Link: living with the Stasi

[tree_and_leaf]

Thoughtful reflection on living under surveillance and on East Germany, by Neal Ascherson:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2030955,00.html

Comments

[tree_and_leaf]

That's an interesting comparison; and yes, it will take a deal of time before E. German society recovers. There's something peculiarly horrible about discovering someone you trusted, even only partially, betrayed you, and when it's someone you were close to. It's also horrible to imagine being put in a position where you had to choose whether to comply and spy, or to refuse, and risk - well, considerable unpleasantness.

Of course, it's also very bad for a society to be dominated by fear and suspicion: the former E. is still a very frightened and distrustful place, by and large (notwithstanding that there are some fine people there).

[eagles-rock.livejournal.com]

I appear to have lost al control of English in my first reply. Sorry.

Have you seen placet? It's an HP/Wimsey crossover. Just in case it amuses you.

[tree_and_leaf]

I wouldn't have said so - I understood, it, and I've just frazzled my brain by trying to copy-edit and listen to Radio 3 being Dramatic at the same time.

I saw placet earlier today - came up on a fic newsletter. Quite fun, though I have serious difficulty believing Snape/ anyone these days, and especially Snape/ Lupin...

I once vaguely remember reading a long fic which seemed to suggest, in a throwaway reference, that Diane de Momerie was a witch (or possibly a Squib) who had gone off the rails. It was a Draco/ Hermione, and featured an Anglo-Catholic Draco who was a fan of Harriet Vane (i.e., I would be forced to describe it as majorly OOC - though it must have been pre-OOTP at least - but it had some points of interest none the less...)