I was subjected to Orwell's 1984 several times in college, and I've been (sarcastically) saying that it looks like someone in the Bush administration has been cribbing from him all along. But this clinches it:
Blair and Bush up for Nobel prize
"The pair have been put forward by a Norwegian politician who said toppling the Iraqi dictator had reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction."
To quote Mr. Orwell:
…the three slogans on the white face of the Ministry of Truth came back to him:
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
Extending the metaphor a bit, we've already got Bush making a virtue of his ignorance. Now he's nominated for a Nobel PEACE Prize for starting a war in the Middle East. (And, if we just give Ashcroft a little more time with the Constitution, we may even manage to work in that "freedom is slavery" bit as well. )
Of course, aside from the lunacy of nominating someone for starting a war is the simple fact that it's extremely questionable that "they've reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction" since either a) the weapons were never there in the first place—as is looking more likely every day— OR b) they're long gone and in the hands of Saddam supporters or terrorist groups somewhere else in the world. And neither scenario makes anyone safer from these things.
Sure, Orwell may be off by about 20 years, but in the grand scheme of history, that's hitting the date pretty close. Nice job, George. Too bad you turned out to be so prophetic.
Blair and Bush up for Nobel prize
"The pair have been put forward by a Norwegian politician who said toppling the Iraqi dictator had reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction."
To quote Mr. Orwell:
…the three slogans on the white face of the Ministry of Truth came back to him:
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
Extending the metaphor a bit, we've already got Bush making a virtue of his ignorance. Now he's nominated for a Nobel PEACE Prize for starting a war in the Middle East. (And, if we just give Ashcroft a little more time with the Constitution, we may even manage to work in that "freedom is slavery" bit as well. )
Of course, aside from the lunacy of nominating someone for starting a war is the simple fact that it's extremely questionable that "they've reduced the threat of weapons of mass destruction" since either a) the weapons were never there in the first place—as is looking more likely every day— OR b) they're long gone and in the hands of Saddam supporters or terrorist groups somewhere else in the world. And neither scenario makes anyone safer from these things.
Sure, Orwell may be off by about 20 years, but in the grand scheme of history, that's hitting the date pretty close. Nice job, George. Too bad you turned out to be so prophetic.
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