Would you Adam and Eve it?
No sooner was the ink dry on my post, than Ms Raccoon was proved, both satisfyingly and depressingly, right – yet again.
It is all OUR fault. Us. The web.
The establishment is circling its wagons to protect ‘the free press‘, you see:
On the whole, journalists are highly intelligent, amusing and frequently idealistic.
Decent coves, to a man, but sadly led astray. What led them astray was:
People are getting their news from different sources – principally the profusion of electronic media – and there seems to be no stopping the erosion in support for traditional papers. Every year, every month, they are losing ground to blogs and Twitter and Google News; every year the internet eats more destructively into the business case for old-fashioned journalism. That is at least one of the reasons why some journalists have been driven to behave so disgracefully, squawking ever louder, no matter how erroneously, in the hope of being noticed.
See what you’ve done? By talking amongst yourselves on the Internet, you’ve starved those decent coves of their rightful income. Forced them into dishonest behaviour that would never have occurred to them before. Made Adam and Eve partake of the apple. It would have been alright if you’d just gone on nattering to yourself in the pubs and workshops of the country, so long as you had continued to shell out your 5op for a copy of ‘Sam’s tits’ and Kardashian’s latest ‘heel caught in a drain pipe’ exclusive. But you couldn’t do that, you put your words into print and left them with a 40% decline in revenue.
Poor media, forced by circumstance into a life of crime. Now the establishment are in full cry to alleviate those circumstances. They don’t want to lose their cosy relationship with the media, a relationship that they have some hope of controlling, so they are intent on dealing with the ’causes of crime’ – the Internet.
Theresa May was quick out of the blocks this morning. Anyone who opposes regulation of the Internet – a matter both discussed and dismissed by Lord Leveson in a brief 12 pages out of 2,000 – will have ‘blood on their hands’. Yep, support the free Internet, and you will find yourself personally responsible for the next terrorist outrage, every incidence of paedophilia right back to Richard III, the death of doe eyed policewoman, and probably the demise of Sooty and Sweep. It must be true, it was in our wonderful free press that the establishment wish to protect, written by one of those decent coves that made Boris Johnson wax lyrical this morning.
Just in case you still haven’t taken on board that you really must give up your Internet freedom, Francis Maude was out on the airwaves this morning, telling us that you might not have any electricity to cook the Christmas dinner by if you don’t let the government take control of the Internet – cyber terrorists, nasty foreigners all of them – are the biggest security threat we face, apparently.
The ‘blood on your hands’ theatrical and emotive piece was penned by the same decent cove who was at pains to point out that the 100,000+ petition demanding that the press be regulated by Ed Richards, was actually signed by an assortment of ‘Donald Ducks’, Mickey Mice’ and Supermans, and thus not really representative of what the public wants.
Ed Richards is one of Gordon Brown’s old henchman from the Damian McBride office of media control. Labour failed to get him in place as Director General of the BBC, so now they are very keen for him to control the print media. So keen, in fact, that Ed Miliband has said that if he is not allowed to win the cross party talks on media control by Christmas, he’s going to take his ball and go home. Not playing any longer.
So there you have it – either we get Gordon Brown’s old media relations unit running the printing presses – our new holder of the moral compass, Hugh ‘blow job’ Grant’s preferred option; or Murdoch’s shower win and shut up the Internet to save us from paedophiles and terrorists, and protect the media from our dreadful influence.
Since ‘we’ seem to be the Christmas Turkeys, I shall be quite glad if there’s no electricity to roast us by.
If we’d just stayed chatting in our pubs – if we could have that is, if they hadn’t forced them all closed – and telephoned each other to relay the latest gossip, d’you think they’d have been trying to ban the telephone? I mean, it’s not as though paedophiles or terrorists ever use the phone is it?
December 5, 2012 at 18:27
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Well they weren’t frightened to name Stuart Hall were they? Or was that
because he has actually been arrested? This parade of octogenarian alleged
offenders is becoming grotesque. I would far rather they spent their time and
our money stopping the abuse that is happening now.
