Noam Chomsky - Crisis and Hope in the Age of Obama

[DeePhlat]

HOLY crap, is that Noam doing a lute solo in the intro?

[nubl37]

sounds like he belives in the NWO, trilateral comission and council on foreign relations but is smart enough not to make him sound like a conspiracy nut

[davidlanham99]

This guy is dumb. He never says anything, it's just gibberish. I don't understand why liberal academics assume that they are smart, they sound stupid to me.

[fileboy2002]

@davidlanham99 How do you know? You said it all sounds like gibberish.

[TheLiight1]

What institutions are stable???

[Keinlicht]

@TheLiight1 The corporations, the state.

Stable, for now at least!

[RomeshSenewiratne]

Good on you, Noam.

[Mattprole]

Chomsky begins @ 6:27

[tnekkc]

The hope and change the American electorate now seeks is they hope to change Presidents.... get rid of Obama.

[tnekkc]

In the comparison between Nixon's affirmative action that got Obama educated. [Obama had the money, but not the brains], and the final solution, we see that past racial injustices were remedied by the governments. In one case white jobs were sacrificed for black and in the other Jewish lives were sacrificed for Arian supremacy.

The importance of the comparison is that the NAZIs were liberals that wanted to change society for the better with big government, with unintended consequences.

[hgh778]

@tnekkc

So the "whites" in affirmative action are *analogous* to the Jews in WWII? (Then were the blacks the Aryans???)

You're equating policies towards 'equal opportunity' for minorities to the systematic extermination of people.

.

The Bush administration 'elevated the power of the state over the individual' with the Patriot Act. That is a practice of fascist doctrine. I guess everyone is a Nazi.

.

I'm really not seeing your argument here. Can you cite anything more credible?

[tnekkc]

@hgh778

Granted it is more harsh for a gov to work you to death than cheat you out of a job, but they share the same structure: government intervention to remedy a past injustice by one race to another.

Thinks of Affirmative Action as Final Solution lite.

[fielsjd]

The introductory music was badass.

[PickelhauptOfWayne]

Where can I listen to the opening track?

[Makrania]

@PickelhauptOfWayne I second that question!

[tnekkc]

The politics of Obama are nearly identical to the politics of Hitler

[EsClayWilson]

@tnekkc Oh spare us the Hitler analogy.

[tnekkc]

@EsClayWilson

Hitler and Obama:

Increased collectivism

Increased gun control

Instituted socialized medicine

Favored gov intervention to remedy past exploitation of one race by another.

Took over the auto industry

Took over the banking industry

[EsClayWilson]

@tnekkc And they both owned German Shepherds and played basketball. Obama didn't take over the banking or the auto industry.

[tnekkc]

@EsClayWilson

I thought that Obama fired the CEO of General Motors.

[tnekkc]

@EsClayWilson

I thought that Obama stole the Chrysler bond holder's positions and gave it to the union.

[tnekkc]

@tnekkc

I thought that Obama forced the banks to give loans to minorities with nothing down, no credit, no job, and no credit check.

[EsClayWilson]

@tnekkc No he didn't stupid right wing pig. Only a totally uneducated low class fool thinks Obama is a Nazi. If you had a brain that could be educated, I'd advise to shut off talk radio then go to a library and read a few relevant books so you don't sound like such a blithering idiot. Nobody forced the banks to do that sort of lending at all. As well as those bad loans, most of them NOT to minorities, were made B4 he was elected so your timeline is total crap too.

[tnekkc]

@EsClayWilson

No on is saying Obama is a NAZI.

That would be like saying he is wearing a black suit when he is wearing a dark gray suit.

[EsClayWilson]

@tnekkc Well, maybe you have a point, just the other day I heard Obama raving about our upcoming Anschluss with Canada.

[tnekkc]

@EsClayWilson

The Anschluss is with General Motors, Chrysler, the banking industry, the health care industry, and anything that makes CO2.

Just like Hitler thought the 3rd Reich would last 1000 years, Obama thinks he will get a second term with green jobs.

[EsClayWilson]

@tnekkc Obviously you must have no respect for your credibility if you persist with these contemptibly brainless Hitler analogies. I knew more about Nazism when I was 7 then you ever would, so go and listen to some more Beck and leave us adults alone. Sweden is a lot more socialistic than the US and guess what scheisskopf, no death camps, wars or mass torchlight parades

[tnekkc]

@EsClayWilson

I think you would do better for YOUR credibility if you left out the insults and addressed the many point by point similarities between Obama and Hitler's politics. It is not a perfect fit, but liberals are liberals.

[tnekkc]

@EsClayWilson

I thought that Fannie May and Freddie Mac gave huge contributions to Obama and then caused the financial collapse with toxic assets.

[mueygringo]

@EsClayWilson He redistributed it to the Unions to bail out the under funded retirement accounts. The banks bought their way out with tarp money transferring assets of no value to the Treasury and Fannie and Freddie.. It appears that the taxpayers got stuck again.

