Updates, and Libya

****Update for my Update****

Turns out, the censored segment that I linked below is a fake. A minor point. It also turns out that the Execs at Comedy Central censored the episode not out of tolerance, but out of fear. Pathetic.

Nick


Here is a clip of the relevant parts of the censored South Park episode. Kyle ends up giving a long speech about why the network president should not censor the cartoon. Watch it, its not long. And then here is the tiny segment that was censored.

Meanwhile, Aljazeera reports that Libya is being kept on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Really. Libya's government still may be questionable, but it is dramatically improving and is more than deserving of a few carrots. Following 9/11, Qaddafi "made one of the first, and firmest, denunciations of the Al-Qaida bombers by any Muslim leader" (Wikipedia). He has pledged to fight Al Qaeda. Most significantly, Qaddafi came clean with the West regarding Libya's WMD program. He agreed to stop the program, and to allow his existing weapons to be dismantled.

George Bush never realized that it isn't enough to defeat our enemies. We also need to build and strengthen friendships. After decades of isolation and sanctions, you could consider Libya beaten (incidentally, a good model for how we should be dealing with Iran?). Now that Qaddafi is making overtures to the West, though, we should be reciprocating them with earnest. We should be removing Libya from the list of state sponsors of terror, and forming stronger diplomatic ties. Further, we should be pouring aid money into Libya. We should work to visibly improve the quality of life for Libya's citizens; the people should learn that peaceful coexistence with the West is in their best interests too.

As of now, we're doing nothing. I really hope Qaddafi or the people of Libya don't conclude that being friendly with America has no benefits. We have a golden opportunity to win the 'hearts and minds' of an entire nation, and Bush is throwing it away.