Naomi Klein on The Colbert Report
By SilentPatriot Thursday Oct 02, 2008 9:00pm
Naomi Klein, author of the "Shock Doctrine", squares off with Stephen Colbert on disaster capitalism.
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"Naomi Klein wants us to be prepared for leaders to take advantage of us in moments of crises."
You can catch Amato's interview with Naomi here.
Indecision 08 has more great Colbert clips.
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She is Hot. Got Brains to.
Just shocking! Naomi has shocked me - oh MAMA!
Colbert was a little too frantic today..... yeah, Naomi proves intelligence and hotness can occupy the same physical space!
Troy @ 1:
I was going to say that
Troy @ 1:
A predictable reaction ........... and one that will be a major reason as to why Palin ends up being so popular when she is VP and raping the country ......... try for one as a nation to think, prove the world wrong and actually show you can think beyond shallowness .........
it's a perfect time for klein to be all over the airwaves.
Biden/Klein 2016 !
You betcha!
I'm about halfway through reading "Shock Doctrine" and thought of another book which enlightened me years ago about a lot of what is what is happening right now. "Stupid White Men", by Michael Moore. It's like "Shock Doctrine For Dummies" and it's still relevant.
Obama should have her in his cabinet.
Here's a vivid example of what she is talking about.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaG9d_4zij8
enor @ 10:
Can a Canadian serve in a U.S. governmental post?
Smart lady. Canadian too, eh.
~ In what respect Charlie ~
hello @ 12:
It doesn't stop the dual citizenship neocons from floating on the top layers of the government cesspool.
2000 ~ Election Shock
9/11 ~ Terrorist Shock
Patriot Act ~ Constitutional Shock.
Bailout Bill ~ Financial Shock
Don't Tase Me Bro ~ Electrical Shock.
Naomi Shock doctrine redux? Could well be.
Here's something to ponder ladies and gentlemen......
The bail out is a done deal and the president signed it within 12 minutes. But?!?!
Looking at market reactions over the last few days ( and I'm just thinking out loud here ) the U.S. Senate negotiated the bill Wednesday evening. Word gets out around the world and the Asian markets nose dive on the news as does Europe and then the DOW bombs 355 points on Thursday.
The bill hasn't changed much from the Senate to passage in the Congress. This time the announcement was made before the markets closed and the DOW was up just over 300 points. The news comes out, and bang, we see a 460 point turn around to close down about 160. So, I ask all of you great minds, what do the US and International markets see which would cause them to drop first after the Senate passes this garbage and then the same thing happens after the Congress passes the bill? The opening of the markets in Asia this Sunday evening may give us a clue. Something tells me we're in for a bumpy ride. Something just smells in the market place and it must be stinking things up pretty bad if the markets are reacting the way they have been for the last few days every time this bill advanced. Something wicked this way comes?
i'd hate to square off with her in a debate.
or anybody for that matter.
Welcome to the Great Depression, Part II.
Obama had better study up on some FDR.
Lieberman is a JINX. I hope he does'nt jump back.
I just lovvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees me as much Klein as I can get. Give it a decade or two and she'll be regarded in the same stratosphere as Sinclair et al.
My ONLY (and I mean ONLY) disappointment with this beautiful human being was her debate with Greenspan on "Democracy Now". But we all get a mulligan now and again, no?
hot and smart is better than hot and stupid. but anyway, she hit the nail on the head here, this is the right explanation of the past 8 years.
Be sure to catch the "Formidable Opponent" clip, Colbert explains the economic mess as a bad case of "Economic Syphilis" and the analogy is not only hilarious but perfect.
Naomi I moan
just like pearl harbor, they look the other way while some disaster happens and then they act like they are our saviors.
AND IF SOMEONE SEES CHENEY... GRAB HIS SORRY ASS.
GEORGE IS IGNORANT. SOMETHING IS WRONG BUT YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID....
THE PUPPET MASTER IS CHENEY.....
A government against it's own people. They have hurt us as much as possible, every single time we were down, and "acted" like their very, very stupid, and not anything like leaders, supposedly representing the people. Only, their not stupid at all. They all have educations and experience.
