samedi 6 septembre 2003

Tough writing for hard-wired times "We live in a very strange society in which it is considered more dangerous to display an erect penis on television than it is to show, for example, someone having his throat cut. This is just one symptom of the strange disease that afflicts the so-called great and the good, bringing about in them a myopia in which they come to see sex as somehow a more heinous sin than violence. Certain words are not allowed because of their shocking sexual connotations, yet it is alright to show people being shot and knifed. The sex act itself must be ridiculously disguised, yet the scene in which someone is burnt to death is as realistic as possible. "This is just one of the crazy inconsistencies of this madness called censorship. If we are to suppose that films on TV cause children and the weak of mind (neither of which are likely to pay licence fees) to emulate them, this begs the question: which of the above would you want your children to emulate?" When I reviewed Neal Asher's 'Gridlinked', I took a quick look to see if he had a site of his own. And completely missed the one right at the top of the list. The usual links to a bio, novels and short stories apart, his pages offer a selection of unpublished writings and some punchy essays. The above extract is the start of a call to 'Censor Censorship' at 'Neal Asher's Space (Needs it for his head)'. I dropped by this afternoon, prompted by a brief note -- he'd spotted the review and wrote to say "thanks" -- and found myself lingering. Well worth a visit. zzz Some equally forceful writing on the "dangerous delusions of modern American culture" -- and not just American, I'd contend -- has just been published by Richard Forno. I first came across this IT security specialist by way of a book he wrote with Ronal Baklarz on 'The Art of Information Warfare'. I found this a sometimes disturbing and chilling introduction to a world I knew nothing about when I was investigating InterNIC, one of the "Big Brothers" of the Internet. Forno, who was in the late '90s security chief at the powerful Network Solutions, has expressed strong political views I didn't expect from the man in his new book, 'Weapons of Mass Delusion', where he comes over as what his compatriots label a "libertarian". This week he explained how the 'Matrix' had served as his "wake-up call". "I left the theater in a daze, not because of seeing Trinity's tight leather pants -- although they were a definite plus -- but because of the sad social commentary the movie presented to those who saw past the special effects, and the eerie reflection of modern reality it presented. "After Sept. 11, the illusion quickly became an easy way to get people and lawmakers to roll over and support any number of controversial proposals that were masked in the feel-good guise of patriotism to ensure their passage, including laws that may sound patriotic, but are anything but. The book just grew from there," Forno told Wired in an interview. A one-time Republican, the security geek today refers to Bush's gang as the "GOP, (the Greed, Oil and Power party)." A chapter of his book on what looks remarkably like a road to Damascus can be read on the Net: "I don’t believe that declaring a 'war' on an intangible concept such as terrorism, AIDS, poverty, or drugs is anything other than a political publicity stunt, and that we certainly won’t ever 'win' against whatever it is we’re allegedly 'fighting' for. However, I do believe that declaring a 'war' on a tangible target such as al-Qaeda or the Taliban is an achievable (and necessary) goal, provided it is conducted in a direct, effective manner by those assets most qualified to achieve victory." He calls such statements a "Realist Manifesto". Several aspects of that manifesto I'd take issue with, strongly, since I lean far further left than Forno does, but I'll be giving this one a read. If these hard-hitting writers have anything in common, it's an avowed aversion to "spin" and the wayward ways of the media. And I have a feeling that like Asher, Forno would put "political correctness" right where it belongs. In the trash-can. 10:04:20 PM  link   your views? []

nick b. 2007 do share, don't steal, please credit under artistic licence terms; contributing friends (pix, other work) retain their rights.