Profound. But if the truth does not reach the masses or interest those who seek only to aspire to the life of the elite class(usually without full consideration/comprehension of the moral consequences of their actions), how can we have any hope of doing something about it.
I do believe that the problems that obstruct peace, justice and democracy are in their broadest sense simple to understand, as shown by the use of maxims in the article. But establishing them as truths to those who need to be aware of them is an extremely difficult task.
As I read I felt a lot of the material made sense to me, and at the same time I thought about how nonsensical it would sound to most people I knew, had I myself tried to explain it to them.
Apart from their lack of context, the major problem would be that Professor Chomsky's ability to articulate this vast tapestry of imperial power in simple yet comprehensive terms is not shared by most of us.
I sometimes feel that this ability is almost compulsory to successfully get through to people who are stuck among the deeply indoctrinated cobwebs of society today. Especially due to the amount of "alien" information one needs to state.

Yet, there is solace, be it very little, to know that at least there are people bearing witness to the true story of humanity in the "modern" age. The whole story or at least a large part of it.

But that doesn't mean I have much if any sympathies for Mousavi himself. People forget he was a hardliner and one of those people who helped shut down universities during the Cultural Revolution. The guy was a hardliner who's trying to ride the reformist wave cause it's in, and cause there's no chance of winning the rural and lower class demographic that Ahmadinejad is very strong with. It was like John McCain talking about going green.

The killing and assault of civilians was of course horrible, and utterly asinine considering the current Iranian order came to power through protests and a revolution. I have no sympathies towards the undemocratic guardian council either who's leader has made his bias very clear.

Regarding the election I think Ahmadinejad probably did win, but greatly exagerated margin by which he did. He was his usual idiotic self when he totally ignored the existence a good portion of the population (i.e. people who didn't vote for him) in his speech. And he's made a mess of things now as all this has ultimately weakened Iran, exactly the thing the guardian council thought they were averting.

"Mullah friends" :D, you kill me man. Thanks BOB, there you go giving me another headache. The very act of trying to draw any meaning from your senseless rhetoric is a task suited for far more intelligent beings than me. I haven't been at the comment factory lately, but I'm pretty sure there have been a good deal of articles in criticism of the Israeli atrocities during that time.

So only you know what you mean by "first chance". Then again from the looks of things you probably spend more time on CF than Matt himself, so you'd know better I guess.

Unlike you I'm not here 24/7 and I don't shout out like an idiot about everything and anything. Especially when I don't have a clear idea about the issue. But if you're dying for my views on what happened in Iran, here's the gist.
I would have like to seen Ahmadinejad lose as much as the next guy. In spite of all his gutsy bravado in standing up to the west, he's nonetheless the last person we need as a figurehead against western imperialism and zionism. I don't get what the guy's saying half the time at conferences. And his lack of eloquence is damaging to a lot of people.

Brilliant article Matt. Loved the "instantly civilizes the IDF" line. Your description of the day to day suffering was vivid, and the mention of "Stoptheism.com" was a reminder of what kind of a powerful and dedicated force one has to deal with when trying to get the simplest truths about Palestine out to the rest of the world.
Keep up the valiant work.

To all those reading (except racists and bigots) who are thinking about those "incontrovertible proofs" I was talking about, here are three unique videos if you're interested.

1. Is the Quran God's word?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQxNaDBDDjo&feature=related
(10 minute videos in 23 parts)

http://www.vuze.com/details/35Y5O7FGQTPVXHVUPYWPGFPI5AXK62CK/Is+The+Quran+God+s+Word+Dr+Zakir+Naik+Part+1+2.html
(downloadable version)

2. Prophet Muhammad(PBUH) in Various Religious Scriptures
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyfxQ-hDvu8

3. Quran and Modern Science - Conflict or Conciliation (start from 15th minute)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2260954296979594912

(The YouTube links are the only non-torrent links I could find)

THIS IS NOT AN ATTEMPT TO PROSELYTIZE, but it is to show you where I'm coming from. That my claims about my religion are not based on hot air. There is this assumption that has been spreading like a plague since 9/11 that because so many of the Muslims are people living in the poorest and technologically inferior nations, we don't have rationality and sagacity in our thinking.

These videos are just to demolish such misconceptions. A lot of us Muslims think in depth. We don't follow our religion simply because our forefathers did. We've had our religious cum existential crisis. And we don't judge a religion by those who claim to follow it, but we judge it by its scripture.

( To get anything at all out of the video you must set aside whatever prejudices and assumptions you might have had about the religion, or you might have about the speaker because of his dress up or origin)

You can misinterpret and make up whatever you want about Islam along with a million other people on the net. I wouldn't care as you are all incapable of actually harming the religion. The Quran encourages debate and rationality, but it would be stupid to engage in further dialogue with someone as prejudiced as you.

Again, you reassert the lie that I think Arab leaders are worth anything at all. Western leaders hug and shake hands with those same Arab leaders, as they all did with George Bush and Tony Blair (both of whom have committed greater sins than Al-Bashir). If you watched my video, I mentioned Darfur there. One last time, you're trying to cancel one negative by pointing out another. The West has reprimanded Sudan heavily, but Israel puts on the facade of being an innocent peaceful nation while they commit the most hideous atrocities in their own backyard for over half a century.

What is worse--- murder committed by a known criminal, or a "model citizen" of the society (backed by those who claim to be freedom's champion) torturing and killing innocent people as a pastime?

Don't bother answering. I don't really care about the opinions and lies of a racist. The only reason I wasted my time debunking your lies was for the sake of anyone who might read this and is unaware about the issue. Goodbye, and may your ignorance not infect others.

