Friday, September 22, 2006

NYT was at least respectful of Chomsky

We don't know what Chomsky said that didn't make it into the New York Times article written by MARC SANTORA but what did make it into the article was at least decent. The picture was dignified too.

For example, the article titled "A Scholar Is Alive, Actually, and Hungry for Debate" did allow Chomsky to make a clear points about the coup that Chavez complains about and Chavez's popularity and democratic credentials:

"Mr. Chomsky said that he would not choose to use the same harsh oratory, but added that the Venezuelan leader was simply expressing the views of many in the world. And he said Mr. Chavez's anger was understandable. "The Bush administration backed a coup to overthrow his government," he said. "Suppose Venezuela supported a military coup that overthrew the government of the United States? Would we think it was a joke?"

See Video of Chavez at the UN

Proving that he was still up for a lively debate, Mr. Chomsky then went on to talk about income inequality in Latin America, the history of the United Nations, Iraq, Iran, Fidel Castro and, finally, the man who so fervently admires him, Mr. Chavez.

"I have been quite interested in his policies," Mr. Chomsky said. "Personally, I think many of them are quite constructive." Most important, he said, Mr. Chavez seems to have the overwhelming support of the people in his country. "He has gone through six closely supervised elections," he said."

This article was no doubt promted by both of the mention at the UN (Chavez Cites Chomsky at the U.N. General Assembly) AND the boost in Amazon sales which now put Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival at #1.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for Chavez video