[mueygringo]

@EsClayWilson A Fascist is as Fascist does.

[EsClayWilson]

@mueygringo And what is your brainless definition of a fascist? You sound like some moron whose subscribed to one of Beck's phony history courses

[arzoyan]

Noam Chomsky LOVE THE MAN , THE THINKER, THE REVOLUTINARY,

[wisecrackerb87]

Im confused why the first 6 minutes are even on this video

[jaredp85]

Not subscription. Description.

[jaredp85]

Love the music at the beginning. Couldn't find the artist name in the subscription. Name of song and composer?

[nwofunclub]

Happy New Year Prof. Chomsky!

[MyMelancholyDodo]

Although I don't adhere to a particular religion I find the ethos of this church agreeable.

[9407113678]

Chomsky the 'Anarchist' in a church! What next?

[Arkinight]

Actually when he's in the United States that's the primary venue he goes to, when in Europe it's union halls. Churches in the United States because like he states, unions are virtually nonexistent in the US but churches are. Contrary to vulgar propagandists like Christopher Hitchens they serve as major venues for dissidence and support for the population through various means, whether or not the people involved are religious.

[HiveDes]

Hitchens a propagandist? LOL

[CalabrezSayZ]

@Arkinight "Vulgar propagandists" is definitely my favourite Chomsky expression. Chomsky does not hold religion in any high regard and he often disparages it. In a Bill Maher interview he said religion can uphold elevated and depraved ideals alike. In this video, I think the Church is little more than a venue.

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ Well sorry, but once again you're wrong. On my own campus even (Guelph, Ontario Canada) when the annual group goes down to Georgia to protest against Fort Benning, when they cross the Canada-U.S border, they say they're going on a "religious excursion" or something along those lines. When they get there, they stay at a church, of which the minister[s] are actively involved in protesting against the SOA. Churches all over the states are involved in these kinds of struggles.

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ First off you need to realize that the United States has always been a very religious society, plus civil society is virtually destroyed. So what does that leave? Well firstly, a venue, yes, as well as institution, and something for the community to rally around. Where does third world solidarity come from? Like from groups like the ones Rachel Corrie was involved in, well, it's mostly churches. Not because religion is some magical force, but because that's all that's there.

[CalabrezSayZ]

@Arkinight Regardless, he doesn't hold religion, or any unjustified belief, on a pedestal. I agree that religion can be a venue for civil rights discourse and organisation, especially in Latin America. However, protesting with a church doesn't legitimise a particular Christian denomination in the same way that protesting with a mosque-based group doesn't legitimise an Islamic sect.

Hitchens is concerned with the fundamental irrationality of religion, not its periphery functions.

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ Define "periphery functions".

So he doesn't rant and rave on how religion does all these bad things, and while the United States has cynical purposes for being in Iraq, it's ultimately there out of concern about their well being and guard them from the evil scourge of religious fanaticism? I mean does his fantasy world have any bearing on reality? The United States has hugely supported Islamic fundamentalism from Zia-ul-Haq to the Saudi royals going back decades.

[CalabrezSayZ]

@Arkinight Again, I'm not arguing that religion doesn't serve a purpose. You just have to be careful to not confuse religion as a civil rights apparatus with religion as a belief. Chomsky refers to the Bible as a book of genocide and it's hard to argue otherwise.

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ "Again, I'm not arguing that religion doesn't serve a purpose."

Good, because nowhere did I say anything about what you were arguing. Try to at least respond to what I say, not what you would like me to say.

[CalabrezSayZ]

@Arkinight So in response to religion being a way to encourage human rights, I am against Hitchens. I think it serves a purpose but I agree with him that the problem is religion is fundamentally irrational. He's hyperbolic so it's easy to get the impression that he thinks all religion is evil in all cases, but he would rather the good have a foundation in reason. I'm totally against the Iraq war so I won't defend that either

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ Yet somehow we are to believe that when Hitchens, not only supports a deluded religious zombie like George W. Bush - found out to be even more deluded and religious than before recently with the confirmation of his remarks to Chirac - and his wars (rather Dick Cheney's and Donald Rumsfeld's wars) in the Middle East that he's concerned about religion's impact? Israel and the United States are responsible for fostering Hamas. They are responsible for bringing about Hezbollah.

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ They also happen to be fighting against it in some bizarre moral global crusade against al-Qaeda, which if you listen to any expert on the region are virtually nonexistent in the countries the United States has invaded, certainly not in Iraq.

/watch?v=bRnc0u9PX7s

He does not care about religion's impact, period. He's just a servant of power - true power - state and corporate. That is why he gets huge media coverage and huge attention paid to him.

/watch?v=HrWJmU2DzDQ

[CalabrezSayZ]

@Arkinight The core of Hitchens, and much of New Atheism, is that religion is irrational at its core. Personally, I think his rhetoric is way too over the top and I don't really agree with his methodology. Hitchens writes provocatively and I think it makes him more of entertainer than an educator at times. Funny enough, there is a joint interview with Hitchens and Chomsky on YouTube that you'd probably be interested in.

