Juan Cole discusses Libya

[femrap]

A sane man makes sane arguments.

http://www.juancole.com/

The Left needs to learn to chew gum and walk at the same time!

For some reason the earlier thread was deleted.

[dennis4868]

1. Thanks for the link....

it's a great read and very informstive! :-)

[femrap]

3. With all the money

we give the 'spooks' at the CIA, I have a hard time understanding why we just can't pluck Qaddafi from the country like a flea from a dog....and his sons, too.

He's a monster. I remember when a US jet bombed a building near Qaddafi's home and immediately the WH PR came out and said, "Oh no, we are NOT trying to kill Qaddafi." Why not? Want to keep this little skirmish going so the War Boyz can make lots of $$$$$$ ?????

Juan mentioned Darfur. The only solution I can think of is to ask the women who live in constant terror if they would like to learn how to use arms so to be able to fetch wood and therefore cook meals.

I think the women of Darfur may suffer more than any other human beings on this planet. My soul weeps for them.

Juan has such common sense and understanding. And he writes in such a down-to-earth fashion. I truly admire him. And I basically think most people are worthless. I'm old and angry....no, someone said I was 'bitter.' I think I'm way past 'bitter.'

I admire Diogenes as well...I guess I'm a Cynic!

[MedleyMisty]

6. Those are good points about Gaddafi

But then - the Libyans want to do this themselves. They know they need our help and they don't mind it, but I definitely get the feeling that they want us to leave Gaddafi to them. They want to free themselves.

They did say that they hope we know he has to go on a Friday. There's an Arab rule. :) I see a lot of jokes about that on Twitter, from the Egyptians and Syrians as well - that Friday is the day when Arabs get angry and depose dictators. And every week, the Libyans say that maybe this will be freedom Friday, the Friday when he leaves. Every week, they keep up that hope.

I wish more people would follow the Libyans on Twitter- I've been following them since almost the beginning and I feel like they're my friends. I've laughed at their jokes and shared their excitement and frustration and cried with them and sent them tweets of comfort when they found out that a family member had died.

If you want to see some of their jokes - look up the Twitter hashtag #epiclibyanman. :) Also the account that parodies Libyan State TV - http://twitter.com/LibyanStateTV

That's why I take it so personally when people insult them - I know who the revolutionaries are. They are human. They are people just like us. They are my friends.

Latest news is that the women in Benghazi are having a huge demonstration in support of the woman who went into the hotel yesterday and told the reporters she'd been gang-raped by Gaddafi's men and was taken away. Which there was a huge outpouring of support for her and her bravery, and a lot of rage at those who beat her and took her expressed yesterday.

Here's an account from a person who was there - and you can tell he's pissed the hell off.

http://www.channel4.com/news/libya-a-womans-cry-for-help-in-tripoli-hotel

I'm hoping that her story will be a turning point, that it will inspire the Libyans even more and also maybe reach some people who hadn't supported the intervention before.

I've seen discussion about how when they rename the streets, they should rename them after the heroes of the revolution - like Mohammed Nabbous and Eman Al Obeidi.

See why it hurts me so much and enrages me when people on DU repeat rightwing talking points and hate on the Libyans? The ones on Twitter feel like my personal friends.

Libya Hurra!

[femrap]

10. Thank you for all of this information....

I hope this coming Friday is the one that brings them FREEDOM!

Qaddafi and his sons are monsters...time for Justice.

[SidDithers]

2. K&R. I like Juan Cole...nt

Sid

[bemildred]

4. Good, thanks.

:thumbsup:

[Davis_X_Machina]

5. An obvious shill for the oil companies...

...and a transparent imperialist.

One wonders where he stood on Iraq. I bet I know.

Oh, wait...

[Shagbark Hickory]

7. How are we going to pay for it? It;s not paid for. Why aren't we focusing on JOBS?

[MedleyMisty]

8. Why aren't you focusing on ending the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan?

And making rich people and corporations pay their taxes? And all sorts of other stuff that we could do to earn/save money that doesn't mean leaving good people to die.

I hear that the Libyans are quite willing to reimburse us when they're free. They've also suggested using Gaddafi's frozen assets to pay for it.

[Shagbark Hickory]

9. Are you serious? Please tell me you left out the sarcasm icon.