soon. It`s the Shiite version of the savior called the Mahdi. It`s not the army of Christ that is raging war against the enemy. It`s the Mahdi Army. Recognize that? It`s the one they are paying for in Iraq.

Iran is not -- is not the anti-Christ in this scenario. We are. Have you ever heard him call us the great Satan? He means it literally.

Preparations for the return are not happening in Washington, D.C. They are happening in Iran. Ahmadinejad reportedly has ordered the city council to reconfigure Tehran in anticipation of the savior`s arrival. That`s how seriously he believes all of this stuff.

As hard as it is for you to do, you need to start ignoring this man`s threats and insults and instead start focusing on his opening prayer, which almost always sounds exactly like it did yesterday at Columbia University or two years ago at the U.N. or last year at the U.N. or today at the U.N.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): Oh, God, hasten the arrival of Imam al-Mahdi and grant him good health and victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: America, there are two things you need to know tonight.

First, Ahmadinejad is not lying when he says he wants peace. He really does want peace, but he thinks the Mahdi, their version of the savior, is going to bring it.

He conveniently leaves out all the parts about, you know, millions dying through war and famine first.

And second, it doesn`t matter if you believe this. He does, and those beliefs are guiding all of his actions. You don`t have to understand it, but for the love of everything -- for the love of our children we must stop dismissing it.

Michael Hirsch is a senior editor at "Newsweek".

Michael, this guy spooks the hell out of me, he really does. First of all, he talks about the family. That`s the first thing he went there, which is exactly what evil would do, go for the family and say, "I just want to protect the family."

What was it that jumped out at you about Ahmadinejad`s speech?

MICHAEL HIRSCH, SENIOR EDITOR, "NEWSWEEK": Well, he did go on and on about that, the sanctity of the family. I think there`s code words for, you know, obviously an anti-homosexual bias and exploitation in the western media, as it`s perceived in Iran, of a woman`s body.

BECK: He`s going for capitalism. He`s going for the movies.

HIRSCH: Right.

BECK: He`s going for everything he says that we`re exporting.

HIRSCH: Basic diatribe, yes.

BECK: OK. And then I found it interesting he talked about how we are humiliating again the Middle East, which if anybody studies the Middle East, that is essential to understanding their motivation. But he went on and on about what. What else did you pick from it?

HIRSCH: Well, I mean, obviously, he made his usual noises about the Zionist occupiers and the plight of the Palestinians, which is a favorite theme of his, of course, and has gotten him into all sorts of hot water in his country, into hot water and isolation because he`s gone so far over the top in basically denying the Holocaust and seeming to calling for the destruction of Israel, though there`s a lot of debate over whether he meant that he was going to take an active part in it or whether he was just hoping it would happen.

BECK: I`ve got to tell you, man. I think we start taking their guys at their word. I mean, we kind of messed that one up with Hitler.

You wrote a great article on the charm offensive. This guy -- I`m amazed by the left in this country, how they just dismiss him. Well, they just, "whatever."

And he`s really somebody that you watch and the rest of the world will watch him and say, "Oh, look at him. He seems like a nice guy. He`s talking about peace."

HIRSCH: Yes. Well, look. I think there`s general agreement, you know, in the media, the mainstream media that Ahmadinejad is probably a bit unbalanced. He`s -- he is -- he`s a radical religious figure who`s part of this movement that grew up out of 1979, takes it very seriously, very literally.

But at the same time, you know, it`s important to have some perspective. First of all, the presidency of Iran is not like the presidency in the U.S.

BECK: Yes.

HIRSCH: He doesn`t have that kind of power. He doesn`t have the power over the nuclear program.

BECK: I know. Michael, I`ve got to run, but I mean, correct me if I`m wrong. The power lies in the hands of the people who are even spookier, the clerics over there.

HIRSCH: Well, there`s no question about Supreme Leader Khameini.

BECK: All right. Got to run, Michael.

Now let`s go right to Anne Bayefsky. She`s the senior fellow at the Hudson Institute.

Ann, what did you think of his speech today?

ANNE BAYEFSKY, SENIOR FELLOW, HUDSON INSTITUTE: Well, his speech was he really laid down, as he declared war. This was nothing short of an open declaration. He said specifically the nuclear issue is over.

