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| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| Steyn: Happy Erf Day |
| 2014-04-23 |
| In his Guardian column this week, our old friend George Monbiot argued persuasively that poverty made people happier: "In southern Ethiopia, for example," wrote George, "the poorest half of the poorest nation on earth, the streets and fields crackle with laughter. In homes constructed from packing cases and palm leaves, people engage more freely, smile more often, express more affection than we do behind our double glazing, surrounded by remote controls." He's so right. That's why I'm glad I made the effort to attend the opening gala of the Earth Summit, truly a night to remember. The banqueting suite of Johannesburg's Michelangelo Hotel was packed as Bob Mugabe warmed up the crowd with a few gags: "I don't know about you," he said, "but I'm starving..." With his usual brilliant comic timing, he paused just long enough. "...millions of people!" The canned laughter - an authentic recording of happy Ethiopian peasants clutching their bellies and corpsing - filled the room. |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #1 Told one of my Lib co-workers that I burned a tractor tire in celebration of the day. Doubt that I'll be getting a "Holiday Card" this year. |
| Posted by: Uncle Phester 2014-04-23 21:32 |