Libyan Revolution Week 16

[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=439x1189527">Week 15 here.

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

A volunteer jumped over his colleagues during a military training course in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, Libya. According to rebel authoritaries, after three weeks of intense training, the volunteers are ready to fight against forces loyal to Gaddafi.

Photograph: Rodrigo Adb / AP


Day 100, May 28

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/27/the_smallest_victims">The Smallest Victims
The war in Libya has taken a shocking, wrenching toll on the children of Misrata and Benghazi.
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Libya-Defiant-rebels-shrug-off.6775693.jp">Libya: Defiant rebels shrug off mortar attacks and insist they will prevail
"The morale of the fighters is getting higher and higher. We are determined to finish the job," said Majdi, 35, who was returning from the front to reload his weapon. "I have a rocket launcher taken from a helicopter mounted on my truck. We are pushing the Gaddafi guys up the road."
http://www.hutchnews.com/World/Small-signs-suggest-waning-support-for-Gadhafi">Small signs suggest waning support for Gadhafi
The shaking cacophony of bangs and bullets one recent evening all served to camouflage the thin turnout at a pro-Gadhafi demonstration in his stronghold, the capital of Tripoli. Only several hundred showed up, and many seemed more interested in having fun than in showing solidarity with the regime.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8543882/Libya-Coalition-forces-prepare-two-pronged-blitz-to-finish-off-Gaddafi.html">Libya: Coalition forces prepare two-pronged blitz to finish off Gaddafi
British, French and other Nato forces were on Saturday night preparing a two-pronged blitz to try to finish off Col Gaddafi as already slender hopes for a peaceful resolution to the Libyan crisis faded.

Thanks to tabatha for those updates.

Day 101, May 29

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/world/africa/29benghazi.html">In Libyan Rebel Capital, Shouts of Thanks to America and the West
Frustrated by the gridlocked traffic, the young man in fatigues was leaning on the horn of his old Chevrolet Impala, the one with the front and rear windshields shot out. The shrillness of the pointless noise made a foreigner in the car next to him wince.
http://www.heraldonline.com/2011/05/27/3103920/as-libya-toll-mounts-us-congress.html">As Libya Toll Mounts, U.S. Congress Urged to Scrutinize Gadhafi's Recruitment of Mercenaries from Algeria-backed Polisario to fight NATO, Rebels
As international concern grows over the mounting toll of fighting in Libya, Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) is urging his colleagues in Congress to give "serious attention" to increasing evidence that members of the Algeria-backed Polisario Front are among those "being recruited and participating as mercenaries in Col. Gadhafi's murderous campaign against the Libyan people." Earlier this month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Libyan leaders, calling their mercenary recruiting a "crime against humanity."

A commercial ferry carries residents, medical supplies and food to the besieged Libyan city.
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/brendan-simms-road-to-libya-runs-through-srebrenica-2290326.html">Brendan Simms: Road to Libya runs through Srebrenica
The arrest last week of the former Bosnian Serb supreme commander Ratko Mladic, and his likely extradition to face trial for war crimes at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague, is cause for grim satisfaction throughout the western Balkans. It is also an uncomfortable reminder of a particularly terrible moment in British foreign policy. We should never forget that the killings at Srebrenica were the culmination of a three-year campaign of ethnic cleansing, which began in the spring of 1992.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-28/libyas-explosive-music-revolution-ibn-thait-and-more/#">Libya's Explosive Music Revolution
The years Gaddafi took power were also the years the music died. Now, songs are coming out from everywhere, and fast. Plus, a video gallery of the hottest new songs and the old classics.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/2950/1">Libyan Pop Music Media Gallery
http://youtu.be/82UL7so91CA">Richard Engel from Tripoli- Gaddafi losing loyalty among Libyans - video
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/29/501364/main20067223.shtml">Libya defections rise: 8 officers flee to Europe
Libya's Qaddafi faces intense bombing campaign from NATO jets; More than a dozen key defections show a dictator in decline

Thanks to Iterate for some good stuff.

Day 102, May 30

http://www.france24.com/en/20110529-libya-zuma-tripoli-gaddafi-visit-this-time-for-africa-african-union#">This time for Africa: Zuma visits Tripoli – again
South African President Jacob Zuma’s Monday meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi provides the African Union (AU) with the opportunity to seize the initiative on the Libyan crisis. But the AU does not have a strong track record to fall on.
http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/libya-rebels-upbeat-ahead-kadhafi-exit-talks-1">Libya rebels upbeat ahead of Kadhafi 'exit' talks
Libyan rebels applauded a G8 call for Moamer Kadhafi to go ahead of a visit on Monday by South Africa's president for talks that officials said will focus on an "exit strategy" for the strongman.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/30/us-libya-officers-idUSTRE74T41820110530">Over 100 Libyan army members defect from Gaddafi
Eight high-ranking Libyan army officers appeared in Rome on Monday saying they were part of a group of as many as 120 military officials and soldiers who had defected from Muammar Gaddafi's side in recent days.
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/05/30/robertson.libya.army.rape.cnn">CNN's Nic Robertson looks into accusations that Libyan soldiers are being ordered to rape civilians.
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/05/30/sidner.libya.ajdabiya.update.cnn">CNN's Sara Sidner examines the damage that fighting has caused in Ajdabiya, Libya.

Jose Emmanuel Piaggesi was a teacher in Argentina, but now the piercing staccato of gunfire punctuates his conversations.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201105302254.html?utm_campaign=DTN+Libya+Unrest:&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter">Zimbabwe: AU Credibility Questioned As Zim Set to Chair Peace Organ
The credibility of the African Union (AU) is being questioned, after news that Zimbabwe will assume the chairmanship of the bloc's Peace and Security Council.
http://www.english.mojahedin.org/pagesEn/detailsNews.aspx?newsid=12789">Brutality in Libya and Syria ‘shocking’: UN rights chief
“The brutality and magnitude of measures taken by the governments in Libya and now Syria have been particularly shocking in their outright disregard for basic human rights,” Ms. Pillay told the UN Human Rights Council.

Day 103, May 31

http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2011/05/libyan-rebels-distribute-rules-pow-treatment#ixzz1NsI900v1">Libyan rebels distribute rules on POW treatment
The rebel administration that controls much of eastern Libya is distributing guidelines on how its fighters should treat prisoners of war, following a string of allegations that rebels have engaged in unlawful arrests, mistreated captives and killed sub-Saharan Africans wrongly accused of being mercenaries.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/africa/libyas-berbers-seek-their-revenge-on-qaddafi?pageCount=0">Libya's Berbers seek their revenge on Qaddafi
"The February 17th Revolution," said Anwar Jerbi, a fighter manning the post one afternoon in April. "I'm Amazigh, like most of the guys here, but we take our orders from Benghazi."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-libya-defect-20110531,0,2988292.story">African peace effort appears a no-go in Libya
South African President Jacob Zuma's much-anticipated peace meeting Monday with Moammar Kadafi did not appear to move the Libyan government and rebels closer to a cease-fire, and the Kadafi regime suffered a new blow with the defections of eight senior military officers.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/31/gaddafi-wants-truce-in-libya">Gaddafi wants truce in Libya, says Zuma, but terms unclear
South Africa's president, Jacob Zuma, said on Monday night that Muammar Gaddafi was ready for a truce but gave no indication whether the Libyan leader was ready to give up power, as rebels and much of the international community are demanding.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/gaddafi-snatch-squads-took-hundreds-of-men-and-boys-from-misrata-2290800.html">Gaddafi snatch squads took hundreds of men and boys from Misrata
In some quarters of the once besieged Libyan city, nearly every family has lost a member.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=136809000">Libya Rebels Launch Station To Fight Gadhafi TV
Libya Alhurra, or "Free Libya," began broadcasting Monday night, a major step in the rebels' attempts to get its message to the Libyan public, whose main source of information on the crisis roiling their country has been Gadhafi's TV and radio.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/31/worldupdates/2011-05-31T191020Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-574012-1&sec=Worldupdates">Libya rebels vent fury at Gaddafi, not his troops
Jamal al-Farisi's brother was killed by a fighter loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, but he shows no hatred or desire for retribution, an attitude that contradicts the bitterness that defines many civil wars.
http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE74U26Z20110531?sp=true">Gaddafi arms "crooks" to crush Zlitan rebels-witness
Muammar Gaddafi has armed criminals to crush a rebellion against his rule in Zlitan, one of only three towns separating the rebel-held city of Misrata from Tripoli, a rebel spokesman said on Tuesday.

Where are the people calling for Mubarak to step down calling for Gaddafi to do the same?

Day 104, June 1

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/leader-says-rebels-not-seeking-office-post-gaddafi-171835459.html">Leader says rebels not seeking office post-Gaddafi
Members of the Libyan rebel administration will not seek office if Muammar Gaddafi is removed from power, the head of the rebels' Benghazi-based council said on Saturday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304066504576351492261311076.html">Libyan Rebels Offer Amnesty to Pro-Gadhafi Soldiers
The political leader of Libya's rebels offered amnesty on Saturday to those ready to abandon Col. Moammar Gadhafi and rejected all peace initiatives that were not predicated on the departure of the Libyan strongman, his family and senior regime figures.
http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2011/05/31/01003-20110531ARTFIG00782-paris-denonce-le-regne-de-la-terreur-a-tripoli.php">The atrocities committed by pro-Gaddafi is to prevent any uprising in the capital.
Mass arrests, night raids, looting, summary executions in the streets, rapes instructions High-level data, many disappearances, mass graves: in the absence of foreign witnesses, a real humanitarian tragedy that would be closed now be played in Tripoli.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Libya-Violence-Car-Bomb-Explosion-Near-Hotel-In-Rebel-Held-City-Of-Benghazi/Article/201106116003840">Car Bomb Explodes Near Libya Hotel
A car bomb has exploded near a hotel used by foreign diplomats in Libya's rebel-held city of Benghazi.
http://www.reuters.com/video/2011/06/02/libyas-female-fighters?videoId=211431105">Libya's female fighters - video
New female recruits to the Libyan rebels are given military training in a desert near Benghazi. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.

Day 105, June 2

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/nato-hits-tripoli-un-denounces-war-crimes-20110602-1fiox.html">NATO hits Tripoli, UN denounces war crimes
A commission of inquiry set up by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva accused Gaddafi's regime of carrying out systematic attacks on the population, saying that it committed not only crimes against humanity but also war crimes.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2011/06/02/libyan_rebels_blame_khadafy_for_blast_at_hotel/">Libyan rebels blame Khadafy for blast at hotel
A car exploded yesterday in front of a hotel where foreign diplomats and journalists stay while visiting Benghazi, a rare attack in the Libyan rebels’ de facto capital.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-02/russia-seeks-to-bridge-libyan-civil-war-in-qaddafi-exit-talks.html">Russia Seeks to Bridge Libyan Civil War in Qaddafi Exit Talks
Russia wants to mediate between the two sides in Libya’s civil war as it tries to negotiate the exit from power of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi, said Mikhail Margelov, the country’s envoy to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-02/libya-sends-representative-to-gas-exporting-countries-forum-1-.html">Libya Sends Representative to Gas Exporting Countries Forum
Libya sent Mosbah Ali Matoug, a member of the management committee of Tripoli-based National Oil Corp., to a one-day meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Cairo.
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90855/7398795.html">Algeria calls for peaceful dialogue in Libya
Algeria on Wednesday called for an inclusive dialogue in Libya with the participation of all Libyan parties to reach a peaceful settlement of the crisis.
http://www.ennaharonline.com/en/news/6696.html">Weapons from Libya used in attacks in Algeria
ALGIERS - weapons brought from Libya, scene of an uprising against the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, were used for attacks in Algeria, said Wednesday Algerian Minister Delegate in charge of Maghreb and African Affairs Abdelkader Messahel.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h0rixZbAhEgA_PtB_zqR_CpG46eA?docId=CNG.aa5a24ef4e1dc963ac594b37b97d9d01.451">US general says no evidence Algeria backing Kadhafi
"I have seen absolutely no reporting that indicates that Algeria is suporting the movement of fighters to Libya," General Carter Ham, who heads the US Africa command (AFRICOM), told journalists in Algiers.

