The meaning of life <cartoons, etc.> ... an evolving thread

Ha! The Dutch newspaper Trouw has some of its cartoons online, hooray. (Trouw is a centre-left, Christian newspaper, at some 120,000 subscribers the smallest of the surviving nation-wide, general-interest newspapers).

They will require some explanation though.

First, on a light note: in Holland, we have two Santa Clauses.

One: there's "Sinterklaas", or Saint Nicolas, who arrives by steamboat from Spain with his young black helpers, and on the night of 4 December rides over the roofs to dump presents through the chimneys. Good kids get sweets, bad kids "de roe" (a bunch of twigs to slap naughty children with). Oh, and they're taken back to Spain in a bag. But nowadays those scary parts arent really mentioned much anymore. The black helpers ("black petes") however ever remain a source of contention (my Surinamese friend refuses to celebrate Sinterklaas).

Anyway, for Sinterklaas people give each other presents (mostly when there are kids in the family), and each present is supposed to go with a rhyming poem (which serves as a good way to sternly-comically excoriate someone for his bad habits) and a "surprise" packaging. This is all traditional Dutch.

The "Christmasman", on the other hand, is (American) import. Presents for Christmas is a relatively new thing, but over the past thirty years the Christmasman is gaining ever more ground. Every year again though, there are people who speak with indignation about shops that have Christmas-decorations before Sinterklaas. And families face the tough dilemma, always comparing themselves with neighbours and parents-of-schoolmates: which of the celebrations comes with presents? Only Sinterklaas, or both?

Zusje ("little sis") says:



Whether I believe in the Christmasman?
Of course not!
Not as long as we dont do presents with Christmas..

There's also a political cartoon, but it too needs explanation.

Currently, the Netherlands is governed by a coalition of three parties, which together barely hold a majority. The two big mainstream rightwing parties, the Christian-Democratic Appeal (44 seats) and the liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (28 seats), had really wanted to just govern together, and steer a firm right-wing course. But they were a few seats short, so after much wrangling they coaxed in the Democrats 66 (6 seats), a centre-left party.

The Democrats were formed in 1966, and from their then-radical democratic agenda still retain a few "crown jewels", a handful of programmatic fetsishes that until recently nobody else was interested in. Directly elected Prime Minister, directly elected mayors, a district electoral system instead of PR, referenda.

In this government, too, they failed to push through much of any of these points. Only on the elected mayor are there still some token promises... (the question almost led to a cabinet crisis and new elections).

OK, so right now the Dutch government has to decide whether to renew its Afghanistan mission by two years. The big right-wing parties are in favour, but again lack a majority, and the Democrat MPs declared they were against. What followed was some obscure coaxing and coercing of the Democrat ministers, and the result is that the government has agreed on expressing the "intention" to decide the renewal after parliament has first spoken on it.

All of which was commented on in this cartoon:



CDA (Christian-Democrat PM Balkenende): "But if we go to Afghanistan, there will surely be little elected mayors there!"
D66: "Really?"
VVD (Liberal deputy PM Zalm): "Yes, really!"

OK, so that page has links to the websites of several individual cartoonists, and here's a few cartoons that, alas, need little explanation - lot of stuff on this topic.




"..He does nothing, really.." (the standard thing owners of particularly fierce-looking dogs always tell you) "..at home.."


"Due to some turbulence over Europe, we will be flying straight through to a secret detention facility in Syria.."

And some domestic politics again to wrap it up..

Labour party leader Wouter Bos is sometimes accused of being more concerned about image than content ...


NEW POLITICS: "I want to be your leader ... tell me where to"

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Theo van Gogh is still controversial, even after his death ...



Commemoration Theo van Gogh
<- for Theo | against Theo ->

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Back in the 80s, when upstanding citizens were first in an acute panic about rowdy youths hanging around on the street, helpful municipal officials and social workers established official, regularly-policed "hang-out spots" (mostly a bench on some particularly inhospitable streetcorner)

Now, Dutch parliament has adopted a law banning the burqa ...


"Burqa hang-out place"

Oy!!!

Love 'em.

(Leunig is great, of course.)

great stuff nimh...especially about Dutch holiday traditions.. It's hard to believe now but when I was growing up in Argentina there was no Santa Claus. Just 3 wise men.

Thanks, nimh. Very interesting!

Oooooooooooooooooooh!

why didnt i see this before ...really really great and amazing thread

Hey, msolga, check these out.

And count your blessings that you live on the other side of the world.

Damn. I couldn't figure out which one was the chimp.

makes me think oF "xtc's" song "the smartest monkeys"

Well man created the cardboard box to sleep in it
And man converted the newspaper to a blanket
Well you have to admit that he's come a long way
Since swinging about in the trees

We're the smartest monkeys
The smartest monkeys
The evidence is all around
Our brains are bigger
This we've found
The smartest monkeys

Well man discovered the park bench can make a transition
And the rubbish tip makes a valid form of nutrition
With discoveries like these
Civilisation agrees
To give itself a pat on the back
We're the smartest monkeys
The evolution's plain to see
We're the dominant of the species
The smartest monkeys
We brought the caveman from the stoneage
To the subways of the modern world
How they pack so many in
Quick call the Guinness Book of Records
Well you have to admit...
We're the smartest monkeys...

That picture pairing of bush-cheney and chimp-handler is priceless!

I rather liked this one....