Qatar World Cup: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

I'm a Kenya who works in Qatar, and John has got it right again. Last week John talked on what happened to us in the past and now the present.... thank you.

I like how the American audience didn't grasp how hot it is in Qatar until John converted from Celsius to Fahrenheit.

I'm impressed that John correctly predicted that England would lose in the quarterfinals. Someone should give him a raise.

HBO is legendary for putting whole episodes of Last Week Tonight on YouTube.

I cant be the only one who laughed at the Fifa representative literally choking on his words when he said "human rights".

Update: the media forgot about the human rights abuses and covered the cup enthusiastically

"A cartel-like group of scumbags and assorted criminals who ocassionaly put on soccer matches." This is by far the best FIFA's description I've ever heard of.

Say why you want about John, but he was spot on about Englands place in the world cup

I love how John absolutely picked the outcome for England, several weeks ago 😂

This is why we always need to push against goonies like this. No matter what you do, if they could pay you less they would. This is what it use to be for all workers and slowly we got things like minimum wage and days off. Never stop, they have more to give than we could ever know.

Edit: And also why we need to be thankful to those who came before and sacrificed so we have our own heated homes with all the amenities once only reserved for royalty. We have come far and we must never become complacent ❤️✊🏼

Putting pressure on countries like Qatar and UAE (that's Dubai and few other Emirates) actually works. Years ago, as the result of focus on workers rights, UAE enacted a series of reforms. For example, outdoors work had to stop when/if temperatures rose above 42 C (which is already very hot.) Mysteriously, ever since then, the official temperature report in UAE hardly ever goes above 42 C.

massive respect for shining the spotlight where people don't want it shone upon

To add some context to the environment those stadium workers had to deal with: I was deployed there as a Navy Corpsman in a USMC unit back in 2014. The Navy/Marines use a system called the WBGT (Wet Bulb Globe Test) index. When it is over 90, all non-essential activity is prohibited as a severe risk of heat stroke, dehydration, etc. This is known as "Black Flag". Over the summer (we arrived in August), it was Black Flag before the sun even rose, and was often into the low 130s. The heat is exacerbated by the extreme humidity (it was often over 90% humidity when we were there), so your sweat doesn't evaporate, which means your body can't cool off naturally, and you have an increased risk of heat injuries. When that man said it felt like it was raining, that's not an exaggeration. As soon as you left an air-conditioned space, your clothes soaked through with sweat in 5-10 minutes. It felt like what I imagine being in an oven would be like.

Our commanding officer cancelled a lot of our training, includeing MCMAP (Marine Corps Martial Arts Program). We were finishing up a Brown Belt course, and about to start Black Belt, and we were having heat injuries, even training at 5 a.m. to avoid the heat. In my time in the military I've been to CA, NM, AZ, TX, FL, IL, WA, NC, Guantanamo Bay, Japan, and Qatar (and many more places aside from military service). No place on Earth had weather as miserable as Qatar... it's not even close. It's hard to imagine working outside all day in such a hellscape. I feel for all the workers who had to endure that.

Loved that guy's face when he said to the reporter.."you have been to the housing area?"

I always like watching you. Everything has a good and bad side, and you get to the heart of it and don't back down because the topics are difficult. Plus, I still laugh, even though it's a little depressing.

"Cheering on England until they're inevitably knocked out in the quarter-finals on penalties" this aged like a fine wine

Great story. He should do an update given everything that has happened since the tournament started like FIFA bowing to pressure from Qatar on the armbands!

We are so lucky to have a show like yours, who is not afraid to speak the truth. I'm very proud about the freedom of expression which often is taken for granted in the West.

I know it's a terrible topic, but I laughed way too hard at the audience ahhhhing at the temperature after John converted it to Fahrenheit

I love John Oliver. He puts a spotlight with humor on many topics but 60 minutes covers and gets respect. Love you John! Keep going You're going to change the world in a small way my friend.