Mandarins neutered

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Last updated on August 5th, 2017 at 02:51 pm

David Marr – there, I’ve named him; now he will be hunted down and silenced – reports from fascist Australia:

Since 1996, Howard has cowed his critics, muffled the press, intimidated the ABC, gagged scientists, silenced non-government organisations, neutered Canberra’s mandarins, curtailed parliamentary scrutiny, censored the arts, banned books, criminalised protest and prosecuted whistleblowers …

Public debate has been bullied and starved … Suppression … gulags … unscrupulous corrupter of public debate … we didn’t care enough … fear … authority … deceit … lies without shame … ruthless … damage … we let this happen … insults, threats … suppressions … bullying … brutally suppressed … tyrannical … suspicion … instinct for secrecy … stop debate … misled, intimidated … starved … minimal tolerance for dissent … hunger strikes … arrest without charge … detention without trial … chilling effect … censoring … information withheld … violations …

The above is lightly edited, but I think all of Dave’s major points remain intact. Actually, one section deserves further attention:

John Howard is, in his own eyes, a champion of liberty leading a nation whose commitment to freedom is “on a par with or better than the other great democracies of the globe”. In the innocent days before September 11, he fought for the freedom of small businesses to sack; the freedom of parents to send their children to private schools; the freedom of stevedores to employ non-union labour; the freedom of unionists to vote against strikes; the freedom of students not to join university unions.

Those are freedoms, Dave.

Posted by Tim B. on 06/02/2007 at 11:17 AM
    1. He really thinks those points in the second quote are bad things? Dear gawd, how Orwellian can he get?

      Oh, wait, he’s a satirist, isn’t he?

      Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 06 02 at 11:31 AM • permalink

 

    1. Flee fascist Australia, Dave, flee!  Go to Cuba or North Korea or Iran, where you can be free from all that oppressive freedom!

      Posted by RebeccaH on 2007 06 02 at 11:31 AM • permalink

 

    1. In the innocent days before September 11, he fought for the freedom of small businesses to sack; the freedom of parents to send their children to private schools . . .

      This idiot actually thinks he’s reading out a series of horrendous charges, as if he were the prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials. People who are at least intelligent enough to shovel food into their mouths when they’re hungry have no excuse being this willfully stupid.

      Posted by paco on 2007 06 02 at 11:32 AM • permalink

 

    1. Don’t tell me, let me guess: mocking is considered cruel and vicious silencing?

      Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 06 02 at 11:34 AM • permalink

 

    1. Good lord! I just clicked on the link. This intellectual vomit actually appeared in a major newspaper? I was initially under the impression that the text was quoted from some blog fever swamp.

      Posted by paco on 2007 06 02 at 11:35 AM • permalink

 

    1. #3 paco,

      This idiot actually thinks he’s reading out a series of horrendous charges, as if he were the prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials.

      In Margok’s aborted “People’s Court” those would indeed be crimes against humanity…

      Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 06 02 at 11:37 AM • permalink

 

    1. When the “fascist” Howard is through down under, send him to the US!

      Posted by Patricia on 2007 06 02 at 11:41 AM • permalink

 

    1. Flee, Dave, flee!
      I like it, RebeccaH. It has a delighfully humorous bumper-sticker quality about it.

      Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 06 02 at 11:43 AM • permalink

 

    1. Hang on! Here’s the missing *t* from my previous post. It thought it’d scarpered. Ha!

      Posted by Spiny Norman on 2007 06 02 at 11:47 AM • permalink

 

    1. This bloke is not living in the same country as me!

      But he does have a point – public debate is being starved and bullied – by people like him

      Posted by aussiemagpie on 2007 06 02 at 11:47 AM • permalink

 

    1. He’s been silenced!  Silenced I say!  His only course is to bravely smuggle his message to the downtrodden masses via full page articles in major newspapers and regular appearances on the ABC.

      Posted by bondo on 2007 06 02 at 11:48 AM • permalink

 

    1. “Yet under Howard the press has found itself misled, intimidated and starved of information.”

      This explains why the press most often does the misleading – a sort of embarassed, twisted, tits-for-tat balancing of their internal scales.

