Darcy Moore

The Albanese controversy shows how universities have lost their way A cancelled venue for a UN rapporteur’s appearance highlights how universities are increasingly restricting debate about Israel and Palestine under pressure over antisemitism.

“While being involved in many contentious questions and campaigns I was always confident that senior staff would provide me with protection against critics from outside who every now and then demanded that I be sacked or disciplined or silenced.” johnmenadue.com/post/2026/03...

Albanese’s decision will follow him into the history books – and define us too Anthony Albanese’s refusal to assist Australian women and children in Syrian detention camps may prove to be the defining act of his prime ministership – not for its prudence, but for what it reveals ...

This excoriating piece was originally published in the Canberra Times. It strikes me that the most insightful phrase is "the limits of political calculation". johnmenadue.com/post/2026/03... #Auspol

@mediaconfidential.bsky.social @arusbridger.bsky.social @lionelbarber.bsky.social discussing (4.30min mark) requests for the provenance of @theobserveruk.bsky.social #Orwell branding, "the enemy of nonsense". @prospectmagazine.co.uk
podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/b...

Australian universities to be graded on how well they deal with protests under antisemitism report card Exclusive: Leaked documents show how universities will be assessed under new system, which was fast-tracked after Bondi terror attack

Just a reminder that universities are supposed to be places where ideas and opinions can be expressed freely, including defending human rights.

To be clear, if it wasn't already for some people, antisemitism is horrific, not tolerated, and never should be.

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

Two months into the social media ban and teenagers say it isn't working Australia's world-first social media ban for under-16s is two months old, but teenagers say they have found ways around it.

Anyone with a clue knew this was political, feelgood, uninforcable policy. Yet to come across a teen who is not on SM due to the ban.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02... #Auspol

Another month has rolled by with the Observer using a quote that hitherto has not been proven as Orwell’s. It seems disingenuous for the branding to remain. I am gobsmacked that the British media industry does not seem to care. 🤦‍♂️

On #censorship www.thamesandhudson.com/blogs/all-ne...

Potts was the last man to see Orwell alive!

I do. Forked out for a first edition when I learnt about it.

As is in Fiennes? ;)

I meant caricature, not parody. 🤦‍♂️

Walph Blifil-Gordon is a parody of Murrough Loftus, the son of the Irish Catholic politician Pierse Loftus who is also satirised in the novel as an MP. Yes, the Hess story is true. Btw You will enjoy another minor Orwell connection with ML ;) walberswick-pc.gov.uk/news-posts/n...

Is A River Alive? is published today, 1 May.
It’s about the lives, deaths & rights of rivers—& how our fate flows with that of water & always has.
To the people, places & rivers whose ideas run through its pages, thank you so much.
I think it’s the book I’ve been learning to write all these years.

@spaincivilwartours.bsky.social @drnjwaddell.bsky.social @wcorklitfest.bsky.social @markcousinsfilm.bsky.social @irishpen.bsky.social @neilhegarty.bsky.social @blackstaffpress.bsky.social @arlenhouse.bsky.social @nessao.bsky.social @berniemcgill.bsky.social @jonsavage.bsky.social

@martindoyle.bsky.social @martinadevlinbooks.bsky.social @literatureireland.bsky.social @irishpages.bsky.social @paulfeldstein.bsky.social @lancasteruni.bsky.social @grahammort.bsky.social @backlisted.bsky.social @motherjones.com @orwellprize.bsky.social @irishnews.com @darcy1968.bsky.social

From Class War to Cold War - Athabasca University Press From Class War to Cold War traces George Orwell’s political evolution from the mid-1930s to his death in 1950 through his engagement with three defining conflicts: the Spanish Civil War,...

www.aupress.ca/books/120343...

Orwell: 2+2=5 (film review) - Darcy Moore Raoul Peck’s ambitious new documentary pays homage to George Orwell’s intellectual achievement by exploring contemporary manifestations of the authoritarianism the writer so deplored. Since his premat...

