7.16.2003
Gaddafi: Give peace a chance
[Posted 3:27 PM by James Panero]
Africa has been blessed with great leaders in the post-colonial era, not least of whom is the mass-murderer Muammar Gaddafi of Libya. As as been widely reported today, the Revolutionary Leader has thought to call AIDS a “peaceful virus” in his concluding remarks to the Africa Summit. Peaceful how? By making Africa into an unattractive place for recolonization, of course.
What readers of Armavirumque may not know is that our Great General’s website is back up and running after hitting some technical difficulties in the past few months. Here is the link to the English version–and you really shouldn’t miss out on it.
Muammar, as we well remember, was responsible for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 some years ago, which by the way killed the father of a friend of mine. So it’s good to see he’s making a bid for respectability with quotes like this:
The Jews are an unfortunate people. They have suffered greatly at the hands of governments, leaders and other peoples since ancient times. Why? Because this is the will of God.
Why, give this man the Peace Prize! The case of Muammar proved once again why Evelyn Waugh’s Black Mischief is still the most insightful account of modern Africa in twentieth-Century fiction:
’You mean . . . ’
’Yes, I’m afraid so. I wouldn’t have had it happen for anything. I didn’t hear about it until afterwards.’
’They should not have eaten him–after all, he was my father . . . It is so . . . so barbarous.’
’I knew you’d feel that way about it, Seth, and I’m sorry. I gave the headmen twelve hours in the tank for it.’
’I am afraid that as yet the Wanda are totally out of touch with modern thought. They need education. We must start some schools and university for them when we get things straight.’
’That’s it, Seth, you can’t blame them. It’s want of education. That’s all it is.’
’We might start them on Montessori methods,’ said Seth dreamily. ’You can’t blame them.’ Then rousing himself: ’Connolly, I shall make you a Duke.’