Rue Britannia

The arrogance of politicians

2008-09-20T20:47:00.004+01:00

Gordon Brown isn't alone in making such grand annunciations and he'll not be the last.

Keep a watchful eye out for the next politician attempting to woo us with promises of a bright and untroubled future... whoever it's going to be will be prey to the same deluded arrogance all too many politicians suffer and is probably penning their speeches even as we speak, so I doubt we'll be long waiting.

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Lloyds HBOS Merger... Who's being saved?

2008-09-18T03:55:00.004+01:00

I'm going to taking my time before I send my thank you letter to the government for negotiating this particular solution... I think I'll wait until I have a clearer idea of exactly who's being rescued here.

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New Labour's Current Priorities

2008-09-17T02:35:00.005+01:00

I'm struck by the lack of advice to the very people who are going to end up paying the bill for the 25 year long feeding frenzy engendered by the likes of Alan Greenspan, as chairman of the Federal Reserve 'till 2006.

Everyone at Westminster seems to be keeping their heads down until various courses of action becomes screamingly obvious, at which point they will ALL jump in and say it was what they'd been suggesting all along.

New Labour have their minds on something of far more importance than the slide of the UK into recession and possibly worse... Who's going to lead them into defeat at the next election!!

PS: It's been a while since I put time aside to make any comment, but today is the day (well night really). Thanks to everyone who has nudged my conscience periodically to urge me continue. I will work on a pictorial inclusion but I didn't have the time here, so in the meantime, TQG, GB, Helga, et al... Cheers!

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Ian Paisley to quit as first minister

2008-03-05T01:16:00.004Z

Ian Paisley, until recently the long standing face of intransigence and bigotry in Britain, now stands down as Northern Ireland's first minister and leader of the DUP, thinking his work done. What does he leave in his wake? Certainly NOT a more united Britain. He congratulates himself on the quieting the demands for a united Ireland, but this is the result of the passage of time and the ascendancy of the European Union but no victory of his.

For many, his was the face of British Unionism. Is it any wonder that Britain disintegrates into smaller and smaller assemblies, when to call oneself a British Unionist, one feared association with this angry, blinkered and bellicose man?

I am grateful to have watched a softening of this man's tone as he approached old age, but I shall not be looking back on his times with any fondness or nostalgia.

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God gives Gordon Brown a breather

2008-02-07T23:24:00.000Z

I guess Gordon needed a bit of a breather. That’s exactly what God has granted him while the press and the chatterati get their knickers in a bunch over the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams’ seemingly feebleminded whitterings on Islamic Sharia law and its impact on the future of the British legal system.

I find it hard to believe that the good Doctor didn’t know exactly what would ensue following his pronouncements. I’d like to know what his real agenda is. I doubt it’s simply that he wants to bring the issue of religion’s relevance to today’s legal system into the arena of public debate... that’s too obvious... isn’t it?

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Gordon works to preserve Liberty

2008-02-07T02:27:00.000Z

Gordon Brown has backed the limited use of intercept evidence in court, after an independent review. In parliament he spoke of the dilemma we face as a free society: "that of preserving our liberties and the rule of law, while at the same time keeping our nation safe and secure".

Will the patient survive the treatment when it threatens so many liberties?.

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Stiffing the taxpayer the Con Way

2008-02-04T01:36:00.000Z

Tory MP Derek Conway tells us he's no crook and gets the Tory whip withdrawn and a damn good ticking off for himself. (exactly WHERE does David Cameron withdraw the whip from?)

That'll certainly stop any similar Parliamentary hanky panky in future.... not!

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Rock on 2008!

2008-01-28T23:13:00.000Z

It's going to take a bit more than propping up Northern Rock at the tax payers expense... We've got a bumpy ride ahead of us this year.

Again, don't forget to recommend RueB to your friends.

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US most important UK ally - Brown

2007-11-13T00:24:00.000Z

Just a quick pencil one today brought on by Gordon Brown's speech at the Lord Mayor of London's banquet where he said Britain's "most important" relationship is with the US. Of course it is. We sold the family jewels to survive the Twentieth century and if we want to play a part on the world stage we have to deal with New Rome accordingly. In the meantime the EU federalisation keeps tapping at the back door.
Would he be saying the same thing if we had been allowed the EU Referendum we were promised?

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Too much on at the moment

2007-11-12T01:21:00.000Z

Hi good people, and thanks for looking in. As you might have picked up, Rue Britannia is a labour of love until I work out what to do with her. At the moment I have a body of work that needs my every waking hour, so unfortunately RueB will have to go by the wayside for a bit.

I'll try to post something, perhaps some scans from the working drawings I do, but the world will have to try to keep turning without my commentary .

Your loyalty is HUGELY appreciated, so please continue to come back and see what I post. Don't forget to recommend RueB to your friends.

I've also turned on the 'comments' function in the hope that you'll add your thoughts on the work that I've already done and the issues I've covered. Many of them are still hot. President Musharraf seems to have changed his tune a bit and is reluctantly sidling up to meet the expectations of the democratic world. It's a hard job he faces and he seems to be rising to the occasion. Let's hope he delivers.

PS: The saint who helped me out with the late night consultation on Excel... THANKS LOADS... you know who you are :)

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British armed forces world stage presence on a shoestring

2007-11-09T02:41:00.000Z

BBC News: ID card scheme 'to cost £5.6bn'
BBC News: Ex-chiefs demand more forces cash.

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British Children's TV

2007-11-08T00:13:00.000Z

We can hardly complain of the dilution of British culture when we feed our children a diet of foreign produced TV.

