· March, 2011

Stories about Humor from March, 2011

Jamaica: Enquiry No Laughing Matter

  31 March 2011

As the Manatt Dudus Enquiry is extended for the third time, GWAP comments: “A Commission that should have cost Jamaican tax payers JMD $37 million has now skyrocket[ed] to JMD $78 million!”, while Pray, Laugh, Grow thinks the whole debacle is anything but funny.

Russia: Real Life Super Hero From Chelyabinsk

RuNet Echo  30 March 2011

Metkere.com shares [ru] a video-address of a real life super hero calling himself “The Avenger.” (see his Vkontakte fan group [ru]) The avenger, a man in a black costume with a green letter “M” (apparently M for Mstitel’, the ‘avenger’ in Russian) on it and a black mask, says he...

Lebanon: Ontornet instead of Internet

Frustrated with the very slow internet connection in Lebanon, a group of Lebanese bloggers started a campaign calling it “Ontornet” (“Ontor” in the Lebanese dialect means “wait”) to do something about it. They explained it all in this blog post.

Barbados: Going on Facebook

  28 March 2011

“I just didn’t like the idea of credit cards. They seemed to be a device for misleading people into a pattern of life they probably wouldn’t have entered, but for the convenience”: B.C. Pires argues it's the “same thing with FaceBook.”

Qatar: A World Cup in the Clouds

A report of a remote-controlled, solar-powered hovering shade, which could be used to cool soccer stadiums in Qatar, has taken on a life of its own, putting the small but wealthy Gulf nation in the spotlight once again. Whether or not these US $500,000 constructs will be gracing the stadia of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar though, remains to be seen.

Russia: Voina Art Collective

RuNet Echo  27 March 2011

At OpenDemocracy.net, writes about the Voina art collective (RUS: @free_voina; ENG: @free_voina_en) and “explains how their controversial methods have made it difficult to mobilise support.” Kevin Rothrock (@agoodtreaty) re-posts a video of Voina‘s recent prank action (1,178,969 views, 3,023 likes, 658 dislikes): “unwelcomely, without warning kiss female cops on candid...

Arab World: The Arab Tyrant Manual

The Arab Tyrant Manual is out, and is being tweeted as I type. On Twitter, Iyad Elbaghdadi is repeating all the excuses we have heard from the governments of Arab countries which have had protests calling for regime change and reforms since the Tunisian uprising at the end of 2010. Although they sound like one liners from a comic strip, they still get support from people on the ground.

Africa: Democracy in Africa

Computer language explanation of the democratic developments in Africa: “IVORY COAST: 60% [Alert: Virus-Gbagbo detected_Trojan Horse-Ouattarra in Quarantine], CONGO: Connection lost since 1997, NIGERIA: Starting Connection, ZIMBABWE: 404 Error – Server not found…”

Jamaica: Legal Wrangling

  21 March 2011

“The cross-examination of…Minister of Justice and Attorney-General [in the Manatt Dudus Enquiry] continued this week”: Jamaica and the World says, “It was excruciating to watch.”

China: Chairman Mao's grandson

  19 March 2011

Mao Xinyu, Mao Zedong’s grandson, was recently promoted to Major General in Chinese military. He has been a major subject for mockery in the past few years among netizens. The Ministry of Tofu presents to you a most update online sarcasm.

India: Furore In Parliament Over New Set Of Wikileaks

  18 March 2011

The latest round of India Cables from Wikileaks has led to a furore in the Indian Parliament with the opposition demanding an explanation from the Prime Minister. Netizens have been discussing them with much animation, their reactions ranging from disgust to sarcasm and even a bit of humor.

Côte d'Ivoire: Gbagbo Rulings Ridiculed on Twitter

  18 March 2011

In the ongoing struggle between presidential candidates Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, that has been going on in the West African nation of Côte d'Ivoire since the presidential elections of November 2010, each day brings a new batch of surprising rulings.

China: Controversial Speeches from Party Members

  15 March 2011

The Fourth Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) closed yesterday (March 14 2011) in Beijing. One-Party leadership was not a subject up for debate, so people have turned their attention to the speeches and proposals made by the so-called "people's representatives".

Nigeria: Vote for “Umblerra”

  14 March 2011

Nigerian First Lady asks Nigerians to vote for “umblerra”: “An audio recording has emerged of Mrs Jonathan speaking at a rally of the ruling party. She was “trying to persuade her listeners to vote for the ‘Umbrella’, the unmistakable symbol of the Peoples’ Democratic Party.”

Mozambique: Where streets have no name

  10 March 2011

A photo of where streets have no name in Mozambique: “There is a city where there are signposts everywhere. And each signpost is empty of language. The citizens decide on the names of the streets by consensus at 8am each morning. Poets run the naming sessions..”

Jamaica: Political Satire

  9 March 2011

Jamaica and the World posts updates on the Manatt Commission of Inquiry, while Active Voice notes that “political satire is alive and well in Jamaica”, thanks in part to the Twitter debut “of someone tweeting as if they’re the imprisoned don, Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, languishing in a New York prison.”