Noam Chomsky on corporate media’s ‘Russia’ obsession

This 27 July 2018 video from the USA says about itself:

Noam Chomsky on Mass Media Obsession with Russia & the Stories Not Being Covered in the Trump Era

The New York Times reports special counsel Robert Mueller is scrutinizing President Trump’s tweets as part of Mueller’s expanding probe into Trump’s ties to Russia. This latest revelation in the Mueller investigation is part of a nearly 24-hour stream of headlines about Trump, Russia and the administration’s various scandals. But is the mainstream media missing the real stories amid its obsession with “Russiagate”? For more, we speak with world-renowned political dissident, linguist, author and professor Noam Chomsky on media manipulation in the Trump era.

A comment on this video says:

MSM [Main Stream Media] Isn’t Covering Climate Change, Teacher’s Strike, Income Inequality, Police Terror, illegal Foreign Wars, The Effect Of The Tax Cuts, Student Debt Crisis, Homelessness, Electoral College, Super Delegates, Gerrymandering [three factors helping Trump ‘win’ the 2016 election, apart from the Clinton factor], Supreme Court Hurting Worker’s Right Joining Unions

I might add the recent passing of Trump’s Pentagon budget, the biggest military budget in United States history, by the United States House of Representatives. Apart from the Republicans, 139 Democratic representatives voted for Trump’s budget; only 49 against.

I might add Donald Trump’s attack on ‘Dreamer’ immigrant young people; let down by corporate Democratic politicians, who, instead of attacking Trump from the left, prefer screaming ‘Russia! Russia!‘

In the early summer, the Clinton Foundation released hundreds of pages of newly declassified documents about conversations between US president Bill Clinton and Russian president Boris Yeltsin between 1996 and 1999. The documents show the extent of US meddling in Russian domestic politics in the 1990s, and are a stark testimony to the groveling of the Russian oligarchy, personified by Boris Yeltsin, before US imperialism. Under conditions of a thoroughly hypocritical and right-wing media hysteria about alleged Russian “meddling” in the 2016 US elections, and a massive NATO military build-up against Russia, these documents acquire special significance. It is telling that hardly any US newspaper reported on the newly declassified records which contradict almost every element of their anti-Russian propaganda: here.

New York Times’ fraudulent “election plot” dossier escalates anti-Russia hysteria: here.

Daniel Ellsberg, Noam Chomsky discuss nuclear war

This video from the USA says about itself:

Daniel Ellsberg and Noam Chomsky Discuss Nuclear War

26 April 2018

Intercept Editor-in-Chief Betsy Reed moderated a discussion between Noam Chomsky and Daniel Ellsberg on the topic of nuclear policy and war. Chomsky, a laureate professor of linguistics at the University of Arizona, and Ellsberg, the Pentagon Papers whistleblower and author of “The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner”, appeared onstage together for the first time.

Daniel Ellsberg’s The Doomsday Machine: A prescient warning of the danger of nuclear war: here.

Related articles

• Art critic John Berger, new book
• How the Pentagon Papers Came to be Published by the Beacon Press Told by Daniel Ellsberg & Others

Peace prizes for Chomsky, Corbyn, Okinawa activists

This video says about itself:

Okinawa Peace Protests October 2015

A compilation of video footage taken during a visit to Okinawa. The author of the video was invited by a monk in the Nipponzan Myohoji order. This trip was made possible by Voices for Creative Nonviolence (vcnv.org), a campaign based in Chicago.

From the International Peace Bureau, September 2017:

Press release: Séan MacBride Peace Prize 2017

The International Peace Bureau awards the Séan MacBride Peace Prize every year to a person, or organisation, or movement in recognition of its outstanding work for peace, disarmament, human rights.

This year the IPB Board has chosen the following three winners of the prize:

All Okinawa Council Against Henoko New Base

Noam Chomsky

Jeremy Corbyn

All Okinawa Council Against Henoko New Base – for its unflagging commitment to win the closure of the Futemna Marine Air Base, which is widely seen as one of the world’s most dangerous military bases, and for its unremitting nonviolent opposition to the construction of a massive new air, land and sea base in Henoko. The Council has assembled all Okinawan forces – grassroots, political, and intellectual – opposed to these bases, building on decades of democratic and nonviolent struggle for peace and opposing the social, environmental, political violations that accompany foreign military bases, never giving up. Engaging in a wide variety of actions. The Council’s steadfastness and exceptional range of nonviolent actions, the broad popular support it enjoys, and the spirit and dedication that characterize this exceptional anti-bases movement make it a model for peace and justice struggles and deserving of support and solidarity.

Noam Chomsky – for his tireless commitment to peace, his strong critiques to U.S. foreign policy, and his anti-imperialism. Professor Chomsky has been properly described as “a genuine people’s hero, an inspiration for struggles all over the world for that basic decency known as freedom”, as “one of the greatest and most radical public thinkers of our time”, “one of the most significant challengers of unjust power and delusions”, and as a ‘guru’ for the world’s anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist movement. In recent years, in addition to his continuing contributions to the fields of linguistics, philosophy and cognitive science, his critiques have focused on the U.S. post-9-11 “War on Terror” which has provided cover for a continuation of U.S. imperial policies, and the imperative of addressing the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and climate change.

Jeremy Corbyn – for his sustained and powerful political work for disarmament and peace. As an active member, vice-chair and now vice-president of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in the UK he has for many years worked to further the political message of nuclear disarmament. As the past chair of the Stop the War Campaign in the UK he has worked for peace and alternatives to war. As a member of parliament in the UK he has, for 34 years continually taken that work for justice, peace and disarmament to the political arena both in and outside of Parliament. He has ceaselessly stood by the principles, which he has held for so long, to ensure true security and well-being for all – for his constituents, for the citizens of the UK and for the people of the world. Now, as leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition he continues to carry his personal principles into his political life – stating openly that he could not press the nuclear button and arguing strongly for a re-orientation of priorities – to cut military spending and spend instead on health, welfare and education.

The prize ceremony will be held on Friday, 24th November in Barcelona. Please note that there will be a press conference on the same day at 11am.

Corbyn‘s prize was awarded on 8 December 2017, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Related articles

• Jeremy Corbyn angrily tears into Tory MP for allegedly joking he should be ‘in a care home’
• Campaigners slam pro-nuke Tories’ blindness to the changing world
• Chomsky: Today’s Republican Party is a Candidate for Most Dangerous Organization in Human History
• Noam Chomsky: Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff “Impeached by a Gang of Thieves”
• Mass Movement for Change:
• Noam Chomsky Schools Nationalist Attendee at Google Talk, Calls on Audience to Preserve Cultural Wealth
• An Appeal from Noam Chomsky: Support Radical Writing and Publishing
• ‘Unelectable’ Corbyn wins over Milton Keynes crowd

Chomsky on Trump and nuclear war

This video from the USA says about itself:

Chomsky: Like Obama, Trump Is Radically Increasing the Danger of Nuclear War

26 April 2017

On Monday night, Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman spoke to world-renowned linguist and dissident Noam Chomsky at the First Parish Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During the conversation, Amy Goodman asked Chomsky about one of the most serious threats to the survival of the human species: nuclear weapons.

Climate scientist Michael Mills describes the devastation of a nuclear detonation. People get “melted into burning pools of fat”: here.

Trump’s wars: more to come. The American president’s domestic failures are fuelling militarism abroad. It’s a dangerous mix: here.

There’s No Strategy Behind Trump’s Wars — Only Brute Force. Trump’s wars are now all over the map. The peace movement can fight back by joining already thriving intersectional campaigns: here.

Global military spending increases again: here.

Trump‘s billionaire friendly tax plan – CNN.com: here.

Trump’s Tax Plan Draws Immediate Criticism From Progressives: here.

Related articles

• Witnesses of Arkansas Executions Share Alarming Details: ‘The Process Is Shrouded in Secrecy’
• Noam Chomsky On Trump: ‘The Other Candidates Are Not That Different’
• Noam Chomsky: Trump’s Victory Recalls Memories of Hitler and Fascism’s Spread Across Europe
• Chomsky on the Late Michael Ratner & How U.S. Thawed Cuba Ties to Avoid Dwindling Regional Influence
• Noam Chomsky on George Orwell, the Suppression of Ideas and the Myth of American Exceptionalism
• Chomsky denied entry into Israel
• Ukrainian government threatens nuclear weapons proliferation
• German weapons exports double

Chomsky on Trump’s bombs on Afghanistan and Syria

This 13 April 2017 video from the USA says about itself:

Noam Chomsky – Trump’s Bombing of Afghanistan and Syria

See also here.

