Sooks and censorship...

A while back, an Indonesian newspaper published a satirical cartoon depicting John Howard and Alexander Downer as slavering dingoes 'mounting each other'.

Now, to be fair, Howard basically replied to the media's hysteria with the very Aussie 'get over it'.
Up my way, however, local news stations were appalled at the evil Indonesian media's bad taste and political shortsightedness in depicting our national treasures in such an unflattering light.

Now I can’t say Howard is my favourite former politician and don't even ask me about Downer - but I was impress by their responses.

According to ABC online, Howard said...
'In relation to the cartoons, well I've been in this game a long time, if I got offended about cartoons golly, heavens above, give us a break.'

Mr Downer said the cartoon was tasteless.
He says people can choose to publish tasteless and grotesque cartoons in a free society

Now, don't quote me on this, but isn't one of the Western world's biggest complaints about Indonesia the continued evidence of empire building, a trend towards dictatorships and...ohmigod...even CENSORSHIP!?
And here we are condemning a newspaper for printing (gasp gasp) distasteful political commentary in the form of a cartoon!

What would Larry Flynt say, really?
And let's remember, there are no actual laws to protect free speech in Australia - just conventions, which many heretofore unnamed media barons have done their best to circumvent.
(Long live the Goanna?)

My least-favourite lecturer at Uni taught me, what I now believe is, the most valuable journalistic lesson I ever learned.
Free speech means even the wankers get a say...and let's face it, they're always the first ones to pull up the soapbox.
(And yes, I am not unaware of the irony of me writing this - but, please, let's move on)

So, what's the world coming to if Aussies are upset at someone taking a poke at the pollies?
The Indonesians aren't saying anything we haven't said a million times, about our own politicians - not to mention theirs, and the rulers of every other nation on Earth - so, in my eyes, this is really a wonderful step towards multicultural understanding.
(Ask me about Indonesia's role as the world's last empire-builders and you'll hear much worse language than dingo-rooter).

The upside of this whole issue is that Australia and Indonesia now, agree on something.
The avenues of communication are now, finally, open...
Let's reopen trade, we can bitch about the Yanks together, it's all good.

But what I really want is to find a site with the damn cartoon on it. Someone send me a link! It appears to have been expunged from cyberspace.
And where are the Chinese cartoons, the Bosnian commentaries, the Haiti satires?

And note to the media, rom one journalist to another, what the hell is all the fuss about?
Or to quote a short man – “golly, heavens above, give us a break!”