Libyan Revolution Week 28 part 2

[joshcryer]

Links to sites with updates: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya">AJE Libya Live Blog http://blogs.aljazeera.net/twitter-dashboard">AJE Twitter Dashboard http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/libya">The Guardian http://uk.reuters.com/places/libya">Reuters http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/">Telegraph http://feb17.info/">feb17.info http://www.livestream.com/libya17feb?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks">Libya Alhurra (live video webcast from Benghazi) http://libya-alhurra.tumblr.com/">Libya Alhurra archives and updates http://www.ustream.tv/channel/benghaziradio">Benghazi Free Radio, in Arabic (may have translators present at times) http://www.tributefm.com/">Tribute FM (English broadcast from Benghazi) http://www.libyafeb17.com/">libyafeb17.com

Twitter links: http://twitter.com/#!/aymanm">Ayman Mohyeldin, with AJE http://twitter.com/#!/bencnn">Ben Wedeman, with CNN http://twitter.com/#!/tripolitanian">tripolitanian, a Libyan from Tripoli http://twitter.com/#!/BaghdadBrian">Brian Conley, reporter in Libya http://twitter.com/#!/freelibyanyouth">FreeLibyanYouth, Libyan advocate http://twitter.com/#!/LibyaFeb17_com">LibyaFeb17.com twitter account http://twitter.com/#!/ChangeInLibya">ChangeInLibya, Libyan advocate https://twitter.com/#!/TheyCallMeSof">Sofyan Amry (arrived in Benghazi recently) http://twitter.com/#!/KiloFoot">KiloFoot (general Arab Spring news aggregation)

Useful links: http://audioboo.fm/feb17voices">feb17voices http://www.google.com/search?q=time+in+libya">Current time in Libya http://www.islamicfinder.org/cityPrayerNew.php?country=libya">Prayer times in Libya

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1836380">Week 28 part 1 here.

http://www.pogar.org/countries/theme.aspx?cid=10&t=2">The Oppressive Laws of Gaddafi's Libya
The government grants the right of association to official institutions by virtue of Law 71 of 1972, which regulates associational activity in Libya. Law 20 of 1991 on the Promotion of Freedom sanctions the death penalty for anyone whose continued existence would lead to the disintegration of Libyan society. The Code of Honor of March 1997 institutes a system of collective punishment for wrongdoing, whereby families, towns and municipalities are held responsible for the actions of individuals in their midst and are subject to punishment such as the dissolution of the local People's Congress or the denial of government services, including utilities, water, infrastructure projects. Associations engaging in political activity are illegal in Libya. Further, political activity is defined by Articles 2 and 3 of Law 71 of 1972 as any activity based on a political ideology contrary to the principles of the Al-Fateh Revolution of September 1, 1969. The Law on Publications, No. 76 of 1972, as modified by Law 120 of 1972 and Law 75 of 1973, govern the operation of the press, reserving all rights to publish.

This is what the Libyan freedom fighters are fighting against. Each and every one, when they went into this, knew that it was all or nothing, they had no choice but to fight. For their very survival.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixwx_B38678">Marching On in Libya, for the revolutionaries!

A Libyan fighter celebrates on the roof of the Khamis 32 military encampment in southern Tripoli.

Photo: Reuters


Here's a link for http://go.sky.com/vod/content/Home/content/videoId/eefdd9d2c3e5f110VgnVCM1000001f5012ac________/content/detachedLiveTv.do#url=http://go.sky.com/vod/content/Home/content/changeDetachedChannel.do?videoId=eefdd9d2c3e5f110VgnVCM1000001f5012ac____">Sky News, click the link to watch live footage.

Day 193 August 29

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=47839">Libya rebels on outskirts of Gathafi's last bastion
Libyan rebels backed by NATO were on the outskirts of Moamer Gathafi's hometown of Sirte on Monday as they closed in from east and west for the final big battle for full control of Libya.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2031197/Gaddafis-girl-executioner-Nisreen-19-admits-shooting-11-rebel-prisoners.html?ito=feeds-newsxml">Gaddafi's girl executioner: Nisreen, 19, admits shooting 11 rebel prisoners
First you see her large brown eyes and rosebud lips, framed by a pink headscarf. Then you notice that her bruised feet are secured by manacles to the foot of her bed.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/23/libya-gaddafi-vicious-despot?INTCMP=SRCH">Gaddafi: a vicious, sinister despot driven out on tidal wave of hatred
Despite his absurd, buffoonish persona, the Libya leader clung to power for four brutal decades
http://news.yahoo.com/libyan-rebels-free-10-000-gadhafi-prisons-091103808.html">Libyan rebels free 10,000 from Gadhafi prisons
A rebel military spokesman says rebels have freed more than 10,000 from Moammar Gadhafi's prisons since entering Tripoli last week.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/08/29/uk-libya-khamis-idUKTRE77S18X20110829">Unit led by Gaddafi's son carried out Tripoli massacre
A military unit commanded by one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons appears to have been responsible for the summary execution of dozens of detainees in a warehouse near Tripoli last week, a human rights organisation said on Monday.
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/29/140029357/libyan-loyalists-keep-fighting-for-moammar-gadhafis-regime">Libyan Rebels Use Upper Hand Over Gadhafi Loyalists
In Libya, the tide has turned against Moammar Gadhafi and his supporters. And that has left an uncomfortable question for the new rebel authority: What to do with his loyalists and supporters?
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2090719,00.html">On Patrol with the Benghazi Brigade: Winning Hearts and Minds in Tripoli
Under the scorching sun, Masoud Bwisir, 38, and his fellow rebels had just taken control of a checkpoint on Friday in the village of Tajura, 6 miles (10 km) east of the Libyan capital of Tripoli. All night, local youths manned the barricade ? composed of nothing more than a few concrete blocks and some metal railing ? but they wanted someone to take over, so they could pray in an adjacent mosque. And so Bwisir and his crew, still relatively fresh off a tugboat from Benghazi, relieved them of their duty.

Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Libyan_civil_war">here for updated map. The size of the circles show population, the color represents control, red for FFs, green for tyrants. Note, this week is an animated gif, to show gains made by the freedom fighters.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x594751">A topic on the women of the revolution, dispels myths about the treatment of women in Benghazi.

Videos to bring the Libyan Revolution into context
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0vChMDuNd0">The Battle of Benghazi. BBC Panorama on Libya http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyaPnMnpCAA">Part 1, and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMzwQvcx62s">Part 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwWwOeZqz6M">Video of the convoy sent to take Benghazi, taken from a dead soliders cell phone (shows how massive the operation was). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAclhhHv43s&feature=player_embedded">Arab Awakening: Libya: Through the Fire. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD5tu5bJWKc">Tea of Freedom Song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z41kQvx4uKw">Libya: Part 2 - The Uprising http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vNWCGDkdWY">Benghazi - Backbone of the Libyan revolution

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-10-0">March 10 7:28pm Saif al Islam Gaddafi says "the time has come for full-scale military action" against Libyan rebels. He goes on to say that Libyan forces loyal to his family "will never surrender, even if western powers intervene".

As of this week the National Trasitional Council has been formally recognized by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_the_Libyan_Republic#Recognition">52 countries. France (March 10), Qatar (March 28), Maldives (April 3), Italy (April 4), Kuwait (April 13), The Gambia (April 22), Jordan (April 24), Sengal (April 28), The United Kingdom (June 4), Spain (June 8), Australia (June 9), UAE (June 12), Germany (June 13), Canada (June 14), Panama (June 14), Austria (June 18), Latvia (June 20), Denmark (June 22), Bulgaria (June 28), Croatia (June 28), Turkey (July 3), Poland (July 9), Netherlands (July 13), Belgium (July 13), Luxembourg (July 13), United States (July 15), Japan (July 15), Albania (July 18), Slovenia (July 20), Montenegro (July 21), Portugal (July 28), Botswana (August 11), Gabon, Tunisia, New Zealand (August 22), Egypt (August 22), Jordan (August 22), Morocco (August 22), Colombia (August 22), Oman (August 23), Bahrain (August 23), Nigeria, Malta (August 23), Iraq (August 23), Greece (August 23), Norway (August 23), Lebanon (August 23), South Korea (August 24), Sudan (August 24), Hungary (August 24), Chad (August 24), Ethipia (August 24), Burkina Faso (August 24).

"One month ago (Western countries) were sooo nice, so nice like pussycats," Saif says in a contemptuous sing-song tone."Now they want to be really aggressive like tigers. (But) soon they will come back, and cut oil deals, contracts. We know this game." - http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2058389,00.html">Saif Gaddafi

(Yeah, Saif, as if you weren't "cutting oil deals, contracts" with western states. Who are the 'tigers' now? Bombing your own people.)

http://english.libya.tv/2011/04/25/eastern-libyans-believe-in-national-unity-distrust-au-and-turkish-mediation-survey-reveals/">The first free public opinion poll ever conducted in Libya reveals clues to Eastern Libyan sentiments
* 98 percent of the respondents do not support the division of Libya as a part of the political solution for the current conflict with the Gaddafi regime. Around 95 percent also don't see any role for Gaddafi or his sons in a transitional period, and think it is impossible to implement any political reform in Libya if Gaddafi or one of his sons stays in power

* Around 96 percent of those polled, believe that the 17th of February revolution can consolidate the national unity of Libya and support the model of a democratic Libya based on a constitution which respects human rights

* Al-Qaeda has not played any role in the 17th of February revolution, say 94 percent of the Eastern Libyans, and 91 percent thinks it's impossible for Al-Qaeda to play any political role in the new Libya

* The National Transitional Council is seen by 92 percent of those surveyed as "expressing the views and wishes of Libyans for change"

This is equivalent to 17% the entire population of Libya, doing the numbers very conservatively.

http://jenkinsear.com/2011/03/19/a-legal-war-the-united-nations-participation-act-and-libya/">A Legal War: The United Nations Participation Act and Libya
The above link is to an overview of why Obama's implementation of the NFZ and R2P is perfectly legal under the law. I will not post it entirely here, however, all objections come down to the misinformed position that Obama, by using forces in Libya, was invoking Article 43 of the United Nations. This is wrong. Obama invoked Article 42, which does not require congressional approval to implement. Proof of this is that Article 43 has http://www.un.org/en/sc/repertoire/actions.shtml#rel5">never been used.

It goes like this: The US law (Title 22, Chap. 7, Subchap. XIV ˜ 287d) grants the President the right to invoke UN Article 42 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode22/usc_sec_22_00000287---d000-.html">without authorization, the War Powers Act (Title 50, Chap. 33 ˜ 1541) grants the President permission to act without authorization under http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/50/1541?E548.html">"specific statutory authorization" which, by definition, is what 287d does. ˜ 1543 of the War Powers Act requires the President to report to Congress, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/obama_explains_libya_mission_to_congress/2011/03/03/ABU9377_blog.html">which he did. One can argue all day and night about the legality of the War Powers Act, doesn't change the fact that under the law as it is written, the President acted within the law.

Editorials and stories worth reading.
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2011/03/2011328194855872276.html">Libyan Karzai? Chalabi? Forget it, http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/04/04/110404taco_talk_anderson#ixzz1HvS7iW22">Who Are the Rebels?, http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/29/vision-democratic-libya-interim-national-council">A vision of a democratic Libya, http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2011/04/21/is-qaddafi-an-anti-racist/">Is Qaddafi an anti-racist?, http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2011/04/20/left-slipping-towards-qaddafi">The left: slipping towards Gaddafi?, http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2011/04/27/once-again-"stop-bombin"">Once again on "stop the bombing", http://www.juancole.com/2011/03/an-open-letter-to-the-left-on-libya.html">An Open Letter to the Left on Libya, http://www.juancole.com/2011/03/top-ten-ways-that-libya-2011-is-not-iraq-2003.html">Top Ten Ways that Libya 2011 is Not Iraq 2003, http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/05/09/110509fa_fact_anderson">Sons of the Revolution http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/voices/?ref=main-menu">Voices from the Field

Mohammed Nabbous, killed by Gaddafi's forces while trying to report on the massacre in Benghazi

"I'm not afraid to die, I'm afraid to lose the battle" -Mohammed Nabbous, a month ago when all this began

I'm struggling to come up with something to say about this man. I was not aware of the Libyan uprising until I saw Mo's first report, begging for help, posted here on DU. I was stricken. Here was a man giving everything he had to explain a situation that clearly terrified him, I would not call him a coward in that moment, but you could see the fear in his eyes, and desperation in his voice. For 30 days Nabbous would spend many hours covering the uprising in Benghazi. For many nights I would go to sleep with the webcast of Benghazi live on my computer screen, looking to it occasionally to be sure it was still 'there.' Mo treated the chat room as if we were his friends, and in some way, we were. I never signed up to LiveStream to thank him for all his work and it seems somewhat shallow to do so now, given that I was a lurker for so long. Ever since I took over posting these threads "Libya Alhurra" has been linked as a source of information. It wasn't until last night, when I posted, and twitter posted on Mo's adventures out into Benghazi to try to determine the truth of the situation, that Mo's webchannel became a hit, over 2000 people were watching him stream live. This was curious to him because he'd done many reports like this in the past but he appeared somewhat bemused that the view count exploded as it did. Last night Mo became a star. This is a man who first started out with a webcast replete with fear and desperation finally overcoming that aspect of himself and losing that fear, to become someone who was a fighter for the resistance just as much as those who held the guns. Reporting on the front lines of Benghazi became his final act, and for that he should never, ever be forgotten. I'm so sorry Mo that I never got to know you better.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAclhhHv43s&feature=player_ded">Arab Awakening: Libya: Through the Fire is a documentary about Mo's last days, please watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38EXALI60hg">Mo's first report, which many of you may remember, begging for help.

Mo leaves behind a wife and a newborn child she had http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/03/23/a_bright_voice_from_libyas_darkness">this to say about the No Fly Zone and R2P UN resolution:

We started this in a pure way, but he turned it bloody. Thousands of our men, women, and children have died. We just wanted our freedom, that's all we wanted, we didn't want power. Before, we could not do a single thing if it was not the way he wanted it. All we wanted was freedom. All we wanted was to be free. We have paid with our blood, with our families, with our men, and we're not going to give up. We are still going to do that no matter what it takes, but we need help. We want to do this ourselves, but we don't have the weapons, the technology, the things we need. I don't want anyone to say that Libya got liberated by anybody else. If NATO didn't start moving when they did, I assure you, I assure you, half of Benghazi if not more would have been killed. If they stop helping us, we are going to be all killed because he has no mercy anymore.

[joshcryer]

1. Libyan Revolution Day 194 updates below, current time in Libya, 2:27pm Tuesday, August 30

GTG :P

[pinboy3niner]

2. K&R

GTG, :) .