As far as he`s concerned the Security Council can butt out. He has no intention of abiding by its regulations or principles or of the United Nations. He said for 60 years the rule of international law has been illegitimate because it would take victors over the vanquished.

He rejected Zionism. He said it was 60 years of illegitimacy. He put the Holocaust into issue by talking about how people had been imprisoned for their views, historians. He`s talking about Holocaust deniers.

BECK: He is really -- I mean, this guy -- I`ve been watching this guy for years, and -- and I just -- I just don`t have a good feeling about him and this speech. I thought it was very focused.

I thought honestly he was spooky as crap because he started out on the moral issues, and he was appealing to the religious zealots in the Middle East, saying they are corrupting your wives and your children. They are humiliating women. They are selling their very soul for the almighty dollar. I mean, he was speaking their language.

And then he went on to dismiss -- to dismiss, you know, the international community. Why is the U.N. inviting him? I mean, what -- it`s like he`s the new Hitler, and they`re bringing him and giving him all this credibility?

BAYEFSKY: Well, not only do they do that. They clapped. I mean, when they started off, he got a round of applause before he`d even opened his mouth, so this is his forum.

The United Nations, 192 countries, 115 of them belong to the developing world, the non-aligned movement. And 56 of those are the largest single bloc is the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The U.N. is their playing field. They know it.

He enjoyed every minute of it, and it`s translated into six languages worldwide, put out on a web site there for you to, you know, review after the fact. He`s enjoying himself and, unfortunately, the United Nations is giving him that kind of platform.

BECK: You say that he is a threat to civilization, and the U.N. is complicit in it, because they`re giving him roles to play. I mean, Iran is playing a role on, what is it, on the leadership role on racism, right?

BAYEFSKY: Well, the U.N. has given him -- he`s the vice chairman of the disarmament commission. The man is hell-bent on the acquisition of nuclear weapons, is on a disarmament commission.

The fellow who is, you know, the world`s leader, leading anti-Semite is now on the planning committee of the next U.N. anti-racism conference.

BECK: What about the IAEA? Are they -- is there any real chance that they are watching what they`re doing with their program?

BAYEFSKY: Well, I think it was credibly revealing. I mean, for a very long time I`ve written about Mohamed ElBaradei, who is the Egyptian head of the IAEA. He has been against sanctions. He`s been playing -- running interference for Ahmadinejad at the United Nations, and he called him his great friend.

BECK: OK. Buckle up, America. Here we go.

Just a reminder: tonight`s show is brought to you by the Sleep Number Bed by Select Comfort. Find your sleep number today at a Select Comfort store near you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, while Ahmadinejad is busy claiming there are no homosexuals in his country, there is real news happening at the U.N. yesterday.

Al Gore and Arnold Schwarzenegger popped into the U.N. to create a little dialogue on global warming. We have the "Real Story" on U.N. misdirection in just a bit. Look over here. Look over here.

But first, you heard a lot of crazy rhetoric yesterday coming out of the mouth of President Ahmadinejad during his Columbia speech, but how much of it was reality? Fact check time.

Help us figure out how much of what he says is true is an Iranian citizen herself, Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi. She has lived in Iran for 21 years. Her father, a journalist who has been subjected to several abductions by the secret police, still resides in Iran.

Banafsheh, how are you?

BANAFSHEH ZAND-BONAZZI, IRANIAN CITIZEN: Very well, thanks.

BECK: Let`s take this piece by piece. First of all, here`s what he said about women yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): Women are respected in Iran. In Iran every family is given a girl is given -- in Iran every family that has a girl is ten times happier than having a son. Women are respected more than men are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: OK. Women are respected more and families are ten times happier.

ZAND-BONAZZI: Yes. Well, you know, when respect becomes synonymous with control, then I guess, of course, it is a matter of happiness for the controller.

You know, as you know yourself and you`ve said it, as well as so many of your other experts and pundits have said here, in Iran a woman is 50 percent of a man. A woman is not allowed to do anything without her husband`s permission or her male family members.

Women have been prostitutes, basically, because there`s no jobs, because everybody is in an economic situation where, if they have to feed themselves and there`s no way to earn a living, they become prostitutes. And most often a lot of these days -- recent days women have been abducted and murdered and/or sold in slavery.

BECK: Is it true that you can be traded off or whatever as a woman and married off as early as 9?

ZAND-BONAZZI: Yes, indeed.