      Posted by Harry Bergeron on 2007 06 02 at 12:14 PM • permalink

 

    1. Things must be going wonderfully in Australia if this moonbat is screeching so loudly!

      Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 06 02 at 12:17 PM • permalink

 

    1. On the other hand that Hugo Chavez, he’s a leader to be admired.

      Posted by alien kiwi on 2007 06 02 at 01:02 PM • permalink

 

    1. I started to read the article then realized how long it was and on scrolling to the bottom see it’s an edited extract. This Marr guy obviously needs something to keep him occupied. Maybe I’ll send him a jigsaw puzzle.

      Posted by alien kiwi on 2007 06 02 at 01:08 PM • permalink

 

    1. 13 Exactly! I plan my vacations precisely this way. Collect a sample of Leftist press from a number of countries and analyze. This particular piece of inanity makes Australia high up on the list, indeed at the moment numero uno, of hot places to visit in 2007. Japan is looking good too. I’m almost compelled to create a moonbat screeching index for the benefit of fellow travelers. (I wonder if such a travel agency would have legs….The Australian package tour could include an evening at Tim’s. Hey the Pope might even drop by. Of course, much money would be given to Tim for his hospitality.)

      Posted by tosa on 2007 06 02 at 01:16 PM • permalink

 

    1. This manifesto has a touch of Ted Kaczynski about it (form not content). Maybe they just published it in the hopes someone would recognize the writing and be able to lead police to him.

      Posted by alien kiwi on 2007 06 02 at 01:19 PM • permalink

 

    1. … the freedom of fries, a burger and a can of coke… damned fascist Yankee mind control!

      Posted by splice on 2007 06 02 at 01:24 PM • permalink

 

    1. A burger with runny egg and a slice of beetroot, now that’s cultural correctness.

      Posted by splice on 2007 06 02 at 01:51 PM • permalink

 

    1. I always liked Mr. Howard. Now I may have to hug him and cry tears of joy on his lapels.

      Posted by Merlin on 2007 06 02 at 02:06 PM • permalink

 

    1. Dave Marr:

      “In the innocent days before September 11, he fought for the freedom of small businesses to sack; the freedom of parents to send their children to private schools; the freedom of stevedores to employ non-union labour; the freedom of unionists to vote against strikes; the freedom of students not to join university unions.”

      Freedom.

      Señor Marr, you keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means.

      – Yours, Inigo Montoya

      Posted by kcom on 2007 06 02 at 02:10 PM • permalink

 

    1. Re #17, alien kiwi, I thought the style looked familiar!  You’re right, the content is different, but perhaps Marr and the Unabomber have the same root problem: mental illness.

      Because, clearly, Marr is no visionary revolutionary……

      Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2007 06 02 at 03:22 PM • permalink

 

    1. I don’t think we should encourage him to leave the country.
      He is not doing us any harm. In fact, he is probably frightening a few undecided electors away from the mania that prevails in the left.
      That is the most complete collection of reasons to vote for John Howard that I have ever seen.

      Posted by Skeeter on 2007 06 02 at 04:27 PM • permalink

 

    1. Someone is going to have to explain the Mandarin reference because all I can think of is ducks.

      I come from places with severed urban duck problems, usually mallards, but it’s not uncommon for the drakes to harass the hens to death and neutering ducks is something I can see some well-intentioned person doing.

      So now I’ve got these pictures of flocks of uber horny Mandarin drakes in my head and I’d sort of like it to go away.  😉

      Posted by Synova on 2007 06 02 at 05:24 PM • permalink

 

    1. severe… not severed.  ewwww.

      Posted by Synova on 2007 06 02 at 05:25 PM • permalink

 

    1. I can’t see why so many people seem to think that Howard is some sort of evil fascist. He doesn’t act like one and his policies are hardly the stuff of a police state.

      I certainly hope there’s more to it than just smearing him because he wins elections.

      Posted by Ian Deans on 2007 06 02 at 05:36 PM • permalink

 

    1. #26 Ian. I suppose it depends on what you mean by fascism.

        noun
      1. (often capital) a theory of social organisation based on the idea that those most suited to hold power should do so.
      2. (often capital) a pattern of social organisation embracing this theory in the manner of the Fascisti which usually exalts race or nation, or both, draws its power from capitalists, members of the military establishment, and brutal special police squads, has centralised autocratic government under a dictator, and forcibly suppresses all opposition; adopted between the World Wars by several European countries, as Hungary, Germany, etc.
      3. any extreme right-wing ideology, sometimes involving racism.
      [It. Fascismo, from fascio group, bundle, from L fascis a bundle of rods containing an axe, a Roman emblem of official power, later adopted by the Italian Fascist party] (Macquarie)

      I kinda like number 1, but I suppose the Australian left goes for 2 or 3.

