Light entertainment

TUESDAY, 25 MARCH 2008

Tuesday evening entertainment comes courtesy of Al-Jazeera

After a long day at work, full of polite discussion that go nowhere, a long day of talks that hum along quietly it is refreshing to watch an amusing programme that has often been the subject of family games of charade, and even a you tube or two

I am talking of course of our trusty follicularly challenged Faisal with his unique Guinness book entry level verbal athletics, and his two guests chosen to be at extremes in opinion if not at each other’s throats.

Here is a programme that will often be interspersed with much hand waving, and fist shaking from the guests, and on much loved and repeatedly played back editions guests attempting to jump across the table and throttle each other, or noisily rip off their microphones and stride out in a gust of smoke.

Today’s episode was being recorded for the benifit of someone else, the two guests a Baathist ex-editor of Al Jamhooryia newspaper Salah Al Mukhtar, and across the table a young Lebanese speaking American called something or other Peres.

Billed an unmissable episode to mark the fifth anniversary of the disaster, in reality it proved an amusing and welcome release from the scenes of mayhem and blood shed that have been engulfing the country for the past few days.

Good old Faisal did his usual egging on of both with comments such as “but don’t you see the improvement, the whole world can see them” to one silently fuming side, and “what do you have to say to the poor Arab watching this whilst writhing under the injustice of their dictatorial governments, while all the time they ask why do you reserve your favours of liberation for only the Iraqis’ what about us” to the pale faced future ambassador.

Although it is always a great joy to witness someone have a good go at the “liberating forces, who are only in Iraq by invitation from the democratically elected government”, much of what was said in this “debate” was like a live version of the comment sections of some bloggers’ sites, with the American reciting from the good ole textbook of …drink oh people of Iraq from the rivers of freedom, the freedom of speech, the freedom of debate, the transparency, the elected government, participation in the political process, and the improvements visible all around in so many aspect of daily life for ordinary brave Iraqis working with their friends the Americans to build the great new world, and do not be distracted or disillusioned by the temporary “suffering” caused to you by those heinous terrorists.

His best comment though came at the very beginning of the programme as he listed the great strides the country had made since “liberation”, in all aspects especially the successes in sport.

I have not laughed this much for a long time.

POSTED BY 3EERAQIMEDIC AT 23:17 0 COMMENTS