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The Forum > Article Comments > Arthur C Clarke, satellites and democracy > Comments

Arthur C Clarke, satellites and democracy : Comments

By Barry York, published 30/10/2015

It is very hard for tyrants and dictators to control a populace that has access to global telecommunications.

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The peasants are revolting against the ruling, left wing elites.
Posted by imacentristmoderate, Friday, 30 October 2015 10:18:39 AM
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An excellent article Barry.

When in Government I had the privilege of being in the International Satellite Section of 6 people who organised conferences of satellite people from all over the world. We also were part of the small team who decided whether the government would support low earth orbiting broadcasting satellite ventures.

Problem was - in the 1990s so many American companies wanted $Billion infrastructure startups or tax writeoffs, to build a Cape York Spaceport, to launch 100s of small satellites. These were "Men of Vision" who would create Australia's own Kennedy Space Center - but with a few $Billion from taxpayers. Like "Field of Dreams" build it and they will come!

Lucky this infrastructure "Very Fast Trainlike" bonanza never happened. see http://blogs.slq.qld.gov.au/jol/2013/10/21/whatever-happened-to-the-cape-york-spaceport/

Arthur C. Clarke was indeed great and reached the stars.
Posted by plantagenet, Friday, 30 October 2015 11:43:20 AM
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Meanwhile, at the time of the attempted Green revolution/uprising in Iran, the authorities kept tabs on all of those who supported or were active in the uprising, via their use of social media, namely by the use of mobile phones as a means of communication. During and after the short-lived uprising all of these people were rounded up and dealt with - tortured/imprisoned/terminated.
The situation was probably the same in Egypt and elsewhere too.

Similarly I also read that right-wing nationalists in Russia and other Eastern European countries also keep tabs on "leftists" or "enemies" of the Russian State. They thus hunt them down and terminate them.
The situation in China is just as bad, if not worse. Just last week I read an article which described how the Chinese authorities are ruthlessly terminating any signs of dissent.

Meanwhile of course we now all live in a 24/7 surveillance state wherein everything that we do on the internet is monitored. As are (potentially) all of our mobile phone calls and emails. The relevant spying "authorities" even know where you are the moment you turn your mobile phone on.
We can also be tracked/traced via the use of our credit card transactions. Both by commercia, and government "security" agencies.

Face-identification technologies are being increasingly used to scan people in their thousands as they walk down the street.

Surveillance cameras are everywhere, all over the "free" world. I remember reading an article over 20 years ago re how (at that time) both Germany and the UK already had security cameras almost everywhere. Meanwhile what is the situation 20 years later and with much more super-sophisticated technology?

Remember too that in the USA the growth of the 24/7 surveillance state took off exponentially after Sept 11. It became one of the most important growth industries in the USA.In her book The Shock Doctrine Naomi Klein had an entire chapter on this topic.
There are now literally hundreds of "security"/surveillance outfits in the USA, with probably little or no overall accountability to anyone.
Posted by Daffy Duck, Friday, 30 October 2015 11:58:53 AM
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Daffy Duck, & you can thank left wing religion for EVERY single one of the problems you complained about.
Posted by imacentristmoderate, Saturday, 31 October 2015 6:28:38 PM
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Well yes! is al I can add. And rightly so!
Posted by Rhrosty, Sunday, 1 November 2015 11:50:53 AM
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