From Andrew Sullivan.

The details:

Chomsky at least appears to be aware of the vulnerability of his reputation even among his admirers. Take a closer look at the link to the Amazon page for Chomsky's new book [below]. The dust jacket bears the legend, which one can't be around a Chomsky fan for long without hearing:

"Arguably the most important intellectual alive" - The New York Times

This very old quotation from the newspaper of record is in fact truncated. The full quotation reads as follows:

"Arguably the most important intellectual alive, how can he write such nonsense about international affairs and foreign policy?"

I've added the emphasis, because I think you will agree that the elision of the italicised passage does subtly change the meaning of the sentence. I know the full quotation because Chomsky reproduces it - with that false sense of self-deprecation intended to insinuate "See how the frightened reactionary press treats one as brilliant as I when its interests are threatened" - in a now out-of-print book from the early 1990s, Terrorizing the Neighbourhood: American Foreign Policy in the Post-cold War Era.

Let me say this straight. Chomsky has allowed a shortened quotation to grace his latest tome on international affairs and foreign policy that in context says the opposite of the message he wishes the reader to infer.