:patriot:

[pinboy3niner]

3. US film-maker held in Libyan jails for six months describes his joy at release

Posted in GD by riverwalker:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1843480

[pinboy3niner]

4. NTC hopes to avoid repeat of Iraq by co-opting Gaddafi-era policemen

From AJE Live Blog:

Police in Tripoli are overcoming fears they would not be welcomed by Libya's new masters and are slowly returning to work, taking pains to distance themselves from ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi and win the public's trust.

Visitors to one police station step on a rug featuring Gaddafi's face and drivers roll over a poster of him at a checkpoint outside.

The district's policemen on Monday spent their first day in uniform since Gaddafi's overthrow. Senior officers had for days urged colleagues to return to work, through announcements at mosques and word of mouth.

The former Libyan leader had a formidable security apparatus that was notorious for its brutality.

The National Transitional Council, Libya's new governing body, is hoping to avoid the same kind of lawlessness seen after the fall of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, and want to co-opt Gaddafi-era policemen, not dismiss them.

- Reuters


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-aug-30-2011-1127

[pinboy3niner]

5. Libyan rebels say Sirte won't fall quickly, claim Gadhafi son killed

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Rebels say Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte might not fall for 10 days

• Algeria took in relatives of Gadhafi on "humanitarian grounds," an official says

• Khamis Gadhafi, a son of the Libyan leader, has been killed, a rebel leader says

By the CNN Wire Staff

August 30, 2011 7:35 a.m. EDT


Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Rebel fighters set on taking longtime Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi's hometown now say the effort could take more than a week, despite issuing an earlier ultimatum for Gadhafi loyalists in Sirte to disarm by Monday or face "liberation."


The rebel government, the National Transitional Council, said any seizure of Sirte could take 10 days as upcoming holy holidays might thin the number of rebel forces.

...


In Tripoli, residents rang in the end of Ramadan with celebratory gunfire and fresh signs of economic life early Tuesday, though even rebel claims of the death of one of Gadhafi's most notorious sons were tempered by continuous fighting and challenges around Libya.

...


Forces led by Khamis killed scores of captive civilians as they tried to retreat from Tripoli, according to Muneer Masoud Own, who said he survived the massacre. CNN could not independently verify the claim, though Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International both documented the alleged incident.

...


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/30/libya.war/

[pinboy3niner]

6. NATO: Gaddafi "displaying capability to exercise some level of command and control"

Muammar Gaddafi is still able to command and control his remaining troops even though the Libyan leader is on the run, a NATO spokesman said on Tuesday, adding that his whereabouts are unknown.

Colonel Roland Lavoie, military spokesman of the NATO air mission in Libya, said:

He is displaying a capability to exercise some level of command and control.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-aug-30-2011-1616

[pinboy3niner]

7. Libya buys French wheat using unfrozen funds

Tue Aug 30, 2011 2:15pm GMT


PARIS Aug 30 (Reuters) - Libya's interim government signed at least two contracts to buy French wheat using funds unfrozen in France earlier this month, four sources close to the deals said on Tuesday.

France's foreign ministry in early August said it would un-freeze $259 million of Libyan assets and place them at the disposal of Libya's National Transition Council (NTC) to help the North African country recover from a six-month civil war.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE77T0K820110830

[pinboy3niner]

8. Mugabe expels Libyan Ambassador and staff from Zimbabwe after they recognize rebel NTC

Zimbabwe has expelled Libya's ambassador to Harare after he recognised the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) fighting Muammar Gaddafi's regime, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, foreign minister, said on Tuesday.

Mumbengegwi told journalists:

"The Libyan ambassador and his staff are required to leave Zimbabwe within the next 72 hours."


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-aug-30-2011-1624

[Iterate]

9. Hunted by regime, Tripoli activist kept flame of protest burning

Hunted by regime, Tripoli activist kept flame of protest burning
By Simon Denyer, Tuesday, August 30, 3:54 AM

TRIPOLI, Libya — For six months, he ran a clandestine protest movement under the noses of the Gaddafi regime in its supposed stronghold of Tripoli.

His campaign of civil disobedience, meticulously recorded, posted on Facebook and distributed to the world’s media through a pirated satellite connection, so irked the government that it launched a prolonged manhunt for his arrest, denounced him on state television as a rat who should be found and hanged, and, as the net closed in, arrested his cousin and threatened his sister.

But somehow Nizar Mhani, a 30-year-old oral surgeon with no previous experience of underground political activism, lived to tell the tale.

“I didn’t have to do anything spectacular to get in trouble,” he said, finally free to meet a reporter face to face. “In Gaddafi’s Libya, you just have to raise a flag, you just have to say no, just say you want to change.”

more... http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/hunted-by-regime-tripoli-activist-kept-flame-of-protest-burning/2011/08/29/gIQAVvNToJ_story.html

It's the story of Niz and the Free Generation Movement

[pinboy3niner]

10. EU humanitarian team in Tripoli to help restore water cut off by Gaddafi forces

Matthew Weaver and Paul Owen report at The Guardian's live blog:

A team of humanitarian experts sent to Tripoli by the European Union is trying to help restore water supply cut by Gaddafi forces. If it fails the EU is working on a plan to send bottled and tanked water to Tripoli.


In an email to the Guardian a spokeswoman for the EU humanitarian office Echo, said: "The disruption of the drinking water supply to Tripoli is a major issue affecting the capital's population. Government forces closed the pumping stations in Jebel Hassouna (on the north-south route from Tripoli to Sabbah) when fleeing from the capital."


She added: "Efforts are ongoing to restart the water distribution system, but the security situation along the road to the pumping stations is unpredictable. It is therefore uncertain when the full water supply will be resumed."


If the supply remains cut off she said EU member states were planning to send water tankers and bottle water to Tripoli, she said.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/aug/30/libya-rebels-demand-gaddafi-family-return-updates#block-26

[tabatha]

11. Elizabeth Pickworth got it right

Cyberwar: Gaddafi’s online mercenary army

What I fail to understand is how people who have never lived under Gaddafi’s dictatorship support his regime from abroad. It seems as soon as any politician waves the socialist flag, it means any human rights violation, act of corruption, suppression of democracy and freedom of speech are ignored by the youth in favour of a populist, propagandist campaign.

For instance, blogs from Latin America, the USA and Pakistan have accused Al Jazeera as being part of a neo-conservative, Western Imperialist, Zionist conspiracy. Blogs accused Al Jazeera of establishing a fake Tripoli in the streets of Doha and building a Hollywood like film set to replicate Libya’s Martyrs (Green under Gaddafi) Square. None of these bloggers had ever visited Qatar, or confirmed the origins of these allegations, only citing their own reliable sources.

The majority of pro Gaddafi Facebook profiles and blogs originated from Russia, UK, Germany, Italy, France, Latin America and South Africa. The remainder do not disclose their location publicly. Over the past few days I have watched Facebook accounts disappear and reappear after being reported for their extreme pro Gaddafi content.

This leads me to question, how can people who have never lived in exile or fear from such a brutal regime support such a monstrous dictator?

To support Gaddafi’s regime without ever thoroughly researching the history, his human rights violations and the plight of the Libyan people, is to entirely discredit every single Libyan of their history and struggle.


http://english.libya.tv/2011/08/30/cyberwar-gaddafis-online-terrorists/

[pinboy3niner]

12. Countries recognising Libyan rebel council

Tue Aug 30, 2011 3:47pm GMT


Aug 30 (Reuters) - Almost 60 countries have recognised
Libya's National Transitional Council. Here is a list of those
countries:


Albania
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Belgium
Benin
Britain
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Canada
Cape Verde
Chad
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Egypt
Estonia
Ethiopia
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Germany
Greece
Guinea
Hungary
Iraq
Italy
Ivory Coast
Japan
Jordan
Kosovo
Kuwait
Latvia
Lebanon
Luxembourg
Malaysia
Maldives
Malta
Montenegro
Morocco
Netherlands
Niger
Nigeria
Palestinian Authority
Panama
Portugal
Qatar
Senegal
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
United States


* The African Union called on Aug. 26 for the formation of
an inclusive transitional government in Libya, saying it could
not recognise the rebels as sole legitimate representatives of
the nation while fighting continued.

The stand was at odds with that of AU members who have
announced their recognition of the National Transitional
Council.

* China has not formally recognised the NTC but has said it
had "always attached significance to (its) important role".

* Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow might
establish formal relations with the rebels if they
were able to "unite the country for a new democratic start".

(Reporting by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit)


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7JU22M20110830?sp=true

[tabatha]

14. Zimbabwe and other despotic AU members ....

How about forming inclusive transitional governments?

[pinboy3niner]

13. Gaddafi left Tripoli for Sabha Friday: bodyguard

Tue Aug 30, 2011 1:07pm GMT


LONDON (Reuters) - Deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is reported to have been in the capital Tripoli as late as last Friday and to have gone from there to the southern desert town of Sabha, Britain's Sky News said on Tuesday, quoting a 17-year-old bodyguard of his son Khamis.


Gaddafi's whereabouts have not been known since forces opposed to him captured Tripoli and his 42-year-old rule collapsed a week ago after a six-month uprising backed by NATO and some Arab states.


Sky quoted the unnamed captured bodyguard as saying Gaddafi held a meeting with Khamis at around 1:30 p.m. on Friday in a Tripoli compound that was under heavy fire at the time by anti-Gaddafi forces.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE77T0GF20110830

[pinboy3niner]

15. U.S. film-maker released after six months in solitary in Gaddafi hellhole jail

Source: Daily Mail


• American missed his birthday and was close to suicide

• He feared he would be 'forgotten about'

• And he worried that he would be holed up for '30 years'

• Cell was 7ft by 4ft and had next to no light

By Oliver Pickup

Last updated at 1:55 PM on 30th August 2011


An American filmmaker who was held in solitary confinement in Libya's most notorious prison for months has told of his harrowing ordeal, now that he has been released.
Matthew van Dyke, a 32-year-old from Baltimore, was close to suicide after spending six months in a cell measuring 7ft by 4ft at Tripoli's Abu Salim prison - where, in 1996, Colonel Gaddafi had ordered the massacre of 1,200 prisoners.

...


But he figured that Gaddafi's men thought that he was an American spy, or a member of the CIA, and thought he would be cut off from society for decades, with no one - his family or loved ones knowing whether or not he was dead or alive.

...


'I thought I was (going to be) there for 20 to 30 years. I knew I was in a lot of trouble and I knew they were thinking things because of the footage I was captured with, and that I was doomed.


'I was there and there wasn't going to be any reason why I was getting out.


'I thought it was over and I would never see my family again. One guy at the interrogation said, "You will never see America again," and I thought he was right.'

...


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2031730/Libya-American-filmmaker-Matthew-van-Dyke-held-Abu-Salim-prison-Colonel-Gaddafi-forces.html

[pinboy3niner]

16. Gadhafi loyalists blamed for Tripoli water crisis

By KARIN LAUB - Associated Press | AP – 8 mins ago


TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Attacks by Moammar Gadhafi's forces on engineers deep in the Libyan desert caused the massive water shortage that has left the capital without running water for a week, a rebel official said Tuesday.

Regime forces fired on repair crews a week ago as they tried to restart pumps bringing water from deep acquifers some 700 kilometers (450 miles) south of Tripoli, the official, Aref Ali Nayeb, told The Associated Press.

...


In the meantime, drinking water is reaching Tripoli in trucks from other towns and in shipments of bottled water, some from neighboring Tunisia, said Nayeb, who heads the Libya Stabilization Team. The Stabilization Team is a group of professionals assisting the fledgling government being set up to replace Gadhafi's crumbling regime. City residents are also using neighborhood wells, he said.


Nayeb said the problem started when retreating Gadhafi forces intentionally brought down power lines, disrupting the flow of electricity. After engineers got the grid working again, they had to reset the desert water pumps individually.

...


http://news.yahoo.com/gadhafi-loyalists-blamed-tripoli-water-crisis-161528478.html

[pinboy3niner]

17. Summary of today's developments

From The Guardian's Live Blog:

• According to a former bodyguard for one of Muammar Gaddafi's sons, the Libyan leader is heading south via Bani Walid towards Sabha, the route also said to have been used by the members of his family who have escaped to Algeria (see 12.20pm ). Gaddafi was in Tripoli as late as Friday, having a 1.30pm meeting with his son Khamis and daughter Aisha, and then headed towards Sabha, 500 miles (800km) south in the desert, according to Khamis's 17-year-old bodyguard. An Italian news agency had earlier speculated Gaddafi and another son, Saif al-Islam, had fled to Bani Walid (see 10.54am). The rebel National Transitional Council's UK co-ordinator, Guma el-Gamaty said he thought Gaddafi was there too (see 2.12pm). Sabha is one of the last remaining major holdouts for Gaddafi's forces. Click here for a map of all these places and Gaddafi's possible route. There are reports Khamis and intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi were killed over the weekend, the third time Khamis has been reported dead during the conflict (see 8.55am). A Nato spokesman called that "rumour" (see 1.30pm ).


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/aug/30/libya-rebels-demand-gaddafi-family-return-updates#block-11

[pinboy3niner]

18. In some Libyan towns, Gadhafi supporters dig in

By KARIN LAUB - Associated Press | AP – 18 mins ago.


TARHOUNA, Libya (AP) — Moammar Gadhafi's green flags still fly proudly above the main street in this bastion of support for his crumbling regime. Many here still openly pledge allegiance to the longtime Libyan leader.

...


Tarhouna's loyalty is a stark sign of the problems the rebels face as they try to bring stability — and eventually a new government — to a country ruled by Gadhafi for more than four decades. Residents here say many of their neighbors have hidden weapons, leftovers from government programs to arm civilians against attackers, and some say they believe there could eventually be attacks on the rebels.


Because while Gadhafi was detested by many Libyans as a dictator who enriched his family but left much of the country in poverty, he also earned support by nurturing particular tribes and regions, offering generous government benefits and jobs to those he saw as key supporters.

...


But despite such loyalty — and the easy access to weapons — no residents interviewed said they would join in an insurgency.


http://news.yahoo.com/libyan-towns-gadhafi-supporters-dig-182555768.html

[pinboy3niner]

19. Burned Gadhafi family nanny being treated in Tripoli

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Doctors say they were bullied by Gadhafi staff into halting treatment for the nanny

• Shwygar Mullah says Gadhafi's daughter-in-law burned her for failing to keep a child quiet

• Her wound is dressed and she is getting antibiotics for an infection

• CNN will let people know how to help her at CNN.com/impact

By Dan Rivers, CNN Senior International Correspondent

August 30, 2011 1:56 p.m. EDT


Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The badly burned former nanny of two of Moammar Gadhafi's grandchildren was receiving medical treatment Tuesday in the burn unit of a Tripoli hospital.

...


She is being treated with antibiotics for an infection. Her burns are dressed.

...


CNN has been inundated with offers of assistance for Mullah and is working with humanitarian organizations and medical officials to get help for her.


