World View: France's Anti-Muslim Anti-Immigrant Surges in Polls

This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Libya’s prime minister is kidnapped in broad daylight, then freed
• Red Cross warns of bubonic plague epidemic in Madagascar
• France’s anti-Muslim anti-immigrant Marine Le Pen surges in polls
• NIST Time Widget broken

Libya’s prime minister is kidnapped in broad daylight, then freed

Ali Zeidan (AFP)

In a stunning action by a Libyan militia, Libya’s Prime Minister AliZeidan was kidnapped early Thursday morning from his hotel in theheart of the capital city, Tripoli. Zeidan was freed unhurt severalhours later, apparently because a competing Libya militia charged into free him.

It’s believed that Thurswday’s kidnapping was staged by al-Qaedamilitants in retaliation for alleged Libyan government collusion inlast week’s kidnapping by U.S. special forces, in broad daylight, ofAbu Anas al-Libi, who was indicted years ago on charges of aiding inthe bombing of the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998.( “6-Oct-13 World View — Two U.S. military strikes target Libya and Somalia jihadists”)

However, there are other possible reasons for Thursday’s kidnapping aswell. Libya’s government does not have an army or police force, andis really nothing more than a confederation of tribal militias who areresponsible for keeping order, but who have their own individualagendas. One simmering issue is that Zeidan wants the centralgovernment to have control over Libya’s oil fields, while some of themilitias want control themselves. In any case, the kidnapping ofZeidan is considered a sign of how weak Libya’s government is,following the Nato military action in 2011 that brought down MuammarGaddafi. BBC and AP and CS Monitor

Red Cross warns of bubonic plague epidemic in Madagascar

Bubonic plague, also called the Black Death when killed half ofEurope’s population in the 1300s, has never been eliminated, and infact is endemic in many places. It’s endemic in the animal populationof Madagascar, and the The International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC) in Geneva and the Pasteur Institute are warning of a possibleepidemic, especially in the crowded, rat-infested prisons, as summerapproaches in this Southern Hemisphere island-nation off the coast ofAfrica:

“If the plague gets into prisons there could be a sortof atomic explosion of plague within the town. The prison wallswill never prevent the plague from getting out and invading therest of the town.”

Bubonic plague is carried by fleas and fleas are carried by rats.According to the ICRC, the prisons are infested with rats that arethemselves infested with fleas, and the situation has gotten so badthat an “atomic explosion” may occur in the town, causing an epidemicof the Black Death. BBC

France’s anti-Muslim anti-immigrant Marine Le Pen surges in polls

France’s far-right National Front party is leading the two mainstreampolitical parties in recent polls. (The term “far right” hasdifferent meanings in Europe and America.) A new poll finds that NPis leading with 24%, while the center-right UMP part of formerpresident Nicolas Sarkozy has 22%, and the governing Socialist partyof president François Hollande is at 19%. NP is headed by Marine LePen, who campaigns for curbing immigration and exiting the euro. LePen has styled herself as protecting France against both the “EuropeanSoviet Union” and against Muslim immigration. Europe has beengenerally moving to the right on the issues of immigration anddeportation of Muslims. EU Observer

NIST Time Widget broken

In case you’re wondering why the “NIST Time Widget” on the Generational Dynamics home page no longer works — it’s because of the governmentshutdown. NIST

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