On YouTube, a Gaddafi spoof (Zenga, Zenga) and in China, theatre of the absurd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBY-0n4esNY

This spoof YouTube video (above) making fun of a recent Gaddafi speech in which he threatened to kill fellow Libyans who had risen up in rebellion is hilarious, albeit in the context of a grim situation in the country. I hope the tipping point in the crisis comes soon -- with the dictator's ouster.

Meanwhile, the Chinese communist "mandarins" are nervous about their Mandate from Heaven. The Straits Times man in Beijing captures the theatre of the absurd in the Chinese capital (and Shanghai) as security people -- including those dressed as road sweepers and cleaners -- lock down certain areas ("China blocks protests, Wen pledges change", 28 Feb, pages A1 and A6):

"The Chinese government staged a massive show of force yesterday [Sunday Feb 27] to deter pro-democracy gatherings across the country...

Large numbers of police officers, in uniform and plain clothes, overwhelmed downtown Beijing and Shanghai, ensuring that Middle East-style protests called by anonymous organisers online fell flat for the second Sunday in a row...

The authorities made sure there was no chance of an organised rally.

In Beijing's Wangfujing  shopping street, for example, attack dogs were on standby, traffic was blocked, and people were hurried along by the police, who outnumbered shoppers (emphasis mine). It was impossible to distinguish regular weekend visitors from those there for the 'strolling protests'.

Creative, albeit slightly comical, measures to prevent public gatherings were used.

Outside the McDonald's restaurant in Wangfujing, the designated protest venue, a construction site had sprung up. Drilling work started after 2pm -- when protests were supposed to start.

At about the same time, more than a dozen road sweepers -- all of them well-built men wearing luminous orange jackets -- surrounded the fast food restaurant and started to clean the area.

They were joined by road-cleaning trucks, which drove up the busy street repeatedly (emphasis mine) spraying soapy water and keeping shoppers away.

The McDonald's, which was doing brisk business up till then, had to close its doors and turn away customers."

[Hmmm... this is more than a theatre of the absurd; it's also a soap opera cum Beijing-style wayang!]