Day 106, June 3

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/03/libya.rape.case/">Qatari expulsion of alleged Libyan rape victim upsets U.S.
The United States is "disappointed" by the expulsion by Qatar of Eman al-Obeidy to Libya, a decision that it said is a "breach of humanitarian norms."
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/06/20116341054115467.html">Raids on army vehicles and ammunition depots in Tripoli follow announcement of extension of alliance's Libyan mission.
Fresh attacks have taken place in central Tripoli, with a series of explosions reported as Nato continues sporadic bombing of the Libyan capital.
http://www.juancole.com/2011/06/libya-rebels-take-key-western-mountains-train-women-fighters.html">Juan Cole: Libya Rebels take Key Western Mountains, Train Women Fighters
(Roundup at link.)
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/03/history-repeats-for-a-correspondent-in-tripoli/">History Repeats for a Correspondent in Tripoli
...for reporters living for the second time in eight years under a nightly fusillade of bombs and missiles, it is a case, in many respects, of back to the future. Once more, we live in a city under bombardment by nations that many of us call home. Once more, we spend many of our late nights on the roof of a city-center hotel, listening for the roar of jet engines from unseen aircraft and missiles somewhere in the skies above.

Thanks to everyone who contributed this week (al bupp, pinboy3niner, CJvR, pampango et al) particularly Iterate and tabatha, you guys are my heroes!


http://twitter.com/#!/Libyamap">Click here for updated map


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".

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x677397">Text of UN resolution 1973. How will a no fly zone work? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWEwehTtK2k">AJE reports.

Belgium: http://www.lesoir.be/actualite/monde/2011-03-21/les-f-16-belges-dans-le-feu-de-l-action-829588.php">Six F-16 Falcon fighter jets of the Belgian Air Component. Bulgaria: The Bulgarian Navy Wielingen class frigate Drazki http://paper.standartnews.com/en/article.php?d=2011-03-23&article=35828">will participate in the naval blockade. Canada: Canadian Forces Air Command has deployed http://www.cefcom-comfec.forces.gc.ca/pa-ap/ops/mobile/index-eng.asp">a total 440 military personnel as well as the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Charlottetown are participating in operations. Denmark: The Royal Danish Air Force http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/ECE1227910/denmark-to-send-squadron-on-libya-op/">is participating with six F-16AM fighters. France: French Air Force which realizes 25% of NATO's strikes http://www.defense.gouv.fr/operations/autres-operations/harmattan/libye-debut-des-operations-aeriennes-francaises">is participating in the mission with 51 Mirage and Rafale Aircraft. Greece: The Elli-class frigate Limnos of the Hellenic Navy http://www.keeptalkinggreece.com/2011/03/20/greek-defence-ministry-no-participation-in-operations-outside-the-nato/">is currently in the waters off Libya as part of the naval blockade. Italy: Four Tornado ECRs of the Italian Air Force http://www.corriere.it/esteri/11_marzo_20/tripoli-bombardamento-chiesta-riunione-onu_2e95d102-52c0-11e0-a725-dbe20f0ba2b5.shtml">participated in SEAD operations. Jordan: Six Royal Jordanian Air Force fighter jets http://www.allheadlinenews.com/briefs/articles/90043651?After%20hesitation%2C%20Jordan%20joins%20in%20Libya%20no-fly%20campaign">landed at a coalition airbase in Europe on 4 April to provide "logistical support." NATO: E-3 airborne early warning and control (AWACS) http://www.adressa.no/nyheter/nordtrondelag/article1606878.ece">aircraft operated by NATO. Netherlands: The Royal Netherlands Air Force http://www.rnw.nl/english/bulletin/dutch-f-16s-operational-over-libya">provides six F-16AM fighters and a KDC-10 refuelling plane. Norway: The Royal Norwegian Air Force has http://www.vg.no/nyheter/utenriks/libya/artikkel.php?artid=10091294">deployed six F-16AM fighters to Souda Bay Air Base. Qatar: The Qatar Armed Forces are http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123248695">contributing six Mirage 2000-5EDA fighter jets and two C-17 strategic transport aircraft. Romania: The Romanian Naval Forces http://www.hotnews.ro/stiri-politic-8423876-traian-basescu-sustine-declaratie-presa-ora-21-00-dupa-sedinta-csat.htm">will participate in the naval blockade with the frigate Regele Ferdinand. Spain: The Spanish Armed Forces are http://www.elpais.com/articulo/internacional/Espana/intervendra/cazas/F-18/fragata/F-100/submarino/avion/vigilancia/maritima/elpepuint/20110319elpepuint_14/Tes">participating with four F-18 fighters. Sweden: The Royal Swedish Air Force will http://www.swedishwire.com/politics/9050-sweden-offers-eight-fighter-jets-for-libya-mission">commit eight JAS 39 Gripen jets for the international air campaign. Turkey: The Turkish Navy http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/03/24/general-libya-diplomacy_8373237.html">will participate with five ships and one submarine in the NATO-led naval blockade to enforce the arms embargo. United Arab Emirates: The United Arab Emirates Air Force http://www.wam.org.ae/servlet/Satellite?c=WamLocEnews&cid=1300255413630&p=1135099400124&pagename=WAM%2FWamLocEnews%2FW-T-LEN-FullNews">sent six F-16 Falcon and six Mirage 2000 fighter jets to join the mission. United Kingdom: The Royal Air Force has http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/TyphoonJoinsTornadoInLibyaGroundAttackOperations.htm">deployed 12 Tornado and 10 Typhoon fighters, surveillance aircraft, and air refuelling tankers. United States: The United States has http://www.webcitation.org/5xJ8qNGGe">deployed a naval force of 11 ships and are using MQ-1 Predator UAVs to strike targets in Libya on 23 April.

"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/50/1541–1548.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 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-bombing”">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

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 who is with 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 107 updates below, current time in Libya, 12:13pm Saturday, June 4

From Juan Cole: http://www.juancole.com/2011/05/selective-outrage-about-war.html">Selective Outrage about War

[joshcryer]

2. Libya's tale of two cities, NATO heli's increase pressure on Gaddafi, mntn rebels push 4 Tripoli

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56221.html#ixzz1OGWbG5Og">Libya's tale of two cities
I have visited Libya twice in the last six months: Tripoli in December, and Benghazi last week. I might as well have visited two different planets.

My visit to Tripoli in December was full of dark threats and ominous portents. The fear was palpable. One Libyan official told me that if you so much as dared to speak of Qadhafi’s paranoia and quirks you would be killed. Qadhafi’s thugs had taken to harassing our embassy personnel. It was a harbinger of worse things to come – violence and vicious threats directed not at foreign officials, but at Libya’s own citizens. Then in March, Qadhafi launched attacks on peaceful protesters and threatened to hunt them down “like rats.” The international community had no choice but to respond.

Last week in Benghazi, though, I saw what Libya could become – and it was clear as day why it is in the U.S. interest to see the Benghazi vision for Libya succeed over Qadhafi’s. The collective sense of joy and opportunity was unlike anything I have experienced in my diplomatic career – and that includes my posting in Budapest in 1989.

Nice article, thanks to tabatha!

http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_75021.htm">NATO attack helicopters increase pressure on Qadhafi regime
Attack helicopters under NATO command were used for the first time on 4 Jun 2011 in military operations over Libya as part of Operation Unified Protector.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWoAxaF7oVE">Battle for Libya: Rebels move closer to Tripoli - video
In the mountains south of Tripoli, opposition troops are making a bold push to the capital of Libya.

Al Jazeera's James Bays is just behind the frontline, which is now as close as the rebels have come to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's stronghold of Tripoli.

Thanks to tabatha, al bupp, and pinboy3niner for the above updates, they were in the previous thread but were really day 107 and truly belong here (apologies for being late to update tonight).

[meow mix]

3. k&r

go rebels

[pinboy3niner]

4. K&R! ...

And good to be back, bro!

I know you had good times with your brother and the rest of the fanmily (and damn, you have a BIG fanmily!). I did my projects that took me away, and I'm happy to be back, too.

I know we both have to deal with guilt for not being around, but we can always count on Tabatha an Iterate to lead the team, with Yossarian and albupp and even some of the thread folowers we've never hard from before pitching in.

When this started, you and I were hustling and we got all the attention. But as far as I'm concerned, Fuck the attention--there is a much larger team out there, with Tabatha and Iterate always having our back and posters like yossarian and al bupp and others we'd never heard from pitching in to kep the threads going.

I've seen the other threads, and I know that you, Josh, as well as others from the team, have been out there tilting at those windmills. To tell you the truth, I'm even more behindt han before, and I don't have time for that shit. But seeing you, Tabatha, Itrate, al bupp and others countering the propaganda so effectively, I really don't even need to jump in, anyway.

I love you, bro, abnd I love our team. Some may call us 'wamongers' and 'pro-war.' but they don't have a clue what it's really about, do they?

Onward and upward, Libya Hurra!

Love & PEACE,
pinboy3niner

[joshcryer]

8. You rock pinboy3niner!

I think we have different perspectives, but in the end they meet right where they should, in defense of people who ask for help. I come from a more philosophical background, don't have an angry bone in my body, couldn't hurt a fly (I think you're the same way), and never experienced the things you have, hell, I've never even been in a fist fight! I think the fact that you and other military guys are behind the revolutionaries should say something, because all of you are anti-war, anti-violence, having been there and that only reenforces my own convictions. If it wasn't just, if it wasn't the right thing, you guys would be the first to say "no!"

Regarding the helpers (more like the primary contributors recently!), in the beginning and for weeks there we hardly got any sleep because we were determined to get the story out, so it's been an awesome week or two at least for me, I really needed a break (though I was busy I at least was able to sleep), so their efforts are so much appreciated, I love all you guys, including the anonymous guy who gave me an Iterate our stars (I know who it is but I don't think they want to acknowledge publicly). There's also the matter of me running off to go defend some other persecuted peoples whenever I see a thread that catches my eye, you guys are a lot more disciplined about sticking to the thread and I am ashamed I can't stop myself. In the end tabatha has been there completely, she's amazing, just an amazing person, I don't know how she does it.

[pinboy3niner]

17. You rock, too, Josh!

I'm just a little slower than you, having had to go to war to learn some things about compassion and empathy that seem to come so naturally to you. For me, it took going to war--and living for a year and-a-half on an Army hospital ward that had all the other facial casualties and all the amputees--to knock some sense into me and put me in touch with my anger and my rage about war.