As soon as information is available, CNN will let people know how to help on CNN and CNN.com/impact.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/30/libya.nanny.update/index.html

[Iterate]

20. Gaddafi's son abandons his lions in flight from Tripoli

Gaddafi's son abandons his lions in flight from Tripoli
Saadi Gaddafi and his bodyguards visited his nine lions in Tripoli's zoo every day until rebels overran the city

Luke Harding in Tripoli
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 30 August 2011 19.29 BST

Until one month ago the location of Muammar Gaddafi's son Saadi wasn't a mystery at all. Every day Saadi would drive with a couple of low-key bodyguards to Tripoli's zoo. The zoo – located right next to Gaddafi's heavily protected Bab al-Aziziya complex – was closed to ordinary visitors. But for Saadi it was always open.

Saadi, Gaddafi's third son, would come to visit his favourite animals: the lions. Nine of the zoo's 18 lions belonged to him personally; he was usually found crouching in front of their spacious enclosure. As Libya's rebels advanced inexorably towards Tripoli, Saadi reassured the zoo's director there was nothing to worry about. "He told me: 'It's OK. The situation is normal'," said Dr Abdulfatah Husni, the zoo's director.

Husni – a supporter of Libya's revolution – said he last saw Saadi four weeks ago. Instead of turning up with just one or two bodyguards, Saadi arrived in a heavily protected convoy. After that he vanished. His whereabouts is unknown. Like most of the Gaddafi family, and other senior figures from the fallen regime, he seems to have melted away.

The mystery of how the Gaddafis have managed so far to elude their pursuers has been given added impetus by news that the colonel's wife, Safiya, pregnant daughter Aisha, and sons Hannibal and Mohammad with their children have escaped to Algeria. They crossed the border at 8.45am on Monday, the Algerian government confirmed.

more... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/30/gaddafi-son-abandons-lions-tripoli

[pinboy3niner]

21. UN sanctions committee agrees to release $1.55 billion in Libyan bank notes

From AJE Live Blog:

The UN sanctions committee has agreed to Britain's request to release $1.55bn of Libyan bank notes blocked in Britain as part of a freeze of assets held by the former government of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Britain said on Tuesday.

The bank notes will now be delivered to Libya's central bank, the Foreign Office said.

William Hague, UK foreign secretary, said in a statement:

These banknotes, which were frozen in the UK under UN sanctions, will help address urgent humanitarian needs, instill confidence in the banking sector, pay salaries of key public sector workers and free up liquidity in the economy.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-aug-30-2011-2222

[dipsydoodle]

22. Presumably

the UK will get back roughly the £600 million it has cost too - plus interest of course.

[tabatha]

28. Yes, the Libyans offered to pay for the war effort.

Once they are on their feet.

But I guess £600 million is far too much to rescue people from a tyrant and his sons who will scald an unpaid worker and throw a best friend in jail for not having sex, among the many vile things that have come to light since Gaddafi fled.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

43. "once they are on their feet"

I wouldn't make plans to spend that money anytime soon. Or the additional money that will pour into that country to help rebuild.

There will be some turmoil, some terror, before we "meet the new boss".

:hi:

If profits from Libya's future oil exports actually go to rebuild the towns, schools, hospitals, I'll be surprised. My guess is that the profits will go to rebuilding a military force, and into the pockets of the new leadership. Plus ça change ...

[Iterate]

23. Tarhouna is a test case.

Some video of the easy entry of FFs into Tarhouna and of the celebrations:

Video: Amazing footage – Freedom Reaches Tarhouna
http://youtu.be/maD5H9CkSUY

There's more to the story though, because even though the city only has a 2006 population of about 50,000, it's was moderately important source of Gaddafi support.

After getting past the mandatory "rebel face stark problems" cliche in this piece, it does seem that the local FF commander is approaching the situation with the tact that offers a chance for success and is an example of a town that was turned over peacefully, even if it had a percentage of Gaddafi supporters. The big difference? The Gaddafi army wasn't there and didn't force a fight in the town.

Gadhafi supporters pledge allegiance to old regime in parts of Libya, even rebel-held town
By Associated Press, Updated: Tuesday, August 30, 8:28 PM

...

His fighters have set up their base at a former military camp a few miles (kilometers) out of town, instead of in Tarhouna itself. On Monday, reporters touring part of the town saw no sign of rebel checkpoints — unlike in Tripoli where cars are stopped by rebel fighters every few hundred yards (meters). Issawi said his forces had made no arrests in the town.

Issawi, a Tarhouna native, also hasn’t torn down the green flags dangling over the main street, or painted over the “Moammar Only” graffiti scrawled on many walls.

“It’s already obsolete,” he said of the symbols of the old regime.

Issawi said the rebels entered Tarhouna on Aug. 24, meeting slight resistance. Since then, he said, he has been negotiating with tribal leaders to ensure cooperation.

...

more... http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/gadhafi-supporters-pledge-allegiance-to-old-regime-in-parts-of-libya-even-rebel-held-town/2011/08/30/gIQAYwT2pJ_story.html

[pinboy3niner]

24. Libyans build memorial for martyrs

Source: Al Jazeera

Young activists putting up wall to display names and faces of those who died to free country.

Last Modified: 30 Aug 2011 13:47


As Libyans in Tripoli celebrate the defeat of Muammar Gaddafi, a young activist group is putting up a memorial wall to display the names and faces of fellow Libyans who have died.


While no one knows how many people were killed in the months-long battle for a free Libya, it is believed to be thousands.


These activists want those that died to be remembered.


Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reports from Tripoli (1:08):


http://english.aljazeera.net/video/africa/2011/08/201183075013153597.html

[Iterate]

25. Dr. Ali Darrat

Doctor Ali Darrat is a Libyan hero who left his life and job as a medical doctor in Germany to help his hometown of Misrata. He flew all the way to Malta, then sailed to Misrata putting his life on the line for his people. He was taken hostage by the brutal Gaddafi forces and African mercenaries in Tawurgha where he was doing his noble job of aiding injured civilians. His disappearance came in July and he was never heard from again.

According to Amnesty International, Dr. Darrat was one of the numerous detainees killed in cold blood at two military camps in Tripoli on 23 and 24 August. Eyewitness testimony from escaped detainees described how loyalist troops used grenades and gunfire on scores of prisoners at one camp, while guards at the other camp shot dead five detainees they were holding in solitary confinement.

On 24 August, five kilometres away at Qasr Ben Ghashir military camp, guards loyal to Colonel al-Gaddafi shot dead five detainees whom they were holding in solitary cells. They were among some 75 people captured during the conflict who were being held at the military camp.

Former detainees later told Amnesty International that they had heard guards opening five of the cells before gunshots were fired shortly afterwards.

Detainees panicked and broke out of their cells fearing they were about to be executed. By the time they got out, the five guards on duty had fled the scene, leaving behind the five victims’ bodies.

They included three men from Zliten, a town between Tripoli and Misratah, and two doctors. One of the doctors is Ali Darrat.

Former detainees told Amnesty International that in the days before the killings, guards promised that all detainees would be released before the Eid festivities at the end of August.

The detaining of Dr. Darrat as recorded by Gaddafi forces http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEUrVHWkFXE

Source: http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/news-item/libya-detainees-killed-by-al-gaddafi-loyalists
http://feb17martyrs.com/dr-ali-darrat/

[pinboy3niner]

26. LIBYAN REVOLUTION DAY 195: CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 12:01 AM WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31

Libya time = EDT +6 hours, PDT +9 hours, UTC +1 hour, GMT +2 hours

[pinboy3niner]

27. Gaddafi's son 'ready to surrender'

Source: Al Jazeera

Rebel military leader of Tripoli says al Saddi has called him and asked if he can surrender.

Last Modified: 30 Aug 2011 22:04


The rebel military leader of Tripoli, Abdelhakim Belhaj, has said that one of Gaddafi's son al Saddi called him two hours ago and asked if he can surrender.


Al Jazzera's James Bays, reporting from Tripoli said: “We asked him (Abdelhakim Belhaj) about the military situation, remaining members of the Gaddafi family, and he said that he believes one of Gaddafi's sons, al Saddi, is preparing to surrender.


"According to Belhaj, Saddi doesn't want to leave Libya, he wants to talk to the national council and negotiate his surrender. He thinks he knows the whereabouts of Saddi Gaddafi from the phone call. Also says he believes some senior figures of the government are now ready to surrender, such as the former prime minister.


"Belhaj made a point of saying that any of those who do surrender will be treated properly, and court cases will be held to international norms. Belhaj thought that Muammar Gaddafi is less likely to surrender, but would be treated fairly if he did. He would be held in custody with proper human rights. The rest of the family are taking temporary refuge in Algeria before they go to some third country.”

...


http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/08/2011830213148793401.html

[joshcryer]

34. Libyan rebels give ultimatum to loyalists

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/libyan-rebels-give-ultimatum-to-loyalists-20110831-1jkmc.html">Libyan rebels give ultimatum to loyalists
Libyan rebels say they're closing in on Muammar Gaddafi and have issued an ultimatum to regime loyalists: surrender this weekend or face an attack.

The rebels, tightening their grip on Libya after a military blitz, also demanded that Algeria return Gaddafi's wife and three of his children who fled there Monday.

Granting asylum to his family, including daughter Aisha who gave birth in Algeria on Tuesday, was an "enemy act," said Ahmed al-Darrad, the rebels' interior minister.

[tabatha]

29. Saadi Gaddafi locked up his best pal for rejecting his gay advances

Reda Thawargi said he was locked up for two and-a-half years before he was released and Saadi begged him for his support to quell the uprising.

Rebels who raided married Saadi’s opulent mansion this week found gay porn DVDs in his office. The sprawling property near Tripoli has its own football pitch and outside disco, as well as an outhouse with three cell-like rooms and a caged ­building where Saadi is said to have set dogs on people who displeased him.

Reda said: “Saadi is gay. He tried to have sex with me but I refused. I only like girls. So he threw me in military jail.”

Reda was a close friend of the dictator’s son for 13 years.

They both played football for Tripoli’s Al Ahli football club and spent two years together in Italy drinking and ­partying.

However, Saadi became ­infuriated by Reda’s refusal to sleep with him and put him on trial in a Libyan court – but without a specific charge. Reda said: “The judge told me, ‘if Saadi says you have done wrong, then you must go to prison’.”

He was eventually freed in February.

http://feb17.info/news/colonel-gaddafis-saadi-locked-up-his-best-pal-for-rejecting-his-gay-advances/

I wonder how much longer this crap is going to be revealed.

[joshcryer]

35. Not surprising, Gaddafi was rumored to take in little boys (ie. Caligula).

There's something about tyrannical males and their urge to be absolute fiends when it comes to sex. Power, the more males have, the more they're psychopaths when it comes to sex. Jailing someone for refusing to sleep with you? Really?

[tabatha]

30. Libya: Col Gaddafi's family dash across desert to Algeria

Last Friday, more than three days after the fall of Col Muammar Gaddafi’s Bab al-Azizia compound, the soldiers of the Khamis Brigade in southern Tripoli were told to stand by for an important visitor.

Soon afterwards Gaddafi, sitting in the back seat of a black Hyundai saloon and dressed in a green civilian shirt and trousers, was driven through the gate.

The car, virtually indistinguishable from the taxis that ply their trade in the city, passed unnoticed only yards from the centre of the fighting in the southern outskirts of the Libyan capital.

Extraordinary new details of the Gaddafi clan’s last meeting after the fall of Tripoli – and the ousted dictator’s plans to flee – are considered to be the last confirmed sighting of the former Libyan strongman.

Details also emerged last night of how Gaddafi’s wife Safiya, his daughter Aisha and sons Hannibal, and Mohammed eluded the rebels to flee across the country in a convoy of armoured limousines before taking refuge in neighbouring Algeria.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8732200/Libya-Col-Gaddafis-family-dash-across-desert-to-Algeria.html

[tabatha]

31. Horrors from the Libya torture prison

"Come with me," said the man, "and I will show you where Gadhafi buried people alive."

We'd been looking around the newly-liberated Abu Salim prison, which for all its fearsome reputation struck me as fairly all right. The large communal cells had carpets, fans, kitchens, showers and even power points. The prison, scene of a notorious massacre in 1996, was later turned into a showplace for visiting foreigners.

But that was not where Gaddafi's police state did its real business. They took the political prisoners somewhere else, somewhere much harder to find.

A few blocks away, on Traffic Light Street, there was a gate in a high-walled compound. Even when it was open, all you could see was blue corrugated-iron garages, a vehicle transport store. But out of sight of the road, behind the garages and another wall, was a concrete building: Gaddafi's torture chamber.

There was a small hallway, with cupboard doors on both walls. It all seemed quite ordinary and I started to get impatient: had I misunderstood my companion, was I on a wild-goose chase? But then I opened one of the cupboard doors, and I saw.

There was a corridor, and off it there were cells, rows of minute black cells. Each was no more than the length of a man, no bigger than your front door laid flat on the ground, with just enough space for a single mattress.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Horrors+from+Libya+torture+prison/5327942/story.html#ixzz1WZLlsQFt

[al bupp]

32. The Battle for Tripoli: Photographs by Yuri Kozyrev

Photos at: http://lightbox.time.com/2011/08/30/the-battle-for-tripoli-photographs-by-yuri-kozyrev/#1
Warning many of the photos have graphic depictions of dead bodies.

In Libya, the fall of a dictator came faster than anyone expected. After six months of fighting along what were often stagnated front lines, the rebels succeeded last week in overwhelming the forces of Col. Muammar Gaddafi to take control of the Libyan capital. The sudden assault sent the enigmatic 69-year-old Libyan leader and his family into hiding; his forces scattering.

...

Among the discoveries are Gaddafi family mansions, where odd assortments of belongings have offered a rare glimpse into the luxuries, eccentricities and paranoia that defined the ruling family’s existence for more than four decades.

...

But other discoveries have yielded little more than overwhelming tragedies and ominous signs of a desperate regime’s intent and capabilities. After days of fighting between rebels and Gaddafi’s forces last week, residents found a city strewn with bodies—many of them allegedly killed execution style and en masse.

So far rebels and journalists have reported at least half a dozen sites where Gaddafi’s forces appeared to have carried out massacres in the final hours of their control. Many of the dead are rebels and soldier defectors who were captured and tortured before their being killed. But at least one site, where the more than 30 victims might be Gaddafi fighters or supporters, suggests that both sides may have been guilty of brutal conduct in the battle for Tripoli.

[tabatha]

33. Father of Libya Revolution May Not Lead Post-Qaddafi

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the first cabinet minister to break ties with Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, has won praise from his countrymen and Western leaders. Even so, it is unlikely that he will lead Libya after its transition from a dictatorship to a promised democracy.

The 59-year-old former judge -- who created a government- in-waiting from a loose collection of exiles, nationalists and regime defectors -- is “a wise and respected man of integrity,” said Hassan Tatanaki, 53, a Cairo-based Libyan oil- industry businessman whose family is spread among Tripoli, Cairo, London and Abu Dhabi.

