Summer

Wednesday August 23, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 23, 2017

Patrick Brown’s disastrous tenure as PC leader

A leadership race based on who sells the most memberships can lead to a disappointing outcome. In May 2015, Patrick Brown won the Ontario Progressive Conservative leadership race against a more qualified and experienced opponent, Christine Elliott. She was a three-term MPP, deputy leader of the party, and someone with vision.

June 15, 2017

Brown was a two-term, lacklustre, social conservative MP. In Ottawa, he voted against same-sex marriage and was an anti-abortion advocate. He offered no clear vision for the PC Party during the race, but used his organizing skills to sell hundreds of party memberships.

Two years of on-the-job training and Brown’s greatest talent may yet turn out to be selling memberships. He’s lost a commanding lead over the Liberals and faces serious internal rebellion.

A strong democracy requires a strong opposition — one that challenges the governing party and presents a credible alternative. Brown is struggling to deliver on both counts.

August 31, 2016

In his first year as opposition leader everything seemed possible. He was dealing with a seemingly spent 15-year-old, scandal-plagued government. He and the PCs vaulted ahead in the polls. Premier Wynne was falling out of fashion.

He swelled the party membership from 11,000 to 80,000 and won two by-elections, including his own seat in Simcoe North. He countered the Liberal attempts to brand him a social conservative by claiming to be a “pragmatic conservative.” That meant surprise support for the LGBT community and a “revenue neutral” carbon tax. Beyond that, Brown was bereft of any engaging policy ideas.

By the end of last year the hope was Brown’s young, slick image would give way to a more passionate politician with a plan for the future.

So far this year he’s failed to deliver on that hope. Instead of scoring easy points against the vulnerable Liberals, Brown attacks without having a plan. He rails against soaring hydro rates but hasn’t offered a solution. He complains about “reckless spending” but hesitates to say where he’d make major program cuts. (Continued: Toronto Star) 

 

 

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Thursday August 10, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 10, 2017

Trump’s Threat to North Korea Was Improvised

President Trump delivered his “fire and fury” threat to North Korea on Tuesday with arms folded, jaw set and eyes flitting on what appeared to be a single page of talking points set before him on the conference table at his New Jersey golf resort.

April 15, 2013

The piece of paper, as it turned out, was a fact sheet on the opioid crisis he had come to talk about, and his ominous warning to Pyongyang was entirely improvised, according to several people with direct knowledge of what unfolded. In discussions with advisers beforehand, he had not run the specific language by them, though he had talked over possible responses in a general way.

The inflammatory words quickly escalated the confrontation with North Korea to a new, alarming level and were followed shortly by a new threat from North Korea to obliterate an American air base on Guam. In the hours since, the president’s advisers have sought to calm the situation, with Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson assuring Americans that they “should sleep at night” without worrying about an imminent war.

June 21, 2006

But the president’s ad-libbed threat reflected an evolving and still unsettled approach to one of the most dangerous hot spots in the world as Mr. Trump and his team debate diplomatic, economic and military options.

The president’s aides are divided on North Korea, as on other issues, with national security veterans like Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, the national security adviser, on one side and Stephen K. Bannon, the president’s chief strategist, and his allies on the other. 

The president had been told about a Washington Post story on North Korea’s progress in miniaturizing nuclear warheads so that they could fit on top of a ballistic missile, and was in a bellicose mood, according to a person who spoke with him before he made the statement. His team assumed that he would be asked about North Korea during a scheduled media appearance tied to his opioid meeting, but Mr. Trump had not mentioned his comment during a conference call beforehand that focused on North Korea.

