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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dennis P. wrote:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>But his robotic approach to the deaths of thousands in Manhattan was
dreadful, as was his immediate attempt to shift the focus to Clinton's bombing
in Sudan. There was a lack of humane feeling to his initial <BR>responses that
left me, and others I know, cold. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>--ya see, I don't buy that, not even a little. It
was just one more excuse to attack anything but Chomsky's position on the coming
farce known as the "war on terror". One only has to look at the reaction
to Barbara Kingsolver or even Susan Sontag to see that the reaction to Chomsky's
"robotic approach" was a distraction from substantive criticisms of how US
policy makers manipulatively reacted to 911. We said it at the time
and we were right, Chomsky could have shown up on TV wrapped in a flag and
blubbering uncontrollably, Bill Bennet still would have been attacking his
integrity for having the audacity to criticise US policy. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>That reality aside, Chomsky is almost always
robotic in his speeches on any topic. He takes seriously the role of
dispassionate critic of capitalism, something that was not very much in vogue at
the time. That is to say, at the time, it was not very popular to be laying out
why we could very reasonably expect that the Bush administration and congress
would manipulate the 911 tragedy to rebolster the power of US hegemony. As
far as I can tell, whether we are talking about Afghanistan or Iraq, Chomsky has
been proven correct. The leaders of the US have manipulated 911 to the
advantage of US empire almost masterfully. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>By the way, as I write this I am on the ground
lying prostrate blubbering uncontrollably for the victims of 911...well,
actually i'm not, but on 911 I did my bit by going to a peace gathering
sponsored by Peaceful Tomorrows....They told me that they prefer sincere
critiques of war and violence that can prevent another 911 instead of
ostentatious displays of nationalism...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>BTW, when is Hitch gonna write a nasty screed
against the Peaceful Tomorrows Cabal? That would really be delicious...bet
Horowitz would take it and pay him double what he gets at the Nation for such
work.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Steve</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
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