Orwell, Hitchens, and the Hollow Self-Righteousness of Trotskyism by Rainer Shea

Screenshot by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

by Rainer Shea
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Rainer Shea: Anti-Imperialist Journalist, Aug. 1, 2019
August 6, 2019

In addition to all of the propaganda pieces that anti-communists use to legitimize their position, they often utilize a more general rhetorical tool, which is the denunciations of communism that have come from two of the last century’s most prominent intellectuals: George Orwell and Christopher Hitchens. These figures maintain large cult followings and are widely seen as moral authorities for their crusades against civilization’s evil and hypocritical aspects, which for Orwell was a crusade against totalitarianism and for Hitchens was a crusade against organized religion. Yet the cultural and ideological makeup of both of these men caused them to infuse their works with the anti-communist agenda, and to give this agenda’s followers the sense that they’re righteous upholders of honesty and virtue.

What Were George Orwell’s Political Views? by The Anti-Social Socialist

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“I have seen British Imperialism at work in Burma, and I have seen something of the effects of poverty and unemployment in Britain. In so far as I have struggled against the system, it has been mainly of writing books which I hoped would influence the reading public. I shall continue to do that, of course, but at a moment like the present writing books in not enough. The tempo of events is quickening; the dangers which once seemed a generation distant are staring us in the face. One has got to be actively a Socialist, not merely sympathetic to Socialism, or one plays into the hands of our always-active enemies.” — George Orwell, 1938

Of Fake News and History Suborned (In War and Peace) by Greg Maybury

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by Greg Maybury
Writer, Dandelion Salad
Perth, Western Australia
Pox Amerikana, May 25, 2018
May 28, 2018

We have blind men, one-eyed men, squint-eyed men, men with long sight, short sight, clear sight, dim sight, [and] weak sight. All that is a faithful enough image of our understanding; but we are barely acquainted with [men of] false sight. — Voltaire, The Philosophical Dictionary, Knopf, NY, 1924

George Orwell’s 1984

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Dandelion Salad

Originally posted February 7, 2008

Warning

These videos may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.

1984 George Orwell (1954)

Emmanuel Goldstein on Sep 26, 2013

BBC Television’s live production of George Orwell’s “1984”. Produced in 1954. Creative Commons license: Public Domain.

Empire Under Obama, Part 1: Political Language and the ‘Mafia Principles’ of International Relations by Andrew Gavin Marshall

by Andrew Gavin Marshall
Writer, Dandelion Salad
andrewgavinmarshall.com
Originally published on The Hampton Institute
October 7, 2013

Image by vaticanus via Flickr

In the first part of this essay series on ‘Empire Under Obama,’ I will aim to establish some fundamental premises of modern imperialism, or what is often referred to as ‘international relations,’ ‘geopolitics’, or ‘foreign policy.’ Specifically, I will refer to George Orwell’s writing on ‘political language’ in order to provide a context in which the discourse of imperialism may take place out in the open with very little comprehension on the part of the public which consumes the information; and further, to draw upon Noam Chomsky’s suggestion of understanding international relations as the application of ‘Mafia Principles’ to foreign policy. This part provides some background on these issues, and future parts to this essay series will be examining the manifestation of empire in recent years.

Are We Becoming an Orwellian Nation? by Thomas Baldwin

by Thomas Baldwin
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
PROGRESSIVE ACTIVISTS VOICE
October 26, 2012

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Our Corporatist Two Party System is Rushing Us Toward Totalitarianism

In the current election cycle of 2012, we have an excellent example of how both of the dominant political parties, Democrat and Republican, continue to propagate the lies and misinformation that allow them to maintain total control of the political system. Both candidates for election to president, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, are not only willing participants but active representatives of this process.