Final reply to John Forthright:

All I could do was just laugh at your last comment. Even after you previously stating your disregard for the value of Palestinian life, I was slightly doubtful about whether readers would immediately understand that you're an imbecilic racist and bigot.

But you then labeled me and consequently the entire Muslim world as "sick pedophiles" on the grounds that we follow Islam and respect the Prophet Muhammad. YOU JUST ADMITTED OUT AND OUT THAT YOU ARE A RACIST.

And then you call me a racist just because you got pissed off that I called you one. There's nothing that you can point to prove otherwise. What‘s this rubbish you're trying to throw at me about hearing stories from a Bangladeshi. I bloody live in Bangladesh, where everyday I meet people (example: my father) who survived the war. And I did not claim America's actions in 1971 were at an equal magnitude with Pakistan's.

Prophet Muhammad(P.B.U.H) consummated his marriage to Aisha after she had reached her first menstruation. The age for puberty varies from country to country, and is earlier at regions near the equator. Their marriage was a happy and healthy one, and Aisha lived very well. It was also a very exceptional case as the Prophet's other wives (most of whom were widows) were all between 17 and 50.

Context is key, it was a very different time & place where things like completion of formal schooling and college were obviously not a part of day to day life like they are today. Lifespan and reaching maturity was also in a different range. Islam does NOT allow marriages without consent of both parties, and DISALLOWS consummation before they are ready for sexual relations. Some "Muslims" choose to bend these and other laws according to their own agendas. Just like an entire population cannot be judged for the act of a few, the same goes for those cases.

And I didn't notice this earlier probably because of your other utterly nonsensical comments. But you gave a link to "aljazeera.com" which has nothing to do with the entire Al-Jazeera Network (English or Arabic). The magazine you cited is run by an independent company based in London.

This grave mistake once again unmasks the lack of understanding you have of such sources and issues, including the falsity of your claims of "being aware".

One more thing, De Paul was the ONLY university Finkelstein had to leave, and that too because of his views, and the campaign against him by Dershowitz. De Paul didn't have a problem with his academics. If you didn't know, Professors often choose to teach at a various number of universities. The writing "most recently De Paul" is again proof of your use of fallacious arguments plus use of "quick glance at a Wiki" info.

At:Forthright :-
You are pretentious as you are absolutely ignorant. You don't know anything about the genocide my people faced. A mere glance at some Wikipedia page, and you start thinking you can lecture me about 1971 with your self-righteous sanctimonious tones.

The US government supported Pakistan at the time, and also blocked a UN resolution condemning Pakistan (they did the same thing when Indonesia destroyed East Timor). Henry Kissinger also made sure that the US withheld the recognition of Bangladesh as long as they could after the war. Maybe you hate Kissinger too, but screw you for thinking you can throw some bloody figures at me about 1971. Bangladeshis died liberating their nation and the West's mainstream media (e.g. TIME magazine) portrays the Indians as the heroes and saviors.

"The rise of the taliban and extremest Muslims in pakistan, which could be perceived as a direct threat towards him and his country."

What do you think I am? Some Southerner? Unlike you I did not face a culture of indoctrination and fear mongering from a government that uses the term "terrorism" to control its people.

You're a racist because Palestinian blood is cheap to you, and your visible hatred for Islam just goes to support that notion. Only a monster could make such comments about the footage of people suffering.

"Islamic nationalist"??- I am a Muslim, period. Meaning I believe the Quran in its entirety, and so am bound to follow the laws in it. Laws which don't specify a particular system of government. It however gives ethical and moral guidelines that are a sufficient basis for the formation of just systems of governance. Neither did the Prophet Muhammad specify anything regarding the topic or mention a caliphate.

The Palestinian cause isn't about religion to me. It's about HUMANITY. I realize that I was only born where I was and not in Gaza through luck, and I think about what I would want from the outside world if I was in their position.

I came to Islam through rationality and discovery of incontrovertible proofs regarding the religion's validity. Irrationality is a symptom of arrogant ignorance which you display in abundance. You keep coloring people and nations however you want. At the end of the day your stubborn ignorance will be your downfall.

An ordinary American who got enlightened--- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOvlYQvRYFE&feature=related

Please don't start with the numbers. I can't help saying this, but you sound like an utter moron when you try to bring down the numbers through some bizarre logic. I'm supposed to believe what the IDF said? Monsters who used white phosphorus(illegal in any combat situation) in an area like Gaza. You wanna do math. 1.5 million people(half of them children) stuck in 139 square miles, blockaded from all sides with no escape. Drop a bomb any kind(just one, not the hundreds by Israel in January).....what do you think happens genius? Wait, don't tell me, Israel uses magic bombs that only kill evil people right?

The Gaza massacre is unique from other war scenarios because of the immediately prior history, size location, blockades, etc. It was like the IDF went to hunt in their self-run zoo. Policemen are civil servants. You take them out you destroy order in a society. You allow more rockets to be launched by distressed angry people. And the policemen they killed were taking part in their graduation ceremony.

For your understanding, I'm not an Arab. Arab governments are BS. They have a unique way of ignoring pretty much everything, and they do not speak for their people. And that is why the US considers them good buddies. Who does the US dislike?...Democratically elected governments such as Iran and Hamas.

You didn't have a reply for the what the multitude of Human Rights groups have reported about Gaza. You didn't watch the videos. If you did, and are still bringing up the arguments about numbers then you're one sick person.

I was wrong, you're not an open minded person. You're one of those people who claim to be so by having slightly wider boundaries to personally acceptable ideas. Boundaries which seem much wider than those of the people around you. Consequently a false notion is created since you feel you are easily able to traverse the lefts and rights of the box. But ultimately you can't get out of that box.