ugandan newspapers - touch more 'liberal' than ours?

[Ken Gargett]

[CBL]

Hahahaha! This CAN'T be serious! "Anaconda-like whoppers" a literary genius wrote this!

But seriously, this is like a high-school newspaper report....

[Ken Gargett]

Hahahaha! This CAN'T be serious! "Anaconda-like whoppers" a literary genius wrote this!

But seriously, this is like a high-school newspaper report....

you'd have to think it is dodgy but it did come to me through a fairly highly placed source in the aussie govt. either way, you have to giggle.

[CBL]

It is truly hilarious. I can't imagine finding an article like that in a newspaper over here. ****, even websites hardly write anything that funny. The picture could only be printed in a gossip magazine if one or both those guys were extremely famous.

[Fuzz AI]

Just Googled Red Pepper and it is an actual Ugandan tabloid. From their website:

Red Pepper Online publishing on www.redpepper.co.ug is the fourth title in The Red Pepper stable. This is the online edition of the flagship brand, The Red Pepper. The online edition is a reflection of the trends the company is adopting to become the leading source of breaking and other forms of news from Uganda, via the internet.

Because of the popularity of tabloid content, Red Pepper Online reaches a world-wide audience of 10 million people per day. Such a huge audience makes this title a good medium for online shoppers, visitors, tourists and investors interested in doing business in Uganda.

CIRCULATION:

The Red Pepper newspaper and its sister products circulate widely on the internet and can be accessed physically in all major towns in Uganda, Southern Sudan, and the other East African Community nations. Red Pepper products have the best reach in terms of readership compared to all the other newspapers in the country. It is the only newspaper that has the largest number of shared readers in the country. Because of its unique content, a single copy can be read by ten people on a daily basis.

After this article, maybe they should add "those who wish to remain anal retentive" to their list of readers...

[Dbone]

The look on that poor souls face just about explains it all. In the States we call it "deer in headlights". Good one Ken

[Warren]

I think that a weekly article from this newspaper would go down a treat on the forum.

[kirill]

Not so funny anymore if you read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_i...ving_conditions

To me that is a perfect example for why political correctness is needed as long as its basic tenets are not universally accepted (ie. "homosexuals have the same rights and dignity as all other people") This is obviously not yet common sense in Uganda which puts this newspaper item in a whole different light. Not very liberal, more hate speechy.

God, Ken, you really have a hand in bringing up the divisive subjects.

[Peter11216]

I hope there is nothing divisive about this one! Apparently, it's only a recent phenomena, but there have been killings of alleged homosexual people in Uganda, and there was (not sure of its status now) an effort in their parliament to make homosexuality a capital offense. Do so would be unlawful under the African Charter.

In relation to the Newspaper check out "Ugandan Newspaper Ordered to Stop Targeting Gays and Lesbians".

And, "Human rights activists in Uganda are warning that the lives of *** people are endangered after a newspaper published a front-page story featuring the names and photographs of what it called Uganda’s "top" 100 gays and lesbians, alongside yellow banner that read "Hang Them." The article appeared earlier this month in the new Ugandan weekly newspaper Rolling Stone, which is not affiliated with the US magazine by the same name.

Its publication came just days after the first anniversary of the introduction to Parliament of an anti-*** bill that calls for the death penalty or life imprisonment for some homosexual acts. The proposed legislation was stalled after an international outcry, including from President Obama, who called the bill "odious.""

Enjoy:

Not so funny anymore if you read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_i...ving_conditions

To me that is a perfect example for why political correctness is needed as long as its basic tenets are not universally accepted (ie. "homosexuals have the same rights and dignity as all other people") This is obviously not yet common sense in Uganda which puts this newspaper item in a whole different light. Not very liberal, more hate speechy.

God, Ken, you really have a hand in bringing up the divisive subjects.

[smpf67]

San Francisco Here We Come, Right Back Where We Started From!...or Boston and Minneapolis.

[Ken Gargett]

Not so funny anymore if you read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_i...ving_conditions

To me that is a perfect example for why political correctness is needed as long as its basic tenets are not universally accepted (ie. "homosexuals have the same rights and dignity as all other people") This is obviously not yet common sense in Uganda which puts this newspaper item in a whole different light. Not very liberal, more hate speechy.

God, Ken, you really have a hand in bringing up the divisive subjects.

to me, the humour in the report comes from the total and utter absurdity of the writing (i'm still amazed that it might be real) - if indeed the contents are genuine then they are appalling, but you can find the equivalent in any newspaper and endless mags and websites, including on occasion, this one. and without wishing in any way to be either offensive or divisive, it is not really, if true, about homosexuals (surely that implies consent?) but male rape in prison. granted that is hardly disney-esque!

[mazolaman]

The standard of the text is bloody hilarious!

But,I often think that about the tabloids in the uk ie star,sun,mirror.......

And then I think"it's ok,no-one really believes it",but they do!!!!The Sun regularly swings elections with the rubbish it prints.

The News of the world Is being done for tapping peoples phones for tittle tattle......

We don't realiise the power they wield amongst people who've given up thinking for themselves.