How many times have we actually heard, they could not fathom this or that?
It has been the Shock Doctrine all along, for a long time.
They threatened to immediatly use martial law, if they did not pass the bailout.
If real laws ever get enforced, the shit hits the fan. And they cannot have that. They have stolen trillions and have killed the strongest nation around in the process to do it. Still think their stupid act is real? Pure coincidence? Like has been found in every single other disaster that's occured since 1913? None of these experts could see it comming. None of it. At anytime. Yeah right.
Professor Wagstaff says, I am invading in an intellectual zone, and making fun shows that I think I get it.
Professor Wagstaff @ 24:
Very enjoyable!
Her theory is brilliant as it is scary. I also agree with her that more people are aware of being "shocked" into submission by the government. I have always hated how the government had used "fear" to scare everyone to support what they were doing. It worked for the Iraq War (and still works, for the low info voter). It worked for the Patriot Act. It worked in terms of getting some in mainstream America to hate anyone that is "different" or the "Other".
That's why I believe during the financial crisis, reason is very important instead of giving in to the fear-mongering on all sides.
Jerry @ 5:
Mmh, I think Naomi is hot too but when I hear the way she articulates her points good looks take a back seat and I become exclusively interested in what she is saying, and I think the people you're quoting feel the same way.
We're not going to get out of this jam studying disaster capitalism.
It's that bad
L.A. Confidential @ 32:
I prefer to think that knowing one's enemy is half the battle.
Boycotting offending corporations is the only tool and anarchy we collectively need to utilize, as a race of humans.
To then buckle down and realize the potential of that all-powerful weapon, well-- personal discipline is the key.
I could not get an answer out of either representative's office I called the other day (was it just yesterday?) to protest the fact that this is not a job creation bill along the lines of the WPA and CCC... a lady at the congressional switchboard actually tittered at my question about where was the job creation...
We done got reamed again.
People who haven't read her book may think she's hyping a slick 'unified field' theory, appealing in its simplicity and conspiratorial revelation. Actually, there's little tinfoil here: she demonstrates convincingly that (almost) all of this is being done right out in the open, and, most importantly, this is one of the best-documented books in recent memory. Every time you think she's overreaching, she magically produces a quote that illustrates how deductive her analysis really is. A tremendous, provocative read.
Yeah, she's cute, too. And unfailingly polite, so rare these days ...
cynic @ 35:
What an excellent endorsement!
Her book is quite excellent and it's not really a theory - more of a doctrine. A doctrine that has been put into use, more or less successfully, depending on which side of the muzzle you're on.
The weird thing about the "shocks" we've ben experiencing is that the folks who've been perpetrating them have done so right out in the open - albeit with the very best marketing possible, so the masses were misled (in some countries they call it propaganda!). The misadventures around the world during the 60's, 70's were mostly trumped up crap so the military industril complex guys could make some dough and the rest of the corporations could rape the countries' resources. And , of course we had several assassinations to keep us fearful.
The Reagan era of tax cuts and deregulation, and all the crap the Repugs passed when they controlled Congress in the 90's (with Clinton's blessing) Cafta, Nafta, what-have-you - to help the corporations "spread their love" across the globe. And the Bushie neo-cons wrote us a treatise (The PNAC - Defense Strategy for the 21st Century) that pretty much spelled out what they were planning to do, including the shock of 9/11 and the invasion of the ME for oil.
These are just the basics, there are many more details about how the American fascists have perpetrated their plans through the decades. Most of us were just too distracted to notice - and, we didn't have the Internet and access to all of the information/documents/instantaneous news available today. There really is no excuse for being hoodwinked any more - except for human nature and Evil men.
I guess I'm moving monies from the military industrial complex to the prison one.
Can we say war on drugs?
America is peering into the abyss these days. George W. Bush warns that the entire American economy is in danger. “Millions of Americans could lose their jobs.” And how is the world reacting? With fear, with indignation, but also with glee and a certain amount of barely disguised Schadenfreude. As Brazil’s President Lula da Silva said when asked about the financial crisis, “What crisis? Go ask Bush about that.”