And while common understandings about PTSD tend to focus on the dramatic (flashbacks and vets "acting out"), another common reaction mental health professionals have identified in survivors of war and other traumatic experience is a hypersensitivity to injustice.

As you know, I've been away for most of the last 3 weeks working at my vet group's mobile, half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial during its display here in my community and in another city. Obviously, that entails a lot of intense and emotional experiences with visitors, both with vets and with others like the woman who came every day to visit her brother's name and the man who came to find the names of both of his brothers on the Wall.

Late one night at the Wall I spent 3 hours with an Iraq/Afghan War vet, a former Marine machine gunner who returned to civilian life 5 or 6 years ago after 3 deployments and is struggling with the psychological trauma of his war experience.

He cried in my arms and shared a lot of things, including his hopes for the future. This macho Marine 3-combat-tour machine gunner's dream? To become a registered nurse. He's in school now, working toward that goal. His "battle buddies" aren't much help to him, as many are jobless and drinking or drugging in dealing--or avoiding dealing--with their own pain and grief. So he's turned to VN vets for a support system to help him through his personal struggles.

My new Marine vet friend is a good example of both the negative--and the positive--effects of war.

[joshcryer]

19. Now you're getting me all glassy eyed. :)

What a wonderful person you are. I'm going to have to see that mobile wall if you volunteer next year. And you of course. :hi:

[Iterate]

66. Thanks

Some day I hope to figure out half as much. Never wish for wisdom.

Back in the 90's, I vaguely remember a sensible program to help treat PTSD located in SoCal that involved creating small communities that would deal with the other non-Hollywood, non-dramatic symptoms like exaggerated startle response, hyper-vigilance, sense of betrayal, rage, frequent relocation, etc.

They were simply a set of safe cottages, like a retirement center, where people could rebuild themselves and their small groups while having treatment and without feeling threatened or needing to deal with the stress of the wider world at the same time. I remember it as being something like a half-way house, but with safety and dignity. It was based on the understanding that part of PTSD is the damage to social trust. I wouldn't be surprised if it's gone by the wayside now.

I suppose treatment like that would be considered an extravagance even if successful, but not treating it is cruel and symptoms can express themselves decades later, even appearing to be MS or Parkinson's.

[al bupp]

69. It's off the thread's topic, but your work supporting vets deserves a big "atta-boy"

That's a touching story about the marine.

[tabatha]

5. News sources

I thought I'd share my twitter sources (the icons of which are lined up like little birds on a wire on the bookmark toolbar) - because there is just too much info to post all of it here. Following them and all the other people that they tweet to/from, one gets the sense of a global community helping the Libyans - truly in the spirit of "I am my brother's keeper".
(I delete the "Name" in the "Properties" box on all icons in the bookmark toolbar - so that more icons can fit. One can always id the icon by moving the mouse over the icon and waiting for the tooltip to be displayed.)

http://twitter.com/#!/SecularLibya
http://twitter.com/#!/wheelertweets
http://twitter.com/#!/RRowleyTucson
http://twitter.com/#!/doood54
http://twitter.com/#!/live2Tripoli
http://twitter.com/#!/EnoughGaddafi
http://twitter.com/#!/ChangeInLibya
http://twitter.com/#!/Thanku4theAnger
http://twitter.com/#!/iyad_elbaghdadi
http://twitter.com/#!/KiloFoot

and a few excerpts from them:

Morocco's Revolutionaries: The Crazy Kids Have Grown Up
"What if we offered a prayer for the soul of bin Laden?" The question was tossed into the meeting of the February 20 Movement like a hand grenade. But the young men and women gathered in the Moroccan Labor Union building in Rabat didn't duck for cover. Instead, they angrily challenged the questioner, a bearded, middle-aged man representing the Islamist prisoners who have joined from behind the bars with the secular youth movement calling for greater freedoms. "Are you out of your mind?" asked one young man. "Just because we defend you people against torture, it doesn't mean we support terrorism. Don't you impose your creepy agenda on us."
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2075296,00.html#ixzz1OKAgur2H

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
Just submitted Mo to the http://feb17martyrs.com site...surprised no one else yet had

iyad_elbaghdadi Iyad El-Baghdadi
Harrowing first-person account of what a Reuters journalists saw while under arrest in #Syria: http://j.mp/lTh551
You can find the original #ArabTyrantManual here (http://j.mp/ifYUXp) and here (http://j.mp/kgKrFk), can you think of more?

KiloFoot Just An Arab
Palestine's own spring > Le Monde Diplomatique: http://goo.gl/D78uK #Palestine #Jerusalem #PA #Fatah #Gaza #Hamas #Paltweets #mar15 #Israel

And music videos:
http://youtu.be/zxZw5PMOT40
http://youtu.be/b9nYhU5AaD4
http://youtu.be/B0oEF7B8IvY

[Iterate]

6. Sombre Libyans contemplate Gaddafi’s future

Sombre Libyans contemplate Gaddafi’s future
Posted on June 4, 2011

TRIPOLI – A chorus of white-clad girls, halos fixed to their heads and battery-powered candles clutched in their hands, sways in unison, then breaks into an off-key accompaniment of the 1980s anthem “We are the World.”

Hours before the performance outside Muammar Gaddafi’s Bab al-Aziziyah compound, broadcast live on state television, a Tripoli resident renders a different verdict on the fate of the capital after 10 weeks of Western bombing.

“We are finished,” says a man who identifies himself as Hamid, previously a worker for a Turkish construction firm. One of the firm’s expatriate employees — now evacuated from Libya — said he believed Hamid was an informant for the Libyan state.

more... http://feb17.info/news/sombre-libyans-contemplate-gaddafi%E2%80%99s-future/#more-20443

Actually there isn't much of direct value in that Reuters piece, as the reporter covered just what he was fed by the minder. The value in it though is in realizing that this was the best the minder could do. Cute kids on the teevee and grumpy supporters in Tripoli. Really, if your counting on grumpiness for your salvation, it's over.

No reason to the Colonel & Sons to be grumpy even if everyone else is. They have a few days left to save their skins, and that's by turning themselves in to the ICC ahead of the warrant and hope they don't get extradited back to Libya. This rec room just begs for a father-son fooseball team.

Picture Gallery 4:25pm UK, Wednesday June 01, 2011
Inside Mladic's Detention Centre
The war crimes trial of former Yugoslav general Ratko Mladic will be lengthy. During his time at the Scheveningen detention centre in The Hague he will have modern but basic facilities.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Former-Yugoslav-General-Ratko-Mladic-Is-Being-Held-In-A-Detention-Centre-In-The-Hague/Media-Gallery/201106116003712

Libyan Limbo – Six reasons why it’s been so tough to get Gaddafi to quit
...
1. Asymmetrical stakes: In their classic volume on coercive diplomacy, international relations scholars Alexander George and William Simons concluded that a strategy of military threats has a higher chance of success “if the side employing it is more highly motivated than its opponent by what is at stake in the crisis.” For the United States and NATO, this is a humanitarian mission, while for Qaddafi and his cronies it is a matter of life or death. Which side is more highly motivated?
...

2. Coup-proofing: Given the devastation that NATO is wreaking on Libya’s armed forces, as well as the defections of top members of Qaddafi’s regime, Europeans and Americans may be holding out hope that members of the Libyan leader’s inner circle could oust him from power. Don’t hold your breath
...

more... http://www.libyafeb17.com/2011/06/libyan-limbo-six-reasons-why-its-been-so-tough-to-get-gaddafi-to-quit/
original Source: Foreign Policy http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/06/02/libyan_limbo?page=0,0

I was tempted to go on at length about the last one, but it boils down to this: yet another American-centric piece that focuses on celebrity American politicians, one celebrity dictator, and the abstract Nato. No real mention of Libyan people, their struggles, or their history. No wonder people are confused. In fact, if I thought for a minute this was all about Nato v. Gaddafi, or what the US wants, I'd be sitting it out myself, at best.

Off topic a bit, but after being AFK for a bit (real work, hurray, hope I get paid), I'm sure glad there's a stalemate. After four hours I'm still not caught up. The maps are changed, the topics, the stories, the dynamic.

[tabatha]

7. Congratulations to Perditta, Mohammed #Nabbous wife

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
Congratulations to Perditta, Mohammed #Nabbous wife on giving birth to a baby girl. #Libya #feb17

[Cerridwen]

41. Thank you!

I have been wondering about her and whether or not she'd had the baby yet.

[joshcryer]

9. UK foreign sec. visits Benghazi as UK apache heli's attack Gaddafi loyalist troops + cockpit footage

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/04/william-hague-benghazi-libyan-rebels">William Hague in Benghazi to support Libyan rebels
The foreign secretary, William Hague, has flown into the Libyan rebel stronghold of Benghazi for the first ministerial-level talks with opposition figures.

Hague said the mission, on which he is accompanied by the international development secretary, Andrew Mitchell, was designed to show British support for the Libyan people.

Among people from "across society" he is due to meet during the short visit is the chairman of the interim National Transitional Council (NTC), Abdul Jalil.

"We are here today for one principal reason – to show our support for the Libyan people and for the National Transitional Council, the legitimate representative of the Libyan people," he said.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/04/hague-libyan-rebels-apache-gaddafi">Hague meets Libyan rebels as Apache attacks intensify assault on Gaddafi
Britain demonstrated its solidarity with the cause of the Libyan rebel forces in a dramatic fashion yesterday, as the foreign secretary, William Hague, became the first government minister to visit their stronghold of Benghazi in the east of the country. Following his unannounced visit he said he had seen the "inspiring" hope of many Libyans for freedom.

Hague's visit came in the wake of the first attacks by British Apache helicopters which targeted Muammar Gaddafi's troops, destroying a radar station and a military checkpoint during a night-time raid. They marked a sharp escalation in the Nato campaign in Libya.

http://www.libyafeb17.com/2011/06/video-cockpit-footage-of-british-apache-attacks/">Video: Cockpit footage of British Apache attacks
The Apaches hit targets near the Libyan town of Brega during the latest wave of Nato strikes against forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the MoD said.

“This successful engagement demonstrates the unique capabilities brought to bear by attack helicopters,” said Lt Gen Charles Bouchard, Commander of Operation Unified Protector.

“We will continue to use these assets whenever and wherever needed, using the same precision as we do in all of our missions.”

The Apaches attacked and destroyed two military installations – a radar site and an armed checkpoint – near Brega, the BBC reported. It said that French Gazelle helicopters also took part in simultaneous attacks on different targets in Libya for the first time.

tabatha, I'll add your sources to my twitter links, I have a few of them in the OP already and when I read twitter I just jump to RT's to see what others are saying, it's kinda disorganized since I don't trust twitter so much (but I have no problem with twitter postings of course!).

[joshcryer]

10. Libyan Revolution Day 108 updates below, current time in Libya, 12:13am Sunday, June 5

[CJvR]

11. Brega.

Despite the lifting of the siege at Mistatha and the increased pressure on Gaddafi's supply lines in the western mountains I still have a feeling that Brega will be the decisive action. If the rebels can destroy the army in Brega there wont be much between them and Sirte, the only place where there likely is genuine support for Gaddafi. As long as the army in Brega holds there is hope for the loyalists. I hope the rebels have cut the escape routes this time so it wont be another quick dash back to the supply center at Sirte and then another advance - not that that is likely with NATO gunships around.

