Polizeros Radio. Libya and the underpants gnomes. Bahrain, Japan, Petreaus

The Libya 'no-fly zone' is a full-scale attack from the air. But this is akin to the South Park underpants gnomes whose business plan was 1) collect underpants, 2) something happens, 3) make money. The invasion of Libya is 1) bomb Qadaffi, 2) something happens, 3) peace and democracy occurs. But that step 2 gonna be a bitch... . Qadaffi has said he will attack civilians and outside targets if invaded. He has scuds and gas. Will he use them? . Hardly anyone inside the Beltway is protesting as Saudi forces are used in Bahrain with a greenlight from our government, even as they murder peaceful civilians. The major US naval base there is unquestionably the reason why. But Iran is making noises about how they will not allow Shiites to brutalized there. . Petraeus testified that everything was going just fine in Afghanistan. Most ignored him and even fewer believed him. He sounds like the Japan government issuing perky statements about how things at Fukushima are nearly under control. . Japan needs lots of new power, and fast. How will they do it? Long-term, we need smart grids and energy storage. Coal, natural gas, and nuclear all have major drawbacks. With Steve Hynd of Newshoggers, Josh Mull from Rethink Afghanistan and Firedoglake, and Bob Morris from Politics in the Zeros.