Ahmadinejad to speak at climate conference

Iranian Prime Minister Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe plan to address negotiators at international climate talks in Copenhagen next week.

The three leaders are listed in a line-up of more than 180 government officials published in a United Nations schedule of speakers. Each head of state will have up to three minutes to address roughly 700 delegates, reporter, observers and civil society groups.

The assistant president of Sudan, Nafie Ali Nafie kicks off the speeches at noon on Wednesday.

Nafie chairs the G-77 group, a block of developing nations pushing hard for more money and stricter emissions cuts from rich countries.

Mostapha Zaher, director-general of Afghanistan's Environmental Protection Agency, is listed as the final speaker. He'll take the podium slightly before 2 a.m. next Friday.

Just goes to show what the rest of the world thinks about Afghanistan.

And I am taking bets on how long Chavez speaks. Asking him to limit his remarks to 3 minutes is ludicrous. Like his mentor Fidel Castro, Chavez enjoys those 3-4 hour harangues. My guess is he will speak for more than an hour - and he will think he is limiting himself.

Obama is another long winded fellow but I expect he will be granted as much time as he sees fit to consume. That doesn't mean he's going to say anything worth hearing. But for his worshipful fans, I'm sure he'll be well received when he apologizes for all the polluting America has done.