In a note of disgrace the Socialdemocrat opposition in Sweden want to pull out the 8 Griffin fighters from enforcing the no-fly zone (since Gaddafi is not bombing at the moment they are not needed...). They are suggesting a marine contribution instead, although that would probably take a few months to arrange which is probably what they hope for, or continued air contribution regarding arms-embargo only. It seems as if standing with the evil imperialists in NATO against a murderous third world tyrant is still to ideologically difficult for the Socalists.
http://www.dn.se/nyheter/sverige/fortsatta-moten-om-libyeninsatsen1

[joshcryer]

12. Rebels *not* revising oil contracts (HA!), France works close to daffi, China met rebel leaders

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/04/uk-energy-libya-deals-idUKTRE75154P20110604">Libya rebels are not revising oil deals - source
Libyan rebel officials are in contact with top oil companies that operate in the north African country but no new contracts are being drawn up, a source in the rebel leadership said.

Information and pricing agency Platts reported this week that the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) was in preliminary talks with Italy over a possible renegotiation of a production-sharing deal for Libya's Bouri offshore field.

It said the talks might result in the rebels taking charge of the stake in the field owned by Libya's state National Oil Corporation, which operates Bouri in association with Italy's Eni.

"We are having talks with top companies that operate in Libya, but we are not making new contracts," the source in the Benghazi-based national council told Reuters.

I thought it was about the oil? I hope the TNC completely blows everyone away by constitutionally mandating that the oil can never go below 90% share for the Libyan people.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/04/uk-libya-france-idUKTRE7521K720110604">France working on those close to Libya's Gaddafi
France said on Friday it was working with those close to Muammar Gaddafi to try to convince him to leave power as well as stepping up military pressure via the NATO-led mission in Libya.

"He is more and more isolated," Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told Europe 1 radio. "There have been more defections around him and we have received messages from his close entourage which has understood that he must leave power."

"We will increase the military pressure as we have been doing for several days...but at the same time we are talking with everyone who can convince him to leave power," he said, speaking by telephone during a visit to Israel.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/04/uk-china-libya-idUKTRE75220U20110604">China says it held meeting with Libyan rebel leader
A Chinese diplomat met the leader of the Libyan rebel National Transitional Council fighting to oust Muammar Gaddafi, Beijing said on Friday, its first confirmed contact with the group.

The terse statement from Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei did not disclose details of the talks between Beijing's ambassador in Qatar, Zhang Zhiliang, and Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the chairman of the Council that is trying to offer itself as a credible temporary alterative to embattled Gaddafi.

But the meeting itself was an indication that Beijing wants to keep open lines of communication with the rebel forces that could supplant Gaddafi, even as it urges a political solution to the conflict.

The two men met in Doha, the capital of Qatar, and "exchanged views on developments in Libya," Hong said in a statement on the ministry's website (www.mfa.gov.cn).

As goes Russia so goes China, expect China to call for Gaddafi to step down soon enough.

[joshcryer]

13. Libyan artists driving Gaddafi to the wall, Novel way to destroy mines in Misrata (video)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/05/gaddafi-rebels-art-graffiti-benghazi">The Libyan artists driving Gaddafi to the wall
In Tripoli, official portraits of Muammar Gaddafi are everywhere: on giant murals and billboards, in hotel lobbies, offices, shops, homes, and schools. The "Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution" usually appears as a sort of deity or in military uniform with rays of light shining behind him. Throughout Gaddafi's reign, his obsessive control of how and where his image appears has been straight out of the dictator's textbook.

In Benghazi, a day's drive east along the Mediterranean coast, there are also lots of public pictures of the man who has ruled this desert country for more than four decades. But here, his image is used as a weapon against him.

Caricatures of the vilified leader and anti-regime or pro-democracy graffiti are popping up throughout the city centre and in recently trashed army bases, on building sites and on any suitable walls. There are posters of Gaddafi pumping petrol into a winged camel, Gaddafi with the tail of a snake and a forked tongue, Gaddafi as Dracula, Gaddafi as a clown, Gaddafi being bitten by a dog, Gaddafi getting a boot in the head. The variations are countless. Another popular theme is an often bloodstained Gaddafi terrorising or slaughtering his people or plundering the oil-rich nation's wealth.

Novel way to destroy mines in Misrata: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgWQc3-08w0

[joshcryer]

15. Libyan street protest art - in pictures

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2011/jun/05/libya-gaddafi-street-art">Libyan street protest art - in pictures



I wish I thought to save the graffiti, I am going to have to go back and start compiling a whole collage of them.

[tabatha]

16. video

http://youtu.be/W4dsxD0XHuA

[tabatha]

14. Twitter activity

Josh, the twitter sites were just fyis if anyone else wanted to check them out. Not necessary to include in OP.
Yep, I share your hesitancy about tweets - and it is one of the reasons I no longer go to the generic #Libya where all sorts of crap, lies and propaganda are posted. So, I stick to just those who like to check their stuff, or express warnings if they are not sure, or provide links.

The following tweets paint a picture of the desperation of Gaddafi who is determined not to give up, but pull every trick in the book.
The ending is going to very messy. I hope NATO has a plan. But they are succeeding in pushing this to an end.

Also, thanks for the good words. I am lucky (or not, too much sitting) that I spend a lot of time at my computer, and mental breaks are spent looking for news on Libya. I so want this thing to end fast. I feel so badly for the Libyans and so much disgust for Gaddafi.

ChangeInLibya Mhalwes
Tripoli: Reports that 100 cars were painted or sprayed with Anti-G slogans/freedom flags & will be used by Gaddafi to kill civilians #libya

libyanexpat Adel عادل
GADAFFI sending 50 armored vehicles to tripoli with rebel flags to trick the people. On route from MITIGA airbase as we speak- pls RT #Libya
URGENT: 50 armored vehicles leaving MITIGA AIRBASE on route to tripoli displaying REBEL FLAGS - THIS IS A TRAP - pls spread the word #Libya
ChangeInLibya Mhalwes
Tripoli: This tactic was used in Misrata to try & sneak past FF checkpoints but was quickly noticed. G will attempt to spread hatred for FF

libyanproud libyanandproud
I will be tweeting my conversation with a recent deserter , who has shot himself in the foot to manage to flee #misratah #feb17 #Libya
Large number of soldiers escaping battle fields, due to the following : 1. if not part of gaddafi tribe u are put in front lines . Cont
2. The fear of Apache is making the troops even the security checkpoints in #Tripoli break apart . Cont
3. Gaddafi clan and high ranking officials sons are not showing up to the battle fields anymore
4. New high officials are stationed in the back lines to snipe any deserters .
For the record the person I spoke to is scum and made me sick , so every word I heard made me sicker . #Feb17 #Libya

ChangeInLibya Mhalwes
Some much needed aid is starting to get to Yefren and Qalaa after the liberation of the Bir Ayad gate from Zintan #libya #feb17

WilliamJHague William Hague
In Benghazi met some of those injured by Qadhafi's forces and heard appalling stories. UK and NATO actions saving lives. #Libya
Foreign Office (FCO) Development Sec Andrew Mitchell announces new UK support for the clearance of mines in #Libya http://ow.ly/5aa7S
Foreign Secretary and Development Secretary reaffirm UK support for National Transitional Council in #Libya http://ow.ly/5aa1k

wheelertweets James Wheeler - Is traveling in Libya, and often loads pictures of where he is, to twitpic
#ARRUJBAN #LIBYA: Innocent, freedom-loving young girl. Spontaneously posing for my camera as I went by. #gaddafi http://twitpic.com/57319y
#ARRUJBAN #LIBYA: Doctor who showed me around yesterday (1 of 3 courageous docs at hospital) Graveyard in prior pi http://twitpic.com/572z0w
#ARRUJBAN #LIBYA: Young girl poses next to a hole from a #Gaddafi Grad that hit a graveyard near the town's main m http://twitpic.com/572tbt

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
#Libya: 3rd biggest storage area 4 #Gaddafi GRADs is in desert south of #Zintan, in area called Al Qa'aa. #Libya #feb17
#Libya: The biggest GRAD storage is in #Sirte, in a facility called #Grarahell. 2nd biggest is in #Zlitan, in a facility known as #Volcano.

SecularLibya MargBar Khamenei
Unconfirmed from #Gherian: City is in revolt. News of defections Sehban Brigade. If confirmed very good news for the entire #Nafusa
Heinz: There will be #NATO action tonight at #NAFOUSA. -- I hope NATO cleans the Alawiniya Daffi camp allowing FFs access to #Gharyan #Libya
Heinz: Gharyan and environs was hit by NATO last night to assist in the uprising taking place. #Libya #Feb17

[tabatha]

18. Gaddafi's Libyan army collapsing, say defectors

COLONEL Muammar Gaddafi's regime is close to collapse and his army is suffering hundreds of desertions every day, according to generals who have fled Libya and plan to fight alongside the rebels.

In exclusive interviews with The Sunday Times, two generals and a colonel who have sought refuge in Italy said Colonel Gaddafi's military capacity had shrunk to just a fifth of its strength, and predicted he would fall from power within weeks.

“Thousands of members of the armed forces have defected or deserted, especially over the past two weeks. There are defections every day. Everyone who gets an opportunity grabs it,” said General Melud Massoud Halassa.

Eight defectors - five generals, two colonels and a more junior officer - were extracted from Libya via Tunisia and brought to Rome with the help of the Italian foreign intelligence service.

They were confident that the regime was crumbling. “Gaddafi will fall in a few weeks' time, morale is so bad both in the army and in the population,” said General Halassa, who defected a week ago with his wife and five children. He said rebel and NATO attacks as well as shortages of food and fuel had demoralised Colonel Gaddafi's forces.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gaddafis-libyan-army-collapsing-say-defectors/story-e6frg6so-1226069500257

It cannot happen soon enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SecularLibya MargBar Khamenei
Heinz: G airforce personnel ready to revolt. Lots of action tonight in #Zlitan. Also #NATO action in BinWalid and Mountains. #Libya #Feb17
38 minutes ago

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Street Vendor's spark and Arabia unquenchable insurgency

It is a huge Berlin Wall, which has fallen. After that nothing in the Arab world longer be like before, "declares the French-speaking Moroccan Tahar Ben Jalloun confidently about the Arab world's revolutionary cause an historic upheaval of dimensions, as he is one of the first chroniclers have set out to describe and understand the his new essaybog, L'étincelle (spark), regardless of the event evolves dramatically over many fronts and its ultimate impact remains to be seem uncertain.

The 66-year-old Moroccan writer is a guest of Copenhagen litteraturfestival CPH - Litt 2011 as one of its international top names.

http://www.information.dk/268206

[pinboy3niner]

20. Help Obeidy out of Libya (CNN Op-Ed)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

•Deportation of Eman al-Obeidy back to Libya was shockingly brazen, Bill Frelick says

•Frelick: Forcing a person back to a place of likely persecution violates basic refugee law

•It's critical that al-Obeidy be allowed to go to Romania and resettlement elsewhere, he says

•Frelick: In Libya, as a victim of an "honor" crime, she faces ostracism, threat of violence

By Bill Frelick, Special to CNN
June 4, 2011 9:01 p.m. EDT


Editor's note: Bill Frelick is the refugees director at Human Rights Watch, an international nongovernmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights.

