As regards David Johnson asking:
>> Hmmm, this might be a decidely `American' view about press freedoms. Any of
>> our British friends care to interject a few words about the "Official
>> Secrets Act"?
Hmmm, yes. I don't actually know if this is a strictly American thing. There
is certainly a public opinion over here that 'that sort of thing just wouldn't
happen....' but several cases, such as the admission of MI5 (CIA/FBI) trying
to destabilise the Labour govmts of the 70's (Read Spycatcher by Peter Wright,
the book Maggie had banned in the UK), and that huge coincidence when a lawyer's
office safe was broken into, that just happened to contain the only documents
relating to adultery by the leader of one of our opposition parties (Paddy
Pantsdown).
As for the Official secrets act, the government do have the power to nail you
to the wall - *if* you've signed it! They can also put D notices on newspapers,
but to do that, they have to know if the paper are going to print it, before
they can stop them! (Any lawyers who can give more details, please do, I'm
only really good on the Data Protection Act 1984, and speeding in built-up
areas in the hours of darkness.)
Freedom of speech is quite good here (in theory) you cannot be stopped unless
you have entered into a contract with the govt. not to disclose etc. (the OSA).
Certainly I would agree with Jeff, when he says
> Not necessarily. News that is not in the Government's best
> interests _will_ get out somehow. And it will spread by the
> fastest available route.
Of course it will - well in any enlightened democracy......does this include
the Regency under Norris? Opinions on an e-postcard please..
(Sorry about this non-Traveller stuff....I'll get to the point...)
The point is that the higher the technological level gets, the less powerful
in numbers etc you have to be compared to your political enemies in order to
get the dirt on them, IHMO. The Isolationists may have gotten lucky, but
equally Norris could have engineered the leak. However, I don't think the I's
would have to be particulally resourceful to find the dirt on something as
big as the Rape of Trin - I mean, an awful lot of people must have known
something was up, one way or another - couriers, traders, etc.
James.