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Ginger
Meggs Cartoonist Dies
James Kemsley worked on his strip right to the end
 Melbourne,
Australia, December 6, 2007 — James Kemsley passed away
on Monday December the 3rd at his home town of Welby, having suffered
an increasingly debilitating two and a half years of motor neuron
disease. It was an unmistakable sign of his popularity that his
fellow cartoonists and his friends from the cricket world, from
the stage, and the local council, raised tens of thousands of dollars
for his treatment. The unused money will be donated to the Motor
Neuron Disease Association NSW. Kemsley touched the lives of many
cartoonists, both in Australia and abroad, during his illustrious
career.
He began drawing the iconic Ginger Meggs
in 1984 and built on its success both in Australia and overseas.
He served as President of the Australian Black and White Artists
Club and later the Australian Cartoonists' Association. When he
wasn't in an official role his guidance and assistance continued
spanning over 20 years. In 1990 he was awarded the Jim Russell Award
for oustanding contribution to Australian cartooning, two Stanleys
for Comic Strip Artist (1990 and 2004) and the Gold Stanley for
Cartoonist of The Year in 2001.
Privately he helped many cartoonists find their way through the
maze of freelance cartooning. Many will be indebted for his enthusiasm
and guidance. Cartoonist, actor, entertainer, cricket tragic and
keen St. Kilda supporter James Kesley led the charge for the ACA
culminating in the association being recognized with a Walkley Award
for Most Outstanding Contribution to Journalism in 2005. —
Rolf Heimann
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| Somali
cartoonist on the run
Threatened with torture and murder
 Cairo,
Egypt, October 16, 2007 — Twenty-three year-old Somali
cartoonist Abdullahi Ali Muhiaddin AKA (Abdul),
whose work has been regularly published on several Somali websites
including Calanka
(The Flag), Mudugonline,
as well as in newspapers such as the Mogadishu Times, Panorama,
and Sanca Weekly Independent, recently started receiving
anonymous phone calls threatening him with torture and murder. The
threats were traced back to radical Somali Islamist groups. Abdul
fled to Egypt where he still fears for his life.
The following is his translation of an e-mail he recently received:
"The follower of nonbelievers (Kafr)"
what they called to me "The real Apostate, you will meet our
torture in the world before the Day of Judgment and we know every
step that you make and where you are living now. You must know that
we have many youngsters (Shabab) in the Middle East and they will
face [find] you to punish you for what you have done with your evil
cartoons against Islam.
We know you are thinking that you stay outside the country. You
should know that we have many active members in Egypt and the Middle
East. And it's easy for us to harm you everywhere in Egypt.
In conclusion, you will see the upcoming hours of torture and murder
that you earned with your cartoons."
One of Abdul's cartoons that drew the anger of Somali
Islamic radicals. A moderate Sufi is running away from a radical
Alshabab portrayed here as a suicide attacker with bombs strapped
around his waist.
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The
life of another cartoonist is threatened
 Stockholm,
Sweden, September 22, 2007 — Al-Qaida offered prize
money for the murder of Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks. The artist,
who holds a Ph.D. in art science, got into an international controversy
after he made images depicting the head of Prophet Muhammad placed
on the body of a dog, in July 2007.
“We
are calling for the assassination of cartoonist Lars Vilks who
dared insult our Prophet... We announce a reward of $100,000 for
the one who kills this criminal.” says a soundfile on an
Islamic Web site. The announcing Iraqi al-Qaida leader later upped
the reward by 50% if the cartoonist was “slaughtered like
a lamb.”
Viks' drawings were
intended to be shown at a small art exhibition in Tällerud
in Värmland, Sweden, but were removed before the opening
for fear of violence by radical Islamists. Vilks then submitted
his drawings to several other art galleries, including the Gerlesborg
School of Fine Art in Bohuslän, where Vilks himself is a
frequent speaker/lecturer, but all institutions cited fear of
terror and declined to show the images. More on the story, one
of Vilks' images, a blog, as well as subsequent public discussion
can be found at the Gates
of Vienna.
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