(CNN) -- The call was urgent, the news shocking: Qatar, a close US ally and supporter of the NATO campaign in Libya, had forced a Libyan woman who said she was raped onto a plane back to Libya.


I could hardly believe the story -- not because I'm surprised by government misbehavior when it comes to illegally deporting refugees, but because they don't usually do it so brazenly: The victim was well-known worldwide, and it was hard to imagine that Qatar would risk international censure to return a single refugee.

...


Once in Doha, al-Obeidy contacted the U.N. refugee agency and asked for asylum abroad, saying she was afraid to return to Libya. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees recognized her as a refugee at risk of ill-treatment if sent back to any part of Libya, and was preparing to transfer her to an emergency transit center in Romania. From there we believe she would likely have been admitted to the United States.


But instead of getting on a late-night flight to Bucharest last Thursday, al-Obeidy was dragged out of her hotel room and forced to take a military plane to Benghazi, despite her vocal protests and those of her parents. U.N. officials spent hours vainly trying to stop the move.

...


Libya is certainly not the place for this courageous and horribly abused woman to be "speaking openly" about her ordeal. It is time to give her the space, privacy and security she needs to begin to recover and to decide about her life and future, free from political or domestic pressure.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/06/04/frelick.liba.obeidy/

[pinboy3niner]

22. Libyan rebels 'protecting' rape accuser

Source: ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corp.) News

Updated Sun Jun 5, 2011 12:29am AEST


Libyan rebels say they are looking after the woman allegedly raped by soldiers loyal to Moamar Gaddafi and who fled to Qatar but was deported back to the north African country.


Mustafa Abdel Jalil of the National Transitional Council in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi said they are taking care of Iman al-Obeidi.


"We are protecting and helping (her) ... She is a Libyan citizen," he said.

...


US State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner on Friday said Ms Obaidi had expressed "her fear of returning to Libya".


"There are people (in Libya) who have an interest in shutting her up ... Her fear is well founded in our opinion," he added.

...


http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/06/05/3235782.htm

[pinboy3niner]

21. US writer among journalists missing in Libya

By SARAH BRUMFIELD, Associated Press – 13 hours ago

BALTIMORE (AP) — As the uprisings of the "Arab Spring" began to unfold, writer Matthew VanDyke was at home in Baltimore, editing a book and film about his trips across the Middle East by motorcycle. An email from a friend in Libya convinced VanDyke that dispatches from that country's war would make a perfect epilogue.


Now VanDyke has been missing for nearly three months. His mother, Sharon, said the 31-year-old decided he had to be there when the friend asked VanDyke to tell others of the country's struggle if he was killed during the conflict.


He's one of 17 journalists — mostly Libyans — detained by dictator Moammar Gadhafi's government or believed to be in custody in Libya. At least five others have been killed as rebel forces try to topple Gadhafi's decades-old regime, said Mohamed Abdel Dayem of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists.


The last time Sharon VanDyke heard her son's voice, it was March 12 as he set off for a daytrip to the coastal oil city of Brega from the rebels' de facto capital Benghazi. He sent GPS coordinates the next day.

...


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hk7P4sk2G9jl36-EAxYRVb1fyUSQ?docId=68a57c340f364b81b4b409677a8f1664

[tabatha]

23. Daughter of Libyan civilian journalist born months after his death

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Mayar Nabbous has entered the world, more than two months after her father -- an engineer-turned-advocate journalist -- left it, after being killed by a sniper in the rebel-held city of Benghazi.

The baby's mother, Perditta Nabbous, told CNN on Saturday her daughter was born three days earlier in the eastern Libyan city. She spoke after the news went viral online, saying she and the baby were both in good health.

Mayar's father, Mohammed Nabbous, came to the world's attention in February when unrest started in the North African nation.

The 27-year-old engineer turned founder of the online Libya Al-Hurra TV dedicated himself to showcasing what was going on in Benghazi, where opposition forces were under heavy attack from those allied with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/05/libya.benghazi.baby/

Libya TV Interview about Libya Al Hurra TV and Livestream Channels

Perditta: The livestream started at the very beginning and broadcast nonstop until march 19th, after which we changed the approach but it continued. As for the channel, this was a project that Mohamed started and his goal was to have it broadcast on a satellite channel. It was his personal work. He didn’t want to wait for anyone to start a channel. He started it himself. The livestream started from the start of the revolution and it has been continuous since. I took over the livestream after his death. He asked me to continue it even if something were to happen to him. We wanted to make a network in Libya in different areas, Ajdabiya, Brega, all areas until he reached Tripoli. Unfortunately he couldn’t live to do it all. Thanks to everyone abroad and in Libya who have helped reach those who have 2 way internet in different areas, and we were able to make his dream come true. Libya Al Hurra livestream is independent from the Libya Al Hurra channel.

http://libya-alhurra.tumblr.com/

http://youtu.be/1nbhp0Q0YL8

Benghazi on Saturday mourned the Goumaa Ferjany, who has "Liberty Tea" song, where he was found dead in his apartment by two bullets in the head and the other in the chest. (No source yet)

[pinboy3niner]

24. Yemen: "Saleh...gone...injuries serious after all...in hosp. in Saudi Arabia."

The Guardian's Middle East expert Brian Whitaker tweets:

Saleh is gone. His injuries were serious after all. Second-degree burns on face, shrapnel near heart. He is in hospital in Saudi Arabia.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/middle-east-live/2011/jun/05/yemen-libya-syria-middle-east-unrest#block-2

In a commentary for the paper, Whitaker writes:

A second plane followed (Saleh to Saudi Arabia), reportedly carrying 24 members of his family. This is one indication that to all intents and purposes the Saleh era is finished. He is unlikely ever to return to Yemen as president – and the Saudis and Americans will be working behind the scenes to ensure that he doesn't.


It's also worth mentioning that others injured by the explosion include the prime minister, deputy prime minister, the heads of both houses of parliament and the governor of Sana'a, the capital. Some of them have also been flown to Saudi Arabia for treatment. One of Saleh's nephews, the commander of the special forces, is said to have been killed. So, even discounting Saleh himself, what's left of his regime is in serious disarray.


Given the desperate plight that Yemen is in, this offers the best prospect of a way forward for the country (as I suggested in an article on Friday). There is now a fair chance that the armed conflict will subside. It's by no means certain – and Yemen is never totally conflict-free – but the prospects for relative calm are a lot better now than they would have been if Saleh remained in Sana'a battling to cling on to power.


Secondly, work can begin on the political transition, drawing on some elements from the plan negotiated earlier by the Gulf Cooperation Council – the one that Saleh, after agreeing to it verbally, refused at the last minute to sign.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/middle-east-live/2011/jun/05/yemen-libya-syria-middle-east-unrest#block-3

[pinboy3niner]

25. NATO jets target military barracks in Tripoli

By DIAA HADID, Associated Press – 31 minutes ago

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — British jets hit a military barracks in the Libyan capital early Sunday, further intensifying NATO pressure on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi nearly four months into an uprising to end his erratic 42-year rule.

...


By intensifying attacks from the air and using helicopters to target government forces who melt into the civilian population for cover, NATO is providing a major boost to Libyan rebel forces who have seized much of the country's east and toeholds in the west.

For example, emboldened rebels in recent days have forced government troops from three western towns and broke the siege of a fourth.

...


A NATO official, however, said Royal Airforce Tornados fired eight missiles into surface-to-air missile depot in Tripoli. The early Sunday attacks also hit military sites in the town of Tajoura, west of Tripoli.

Saturday's strikes by French and British helicopters went after Libyan troops hiding in populated areas, military vehicles and equipment — targets often unavailable to higher-flying jet fighters.

...


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hYmMJdziFDKLWqrYgKFhbBh9EPKQ?docId=283d16cbdf964afdbe59c4af5176a469

[pinboy3niner]

26. 'Sign of the apocalypse': Kucinich's Libya bill gets GOP support

Source: The Hill

By Russell Berman - 06/04/11 06:30 AM ET


One Democrat called it the "sign of the apocalypse."


An anti-war resolution authored by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), who spent years trying to impeach the last Republican president for prosecuting an illegal war, won more support from Republicans than Democrats on the House floor.


That was the case Friday as the House debated how to respond, belatedly, to President Obama’s military intervention in Libya. Kucinich’s resolution, which would mandate an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces absent congressional authorization, failed by a wide margin, 265-148, but it garnered votes from more than one-third of the Republican conference. Eighty-seven Republicans voted for the measure compared to 61 Democrats.


Minutes earlier, a strong majority of the House, including all but 10 Republicans, endorsed a milder rebuke of the president in the form of a non-binding resolution offered by Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). The Speaker’s bill chastised Obama for having “failed to provide a compelling rationale” for the Libya mission, and it demanded that the president report back to Congress within 14 days with information on the operation’s costs, goals, timeline and other matters.

...


http://thehill.com/news-by-subject/defense-homeland-security/164741-sign-of-the-apocalypse-kucinichs-strong-gop-support-on-libya

[pinboy3niner]

27. Family's plea for killed photjournalist's body to return home to Surbiton

Source: Surrey Comet (UK)

7:10am Sunday 5th June 2011


By Louise Robertson


The family of a photojournalist killed in Libya have written an emotive open letter to South African President Jacob Zuma pleading for help in finding his remains.

Surbiton-based Anton Hammerl, a South African national, was shot dead in in an ambush in Brega on April 5.

His wife Penny Sukhraj <received> assurances by Libyan authorities that he was safe and subsequently campaigned tirelessly to locate him.

However after 45 days her hopes were cruelly dashed when news came he had been dead all along.

Now, the Mrs Sukhraj’s primary objective is bringing his body home so her two sons and Mr Hammerl’s family can give him the funeral he deserves.

...


http://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/9065487.Family_s_plea_for_killed_photjournalist_s_body_to_return_home/

[al bupp]

28. HRW: Opposition Arbitrarily Detaining Suspected Gaddafi Loyalists

From: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/06/05/libya-opposition-arbitrarily-detaining-suspected-gaddafi-loyalists">Human Rights Watch

Respect Due Process Rights; Rein in Volunteer Security Groups
June 5, 2011

(Tunis) – Libyan opposition authorities are arbitrarily detaining dozens of civilians suspected of activities in support of Muammar Gaddafi, Human Rights Watch said today. The opposition authorities, which exercise control in eastern Libya and parts of the west, should provide the detainees with full due process rights or release them, Human Rights Watch said.

...

In Benghazi, at least 41 of the detainees as of May 28 were civilians. Human Rights Watch interviewed 20 of them privately between March and May. None complained of mistreatment in detention or showed signs of physical abuse, but four alleged they had been physically abused when they were captured. None had ¬seen a lawyer or been able to challenge their detention before an independent judicial authority.

...

Conditions for detainees visited by Human Rights Watch, both civilian and military, appeared to meet acceptable standards. All of the detainees in Benghazi, Misrata, and Zintan, interviewed in private, said they had adequate access to medical care, food and water. At the February 17 Brigade’s base in Benghazi, the detainees are allowed family visits and have been able to call relatives on a satellite phone.

...

