Just checked on the Internet and Lybia is a type of crab.  Evidently some conspiracy here to deprive the world of North African fish oil.

More seriously, it's great to see Western leaders showing real principle and backing the rebels, not Gaddafi.  Whereas an unprincipled response would be to back the guy who's provided us with oil, to date - I wonder how far these new principles would go if, for example, there was a similar civil war goiing on in Saudi Arabia.  Gaddafi is doing some clever propaganda by linking the rebels to A Q, perhaps to scare the West into not abandoning him, at the same time he is propagandising his own people by spreading fears of a western invasion, as happened in Iraq.  Al Jezira, and Russia Today have very different angles on the Libya events from the UK media, or Sky. 

I'm eagerly awaiting to see the consistency,or otherwise, of these Western pro-democracy principles if the current unrest takes on the scale of a civil war, with shifting frontiers and an uncertain future victor, in the followig countries - Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Iraq, Israel.  Or maybe I should be hoping NOT to see the results of this test.  As the old Chinese curse goes, "may you live in interesting times".

Hillary Shaw
Newport


-----Original Message-----
From: Trevor Evans <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:59
Subject: Re: Online Volunteering for Lybia Crisis Mapping

In response to Dr Shaw's comment over the weekend, I feel the need to express 


the view that there was no need for such a facetious remark - it was quite clear 


what was meant. It is frequent comments such as these which doubtlessly put 


people off the CGF. Compared to the various 'sins' made by Dr Shaw - asking how 


computer programmes work, 'the world's hardest quiz', 'marketing sofas' and 


'Torgay', to name but a few examples - this was a relatively minor one. I speak 


with little authority, being a simple retired South Walian bus driver with a 


keen interest in the Italian immigrant experience, but this kind of roguish 


behaviour does little to aid the plight of the brave citizens of Libya.





Trev Evans


Department of Transport Studies


University of Pontypandy