Chomsky on Chavez

[personman]

Chomsky said that he would not choose to use the same harsh oratory, but added that the Venezuelan leader was simply expressing the views of many in the world. And he said Chavez’s anger was understandable.

“The Bush administration backed a coup to overthrow his government,” he said. “Suppose Venezuela supported a military coup that overthrew the government of the United States? Would we think it was a joke?”

Proving that he was still up for a lively debate, Chomsky then went on to talk about income inequality in Latin America, the history of the United Nations, Iraq, Iran, Fidel Castro and, finally, the man who so fervently admires him, Chavez.

“I have been quite interested in his policies,” Chomsky said. “Personally, I think many of them are quite constructive.” Most important, he said, Chavez seems to have the overwhelming support of the people in his country. “He has gone through six closely supervised elections,” he said.

http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20060922101227133

[DaveJ]

1. Sounds like the correct response.

Not surprising.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

9. It's the kind of response we should have heard...

...from Dem leadership.

[The Count]

16. Harkin said the same.

[upi402]

19. i concur n/t

[Joanne98]

2. See! That's the way a PRO does it! K&R!

[Spazito]

3. Thanks for posting, I was wondering what Chomsky's response,...

if he was to give one, would be. I particularly liked this comment:

"Chomsky said he was glad that Chavez liked his book, but he would not describe himself as flattered. “We should look at ourselves through our own eyes and not other people’s eyes,” he said."

[IChing]

4. What would a linguist know about harsh oratory?

:sarcasm:

Well said Noam.

[me b zola]

5. k&r

:)

[LSparkle]

6. Gee, look what W did because Saddam tried to kill his daddy ...

Truly "pot/kettle" time here.

[focusfan]

41. The best part of W ran down his mommies leg

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

7. OK, I'm going to grow old, have plastic surgery, travel back to the past

and assume the name Noam Chomsky. That MUST be a future version of me. It's what I think to a tee.

Oh, and I'll have to learn a lot of linguistics, too. I guess I'll study Noam Chomsky's works in depth.

Whoa! Temporal loop! :crazy:

[Selatius]

8. Chomsky, always calm and collected.

I like his responses even in the heat of debate.

[herbbrown]

10. Pelosi and Rangold

Take a lesson. I suppose you know better than Noam.

[Eric J in MN]

13. His name is spelled Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D-NY)

NT

[scarletwoman]

11. Thanks for posting this! k & r (nt)

[Jcrowley]

12. Context

What separates this from the various screeds against Chavez coming from numerous places is that there is a discussion of context which can lead to an understanding of why what was said was said.

What is also missing in the understanding from those who simply slap pejoratives upon Chavez is even a minimal understanding of how metaphor and theatre is woven into the fabric of political life in Latin America.
Here everything is uber-literal.

[truth2power]

25. A very concise and thoughtful post. ..

You are exactly right. "Here everything is uber-literal." What Chavez said makes sense in terms of his cultural orientation. Not that most Americans understand that there are actually other ways of looking at the world.

On reading your post, my first thought was of the short story "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings", by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. An example of Magical Realism, which weaves together the supernatural and the ordinary. Metaphor is critical.

[EFerrari]

38. Theater woven into political life in Latin America?!

What do we think C-SPAN is?

:)

[ms liberty]

14. K&R ...

I love Noam Chomsky. He always puts the issue in context and discusses it with a sense of calm detachment that can only be found in a true academic. He's instructive and balanced. He's just too cool, and he's been cool since before it was cool to be cool.

[UTUSN]

15. 6 elections!!!!!111 - how many constitutions???? n/t

[1932]

18. One very good one. Fascist coup-for-a-day tore it up, but Chavez reinstat-

ed it.

[stepnw1f]

27. Give It Up Already (nt)

[UTUSN]

29. Say what? Who's supposed to give up what, already? n/t

[gorbal]

17. He answered much like I would

Accept with slightly larger words, ehem...but seriously, who cares about a few jokes Chavez said next to serious subjects like income inequality, and military coups supported by our own government?

I like how Chomsky only seem to care about what matters, and not so much about decorum.

