Good on ya Kev. I have just been watching the Beeb and it appears that Kev is actually going to whisper those magic words. “We are sorry”.
So I wonder when, how and how the aboriginal community will receive it and then what they will do with it.
Good on ya Kev, I think this is a step forward for Australia, next thing ya know, you will be signing that Kyoto treaty as well.
In my experience and opinion the Australian Aboriginals probably get about the worst deal that I have every seen any indigenous people group get. Like many indigenous peoples they are over represented in jails, in deaths whilst in custody, in unemployment, child and spouse abuse, alcoholism, etc etc. I once had the honour of visiting a Aboriginal Mission, it was a desperate and sad place unlike anything that I have seen since. According to a Radio New Zealand doco a van selling alcohol follows the van that delivers the benefit payments to these Missions.
One of the things that the Australian Aboriginal people desperately want is to hear the Australian Government say the words “we are sorry”. We are sorry means, sorry for the many many things that we have done to reduce your life to this, sorry for stealing your land, stealing your kids and especially in the early days, for treating you like animals. But the simple sorry would probably be fine.
So I wonder if Kev will make a difference to these people. I wonder if he will whisper those three magic words and I wonder if he will have the guts to drag the nation through the healing process that reconciliation and compensation brings.
Anyhow this was a hard cartoon for me to draw. I am still trying to gain experience and am not feeling that happy with this genre of art. I need to be a lot freer and need to start taking risks with actually turning people into caricatures. I will try again later.
As per usual this was created on a Monday with coffee, the difference is this time I did the initial sketch listening to jazz and my attempts of colour and shading were made while watching an averagely boring Hallmark movie.
Draconian is the word that springs to mind. And if I could find a word more draconian than draconian, I would definitely use it.
I am not 100% sure on my facts, but after listening to Radio New Zealand Podcasts I understand that in New Zealand it is illegal to rip your own legally purchase CD’s to your own MP3 player. Obviously the good ole Kiwi law makers have no idea as to what an MP3 player is and exactly why we use them. At a guess 99% of all people walking around Aotearoa with head phones in their ears are breaking the law. Absolutely amazing and stupid, perhaps they should also ban the sale of ipods because clearly they are leading our youth to break the law.
As I understand it in the United States they have a fair play law, which means that when you buy a CD you can legally copy it to your MP3 player and play it as you walk, drive or however you listen to your music. This is common sense.
Of course sharing your music on-line of copying your CD and giving them to your friends is illegal and as an artist I fully support copyright laws and encourage you to support them as well.
Anyhow time to get off my opinionated high horse and to crap on about some other stuff.
You will notice the flag above the court house. It is one of the possible replacement NZ flags. No oppressive Jack on it, no flag trendy Southern Cross and no Monarch Royal Blue. I will leave it at that.
I want to learn how to cartoon. I have so many ideas, but not the creative skill to put them on paper. I guess I am on a journey.
Again this was sketched on a Monday, Mondays being my day off. Sketched whilst drinking coffee and listening to Kiwi music including the phenomenal One Glimpse from Vineyard Music.
Hey this is an excellent cartoon. The current events in Pakistan are something that we should all be aware off. It is looking as if they will be expelled from the commonwealth for the very reasons that this cartoon is stating.
Please go and read the blurb that goes with this cartoon at its original website. While you are there take a look at Mike Moreu’s latest cartoon or simply browse the stuff website.
This cartoon is used with permission and is covered under New Zealand copyright laws.
Well that is as far as I get tonight, I will have to finish it off in a few weeks time. Just in case you want to know who the four stooges are; they are in order Mahmoud Abbas, Bashar al-Assad, Ehud Olmert and Nicholas Burns. Watch this space for more.
Don’t just talk about it guys. “SAVE DARFUR”
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Did you know that 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes in Darfur, Sudan? Each day, they face threats that are hard for us to even imagine including rape, disease, and starvation.These people need our help to put an end to the genocide and they need it NOW.Please join me in taking the first step to stopping the violence.Click here to sign the Save Darfur Coalition’s petition urging new UN Secretary-General Ban to take immediate steps to stop the killing.Together, we can make a difference in the lives of millions of people in the region who desperately need outside help.
