Libya

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An interesting blog post in an otherwise staunchly pro-American newspaper, providing extensive statistics about Gaddafi's regime:

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Libya: A Revolution for Democracy or an Oil War?

V Raghunathan at Times of India Blogs.

Living in a country where there is enough to be outraged about every minute of the day, it is not very often that one takes time off to be outraged about something happening in another continent. But then there are times, one cannot simply live in one’s own cocoon, even if the cocoon happens to be a sub-continent sized country at war with corruption.

It started with an e-forward (and we all receive our share) from a good friend. It contained an article titled ‘The Truth About Libya’ by Stephen Goodson, who is presumably the same Goodson who sits on the board of the Central Bank of South Africa; and unseated mining honcho, Brian Gilbertson, from the Bank's Board" in 2003 and was the leader of leader of Abolition of Income Tax and Usury Party, a political party registered with South African with the Electoral Commission.

The article itself said this:

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"Colonel Muammar Gadaffi is frequently referred to in the media as a "mad dictator" and "bloody tyrant", but do these allegations accord with the facts?

Libya consists of over 15O tribes, with the two main groups, the Meghabra living in Tripolitania in the west and the Wafallah living in Cyrenaica in the east. Previous attempts to unite these tribes by the Turkish (1855-1911) and ltalian {1911-43) colonial rulers failed and the country was split in two for administrative purposes.

Oil was discovered in Libya in 1959, but King ldris of the Senussi tribe allowed most of the oil profits to be siphoned into the coffers of the oil companies. The coup d'etat on 1 September 1969 led by Colonel Gadaffi had countrywide support. He subsequently married a woman from the royal Barqa tribe and adroitly unified the nation.

By retaining Libya's oil wealth for the benefit of all its people, Gadaffi had created a socialist paradise. There is no unemployment, Libya has the highest GDP in .Africa, less than 5% of the population is classified as poor and it has fewer people living below the poverty datum line than for example in Holland. Life expectancy is 75 years and is the highest in Africa and I0% above the world average.

With the exception of the nomadic Bedouin and Tuareg tribes, most Libyan families possess a house and a car. There is free health care and education and not surprisingly Libya has a literacy rate of 82%. Last year Gadaffi distributed $500 to each man, woman and child (population 6.5 million).

Libya has a tolerable human rights record and stands at 61 on the International Incarceration Index, comparable with countries in central Europe (the lower the rating, the lower the standing - the USA occupies the no.1 spot!). There is hardly any crime and only rebels and traitors are dealt with harshly.

Anyone who has read Gadaffi's little Green Book will realize that he is a thoughtful and enlightened leader. Libya has been accused of having committed numerous acts of terrorism in the past, but many of these have been perpetrated by foreign intelligence agencies as false flag operations - the Lockerbie bombing being a prime example.

The CIA and MI6 and their frontmen have been stoking up dissent in the east of the country for almost 30 years. Libya produces exceptionally high quality light crude oil and its production cost of $1 a barrel, compared to the current price of $115, is the lowest in the world.

Riba (usury) is not permitted. The Central bank of Libya is a wholly-owned by the Libyan Government and is run as a state bank, issuing all government loans free of interest. This is in contrast to the exploitative fractional reserve banking system of the West. The no-fly zone and the bombing of Libya have nothing to do with the protection of civilians. It is an act of war a blatant and crude attempt by the oil corporations and international bankers to steal the wealth of Libya."

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Now, Gadaffi is not among my favorite leaders, to put it mildly. Not by a long shot. There is plenty that’s wrong with the boorish man. He is a ruthless and cruel dictator; a loose cannon; and of questionable balance of mind, even if I envy him his beautiful body-guards. But that’s not the only criteria upon which you judge the state of a nation. So, notwithstanding Goodson’s credibility, I did some double check of some facts about Libya.

I found that Libya, as recently as 2010, ranks No. 55 out of 172 countries in the world in the Human Development Index of UNDP, with a score of 0.755 (0.749 in 2009), and counts among the countries with High Development Indices, comparable to some of the European countries. Libya has the highest HDI in Africa and is way ahead of India at 0.519 (ranked 122), for example.

According to UNDP "the Human Development Index or HDI (developed in 1990 by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen) is a comparative measure of life expectancy, literacy, education and standards of living for countries worldwide. It is a standard means of measuring well-being, especially child welfare."

How about the Human Rights record of Libya? Well, in general, high development index is supposed to be highly correlated with Low incidence of human rights violations. So not surprisingly, Guardian, based on Amnesty International reports, does not feature Libya in the list of 20 worst offenders in the world.

Also, according to UNDP, Libya’s literacy (subsumed in HDI as well) in 2009 was 86.8%, way ahead of India, leave alone Pakistan or Bangladesh. Yes, corruption in Libya has been high. However, according to Transparency International, from 2005 until 2009, it corruption in Libya was no higher than corruption in Philippines, Pakistan, Belarus, Bangladesh, Indonesia or Nepal. And yet, for some surprising reason, in 2010, all these countries have suddenly become less corrupt than Libya! Now usually, corruption levels in countries do not change drastically overnight. What could then explain the overnight drop in the corruption rating, after having been ahead of these countries for five years before suddenly losing their rating? Could the 2010 ranking of Libya be somewhat stilted, thanks to some hanky-panky by the Western Powers?

By these parameters, it would seem that the dictatorship in Libya has not been as bad as it has been painted out to be. In virtually every conceivable dimension, Libya’s track record has been well above most Asian countries, leave alone African. And if there has been a rebellion or a revolution in Libya, it is easy to see how it may well have been the result of much aid and abetting by the US under the convenient excuse of the wave of democratic movement in other parts of Africa and West Asia. If it was the dictatorship that moved the US to support the Libyan movement, one wonders why a Burma never benefited from this democratic concern of the US.

But then Burma is poor country. Not oil rich like Iraq and Libya are. Gadaffi may well have been a notorious dictator just as Saddam was. But one wonders if the rebels ‘win’ would truly help the people of the country or open up a long sequence of disquiet amidst a host of disparate groups warring with each other, as in Iraq. But yes, the oil-hungry US with a plummeting economy may well be a beneficiary of the Libyan movement – way more than the Libyan people.

I cannot but agree with Goodson. And one can’t agree with him without being outraged as a citizen of the world.