BECK: See, you don`t have that right here in the United States.

ZAND-BONAZZI: I think I`m happy about that.

BECK: Are you? Tell me about -- this is what he said about homosexuals. Let`s roll the tape on homosexuals and then you set us straight on the reality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AHMADINEJAD (through translator): In Iran, we don`t have homosexuals like in your countries. We don`t have that in our country. In Iran we do not have this phenomenon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: It`s incredible on a couple of levels. First, this was really the only time that he got a reaction, you know, talking about wiping off -- you know, wiping people off the face of the earth really didn`t get a negative reaction from Columbia students, but this did.

Tell me the truth about homosexuality and how they`re treated in Iran.

ZAND-BONAZZI: Well, homosexuality is punishable by -- by execution. As we have seen so many of -- so many occasions where especially a couple of summers ago two young men were executed publicly, unfortunately.

And it`s -- it`s a known fact among Iranians that a large majority of the mullahs themselves are bisexual in that they are married, but mainly their sexual preferences are, in fact, swinging towards the homosexual.

And the unfortunate thing is that, in a country where pannectomies and sex change have become a prevalent and very regular mode of operation, I have to say that Mr. Ahmadinejad, as usual, was doing the same old Islamic republic talk (ph), which again you have discussed, which is the -- the concept of dissimulation and lying in order to protect the rule and the lying being the lesser of the two sins of not -- let`s say lying versus not protecting the rule and the regime. And so if you lie it`s OK.

BECK: Banafsheh, thank you very much. Always good to talk to you.

ZAND-BONAZZI: Thank you.

BECK: There is something wrong in Hillary`s campaign. If something does go wrong, who are you going to call? It would be Bill Clinton. How Hillary`s run for president impacted "GQ`s" "Man of the Year" issue.

And how is the rest of the world reacting to Ahmadinejad`s speech at Columbia University? The "Real Story" behind whether or not they`re seeing and hearing the same things we did hear in the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Sometimes a fashion magazine can just go too far, like when they feature those male capris or oversized sunglasses that make you look like you`re from another planet. And sometimes it`s the subject of the feature that causes the controversy like, let`s just say, I don`t know, an overzealous socialist, sorry, progressive candidate.

That`s exactly what happened when the Clinton camp found out "GQ" was going to publish a story about infighting in Hillary Clinton`s campaign. Hill made a move that was probably more -- a little more reminiscent of Stalin`s communist Russia than anything we have here in America. When her campaign told "GQ" to pull the article or lose access to her husband for a piece set to air in December`s "Man of the Year" issue.

Gosh darn it. Did I lose that again?

Here to tell us the whole story is Jonathan Martin.

Jonathan, first of all, what was in the -- what was in the story that she wanted pulled?

JONATHAN MARTIN, THE POLITICO: Well, thanks for having me, Glenn.

This was going to be a fairly tough story, we think, about the very inside nature of Senator Clinton`s campaign. They very much guard the intricacies of how that campaign is run over what`s in called Hillary Land here in Washington, and the prospect of having their dirty laundry possibly aired in a magazine like this was -- they could not tolerate that.

BECK: I mean, what is -- what are they possibly exposing?

MARTIN: Well, they are just very tight-lipped and guarded about exactly how that campaign is run. And they desperately don`t want to have leaks about the inside nature of who`s in charge of that campaign and what exactly is going on over there.

BECK: I mean, unless it`s Satan, who really cares? And there`s a chance it is Satan. I`m just saying.

MARTIN: Well, the Clinton campaign, like the Bush/Cheney model, very much prizes discipline and a leak-free operation.

BECK: OK. And it`s funny, because when Bush doesn`t like leaks, he`s called, you know, all kinds of stuff.

MARTIN: Right.

BECK: This actually -- has this ever happened before? I mean, I know Bush begged the "New York Times", please don`t reveal national security secrets here, but has this happened before, where you`re bullied into losing an article?

MARTIN: I think this is a little bit unique, just given the Clintons, and you know, and exactly what went down here. The fact that this was, you know, a magazine, not really a news magazine but a magazine where it`s important to have, you know, quality cover figures.

And, look, there`s nobody like Bill Clinton. He can flat out sell magazines. And the prospect of not having that cover piece at the end of the year was, for them, a cost-benefit analysis, Glenn.

