the city". The Brazilian president at that time, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, found it to be "a distorted vision of Brazilian reality". Rio de Janeiro had just spent millions promoting the city internationally. Their reputation was already damaged because of an outbreak of dengue fever a few years earlier. Producer James L. Brooks apologized to "the lovely city of Rio de Janeiro", adding that "if this does not settle the issue, Homer Simpson offers to fight with the Brazilian president on Celebrity Boxing". After the apology, the issue did not go any further. However, it was international news for a while. "Blame It on Lisa" has been a source of academic studies in both the United States and Brazil. Alessandro de Almeida of the Federal University of Uberlândia links the depiction of Brazil in the episode with the "social chaos" of Cardoso's second term as president. In his opinion, "the association of the figure of president Fernando Henrique Cardoso with those of the decaying celebrities of Celebrity Boxing is interesting to think about the political meaning of the episode". At that moment, in which Brazil was facing serious social issues due to the Asian financial crisis, "confidence in the Brazilian federal government was severely shaken and the image of the Brazilian president was undoubtedly in decline". He also argues that the episode's criticism "is not focused only in Brazil", citing that while "in the U.S. Bart used to watch violent cartoons, in Brazil he watches 'educational' programs linked to sexuality". The character's escape from reality, according to him, "demonstrates problems of contemporary societies". He concluded his article by saying that the episode could generate a debate about the Cardoso administration that would benefit the Brazilian society, had it not been banned from broadcast television airing by Rede Globo. France "Cheese-eating surrender monkeys", sometimes shortened to "surrender monkeys", is Groundskeeper Willie's insulting phrase referring to the French, which gained notoriety in the United States, particularly in the run-up to the Iraq War. The line was first picked up and used predominantly by Republican politicians and publications. They were led, according to the British national newspaper The Guardian, by Jonah Goldberg, a popular columnist for the U.S. bi-weekly National Review and editor of their website National Review Online. France opposed many U.S. positions and actions, in particular, the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Some argue the phrase's success reflects deep antipathy in the U.S.