Read part of this during some downtime on the train from D.C. Not impressed - neocon-style single-issue demonization from a New Left perspective, in this case the "Washington consensus" neoliberal economic policies emphasized during the Clinton years. While I agree with some of the damage assessment, Klein goes way too far along the way. Like Robert Kaplan, she has done some decent globetrotting but generally sees only what she wants to see.
Reading the opening paragraphs, I was struck by a similarity to Edgar Allan Poe's story, "The Masque of the Red Death." Extrapolate from that comment anyway you choose. But, please remember that Poe wrote fiction.
I met Klein
at a Latin America Symposium we did last year at the U of OK. My colleague, retired Ambassador Ed Corr, and I were totally underwhelmed. She played fast and loose with facts which misinformed her already questionable analysis.
When this post came up, I started to read the referenced article, and mentally noted that this was where I had come in. Still, I was intrigued so I looked her up trying to get a good bio. Unfortunately, none of the bios I Googled were able to suggest what, if any, formal jounalism training she had. Indeed, none of them were able to enlighten me regarding anything about her formal education. I now know she was a teen aged mall rat, interested in clothes. I know about her family background in radical politics. But I still know nothing about her schooling. I assume that she graduated from high school in Montreal but there is no such indication in her bios. Did she ever attend university (as they say in Canada)? Dunno. Although a college education is hardly necessary for "greatness" (witness Harry Truman and Barry Goldwater), it does provide some basic education in rigorous analysis and the proper use of facts.
Do any of our Canadians know any more about her/this? What say you Marc, Rex, et. al.?
Happy New Year!
JohnT
There's a fairly informative bio here.Originally Posted by John T. Fishel
And how was she educated?
Thanks Rex. Still, my question remains. There is no indication in this bio, any other that I have seen, or the article was to how and where she was educated. The experiments noted in the article as providing the basis for modern torture techniques are almost laughable (in the connection made by Klein). These techniques are as old as torture itself - kind of like waterboarding (see Malcom Nance's comments on that subject).
I sure would feel a lot better about her reportorial skills and ethics if I knew she had been trained well and acttually applied her training. From what I can gather, however, she has no training and desires none.
Cheers
JohnT
John
Apparently she was "educated" at the University of Toronto. A brief bio can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_Klein
She appears to be yet another activist with a high school grasp of economics. But I'll grant, her conspiracy theory (The Shock Doctrine) seems to be better thought out (i.e. more entertaining) than most.
John Wolfsberger, Jr.
An unruffled person with some useful skills.
She used to have a column in the Globe and Mail, maybe still does; she still appears there from time to time. Her principal credentials appear to be her family and social background; she is married into one of the great political families of the country, and to a prominent CBC reporter and journalist at that. Think of her as a sort of Canadian Naomi Wolf, for much the same sorts of reasons.
While I do agree with her on some aspects of economics and globalization, her journalism is in no way professional, even by the standards of our day. Gave her the benefit of the doubt at first, but I have since stopped reading her columns years ago. Fluff.
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