Tag: Noam Chomsky

A small victory for free speech on Israel

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11 November 2019 — The Electronic Intifada

Chris Knight

Noam Chomsky has described attempts to limit what may be said at a London book launch as an “utter outrage.” Ashraf Amra APA images

When we first began organizing a launch event for a Noam Chomsky book, we suspected it might be targeted by pro-Israel activists.

After all the book, The Responsibility Of Intellectuals: Reflections by Noam Chomsky and Others after 50 Years, was based on a 2017 conference at University College London (UCL) that had been targeted by such activists.

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Once Again Chomsky and Achcar Provide a Service to the US Global Dictatorship

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26 July, 2019 — What’s Left

By Stephen Gowans

Noam Chomsky recently co-authored an op-ed in The New York Times, portraying the embattled Venezuelan government as an arbitrary undemocratic state, and calling upon it “to liberate all political prisoners, both military and civilian.” The occasion for the op-ed was the release from parole of Venezuelan judge María Lourdes Afiuni. Chomsky had weighed in on her case in 2011, in an interview with the British newspaper, The Observer.  The newspaper ran the interview under the headline “Noam Chomsky criticises old friend Hugo Chavez for ‘assault’ on democracy”. The linguist denied he had done this, calling the headline “a complete deception,” (fake news in the contemporary vernacular). It turned out the only deception was Chomsky’s denial.

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The Battle for Homs By Alexey Pilko

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7 March, 2012 — Voice of Russia

Recently, Syrian government forces completed the assault on Homs, a stronghold of anti-government military groups. According to media reports, a mop-up operation of the city is under way. However, even President Bashar al-Assad’s opponents did not dispute the fact that the Syrian army carried out a successful military operation last week that ended an almost month-long siege of a key strategic city.

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New York Times Finds Noam Chomsky Fit to Print

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22 December 2011 — Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting

Left-wing activist and author Noam Chomsky is in the New York Times today:

The American linguist Noam Chomsky, a prominent source of intellectual inspiration for President Hugo Chávez, made a new appeal on Wednesday for the release of María Lourdes Afiuni, a judge arrested two years ago by the secret intelligence police.

If you find it a little surprising that Chomsky’s views on international affairs would be reported in the Paper of Record, and if you’d be inclined to believe the Times finds his views newsworthy only because Chomsky is criticizing Chavez (which they’ve done before)… well, you might  not be the only one. Here’s what Chomsky said about it to the Guardian:

Despite his appeal for Afiuni’s release, Chomsky has been critical of the media’s coverage of the case. On Wednesday he suggested the case had received so much media attention only ‘because Venezuela is an official enemy’ [of the United States]. ‘I am involved in these appeals all the time but I get no calls unless it is an enemy of the US,’ Chomsky said. ‘This is more a comment on the media than on the case.’

Video: Documentary film with Joe Bageant opens

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3 August 2011 — Joe Bageant

Kingdom of Survival, a documentary film in which Joe Bageant is a focal point, will premier at the World Film Festival (Festival des Films du Monde) in Montreal, August 18 through August 28. The segments of the film with Joe were made more than a year ago. Before he died last March, Joe had seen an unfinished version of the documentary and told director M. A. Littler that he was pleased to be a part of the film. In addition to Joe, the documentary has interviews with Noam Chomsky and Mark Mirabello — plus a reclusive cabin builder, an anarchist book publisher, and a folk musician.

Here is a trailer for Kingdom of Survival. For those who don’t know Joe Bageant, he is the second speaker in this clip. Continue reading →

Who’s Who of Banned Visitors to Palestine

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20 May, 2010 — The Only Democracy?

[Editor’s Note: Contrary to what The Only Democracy? reports, as the image below quite clearly states, these people have not been barred from entering Israel, it’s the Occupied Territories. See ‘Noam Chomsky Was Not Prevented From Entering Israel’. I visited their site to get them to correct their misleading title but found that Comments was closed.]

banned.jpg

At this point, you could have quite the dinner party with the folks Israel leaves out! How do I get on that guest list?

UPDATE: Eitan Bronner has an article on the dustup inside Israel over whether it was such a great idea to ban Noam Chomsky, after doing likewise to Jewish American journalist Jared Maslin,  Falk, and Goldstone as well as my personal favorite, Spain’s most famous clown Ivan Prado. Maybe if Israel didn’t need to hide what it was doing to Palestinians, Elvis Costello wouldn’t need to stay away as well!

