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GAWENDA GETS IT
Former Age editor-in-chief Michael Gawenda launches into duck-witted cartoonist Michael Leunig:
In the article published in The Age, Leunig says nothing at all about this competition, how vile it is, how racist, how it shocked him that anyone would ever think that he would have anything to do with such an outrageous campaign.
The journalist who interviewed Leunig characterises the competition as one designed to “find a cartoon on the Holocaust insulting to Jews”. This is a downright depressing way to characterise this competition, for it isn’t a “Jewish” issue, a matter that concerns only Jews, just as any form of racism is not just an offence against the people against whom it is directed.
But there is nothing from Leunig on all this, not even a moment’s reflection on the fact that the competition’s organisers thought his cartoon—which is not a hoax—was a perfectly fine entry for this racist exercise.
Indeed, Leunig goes out of his way to praise the Iranians who were “courteously apologising, they had been co-operative. They cared.”
Read the whole thing; Gawenda was, of course, the Age boss who rejected Leunig’s cartoon in 2002 (by the way, how hard to please is Leunig? His cartoon doesn’t get published, so he bitches that “Michael Gawenda just didn’t get it”. The same cartoon does get published, and he demands it be removed. Make up your damn mind, woolhead). Subsequent to that courteous climb-down from his caring Iranian pals, Leunig received a second apology:
Editor of the Chaser website Dominic Knight admitted a writer “acting alone” one night sent in the cartoon to Iran’s biggest-selling newspaper Hamshahri which is holding a contest asking for people to send in cartoons of the Holocaust ...
“He (the website writer) has spoken to Mr Leunig and I understand Mr Leunig accepted his apology,” Mr Knight said.
The writer, Richard Cooke, says Leunig “mainly seemed to be relieved that it wasn’t a neo-con pressure group who had posted the cartoon”. So, with all these apologies flying around, shouldn’t one be made to the aggrieved pro-war neo-con blogger-columnist community? For days we’ve suffered Leunig’s cruel slurs as he sought to blame the pro-war lobby and columnists for this Holocaust scam. “It’s part of a political campaign,” the cartoonist alleged, without foundation. Why, he even told the ABC:
There are a number of columnists and bloggers who have been particularly hateful to me for quite a long time and have suggested all sorts of hurtful and hateful things towards me. And you know, the mind jumps towards all these kinds of people.
We are innocent, you mind-jumping McCarthyite smear machine. Apologise at once. Or thousands of ducks—yes, the precious ducks you love so much—will pay for your crime with their blood, beaks, and feathers.
This holy directive—a quackwa, if you will—shall remain in place until our demand is met.
UPDATE. No apology yet from Michael; let the killing begin! Stuart Rintoul and former Leunig friend Piers Akerman have new reports.
The writer, Richard Cooke, says Leunig “mainly seemed to be relieved that it wasn’t a neo-con pressure group who had posted the cartoon”.
At the risk of being obtuse, why’s he relieved that he got stuck into by his own team instead? Afraid that if the evil neo-cons had been responsible, there’d be more of the same in store for him, or something? I’m puzzled…
“Quackwa” is brilliant!
J.H.C.
(JHC or JC as He is somewhat less affectionately known was also a prophet….NOT that there’s anything wrong with that!!!)
Comedy writers will dine off the Loonig Tune Follies for generationsPosted by desert rat on 2006 02 15 at 12:43 PM • permalink#5: “At the risk of being obtuse, why’s he relieved that he got stuck into by his own team instead? Afraid that if the evil neo-cons had been responsible, there’d be more of the same in store for him, or something?”
Because Leunig knew what would happen next: Dick Cheney would turn up to do a little hunting on his ibis ranch.
We are innocent, you mind-jumping McCarthyite smear machine. Apologise at once. Or thousands of ducks—yes, the precious ducks you love so much—will pay for your crime with their blood, beaks, and feathers.
Oh no. Oh please don’t give me the “mass duck murder” assignment. Michael Lonie’s Russian squirrel hit squad would do a better job of it. Or maybe Stoop Davy Dave’s goat assassin. Shit, anyone but me. I’m a lover, not a mallard murderer.
I think I’ll go hide in the file room.
Posted by wronwright on 2006 02 15 at 01:13 PM • permalinkA quackwa is PERFECT!!! We now have a legitimate reason bring Dick Cheney to Australia. Or maybe thousands of shotgun wielding Americans wearing cowboy hats.
DEATH TO ALL DUCKS!!!!!!!