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December 4, 2012 at 23:08
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I’m waiting for MWT to tweet this, but then again I’m not holding my breath
– could be injurious to health
No action has been taken by police against a Berkshire man in his 80s
interviewed under caution as part of a post Jimmy Savile investigation.
The man attended a south London police station by appointment on Thursday
and left the station the same day.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said he was interviewed under caution by
officers working on Operation Yewtree and had not been asked to return for
further questioning.
- December 5, 2012 at 00:29
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I have a feeling that MWT has been contacted by the man in his 80s
lawyers. You can’t defame someone the way MWT did and get away with it in
this day and age. If MWT hadn’t blabbed, nobody would be any the wiser as to
the man’s identity.
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December 5, 2012 at 06:54
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I’m surprised how little his name has spread on the net apart from the
usual suspects : those who have weaved him into the Freemason/Ted
Heath/Rothschilds/Jewish/Pedo/NWO movement.
Yet the Press Gazette is screaming that Leveson has frightened the
police into not revealing his name so they can demolish him in every
way.
- December 4, 2012 at 13:01
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Business would grind to a standstill without the net but most politicians
are ignorant as to how much it used.
- December 4, 2012 at 12:44
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I await the day when tinterwebz is so regulated we begin to see small
printing presses in basements producing revolutionary leaflets and seditious
pamphlets which are circulated in clandestine ways…
Can’t stop the signal
- December 3, 2012 at 19:00
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We know that journalism has ALWAYS been a respectable up-holder of public
morals and probity because the Telegraph kindly point out that Leveson is the
SEVENTH inquiry since the second world war, approximately one inquiry every
ten years. What other trade has attracted such attention, and why? One could
easily come to the conclusion that a minority of journalists have always been
corrupt or corruptible. And while we are talking about corruptible, note too
how the politicians and police have banded together, when their actions were
found equally wanting by Leveson too! The camoron with his inept LOL to the
editor of the News of the World, and multiple social meetings, the bent
coppers providing information at a tenner-a-time, the whole MP expense fiasco
where our employees (the MP’s) were found to be stealing yet only a select few
were bought to justice. But of course journalistic integrity and internet use
are the great issues that beset the nation-pathetic.
Internet access for the gret unwashed public via ISP’s did not evolve until
the early 1990′s so any connection between bad behaviour by journalists due to
a perceived problem that internet scribblers might blow their “scoop” is utter
nonsense, the bad behaviour was already well entrenched, as is plainly obvious
from Robert the Biker’s excellent comment above.
I suppose I should be more exercised by this grab of our rights to free
speech but quite honestly we are talking the government here, whatever they
enact will be unwieldy, unmanageable, irrelevant and in the end will fail. Its
what the yUK government does best at enormous expense.
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December 4, 2012 at 08:39
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“Leveson is the SEVENTH inquiry since the second world war, approximately
one inquiry every ten years. What other trade has attracted such attention,
and why?”
As a matter of interest, how many inquirieshave been held into Social
Services?
- December 3, 2012 at 17:40
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I have read that when the telephone was coming into widespread use, some
people were concerned that criminals could use it to organise crimes and warn
people of the approach of a policeman.
I also read, in “Flat Earth news” by Nick Davies, that the fall in
newspaper quality (e.g. spending less on journalists, running more tabloid
gossip, etc) began long before the internet made an impact, and was due to the
desire of newspaper owners to make even bigger profits than they already were.
This matches my impression from reading newspapers over the last 20 years.
- December 3, 2012 at 17:18
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There is, unfortunately, a global tendency for Governments to control
things they either don’t understand, or are afraid of. The uncontrolled power
of the Internet (as understood by Government) is that it can freely be
exercised by citizens and that those citizens can use it to organise
themselves, to stand up for themselves, in some instances (usually a point of
view reserved for our Government when it abhors the practices of another
countries’ Government and wishes to support its citizens in their struggle for
human rights) or when its own actions are called into question, to circumvent
or prevent moral or other opposition.