The Save Darfur Coalition is urging the international community to prevent further killings, displacement, and rape by deploying the UN peacekeeping force that has already been authorized, strengthen the understaffed African Union force that is already in Darfur, establish a no-fly zone, increase humanitarian aid, and ensure access for delivery of food, medication and other essential supplies.Please do not stand by while the violence continues – you can make a difference. http://www.SaveDarfur.org/Donate
Thanks for your help.
Best regards,
David Rubenstein
The Save Darfur Coalition
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Donate to Help Save Darfur
Help build the political pressure needed to end the crisis in Darfur by supporting the Save Darfur Coalition’s crucial awareness and advocacy programs. Click here now to make a secure, tax-deductible online donation: http://www.SaveDarfur.org/Donate
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The Save Darfur Coalition is an alliance of over 175 faith-based, advocacy and humanitarian organizations whose mission is to raise public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of more than two million people in the Darfur region. To learn more, please visit http://www.SaveDarfur.org.
Former Italy boss and All Blacks legend John Kirwan has signed a two-year deal to coach
Japan.The arrangement will see the World Cup-winning All Black steer Japan through this year’s much-anticipated tournament in France.
Among the sides listed in Japan’s group are Australia, Fiji, Wales and Canada.However, Kirwan will not be new to the role as he already knows a number of players in the Japan squad after a spell as the team’s technical advisor.”We are determined to do our best to win all the matches in the World Cup,” Kirwan told Planetrugby.com.Kirwan replaces Jean-Pierre Elissalde at the helm after he was sacked by the Japanese Rugby Union for taking up a post with Bayonne concurrent to his role as coach of Japan.
Article taken from All Blacks.com who seem to have taken it from Sportal.co.nz.
90 Arrested in Action Inside U.S. Federal District Court in D.C., Hundreds March Through Captiol Hill
Hundreds marched through the streets of D.C. today, winding a path from the Capitol to the Supreme Court and ending at the U.S. Federal District Court House. Throughout the morning other activists entered the court house to file Habeas Corpus petitions and await the presentation of the prisoners.
After filing a motion with the Chief Judge of the Federal Court, activists gathered inside the atrium of the court house and began reading the litany of prisoners. Many dropped banners reading “Shut Down Guantanamo” from the balconies overlooking the atrium. The activists were then ordered to leave and arrested.
The action inside of the court house was complimented by a multi stage march of 200 men and women in hoods and orange jumpsuits, representing the prisoners of Guantanamo. They were joined by 300 supporters as they marched solemnly to the Supreme Court, where a prisoner account was read, and then to the U.S. Federal District Court, where 40 people representing detainees tried to enter the court house for their day in court. The 40 detainees were denied access and proceeded to block the entrance to the building, which they held for several hours. The rally that unfolded in support of them included a reading of the litany of Guantanamo prisoners, a puppet show and a demonstration of water boarding.
The protest was organized by Witness Against Torture, a group of Christians that marched to Guantanamo and held a vigil in December 2005. There were over 100 protests held throughout the world to mark today, the 5th anniversary of the first arrival of prisoners to Guantanamo.
Article taken from the “Witness Against Torture” website.
Last night we were watching 24 series 4. It struck me as to how freely they torture people. I started wondering if Americans really do torture people like that. And then Guantanamo Bay sprung to mind. So the answer is clearly a yes. Among other things Guantanamo Bay could have been and may still be the site of mass systematic torture sanctioned by the US government and the people who vote them into power. Large chunks of the rest of the world may also be able to be held guilty, simply because of their silence and tolerance of what the USA is doing.
So what can we do? Start boycotting American made products, politics and sporting events? Maybe! But we also need not forget the fact that the USA is apparently the world’s largest donor of aid. Do we really want to stop the millions of dollars they pour into Aids projects, Africa etc? But does their money buy them freedom from human rights? And why do they refuse to be part of world bodies that can hold them accountable such as the International Criminal Court.
I do not know the answers. But perhaps you could look at these two websites. Witness Against Torture and Cage Prisoners. They seem to have ideas on what we can do.
You need to note that this picture is not anti-American it is anti- the illegal imprisonment without trial and the possible systematic torture of hundreds of humans at the American military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
And now it is time for me to go decorate the Christmas tree.