The decision Sunday to bar [Chomsky]from entering the West Bank to speak at Birzeit, a Palestinian university, ‘is a foolish act in a frequent series of recent follies,’ remarked Boaz Okun, the legal commentator of the newspaper Yediot Aharonot, in his Monday column.

Chomsky Denied Entry to Israel

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17 May, 2010 — The Only Democracy?

Well, it seems  the fact that it was Noam Chomsky (who is on JVP’s advisory board) who got denied entry to the West Bank because of his politics, the story has broken through to the mainstream media. Yet again, we have to say: “the only democracy in the Middle East?” – Rebecca Vilkomerson

See also:

IOA: http://www.israeli-occupation.org/ (from Haaretz)
Haaretz: http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/noam-chomsky-denied-entry-into-israel-1.290701
Ynetnews: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3890355,00.html
http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/chomsky-barred-from-west-bank-by-israel/

All the (un)usual suspects. What is RT.com up to? By William Bowles

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12 February, 2010

Full page ads in the London Independent? Though the word ‘Russia’ is nowhere to be seen, instead it’s RT.com. What we used to know as Russia Today is engaged in a no doubt expensive marketing and advertizing campaign here in the UK. But RT.com is a far cry from its crude beginnings four years ago as a mouthpiece for the Russian state. The question is, what kind of animal is it now? Continue reading →

Award Winning Movie: “SUPERPOWER” By Barbara-Anne Steegmuller

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28 November, 2009 — Global Research

Ms. Steegmuller won The Director Award for Superpower at the August Sun Film & TV Film Festival where Superpower was also nominated for Best Feature Documentary and The Grand Peace Award.  Superpower also received Honorable Mention in the Route 66 Film Festival, Best Feature Documentary from Moving Pictures Film & TV Contest, and was nominated for the Best North American Feature Documentary in the El Sawy, Egypt Film Festival.

A comprehensive film that asks tough questions and goes behind the scenes of America’s national security apparatus and military actions.

AVAILABLE TO ORDER THROUGH GLOBAL RESEARCH: (Special Offer of $22.00):

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Synopsis
Superpower: Far from a conspiracy film about the dangers of government secrets and regime change, this well-balanced film straddles the philosophical divide and allows viewers to understand the US quest for global dominance through economic and military strategy that is exposed through review of historical events, personal interviews, and analysis of US foreign policy.

The heart of Superpower lies in the analysis produced from a re-examination of history through a series of interviews with historians, documentarians, and academians such as Bill Blum, Chalmers Johnson, Michel Chossudovsky, and Noam Chomsky, and others with expertise in this subject such as the Executive Producer of The Unit, Command Sergeant (Ret.) Eric Haney; former Chief Economist for the US Department of Labor, Morgan Reynolds; three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Kathy Kelly; and Lt. Col. (Ret) Karen Kwiatkowski. Examining key moments in America’s history elicits a more consistent and plausible set of motives for US foreign policy actions guided by global expansion and military dominance, rather than the hyperbolic calls for democracy and totalitarian regime change that we have become so accustomed to hearing.

Should citizens trust that their government will keep them safe, a government that keeps secrets, and lies, in the name of national security? Does the simple act of withholding information lead to a world of eroding civil liberties and corruption? Superpower presents a view of US foreign policy, which lies in stark contrast to that depicted by corporate media, popular pundits, and US heads of state. With the fall of the Soviet Union, the US has emerged as the preeminent superpower of the world. Superpower illustrates how the United States has chosen to leverage that position to pursue a grand strategy which will ensure itself unilateral world domination through absolute economic and military superiority. It shows a consistent pattern of government deception.

The United States emerged from World War II with its industrial base still intact and the only nation with the atomic bomb. It was without question the most powerful country on earth. What was done with this unprecedented power, the effects it’s had on our Republic and the rest of the world is the story of Superpower.

TO ORDER (Special Offer of $22.00), click here to go to our Online Store.

Chomsky on Palestine and the region in the Obama era: the emerging framework

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29 October, 2009 — Political Philosophy Society

Time: 14:00
Location: Logan Hall, Institute of Education, Bedford Way
Speakers:
Prof. Noam Chomsky – Professor Emeritus in Linguistics at MIT; world renowned author and leading intellectual
Tariq Ali – Historian, Author and well known political commentator

The Imperial College Political Philosophy Society, in association with Palestine societies at UCL, SOAS, Goldsmiths, LSE, Imperial and Kings, proudly present one of the greatest political philosophers of all time: MIT Professor Emeritus Noam Chomsky, for what could be his last trip to London.