“His only problem is that he is not into the political wheeling and dealing and maneuvering,” Tatanaki said in an Aug. 26 interview. “He’s someone who calls a spade a spade, and that sometimes is a problem.”

Even under the Qaddafi’s four-decade iron rule, Abdel Jalil developed a reputation as the judge who didn’t shy away from ruling against the regime. That attitude paradoxically led to his promotion to justice minister in 2007 by Qaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, who was in his final year of a doctorate at the London School of Economics and fancied himself as a reformer.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-31/father-of-libya-revolution-may-not-lead-post-qaddafi-era.html

[joshcryer]

36. Hat tip to "Clay Claiborne" @ DailyKos, Qaddafi's African Adventure

The latest age of slavery has been the enslavement of Blacks by White people. The memory of this age will persist in the thinking of Black people until they have vindicated themselves.

This tragic and historic event, the resulting bitter feeling, and the yearning for the vindication of a whole race, constitute a psychological motivation of Black people to vengeance and triumph that cannot be disregarded.

from Qaddafi's Green Book, p 29. And how does Qaddafi expect that black people will achieve that vindication?

Black people are now in a very backward social situation, but such backwardness works to bring about their numerical superiority because their low standard of living has shielded them from methods of birth control and family planning. Also, their old social traditions place no limit on marriages, leading to their accelerated growth. The population of other races has decreased because of birth control, restrictions on marriage, and constant occupation in work, unlike the Blacks, who tend to be less obsessive about work in a climate which is continuously hot.

from Qaddafi's Green Book, p 30. So we will do it through shear forces of numbers, by the explosive population growth of "starving and ignorant Africans."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/08/19/1007296/-Helter-Skelter:-Qaddafis-African-Adventure

I recommend viewing Clay's entire blog as it's extremely comprehensive with links to sources and extremely effective arguments: http://www.dailykos.com/user/Clay%20Claiborne

Nicely done.

[Iterate]

45. "Ghaddafi, the Green Book and Western Extremism"

from The Swastika and the Crescent
Southern Poverty Law Center
Intelligence Report, Spring 2002, Issue Number: 105
By Martin A. Lee

"Ghaddafi, the Green Book and Western Extremism"
"Ghadaffi's financial largesse and his militant anti-Zionism has generated support for the Libyan regime among right-wing extremists around the world, including in Great Britain, where the Green Book, Ghaddafi's political manifesto, was promoted by the neo-Nazi National Front.

In 1984, according to former British Nazi leader Ray Hill (who later renounced racism and worked with antiracists), the Libyan People's Bureau put up money for a special anti-Semitic supplement to the National Front's monthly magazine.

In addition, Ghadaffi's government picked up the tab for several junkets so that neofascists from England, France, Canada, the Netherlands and several other countries could visit the Libyan capital.

Col. Ghaddafi is also widely admired by white supremacists in the United States."

Plus, on immigration:

Migrant workers from Libya trapped at border
By The World ⋅ March 14, 2011
http://www.theworld.org/2011/03/migrant-workers-from-libya-trapped-at-egypt-border/
" "Foreign companies were holding our passports. And they left Libya without giving them to us,” Zamah said.

Aid workers say 95 percent of the refugees here have no passports or travel documents. Employers in the Middle East and North Africa routinely confiscate foreign employees’ passports upon arrival. "

This was from the east, before the current government had any kind of control. It was the Gaddafi regime who had allowed their passports to be taken, and who prevented their escape from the war.

In the west about the same time there was this portentous headline:
Gadhafi Loyalists Stop Migrants From Leaving Libya
By JOHN HEILPRIN Associated Press
GENEVA March 8, 2011 (AP)

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=13086674
"Soldiers loyal to Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi have blocked some 30,000 migrant workers from fleeing into Tunisia and forced many to return to work in the Libyan capital, a Red Crescent official said Tuesday."

...

"All of them are either Egyptians, Bangladeshis and Africans," he said. "They were taken back to resume their services, because Tripoli used a lot of those people for basic workers, to clean the hospitals, to work... This is the speculation. ... They may not have a choice. They might also have been tempted by more pay."

Osman also said that several thousand more workers are trapped without passports in the no man's land between Libya's borders with Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Niger, Chad and Sudan."

That occurred as Zawiya was retaken and refinery workers were forced back into labor.

Finally, there was the issue of African immigration to the EU the year before -clearly he had no interest in the welfare of migrants, but happily used them as pawns, something the Gaddafi apologists seem intent on continuing. Could it be they are afraid the democratic uprisings of the Arab Spring will spread throughout Africa and the Caribbean?

[pinboy3niner]

49. Canadian journalist Christoph Halens was murdered covering one 'junket' in Tripoli

After leaving Carleton, Halens got a job as a researcher at Southam News near Parliament Hill. He was a well-liked and well-respected employee. In early 1987, word started to spread about a "peace conference" that would be taking place in Tripoli, Libya. The conference was being sponsored by Gadhafi to memorialize the 1986 bombing of Libya by the U.S.

...


It was being organized in Ottawa by some Palestinian nationals and Ian Verner Macdonald, a former Canadian diplomat noted for his fierce anti-Israel views.


For those who wanted to go, it was all-expenses paid. Macdonald and others assembled a motley crew of "delegates" -- members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, academics, far-leftists and (as Halens learned) even neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

...


Sometime after midnight on April 14, 1987, Halens was taken to the rooftop at the Zanzour Tourist Village and thrown off. His body was found at 6 a.m. that morning by hotel staff. He was 32 years old.

...


http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3276718

This story also was posted in a previous thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1836380&mesg_id=1836760


Thanks for taking the time and trouble to research these issues further, Iterate. :toast:

[Iterate]

59. Had more, can't find it.

Somehow that feels worse than never knowing. :toast:

I hope the anti-interventionist arguments aren't descending into Islamophobic and racism claims against the whole nation just for rejecting dear brother leader and accepting the protection of the UN. The situation is difficult enough without unnecessarily adding that layer.

If there's anything to be learned about the whole Gaddafi era, it's how he has used the divides between peoples to gain and manipulate political power. Small wonder such disparate groups from all over, people who would not otherwise be allies, have somehow found themselves on his side at one time or another.

There's another incident with a foreign national murdered there, a German investigating the wrong topics: Silvan Becker and his wife, murdered in Sirte in 1994. Gaddafi blamed AQ and issued an arrest warrant for Bin Laden, but many people suspected it was actually was Libyan secret police and occurred because of Becker's investigations of Lockerbie. Who knows if the case will be reopened.

[pinboy3niner]

96. I hear ya, lol

It's hard to find time to go back and pull together bits and pieces from various sources to flesh out a particular area.

While you're out looking around, just be careful not to step on the sour grapes. There seem to be lots of them around these days... :evilgrin:

[pinboy3niner]

37. Libyans mark feast without Gaddafi, but war not over

(Reuters WRAPUP 3)

Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:00am GMT


• Libyans celebrate Eid, but more fighting looms after holiday

• New rulers want UN help with police, but no peacekeeepers

• Libya may begin to pump oil in days


By Mohammed Abbas and Robert Birsel


TRIPOLI/BENGHAZI, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Libyans delighted at Muammar Gaddafi's downfall celebrated the end of Ramadan feast on Wednesday, even though the ousted leader remains on the run and forces loyal to him are defying an ultimatum set by Libya's interim council.


In the capital's newly renamed Martyrs' Square, hundreds of people gathered for morning prayers to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the Muslim fasting month.


"It is the most beautiful prayers. We are filled with joy, Gaddafi made us hate our lives ... We come here to express our joy at the end of 42 years of repression and deprivation," said Hatem Gureish, 31, a merchant from Tripoli.



"This is the most beautiful Eid and most beautiful day in 42 years," he said.


Council leaders, trying to heal scars left by Gaddafi's 42-year rule, may want United Nations help in setting up a new police force, but see no role for international peacekeepers or observers, a U.N. official said.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7JU2V720110831?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

38. Libya's new rulers reject UN forces plan

Source: BBC/Reuters via Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Updated August 31, 2011 19:31:36


Libya's interim leaders have rejected the idea of deploying any kind of international military force or observers.


The UN's special envoy for post-conflict planning for Libya, Ian Martin, says he drew up a contingency plan for the possibility of unarmed military observers in Libya.


At the time he had been thinking in terms of monitoring a ceasefire.


But the situation has changed and, he told journalists, it was clear now the transitional leadership wanted to avoid the deployment of any international military force.


"We don't now expect military observers to be requested by the (Libyan interim leadership)," Mr Martin said after attending a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council.


"It's very clear the Libyans want to avoid any kind of military deployment of the UN or others."

...


http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-31/new-libyan-rulers-reject-un-forces-plan/2864572/?site=sydney

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

42. They'll change that tune, real fast

Once the war is over and the rebels have exhausted all their ammunition in celebratory fire, some force will probably attempt to seize the country. It might be Qaddafi loyalists, it might be al-qaeda or taliban, but it will be someone with more military expertise than the rebel "fighters".

Then the transitional leadership will re-invite the NATO jets, the British SAS boots, Xe, anyone who can defend "their" victory.

I don't think this one will be over any time soon.

:hi:

[Iterate]

48. Quagmire and FUD. Got anything else?

taliban? Really?

[tabatha]

81. DId you also predict that the rebels would not win?

[Amonester]

91. Me suggests bozo should get a brand new crystal ball!

:rofl:

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

100. Did the rebels win? I'm impressed.

And I thought there were NATO aerial bombings, NATO naval guns, British SAS forces in the country. I guess I was wrong. Good job, rebels.

The modern western armed forces can do a very impressive (and expensive) job of breaking things, destroying regimes. Ok, that's done, now what?

[pinboy3niner]

39. Gunvor supplies diesel to Libya's Agoco

Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:46am GMT


LONDON Aug 31 (Reuters) - Independent trader Gunvor Group said on Wednesday it has supplied diesel to Libya's oil firm in Benghazi.


"Gunvor SA, the Geneva-based trading arm of Gunvor Group Ltd ...confirmed today that it has discharged a cargo of diesel for use in power generation in Libya, supplied to the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco)," the company said in a news statement.

...


Trading sources told Reuters last week that Gunvor, co-founded by Russian businessman Guennady Timchenko, would supply a cargo of gasoil loading at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk and bound for Benghazi.


The sources said the 30,000 tonne cargo was loaded aboard the Norient Star, which was expected to reach the Libyan port on Aug. 31.


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7JV0I820110831

[pinboy3niner]

40. Alex Crawford: Making History in Libya

Source: HuffPo

Posted: 31/8/11 08:29 GMT

John Mair
Senior lecturer in broadcasting, Coventry University


She trended worldwide on Twitter on Sunday August 21st. Alex Crawford of Sky News was one of the first three journalists-all women-entering Green Square Tripoli with the Libyan rebels.


She simply broadcast live to Sky and the World from the back of a pick up truck 'the most exhilarating moment for all of us' she called it. Her explanation of that undoubted coup? 'Right people, right place, right time' It was stunning stuff to watch and exhilarating for her "an incredible ten days" in a journalistic life that has been already pretty action packed.


Crawford has won the uber prestigious Royal Television Society Reporter of the Year award three times already. A record that will be broken when she wins it again next February for this stunning and brave piece of reporting. Her Sunday had started in Zawiyah to the West but ended in Green Square Tripoli thanks to luck, judgment, courage and contacts developed during a siege in the town five months before when Crawford had been holed up in a mosque. "I was getting ready for death" she recalled.


This is a woman born to be on the frontline. She understands the risks but also the responsibilities. She sees the pressing need for professional journalists to report even in a world of Twitter and Facebook. "I feel really privileged to do this job. We make a difference-it's what we do. We bear witness to what is going on..it adds credibility having journalists' boots on the ground" is her considered opinion.

...


.... Back to that siege in Zawiyah in March "I remember feeling that we had to get the news out, we had to show people what was happening, and if we were going to die we should let everyone know that this is what happened." Yet she is not reckless "Do i feel gung-ho? A lot of the time i feel scared", she confessed.

...


http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/john-mair/alex-crawfordon-making-hi_b_942908.html

[defendandprotect]

41. K/R --

[pinboy3niner]

44. People from Libya celebrate Ghadafi's fall (in Siicon Valley)

Source: KGO-TV, San Francisco

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Alan Wang


FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) --

...


On Tuesday night there was a special celebration at a Fremont restaurant. It was the end of Ramadan and the end of Ghadafi's 42-year regime.


Ahmed Gettani from Fremont went back to witness the revolution in July. He said, "It was a big, huge difference what NATO did because they knocked out all those tanks Ghadafi was shooting civilians with."


Many of these Silicon Valley engineers, professors and business people say their friends and family suffered under Ghadafi who imprisoned, tortured and executed anyone who opposed him.


"Some spent 18 years in jail. Some were hanged publically," said Karim Senussi from El Cerrito.

...


"All the Libyan (people) go outside Libya to get even basic medical needs," said Omar Halloum from Oakley.

...


Despite the wealth of their oil-rich country, many here say the economy and infrastructure has been in shambles for years, but now they're finally seeing an opportunity to change that.


http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=8336542

[pinboy3niner]

46. German rifles in Gaddafi compound

Source: Independent Online (South Africa)

August 31 2011 at 11:03am


Berlin -


A large number of German assault rifles were discovered in the Tripoli residence of fugitive Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi when rebels stormed it last week although the German government had given no approval for such weapons to be sold to his regime, media reports said on Wednesday.


The rifles were G36s, the standard weapons for German troops, the Stuttgarter Nachrichten newspaper and ARD television network reported. They were G36 KV models, made with a shortened barrel for special forces, the reports said.


The exact number of the weapons found, how, when and from whom they were delivered remained unclear, but the reports said they were produced by Germany's small-arms maker Heckler & Koch GmbH.


“We deny that these weapons were supplied to Libya from Heckler & Koch,” the company told Stuttgarter Nachrichten.

...


Juergen Graesslin, an activist who opposes the arms trade, charged, however, that “there is reasonable suspicion that Heckler & Koch or intermediaries illegally supplied large numbers of G36s to the Gaddafi regime.”

...


http://www.iol.co.za/news/africa/german-rifles-in-gaddafi-compound-1.1128424?showComments=true

[pinboy3niner]

87. Germany to probe how rifles wound up in Libya

Wed Aug 31, 2011 1:58pm EDT


BERLIN Aug 31 (Reuters) - Germany and Libya's new authorities will investigate reports that high-powered German assault rifles wound up in Muammar Gaddafi's arsenals where the weapons were seized by rebels and used against his forces, officials said on Wednesday.

...


The ministry did not authorise the sale of such weapons to Libya, said officials cited by the newspaper.


Heckler & Koch said in a statement it had never delivered such weapons to Libya and filed a request with public prosecutors in the city of Rottweil to investigate.


