We start by reading an essay from Ellen Brown, which asks why, although the rebels are still fighting, they have taken time out to create their own central bank. Note that Iraq, like Libya, was on a list of 7 countries that the US had determined to attack, none of which was a member of the BIS. Both countries had water, oil, an independent central bank and an independent-minded dictator, so they could have offered an alternative model to the BIS-lead global debt-money system.

Our main speech is by Vijay Prashad, who starts about 15 minutes into our first hour by noting the importance of the food price rises and of modern communication technology, not as factors of prime importance but as backdrop conditions which must not be disregarded. He describes the 'Arab Spring', focusing on US policy and Libya and summarises the very recent history of the UN discussions and longer history of Libya under Gadaffi. Drawing from Wikileaks cables and extensive research into Libya and the Middle East, he looks at a range of glitches in the images portrayed by commercial media. He tells some of the hidden histories of the characters involved and exposes some little known facts such as the role of the CIA and the conscious efforts to "lay the predicate for a humanitarian intervention". His talk continues into the second hour, after which we conclude with the ensuing Q & A session.

Thanks to Ben for making the Vijay Prashad recording and passing it my way.