Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

How dare you disobey your masters (September 9th)

Ali Farzat the 60 year old Syrian political cartoonist and head of the Arab Cartoonists’ Association has been pulled from his vehicle and beaten by masked Syrian security forces gunmen, leaving him on the side of a road with both hands broken. While targeting his hands, Farzat was cautioned this is “just a warning”. Farzat had been publishing anti-regime cartoons targeting government figures, including an image of a running sweaty President Bashar al-Assad clutching a briefcase, heading towards the Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, supposedly to catch a ride with the anxiously seated dictator in a getaway car. Syrian opposition members are outraged with the brutality of the attack on Farzat, a reminder of another victim Ibrahim al-Qashoush, found dead with his vocal chords removed after he composed a popular anti-regime song.

Inspired by Helen Stoilas http://ow.ly/6fig0 image source keprtv http://ow.ly/6fif6

Saif al-Islam Muammar al-Gaddafi the 38 year old second son of the Libyan dictator Muammar al-Gaddafi, has made a speech on Libyan state TV blaming the political turmoil in Libya on drunken and drugged tribal factions and Islamist extremists acting on their own agendas. al-Gaddafi warned of civil war causing no trade, no oil money, and a country taken over by foreigners. He blamed the foment unrest and violence in Libya on  Arab and African expatriates, vowing to fight until the last man standing. While promising reforms he vowed he would not allow Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya or the BBC to trick the population with their aim at installing Islamist rule. al-Gaddafi in his finger-wagging speech blamed the foreign media for inflating the death toll.

Inspired by Amir Ahmed, Yousuf Basil, Greg Botelho, Salma Abdelaziz, Holly Yan and Mitra Mobasherat ow.ly/43gHq image source Wikipedia ow.ly/43guq