MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
Order today at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop
MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Order today at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
From The Guardian:
"Britain and France are facing a rising torrent of international criticism over military intervention in Libya, with Russia and China leading calls for an immediate ceasefire. Just as a majority of Britons distrusts their government's motives, according to a new YouGov poll, many, if not most, countries around the world also view the action as risky, self-interested, and duplicitous.
The fragile consensus on intervention achieved last week, when the UN security council approved "all measures necessary" to protect Libyan civilians against Muammar Gaddafi's forces, has shattered in the wake of large-scale US, British and French ground and air attacks.
The attacks were widely seen internationally as disproportionate, careless of civilian lives, and extending beyond the agreed plan to impose a defensive no-fly zone....
Chinese criticism, largely expressed through state-controlled media, has been particularly virulent, possibly reflecting second thoughts in Beijing about its unexpected decision to abstain in last week's vote, rather then use its veto.
"The air attacks are an announcement that the west still wants to dominate the world. [It] still believes down to its very bones that it's the leader of the world," said the online Global Times....
.... Jacob Zuma, South Africa's president, voted in favour of UN resolution 1973 after he was personally lobbied by Barack Obama. But he has quickly changed his tune.
Speaking this week, Zuma called for an immediate ceasefire, expressing concern about civilian casualties. South Africa, he said, "rejected any foreign intervention, whatever its form". The air strikes, he suggested, were more to do with regime change than humanitarian assistance....
... Nigeria and India, have joined the campaign demanding Britain and France back off. "The measures adopted should mitigate and not exacerbate an already difficult situation," the Indian external affairs ministry said.
Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, added hypocrisy to the Anglo-French charge sheet. "In Libya they are very eager to impose a no-fly zone. In Bahrain and other areas where there are pro-western regimes, they turn a blind eye to the very same or even worse conditions...."
Britain and France may try to shrug off this tidal wave of global criticism, in the way western powers historically always have. But some very influential countries, with an increasing capacity to make life uncomfortable, are now ranged against them. Ignoring them will be harder to do the longer the war continues, and the more people are killed.
Comments
Yeah, one of the links I gave kgb said that the AU felt like it was just used for cover, and after the vote no one even mentioned them again. And Saleh may fall, but Bahrain may prove the powder keg, I'm thinking. Especially given the fact that its seen as crucial to the economic elite, and that those Shiites are just trouble, even after the King offered them some carrots!
by we are stardust on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 1:38pm
HOUSE BY HOUSE, ALLEY BY ALLEY, WE AVENGE YOU MUAMMAR!
Oh, forgive me for accidentally supporting the guy who started all this trouble.
From allfafrica.com:
Musevini has ruled in central Africa for over 20 years and the list of graft, corruption, armed alliances, conflicts, revolts, insurrections and casualties over the last 30 years are huge, see Wikipedia.
Jacob Zuma has had corruption and fraud charges brought against him, later dropped, and has never publicly condemned the policies of perhaps the longest lasting cruel dictator in southern Africa, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. Mugabe, who has arrested/shot or imprisoned his opponents, and who has made political graft an art form, took his nation from being a grain exporting nation to a bankrupt wasteland, which its starving residents flee, often across barbed wire fences meant to keep them out of Zuma's South Africa.
These are hardly guys who care about those who are oppressed by fanatical dictators, for all we know they are both on Qadaffi's list of big shots he pays off with 'his' oil money which they may fear will be lost if he loses control of Libya.
by NCD on Thu, 03/24/2011 - 4:03pm