Insurgents in Hungary

[Dom Tuk]

Why are a handful of insurgents/enemies of democracy causing so much havoc in Hungary?? OK so their PM says he lied day and night. So what?. All politicians lie. We have learnt to live with it. After all it is a democratically elected government with a mandate for the next 5 years. Take those heathen commies to Guantanomo Bay.

[Whickerman]

I get the feeling that half the people on here would like to do that in britain, and would applaud the Hungarians? More power to 'em.

[jno]

I think the idea is you're not supposed to boast about it. But they haven't been a democracy for long enough to appreciate these subtle points of etiquette.

(Incidentally, from what I remember of the Hungarian election campaign, both sides were assiduously not mentioning the state of the economy - neither had the least idea what to do about it, and were hoping that if they ignored it it would go away.)

[Mabelcat]

Thanks Dom Tuk, Doublethink is alive and well, I see...

[matt66]

Nice one DOM

I detect the hand of Al Qaida in all this.

There is one mother of all liars who wishes this thing goes away as quickly as possible before his own people realise that there is a third way to get rid of his highness.

[matt66]

Doublethink....brings back memories

here is a true definition as in the book



The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. ... To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies�all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth.

[jake-the-peg]

Actually our politicians try very hard not to lie.

They will mislead, give false impressions or what was it Alan Clarke famously said? he'd been economic with the actualite"

Itself a paraphrase of Margarete Thatcher's Cabinet Secretary Robert Armstrong who first coined the "economical with the truth" phrase in the Spycatcher debacle


In excerpts broadcast on state radio, Mr Gyurcsany candidly admitted his government had accomplished "nothing" and had been lying for "the last year and a half to two years".

"We lied morning, noon and night," he said in a speech punctuated by obscenities.

That's a pretty breathtaking thing for any politician to say - and to say that and think you can remain in power is almost inconceivably arrogant

It's basically saying we're lying to you but you're too stupid or powerless to change it.

I'm not surprised there are riots

[admarlow]

mat66 - are you saying that if AL Qaida was involved that is a good thing?

[Mabelcat]

Re: matt66 and 'al qaida'

Been watching too much Spooks again?!

Maybe, just maybe, we should celebrate the rising up of people trying to protect their adolescent democracy from dishonest government.

[matt66]

it was a joke OK...attempt at sarcasm....... if saddam could be linked with Al qaida why not this hungarian govt. Come on...cant you even laugh sometimes

[Mabelcat]

Apologies matt66 I was wrong. I thought you were another paranoid nutter who only sees the world in Batman good versus evil terms...apologies for not seeing that actually you're not one of the shock-jock fascist types that seem to hang around here.

Mabelcat

[brachiopod]

"Insurgents" - now there's a word.

Or are they "Freedom fighters against an oppressive and lying Government"???

And who are we to judge? Faced with a deceitful government (Tory / Labour / whoever) what would we do?

"Coming out to march for freedom and bring down the government / oppressive regime / totalitarian state?"

"No, Coronation Street / Eastenders / Pop Star Idol Final is on - who can be bothered to go out when that's on?"

And people moan about government "bringing in all these oppressive / nanny-state laws, but no-one can be *rsed to do anything about it apart from moan about foreigners and how we're so much more reserved.....