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2006 02 15 at 01:25 PM • permalinkAs long as the apologies are flying around, how about one to Holocaust survivors and their families? Oh wait, I forgot, the Holocaust never happened, even though modern Israel is just like it.
Posted by Jim Treacher on 2006 02 15 at 02:00 PM • permalink#11: I think the words “duck” and “Dick Cheney” are now associated in most people’s minds, already.
#10: Wronwright, I’ve already had to clear space on two walls in Rumsfeld’s trophy room to make room for the anticipated duck carcasses (since this is considered to be a joint White House-DOD venture, Karl only gets to keep half).
Anyway, what, to coin a phrase, are you squawkin’ about? You’re not on the taxidermy detail. Which reminds me: RebeccaH, call your office.
Pssst, Ms RebeccaH ...
Just um, just an aesthetic note, about, er, about posing the ducks? Ma’am? That whole “FLY UNITED” gag was done to death in the 1970s, so if you could, like, resist the temptation? Thank you.Posted by Stoop Davy Dave on 2006 02 15 at 03:38 PM • permalinkThis is an automatic message. Your comment has been received and is appreciated. Feed back from persons like you are very important to us.
Please note that wronwright is currently assigned to reorganize the Secret Vatican Library
brazenly stolenborrowed by thedreaded IlluminatiFreemasons section of ourVery Evil Death Cultbenevolent organization in 1638. Since overdue notices are becoming quite harsh recently and fines have been doubled to 2 pistoles per day, priority has been placed on this very important assignment. If you require assistance, please contact PW, Dave S, Stoop Davy Dave, or Michael Lonie. Your cooperation is appreciated. Have a great day.Posted by wronwright on 2006 02 15 at 04:41 PM • permalinkMy take on the cartoon is that Leunig is anti-war on both sides of the argument. The Nazis were wrong, and the Jews are wrong.
The fact that the Iranians published his cartoon is a reflection on the Iranians, not Leunig. The incorrectly interpreted the cartoon because of their own preconceived prejudices/racism/hatred etc.
Leunig deserved an apology. He should give an apology to the blogosphere (which is obviously always blameless, saintly, above reproach). And he should speak out against such racist bigomy.
My take on the cartoon is that Leunig is anti-war on both sides of the argument. The Nazis were wrong, and the Jews are wrong.
Except for the small matter that, you know, the Nazis were the aggressors in their little war, and the Jews aren’t in theirs. If that’s truly Leunig’s thought process, it’s stunning in its historical illiteracy. In fact, it’s so stunningly stupid, I can’t help but think that it’s more your take than his, especially given your previous stupid comments.
The fact that the Iranians published his cartoon is a reflection on the Iranians, not Leunig. The incorrectly interpreted the cartoon because of their own preconceived prejudices/racism/hatred etc.
Oh joy, we have another contender in the “Explain Why The Obvious Antisemitism In Leunig’s Cartoon Is Just An Illusion” contest.
Don’t get too carried away - you could end up in a quackmire.
Posted by ausdiplomad on 2006 02 15 at 05:34 PM • permalinkCall me prurient, but I continue to be fascinated by the unanswered question: “How much does Leunig get paid by The Age?”
We now have a clue from the ex-editor Gawenda himself—who definitely would know.
He writes today, p19, “Leunig is a renowned and celebrated cartoonist, as well paid as any cartoonist, or journalist for that matter, in Australia.”
My guess is that top journalists get packages around $300,000pa. A few years ago,
when Fairfax was about to launch a journo cost-cutting drive, an executive (I am relying on vague memory here - Mulholland perhaps??) justified it by saying that x% of SMH journalists were on more than $100,000 a year. (The ‘x’ was something like 15-20%, I’ll try to find it. Disclosure: I was a Fairfax journalist at the time and my salary is/was none of your f. business). And these were not top writers, just long-serving or lucky ones. The likes of Terry McCrann would be on big multiples of that.
So finally getting to my point, Leunig is a rather well-paid champion of all Australia’s “little people”.New entry for the Macquarie dictionary:
loonig
verb (loo.ni.ging; past loo.nigg.ed; past part. loo.nigg.ed)
‘to feel sorry for oneself upon discovering that one’s cherished work that was rejected by a local newspaper finds a welcoming and enthusiastic publisher overseas: Mr. Curly-Angelo first fisked, then pilgered and loonigged for 45 minutes in front of a sympathetic crowd of the ABC journalists.’PW said:
Except for the small matter that, you know, the Nazis were the aggressors in their little war, and the Jews aren’t in theirs. If that’s truly Leunig’s thought process, it’s stunning in its historical illiteracy. In fact, it’s so stunningly stupid, I can’t help but think that it’s more your take than his, especially given your previous stupid comments.