I am writing a film review for a journal but wanted to get something out now about #Orwell: 2+2=5 now because, as Bernard Keane explains, in "Australia’s tinpot civil society, ‘power speech’ is on the cusp of defeating free speech". Go see it! www.darcymoore.net/2026/01/14/o...

Honest Government Ad | Santoss Tour Down Under YouTube video by thejuicemedia

Santoss made an ad for the 2026 Tour Down Under and it's surprsingly honest and informative! 🚴🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️

@darcy1968.bsky.social from @privateeyenews.bsky.social

I cannot be party to silencing writers, which is why I am resigning as director of Adelaide Writers’ Week | Louise Adler Cancelling the Australian Palestinian author Randa Abdel-Fattah weakens freedom of speech and is the harbinger of a less free nation

“The Adelaide festival board’s decision – despite my strongest opposition – to disinvite (a writer) weakens freedom of speech and is the harbinger of a less free nation, where lobbying and political pressure determine who gets to speak and who doesn’t.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...?

Board members quit Adelaide Festival as dumped writer calls in lawyer Pressure to reinstate Palestinian-Australian author Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah to the line-up of one of the country’s best-loved writers’ festivals is mounting.

The remaining members of the board "Tracey Whiting, Leesa Chesser, Mary Couros, Brenton Cox and Jennifer Fuller (government observer)." It strikes me as something from Soviet Russia that a literary board has "a government observer". www.smh.com.au/national/pal...

Not yet!

Palestinian Australian author dropped from writers' festival after Bondi Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah has been dropped from the Adelaide Writers' Week line-up by the Adelaide Festival Board, citing the festival's role in "promoting community cohesion".

How can this be happening in our literary and broader culture? www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01...

“The Enemy of Nonsense” - Darcy Moore George Orwell, who wrote for The Observer, described it as “the enemy of nonsense”. Now, more than ever, it has a job to do.     James Harding, Editor-in-Chief It was with great interest I read James ...

www.darcymoore.net/2025/11/27/t...

A photo of the front cover of issue 1666 of Private Eye magazine with the caption "on shelves now." The headline reads: “Happy New Fear!” The cover image shows a staged photograph of senior US political figures in suits gathered around a table in a darkened room, resembling a war-room scenario. Speech bubbles add satirical dialogue: one figure says “We’ve invaded Venezuela,” another replies “Caracas?”, and a seated Donald Trump declares, “Yes, I’m completely insane.” A banner at the bottom reads: “INSIDE: HAS TRUMP GONE BARKING MADURO?”

Happy New Fear!

The new Private Eye is out now.

@privateeyenews.bsky.social has taken up the cudgel on page 3 about #Orwell and the Observer ‘nonsense’.

But Also John Clarke John Clarke, Australia and NZ's defining satirist, is revealed through candid talks with his daughter Lorin. This tribute explores his defiance, move to Australia, and four decades of comedy, blending...

A treat to usher in the New Year! iview.abc.net.au/show/but-als...

Charoux, Orwell & Astor’s Circle - Darcy Moore “Siegfried Charoux was a man of many gifts and warm friendships. Sculpture and painting were his chief modes of expression, but he was also an inventor of technical devices in those arts, a memorable ...

Although I was distracted by England managing to find new ways to blow their advantage in the cricket, I managed to draft a piece for discussion about some new research. #Orwell
www.darcymoore.net/2025/12/26/c...

Truth in fantasy: what Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials taught us over its 30-year run The ‘religious atheist’ author held a reputation as CS Lewis’s opposite. But his two trilogies – which came to a close this year – were a celebration of humanity and imagination

“In reading the six books… Pullman has written, it becomes clear that the antagonist is not spirituality – or even organised religion per se. The chief threat is something closer to dogma or absolutist thinking, and the authoritarian mindset...“ www.theguardian.com/books/2025/d...

John Clarke was a treasure – and this documentary proves we need more like him This is a joyful excursion into the mind of the satirist, who created some of Australia and New Zealand’s best comedy.

Good news! The John Clarke doco premieres at 7.30pm on Thursday, January 1 and streams on ABC iview! www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-a...