At first, I chuckled at the jokes.

In Lebanon and Syria, the joke is on those coming from Homs .

And I know that I have been waiting all week to tell this joke.

That's the other way that humor like Art Buchwald takes shots at the heads of state.

The group is calling the people to go to the street in order to achieve certain demands To raise the minimum wage limit to LE 1200 and to get an unemployment aid. To cancel the emergency status in the country , to dismiss Habib El Adly and to release all detainees without court orders.

The Turkana people are, as the joke suggests, as far away from Nairobi as one can be without being foreigners.

When a Turkana man leaves for the capital, Nairobi, the joke goes, he tells his family, I m going to Kenya.

I'm so sorry. I'm getting like the woman in that joke about have you heard this joke about the woman driving with her mother?

But despite everything, Syrians still resort to humor, even if it is black, to carry on with their lives.

And it reminded me of that old joke where the bank robber comes out of the courthouse handcuffed, and the reporter yells, Hey, Willy. Why do you rob banks?

Humor is very contextual, as a joke may not be considered very funny if it seems like it is over explained using only low context messages.

And what we re doing is we re using humor as a sort of neuroscientific probe by switching humor on and off, by turning the knob on a joke now it s not funny ... oh, now it s funnier ...

After all, this is the Middle East, where, as the old joke goes, the scorpion stings the camel carrying it across the Suez Canal, knowing that they will both drown.

Because the joke in this is that this person is not a tyrant this person is so loving and so sweet that he lets me dress him up and post pictures of him to my blog.

Remember that sort of, um. This is the joke I did when the Florida ballot was going around. You know, count the dots for Gore count the dots for Bush count 'em again ...

NAIROBI In Kenya, there is a running gag that sums up how far away the Turkana people live from the rest of us. When a Turkana man leaves for the capital, Nairobi, the joke goes, he tells his family, I m going to Kenya.

The best joke of all that Bezos bought the Post by mistake through an errant one click purchase (a capability patented by Amazon) has a ring of truth to it.

When Putin installed his protégé, Medvedev, as president in 2008, a joke made the rounds It is 2025, and Putin and Medvedev, now elderly, are sitting in a restaurant. Whose turn is it to pay?

Old jokes from the pre 1990 days have returned, like this one a man was walking down a Kathmandu street, shouting, Down with dictatorship in Pakistan. A policeman grabbed him and took him in.

What will happen tomorrow, we don t know, but we have noticed that whenever we think there are no resources left, we find something else that can be eaten.

What is it then, brothers? When you come together, each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has another language, has an interpretation. Let all things be done to build each other up.

How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, everyone of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

Give therefore to everyone what you owe taxes to whom taxes are due customs to whom customs respect to whom respect honor to whom honor.

Render therefore to all their dues tribute to whom tribute is due custom to whom custom fear to whom fear honour to whom honour.

He who has the Son has the life. He who doesn't have God's Son doesn't have the life.

He that hath the Son hath life and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Sing to him. Sing praises to him. Tell of all his marvelous works.

Sing to him, sing praises to him! Tell of all his marvelous works.

Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him, talk ye of all his wondrous works.

Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him talk ye of all his wondrous works.

He answered them, He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.

Be careful therefore how you hear. For whoever has, to him will be given and whoever doesn't have, from him will be taken away even that which he thinks he has.

He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.

Take heed therefore how ye hear for whosoever hath, to him shall be given and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

Tell me. Say it. Is the child his? Is it his?

( But they stoned him to death . ) It was said to him Enter Paradise and he said If only my people knew

It was said to him , Enter Paradise he said , If only my people knew !

It was said , ' Enter Paradise ! ' He said , ' Ah , would that my people had knowledge

It was said enter thou the Garden . He said would that my people knew .

It was said ( to him when the disbelievers killed him ) Enter Paradise . He said Would that my people knew !

It was said , Enter Paradise . He said , If only my people knew .

( Eventually they killed him and he was told ) Enter Paradise . The man exclaimed Would that my people knew

It was said ( unto him ) Enter paradise . He said Would that my people knew

He was told , Enter paradise ! He said , Alas !

It was said ( to him ) ' Enter Paradise ' and he said ' Would that my people knew