Libya

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The price of Nato help

The brutal 42-year-old dictatorship of Muammar al-Qadhafi is close to collapse and his own whereabouts are unknown. But the confusion over the Libyan situation cannot obscure the problems caused by the military intervention of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato). Heavy fighting continues in and around the capital, Tripoli, with Nato giving heavy bombing and shelling support to the rebel body, the Transitional National Council (TNC); and atrocities by both sides have been reported. This is, in large part, the outcome of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 — which bars landings by foreign forces but allows member states to use “all necessary means” (diplomatic terminology for military action) to ensure Libyan compliance with the Resolution. Humanitarian intervention as conceived by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France under cover of the U.N. has meant using highly advanced weaponry in helping the TNC, which includes militant Islamists of the sort who have been fighting Nato and other western forces in Iraq and Afghanistan for a decade, to bring about violent regime change. This western commitment to regime change, which could not have been achieved without Nato bombing, amounts to a total U-turn from the time, barely a year ago, when the same leaders were making much of Mr. Qadhafi in order to win access to Libya’s substantial oilfields.

The entire rebellion and the Nato campaign are riddled with inconsistencies. Western proponents initially claimed the campaign would be over in days. It has lasted six months, is yet to end, and has cost the U.S. alone more than a billion dollars. Secondly, there are severe tensions among the TNC’s three main factions; it is still not known who murdered the rebels’ top officer, General Abdel Fattah Younes. Furthermore, many leaders among Libya’s 140 tribes, including longstanding Qadhafi supporters, will want office in the new order. Above all, the western powers will almost certainly exact a heavy price for supporting the uprising. Their demands are likely to include — as they did in Iraq — preferential, if not monopoly, access for western oil corporations. It is no coincidence that as reports emerged of the rebel advance on Tripoli, the price of Brent Crude fell 1.7 per cent to $106.8 per barrel in futures trading. There are also likely to be lucrative contracts for western companies to rebuild Libyan cities; and the European Union members of Nato may want the new government to impose tight controls on Libyan migration to the EU.

In effect, the U.S., Britain, and France, with help from Italy, have used the U.N. and Nato to bring about regime change and pull off a gigantic oil-grab.

Pakistan.

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As I understand it Pakistan requires greater focus on economic development, which takes the country forward, NOT more American arms which sadly end up being used against the Pakistani people. Kiyani at least has paid lip service to this fact.

Pakistan requires the expulsion of ALL Western security advisers, and a significant reduction in the size of the American embassy.

Comments by Peter Chamberlain at Therearenosunglasses.com:

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You Will Accept Special Forces Trainers, Or Else.

[The delegation of old farts is in Islamabad trying one-on-one extortion/blackmail of the Pakistani government, seeking to force an opening for the re-penetration by pumped-up American killers. This can easily be compared to a violent rape of Pakistani leaders by an Imperialist aggressor. Pakistan has one chance to avoid Libya's fate, and that is through concentrated resistance of any military "assistance" from the West. When all the dust settles, we will either see a world subjugated by the American war machine, or a world liberated from the American Empire, depending upon how, or if, Eastern leaders like PM Gilani resist the assault.]

Restoration of military aid: United States offers quid pro quo

By Kamran Yousaf

Prime Minister Gilani and US Senator Levin during a meeting at the PM House. PHOTO: PPI

The United States has offered to restore $800 million in military aid to Pakistan if it reverses its decision of expelling US military trainers in the aftermath of the May 2 Abbottabad raid that had killed al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.

The offer came from an influential US Democrat, Senator Carl Levin, at a meeting with Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, a Pakistani official familiar with the development told The Express Tribune.

Leading a delegation of US congressmen, Senator Levin – who is the chairman of Senate’s Arms Services Committee – also held separate meetings with President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said Gen Kayani refused to review the decision anytime soon.

Pakistan Army expelled close to 100 US military trainers from the country in June in a show of displeasure over the Bin Laden raid. The Pakistani move, the US said, compelled it to withhold $800 million in military assistance.

At a meeting with the US delegation, President Zardari voiced concern over reports of the proposed cut in assistance for Pakistan. “Any cut in assistance would impact our existing economic conditions,” said an official statement quoting the president as telling the visiting US senators.

Zardari said the move would also send negative signals to the public about the US commitment to the people of Pakistan “when they are suffering heavily in economic terms due to unparalleled toll of the war against terror.”

The president hoped that all such steps would be avoided, the statement added.

President Zardari said drag on our relations due to operational irritants can effectively be avoided if the terms of engagements were clearly defined and followed in their true essence by the two countries.

In a meeting with Prime Minister Gilani, Senator Levin underlined the importance of bringing back US-Pakistan relations on even keel because both the countries are fighting the common enemy who is ‘using violence as IEDs.’

(Read: Pakistan key to regional economic integration, says US)

According to an official handout, Premier Gilani expressed reservations over the failure of the US-led Nato troops to stop infiltration of militants at the Pak-Afghan border.

“One wonders how terrorists dare go to Afghanistan without being eliminated by the Isaf and Nato Forces which are equipped with the most advanced weapons,” Gilani asked.

He underscored the importance of relations between the US and Pakistan to go beyond terrorism and cover other areas of bilateral relations on durable basis for the benefit of people of both countries.

Published in The Express Tribune

Destabilisation and invasion of Third World countries using Islamists.

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I suppose history does repeat itself, and that a lot of people don't learn from it.

The USA is a dangerous globalist power since 1945, with 800 military bases around the world, and a security budget of $1500 billion unofficially, and run by Jews.

The "Project for a New American Century" (2000) policy paper states that this hyper-power should seek MORE POWER around the world.....in fact "Full Spectrum Control", so that the USA is eventually recognized as the ultimate empire, which will never be challenged by any new power....whether its China or Russia.

Obviously to meet such an unrealistic ambition a lot of fighting has to done before it is achieved. There are many nations who don't want to be ruled, or dominated by the USA after all (The land of the free and brave).

As these wars for the PNAC empire increases, so will the resistance against it within the USA itself and the rest of the world, never mind the clever attempts at camouflaging ultimate American culpability, by getting various Western countries and NATO involved in such imperialist ambitions.

