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Category Archives: Political cartoons

Discover Frank Fisher!

 

Frank Fisher, who died earlier this year, was an inspiration to many people, an environmental educator committed to ‘social transformation to a more sensitive self-aware world’.  Among other things he was professor in the National Centre for Sustainability, Swinburn University of Technology, Melbourne.

 

Frank established The Understandascope in 2005, the name coming from cartoonist Michael Leunig’s cartoon. It was relaunched this year as a website www.understandascope.org – to continue Frank Fisher’s vision of ‘a more circumspect, humble and considerate society, increasingly sensitive and responsive to the consequences of our actions upon each other and the rest of nature’.

 

The Understandascope has launched an ebook Everyday Transcendence: the influence of Frank Fisher. Discover Frank Fisher and a link to download the ebook here.

 

Frank Fisher was a committed cyclist. Here is one cartoon from the ebook.

Fisher cyclist pic

 

 

 

 

Election – make a difference!

November’s New Internationalist is out. This issue tackles Medicine and ‘inequality’s toxic effect on health and healthcare’.  However, with the US election only days away my Scratchy Lines cartoon took a look at how electing our representatives works …

Affordable housing … oxymoron!

 

Affordable housing doesn’t seem like a big ask ….

 

 

A recent cartoon from the Pro Bono news page.

 

 

 

 

Elephant in the room…

 

 

The focus of the latest issue of New Internationalist is Youth. The cover states:  ‘Youth rising – why apathy is not an option’, and to quote from one article “young people are carrying the can for capitalism’s structural failings’. Those who do read the magazine will know that it presents a global snapshot (and fact-shot) of complex issues.

 

 

This month the cartoon does relate to the theme – as well as using a bit too popular metaphor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Global Cloud upload hitch!

In a slightly deluded belief that providing a cloud for uploading files is cutting edge community development ‘Global cloud computing giant, Salesforce.com has defended its plans to trademark the term ‘social enterprise’ world wide’. Click here to read the story on the Pro Bono website.

Quoting from the article:

‘US author and social entrepreneur, Auren Kaplan responded … saying “the trademarking of “social enterprise” by Salesforce degrades the work of social entrepreneurs all over the world, and is unacceptable.”

 

‘Many responses … have described the Salesforce.com moves as absurd, ridiculous, foolish and brand suicide’.

 

Here is today’s NFP Kneebone cartoon for Pro Bono News:

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Rupert…

The Winter 2012 Edition of Australian Options (in newsagents now!) has an article  ‘The real politics of Rupert Murdoch’  by David McKnight, author of the book Rupert Murdoch: an Investigation of Political Power.

The article argues that, although saying he simply runs his newspapers as profit making businesses, Rupert Murdoch has a deeper interest in political influence, and uses free market populism to sway debate on important issues.

These are the cartoons that illustrated the article (the article will explain just what they are referring to, but I hope they can stand alone).

Bold New World!

 

This is the cartoon in the current edition of New Internationalist.

 

If you don’t subscribe, buy a copy and check it out. To find out more and follow their blog, visit the website here.

 

And there is the Australian New Internationalist page, shop and blog here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Managing?

The Australian Government plans to introduce an income management card – called the Basics Card – to a number of low-income areas. The intervention in the Northern Territory in 2007  included income management  imposed on Aboriginal communities. Income management quarantines a proportion of welfare recipients’ benefits, through a card, which can only be spent on essentials.

This cartoon illustrates some of the concerns about the scheme, as presented in an article on the Pro Bono website news page. To read the article click here.

Secrets of cartooning: it’s easier to draw than do….

The June New Internationalist is out now. Buy it. Here is this month’s Scratchy Lines cartoon:

 

Cost of living…

A poll of  over 1700 clients by The Salvation Army showed that more than half  have gone without meals to pay for other basic necessities.  This is in Australia, a wealthy country…