Dr. Noam Chomsky speaks about world conflicts at the Cohen Auditorium on Jan. 28.
Sofie Hecht / The Tufts Daily
[From article]
“Like it or not, we happen to be living at the most important moment in human history, it’s a moment when the human species is going to make a critical decision, whether to live or die,” Chomsky said. “Not literally disappear, of course, but the remnants that will remain will have few prospects of decent life.”
[. . .]
“[An article] in the current issue of the MIT technical journal estimates that here at our latitude, average climate change amounts to moving South 10 meters every day and increasing,” he said. “Its already a very likely factor in major disasters that are taking place.”
Chomsky also cited the Bulletin’s assertion that recent Russian and American nuclear weapons modernization programs are among major reasons for concern about nuclear war.
“American nuclear weapons modernization programs–for the United States, Obama’s program is about a trillion dollars,” Chomsky said. “Those who like arcane facts may recall that we have a legal obligation under the Non-Proliferation Treaty in taking good faith efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons, but we’re going in the other direction under the guidance of the Nobel Peace Laureate.”
[. . .]
Our nuclear posture remains committed to first use, even against non-nuclear states,” he said. “Strategic command, which is [being] in control of nuclear weapons [use], it says that we must, in the post Cold War period…’retain the right of first use of nuclear weapons, even against non nuclear states; we must furthermore project a persona of irrationality and vindictiveness in order to intimidate people.'”
[. . .]
Chomsky said that Europe’s migrant crisis has a lot to do with Western foreign policy, and that current debates about migrants expose hypocrisy.
“Where are these refugees coming from, they’re coming, to a substantial extent, as a result of actions that the West has carried out,” he said. “The U.S. invasion of Iraq, the worst crime of this century, surely, created maybe 2 million refugees, as well as destroying the country and inciting a sectarian conflict which is tearing the region apart.”
[. . .]
Chomsky read a 1914 quotation from Winston Churchill in order to emphasize that we cannot remain isolated from the consequences of our past actions.
“‘We have got all we want in territory, and our plan to be left in unmolested enjoyment of vast and splendid possessions mainly acquired by violence largely maintained by force often sees [sic] less reasonable to others than to us,'” he said.
[. . .]
“What’s important about the Sanders campaign is if it, starting now, not in the future, if it is organizing a continuing popular movement of young people and will go on after the election… what’s needed is continuing mass popular mobilization, [to] keep pressuring, keep working, go on from one thing to another, and I think the Sanders campaign offers the possibility of that.”
http://tuftsdaily.com/news/2016/02/01/noam-chomsky-speaks-tufts-benefit-massachusetts-peace-action/
Noam Chomsky speaks at Tufts to benefit Massachusetts Peace Action
BY JAKE TABER
[From article]
“Like it or not, we happen to be living at the most important moment in human history, it’s a moment when the human species is going to make a critical decision, whether to live or die,” Chomsky said. “Not literally disappear, of course, but the remnants that will remain will have few prospects of decent life.”
[. . .]
“[An article] in the current issue of the MIT technical journal estimates that here at our latitude, average climate change amounts to moving South 10 meters every day and increasing,” he said. “Its already a very likely factor in major disasters that are taking place.”
Chomsky also cited the Bulletin’s assertion that recent Russian and American nuclear weapons modernization programs are among major reasons for concern about nuclear war.
“American nuclear weapons modernization programs–for the United States, Obama’s program is about a trillion dollars,” Chomsky said. “Those who like arcane facts may recall that we have a legal obligation under the Non-Proliferation Treaty in taking good faith efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons, but we’re going in the other direction under the guidance of the Nobel Peace Laureate.”
[. . .]
Our nuclear posture remains committed to first use, even against non-nuclear states,” he said. “Strategic command, which is [being] in control of nuclear weapons [use], it says that we must, in the post Cold War period…’retain the right of first use of nuclear weapons, even against non nuclear states; we must furthermore project a persona of irrationality and vindictiveness in order to intimidate people.'”
[. . .]
Chomsky said that Europe’s migrant crisis has a lot to do with Western foreign policy, and that current debates about migrants expose hypocrisy.
“Where are these refugees coming from, they’re coming, to a substantial extent, as a result of actions that the West has carried out,” he said. “The U.S. invasion of Iraq, the worst crime of this century, surely, created maybe 2 million refugees, as well as destroying the country and inciting a sectarian conflict which is tearing the region apart.”
[. . .]
Chomsky read a 1914 quotation from Winston Churchill in order to emphasize that we cannot remain isolated from the consequences of our past actions.
“‘We have got all we want in territory, and our plan to be left in unmolested enjoyment of vast and splendid possessions mainly acquired by violence largely maintained by force often sees [sic] less reasonable to others than to us,'” he said.
[. . .]
“What’s important about the Sanders campaign is if it, starting now, not in the future, if it is organizing a continuing popular movement of young people and will go on after the election… what’s needed is continuing mass popular mobilization, [to] keep pressuring, keep working, go on from one thing to another, and I think the Sanders campaign offers the possibility of that.”
http://tuftsdaily.com/news/2016/02/01/noam-chomsky-speaks-tufts-benefit-massachusetts-peace-action/
Noam Chomsky speaks at Tufts to benefit Massachusetts Peace Action
BY JAKE TABER
FEBRUARY 1, 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment