Palaver

Published on 08/06/2011

Albert Einstein was a genius with an IQ that could blow any graph. And in his wisdom, he said: "Only two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the former." Now what do you make of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s nine-minute TV rant about being unbowed and unconquered? Listen to him: "We are stronger than your missiles, and the voice of the Libyan people is louder than explosions." Same kind of speech he gave on February when Egypt’s Mubarak was on his last day at work and al Qaeda’s Osama bin Laden was enjoying his last month on dry land. Are those not Libyans his snipers are picking off the streets? And by the way, does Gaddafi’s TV catch Yemeni, Tunisien, Egyptian or Ivoirian TV news channels? Forget your Mutungas, Barasas, top cops and judges. Uganda has been holding its very own shortlist for (believe it or not) Cabinet ministers. Four of 75 appointees were led down the garden path, only to be rejected just for swearing-in, by a parliamentary appointments committee! Reason: Their academic qualifications were er, ‘unsatisfactory’.
When there is a revolution or hunger or coup d’etat in Africa, Hollywood moguls rush their screen writers and cameras for a quick shoot to quench the appetite of Tinseltown. Now with the Manchester United Affair, we are not hearing the characteristic whirr. Surely, every move poor (pun intended) Silvio Berlusconi made has been splashed in every Western tabloid. Compare that with Wayne Rooney’s chill-out with prostitutes while his wife was pregnant, Ryan Giggs making out with his brother’s wife, but publicly being the angelic face of good old ‘family value’s. And now, reports say he made several passes at his mother-in-law? Now is this not the plot in the long-running soap-star Bold and Beautiful ?
And finally...
Renowned yoga guru Baba Ramdev jets from one place to the next in a private jet, checks into five-star luxury hotels, and pays, then goes on a hunger strike against corruption in New Delhi. Of course, his followers were teargassed and whipped out of the market square. Since Baba’s global business has a turnover of $40m a year, how long will it take him to get through to half of India’s 1.2 billion-strong population? Good luck.
—Editorial@standardmedia co.ke