The conference at the Marmara where Chomsky spoke was called Media, War, and Democracy, and was chaired by writer Orhan Pamuk, author of "My Name is Red" (a historical thriller that's a cross between The Name of the Rose and Satanic Verses). Today, Chomsky gets hosted by my former employer, Bilgi U., another rich-kid rehab college (Unfortunately, these are the only institutions that actually pay something resembling a salary and provide the hardware and software I need to teach.) He's being mobbed by all our ex-con intellectuals and seems to be having a great time.
So, I think I can safely stand by my prediction that Chomsky's publisher will go scot-free.
Another important get-together was taking place at the Ciragan Palace on the Bosphorus, where foreign ministers from the EU and the OIC, as well as prominent intellectuals from Europe and the Islamic world responded to Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's invite for a conference called Civilisation and Harmony: The Political Dimension. The US was mercifully absent. Both the speeches and the photo ops picturing East-West conviviality successfully undercut the "Conflict of Civlisations" line pushed by Sharon and his flunkeys in D.C., and provided crictical support for the EU's political initiative in the ME. French Foreign Minister Vedrine coined the term "spirit of Istanbul" for all this, and EU ministers chatted amiably with "evil axis" ministers Naji Sabri and Kamal Harazi. Turkish PM Ecevit reiterated to journalists there that it would be very difficult for the US to attempt any action against Iraq without Turkey's OK.
Confusing? Goes with the territory. All in all, a nice day.
Hakki