BECK: Do you think that this kind of stuff would continue if she were president? I mean, you know, I don`t care who the president is, left or right. I don`t want them to be able, except for national security...

MARTIN: Right.

BECK: ... call up the press and say get off this story or threaten and have the media cave. Is this the kind of stuff that could continue in the -- in the presidency if she would win?

MARTIN: Look, she and her aides and advisers play a tough brand of politics, so it certainly wouldn`t surprise me if that exact same approach went down in the White House as it has in the campaign.

BECK: Perfect. OK. Thank you very much.

Coming up, Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke at the U.N. He said the world is now ready for Kyoto, part deux. I`m not sure if Arnold drove, you know, in his little hybrid or if he flew that evil private jet. But we`ll find out "The Real Story" is next. Back in a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, Columbia University saw plenty of protests at Ahmadinejad`s forum yesterday, but a few people were conspicuously absent, particularly in light of President Tom`s more controversial comments. Which groups were there? Which groups weren`t there? Which groups should have been there? All that and more, coming up.

But first, the "Real Story." Now, maybe I`m just getting cynical -- no, it`s a possibility -- but I`m starting to think that, when the government says that they want us to pay attention to something over here, what that really means is they don`t want us to pay attention to something else over here. It`s an old magician`s trick of misdirection. Keep them busy looking at your left hand so they don`t see what the right hand is actually doing.

Case in point: While everybody has been screaming about Iran`s President Ahmadinejad speaking at the U.N., the "Real Story" is, guess who shows up? Al Gore and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. They`re at the U.N. yesterday. What are they talking about? Global warming and new rules and regulations. If they get their way, the old Kyoto accord may actually seem rational by comparison, and that`s not an easy feat.

For those of you who missed my groundbreaking special on climate change called "Exposed: Climate of Fear," a, you`re not alone, but one of the things that we really dispelled and debunked was the Kyoto treaty. This is where all of the nations of the world are supposed to join hands, put flowers in their hair, and, you know, place ridiculous limitations on emissions standards.

Fortunately, the United States decided not going to really play along with that one, and it`s been a good decision. Kyoto has been a grand, dismal and indisputable failure. But now some opportunistic politicians have seized the Ahmadine-drama as a chance to get the bus to Crazy Town rolling again. They`re hoping nobody sees them, you know, trying to jump start the bus in the parking lot because we`re all looking at the front door.

Well, we saw you, Arnold and Al Gore and the U.N. secretary. They want the United States to take more responsibility for the global warming doomsday scenario. I say, no, not really. The U.S. didn`t let you shove Kyoto down our throats last time; we`re not swallowing the new and improved version either, at least until the next election.

Sorry, boys. Iran`s head kook may distract us for a while, but he doesn`t distract us for very long.

Stephen Moore is a senior economic writer with the "Wall Street Journal." Stephen, Kyoto, am I wrong saying "disaster"?

STEPHEN MOORE, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Well, it was a disaster both because so many countries didn`t sign the treaty -- but thank God we didn`t, Glenn, because what we`re finding is even the countries that signed this treaty and have been so sanctimonious about, why won`t terrible United States sign this treaty, guess what, Glenn? None of those countries are in compliance with the treaty themselves! Why should we sign a treaty when, in fact, we`re more in compliance with the law than they are and we didn`t sign it.

BECK: Yeah, we did better than some of those guys, right?

MOORE: Exactly.

BECK: OK. So what do you suppose is coming besides, I mean, shoot- blood-out-of-your-eyes taxes, I mean, what`s coming?

MOORE: What Arnold Schwarzenegger and Al Gore want to put in effect is what I call Kyoto Treaty Lite. And basically, in California, Arnold is trying to basically pass -- I call it MoveOutofCalifornia.com, because he`s going to put all these regulatory structures on the industries, on the factories, on the businesses in California. And, Glenn, this is a state that already has people leaving, so it`s not going to reduce greenhouse gases. What it`s going to do is move the jobs and move the businesses out of the state.

BECK: OK, but if we sign on as a country -- I mean, Stephen, correct me if I`m wrong. I`m not an economist, but I am a thinker. And, I mean, I read the paper from time to time. We have the highest corporate tax rate in the world. How do you do that plus have all these new regulations on us and expect to compete?