But lets face it without American involvement there would be no American invasion and occupation of Afghanistan for 10 years now as the lead country....or Iraq for 8 years now with the USA as the lead country which wants to stay far longer well after the welcome has clearly ended....or Somalia since 2006...or Libya now.

Then the European little poodles who take queue and encouragement from the USA will no longer be involved in these foreign misadventures, which benefits nobody except the exclusive Jewish International bankers and a few within the elite.

What is the cost of these Jewish Imperialist Wars........a few trillion $ for the USA, and counting, and 100,000 dead unofficially.....with another 500,000 ex-military on the streets. For the UK in Iraq and Afghanistan at least 1000 unofficially dead soldiers....with another 15,000 on the streets ......and $30 billion cost to the exchequer who is so desperate that they are holding fire sales of MOD equipment at rock bottom prices.

Who benefits from all this? Not the majority of people in the USA, UK or any where else.

But nor will REASON/RATIONALE bring an end to these wars for the Jews.

What will bring an end to these wars is when victim nations in the Third World learn from the historical lessons of American aggression and are able to fight harder and better against this racist, greedy, imperialist, evil.

What will bring an end to these wars is when the American war costs become too exorbitant, and the economy is no longer in a position to sustain this "war economy" forever.

What will bring an end to these imperial wars is when China takes a more pro-active stand in the global stage, and asserts without shame its role as the banker and debt holder of the USA economy.

The USA put simply is waging global war, using China's, Japan and South Korea's money. These three countries, two of them military colonies of the USA, have relented so far.....but for how long?......"Give us money or else Comrade Kim will attack you with missiles?"

A simple observation of the so called "Arab Spring" "Peoples power" which has been funded by the State Department as a clever destabilization program looks spookily like the coup against the democratically and may I say popularly elected Mossadeq government of Iran in 1953, or "Operation Ajax" involving faggotty Spooks, rent a crowds, mullahs on the pay of CIA/MI6 and greasy local military men who liked the $, and the possibility of power....working through the American embassy.

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INVASION OF NORTH AFRICA by aangirfan

The CIA, with MOSSAD and NATO, began the Arab Spring with their coup in Tunisia, a peaceful, prosperous and moderate Moslem country.

1. On 17 December 2010, a false flag operation apparently took place in in the Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid. The family of a street vendor called Mohamed Bouazizi became very rich.

2. Various CIA mercenaries and NATO special forces reportedly stirred things up by killing a lot of Tunisians. (False flag ops)

3. Some treacherous Tunisian dogs, 'coached by Soros NGOs', joined the revolt. (rent a crowds which were also used against the Mossadeq government in Iran in 1953)

4. And Tunisian generals, 'working for the CIA', forced out Ben Ali.




(Basic outline of the revolts in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria, directed by the JEWSA)

On 24 August 2011, we learn that Tunisia's economy "has suffered increasingly this summer".

Tunisian voters do not believe that the CIA-MOSSAD-NATO will give up its grip on Tunisia.

Less than 15% of Tunisia's eligible voters have registered to vote in the election due in October 2011.

Tunisia's Revolution Struggles‎

According to a new poll, by the Applied Social Sciences Forum, optimism amongst Tunisians fell from 32% in April 2011 to 24% in August 2011.

The town of Sidi Bouzid, the birthplace of the uprising, recorded the highest levels of distrust in the progress of Tunisia’s revolution at 62.1%.

Arab Spring Slips Into Tunisian Fall




















The CIA's Arab Spring hit Egypt, which under Mubarak was becoming more prosperous.

In August 2011, European Union Ambassador Marc Franco expressed concern over the Egyptian economy, which he said is in an 'alarming' state.

He praised the former regime of Mubarak for liberalizing the economy and encouraging investment.

Egyptian economy in 'alarming' state, says EU ambassador

On 9 August 2011, Egyptian stocks plunged to their lowest in more than two years as international investors withdrew money.

Egyptian Stocks Fall to Lowest in Two Years on Economic Concern‎


Now Libya is being wrecked.

In Tripoli, there is no water and no electricity.

"NATO's mandate ends in September and without a victory, real or imagined, Libya will become a tactical and political defeat." (Battle for Tripoli & Greater Libya Still On)

























Qaddafi’s Leadership Structure is Intact; NATO’s al Qaeda Infantry a Contemptible Rabble; Get Set for a Long War

Obama's speech in the days to come.

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There was a long protracted Colonial struggle around the world for liberation against Western Colonialism, during the 1950's and 1960's.

European colonialism had claimed the lives of between 50--70 million people, in Central & South America, Africa and of course Asia. (1500---1970).

The struggle against Western Colonialism was not all peaceful, but involved the SACRIFICES OF MILLIONS of innocent Third World poor people. In Vietnam, in SE Asia, in the Middle East, and of course in Africa post 1945.

The USA adopted an anti-colonial position officially at least against former European powers, after 1945. It after all liberated itself from a Western colonial power.

The Soviet Union adopted an anti-colonial position too, and supported various peoples liberation groups around the world through armed support.

With the diplomatic support of the USA, and the material support of the Soviet Union, European colonialism quickly came to an end.........but not without a fight.

In 1991 the Soviet Union came to an end, as did its anti-Colonial position.

Boris Yeltsin was a drunk front of the Jewish Oligarchical rulers who looted Russia into a virtual Third World country, taking directions and orders from the Rothschilds of London.(1991--1999) Celtic Medvedev, and Slavic Putin both from St. Petersburg which is a city which looks to the West with a longing sigh and yearning, have since been elected and chosen by the Rothschilds of London through the Jewish secret government within Moscow/London, but have been a little bit more "effective" in running Russia, attempting to move closer to the West, JUST AS the West led by the USA has been under mining the country through various fronts. The Rothschild puppets Medvedev, and Judo KGB "man of action" Putin have after the benefit of reflection and 12 years have not been effective in countering the policies of the USA, as it attempts to surround Russia, and there after China.

The Russian leaders support of nations struggling against Western neo-colonialism has thus been very weak, even where Russia's national interests clearly stated otherwise. In fact especially with Celtic Medvedev, who is believed to be Jewish, has shambolically joined in the policies of the West.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Jews in the USA spun a new story that now the time had arrived for the USA to become a lone superpower which would be the greatest empire on earth, unchallenged. This was enunciated in a significant state document known as the "Project for a New American Century" (2000).......a basic wikipedia reading of the policy paper penned by extremist right-wing Jews from Israel and the USA, should tell us what USA foreign policy is really about, both Democratic and Republican.

