Uncle Sam

Saturday February 25, 2017

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday February 25, 2017

Why Donald Trump won’t be watching the Oscars

Notorious prime-time TV and celebrity gossip fan President Trump will not be watching the 2017 Oscars, his press secretary Sean Spicer has indicated.

“Hollywood is known for being rather far to the left in its opinions,” Spicer said during a press conference. “I have to be honest with you. I think the president will be hosting the Governors Ball that night.

“Mrs Trump looks forward to putting on a phenomenal event, and the first lady has put a lot of time into this event that’s going to occur welcoming our governors to the capital.

“I feel like that is where the president and first lady are going to be focused on Sunday night and so we will go from there.”

We can’t rule out him sneaking a peak at the ceremony then, and I like to imagine him sneaking away from glad-handing at the D.C. event to watch a little of the ABC transmission – Melania catching him and being like “Damnit Donald, I spent hours on this party!”

In recent years Trump has described the Oscars as “bullshit” and “terrible” and famously was highly critical of Meryl Streep and her speech at this year’s Golden Globes.

Trump’s presidency is likely to hang heavy over this year’s ceremony and host Jimmy Kimmel knows it. (Source: Independent) 

 

Wednesday November 9, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday November 9, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay – Wednesday November 9, 2016

Donald Trump wins, America elects an unthinkable president

President Donald Trump. Believe it.

Trump pulled off the unthinkable once again on Tuesday, this time with colossal global consequences. The Republican businessman and former reality television star was elected president of the United States, completing an astonishing rise from political laughingstock to leader of the free world.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay - Wednesday November 9, 2016

Trump’s victory, perhaps the most staggering election outcome in the modern history of major countries, was a repudiation of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who was favoured in polls throughout the campaign but was widely considered dishonest and inauthentic. And it was the biggest triumph yet for the populist nationalism that has shaken countries from Britain to Venezuela.

Trump’s win may produce a period of international political, military and economic upheaval. Even before the race was called, the Dow futures market fell by 750 points, a sharper descent than immediately after the Sept. 11 attacks. Canada’s immigration website crashed.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Justin Trudeau's fight with the forces of Brexit and Donald Trump Tuesday June 28 2016 Six months ago, Justin Trudeau went to Davos, Switzerland to pitch the World Economic Forum on a vision of shared prosperity, proper leadership and embracing diversity. A day later, David Cameron appeared on stage and tried to explain why he was preparing to plunge Britain into a referendum over its membership in the European Union. "Now, some people ask me, 'Well, why are you holding a referendum?'" he acknowledged, after explaining that his aim was for Britain to remain within a "reformed" EU. "I think it's absolutely essential to have full and proper democratic support for what Britain's place should be in Europe and that's why we're holding the referendum.Ó Oopsie. If Cameron is invited back to Davos next year, it will be as a former prime minister. He will no doubt be asked to reflect on how and why his deeply divided country decided to remove itself from the European experiment in common cause, possibly precipitating the breakup of the United Kingdom in the process. There is possibly a lesson here in how one should be careful and cautious when conducting national debates about foundational matters (like, say, electoral reform). But there are, as well, hints that what happened in Britain on Thursday night was driven by economic exclusion, political alienation and fears about immigration. Precisely the sorts of things Trudeau has seemed eager to be seen as standing against. "Simply put, everybody needs to benefit from growth in order to sustain growth," he said in Switzerland. "I believe in positive, ambitious leadership," Trudeau explained. "We need to trust citizens. "We need societies that recognize diversity as a source of strength," he added. "Not a source of weakness.Ó His is the government of the "middle class" and "real change" and 25,000 Syrian refugees. Back in January, Trudeau's appeal to div

June 28 2016

Clinton and President Barack Obama had called for a comprehensive rejection of Trumpism — his disparagement of women and minority groups, his disdain for democratic norms, his rage. Instead, a majority of white voters, and enough others, rejected their message of inclusion and incremental improvement in favour of Trump’s promise of radical transformation.

They granted immense power to an erratic, never-elected and habitually untruthful candidate whose behaviour and policy positions have alarmed much of the world — and who will face no organized opposition in Congress. Republicans retained control of the House of Representatives and appeared likely to keep the Senate. (Continued: Toronto Star)

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Wednesday, February 26, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A cheering crowd, a returning martyr, an ethereal blond woman in a wheelchair, her head wrapped in iconic braids.

It’s a clip straight out of Central Casting. But some say the abrupt appearance of once-imprisoned Ukrainian political leader Yulia Tymoshenko in Kyiv’s Maidan square may not be the trailer to a happy ending.

Since Ukraine’s protests broke out three months ago, the opposition has been largely leaderless. But whether Tymoshenko is a comeback kid, or yesterday’s woman, is up for grabs as the country struggles to find its balance after the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych.

“People were horrified by her political persecution, but when she was jailed there was no massive uprising,” said Marta Dyczok, a Ukraine expert at Western University, who is in close touch with the Maidan protesters. “That’s the key thing to remember.”

Tymoshenko, 53, was serving a seven-year prison sentence for abuse of office when parliament changed the criminal code to free her last week. The charges sprang from her negotiations with Russia over a gas deal, and many felt they were politically driven by her rival Yanukovych. As his popularity plummeted, sympathy for Tymoshenko rose and reports of brutal treatment and neglect of her health problems in jail sparked an international outcry. (Source: Toronto Star)

Friday August 23, 2013

Friday August 23, 2013

Syria gas ‘kills 100s,’ Security Council meets

Syria’s opposition accused government forces of gassing hundreds of people on Wednesday by firing rockets that released deadly fumes over rebel-held Damascus suburbs, killing men, women and children as they slept.

With the death toll estimated between 500 and 1,300, what would be the world’s most lethal chemical weapons attack since the 1980s prompted an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York.

The council did not explicitly demand a U.N. investigation of the incident, although it said “clarity” was needed and welcomed U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon’s calls for a prompt investigation by the U.N. inspection team in Syria, led by Ake Sellstrom.

An earlier Western-drafted statement submitted to the council, seen by Reuters, was not approved. The final version of the statement was watered down to accommodate objections from Russia and China, diplomats said. Moscow and Beijing have vetoed previous Western efforts to impose U.N. penalties on Assad.

Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi said the allegations were “illogical and fabricated”. President Bashar al-Assad’s officials have said they would never use poison gas against Syrians. The United States and European allies believe Assad’s forces have used small amounts of sarin before, hence the current U.N. visit.

Immediate international action is likely to be limited, with the divisions among major powers that have crippled efforts to quell 2 1/2 years of civil war still much in evidence.  (Source: Reuters)

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FEEDBACK

This cartoon was featured in a gallery of Editorial Cartoons in the Yahoo! Canada News for August 2013. Here it is on Yahoo News’ Facebook page.