Donkey Kong then said:
Either he’s completely self contradictory, or he’s drawing parallels to highlight the hypocrisy. I take the latter.
Given PW’s excellent analysis, I take neither: Leunig is anti-semitic, and doesn’t the intellectual honesty to admit it, even to himself. There’s nothing “sef-contradictory” about that. Just a typical leftie, making it through the day.
Oh, and PW, on “...stunningly stupid…”? What you said.
Posted by The_Real_JeffS on 2006 02 15 at 06:02 PM • permalinkYep, nothing at all racist about Looneyg’s portrayal of Japanese in his cartoons. Nope, nope.
Posted by JorgXMcKie on 2006 02 15 at 06:03 PM • permalinkThe Age’s Letters editor, so fond of running Leftie luvvies, must have choked yesterday as he included the following letters.
Fighting fascism
THAT Leunig sees himself as a warrior against fascism is a wonderful joke: he opposes fascism by opposing the overthrow of Iraq’s fascist regime and by viciously attacking Israel, the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. Go figure.
Leunig has a certain talent for whimsy and drafting cute wee duck thingies; why doesn’t he go back to this and leave fighting fascism to people such as Tony Blair, who can recognise real fascism when they see it.
Bill Anderson, Surrey HillsLeunig’s complaint
ASIDE from the fact that it was falsely submitted on his behalf, it is hard to understand why Michael Leunig is so distressed (“Amid the pain, God puts his hand on my shoulder”, Opinion, 15/2) that one of his cartoons that was rejected by The Age was so warmly accepted by the Iranian newspaper Hamshahri.
It clearly met the criteria that made him eligible for a prize in Hamshahri’s mock-the-Holocaust contest. Perhaps he should thank the person who submitted it for identifying a new self-evident market for his work.
Ian Farrow, Hampton.
However, the Letters editor would have choked doubly had he known that both letters were by the Press equivalent of trolls, who submit the same letters to multiple newspapers. The Australian ran both: leading the page with the Farrow letter.
Note: On Wednesday, The Age letters editor
did what he does best, putting the only two selected letters about Leunig (both hostile) at the extreme bottom of the Letters page.
The best Leunig letter in The Age today, by George Fink, concludes:
“The fact that God apparently resides in Leunig’s paddock at Euroa explains, at last, why he was so conspicuously absent from Treblinka, Auschwitz-Birkenau, Dachau and the many other death camps constructed and used by the Germans to systematically and efficiently slaughter 6m innocent Jewish civilians (including 1.5m children) in World War 11.”Donkey Kong
“And he should speak out against such racist bigomy.If thats meant to be bigamy count me in.
Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2006 02 15 at 06:42 PM • permalink#40
However, the Letters editor would have choked doubly had he known that both letters were by the Press equivalent of trolls, who submit the same letters to multiple newspapers.
Is that really the definition of a troll?
I read the SMH, The Age and The Australian letters on-line, and it is very common to see the same letters. As a letter writer, why not get the most bang for your buck?Posted by pog-ma-thon on 2006 02 15 at 06:44 PM • permalinkLoved listening to Faine on the ABC interviewing Leunig. When Leunig describe his banned cartoon as showing a nazi soldier guarding Auschwitz in one frame and a Jew doing the same thing in the other, Faine helpfully chipped in with “you mean an Israelis soldier”, to which Leunig said, “oh, yes, not a Jew, an Israeli solidier”. See, it wasn’t a cartoon vilifying Jews, it was a comment on Israeli military policy. So I was suprised when I saw (on this blog) that the Leunig cartoon clearly DIDN’T show an Israeli soldier - no helmet, no uniform, just a star of David. So Leunig accidentally told the truth, but Faine very nicely (politically) corrected him. Business as usual at the ABC.
#40. well, I meant by ‘troll’ how newspapers view the letter-writers to multiple outlets. They hate these writers.
Incidentally, lest anyone think I am making it up about The Age letters editor favoring
leftie luvvies, The Age has published 28 letters in the past 12 months by Peter Kartsounis of Footscray, and 62 by this gentleman in the past two years. Typical headings are: “Torture”; “Remember the SIEV-X” and “Dog whistle politics…”
Kartsounis gets a run-rate of better than one letter per fortnight. Maybe his leftoid views are nothing to do with—maybe he is just a superbly excellent letter writer?I demand Leunig apologise now! To further my protest I forsee the combination of both ducks and fire (and maybe some Hoi Sin sauce) as a statement of my anger at Leunig’s hurtfull accusations.