Here's what happened to a *** rights campaigner mentioned in Kirills post....David Kato

[Ken Gargett]

The standard of the text is bloody hilarious!

But,I often think that about the tabloids in the uk ie star,sun,mirror.......

And then I think"it's ok,no-one really believes it",but they do!!!!The Sun regularly swings elections with the rubbish it prints.

The News of the world Is being done for tapping peoples phones for tittle tattle......

We don't realiise the power they wield amongst people who've given up thinking for themselves.

Here's what happened to a *** rights campaigner mentioned in Kirills post....David Kato

in my defence, i do think (or at least would like to think) of the foh community as far more intelligent than those swayed by moronic tabloids.

and i fully accept the seriousness of the underlying issue. i just thought it really was such an absurd and absurdly funny report, it was worth posting. and i still think it is not specific to homosexuality or *** rights but, and not to in any way diminish the seriousness of any of these issues, pertinent to male rape in prison.

[kirill]

in my defence, i do think (or at least would like to think) of the foh community as far more intelligent than those swayed by moronic tabloids.

and i fully accept the seriousness of the underlying issue. i just thought it really was such an absurd and absurdly funny report, it was worth posting. and i still think it is not specific to homosexuality or *** rights but, and not to in any way diminish the seriousness of any of these issues, pertinent to male rape in prison.

Don't want to add too much to this rather unsavoury topic, but you bring up another pet point of mine. "Prison rape is hardly disney-esque!" Couldn't agree more. I just think in this article, the reporting seems not to focus too much on the specifics of the case, but more on suggesting implicitly that this is what homosexuals do, to you and possibly to your children. Hence the hate speech character I get from it. But of course that does not mean that, should what they report have really happened, it would be any less horrific. Rape is one of the worst things one human can do to another. Nevertheless I see a double standard here with homosexual rape. Prison rape is generally considered to be HILARIOUS! See any recent summer blockbuster comedy movie and count the "drop the soap / wimpy guy and big (black) guy sharing a cell" jokes. Male rape seems to have replaced the "slipped on a banana peel" as comedy staple, while the rape of women is (rightly so) considered off limits in terms of "funny".

Ok, to get us back on a more fun path, here is how you make a very valid *** joke: http://www.theonion.com/articles/gaypride-...ce-of-gays,351/

[Ken Gargett]

must say i find little funny about it.

but i come from a family whose take on *** rights might be a touch out of date. many years ago, when my father was muttering about filth on tv - it was the national news covering sydney's *** parade - mum leaned over to him, patted him on the shoulder and uttered words i'm still stunned at - "don't worry dear, i think you'll find that they are all hairdressers".

this from a woman who once gave family members chocolate paint for chrissie - she thought it was quaint and strange and to this day, has no idea what it might be used for.

[Ryan]

The article's funny.

Uganda does have a messed up policy regarding homosexuals, to the point where there should be international repercussions.

The prison bit reminds me of this story. A valuable warning indeed.

"“You’ll find big, ugly, hairy strong men (in jail) who’ve got faces only a mother could love that will pay a lot of attention to you – and your anatomy,” said Magistrate Brian Maloney.

"

I love the "Gorillas in the Mist" image.

"Breaching any of these conditions would see the teenager jailed where he would “shower with the gorillas in the mist down at Long Bay jail,” said Maloney, his comments confirmed by the court on Tuesday.

"

Link to story

A long time ago I spent a few nights working in Cook County juvenile detention center. That wasn't funny at all.

[Warren]

I think you could say that this newspaper article falls into the realm of black humor.

Black as in dark, not the skin color so there is no pun intended.

I believe the humor here is not in the content, which of course goes against modern beliefs but in the childish absurdity of the writing.

It doesn't help that the newspaper is a Ugandan paper.

Since when has Uganda been a paragon of forward thinking anyway.

Whenever I think of Uganda I still can't help thinking about Edi Amin.

He was responsible for a very dark part of history but we in the west still found a way to make him out to be a subject of humor.

I think that dark humor is a healthy thing, it helps us deal with the dark aspects of life.

Laughter is a healthy thing, sometimes the best medicine.

It doesn't mean we agree with the content.

I mean really, anaconda like weapons.

That's frigging funny.

[mazolaman]

in my defence, i do think (or at least would like to think) of the foh community as far more intelligent than those swayed by moronic tabloids.

and i fully accept the seriousness of the underlying issue. i just thought it really was such an absurd and absurdly funny report, it was worth posting. and i still think it is not specific to homosexuality or *** rights but, and not to in any way diminish the seriousness of any of these issues, pertinent to male rape in prison.

Ken,I found the ridiculous nature and tone of the article hilarious,as we've all said,back humour!Certainly not intending to slate you for posting it.

The humour is darker still as this paper style is not so far away from the crappy tabloids,and some other middle class newspapers from the uk.

The internet now supplies the news,so the papers now indulge in comment and opinion.....some of which is close to incitement.

reading it,I recalled reading about Mr Kato,and thinking what a courageous guy,to try and fight that kind of atmosphere.