Whilst Afghanistan continues to demand an influx of fresh faced young Englishmen in the first flush of adulthood to risk life and limb in a macabre game of hopscotch as a precursor to emerging from the dreaded condition of ‘Failed State’, other countries have put their thinking caps on and are coming up with some novel suggestions as to how to reinvent themselves.

I was particularly interested to see Bejam’s Iceland’s efforts to change their dependence on frozen fish and frozen funds.

Following Wikileaks role helpful role in their financial crisis, when their national broadcaster ran the url for the Wikileaks disclosure of their creditors when blocked from publishing the list themselves, they have invited Julian Assange, the Wikileaks editor, to talk to them about changing their laws so that Iceland could become a free speech friendly haven for publisher’s. The Sovereign State of Wikileaks?

This, it is hoped, would encourage the world’s giant media corporations to register their companies in Reykjavik rather than the libel tourism capital of London.

Some of the world’s smallest and least economically viable states – Monaco, Andorra, the Cayman Islands, even Switzerland, have learnt to be viable by offering a means of side stepping unpopular laws, why should it not work for Iceland?

The proposal has attracted cross party support in Iceland, a country of 320,000 people who have been left paying a disproportionate share of their income to repay creditors in Britain and the Netherlands.

It would draw on the source protection laws of Sweden, the Belgian protection laws for journalists and the First Amendment of Free Speech from America. According to an email from Assange (which was then leaked, ironically enough) the amendments would cover source protection, whistleblower protection, immunity for ISPs and other carriers, freedom of information requests, and strong limits on prior restraint. They would also provide protection against libel judgements from other jurisdictions, much as the United States may soon do with the Free Speech Protection Act of 2009.

Free Speech attracts strong emotions, and those gripped with a belief that they ‘know’ the absolute truth of a range of situations will tell you that free speech is an absolute that should have no restraint on it, that when the law is unable to give them the ‘closure’ they wish, that they should be free to denounce from their pulpit, soapbox, or newspaper, whoever it is that they feel is responsible for their chosen cause. Libel laws should play no part in their ability to speak out.

That is but one side of the coin. If media moguls are able to congregate in a sovereign state from where they can publish any calumny they wish, you will have a situation where a political leader may be protected by his friendship with a media giant, but any opposition will be vilified and ridiculed beyond anything we see at present – with no redress. Just because the state laws allow anyone to publish anything they wish will not mean that media moguls will publish anything you wish – you will just have freed them to publish anything they wish.

It is not just less state intervention in our lives in the form of legislation that we need, not just smaller government, but smaller economic global forces – the gigantic media corporations being just one.

Libel law is more than overdue for a thorough overhaul, UK libel law in particular, but I fear that those who fondly imagine that with libel law removed, newspapers would then be free to publish what they see as the truth, may well be in for a rude awakening when they find that they have removed one of the last bastions against powerful global media forces being able to publish ‘facts and figures’ proving ‘beyond doubt’ that every single opposition candidate in a forthcoming election is a paedophile, convicted armed robber, and ate three babies for breakfast.

You think they wouldn’t? Really?

So, now we are on the subject – your suggestions for recycling Britain – what could we turn Britain into that would earn money?

1
Alan February 22, 2010 at 10:40

A theme park. That is what DEFRA seem to have in mind for the countryside anyway.

A film lot. The world’s biggest. Citizens made to move at the whim of some poncy director.

I was going to say ‘Prison’ but we’d never be competitive with Asian pile ‘em high, cell ‘em cheap tactics.

A training ground for wargames. We have a very varied environment here in a relatively small and convenient area with the added bonus of unpredictable weather, plus industry to do the manufacturing and repair of vehicles and weaponry and a ready made population to act as the dispossessed and as freedom fighters. The infrastructure already looks rundown so a few bullet holes and damaged buildings won’t look that out of place.

Those ideas could probably work simultaneously.

2
Sabot February 22, 2010 at 11:30

A compost heap?

3
Blink February 22, 2010 at 12:45

“what could we turn Britain into that would earn money?”

erm….?

no, wait, I’ve got it ….. no ….. erm……??

4
PT February 22, 2010 at 13:44

Since the UK is now home to representatives of virtually all ethnic groups and human genetic variation, we are now a medical scientist’s ideal laboratory, and a very large one, so what about us all selling our bodies on a continuing basis for drugs testing by the pharmaceutical companies? Any organised objections to this can be monitored by our rulers using the sophisticated surveillance systems they’ve developed, and drug companies will no doubt continue to suppress any and all opposition in our libel courts. Simples!

5
ivan February 22, 2010 at 14:31

How about packaging it up with some derivatives and selling it off to the highest bidder.

6
Ancient and Tattered Airman February 22, 2010 at 19:54

“Whilst Afghanistan continues to demand an influx of fresh faced young Englishmen in the first flush of adulthood”

No, Anna I must correct you. They are young BRITISH men and women. The Scots, Welsh, Manx, Northern Irish and Cornish are all part of the British Army, even though they are patently not English. In fact England hasn’t had an Army for over 300 years.

7
John Pickworth February 22, 2010 at 23:55

“… what could we turn Britain into that would earn money?”

We’ve been here before. First with cotton, the Empire, then trains, ships, aeroplanes and cars. Later; it was USAF landing strips one, weapons and pharmaceuticals. Lastly; music, computer games and tv programme formats (drama, wildlife and game shows etc) and finally, ermmmm… finance and banking!

As a nation, we’ve been fortunate to reinvent ourselves many times over but we’ve also a unique gift for throwing it all away again. The worry now is that our luck has run out. So future possibilities…?

Welcome to the George Orwell Theme Park.