Pakistani President moves to criminalize jokes about himself

[Shadowstorm]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/01439/Asif-Zardari_1439740c.jpg


Pakistanis who send jokes about Asif Zardari by text message, email or blog risk being arrested and given a 14-year prison sentence.

The country’s interior minister, Rehman Malik, announced the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had been asked to trace electronically transmitted jokes that “slander the political leadership of the country” under the new Cyber Crimes Act.

Mr Malik, said the move would punish the authors of “ill motivated and concocted stories through emails and text messages against the civilian leadership”.

The step, which was described by human rights groups as “draconian and authoritarian”, came after government was particularly riled by a barrage of caustic jokes being sent to the presidency’s official email.

Source (1 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/5878525/Pakistan-president-Asif-Zardari-bans-jokes-ridiculing-him.html)) (2 (http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/005870.html)).

Here's some decent Zardari jokes by the way - just don't go to prison for 14 years :D.

Robber: "Give me all your money!"
Zardari: "Don't you know who I am? I am Asif Ali Zardari."
Robber: "OK. Give me all my money"To commemorate the ascension to the Presidency, Pakistan Post has officially launched a new stamp. But the people of Pakistan are confused which side on the stamp to spit on."Terrorists have kidnapped our beloved Zardari and are demanding $5,000,000 or they will burn him with petrol. Please donate what you can. I have donated five litres."

[Narradisall]

LOL at the jokes, and less of a lol at putting that shit in the cyber crimes act.

Lets hope Muddi doesn't load this thread up on any electronic device!

14 years for a joke seems a tad on the extreme side, especially as the first one isn't even that good!

[Generation ABXY]

I read something about this the other day, and I could do nothing but shake my head. But, hey, at least now I got a laugh out of it - I enjoyed the jokes (even the first one). :D

[roboninja]

Those are some pretty good jokes. As for the jailings, I do not think I need to comment on that idiocy. I'm pretty sure this is one topic we can all agree on here, right? Right?!?

[Ink Asylum]

Down in Texas, George W Bush is saying, "Why didn't I think of that!?"

[Voodoo]

Down in Texas, George W Bush is saying, "Why didn't I think of that!?"
Of all the jokes made of Monkey Head, I don't remember him getting upset about it at any time. Perhaps I missed something?

[Ink Asylum]

You clearly didn't watch the White House Correspondent's Dinner in 2006:

qa-4E8ZDj9s

Just watch W's body language. That is not a happy man.

[Generation ABXY]

Down in Texas, George W Bush is saying, "Why didn't I think of that!?"

That's okay, I'm sure the Dems'll pick up the slack at some point. ;)

That is not a happy man.

I don't know, he seems slightly amused to me...

[Voodoo]

You clearly didn't watch the White House Correspondent's Dinner in 2006:

qa-4E8ZDj9s

Just watch W's body language. That is not a happy man.
Seems to me there is a clear difference between criminalising those that joke about you and being 'not a happy man'. Monkey Head also invited him to the dinner and was well aware (being that he watched and probably still does, the Colbert Report) that he would be cooked as Colbert was doing it quite frequently on his show. Colbert not only roasted up fried Monkey Head, he also placed a well deserved shotgun to the face of the media attending the event that night.
You should spend more time with your families, write that novel you've always wanted to write. You know, the one about the fearless reporter who stands up to the administration. You know-- fiction.
Also, of all the correspondent dinners in recent times, this one is well recognised as the best one. I've watched almost all of them to as far back as Reagan.

[roboninja]

See what an off-hand comment gets you, Ink? :p

[Ink Asylum]

Wow. I made a joke. I didn't seriously think that W would have tried to ban jokes at his expense. Although there was that time he said things would be easier if the country were a dictatorship, as long as he was the dictator.

Also, I highly doubt W was the one who picked Colbert, nor had any idea who he even was until that night. It is also highly likely that whoever did pick Colbert did not realize that Colbert's right wing character was a joke. Colbert himself has said as much in interviews. A majority of conservatives who watch the Colbert Report believe Colbert is the character he portrays. This was also in 2006, when his show was still relatively young and that kind of mistake was more understandable.