      Posted by Skeeter on 2007 06 02 at 06:16 PM • permalink

 

    1. I can’t see why so many people seem to think that Howard is some sort of evil fascist. He doesn’t act like one and his policies are hardly the stuff of a police state.

      He doesn’t call for the complete reorganization of society along lines declared by left-wing intellectuals. That makes him a “fascist” in the modern world.

      Posted by Rob Crawford on 2007 06 02 at 06:27 PM • permalink

 

    1. Ian Deans, your presence is required at the People’s Court, 10:23AM tomorrow. Bring your own shovel. signed Margo K

      Posted by dean martin on 2007 06 02 at 06:36 PM • permalink

 

    1. I suspect that our “freedom” not to read his work concerns him the most.

      Posted by Lileks on 2007 06 02 at 06:40 PM • permalink

 

    1. Marr appeared on Late Night Pravda last Thursday discussing this very topic with Phatty.

      So much for the alleged muzzling of our Nanny – irony must be a foreign concept to this guy.

      Posted by egg_ on 2007 06 02 at 06:50 PM • permalink

 

    1. If you can put up with Marr’s whiny voice and Phat Phil’s occasional interjections, you can hear Andrew McIntyre from the IPA systematically destroying Marr’s arguments here.

      Posted by AlphaMikeFoxtrot on 2007 06 02 at 06:51 PM • permalink

 

    1. … the freedom of fries, a burger and a can of coke…

      Marr has the freedom of quiche, latte and a mouthful of bloke …

      Posted by egg_ on 2007 06 02 at 06:57 PM • permalink

 

    1. Marr’s paradise?

      • small businesses unable to sack
      • parents unable to send their children to private schools
      • stevedores unable to employ non-union labour
      • unionists unable to vote against strikes
      • students forced to join university unions

      Posted by egg_ on 2007 06 02 at 07:03 PM • permalink

 

    1. Opening line:
      At the heart of democracy is a contest of conversations.

      Where’s the AGW debate in the meeja?
      Eagerly awaiting the ‘balanced treatment’ of The Great Global Warming Swindle doco on our ABC.

      Posted by egg_ on 2007 06 02 at 07:11 PM • permalink

 

    1. It’d bitchy fags like Marr who give homosexuality a bad name.

      Posted by Big Arnie on 2007 06 02 at 07:29 PM • permalink

 

    1. What has poor ol’ GrandMarr almost had a grand mal over, anyway?

      Privatise Aunty and make her fully accountable, I say …

      .
      Marr: I’ll have a glassfull of coke …
      Waiter: I’m sorry, Sir, I thought you said ‘an arsefull of bloke’.
      Marr: I did!
      Waiter: Cheeky!

      Posted by egg_ on 2007 06 02 at 08:23 PM • permalink

 

    1. #34

      Marr’s paradise?

      It’s called North Korea

      Posted by Contrail on 2007 06 02 at 08:27 PM • permalink

 

    1. If you are looking for proof of the suppression of dissent you need look no further than the bottom of Brave Dave’e manifesto: “This is an edited extract…”

      Good God what is happening to Australia that Truth Tellers are only able to get edited extracts of their anti-government screeds published in national newspapers?

      Posted by DanG on 2007 06 02 at 09:04 PM • permalink

 

    1. Mandarins neutered? Boy, I wish I didn’t have the sweet & sour chicken balls tonight. I think I might be ill, now.

      Posted by andycanuck on 2007 06 02 at 09:19 PM • permalink

 

    1. “There are no gulags for dissidents under Howard. We reserve them for refugees.”
      I read no further.
      Is it too early for a calming snifter?

      Posted by chrisgo on 2007 06 02 at 09:45 PM • permalink

 

    1. #40: I didn’t know chickens had balls. Boy, you learn something new every single day at this blog.

