Current Events

vpk

that's an interesting take on japan and usa. i had not come across it before. i wonder where it comes from.

on chomsky: it may be easier to 'forgive' him if you take a few steps back and see the 'natural' side of siding with resistance in the face of occupation or interference regardless of ideology. i think in part this is because this resistance will happen no matter what the ideology of the invader or the defender. it is the violent act of invasion that causes a violent reaction. ideology has almost nothing to do with it.

analogy: among nations, invasion is like rape; diplomacy is like love! 

no amount of flowery language or gifts (ideology) can turn rape into love! 

so a democratic usa is still a rapist, and an islamic afghanistan is still the victim, and should be protected by the full force of law.

NP

Regarding Chomsky. I am not picking him as my enemy;. I said he has a right to his view. I would be angry at him if his opinion on Iran had mattered. However it did not. He is an ideologue; a smart one but nonetheless an ideologue.

Now whether he is anti-American depends on who you ask. I am fine with saying he is not. He does represent an ideology which is fed up with America. I understand it; there are valid points. You know those points as well as I do. America has done a ton oa bad things. However the next step he makes is to have sympathy for anti-American or if you want anti-Imperialist movements. That step is whever I disagree. Just being anti-Imperialist does not make a movement good. IRI is an fine example of this.

Islamism is anti-Imperialist but seeks to replace it with something worse. That is not right. If you want to replace something then pick something better!

Next time around in Iran I hope we pick something better. And not based on ideas by angry warrior :-)

NP

Regarding US / Japan. The "dragging" was pre-planned. FDR wanted the US in the war against Germans/Japan. He knew the population will not buy it. So they baited Japan and got them to attack. Then kept the information so it will do a lot of damage and piss off the population. It worked and the rest is history.

There is a difference between seeing them Come and calling them

SAINTS ! ... à la Ghandi ...

Fereydoun Farrokhzad - Irani Boodan

Oh and Add Your Favorite Clueless Leveretts to the Lot  of "Intelligent" ANN TELECTUALS !

I rest my case !

Pro Bakhtiar Demonstrations

norooz

usa was also dragged into the war by the japanese attack. they would have stayed out of hitler's way otherwise.

darius

both chomsky and foucault were totally correct in seeing the islamic revolution as a path-breaking event that would influence the world for decades to come. we wished and still wish they were wrong, but they were not. as social and political scientists, they would have failed in their academic responsibilities if they had not seen this trend coming. most other 'scientists' did fail in exactly this way. there is no need to pick on these guys for being more intelligent.

hezbollah is a sound national resistance movement that has saved lebanon on a number of occasions. throwing their name around like 'dirt' only undermines any credibility you may claim to have. neither iran nor hezbollah is a 'problem'. the 'problem' is foreign occupation and ethnic cleansing, darius.

dingodaddy Where did you see me claim Chomsky wasn't intelligent

?

The Video was simply to illustrate that Chomsky and Foucault were of the same generation and more or less belonged to the same school of thought.

Chomsky's Interest in What was going on in Iran at the time was not triggered by last years Green Upheaval. It is fully known that these fellows were "compagnon de route" of the Islamic Revolution in it's early stages be it because they were staunch opponents of the Shah's regime which they percieved (and still do) as a puppet of the "Imperial" Western Powers specifically of America.

Chomsky's sympathy for the Hezbollah Cause and Hassan Nassrallah shows that what he advocates as a solution to the Middle East problems are not compatible with how Iranians percieve the same problems hence an incompatibility of vision for Iran's future between what he and his likeminds ( including my own namesake: Dorughe Akoond Mohsen Kadivar! ) advocate

and what the majority of Iranians advocate today and aspire too: A SECULAR IRAN.