The Jewish power and control of the USA has meant that this extremist policy paper has been adopted by both political parties, "African" Obama being more enthusiastic. Former colonial European powers have joined in.....but the lead comes from the USA, which itself is led by Likud Israel.

As a result of this in the space of 10 years, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Libya have all been invaded and occupied by foreign alien powers. Aggression is practiced against Iran, Syria Pakistan....and destabilization of Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen.

There are those who console themselves that this surely affects ONLY Middle East countries. I would say that American led intervention, using "Bay of Pigs" type mercenaries, along with Western covert help sets a DANGEROUS precedence AGAINST ALL THIRD WORLD nations, eventually. It is a bad habit that persists. It is driven by greed and unchecked ambition of a few men.

Thus ALL Third World nations must guard against the ambitions of Washington and specifically the State Department........and the Western poodles of Washington who are nostalgic about the grand old days of European colonialism. And the hope that China strategically and militarily can provide a counter-balance to the power of the West for those nations seeking genuine refuge against Western colonialism.

I don't have a magic formula for fighting Western colonialism........except for doing the common sense things.

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OBAMA ON LIBYA by aangirfan

Here is the speech we have written for President Obama when he explains why troops have to go into Libya:

"My fellow Americans, Libya is in chaos and there are clear indications that the 'rebels' are not in a position to restore order.

We must copy the Italians. In October 1911, our Italian allies brought order to Libya. In just one incident, the Al-Shutt massacre, our Italian friends, with great efficiency, wiped out over a thousand troublesome women and children. (Tripoli Post)

We may need to build concentration camps in Libya. I will remind you that in 1930, the Italians had to move the population of Gebel, 100,000 people, to concentration camps.

Let us be in no doubt that the Libyans are troublesome people. Italy had to kill 12,000 Libyans every year in order to keep order. (Arab, Semitic, Third World, Muslim......through vicious propaganda such people are hated figures in the West, except when their leaders loot their country and deposit their wealth in Western banks)

I will remind you that back in 1885, it was decided, at a conference in Berlin, that Belgian troops were to be sent into the Congo. (massacres in Africa) Although, sadly, half the population of the Congo died as a result of this intervention, there was a huge advantage for Belgium. I will be honest. We need to do to Libya what the Belgians did to the Congo.




When it comes to looking after our interests we should not be squeamish. I will remind you that on 2 September 1889, our British friends killed 11,000 Sudanese in one day - all in a good cause. (massacres in Africa)

In 1904, our German allies brought peace to Namibia by killing 80% 0f the population.

In 1920 and 1921, the British brought order to Iraq by killing 10,000 Iraqis.

Let us not forget our allies in France. In 1945, French troops had to kill 50,000 Algerians in order to keep order.

(Maybe 1.5 million Algerians died between 1945--1962 for the liberation war)

(More here: NATO powers have long history of massacres in Africa)

al-CIA-duh about to control Libya, with NATO/USA help.

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NATO Hands Terrorists Who Killed U.S. Troops Control of Libya

Al-Qaeda gets new home as rebels seize Tripoli

Paul Joseph Watson at Infowars.com

While U.S. troops are dying in Afghanistan and Iraq in the supposed fight against terrorists, those same terrorists are now being handed control of an entire country, along with its lucrative resources, as a massive NATO bombardment of Tripoli aids the Al-Qaeda backed rebels in their overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi.

Al-Qaeda-backed rebels have now seized most of Tripoli, with pockets of forces loyal to Gaddafi still offering resistance as the Libyan leader vows he will be “with you until the end”. Gaddafi’s sons were seized by rebels while Gaddafi himself has gone into hiding outside the city.

The United States formally recognized the rebel council as the country’s legitimate government last month, despite the fact that the rebel army was admittedly spearheaded by Al-Qaeda terrorists who are supposedly the target of a multi-decade “war on terror” that is now in its tenth year and has cost the U.S. a staggering $5.4 trillion since 9/11.

Shortly after the start of the conflict in March, Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, the leader of the anti-Gaddafi rebel army,admitted that the rebel ranks include Al-Qaeda terrorists who have killed U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Al-Hasidi described the fighters as “patriots and good Muslims, not terrorists,” adding that “members of al-Qaeda are also good Muslims and are fighting against the invader”.

The Telegraph confirmed that Al-Qaeda fighters had joined with anti-Gaddafi rebels in a story entitled, Libya: the West and al-Qaeda on the same side, in which Richard Spencer wrote how, “WikiLeaks cables, independent analysts and reporters have all identified supporters of Islamist causes among the opposition to Col Gaddafi’s regime, particularly in the towns of Benghazi and Dernah.”

Although NATO and the U.S. admitted that “flickers” of Al-Qaeda members had infiltrated rebel ranks, in reality, they were leading the anti-Gaddafi forces in several areas of the country. As the Wall Street Journal reported in a piece entitled, Ex-Mujahedeen Help Lead Libyan Rebels, Al-Qaeda terrorists who worked directly for Bin Laden were tasked with recruiting, training and acting as front line field commanders for the rebel army.

Abdel Hakim al-Hasady, an influential Islamic preacher and high-school teacher who spent five years at a training camp in eastern Afghanistan, oversees the recruitment, training and deployment of about 300 rebel fighters from Darna.

Mr. Hasady’s field commander on the front lines is Salah al-Barrani, a former fighter from the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, or LIFG, which was formed in the 1990s by Libyan mujahedeen returning home after helping to drive the Soviets from Afghanistan and dedicated to ousting Mr. Gadhafi from power.

Sufyan Ben Qumu, a Libyan army veteran who worked for Osama bin Laden’s holding company in Sudan and later for an al Qaeda-linked charity in Afghanistan, is training many of the city’s rebel recruits.

Former jihadist Noman Benotman, who renounced his al Qaeda affiliation in 2000, said in an interview with the Washington Times that he estimates 1,000 jihadists are in Libya.

Referring to the fighters as “freelance jihadists”, Benotman said that the men were part of a North African terror cell known as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb (AQIM), and have completely infiltrated the rebel army.

