Listen to the show

Imperial Presidency: Sovereignty, Terror, and the “Second Superpower,” plus, “An Issue of Justice: Origins of the Israel-Palestinian Conflict” – we’ll hear from two leading intellectuals – Noam Chomsky, and Norman Finkelstein.

Today we spend the hour taking a look at the central themes of US foreign policy regarding the post-9-11 wars, and the related Israeli occupation of Palestine. In the spirit of asking the “why” questions, as journalist Robert Fisk says, which the mainstream media rarely does – we’ll hear first from Professor Noam Chomsky. In a seminal speech about the Bush presidency, Chomsky helps us understand current US foreign policy.

According to Christopher Lehmann-Haupt in the New York Times, Chomsky “continues to challenge our assumptions long after other critics have gone to bed. He has become the foremost gadfly of our national conscience.” New Statesman correspondent Francis Hope praised Chomsky for “a proud defensive independence, a good plain writer’s hatred of expert mystification, a doctrine of resistance which runs against the melioristic and participatory current of most contemporary intellectual life.” Hope concludes: “Such men are dangerous; the lack of them is disastrous.” According to the Arts and Humanities Citation Index, between 1980 and 1992 Chomsky was cited as a source more often than any living scholar, and the eighth most cited source overall.

If you read the Arab media, central to the grievances that Arabs and Muslims have against the US is its sponsorship of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Rarely in the US media do we hear clear analyses of these issues. There is much contention surrounding some basic facts – particularly surrounding Palestinian reactions to Israeli plans.

Norman G. Finkelstein received his doctorate in 1988 from the Department of Politics, Princeton University, for a thesis on the theory of Zionism. He currently teaches political theory at DePaul University in Chicago. Finkelstein is the author of five books, including, “Beyond Chutzpah: On the misuse of anti-Semitism and the abuse of history.”

Special Thanks to “Conspiracy of Thought” for their donation of CDs to KPFK’s find drive. To learn more about their music, visit www.jointheconspiracy.com.

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT:

CINDY SHEEHAN AND MARTIN SHEEN are coming to Pasadena – it’s a Fundraiser for the documentary, “ARLINGTON WEST” AND its SPEAKERS PROJECT. The funds will help the film be shown at schools most targeted by military recruiting.

WHEN: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25th, 7 pm
WHERE: ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH, located at 132 N. Euclid Avenue in Pasadena.

The event will feature actor MIMI KENNEDY, REV. ED BACON of All Saints Church, FERNANDO SUAREZ, JANE BRIGHT, and BILL MITCHELL of Gold Star Families For Peace, War Resistor PABLO PAREDES, Iraq Veterans Against the War, TIM GOODRICH, ROBERT ACOSTA, and JEFF KEY, Veterans For Peace, STEVE SHERRILL and ED ELLIS, and ARLENE INOUYE, JESUS RAMIREZ, and MITCH CRIST, of Coalition Against Militarism in Our Schools, plus, KPFK’s own DON WHITE and SONALI KOLHATKAR

There is also a 5:30 RSVP Buffet Reception with Cindy Sheehan and Martin Sheen. For tickets, call ( 323) 650-8166 or visit arlingtonwestfilm.com