Thursday, March 03, 2011

Gaddafi Is No Simon Bolivar

Muammar Qaddafi, the Libyan chief of state, at...Image via WikipediaIt takes a Hugo Chavez to dishonor the original Latin American hero Simon Bolivar. And he can do that. It's called free speech.
Christian Science Monitor: Obama to Pentagon: Give me a list of options to protect Libyans: including a no-fly zone over the country ..... any US action would be undertaken in concert with US allies and partners..... watching for a “trigger” of an eventual aerial campaign by Qaddafi against a rebelling population ...... such a step would essentially require the US to launch an air war on Libya to take out the country’s air-defense systems...... the president said one reason Egyptians are so “enthusiastic" about the new direction their country is taking is that it is the result of the people’s efforts and not something imposed from outside. ..... too much international intervention in Libya could rob the Libyans of that sentiment. ...... the ICC will proceed with a formal investigation of Qaddafi and his inner circle, including some of his sons, for “crimes against humanity” that may have been committed in the violence against Libyan civilians.
Gaddafi is no Bolivar, but the best option for now seems to be for Gaddafi to go to Venezuela to live in exile for the rest of his days. If Hugo Chavez likes Gaddafi, he can have him.
New York Times: Qaddafi Said to Accept Venezuelan Offer for Help: confusion emerged after Colonel Qaddafi’s own son reportedly rejected Mr. Chávez’s plan. ...... d the Arab League had also expressed interest. ..... during his army days Mr. Chávez studied Colonel Qaddafi’s “Green Book,” a collection of the Libyan leader’s thinking on an alternative to capitalism first published in the 1970s. ..... In 2009, Mr. Chávez received the Libyan leader here in Caracas, giving him a replica of the sword of Simón Bolívar, the Venezuelan aristocrat who led South American independence wars in the 19th century. That gesture came five years after Libya awarded Mr. Chávez its annual Qaddafi International Prize for Human Rights. ...... Venezuela, along with two leftist allies in the region, Cuba and Nicaragua, were isolating themselves by refusing to condemn recent violence carried out by Colonel Qaddafi’s forces.
Gaddafi should go into exile. That is the least tumultuous path for all parties concerned.
The Guardian: Gaddafi is in dire need of help from his old comrade Hugo Chávez: Hugo Chávez has said: 'What Simón Bolívar is to the Venezuelan people, Gaddafi is to the Libyan people. ....... Muammar Gaddafi and Hugo Chávez are old comrades in the struggle against imperialism and American hegemony. But the Libyan leader has probably never before been in such dire need of solidarity and help from his Venezuelan friend. ...... revolutionary political views, a shared reputation for eccentricity, membership of the oil-producing cartel Opec, exchanges of extravagant gifts – and a near-unlimited capacity for generating controversy at home and abroad. ....... the first sign of a diplomatic exit from the impasse. ..... alongside Chávez were Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Omar al-Bashir of Sudan – wanted for war crimes in Darfur. ..... They also proposed the establishment of a South Atlantic treaty organization to rival US-dominated Nato. ..... a medal called Orden del Libertador, Venezuela's highest civilian decoration. He reciprocated by giving Chávez a set of handmade silver armour. ..... Gaddafi was a colonel in 1969 when he and his fellow "free officers" seized power from the western-backed King Idris. Chávez, a former paratroop lieutenant colonel, staged a failed coup in 1992. ...... the Venezuelan received the Gaddafi International Human Rights Prize from prize-committee member Daniel Ortega, the ex-president of Nicaragua, and dedicated part of it to their common friend Yasser Arafat ...... In 2006, Libya named a new 11,000-seat soccer stadium after Chávez near Benghazi ..... speculation that Gaddafi might go into exile in Venezuela.
No Fly Zone Or Surgical Strikes
If Gaddafi Is Not President, It Should Be Easier For Him To Leave
Sound Military Options
Nicaragua, Ortega On The Radar
Make Surgical Strikes, Take The Guy Out
Kick Ortega Out
The Fuck With Mugabe
The Chinese Communist Party Can Keep The Power If They Agree To Pluralism, Federalism
This Is Also About Women's Rights
The Saudi King Is No Exception, He Has To Go Too
Democracy: An Israeli Plot?
China: 2 PM, Sunday
Bomb Gaddafi's Tent
Khameini, Gaddafi, Caecescu
Et Tu, China?
When They Open Fire
Iran: Brute Force Does Have An Answer
Iran, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia
Arab Democracy: What The US Needs To Do: Stay Deeply Engaged
Arab Dictators Are Shaking
Egypt: A Revolution, Not A Reform Movement
How Many People Could Mubarak Kill?
Arab Dictators Will Fall Like A House Of Cards
Enhanced by Zemanta

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

No Fly Zone Or Surgical Strikes

Muammar al-Gaddafi's signature.Image via WikipediaA no fly zone would be big and complicated. Surgical strikes would be swift and momentary. The goal would be to decapitate the regime.

