Zimmerman, Billl. “Objections and Questions to Noam Chomsky.” (27 May 2003) Stony Brook-(empty) University.

1.       Noam Chomsky is a world-renowned political activist, writer, and professor of Linguistics at MIT. New York Times Book Review has said of him, “[J]udged in terms of the Power, Range, Novelty, and Influences of his Thought, Noam Chomsky is arguably the most important intellectual alive.” To which he adds?

2.       That, in addition, kind of made your day, didn’t it?

3.       Tell me a little bit about your background. You grew up in Philadelphia. Your parents were Hebrew teachers, I believe.

4.       And you went to Camp, as I recall

5.       You got on, I guess, your political education on a street corner in New York.

6.       What kind of stuff did they talk about at the news stand?

7.       And how did you discover Linguistic as your field?

8.       You have come to change your views on Israel and Israeli Politics over the years? [NOAM CHOMSKY: Not that much. Still believe pretty much what I…..

9.       What is your position, and how have the Circumstances changed?

10.   Do you see any end to that? [NOAM CHOMSKY: Yeah, very simply. In fact, everyone in the World knows what it is …..]

11.   What about Jerusalem?

12.   As we speak, the White House has announced that it will declare an end to the War in Iraq tomorrow. In your opinion, what was that War all about?

13.   You have, felt, that Politics are driven by the economic interests of what you call the previledged Elite. Can you tell me about that and who these People are?

14.   It’s an Opinion with which you agree. [NOAM CHOMSKY: It’s truism. It’s true of every Country…..]

15.   The writer Tom Wolfe calls this the Old Cabal Theory and implies that it’s kind of nutty, I guess. Is that a sort of criticism? [NOAM CHOMSKY: ….. It’s about as nutty as the Fact that the Sun rises every Morning.]

16.   A couple of your Statements I will quote now. “The Japanese Bombing of Pearl Harbour saved tens of millions of Lives.” How does that happen?

17.   How so? [NOAM CHOMSKY: Kicking the British out …..]

18.   You said that “If the Nuremberg Principle were to apply, every post-WW2 President would be indictable.” Can we run down real fast what it has for indicting them for? [NOAM CHOMSKY: ….. These are all indictable Offences.]

19.   What about Kennedy?

20.   What about Johnson?

21.   [NOAM CHOMSKY: …. Take say, Carter.] I’ll get to that, but Nixon’s next. Sound of laughter.

22.   Ford? [NOAM CHOMSKY: ….. That’s just a short Period in Office, but that’s indictable. Serious, in fact. That’s a major War Crime.]

23.   Carter? [NOAM CHOMSKY: ….. And that’s for starters. We can continue.]

24.   Reagan?

25.   Bush One? [NOAM CHOMSKY: ….. which takes us to Clinton. That’s the Beginning. That’s by no means the End.]

26.   Bush Two? [NOAM CHOMSKY: Let’s go to Clinton. Sound of laughter …..]

27.   [NOAM CHOMSKY: ….. Bush Two, I don’t think we have to discuss.] Your call.

28.   I wanted to get back to one thing you said. [Long Island] Newsday got off the reservation somehow. What happened there?

29.   We got a few minutes left before we are going to open this to Questions from the People here in the studio. You said that “Either the General Population will have to take Control of our Destiny or there won’t be any Destiny to control.” Why is that so?

30.   What’s the Good news?

31.   I noticed that you mentioned that when the U.S. Government tried to pick up Targets to attack, they usually pick up a weak, defenceless, and important Targets. So, Iraqi Issue now has been announced to be officialy [end]. It is also said that there are several possible Targets that U.S. Government might pick up. So one Example might be [] North Korea. Recently, it has been said that the U.S. Army stationed in North Korea retreated to Japan. [NOAM CHOMSKY: South Korea.] Excuse me? [NOAM CHOMSKY: Stationed in South Korea.] Sorry, South Korea, sorry. But it seems that the War will break out. According to some People’s Belief. But it seems that North Korea is a Country with almost no Resources, but it’s also quite defenceless and it is said that it has Nuclear Weapons. So I wonder if you have any Opinion on this Issue  and what kind of Benefits will be brought to America if the War breaks out?

32.   I appreciate your emphasis on Activism as being the Source of Hope. As an academic in training and political organiser, these last two Years, I’ve experienced Inertia in the Academic Class, so to speak, that I’ve never experienced before in organising for a number of years, including the First Gulf War. So the first Part of the Question is: Why do you think it is, in these most critical Times, the Mask has been remouved in a lot of Sense in this Push in the Expansion of the Empire, so to speak. That’s the Time that such an extreme Inertia has set in and that People feel so impotent. The second Part of the Question is: How do you recommend breaking through that, particularly in the Academic Class, because they have such Resources, and I’m wondering if such French-based Attack Organisation may be somewhat of a Model? I just want to get your Opinion on that.

33.   Given Human Rights Violations by Corporations, I wonder how you make your Purchasing Decisions and [whether] there are any Products you don’t purchase?