1984: The UK's slide into authoritarianism

[mdh]

For those of you who care about world news and events, here's a little something from 'across the pond'.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=MWVH3P0K0CKE1QFIQMFCFFOAVCBQ YIV0?xml=/news/2007/06/12/nmedia312.xml

Tony Blair hinted today at new restrictions on internet journalism, saying online news coverage had become "more pernicious and less balanced" than traditional political reporting.

"New forms of communication would provide new outlets to by-pass the increasingly shrill tenor of the traditional media. "In fact, the new forms can be even more pernicious, less balanced, more intent on the latest conspiracy theory multiplied by five."

Whew...
Fun factoid: There are now 32 CCTV cameras on public streets within 200 yards of the flat where George Orwell penned 1984. - courtesy of doc @ irc.

[joenaab]

Great find. Frightening. This is how it begins.

From article: "He conceded that relations had always been fraught, but said the situation now threatened politicians' "capacity to take the right decisions for the country''."

Yikes. So only the politicians and mainstream media can be the judge of what's right?

From article: "The damage saps the country's confidence and self-belief; it undermines its assessment of itself, its institutions; and above all, it reduces our capacity to take the right decisions, in the right spirit for our future.'"

Notice again the presumption that government's decisions are "right".

[beerista]

From the article: “Mr Blair insisted that there was still a genuine desire for impartial news coverage among the public.”

Man, if that's not a twisted appeal to the market. There are enough people desirous of this change to be politically significant, but not enough that someone will provide the service to them to make a buck (er, a pound)?

From the article: "The damage saps the country's confidence and self-belief; it undermines its assessment of itself...”

I'm confused; he's either suggesting nationwide governmental censorship of all media as some kind of deluded self-help measure for the people of Britain... or he's conveniently and disingenuously conflated the “country” (i.e., the people) with its government. I have the sickening feeling it's the latter. But then, politicians often don't seem able to tell the difference.


Fun factoid: There are now 32 CCTV cameras on public streets within 200 yards of the flat where George Orwell penned 1984.
I greatly admire Orwell, so don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad he's dead. It's an act of mercy that he doesn't have to witness Britain in fall of 1983. So, where do you figure that puts us? Mid-summer 1983? I'm thinking early July. I know it's not quite 1984 because we can still get good gin.
.............
The other side of the Casandra coin, isn't it? On the one side, everyone else thinks you're wrong; on the other, you desperately hope you are too.