An example: Gordon Brown was mentioned. Look how swiftly the Internet
brought him to task for labelling one of his own supporters a ‘Bigot’ – an
incident that destroyed any remote chance of a Labour victory at the last
General Election. Take the moral crusade against MP’s expenses, with fresh
revelations being swiftly passed from outraged citizen to citizen, far faster
than the spread of news by tabloid or terrestrial television. Consider also
that if there was no Internet, the whole sorry ‘Hacking’ scandal could never
have happened and certainly the newspapers own vested interests would have
ensured that the news of their shenanigans would have been printed on Page 20
in those participating ‘rags’.
It is a powerful tool, which the Government do not trust its citizens to
use properly.
“We fear things in proportion to our ignorance of them.” Livy, Titus.
- December 3, 2012 at 16:36
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Anyone who opposes regulation will have ‘blood on their hands’? What arrant
nonsense. The mainstream press already have an ocean of haemoglobin on
theirs.
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December 3, 2012 at 16:07
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Isn’t the alleged aim of cyber terrorists to cut off our power a little bit
self-defeating? Or will all the servers be run on biogas?
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December 3, 2012 at 15:46
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Speaking of the rent seeking behaviour of UK journalists and newspapers,
perhaps Anna is unaware of this one from the Grauniad:
A £2-a-month levy on broadband could save our newspapers
“A
small levy on UK broadband providers – no more than £2 a month on each
subscriber’s bill – could be distributed to news providers in proportion to
their UK online readership. This would solve the financial problems of quality
newspapers, whose readers are not disappearing, but simply migrating
online.”
I have completely outflabbered my gasp!
- December 3, 2012 at 15:47
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Apologies, forgot the link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/sep/23/broadband-levy-save-newspapers
- December 4, 2012 at 01:38
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If they want me to pay for their stories they are free to go behind a
paywall, not dip their hands into my wallet.
The same applies to the Beeb, whose licence I shall not be
renewing.
(Yes, I know it wants adults to call it tvlicensing and give
it money, but it turns out really it’s just ‘hideous cultural Marxists’
asking to be called Auntie and for time alone with the children.)
- December 3, 2012 at 14:39
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During the “Thirty Years’ War” of 1618-1648 bloggers of the time upset the
establishment by publishing “news books”. In 1632 the “news books” were banned
by the Court of Star Chamber. This didn’t stop the latter day bloggers. They
moved to different countries and got their articles into Britain anyway.
Eight years later, in 1640, the Court of Star Chamber was abolished and
Habeas Corpus was introduced.
The truth is being manipulated by politicians, the press, corporate lobby
groups, “social” lobby groups (Greens, NSPCC, Health Nazis etc). Practically
every organization out there manipulates the truth for their own gains. These
same organizations demand secrecy to protect their version of the truth, while
demanding absolute truth from us in the form of a surveillance state.
I can but hope that history will repeat. A modern day version of Habeas
Corpus to safeguard the truth. A transition to a transparent society where
those who have power have no secrets.
- December
3, 2012 at 14:34
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When The Uniform Penny Post was introduced in January 1840, my Great Great
Grandfather said it would do no good and indeed just cause a lot of
unnecessary worry and trouble.
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December 3, 2012 at 14:30
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Hi Anna,
My G/F is called Ann. Anyway enough chit chat …….
I went on
Danny Alexander MP
Chief Secretary to the Treasurys website
http://www.dannyalexander.org.uk/
Pressed the butoon on left
“Make a Donation”
and paid 9 [nine] pence into his account using PayPal.
I urge everyone to send tuppence to Danny.
- December 3, 2012 at 20:39
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Done, two English pennies sent.
- December
3, 2012 at 14:25
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If you want to see just how uncontrollable the internet really easy, try
accessing pirate bay on Virgin or O2. It’s blocked. Then go to Google and type
in ‘unblocked pirate bay’
As fast as they shut one avenue down, another opens up. And if they try to
trace people speaking their minds, then they’ll just run up against a load of
software that stops them doing it by routing everything through anonymous
proxys.
