Qualified

Nice, almost funny, little story in the 'Guardian' today under the headline "Iranian minister sacked over fake degree". The story goes on to tell how the Iranian parliament has fired the Minister of the Interior, Ali Kordan, because he falsely claimed that he had an honorary doctorate in Law from Oxford University. It only became worse when poor Ali was asked to produce the doctorate. The 'Guardian' writes, "Kordan produced the degree, dated June 2000, but its poor grammar only inflamed the controversy, as did the fact that none of the signatories had ever worked in law at Oxford."(1) Of course, the question arises, why didn't he produce a distance MBA from a discredited university or a degree from one of the many British universities actively engaged in selling their souls? Surely, that would have been enough to cut a dash in Teheran; it normally is east of Suez! It would have, at least been easier, and less transparent. Still, that is hardly necessary as there are lots of places out there that aren't as efficient as the Iranian parliament and, which won't even ask to see your qualifications, aren't there?
Anyway, to all of the chancers out there a word of warning or is it advice; Kurt Vonnegut writes in the preface to his book, 'Mother Night', "You are what you pretend to be, so be careful what you pretend to be." Or at least don't aim too high, which is what this fellow did. Of course, it gets even worse, doesn't it? .... and there is Sarah Palin claiming that she is qualified to run the US if required. She has a BSc in Communication Studies from the University of Idaho.
1 http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/nov/04/oxforduniversity-highereducation-iran
The picture above is a photo copy of the said degree, which "intitled" him ....... That and the rest of the bad grammar. Moreover, having done my own little bit of research/googling, I have discovered that the three professors who signed it have, indeed, been Oxford professors. However, they work in the fields of Psychology and Neuroscience and not in Law.