2006-06-25

Understatement of the week

There are flaws in this book.

Jonathan Freedland in his review of Chomsky's Failed States, New York Times, June 25, 2006
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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find it amusing that Freeland writes a review in which he thoroughly trashes the Chomsky's book and then ends his article with this comment '"It's hard to imagine any American reading this book and not seeing his country in a new, and deeply troubling, light."

If the book is such garbage, why should it convince anybody of anything?

I'm not an American. Perhaps that is why Chomsky's anti-American diatribes leave me cold. Every time I read a new offering from Chomsky,its Chomsky,not America, that" I see in a new, and deeply troubling, light."

28/6/06 02:51
T K Vogel said...

Well put. My feeling exactly. Strange review. Thing is, of course, that Chomsky is incredibly popular in Europe. They don't seem to be cold to his anti-Americanism. Any German bookseller will have shelves of Chomsky and Michael Moore, and that's their entire US section (perhaps together with some 9/11 conspiracy theories that are also very popular here).

28/6/06 10:56
Katja R. said...

Chomsky is not amusing.
I like Micheal Moore though, and I know a fairly right wine American who loves him because of his sheer ourrageiousnes. T.V. Nation was a great show!

acsez is today's Klingon word, it's what Klingons say when they are feeling pain from cognitive dissonance

29/6/06 01:01
cãorafeiro said...

In Portugal, people that like Chomsky are left wing nostalgic people.

also people who tend to buy conspiracy theories.

the important thing for them is his anti-americanism.

they don't realize that is his way to make a living, and that, in fact, by making those criticisms, he is legitimizing the american democracy, because his criticisms did not transform him into some kind of dissident but rather made him a star.

but, in Europe even among people that don't like his anti-american ideas, he is like a a sacred cow.

nobody wants do deconstruct his work in order to show how flawed are his ideas.

those that like him are completely acritica towards him.

those that don't like him or disagree with him use him in order to portray themselves as people that are tolerant towards different ideas...

29/6/06 14:35
Bg anon said...

In Serbia Chomsky is used by the deeper thinkers in the Socialist Party of Serbia and the Serbian Radical Party.

And I agree with other comments made here on this topic. Chomsky does appear to be getting worse with age. But then again most become more obstinate and fixed in their views as they get older until one day they forget what it was they were fighting for in the first place. Then many end up spending the rest of their lives trying to justify holding a certain position.

Michael Moore is great as a sort of centre left populist response to right wing and pure neo-liberalism but thats about all. He doesnt have the answers but at least he makes some average type people think a little more about things than they might do.

You cant help but enjoy his show with the David / Goliath thing going on.

30/6/06 16:57

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