Chomsky very much like fellow colleague Norman Filkenstein is popular in the Arab World and amongst the IRI reformists because he is a guilt ridden Jew who has empathy with the Arab cause and sees Israel as a "problem" not a "Solution" to the Arab Israeli Conflct, very much as he views America as a "Problem' and Not a "Solution" to the World hence his recurrent critics of what he percieves as American "Imperialism".

except that in the case of Filkenstein he at least seems a little less naive as to what Iran's Regime fundamentally advocates and has tried to honestly challenge some of their awkward interpretations of History:

HOLOCAUST A MYTH: Michelle Renouf on Iranian SAHAR TV

What Chomsky and his like minds ( Niloufar Farsi and Co) See Fit to the Arab cause is Not necessarily what fits the challenges of Iranian Society be it today no more than  it was back in 1979:

Yasser Arafat Hails Iranian Revolution

That YOU as an Iranian ( if that is the case) fail to see the obvious correlation between Chomsky's pro Palestinian stance simply on grounds of mere intellectual and philosophical discourse and his indirect endorsement of the Islamic Revolution and the Republic it created underlines either your youthful naivety or outstanding ignorance of Iran's history in the past 30 years ...

Even Intelligent People can be Wrong ... that's been the case of Chomsky on this specific matter (i.e: Iran) for past 30 years ... 

But then he is probably trying to carry the flame of the late and equally clueless Foucault in his infatuation with the ideals of the Islamic Revolution which contrary to what you may think was not highjacked by the mullahs but deeply rooted in it's Anti Iranian objectives from Day One:

Hichi !!!

HISTORY FORUM: Mashallah Ajoudani on Intellectuals and the Revolution

And Only a minor Few  saw the danger it represented:

pictory: Bakhtiar Denounces Bazargan's Provisionary Government in exile (1979)

Fortunately the Iranian Nation is Waking Up From Such Pro Islamic Nonesense :

Be it Outside Iran:

BAS LES VOILES: Iranian writer and activist Chahrdott Djavann denounces Euro Islamists

Or Inside IRan: 

GIVE ME BACK MY COUNTRY: Bold Poem by a fellow compatriot denounces Ahmadinejad's Iran 

I hope that Chomsky and his Like minds Live Long enough to see it !

Best,

DK 

He makes sense. He also

He makes sense. He also mentioned how the demand from Europe after the WWII busted US economy.

I got my answer. I always wondered why US didn't get involved in the war to fight against Germany until all the European countries were destroyed.  It was to make sure all the countries and factories were destroyed to create demand for US, since US was the only country with the technology and factories to build Europe again and that gave US not just economical but also political domination in the world.

Darius, what is the point of that video?

It's an interesting intellectual debate among two giants. I watched the whole video and IRI didn't even come up. Am I missing your point about Chomsky endorsing IRI?

I always like to know if something someone says is actually wrong, or is it just that we don't like it? I really think a lot of us Iranians are like that.

Thanks.

Kashk!

Ok, Noam (and your esteemed cronies) the u.s is evil, imperialistic, etc. but, unlike your buddy iri, it doesn't haul you away in the middle of the night and throw your skinny behind in some dark torture chamber for speaking against it.

Scumbag!

Brutalities of the regime did not start last June. They have been been going on from the day IR came to power. Since last June it has become fashionable for many to pay lip service to the Iranian people's struggle. Also Iran has some of the best conspiracy theorists who never stop talking about "machinations" of the world's powers without getting down to the business of overthrowing the regime. Historically Iranians have had to deal with such machinations and understand them well! The same Chomsky denied Ahmadinejad's threats against Israel. To the likes of you that is not important, but to most intelligent Iranians it means provocation!!! The regime is trying hard to invite a war through all kinds of provocations which you don't seem to have heard of. Scumbags like you would even deny the fact that it was as a result of IR's constant provocations that Saddam initiated the war that lasted for 8 years. And would also deny that could have ended very quickly, but the regime needed it very badly to consolidate it's grip on power. Millions of lives were ruined and there are jerks like you who would avoid mentioning such facts, simply because you think you know better.

vpk

aziz you really do pick your 'enemies'! chomsky is basically a
human rights advocate. he does not favour any country when it comes to his principles. at least this is how i read him. chomsky only picks on america so much because in terms of the right to human life, usa has the worst record globally. the right to life is the most basic of all rights. usa is constantly involved in killings and war.

his view of power is also fascinating. i heard him say once that we
should remove existing political power structures because they
fundamentally fail to provide security for the great majority of people.
this is a huge point he is making. the most basic justification for the
existence of the state is security or law and order. if the state
cannot even provide security, then what the heck is the reason for
willingly subjecting ourselves to its power/law-and-order? sheer fear?
slavery?

anyhow, chomsky is not anti-american. he is anti-imperialist. he
wouldn't trust any person or country with too much power. i think he
just wants us to evolve a little further than the current mess.

