WHEECH MCGEE WEBSITE
Welcome to the web pages of Wheech
Enjoy some of my political cartoons!
"SORRY, FAT CATS - THEY'RE AINT NUFF CHUTES FAW EV'BODY!"
The end of September 2008 and the world economy is in freefall. Who do we find at the helm when everything is going pear-shaped? George 'Dubya' Bush. Congress has pontificated for a week on Bush's $700 billion rescue package and failed to come to an agreement. The repercussions are rippling through the world's financial institutions, while Mr. Joe Taxpayer waits to find out if he has to fund the bail-out.
When Tony Blair came to power in 1997 much of the press of the day were accusing him of being more Thatcherite than Margaret Thatcher and just to the left of General Pinochet, the far-right Chilean dictator. Pinochet was coming to Britain for an operation and the press and his opponents were asking for him to be detained for crimes against humanity, however, Thatcher spoke out against this and Pinochet eventually returned to Chile. Here President Chirac is shown encouraging Blair to move back towards the left and towards a more socialist, federalist Europe, including monetary union.
After the break up of the Soviet Union and the reunification of Germany, with the fall of the Berlin Wall, instigated by the modernist policies of Mikhail Gorbachev, he was sent into the political wilderness when he was ousted from power by Boris Yeltsin. Here Gorbachev is shown taking a holiday in Miami Beach in the late 1990s. At that time the USA was becoming overrun by the "Russian mafia" causing the FBI new problems in dealing with the influx of organised crime from the financial and economic breakdown of the Soviets.
"Life sucks!" states President Clinton as he ponders his future in the Oval Office in the White House. Not only is he facing impeachment hearings in Congress following the revelations of the Monica Lewinsky affair (why, he can't even look at that box of Best Havanas on his desk!), but to beat all, after all the work he achieved with the Palestinians and Israelis in the Middle East, did the Nobel Peace Prize not only go and get awarded to the Northern Ireland peace process instead.
In 1997 President Clinton was actively promoting a new initiative in the Middle East Peace process. On the face of it Yasser Arafat on the Palestinian side and Benyamin Netanyahu the Israeli Premier were giving the public perception of the 'old pals act'. However, the press of the day felt that secretly they both would like to see each other wiped off the political map.
In 1997 the press reported that it was costing the National Health Service £70million per annum due to a high rate of graduate drop outs. At the same time the Roslin Genetic Research Unit had just famously cloned 'Dolly' the sheep. Here is the Labour MP Frank Dobson the Government Health Secretary searching for a possible solution.
'New Labour' had just come into power after 18 years lost in the Thatcherite political wilderness riding on a ticket of high-ethics and 'no sleaze'. The European Union wanted to bring in a ban on tobacco advertising within sport, particularly, within Formula 1 racing. Here is Robin Cook, the Labour Foreign Secretary, refuting this policy and promoting British interests within the tobacco and motor sport industries. Nothing to do with Bernie Eccleston paying £1million into the Labour Party war chest, of course.
As stated above the Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet came to London for a private operation. Blair's government were put under pressure from anti-Pinochet and human rights groups to have him arrested to be tried on human rights charges. Margaret Thatcher voiced her support for the ultra-right dictator. Blair backed down and Pinochet was allowed to recuperate from his operation and return to Chile and continue with his retirement. In 1997 the National Lottery had just been introduced and here is matron informing the General of his exceeding good fortune.
Here is the Prince of Wales looking suitably embarrassed on stage at his 50th birthday bash with Spice Girl Geri Halliwell singing to him - a la Marilyn Monroe.