Orwell was banned in the GDR; I wonder if von Schnitzler has taken particular offence to the program for its Orwellian overtones, or just its general stupidity. He is looking at me. ‘I think that big television tyrant of yours was involved in that—’ ‘She’s Australian,’ Frau von Schnitzler corrects him, ‘not American.’ ‘I know what I’m saying,’ he says. ‘Murdoch,’ I say. ‘Yes, he was Australian but now he’s American.’ ‘Who cares?’ von Schnitzler counters airily. ‘He’s a global imperialist.’
