For the second time this month, as far as I am aware, there has been a massive rally in Libya to demonstrate support for Muammar Gaddafi, this time in Sirte, yet we only hear about Libyan rebels in the western media. Why should that be? Radio Four's World at One simply mentioned Gaddafi's speech but glanced past the magnitude of the rally but to have reported the speech, they must have been aware.
On 1st July, there was a rally in Tripoli at which it was estimated as many as a million people turned up, vocally demonstrating support along with a Libyan flag which was 4.5km in length.
At first, I was a little skeptical but then discovered that historian Webster Tarpley had been present at the rally and had been interviewed at the time on various non-mainstream media.
So, we are waging war with on country which is supposedly violently oppressing its people, about one million of whom turn out to demonstrate their support for the government.
One million of a population of 6.5 million, land area 1,759,541 sq km with no motorway system or railway, whilst under attack.
On February 15th 2003, one million people turned out in London to oppose the war in Iraq.
One million from a population of 60 million, land area 243,610 sq km with 3,497 km motorways and 16,116 km rail track.
A country seven times the geographical size, just over a tenth of the population with hardly any transport infrastructure has the same number of people turning up to support the government as the UK managed to mobilise to oppose the war in Iraq. A million people who are supposedly violently oppressed?
As our allies irritatingly say, 'do the math'.
It has also been widely reported that Gaddafi has armed his entire adult population. If western media reports are to be believed, wouldn't that seem a little strange? To arm people you are violently oppressing?
I'm no expert on Gaddafi but he seems very popular with the majority of Libyans and, from what I have read and seen, with understandable reason - in a nutshell, oil profits are distributed to the population not guzzled by oligarchs or commodity speculators.
There is also speculation that Gaddafi wants to stop trading Libyan oil in Dollars and start exchanging it for gold.
Given that gold cannot be run off the presses whenever it is expedient to do so and that much of the UK's (and probably US's) gold reserves were flogged off some time ago - it can be seen why Libya is a threat to the western business model and therefore a legitimate target.
When the mendacious demonising of Gaddafi has been clipped from the image of him which is projected for us my the media and government, there is little remaining evidence of the of the monster.
Libya is bottom of the table of nations by %GDP owed (0%), i.e. they owe nothing to the IMF/World Bank and therefore cannot be controlled by the international loan sharks who call the shots on countries like Jamaica et al.
If my government were giving me a house, assuring me of employment, financially supporting my education, giving me a huge wad of money when I got married etc. etc. I think I would be out on the street supporting it when threatened by marauding corporate invaders wishing to steal the source of the nations wealth.
But if, conversely, my government, who were squandering money to support corrupt bankers, squeezing the poor and cutting back services whilst paying off interest on loans to pay for wars nobody supported, wanted to start another war...
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