Even as I speak, Government officials in HK are rounding up Ducks, Geese and other domestic fowl in retitribution.
Won’t anyone think of the ducks? Michael?
Worry not, oh man of hench Wronwright! We minions snared the duck-murdering gig. This is going to be as much fun as the last time the VRWC let us minions loose on the wildfowl.
Those bloody passenger pigeons deserved all they got, and we are still eating our way thru freezers full of the little buggers.
As for the taxidermy, we have contracted the same mob as last time. Ever noticed how few stuffed passenger pigeons there are? Head office in the States never defines ‘stuffed’. We take the view that after a thorough blasting with the 8-gauge, they are pretty well stuffed.
Gotta go and check on the punt guns - Wron? If you bring another load of trilobites, we’ll invite you to the feasting. The Taipei chapter of the VRWC is sending a 747 load of poultry chefs over as we speak,a nd we just hijacked a tanker of hoi sin.
MarkL
Canberra*sigh* Tim, where can I get a decent airfare to Sydney? Apparently a bunch of minions and at least one henchman are trapped atop the Sydney Opera House by a mob of angry ducks, the damn city slickers… Karl won’t let me take my helicopter because it’s filthy; apparently someone hasn’t waxed it in quite a while…
Posted by richard mcenroe on 2006 02 15 at 09:12 PM • permalinkThe ducks are already paying the price for this fop’s folly, and in a really delicious way. (Burp).
That Richard Cooke story has the two following passages,
Asked why he sent a cartoon by Michael Leunig to a Holocaust cartoon competition launched by an Iranian newspaper, freelance journalist Richard Cooke pauses.
and…
Cooke did not send the cartoon itself to the Hamshahri competition, but he sent the link to Media Watch and an accompanying note purporting to be from Leunig.
Surely there’s a contradiction here, and if he did only send a “fraud” letter to Media Watch that isn’t nearly as serious as sending the actual cartoon to the competition.
Does this mean there is another offender involved who actually entered it?
It also says he does some work for Fairfax so I doubt the poor guy is truely speaking his mind about it (plus legal worries).
#60 Yeah, that was a nasty tactic they picked up from Sir Joh’s funeral.
—Nora
Posted by The Thin Man Returns on 2006 02 15 at 10:07 PM • permalinkthe duck liberation army has pointed out that although ducks are offended and deeply saddened by exhortations to murder them, they are not yet marching from their hq in the royal botanical gardens of melbourne to burn down tim’s embassy. nor are they polishing up their ak47s. but there are hotheads amongst them who are counselling that to let this outrage go without response would be dishonourable & invite a duck holocaust. some influential duckists are drilling their followers in dive & poop exercises, and they have been joined by the remnant population of fruit bats that resisted the forced relocation to the gulags of ivanhoe. timmists not prepared to back down hould invest in good stout waterproof parasols
Apparently there are some duckists who say that they’ll spread avian influenza, but that may be a canard.
Posted by pog-ma-thon on 2006 02 15 at 11:06 PM • permalinkGawenda’s piece is very interesting from what’s going on in a corp/ political perspective.
Gawenda represents the old guard and the piece sounds as though the old guard has had enough. He confronted Leuing out in the open and for all intents and purposes accused him of being anti-semitic.
Gawenda did this over Jaspan’s head it seems without much concern as to his well-being.
My prediction is that Jaspan and Leunig will be gone in month just as long as it takes to let the dust settle.
I was actually surprised to read another thoughtful piece from Gawenda, that makes what, three or four in the last few months? I’m starting to think he’s not a half-bad journalist, as long as he’s not writing in his capacity as “Senior U.S. correspondent” (those dispatches are always unintentionally hilarious)...
You want to buy some Duckt tape? You can use it to seal up your doors and keep bird flu away.
Cheap effendi, top quality.Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2006 02 15 at 11:46 PM • permalinkTributes to the Australia’s “Living National Treasure” as modestly displayed at his eponymous web site http://www.leunig.com.au/messages/:
“Michael let’s me see his mood and aspiration. I can share in his feeling or I can think differently; but his gentle awareness of life and the world, lets me glimpse a view as if through a window with snow frosting the edges. Michael Leunig inspires by just being. What a lesson to learn ... just be.”
“michael leunig is a creative genius. he is very inspirational and funny i am an art major and i hope i can be as good as him one day”
“I regard ML as a true blue gift to all Aussies. Well he must be - because everytime I lend an ML book to a friend-in-need of his unique style of comfort…they refuse to return it…”
Does this ‘friend-in-need’, by any chance, publish a newspaper in Tehran?
