Sunday, September 06, 2015

In which the essence of vitriol Devine, as usual, shows no shame ... or much understanding of historical analogies and metaphors ... or come to think of it, Godwin's Law ...


Of course the pond was going to bite ...

What's not to like? The Sunday Terrorists out and about, and the front page alive with news and jokes:


Remember that ad for Presto. It's likely to have an enormous nostalgic and historical significance ... a bit like rare snaps of the dodo ...

But back to the Devine. What's not to like? Who could withstand humorous items featuring Tony Abbott and the Nazis ...



The pond is always up for a good Nazi joke, and any dire passing breach of Godwin's Law.

After all, it was the Daily Terrorists who set the pace with their wondrous photoshop skills.

And then came the downer:


Oh come on guys, we know what happens if we pay for the pleasure. You'll offer us a hideous picture of the Devine:


Oh dear.

Now the pond has spoken to you before about your business plan. You see, you're giving the Devine away for free. Now the pond's mamma, being Tamworth wise, always explained that you couldn't charge at the front door, and then give it away at the back door, and expect to make a dishonest living.

But you're still giving it away at the back door.

Remember, dear reptiles, the pond is here to help.

Time to end the blogs! The pond saw off Sohpie's Shout, or the Mirabella Rant, or the Punch, or whatever it was called, and there's simply no place for this sort of thing in Rupert's failing, flailing business model:


And as a bonus, there's no photo of the Devine. It's like a double bonus for people wanting to avoid the front door.

As for the rest, the actual text, it's just the usual hagiographic, laughable, forelock-tugging apologia - if that's not to grand a word for the context - that we have all come to expect from the Devine.

It's not worth a shekel, or even the bottle tops the pond once used as currency in child's play ...

The crucial stupidity of Tony Abbott isn't addressed by the Devine, and everything that Goot said remains true and accurate, and Abbott's invocation of the Nazis was historical folly, as becomes clear when the Devine attempts to invoke what Herr Abbott actually said while producing his indefensible breach of Godwin's Law ...

Here it is ...

The Nazis did terrible evil but they had sufficient sense of shame to try to hide it.

Shame had nothing to do with it, but an awareness of what might happen to them - and did happen at Nuremberg - was a profound incentive for the Nazis to try to cover up their war crimes. This became even more pressing as even the most clueless amongst them became aware that the war was lost.

But the notion that Hitler felt the slightest twinge of shame when he put the revolver to his head and ended it all is laughable. In fact in his final will and testament, Hitler repeated all the usual guff:

The first part of the testament talked of his motivations in the three decades since volunteering in World War I, repeated his claim that neither he "nor anyone else in Germany wanted the war in 1939", stated his reasons for his intention to commit suicide, and praised and expressed his thanks to the German people for their support and achievements. Also included in the first testament are statements detailing his claim that he tried to avoid war with other nations and attributes responsibility for it to "international Jewry and its helpers". He would not "forsake Berlin ... even though the forces were too small to hold out". Hitler expressed his intent to choose death rather than "fall into the hands of enemies" and the masses in need of "a spectacle arranged by Jews." He concluded with a call to continue the "sacrifice" and "struggle". He expressed hope for a renaissance of the National-Socialist movement with the realization of a "true community of nations". (You can Greg Hunt it here and cop a link to the actual document in pdf form here, may be slow to load).

Shame had nothing to do with it, and much the same is true of Hitler's senior colleagues.

Oh sure, a few expressed sorrow and attempted acts of contrition as a way of trying to get out of heavier punishment, or a hanging, but the pond takes as its exemplar in the matter of shame that arch dissembler Albert Speer, who made something of a career out of pretending he was sorry, when in fact his real sorrow was that he got caught and his architectural dreams never came to fruition:

As General Building Inspector, Speer was responsible for the Central Department for Resettlement. From 1939 onward, the Department used the Nuremberg Laws to evict Jewish tenants of non-Jewish landlords in Berlin, to make way for non-Jewish tenants displaced by redevelopment or bombing.Eventually, 75,000 Jews were displaced by these measures.[148] Speer was aware of these activities, and inquired as to their progress. At least one original memo from Speer so inquiring still exists,[149] as does the Chronicle of the Department's activities, kept by Wolters. 
Following his release from Spandau, Speer presented to the German Federal Archives an edited version of the Chronicle, stripped by Wolters of any mention of the Jews. When David Irving discovered discrepancies between the edited Chronicle and other documents, Wolters explained the situation to Speer, who responded by suggesting to Wolters that the relevant pages of the original Chronicle should "cease to exist". Wolters did not destroy the Chronicle, and, as his friendship with Speer deteriorated, allowed access to the original Chronicle to doctoral student Matthias Schmidt (who, after obtaining his doctorate, developed his thesis into a book, Albert Speer: The End of a Myth). Speer considered Wolters' actions to be a "betrayal" and a "stab in the back". The original Chronicle reached the Archives in 1983, after both Speer and Wolters had died. (Greg Hunt the footnotes here).

Sense of shame? More like a sense of irritation at having been caught out and lost the war, and the hangman's noose dangling very close to the neck ...

So why would a sycophant attempt to defend an indefensible, useless, and plain wrong historical analogy, metaphor if you will, which as the Law provides, means the argument is lost before it begins?

You know the answer already ... and the result is just another example of the pond having no shame in splashing about more of that pongy, smelly, shameful essence of ...



...Australia's heart of darkness ... with bonus Nazi tang.

And now, because it irritates the reptiles so, a few fresh offerings from the east coast twitterati. How's that poll coming along? Have you voted yet, here?


Splendid work. How remarkable to find 1% who can find it in their hearts to say good. And so to the rest:







Ah those east coast twitterati, thank the long absent lord they're inspired by the Master of east coast twittering ...


6 comments:

  1. What makes Miranda think Nazism "hid its atrocities?" Because they weren't posted on FB, I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Abbott giving in to those east coast twitterati, going soft on refugees? Not bloody likely, if the patriots of Canning are to be pleased.

    ReplyDelete
  3. And recurse: "Our focus will be on families and women and children, especially of persecuted minorities, who have sought refuge in camps neighbouring Syria and Iraq."

    ReplyDelete
  4. Captain Clownshoes says that the holocaust was conducted in secrecy because they knew what they were doing was wrong. Make you wonder about all the secrecy surrounding Nauru and turning back boats...

    ReplyDelete
  5. How is the spectacular Border Farce story a non-story because Kenny says it isn't/wasn't?

    Has he read Tim Wilson's excellent piece describing how stupid the entire process was from beginning to end?

    Perhaps one of the Border Farce teddies will be couriered directly to the Kenny household as a souvenir.

    ReplyDelete
  6. As the universe fills faster and faster with hurt and scorned loons, the body count grows horrendously.

    And who would have imagined that at the top of the heap, a proud and arrogant Dutchman would start an 11.29 minute interview absolutely full of beans, only to gradually deflate as we was schooled to the ground by Richard Di Natale yesterday. Pure, glittering gold right here. Make a nice cup of tea, and put your feet up. It's a special reward just for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF2-0Chhz1E

    p.s. Ranty man waving arms warning. The waving gets less as the interview goes on. Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete

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