Political Cartooning is very much of an art form. I am fond of Cox and Forkum since they distill the actual facts of the day rather than the MSM (Main-stream Media) spin.
Today's cartoon is on the Afghanistan Election and is a perfect example. The thing I like about their site is that they also provide some of the back-story -- where they got their facts and information. The info for this cartoon is wonderful - it shows what we have been actually doing for the last couple of years. Good work...
And the backstory:
#1 - from the Boston Globe
bq. Protests lose force day after Afghan election
"I think they [the other candidates] saw how many people were voting for Karzai, and they got scared, so they decided to say the election was not fair," said Seelay Srek, 22, an observer working at a women's polling station.
She said she had been elated to watch Afghan women vote for the first time, and went home relieved that there had been little violence -- only to grow angry at the emphasis on the ink mistake.
bq. "The ink is not important compared to millions of people's votes," she said. [...]
bq. Srek, the Afghan journalist who acted as a poll observer in Kabul, said she was most excited when she saw an old woman arrive enthusiastically at the polls despite a pronounced limp. "It made me happy," she said.
bq. Another woman, she said, told her she planned to vote for Karzai against the wishes of her husband.
bq. "When I go home, I'll tell him I voted for the guy he wanted," she confided.
But wait - Saudi Arabia is also holding its first elections soon. They are the biggest nation/kingdom/city-state in that neck of the woods. They must be the most progressive.
Not according to this report
#2 - from FOXNews
bq. No Vote for Women in Saudi Elections.
Women may neither vote nor run in Saudi Arabia's first nationwide elections, the government announced Monday, dashing hopes of progressive Saudis and easing fears among conservatives that the kingdom is moving too fast on reforms.
bq. Some women considered the move yet another indignity in a country where they need their husbands' permission to study, travel or work. But others said they wouldn't trust themselves to judge whether a candidate is more than just a handsome face.
bq. The religious establishment had been lobbying against women's participation in the elections, diplomats said.
And the backstory:
#1 - from the Boston Globe
bq. Protests lose force day after Afghan election
"I think they [the other candidates] saw how many people were voting for Karzai, and they got scared, so they decided to say the election was not fair," said Seelay Srek, 22, an observer working at a women's polling station.
She said she had been elated to watch Afghan women vote for the first time, and went home relieved that there had been little violence -- only to grow angry at the emphasis on the ink mistake.
bq. "The ink is not important compared to millions of people's votes," she said. [...]
bq. Srek, the Afghan journalist who acted as a poll observer in Kabul, said she was most excited when she saw an old woman arrive enthusiastically at the polls despite a pronounced limp. "It made me happy," she said.
bq. Another woman, she said, told her she planned to vote for Karzai against the wishes of her husband.
bq. "When I go home, I'll tell him I voted for the guy he wanted," she confided.
But wait - Saudi Arabia is also holding its first elections soon. They are the biggest nation/kingdom/city-state in that neck of the woods. They must be the most progressive.
Not according to this report
#2 - from FOXNews
bq. No Vote for Women in Saudi Elections.
Women may neither vote nor run in Saudi Arabia's first nationwide elections, the government announced Monday, dashing hopes of progressive Saudis and easing fears among conservatives that the kingdom is moving too fast on reforms.
bq. Some women considered the move yet another indignity in a country where they need their husbands' permission to study, travel or work. But others said they wouldn't trust themselves to judge whether a candidate is more than just a handsome face.
bq. The religious establishment had been lobbying against women's participation in the elections, diplomats said.