[NotGivingUp]

40. ABSOLUTELY!!! it's UNBELIEVABLE how most of the discussions

here are just getting past chavez saying bush was the devil. it's ridiculous. i hope that people will look at his whole speech instead of just the part that the msm directed us to look at. let's beat them at their own game and look at the real issues at stake here.

[newsguyatl]

20. THIS is how idiot dem "leaders" pelosi and rangel

should have responded... much like senator harkin of iowa.

instead they looked like loose cannons, appeasers, and political opportunists.

[Vidar]

22. Hear, hear!

[doctor_garth]

36. the poster is correct

Pelosi and Rangel made fools of themselves, insincere, cowardly and inexcusable,

[Vidar]

39. Welcome to DU. Couldn't agree more.

[Vidar]

21. Despite what conservative pundits write, Chomsky has always

been the voice of reason.

[populistdriven]

23. This would be a terrific response for any democrat

[Viva_La_Revolution]

24. 12:00 pm Sunday, he's on Book TV

Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance
Noam Chomsky

From the United Nations Correspondents Association in New York City, Noam Chomsky discusses the "Bush doctrine" and its implications. In particular, Professor Chomsky addresses the Bush administration's space policy and its overall efforts to expand U.S. influence and power. He also talks about the case of British whistleblower Katherine Gun, who leaked a memo stating that the NSA had been spying on UN Security Council members, and discusses the charges against the Cuban 5, who were convicted in the U.S. of espionage in 2001. On September 20, 2006, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, speaking in front of the U.N. General Assembly, praised Professor Chomsky's book, "Hegemony or Survival," and recommended that Americans read it.

Noam Chomsky, a professor of linguistics and philosophy at MIT, is the author of numerous books on U.S. foreign policy, including "American Power and the New Mandarins," "Political Economy of Human Rights" (two volumes, written with Edward Herman), "Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians," and "Pirates and Emperors, Old and New: International Terrorism in the Real World." His most recent books are "Failed States" and "Perilous Power."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2200921#2201092

[ooglymoogly]

26. happy to vote this up

one more vote for common sense

[understandinglife]

28. 6, repeat, "...six closely supervised elections" ....

.... you see, they actually have a democracy in Venezuela.

Recommended.


"Not One Line Of Software Between A Voter And A Valid Election"

[mhatrw]

30. How har was that? n/t

[Nikki Stone 1]

31. Hey, I want to see the statement on Chavez from Chomsky's publisher!

The Venezuelan President really knows how to move product. :)

[upi402]

33. He's got a little capitalist in him

When it comes to selling truth, human dignity, and economic justice.

[killbotfactory]

35. Chavez deserves a gift-basket, at least.

[Nikki Stone 1]

43. Old Noam should share some of the profits.

:evilgrin:

[Cleita]

32. Thanks!

eom

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

34. i interviewed chomsky on chavez not too long ago

he said a lot of the same then. we specifically talked about rumsfeld comparing chavez to hitler and labeling morales as dangerous. i'll post a link to it here, of course, as soon as it becomes published.

[Justice Is Comin]

37. I always like to get the McGlaughlin Group's take on hot issues

except I normally moon that Tony McDoofas whenever he talks. But even he was tongue tied over trying to come up with a way to twist facts that Hugo's remarks weren't damaging to bush.

On the scale of 1-10 on damage to bush, (McGlaughlin's ever present SAT litmus test for metaphysical damage, lol), the London lug nut said nine or ten .

McGlaughlin was floored by the surprise answer. Most everybody else said the same thing. And this to sum it up, "never have we been more hated in the world."

Wow, went to the refrigerator and got a beer to savor the moments.

[Leopolds Ghost]

42. Odd that Chomsky, an anarchist, support Chavez, an authoritarian populist

Just show you Chomsky still believes that the US is
the primary purveyor of misfortune in the world,
never mind all the other authoritarian leaders out there.

Chavez' greatest similarity is to Huey Long.

I don't have a problem with him, compared to alot of
other authoritarian leaders who can't seem to let go
of power. The similarities are numerous, however.

Also,

Is Chomsky in ill health or something?

Ten years ago, he was still teaching.