The Onion probably prints more truth than the New York Times- they are like the court jester who is allowed to tell the King anything they want without getting their head chopped off.
There is probably a news agency in the ME that reads The Onion and thinks "who are these wise people?"
FTR- I'd rather spend a day hanging out with Ahmadinnerjohn than obama, heck throw in Putin and it might be the awesomemost day ever