MOORE: Yeah, my point about global warming is I do think this is a scam, and I think what`s going on here is it`s an opportunity for the radical environmentalists to put a new regulatory structure on America that will slow down our economy. And the real victims of this, Glenn, are going to be American workers, because we`re not going to have a reduction in global warming. What we`re going to have is all of the jobs move out of the United States to countries like India and China that haven`t signed the treaty.

BECK: Stephen, real quick. You know, you say that global warming is a scam. I`m not willing to say that the globe is not warming, because it is warming. I believe it may be natural, but even if man caused it, I think what the scam is, is us having the audacity to say that we can fix it.

MOORE: Right.

BECK: And especially everything that they`re talking about, they refuse to talk about things like nuclear energy.

MOORE: Right.

BECK: I mean, it really seems...

MOORE: Yes, nuclear energy is the one form of energy that emits no greenhouse gases. You would think the environmentalists would be jumping up and down for joy for nuclear power, but they`re still against it.

BECK: What about clean coal?

MOORE: Well-put. And, you know, the reason I think that there`s a bit of a scam element to this though is, Glenn, if you look at what happened 25, 30 years ago, virtually all of the climatologists were saying that we were headed to another ice age.

BECK: I know.

MOORE: It`s true.

BECK: I know, I know. All right, Stephen.

Now, let me switch gears and go back to Ahmadinejad for a second. He gave a speech, you know, obviously yesterday at Columbia University, but the real story from yesterday`s speech: Americans. You weren`t the target audience. You`re the target. The real audience was overseas and across the Middle East. This is what I told you yesterday.

Well, today, I checked the papers and the news media all around the world. It is a mistake to believe that the way our media interprets a story is the same way that same story will be perceived and treated around the world. Yes, the media overseas can actually make us look worse than our own media.

The Iranian media has reported that Ahmadinejad received a standing ovation and that the audience applauded as he discussed international crisis. Columbia played right into this evil genius` hands, but what else would you expect from a bunch of useless idiots who, you know, claim to be Ivy League scholars? They gave Ahmadinejad a stage, and they legitimized him in the process.

It is not just the Arab world that is getting spoon-fed Iran`s version of the truth. It`s Europe and the entire globe. Mahmoud and his henchmen may be pure evil, but when it comes to rewriting history, whether it is the tragedy of the Holocaust or a speech from yesterday or today, they`ve got the Midas touch. We know Ahmadinejad isn`t telling the truth, but, remember, if you repeat a lie often enough, some people will start to believe it.

William Samii, he is the regional analyst for the Center for Naval Studies. William, tell me exactly what you saw today in the world media. How was it received around the world? How was it reported?

WILLIAM SAMII, CENTER FOR NAVAL ANALYSES: Well, the thing I looked at most closely, Glenn, was the Iranian media. And curiously enough, he seems to have garnered a bit of support or quite a bit of support in his own country. I think Iranians feel a sense of entitlement and they`re a very proud people, and when they see their own president being confronted in that way -- and obviously, the thing -- the complaints made against him in that introduction by Lee Bollinger were quite accurate, but it came across as being somewhat petty, and the way it was reported in Tehran was very negative.

Now you`ve got Iranian parliamentarians saying that the president was mistreated and Iranian scholars writing letters, saying that their American counterparts should react in kind.

BECK: It`s really truly amazing, because when are we going to get it that the entire Middle East is about humiliation? Not only do we give them a propaganda tool, we help bolster his image around the world, but we then also humiliated him in his eyes.

Now, I want to play this audio. I got this from the BBC early this morning. I turned into the BBC to see how they were reporting. Listen to these students who were there yesterday and what they say worldwide on the BBC.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like President Bollinger`s initial remarks were mainly reflecting the media pressure that was placed on him. I think he was put in a position where he felt like he needed to come out and say those remarks against the president of Iran, because there was such a pressure on him to be hostile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that the whole forum was compromised by the way that President Bollinger came out and was very accusatory towards President Ahmadinejad before he had anything to say. I think that that cheapened the integrity of the event and, unfortunately, put the Iranian president on the back heel."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: I mean, you know, here in America, the spin is, "Oh, what Bollinger did, at least he came out and slapped him around and said" -- that`s not the way the world is perceiving this, is this?

SAMII: No, definitely not. I mean, people think that he was mistreated, and as the president of any country should be treated with much greater deference and respect.

