To #58, glad you've at least read Chomsky. You obviously have the right to disagree with him and I can see how people can be upset with what he has to say. It's understandable that people with a bias in favor of Israel or US will have a tought time swallowing all the facts of his books (facts not opinions) which in turn label him a dissident, "a crack pot commie", "a moron", etc.... to the masses. Remember there is a difference between, "opinion" and "fact" and he does a superb job of backing up all his facts. Again, I know how the truth can hurt.

Shhh...we can not discuss such topics at a time of war.

I don't doubt for a moment that you know how the truth can hurt. Chomsky's "facts" have been disinterred and found to be distorted opinions numerous times and by numerous people. These are not just people with biases you happen not to share. I suggest you look them up and keep reading.

I'm sure I don't need to tell this to a well-read person such as yourself, but beware of cherry-picked factoids. Chomsky is a master picker. (Allow me to pre-empt your response that so is everyone else; in fact, everyone else is just biased, Chomsky tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Do us all a favour and read critically about your "dissident" hero. He's not a "crackpot commie." He's just a grandstanding distortionist with an industry going.)

Chomski ...just another synonym for Buffoon

I couldn't agree with Chomsky and the letter more!

Chomsky critiques the american administration and not the US. I would suggest that attention to detail might be a start on the path to becoming an intellectual!

1) Criticizing Israel policy is antisemitic, period. Criticizing Bush's policies is antipatriotic. Sounds like fascism to me. 2) Now that young Lebanese have no country, no jobs, no future, what can they do? Join Hezbollah I guess, what is the alternative? Sounds very much like Palestinians' dilemna to me. QUESTION: how was the Lebanese Govt without any external support supposed to take care of Hezbollah? Kicking out Syria was a first step, but now thanks to Israel it is back to square one. HOW SMART !! OR JUST SIMPLY DEVIOUS ??

As usual, the right wingers don't have a witty or original thought among them. And as usual, Chomsky nails the truth - Zion is trying to liquidate Palestine.

it's shocking just how venomous so many people are about what to me is a very simple concept.

"Zion is trying to liquidate Palestine" constitutes a witty, original thought for you? Are you talking about "ethnic Zionism" or "state Zionism" pray tell. Maybe you can ask Chomsky to explain the difference. This is about as classica an example of cognitive dissonance as I've ever seen. Chomsky doesn't "nail the truth." The guy's become the widget-manufacturer of ideas. He stamps them all out to be identical, and leaves out the bits that don't fit. I take it you consider yourself a real radical out there in Calgary, home of the right-wing oil barons. You've learned your posturing well from your hero Chomsky. Quite laughable.

The whole world care about Chomsky and his opinion.

I find it very sad to see that the urgent matter of this letter fails to get hrough to you people (Lee Cary, if it is true that most Americans dont know who Chomsky is, it only proves that most people unfortunately are hopelessly ignorant, and prefer watching big brother to reading a serious article in a serious newspaper). There is nothing selfhating about a jew who is willing to both acknowledge and fight human right violations, ignorant of whether they are acted out by jews, nazis or americans. I wish there was a way to reach through to you people; but if this letter does not do the trick of enlightening you, I fear nothing ever will.

instead of intelligent, rational argument, all most of you can muster are fallacies and ad hominems.

In the 70's he would write and sign letters condemning the government of Iran for defending the Iranian people against Islamist and self-styled "leftist" terrorist organizations. Yet, for 27 years, he has defended the extreme reactioary mafia regime that replaced that government, and refers to it as a democracy. http://sarbazekuchak.blogspot.com

I dont care what peolpe think of Chomsky. When you stick youre chin out as he does youre damed to make enemies. And all off you who write one sentance calling him - an idiot and not an intellectual shows of youre own lack of intellect. Stupidity pisses me of. And I adore curage withion people who dare to question.

Stick his chin out!? Spare us. He is so entirely safe. Chomsky isn't stupid in the sense of lacking IQ points. He's just so self-important and filled with need to maintain his little industry, that he can't take the real risks, which would mean employing a little self criticism and insight. He's an ideas factory, pure and simple. Not even "ideas" -- just "idea."

