 |  | | The Post-Qadhafi Libya |
 WITH the death of Moamer
Qadhafi the Arab spring has
claimed a third victory. The
Libyan people have the
chance to build a just and
democratic system of governance after
42 years of autonomous rule by the
colonel, his family, his cronies and his
tribe. No wonder there are such scenes
of jubilation throughout the country.
Qadhafi´s removal will be a source of
great relief to the new government of
Libya, whatever its ultimate composition.
Qadhafi had billions of dollars at
his disposal, in cash and gold, with
which he was threatening to fund an
insurgency and derail the revolution.
Nevertheless, the new regime would
probably rather have captured Qadhafi
alive to make a show of his trial, as the
Iraqi interim government did with
Saddam Hussein in 2004. Such a trial. |
|
| |  | | PARTY OF
POLLUTION |  LAST month President
Obama finally unveiled a
serious economic stimulus
plan - far short of what I´d
like to see, but a step in the
right direction. Republicans, predictably,
have blocked it. But the
new plan, combined with the
Occupy Wall Street demonstrations,
seems to have shifted the
national conversation. We are, suddenly,
focused on what we should
have been talking about all along:
jobs.
So what is the GOP jobs plan?
The answer, in large part, is to
allow more pollution. So what you
need to know is that weakening
environmental regulations would
do little to create jobs and would
make us both poorer and sicker.
Now it would be wrong to say
that all Republicans see increased
pollution as the answer to... |
|
| | |
|
|
|
|
UK referendum on EU to create chaos: Hague
REUTERS LONDON A REFERENDUM on Britain’s membership of the European Union would add to economic uncertainty, Foreign Secretary William Hague said in an opinion piece.
“The sudden holding of a referendum on leaving the EU would add to economic uncertainty at a time when businesses need all the certainty and confidence they can get,” he wrote in an early edition of Saturday’s Daily Telegraph.
The European issue, which blighted previous Conservative governments, could expose party rifts again on Monday when a parliamentary debate will decide whether the coalition government should hold a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union.
Eurosceptics within Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party are threatening open rebellion after becoming disappointed by his failure to get tough on Europe.
While there is no immediate danger of Britain pulling out of the EU, the non-binding debate is a sign of the right-wing using the euro zone’s financial crisis to demand Britain rethinks its dealings with the 27-nation EU trading bloc.
EU leaders are to meet on Sunday to see if they can agree a comprehensive plan to resolve the two-year-old debt crisis, with another summit scheduled for Wednesday.
Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, the junior party in the coalition government, has also rejected a referendum.
“As a Conservative, I want to bring powers back from Europe, as we set out in our election manifesto,” Hague wrote. “But a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, especially at this time of profound economic uncertainty, is not the answer.
“Nothing would do more to help our economic recovery than a resolution of the euro zone’s difficulties, while its disorderly break-up would have a very serious impact on our economy.”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