“North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States,” Mr. Trump told reporters in remarks aired on television and broadcast around the globe. “They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”(Source: New York Times) 

 

Friday, August 5 – August 16, 2016

Illustration by Graeme MacKay - 2016 Summer Olympic Games - illustration used for the cover of a special section devoted to the sporting event held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The process involved drawing and colouring the individual characters. Next was determining how they would best fit into a space roughly measuring 8.25 x 10.5 inches. (See Olympic-cover2). The background was chosen to be divided 5 ways: water, athletic indoor, athletic outdoor, track, and gymnastics.) Estimated completion time: 18hrs. Rio, 2016, Olympic, Games, Summer, Archery, badminton, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, canoe, cycling, diving, equestrian, fencing, golf, field hockey, javelin, discus, shotput, relay, pommel horse, balance beam, uneven bars, gymnastics, breaststroke, sidestroke, butterfly, rowing, rugby sailing, shooting, synchronized, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, water polo, weightlifting, wrestling, couch potatoes

Illustration by Graeme MacKay – Friday August 5, 2016

2016 Summer Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Summer Games Gallery

Rio – June 30, 2016
Rio – July 5, 2016
London – August 3, 2012
London – July 27, 2012
Beijing – August 14, 2008
Beijing – August 7, 2008
Beijing – March 24, 2008
Athens – September 1, 2004
Athens – August 19, 2004
Athens – August 12, 2004
Athens – August 5, 2004
Athens – February 23, 2002
Athens – August 16, 2004
Sydney – September 9, 2000

Tuesday July 5, 2016

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Tuesday July 5, 2016 One Month to Go - Should we panic about Rio Olympics? Get real When is it time to panic about the Olympics? ItÕs true, things are not pretty in Rio de Janeiro, even as the Olympic torch arrived Tuesday in Brazil, with three months until the opening ceremony of the Games. ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ ThereÕs the raw sewage in Guanabara Bay, slated for sailing events. The doubts over whether the subway line connecting the Olympic venues will be finished in time. The horror of the collapse of a recently built $12 million seaside bike pathÊ(two dead, three injured), calling into question the integrity of the other structures the city has built for the Games -- for which, by the way, ticket sales are still hovering at only about 62%. But panic? Well, the Zika virus is spreading, with some delegations debuting "Zika-proof" uniforms. The city's notorious crime rate looms large, and Amnesty International has called attention to the death toll from police crackdowns in the favelas, or shantytowns. All this while the country remains embroiled in economic recession, a corruption scandal and political drama, most notably impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff. But letÕs pause a moment. It has become tradition to sound alarm bells in the months leading up to an Olympic Games. Before the last go-round, Sochi for example, cries of crisis came often: Venues built on protected lands. Swollen budgets tied to crime syndicates. Illegal dumping and contaminated water. Anti-gay legislation and hate crimes. Pussy Riot. And stray dogs, everywhere. But good luck finding an example of a truly noble Olympics. Politics take a toll because the Olympics are never free and clear of their political moment. (Continued: CNN News) http://www.cnn.com/2016/05/03/opinions/rio-olympics-panic-bass/ World, Olympics, Rio, Brazil, 2016, Summer, games, delays, construction, #Rio2016, #RioOlympics

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday July 5, 2016

One Month to Go – Should we panic about Rio Olympics? Get real

When is it time to panic about the Olympics? It’s true, things are not pretty in Rio de Janeiro, even as the Olympic torch arrived Tuesday in Brazil, with three months until the opening ceremony of the Games.

There’s the raw sewage in Guanabara Bay, slated for sailing events. The doubts over whether the subway line connecting the Olympic venues will be finished in time. The horror of the collapse of a recently built $12 million seaside bike path (two dead, three injured), calling into question the integrity of the other structures the city has built for the Games — for which, by the way, ticket sales are still hovering at only about 62%.

But panic? Well, the Zika virus is spreading, with some delegations debuting “Zika-proof” uniforms.

The city’s notorious crime rate looms large, and Amnesty International has called attention to the death toll from police crackdowns in the favelas, or shantytowns.

All this while the country remains embroiled in economic recession, a corruption scandal and political drama, most notably impeachment proceedings against President Dilma Rousseff.

But let’s pause a moment. It has become tradition to sound alarm bells in the months leading up to an Olympic Games. Before the last go-round, Sochi for example, cries of crisis came often:

Venues built on protected lands. Swollen budgets tied to crime syndicates. Illegal dumping and contaminated water. Anti-gay legislation and hate crimes. Pussy Riot. And stray dogs, everywhere.

But good luck finding an example of a truly noble Olympics. Politics take a toll because the Olympics are never free and clear of their political moment. (Continued: CNN News)

The above cartoon ran locally on June 11, 2015, in advance of the Toronto Pan Am Games.