America’s longest war drags on in Afghanistan: here.

US bombings in Syria and Afghanistan. A new stage in the repudiation of international law. By Mike Head: here.

Neocons Have a Long List of Endless-War Ideas for Donald Trump to Implement: here.

Overall, in the countries encircling Syria, there is very little support among the general population as well as among the intellectuals, for the Western assaults on the country, conducted directly, and indirectly by proxies. Pro-Western regimes and governments are currently governing Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and all of them are officially supporting the Western military actions: here.

America’s Endless Afghan War: here.

TROOPS EXPECTED TO INCREASE IN AFGHANISTAN “The new plan, which still needs the approval of the president, calls for expanding the U.S. military role as part of a broader effort to push an increasingly confident and resurgent Taliban back to the negotiating table, U.S. officials said.” [WaPo]

Related articles

• God Save the USA: Jamie Reid creates two Trump-based artworks for Toby Mott’s NYC counterculture fair
• Chomsky: Saudi Arabia is the “Center of Radical Islamic Extremism” Now Spreading Among Sunni Muslims
• Greek ex-minister about the European Union
• Art critic John Berger, new book
• Origins of ISIS, by Noam Chomsky
• Noam Chomsky on Syria Conflict: Cut Off the Flow of Arms & Stop Bombing to Stem the Atrocities
• Noam Chomsky: Climate Change & Nuclear Proliferation Pose the Worst Threat Ever Faced by Humans
• Noam Chomsky: How America’s Way of Thinking About the World Naturally Produces Human Catastrophes
• Noam Chomsky On Trump: ‘The Other Candidates Are Not That Different’

Political ‘centrism’ as euphemism for economic rightism

This video from the USA says about itself:

Noam Chomsky – Neoliberalism & the Global Order (Full Talk – Original Upload)

This is the complete talk (excluding the Q&A) of Noam Chomsky speaking at Yale University on February 25, 1997.

By Ben Grant-Foale in Britain:

The political centre ground does not exist

Wednesday 2nd November 2016

The so-called ‘centre ground’ is a vapid term used to normalise austerity and neoliberalism, writes BEN GRANT-FOALE

AMONG the many political buzzwords the “centre ground” is one of the most pervasive. I have never seen a definition of it and I never expect to. This is because it is a meaningless phrase politicians use to slander those they disagree with.

For politicians like Nick Clegg, the centre is the site of rationality and reason and the only form of “sensible” politics. It is also the only position that isn’t infected with the extremist ideologies of left or right. But this view masks the Lib Dems’ lack of substantive policy, as they use the mythical term to define themselves against others instead of providing their own political vision. This is shown by the current plight of the party under Tim Farron, as he resorts to begging for Labour voters and incessantly casting Jeremy Corbyn as a dangerous ideologue for opposing the economic consensus.

It became necessary for Clegg to employ the term after he became leader and entered into coalition with the Conservatives. After moving the party to a more fiscally hawkish position, it was a useful way of concealing the fact that the party had moved to the right and accepted austerity.

Similarly, Tony Blair took up the term after he helped create New Labour. After accepting neoliberalism, he used it to present the party as the “middle way” between socialism and market capitalism.

But this hid the party’s rightward shift after the banks were deregulated and the City ran rampant. Like Clegg, he also used it to conceal his lack of political vision. Instead of offering a genuine alternative, the party became a machine for winning elections, contributing to the present-day belief that the main parties are all the same.

The Conservatives also talked of “colonising the centre ground” as a way of normalising austerity. It also helped them to link their free-market policies to a “sensible” brand of economics. As well as this, they often refuse to engage with issues by using the term to present themselves as the only sensible party whenever Labour mention economic alternatives. In this way anything that opposes right-wing economics is dismissed as extremist and austerity can be portrayed as the only viable economic theory.

Centrists claim that the only way to win elections is to abandon economic radicalism and accept the status quo, however unsuccessful and damaging it has proved to be.

But the idea that the country unfailingly supports the current system is false, as 56 per cent of the public support a 75 per cent top rate of income tax and 58 per cent back nationalisation of the railways.

Centrists also rely on the patronising notion of the “ordinary voter,” as though the public don’t have a plurality of opinions and can be roughly homogenised into a cosy group.

While some may point to the re-election of right-wing parties as evidence of the left’s need to shift to the centre, the current wave of populist sentiment indicates that large sections of the electorate feel left behind by neoliberalism and want substantial economic change.