None of us can know what Bush really thought about the jokes made at his expense, but he strikes me as the type of person who likes joking about others and even about himself, but doesn't like other people making jokes about him.

[Ink Asylum]

See what an off-hand comment gets you, Ink? :p

I forgot the plum. :)

[Voodoo]

None of us can know what Bush really thought about the jokes made at his expense, but he strikes me as the type of person who likes joking about others and even about himself, but doesn't like other people making jokes about him.
Check this out: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/060501/1whwatch.htm

I'll give you that he was pissed off after the event then. But, regardless of your joke and him being Monkey Head, he never struck out at Colbert. There can be various explanations of why not, only he and the Aides know. My best guess, what Colbert said had a great deal of truthiness.

[Ink Asylum]

Struck out at him how? Have him killed? Force Comedy Central to cancel his show?

Any action he could have taken just would have made him look even worse, and he's nowhere near clever enough to be able to return fire in a comedic way.

I find this particularly funny:

Colbert's routine was similar to what he does on his show, the Colbert Report, but much longer on the topic of Bush, suggesting that the president is out of touch with reality. Aides and reporters, however, said that it did not overshadow Bush's own funny routine, which featured an impersonator who told the audience what Bush was thinking when he spoke dull speech lines.

In fact, some aides crowed over reports that the president easily bested Colbert in the reviews of both comedy acts.

If Bush and aides think his little skit was funnier than Colbert's they're even more out of touch than Colbert made him out to be. They may have gotten more laughs out of the stuffed shirts in the room, who Colbert was also mocking, but the rest of America wasn't laughing at a second-rate Bush impersonator.

[Generation ABXY]

Wow. I made a joke.

Don't worry, I knew it was a joke...either that, or your undying need to be defined by a hate of everything (R). One of the two. :p

Oh, and as to Colbert, I've been surprised by how many people thought he was real. It took me forever to convince my brother it was a parody, and I still know a few Democrats who won't watch him because they think he is serious. :confused:

[Ink Asylum]

People STILL think Colbert is for real. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/27/colbert-study-conservativ_n_191899.html)

This study investigated biased message processing of political satire in The Colbert Report and the influence of political ideology on perceptions of Stephen Colbert. Results indicate that political ideology influences biased processing of ambiguous political messages and source in late-night comedy. Using data from an experiment (N = 332), we found that individual-level political ideology significantly predicted perceptions of Colbert's political ideology. Additionally, there was no significant difference between the groups in thinking Colbert was funny, but conservatives were more likely to report that Colbert only pretends to be joking and genuinely meant what he said while liberals were more likely to report that Colbert used satire and was not serious when offering political statements. Conservatism also significantly predicted perceptions that Colbert disliked liberalism. Finally, a post hoc analysis revealed that perceptions of Colbert's political opinions fully mediated the relationship between political ideology and individual-level opinion.

Just so I can live up to expectations, at least us liberals know when we're being made fun of!

[Voodoo]

Struck out at him how? Have him killed? Force Comedy Central to cancel his show?

Any action he could have taken just would have made him look even worse, and he's nowhere near clever enough to be able to return fire in a comedic way.

If Bush and aides think his little skit was funnier than Colbert's they're even more out of touch than Colbert made him out to be. They may have gotten more laughs out of the stuffed shirts in the room, who Colbert was also mocking, but the rest of America wasn't laughing at a second-rate Bush impersonator.
I will go as far as to say that Monkey Head was almost, totally, out of touch.

My overall point is that he didn't do anything at all to strike back at Colbert. I agree that your reasoning is accurate as to why. But was it his lack of cleverness that stopped him from responding, officially or via comedic means, or will we eventually hear a story about aides straping him down to stop him from striking back cowboy style?

Hard to say... My guess is that he was upset for a while until he got home, had some chocolate ice cream and took a shower with Laura.

[Hawkzombie]

My mom is a hardcore Republican and even SHE laughs at the Colbert Report.