A 2007 West Point report indicated that the Benghazi-Darnah-Tobruk area of Libya is a world capital for Al-Qaeda or mujahideen suicide bomber recruitment. Author Webster Tarpley details this intelligence in his excellent analysis piece, The CIA’s Libya Rebels: The Same Terrorists who Killed US, NATO Troops in Iraq.

Western intelligence agencies have also utilized their links with Libyan Al-Qaeda cells to target Gaddafi in recent history.

In 2002, French intelligence experts revealed how western intelligence agencies bankrolled a Libyan Al-Qaeda cellcontrolled directly by Osama Bin Laden to hatch a plot to kill Gaddafi that was foiled in March 1996. The cell was led by Anas al-Liby, who was with Bin Laden in Sudan before Bin Laden returned to Afghanistan.

Indeed, it was Gaddafi’s Libya who put out the first Interpol warrant for Bin Laden’s arrest in 1998. Western intelligence agencies blocked the warrant from being pursued, allowing Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda to go on and kill more than 200 people in the truck bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

Some of the very rebels now being funded, trained, and given embassies by Britain and the U.S. were part of the Al-Qaeda cell that tried to kill Gaddafi on behalf of the United States and Britain 15 years ago.

As a result of the United States’ and NATO’s alliance with Al-Qaeda terrorists, Muslim extremists will now be given a free hand to take control of Libya and handed a sizeable portion of the country’s oil and gold wealth to entrench their dominance and ensure all remnants of the Gaddafi regime are swept away.

Even the establishment media has now been forced to acknowledge that Gaddafi’s absence will create a vacuum in Libya ready and waiting for Al-Qaeda militants to fill the void. ABC’s Good Morning America quizzed Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman on whether developments would allow Al-Qaeda to gain a foothold in the country, a question he was unable to answer.

What is almost certain is that the relatively high living standards of Libyans living in cities like Tripoli will now be eviscerated as NATO powers allow the country to be subsumed by radical extremists as the region itself becomes little more than an outpost for the next geopolitical conquest by globalist forces.

Libya developments.

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UPDATES on Libya

Posted by willyloman and Scott Creighton at American everyman.

The EU has promised to fund the thug government of the “rebels” in Libya. Not surprising since the Secretary General of NATO, a man by the name of Anders Fogh Rasmussen, was once the head of the EU (2002) and a committed globalist like the rest of them. Thick as thieves they are.

(Certain Western governments are so desperate about their failing finances, that they have taken to raiding the private safety deposits in various banks...and confiscation of those assets....as supposedly alleged holders of those safety deposits are deemed automatically to be proceeds from criminal activity, and that anybody who protests the confiscation of the contents of their safety deposits boxes will be regarded/treated as criminals.

The Libyan government holds 144 tons or $6 billion worth of Gold reserves in Tripoli, and it is believed Libya has untapped Gold deposits in the SE of the country near Chad. Added to which you have Gaddafi who wanted to introduce his own currency backed by Gold which was deemed a threat to the Fiat currency bases of the EU/USA)

All that talk about the sons of Gadhafi being captured by the “rebels” was just more propaganda from the MSM designed to demoralize the Libyan people so they would not come out and fight for their country like NATO feared. Didn’t work.

Saif Gadhafi talks with reporters, walks the streets of Tripoli unmolested. Streets appear quite.

Globalist puppet, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, says that the return and subsequent interviews given by Saif Gadhafi does not mean that the rebels haven’t won. God forbid anyone actually look at what is really happening on the streets of Tripoli after Britain’s terrorist teams have been routed out of the nation’s capitol. We have to use “rightthink” on this and that seems to be the continuing message from the Brits.

British Prime Minister claims that the Libyan “revolution” isn’t necessarily “ours” but that Britain did “play a part”. No shit.

The narrative is already being created that the “rebel” leadership is breaking down; suffering from in-fighting and squabbling amongst themselves. This of course will simply justify the reason that a group of technocrats from outside the country will have to take charge when they completely neoliberalize Libya privatizing everything and selling off the assets of the Libyan people to crony corporations for next to nothing. This is after all the prize at the end of the road.

If PressTV is to be believed, which I doubt is the case anymore, the government of Iran can’t tell a CIA destabilization campaign from a real revolution. They are claiming that the “uprising” in Libya needs to keep the hegemonic powers (U.S., Britain, France) out of their new government. NEWSFLASH FOR IRAN – the U.S., Britain, and France ARE the “rebels” in Libya, you dimwits.

(Yes Scott, I have already commented on the stupidity of the Mullah donkeys who keep talking about the "Great Islamic awakening" in the Middle East, from Khomenei down.

First there is the obvious strategic fact that this so called "Great Islamic awakening" could sweep away Iran's ally Syria, and Bashar Assad, and replace him with a Sunni based fundamentalist "al-CIA-duh" linked group.

Second the "Great Islamic awakening" could encourage a revolution within Iran, later as momentum builds up.

Finally of-course as pointed out by so many blogs these so called "Arab Spring" "Peoples Revolutions" are organized by the USA and especially the State Department, and their European allies follow suit........there is nothing genuine and popular about these revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria......with the exception of Bahrain which maybe genuine, but not backed by the USA, and Yemen where you had with Saleh's 33 years of very poor rule, and the people were fed up with him.

For the mullah's to remotely mention and admit that the "Arab Spring" in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Syria are backed by the USA, would defacto mean that, quite plausibly the mullah's of Iran were also brought into power by the very same USA, and its poodles.

As we have seen in Imperial Germany in 1933, and Bolshevik Soviet Union, a minority group can usurp power through armed struggle and political machinations)

Now that the pysop has failed, Jack Straw is claiming that the endgame in Tripoli will be “protracted and bloody“. He even makes reference to Iraq as a democracy they created. Anyone here think there is a functioning democracy in Iraq? Can you say “SHOCK AND AWE in LIBYA” folks?

“What we’ve discovered in the last 24 hours is that what we thought was assured 24 hours ago, namely a military victory over Gaddafi – just a matter of time – is now less certain.

“I certainly believe that Gaddafi will be gone sometime in the relatively near future – his authority across his country has crumbled. But I think the military end game is going to be bloody and protracted.