When law enforcement shoots down a criminal with a track record of violence, with a propensity to violence, in an act of criminal violence, is that a violent act? Or is that law enforcement?

When crimes against humanity are being committed, you don't just wait and watch. You take action. You take all kinds of action, you keep open the military options. And surgical strikes would be a game changer.

The Libyans who have taken the rest of the country will take over Tripoli as well. They will do it themselves. But a little help can go a long way. The threat of surgical strikes has to be maintained by NATO. The idea is to make Gaddafi think twice before he unleashes brutality upon peacefully protesting people. That would be all. The Libyan people will complete the revolution themselves.

If Gaddafi Is Not President, It Should Be Easier For Him To Leave
Sound Military Options
Nicaragua, Ortega On The Radar
Make Surgical Strikes, Take The Guy Out
Kick Ortega Out
The Fuck With Mugabe
The Chinese Communist Party Can Keep The Power If They Agree To Pluralism, Federalism
This Is Also About Women's Rights
The Saudi King Is No Exception, He Has To Go Too
Democracy: An Israeli Plot?
China: 2 PM, Sunday
Bomb Gaddafi's Tent
Khameini, Gaddafi, Caecescu
Et Tu, China?
When They Open Fire
Iran: Brute Force Does Have An Answer
Iran, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia
Arab Democracy: What The US Needs To Do: Stay Deeply Engaged
Arab Dictators Are Shaking
Egypt: A Revolution, Not A Reform Movement
How Many People Could Mubarak Kill?
Arab Dictators Will Fall Like A House Of Cards
Enhanced by Zemanta

If Gaddafi Is Not President, It Should Be Easier For Him To Leave

The leader de facto of Libya, Muammar al-Gaddafi.Image via WikipediaGaddafi has been responding to Barack's call for his resignation by saying he is not president, what office is he to resign from? Good, if you don't hold a political office, it should be easier for you to leave the country. Don't resign. Just leave.

You have committed crimes against humanity. If you are not president, chances are you are a warlord. Maybe you pretend to be some kind of a tribal leader. Whatever it is that you are, you need to get out of there. Leave the country.

The country wants to turn itself into a modern democracy. The country wants to get itself a proper constitution. The country wants to elect itself a proper president. You just leave. There are people waiting to greet you in The Hague.
Sound Military Options
Nicaragua, Ortega On The Radar
Make Surgical Strikes, Take The Guy Out
Kick Ortega Out
The Fuck With Mugabe
The Chinese Communist Party Can Keep The Power If They Agree To Pluralism, Federalism
This Is Also About Women's Rights
The Saudi King Is No Exception, He Has To Go Too
Democracy: An Israeli Plot?
China: 2 PM, Sunday
Bomb Gaddafi's Tent
Khameini, Gaddafi, Caecescu
Et Tu, China?
When They Open Fire
Iran: Brute Force Does Have An Answer
Iran, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia
Arab Democracy: What The US Needs To Do: Stay Deeply Engaged
Arab Dictators Are Shaking
Egypt: A Revolution, Not A Reform Movement
How Many People Could Mubarak Kill?
Arab Dictators Will Fall Like A House Of Cards
Enhanced by Zemanta