Drones over Afghanistan: Rediscovering the V-2…and Other Monsters by Donald Ristow

by Donald Ristow
Guest Writer
Dandelion Salad
Nov. 9, 2011

Image by Bird Eye via Flickr

“I would not deny that the pilotless plane, flying bomb, or whatever its correct name may be, is an exceptionally unpleasant thing, because, unlike most other projectiles, it gives you time to think. What is your first reaction when you hear that droning, zooming noise? Inevitably, it is a hope that the noise won’t stop. You want to hear the bomb pass safely overhead and die away into the distance …”

–George Orwell in 1944 describing the terror of V-2 rockets

It has become almost passé to make comparisons to the old Nazi regime anymore because the analogy has become so overused and abused.

Thoughtcrime: USA by Rand Clifford

by Rand Clifford
Featured Writer
Dandelion Salad
June 1, 2011

Image by Leo Reynolds via Flickr

The federal government seems unable to do anything but lie. Now, that’s plenty disturbing, but perhaps most disturbing of all is that hordes of Americans still, somehow, actually believe the lies. Compiling a list of official lies would be a savage challenge, tantamount to writing a synopsis of everything important that has happened, and is happening. On the other hand…easy as pie, compiling a list of actual federal truthfulness; unfortunately, there not only would be little if any pie, but hardly any crumbs. In fact, there might not even be any crumbs.

BIG BROTHER: The Police State Mentality in the Electronic Age by Rodrigue Tremblay

https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/

by Rodrigue Tremblay
www.thenewamericanempire.com
2 January, 2011

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” – Benjamin Franklin (1706 – 1790), American inventor, journalist, printer, diplomat, and statesman (1775)

“Americans used to roar like lions for liberty; now we bleat like sheep for security.” – Norman Vincent Peale (1898 –1993), American Christian preacher and author

“A Party member lives from birth to death under the eye of the Thought Police. Even when he is alone he can never be sure that he is alone. …At the apex of the pyramid comes Big Brother. Big Brother is infallible and all-powerful. Every success, every achievement, every victory, every scientific discovery, all knowledge, all wisdom, all happiness, all virtue, are held to issue directly from his leadership and inspiration.” – George Orwell (1903-1950) (Eric Arthur Blair), (book: 1984)

“Since information gives power, access to personal files can lead to unreasonable pressures, even blackmail, especially against those with the least resources, people who depend upon public programs, for example. Big Brother isn’t a camera. Big Brother is a computer.” – C.J. Howard, political novel “Cybercash”

‘Warfare’ – 1984 by George Orwell (repost)

In case you missed this when it was first posted back in 2007.

Video about ‘Warfare’, based on a reading from the novel 1984 by George Orwell. Reading of 1984 is from the Unabridged audio book “1984”… Read More

via Dandelion Salad

see

George Orwell’s 1984 (must-see film) (entire film)

Revealing the Secrets in Room 101 By Scott Horton

George Orwell’s 1984 (must-see film)

Image by Dandelion Salad via Flickr

Dandelion Salad

Warning

These videos may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.

1984 George Orwell (1954)

Emmanuel Goldstein on Sep 26, 2013

BBC Television’s live production of George Orwell’s “1984”. Produced in 1954. Creative Commons license: Public Domain.

George Orwell’s classic Animal Farm (must-see film)

Screenshot by Dandelion Salad via Flickr
Watch the videos below

Originally posted on my other blog on October 24, 2006. ~ DS

replaced video Aug. 6, 2019

Dandelion Salad

Animal Farm (1954 film)

Lex The Bookworm on Jul 22, 2018

A successful farmyard revolution by the resident animals vs. the farmer goes horribly wrong as the victors create a new tyranny among themselves.

‘Warfare’ – 1984 by George Orwell

https://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/

Image by surfstyle via Flickr

vaporlock

Video about ‘Warfare’, based on a reading from the novel 1984 by George Orwell. Reading of 1984 is from the Unabridged audio book “1984”. Enjoy

George Orwell – The Real Room 101

Dandelion Salad

Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 — 21 January 1950), better known by the pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist. Noted as a novelist, critic, political and cultural commentator, Orwell is among the most widely admired English-language essayists of the 20th century. He is best known for two novels critical of totalitarianism in general, and Stalinism in particular: Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Both were written and published towards the end of his life.