It makes a great political soundbite, but in practice it just can’t be
done…
- December 3,
2012 at 14:12
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“Mad Frankie” Maude is spot on about terrorists cutting power off at
inconvenient times; however the terrorists will be from the Department of
Energy and Climate Change who will order smart meters to switch off washing
machines, driers and cookers if the wind isn’t blowing enough/blowing too hard
and there isn’t enough spare capacity from nasty polar bear-burning power
stations in the grid. Remember that turkey sushi is good for the planet and
the money behind the enviroscam.
- December 3, 2012 at 19:28
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Indeed, with the cost and scarcity of electricity in the future it will
become a truly luxury item, it is easy to envision the government pulling
the plug on those nasty server farms. Let the plebs get their news from the
government approved news sheet (one sheet only, recycled from toilet paper,
fully biodegradable) available at all DPW dole centres.
I exaggerate only slightly.
- December 3, 2012 at 13:33
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As an example of the internet thumbing its nose at authoritarian censorship
have a look at <a href=”http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/12/03/syria_internet_blackout_speak2tweet_google_twitter%22this
- December 3, 2012 at 13:37
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So much for relying on an add-on to do the work.
this is what it should have been.
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December 3, 2012 at 12:35
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Tob job again, Anna:
“If you build it, they will come…”
- December 3, 2012 at 12:14
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Thank you Anna for another insightful piece.
The powers to “snoop” already exist, it’s just that police have to have
some suspicion of illegal activity and obtain a warrant.
We already limit Internet access to convicted sex offenders where it is
deemed that use of the Internet will increase their risk to the public and/or
of further offences. Those who are subject to such orders may well moan about
infringements of their liberties….tough.
It’s not often I agree with Nick Clegg!
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December 3, 2012 at 12:56
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It’s even less often that I agree with Shami Chakrabarti.
- December 3, 2012 at 12:57
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“…it’s just that police have to have some suspicion of illegal
activity…”
Not quite as you imply, Anna-Marie:- the say-so of a senior plod (Chief
Inspector or above) is sufficient – hey might say he has suspicions but he
doesn’t have to expand, explain or justify them.
In much the same way as the underlings of Lavrenti Beria or Heinrich
Himmler were afforded independent autonomy.
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December 3, 2012 at 13:50
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I think you miss my point Ted, which is we already have laws in place
to deal with crime on the Internet. We don’t need more. The fact that
these existing laws are vulnerable to being used for corrupt purposes, as
most are if we are not careful , is another issue.
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December 3, 2012 at 15:34
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There is a subtle difference between the ‘powers’ to snoop and the
capability to do it. For as long as remote communication has existed, there
has been the capability to intercept/snoop. And the authorities have done it
all along, whether that is postal, telephone, telex or e-mail. Believe me,
they don’t spend all their days at Menwith Hill and GCHQ just playing
Solitaire.
The only difference is that, by formally taking the official ‘powers’,
they can finally admit to doing some of it and can use any captured
information as legitimate evidence – to use it before gaining such ‘powers’
would be to admit to what they’ve been doing all along. Therefore, the act
of gaining legitimacy does not change one jot of what is or what can be
intercepted, it only ever changes the formal uses to which it may then be
put.
And if anyone believes it’s not about capturing message content, but only
the time-stamp and routing information……….
- December 3, 2012 at 12:12
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The writer of the article you refer to, Anna, doesn’t seem to understand
the internet. That Google News thingy is a digest of news … culled from the
on-line versions of the MSM!!
- December
3, 2012 at 12:08
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I have pondered their ability to on off the power, specifically electric.
Are those well positioned wind turbines accidentally placed close to the new
feudal lords holdings to keep the little lights shining for those deemed fit
for entrance into the 21st century slick dictatorship?
