The New York Times reports that this sculpture of a golden fist crushing a U.S. jet was one of Colonel Gaddafi’s favorite works of art. What is the point of being a tyrant if you surround yourself with such rubbish?
A further thought on the Gaddafis’ style choices: there has been much excitement about Gaddafi’s son Seif al-Islam marauding around Tripoli after he had reportedly been captured. A number of journalists have noted that he was sporting “a full beard and wearing an olive-green T-shirt and camouflage trousers.” This has been read as evidence of his willingness to fight on. But this overlooks the fact that Seif notoriously undertook postgraduate study at the LSE. In my experience, a high percentage of LSE students can be found with “a full beard and wearing an olive-green T-shirt and camouflage trousers” at almost any time, and it is usually a sign that they are going to tell you something complicated about Habermas, not fight to the death.