Anger is taking over. Hadn’t the United States preached the blessings of the free market to the whole world? Didn’t they demonize every attempt at government regulation only to now find themselves putting giant mortgage investment banks and insurers under government control?
But the anger has deeper roots. It flared up first when Bush’s “war on terror” suddenly ignored national borders. It flared up when the President invaded Iraq in defiance of international law, and when he built that shameful prison camp in Guantanamo. From that anger came bewilderment when America started arguing about the legitimacy of torture. That country wasn’t “our” country any longer.
And now, saving the worst for last, as Wall Street bankers descend into ruin, they are pulling us down with them at dizzying speed and amid deep fear of repeating the Great Depression of 1929.
baby jesus is in love with Naomi
hello @ 33:
That's only valuable BEFORE the fighting starts. Knowing your enemy because he's just beat the shit out of you is of little help as you lay there in the mud.
Note the gasps and "whoa"s when she mentions "prison labour". Oh it's coming... COUNT on it.
I have a copy of her book on order from Amazon, I'm looking forward to it.
She's always a good guest on Bill Maher's show.
And yea, she's also hot.
Professor Wagstaff @ 24, bwahahahaha! Hilarious!
Lyon @ 41:
In that case, what have you got left to hope for? The end of days? Why even say anything in that case?
No, the practical way to fight back is to boycott (and truly mean it) and to stop purchasing items because they are relatively cheap and because one is told that they can afford them, which normally, they couldn't. That should be a warning signal for most people.
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Correct Jerry. I like the sentiment expressed esp.: so popular when she is VP and raping the country. The woman has zero self-reflection. Her self-reflection is her appearance. (Talking possible VP not Naomi)
IMAREPUGTHIEF @ 26:
Is he still (or for that matter was he ever) Vice President? Where is he? Hiding with his billions...
Lynda from DownUnder @ 46:
What do you mean "his" billions? He stole it from us!
Andrew @ 17:
The markets always lead the economy.
The markets are never wrong.
The markets never lie.
The way the market rolled over after the news that the bailout passed the House and was being signed by Boosh does not bode well at all.
Jerry @ 5:
What's wrong with brainy hotness? If that is shallow then shallowness helped you and I get here. I LIKE my shallow hormones.
I Moan Backwards is very intelligent and cute as hell.
But if she wants to talk about "shock doctrine," my goodness Naomi, look at the source: 9/11.
Otherwise, good interview, and more MSM need to be exposed to her...
Jo @ 19:
the fdr model will not work this time
unless every trade agreement is ripped to shreds, both the senate and house are overwhelmingly dem, all lobbyists are kicked out of dc, and we can somehow ship the wingnut half of the supremes to france
somehow, we must get back our manufacturing base
somehow, the unions must take hold again
somehow, we have to make people care about the guy next door
and remember, roosevelt didnt have hundreds of wingnuts on the radio calling him a socialist
how about we reenact the alien and sedition laws, and send hannity, rush, loofa boy, and all the rest to gitmo
the radio waves will be calmer and we will be able to get things done
my god, they are all still on their talking points that everything wouldve worked had it not been for clinton forcing banks to give home loans to poor people
its absurd
hello @ 44:
Actually, I was kinda wondering that when I read your post. You think a BOYCOTT will do something? Wow. That's powerful. Hey, here's an idea, why don't you protest something while you're at it, that's always useful. Kinda like how MILLIONS of people all over the globe protested prior to the invasion of Iraq?
Oh wait but that happened anyway. And how people all across America wrote, phoned and emailed their representatives and told them to vote NO on the bailout? Oh wait... that did nothing too. Are you picking up on the theme yet?
We're granted the illusion of democracy to keep us docile. What do you think FEMA's built all those camps for? Disaster relief? Did you notice how NOBODY was actually sent to one of those camps after Katrina? If they're not there to temporarily re-locate persons out of disaster zones, why are they sitting there, vacant? Think about it.
So go ahead, do your little boycott if it makes your heart beat faster. Just understand that you're accomplishing nothing in the grand scheme of things and that the guys who make billions off these shock-based economics are laughing at you all the way to their off-shore accounts.
