Noam (If You Want To)
Noam Chomsky was just named the world's top public intellectual by the British magazine Prospect, which polled some 20,000 UK citizens on the subject. Other front-runners included author Umberto Eco and Oxford University professor Richard Dawkins.
The newsworthiness of this story is questionable, especially since Chomsky himself says "I don't pay a lot of attention to polls," but it did remind me that I've been thinking a lot about Chomsky and his political writings (notably "Manufacturing Consent") for the last few years.
It used to be that I'd dismiss some of his musings on secret wars in Central America and the role of corporate power in America as "conspiracy talk," but the deeper we get into the corrupt Bush administration's follies, the more evident it becomes that Noam Chomsky knows what he is talking about, and should not be dismissed in so facile a fashion.
If you haven't read Chomsky, or better yet listened to him, I strongly recommend you do so. What he has to say is important.
The newsworthiness of this story is questionable, especially since Chomsky himself says "I don't pay a lot of attention to polls," but it did remind me that I've been thinking a lot about Chomsky and his political writings (notably "Manufacturing Consent") for the last few years.
It used to be that I'd dismiss some of his musings on secret wars in Central America and the role of corporate power in America as "conspiracy talk," but the deeper we get into the corrupt Bush administration's follies, the more evident it becomes that Noam Chomsky knows what he is talking about, and should not be dismissed in so facile a fashion.
If you haven't read Chomsky, or better yet listened to him, I strongly recommend you do so. What he has to say is important.
3 Comments:
I haven't read Noam yet so I can't comment on secret wars in Central America. I can however comment on not so secret wars in South America. During my stint with the Marines it was a commonly known 'secret' that we were sending troops down to Columbia and other areas for "training missions". The unit I personally was involved with ('89-'92) crewed Assault Support Patrol Boats which ran drug interdiction missions.
I am also glad that Richard Dawson is alive and well, I always thought he commited suicide. ;)
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This reminds me of when I was working at B&N some "collige edumakated" schmo thought he would be the big man in front of his girlfriend and ask me about NORM CHOMPSKY books.
He was looking over my shoulder as I typed in the correct spelling of the name and loudly said "NO NO !! NO!! Chompsky! C-H-O-"
"No, trust me, sir... it's CHOMSKY" I said in my very best I won't talk down to you but only because you're a cusomter and I don't need anymore shit today voice.
As I was walking him to the section, he then started in about how it's not going to be the right books at which point I tuned him out.
He didn't believe me until I put a few books in his hand by NOAM CHOMSKY.
Gosh but I hate the general public.
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