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ You aren't really responding to anything I say.

No, he's not interested in the philosophy; he just straight up declares that religion is the worst problem the world has to overcome. The United States government is doing its best to overcome it by invading Middle Eastern countries - hence his support of the invasions. And his overt support of fanatics like George W. Bush, despite his being extremely religious.

[CalabrezSayZ]

@Arkinight The point is religion does more bad than good in the world, and acts of kindness don't need an irrational religious justification. That's his point and why he believes religion is evil. It's irrational as a justification for good and even worse when it justifies evil. If I'm still not responding to your concerns that please clarify

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ No, that's not what he says when he says Islam is at war with the United States. Or "religion poisons everything". Sorry, but his overt support for the invasions of Middle Eastern countries is not based on the fact that their religion is irrational and we must save them from it. His argument is Islam is at war with us, his evidence is that at some point Osama bin Laden said so. Therefore, we are permitted to carry out aggression.

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ Talking about how evil religion is serves power like I said in my previous comments. Both because it can allow for him to justify grotesque crimes against humanity - like aggression, and because it diverts attention. If he were to restrict his comments to the irrationality of religion, that would be fine. But he doesn't, he specifically refers to the real world and how we (the West) are at war with Islam because it wants to destroy us.

[CalabrezSayZ]

@Arkinight Well, the irrationality has real world consequences. For example, missionaries restricting contraceptives in Africa is absolutely deplorable given the AIDS epidemic. The issue of Islam and martyrdom is somewhat connected, but I think the real problem is US aggression fuelling anti-West sentiments. Like you, I find his views on Iraq and Bush's war on Islamic extremists flawed. I'm not an ardent supporter of Hitchens by any means

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ People like "dprjones" address the irrationality of religion. "Thunderf00t" does as well, although with a very bizarre focus bordering on obsession. But when they begin inventing fantasies like:

/watch?v=Xi34wL4KIfo "if your religion is causing people to fly planes into buildings..." - sorry, but that's pure lies, and they know it.

Thankfully journalists like Tom from Representative Press expose the horseshit of people like Thunderf00t or Hitchens:

/watch?v=44wK72Snm6Y

[xdeliriumx1]

@Arkinight Islam doesnt want to destroy you, Islam is only a religion, its some (far from all of them) people that want to destroy you and for a VERY GOOD reason.

The US has been pissing on the Third World for over 50 years, supporting dictators, war criminals, etc..

To say Islam wants to destroy 'us' is absurd man, I know plenty of Muslims and they dont want to kill me. If a gvt kills innocents dont be surprised if those ppl fight back, its logic, stop the oppression and reasons will disappear

[timetochilli]

@xdeliriumx1 exactly its not muslims yes there are muslims leader i would say to muslims and western people dont let your leaders fool you you have far more in common with eachother than your leaders

[shoonnya]

@timetochilli and bring who? Sarah the dumbo?

[chinopisces]

@xdeliriumx1: Finally, someone with rational thought and a grip on reality.

[xdeliriumx1]

@Arkinight Events like 9/11 are very similar to what the west has been doing to the Third World for several hundred years now. But when it happens in a rich industrialized country we get all appalled well that's hypocrisy. Obviously it is horrible but look at what has been done to innocent people world wide to understand why some people hate 'us' so much, it didnt just come out of thin air.

[EsClayWilson]

@xdelirium1 The only ones I hate more than those scumbag Muslim terrorists are those twerps who come on with these lame ass rationalizations

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ Sorry, but "vulgar propagandist" might be an incorrect term like you said. "Liar" might be more succinct, he just fabricates lies and pure fantasy. Furthermore, there's a double impact, not only is he spinning these lies, but he's taking away valuable resources and attention from the real sources of conflict, starvation, misery, and all kinds of atrocities.

The Onion recently had an article entitled: U.S. Flag Recalled After Causing 143 Million Deaths - speaks for itself.

[Arkinight]

@CalabrezSayZ Secondly, it ties in a lot with Liberation Theology. Certainly something that developed within Latin American but has no doubt had an impact with religious organizations and groups in the United States.

[alphecca2539]

@9407113678 "Chomsky the 'Anarchist' in a church! What next?"

Chomsky "the Anarchist" comfortably ensconced at MIT for 50 years...

Brilliant showman though. He has duped millions of flakes from 1st world Suburbia.

[CalabrezSayZ]

@alphecca2539 Chomsky doesn't have to be a stateless, jobless nomad to be an anarchist. He's a professor of linguistics - so what? Chomsky is consistently against institutions of authority but not institutions in general. Hell, anarchism can be defined as institution.

Showman? He's probably the most dull speaker out there. Most people who actually listen to what he is saying recognise the facts.

[JohnAdamCulligan]

Intro music was extremely irritating.

[asphyxiafeeling]

thanks for posting. that actually sounds like a decent church... i was so surprised by that Minister. and of course, Noam Chomsky was great!