# Libya too?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 16, 2011, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595 "2011-02-16T16:37:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/161 "2011-02-22T02:43:22Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > What do you base this on though? Probably because they know we’ll take it. Remember ol’ goatse? No dick too big, no assfuck too brutal? That’s the American motorist at the pump. Bring it aaawwwnnn!!! ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/162 "2011-02-22T03:22:58Z")
Anderson Cooper just played an audio tape from a girl in Libya. the sounds of gunfire on the tape were horrible. It sounded like machine guns because there were so many going on at nearly the same time. So many deaths. It is all about money. Gadaffi wants to keep it all. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/163 "2011-02-22T03:52:32Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > The BBC shows ABC World news late at night for half an hour. Is this typical? BBC has news sharing agreements from different outlets all over the world. From what I’ve noticed, it looks like the exact makeup of programming varies in different parts of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/164 "2011-02-22T05:24:55Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > That is grounds for crimes against humanity trials that should follow. > > I think this time all nations should support an intervention by the UN, and/or the Arab league, and considering that there is the need for the [del]spice[/del] oil to continue to flow, this would have a good chance of happening. Libya’s status as a recently-elected member of the UN Human Rights Council might provide it some insulation. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/165 "2011-02-22T05:36:41Z")
One commentator on CNN was noting that the Libyan military is by no means fit or prepared to take power like the Egyptian military did . . . so, there **is** nobody to take power, when Gaddafi falls; power-vacuum situation. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/166 "2011-02-22T05:57:20Z")
The Libyan ambassador to Australia has renounced any ties to Gadaffi. Even got his portrait out and stomped on in the streets. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/167 "2011-02-22T06:02:24Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > The Libyan ambassador to Australia has renounced any ties to Gadaffi. Even got his portrait out and stomped on in the streets. I must say, Gaddafi is a fellow who has a positive genius for inspiring admiration and loyalty in his subordinates. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/168 "2011-02-22T06:20:01Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I must say, Gaddafi is a fellow who has a positive genius for inspiring admiration and loyalty in his subordinates. He’s getting soft. In his prime, he would have Force-strangled them! ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/169 "2011-02-22T07:15:57Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Libya’s status as a recently-elected member of the UN Human Rights Council might provide it some insulation. It would also probably require the UN HRC to be the kind of body which would not include Libya in the first place. Don’t worry though, they night snap to their senses and draft a harsh resolution, with teeth, criticizing Zionism. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/170 "2011-02-22T08:35:27Z")
> [@Agnostic\_Pagan](#): > > Side note: where is our nearest carrier? I gotta bookmark this thread for the perenial threads on why we still need aircraft carriers. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/171 "2011-02-22T09:02:40Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Anderson Cooper just played an audio tape from a girl in Libya. the sounds of gunfire on the tape were horrible. It sounded like machine guns because there were so many going on at nearly the same time. So many deaths. It is all about money. Gadaffi wants to keep it all. Money? Money is for dilletants and amateurs. Qaddafi wants _power_, which is much move valuable. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/172 "2011-02-22T09:28:25Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Money? Money is for dilletants and amateurs. Qaddafi wants _power_, which is much move valuable. I believe you’re right. Also, if the insurgents succeed, I suspect he won’t flee the country, contrarily to what his friends on the east and west did, and will die there. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/173 "2011-02-22T09:35:27Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > Anderson Cooper just played an audio tape from a girl in Libya. the sounds of gunfire on the tape were horrible. It sounded like machine guns because there were so many going on at nearly the same time. So many deaths. It is all about money. Gadaffi wants to keep it all. Might be he is playing for all the marbles, like Saddam Hussein ( pre invasion), he simply might have done the math and figured he would be dead in six months if he skipped the country rather than go down with the ship. Declan ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/174 "2011-02-22T09:38:37Z")