Naomi Klein - lookin good. =)
Hey look it's another Naomi Klein appreciation thread. Where everyone comes together to pretend they all read her book and agree both with what she wrote about her free markets thesis in her book.... and what she describes that thesis to be now (the complete opposite) so she can appear on TV.
Maybe Ken Pollack can now go on Colbert and claim his opposition to invading Iraq as laid out in his book "The Case for Invading Iraq" has now been vindicated. Because apparently he could still promote a book that says the complete opposite of what he said it does, as long as a year has passed since it was published. Short memory spans being what they are.
Lyon @ 52:
I'm aware of most of your reference points. America would already seem to be strongly leaning towards being a police state-- it's the only infrastructure which U.S. governing bodies and corporations seem interested in building and promoting anymore. Martial law is always lurking around every corner, blah blah blah.
Well, boycotts are a start, that's all I mean to say. It's your money, so if you want GE, Walmart and Disney to have the lion's share of it and piss it all away on your behalf, then that's your option.
She only has part of it correct. Here is the full story http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7065205277695921912
hello @ 55:
A) Technically, anyone who gets my money is getting the lion's share (Lion... Lyon... haha!... well, so much for humour)...
B) When you're on a budget, boycotting the people who sell their wares at the lowest possible price isn't an option, it's suicide.
It's part of the corporatist's one-two punch: start selling things at ridiculously low prices destroying the concept of "value", then watch as wages stagnate and belts tighten until people reach a point where they really can't afford NOT to shop at places like Wal-Mart. Grab a seat for the race to the bottom!
If you noticed the conspicuous U in the last word of comment A denoting my non-American-ness and am wondering about the tone of my previous statements, rest assured as a Canadian I am fully aware of the fact my country is tied to your country's hip and when you go down, we will ultimately drown too. Democracy is America's delusion but sovereignty is ours... at the end of the day, the men who hold your leash hold ours as well.
Understand my lack of hope now?
I'm extremely impressed with Klein and it has nothing to do with the fact that she reinforces my lefty economic ideals. I read The Shock Doctrine and was amazed at how thorough her research was, and everything was cited. She's been having a dispute with some guy at the CATO Institute who's trying to poke holes in her book and it's hilarious to watch from the sidelines because it's such an uneven fight.
Colbert has a tendency to rattle his guests and even though Klein seemed very committed to getting every cent of her thoughts in, she wasn't caught off-guard by Colbert's antics, and she rolled with the punches in good nature. I think that if her goal is to educate people and entice them to become more open to new ideas, she did a very fine job and has been doing a fine job in her other appearances in the media as well. I believe she was on Bill Maher's show a couple weeks ago and was excellent there as well.
I think Klein is fighting a very important fight and she's really got very few people in her corner with her. I don't believe she's espoused support for socialism one way or another (I could be wrong about that) but her anti-capitalism rants presume pro-socialism, and socialists in this country are viewed as if they have leprosy (kind of like atheists). If the ball could get rolling on exposing and stopping the disaster capitalism that's going on in the U.S. right now, we could nip this economic crisis in the bud. Too bad we couldn't have done it a few years ago.
LOL I find that hard to believe.
Why don't provide us with a link. Like I did here the other day to those other libertarians and Reason who were pointing out Klein basically fabricated every position of Friedman from start to finish in order to portray him as the cause of policies he spent a lifetime arguing against...
reason.com/news/show/128903.html
Ctrl-C to copy. Ctrl-V to paste. It's very simple.
Bill B. @ 58:
LMAO... this is the exchange you were talking about isn't it....
Johan Norberg's critique:
cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9384
Followed by Naomi Klein's partial response:
naomiklein.org/articles/2008/09/response-attacks
Followed by Johan Norberg's response:
cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9626
Followed by... anything ?
Usually if you're winning a debate you don't avoid it. Then again, a prerequisite for winning a debate also usually involves an ability to address everything that's raised rather than just a couple of anecdotes too.
So yeah, that *is* in fact a phenomenally mismatched debate. Just not the way you portrayed it. In fact, in the complete opposite way. Like portraying black as white. Just like we see here, which may explain why you like her so much.
