Reality control
From “Nineteen Eighty-Four”, by George Orwell, published in 1949:
“The mutability of the past is the central tenet of Ingsoc. Past events, it is argued, have no objective existence, but survive only in written records and in human memories. The past is whatever the records and the memories agree upon. And since the Party is in full control of all records and in equally full control of the minds of its members, it follows that the past is whatever the Party chooses to make it. It also follows that though the past is alterable, it never has been altered in any specific instance. For when it has been recreated in whatever shape is needed at the moment, then this new version is the past, and no different past can ever have existed.”
From the Daily Record, 20 September 2012:
“Iain Duncan Smith promises more disabled benefits cuts in Scotland: the Work and Pensions Secretary was the man behind bringing in Atos, who have been criticised for humiliating fit-for-work tests.”
Atos Healthcare was first employed to conduct Work Capability Assessments on claimants of Incapacity Benefit (and other disability benefits) in October 2008, under the Labour government of Gordon Brown, when said Labour government introduced Employment Support Allowance in order to reduce the welfare bill by replacing the previous benefits with one that was, for most recipients, around a third lower.
A 2009 report by the Citizens Advice Bureau highlighted Atos’ tendency to find people unexpectedly fit for work, but Brown’s government took no action against the company.
Iain Duncan Smith has merely continued Labour policy, using the same company hired by Labour to carry it out. The Daily Record is attempting to nakedly rewrite history to excuse Labour from responsibility for a measure which hurts a great many Record readers. Unfortunately for the Record, people are watching.
The amazing thing about the whole Scottish independence debate is that it furnishes us again and again with text-book examples of Orwellian incidents. Initially I thought that Labour, particularly, were using 1984 and Animal Farm (and Homage to Catalonia) as tactical manuals but then realised that they’ve probably never read them and that in fact Orwell was just amazingly prescient.
Shocking that it takes blogs to reveal the truth, whilst so called professional journalists are reduced to printing what amounts to nothing more than naked propaganda. Poorly (if at all) researched, regurgitation of press releases, editorially beyond mere bias.
Is there ANY paper that actually still carries out true and proper journalism?
@McHaggis.
‘Is there ANY paper that actually still carries out true and proper journalism?’
No. Saul Bellow, writing pre-internet: ‘Virtually nothing true – really true – can be said in public’.
Might serve as the motto for the ‘Scottish’ MSM..
The sad thing is, most folk still believe what they read in the MSM.
Apart from blogs, what else can be done to get the truth ‘out there’?
I’m doing my own small bit by refusing to buy any newspapers, and i stopped paying the BBC tax 6 months ago.
Why is IDS continuing LABOUR POLICIES? Can’t he think of any of his own? Or is it simply impossible to be more right wing, vindictive towards the vulnerable, and downright evil than LABOUR?
@Juteman
I have been saying this for years now. The unmitigated bias of the MSM I can almost live with – these are private companies with an editorial position. I really don’t expect to read the truth in any of them. It is the BBC that I despise for its unrelenting bias, misrepresentation, and lies which they try to pretend is nothing of the sort. They have hoodwinked millions of people into thinking that they are actually still the ‘public service’ company of the 1950’s.
Like you, I have no idea how else to get the message across. I suppose there is some small satisfaction in seeing MSM newsprint figures collapsing, but this does not get us around the BBC Scotland propaganda machine.
I regularly point people to other on-line sites, but how many Scots are genuinely THAT interested in finding out a truth that makes all their previous beliefs a lie?
I’m not particularly worried about the whole unionist propoganda issue.
After all, it’s been going on for decades yet here we are with a Scottish Parliament, an SNP majority government, 7 in 10 Scots wanting complete or all but complete independence, and of course a referendum on this just around the corner.
If this is the result of unionist propoganda, then I’m all for it.
The Scottish electorate is evidently outwitting the double-think with treble-think. I think.
I think we have a broad reduction in diversion of policy between the UK parties as quite simply the major issues boil down to one or two massive problems(aging population and collapsing economy).
The real solutions to the problems are straightforward and the ability to show difference of approach is almost impossible.
