Paul and I have taken to reading the Herald Tribune whenever we happen to find a copy, which isn’t as regular as I’d like. Funny thing is my favorite part is reading the Egyptian Daily News that comes inside. It has far more weird, outright hilarious, or just plain head-shaking articles than whatever the Herald Tribune prints. Gently put though, it’s probably because some of the stuff just doesn’t make for topical discussions in the U.S. and Egypt is generally a more conservative society. So things that typically aren’t that scandalous make headlines, and things that just simply wouldn’t be a problem in the U.S. are printed here.
There was a scary article about activists taking a stand against local bloggers being taken by “state thugs” to unknown destinations. Writing anything about Mubarek or the government is a big "no-no". (Perhaps I should not be blogging this?) If you want to know more, you can read it here.
The article that really caught my attention was printed only a few days ago and it’s HILARIOUS…as well as terrible. It’s titled “Birell Beer ad Campaign Triggers Debate on Egyptian Blogosphere”, which is only really eye-popping if you know that Birell is a non-alcoholic beer. They sell it at all the kiosks and Paul and I can never figure out why you would want to buy the stuff. Anyway, the new ad’s slogan is “be a man, drink Birell.” So article talks about how chauvinist the ad is, but I can’t help but laugh as it’s a non-alcoholic beer…what is masculine about that?! Only in Egypt. I highly recommend reading it for entertainment value. The article is here. I couldn't dig up the actual ad, but if someone else finds it, let me know.
As for American news, has anyone heard the infamous story about Bush being hit with a pair of shoes? I’m sure it’s old news by now…but hilarious! Paul was actually at the grocery store the day the video came out and the check-out guy asked him if he was American and then excitedly offered to send him the video from his phone if he had blue tooth. Too funny.
He really hurls those things!
17 December 2008
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2 comments:
Haha! Yeah the Bush shoe throwing thing was funny. I sadly couldn't mention it at work, as I am sure the olds would be upset by it. I was watching Hardball which literally showed the clip on repeat for a whole segment as they analyzed it. It's too bad the Daily Show and Colbert are on winter break... I'd love to hear what Stewart would say.
What does Egypt to about foreign bloggers? Are you tracked or as a foreign citizen is it not an issue? What would happen if you wrote about the Egyptian President?
Its funny how you get so tired of 'news' programs like FOX censationalizing news; but you forget how much better this option is then an oppresive 'overlord' dictating what the public can be exposed to.
And the one thing I found pretty disturbing about the Bush shoe incendent is our security. Now I admitidly don't care about Bush and even less about a shoe hitting him upside the noggin. But it worries me that we weren't able to stop the guy before he got his next shoe thrown at Bush. If this dude had been throwing something more dangerous (CHINESE THROWING STAR!) he would have had plenty of time to get his damage in. It just makes me worry for our awesome Obama. Seems like someone shoulda tazed that bro before another shoe flew.
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