Tony declared:
>If Yugoslavs want to criticize Milosevic for getting them
>into a fight with The Big Guys, that's an entirely different
>matter than [Chomsky] going to bat against Milosevic [...].

Tony declared:
>I don't defend Milosevic at all.

Tony declared:
> Milosevic headed a 'parlimentary democracy' and was not a
>'dictator' of the Saddam Hussein variety.

Tony declared:
>Left opposition to Milosevic from citizens of the US and it's
>NATO allies should be seen as giving ideological support to
>NATO during its attack on Yugoslavia.

So let me get this straight. According to Tony Abdo, you can be anti-NATO
without being pro-Milosevic. However, you cannot be anti-Milosevic
without being pro-NATO. Blimey. This makes discussing anything with him
tricky! It would seem to me that Tony is trying to establish a sort of
'Abdo Exception' in terms of logical argument. Luckily for Tony, this
tidy piece of sophistry is an exact match for his point of view! Being
anti-X without being pro-Y, is not only permissible, it also serves "to
state the obvious", as he puts it. So there you go. On the other hand:
being anti-Y without being pro-X, he insists, is not only impermissible,
it is also "particularly repulsive". The 'Abdo Exception' allows you to
side-step explaining exactly half of what makes up your biaxial view
(Tony does not address the Milosevic issue). Meanwhile, those of us who
are passionately anti-NATO are suddenly rendered pro-NATO at one stroke
of the 'Abdo Exception's deadly logic: you're not ALLOWED to address the
Milosevic issue and, er... what's more, you support the U.S. Empire,
unwittingly and DESPITE YOURSELF. Well. This discussing-things business
is hard work. I didn't think so at first, but I now have a feeling that
Abdoism is just Meechamism fleshed out with more words.

Unless... I'm right about the parody thing. There used to be someone like
that on the Medeski Martin and Wood list. Used to make really redneck
remarks which wound everybody on the list up no end! I constantly thought
he'd blown his cover but people kept falling for it. Not that Tony Abdo
is a redneck, of course. Although, come to think of it, the proverbial
visitor from Mars would not be able to differentiate between the shrill
and inflexible pedantry of Tom DeLay and Tony Abdo.

Are there any Chomsky admirers on this list?

Cheers

Adrian