Stories about Humor from March, 2012
Georgia: Tongue-in-cheek development forecast
A satirical video posted on YouTube takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the development of Georgia ahead of parliamentary elections later this year and a presidential vote in 2013. With the current president, Milhail Saakashvili, unable to run for a third term in office it foresees him following in the footsteps...
South Korea: Politician Ridiculed for Twitter Account “Explosion” Accusation
In South Korea,a politician's ridiculous comment that his Twitter account was "exploded" by the opposition has come under fire. The politician's remark and the governing conservative party's rhetoric have drawn numerous jokes and sneers online.
Philippines: Government Fails to Stop ‘Noynoying’
What started as a substitute to the now banned planking protests is now the latest hit sensation in the Philippines. Filipino netizens discuss how and why the 'Noynoying' protest has gained its present popularity despite efforts by the government to stop it.
China: A Titanic Nation
Chinese cartoonist Perverted Pepper posted a political cartoon in which a throng of ordinary Chinese waves goodbye to a large red ship called “Titanic” at Sina Weibo. The drawing was quickly deleted and China Media Project has saved a copy.
Egypt: The Abou Ismail Poster Frenzy
Preparations are in full swing for the presidential elections in Egypt, set for May 23 and 24, 2012, with candidates' election posters already up on the streets. But when it comes to Hazem Salah Abou-Ismail, he sure beats all the rest in the poster frenzy. His posters are almost seen almost everywhere. Netizens grasp the opportunity to make fun of the poster bonanza.
Online Commentary on US President Obama's Visit to South Korea
The Monster Island blog wrote several posts on US President Obama's visit to South Korea. Read the blogger's commentary on Obama's side trip to the demilitarized zone which is a de facto border between the two Koreas and President Obama's new Korean name.
Arab World: Netizens Turn to Twitter to Complain About Dust
A massive sandstorm hit the Gulf region, disrupting air traffic in Yemen, and closing schools in Saudi Arabia. Netizens from Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar turned to Twitter to complain.
South Korea: Photos of Politicians Staring at Revealing Photos of Ladies in National Assembly building
Photos of politicians staring at revealing photos of ladies have been widely viewed in South Korea, prompting net users to express their frustration and annoyance towards lawmakers doing meaningless web searches and taking a nap in the National Assembly building mostly during their work hours.
Libya: Libyan Memes
What are Libyans laughing about on social networking sites? Check out this Facebook page to keep abreast with Libyan memes.
Macedonia: Making a Humanitarian Book of Interesting Tweets
DarjanR, ArsovaM, and Angie_Mkd have issued a call [mk] for participation in creating a pocket-size book with the most interesting tweets, and invited other Macedonian Twitter users to submit their favorites. They are also trying to crowdsource the design, printing and publishing. Proceeds will go to charity. One of the...
Switzerland: Greetings from the “Greeks” of the French Cantons
An article from a Swiss German newspaper accusing the Swiss French of being the "Greeks of Switzerland" has driven French-speakers to reply in a humorous manner on social networks.
Uganda: Yes We Kony!
A social media campaign to raise support for the arrest Ugandan guerrilla leader and wanted war criminal Joseph Kony has taken a humorous twist. Parody videos about the campaign are currently circulating online.
Germany: Email Monitoring #Bomb(e) Drops
German intelligence agencies examined more than 37 million emails containing particular search terms, for instance "bomb". Reactions in online media ranged between outrage and humor.
Egypt: Mixed Reactions to Porn Ban Proposal
Only one month after the first session of the newly elected parliament in Egypt, much debate and controversy arose. The Egyptian blogosphere and twitterverse have been watching the new parliament and tweeting under the hashtag #EgyParliament expressing demands, concerns and sarcasm. A recent episode at the parliament stirred much discussion, but this time it was about pornography!
China: Copycat Movie Posters
Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu highlights Wenxuecity's collection and comparison of copycat movie posters.
China: Lesson on Survival Skill
C Custer from China Geeks introduced a satirical animation on the future of Chinese young generation whose lives are threaten by the immoral society.
Macedonia: Animated Hitler Meme as a Free Resource
As a reaction to the corporate efforts to enact an even more draconian legislation and in response to the attempts of the distributor of the film Downfall to take down the Hitler meme on copyright grounds, Ribaro published [mk] an animated parody of the iconic scene, free for download and...
MENA: Which Salafist Movie Would You Watch?
Iraqi Lebanese blogger Karl Sharro decided to start a new hashtag where people tweet movie names after putting a Salafist flavour into them. And like most of the humuorous hashtags, this one got spread in no time, when Twitter users in different Arab countries started using it.
Russia: Bloggers Discuss Crying Putin
At pro-Putin rally, Vladimir Putin cried (photo, video) when heard that he apparently won in the first round of elections. This fact immediately became a hot topic among commenters. “He began to stream myrrh,” and “Moscow does not believe in tears,” a reference to the popular Soviet movie, are among the...
Jordan: Amman's Welcome Snow Day
Amid a rough winter in Jordan with little optimism in the air, Ammanis found solace in getting snowed in on Thursday, making it a long white weekend; joyfully hyper tweeting and photo sharing snow covered neighborhoods and some whacky snow creations.
China: Challenging the 50 Cent Party
With a new spoofed flag, China's army of paid pro-government online commentators have recently gotten the sharp end of a number of new jokes. Oiwan Lam reports.