News about George Orwell

In 1935 the exquisitely pretty Paget sisters - identical twins who were also the Debutantes of the Year - took English society by storm. Society photographer Norman Parkinson used them as models and newspapers photographed them at every opportunity. Well-connected, they seemed destined for 'good' marriages and the relative obscurity of upper-class country life. Certainly no one could have predicted that, instead, two of the literary giants of the 20th century would become utterly infatuated with them. George Orwell was the first to be smitten, after meeting Celia at Paddington station. Some time later, in Paris, the French novelist Albert Camus fell madly in love with her sister Mamaine. As leading socialist intellectuals of their day, both authors were the antithesis of the chinless wonders the twins were expected to marry. On the surface at least, two more unlikely romantic pairings seem hard to imagine.

Photographs of innocent Scots are among more than three million mugshots being held indefinitely on 'Big Brother' police crime databases. An unknown number of victims and those who have been cleared of any crime, or who have never been charged, are part of the vast cache of data being stored in online vaults. Scotland's biometrics watchdog Dr Brian Plastow warned the true number could be 'significantly' higher. He said images stored by Police Scotland and other policing agencies included mugshots of people who were later found to be innocent. He warned of 'concerns around the necessity and proportionality of retention policies', as officers are still untrained on a new code of conduct on data storage.

A cult cartoonist who worked with Marvel Comics has died after posting a heartbreaking letter on social media claiming that trolls killed him. Ed Piskor, an award-winning comic book artist who gained a following for his graphic novels and his work on Marvel's X-Men: Grand Design, died on Monday at the age of 41, according to his family. In a 2,497-word farewell note, a cause of death was not given, but the Pennsylvania native took to Facebook hours earlier to post what seems to be a suicide note, condemning internet bullies and cancel culture.

The reality show began in 2000 and was a nod to the all-seeing presence in the George Orwell novel 1984, but the Diary Room's voice has never had a face attached to it – until now. The civilian version of the show was revived by ITV1 in 2023, and the winner of the new edition of Celebrity Big Brother was announced last week.

We could need to prepare a citizen army for war with Russia, according to Army General Sir Patrick Sanders last week. Gen. Sir Richard Shirreff, the former NATO deputy commander, recommended conscription. Can our Generals really be talking about mass armies in the age of high-tech warfare?Is a new global conflict inevitable, and with the poison of ' woke ' political correctness flowing through our society, are we in any state to defend ourselves? Our world is chaotic and risky, as it is unquestionably true. Two wars in Ukraine and the Middle East are ongoing, and they could escalate quickly. Putin is telling Russians that they are already at war with NATO, while his henchmen warn of nuclear strikes, which might be troubling us.

In the 1980s, their love affair captured the country, and we rejoiced as their lips finally met. No, not Charles and Diana, silly, but Nescafe's Gold Blend couple. Their love in the ad breaks was a soap opera, and when a new instalment was announced, only a few people took advantage of the ad break to put the kettle on. However, one thing is certain: the excitement surrounding it won't be present any more. Advertising is a dying art form, and no one could be excited about the dreadful, infantile, irritating drivel that adorns our screens these days.

This week Bel advises a reader who fears her marriage is in trouble

In new employee training branded as "woke" by critics, civil servants have been encouraged to 'think' of transgender colleagues as individuals as women. According to the diktat issued by bosses at the Information Commissioner's Office, calling employees by their chosen gender pronouns is not sufficient. According to the organization, employees can demonstrate their love for trans colleagues by 'thinking of the individual as the gender they want to think of them as'.

The FTSE 100, which was later known as the 'Footsie,' embodied British innovation in 1984. The index was recalculated on the antiquated FT 30, which was only used for a day. For the first time, it was possible to track top home-grown brands such as Barclays, Barratt, British Aerospace, BP, Glaxo, Legal & General, Prudential, Sainsbury's and Shell. These businesses now form the index's nexus. Private investors, whose ranks were increasing as a result of privatizations, were excited by the introduction of the new index in 1984. So were UK insurance companies and pension funds, which, in the early 1900s, owned less than half of the London stock market.

After lawyers for Google and the internet users reached a preliminary deal, a trial in the United States has been postponed. The terms were not disclosed, but lawyers had requested £4 billion, including at least £4,000 in fees per user. Even after users changed their browser to 'incognito' mode, which is ostensibly private, the case alleged that Google's analytics, cookies, and applications tracked online activity.

On Thursday, lawyers for both sides announced that they had reached a preliminary deal, and US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers postponed a trial scheduled for February 5 in the proposed class action. The case had sought at least $5 billion, with at least $5,000 in fees per user for those who used private browsing modes between 2016 and 2020. The lawyers did not disclose the terms, but they reported that they had committed to a binding term sheet through mediation, and that a formal agreement was expected by February 24, 2024.

In a post to the Watertown Free Public Library's Facebook, the postponement of the work's 90-year odyssey was made public. Employees first noticed that an unidentified individual's copy of "Hill Towns of Italy," by Egerton R. Williams Jr., was checked out by an unidentified individual on January 30, 1934, five years before World War II and in the midst of The Great Depression. Then, the 120-year-old tourist tome, who was supposed to return from two weeks, somehow made it to the country's capital. It was discovered by a 'far-flung patron,' who brought it back to the suburb. Staff at the 154-year-old plant proceeded to reveal the full financial harm that had been caused by the late return - $656 for those that failed to turn it in.

STEPHEN GLOVER: Was it my imagination, on Tuesday morning, that there were more than the usual number of possible Guardian readers looking down in the mouth?I don't believe so. A few of them, with the difficult-to-define but quick-to-recognise appearance of Guardianistas, appeared pensive. Had some momentous event occurred that had made them question their prejudices?I stumbled on a possible explanation later in the morning. The Guardian print edition and its website featured an article by Larry Elliott, the paper's Economics Editor, who was prominently on the front page and on the website under the byline of the paper's Economics Editor. Its headline read: 'I've got news for those who think Brexit is a disaster: it isn't.' That's why returning to college is just a pipe dream.' What?!The Guardian is Remainerism's epicentre. One of Europe's top journalists had bravely broken ranks here in the sanctum of Europhilia. The Conservative Party should claim that Brexit has been a success once more and that it could become a much bigger one.

Since landing a coveted job as a TV actor in the 1990s, he became a household name. This male actor seems worlds away from his debut 30 years ago when he walked the red carpet at the 91st Hollywood Christmas Parade. With a pink tie, he wore a black suit and a white shirt, adding to the festive cheer.

The Invisible Life of Mrs Orwell, which chronicles the early days of the 1984 author's first wife Eileen O'Shaughnessy (right) was published in August. Orwell was described as'sadistic,'misogynistic,'homophobic,'homophobic, and "sometimes violent" when speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival. Ms Funder spoke about Ms O'Shaughnessy's contributions to Orwell's career, including how she aided him in writing his 1945 masterpiece Animal Farm. However, she also stated that Orwell brought Celia Kirwan as a lover on a trip to Wales with his friend Arthur Koestler in the 1940s, following his wife's death. Ms Funder said Orwell had made love in a 'Burma-Sergeant fashion' by acting in a rushed fashion and adding, 'Ah, that's better,' after the tryst, before turning over in bed.

Graham Harvey explores his writing for the iconic British soap The Archers and how Elizabeth (pictured right, played by Alison Dowling) was inspired by a young love. 'I met Paula in 1959 after we'd migrated to a village near Henley-on-Thames,' he recalls.' I was 16 and had been doing a Saturday job at the family greengrocer's store on the high street, but no one was interested.' The box was taken in by a charming, middle-aged woman who was always generous in her thanks for the first three times I called at Edwardian semi, where Paula lived. My life changed for the better than ever when I rang that doorbell for the fourth time.'