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Sound Military Options

The leader de facto of Libya, Muammar al-Gadda...Image via Wikipedia
Times Of India: US flexes muscle, sends warships to Libya: The United States began moving warships toward Libya and froze $30 billion in the country's assets as the administration declared all options on the table in its diplomatic, economic and military campaign to drive colonel Muammar Gaddafi from power. ...... conferring with allies about imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. Such a move would likely be carried out only under a mandate from the UN or Nato, but Hillary's blunt confirmation that it was under consideration was clearly intended to ratchet up the pressure on Gaddafi and his dwindling band of loyalists...... USS Kearsarge had left the Red Sea to transit through Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, close to Libya. USS Kearsarge has armed helicopters and harrier jets on board as well as around 700 Marines ..... USS Enterprise had also been kept on 'high standby alert' in the Red Sea ...... A no-fly zone would require removing "the air defense capability first" ..... Anti-regime leaders said they have formed a military council in Benghazi, which has become the hub of efforts to topple Gaddafi. The council, comprising officers who joined protesters, will liaise with similar groups in other freed cities but it was not clear if there were plans for a regional command.
For America to send ground troops into Libyan territory would be a huge mistake. For one, America can't afford it. Two, I doubt the UN would authorize such a move. Three, that would send a very bad signal. It is for people power to oust dictators, that is not the job of the US military.

I have never advocated that the US send ground troops into Libya.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Nicaragua, Ortega On The Radar

Daniel Ortega, a Nicaraguan politician.Image via WikipediaKick Ortega Out
Time: Mideast Unrest Spreads to Nicaragua — Virtually: Under the banner "We Will Not Remain Quiet: No More Reelection," some 16,000 Nicaraguan youth activists joined forces Friday to protest the reelection bid by President Daniel Ortega. ...... "Down with Mubarak, Gaddafi, and Ortega!" ...... Ortega, who admitted to receiving personal financing from the Libyan leader before returning to office in 2007, has publicly offered Nicaragua's "total solidarity" to his longtime ally Muammar Gaddafi ..... Last year, Ortega was awarded the Muammar al-Gaddafi International Award for Human Rights. ..... Facebook demonstration ..... a society where social networking websites are becoming increasingly widespread and influential. ...... the virtual march was one of total rejection and repudiation of the candidacy of Daniel Ortega, which is illegal and illegitimate. ....... the only place young people feel they can demonstrate safely against Ortega is in cyberspace..... "Every time a protest march is organized, the Sandinistas call for a countermarch that ends in violence." ...... Baez started the initiative with invitations to 500 of his Facebook friends. It quickly went viral, growing to more than 100,000 invites ....... Nicaragua now has 3G technology in corners of the country that don't even have roads, electricity or running water
TRIPOLI. With leader of the Libyan Revolution ...Image via Wikipedia
Enhanced by Zemanta

Friday, February 25, 2011

Make Surgical Strikes, Take The Guy Out

F-16s from various Turkish Air Force squadrons...Image via WikipediaEconomic sanctions would be stupid. This butcher has declared war on his own people. Don't declare war on Libya, economic, military or otherwise. Make a few surgical strikes and take the guy out. Decapitate the regime and the game is over. You know where he is.

That would fit the definition of nonviolence. Violence is to stand by and watch as this guy sends warships and gunships to shoot at crowds like they were shooting at dogs. The guy crossed the line about a week ago.

Take the guy out. This game will be over within an hour of this guy's departure.

He has already killed 1,000 people. He will kill a few thousand more. There is no point at which he will say enough. Because vacating the throne or leaving the country are not options for him. He has already made up his mind to commit suicide.

End the game. Enough. It is getting uglier by the day.

A regime has the option to not accept the demand of peaceful protesters. But it does not have the option to unleash animal brutality upon peaceful protesters. A regime that viciously attacks peaceful demonstrators has no claim to sovereignty upon the land it might be laying a claim on.

Gaddafi is illegitimate. He does not rule any country. He is a mad dog. Take him out. If you don't take him out, you are being violent upon the peaceful people of Libya. The first 1,000 deaths might be on Gaddafi's hand, but the second thousand deaths will be on your hand. Don't wait no more. Take him out. You know where he is. Make the surgical strikes.

This guy will not stop on his own. Just like a mad dog has to be put to sleep, this guy has to be put to sleep. That fits the definition of non-violence.

Kick Ortega Out
The Fuck With Mugabe
The Chinese Communist Party Can Keep The Power If They Agree To Pluralism, Federalism
This Is Also About Women's Rights
The Saudi King Is No Exception, He Has To Go Too
Democracy: An Israeli Plot?
China: 2 PM, Sunday
Bomb Gaddafi's Tent
Khameini, Gaddafi, Caecescu
Et Tu, China?
When They Open Fire
Iran: Brute Force Does Have An Answer
Iran, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia
Arab Democracy: What The US Needs To Do: Stay Deeply Engaged
Arab Dictators Are Shaking
Egypt: A Revolution, Not A Reform Movement
How Many People Could Mubarak Kill?
Arab Dictators Will Fall Like A House Of Cards
Enhanced by Zemanta

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Kick Ortega Out

TRIPOLI. With leader of the Libyan Revolution ...Image via WikipediaThis revolution for democracy that started in the Arab world has to push out every single dictator in the region, but the fire also has to go to China, to black Africa, to Russia, and now looks like to Latin America as well.

