Can someone help me here with this article link about Big Brother?

It's a good read about Big Brother and quite surprising coming from a small town area that is relatively republican. Something in my browser keeps shutting down whenever I try to get into the online story from the weekly paper.



http://www.presspublications.com/index.asp

Name of the story is:

1984:Big Brother's shadow looms large 20 years later

I can't even copy the headline to the story for some reason. It's a little way down the page if anyone can help with it.

Thanks!

I copied the link to it :

http://www.presspublications.com/pages/stories/mstories02.asp

I hope it helps.

In 1984, Winston Smith had the mistaken impression he could escape the eyes of Big Brother.

Twenty years later, 1984 is history and Winston's not even a blip on our collective consciousness. Big Brother, however, is another story.

George Orwell painted a dark portrayal of the human race in 1984, his 1949 book about a future in which all thought and actions are controlled by 'the party.' While 1984 has come and gone, that doesn't mean Orwell's Big Brother society is irrelevant, it may only mean that Orwell was off by 25 years or so.

Consider Orwell's 1984:

Oceania is perpetually at war with Eastasia or Eurasia. The constant state of war allows Big Brother to demand sacrifices from the people and justify intrusion into their lives under the guise of rooting out spies and traitors.

While war is necessary at times it also is a convenient tool to generate trust and loyalty from the people. Who, after all, has the courage to criticize those leading the war effort? Such criticism could be construed as treason. Besides, if the government has done its job by the time the fighting starts, its leaders have demonized the enemy.

More: http://www.presspublications.com/pages/stories/mstories02.asp

paragraphs here. But here's how you get directly to the story, I think/hope!:hi:


http://www.presspublications.com/pages/stories/mstories02.asp

Hold on to that hope because as each year goes by, we lose a little more of our privacy to corporations and government. At the same time, government gets more secretive and protective of public records. Consider the following:

Cameras now detect when you speed or run a red light and black boxes can monitor your driving habits. With cell-phone cameras and miniature video cameras, you're never sure who is studying you;

Corporations, government and thieves can seize control of the data in your computer without you being aware of it. They can get financial information, reading habits and the contents of your e-mails. Every site you go to, every click you make, every word you send may be monitored. Visit any illegal site and the Justice Department can turn you over to appropriate authorities;

And, like in 1984, where the party lures loyal members into committing crimes, Declan McCullagh, in a column for zdnet.com, writes that a dissenting opinion in a 1992 Supreme court case, Jacobsen V U.S., suggests that "the government could initiate contact with people who had no predisposition to break laws--a rule that would permit the FBI to spam Americans with enticements to commit crimes.";

The VeriChip, a miniature radio frequency identification device about the size of a grain of rice, can be implanted in the arm. The chip can hold personal, health care and financial data. No need to carry cash or credit cards and the medical information could be useful in an emergency. However, you will be walking around with personal information that can be scanned by any opportunist;

Radio frequency identification devices are also being embedded in vehicle license plates in Great Britain, according to Identec Solutions Inc. These RFID's will identify vehicles for security, access control, electronic payment and traffic management. However, imagine the danger if a stalker can track your habits and whereabouts through the information embedded in your license plate or arm. Or, imagine if the government could scan the identities of all participants in a protest march;

The Bush administration, citing new powers of the Patriotic Act, can do the following according to an Associated Press article published in September of 2002: Monitor religious and political institutions without suspecting criminal activity, prosecute librarians or keepers of other records if they tell anyone that the government subpoenaed information related to a terror investigation, and jail you without a trial, without charging you or allowing you to confront witnesses;

The Bush team is also the most secretive administration in recent history and it has encouraged federal employees to resist public records requests.

Much of this intrusion into our privacy is done in the name of fighting terrorism, a war that will be with us as long as Oceania was at war with Eurasia. It is also justified to support good causes like reducing identity theft and fraud or protecting our health.

Who can argue with that. Particularly, when we're at war. Well, that would be downright seditious.


P.S. I use the Opera browser and had no problem

http://www.presspublications.com/pages/stories/mstories02.asp

for being so nice! :)

1984: Big Brother's shadow looms large 20 years later

<snip>

 Consider Orwell's 1984:

 Oceania is perpetually at war with Eastasia or Eurasia. The constant
state of war allows Big Brother to demand sacrifices from the people
and justify intrusion into their lives under the guise of rooting out
spies and traitors.

 While war is necessary at times it also is a convenient tool to
generate trust and loyalty from the people. Who, after all, has the
courage to criticize those leading the war effort? Such criticism could
be construed as treason. Besides, if the government has done its job by
the time the fighting starts, its leaders have demonized the enemy.

 Orwell knew this. He writes, "The enemy of the moment always
represents absolute evil, and it followed that any future agreement
with him was impossible."

<snip>

 Much of this intrusion into our privacy is done in the name of
fighting terrorism, a war that will be with us as long as Oceania was
at war with Eurasia. It is also justified to support good causes like
reducing identity theft and fraud or protecting our health.

 Who can argue with that. Particularly, when we're at war. Well, that
would be downright seditious.

(From The Toledo Press, by John Szozda)
http://www.presspublications.com/pages/stories/mstories02.asp

1984: Big Brother's shadow looms large 20 years later

In 1984, Winston Smith had the mistaken impression he could escape the eyes of Big Brother.

Twenty years later, 1984 is history and Winston's not even a blip on our collective consciousness. Big Brother, however, is another story.

George Orwell painted a dark portrayal of the human race in 1984, his 1949 book about a future in which all thought and actions are controlled by 'the party.' While 1984 has come and gone, that doesn't mean Orwell's Big Brother society is irrelevant, it may only mean that Orwell was off by 25 years or so.

Consider Orwell's 1984:

Oceania is perpetually at war with Eastasia or Eurasia. The constant state of war allows Big Brother to demand sacrifices from the people and justify intrusion into their lives under the guise of rooting out spies and traitors.

http://www.presspublications.com/pages/stories/mstories02.asp

(Mozilla kicks ass.)

I'm using Firefox and it gave me no trouble at all.

I might add - the article is a good summary of 1984, but it'd be confusing to people who hadn't read it already. Wikipedia's 1984 page is far more comprehensive and helpful.

I am using IE. I need to get a different browser.

Firefox is downloadable free of charge at mozilla.org. I like it a lot.

:)