Anyone being really radical around tax avoidance of companies and wealthy individuals is shut down by lobbyists. The lack of teeth in tackling the banking industry who have essentially bankrupted the whole country is a perfect example. Essentially nothing has changed expect the taxpayer took the bill.
The tired old scapegoats of pensioners(now called babyboomers),the sick,immigrants,Scots and the young are always first in the firing line. We have some distance to go in this economic cycle.
The really astonishing thing in all of this is that The Rectum would still prefer to have the likes of IDS governing us than for Scotland to ensure that such evil individuals are never allowed near the reins of power up here ever again.
I would love to know the real reason why as I can’t for the life of me see it. Blind devotion to Labour and their quest for ermine robes can only go so far surely? What’s actually in it for The Rectum as a business?
@Dave 1:17 pm
Somebody, somewhere is giving them money to do so.
With plunging sales I would guess that the inky fingers MSM would accept money to do that.
Who has the money to do that, the ability to it and the motivation?
It is not a difficult question, Orwell knew the answer.
I dont think it will be long before the government realises it needs to shut down blogs like these, that are telling the truth they dont want people to know. Obviously it will be done under an honourable premise for example some trolls have set up facebook pages celebrating the guy that killed the two police officers (cynical me wonders if maybe the government would do this themselves). Because of this they are going to start looking at accaptable usage of free speech on the internet, there has been an arrest of one of those doing it. It is in their interests to shut down the truth while playing on the masses outrage. I saw today that Keith Ordinary guy (who had been sending a letter a day to cameron questioning his government) has been arrested. No confirmed details yet but most are saying he has been arrested for malicious communication (or asking questions and pointing out the social cleansing being carried out by this heartless government)
SAOR ALBA!!!
well if we are all riffing on Orwell – the Record story is classic doublethink and newspeak – it’s an enemy it understands and an argument it has refined since it ditched the tories back in 1965. If labours involvement is held to account – why they might well admit it, but their plan was more pure and rooted in social justice – those meany nasty tories are the ones who perverted it.
Paradoxically it also undermines the status quo message in ways they would have not intended.
You will see the “bettertogether” campaign avoid this like the plague – hell I am willing to admit sm753 will be noticable by his absence till it blows over
O/T
As I am out of the country for the weekend I would just like to wish everybody taking part in Saturday,s march good luck .
You will have to watch out for agent provocateurs , I dont think that last Friday,s booing and murphy going on about the flag burning is a coincidence .
The O.O and labour would love to create an incident at this march .
Take care and good luck to everyone .
Rev , Sorry for going O/T .
Dave: what’s in it for the Rectum? IIRC Labour spent vastly more on advertising in the Rectum than in any other paper while they were in power in Holyrood. That was our money being spent by our government to place official advertisements in the paper, not Labour funds being spent on party advertising.
MajorBloodnok: trebbles all round!
That’s a good point and hopefully such advertising has now stopped. It does then beg the other questions though: what’s in it for the Rectum now and what’s in it for their competitors? Why is there such a solid wall-to-wall “no we cannae” attitude right across the MSM?
Dave
<i>That’s a good point and hopefully such advertising has now stopped. It does then beg the other questions though: what’s in it for the Rectum now and what’s in it for their competitors? Why is there such a solid wall-to-wall “no we cannae” attitude right across the MSM?</i>
http://www.newstatesman.com/economy/2011/02/london-corporation-city
Where will these papers owners be registered?
I recall a Labour pledge at the last Scottish elections to give free newspapers to teenagers…
quid pro quo?
Thanks for that link cH. A very interesting read.
@McHaggis:
there was indeed such a “pledge”.
http://www.studentnewspaper.org/news/431-labour-proposes-free-papers-for-teens
Keith Ordinary Guy
Ok, I am here, had a chat with my family so it took a bit longer than I thought. The arrest was nothing to do with the letters but an incident in August where I was taking shots of the incident. I was arrested today because the Police have accused me of threatening behaviour and verbal abuse and refusing to leave the scene when requested. The last is true, I said I was a camera witness and I felt I had a moral duty to remain at the scene even if that broke the law. So, at long last, I have a criminal record. Woo hoo.