I am sure it was
penned centuries ago that Lucifer would steal the minds of man through
electricity, to switch off the lightning would surely close that goggle box in
the corner and end the control.
Have they built a secondary grid? well they
have built Internet2, but only for the sanitised, the wikipedia-wikileaks
bretheren who know history and head the rebellion…. yes of course they
do….
Perhaps Thomas is pitching for Asssange’s chair?
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December 3, 2012 at 16:58
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I think this was maybe one of the reasons for the push towards IP6 to
replace IP4.
The internet was not “running out of numbers,” rather it was becoming
more dificult to keep existing blocks of numbers (the ISP’s ranges) and
introduce new blocks without adjusting the olds blocks, causing issues, none
of which are insurmountable.
One side effect of this is that there will be a push towards multi-IP
ranges for consumers (I know BE my ISP is looking to go this way when its
networks are all updated), so that every computer will/can have an outward
facing IP address, and not be in an internal network behind a single IP
using NAT.
At present NAT means that no computer, device, or user can be identified
when it connects to the internet; only the IP of the router and its
owner…
I leave it up to my fellow “tinfoil hatters” to see a possible conclusion
when every one of your personal devices, PCs, phones, webtv, youview boxes
are uniquely identifiable by globally unique IP address.
- December 3, 2012 at 11:58
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Geez Louise, this is all very depressing. I
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December 3, 2012 at 11:29
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“They say you cannot bribe nor twist,
Thank God,
The British
Journalist.
And when you see what he will do,
Un-bribed,
Their’s no
occasion too.”
Kipling had these tossers sorted 150 years ago
- December 3, 2012 at 11:48
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Well put. I’ve been reciting this to myself for the last two weeks!
- December 3, 2012 at 12:28
- December 3, 2012 at 13:58
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I think it was by Humbert Wolfe. Excellent quote and right on.
- December 3, 2012 at 15:46
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Quite right Timbo, don’t know why I thought it was Kipling except
possibly that it sounds so much like him.
“You cannot hope to bribe or
twist, thank God, the British journalist.
But seeing what the man will do unbribed, there’s no occasion to.”
Humbert Wolfe
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December 3, 2012 at 16:04
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Well Kipling should have known, having been a journalist himself for some
years.
Personally, I prefer his cakes.
- December 3, 2012 at 19:06
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And I thought it was by Humbert Humbert.
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December 3, 2012 at 21:55
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Speaking of pedophiles.
- December 5, 2012 at
12:57
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LOL…ita
- December 3, 2012 at 11:06
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Anna, the establishment has always wanted to control the internet
because,
a) it lets people talk and compare over distances they couldn’t in
the past,
b) it is instant communication therefore the establishment can’t
cover much, if anything, up,
c) the establishment doesn’t understand it and
never will – they see it as causing them to loose control.
The big problem the establishment will have is dealing with the fact the
internet, by virtue of what it is, always works round any blocks erected by
authority.
They tried to block access the the pirate bay site from the UK – anyone
that wants to visit that site still can. There are many more instances of
things like that.
The only way for the establishment to ‘control’ the internet is for them to
cut ALL communication with the rest of the world, which would create a
bigger noise from the media than anything they are saying at the moment. Even
then I doubt that they could cut all communication – some enterprising radio
amateur would establish a link and feed it down a phone line or someone will
get some satellite internet kit and so on. The internet will keep going and
work round government interference.
- December
3, 2012 at 14:05
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Indeed. Charles II wanted to ban coffee shops because people (ok, men)
went there to talk to each other instead of going to Court where the King’s
Eavesdroppers could ensure that his subjects were properly sub pollicem
regis. How far we have progressed.
- December 3, 2012 at 15:40
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The internet will keep going and work round government
interference.
Indeed this goes back to the very origins of the internet. It was
originally designed as a resilient network in the event of nuclear war by
the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA, later DARPA) within the U.S.
Department of Defense [sic].
Given recent events in the Middle East, that capability seems to be
working very well.
{ 46 comments }