From a recent interview with Michale Parenti on the Flashpoints radio show,Parenti takes a jab at Chomsky & Zinn as "pretend" leftists:Audio of the interview, relevant section begins at approx 14:00http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=7139Transcript:(After discussion of recent Cuban crackdown, statements by Bush admin., andUS actions regarding Cuba)Parenti: ..So, the Cubans do have a right to defend themselves. And, I'mvery sorry that people like Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn saw fit to signthis petition condemning the Cuban government for putting on trial thesepeople who were working in collaboration with the US government to overthrowthe Cuban governmentInterviewer: Can you give our listeners a little more background? I'm notaware of this declaration you just mentioned...that Zinn signed....Parenti: Well there was a petition circulated by a number of people whopretend to be on the left, condemning the Cuban government for putting these25(?) so-called dissidents in prison, putting them on trial and finding themguilty of collaboration with the US government to subvert the Cubangovernment. And this petition put these people in the best light, justcalling them "dissidents" and denounced the Cuban government for doing that.A variety of people in the so-called Democratic Socialists of America alsosigned that petition, as well as the luminaries I just mentioned.Interviewer: What was their intention for signing that? What were theytrying to accomplish?Parenti: Their intention is to give vent to the centrality of theirpolitics, to the heart and guts and soul of their politics, which isanti-Communism. Of course they're against imperialism. Of course they'reagainst the big corporations. Of course they're against capitalism doingall these things..some of them are anway. But their real passion is to befighting communism, the first trace of anything where people on the leftfight back using any kind of coercive power against the coercive power thatis being delivered upon them all the time. The first time that happens,they're up in arms and signing petitions and denouncing other people on theleft as "Stalinists" and "Communists" and whatever else.That is their cental passion and preoccupation. Some of them can't get fiveminutes into a lecture without making denounciations of "Stalinism" andStalin. Stalin's been dead for half a century, but that has been for alltheir lives and all their careers the centrality of their politics. Andthat isn't the centrality of my politics. The centrality of my politics isthe search and the fight and the struggle for social justice, and to takeseriously the people that are running and ruining the world. These guys areplaying for keeps, and if we can't fight back against them, then forgetabout it.Inteviewer: (sounded baffled...changed the subject)The petition in question:http://home.igc.org/~jlandy/cpd/antiwar/cuba_stmt.htmlApparently, this petition has gotten little play. I remember seeing thispetition and Chomsky's signing it a few months ago, but it's was difficultto actually find the actual petition through standard internet searches.Josh