on September 7, 2013
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Cover artwork: The Blunders of our Governments © Matthew Buck Hack Cartoons
I have been reading a fine post about why we seem to have so many cock-ups in our national public life at The Real Blog, which is written by David Boyle. It also notes a book, reviewed here by Peter Wilby , in which I had a hand, providing the individual drawings for the cover.
My hat tipped to the authors of The Blunders of Our Governments, Anthony King and Ivor Crewe , and the good folk at Oneworld Publications who artfully bundled us together.
I look forward to working on the surely inevitable follow up!
Edited: To add a review at Politics Home by Austin Mitchell.
on September 3, 2013
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© Matt Buck Hack Cartoons for tribunecartoons.com
The parliamentary rejection of the Prime Minister’s desire for a vote supporting the targeted bombing of Syria continues to have repercussions.
Ed Miliband dodged his own bullet (sorry for the mixed military metaphor) when he shifted position to account dissent within his own party .
David Cameron found his sudden recall of parliament and repeated manoeuvres annoyed MPs. The result was a loss of the vote and of personal authority which is bad news when relying on judgment backed by a personal reassurance about the disputed intelligence materials.
The serious subtexts are the difficulties of the civil war in Syria and the larger regional proxy war it represents . Domestically, it is not yet clear if the Prime Minister will be able to avoid his own civil war as a result of the mess. Certainly one of the would-be PM’s, Boris Johnson, is making bellicose noises .
The cartoon references the British propaganda poster which has been in a popular circulation since the financial crash of 2007/08.
on August 30, 2013
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© Matthew Buck Hack Cartoons
The US Secretary of State delivered his ‘We know’ (all about what Syria did) speech on August 30th 2013.
Pencil drawing taken from the video feed. Here is the speech and a summary as recorded by The Guardian .
on August 30, 2013
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© Matthew Buck Hack Cartoons
The Prime Minster’s attempt to persuade the UK into a military intervention in the long-running Syrian civil war was defeated in the House of Commons last evening .
The fall out , or off , from this rejection of a ‘quick strike’ is entirely unpredictable and may follow the passage of a burst balloon.
Essentially, the power of a leader is the power to persuade and as this piece at Stumbling and Mumbling notes that is attached to character, especially in politics.
on August 29, 2013
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©_Matthew Buck Hack Cartoons for Hampshire Chronicle
A new History of the English language in 100 Places is launched. You can read all about it in the Hampshire Chronicle.
You might also excuse the paraphrasing and the old reference from the joke.
on August 29, 2013
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on August 26, 2013
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VIDEO
A bullet-shaped President of Syria. Like father , like son.
on August 23, 2013
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© Matthew Buck Hack Cartoons for Hampshire Chronicle
Users of the ‘Basics’ (or Food) Bank in Winchester have doubled during the past year. Read all about it the Hampshire Chronicle.
on August 19, 2013
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© Matthew Buck Hack Cartoons
There are suspicions of intimidation by the authorities as the partner of the journalist Glenn Greenwald is detained for nine hours under a little used law at Heathrow airport. Greenwald is lately notorious as the chosen conduit for the US security services whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The cartoon speech bubble references the old line from the McCarthyite Communist witch-hunt hearings of the late 1940s and 1950s – Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party of North America?
My colleague in cartooning, Ann Telnaes, sums up some of the concerns the detention has provoked well here .