Some of this anger and disaffection is being channelled into nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment, notably Donald Trump’s hostility to foreigners.

But the left has an opportunity to offer radical change to millions of people and be the positive force that many so desperately need. The rise of left-wing economists such as Thomas Piketty and Paul Mason shows that people recognise the credibility of a different economic system, while Theresa May’s disingenuous promise to help working-class people indicates that politicians are aware of the growing need to address class divisions.

If the left can offer a comprehensive and radical new form of economics that resonates with voters, they can achieve electoral success. What is not required is another lurch to the centre and the acceptance of economic orthodoxy.

People are tired of being patronised and told that anything other than the status quo is madness. Therefore the centre must be abandoned before it does any more damage.

Related articles

• Martin Henry | When the votes go ‘wrong’
• British Labour, Tony Blair and Jeremy Corbyn
• “A Political Insurrection in Britain”: Tariq Ali on Election of Jeremy Corbyn as New Labour Leader
• The Elite’s Childlike Commitment to Austerity
• Islington trades council stands foursquare with Corbyn
• ‘Tony Blair maybe on trial for Iraq war crimes’, Corbyn says
• Those who attack Jeremy bring enduring disgrace on the Mother of Parliaments
• Orgreave veteran at risk of expulsion after challenging Smith’s left-wing credentials

Noam Chomsky on the Middle East

This video from the USA says about itself:

Chomsky: Saudi Arabia is the “Center of Radical Islamic Extremism” Now Spreading Among Sunni Muslims

17 May 2016

As Saudi Arabia continues to fund fighting in Syria and Yemen, Noam Chomsky says it is “the center of radical Islamic extremism.” Chomsky adds that the U.S. ally is “a source of not only funding for extremist radical Islam and the jihadi outgrowths of it, but also, doctrinally, mosques, clerics and so on, schools, you know, madrassas, where you study just Qur’an, is spreading all over the huge Sunni areas from Saudi influence.”

This video from the USA says about itself:

Noam Chomsky on Syria Conflict: Cut Off the Flow of Arms & Stop Bombing to Stem the Atrocities

17 May 2016

Today, the U.S. and Russia co-chair a meeting of the 17-nation International Syria Support Group aimed at easing the five-year conflict with a death toll that has reached close to half a million people. Just last month, President Obama announced the deployment of 250 more Special Operations troops to Syria in a move that nearly doubles the official U.S. presence in the country.

Syria is only one of a number of ongoing deadly conflicts in the Middle East. Last year, a record 60 million people around the world were forced to flee their homes, becoming refugees. For more on these conflicts and the rise of ISIS, we continue our conversation with internationally renowned political dissident, linguist and author, Noam Chomsky.

“The U.S. invasion of Iraq was a major reason in the development, a primary reason in the incitement of sectarian conflicts, which have now exploded into these monstrosities,” says Chomsky. He has written over 100 books, most recently, “Who Rules the World?” Chomsky is institute professor emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he’s taught for more than 50 years.

Related articles

• Self-Proclaimed Leftist Slavoj Žižek Makes Right-Wing Remarks About the Syrian Refugee Crisis
• Noam Chomsky: Bernie Sanders is Not a Radical, He Has Mass Support for Positions on Healthcare & Taxes
• Noam Chomsky on Life & Love: Still Going at 86, Renowned Dissident is Newly Married
• Noam Chomsky On Trump: ‘The Other Candidates Are Not That Different’
• Noam Chomsky on Black Lives Matter: Why Won’t U.S. Own Up to History of Slavery & Racism?
• Noam Chomsky: To Deal with ISIS, U.S. Should Own Up to Chaos of Iraq War & Other Radicalizing Acts
• Noam Chomsky: How America’s Way of Thinking About the World Naturally Produces Human Catastrophes
• New Documentary Series Calls Out the Militarization of US Society

Brazil, coup and Chevron oil

This video says about itself:

Wikileaks: Brazil‘s New Foreign Minister Promised to Help Chevron

16 May 2016

Jose Serra, the new foreign minister of the Senate-imposed interim government, is mentioned in the Wikileaks cables offering to help the U.S. oil giant Chevron.

Why The Campaign Against Brazil’s First Female President Is An Attack Against All Women: here.

