Ten Steps to a Closed Society

1. Invoke an internal or external threat
eg: the war on terror

2. Establish secret prisons
eg: Guantanamo, Bagram, Extra-ordinary rendition

3. Develop a paramilitary force
eg: Blackwater – they aren’t going to close up shop when Iraq is “sorted” you know. They are a business afterall.

4. Surveil ordinary citizens
eg: the endless CCTV, the tracking tags on your credit card/passport/loyalty cards, national DNA databases and one of the articles above

5. Infiltrate Citizens’ Groups (agent provocateurs)

6. Arbritarily detain and release citizens
eg: all those who get arrested for wearing anti-government T-shirts at political conferences, DNA tested and then released without charge

7. Target key individuals
eg: all the un-embedded (ie: independent) journalists killed by “friendly fire” in Iraq and Afghanistan, or the targeting of academics who speak out against the agenda.

8. Restrict the press
Ownership in very few hands (3 in the USA, 4 in Oz for example) and neuter any “independent” broadcasters (eg: the Kelly Affair with the BBC)

9. Cast criticism as “Espionage” and Dissent as “Treason” or “Un-Australian/British/American”Do you remember the post 9/11 2001 and the lack of scrutiny of the new laws being rushed in?

10. Subvert the rule of law
Have you ever read the Patriot Act, or UK / Australian anti-terror legislation, or ever seen what proportion of your laws are now passed without Parliamentary scrutiny or votes?

from “The End of America” by Naomi Wolf

……..fascism doesn’t have to be jack-boots and have marching processions. It’ll look just like things now. Just remember to be polite and don’t critisize or complain.