Jon Stewart, American political satirist
...who happens to host this television program...
Whoa! And they even managed to guest Peter Dinklage of GoT fame!
Now, meet his Egyptian counterpart...
Bassem Youssef, political satirist and actual heart surgeon
...who happens to host Egypt's version of "The Daily Show"...
I don't have that much idea of Egyptian politics (except for the fact
that they recently deposed their president in some revolution),
but it's hilarious. (Hurray for subs!)
that they recently deposed their president in some revolution),
but it's hilarious. (Hurray for subs!)
Considering that things in Egypt are still quite unstable, politically-speaking, Mr. Youssef still manages to pull off punchlines on President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood...
Also, he manages to guest-star himself on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"
Apparently, due to his irreverent and critical style of humor, this happens...
Freedom of expression. It's also an issue in Egypt.
And so, somebody takes a stand...
Stewart:"As for the pig thing, come on! If you're gonna insult the Jews,
you can't go with a kosher animal? 'You're goats?'"
Watching these shows, I can at least get a laugh and another different perspective on current events and issues in the international scene. And if I wanted to get a laugh off sociopolitical issues from a Philippine perspective, I tune in to this...
"Tatlo ang panahon sa Pilipinas: panahon ng tag-init,
panahon ng tag-ulan, at higit sa lahat,
panahon ng ELEKSYON." -- Lourd de Veyra
Freedom of expression is also an issue for Egyptians, as well as for us Filipinos. Youssef himself said, "you know how freedom of the press is like around here. No really, we do have freedom of press. They literally said 'no pencil shall be broken'. And they were right, the pencils are safe despite the TV channels shutting down."
Closing down TV stations is a rare event and one thing I haven't yet witnessed in the Philippines, although it has happened back in Martial Law days. Cybercrime Law? It's still a problem, of course, but the greater problem here is the death rates (not just death threats, mind you) of journalists in the country. I'm pretty sure that with the issue of freedom of expression, names that ring bells are: Ampatuan, Magindanao...
...and this guy, whose tarpaulin I saw at the ukay-ukay
where he was said to have been shot
where he was said to have been shot
* * * * *
Hay, Pilipinas. Democracy kuno. Good luck, godspeed, God bless!
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