If the shoe fits
I'm afraid this will have to be a shortish post since I'm running late today. I've been deluged with errands as we prepare to sell our house and move out by January. Thank God I'm taking a week off between Christmas and New Year, otherwise I might lose my mind trying to keep all the balls in the air. I have some exciting news (for me anyway) which I'll share in Friday's post, and it's proof that good things can come out of bad situations.
Anyway, sticking to the toons ... I thought it was extraordinary to see the Iraqi journalist hurl a shoe at President Bush during his news conference in Baghdad. Even though they've been "liberated" and many people are better off without Saddam in power, it's easy to see why the guy might be angry. Saddam's overthrow, along with the US's hasty decision to "de-Baathify" the country, created a power vacuum that helped plunge the nation into a bloodbath of sectarian violence and Al-Qaeda-sponsored madness which has yet to end. Iraq has had to be destroyed to be rebuilt, and millions have suffered needlessly as a result. President Bush's invasion was as ill-considered as it was foolish, and all the efforts to restore peace since have been mop-up jobs to get rid of a mess that should never have been made.
Given W's terrible record on so many things, I'm honestly surprised the journalist thought he was worth wasting two perfectly good shoes on. And as I was mulling over the image of shoes, I thought this was a good way to show the other one dropping. I was originally going to have Bush blithely standing beneath a huge falling shoe, holding a smaller shoe and thinking "Whew! dodged that one!" That would have worked very well, but I liked showing the impact of the shoe, which gives weight to the words about the President's legacy.
The only thing I don't like about this toon, and would change if I could, is "Legacy of ineptitude". It would have been better to have "Place in history" or something like that, which is a bit more subtle and not as judgemental. Most people know he's a dork and me spelling it out so bluntly is a bit clumsy. Plus "Legacy of ineptitude" sounds like a bad-hair metal band from Sweden or something. Sigh. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, eh?
Naughty, naughty police, spying on us all again! Really, of what business is an activist's sexual relations to the Special Investigation Group? Collecting such details is all J. Edgar Hoover stuff, and takes us back to the days when intelligence agencies collected private information about dissidents to blackmail them. Is that where all of this is heading? I thought New Zealand was a bit more enlightened, but obviously its protectors can't resist the occasional dirty tricks. It must be hard when playing spy is so much fun.
We just have to make sure we watch the watchers as much as they watch us.
It's incredible that Oprah Winfrey's latest weight gain made the news or that anyone actually cares. Shut up already, Oprah! But I suppose it sets her up for another diet regime, losing the weight, then the right to crow about it ad nauseam in her magazine, on her television show, on the radio, etc. Another triumphant example of the human spirit, blah blah blah.
But how do you think this must make people in Zimbabwe feel, when gaining weight would be a miracle instead of a curse? Man, the world's priorities are skewed as hell. The irony was too rich not to comment upon, though I might have made the cartoon better by embellishing the text to read "In today's news, the planet turns it's attention to the tragedy of Oprah Winfrey's latest weight gain," or something similar. Then I could have tossed a more pointed barb at the media, and the way it helps perpetuate the cult of celebrity at the expense of serious issues.
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The Voice Of America (VOA) does broadcast in English to Africa.
Regional English programming hours have decreased since 1992.
However, I can state with some authority that I believe Oprah's fattiness (or lack thereof) has been the grist of VOA English news (via shortwave) for many years.
Technically VOA's "Studio 7" is targeted at this region. -- http://www.voanews.com/english/Africa/Zimbabwe/index.cfm -- http://www.voanews.com/english/Select_country.cfm?lang=16&rg=Af
However, I must point out that the US is not interested in real change in Africa (with respect to using international broadcasting) as the US has not set a shortwave relay station in Madagascar, South Africa or nearby locations since 1998.
The Sao Tome e Principe (VOA-IBB), Ascension Island, Lesotho and Sentech South African relay stations are too far away.
Sincerely,
Max Power, CEO Power Broadcasting (Telecommunications Consultants) HireMe.geek.nz
I thought the shoe cartoon was brilliant. I think that the words "Legacy of Ineptitude" were a good choice, and when looked at in ten years time, it will be far easier to understand what it is about. While one should treat readers as grown-ups, sometimes spelling things out like you did here is a good choice.
It's hardly Oprah's fault if the media choose to report on it. That's like blaming the Press Release if a Newspaper prints one.
Maybe BathTub, but dude, Oprah IS the media – what with her magazine, TV show, etc. I just think it's interesting that anyone actually cares, or that it would get more space than Zimbabwe on some days. Mike
@ BathTub - hello, what? So who issued the press release then? Why issue a press release if you don't want it printed?
@Mike: It's not Oprah's fault if Fairfax think they can make money off talking about her. Yes she's responsible for her own show/magazine but that's not the same thing. She's a celebrity, she isn't 'The Media' we aren't talking about the contents of her magazine or show here. If the Editor of the Dominion makes the decision that giving more space to Oprah sells more papers than talking about Zimbabwe that's on their head not hers.
@Lee: It's not the writer of the press releases fault if your local rag prints it. The intent of the writer doesn't enter in it. This was a response to somehow it's Oprahs fault, and she should stop it, that media organizations (other than her own) print trivial stories about her. She isn't responsible for the decisions that the stuff editors make.
Don't misunderstand me, it is incredibly inane if people think Oprah's weight is a bigger news story than Robert Mugabe destroying Zimbabwe. But she isn't responsible for how others sell her news.
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I have to confess I was at first highly amused at the Iraqi reporter winging a shoe at President Bush. But as I pondered more about why he threw that shoe, I realized I was proud of that Iraqi. Here is a man whose culture and country have been attacked. He likely has friends or even family who have been hurt or killed. He was given an invite to this press conference. He knew he would be in the same room with President Bush. *But* instead of lethal violence, he screamed his protest and threw his shoes at him. He yelled for thousands of dead Iraqis as a result of this war.
We could easily claim that perhaps Saddam was worse. But that does not absolve Bush from the deaths of so many. Bush commanded thousands to their deaths. Maybe it was for the greater good. Maybe it wasn’t. They are still dead. This Iraqi was angry. He was outraged. He voiced his frustration in the strongest message he could craft. Whether he is right or wrong, he was one of the bravest men I have ever seen.
I hope they let him go. No one was hurt. What a message that would be! I would begin to believe that Iraq could indeed become a free democracy if one of their loyal citizens could voice such criticism in the face of “the most powerful leader in the world.” I hope he goes to the US. I hope they put him on Letterman and the The Tonight Show. There may not be a finer example of American freedom than this Iraqi.