The triumphant secessionists of Kosovo have rewarded, pro virili, their imperial patron by erecting a remarkably ugly eleven-foot statue of Bill Clinton, spray-painted gold. The cheesy spray paint is nice and appropriate, I think -- just the thing for Bill Clinton.
The effigy follows the normal eastern European iconographical convention -- "Great Leader Hails Taxicab. Hail Great Leader!" One somewhat original touch is that Great Leader's non-hailing hand is holding a binder or folder or something inscribed with the date that he started the bombs falling. The Albanian chauvinists of Kosovo have little talent for hypocrisy, it seems. Another people might have chosen not to emphasize the fact that they were celebrating a campaign of slaughter.
Ole Bill is very popular there, along with Tony Blair and Madeleine "We'll kill any number of children and enjoy it" Albright. People in Kosovo apparently name their kids after this trio of bloodthirsty fiends.
By chance I recently passed by the Jefferson Davis monument in New Orleans, commemorating another Southern friend to imperially-sponsored secessionism and pride of race.
It's a more accomplished piece of work than Clinton's clunky memorial. Ole Jeff has a lifted arm too but his gesture is graceful and oddly airy. His expression is solemn and elevated, very much in the usual pompous style of American civic art, but at least he doesn't have that look of slitty-eyed low cunning and false bonhomie that Clinton's does.
That look, on spray-paint Clinton's face, is another touch, probably unintended, of veracity. The earnest but unskilled -- and, I fear, untalented -- Kosovar sculptor didn't quite know how to read an Arkansas con artist's facial expression, so he just... rendered it.
Comments (13)
All hail the Big Cheese!
But I've seen better examples of cheese sculpture:
http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Food/8-Cutting-Edge-Cheese-Sculptures.html
Posted by Sean | November 1, 2009 4:33 PM
Posted on November 1, 2009 16:33
If you keep dissing the Confederacy, the bikers'll getcha'!!!
Don't say later that you failed to see it coming.
Posted by ms_xeno | November 1, 2009 6:19 PM
Posted on November 1, 2009 18:19
The Albanian chauvinists of Kosovo have little talent for hypocrisy, it seems.
Perfectly sincere question.
Why do the Muslims of Palestine deserve their own state but not the Muslims of Albania?
Posted by I am PWOG | November 1, 2009 6:33 PM
Posted on November 1, 2009 18:33
Those bikers are after you for dissing on Emperor Clinton, Michael. And Pwog isn't going to stare them down with his mighty manly manliness for you.
Posted by AlanSmithee | November 1, 2009 6:58 PM
Posted on November 1, 2009 18:58
"Deserves"? Okay, everyone and every community has a right to self-determination. Pwogs too, although they've little use for it. How that comes to be, to what extent it comes to be and how that's exercised once it's achieved present some problems. If, for example, the Pwog nation achieved sovereignty through bombing raids on the Wingnut nation -- said raids provided by a superpower to be named at a later date -- and that superpower installed the money-laundering/comprador arm of an organized crime syndicate as the ruling elite, then I think some problems might arise.
Posted by Al Schumann | November 2, 2009 12:58 AM
Posted on November 2, 2009 00:58
They really need a culinary school, don't go to Kosovo,.. or Bosnia in general eager to try the street food.
Oh and those Moslims,.. they're europe's equiv to appalachin' hill billies. Fitting since you brought up J.D. known as "the pride of west point" to people you really want to stay away from. You'd think they were gypsies until they want to thank you for being American and helping em' out back in 94.
Their own state!!!
Ha they're still keeping track of the goat herds with marks on sticks. But hey, after a good Balkan meal it's easy to imagine what Ms.Moffett's meat pies tasted like.
Posted by Son of Uncle Sam | November 2, 2009 1:55 AM
Posted on November 2, 2009 01:55
OK. I guess noone's going to answer the question.
Why do the Muslims of Palestine deserve their own state but not the Muslims of Kosovo?
I guess it has something to do with the Serbs being the rightful overlords of the Balkans or something.
ps The only way you'll ever have a Palestinian state is to park one big American military base in Gaza and another one in the West Bank. It's really the only way you'll ever keep the settlers out. A Chinese base might work too. But UN peacekeepers certainly won't work. The Israelis will just kill them.
Posted by I am PWOG | November 2, 2009 5:52 PM
Posted on November 2, 2009 17:52
If, for example, the Pwog nation achieved sovereignty through bombing raids on the Wingnut nation -- said raids provided by a superpower to be named at a later date -- and that superpower installed the money-laundering/comprador arm of an organized crime syndicate as the ruling elite
Admittedly this sounds a bit like New Jersey.
But seriously, are you saying that a people needs "moral" leadership in order to deserve a state.
Hmm. You sound a bit like a Zionist and those endless morality test on the Palestinian leadership. You kow, the Palestians don't deserve a state because they have Arafat or Hamas as the leadership and not Mandela or Gandhi.
And didn't even Mandela turn out to be all too willing to deal with western capitalists?
Posted by I am PWOG | November 2, 2009 6:18 PM
Posted on November 2, 2009 18:18
PWOG, you misread. Moral leadership is hard enough for individuals. No state can achieve it.
Nor do I argue in favor of deserving or undeserving. I use "right" advisedly, because rights are easily understood as contingent and a path to an ideal; which will likely never be fully achieved. But you do have to start somewhere, unless your concept of self-determination precludes starting, achieving, ideals, contingence, any combination thereof, etc and so forth. In which case, best of luck to you.
Posted by Al Schumann | November 2, 2009 11:33 PM
Posted on November 2, 2009 23:33
Why do the Muslims of Palestine deserve their own state but not the Muslims of Kosovo?
For the same reason the Moslims of Canada don't deserve their own state.
Posted by Son of Uncle Sam | November 3, 2009 4:06 PM
Posted on November 3, 2009 16:06
I'd be happy to let them have New Jersey.
Posted by Al Schumann | November 3, 2009 9:33 PM
Posted on November 3, 2009 21:33
Too much water front- how about Laredo TX to Brownsville TX? Beautiful Border towns.
Posted by Son of Uncle Sam | November 5, 2009 9:41 AM
Posted on November 5, 2009 09:41
Only if we can move the current residents to New Hampshire. Use eminent domain to claim Justice Souter's house and make it their presidential palace.
But yeah pretty good choice.
Posted by Al Schumann | November 5, 2009 11:15 PM
Posted on November 5, 2009 23:15