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China Blocks HBO After John Oliver's Last Week Tonight Mockery of Xi Jinping (scmp.com)

Posted by msmash on from the not-for-the-faint-of-heart dept.

News agency AFP reports: After mocking censors working overtime to delete comparisons of Chinese President Xi Jinping with the cartoon bear, comedian John Oliver and now the website of TV giant HBO have fallen victim to Beijing's censorship machine. Chinese authorities blocked HBO's site in China, just days after Oliver took Xi to task, anti-censorship and monitoring group GreatFire.org said on Saturday. The website was still not accessible on Monday. HBO joins a long list of Western media outlets that have had their websites blocked in China including The New York Times, Facebook and Twitter.

13 of 163 comments (clear)

  1. Slashdot prepare to be banned. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood,
    Where Christopher Robin plays.
    You'll find the enchanted neighborhood,
    of Christopher's childhood days.
    A donkey named Eeyore is his friend.
    And Kanga and Little Roo.
    There's Rabbit and Piglet.
    And there's Owl.
    But most of all Winnie the Pooh!

    Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh,
    Chubby, little cubby all stuffed with fluff.
    He's Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh,
    Willy, nilly, silly old bear.

  2. And HBO blocks John Oliver in Canada... by JMJimmy · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...so we all turn to VPNs & piracy for the simple ability to access content

    1. Re:And HBO blocks John Oliver in Canada... by vell0cet · · Score: 3, Informative

      Maybe I'm not getting something... We get HBO in Canada... WITH John Oliver's show. http://www.hbocanada.com/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver

    2. Re:And HBO blocks John Oliver in Canada... by tlhIngan · · Score: 4, Funny

      The difference is that I wouldn't worry about mysteriously disappearing in Canada for using a VPN. In China you might find yourself "working" in a North Korea mine. To be fair, I have no evidence that China or North Korea would do this. I just have my suspensions.

      Yes, and John Oliver can mock Justin Trudeau as much as he wants and it'll be perfectly allowed. Our PM won't even have the audacity to call it fake news. He'd just take it like a Canadian and probably laugh. To be honest, most Canadians will probably laugh as well - we recognize attempts at humor, as long as it is in good taste (i.e., nothing about minorities, race, religion, sexual orientation or the like).

      (Yes, Trump's definition of "fake news" is basically "anything that does not show Donald in a positive light". If you're not ass-kissing, you're fake news. I think it's probably easier to say those outlets that Trump doesn't call Fake News are, and those he calls fake news aren't.)

      Maybe I'm not getting something... We get HBO in Canada... WITH John Oliver's show. http://www.hbocanada.com/last-...

      John Oliver's segments are often reposted officially on YouTube. Sometimes those videos are geolocked to not include Canada. Most of them aren't so you can watch them freely.

    3. Re:And HBO blocks John Oliver in Canada... by JMJimmy · · Score: 4, Informative

      Until recently you could watch John Oliver on YouTube - not the full episode but the main story. They've blocked Canadians from accessing it, likely at the behest of Bell Canada who owns TMN Go, the service you need to subscribe to at that link.

      That means you need a cable package that includes The Movie Network (extra $20 on top of the cable package, so a minimum of $45)

      Compare that with HBO Now at US$14.99

      CBC even did an article on it: http://www.cbc.ca/news/busines...

    4. Re: And HBO blocks John Oliver in Canada... by Mean+Variance · · Score: 3, Funny

      Let me fix all the grammer

      You were on a roll.

  3. Trump and Xi should date. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Thin skinned snowflakes threatened by comedy.

  4. Smiles by apoc.famine · · Score: 5, Funny

    China just needs to grin and bear it.

    --
    Velociraptor = Distiraptor / Timeraptor
  5. Re:It'll take a show with a larger audience to mat by DogDude · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He isn't funny

    Wowsa. I bet you're fun at parties.

    John Oliver is great at attacking straw men.

    I think he's great at attacking real men. I'm not aware of any straw man arguments he's made. He addresses a real, actual issue on every show.

    --
    I don't respond to AC's.
  6. Re:It'll take a show with a larger audience to mat by Bryansix · · Score: 3, Insightful

    John Oliver tends to yell a lot, disparage people, insult them, avoid rational discussion of the issues and conflate complicated issues by reducing them to the point of uselessness. Every once in a while, he has his writers research some obscure topic, then has a TAKE on that topic. The problem is he always has a TAKE that is extremely one-sided and he will ridicule anyone who disagrees with him. The best example of this is when he gave his audience an opener line, they cheered, and then he informed them that they should be mad about the thing he just said. It was probably the only time I ever laughed watching that show.

  7. It's not really comedy by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Thin skinned snowflakes threatened by comedy.

    I used to watch John Oliver, back when it was funny.

    Raw, un-insightful insults are not funny, and half the country will turn it off to watch something else.

    For comparison, check out Dave Chapelle's monologue and hosting of SNL right after the 2016 election. His jokes were witty, showing a wry take on the situation, with a sense of humor.

    For a non-contrast, check out any of Bill Maher's monologues - they're invariably pointed, mean, and with no insight or content. He's selling shock and promoting outrage instead of humor(*).

    I thought Oliver's original take - getting the audience involved with his antics - was brilliant, and his research brought real issues into focus ...until he ran a segment about a subject I actually knew something about (vitamin D), which was completely in error, and I suddenly realized that I was taking his results as gospel without skepticism. Fell into the trap and didn't know it.

    Anyway, I don't like contempt dressed up as comedy. Lena Dunham, Cathy Griffin, Bill Maher, Steven Colbert, and all the rest.

    It's not creative, and it's not funny.

    (*) Which is sad, because he's the only liberal celebrity I've seen who can rub two thoughts together to come up with a rational argument. He's very bright, but doesn't use his talent in any effective way.

  8. Re:It'll take a show with a larger audience to mat by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Insightful

    John Oliver tends to yell a lot, disparage people, insult them, avoid rational discussion of the issues and conflate complicated issues by reducing them to the point of uselessness.

    He should run for President.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  9. Re:It'll take a show with a larger audience to mat by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Informative

    avoid rational discussion

    I hate to point this out, but you and all the other people criticising him here are doing the same thing. No criticism of specific topics he covered or points he raised, just attacking his presentation and style. Okian came about the closest when he mentioned vitamin D, but didn't elaborate.

    Can you perhaps give us some specific examples?

    --
    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC