Why do you, at the end of your comment, ask a question that was fully answered in-depth by the article? There's irony in the fact that you use a rather strained analogy also, just the point the author is trying to get across as being necessary...

Where do you think that many Slashdot stories originate from? That's right - from other sections, of which Idle is just one. And they can appear on the front page! Wow! -1 to you, for being a humourless plonk.

Sanctions that worked? South Africa.