Main

April 01, 2005

GADDAFI & THE VAST BULGARIAN CONSPIRACY

Libyan Supreme Court will rule May 31 on whether it will uphold death sentence of 5 Bulgarian nurses & Palestinian doctor convicted of intentionally infecting 380 Libyan children with HIV under orders from the Mossad & CIA. The nurses, who have been detained since 1999, say their confessions were extracted by beatings, rape, & electric shocks.

EU activists say infections were caused by Libyan Health Ministry's failure to screen blood. HIV discoverer Luc Montaigner testified that the children were infected in 1997, before the nurses arrived. Outside a hearing this week, entirely spontaneous protesters chanted Death! Death to the killers of our children. Oh Leader! Liquidate them as you liquidated monarchy rule!

Colonel Gaddafi: "The Bulgarians have killed our children. I swear by Allah that some Western officials come to me & say, 'We want to take them back today, so release them.' The West told us the opinions of your people do not interest us, our people are sheep & that we have no public opinion." 

Seif Gaddafi contradicted his father, saying the women would not be executed & might be extradited to Bulgaria. Colonel Gaddafi said he would free nurses if Bulgaria paid compensation equal to the amount Libya paid to relatives of the victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Bulgaria declined the ransom, but may write off some of Libya's debt to obtain nurses' release. (The trial of 10 Libyan police whom the nurses claim tortured them was postponed for a second time.)

¶ Saadi Gaddafi has resigned as head of the Libyan Football Federation. A spokesman said this had nothing to do with the fact that the Libyan coach dropped Gaddafi from the lineup in last week's 4-1 loss to Egypt in their World Cup Qualifier, where Libyan fans ripped up chairs & hurled them at Egyptian police.

Saadi, the world's most famous non-playing soccer star, traveled with the Libyan team to Australia where he didn't play but found time to wine & dine Nicole Kidman; he's also registered with Perugia, but has yet to play with them either. (Kidman on dinner: "That was business.")

¶ Colonel Gaddafi wrapped up his 9-day visit to Algeria, which he praised for throwing out the French & suggested Algerians seek compensation from France.  Gaddafi: "I cannot describe the warm welcome & the sentiments of fraternity I was surrounded by during my stay in my [sic] country Algeria. It's a holy land." (He also took time for a dig at the Saudis: "American officials I met told me that the Saudis are dirty & closed-minded.")

Gaddafi's extended visit & vast entourage worked the patience of his hosts: Between Hospitality & Irritation read a headline in Le Soir d'Algerie. Gaddafi was also awarded an honorary doctorate in Social Sciences by Algiers University. Some wisdom Gaddafi delivered to Arab League conference:

• "I am a philosopher. And I shouldn't be here among all of you."
• “The West Bank was Jordan's, & Gaza belonged to Egypt since 1948. Why didn't you establish a Palestinian state then? Where was this problem until 1967?”
• Said Sharon was not an enemy of the Arab world, but of the Israeli people.
• Said that during visit to Brussels, EU leaders talked to him about women's rights & circumcision instead of international affairs.
• "You are all corrupt. You are all opposed to reform."

Mubarek's retort: "Next time you come to lecture us make sure you have paid your fees."

Back home, Gaddafi was welcomed by cheering crowds. The Palestinians, meanwhile, asked for an apology after Gaddafi called them idiots: "The Palestinian people have enough headaches & do not have enough aspirin." The Lebanese were more pointed: "Shut up! Silence is golden, Moammar!" Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman on Gaddafi's idiot remark: "It takes one to know one."

¶ Philomathean reports on Gaddafi's imperial & idiotic Great Man Made River project to pump water out of underground aquifers across the Sahara Desert:

"The final cost of the project is expected to exceed $32 billion, enough to pay for a dozen desalination plants. A reporter who analyzed the project concluded that 'Food could be flown in from Fauchon in Paris at a fraction of the price of the Man-Made River. Pumping distant Saharan water costs almost as much as using bottles of Perrier for irrigation."

Posted by Jeff at April 1, 2005 12:13 AM

Comments

Posted by: Martin at Blogbat at April 1, 2005 11:23 AM

Posted by: TF6S at April 1, 2005 11:23 AM

Posted by: beautifulatrocities at April 1, 2005 11:34 AM

Posted by: TF6S at April 1, 2005 11:48 AM

Posted by: utron at April 1, 2005 12:30 PM

Posted by: Martin at Blogbat at April 1, 2005 03:02 PM

Posted by: Penn at April 2, 2005 12:52 AM