Pssst! There’s a group of ducks in the park across the street. They seem to be practising their goose step. There is a reporter and cameraman talking to them - I think the reporter is Roy Mallard.
So Leunig needs to let the proverbial water run off the ducks back and apologize, but what exactly does Gawenda get? How can he defend not publishing the cartoon, and then claim the ‘real victim’ is the Jordanian editor who is in jail ...wait for it… for publishing a cartoon that people found offensive or ‘inappropriate’. A hole big enough for a truck full of ducks to drive through I would have thought.
And then there’s not wanting to be published in an openly anti-semitic state’s newspaper. Well maybe, just maybe Leunig’s a secret anti-semite trying to hide under the cover of a liberal newspaper and his messages for peace. Or maybe he thought that The Age is a more credible paper, and he wouldn’t be inciting anti-semitism by publishing in it.
But of course to the leftie whingers and righteous right a conspiracy theory is much more likely and exciting than the banal likelyhood that Leunig says what he means and has a bias toward the Palestinian cause.
Dutch #43
Oh, yes, yes, yes. A little moment when a whole world falls into place.Nannytollahs schmoozing and feeding lines to one another; the comfy corner for cultural commissars that is the ABC, department of appeasement and self-hatred; ministry of propaganda that your enemy actually pays for.
Leunig’s brutal, stupid cartoon was enthusiastically snapped up for some racist payback by a government which funds some of the world’s most vicious terrorist organisations, threatens to wipe other countries ‘off the map’, hangs young women from cranes in public squares, crushes dissent and now wishes to back its threats with nuclear-style intimidation.“An email popped open; it was the Iranians. They were courteously apologising, they had been co-operative. They cared.”
‘They cared.’ And Leunig thinks he is resisting the ‘rise of fascism’. Sweet Jesus save him and his whole conga line of useful idiots.
‘... keeps them, like an ape, in the corner of his jaw; first mouth’d to be last swallowed: when he needs what you have glean’d, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again.’
Think about that shakespeare.
THERE! A good days minioning to report from Australia. We have wiped out three species of duck and have plenty of the little buggers for tonight’s feasting.
Erm.. the Texan minions appear to have gotten the message mixed up. They wiped out a bunch of white flappy critters. They are seriously tasty, but just do not mention the words whooping cranes, OK? We’ll blame the next hurricane.
Oh, and Wronwright? The new matter transmitter works just fine. However, the minionettes got hold of it after we swapped ducks for
whooping cranes, um,swansumm, white marsh turkeys. They are all a lot slimmer now, they invented a new liposuction module for it. Of course, they HAD to do something evil, so they bulked Michael Moore up by 546 tons of whale blubber.I TOLD them no-one would notice.
Anyhoo, I am off to the wildfowl feast.
Oh, SHIT.
Richard, why the hell did you send those bloody gay Californian minions you made us recruit out to Sydney? I know former PM Paul Keating wanted them to polish his clock, and they are champion clock-polishers. He seems to keep a whole lot of strapping young fellows occupied polishing his clock. But just who is going to get ‘em down?
Oh nooo, they are starting to mince. I’ll go, where’s that rifle…..
[sounds of swearing]
MarkL
CanberraRob Read
Rolly papers arent cheap you know man…Posted by thefrollickingmole on 2006 02 16 at 08:52 AM • permalink#68. I looked at this site and couldn’t believe it. It is beyond parody.
Posted by Susan Norton on 2006 02 16 at 09:46 AM • permalinkLeunig has a lot to pay for. But, then, he can get one of his friends to say, as he’s buying Chapstick, “Just put it on my bill”.
Posted by robert speirs on 2006 02 16 at 03:09 PM • permalinkLeunig came into a bar with a duck under his arm. The bartender said, “Hey, I thought I told you never to come in here with that Holocaust-mocker ever again!”
Leunig replied, “This isn’t a holocaust-mocker, this is a duck.”
The bartender shot back, “I was talking to the duck!”Posted by robert speirs on 2006 02 16 at 03:11 PM • permalinkI think Richard Cooke’s apology would have been something to hear.
He himself cannot verbalise the reasons for his actions in his interview.
Just what could he have said to pacify the Looney when plainly his objective was to show Looney’s cartoon for the Jew hating tripe it is?
There’s the real untold story IMHO.
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Couldn’t you declare a twatwa, and then we could target Leunig himself? Just asking…