Human Rights Watch documented one apparent death in custody by a volunteer group in Baida. Muhammad el-Dabr, a Jordanian citizen suspected of spreading pro-Gaddafi propaganda, died during interrogation in Baida on April 30, two people with direct knowledge of the case told Human Rights Watch. A person who viewed el-Dabr’s body said it showed signs of torture.

...

In addition to arbitrary detentions of suspected Gaddafi supporters, at least 10 former Gaddafi security officials and Revolutionary Committee members have been killed in eastern Libya over the past three months, opposition authorities told Human Rights Watch. In Benghazi, five were killed – Salah al-Sharif, an alleged member of a Revolutionary Committee, and Nasser al-Sirmani, Ziad al-Zwei, Ibrahim Khalifa Sermani, and Hussain Ghaith, all security officials. In March and April, five members of the Internal Security Agency were killed in Derna: Mustafa Ragis, Ezet Buhatwa, Faraj Dalel, Muftah Adaybani, and Salem Hawari.

...

Gaddafi forces have conducted wide-scale arrests in the areas they control of people who supported or are suspected of supporting the opposition, holding them in civilian and military detention facilities. The government has not provided any information about http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/03/13/libya-end-violent-crackdown-tripoli">the number of people it has arrested or the charges they face.

Those released from government custody, both Libyans and foreigners, have reported beatings, torture, mock executions, and the sexual harassment of women.

This seems to me to be a very fair article which, holds both sides accountable for their actions. This is difficult to convey w/o excerpting more than 4 paragraphs, but I hope it's acceptable since the source is an a non-profit publication. I recommend that people go read the entire piece.

[pinboy3niner]

29. (British Foreign Secretary) William Hague 'inspired' by Libyan rebels

Source: BBC

5 June 2011 Last updated at 06:28 ET


Foreign Secretary William Hague says he has been inspired by his visit to the rebel-held city of Benghazi in Libya.

He told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme he had met "representatives of all areas of Libya, and of many shades" during his visit on Saturday.

...


When asked what kind of people the rebels were who he met in Libya, and what their backgrounds were, Mr Hague said they were "genuine".

He added: "These people at the top of this organisation are genuine believers in democracy and the rule of law. It is quite inspiring... to see their real hope for the future of their country.

...


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13659852

[pinboy3niner]

30. Libyan woman who claimed rape (Iman al-Obeidi) leaves to US

Posted in LBN by Pirate Smile:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4873497

[pinboy3niner]

31. What Qaddafi Said

From Foreign Affairs:

Excerpts from Libyan Leader Muammar al-Qaddafi's Last Televised Address


The Editors
June 4, 2011

February 22, 2011


Muammar Qaddafi has no official post so that he can pout and resign from it, like other presidents did. Muammar Qaddafi is not a president. He is a revolutionary leader. Revolution means perpetual sacrifice until death.

...


I am greater than the positions held by presidents and notables. I am a fighter. A mujahid. A combatant. A revolutionary from the tent. From the desert. All cities, villages and oases united with me in a historic revolution that brought glories to the Libyans, that they will enjoy for generation after generation. Libya will remain at the top, leading Africa and Latin America and Asia; indeed, the whole world.

...


I am addressing you from this steadfast place. This house in Tripoli which was raided by 170 planes led by the great nuclear states, America and Britain and NATO. 40 Boeing planes were assisting in refueling the campaign. They bypassed all the palaces and all the houses -- all your houses, they left your houses behind -- looking for the house of Muammar Qaddafi. Why? Because he is president of the republic? If he were a president, they would have treated him like they have treat other heads of state. But Muammar Qaddafi is history, resistance, liberation, glory and revolution. This is recognition from the greatest power in the world, that Muammar Qaddafi is not a president, or an average person we either kill with poison or start a protest against to topple him.

...


Get out of your homes, go out to the streets, secure the streets, seize the rats, do not be afraid of them. We did not yet use force. And (armed) force is to support the Libyan people. If it reaches a point where we have to use force, then we will use it. According to the international law, and according to the Libyan constitution and Libyan laws. Starting tomorrow, by God, starting tonight even, you should go out. All the Libyan cities, towns and oases that love Muammar Qaddafi -- because Muammar Qaddafi is glory. If I had an official position, if I were president I would have thrown my resignation in your faces, and (in the faces of) these germs. But I don't hold an official position. I don't have anything from which to resign. I have my rifle. I will fight until the last drop of my blood. And the Libyan people are with me. I have lived my life not afraid of anything. You are facing a solid rock, against which America's fleets have crashed.

...


Listen to the chants in the streets: "Our souls and our blood we sacrifice for you, our Leader."


Look at their crimes. This is the Libyan Penal Code from before the revolution. Anyone who bears arms against Libya shall be punished by death. Scheming with foreign countries to incite war against Libya. Anyone who does so is punishable by death. This is the Penal Code. Undermining the territorial sovereignty of the state and facilitating war against it is punishable by death. Anyone who facilitates the entry of enemies into the country, or hands over cities, or fortifications or installations or locations or ports to them. These kinds of acts will lead to the handing over of locations to America. ... Entering military installations; if the enemy benefits from this, the punishment will be a death sentence. ... They have committed all these crimes. ... They have handed all our secrets to the enemy. This is not the fault of the children. ... It is those who are behind them and who are tricking you, whose fate will be before tribunals, where they will cry and lift their hands and beg for forgiveness. But this time we will not forgive them. ... Anyone who employs force, or any other means not allowed by law and the constitution, in order to change the constitution and the system of governance, is punishable by death. They are changing the rule of the people. Their punishment is death according to the law.

...


Lastly, gentlemen, if these things are not fulfilled: handing over the weapons, the prisoners, the troublemakers who tricked our children, and the removal of all blockades and returning life to normal ... if this not fulfilled, and if Libya's unity is endangered ... if we see this happening, we will prevent it. Then we will declare the march. ... We will declare the holy march. Oh yes. ... We will issue a call to the millions, from the desert to the desert. And I and the millions will march in order to cleanse Libya, inch by inch, house by house, home by home, alley by alley, individual by individual, so that the country is purified from the unclean. We cannot allow for Libya to be lost from our hands without justification. ... I have millions on my side. I have God on my side, who has made me victorious over the great powers.


Translation by Tony Badran

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67878/the-editors/what-qaddafi-said?page=show

[tabatha]

32. Love this picture.

http://twitpic.com/57gqi2

(This is what we think of your green book, Gaddafi, and btw we left a calling card high up on the pole.)

Also some tweets:
RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
#Japan freezes $4.4 billion worth of #Gaddafi regime assets goo.gl/KMIHM #Libya #feb17
#Libya: Unconfirmed: #Algeria wants to establish contact with the #NTC #Libya #feb17
#Gaddafi's sons asked to go to #Sudan but #Sudan refused their request via Libya Al Mustakbal #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Mohamed Ben Ayad the director of Libyana mobile network has resigned & fled. #Libya via @AlmanaraMedia mail.

This tweeter has some interesting comments:
http://twitter.com/#!/libyanmaddog

NTC_of_Libya NTC Media
by ChangeInLibya
To all Libyans and none Libyans: Please tweet your ideas and hopes for the new Free Libya @ntc_of_libya #Libya #Tripoli #Benghazi #Feb17

[tabatha]

33. Breaking news

BREAKING : Gen. Mosbah Al-Aroosi has joined the Freedom Fighters and is assisting in the liberation of #Ghiryan now ! #Feb17 #Libya
#Ajdabyia: 80 of G forces tried 2 surrendr 2 #FF & when thy tried, Gaddafi commandrs opend fire on thm kiling 20, & the rest forced 2 go bck
RT @libyanproud: BREAKING:Allah Akbar , "Abu Sleem Martyrs Brigade" of the free #Libyan army has penetrated and are in #Brega! #Feb17 #Libya
Mass grave found in the Sultan area, 120 km west of Benghazi. #Libya #feb17 #Gaddaficrimes

Amazing to read the dreams of Libyans for the new Libya
#NewLibya removing old Arab habits of corruption and setting standards to make sure the government works for the people
#NewLibya diversifying the economy, moving away from 90% dependence on oil and gas - investing in tourism, real estate, secondary economies
@NTC_of_Libya #NewLibya Construction contracts/jobs to be awarded to #Libyan companies/people where possible.. no backhanders or bribes.
#NewLibya a better healthcare system, so that ppl dont have to go to egypt or tunisia to get treated!
#NewLibya - Home of the new Federation of Democratic Africa States - desperate despots & dictators - not welcome & need not apply #Libya
#newlibya will have amazing publictransportation systems
http://twitter.com/#!/search/newlibya

ANTI GADDAFI SONG! (Irish Rebel Song by The Paddyman)
This is a rebel song, written and performed by the PADDYMAN in support of the Libyan people, a few hours before I played a few tunes to open for the Irish Rebel Band - The Wolfe Tones - who sing about the Irish Troubles. Let's hope the troubles in Libya don't go on for as long as those in Ireland. This song is written to the tune of the Irish song - I'll tell me ma - and the chorus bit about Moussa Koussa and Bouazizi was inspired by the great song Lisdoonvarna by fellow Kildare man Christy Moore. Kevin Morris on the box as always.
http://youtu.be/kFAx_E5vw5E

[tabatha]

34. Tweet rumor?

5/6/11- Info from reliable source: Captain in Spec. Forces loyal to G tells of mustard gas being prepared for launch in next 48 hours. @NATO

#Algeria declared freezing the assets of #Gaddafi, his sons and daughter, and top military leaders. via @ajtalk (thank GOD!) its about time

#Zintan #Libya: Grads from #Gaddafi forces in Arryayna continue to rain down. So many on Friday, hard to count. Estimates range fr 35 to 60+

AJA: Heavy rocket attack on #Zintan that continued until 1 hour ago. No casualties as Zintan is largely evacuated. #Libya

#Zintan: Reports #NATO bombed a weapons storage depot south of Al Zintan approx. 1 hour ago. #Libya #feb17

My home town #Riyanya has been under bombardment for about 4 weeks now. God help them #Libya

Yemen
Yemen's Ahmar group agrees to abide by truce: opposition > REUTERS: http://goo.gl/iX3w1 #Yemen #Sanaa #Taiz #Aden #Saleh #YF #GCC
Yemen's acting leader seeks truce with tribes > REUTERS: http://goo.gl/2FEV2 #Yemen #Sanaa #Taiz #Aden #Saleh #YF #GCC
#YEMEN ACTING PRESIDENT OFFERS TO WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM #SANAA NEIGHBOURHOOD WITH MOST FIGHTING -OPPOSITION > AleertNet: http://goo.gl/4WnNP

Follow-up on the mustard gas. A hoax? May explain why Gaddafi won't budge.

URGENT

I have just been in receipt of information that I cannot personally verify. The captain of a special forces unit, loyal to Gadaffi, has informed a reliable contact of ours that medium to long range missiles are being prepared for launch with mustard gas warheads. He states that these warheads are being prepared for launch from the surrounding area of Brega. These are due for launch Monday 6th June or Tuesday 7th June. The information was given at 22:00 on Sunday 5th June. The captain said it would be the first use of such warheads in this conflict.

Under normal circumstances we do not release unverified information, but due to the sensitivity of this information we thought it best to distribute in order for preventative measures to be made.

I trust this information will be used to safeguard the many thousands of people potentially in danger.

