In the cavernous, thatch-roofed banquet hall of Addis Ababa's Menelik Palace, 30 colorfully garbed African heads of state and 2,000 other guests, all back-slapping and jovial, were feasting at the board of their medaled host, Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie. As waiters in green-and-gold livery moved among food-laden tables, the throng fell to on caviar, roast chicken, spiced lamb and watt (spongy Ethiopian bread), washed down with hundreds of gallons of French wine, Ethiopian honey wine, and vintage champagne. Then, as the clock ticked past midnight, everybody sat back to watch the Emperor's...
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