The Truth Behind Gaddafi

Col. Muammar Gadaffi

By Stephen Goodson
RENSE | 4-1-11

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).

Seif al-Islam

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.


http://www.zenzoneforum.com/threads/18594-The-TRUTH-About-Gaddafi-s-Libya

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Hero Worship and Religiosity

By: Alexander K. Robinson

There has been much written and said about why those who are living in substandard conditions usually concentrated in the core of urban centers, about the causes and consequences of their conditions. Whether the cause is contributed to intergenerational poverty or lack of sense of community due to the lack of family structure and values, the effects are always crime, desperation, and desolation. 

Economists point to the lack of human capital as one of the reasons why these populations are unable to remove themselves from this state. I propose the idea that it is not a lack of human capital but a concern for issues that delivers an intangible gratifying experience as opposed to ideas and methods that will lead to preferable outcomes.

Education is always expected to be the savior of Black Americans, who in American have become a disenfranchised, marginal group. What is never specified is type, form, and purpose of said education. Should the goal be to prepare them for employment in the pre-dominant economy of our time, with the focus being high skilled service employment? 

While these questions need some serious thought in order to reach serious answers, inherent to any call for education is the presumption the those within the Black community lack education and the skills necessary to “pull itself up by its bootstraps”. This is untrue. There is a strong collection of knowledge in the Black community, but it has been concentrated to perverse hero worship and extreme religiosity.

The hero worship in the Black Community is idolatry. Rappers, celebrities, and athletes are the overwhelming percentage of role models for these misguided youth. Adulation of this sort is understandable because it is only these professions where individuals who share common characteristics of their followers and often share similar backgrounds are allowed highly visible levels of success.

Kobe Doin' Work

Additionally, these individuals appear to have skill sets that are easily attainable. Getting payed to play basketball is extremely attractive to those who play basketball everyday for free. Females follow reality TV stars such as those on Basketball Wives and imagine a reality where they would only have to shop and be responsible for the interior decorating of their husbands mansions. Those who aspire to be the next Heavy D, can rifle off countless verses of memorized prose.

Unwavering commitment to religion is a fact of life in many Black communities. A more serious concern is the fact that this religion was used as a justification for slavery, and in some places is taught in a similar fashion as it was over 100 years ago. Religion offers spiritual guidance and provides a moral foundation for its many followers. 

Mega Church Pastor T.D. Jakes

What religion also provides is the situation where one accepts the conditions around them and the statements of their leaders with unwavering support. This behavior of acceptance without question is transposed to other aspects of life, exampled in politics, where one party has routinely garnered support by Black Americans without any real policy to reverse the conditions of permanent poverty for a prominent portion of the population.

When the focus of Black America is redirected, from extreme hero worship and religiosity, goals that have more of a tangible, economic benefit, will be the day the this community begins to climb from their position on the social ladder as America’s permanent working class.

Thanks to Dr. James Chaffers for inspiring this post.

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Cosby Show Blackface: Students on Probation

By: Jenée Desmond-Harris

Six members of a University of Southern Mississippi sorority are on probation after dressing in blackface to depict the Cosby Show cast at a 1980s-themed costume party last week, the Huffington Post reports (No word on whether they used varying shades of paint or makeup to accurately depict the multi-hued family).

 Joe Paul, the school's vice president of student affairs, says the executive officers of the sorority, Phi Mu, and the women involved met on Sunday with a group of African-American student leaders.

 Phi Mu National President Kris Bridges says the matter is being investigated and that more disciplinary action could follow. She says the local chapter will also sponsor a campus-wide program on diversity appreciation.

 Clearly, the university and sorority are taking the upset over this incident seriously, but they might be missing the point.

 If imitation is the highest form of flattery, it seems as though diversity is one thing the girls who chose these costumes as their best tribute to the 1980s do appreciate. And while we wish more college students would simply let the mantra "When in doubt, skip the blackface" guide their dress-up choices, let's be honest -- the act of emulating a much-loved middle class black family has little in common with the troubling history of blackface itself, or with costumes that have used it to poke fun at ugly and painful stereotypes.

 The Phi Mu members could certainly use a lesson about the sensitive racial territory on which their costumes treaded. But black student leaders and others involved in the response should keep in mind that the typical reaction to this type of incident (accusations and punishment, resulting in a played-out public debate about freedom of speech and who's overreacting) misses a chance for students of all races to grapple with the difficult substance of an issue whose complexity extends far beyond the confines of a college theme party.

 Read more at the Huffington Post.

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