tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3267928368747294421.post2875230751023222480..comments2023-09-06T22:58:43.907+10:00Comments on The Angry Exile: Sounds about right.Angry Exilehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13697765915987279791noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3267928368747294421.post-43133636933743088732009-07-23T04:04:23.258+10:002009-07-23T04:04:23.258+10:00Cheers AE, very interesting. Ta for your input at ...Cheers AE, very interesting. Ta for your input at my place too.<br /><br />Is there a link to the 'soft totalitarian state' quote? I seem to remember you mentioning that somewhere before (though I might have just imagined it).<br /><br />Look forward to your weekend musings. :-)Dick Puddlecotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01481866882188932892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3267928368747294421.post-63834138030740744462009-07-22T11:08:22.242+10:002009-07-22T11:08:22.242+10:00The tasering of the petrol sniffer, being just the...The tasering of the petrol sniffer, being just the latest and most horrific controversial taser incident here, is on my mental list of things to blog about, though you've beaten me to the punch and there's not a lot I can add to it other than that there's still a rather paternalistic attitude towards indigenous Australians. The sniffing substance law probably exists because of Aboriginal people being denied booze getting wasted on petrol fumes instead. Naturally the powers that be don't want to look at it as a possible negative effect of alcohol restrictions, partly because they in turn are sometimes brought in at the request of indigenous communities and Elders, and partly because politicians everywhere will instinctively react by banning something else instead of considering more freedom as a solution. Yeah, mental, though hardly unique to Australia.<br /><br /><i>I hope you can enlighten us as to how Australia came to be an anti-everything society.</i><br />Worthy of a fairly long blog, but I've touched on it from time to time. The short version is that Australia is a low level nanny state but because of the history - different colonies that became states on Federation - the level of nannyism and what is being nannied varies depending on where you are.<br /><br />But it's a fairly low level form of authoritarianism and on a day to day basis it's merely annoying most of the time, occasionally gusting offensive and patronizing - see the one about the Tasmanian "ilLiberal" leader. Yet there's nothing like the variety of semi-enabling and liberty reducing Acts that the British government has passed in the last decade or so, and which according to a paper here has turned the place into the first "soft totalitarian" state.<br /><br />Might find time at the weekend for longer thoughts on the topic.Angry Exilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02491082312193274360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3267928368747294421.post-91915811513877997002009-07-22T08:13:08.267+10:002009-07-22T08:13:08.267+10:00Would have e-mailed this but ...
Been reading you...Would have e-mailed this but ...<br /><br />Been reading you on RSS for a while and reckon you could add expert commentary on <a href="http://dickpuddlecote.blogspot.com/2009/07/forget-bird-flu-quarantine-aussies.html" rel="nofollow">this</a>.<br /><br />I hope you can enlighten us as to how Australia came to be an anti-everything society.<br /><br />Dick :-)Dick Puddlecotehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01481866882188932892noreply@blogger.com