LIBYA: U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL PASSES RESOLUTION 10 - 0 TO PROTECT CITIZENS

The US, France and Briton along with Arab Councils voted to stop Gaddafi - his indiscriminate slaughter of Libyan citizens. 5 countries abstained from voting - Russia and China, but by abstaining, they allowed the resolution to pass without veto. The U.N. Security Council will use any means to intervene in harm to Libyan civilians, which includes the rebels who are civilians fighting for independence from a ruthless dictator who has ZERO legitimacy as a ruler of the country.

This in contrast to other countries like Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia who have established ruling parties, Kings or Queens.

Gaddafi is merely the overseer of Libya, a country that back in the 1970's established independence from foreign control. The type of government was established as one governed by the people, and the "leader" was Gaddafi who's been in a position of governance for nearly 40 years. He is not a king, and the people asked him to step down. He refused. Protests ensued, and violence that has claimed the lives of many hundreds of civilians.

Gaddafi instead vowed to maintain leadership against the wishes of the people, and has launched a violent retaliation against those opposed to his leadership. It should be noted that starting with France and the US, Gaddafi is no longer recognized as the leader of Libya. The international community which includes the Arab League, have asked him to step down and he has defied the order.

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA

What this means:

The international community has vowed to use all means possible to prevent further harm to Libyan This includes military intervention.

My opinion: Hurray! I support intervention in Libya... in contrast my opinion about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are different. Iraq - No. Afghanistan; if GWB had kept focused on the initial military operations and not strayed to Iraq, all would most likely have worked out okay. But he didn't. We shouldn't let those military operations confuse us as to our intervention in Libya. The people of Libya need us, and we, the international community need to see Gaddafi ousted from power! As he has already been ousted.

BOBKAT'S VIEW OF WORLD NEWS - IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD!

Writing a blog with individual stories is fine, but reality has a way of overwhelming one. Such is world news as I see it.A few opinions to share:

LIBYA:

Colonel Gaddafi, "KING OF LIBYA", is close to crushing what many around the world are calling a civil war. Crushing "the Rebels".The "Rebels" have asked for help in their fight for independence from King Gaddafi. The only country thus far to offer any support that I can see is France. And why not - they came to our aid in 1776 against the British. With the Rebel Forces nearly crushed we have a madman as King, controlling North Africa. A King with a reputation... torture, terrorism, and deceit. Madness also. Last I knew we were buddy/buddy with Gaddafi... but President Obama has stated Gaddafi is no longer leader of Libya. "He needs to step down".

Well, he's not. He's the King, who isn't a King, crushing those seeking and fighting for liberation. We haven't lifted a finger to help.

Why?

Some cite the growing threat of other rebellions in the Middle East. Bahrain, Yemen, Saudi Arabia. Others are unsure of what just happened in Egypt and Tunisia. Both countries had dictators considered "friendly" to the US. On closer inspection, they were both tyrants and not worthy of our friendship. My opinion.

Then there's the two "wars" we are already sucked into... Afghanistan, which if Ex-Pres George Bush had stuck to his agenda would most likely be under control, but rather, he diverted the military to Iraq, a colossal mistake I assume by many.

There's war fatigue, on the part of the American public. So why assist rebels in Libya?

It's simple. Colonel Gaddafi is not the leader of Libya, he's a foreign power conquering Libya, and Libya is an Ally. What's happening in Libya is a Revolution, not a Civil War.

JAPAN:

Tragedy for which there are no words. A country as best prepared as technologically possible crushed by nature, and further destroyed by it's own high tech infrastructure/nuclear power plants. The loss of life, the damage, the people suffering - I don't think we as a world get it yet! Haiti, we could understand in that they were a poor nation, and helpless. But Japan? This is a cataclysm, the like of which we will feel for many years. I think right now the world is in shock. I think we need to come out of it!

GLOBAL WARMING AND ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS:

They're very real. The fourth largest mass extinction of life on the planet is underway NOW! It's predicted 75% of all life on our planet will be extinct within a couple hundred years or less. This compared to previous mass extinctions that took thousands of years, maybe millions. We're on an accelerated course to some of the most devastating changes in climate, and those in power seem to cling to skepticism and looking the other way. A lot is being done by others, but not anywhere close to what needs to be done.

CIVILIZED SOCIETY DOES NOT POINT THE FINGER AT THE VICTIM:

18 men, ages 14 - 28 gang rape and assault a young girl in Texas. I recall she was 14, but could have been 11. Doesn't matter. The community where it happened in in turmoil. Many on the side of the victim, many on the side of the alleged perpetrators. Those in the latter group feel a woman that young has the maturity to say "STOP". "NO".