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Coups, UNASUR, and the U.S. By Noam Chomsky

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9 September, 2009 — Z Magazine

From a talk given in Caracas, Venezuela on August 29 (updated September 9)

The last time I had the opportunity to speak in Caracas — at long-distance that time — was about a year ago, right after the UNASUR (Union of South American Nations) meeting in Santiago in September 2008. That meeting was called “with the purpose of considering the situation in the Republic of Bolivia,” after an uprising backed by the traditional elites who had lost power in the impressive democratic elections of 2005. UNASUR condemned the violence and the massacre of peasants by the quasi-secessionist elements, and declared, “Their fullest and decided support for the constitutional government of President Evo Morales, whose mandate was ratified by a wide margin in the recent referendum.” These are the words of the final Declaration, which also warned that the participating governments — all of the South American Republics — “energetically reject and do not recognize any situation that implies an intent of civil coup d’état, the rupture of institutional order, or that compromises the territorial integrity of the Republic of Bolivia.” In response, President Morales thanked UNASUR for its support and observed that, “For the first time in South America’s history, the countries of our region are deciding how to resolve our problems, without the presence of the United States.”

True, and a fact of historic significance.

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Season of Travesties: Freedom and Democracy in mid-2009 By Noam Chomsky

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9 July, 2009 — chomsky.info/

June 2009 was marked by a number of significant events, including two elections in the Middle East: in Lebanon, then Iran. The events are significant, and the reactions to them, highly instructive.

The election in Lebanon was greeted with euphoria. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman gushed that he is “a sucker for free and fair elections,” so “it warms my heart to watch” what happened in Lebanon in an election that “was indeed free and fair — not like the pretend election you are about to see in Iran, where only candidates approved by the Supreme Leader can run. No, in Lebanon it was the real deal, and the results were fascinating: President Barack Obama defeated President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.” Crucially, “a solid majority of all Lebanese — Muslims, Christians and Druse — voted for the March 14 coalition led by Saad Hariri,” the US-backed candidate and son of the murdered ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, so that “to the extent that anyone came out of this election with the moral authority to lead the next government, it was the coalition that wants Lebanon to be run by and for the Lebanese — not for Iran, not for Syria and not for fighting Israel.” We must give credit where it is due for this triumph of free elections (and of Washington): “Without George Bush standing up to the Syrians in 2005 — and forcing them to get out of Lebanon after the Hariri killing — this free election would not have happened. Mr. Bush helped create the space. Power matters. Mr. Obama helped stir the hope. Words also matter.”

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MEDIA LENS ALERT: NEWS INTERNATIONAL THREATENS MEDIA LENS WITH LEGAL AND POLICE ACTION

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MEDIA LENS: Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media

July 10, 2008

On June 28 and July 3, Media Lens received repeated threats of both legal and police action from Alastair Brett, legal manager of News International’s Times Newspapers.

Noam Chomsky described the threat, pithily, as “pretty sick.” (Email, June 28, 2008) David Miller, professor of sociology at the University of Strathclyde and founder member of Spinwatch (www.spinwatch.org), commented:

“The response from the Times is an absolutely outrageous attempt to bully and censor you. It is not – unfortunately – surprising though, as the Murdoch empire is determined to attempt to snuff out those voices which try to bear witness to the truths of our age. Those that unmask naked power will be targeted by the Murdoch empire and its hench people. Maddox is the latest in a long line and is evidently a well networked member of the political elite – being a governor of the shadowy Ditchley Foundation. It is simply laughable that sending emails to complain about her distorted coverage constitutes harassment. Frankly, the drumbeat for war with Iran, to which she adds her voice, is much more like harassment, but of a whole nation. Its consequences are already more deadly serious for the people of Iran than any amount of emails from Medialens readers.” (Email, July 8, 2008)

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Media Lens: Flat Earth News: The Inside View – Part 1

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MEDIA LENS: Correcting for the distorted vision of the corporate media

March 5, 2008

Swallowing The Kennel

Nick Davies’s latest book, Flat Earth News, is a “no-holds-barred assault on the British media,” according to Michael Savage writing in the Independent. (Savage, ‘Kamal Ahmed: “Nick is a coward”. Ahmed bites back,’ The Independent, February 11, 2008)

In the same newspaper, Stephen Glover declared: “There can be no more serious allegations against journalists than those made by Mr Davies.” The book, he added, “is gold dust”. (Glover, ‘Damning allegations that, if true, bring disgrace upon ‘The Observer’,’ The Independent, February 4, 2008)

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