Noam Chomsky on anti-semitism in the West

He says anti-semitism "barely exists" in the West (in today's Independent.

http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/story.jsp?story=469811

Hawk:
If I'd have known you had a picture of Noam Chomsky on your wall, I wouldn't have bothered trying to understand where the confidence in your "youthful" views came from. How did you come to discover Chomsky (in high school, I presume) and why did he appeal to you so strongly?

No rational person can take him seriously when he says things like there's almost no anti-semitism in the West. A google search on "synagogue bomb XXX" where XXX is almost any country in the west should settle it. Here's a WAPO story on the EU report on anti-semitism.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19869-2003Nov28.html

Here's what you have to explain if you really support Chomsky:

http://www.newcriterion.com/archive/21/may03/chomsky.htm

Umm. Sorry. I'm barred from discussing this. Fiat by Empath.

PM/IM me or come to my forum if you want. I'm trying to control myself.

And no, I don't agree with everything Chomsky says. He is biased like everyone else. But I do respect a vast majority of his opinions.

Oh, I think that Empath would let you answer this... He just doesn't want you (and me) taking other people's threads so far off topic.

Funny that it would be Empath to have shut down that thread though, since he is the most "liberal" of the Moderators and Admins*... I have an idea as to why that is but will leave that to him to state if he so desires.


I do, however, find this quote from the last article Alan linked to quite apropos to recent discussions:

"In short, Chomsky believes that only he and those who share his radical perspective have the ability to rise above the illusions that keep everyone else slaves of the system. Only (t)he** can see things as they really are."
____________________________________________________________

* At least of the ones foolish enough to discuss political and philosophical stuff upon occasion. I can't speak of the ones who are too wise to stray from flashlights and technical stuff.

** letters in parentheses are my addition

well i haven't familiarized myself with Chomsky too heavily.. but what i've had in my possession i've been fascinated with.

i find him to be very quoteable.

but like hawk said, he's bias just like the next man, and i don't apply his words the same way he believes them.

Hmm...you know now that I think about this thread some more...maybe I should quote the wise words Empath so kindly said to me:

"Your actions are an attempt to use CPF as a vehicle to promote your political agenda."

"...we certainly will not permit you to redefine CPF as a political soapbox for your agenda."

"Because I don't think you've demonstrated enough wisdom to comprehend the difference between political expression and political campaigning."

Now, why hasn't Empath closed down this thread? Oh...I don't know why. Because it's not a "soapbox [for you] to dominate with [your] same negative political philosophies over and over and over[?]" I suppose only positive things about this country should go without a warning to close and ban?

Another thing which is readily apparent...of course...is that this thread manifestly and prototypically represents an example of baiting. Where has Empath gone? He's nowhere to be seen!

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

[ QUOTE ]
BlindedByTheLite said:
......
i find him to be very quoteable.

.....

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I find him very quotable too:

"The U.S. is one of the most extreme religious fundamentalist cultures in the world."

"In much of the world the U.S. is regarded as a leading terrorist state, and with good reason."

"Capitalism doesn't meet human needs, and thus is a failure for all but a narrow sector."

"Market forces will destroy what is of value in human life unless sharply constrained."

"If you look back century ago, there were very few conservatives and the United States doesn't have a conservative tradition.."

"Most people are pretty unhappy. Just look at polls. More than 80 percent of the population think that the political system doesn't function."

"The United States has the most miserly aid program in the world."

"In the US, for example, more than 80% of the population regard the economic system as inherently unfair."

"Neo-Nazis and neo-Stalinists are on a far higher moral level..."

Agree with 1, 2, some of 3, mostly 4, don't understand 5, 6 probably true, 7 yes. Prove where you got 8 and 9 for me.

[ QUOTE ]
hawkhkg11 said:
....[/b] Where has Empath gone? He's nowhere to be seen!

[/ QUOTE ]

Empath is not paid to be here on any particular schedule, He is not paid at all, nor are any of the other moderators or Administrators.

SOME people have a life outside of CPF.

8 is from a Chomsky interview with Red and Black Revolution (An Irish Communist magazine) May 1995 by Kevin Doyle

9 from an online interview; Znet forum, March 2002

Don't tell me, show me. Without context I can't judge his words.

Uh-oh...so few posts and already Nazis have been mentioned! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Just because someone isn't posting, doesn't mean they aren't watching. Let's not rehack the past...the horse is already dead, but funny it looks like it's breathing! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

...back behind the curtain I go...

Confronting the Empire: Noam Chomsky

We are meeting at a moment of world history that is in many ways unique – a moment that is ominous, but also full of hope.

The most powerful state in history has proclaimed, loud and clear, that it intends to rule the world by force, the dimension in which it reigns supreme. Apart from the conventional bow to noble intentions that is the standard (hence meaningless) accompaniment of coercion, its leaders are committed to pursuit of their "imperial ambition," as it is frankly described in the leading journal of the foreign policy establishment – critically, an important matter. They have also declared that they will tolerate no competitors, now or in the future. They evidently believe that the means of violence in their hands are so extraordinary that they can dismiss with contempt anyone who stands in their way. There is good reason to believe that the war with Iraq is intended, in part, to teach the world some lessons about what lies ahead when the empire decides to strike a blow -- though "war" is hardly the proper term, given the array of forces.

NOTE: **The rest of this piece is edited out to comply with CPF Rules. You may continue reading it here.**

Edited by Sigman, Cafe Moderator

.

Blinded : You have broken copyright laws and the rules of CPF, as well as boring the heck out of 95% of the people that will look at this thread.

I suggest that you repair that last post before one of the moderators or Admins see it.

If in doubt see here: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/Rules.html

Well guys, I guess you can all rest easy now. I just got an e-mail from Hawkhkg11 saying that Empath has banned him. He asked that I post this for him since he could no longer do it for himself. He wanted you all to know why he could no longer comment on this issue on CPF.

I state this in the form of a fact only, with absolutely no commentary on it what-so-ever, because a few months back, it was oh so conveniently made against the rules of the forum to discuss the banning of anyone on the forum, so I don't intend to discuss it, just to state the fact. You all can make of this fact what you will and draw your own conclusions...

If anyone would care to further discuss the topic of this thread or Hawks banning, I would advise that the discussion be done off of CPF and on Hawk's message board at: www.the-hegemony.com

Good night.

I would guess that Chomsky is probably no big fan of this web site:

http://www.littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/weblog.php

Raven

The above long article published on Znet, Feb 1, 2003 is available here.

It is probably now 96% of CPF is bored--but I will try and slug through this (hope it does not cause permanent damage /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif).

-Bill

Read through it and the best description for the above article that I can come up with is "disinformation". A combination of facts, omissions, exaggerations and leaps in logic woven together to support his theology.

[ QUOTE ]
X-CalBR8 said:
If anyone would care to further discuss the topic of this thread or Hawks banning, I would advise that the discussion be done off of CPF and on Hawk's message board at: www.the-hegemony.com


[/ QUOTE ]
"Excellent suggestion!"

...and thanks to Silviron for providing a convenient link to the CPF rules. Pay particular attention to rules #4 & #5.

Do we need to close this thread or can it be allowed to live a little longer within bounds? However that 6000 word post will need to be fixed, eh? Include a little bit of it and reference all the correct stuff to make it legal...or...

Whilst I have some personal involvement in the subjects discussed in this thread, I find it totally boring! Let's get back to the flashlights and other gadgets. Thank you.