Tuesday's Daily Brief

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Libya Descends Into Chaos Key Libyan diplomats disowned Moammar Gadhafi's regime on Monday and the country's deputy U.N. ambassador called on the longtime ruler to step down because of its bloody crackdown on protesters. The Libyan ambassador to the United States also said he could no longer support Gadhafi, the ambassador to India planned to resign, and the ambassador to Bangladesh quit to protest the killing of family members by government troops. Almost all Libyan diplomats at the United Nations backed deputy ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi's pleas to Gadhafi to end his 40-year rule and to the international community to intervene. BUSINESS Wisconsin Protests Draw Thousands Of Workers Fighting For Key Union Rights POLITICS Wisconsin Supports Protesters, Opposes Walker: Poll WORLD Strong Earthquake Rocks New Zealand's South Island CHICAGO Chicago Election Live Blog: The Word Of The Day Is 'Runoff' TECHNOLOGY Facebook 'Breakup Notifier' Tells You When Your Crush Is Single BLOG POSTS Amb. Marc Ginsberg: What Comes Next in Libya -- With or Without Gadhafi Unlike in Tunisia or Egypt, Muammar Gadhafi in Libya will use as much brute force as he can import to quell the uprising. This is truly a civil war, with the force of the empire aligned against the good people of Libya, a country afloat in incredible oil wealth, yet impoverished and as backward as any can imagine. Under Gadhafi Libya is a nation without a future. And you can be sure he will fight to the last bullet. This is not someone inclined to flee the bunker. Keli Goff: With Latest Attacks on First Lady, GOP Proves They're a Bunch of Boobs (Fiscally Speaking) If conservatives are criticizing Michelle Obama's positions on nutrition and breastfeeding, then they must actually enjoy spending government money, because these are preventative measures that save heaps of taxpayer money in the long run. Daniel Menaker: Mandolins Commerce has no shame -- it really doesn't. From 1919 to 1923, Lloyd Loar worked for the Gibson company, making F-5 mandolins whose quality has never been matched. So why is a Japanese company putting his name on theirs? Raymond J. Learsy: The Oil Market's Overeaction to Events in Libya Commentators today are repeatedly referring to the level of oil reserves held by the Libyan oil fields, projecting concerns that these reserves are in danger of being cut off from the world market. That concern is spurious to say the least. Amy B. Dean: Wisconsin Shows Need to Move Beyond Scapegoats While political leaders try to find scapegoats to deflect blame for our problems, the American people are ultimately smarter than that. They want and are responsive to compelling solutions to unemployment and economic insecurity.

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