Regards
The Free Generation Movement
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/au1i0g

[tabatha]

37. Heinz's comment on mustard gas.

mustard gas if they realy use it will change the rules of the game complete.
if daffi want a landing operation with tanks in tripoli under full un cover incl.russia .china .and the full join of the german army in between 3 days,he can try .
but in and around brega nothing left to deploy it
may be a nail is there but not the hammer to put it in.

[CJvR]

39. The world...

...will not intervene in a civil conflict just because of a little Mustard gas. At most Gaddafi will be bombed a bit harder and using gas will hand those outside Libya supporting the revolt and trying to maintain the operation a great deal of PR ammo to use against the isolationists and Gaddafi supporters seeking to end it.

[Yosarian71]

50. Depends where he shot it

"intermediate to long range missiles" could land on the other side of the Mediterranean. The NATO would be obligated to respond to respond to an attack on any member.

I think the rumor is BS though.

[al bupp]

68. Another Heinz comment about mustard gas

FlitsFlits posted 5 hours ago

from Gerhard Heinz:

about this mustard gas rumors
there is no change in target-priority from nato about this or change of any planings.
to sweep the outsirts of brega and close the ring there by breaking the contakt to ras lanuf are in plan long ago.
so now daffi have 2 units there ,one in brega ,one in ras lanuf with no contakt together and a lack of offensive cap.
all devises who can provide gas are destroyed since weeks.
i think this rumor is the last try to hold progress from ff on this front by spread info about gas and produce fear.
brega and ras lanuf is lost for daffi

From: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/05/20/disappearing-spring#

[pinboy3niner]

35. Nato strike force in Libya enjoys quick success with apache gunships

The controversial move to deploy fighter helicopters brings greater versatility to Nato's patrolling of Libya from air

Kim Sengupta
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 5 June 2011 21.22 BST


This story is pool copy filed by Kim Sengupta on board HMS Ocean off the Libyan coast

At 1.04am on Saturday, the pilot of an Apache helicopter-gunship hidden in the inky black sky, pressed the trigger of the 30mm cannon, bringing down concentrated fire on a pick-up truck and ripping it open. Ammunition stored inside set off secondary explosions, spreading the swirling flames. Three men who had been trying to open fire with the vehicle's anti-aircraft gun, mounted at the back of the truck, were now terrified, scrambling to get away.


One of the two Apaches followed the fleeing men for a few minutes before wheeling away. The mission commander, in charge of the aircraft, had no doubt this was the right decision.


"They (the Libyan troops) were running away and posed no immediate threat – there was no justification in shooting them. I did not think it would have helped in what we are trying to achieve here. We had made a point, dealt with what was threatening us – the gun on the truck – destroyed weapons. It's simply a matter of patience, using one's intellect and also one of morality."

...


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/05/nato-libya-apache-gunships-success

[pinboy3niner]

36. OPEC Overshadowed by Qaddafi in Most-Hostile Meeting Since 1990 Gulf War

Source: Bloomberg

By Ayesha Daya - Jun 5, 2011 1:00 PM PT


OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna this week will find themselves supporting opposing camps of a military conflict for the first time in 21 years, with hostilities in Libya complicating an agreement on oil quotas.


Not since Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990 has the producer group gathered with some nations giving financial and military support to a movement seeking to topple the government of a fellow member. While Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi is trying to quash a rebellion in a country that holds Africa’s largest crude reserves, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates are backing the insurgents.


The stand-off underlines the difficulties the 50-year-old organization that accounts for about 40 percent of the world’s oil may have in deciding production levels. Oil has gained 9.5 percent this year to trade at about $100 a barrel just as signs emerge that the pace of the global economic recovery may be slowing. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will probably leave its output target unchanged on June 8, according to a Bloomberg survey of 30 analysts conducted May 24-31.


“Amid issues surrounding representation of Libya and oil prices correcting towards $100 a barrel, OPEC is likely to sit on the fence, deferring a decision on quotas for later,” Harry Tchilinguirian, the head of commodity-markets strategy at BNP Paribas SA in London, said in an interview on June 1. “This does not mean individual countries may not take discretionary steps to increase output. OPEC has yet to fill the gap in the market left by Libya.”

...


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-05/opec-overshadowed-by-qaddafi-in-most-hostile-meeting-since-1990-gulf-war.html

[tabatha]

38. I Speak for Myself: American Women on Being Muslim

http://www.facebook.com/ISpeakforMyself

I Speak for Myself is a new book of 40 personal essays written by American Muslim women under the age of 40 -all of whom were born and raised in the US.

http://twitter.com/#!/ispeakformyself

[pinboy3niner]

40. Italian Jew who left Libya in ’67 helps rebels heal PTSD

Source: The Jerusalem Post

By LISA PALMIERI-BILLIG, JPOST CORRESPONDENT
06/06/2011 04:17


David Gerbi, psychoanalyst and first Jew to join Libyan rebels, volunteers at Bengazi hospital to help heal post-traumatic stress disorder.


ROME – Dr. David Gerbi, a Libyan Jewish Jungian psychoanalyst who found refuge in Italy after the pogroms of 1967, has cast his lot with the Libyan rebels in Bengazi and their interim government, the National Transitional Council.


The first Libyan Jew to join the rebels, he has returned to Rome after a week of volunteer work at the Bengazi Psychiatric Hospital, teaching his colleagues there the techniques of healing post-traumatic stress disorder.


Gerbi dedicates his life to retrieving his several identities while working for democracy and reconciliation. In 2004, he was appointed by the UN High Commission for Refugees to serve as a Witness for Peace mentor, and in 2007 he was named the commission’s Ambassador for Peace in South Africa.

...


“I was warmly welcomed in Bengazi by the leaders of the rebel government as a returned exile, as a Jew, an Italian, a psychoanalyst, and as a Libyan citizen with full rights to travel and live in Libya,” Gerbi told The Jerusalem Post last week.


Gerbi feels the time is ripe for exiled Libyan Jews to openly support the National Transitional Council and its struggle for democracy and human rights. During his visit last month to the Rabbi Cyril Harris Jewish Community Centre in Johannesburg, its president, Hazel Cohen, commended Gerbi for his “courage to break the psycho-genetic culture of silence that has beset the exiled Jews of Libya and to speak out about the oppression and crimes against humanity committed by the Gaddafi regime.”


Gerbi hopes that with the advent of a democratic and pluralistic Libya, exiled Jews will be permitted to regain their passports and return for travel, work or residence.

...


http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=223795

[Cerridwen]

42. Need help, please! Josh, pinboy, tabitha, Iterate, al, CJ, anyone?

I'm not up to the second current on Libya and the rebel forces.

I've just made this post and would love someone to update my information, please.

Snips from my post linked above.

I'll 'see' your article from March with one from April and ask for
someone to raise with a current update; from reliable sources.

<snip a quote I put in post>

If this is how the CIA works, they suck. I'm surprised they're able to accomplish anything.

Now, someone, come up with something more recent and from a reliable source that does not quote WaPo, Daily Mail (?!) and outdated sources for what might be happening now.

edit for spelling...again

[pinboy3niner]

44. The Economist update, May 19:

(Ed. to correct article date to May 19--NOT May 20.)

On the military front, the rebels have reined in the young men who had at first been recklessly rushing up and down the coastal road to virtually no effect. A clear line of command has at last been laid down, with Colonel Qaddafi’s former interior minister, Abdel Fatah Younis, as commander-in-chief and General Khalifa Haftar, who previously claimed the top spot on his return from many years in the United States, politely sidelined. A civilian, Jalal el-Digheily, has been appointed defence minister in the National Transitional Council (NTC), a fledgling government.

http://www.economist.com/node/18713650?story_id=18713650&fsrc=rss

[tabatha]

46. I PMed that link to her - but she must be away.

[pinboy3niner]

47. GMTA :)

I think the TNC made an official announcement of Younes' appointment on April 1. The website may have that, and it may have briefly addressed Hifter's status as well.

:hi:

[Cerridwen]

49. "I love you guys!"

I've been composing and not posting to DU.

Thank you!

Sorry for the 'copy and paste' of my reply above.

Still mid-compose and typing and posting 'like mad'.

:toast:

[Cerridwen]

52. Posted and thank you.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1233030&mesg_id=1234761

[Cerridwen]

48. "I love you guys!"

I've been composing so not replying on DU.

Thank you!

[Cerridwen]

51. Posted and thank you.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=1233030&mesg_id=1234761

[joshcryer]

45. Khalifa Hifter is an old man trying to be someone, he controls a small group of loyalists...

...but otherwise is a niche figure, he does not control the rebel army as the TNC has said time and time again that Abdul Fatah Younis is the head of the Free Libyan Army. Yes there was a point where Khalifa Hifter was reportedly chosen to be the head (basically his own claim as far as I can tell, it was never official), because he has no connections to Gaddafi's modern army (he defected to the United States decades ago, at the end of the Libya-Chad war), and some saw it as a way to distance the TNC from anything Gaddafi, but Hifter's role was quickly nipped in the bud because he was seen as having been away from Libya too long. Younis, while he may have been part of Gaddafi's army defected very early on (thus garnering himself a death sentence without knowing the outcome), that arguably absolves him of Gaddafi-related crimes he may have done.

Such articles are not worth ones time because they're a gross misrepresentation (particularly because Younis has since that article been named the head of the Free Libyan Army with Hifter taking a backseat for all intents).

It's amusing how so much the CIA has been considered some sort of meddling entity that can somehow control the minds of tens of thousands of rebel fighters (most of whom, as http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4872438&mesg_id=4873041">Iterate notes are fighting for their own localities; the 'front line' being people who had liberated cities and then go on to defend their cities). Hifter's loyalists (a bunch of old geezers and some youths) are not at the center of the rebellion nor could they ever be.

Indeed, the CIA would be making a horrible mistake actually siding with the TNC given that the TNC says unequivocally that they will not run for office. What puppet is the west going to install? Really? It's going to be an unknown, might even be that soccer player at the head of the Lions of Misrata. A soccer player turned freedom fighter. Where else but a revolution could such a thing happen?

[Cerridwen]

53. Oooooo, I'm gonna add a link to this post of yours in my reply in

the other thread.

Thank you.

[joshcryer]

43. Libyan Revolution Day 109 updates below, current time in Libya, 4:13am Monday, June 6

[pinboy3niner]

54. Eman al-Obeidi update with new details

Source: Los Angeles Times news blogs

June 5, 2011 | 6:28pm

...


"We just want a chance for her to be treated psychologically and to rest. My sister has just been through so much," Marwa Obeidi told the Associated Press.

"Iman locked herself in her room in Doha and refused to leave the house. She would get nightmares and fall off the bed," said her mother, Aisha bin Ismail.

...


"Iman constantly felt scared and threatened even in Benghazi," said her mother. "She was worried that at any moment Kadafi's men would be near to kill her."

Marwa Obeidi told the Associated Press that her sister's top priority in the U.S. would be to receive psychological treatment and to continue her studies.

"I am sure they will greet her with such warmth and kindness," she said. "We are happy for her."

-- Molly Hennessy-Fiske in Cairo


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2011/06/libya-woman-allegedly-raped-by-kadafi-troops-leaves-benghazi-for-the-us.html?cid=6a00d8341c630a53ef015432cd43e7970c

[tabatha]

55. Libyan woman not deported, says rebel

DOHA: The raped Libyan woman, Iman Al Obeidi (pictured), was not deported by Qatar and flew to Benghazi in a plane that took relief supplies from Doha.

