Thanks A valuable exercise indeed..
I have no idea whether Noam Chomsky is the "world's top intellectual", nor even whether such a "distinction" is worth anything (beyond money) at all... never read a book by him (sorry), and as a French quite suspicious of "top intellectuals", as we have so many of them... But the Peter Schweizer who signed this is another kind: not intellectual a bit, he resorts to branding of an individual, who quite obviously defends a political agenda in the most correct way (by writing books and giving speeches instead of sending armies...), as a hypocrite just because the guy takes into account the world in which he lives to make his own children safe. Basically, implementing the logic promoted by Schweizer, all politically generous people should live as poors just because they try to defind the poor - only propblem is that by doing so they would never advance their cause since they would not have the required independence or resources for doing so. Another way for the rich and powerful (and their servants) to show that the poor should stay poor - while using the usual rethoric of the Soviets !! Brilliant.. Thierry LAURENT --- Aman Malik <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> a écrit : > > > The Branding of the World's Top Intellectual: Noam > Chomsky > > By Peter Schweizer > TCS | October 19, 2005 > http://www.techcentralstation.com/101905F.html > > Editor's note: In light of news that a British poll > identified Noam > Chomsky as the world's leading intellectual, we > thought it would be a > valuable exercise to run this excerpt from Peter > Schweizer's new book > Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles in Liberal > Hypocrisy (Doubleday > $22.95). > > Note from the Author: Whereas readers of The > Prospect found the > top public intellectual in Chomsky, I found a poster > child for > modern-day capitalism and, because of his > anti-capitalist views, a > complete hypocrite. > > > One of the most persistent themes in Chomsky's work > has been class > warfare. He has frequently lashed out against the > "massive use of > tax havens to shift the burden to the general > population and away > from the rich" and criticized the concentration of > wealth in "trusts" > by the wealthiest one percent. The American tax code > is rigged with > "complicated devices for ensuring that the poor -- > like eighty percent > of the population -- pay off the rich." > > But trusts can't be all bad. After all, Chomsky, > with a net worth > north of $2,000,000, decided to create one for > himself. A few years > back he went to Boston's venerable white-shoe law > firm, Palmer and > Dodge, and with the help of a tax attorney > specializing in "income-tax > planning" set up an irrevocable trust to protect his > assets from Uncle > Sam. He named his tax attorney (every socialist > radical needs one!) > and a daughter as trustees. To the Diane Chomsky > Irrevocable Trust > (named for another daughter) he has assigned the > copyright of several > of his books, including multiple international > editions. > > Chomsky favors the estate tax and massive income > redistribution -- > just not the redistribution of his income. No reason > to let radical > politics get in the way of sound estate planning. > > When I challenged Chomsky about his trust, he > suddenly started to > sound very bourgeois: "I don't apologize for putting > aside money > for my children and grandchildren," he wrote in one > email. Chomsky > offered no explanation for why he condemns others > who are equally > proud of their provision for their children and who > try to protect > their assets from Uncle Sam. Although he did say > that the tax shelter > is okay because he and his family are "trying to > help suffering people." > > Indeed, Chomsky is rich precisely because he has > been such an > enormously successful capitalist. Despite the > anti-profit rhetoric, > like any other corporate capitalist he has turned > himself into a brand > name. As John Lloyd puts it, writing critically in > the lefty New > Statesman, Chomsky is among those "open to being > 'commodified' -- that > is, to being simply one of the many wares of a > capitalist media market > place, in a way that the badly paid and overworked > writers and > journalists for the revolutionary parties could > rarely be." > > Chomsky's business works something like this. He > gives speeches on > college campuses around the country at $12,000 a > pop, often dozens > of times a year. > > Can't go and hear him in person? No problem: you can > go online and > download clips from earlier speeches-for a fee. You > can hear Chomsky > talk for one minute about "Property Rights"; it will > cost you > seventy-nine cents. You can also by a CD with clips > from previous > speeches for $12.99. > > But books are Chomsky's mainstay, and on the > international market > he has become a publishing phenomenon. The Chomsky > brand means > instant sales. > > As publicist Dana O'Hare of Pluto Press explains: > "All we have to do > is put Chomsky's name on a book and it sells out > immediately!" > > Putting his name on a book should not be confused > with writing a book, > because his most recent volumes are mainly > transcriptions of speeches, > or interviews that he has conducted over the years, > put between covers > and sold to the general public. You might call it > multi-level > marketing for radicals. Chomsky has admitted as > much: "If you look at > the things I write -- articles for Z Magazine, or > books for South End > Press, or whatever -- they are mostly based on talks > and meetings and > that kind of thing. But I'm