“That said, the critical lesson from Iraq was the need to ensure a proper transition to democratic civilian government. In the end, funnily enough, we got there with Iraq but a very large number of mistakes were made.” Jack Straw.

Stalinist economics during the Great Depression.

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Given Manmohan Singh's age, and political condition he may well take a negative view of India's economic future. But I think this does not have to be the case as many nations in Asia have shown, and continue to show. ManMohan Singh with his Ph.D in economics is educated in the West, and he must not be carried away by Western economic thinking with its models, which may well be totally irrelevant to India's economic situation.

First we must de-link the world economy with the Indian economy. India in 2011 exported according to government figures about $ 246 billion worth of goods and services. The Indian economy measured by PPP could be close to $4.5 trillion, the third largest economy on earth, where exports represents a paltry 5% of the whole PPP GDP.

Quite frankly given such an insular economy it really doesn't matter if demand for Indian goods dip in the West......which knocks off even 20% of exports.....it doesn't effect India's continued growth rate, PROVIDED THE GOVERNMENT TAKES SOME ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT SPENDING PROGRAMS TO COMPENSATE.

The other dampener on growth experts say is inflation.

Any single digit inflation figure is perfectly OK, it indicates the economy is rapidly expanding, and peoples expectation of a rapidly expanding economy also pushes up prices. In addition the basket of commodities that are used to measure inflation includes food prices, and fuel. These are two things the price of which the government has very little control, and are affected by factors beyond their control.........Monsoon/weather...food prices to a significant extent, and fuel prices according to the machinations of Western oil cartels and speculators based in NY/London and Rotterdam who manipulate this abundant natural commodity for huge profits. The realistic price of oil should be about $15 a barrel but due to the manipulation of the Western commodity bourses is in reality now ridiculously close to $90 a barrel.

These are things which the Indian government can do little about save make significant investments in oil/gas exploration in India, and the neighboring countries; Thorium use for nuclear power...and greater use of coal power stations.

The Indian government could introduce massive subsidies, and elaborate price fixing mechanisms for food and fuel, BUT given the rather poor governance record of Indian governments and the on-going levels of massive state neta/babus corruption, it may well be wiser for the Indian government to stay shy and well clear of such well meaning huge endeavors.

In my honest opinion the government can undertake massive boosts in INFRASTRUCTURE, INDUSTRY/MANUFACTURING, education, and healthcare......significant increases in spending by the government in these strategic and important areas will not necessarily lead to added inflationary pressures. But that investment in such things will clearly add to greater annual GDP growth, and since all of them are labor intensive will create significant new jobs for the masses who are swarming the cities from the countryside.

WIN/WIN........the challenge is then to find the extra money by expanding the 30 million tax base (only 2.5% of total Indians pay tax), and focusing on well meaning expenditure on the above four areas towards the levels of neighboring China. Perhaps a budget of $400 billion for 2012--2013, AND $500 billion for 2013--2014 leading up to the next election. Peoples budgets.

Finally I want to hail Comrade Stalin, our friend who confessed to Krishna Menon that he felt more an Asian than a Westerner. The man with the show trials, the Gulags and the 5 year plans, the last of which ONLY India tries to emulate. As we all know the world experienced the great depression of the late 1920's and early 1930's......and that ONLY demand led growth in armament, and specific job creation schemes helped all major economies out of the depression.

The only exception to the above being the Soviet Union which between 1928--1941, when 5 year plans first began, experienced real annual GDP growths of 20% year in year out, despite sanctions and other restrictions from Western countries, with heavy emphasis on INDUSTRY/MANUFACTURING and INFRASTRUCTURE. By 1941 the Soviet economy represented nearly 45% of the USA economy. Whereas in 1914 the Imperial Russian economy represented a mere 18% of the USA economy.

Now I am not suggesting ManMohan Singh is or should copy Stalin...he can't. The Congress Party in addition is no Bolshevik Party filled with tough desperate revolutionary men, willing to make sacrifices and be ruthless to achieve their objectives. The Indian Congress Party by contrast is a fat bloaty Third World venal corrupt dynasty run Party, that has seen far far better days. Corrupt Italian Sonia with no education, and playboy Rahul clearly are not in the league of the Bolshevik Party men who led the Soviet Union out of backwardness, forcefully.

But despite all this India can achieve at least 10% annual GDP growth in the next five year period easily. This ensures despite all the scandals that Congress comes back to power in 2014, and ALL is forgiven.

This is where the Congress heavy weights need to focus, and help Pranab Mukherjee out on this.

Can't see the sense in ManMohan Singh making doom and gloom predictions in this delicate juncture.

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Tough to attain 9% growth: PM

Times of India

In his first acknowledgement of what economists and corporate chiefs have been saying for past few months, PM Manmohan Singh on Saturday warned that achieving 9% growth during the next plan period - April 2012 to March 2017 - may be tough in the absence of difficult decisions.

In his opening remarks at the meeting of the full Planning Commission, Singh said the panel settled on the 9% growth target, instead of 9%-9.5% as suggested earlier due to the uncertainty in the global economy and challenges at home. The PM's statement indicates that the global environment - led by problems in Europe and the US - is expected to be uncertain for a while. PM said in the best case scenario the growth rate during the five-year period would grow 9.2%. Economists are already drawing parallels between the Great Depression in 1929 and the one that started in 2008 and are of the view that the problems, like in the thirties, could last for a few years.

The PM said that health, education and infrastructure spending would get more funding than other sectors. PM's observations on taking tough decisions come at a time when issues such as liberalization of foreign investment regime for retail and defence production are held up due to inter-ministerial wrangling. The proposed national manufacturing policy too is held up as labour and environment ministries are unwilling to show flexibility in reducing undue inspection and clearances that are required.

The Centre and the states have also been divided on the rollout of Goods & Services Tax from next April due to lack of political consensus.

Singh said a broader national consensus was required to push the next round of reforms that entailed legislative changes.

War against Corruption in India

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The Anna Hazare campaign continues with the support of Civil Society, and opportunistic political parties seeking to score points against the clumsy corrupt Congress Party.

The problem of corruption in ALL countries starts at the top, with the leadership of the country. In India’s case it involves the Gandhi clan around Sonia. That is where the corruption must be tackled first. The problem however is not merely the Gandhi clan, but their minions who take their queue from the Gandhi clan, because they feel this is Pro Forma normal when one becomes a minister or appointee of the Gandhi government, encompassing babu’s and people who do business with this corrupt cabal.

