Axis of Evil Wannabes, by John Cleese
Bitter after being snubbed for membership in the "Axis of Evil, "Libya,
China, and Syria today announced they had formed the "Axis of Just as Evil,"
which they said would be more evil than that stupid Iran-Iraq-North Korea
axis President Bush warned of in his State of the Union address. Axis of
Evil members, however, immediately dismissed the new axis as having, for
starters, a really dumb name. "Right. They are Just as Evil...in their
dreams!" declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. "Everybody knows we're
the best evils... best at being evil...we're the best."
Diplomats from Syria denied they were jealous over being excluded, although
they conceded they did ask if they could join the Axis of Evil. "They told
us it was full," said Syrian President Bashar-al-Assad. "An Axis can't have
more than three countries," explained Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This
is not my rule, it's tradition. In World War II you had Germany, Italy, and
Japan in the evil Axis. So, you can only have three, and a secret handshake.
Ours is wickedly cool."
International reaction to Bush's Axis of Evil declaration was swift, as
within minutes, France surrendered. Elsewhere, peer-conscious nations rushed
to gain triumvirate status in what became a game of geopolitical chairs.
Cuba, Sudan, and Serbia said they had formed the "Axis of Somewhat Evil,"
forcing Somalia to join with Uganda and Myanmar in the "Axis of Occasionally
Evil," while Bulgaria, Indonesia and Russia established the "Axis of Not So
Much Evil Really As Just Generally Disagreeable." With the criteria suddenly
expanded and all the desirable clubs filling up...Sierra Leone, El Salvador,
and Rwanda applied to be called the "Axis of Countries That Aren't the Worst
But Certainly Won't Be Asked to Host the Olympics. "Canada, Mexico, and
Australia formed the "Axis of Nations That Are Actually Quite Nice But
Secretly Have Some Nasty Thoughts About America," while Scotland, New
Zealand and Spain established the "Axis of Countries That Be Allowed to Ask
Sheep to Wear Lipstick." "That's not a threat, really, just something we
like to do," said Scottish Executive First Minister Jack McConnell.
While wondering if the other nations of the world weren't perhaps making fun
of him, a cautious Bush granted approval for most axis, although he rejected
the establishment of the Axis of Countries Whose Names End in "Guay,"
accusing one of its members of filing a false application. Officials from
Paraguay, Uruguay, and Chadguay denied the charges.
Israel, meanwhile, insisted it didn't want to join any Axis, but privately,
world leaders said that's only because no one asked them.
