Presented before a live audience at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he serves as a Professor of Linguistics Noam Chomsky's latest audio work "The New War on Terrorism: Fact and Fiction" delivers a analytical critique of the mainstream media, the current state of world affairs and the current U.S. administration lead by George Bush. The mono recording clocking in at 54 minutes pulls no punches issues facing the world at this time with statements like "We certainly want to reduce the level of terror...There is one easy way to do that...stop participating in it". Starting from a recapping of the events of September 11th and the "goal of reducing the likelihood" of acts of terrorism Chomsky states his thesis from the start and warns the audience that without a simpatico view of the world by both speaker and audience his speech will not be worthwhile for the listener. As with other Chomsky works his viewpoint should be known by the listener simply by his name. You will either be nodding your head and taking mental notes of his facts or you will recoil in horror - in that case you'll be happy to know that Fox News Canada is now carried on the digital tier. Cable operators are standing by. Recounting tales of Afghanistan refugees such as "Scenes of desperation and fear at home as the threat of American lead military attacks turns their long running misery into a catastrophe" and "The country was on a lifeline and we just cut the line" from international aid workers Chomsky is able to paint a vivid picture of the current world crisis. With topic coverage from Tony Blair to the views of The Wall Street Journal all angles are covered. Much like Rodney Dangerfiend Chomsky just can't seem to get any respect in the U.S. however is a frequent commentator on Canadian outlets such as the CBC. Like Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" which was funded by Canadian and German sources instead of American Chomsky's latest is presented by Canada's G7 Welcoming Committee Records and Scotland's AK Press. "The New War on Terrorism" is produced by David Barsamian of Alternative Radio.

By Gord Thurston
Jul 1, 2003