getting as bad as
the 'Land of the Free'.
The two cartoonists responsible for a July cover of Spanish satirical mag El Jueves, which showed Crown Prince Felipe rogering wife Princess Letizia, have been fined €3,000 each for their trouble, El País reports. The offending sketch had the prince uttering "Do you realise that if you get pregnant... It will be the closest …
The king led Spain to become a democratic state as well as prevent a coup d'état (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/23-F). This makes the king and his direct family untouchable in the eyes of many here in Spain. Adding the fact the he told Chavez to shut up will only increase the popularity of the monarchy.
In spain they get 2500 euros per sprog .... we get a £250 child trust fund voucher (like thats really going to be worth anything in 18 years snort) or if you are a member of the great unwashed dole layabouts you get £750.... which is never cashed in cos you can't spend it on drugs, fags or booze.
Actually had a look at the cartoon after hearing about it on the radio.. its quite funny actually ... the spanish goverment has no sense of humour.
...freedom of the press? We don't need no steenking freedom of the press!
Can't have those large conglomerates making negative comments about the next ruler of Spain! What WERE the legislators thinking when they passed that drivel?? What's next - no negative comments about any politician? Oh, wait, they've already done that too. Next up - no voting against the incumbent.
me, but I wonder where one does start to reverse the trend towards, "If I've got a thought - no matter how inane, insulting or gratuitous - and a forum, I've got a right to publish it."
Self-restraint and good taste both being extinct, isn't this just a (somewhat) heavy-handed attempt at an artificial replacement?
Well, I for one got some giggles from that cartoon. Yes, I know that the Spanish King is mostly responsible for a return to democracy in Spain after Franco, and crashing the 1981 coup, but this is mild political humor at its best. The ban actually made the frontpage make the ... um... frontpage of lots of newspapers worldwide!
Reminds me of the "offensive video" offending the Thai King some time ago, leading to the Thai gov't banning YouTube nationwide. Sheesh...
>me, but I wonder where one does start to reverse the trend towards, "If I've got a thought - no matter how inane, insulting or gratuitous - and a forum, I've got a right to publish it."
yeah, god forbid people should be allowed express themselves. Perhaps we should appoint you as the guardian of "self-restraint and good taste"? Then you could decide what is "inane, insulting or gratuitous".
While I'll agree with you that there is plenty of "inane, insulting or gratuitous" content out there, I have a simple solution for you. Don't read/watch/listen to it. The sad thing is that this cartoon is actually making a valid political point.
Frankly, the concept that a family is "ordained by god" to lead a country is far more offensive to me.
The king was imposed by Franco and the army as a condition to their accepting a "democracy" rather than their having a fight over Franco's successor.
It is widely believed that the king was involved in the coup d'etat and then turned on his mates and shopped them when he got cold feet about the whole thing.
Most Spaniards I know would happily exchange him for Paris Hilton* 'cos she at least has her own cash and wouldn't need to sponge off the Spanish tax-payer so much**.
Dave.
* Apparently obligatory reference
** Though I doubt that that would stop her. (See Liz II for more information).