This video from the USA says about itself:

Noam Chomsky: Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff “Impeached by a Gang of Thieves”

17 May 2016

As protests continue in Brazil over the Legislature’s vote to suspend President Dilma Rousseff and put her on trial, Noam Chomsky notes that “we have the one leading politician who hasn’t stolen to enrich herself, who’s being impeached by a gang of thieves, who have done so. That does count as a kind of soft coup.” Rousseff’s replacement, Brazil’s former vice president, Michel Temer, is a member of the opposition PMDB party who is implicated in Brazil’s massive corruption scandal involving state-owned oil company Petrobras, and has now appointed an all-white male Cabinet charged with implementing corporate-friendly policies.

This video says about itself:

Countries Against the Coup in Brazil

16 May 2016

Ten countries throughout the world have rejected the Senate-imposed interim government led by Michel Temer.

Related articles

• The Man Who Wants to Impeach Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff Named in Panama Papers
• Glenn Greenwald: Is It A Coup? What Is Happening in Brazil is Much Worse Than Donald Trump
• Is the U.S. Backing Rousseff’s Ouster in Brazil? Opposition Holds Talks in D.C. as Obama Stays Quiet

Trump popular for same reasons as Hitler, Chomsky says

Donald Trump‘s ex-wife once said Trump kept a book of Hitler‘s speeches by his bed: here.

After Anne Frank’s step-sister made a similar Trump-Hitler comparison, today this.

Related articles

• How to say Trump is like Hitler without really saying it. Really?
• Wingnuts On Trial: Jewish Center Shooter Tells Jury He Wishes He’d Killed More People
• Donald Trump: “If Black Lives Don’t Matter Here Go Back to Africa”
• Donald Trump’s Latest Dumb Press Release Will Make You Glad Donald Trump Writes His Own Press Releases
• Donald Trump, Deez Nuts & Planned Parenthood, Oh My!
• Revisiting 1930s Authoritarianism Through Donald Trump
• Donald Trump Screws Up GOP Loyalty Pledge, Making it Extra-Meaningless

JSC: Jamaicans in Solidarity with Cuba

Source:  TeleSUR
February 24 2016

Donald Trump addresses the crowd at a campaign rally in Farmington, New Hampshire.
| Photo: Reuters

Economic uncertainty is one of the reason for the popularity of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump, just as it was for the rise of Adolph Hitler.

Poor social conditions, fear and unemployment are giving rise to the Adolph Hitler-like fascism championed by real estate billionaire Donald Trump in his bid for the United States Republican presidential nomination, renowned linguist and political analyst Noam Chomsky said in an interview.

ANALYSIS: Exclusive: US Neo-Nazi Leader Says Donald Trump ‘the Real Deal’

“Fear, along with the breakdown of society during the neoliberal period,” were the reasons behind Trump’s popularity among Republicans in the U.S., Chomsky said during an interview with Alternet website. “People feel isolated, helpless, victims of powerful forces that they do not understand and cannot influence.”

Chomsky said the current…

View original post 190 more words

NATO-bombed Montenegro protests against joining NATO

This video, recorded in the USA, says about itself:

Noam Chomsky About Serbia, Kosovo, Yugoslavia and NATO War 1.

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Montenegro: Protesters cry No to Nato as alliance leader visits

Friday 16th October 2015

NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg was met with ­protests yesterday during his two-day visit to oversee Montenegro’s bid to join the imperialist alliance.

“We recognise the progress that this nation has made in pursuing reform, in contributing to international security, in promoting co-operation within the western Balkans,” Mr Stoltenberg told Montenegrin MPs.

“In close co-operation with Nato, Montenegro has reformed its armed forces and its intelligence services.”

But protesters rallied in the capital Podgorica with banners reading “No to Nato.” The same slogan has been sprayed on dozens of buildings throughout the city.

The government’s campaign to win support for the bid has come up against memories of Nato’s 1999 bombing of the then republic of Serbia and Montenegro in support of Kosovar separatists.

The US supports Nato membership for Montenegro but Russia opposes it.

Montenegrin government attacks protests with tear gas: here.

Related articles

• Noam Chomsky on Trump: “We Should Recognize the Other Candidates are Not That Different”
• Noam Chomsky: The United States, Not Iran, Poses Greatest Threat To World Peace
• Origins of ISIS, by Noam Chomsky
• Noam Chomsky: How America’s Way of Thinking About the World Naturally Produces Human Catastrophes