Other political parties such as the BJP copy this fundamentally Congress practice, when in power on the rare occasion. It goes without saying that since Congress has been in power for so many years, corruption, ineptitude, the arrogance of power and entitlement sets in.

As has been stated by many, another motivation for corruption by ALL leading parties is political funding. Money buys elections, and this seems to be the accepted fact by all parties. The Naxals rob banks and companies in order to fund their political organization. Congress and the BJP on the other hand milk money from massive arms sales, and other such government sales and licenses illegally. This has a distorting effect on the economy, and generates huge corruption as can be imagined. A reasonable transparent political funding system needs to be established which can easily be monitored and verified by the Election Commission.

The Lokpal is an interesting idea, and may tackle some forms of corruption. But as has already been pointed out India will have with the Lokpal, 6 different government bodies working presumably in cross purposes against the same objective..corruption.

Which is the lead SC body that will deal with corruption strategically?

How are the Lokpal members going to be chosen? By the government, or the man or woman who brings out the biggest mob on the streets?

Does the Lokpal have more power than the elected members of the Lok Saba, and if so how is that power exercised?

Who will monitor the Lokpal?

OK so everybody wants a Lokpal, but how it is constituted and what is its remit is not broadly agreed. The PM should come under the scanner of the Lokpal, he should have nothing to fear. I don’t see the need for seasoned government ministers used to wheeling and dealing and political shenanigans being included in the Lokpal, CHECKING, OBSTRUCTING, and MISDIRECTING its work as they would per their normal political instincts and mission.

The Lokpal should contain technocrats with strong educational/Civil Society backgrounds (Anna with his minimal education is an anomaly, but should not be the accepted norm, though granted that greater education and higher social status is no clear guarantee of lesser corruption). People drawn from well established effective anti-corruption Civil Society organizations should form the majority of the Lokpal membership (They have served at least 10 years in such anti-corruption organizations). People who are genuinely concerned about the problem of corruption, but don’t want the Lokpal to be used to peddle erstwhile hidden political agenda’s against a particular party they don’t like via anti-corruption witch hunts.

Maybe the Lokpal can have 15—20 members, with a balance of men and women. Though it must be noted that crime and corruption is significantly lower among women; Crime is a male phenomenon.

Obviously it should have seasoned retired senior police officers who have exemplary records; senior accountants very very important if the Lokpal wishes to understand the mechanics of corruption, and of course Lawyers/judges who are familiar with corruption cases.

The body should contain Indians from ALL corners from the country; ALL castes; ALL religions.

The Supreme Court can appoint its members, within fixed terms and not a job for life. The Supreme Court can also monitor the Lokpal, given that most of the work is similar to what the Supreme Court would deal with it.

It can do beautiful meaningful work for India, focusing strategically at the problem of corruption, as the lead organization.

Below are additional suggestions by public figures in India.

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How to curb corruption: Three steps to clean India

Times of India

Naresh Chandra | Former cabinet secretary

*Tackle the menace from the inside, since outside agencies can't do much.

*Unnecessary concentration on agencies such as the CVC and the CAG should go.

*Hold the supervisor responsible. Strengthen vertical controls in property registration offices or in DDA or at municipal corporations.

K Srinath Reddy | Chief PM's health panel

*Blue-collar corruption needs better pay scales and income security, strict monitoring and swift grievance redressal.

*White-collar corruption calls for robust regulatory system, vigilance & prompt prosecution.

*Go for transparent systems, limit discretionary patronage & enable effective action by Lokpal.

TSR Subramanian | Former cabinet secretary

*Different methods have to be used to tackle corruption at different levels but the Lokpal is not a one-point solution.

*Where the Lokpal can help is in asking politicians and senior bureaucrats to step down if it finds that primafacie there is evidence against them. This will put pressure on the judiciary to act fast.

*If you extend the Lokpal to the lower level then the system will collapse. So you need strong local-level systems. You can create a local level, may be divisional level system, which works under the supervision of the state Lokayukta and ensure quicker decisions.

*At the same time, it is important to have a system to eliminate political interference starting from the local level.

V M Katoch | Director General, ICMR

*E-governance is key to ridding corruption. Once everything becomes online, there will be little opportunity for corruption. A perfect example is that of railway tickets.

*All govt projects must be time-bound . Fixed time for all projects failing which a strict penalty for those involved.

*All those involved in technical evaluation of bids must have clear well-defined instructions , especially on rejection criteria. No committee should have the power to relax any rules midway.

Harish Salve | Senior counsel

*Electoral reforms to eliminate the corrupt and criminals.

*Transparency in leasing out national resources. Delink PSUs from ministries, run them by professionals and list them.

*Downsize govt and pay realistic salaries.

Ram Jethmalani | MP, Rajya Sabha

*The Prime Minister must be directly elected by people and be accountable for corruption in his council of ministers.

*The judiciary must be completely purified to eliminate advocates with political leanings becoming judges.

*It is critical to improve character and efficiency of investigating.

Prakash Singh | Former DG, UP police & BSF

*Depoliticize and rejuvenate state polices' anti-corruption and vigilance departments.

*Reinvent CBI, free it from governmental control.

*Audit government's funding and social funding in a very transparent manner.

Iqbal Chagla | Senior Counsel

*Civil society cannot impose a law on the nation. That is the job of the Parliament. We have stringent laws to deal with corruption. We must enforce them strictly. Action in punishing the guilty must not only be done, but seen to be done, so that it sends out a strong message.

*Prosecute both, the bribe-taker and bribe-giver.

*Most importantly, people must be self disciplined so that bribery stops. There are no readymade answers but there has to be collective consciousness of what is good and bad.

Ajit Doval | Former Director, IB

*Beyond the laws: We are discussing at the national level, I am more concerned about the need to improve the situation at the cutting-edge level of administration, offices with which our public have a lot of dealings.

*Agencies such as the CBI, ED etc that enforce the laws should be made independent, efficient and accountable.

*Senior leadership in every department must be held accountable for any corruption detected in their department. This is not covered under the present jurisprudence, but is very important to end corruption. So if a subordinate is caught for corruption then the supervisor must be administratively held accountable.

