This sounds like a resurgence of the golden days of the Barbary Coast pirates. Libya's grand leader follows up his handing out of Korans after getting off his jet in Italy with an extortion demand to Europe.
Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi says the EU should pay Libya at least 5bn euros (£4bn; $6.3bn) a year to stop illegal African immigration and avoid a "black Europe".
Speaking on a visit to Italy, Col Gaddafi said Europe "could turn into Africa" as "there are millions of Africans who want to come in".
This is exactly the kind of protection money that Europeans and Americans were forced to pay in the 18th and 19th century to Libya until Thomas Jefferson said enough is enough and built a real Navy with some good Marines and solved the problem.
Now you know where the line "to the shores of Tripoli" in Marine Corps Hymn comes from.
It seems that Italy has ruffled some feathers by *gasp* enforcing their immigration laws. I guess we can expect our State Department to immediately report them to the United Nations Human Rights Council much the same as they did Arizona.
Italy has drawn criticism for handing over to Libya migrants it intercepts at sea, without screening them first.
Far fewer now reach Italy from Libya.
European Commission figures show that in 2009 the number of people caught trying to enter Italy illegally fell to 7,300, from 32,052 in 2008. The data was collected under the EU's Eurodac fingerprinting system.
Wow who knew that deporting people trying to enter your country illegally could have such a positive effect?
I wonder what is prompting such a rise in Qadaffi's craziness? Maybe he senses that he friends in low, er high places.
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