Thanks for the opportunity to express an appreciation of Noam Chomsky.

I first started reading and listening to him around the time of Manufacturing Consent (1988), and attended a lecture by Prof Chomsky at the University of New South Wales in 1994.

That's some time ago now, even so I am surprised I wasn't aware of him earlier. I was a Major in philosophy and took an interest in talks and events on and off campus. But as best I can recall there was no course or even discussion of Chomsky. He was underground.

Why wasn't he available (not to mention compulsory) for Undergraduates, and even high school students?

Personally I regard him as the most important political writer of the postwar period.

Among his many invaluable contributions is bringing Anarchist philosophy to a vast new audience. I've come to see the anarchist perspective as one of the most important if not the most important political insights one can have. If you have this, you can understand the world: the injustice, the crimes, the lies, the propaganda, the illusions and delusions. If you don't have it, you are all at sea in a storm of manipulation and self-deception.

Chomsky combines moral integrity with intellectual capacity. It is admirable in the highest degree.

My favourite quotes about Chomsky:

"A truly great human being" - Usenet, author unknown.

"Not to have read Chomsky is to court genuine ignorance" - The Nation

"Rebel Without a Pause" - Bono.

May I take the opportunity Dr Chomsky to express my regards and my best wishes for a very happy birthday.