Chomsky & Michel Foucault were infatuated by Islamic Revolution

handsome raoul

i thought causing a stir was my job! you did well there :)

chomsky is an outstanding american. a great mind and a greater soul.

Chomsky and Hassan Nassrallah

Hassan nasrallah, bitching against Persian history

Whom he has befriended ...

//frontpagemag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01...

Chomsky visits Hezbolllah Headquarters in 2006:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-jh2R-_eQY

Chomsky

has attacked the IR in the past for its violation of human rights. The clip above is mostly about U.S. continuing with its post war doctrine, however with some difficulties...

Most of us here would love to see the IR gone, dismantled, and totally destroyed, but such desire should not result in approval of everything and anything U.S. does.

It's disturbing to see that we have quite a few Iranian - teabaggres here. To these guys "veiled and unvelied," I say, the professor has bigger chunks in his stool than all of you combined.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCvylG2MWOQ

What Kind of Threat ? Here is a Simulation Naom Jaan ;0)

S Korea warns North after clash

//www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-11823...

Just to

be clear I do not support Chomsky on his positions. He is a loudmouth. By training is is a linguist and a good one. However in politics he fails. Because he puts ideology over reality. He thinks: USA bad; therefore anti-USA good. Simple minded and foolish. But as I said before he has a right to his opinions no matter how idiotic they are.

Raoul: I know you are not a democrat. You must be one of those lefty Greens :-)

Another "know all-know nothing"

Had done enough harm in the Balkans. May he shut up for once.

Veiled Prophet of Khorasan

I know all that and my comment was intended to 'lit a little fire.'
I am not a democrat.  I support our freedom of speech.  :-)
Happy smiles to you,
Sean

Raoul1955

You have no idea what you are talking about.

Chomsky is an American and lives in Massachusetts and is a professor at MIT.  He was born in America. He has every right to his opinion. In the USA we have something known as "freedom of speech". Which you obviously do not seem to get.

Iran is NOT an Arab nation. Someone who has supposedly been reading IC should know this.

If by now you have not figure this out then you have no place on IC.

What is this turning into? Dumb and dumber?

Good interview, enjoy watching the REAL news more and more

The subject of interview was global dominance and I personally think that the world would be served better if it was bipolar as any single dominant power corrupts.

Mehrdad

I assume

That Chomsky is NOT an American, and does NOT live in the US, otherwise he should renounce his U.S. Citizenship and move to one of those wonderful Arabic nations and enjoy a long and happy life there; Iran, for example, would be a nice choice for him.  :-) 
I also suggest that all those who hate America to move to one of those Arabic nations and enjoy life there.

great interview

"what is the iranian threat? this should be the headline in all newspapers."

indeed.

but look how so many 'iranians' in usa do nothing but play up this alleged 'threat'. so sad...

Good!

Now that we know what the US threat means let's concentrate on what the regime has done to Iran AND Iranianias. The latest figure I recently read about Iranians in exile stands at 8,000,000. The economy, except for the sectors controlled by the Revolutionary and Basij corps, is in shambles, inflation is on the rise, unemployment has skyrocketed, the number of Iranians living under poverty line is increasing by the day--some put it at 40%, blatant cronyism bordering on economic and political apartheid, lack of any democratic freedoms, rampant abuse of power by the militarists and mullahs in power, blatant autocratic repression of dissent, disregard for the most basic human rights, torturing, raping, maiming and killing political prisoners, reducing the whole of Iran into one big police state, etc., etc. is the status quo in Iran. Right or wrong, Chomsky's analysis is based on his world outlook and has no bearing on the DOMESTIC situation in OUR country. He can even go further back in the history of the US and keep"muckraking" as much as he likes. STILL that does not change a bit what the IR is doing domestically. If he really cared about people, he would say a word or two about the regime's atrocities with regards to Iranians. But he would rather not.

USA always should be #1

I myself would do anything to keep USA #1, I love this country, but People like U some years from now would advocate an attack against USA.

What is wrong with the US world order?

Personally much rather live in a world dominated by US and its ideology than that of one dominated by Iran, North Korea, or failed dictatorships like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, China, Turkey or Brazil.

Manufacturing Consent!

His best work is Manufacturing Consent:

//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing_Consent...