[Generation ABXY]

Just so I can live up to expectations, at least us liberals know when we're being made fun of!

Yeah, but "all the time" is kind of a gimme.

My mom is a hardcore Republican and even SHE laughs at the Colbert Report.

I found him hilarious, at one point (I tired of him eventually, but that's only because he got a bit repetitive).

[Ink Asylum]

My overall point is that he didn't do anything at all to strike back at Colbert. I agree that your reasoning is accurate as to why. But was it his lack of cleverness that stopped him from responding, officially or via comedic means, or will we eventually hear a story about aides straping him down to stop him from striking back cowboy style?

So then my joke made complete sense. Perhaps he really does wish he could have done what the Pakistani President did. :)

[Voodoo]

So then my joke made complete sense. Perhaps he really does wish he could have done what the Pakistani President did. :)
Certainly. But, (you may surmise from my posts) I'm merely stating that while this Pakistani President is moving to criminalise jokes about him, Monkey Head during his 8 years never did such a thing; not even a peep of a slander or libel. Then again...there's always those secret detention centres. ;)

[Ink Asylum]

That's why it's a joke. :) Because it's something he didn't actually do but an exaggerated, comedic version of him might have done.

[Voodoo]

That's why it's a joke. :) Because it's something he didn't actually do but an exaggerated, comedic version of him might have done.
Is it sad to say that I mildly enjoyed That's My Bush!? I had always waited for someone to do an exaggerated, comedic version of him since but... Ah well... I suppose we'll have to live with the Steve Bridges' and Will Ferrel's versions.

[Ink Asylum]

Nothing tops Will Ferrel's impersonation, in my mind. It's great because he's not trying to hard to sound exactly like him or affect all his mannerisms yet he seems even more like Bush than someone just copying him.

[H.Bogard]

This is fucking hilarious to me.

I'm running a PTCL connection (Govt. administered) so I'm not sure how safe I am if I post some good ones I've got. Maybe Muddi can supply some? :D

[ShivaX]

Ok, I'll ask... whats with the Monkey Head?

I've never heard it before and it went from mildly amusing to annoying as hell by the time I'd finished the first page.

[Generation ABXY]

I think it's just that whole Bush-looks-like-a-chimp thing.

[Chris_D]

Wow those jokes are really funny! How ridiculously draconian though. I mean, what better way to get yourself through tough times than through humour. And, times in Pakistan are pretty damn tough at the moment.

[ShivaX]

I think it's just that whole Bush-looks-like-a-chimp thing.

Well I get that I guess, but can we refrain from calling him that over and over?

It reminds me of EvAv and the "NObama" crap all over again.

[Ox]

None of us can know what Bush really thought about the jokes made at his expense, but he strikes me as the type of person who likes joking about others and even about himself, but doesn't like other people making jokes about him.
Out of curiosity, do you know anyone for whom that isn't true? Even those who crack self-deprecating jokes only do so about certain carefully-circumscribed aspects of their personality. And I think all of us draw a big distinction between trash-talking with friends and somebody we don't know mean-spiritedly mocking us.

But perhaps there's a whole crowd of people who really enjoy being made fun of whom I've never met.

[Ink Asylum]

There are plenty of people who either don't dish out what they don't want to receive, or can take exactly what they dish out to others.

[Johan]

Damn, those jokes in the OP were genuinely funny to me. I did indeed laugh aloud, Shadowstorm.

Shadowstorm?

Shadowstorm?

They got you, didn't they? ;)

But perhaps there's a whole crowd of people who really enjoy being made fun of...

Teachers, of course.

[H.Bogard]

Q:How many Zardari jokes are on the internet?

A: Only one, the rest are all true.

Now... I wonder if AHRAIJSDNIAISDBJASD *crash boom thud*

[Deadend]

Wow, you would think that having control of nuclear weapons would give someone the confidence to not cry when people make jokes about him.

[Ultima Thulian]

Classic dick fear.

[SilentScreams]

He must know that this will only increase the number of jokes about him, as well as making the man himself a complete joke.