Chomsky On Crisis and Hope

I have read of Chomsky for many years although I have only read a few of his 100+ scholarly books. He fascinates me because I feel you really have to be on to something for the huge corporate interests to spend as much energy as they have demonizing him. He's been slyly cast to the masses as a "communist" for his freedom-advocating and egalitarian ideas.

As usual, I prefer to form my own opinions rather than buy into the pre-digested ones offered on a tray by the TV talking heads.

From Democracy Now, the War and Peace Report with Amy Goodman.

QUOTE Noam Chomsky turned eighty years old this past December. He has written over a hundred books. But despite being called "the most important intellectual alive today” by the New York Times, he is rarely heard or quoted in the mainstream media.

Today we spend the hour with Noam Chomsky. He spoke recently here in New York at an event sponsored by the Brecht Forum. More than 2,000 people packed into the Riverside Church in Harlem to hear his address. The title of his talk, “Crisis and Hope: Theirs and Ours.” This is Noam Chomsky. UNQUOTE
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Andrew Bacevich Warns Against Escalation of War in Afghanistan

From Democracy Now, May 11, 2009.

Conservative Historian Andrew Bacevich Warns Against Obama’s Escalation of War in Afghanistan and Intensifying Use of Air Power in Region

Less than a week after US air strikes killed over a hundred Afghan civilians, President Obama’s top security adviser, General James Jones, said Sunday that the US will continue its strikes in Afghanistan, despite sharp criticism about rising civilian casualties from Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Democracy Now's Amy Goodman speaks to Boston University professor and retired military colonel Andrew Bacevich about why Obama’s plans in Afghanistan and Pakistan are counterproductive.

AntiWar Activists Charged With Terrorism

It seems to me that kids and hippies who are patriotic enough care about how this country is doing and who disgree with our current foreign policy in a way guaranteed by the Constitution (peaceful demonstration) are obviously not terrorists. If there were plans to commit violence, the violence planned should be commensurate with a realistic definition of terrorism if the planners are indeed charged with such in a court of law.

Letting the police shoot pepper spray point blank at people who were peaceful, and who are in the streets out of high levels of concern for the country, as I have seen on YouTube at the RNC -
is not an "American" scene.

Modern Definition of Martial Law: Martial law is when military-like actions are taken upon a nations own citizens and constitutional and human rights are violated on a regular basis as part of a standard operating procedure (SOP).It is when you cannot protest without a "permit" and your freedom of speech is silenced.It is basically what they call a "police state". It is when the "police" are trained by and act like covert federal officials/military police rather than the civilian peace keepers they are supposed to be.

Democracy Now's Amy Goodman Arrested On Dubious Grounds in Minneapolis

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now - advocate for free speech, liberty and democracy, radio and TV broadcaster who has been a working journalist for close to 20 years - was arrested on the street and charged with "conspiracy to riot."




Video from the San Francisco Chronicle A brief interview with Amy immediately following her release from jail.