Lionel Richie electrifies Libyans - 20th Anniversary of US Raid

[DoYouEverWonder]

Fri Apr 14, 11:48 PM ET

RIPOLI (Reuters) - With Muammar Gaddafi's home as a backdrop, U.S. singer Lionel Richie jived and rocked for an adoring Libyan audience on Saturday in a concert to mark the 20th anniversary of a U.S. raid on the North African country.

<snip>

The Organizers said they wanted the Western singers' star power to underline the sincerity of Libya's three-year-old rapprochement with the outside world, bury past enmities and promote a message of goodwill.

"I stand in front of this silent house where 20 years ago my childhood was torn and my toys were destroyed," said Gaddafi's daughter Aisha, who was about 10 at the time of the attack.

"Twenty years ago on this day I awoke to the sound of bombs and rockets and the cries of my brothers ... But today we try to heal our wounds and shake hands with those who are here with us tonight. Yes for peace, no for destruction," she said.

The event ended with a group of children dressed as angels standing on a balcony of the house and waving candles as they sang along to a recording of the U.S. humanitarian pop anthem "We are the world."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060415/ts_nm/libya_usa_dc;_ylt=A9FJqZx74kBETxEA0hFvaA8F;_ylu=X3oDMTA5aHJvMDdwBHNlYwN5bmNhdA--


I know we live in Bizarro World now but why would any country 'celebrate' the US bombing them?

[pretzel4gore]

1. a commemoration, not celebration....

remember how they demonised Gaddafi? Saddam? Noriega? Ayatolah Khomenhi?
the crimes of bushinc dwarfs anything by any of them.....

[0007]

2. They're not applauding, they're paying tribute to the ones that

died in the raid of their country by the U.S. I think....:shrug:

Don't we do the same every December the 7th?

The Organizers said they wanted the Western singers' star power to underline the sincerity of Libya's three-year-old rapprochement with the outside world, bury past enmities and promote a message of goodwill.

Organizers said the music provided a deliberately upbeat commemoration of the 1986 raid, an event that marked one of the lowest points in the decades Libya spent being seen as an outlaw state that supported terrorism.

U.S. forces bombed Tripoli and Benghazi in the early hours of April 15, 1986. Then President
Ronald Reagan said it was in retaliation for what he called Libyan complicity in the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin a month earlier in which three people, including a U.S. serviceman, were killed.

Gaddafi's former home has been kept in its wrecked state to mark the overnight attack in which an estimated 40 people were killed including Gaddafi's adopted daughter Hanna.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. Oh that it were: Libyans electrify Lionel Richie!

:evilgrin:

[psychopomp]

4. Lame

Mr. Richie is one of the country's finest musical talents, whether his work suits your tastes in music or not.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. He's once, twice, three times a Beethoven!

:eyes:

[Gatchaman]

6. If Lionel Ritchie is one of our greatest musical talents

why hasn't he had a record, let alone a hit, in the last couple of decades?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. Because we're all still savoring "Dancing on the Ceiling."

Don't be such a greedy bastard!

[Coventina]

11. ROFL!!!! Oh! What a feeling!!

:rofl:

[sofa king]

18. He's the best thing that ever happened to Kenny Rogers, anyway.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

21. Tough call.

Those adorable kids in Six Pack didn't hurt Mr. Rogers much.

:rofl:

[goclark]

9. Stevie Wonder has not had a hit lately

and I would describe Stevie and Lionel Richie as " two of our greatest musical talents."

Why must you put him down?

You may not like his music but plenty of people do.

[colorado_ufo]

20. Lionel was ill, as I understand.

He had a severe problem with his throat (I believe it was polyps on his vocal cords) that precluded his singing, much less a career. He starting singing again a very few years ago.

(edited for typo)

[tatertop]

12. Please don't forget the simply awful "Easy" and "Say You, Say Me."

Sometimes bad is bad

[Coventina]

13. Not to mention that he unleashed his daughter Nichole on the world.

:puke:

[tatertop]

15. She is noooo treat!

[CanuckAmok]

14. That pales in comparison to "Hello".

Remember when he sang it to the blind girl in the video? Chokes me up just thinking about it...

[Gman]

8. "Lionel Ritchie ain't been Black since he left the Commodores!"

...Undercover Brother

[goclark]

10. Lionel Richie may not like being Black, I don't know that

but I do know that he IS Black and he knows that too.

[fshrink]

16. I am astonished that Rice,

the exotic dancer, was not there.

[Robb]

17. So, we are, in fact, shipping bombs to Libya. n/t

[Blue_Tires]

19. lol...some harsh responses in this thread...

but funny, i admit

[Haole Girl]

22. I agree with one thing...

We do live in a Bizarro World now!

Seriously though, Lionel Richie even helped bridge the gap between my mother and myself when he sang during the olympics, quite a few years ago.

You never know, I suppose, maybe he could bring people together there, too, and help with the healing. Does that sound naive? I guess it does. But one never knows, right?

[montana_hazeleyes]

23. Well, just my 2 cents,

but I love Lionel Richie's singing.:D