Keep "denial" in Egypt

At the start of the year I quoted with approval an article by Frank Furedi:

Disbelief in today’s received wisdom is described as ‘Denial’, which is branded by some as a crime that must be punished. It began with Holocaust denial, before moving on to the denial of other genocides. Then came the condemnation of ‘AIDS denial’, followed by accusations of ‘climate change denial’. This targeting of denial has little to do with the specifics of the highly-charged emotional issues involved in discussions of the Holocaust or AIDS or pollution. Rather, it is driven by a wider mood of intolerance towards free thinking.

This week's Private Eye contains a couple more examples of the way the concept of "denial" being used in an attempt to prevent free discussion.

At the Daily Telegraph, anyone who questions what the Eye calls the "techno-utopianism" of the editor Will Lewis is described as "a digital denier". And Lord Gnome also reports a consultation between home secretary Jacqui Smith and the Tories' David Davis:

Smith's idea of consultation became apparent as soon as David entered the room. "So," she said accusingly, "you are still a 28-day denier, are you?"

You read it here first.