      Posted by paco on 2007 06 02 at 09:48 PM • permalink

 

    1. #42: Wait. Were they rooster balls? Was the corresponding capon listed in some other part of the menu?

      Posted by paco on 2007 06 02 at 09:52 PM • permalink

 

    1. Listening to Marr is like listening to a 13 year old school girl complaining that she can’t get a tongue piercing.

      His views are guided by profoundly wishful thinking and a juvenile ability to understand how the world really works.

      Like most of the juvenile Left, Marr does not understand one major factor – what motivates people.

      Posted by Jack Lacton on 2007 06 02 at 09:57 PM • permalink

 

    1. I got here a little late, and read the headline. Now I’m trying to imagine a chorus of Canberra Mandarins singing soprano. Are they singing in Chinese or Strine? David Marr doesn’t say. He certainly makes Australian politics seem weird.

      Posted by ErnieG on 2007 06 02 at 09:59 PM • permalink

 

    1. Marr is a whiny queen who has NFI. Seriously, I’m kind of looking forward to a caliphate ariving so that Marr, Horin, Tracee and the other whiners get a good dose of reality.

      Posted by Nic on 2007 06 02 at 10:07 PM • permalink

 

    1. The persecution – er – prosecution of whistleblowers regarding the awful state of airport security is shameful.

      Thereby proving that you can, sometimes, find an awfully small gem in an awfully large, smelly midden heap.

      The thing I dislike most about the lunar left is that they’re not doing their job of finding real problems, they find it much easier to make stuff up.

      Posted by Zoe Brain on 2007 06 02 at 10:35 PM • permalink

 

    1. #40
      Coq au vane …

      One day a rooster, the next a feather boa … a la Priscilla

      Posted by egg_ on 2007 06 02 at 10:37 PM • permalink

 

    1. The only difference between Marrdi Gras and Kevni is that Kevni prolly had an aversion to atomic wedgies at skool …

      Posted by egg_ on 2007 06 02 at 10:49 PM • permalink

 

    1. Marr’s model citizens?

      Posted by egg_ on 2007 06 02 at 11:06 PM • permalink

 

    1. Someone smart said that a vocal minority will beat a silent majority.
      Marr and his mob are living proof.

      Posted by waussie on 2007 06 03 at 01:25 AM • permalink

 

    1. David – apparently known as Heady La Marr over at Bolt’s – should rewrite his piece with reference to Hero Chavez shutting down a whole TV channel (which had the temerity to disagree with him) – now that’s muffling the press.

      Posted by blogstrop on 2007 06 03 at 03:31 AM • permalink

 

    1. #51 – living what?

      Posted by blogstrop on 2007 06 03 at 03:32 AM • permalink

 

    1. #52 Headley? Who said Headley? I’ll take some of that! Ooh! (A little chant I learned in the army, poking fun at a guy named Headley.) But I digress…

      Posted by dean martin on 2007 06 03 at 03:54 AM • permalink

 

    1. #24 – I think he must be referring to the oranges.  What we in the States call “tangerines.”  That’s the only way the passage makes any sense.

      Now, I didn’t say it made a lot of sense, just, uh, “any.”

      Posted by Steve Skubinna on 2007 06 03 at 04:22 AM • permalink

 

    1. #38 Contrail

      I have to look closely at North Korea as part of my work. Fortunately, very fortunately, it is a small part.

      The sheer, unadulterated horror of what is occurring there literally chills my soul. Imagine a cross between Orwell’s 1984, the Mad Max movie, Nazi Germany in January 1945, and the Great Bengal Famine of 1943.

      That is the reality there every single day. And Marr complains about the way he is oppressed.

      He has no idea what the word means.

      MarkL
      canberra

      Posted by MarkL on 2007 06 03 at 06:53 AM • permalink

 

    1. Okay, reading the lightly edited version, I think Marr’s projecting some sort of jackbooted S&M sexual fantasy onto the universe.

      Posted by wreckage on 2007 06 03 at 07:24 AM • permalink

 

    1. Maybe it is time for Howard to go.  After all, he’s been a complete failure at silencing the likes of Marr.  If he can’t shut Marr up, then what good is he as our Fuhrer?

      /irony off

      Posted by mr creosote on 2007 06 03 at 07:52 AM • permalink

 

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