And why is there such high unemplyoment ? North African nations are, for the most part decently developed regions, with large cities and working transit systems.

The answer comes down to the people themselves, the birth rate to be precise. 70% of the population of Libya is under the age of 14 years old and that population explosion has been going on since 1900.

http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=sp_pop_totl&idim=country:LBY&dl=en&hl=en&q=libya+population

According to that simple map, there were 1.2 million Libyans in 1960. Today there 6.4 million, so in 50 years Libya has quadrupled its population, and that population is still exploding. Is it really a surprise that so many people are not able to find a job there ? If the USA suddenly quadrupled its population to 1.2 Billion in such a short time span does anyone think unemployment would not be effected [it would, 600 million or more would have no job].

I dont really have a point here other than to point out that gaddafi is not a great leader but he is not the problem for Libya. He is just a convenient scapegoat for the lack of jobs due to people not being responsible and having 10+ kids per family.

For referance, here is a map for Egypts population –

http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=sp_pop_totl&idim=country:EGY&dl=en&hl=en&q=egypt+population

28 million in 1960, 82 million today.

Yemen –

http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=wb-wdi&met=sp_pop_totl&idim=country:YEM&dl=en&hl=en&q=yemen+population

5 million in 1960, 23 million today.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110228/local/former-minister-critical-of-gonzi-remarks-on-inevitability-of-gaddafi-fall

Heaven and hell are battling for his soul – but sooner or later one will lose and have to keep it.

“It is said that if Mussolini did not join Hitler in the war, today in Rome there would be a monument for Mussolini.”

But he DID join Hitler and that is a crucial difference.

He’s too stingy to pay the ferryman. That’s the problem.

My late criminal law professor used to say that nearly every bad person has some redeeming features.

I think Hitler and Mussolini are not identical – Hitler was far worse than Mussolini. It is said that if Mussolini did not join Hitler in the war, today in Rome there would be a monument for Mussolini.

[Daphne – Yes, Guido de Marco did think that way, which is why he so often appears to have had to compromise himself and his integrity. It is the main reason I had so little time, patience or respect for him. But I’ll say no more about that out of respect for his son. Aside from being of dubious morality and integrity, your late professor’s statement was inherently flawed. Though a person can redeem himself after committing evil acts, by a lifetime of atonement, an evil person by definition cannot have ‘redeeming features’. A love of animals in a person who commits genocide is not a redeeming feature. Nor is making the trains run on time a redeeming feature in somebody who forms part of the Axis of Evil. You are being simplistic and childish. A grown-up who continues to rely on the thoughts of a lecturer as a substitute for forming his own is a poor thing. So you do work at the Court of Justice. Translate many documents, do you?]

Did he not try to inform Gaddafi about that mission?

No wonder he had nothing to say about what is going on in Libya.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110227/opinion/squeezing-air-malta-back-in