Professor Wagstaff @ 24:
Isn't that a........Palindrome? ;)
Shock doctrine is an excellent read and the perfect antidote to Milton Friedman's Capitalism and Freedom The truth is in the results Friedman's methods have been proven wrong over and over Oh and did I say she is HOT
Ya know, speaking of folksy (someone was, right?) saying something could or couldn't happen "'til the cows come home" made me think. Sitting on my sister'e porch a couple of years ago, next to a farm, I realised cows always come home around 5 or 6ish. Definitely before dark, but they always come home in a few hours. How did cows coming and going come to be associated with never-ending?
Jerry @ 5:
Lighten up, there just kidding around.
And besides, she is smokin' hot. Especially when she show's off her intelligence.
That's the difference between hot liberal women, and hot conservative women.
When a smokin' liberal woman like Naomi starts talking, she gets even hotter.
When a smokin' conservative woman starts talking, all you want to do is ummmm.....errr......how shall I say it, shove something in their mouth to shut them up.
This was one interview where Colbert should have STFU and listened to what she had to say.
Troy @ 1:
Naomi Klein has become one of my very favorite women in the news lately.
NoGWBpolicyleftinplace @ 64:
I should have quoted your comment to make mine. Maybe it puts me in a minority in this country but I like women who are better than me, and I wish there were enough such women available in the US.
Jerry @ 5:
BUT, the difference between Naomi Klein and Sarah Palin is that Klein ACTUALLY HAS INTELLIGENCE. Sarah Palin, after days and days of coaching PLAYS AN INTELLIGENT PERSON on TV.
Being good-looking doesn't hurt Klein, obviously. But, when she is older, she will still be smart as hell, writing and lecturing. Palin will be an asterisk.
hello @ 12:
Yes they can, if they are a naturalized American citizen. Michigan's governer is Canadian born.
If Naomi Klein were naturalized the only office she couldn't hold is President.
That's why, a few months ago, John McCain's having been born in Panama, on a Navy base, to American parents was a reason that some wanted him disqualified from running for President. His parents being American and the base being an American Navy base seems to put that to rest.
Also, there was a lot of scurrying around by Obama opponents to somehow prove that he was not qualified for the same reason. Didn't work there either.
But, there's no doubt that Klein is Canadian born.
I've been in love with Naomi since she wrote No Logo.
To sitemonitor:
There's a typo in the tags to this post -- Steohen Colbert instead of Stephen Colbert.
I am reading her book now. It is hard to read because I get so angry I have to put it down. Also, The Dark Side by Jane Mayer is quite upsetting. I just don't understand why Pelosi shelved impeachment. And I wonder if President Obama will discourage the prosecution of Bush and Cheney and their toadies for Crimes Against Humanity?
Allow me to be completely sexist for a moment, but I gotta say, Naomi Klein is so much sexier than Sarah Palin. I have a new crush.
Notice the date stamps. CATO guy wrote his first installment in May, she responded in early September, and then the CATO guy responded like a day after.
Klein has been on the trails promoting her book and her message, so she obviously has no time to deal with gnats like the CATO guy. His quick response essentially shows that he has nothing better to do than to sit around and wait until he gets a message in his inbox informing him that Klein has taken the time to write a response.
Klein's response was, as usual, well-written and thorough with her sources cited. CATO guy rarely cites his sources.
So, obviously you're a CATO fanboy or someone with a huge grudge against Klein. I suggest looking at the situation objectively.
That was funny when Colbert said to Naomi "disaster capitalism" is working for her.
I wish to hell Chris Matthews, c-span or one of the major networks would have Naomi on.
patricia @ 69:
Good info, thanks, Patricia.
Now if only Ms. Klein would accept a position in a Obama cabinet if it was offered..
Lyon @ 57:
I do, but this fellow Canadian still needs to see some kind of light and hope at the end of the tunnel. It's compensation for my being a secular humanist.
Michael @ 73:
You're not a sexist, you're a connoisseur :)
Jon Lester @ 78:
Okay, I'll jump on the bandwagon as well.
Naomi Klein is the apple of my eye :D
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