kind of a parasite. I > mean, I'm living off > the activism of others. I'm happy to do it." > > Chomsky's marketing efforts shortly after September > 11 give new > meaning to the term "war profiteer." In the days > after the tragedy, he > raised his speaking fee from $9,000 to $12,000 > because he was suddenly > in greater demand. He also cashed in by producing > another instant > book. Seven Stories Press, a small publisher, pulled > together > interviews conducted via email that Chomsky gave in > the three weeks > following the attack on the Twin Towers and rushed > the book to press. > His controversial views were hot, particularly > overseas. By early > December 2001, they had sold the foreign rights in > nineteen different > languages. The book made the bestseller list in the > United States, > Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, and New > Zealand. It is safe to > assume that he netted hundreds of thousands of > dollars from this book > alone. > > Over the years, Chomsky has been particularly > critical of private > property rights, which he considers simply a tool of > the rich, of no > benefit to ordinary people. "When property rights > are granted to power > and privilege, it can be expected to be harmful to > most," Chomsky > wrote on a discussion board for the Washington Post. > Intellectual > property rights are equally despicable. According to > Chomsky, for > example, drug companies who have spent hundreds of > millions of dollars > developing drugs shouldn't have ownership rights to > patents. > Intellectual property rights, he argues, "have to do > with protectionism." > > Protectionism is a bad thing -- especially when it > relates to other > people. But when it comes to Chomsky's own published > work, this > advocate of open intellectual property suddenly > becomes very selfish. > It would not be advisable to download the audio from > one of his > speeches without paying the fee, warns his record > company, Alternative > Tentacles. (Did Andrei Sakharov have a licensing > agreement with a > record company?) And when it comes to his articles, > you'd better keep > your hands off. Go to the official Noam Chomsky > website and the > warning is clear: "Material on this site is > copyrighted by Noam > Chomsky and/or Noam Chomsky and his collaborators. > No material on this > site may be reprinted or posted > on other web sites without written permission." > However, the website > does give you the opportunity to "sublicense" the > material if you are > interested. > > Radicals used to think of their ideas as weapons; > Chomsky sees them as > a licensing opportunity. > > Chomsky has even gone the extra mile to protect the > copyright to some > of his material by transferring ownership to his > children. Profits > from those works will thus be taxed at his > children's lower rate. He > also extends the length of time that the family is > able to hold onto > the copyright and protect his intellectual assets. > > In October 2002, radicals gathered in Philadelphia > for a benefit > entitled "Noam Chomsky: Media and Democracy." > Sponsored by the Greater > Philadelphia Democratic Left, for a fee of $15 you > could attend the > speech and hear the great man ruminate on the evils > of capitalism. For > another $35, you could attend a post-talk reception > and he would speak > directly with you. > > During the speech, Chomsky told the assembled crowd, > "A democracy > requires a free, independent, and inquiring media." > After the speech, > Deborah Bolling, a writer for the lefty Philadelphia > City Paper, tried > to get an interview with Chomsky. She was turned > away. To talk to > Chomsky, she was told, this "free, independent, and > inquiring" > reporter needed to pay $35 to get into the private > reception. > > Corporate America is one of Chomsky's demons. It's > hard to find > anything positive he might say about American > business. He paints an > ominous vision of America suffering under the > "unaccountable and > deadly rule of corporations." He has called > corporations "private > tyrannies" and declared that they are "just as > totalitarian as > Bolshevism and fascism." Capitalism, in his words, > is a "grotesque > catastrophe." > > But a funny thing happened on the way to the > retirement portfolio. > > Chomsky, for all of his moral dudgeon against > American corporations, > finds that they make a pretty good investment. When > he made investment > decisions for his retirement plan at MIT, he chose > not to go with a > money market fund, or even a government bond fund. > Instead, he threw > the money into blue chips and invested in the > TIAA-CREF stock fund. A > look at the stock fund portfolio quickly reveals > that it invests in > all sorts of businesses that Chomsky says he finds > abhorrent: oil > companies, military contractors, pharmaceuticals, > you name it. > > When I asked Chomsky about his investment portfolio > he reverted to > a "what else can I do" defense: "Should I live in a > cabin in Montana?" > he asked. It was a clever rhetorical dodge. Chomsky > was declaring that > there is simply no way to avoid getting involved in > the stock market > short of complete withdrawal from the capitalist > system. He certainly > knows better. There are many alternative funds these > days that allow > you to invest your money in "green" or "socially > responsible" > enterprises. They just don't yield the maximum > available return. > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________________________ Appel audio GRATUIT partout dans le monde avec le nouveau Yahoo! 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