"Give me the child until he is seven and I will show you the man"

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Prince Harry and the hawks

2007-11-07T00:18:00.000Z

Looks like Harry is off the hook... they can't find the bodies.

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al-Qaeda recruiting from youth organisations

2007-11-06T00:41:00.000Z

Perhaps Jonathan Evans, the head of MI5 since April was pitching for a larger slice of the defence budget pie by inferring that he's spending so much money chasing Russian and Chinese spies that he can't fully monitoring at least 2000 extremists posing a threat to UK national security.

He expressed concern that extremists were methodically and intentionally targeting vulnerable young people and children.

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Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule in Pakistan

2007-11-05T02:06:00.000Z

To an old soldier facing the job at hand, all this talk of the judiciary and democracy must seem like so much intellectual posturing, but he's not the first old man that thought he knew better.

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The other victim in the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes

2007-11-02T02:35:00.000Z

The list of failings of officers at so many levels in the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes beggars belief. However it is overshadowed by the shameful attempts to cast blame on Menezes himself.

We need a police force that is free and enabled to do it's job. They can only do that when they have the faith and trust of the British people. Those people that decided to effect a cover-up and then proceed to defend their actions rather than accept responsibility for mistakes, cause more damage to that cause than any other agency could. THEY are the real villains here.

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Police speak to Prince Harry about the shooting of two protected birds of prey

2007-11-01T00:46:00.000Z

Bearing in mind the likely presence of royal security at Sandringham, I couldn't help wondering if Prince Harry enjoys the same degree of protection from protected birds of prey as the British public does from Brazilian electricians.

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Blackmail plot against the Royal Family?

2007-11-01T00:00:00.000Z

The identity of the member of the Royal Family at the centre of tales of blackmail continue to generate speculation among the media. Gagging orders are being enforced.

The truth will out"
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The 'Saudi Arabia Mantra"

2007-10-30T00:06:00.000Z

Do I need to say why King Abdullah is over here and receiving a reception not offered to leaders of other and more savoury Middle Eastern regimes
OK everybody! Fingers in ears and repeat after me: "LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA"
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Iran and the 'War on Terror' Pipeline.

2007-10-29T02:06:00.000Z

I started started on this cartoon after reading the BBC story, "US imposes new sanctions on Iran". Iran is obviously in the sights of the US. How long before it escalates? It went on for years with Iraq, but Saddam Hussain was a different kettle of fish.
I've gotta eat my own words following my last post. I said:

Unless it's a tour de force from a recognised and respected editorial cartoonist, people won't dwell on a cartoon trying to discover its meaning. The cartoon's got to be digestible in a heart beat.

Well I broke that rule and have produced this over complicated cartoon about sourcing energy for the west. My apologies. I shall strive to keep it simple in future. I nearly drove myself insane with this one.
I've tried to differentiate between what Bush and his minions are trying to achieve now and the 'Appeasement Pipeline' of the past. It IS a convenience for the sake of making a point. I don't feel I've been hugely successful but I want to get this out to see what reception it gets. Maybe someone will suggest a better model to illustrate what is going on.
It was getting too involved and had developed a life of it's own. It just seemed to grow and grow... now it's gone out, perhaps I can walk away from it for the time being.
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Can y'tell waddidis yet?

2007-10-26T01:49:00.000+01:00

This is a detail of the larger cartoon I am currently working on. When you get into the area that I hope to tackle on this one (you'll have to wait to find out), there's a fine line to tread between too much and not enough information.

In addition, getting background on a subject can take almost as long as the drawing itself... bear with me

Unless it's a tour de force from a recognised and respected editorial cartoonist, people won't dwell on a cartoon trying to discover its meaning. The cartoon's got to be digestible in a heart beat. In this respect Khalil Bendib the Arab - American cartoonist is a genius. Whether you agree with his view or not, he has a way of seeing a situation in what seems like a screamingly obvious way, but only once he's pointed it out. This one is an excellent example

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77 million in 2051? - Rights and Wrongs

2007-10-25T03:34:00.000+01:00

What faces our kids is the question that occurs to me on seeing this report.

The thinking behind this cartoon is up for grabs. I have both the angel AND the devil saying the same thing on purpose.

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Population 77 million in 2051

2007-10-24T05:14:00.000+01:00

This is what I'm working on, but pressure of work (the paid variety), plus indecision over exactly what to put as text prevent me from posting a finished work today. They can take quite a few hours, and I've put no effort into finding a publisher yet, so it's a labour of love still.

I take emailed comments regarding the impact of colour and the absence of RueB seriously and I tend to agree. Time has been the governing factor. I'll ensure that when the finished work appears, it will be in full colour.

I was of two minds as to whether I should let you see this as it is, but I know some people like to see the working drawings. Often the workings have something about them that's lost in the finished piece... Let's see if that's true with this.

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Ken Livingstone's Little Daydream

2007-10-23T04:02:00.000+01:00

I wonder if Ken or Boris heard this story and what might have gone through their minds.

God forgive me, but the attack of sacred monkeys on the deputy mayor of Delhi caught my attention in all the worst ways and I just had to shoehorn it into something.

I wanted to label the monkeys but time ran out.... any ideas?

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Stop and search more young black people?

2007-10-22T05:38:00.000+01:00

The outgoing leader of the National Black Police Association (NBPA) Keith Jarret has rightly been criticised for suggesting police stop and search more young black people to tackle rising gun crime. With more and more of our civil liberties being eroded, the last thing we need is an influential member of a significant minority group almost welcoming the return of the sus laws.

Have we not enough problems with an increasingly alienated young Muslim population, without bringing this into the mix inadvertently?

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