*In all public delivery offices touts must go, they should be brought under the ambit of law. If touts are operating in a department then it must be presumed that officers in that office are responsible for it. It is important to shut out intermediaries from our passport and driving licence offices.

*Loud & clear: A supporter of Anna Hazare during the jail bharo andolan at Azad Maidan in Mumbai, soon after the anticorruption crusader was arrested in New Delhi earlier this week.

Venu Srinivasan | Managing Director, TVS

*Every time there's a scam or an allegation, the first reaction is to increase deterrence. But I feel we need to reduce the opportunity for corruption in the first place. Deterrence comes later.

*My first suggestion is to ensure fair, open and transparent awarding of contracts with regard to infrastructure projects or mining or land acquisition for industry. I have noticed, except for a few exceptions, land acquired for industry has not faced too much of public anger or angst because it has meant jobs and more opportunities. Opaque or ambiguous awarding of contracts leads to public anger and offers a huge opportunity for corruption.

*We need to do a rethink on the way liberalisation seems to be heading back towards over-regulation . Every ministry is suddenly looking for a regulator with the first whiff of an allegation or scam. A regulator is necessary in a situation where an oligopoly can diddle the public out of their right. It is common globally to have a financial regulator and a food regulator makes sense to ensure standardisation. But regulation should be minimum otherwise we would be going right back to the days of licence-permit raj.

*Proper enforcement of laws is a must. India does not lack regulation. What we need is free and fair enforcement of those laws. And it can start with traffic laws on the streets. Corruption is not just about money. It is also about ethics in public life. Anything that violates it can trigger public anger.

Anu Aga | Former Chairperson, Thermax Group

*Political party funding should be legitimised. Payments should be made only through cheques.

*Companies should admit that there is corruption and admit there is dishonesty and sign a code of right conduct. Since they are pushed into it as companies cannot do without paying it, there should be a mechanism by which they can sit across the table with the government to address it.

*Get rid of the nexus between politicians and builders and mining companies. There should be zero tolerance for it.

Ramakant Panda | Senior cardiac surgeon

*Corruption is the biggest stumbling block to the country's progress. The fight to eradicate corruption must be multi-pronged & broadbased . Opinion of a wider section of society must be taken into account while not subverting the democratic and parliamentary process.

*We need strong Lokpal & Lokayukta laws with teeth but at the same time strong deterrence against misuse (as is happening with RTI where people are using it more for personal gain than fight corruption).

*Better inspection of criminal records of political aspirants.

*Introducing ethics and moral education at school and college level.

Rahul Bajaj | Chairman, Bajaj Auto, MP, Rajya Sabha

*Enactment of a strong Lokpal Bill. This should be stronger than the bill introduced by the government in Parliament, but not as strong as that demanded by the civil society through the Jan Lokpal bill.

*State funding of elections: This should be part of the electoral reform process and must be undertaken urgently . There should be a mechanism to recognise political parties. The state funding should be for only those political parties whose accounts are transparent, clean and audited, and have been submitted to the Election Commission for scrutiny.

*Electoral reforms: This should include holding elections to Lok Sabha & state Assemblies simultaneously every five years with no mid-term polls.

Harsh Mariwala | CMD, Marico, President, FICCI

*Bring in goods & services tax which will remove tax evasion. Corruption takes place when there are multiple levels of taxes.

*Bring in electoral reforms and transparency in the funding process of political parties.

*Have a proper mechanism for use of discretionary powers; such as the one under which mines are allotted.

JM Lyngdoh | Former Chief Election Commissioner

*The first thing is to change the electoral system. The first-past-the-post system needs to go. If I get one vote more than you I get to represent the entire constituency. This system promotes the use of money. A person who spends more money will wield more power, that's the assumption everybody makes. The firstpast-the-post system is at root of the requirement for much money. That's why in the present system they start looting the budget once they are elected and that money becomes black money. Some of it is invested in the country in real estate and some of it is sent to the tax havens abroad and returns when there is another round of elections. The first-past-thepost system is concerned with re-election and has no concern for good governance.

*We should go for proportional representation where it will be a contest between parties. When it is a contest between parties things will tend to get less personalised and use of money is going to be much less.

*In developed democracies today, people have realised politicians do not have the time or inclination to handle the more complex aspects of governance. So these complex matters of governance are hived off from the government to autonomous unelected bodies of experts. Issues such as 2G and 3G are complex and should be handed over to an autonomous unelected body of experts and ministers should not interfere with these institutions just as they can't with the Supreme Court and the Election Commission. You need more institutions such as the Election Commission and the Supreme Court in more areas of governance.

Bimal Jalan | Former RBI Governor

*We need to reduce the "economic incentives" for politics. Those who join the government cannot defect without having to seek re-election . The pre-2003 procedure for elections to Rajya Sabha should be restored.

*Another political priority is to provide highest priority for hearing of cases of elected leaders with criminal antecedents. Their cases should be mandatorily decided within six months after their election . Such a procedure would effectively "reverse" the incentive for criminals to choose politics in order to delay investigation of their cases and possible conviction.

*If UPSC can appoint civil servants through a competitive and open system for life-time employment , there is no reason why a similar autonomous agency, like Public Sector Enterprises Board (PSEB) cannot be given full powers of supervision over the management of public enterprise with accountability to ministries concerned.

Kishore Biyani | Founder, Future Group

*Our value system of the past has to be revived . Honesty, putting the nation first - all these values were an important part of our culture. Corporates should also inculcate values in their employees.

*Our learning needs to start from home.

*Work on improving salaries and rewards for professionals across the private and public sector.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi | Spokesperson, Congress

*Methodical deletion of discretionary powers at all levels.

*Market value of land be fixed and dealings below it be scrutinised.

*Punitive and deterrent action against corrupt in a time-bound manner.

*Measures like Lokpal, strengthening of prosecution, CVC and CBI.

Harsh Neotia | Chairman, Ambuja Realty

*There should be a greater transparency in allocation of resources. Complete transparency in the licensing process of oil blocks, iron ore blocks, spectrum allocation, would reduce chances of corruption at macro level.

*Government should try to eliminate shortages. As long as there is a shortage, there will be corruption.

*Ten years ago, one had to bribe officials for a telephone line because it was not easily available. Now nobody pays a bribe.