The rats are coming out of their holes. Let them come out. One after another.

2011 is the year for democracy. 2011 has the option to become the biggest year for democracy the world ever saw. We have to make it happen. 2011 could end up being that year, which when it ended, there was not a single autocrat left anywhere. That can happen. But that will not happen on its own. We have to make it happen. And by we I mean people everywhere have to pitch in.

Kick Ortega out too. If he is with Gaddafi, he is not with us. We don't need him. Get out into the streets. Kick this guy out. We have no need for him.

Washington Post: Nicaragua prez call Gaddafi to expresses support Nicaragua's leftist President Daniel Ortega says he has telephoned Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi to express his solidarity. .... Ortega says he has called several times this week because Gadhafi "is again waging a great battle" to defend the unity of his nation. ..... Human rights groups say more than 200 people have died as Libyan security forces crack down on protesters

The Straits Times: Gaddafi Latin American allies show solidarity, caution Gaddafi has responded over the years by awarding the Muammar Gaddafi International Human Rights Prize to Castro, Ortega, Chavez and Evo Morales of Bolivia.

The Fuck With Mugabe
The Chinese Communist Party Can Keep The Power If They Agree To Pluralism, Federalism
This Is Also About Women's Rights
The Saudi King Is No Exception, He Has To Go Too
Democracy: An Israeli Plot?
China: 2 PM, Sunday
Bomb Gaddafi's Tent
Khameini, Gaddafi, Caecescu
Et Tu, China?
When They Open Fire
Iran: Brute Force Does Have An Answer
Iran, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia
Arab Democracy: What The US Needs To Do: Stay Deeply Engaged
Arab Dictators Are Shaking
Egypt: A Revolution, Not A Reform Movement
How Many People Could Mubarak Kill?
Arab Dictators Will Fall Like A House Of Cards
Enhanced by Zemanta

The Fuck With Mugabe

Dozens of students, trade unionists and political activists who gathered to watch Al Jazeera and BBC news reports on the uprisings that brought down autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt have been arrested on suspicion of plotting to oust President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe.
Original caption: President of Zimbabwe Robert...Image via WikipediaKick Mugabe out. Let black Africa wake up too. Why do only Arabs get to have the good stuff?

This dude Mugabe is an absolute nightmare. On the planet he is absolutely the number one example of how a dictatorial virus mutates.

If you want elections, he will give you elections. If you want political parties, he will give you political parties. If you want an opposition leader, he will give you even that. He might even invite that opposition leader to come join his government. But beneath all that is a sheer reign of terror. There is dictatorship. There is autocracy.

This guy likes to talk about race. I know race. I have been offended by racism for as long as I can remember. This guy is no racial messiah. He is a brute dictator. He is an animal. He does not have a second thought about unleashing violence upon his own people.

This guy epitomizes corruption, and brutality. This guy is the prime example of the message that black skin surely is not enough. You also need humanity. You need rule of law. You need basic democracy. You need freedom
Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, attends ...Image via Wikipediafrom fear. You need respect for human rights. You need free and fair elections.

You need Mugabe out. I know of an island in the Pacific where he should be sent to spend the rest of his days.

This revolution for democracy has to go beyond the Arab world. It has to go to black Africa. It has to go to China.
The Chinese Communist Party Can Keep The Power If They Agree To Pluralism, Federalism
This Is Also About Women's Rights
The Saudi King Is No Exception, He Has To Go Too
Democracy: An Israeli Plot?
China: 2 PM, Sunday
Bomb Gaddafi's Tent
Khameini, Gaddafi, Caecescu
Et Tu, China?
When They Open Fire
Iran: Brute Force Does Have An Answer
Iran, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia
Arab Democracy: What The US Needs To Do: Stay Deeply Engaged
Arab Dictators Are Shaking
Egypt: A Revolution, Not A Reform Movement
How Many People Could Mubarak Kill?
Arab Dictators Will Fall Like A House Of Cards
Enhanced by Zemanta

Sunday, February 20, 2011

The Chinese Communist Party Can Keep The Power If They Agree To Pluralism, Federalism

Logo of the Communist Party of Thailand. The C...Image via WikipediaThe impending revolution in China can have a different outcome than that in most places. The revolution in China could conclude with the Chinese Communist Party continuing to be in power.