SARAH VINE: Hundreds of young souls, butchered by terrorists, and what does this supposed messiah for Gen Z, 'Saint Greta of Thunberg' herself do? Profess Profess gives her support for the other team. Well, not Israelis, but not Palestinians. No mention has been made of kidnappings, rape, torture, and beheadings of young girls like herself. There is no mention of any of it, other than her, beside her, and a blue stuffed octopus, which is well placed for all to see. Discussing the insulting of an injury.

Eric Blair, better known as George Orwell, has warm childhood memories of him. 'He was a hands-on parent with me this week,' Richard Blair recalled this week.' He did those practical things that a woman would normally do at this time.' In recent days, rather less affectionate terms have been used to describe Richard's father, the kind of words that can ruin a brand overnight:'sadistic,'misogynistic', 'homophobic,'homophobic,' often violent','sadistic.' It's sad - indeed some would say bemusing - that almost 74 years after Orwell's premature death, leaving his son an orphanage aged five, that someone should use such inflammatory words to identify the author of such classics of English literature as Animal Farm and 1984.

PETER HITCHENS: Is George Orwell about to be cancelled? This gaunt, scruffy Old Etonian has been a major contributor to the Left for more than 80 years. He was wounded in the Spanish Civil War as a rebel against Franco, and he is over-qualified for socialist sainthood. Orwell, who served as a Burma policeman, resigned and condemned his conduct in that post. He lived in Paris as a tramp and worked for television production wages. He had personally experienced the Great Depression's squalor and poverty. He is unable to be dismissed as a public school elitist.

PROFESSOR ERIC KAUFMANN: Woke ideology has a way of generating terms that bring a shiver down the spine. One chilling dictum sums up the dogma: "The procedure is the punishment." What does it mean? It's just that speaking out against hard-Left orthodoxy is causing a certain amount of resentment. Academics do not have to be guilty of any professional blunder. The accusation of a thoughtcrime alone is sufficient to inflame anxiety and fear, silence opposition, and force obedience.

The empire on which the sun never sets is the most popular description of the British Empire, despite the fact that the word was used to describe Spain's encompassing territory in the 16th century. However, it was no exaggeration that Britain was the world's biggest global power during its reign. One Fine Day, Matthew Parker's latest book, takes an enthralling trip round it at the time, almost 100 years ago, when it reached its high point. It truly did extend around the globe, with a presence on every continent, from the Arctic to Antarctic. It featured a multitude of ethnicities, languages, and faiths, from the Inuits to the headhunters of New Guinea; from wealthy Melbourne graziers to nomadic Masai herdsmen.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,' A Tale of Two Cities' most popular opening has been named.' With 29 percent of the vote, Charles Dickens' French Revolution-era masterpiece, which was published in 1840, led a poll of British book lovers. Readers were encouraged to vote for the most popular, memorable, and enthralling opening lines from literature - and they could choose more than one.

Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a Christian activist, was confronted by police outside the BPAS Robert Clinic in Kings Norton, Birmingham, in March. After she insisted she was not protesting, officers from West Midlands Police told her, 'engaging in prayer' was the offence.' The new act could be an offence under 'buffer zone' rules enforced last year. They make it unlawful to threaten or harass anyone within 150 meters of an abortion center. Ms. Vaughan-Spruce was arrested just weeks after being found not guilty by Birmingham Magistrates Court for silently praying outside the same clinic in December last year. Now, police have reported that there will be no further probe into the March shooting and that they have apologized to Ms Vaughan-Spruce, the head of anti-abortion group March for Life UK.

EDWARD LUCAS: It is a fair bet that George Orwell's 1984 appearance at Bletchley Park, hosted by our Government, is not on the agenda for our nation's Artificial Intelligence Summit in November. It should be. The greatest writer of the last century, Ed Miliband, portrayed a dystopian totalitarian Britain of 1984, showed how total knowledge in our masters' hands breeds absolute control. Orwell's imaginary nightmare has been turned into reality by China's use of AI. Our government, on the other hand, is recommending that we hobnob with those who are trying to break them.