BECK: You know, it amazes me. It seems that we always look at the battle. And, you know, today we look at the press here in America and say, "Oh, look, we won." We may have won a battle, and we won the battle here in the United States with Lee Bollinger, but we lost the war, the media war, that was being waged against us by this guy. He is a very, very crafty man.

SAMII: I agree with you that a media war is being waged, Glenn, but to think that we`ve lost it or even losing it, I`ve got to disagree with you on that.

BECK: On today, on what his goal was, on the little war that he tried to wage here in the last couple of days, you`ve got -- I mean, you can`t tell me you disagree with that, William. He`s the clear victor here.

SAMII: He came out ahead on this one, especially with his domestic audience.

BECK: OK. William, thanks a lot. \appreciate it. We`ll be right back in just a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: Listen to these useful idiots. He`s talking about the execution of homosexuals.

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: Again, we`re talking about homosexuals.

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: I just want you to know, he inserted the word "microbes." I don`t know. This is a guess. Is this an AIDS thing?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BECK: The guy was spooky yesterday, and ever since he has been here in New York City, there has been no shortage of protests, and not just from me. However, I mean, it`s the people we haven`t heard from, the special interest groups, that love to complain about life here in the U.S., but are nowhere to be found now that the most evil guy on Planet Earth is paying us a visit.

Let me ask an honest question: Where is the National Organization of Women? Where is the Gay and Lesbian Alliance? Where is the Jewish Anti- Defamation League? I know that life here in America is far from perfect, but compared to life in Iran, actually America is kind of perfect. I mean, we`re not murdering homosexuals in the streets. And if some nut job does it, we arrest them. In Iran, they do.

We don`t beat women for showing their hair in public. Iran does. We don`t spend every waking moment trying to destroy Israel. Iran does. Special interests, why am I doing your job for you? I say you better speak up sooner or forever hold your peace. Otherwise, you`re going to be left with the truth of your silence, and that is that you`re nothing but a political machine to help politicians get elected. And that`s a shame.

Arsham Parsi, he is the executive director for the Iranian Queer Organization. Arsham, you were gay in Iran, and you had a birthday party yourself, and tell me what happened to some of the people that came to your birthday party.

ARSHAM PARSI, IRANIAN QUEER ORGANIZATION: Hello. I had a birthday party four years ago. And two days before my birthday party, I received a telephone that, "Arsham, don`t invite anybody because the police are going to arrest you, and they just called to all of my friends and cancelled the birthday party."

BECK: OK.

PARSI: And I told them, "I`m going out of city," but, unfortunately, they decided to go to another city, into another home for the private gathering. And, unfortunately, the police attacked their home, and 25 gays arrested and tortured, and some of them lashed.

BECK: OK. I`m going to show you pictures here, America, and this -- I want you to know this is the lashing of two of your friends. These pictures were taken a month after they were beaten, so you can imagine how severe this beating was. This is 30 days after the beating.

Now, there is also a picture, a few pictures here of people being hung. Please know that this is not stuff you want your kids to see. I just want you to see the truth of what`s happening in Iran and, again, ask where are all the special interests speaking out?

Show me the pictures of the -- who are these two? These are the two guys that Iran says were child molesters. Is that true or not, Arsham?

PARSI: Yeah, they were a gay couple that they arrested while at their party, their private party in Iran, and (INAUDIBLE) lashes for attending to immoral parties.

BECK: OK, but they are not child molesters? Are all these pictures of people that are hanging, these are all homosexual men?

PARSI: Yes.

BECK: And they`re nothing but that?

PARSI: No.

BECK: They committed no crime?

PARSI: No, just they attending a party, because they phoned each other and they decided to live together. And they invited a couple of their close friends, and nothing, just they arrest them, and they told me, "These 60 lashes just for attending a gay party, immoral parties, and for your sexual behavior you will receive more lashes in future," but two days before they sentenced, they fled Iran to Turkey.

BECK: Ahmadinejad says there`s no Holocaust and there`s no homosexuality in Iran. Why would he deny homosexuality in Iran?

PARSI: Mr. Ahmadinejad denies Holocaust, denied women rights, denied any punishment for political activities. He says we don`t have any political prisoners. They deny the punishment for students in Iran and ever since he`d denies homosexuals. And we think this is a strong statement from the president of Iran that they are not interested to give any rights to homosexuals.

