This is "Just Another Heads-Up" from James.
Just Another Heads-Up: Be on the look out for a critical rejoinder from Prof. Noam Chomsky — assuming he decides it worth his time and energies — to "An Open Letter to Professor Noam Chomsky: What 'Gaza Under Assault' Got Wrong" authored by Bianca Ambrosio.
(The New York Times Syndicate distributed Chomsky's op-ed, "Gaza Under Assault". In addition to the publication at In These Times, the article appeared on other online news and analysis websites. See here, here, here and here. Note: The piece in question appeared at the latter link on 1 December 2012.)
In her post Ambrosio purports to point out "at least one serious fallacy" in the "Gaza Under Assault" article authored by Chomsky that was published by In These Times on Dec. 25. The "serious fallacy" adduced by Ambrosio refers to a statement Chomsky made that contains the words "after informing the Security Council". Ambrosio then cites Article 51 of the UN Charter that suggests alerting the Security Council prior to acting in "self-defense" following an armed attack is not required. Putting aside the obvious issue of whether Israel's recent attack on Gaza constitutes such "self-defence" as defined in the Charter, the preciseness of wording, while important, remains a somewhat trivial note in the larger context.
Chomsky may or may not respond to Ambrosio's letter. The "one serious fallacy" appears to be at best an issue of semantics that has little bearing on Chomsky's analysis of actual events that transpired before, during and after Israel launched Operation Pillar of defense on November 14. As best I can discern, the rest of Chomsky's historical contextualization was not seriously repudiated by anything Ambrosio wrote. Many of the individuals who commented on her open letter at In These Times share that view, and several provide links to official U.N. texts corroborating Chomsky's main points while raising doubts about Ambrosio's claims.
There remains a distinct possibility Chomsky will simply dismiss Ambrosio's criticism(s) as a minor correction buttressed by otherwise diversionary — or less-than germane — commentary tacitly trying to discredit his own legitimate and empirically verified criticisms of Israeli state aggression.
"Just Another Heads-Up": For a few more comments along with other Chomsky-related analyses check out the accompanying podcast. The podcast is in three parts and can be accessed at the three links below.
"Just Another Heads-Up" Part 1
"Just Another Heads-Up" Part 2
"Just Another Heads-Up" Part 3
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"Just Another Heads-Up": Updates as of 12/31
"Just Another Heads-Up": Chomsky has responded to Ambrosio's open letter. Prof. Chomsky's response can be accessed here.
"Just Another Heads-Up": None of those links to the original podcast work. (I'm not entirely sure why, but it's probably for the best, given the sniffle-laden verbosity of the first three-part podcast. But, "Just Another Heads-Up": A new and improved podcast is now available. It can be accessed via the links below.
"Just Another Heads-Up" (Re-)podcast Part 1
"Just Another Heads-Up" (Re-)podcast Part 2
Sources referenced in (original) podcast (and, in the main, at least mentioned in the re-podcast):
Ambrosio, B. (2012, December 25). An open letter to Professor Noam Chomsky: What 'Gaza Under Assault' got wrong. In These Times. Retrieved online December 28, 2012 from http://inthesetimes.com/article/14368/an_open_letter_to_professor_noam_chomsky
Anderson, J. (2010). Laughter is critical: An analysis of the sociopolitical satire on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report using the Propaganda Model as a guide. Unpublished master's thesis, University of Illinois-Springfield.
Anderson, J., Bharthapudi, K., & Cao, H. (forthcoming). Occupy the Heterotopia. International Review of Information Ethics, 18. Available online at http://www.i-r-i-e.net/next_issue.htm
Bharthapudi, K.K. (2012). Save 'Us' and let 'Them' die: Critical discourse analysis of how New York Times sold U.S. policies toward Rwandan genocide and Kosovo crisis. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
Chomsky, N. (2003). Hegemony or Survival: America's quest for global dominance. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
Chomsky, N. (2012, December 2). Gaza under assault. In These Times. Retrieved online December 28, 2012 from http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/14251/gaza_under_assault
Democracy Now. (2011, November 11). 20th anniversary of Santa Cruz massacre: Watch documentary 'Massacre the Story of East Timor'. Retrieved online December 28, 2012 from http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2011/11/11/20th_anniversary_of_santa_cruz_massacre_watch_documentary_massacre_the_story_of_east_timor
Democracy Now. (2011, November 14). East Timor massacre remembered: U.S.-armed Indonesian troops Kill 270 Timorese 20 years ago. Retrieved online December 28, 2012 from http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/14/santa_cruz_massacre_270_east_timorese
Democracy Now. (2012, December 26). As U.S. faces gun epidemic post-Newtown, Obama urged to break with NRA & back global U.N. arms treaty. Retrieved December 28, 2012 from http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/26/as_us_faces_gun_epidemic_post
Gills, B.K. (2011). Globalization, crisis and transformation: World systemic crisis and the historical dialectics of capital. Globalizations, 7, 275-288.
Goodman, A. (2009). Breaking the sound barrier. Chicago: Haymarket Books.
Goodman, A. (2012, December 26). Pull the global trigger on gun control. Truthdig. Retrieved online December 28, 2012 from https://www.truthdig.com/report/item/pull_the_global_trigger_on_gun_control_20121226/
Herman, E.S., & Peterson, D. (2010/2011). The politics of genocide. New York: Monthly Review Press.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale. (2012, December 15). 136th annual commencement. Program pamphlet.
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Zinn, H. (2007). A power governments cannot suppress. San Francisco: City Light Books.
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