The Iraqi Monkey Trap Raspberry says shrub trapped by power/greed

[BigLed]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A50922-2003Oct19.html

"They begin by making a paw-sized hole in a coconut, then filling the coconut with rice or some similarly attractive food. A monkey will come along, stick in his paw and grab a fistful of rice -- and then find that he can't get his paw out.

"It screams for help, but it is trapped by its own greed," Neil explained. "As you and I can see, all the monkey would have to do is turn loose of the rice. His open hand could easily be withdrawn. The problem is that the monkey places greater value on the rice than on his own freedom."

That was the attention-getting windup. Here was the pitch:

"The Bush administration has stuck its hand into a coconut called Iraq, grabbed a fistful of oil and control, and now is finding it difficult to get out. It is trapped by its power and its greed. Now it screams for help from the United Nations (which it had earlier dismissed as irrelevant and inconsequential). And all the administration would have to do is to turn loose some control, and it might be able to withdraw with dignity."

[Syncronaut Seven]

1. Now there's a picture :)

n/t

[BigLed]

2. Yeh

With so many here calling him chimp it is a visual I'm sure many will enjoy.

[seventhson]

3. Where's the Cartoon?

for this thought.

It is a perfect analogy except that all the children of the monkey are also trapped and getting killed and the rice is decaying and is poisoned

[SoCalDem]

4. The Monkey and the Pickle Jar by Anne Ullrich

The Monkey and the Pickle Jar by Anne Ullrich

There once was a monkey who lived in the forest who always bragged about how smart he was. One day the monkey found a pickle jar with a handful of pickles left inside. The monkey was extremely fond of pickles. The monkey put his hand in the jar and grabbed all the pickles. When he lifted his hand, it wouldn't come out. He wasn't sure what to do, so he started yelling, "Help, help, my hand is stuck!" Then suddenly a little rabbit came by and looked over the situation. After carefully reviewing the jar and monkey's hand, the rabbit said, "Poor, poor monkey. Trapped by your own greed and stupidity. Let go of the pickles and you'll be free." And he was.

Moral: Don't ever brag about yourself because some day you might need someone's help.