Okay, I give up ! English is my maternal language but I obviously don't know what is meant by leftist. It sounds pejorative . It even sounds like some sort of code word. Kinda like if we listen to what leftists have to say would be equivalent to taking the apple from the tree of knowledge that Eve is offering us. G-d forbid. So to speak. Seems to me that as long as there are mullahs and rabbis preaching exclusionary tribal ignorance and pandering to peoples fears people are going to continue to war in an endless loop. Each time telling themselves that the result will be different. Recovered alcoholics refer to such a state of being as insanity. Yeah put the the guy on the Book Of Lists like the Catholic Church used to do. In the mean time take solace in the knowledge that those people you refer to as terrorists would do exactly the same thing in your position. People who cause the population to think threaten the populations capacity to remain in a state of fear and ignorance. Better they should remain ignorant and our religious leaders tell them what to believe. After all ignorance is bliss. Bliss. Yeah . Kinda like being in a garden. Like, say....the Garden of Eden. Geeze, I just figured out who these leftists are up to. Quick ! Burn them at the stake.

Of course there's also Choam Nomsky. He's one of the greatest political thinkers of our time but his theories about linguistics are nothing short of ludicrous.

I moved to Israel from Holland for a few reasons. I can state two major ones, one negative and one positive: 1. When the '73 war had started, some of my classmates remarked to me with glee when I got to school the next day that "things were not going to well, were they?" 2. After #1 above, I decided that I had to see this place at some time as it was apparently connected to my fate in some way. I got there in '78/'79. For those of you with a week sense of history, Sadat got there and the decision was reached between a former terrorist (Begin) and someone who had vowed to destroy Israel (Sadat) to trade territory for peace. I cannot explain the heady feeling of hope that permeated Israel in spite of it's misgivings. So that was the reason I stayed. I realised that I would have to serve in the army, which I did. That I might loose some friends, which I did. That I might die myself, which I obviously didn't. I never hoped that we would win, just that we would get along. I hoped that we could sort things out before my kids would go to the army. And this we apparently won't. What would you, Peter Waterman, have me do? Stay in tolerant Holland with my classmates? We got out of Lebanon, now they are fighting us for a piece of Syria? Get real, they want a piece of us. We got out of Gaza, now they are shelling us from there too. Where would you like me to get out from next? You do not seem to understand in spite of your 70 years: We do not want them to accept our "hegemony", we want them to accept our existence. We are the only country in the world, and in history, to have ever given back territory without being physically forced to. Why is the significance of that so hard to understand? I hope that I never will have to bury my children here, though Ahmadinejad may solve that problem for me too. I will stay here unless the state will make me ashamed of being it's citizen. Self defense does not constitute a cause to that. We did not start this war. He who sows the wind, will reap the storm. The problem of people like you is that they do not really appear to be interested in the details or the truth, just with their opinion.

I was born and raised amongst the hot-headed radical Moslems of the Middle East. The real life education that I got is far more valuable than the education of some linguist arm chair politician supporting Hizbollah. Some say it is all about destroying Israel and driving every man, woman and child to the sea. I say no, it is about destroying all Jews, the Western civilization and all infedils (includes India, Thailand, Philippines and eventually China) Chomsky is worst than a Nazi. the Nazis at least looked after their own people. Chomsky is a collaborator of a grand genocide that is planned and staged by the likes of Hizbollah.

caring jew. you need no further evidence

Take a good look at this page of talkbacks. Can you see anybody giving an honest observation of Chomsky. Have any of you ever read what he writes? As a neutral observer, it's with great disappointment, I've come to feel the hate reflected on this article, reading that none of you could set that hate aside to consider what the man is really saying. In the objective eye, I'm very sorry to say, that some of these replies express the nature of extremism. In order to understand, one must often set feelings aside and think. Good luck

he says that indiscriminate killing of innocent civilians is terror, not a war against terror. It's true !