"At no time was there a delivery of the G36 to Libya by Heckler & Koch or related companies and organisations," said the company, adding that it was "very interested" in clarifying the case.


http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/31/libya-germany-weapons-idUSL5E7JV2GQ20110831

[pinboy3niner]

47. NATO airstrikes conducted Tuesday, August 30

Key Hits 30 AUGUST:


In the vicinity of Sirte: 1 Command and Control Facility, 3 Tanks, 12 Armed Vehicles, 1 Military Facility, 1 Command Post, 1 Radar.


In the vicinity of Bani Walid: 1 Military Ammo Storage Facility, 1 Military Tank/Multiple Rocket Launcher Storage Facility, 1 Military Facility, 3 Surface to Surface Missile Launchers.


In the vicinity of Hun: 4 Anti Aircraft Weapon Systems, 1 Anti Aircraft Artillery, 1 Radar, 2 Tanks, 2 Multiple Rocket Launchers, 1 Artillery Piece.

...


International Humanitarian Assistance Movements as recorded by NATO


Total of Humanitarian Movements**: 884 (air, ground, maritime)


Ships delivering Humanitarian Assistance 30 AUGUST: 3


Aircrafts delivering Humanitarian Assistance 30 AUGUST: 11


**Some humanitarian movements cover several days.


http://www.nato.int/nato_static/assets/pdf/pdf_2011_08/20110831_110831-oup-update.pdf

[pinboy3niner]

50. Why democracy has a good chance in Libya

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Ronald Bruce St John: About 3 months after rebellion, opposition offers path to democracy

• He says oil revenue, growing national consciousness, other factors in new Libya's favor

• Libya is also relatively homogenous ethnically; should help with making transition

• St John: Few civil bodies exist there; other hurdles remain, but Libya can rise with help

By Ronald Bruce St John, Special to CNN

August 30, 2011 12:40 p.m. EDT


Editor's note: Ronald Bruce St John served on the International Advisory Board of the Journal of Libyan Studies and the Atlantic Council Working Group on Libya. He is the author of five books on Libya, including "Libya: Continuity and Change" (2011).


(CNN) -- In mid-January, small groups of Libyans took to the streets to demand a more dignified way of life and a more responsive government. Issues that concerned them included military corruption, inadequate housing and job creation.


Initially, the Gadhafi regime responded by offering limited socioeconomic reforms, but as peaceful protests grew in size and intensity, the regime resorted to force. Mindful of recent events in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, where popular uprisings routed longtime rulers, Gadhafi's security forces repeatedly overreacted, shooting more and more demonstrators.


In response, the protesters proclaimed February 17 a day of rage, and when the regime again responded with force, killing as many as 50 demonstrators in Benghazi alone, the February 17th Revolution was born.


From the outset, the TNC, the official opposition body, embraced the political objectives of the revolution and worked to keep them at the forefront of policy deliberations. The TNC recognized that the defeat of Gadhafi's armed forces would simply mark the end of the beginning, with the greater challenge being the creation of a freely elected government responsive to the wishes of Libya's people.

...


http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/30/stjohn.libya.next/index.html?hpt=wo_mid

[pinboy3niner]

51. NATO Press briefing on Libya (transcript)

30 Aug. 2011


by Oana Lungescu, the NATO Spokesperson and Colonel Roland Lavoie, Operation ‘’Unified Protector’’ military spokesperson


OANA LUNGESCU (NATO Spokesperson):

...


The mission will continue in full compliance with the United Nations mandate for as long as it's needed, but not a day longer. It looks as if we're nearly there, but we're not there yet.


In the last week we've seen vivid reminders of where the threats are coming from. We've seen the grim pictures from Tripoli and the allegations of mass graves, executed prisoners and a hospital full of dead patients. We've seen more reports of how the regime has been using mosques, schools and market places as shields for its weapons.


We must make sure that these threats are gone and that they're gone for good. Until civilians and cities in Libya are safe. So that the Libyan people can build a new future based on democracy, reconciliation and the rule of law. Once NATO's job is done it's for others to take over the lead in supporting Libya. We expect the United Nations to take the leading role and we've already seen that it is doing so. NATO could support upon request.


Last week, as you know, the North Atlantic Council agreed that any possible future supporting role for NATO must satisfy three criteria: a demonstrable need, a sound legal basis, and wide regional support.


I must stress, though, that no decision's been taken and the focus for now remains very much on getting the job done under the current mandate of the United Nations Security Council.


The Secretary General will travel to Paris on Thursday, September the 1st, to take part in the senior level meeting on Libya. As you know, he's already taken part in Contact Group meetings in Doha, London, Rome and Istanbul.


This will be an opportunity for further coordination of international support for the people of Libya as they finally begin to hold the future in their own hands.


...



COLONEL ROLAND LAVOIE (Spokesperson for the Operation Unified Protector): ....


The Qadhafi regime is collapsing and rapidly losing control on multiple fronts. A few days ago we witnessed the people of Tripoli freeing their city. Now the port is accessible to commercial and humanitarian shipping as in the nearby port of Az-Aawiyahj.


The two metropolitan airports are now secured. The new authorities are able to provide for the overall security of the city. And the National Transitional Council has moved decision centres in the capital and demonstrated its leadership and ability to start coordinating the provision of services to the population. These are very encouraging signs indeed.


Qadhafi forces have also been pushed out of the greater Tripoli area. Despite the presence of remnants of the regime the Tripoli region is essentially freed with the retreat of pro-Qadhafi forces to the areas of Bani Walid to the southeast of the capital where they don't represent a direct threat to the population of Tripoli any more.


Another key changes since last week is the opening of the northwest coastal route linking Tripoli to the Tunisian border. As the overall security situation improves this vital link will gradually allow for more road movements, which means more food, more water, fuel, medicine and other supplies.


Our main area of attention is now the corridor between Bani Walid and the eastern edge of Sirte, where pro-Qadhafi forces are maintaining a varying presence in several coastal cities and villages. A presence that has also been reported inland down to the Al Jufra general area.


Now let me say a few words on the NATO mission as several may wonder if there's still a need for a NATO presence to protect Libya.


From an air component perspective NATO is still very much involved in monitoring the situation and intervening with extreme care and precision when and where we identify threats against the population, including surface-to-surface missile systems, multiple-rocket launchers, air-tracking radars and anti-aircraft guns. For example, just a few days ago NATO aircraft had to strike at command-and-control facilities in Tripoli from where attacks against the population were directed.


As recently as yesterday our aircraft struck several surface-to-air threats and multiple military vehicles in the vicinity of Sirte, which is considered as a last bastion of the Qadhafi regime.


These interventions may well evolve in terms of numbers of strikes performed over time, but will remain critically important until the Libyan civilian population is no longer under threat from the former regime.


It is equally important to note that the Alliance air component is tracking and deconflicting numerous air and ground movements, which include humanitarian aid movements which are of critical importance at this recovery phase of the conflict. So far, since the beginning of the NATO mission, we have tracked and coordinated thousands of air and ground movements to enable approximately 870 deliveries of humanitarian aid by national and international organizations, including non-governmental organizations.


These numbers may sound abstract, but they do reflect a very concrete reality for those who are in real need of basic necessities.

...


(Transcript continues with press Q&A)
http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/opinions_77480.htm

[pinboy3niner]

52. Rebels say time running out for Gadhafi as crisis mounts in Tripoli (& Saadi says he won't surrender

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Gadhafi's son Saadi says he will not surrender to rebels

• NEW: International representatives will meet with rebel leaders Thursday

• 60% of Tripoli is without water or sanitation, the U.N. secretary-general says

• Report: A teen says he saw Moammar Gadhafi on Friday in Tripoli

By the CNN Wire Staff

August 31, 2011 6:12 a.m. EDT


Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Libyan rebels expressed fresh optimism that Moammar Gadhafi's reign is about to crumble as a deadline looms for Gadhafi loyalists to disarm or face assault.


"I think this thug, this killer knows that he has nowhere to go," said Ali Tarhouni, finance and oil minister for the opposition's National Transitional Council.


Tarhouni said he expects Gadhafi's four-decade rule to fall apart within a week.


"I really have no problem with waiting another week," he said Tuesday. "I've waited 42 years."


But Gadhafi's whereabouts are still unconfirmed, 11 days after opposition forces stormed the capital and later captured his Tripoli compound.

...


"Since they don't want to negotiate, I don't think I will go to them and surrender myself," (Saadi) Gadhafi told CNN's Nic Robertson in an e-mail Wednesday. "They have already killed thousands of people and destroyed the country. I'd rather surrender myself to a real government than ... to those guys."

...


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/31/libya.war/

[pinboy3niner]

53. China sending vice-minister to "observe" Paris 'Friends of Libya' meeting Thursday

From AJE Live Blog:

China said Wednesday it was sending a vice-minister to "observe" a Paris conference on the future of Libya, whose rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) Beijing has not officially recognised.


Around 60 nations are expected to be represented at Thursday's Friends of Libya conference, to be co-chaired by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron.


US Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have all said they will attend, while most other participants said they would send their foreign ministers.


China said it would be represented by its Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun at the meeting, which will seek to address the reconstruction of Libya after months of violence and decades of misrule under Moamer Kadhafi's regime.


China's foreign ministry said Jun would attend "as the representative and observer of the Chinese government".


"China supports relevant parties' efforts to restore the stability of Libya and facilitate the stable transfer of Libya's political power," spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a statement.


"We are also willing to play a positive role in the future rebuilding of Libya together with the international community."

- AFP


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-aug-31-2011-1321

[pinboy3niner]

54. UN shelves Libya military observer plan

CBC News

Posted: Aug 31, 2011 6:35 AM ET

Last Updated: Aug 31, 2011 8:48 AM ET



A plan to deploy United Nations military personnel to help stabilize Libya has been abandoned.


A 10-page document written by the UN Secretary General's special adviser on Libya that was leaked and published online recently called for the deployment of 200 unarmed UN military observers and 190 UN police to help stabilize the country. The document also outlined plans for UN-assisted elections within the next year.

...


(The plan's author, Ian) Martin also said the UN has been asked to help with elections, which he called a monumental task.


"Let's remember there's essentially no living memory of elections," he said. "There's no electoral machinery. There's no electoral commission. No history of political parties. No independent civil society." In his report, Martin says 40,000 election staff will need to be be recruited and trained before Libyans can go to the polls.


Martin also says the UN will appoint a gender adviser to ensure the representation and integration of women in any transitional government.

...


http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/08/31/libya-united-nations-military.html

[al bupp]

57. The Atlantic: Former Qaddafi Mercenaries Describe Fighting in Libyan War

From: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/08/former-qaddafi-mercenaries-describe-fighting-in-libyan-war/244356/

Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of ethnic Tuaregs left Mali to fight for Muammar Qaddafi. Now, some are returning home to tell their story



Tuareg mercenaries, like the above pictured Niger-based fighters, have been reported fighting for Qaddafi in Libya / Reuters

TIMBUKTU, Mali -- Last month at a guesthouse within sight of the rolling dunes of the open Sahara, I sat down to await one of Muammar Qaddafi's mercenaries. Through an intermediary he agreed to meet and explain why the Tuareg -- an ancient Saharan people who inhabit large desert swathes of Libya, Mali, Niger, and Algeria -- would help the Libyan leader crush the democracy protests -- including unarmed civilians, women, and children -- and eventually join in all-out war against the ensuing rebellion

I learned about him when a Tuareg elder told me that in recent weeks more than 200 Tuareg fighters had returned from Libya to Timbuktu and the surrounding villages. He said that hundreds more had returned to other towns in eastern Mali. Local leaders were worried, he said, that these men could be the leading edge of a large wave of mercenaries returning from the fighting in Libya and that they could set a match to northern Mali's own brittle mixture of ethnic rivalries.

...

Finally, the mercenary arrived for our meeting. His long, lean build resembled that of a hardscrabble farmer more than a warrior. He wore a frayed, brown bagzan (the long, loose shirt favored by locals), battered camel-leather sandals, and a black turban covering his nose and mouth, in the traditional Tuareg style. He suggested we go up to the roof of the guesthouse to drink hot sweet tea and take advantage of the breeze blowing in from the desert.

...

After Tripoli, he and his fellow Tuareg mercenaries fought in several battles east of the capital city along the coast, including at Misrata. As the fighting intensified, Libyan officials began rounding up Tuareg living in Libya, threatening to imprison them and their families if they didn't join the fight, though many had no military training. Some deserted and joined the rebels, but most stayed with the forces loyal to Qaddafi. At Misrata, he said he saw Ibrahim Bahanga, one of the Tuareg who led the rebellion against the Mali government from 2007 through 2009. "He was with many former rebels from Mali. They were fighting hard for Qaddafi."

...

I asked if he had seen any civilians killed. In Misrata, he says, "We tried to find everyone there. One half of the city was cleaned."

"What do you mean 'cleaned?'" I asked.

"The people were killed. Women, children, everyone there."

Who did the killing?

"Mostly it was Arabs but also some Tuareg."

I highly recommend this article, I found it to be a very interesting read.

[pinboy3niner]

82. About 500 Tuaregs hunted by Libyan rebels have entered Algeria in the last 24 hours

From AJE Live Blog:

About 500 Tuaregs hunted by Libyan rebels have entered Algeria in the last 24 hours, a government source said on Wednesday.


"About 500 Tuaregs were being pursued by the rebels. They fled Libyan territory and, for humanitarian reasons, we couldn't refuse them entry," an official, who did not want to be named, said.


Among them were women, children and casualties, the source added.


Tens of thousands of Tuaregs took refuge in Libya following rebellions that shook Mali and Niger in the 1990s and early 2000s, and again between 2006 and 2009.


The rebel movement say Libyan Tuaregs fought for toppled leader Muammar Gaddafi.


Algerian media reported that the country closed its borders with Libya after Gaddafi family members fled there on Saturday.


The daily Ennahar said in its online edition on Wednesday however that Algeria partially reopened its border near the Libyan town of Ghadames, a mainly Berber settlement about 600km southwest of Tripoli which is now under rebel control.


A group of 70 Tuaregs were authorised to enter the country on Tuesday afternoon, followed on Wednesday by the remainder, it said.


"The Algerian Red Cross has been tasked with dealing with the refugees and taking care of them," the government source told AFP.


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-aug-31-2011-1924

[pinboy3niner]

55. Libya's new rulers set out steps to elections

Wed Aug 31, 2011 1:10pm GMT

By Robert Birsel


BENGHAZI Aug 31 (Reuters) - Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) has set out steps leading to democratic elections monitored by the United Nations within 18 months.

...


FIRST STEPS


After "declaring liberation", the NTC will move to its headquarters in Tripoli and form a transitional government within 30 days. Within 90 days of declaring liberation, the NTC will issue legislation about the election of a Public National Conference (PNC), appoint an elections commission and call for the election of the PNC.


The PNC will be elected within 240 days of the declaration of liberation. It will consist of 200 elected members. The NTC will be dissolved at the first meeting of the PNC. The transitional government continues until the formation of an interim government.


