What We Say Goes: Conversations on U.S. Power in a Changing World (American Empire Project) by Noam Chomsky (PDF)

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An indispensable set of interviews on foreign and domestic issues with the bestselling author of Hegemony or Survival, “America’s most useful citizen.” (The Boston Globe)In this new collection of conversations, conducted in 2006 and 2007, Noam Chomsky explores the most immediate and urgent concerns: Iran’s challenge to the United States, the deterioration of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the ongoing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, the rise of China, and the growing power of the left in Latin America, as well as the Democratic victory in the 2006 U.S. midterm elections and the upcoming presidential race. As always, Chomsky presents his ideas vividly and accessibly, with uncompromising principle and clarifying insight.The latest volume from a long-established, trusted partnership, What We Say Goes shows once again that no interlocutor engages with Chomsky more effectively than David Barsamian. These interviews will inspire a new generation of readers, as well as longtime Chomsky fans eager for his latest thinking on the many crises we now confront, both at home and abroad. They confirm that Chomsky is an unparalleled resource for anyone seeking to understand our world today.

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐My only complaint is the book is too short. It’s a couple of hundred pages I think, but the interview format leaves a lot of space in between. Learn about Corporatist America and its quest for Empire and Global Domination, its use of the World Bank and IMF for blackmailing third world companies into selling off their state assets and infrastructure and cutting aid to the poor. And all the while supporting the ruthless dictators who maintain power with torture, massacres, mass imprisonment and disappearances. Did you know the sanctions against Iraq caused the death of millions of children due to their inability to get the supplies to keep the drinking water supply safe? And after destroying the country, the problem continues (see this report from a couple of years ago ([…])See what the newspapers won’t tell you! From the Americas to the Middle East, Chomsky exposes the dirt on the U.S.and shows how are perceptions are warped by the conventional media.

⭐Wow – “What We Say Goes” is a fantastic, eye-opening read. If you consider yourself conservative or right-wing (or just regularly watch “Fox News”) then I would consider this book REQUIRED reading. Yes, some of the ideas are tough to swallow. As a proud, full-blooded American, it was difficult to accept, but Chomsky makes you see current events in another light, and explains leaders’ true motivations.Chomsky’s arguments are well reasoned. It is NOT propaganda or conspiracy theories, but critical thinking in the most pure sense. His knowledge of current events and history is deep. And while presented as a series of question-answer interviews, there are references provided to fact-check everything he says.Chomsky talks about elections in America, and how we’re electing people based on image and you never hear about issues. I think the most profound point he makes is that, overwhelmingly, polls of American people show that politics do not follow what their own popular opinion is saying. Did you know we’re establishing permanent military bases in Iraq? I certainly didn’t, and don’t think it bodes well for us getting out of there any time soon.Other gems? The United States instigates revolutions (e.g. the Pinochet coup in Chile on 9/11/1973). We give financial aid to support tyrants in countries with horrible human rights violations (Columbia, Saudi Arabia). Today we’re so afraid of Iran developing the bomb, when we gave them our nuclear engineers from MIT (for a price, of course!)Chomsky discusses the recent U.S.-Israel unprovoked attacks against Lebanon. There’s many mentions of the United Nations, and how we completely ignore their laws. He cuts through the underlying assumption in popular media that we can do as we please. For instance, U.S. newspapers’ absurd claims that Iran is “interfering in Iraq,” when Iran is doing something as benign as opening a bank (pp 101).These U.S. aggressions are definitely fueling terrorism (a big point made in the

⭐, but an idea that is given no media coverage). Do we have any justification for attacking Iraq? They unequivocally did NOT have “Weapons of Mass Destruction,” and had nothing to do with the September 11 terrorist attacks (please again refer to the 9/11 Commission Report).If you consider yourself an educated citizen, this book may change your mind.

⭐I thought I knew Chomsky from my undergraduate days in the 1950’s when hewas known as a structual liguist. He had a great deal to offer at the time in teaching us about the meaning of words. Decades later he was mainly the radical critic of how we posed as a participatory democracypromoting peace and prosperity worldwide. After several books and documentaries I thought I had enough of an idea of what he was sayingabout the messy situation we’ve been suffering since the Bush phenomenom.But “What We Say Goes” gives new insight and focus especially in thechapters on Lebanon and Latin America

⭐When speaking against an open enrollment policy, a college admissions counselor once said, “When you are dealing with the exceptional, you must always grant an exception.” If one examines in some detail the moods, beliefs, and aspirations of a large majority of American citizens throughout their history, it is apparent that they take these words as literal truth, at least when applying them to American society and its government. Especially in the area of foreign policy, it is believed that what applies to other nations does not apply to the United States. The United States is an exceptional society it is believed, and therefore must be granted an exception when compared to others in the world. The brutalities and atrocities committed by other nations are to be condemned without reservation but when the government of the United States engages in the same activity, its citizens are supposed to shrug their shoulders and dismiss this activity no matter how barbarous it is.If viewed in this light, the title of this book is very appropriate. Considering the background of its author and his track record in speaking out against some of the more dark activities of the United States government, this is a book that will provoke anger from some of its readers as well as curiosity to others. But being provocative is only the first step in a work such as this, for the author also needs to give sound evidence for the assertions that are inked on its pages. In this regard it must be remembered that editorial policies place economic constraints on the number of pages to be included in the book and these act to suppress the details of all the evidence. But then references are to be included for those readers who refuse to accept the statements of the author without further investigation.It must be remembered when reading this book that its author is subject to the same limitations in information gathering that everyone else is, and that he, like everyone else is also constrained by his own biases and belief systems. No reader, and no author, can view historical events from the standpoint of apodictic certainty, and this will remain true no matter how much information one finds oneself immersed in. Sorting through information and keeping what seems essential is always a function of the assumptions one begins with, but debate and in-depth discussion assist in fine-tuning one’s resulting worldview. Sometimes the latter can be changed radically by these activities, but any changes must also be evaluated in light of new evidence. Such is the situation for those who have a restless desire to get at the truth, whether it concerns the activities of the United States government or some other in the world.

⭐HEALTH WARNING: THIS BOOK WILL CHALLENGE AND CHANGE THE WAY YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORLD AND YOUR POSITION IN IT.’What we say goes’ has the usual Chomsky hallmarks of massively sourced research to back an alternative comprehension and argument to the given truth and statement of establishment wisdom and propaganda. This is one of Chomsky’s most accessible books that effectively demystifies a wide range of topics covering the real politic of USA history and its foreign policy. Chomsky demonstrates how the USA government dominates world affairs and international institutions like the UN in pursuit of narrow national and/or private corporate interest. At the same time the interests of a majority of USA citizens are habitually suppressed, marginalised or ignored. It is unsurprising that Chomsky remains the world’s foremost living intellectual in terms of peer recognition and as a student resource. His book on 9/11 reached no.3 on the New York Times best seller list despite lack of reviews by the popular press. The sources of Chomsky’s arguments and examples are meticulously referenced. Yet given the range of source materials the book remains accessible and rewards repeat reading. So help others to see the light – pass it on when you’ve finished.

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