In what can only be described as the strangest entertainment report I’ve read in ages, Lionel Richie is said to have “brought the soberly dressed audience repeatedly to its feet with a succession of his greatest hits, persuading them to sing along and dance.” Well, who can deny the fanciful beats of “Dancing on the Ceiling”?

Is William Maclean a pen name for the guys from South Park? Is this an elaborate Daily Show send up? Are we expected to believe this Reuters report that describes a concert in Libya by Lionel Richie on the 20th anniversary of the US bombing raid that killed Ghadaffi’s daughter as taking place, “in a park-like compound, dotted with tents, low-rise residential buildings and security encampments. Herds of camels dozed beneath palm trees and young children chased antelopes over the grass beneath a bright full moon.” Mind you, searchlights scanned the sky to recreate the conditions of the bombing run.

Organizers of the show said they wanted Richie to, “underline the sincerity of Libya’s three-year-old rapprochement with the outside world, bury past enmities and promote a message of goodwill.” Lionel Richie!?!?!? Wow.