Within 30 days of its first meeting, the PNC will appoint a prime minister who will nominate his government which will become an interim government.


CONSTITUTION


The PNC will appoint a Constituent Authority for drafting a constitution which should submit a draft constitution to the PNC within 60 days of its first meeting.


The PNC will approve the draft constitution and will put it to a referendum within 30 days. If it is approved by a two-thirds majority, the Constituent Authority will endorse it as the constitution, and it will be ratified by the PNC. If it is rejected, the Constituent Authority will have to re-draft it and put it to a referendum again within 30 days.


ELECTIONS


The PNC will issue a general elections law in line with the constitution within 30 days and a general election will be held within 180 days of the declaration of the laws.


A Supreme National Elections Commission, to be appointed by the PNC, will be responsible for holding general elections "under the supervision of the national judiciary and to be monitored by the UN as well as international and regional organizations".

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7JV2CF20110831?sp=true

[MedleyMisty]

60. Hey, I was coming to post that!

It sounds like a pretty cool plan.

Of course I can't predict the future, but I am fairly sure that Libya's going to be fine. I say that in three years we get together and do like a checking in on Libya thread, and hopefully we'll be able to say "Haha, told you so." to the naysayers and haters. :)

[pinboy3niner]

56. Yvonne Fletcher investigation will receive co-operation from Libya

The memorial to PC Yvonne Fletcher in London, who was shot dead
outside the Libyan embassy in 1984. Photograph: John D McHugh/AP
_____________________________________________________________



Only one of three main suspects into fatal shooting of police officer in 1984 remains alive, says Tripoli interim government

Owen Bowcott, legal affairs correspondent
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 31 August 2011 13.02 BST


David Cameron has said Libya's interim government will co-operate with the Metropolitan police investigation into the 1984 killing of WPC Yvonne Fletcher. The prime minister's comments come as it was reported that only one of the three main suspects in the shooting from the Libyan embassy in London 27 years ago remains alive.


"There is an ongoing police investigation and I am sure the new authorities in Libya will co-operate in that investigation," Cameron said. "We have got to let the new government find its feet."


He added: "The murder of Yvonne Fletcher was a reminder of the horrors that happened under the Gaddafi regime, and we should be celebrating today that that regime is coming to an end, and that Britain has played a proud part in that." The prime minister said his sympathies remained with the police officer's family.


Fletcher, 25, died from a shot fired from inside the embassy during an anti-Gaddafi demonstration. After an 11-day siege, 30 Libyans in the embassy were deported. Nobody was ever charged with her killing.


Three Libyan officials were named by those campaigning for justice for the Fletcher family as being implicated in the machine gun attack.

...


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/31/yvonne-fletcher-cooperation-libya

[pinboy3niner]

58. Newly released frozen Libyan assets have begun to reach Benghazi

Matthew Weaver posts on The Guardian's Live Blog:


Newly released frozen Libyan assets have begun to reach Benghazi, according to the NTC's UK spokesman Guma el-Gamaty.

http://twitter.com/Guma_el_gamaty/statuses/108878739517079552

Breaking UK government released 1860 million LD currency notes held since feb. first shipmt arrived in benghazi salaries can now be paid!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/aug/31/libya-gaddafi-loyalist-refuse-surrender-live-updates#block-18

[pinboy3niner]

61. EU will use Thursday summit to lift most sanctions on Libyan ports and companies

From The Guardian's Live Blog:


Europe is to use Thursday's Friends of Libya summit in Paris to lift most of the sanctions on Libyan ports and companies, according to officials, writes Ian Traynor in Brussels.

Officials from the 27 member states of the EU met in Brussels on Wednesday to finalise the agreement which will be announced in Paris and implemented on Friday, according to EU sources.


Sanctions on six Libyan port authorities, including Tripoli's, are to be rescinded as part of the "delisting" decision which generally will release almost 30 Libyan "entities", mainly companies, from the EU penalties and unfreeze their assets.


A European Commission official said the criterion for the lifting was EU confidence that the companies or facilities suffering sanctions were now under the control of the new Libyan authorities.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/aug/31/libya-gaddafi-loyalist-refuse-surrender-live-updates#block-16

[MedleyMisty]

62. A video of Zintan youth cleaning and painting the town

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix-___YVpWE

See, this is why Libya is not Iraq. They started their revolution and fought for their freedom. They had help from NATO and other countries, but they were the ones fighting on the ground and they are the ones who are getting rid of Gaddafi. They feel ownership and cohesiveness.

In Iraq, the US invaded and occupied the country on false pretenses and deposed Hussein and installed a puppet government. No reason for Iraqis to feel invested or feel national pride or to work together for a better future.

The Iraqis had a day of rage, but I haven't heard much about it since and obviously it was never in the media here. I should look into it and see if it fizzled or what.

[pinboy3niner]

63. Libya seeking to import 500,000 T wheat

Wed Aug 31, 2011 2:16pm GMT


LONDON/HAMBURG Aug 31 (Reuters) - Libya is seeking to import 500,000 tonnes of wheat and 400,000 tonnes of flour in the next two to three months, although western sanctions imposed on ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi and worries over port security will hinder the pace of shipments, trade and shipping sources say.

"Libya needs a lot of wheat and flour and I expect them to buy a lot in coming weeks," one trader said. "I expect them to buy a major volume of flour initially as much of their infrastructure is literally shot to pieces including their mills."


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7JV2JP20110831

[pinboy3niner]

64. Yemen's Saleh says 'corrupt' exploiting protests

AFP – 28 mins ago


Ailing Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh accused his opponents of being corrupt and arms dealers who are exploiting youthful protesters demanding his ouster, in a televised address.


"Those who went to the University Square to support the youth revolution that demands the ouster of the regime... have fed on corruption, and are dealers of arms and land," Saleh said in the address aired late Tuesday on state television as he received well-wishers at his residence in Riyadh.

...


"Our people know them well. They were a burden on the political system which was always blamed for protecting those corrupt... who are now (demonstrating) at the University Square," Sanaa's epicentre for anti-regime demonstrations, he said.


"Let them go away... corrupt, liars and deceivers. We do not mention names, but our people know them very well," he added, in an apparent reference to the leaders of the opposition and tribal chiefs who have backed protests that began late January calling on him to quit after 32 years in office.

...


http://news.yahoo.com/yemens-saleh-says-corrupt-exploiting-protests-142923107.html

He's sounding more like Gaddafi and Assad every day...

[pinboy3niner]

65. 4 It. journalist detainees, girlfriend of Gaddafi son, former US Rep. & "nightmare" 35-hour escape

The Guardian's Live Blog reports:


A number of high-profile evacuees from Tripoli, including four Italian journalists who had been kidnapped, a girlfriend of one Gaddafi's sons, and a former US Congressman, endured a "nightmare" 35-hour escape from Tripoli on a ship that got caught in high seas.

Sheffield based surgeon Dr Vaithianathan Natarajan, one of 36 evacuees on the boat described the voyage in a telephone interview.

He said:

We got caught in very rough seas. Normally it would take about six hours to take a ferry from Tripoli to Malta it took us 35 hours in rough seas exposed to the elements with 99% of the evacuees becoming terribly, terribly, terribly seasick. We were all dirty, smelly, people were sick on board, water was coming into the boat. It was like the ultimate nightmare scenario.

He described passengers as a "motley crew". They included the former US congressman Walter Fauntroy who had been trapped in the Rixos hotel, four Italian journalists who had been kidnapped, and an injured Dutch girlfriend of Gaddafi's son Mutassim.

An unnamed passenger was arrested when the board arrived in Malta, according to a Cuban press reports.

Natarajan said: "We managed to exchange our experiences. I'm relived to be back but I would like to go back to my job, once things settle down. I'm relived more because of the sea journey."

On the fighting, in Tripoli Natarajan added: "The fall of Tripoli was an anticlimax. It all happened so quickly. The whole world was expecting a bloody battle but they just came so quickly. I was not scared because I had lived through the bombings."


(Audio at link)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/aug/31/libya-gaddafi-loyalist-refuse-surrender-live-updates#block-15#block-15

[pinboy3niner]

66. At least four rebel fighters killed in Tripoli blast--Al Jazeera

At least four Libyan fighters have been killed in the capital, Tripoli, in a blast that went off as residents, already rejoicing at the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime, celebrated Eid-al-Fitr.


Some residents said it was a car bomb and the blast was carried out by Gaddafi loyalists.


Al Jazeera's Sue Turton, reporting from Tripoli, said, "On early hours of Wednesday, we heard reports of a car bomb but now different stories have emerged."


"A group of rebels have denied it was a car bomb; they say actually a car full of fuel was hit by celebratory gun fire, that’s what killed the four Libyan fighters," she said.


Another group said that children had picked up grenades left on the road after the recent fighting, and that they were killed in the grenade explosions.


Our correspondent said, "The confusion is pretty much symptomatic of the feeling at the moment in Tripoli. Also, there is worry that still there are some pockets of Gaddafi loyalists in the city."


"But over all, it is much more relaxed, checkpoints are more relaxed and shops are now opening, but fear remains that something could happen even now.


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-aug-31-2011-1809

[tabatha]

67. Gaddafi's secret underground TV station

And some great interviews with people.

http://youtu.be/--QL7sr9TeY

[tabatha]

68. 50,000 killed in Libya since start of uprising to oust Qaddafi: army officer

An estimated 50,000 people have been killed since the beginning of Libya’s uprising to oust Muammar Qaddafi six months ago, a military commander with the country’s interim ruling council said on Tuesday, amid reports that a French firm had helped Qaddafi’s regime spy on the emails and chat messages of opponents.

“About 50,000 people were killed since the start of the uprising,” Colonel Hisham Buhagiar, commander of the anti-Qaddafi troops who advanced out of the Western Mountains and took Tripoli a week ago, told Reuters.

“In Misrata and Zlitan between 15,000 and 17,000 were killed and Jebel Nafusa (the Western Mountains) took a lot of casualties. We liberated about 28,000 prisoners. We presume that all those missing are dead,” he said.

“Then there was Ajdabiyah, Brega. Many people were killed there too,” he said, referring to towns repeatedly fought over in eastern Libya.

The figures included those killed in the fighting between Qaddafi’s troops and his foes, and those who have gone missing over the past six months, he said.

http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/08/30/164758.html

[pinboy3niner]

69. Syria: Powerful new Amnesty International film documents torture, violence

Amnesty International has made a harrowing film to accompany its report on the death of 88 detainees in Syria since the protests began.

Researcher Neil Sammonds documented 52 instances of torture or violence among detainees.


Short video (2:03) at link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/aug/31/libya-gaddafi-loyalist-refuse-surrender-live-updates#block-15#block-26

[tabatha]

70. Storming Tripoli

Six months ago Mehdi al-Harati, an Arabic teacher, said goodbye to his wife and four children in Dublin and went off to war. Last week I was alongside him and his men — many of them from Britain — as they prepared to storm the Bastille of the Libyan revolution.

In quick succession both he and I were hit by snipers’ bullets, but we survived and raced on towards Colonel Muammar Gadaffi’s heavily fortified palace in central Tripoli.

The high walls of the Bab al-Aziziya compound embodied the 42 years of oppression that Gadaffi had inflicted on his country.

“Sheikh” Mehdi’s 350-strong brigade of Libyan exiles, buzzing with the accents of Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester, were determined to be the first insurgents to breach the walls as the regime tottered last week.

The Tripoli Brigade, as they called themselves, had trained for four months in Libya’s western mountains with French, American and Qatari special forces for this moment.

I watched the brown-bearded rebel commander — a compact and strong figure but also a diabetic with a heart problem — sprint up a narrow alleyway under heavy sniper fire, waving his men forwards. As the 38-year-old raced towards a watchtower guarding the compound’s entrance, a bullet smashed into his ankle, knocking him to the ground.

http://milesamoore.com/2011/08/28/storming-tripoli/

[tabatha]

71. Parties’ finger-pointing over relations with Gaddafi ‘childish’

It is childish of the two major parties to be pointing fingers at each other over who was closest to Muammar Gaddafi, according to commentators.

The Nationalist and Labour parties have been at each other’s throats, both claiming the other was more “intimate” with Col Gaddafi’s regime.

“This is not the time to enter into such recriminations. Leave that for election time,” former Ambassador to Libya Evarist Saliba said when contacted.

Writing in The Times, former Labour minister Lino Spiteri said he was sure both Labour and Nationalists acted that way in the perceived interest of Malta, not out of love for the dictators: “So can they please stop behaving like children?”

Historian and former Labour general secretary Dominic Fenech said the discourse was not mature enough “to admit that it was in the national interest to have good relations with a close neighbour – be it under Labour or under PN. Pointing fingers is completely petty and childish,” Prof. Fenech said.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110831/local/Parties-finger-pointing-over-relations-with-Gaddafi-childish-.382566

[tabatha]

72. No one owns Libya, or owes it

In the aftermath of the downfall of Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi, a preposterous debate has been raging in policy circles about the extent to which the West “owns” the future of Libya and what it “owes” the Libyan people.

The whole point of the limited military engagement was precisely to avoid this kind of responsibility, and that was both a Libyan and a Western desire. The Libyan rebels made it clear that they wanted military assistance from the air and in terms of weapons, intelligence and training, but not direct outside intervention on the ground. They wished to remain masters of their own fate, and so they are.

Similarly there was little appetite among Western publics and elite in favor of a ground intervention in Libya. Even the limited engagement lacked widespread support.

The current debate about who “owns” Libya is wrongheaded. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s “Pottery Barn” rule—namely “if you break it, you own it”—coined in the context of the buildup to the invasion of Iraq, does not apply here. The Iraq war was an unsolicited outside intervention for regime change almost entirely disconnected from events inside Iraq or any kind of Iraqi agency. In Libya, the rebellion and the civil war happened spontaneously, without much outside guidance or interference.

To read more: http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=306720&MID=12&PID=2#ixzz1WcgIJaru

[pinboy3niner]

73. Former Qaddafi Mercenaries Describe Fighting in Libyan War

Posted above, and also posted in LBN by al bupp:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4980083


Recommended. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[tabatha]

74. Flying the flag for North Africa's 'Berber spring'

While there has been much talk of the Arab spring, ethnic Berbers have played a key role in the changes sweeping through North Africa, which is leading to greater recognition for their culture and language.

In Libya, the group which has been repressed for decades by the Arab majority, has led fierce resistance against Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces in their heartland - the western Nafusa Mountains.

Their flag - bearing the symbol of the Amazigh, as the Berbers call themselves - flew high as territory was captured and or shrouded soldiers as they were buried.

It was also raised aloft in celebration at the annual Amazigh festival in the southern Moroccan town of Agadir as Tamazight was adopted as an official language as part of the country's consitutional changes.

Fathi Khalifa - who serves on the Libyan rebels' governing body, the National Transitional Council (NTC) - says the uprising has given Berbers hope.

