Gaddafi is not Santana, and Santana is still alive.

Important news: "Despite confusion, Carlos Santana is NOT Muammar Gaddafi; still very much alive."

Image Credit: l-r: ChinaFotoPress/Getty Images; Richard Drew/AP.

Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.

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http://www.theblacklaser.net/ Joe The Wizard

He isn’t!?!? Holy crap! All these years and I’ve been singing “Oye Como Va” in Libya and I’ve been wrong? SHIT!
http://twitter.com/PsychicWhoosh Michael W.

To be fair, I would think an evil, flamboyant despot must be responsible for designing these shoes:
http://www.carlosshoes.com/
Lobster

If I were Santana, I’d be offended. Maybe if you soaked him until he got all water logged he’d look a little like Gaddafi.
Eliot

Santana isn’t the one I’m worried about.
carl Martin

Gadaffi realized too late that he ain’t got nobody….that he can depend on.
mesocosm

Xeni, I’m very disturbed by the fact that you seem to find a lot of humor in the death of Qaddafi. The brutal killing of anyone would seem on its face to be a bad occasion for silly jokes and puns.

Did you know that he he was pulled from hiding, unarmed, and that he begged for his life before being shot to death? That his body was mutilated, and then paraded around by a celebrating crowd? Is that funny?

Did you know that summarily executing a non-combatant is a war crime, and that the UN and human rights groups are calling for an investigation?

http://news.yahoo.com/u-n-activists-urge-inquiry-gaddafi-death-170941400.html

I don’t see the humor in this.
- http://www.xeni.net/ Xeni Jardin
  
  Perhaps you missed the 5 other posts I wrote about that very topic.
- Guest
  
  You don’t see the humor in Carlos Santana? Okay then, lost cause, moving on.
- humanresource
  
  The comparisons are apt to at least some degree; like Santana, his greatest contributions were made back in the 70s. If you really want a good comparison, though, think about that other flamboyant 70s icon, Jim Jones: http://www.juancole.com/2011/10/qaddafis-peoples-temple.html.
  
  Indignation about Gaddafi’s welfare was forfeited the moment he ordered Khamis to fire tank rounds at unarmed demonstrators. Just picture that for a second.
  If Gaddafi had an ounce of humanity in him, this year of war would have been avoided. Every moment he lived was a moment he plotted ways to kill his people and turn them against eachother. Instead, they finally killed him. Good for them, they can move on to cleaning up after the miserable old despot. If they’d done him in back in Tripoli, this war would have ended over a month ago. If he escaped again, how many more would have been killed?
Von Haus

Am I the only person who read the title as “Gaddafi is not Santa, and Santa is still alive.”?
montgomery_prof

Well, I’ll join in on the mild moral outrage theme and suggest that the only resemblance is that the two men are of roughly similar age and skin color. The facial hair isn’t even that close. Wait for it, here it comes: “What, do they all look alike to you?” Saying that of course is just as bad, the semitic and the hispanic lumped together into one “they.” Oy vey!
jwgl23

From the article: ” but it’s a safe assumption some legitimately confused the two.”

No, no it’s not.
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=730182493 Ben Goldberg

What about Kool Moe Dee?
http://2012diaries.blogspot.com/ tristan eldritch

I prefer Santana’s early stuff. Never really got into Gaddafi.
ScottCh

Methinks that without the black headgear, the two wouldn’t even seem similar. But as an aside to “mesocosm”, Gadafi/Kadhafi/Qaddafi is not a man that I can dredge up any sympathy over.

Granted that he showed signs of profound psychosis. Still, he must have had some idea that when he went about mercilessly killing so many people he’d be in someone else’s crosshairs eventually. If there’s shame to be felt, it’s over the fact that the greed of wealthy nations to have Libya’s oil at any cost placed him in power and kept him there, brutally repressing so many for so long.
Soliloquy

“That his body was mutilated, and then paraded around by a celebrating crowd? Is that funny?”

Karma is a bitch.
- Diogenes
  
  Ya, who needs trials when we don’t like a guy? Stupid law-people! Doh!
awjt

But how well can he hide in his hidey-hole?
http://deansli.st/ Dean Putney

I watched this unfold over on Canv.as last night, and I presume also on 4chan. I can’t believe this got legs.
CSBD

But… what is really important… is Abe Vigoda still alive?

Thanks Wiki… I had no idea he was in an episode of BJ and The Bear.
(Abe Vigoda… not Quaddafi)
Trent Hawkins

‘Never trust any ruler who puts his faith in tunnels and bunkers and escape routes. The chances are that his heart isn’t in the job.’
http://profiles.google.com/substancemcgravitas Substance McGravitas

What about Gene Simmons? Is Gaddafi Gene Simmons and is Gene Simmons dead?
akputney

ew.
davevontexas

Xeni, I’m very disturbed that you seem to find a lot of humor in the fact that Carlos Santana is still above ground and in fairly good health. If I ever hear that “Smooth” song again, I swear, I’m going to run with scissors.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Andy-Murdock/783770273 Andy Murdock

Not cool!!!
soybean

King Monkey Great Sage Equal of Heaven I liked your old stuff better than your new stuff.
http://twitter.com/mjfgates Michael Gates

I can’t believe that anybody would get those two mixed up; Gaddafi was a trumpet player, wasn’t he?
http://twitter.com/netmork netmörk

No, but Gaddafi is Jesús Quintero.http://www.google.fr/search?hl=fr&rlz=&q=jesus%20quintero&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&biw=1600&bih=1061
Pansee Atta

RIP Mickey Rourke
http://twitter.com/zimthecat Zim Wells

He looks more like Gene Simmons.