By summer, if not earlier, China will be rattling too. And this is not going to be something confined to one square in Beijing. The unrest will sweep the country at large, in big cities and small towns alike.

Arab Dictators Will Fall Like A House Of Cards

The Chinese Communist Party is going to have to exercise maximum restraint. If the CCP chooses to do what the generals in Burma did, if the CCP goes down the Gaddafi road, then the Chinese Communist Party itself is going to be thrown into the dustbins of history.

But it does not have to be that way. The Chinese Communist Party has undertaken major economic reforms over decades to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty. Now it is time for fundamental political reform.

The reform will have to come in the form of amendments to the Chinese constitution that will guarantee human rights, and yes that includes free speech, and yes that includes religious freedom, and amendments that will make it legal to organize political parties in China, and amendments that will allow for a federal China so the people in Tibet can finally breathe after half a century of utter disrespect.

The Saudi King Is No Exception, He Has To Go Too

The Chinese Communist Party should not so much as think in terms of a bloodbath. That path leads to irrelevance for the CCP, and much unnecessary chaos for China.
MaoImage by Matthew Stewart | Photographer via Flickr
I believe the Chinese Communist Party has the option to take a non military response to the impending revolution and guide it in a way that does not disturb China's stellar economic performance.

But I'd be the first to say China does not need a democracy like they have in America. In America they don't have campaign finance reform which makes for a rather silly democracy. The Chinese should architect a multi-party democracy that starts with total campaign finance reform.

China: 2 PM, Sunday
Et Tu, China?
Enhanced by Zemanta

This Is Also About Women's Rights

Muammar al-Gaddafi's signature.Image via WikipediaThis tumult in the Arab world has to be taken to its logical conclusion of grand success. Everyone in a position to help has to help. Because this is also about women's rights across the Arab world. Only after a country has become a democracy, and the democratic processes come into play can there be sound hope for concrete advances on women's rights.

Gender equality will not come about right away, but steps towards that gender equality are so much harder if not impossible to take when a country is not a democracy. There are no outlets.

The irrelevant old men who run all these countries need to be all pushed out, and in haste. This is not the time to be polite and civil to people who have reigned mercilessly over their peoples for so long.

The Saudi King Is No Exception, He Has To Go Too
Democracy: An Israeli Plot?
China: 2 PM, Sunday
Bomb Gaddafi's Tent
Khameini, Gaddafi, Caecescu
Et Tu, China?
When They Open Fire
Iran: Brute Force Does Have An Answer
Iran, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia
Arab Democracy: What The US Needs To Do: Stay Deeply Engaged
Arab Dictators Are Shaking
Egypt: A Revolution, Not A Reform Movement
How Many People Could Mubarak Kill?
Arab Dictators Will Fall Like A House Of Cards
Enhanced by Zemanta

The Saudi King Is No Exception, He Has To Go Too

King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz. (2002 photo)Image via WikipediaGaddafi is about to fall. Then it is going to be the turn of the king of Saudi Arabi. The monarchy in Saudi Arabia has to come to a total end. Monarchies everywhere need to be ended. This is the time to do it.

This is not the time for reform, this is revolution time. Revolution means big, fundamental change. 

What is going on in the Arab world has never before happened in the Arab world. The scope of it all is breathtaking. Nothing like this has happened in Arab history in two thousand years. This is a millennial shift. This is tectonic. 

Let no one be mistaken. This tide will only subside after every single autocracy in the region has been toppled. The Arab street has spoken. That is the clear verdict. 
Democracy: An Israeli Plot?
China: 2 PM, Sunday
Bomb Gaddafi's Tent
Khameini, Gaddafi, Caecescu
Et Tu, China?
When They Open Fire
Iran: Brute Force Does Have An Answer
Iran, Bahrain and Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia
Arab Democracy: What The US Needs To Do: Stay Deeply Engaged
Arab Dictators Are Shaking
Egypt: A Revolution, Not A Reform Movement
How Many People Could Mubarak Kill?
Arab Dictators Will Fall Like A House Of Cards
Enhanced by Zemanta