Or maybe he believes his own mythology - that he and the country are one, and if Muammar Qaddafi does not rule Libya, Muammar Qaddafi does not exist. ---
**Author:** ![Agnostic\_Pagan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@Agnostic\_Pagan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agnostic_Pagan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/175 "2011-02-22T11:04:37Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Or maybe he believes his own mythology - that he and the country are one, and if Muammar Qaddafi does not rule Libya, Muammar Qaddafi does not exist. That would be the greatest MythBusters episode ever. Jamie: “Are Muammar Qaddafi and Libya one? Today we are going to find out if Qaddafi and Libya are actually the same.” Adam: "Well, how are we going to test that? To see if they are one and the same, don’t we need to remove Libya and see if Qaddafi still exists? Jamie: “No, that is the beauty of it. Based on the symmetry principle, if Qaddafi can’t exist without Libya, then Libya can’t exist without Qaddafi. So instead of removing Libya, we are going to remove Qaddafi.” Adam: “How do you propose to do that?” Jamie: “We are going to have Grant build a robot replica of Qaddafi and substitute him for the real one. Then we will dispose of the real Qaddafi. After that, then Grant will detonate the explosives inside the replicant killing Qaddafi’s bodyguards and immediate family.” Adam: “Sounds kind of harsh, don’t you think? And how do you intend to dispose of Qaddafi?” Jamie: “First, it’s all in the name of science. Second, we never did get a good result on the freezing a human head in liquid nitrogen and see if it shatters.” … Jamie: “Well, Kari and Tory have returned with from kidnapping Qaddafi and replacing him with the replicant. Grant, are you ready with that detonator?” Grant: “Fire in the hole!” Everyone watching a satellite feed showing Qaddafi’s palace. A large explosion creates a pile of rubble and a dust cloud that can be seen from Italy. Jamie: “Okay, now we wait and see if Libya is there tomorrow.” Adam: “One day seems like not enough time. How about after a month?” Jamie: “Sounds goods. Let’s check back in after one month - based on the Gregorian calendar, not the Islamic calendar.” Graphic showing the difference between the two. … Jamie: “Well, there was a threat of civil war, but after the UN peacekeepers landed, order was soon restored, and Libya is preparing for new parliamentary elections.” Adam: “So Qaddafi and Libya are one? Busted?” Jamie: “Busted!” Adam: “So what were the results of the liquid nitrogen experiment?” Jamie: “That is the subject of our next episode. Be sure to watch and find out!” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/176 "2011-02-22T14:22:31Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Libya’s status as a recently-elected member of the UN Human Rights Council might provide it some insulation. We’ll find out soon enough – [the UN **Security** Council is meeting this morning to consider the Libya situation.](http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/22/libya-crisis-un-security-council) ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/177 "2011-02-22T15:13:55Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Money? Money is for dilletants and amateurs. Qaddafi wants _power_, which is much move valuable. money=power There is really little difference. Ask the Koch brothers for a lesson. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/178 "2011-02-22T15:16:58Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Money? Money is for dilletants and amateurs. Qaddafi wants _power_, which is much move valuable. “. . . But, we both know money can’t buy happiness. Only power can do that. _Who_ do we own?” – The Rev. Armageddon T. Thunderbird (Andy Kaufman), talking to G.O.D. in [_In God We Tru$t._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_We_Tru$t) ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/179 "2011-02-22T15:22:14Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > money=power There is really little difference. Ask the Koch brothers for a lesson. Money can bring power, and power can bring money, but the two are not synonymous. There are richer people than the Koch brothers with less power - because the Koch brothers actively seek power. And even they can’t bring tens of thousands of supporters to the streets, nor can they order an air strike. In certain ways, your average African tinpot dictator has more \*immediate \*power than they do. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595/180 "2011-02-22T15:30:14Z")
Agnostic Pagan you forgot the Warning Science Content message! You have to prep your audience before unleashing graphs about the difference between calendar types… (Plus, I’d suggest that they use Kaddafi to test out the scene from Demolition Man where the bad guy gets complete frozen alive and then shatters with a single boot to the head. I think Grant could make a boot kicking robot pretty easily, and it would be fun to see what happens to Kaddafi if someone dumped a lot of liquid nitrogen on him slowly until he froze solid!) -XT [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/libya-too/571595.md?page=10)