BECK: OK.

PARSI: And this is not right, and they don`t accept this right.

BECK: Arsham, thank you very much. And special interest groups, really, you should be ashamed of yourself.

It`s time now to turn to today`s "CNN Hero."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Explain to me everything you want to explain.

MATIN MAULAWIZADA, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: Afghanistan offered me a lot, and I wanted to bring a little something back. It`s a tiny project, but I wanted to really make sure to bring something. Afghan women have survived years of war, years of suppression. Still they do, and they prevail. So to me the strength of Afghan women are just remarkable, and I wanted to work with them.

Widows, in particular, rely on the mercy of their families to live and they become servants to them. I wanted to kind of change that, one person at a time, if I could. My entire point was to make sure that widows and women are able to proudly work and be proud of their work and work outside their house and provide wealth for their families.

It`s just amazing. It sells itself, really. They read and write equivalent of a fourth-grader now. Mentally, they`re prepared to go to work. They know how to take measurements; they know how to write measurements. Once they learn enough, they will basically be businesswomen.

And look at the embroidery on this. I`m hoping that I will send them to courses that they can actually manage a business, grow a business. My whole dream is for them to basically have the confidence to see beautiful objects that they`re making and know that people are enjoying and appreciating them. They`re doing the work, and all I`m offering is basically an opportunity for them to show what they have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECK: Well, if you`ve ever watched this show, you probably ask yourself a couple of questions: One, what the hell is wrong with me? And, two, gee, it doesn`t sound like he likes the United Nations. Well, let me tell you. Absolutely right. I don`t like the United Nations, and I apologize to my radio producer, Stu, for sending him out to the U.N. today.

How are you holding out? It was Columbia yesterday and the U.N. today. I apologize.

STU BURGUIERE, "GLENN BECK" CORRESPONDENT: I am really earning my money lately.

BECK: Yes.

BURGUIERE: Basically now I`m down at the U.N., and we`re learning about what we should do, because, I mean, I don`t know, a lot of people are protesting this site down here. Maybe we should just do something different with it. I mean, it`s a prime piece of real estate, and there`s some real money-making opportunities down here. You know, right off the bat, you pull out of the U.N., we save the taxpayers $800 million, which, if I can advocate a policy here, Glenn, a rebate of three dollars per person.

BECK: Wow.

BURGUIERE: Nationwide blanket rebate. Now, you can use that on whatever you want, ATM fee or two. We`re going to get more use of that than we get out of this thing.

BECK: A big frosty with the M&Ms in it?

BURGUIERE: Mmm, Fix `n Mix? Are you saying do a Fix `n Mix?

BECK: That`s what I`m saying. That`s what I`m saying.

BURGUIERE: Right.

BECK: OK, so we pull out, and we save -- what do we do with the building?

BURGUIERE: Well, actually, if you see here behind me, this is the building here. And one of the main suggestions we`re looking at now is bulldozing it, just flatten the thing out. You know, we want to get all the people out, first, of course, but then just make it maybe into a dog park. It`s a really nice area.

BECK: Now, when you say dog park, are you saying like a Michael Vick dog park or...

BURGUIERE: No, no, not that -- there`s no force. There`s never any force being used out of this building, Glenn.

BECK: OK, good.

BURGUIERE: Also, you could potentially just keep the people in it and just turn it into a jail just like that.

BECK: OK, all right.

BURGUIERE: I mean...

BECK: And is there any -- is there any thought of maybe just kind of scooting it onto a barge and shipping it to some other country? Because I`m willing to share the United Nations.

BURGUIERE: We`ve rented a jigsaw. Yes, we`ve rented a jigsaw. We`re going to cut through around the building and just kind of push it out into sea and see what happens.

BECK: OK.

BURGUIERE: But so far it hasn`t worked.

BECK: Not going well. All right, thanks a lot, Stu.

It is Frosty Wednesday on the radio show for all I`ve put him through, go sending him to the U.N. and Columbia. And, by the way, if you want to hear some of the updates that he had this morning on the radio show, you can sign up for my free Internet newsletter. You can find it at glennbeck.com, and you`ll also see a link there for a video on my speech on American values that I gave to the NRA over the weekend. All you have to do to find it is go to glennbeck.com and sign up for our free daily e-mail newsletter.

From New York, good night, America.

END