Get real... Adults in a civilized society do not take advantage of underage girls!!! What were they doing having sex with her to begin with?

"MARIJUANA BY THE NUMBERS":

CNBC SPECIAL REPORT:

"If legal, marijuana would be a $40-billion-a-year industry in the U.S.

Though not nearly as popular as alcohol or tobacco, marijuana has become part of the nation's social fabric. Some 30 million Americans consume cannabis in the average year."

That can be looked at two different ways; 1) 30 million potential law-breakers subject to severe criminal consequences, Drug Rehap Programs; Discrimination; Alienation; FEAR; DARE; yet their risk of DEATH is near ZERO, compared to the harm (potentially and realistically) caused by tobacco or alcohol, which are legal.

OR: 30 million American taxpayers and citizens enjoying what God provided. Ganja! Free of FEAR.

It's time put our technology, our government, our people to work solving real issues, and not chasing fantasies.

CONCLUSION:

Choose your battles... wisely. On the list of potential extinctions we are up there on the list. There is a great deal that could lead to our extinction. Ignorance in particular. And look... "The Emperor Wears No Clothes".

Put together survival plans...

Gaddafi; The Libyan Revolution - 2011

Generally I just take world news in stride. Libya is the exception. Gaddafi in particular.

There are many photos of the fighting going on in Libya right now and the past few weeks. There are excellent maps of the conflict areas, who holds them, pro or rebel, yet I hear often "little news is getting out".

Maybe Julian Assange could do a better job! Fact is, Gaddafi is a nutcase. He claims many things:

1) The youth are on drugs provided by Al Quida. Hallucinogens. Terrorist are at our doorstep... deluding the children, that must be "silenced", lest they enlighten "my faithful". Gaddafi madness, but not so different than other historical events that claimed "drugs were distorting the people's sight". Gaddafi's delusion sheds light on our own paranoia that "drugs are to blame". Sometimes they are. The question is, what do you think - rebels high on drugs, or are they revolutionaries who could use our help???

2) His country is as Gaddafi puts it: is a "government of the people", "no leader but the people"... the same people he's murdering, the rebels - who are the people telling him to GO!!!

3) Recent evidence strongly alleges a connection betwee Gaddafi and terrorist acts. If true, a bounty should be put on his head, ASAP.

4) It's being called a civil war... but the Libyans aren't fighting against each other, but rather, the rebels are fighting Gaddafi "loyalists", making him something of a king, or so he's pretending.

Civil War I vote we stay out of it.

Revolution: I vote we assist the rebels with everything we have, like the French did to help us win our Revolution against Great Briton.

We need to act NOW.

Libya could become the stabilizing force in the Middle East. There's no question but that Libyan rebels have done something extraordinary - they need help.

The alternative is a Libya with a "Madman as King".

"DAY OF RAGE" - A Novel Idea!

OMG... the worse part about work these days is reading the news, online, then listening to it on the 2 hour commute back home. God, it's bad. Really bad.

We're looking at extinction... as a species, as well as a 75% extinction of nature.

I was born in 1954, and I'm open to reality... back then it was the Korean War.

The Middle East right now is awakening... and I'll leave it to "the experts" to provide more.

My point, a "Day of Rage", whatever it connotes, seems like a healthy idea, being non-violent I trust, seems acceptable.

I'm going to suggest, APRIL 01 as the "Day of Rage", and encourage you to leave comments here, to what bothers you about the way things are (going).

What's going on in Libya right now is a serious issue. But we had our own serious "issues", beginning in the early 1960's, and as the flowers bloom, we remember those Americans killed in Viet Nam, and those on our soil who died while protesting a blatantly, obvious, Neanderthal could do it better, "war".

May 1970 - Kent State University. I was 16 at the time. The massacre, was but the end... though I had two more years until I'd be drafted into the war. We had a federal draft back then, not like today's "Volunteer". Link to Kent Stae Massacre - WikiPedia:

"The Kent State shootings—also known as the May 4 massacre or Kent State massacre[2][3][4]—occurred at Kent State University in the city of Kent, Ohio, and involved the shooting of unarmed college students by members of the Ohio National Guard on Monday, May 4, 1970. The guardsmen fired 67 rounds over a period of 13 seconds, killing four students and wounding nine others, one of whom suffered permanent paralysis."

Lest this be seen as a call to arms, it's not. I simply think voicing our beefs might be a good thing...

I'll start:

BEEF#1: Legalize cannabis already!!!!