The hyperventilating in the blogosphere over the fact that Beyonce, Lionel Ritchie and other entertainers legally made money off their performances during appearances in Libya is way overblown. If Nelly Furtado wants to give her money back that is fine. But making entertainers the target of vitriol is patent nonsense compared to what corporate interests have done in that country the last 40 years under the current regime.
First, money and politics always matter. For years, and rightfully so, Libya was a pariah regime due to its support for terrorism. However, when it got off the terrorism list it was open for business with everyone. Using the logic of some bloggers we should also ask entertainers to give back any money they made in China the last few years because of their repression against their own citizens. Or, better yet, lets ask every entertainer who made money in America to give it back because the United States has the largest prison population in the world, there is not a close second.
Second, rather than get in an intellectual firing squad, as the left often gets into over art and culture issues, focus on the corporate structures that allowed the Libyan regime to stay in power this long.
Finally, lets not miss the realpolitik over this issue. Russia has made it easier for the European Union to support sanctions offering to replace Libyan oil and enlarge their own profit margin. The Obama administration is proceeding cautiously while Israeli hawks (Huckabee, Lieberman, etc.) are pissing their pants over the thought of an Arab awakening and want to make a (D) administration look weak. The geo-political corporate game is what is at stake here and not a few entertainer dollars.