"For 40 years, Amazigh Libyans have been oppressed," he says.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14650257

[pinboy3niner]

75. CNN: Sirte now surrounded by 10,000 rebel fighters

The on-air report moments ago said rebels are still pursuing negotiations for peaceful surrender of Sirte.

[pinboy3niner]

76. Gaddafi loyalists under fire as Libya celebrates

(Reuters WRAPUP 5)

Wed Aug 31, 2011 3:21pm GMT


• Libyans celebrate Eid, but more fighting looms after holiday

• New rulers want UN help with police, but no peacekeepers

• France asks UN to unfreeze 1.5 bln euros of Libyan assets


By Samia Nakhoul and Maria Golovnina


TRIPOLI/TAWARGA, Libya, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Libyan forces backed by NATO bombers struck at loyalist troops dug in around Muammar Gaddafi's hometown on Wednesday, as refugees streamed out of the besieged bastion fearing a bloody showdown in the coming days.

...


NATO said its planes bombed Gaddafi forces near Sirte on Tuesday, targeting tanks and other armoured vehicles as well as military facilities. They also hit targets in the area of Bani Walid, another Gaddafi stronghold 150 km (100 miles) southeast of Tripoli. Anti-Gaddafi fighters said on the same day that they had advanced to within 30 km (20 miles) of the desert town.


On Wednesday NTC fighters said they clashed with Gaddafi forces patrolling in the area west of Sirte.


At Tawarga, west of Sirte, civilians streamed in laden vehicles along the coastal highway, some flying white flags.


Passing through a checkpoint set up by the forces of the interim ruling council, the NTC, many of the refugees said they feared a major battle, since they did not expect those holding Gaddafi's tribal homeland to give up without a fight.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7JU2V720110831?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

77. Libyan teen says Gadhafi's troops forced her to execute rebels

Posted in LBN by Turborama:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4980020

[pinboy3niner]

78. Italy to reopen its embassy in Libya tomorrow

Italy plans to reopen its embassy in Libya from September 1, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, following a similar move by France.


The ministry said diplomats would arrive in Tripoli in coming hours to restart operations, which were halted in March shortly before Italy endorsed the rebels and joined a NATO bombing campaign against toppled leader Muammar Gaddafi's 41-year rule.


Franco Frattini, the foreign minister, will propose the new Italian ambassador to Tripoli at a meeting in Paris on Thursday, the ministry said.


France, which spearheaded the West's military intervention in Libya, has already started resuming operations at its Tripoli embassy, which was shut in February.


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-aug-31-2011-1854

[pinboy3niner]

79. #Iran doesn't lose time: Iranian FM Ali Akbar Salehi invites TNC head Jalil to visit Tehran

Tweet from an Al Jazeera staffer:

GEsfandiari

#Iran doesn't lose time: Iranian FM Ali Akbar Salehi invites TNC head Mostafa Jalil to visit Tehran at a 'convenient' time. #Libya

Tue Aug 30 13:58:03 2011

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-aug-31-2011-1841

[tabatha]

80. Kucinch and Libya

On the floor of the intelligence chief's office lay an envelope addressed to Gaddafi's son Saif Al-Islam. Inside, I found what appears to be a summary of a conversation between US congressman Denis Kucinich, who publicly opposed US policy on Libya, and an intermediary for the Libyan leader's son.

It details a request by the congressman for information he needed to lobby American lawmakers to suspend their support for the Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) and to put an end to NATO airstrikes. According to the document, Kucinich wanted evidence of corruption within the NTC and, like his fellow countryman Welch, any possible links within rebel ranks to al-Qaeda.

The document also lists specific information needed to defend Saif Al-Islam, who is currently on the International Criminal Court's most wanted list.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/08/2011831151258728747.html

Kucinch, how can you possibly call yourself a liberal?

[al bupp]

84. This is a very powerful report

It could irreparably damage Kucinich reputation. Interestingly, the report focuses more on David Welch, former assistant secretary of state (under G.W. Bush), and now Bechtel employee. As recently as August 2nd, he was advising the Gaddafi regime on how to stop the air campaign and reform it image in the US via such tactics as releasing (supposed) TNC links to al-Qaeda via 3rd parties in order to increase their credibility.

It seems to me that this should put something of a damper on the allegations by some leftists that the Libyan revolution is all just a PNAC/neocon conspiracy. If so, it was not a very well coordinated one if multinationals such as Bechtel somehow failed to get the memo.

It should be noted that the report comes complete w/ documentation from the Gaddafi regime's intelligence files in both Arabic and translated into English. I expect additional revelations to come forward in the future that will further demonstrate the associations between Gaddafi and western business interests.

[joshcryer]

113. Extraoridinary. Absolutely extraoridinary. Every talking point for Gaddafi comes from the west!

Incredible. Just unbelievable. If anyone doubts that there was a concerted effort to spread lying propaganda those doubts should end here. Wow.

Sadly it will not change a fucking thing as far as the propaganda goes.

[pinboy3niner]

83. Fuel shortages hit Libya's east

Wed Aug 31, 2011 4:43pm GMT


• Fuel has been diverted to western areas

• Refinery outages due to damage, lack of crude

• Official says at least 2 cargoes on their way


By Emma Farge and Alex Dziadosz


BENGHAZI, Libya, Aug 31 - Gasoline shortages in east Libya are at their worst since the uprising against Muammar Gaddafi began, residents said on Wednesday, even as international traders and suppliers rush fuel cargoes to the country.


Shortages have been rare in rebel-held areas until now due to regular supplies from countries such as Qatar and Turkey. Trader Gunvor said on Wednesday it was supplying diesel to help generate electricity.


But after the capture of Tripoli earlier in August, much of that supply has been diverted to west Libya.


Still, drivers in the east were in good spirits and brushed off the inconvenience.


"It's not a big deal. We want to get gas to Tripoli. That's the real problem. Maybe after a few days this problem will finish," said Fathi, 30, pushing his white sedan in line at a station after it ran out of petrol.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE77U0OF20110831?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

85. Libya: 'Mass killing' sites in Tripoli (includes map)

Source: BBC

31 August 2011 Last updated at 11:38 ET


Evidence emerging from Libya suggests that several mass killings were carried out as rebel forces swept into the capital Tripoli earlier this month.


BBC correspondents have visited sites where large numbers of bodies have been found, and medical workers and rights group are gathering evidence which could be used in future war crimes trials.


Here are some of the main discoveries around the city so far.


Map and discussion of findings at each site at link:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14729083

[tabatha]

86. Tear jerker

Bab al-Azizya: symbool overwinning

http://nieuwsuur.nl/video/268425-bab-alazizya-symbool-overwinning.html

[pinboy3niner]

88. Iran leader: West cannot 'confiscate' Arab Spring

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI - Associated Press | AP – 12 mins ago.


TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's top leader warned the Arab world Wednesday not to allow Western powers and Israel to "confiscate" the region's pro-reform uprisings, in comments that appear to reflect the Islamic republic's unease about their standing in a profoundly altered Middle East.


Iran has tried to walk two paths since the pro-democracy rebellions began in February — lauding the popular revolts as modern-day heirs to Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, while maintaining relentless pressure on opposition groups at home.


But Iran is at risk of serious political setbacks. Iran's main Mideast ally, Syria's Bashar Assad, is under growing international pressure for his fierce crackdown on anti-government protests.


Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a speech broadcast on Iran's state TV to mark the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, reflected the added worries that the West and its allies could gain ground in the Arab Spring.


"Muslim nations in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen or other countries need vigilance today. They should not allow enemies confiscate the victories they've achieved," Khamenei said. "They should not forget that those who have come to the scene in Libya (U.S. and NATO) today and consider themselves owners of the uprising are the same people who used to sit and drink with those who once suppressed the Libyan nation."

...


http://news.yahoo.com/iran-leader-west-cannot-confiscate-arab-spring-182943006.html

[pinboy3niner]

89. Gaddafi foreign minister arrested by rebels-witness (updated)

Wed Aug 31, 2011 7:28pm GMT

JANZOUR, Libya Aug 31 (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's foreign minister, Abdelati Obeidi, was arrested on Tuesday at his farm in Janzour, a suburb west of Tripoli, a Reuters correspondent said.


Forces for the ruling National Transitional Council shouted "Allahu Akbar" or "God is greatest" as they arrested Obeidi, who was wearing traditional Libyan clothes, the correspondent said.


Abdallah al-Hijazi, a close associate of Gaddafi, was also arrested by NTC forces in Tripoli, NTC sources told Reuters.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7JV33G20110831

(Ed. to substitue updated report and link.)

[pinboy3niner]

90. Libya Rebels Say Qaddafi Is Cornered in Town

Source: New York Times

By ROD NORDLAND

Published: August 31, 2011


TRIPOLI, Libya — Rebel fighters believe they have cornered Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in the desert town of Bani Walid, only 150 miles from the capital, and have called on him to give up peacefully to avoid further bloodshed, a top official of the transition government said Wednesday.


“Since today we have learned that he is staying in Bani Walid,” said Abdul Hafith Ghoga, the deputy chairman of the Transitional National Council, in a telephone interview from his home in Benghazi. “We are waiting to give him a chance to surrender.”


There was no way to corroborate Mr. Ghoga’s claim on the location of Colonel Qaddafi, whose ability to outrun the rebel forces that toppled him last week has prevented them from claiming absolute victory in the struggle in Libya, the Arab Spring’s most violent uprising. Previous assertions by rebel forces concerning the whereabouts of Colonel Qaddafi and his family, routed from their Tripoli compound on Aug. 23, have proved premature or false.


But Mr. Ghoga’s claim, if true, would represent the first information on the location of the fugitive former leader who ruled Libya for 42 years.

...


Bani Walid, a town of about 50,000 people southeast of Tripoli, is a stronghold of Libya’s largest tribe, the Warfallah, who have traditionally been strong supporters of the regime. Oddly, it is located in the Misurata District, which includes the coastal city of Misurata, a focal point of fierce fighting through much of the six-month rebellion.

...


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/01/world/africa/01tripoli.html

[pinboy3niner]

92. Rebels: son of Libyan intelligence chief killed (with Khamis Gaddafi)

By BEN HUBBARD, Associated Press
08.31.11, 03:19 PM EDT


TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) -- Two local rebel officials say the son of Moammar Gadhafi's intelligence chief was killed in a clash with rebel fighters last week.


One of the officials also says Wednesday that Gadhafi forces and rebels are fighting near the town of Bani Walid, one of Gadhafi's remaining strongholds.


Mohammed Ouydat, a rebel spokesman from the southern town of Sabha, says the intelligence chief, Abdullah al-Senoussi, has set up a tent there to greet mourners after the death of his son Mohammed. Ouydat says the younger al-Senoussi and Gadhafi's son Khamis were killed in a clash with rebels on their way to Bani Walid. There have been conflicting report about Khamis' fate. Sabha is still controlled by loyalist forces.


Another Sabha area official, Hassan al-Saghir, also says Mohammed al-Senoussi has been killed.


http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/08/31/general-ml-libya_8652738.html

[pinboy3niner]

93. Libyan leader's sons make dueling statements (new Saif audio statement)

By BEN HUBBARD

The Associated Press


TRIPOLI, Libya — A man claiming to be Moammar Gadhafi's son Seif al-Islam is vowing to fight to the death and says nobody will surrender. He also said he was speaking from the suburbs outside Tripoli and insisted his father is fine.


Wednesday's defiant audio statement was broadcast on Al-Rai television station shortly after another statement by his brother, al-Saadi. Al-Saadi offered a softer tone, saying he's ready to mediate talks with the rebels in order to stop the bloodshed.


http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/libyan-leaders-sons-make-1152397.html

[pinboy3niner]

95. Gaddafi son Saif al-Islam vows continued resistance

Wed Aug 31, 2011 8:04pm GMT


CAIRO Aug 31 (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, promised on Wednesday continued resistance to Libyan forces which ousted his father from Tripoli, and urged Libyans to wage a war of attrition against the National Transitional Council and its NATO backers.


In a statement broadcast on the Syrian-owned al-Rai satellite TV channel, Saif al-Islam Gaddafi said he was speaking from a suburb of the Libyan capital and vowed to "liberate the Green Square" in Tripoli from the NTC forces.


"We assure people we are here, ready and in good shape. Resistance is continuing and victory is near," he said, adding that 20,000 armed youths were ready for the NTC forces surrounding his father's hometown of Sirte.


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7JV33Y20110831

[pinboy3niner]

98. Update with more quotes

(UPDATE 1)

Wed Aug 31, 2011 9:00pm GMT


CAIRO Aug 31 (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, on Wednesday vowed continued resistance to Libyan forces which ousted his father from Tripoli and urged Libyans to wage a war of attrition against the National Transitional Council and its NATO backers.

...


Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, in a statement broadcast on the Syrian-owned Arrai satellite TV channel, said his father was doing well and warned NTC forces against trying to enter the family's hometown of Sirte, still under Gaddafi's control, saying 20,000 armed youths were waiting for them.

...


"We assure people that we are standing fast and the commander is in good condition," he said referring to his father, who had made two audio statements to radio and television channels since Tripoli fell earlier this month.


Saif al-Islam also urged Libyans across the country to move against the NTC forces. "We must wage a campaign of attrition day and night until these lands are cleansed from these gangs and traitors," he said.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFL5E7JV35L20110831?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

94. Photo of the day...

REBEL PERCH: A Libyan rebel sat on a bamboo chair at a checkpoint in Tripoli on Wednesday, as rebel forces set up a security belt around
the city center. (Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Images)


From WSJ gallery:
http://blogs.wsj.com/photojournal/2011/08/31/photos-of-the-day-aug-31-2/?mod=google_news_blog

[pinboy3niner]

97. Juan Cole: What the UN Can and Cannot do for Libya

Posted in GD by tabatha:

(the rebels are capable of preserving the security of his country and don’t need any foreign,.......)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1851841

[pinboy3niner]

99. Libya rebels call on Sirte residents to liberate their city

Posted on Wednesday, 08.31.11

By DAVID ENDERS

McClatchy Newspapers


SADADA, Libya -- The revolutionary fighters who deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi last week have set up a base in the town of Sadada in preparation for a possible offensive on Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte, one of the fugitive former dictator's last bastions of support in the country.


But they hope that a final battle won't be necessary, and some openly are calling for the people of Sirte to liberate their own city.


"The revolution in Sirte should come from the people in Sirte," said one young man from Misrata. "If there is a battle, there will be much blood."


Fighting, however, is likely. Gadhafi's spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, on Wednesday rejected an ultimatum from the National Transitional Council, the rebels' governing body, that Sirte surrender by Saturday.

...


Fighters were waiting near Sadada for the order to move. From beneath a highway overpass, they scanned the horizon with binoculars. They acknowledged that they were under orders not to advance on Sirte until after the end of Eid al-Fitr, the three-day holiday that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan.


