With regard to public intellectuals, I may have forgotten an important one with regard to Harold Pinter.
Here is a link to a transcript of a talk he moderated between Noam Chomsky and John Pilger:
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/cularch/xalmeida.html
An exceprt from Pinter:
"As far as But it raises another question for me and that is the question of language and how we've been educated to understand these facts. To give one example: I met a diplomat the other day from a European country and we had a word about Guatemala, and he said things were "better" in Guatemala. People often say things like that. I asked him what he thought about the American invasion of Guatemala in 1954, which blatantly and crudely overthrew a democratically elected government by force, and he said: "Oh 1954, that's a very long time ago."And I feel that what we're faced with is a calculated and manipulated blanket on the truth, which not only infects diplomats, but also the media."
Also, a more recent poem on the invasion of Iraq (it's poetry week on LBO).
God Bless America
Here they go again, The Yanks in their armoured parade Chanting their ballads of joy As they gallop across the big world Praising America's God.
The gutters are clogged with the dead The ones who couldn't join in The others refusing to sing The ones who are losing their voice The ones who've forgotten the tune.
The riders have whips which cut. Your head rolls onto the sand Your head is a pool in the dirt Your head is a stain in the dust Your eyes have gone out and your nose Sniffs only the pong of the dead And all the dead air is alive With the smell of America's God.
Brian Dauth Queer Buddhist Resister