Libya Update

I've been focus very heavily on Wisconsin lately when there's actually a more pressing round of protests out there.

Libya is the country in the Middle East where the protests have really taken off, though unfortunately it is also the country where the most protesters are dying. President Omar Qaddafi has actually ordered his troops to fire live ammunition at the protesters, resulting in a body count of over 100. He then ordered those same troops to kill certain disloyal factions within the army who would not fire on unarmed civilians. The troops burned their barracks down.

Meanwhile, the protests only escalated. Some cities have actually been captured by the pro-democracy protesters, resulting in a situation similar to a civil war. Qaddafi, meanwhile, was going on a tangent about how the Protesters were all on hallucinogenic drugs, garnered from a foreign source. The president's rant was nearly incoherent at times, but he made perfectly clear the fact that he would not voluntarily leave the country any time soon.

Unfortunately, with the UN's recent resolution to not intervene in the conflict, the protesters are alone in their fight to force out the raving lunatic. I wish them huge amount of luck in their quest for democracy.

• Meanwhile, overseas gas prices have been soaring thanks to the middle east unrest.
• In China, a Planned "Jasmine Revolution" was put down by security forces who arrested several of the organizers of the protests, leaving the attendees to mull about at the protest site.
• Protests in Bahrain and Algeria continue, though they are receiving substantially less coverage thanks to the happenings in Libya.
• Wisconsin protests continue unchanged. Governor Walker still refuses to negotiate with unionists.