They were uncertain what awaited them. Officials in the rebel capital, Benghazi, fear that there may be as many as 10,000 loyalist troops dug in around the city of 100,000.

...


http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/08/31/2384258/libya-rebels-call-on-sirte-residents.html

[tabatha]

101. New reports emerge on ransacking of U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, May 1

By Simon Denyer, Wednesday, August 31, 2:14 PM

TRIPOLI, Libya — Looted, ransacked and burnt, the U.S. Embassy complex in Tripoli stands in ruins, a testament to the violence unleashed in the name of Moammar Gaddafi’s regime and its disregard of international law.

Throughout the embassy compound, everything that can be broken has been. Balustrades have been ripped off, photocopiers and air-conditioning units smashed to smithereens, cabinets wrenched open and overturned. Whole floors were doused in gasoline and burned. Embassy documents, including torn photographs of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Biden, carpet the floors that escaped the flames.

The embassy was ransacked in the early hours of Sunday, May 1, along with those of Britain and Italy, in a furious response to the death of Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Arab and three of his grandchildren in a NATO airstrike. At the time, Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim said mobs, some in the hundreds, had attacked the lightly guarded embassies, calling it a “regrettable” event that his government was powerless to prevent.

But interviews with neighbors and witnesses paint a very different picture of events that night. They said that about 20 people arrived at the U.S. Embassy complex around 2:30 a.m. in the trademark Toyota Tundras favored by the Libyan security forces and that at least some of them were in army uniforms. They used a shotgun or heavy machine gun to blast open the compound’s imposing steel doors, witnesses said, before calling others to come.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/new-reports-emerge-on-ransacking-of-us-embassy-in-tripoli/2011/08/31/gIQAzDvfsJ_story.html?tid=sm_twitter_washingtonpost

[pinboy3niner]

102. 'A serious problem': friendly fire kills fellow Libyan rejoicers in celebrations

August 31, 2011 2:05 PM

By Ruth Sherlock, The Daily Telegraph


An 11-year-old boy has been killed by celebratory gunfire in Tripoli. His death is one of several "post-revolution friendly fire" casualties that is causing concern among the new government about the number of weapons in the city.


Mohamed Matoub, 11, died from a bullet fired into the sky in celebration by a rebel fighter.


According to Dr Husam Al Gedar, of Tripoli Medical Centre, he died on Wednesday.


In the past four days, more than a dozen people have been injured, often severely, by falling bullets, doctors have claimed. Dr Abdullah Turki said: "This is a serious problem. Today I saw two casualties - one boy was 14 years old."

...


http://www.vancouversun.com/news/serious+problem+friendly+fire+kills+fellow+Libyan+rejoicers+celebrations/5335562/story.html

[pinboy3niner]

103. LIBYAN REVOLUTION DAY 196: CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 12:01 AM THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

Libya time = EDT +6 hours, PDT +9 hours, UTC +1 hour, GMT +2 hours










Inside one of Gaddafi's torture cells
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2030931/Libya-Inside-Gaddafis-torture-chamber-The-bloodstained-cells-inside-primary-school-used-brutalise-enemies.html

[pinboy3niner]

104. Paris meeting to focus on Libyan politics, economy

Wed Aug 31, 2011 10:20pm GMT


• France, Britain host 60 delegations to discuss Libya

• Interim government to outline urgent needs, future vision

• World powers jostle to protect economic interests


By John Irish


PARIS, Aug 31 (Reuters) - World leaders meet in Paris on Thursday to discuss Libya's future, with hosts France and Britain hoping to show that a costly military campaign can lead to a political transition that avoids the mistakes of Iraq.

...


Russia and China, which did not back the NATO intervention championed by Sarkozy and Cameron in March and which have yet to recognize Libya's ruling interim council, will be among some 60 nations and international bodies represented at the conference.


The meeting will give the NTC, set up after the anti-Gaddafi revolt began in February, its first big international platform.


NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdel Jalil will open the three-hour session with an outline of the council's roadmap for a new constitution, elections within 18 months and measures to avoid bloodshed of the kind seen in Iraq after Saddam Hussein's fall.


U.S. officials said they also expected the NTC to update the group on its efforts to subdue remaining Gaddafi loyalists in the cities of Sirte and Sabha, as well as its plans for what happens should the fugitive leader be captured.

...


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFN1E77U22T20110831?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

105. SAS soldiers on Kadhafi hunt in Libya: report

AFP – 1 hour ago


LONDON — Special forces soldiers are in Libya hunting for fallen leader Moamer Kadhafi, who they believe is still in the country after neighbouring Algeria denied him entry, ITV News reported Wednesday.


Large numbers of Special Air Service (SAS) officers are using ships docked off the Libyan coast to launch searches for the elusive strongman and his network of supporters, a source in the country told the news provider.


A smaller team is believed to be operating out of the eastern city of Benghazi.


Britain's Ministry of Defence on Wednesday refused to confirm the report, adding that it was government policy not to comment on special forces operations.

...


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gfGCIZtzyA5eZUqFzPNQRfVpMbHw?docId=CNG.96f9ad25900131336388af4e36e3a985.f11

[pinboy3niner]

106. Gadhafi aides help rebels hunt for dictator

By Rob Crilly, The Daily Telegraph August 31, 2011 6:02 PM


Rebels are using informants drawn from Col Moammar Gadhafi's entourage, phone taps and Google Maps as they search for the fugitive dictator, amid fears he could mastermind an insurgency from Libya's southern desert.


At the same time they say they are tightening the noose around his remaining strongholds, including his home town of Sirte, as they try to flush out the last resistance to their fledgling government.


Yesterday marked a pause in the rebels' military campaign as they celebrated the Muslim festival of Eid and waited for Saturday's deadline for Gadhafi loyalists to lay down their weapons. But the hunt for Gadhafi himself continues, led by Hisham Buhagiar, a senior official in the rebel military. "Of course he doesn't use the phone, but we know the people around him who use the phones," said Mr Buhagiar, describing the techniques used to home in on Gadhafi's whereabouts.


"Usually we trace a lot of people who are not in the first inner circle with him, but the second or third circle. Some of them know the regime is falling, and they want to make sure they don't get hurt. They want to strike deals. That's why we've created the white list. Everyone who helps us is on the white list."

...


http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Gadhafi+aides+help+rebels+hunt+dictator/5335720/story.html

[pinboy3niner]

107. Libya: Saif al-Islam Gaddafi vows to continue the war and retake Tripoli

Soource: The Telegraph

Col Muammar Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam made the first public appearance by a member of his close family since the fall of Tripoli last night, vowing to continue the war and retake his father's capital.




'No one should think that after all the sacrifices we have made, and
the martyrdom of our sons, brothers and friends, we will stop fighting.
Forget it,' Saif declared. Photo: AFP/GETTY



By Richard Spencer, in Tripoli

11:36PM BST 31 Aug 2011


Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, widely held to be his father's most likely successor, said 20,000 armed soldiers were ready to defend Sirte, the central Libyan city that was Col Gaddafi's birthplace and remains his firmest stronghold.


At the same time, the regime's chief spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, rejected a rebel ultimatum to surrender in Sirte and two other cities that are holding out, Bani Walid and Sabha, by Saturday to avoid further bloodshed.


"We are coming soon to liberate the Green Square in Tripoli," Saif al-Islam told Al-Rai television station in Syria, which is facing its own uprising. He claimed he was in the outskirts of Tripoli, and that his father was "fine".

...


Saif al-Islam said he was speaking from the "outskirts" of Tripoli and referred to a meeting of loyalist leaders in Bani Walid. That would fit with claims that Khamis Gaddafi, another son, was killed last Friday on his way from Tripoli to the town, which lies two hours' drive to the south.

...


There may be a degree of bluster in Saif al-Islam's words. He has little personal military experience. As he spoke, more regime leaders were surrendering.

...


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8734174/Libya-Saif-al-Islam-Gaddafi-vows-to-continue-the-war-and-retake-Tripoli.html

[tabatha]

110. His father's capital. Good grief.

[pinboy3niner]

108. Britain begins £1billion cash drop to Libya

by Tom McTague, Daily Mirror 1/09/2011

BRITAIN last night starting flying out nearly £1billion in cash to Libya.


A high-security RAF C-17 cargo plane carrying £130million of Libyan dinars was due to land at the second city Benghazi.


The cash, printed by Hampshire firm DeLa Rue, was released after a decision by the UN in New York.


The 280million Libyan dinars are the first part of £950million to be sent to ease the humanitarian crisis.

...


http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2011/09/01/britain-begins-1billion-cash-drop-to-libya-115875-23386811/

[pinboy3niner]

109. AP Video: Bittersweet Eid in Tripoli (1:36)

Published on Aug 31, 2011 by AssociatedPress


Thousands of Libyans gathered in Tripoli's central Martyrs Square late on Tuesday to celebrate Eid-alFitr. (Aug. 31)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6EB7wyK36E&feature=player_embedded

[pinboy3niner]

111. I'm done posting for now, going afk

Can't keep my eyes open. If anyone sees Josh, show him this...





:evilgrin:


'Night, all.

[joshcryer]

114. Please sleep.

I'm late tonight because I spent the last few hours working on my brothers brakes. I always do the families brakes because brake jobs are just so damn expensive and my brother would have kept driving on the bad brakes until the caliper blew. Can't let him do that! Total cost was about $20 (didn't get new discs because they were in decent shape still).

[tabatha]

112. Tripoli’s sudden fall revealed rotten heart of Gaddafi’s regime

TRIPOLI, Libya — They were elite, professionally trained troops guarding a critical source of the regime’s power: the headquarters of Libya’s propaganda-spewing state television.

But when unarmed protesters took to the streets, the feared guards, members of brigades known as Katibas, simply took off their uniforms, lay down their weapons and ran.

“Underneath their uniforms, they had civilian clothes, jeans and T-shirts, as though they were expecting this,” said Badr Ben Jered, a 25-year-old employee in Nokia’s marketing division, patrolling his neighborhood with a Kalashnikov rifle. “Then people started screaming, ‘The Katiba are running! The Katiba are running!’ We were so shocked, and still so scared of them, no one even went after them.”

The guns have been collected, but abandoned uniforms still litter the ground around the television station and elsewhere in Tripoli, evidence of a gigantic loss of nerve, the sudden crumbling of a regime built on brutality and fear.

Its rapid disintegration Aug. 20 and 21 suggests that support for Moammar Gaddafi was far more shallow than the government had portrayed over the course of the six-month uprising.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/tripolis-sudden-fall-revealed-rotten-heart-of-gaddafis-regime/2011/08/27/gIQABpgssJ_story.html

[tabatha]

115. Liberty has special meaning for Gaddafi prisoners

At about 2 am on August 21, rebel fighters freed Gabasa, who found the prison empty of guards. Cheering crowds gathered outside Ain Thara prison, some handing Gabasa cigarettes, others helping him telephone his family.

Gabasa cried tears of joy. "The feeling was extraordinary. I forgot everything, all the prison time, the beatings, the misery. I felt new," he said.

"In prison I wondered what kind of awful Libya I was leaving my children. Now I'm leaving them a free Libya, where a person can live in dignity."

Two days later, Bishty joined the 28,000 other prisoners, according to rebel figures, who have been freed since the uprising.

"I can't describe my joy. I'm living in a dream. Ever since I left prison I have a complete happiness," he said.

"Almost everyone was crying. It was like we didn't exist before. What was Libya under Gaddafi but one big prison?"

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/30/us-libya-prisoners-idUSTRE77T66420110830

[tabatha]

116. Sky's Stuart Ramsay witnessing Tarhouna peacefully slipping from Gaddafi hands

Sky's Stuart Ramsay witnessing Tarhouna peacefully slipping from Gaddafi hands.

http://youtu.be/tE-yT5VWxCw

[tabatha]

117. Where is Gadhafi?

http://youtu.be/QyTDlbq6SF4

[pinboy3niner]

118. China warns West to let UN lead Libya reconstruction

China's top official newspaper warned Western powers to let the United Nations lead post-war reconstruction in Libya, saying that Beijing would seek to defend its economic stake after the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi, Reuters reported.

The People's Daily laid bare Beijing's qualms about the influence the US, European powers and NATO may claim in post-war Libya.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-1-2011-0309

[joshcryer]

119. 4 hours is *not* enough sleep!

Go to sleep!

[pinboy3niner]

120. Yes mom, lol

I woke up after 2 1/2. Just checking the news and the threads, and need to eat something before going back to bed. :)

[Amonester]

121. Tripoli Zoo animals suffer, lacking food, water (article+contact links)

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- The residents of zoos are often the first to be neglected when cities are hit by man-made or natural disasters.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson discovered a dire situation Tuesday at the Tripoli Zoo, struggling to function as a nationwide conflict rages around it.

Robertson found the gates locked and was told the zoo was under renovation -- that there were no animals there.

But a big cat's roar told a different story, and Robertson followed the sound -- underscored by the echo of gunfire in the distance -- to find enclosures holding a tiger, lions, giant tortoises, hippos, hyenas, bears, monkeys, deer, emus and more.

CNN International video report: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/30/libya.tripoli.zoo/

CONTACT the WSPA and send them the ^^^^^^^^^ link to the video report:

http://www.wspa-international.org


For DUers in France, contact La Fondation Brigitte Bardot and send them the same:

http://www.fondationbrigittebardot.fr/site/accueil.php

[ellisonz]

126. +1000

[pinboy3niner]

122. U.S., allies to scale back roles in Libya

By Paul Richter • Tribune Newspapers | Posted: Thursday, September 1, 2011 12:00 am


WASHINGTON • Despite signs of dangerous fractures among the Libyan rebels who ousted Moammar Gadhafi, the United States and its European allies have ruled out a significant nation-building role or major infusions of aid to the postwar government in Tripoli.


The moves toward disengagement reflect the allies' desire to scale back after a 5 1/2-month air war that strained their militaries and treasuries and exposed their leaders to criticism at home.

...


The allies say the post-Gadhafi government can rebuild Libya with its own money.


"Libya is a rich country," said Victoria Nuland, the chief State Department spokeswoman.

...


http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/article_9f379081-781b-5f13-a6f1-441f1701319c.html

[tabatha]

124. Darn, I thought they were going to take over Libya.

And take over its oil, and exploit the country. Shucks. How disappointing.

[pinboy3niner]

123. Russia recognizes NTC

Russia recognised the NationalTransitional Council (NTC) as Libya's legitimate authorities on Thursday, moving to increase its influence in postwar reconstruction and protect its economic interests in the oil-producing North African nation.


"The Russian Federation recognises the National Transitional Council as the current authorities and takes note of its declared reform programme, which calls for the development of a new constitution, the holding of general elections and the formation of a government," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. - Reuters


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya-sep-1-2011-0909

[ellisonz]

127. Gaddafi won't be finding refuge in Siberia.

[joshcryer]

125. Week 28 part 3 here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1855387