Al Obeidi was issued a two-week visit visa by the Qatari authorities, which was perhaps extended for another week, so she left after the expiry of the visa.

A source close to the developments involving Al Obeidi said that media reports suggesting that she was deported are ‘false.’

“Why should Qatar deport a woman it welcomed from Libya so heartily and put her in a five-star hotel here and provided her financial as well as moral support?” he argued.

“The Qatari authorities were so generous that they even brought Al Obeidi’s parents and a sister and brother with her and put them all in a five-star hotel,” the source in the rebel movement based in Doha told The Peninsula.

Qatari laws specify that a foreigner who is here on a visit visa must leave after its expiry, said the source.

“It’s quite normal for a visitor like Al Obeidi to have left after the visa expired.”

Media reports that she was beaten up are also false. “Who would beat her up and why should Qatari authorities assault her? What would be the provocation for that?,” he asked.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/qatar/154827-libyan-woman-not-deported-says-rebel.html

WTF ???

[pinboy3niner]

56. I wouldn't trust the Qatari publication on this

The story uses an anonymous source and reads like a CYA whitewash for Qatar. Info at the website suggests the paper may be a bit too concerned about Qatar's image:

Mission

Be the authentic voice of Qatar and reflect its true ethos and dynamism. To produce quality media that satisfies the diversified need of Qatari society through objective evaluation and covering local, regional and global news.

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/the-peninsula.html

Earlier reports from other sources presented a very different story, and they quoted and named an eyewitness who described evidence of Eman's injuries after she was under the custody of Qatari authorities:

Nasha Dawaji, a U.S.-based Libyan pro-freedom activist, said she was with three key members of the Transitional National Council when they first learned that al-Obeidy was forced from Doha and arrived in Benghazi on Thursday.

Al-Obeidy had a black eye, like she had been punched, Dawaji said. She also had bruises on her legs and scratches on her arms.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/03/libya.rape.case/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

[tabatha]

57. It sounded smarmy.

There have been a lot of conflicting stories about her. I hope her ordeal ends soon.

[pinboy3niner]

58. I hope so, too

She's clearly traumatized and, above all, needs to be someplace where she is able to feel safe and begin healing. From what Eman has said before and what her sister is saying, she would feel safe in the U.S. And, thanks to Secretary Clinton's taking a personal interest it looks like she will arrive here in short order.

[joshcryer]

59. Gaddafi aides present car crash baby as NATO victim, rebels plan for post-Gaddafi Libya

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/06/uk-libya-casualty-idUKTRE75504I20110606">Gaddafi aides present car crash baby as NATO victim
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's aides brought foreign media to a hospital on Sunday to see a baby they described as a wounded victim of a NATO air strike.

But a hospital staff member, in a note passed to a journalist, said the infant was in fact injured in a car accident.

Government media handlers brought reporters first to a farm on the outskirts of the city, where a man said his dog and several chickens had been killed by a missile strike on Sunday.

The man said no people were injured, although other people in the area later told some journalists they had heard children were hurt.

Shameful. Disgraceful. :puke:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/05/uk-libya-idUKTRE74E1I420110605">Britain says rebels must plan for post-Gaddafi Libya
Libya's rebel leaders must plan in detail how they would run the country if Muammar Gaddafi stood down and should learn from Iraq after the 2003 invasion, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday.

Western governments and the Libyan rebels say a combination of NATO air strikes, diplomatic isolation and grass-roots opposition will eventually end the Libyan leader's 41-year rule.

But they are worried that his departure could leave a vacuum that leads to violence and instability, as happened in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein.

The rebel National Transitional Council, based in the eastern stronghold of Benghazi, has a plan for how it would act if Gaddafi left but it is only embryonic, Hague told the BBC.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/05/us-libya-britain-idUKTRE7541KF20110605">Plan for post-Gaddafi Libya "embryonic": UK's Hague
Libyan rebels need to flesh out their plans for post-Gaddafi rule and convince members of the current Libyan administration that they could work together, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday.

Speaking on his return from rebel-held Benghazi, Hague said he was confident that the rebels' desire for democracy was genuine but conceded their blueprint was "embryonic."

"We're encouraging the National Transitional Council to put more flesh on their proposed transition -- to lay out in more detail this coming week what would happen on the day that Gaddafi went -- who would be running what, how would a new government be formed in Tripoli?" Hague told the BBC.

He said lessons had been learned from the lawlessness that followed the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the plan put forward by the Transitional Council envisaged technocratic members of Muammar Gaddafi's government working alongside opposition members.

[pinboy3niner]

60. CNN's Dan Rivers reports regime is "spinning the propaganda" on civ. casualties

He's doing live reports from Tripoli on CNN's news segments, saying that on these press tours with regime minders, as on similar tours in the past, the press has seen no evidence to support regime claims of civilian casualties.

[Iterate]

72. Gaddafi regime fails to fool media over injured child

Gaddafi regime fails to fool media over injured child
Journalists taken to see 'bomb victim' in Libyan hospital find out child was hurt in road accident
Xan Rice in Tripoli guardian.co.uk, Monday 6 June 2011 13.18 BST

The Libyan government's attempts to show how Nato bombing is harming civilians backfired when a hospital worker revealed that a seven-month-old "air strike victim" had been injured in a car crash.

Foreign journalists in Tripoli were taken by bus to a hospital on Sunday night to see the seven-month-old girl, Nasib, who lay unconscious. Media handlers claimed she had been hurt when a bomb exploded in a field near her house on the eastern edge of the capital a few hours earlier.

But a member of the medical staff slipped a note written in English on hospital stationery to a reporter, which was seen by Reuters, that said: "This is a case of road traffic accident. This is the truth."

Journalists' suspicions had already been raised during an earlier visit to the bombsite in the suburb of Tajura where the girl was said to have been injured.

more... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/06/libyan-regime-fails-fool-media

Everybody will run this story. Journalists might play the Rixos game, but none of them will stand being made fools.

[Yosarian71]

61. Heinz and Zliten updates

about the status of daffis troops
zlitan
a lot of infantery left ,most of them mercs and untrained fresh recruted
about 2400 man with low fight moral
inside them not more than 400 trained and 100 polit officers to press them.
mountains
spread units in lost positions.
south of tripoli between mountains and tripoli
around 1500 man with very low moral after heavy air attacks on their compounds.
inside tripoli
2500man guard troops and another 5000 secret police.
some other rudiment units ,but most of them higher ranks

I still don't understand how the freedom fighters have not smashed through Zliten. I bet the rebels outnumber Gadhafi's forces better than 2:1 on that front. I don't see the mountain forces getting past Gharyan. Given the behavior of the Gadhafi troops to date and their seeming willingness to fight to the death, Tripoli could be bloody.

Article on Zliten Strategy:

http://news.scotsman.com/news/Libya-Doubt-over-city39s-loyalty.6780209.jp

Analyst and former rebel fighter Dr Swahib Mohamed said: "Attacking Zlitan without the help of locals is extremely dangerous.

"The Misrata rebels would not know who supported who, they don't know the back roads - this is vital for the gang warfare they are fighting."

The biggest concern that many fighters admit to is the question of where Zlitan's true loyalties lie among a population of around 280,000. Misrata and Zlitan are traditional local rivals, in a country where that still means more than football matches.

"We need to know that the people there are with us; we have given them some arms - Kalashnikov and FN rifles. We need to see what they do with these before we give them more. There are sensitive relations between the people here and there, and there is a chance they could use the guns against us," said Dr Mohamed.

I think this explains the delay in movement. The rebels do not want to fight other Libyan citizens, so as soon as they get to an area where loyalties are unclear, they stop. This makes victory challenging, since each municipality will have to revolt independently for the rebels to win. I think the rebels are going to just have to fight through some of these areas.

[al bupp]

65. Very interesting analysis, thank you

The Sctosman' excerpt nicely sums-up the difficulties faced by rebels once they extend themselves beyond their home turf, something you've often pointed out which limits such forces.

Another big factor could be the degree to which loyalists have dug themselves into positions that may be difficult to assault even by well-trained and experienced assault teams. If this is the case in Zliten, as it appears to be true in Brega as well, then perhaps there's much wisdom in the rebels' patience.

From the outside, the tide seems to have turned, and many twitter reports tell of wide-spread, but small-scale uprisings and militant actions behind the lines of Zliten at least, in Al-Khums and in the suburbs of Tripoli where there was significant unarmed protest early on.

Clearly the rebel and NATO strategies have been predicated on a snowballing of defections from Gaddafi's forces which becomes their best option once surrounded and cut-off. I'd say that this approach ought to be applauded as one which bargains time for the lives a more direct approach would likely entail.

[pinboy3niner]

62. Eman al-Obeidi has departed Malta enroute to refugee processing ctr. in Europe

Monsters & Critics reports she left Malta after spending the night there. M&C says she is headed to a processing center in Austria, while other media sources report that she is going to a center in Romania. She is reported to be traveling with her father and her lawyer.

With the help of Secretary Clinton, she is expected to fly to the U.S. after processing.

[pinboy3niner]

63. Rebels in Libya have secured a major breakthrough, according to Reuters

Libyan rebels on Monday entered the town of Yafran, southwest of the capital, which was previously controlled by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, a Reuters photographer in the town said.


"The rebels say that they have taken the town," said the photographer Youssef Boudlal. "We are inside the town ... There is no sign of any Gaddafi forces."


"I can see the rebel flags ... We have seen posters and photos of Gaddafi that have been destroyed," he said.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/jun/06/yemen-syria-middle-east-unrest#block-7

[pinboy3niner]

64. Prisoners on the run amid Libya revolution chaos

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• 2,700 prisoners released by guards loyal to Colonel Moammar Gadhafi in February

• Only 35 of the 2700 escapees have been re-incarcerated

• 40 citizen police patrols in place in Benghazi

By Sara Sidner, CNN
June 6, 2011 -- Updated 1201 GMT (2001 HKT)


Benghazi, Libya (CNN) -- Abdul Aziz Abdullah walked into the room with his head hung low. His eyes stayed fixed on the floor when he began telling the story of how he killed his uncle.

...


He was sentenced to death by hanging, with the execution to take place in the main prison in Benghazi, Libya.


Three years into his sentence fate stepped in. War came to his city and along with it complete chaos.


On February 17th, when the rebellion began, prison officials say he was among the 2,700 prisoners released by guards loyal to Colonel Moammar Gadhafi in a move to unleash the most violent criminals on the citizens rising up against the government.

...


http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/06/africa.libya.revolution.prisoners/

[al bupp]

67. AJE Video: Tripoli Brigade trains to take capital

In the Nafusa mountains, AJE's James Bay reports on a group of fighters training to take the capital of Tripoli.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=97r1T2MYL7A

[Iterate]

70. Libyan freedom fighter returns home for son’s graduation

Libyan freedom fighter returns home for son’s graduation
Spends 150 days in revolution
By Tim Jagielo
Published: Friday, June 3, 2011 3:49 PM EDT

Mustafa Gheriani has two hearts, one for his home country of Libya, and one for his family in Tyrone Township. He has been in Libya since the uprising against the dictator Col. Moammar Gaddafi began in February, on the east side of the country.

 Gheriani wanted to see his youngest son graduate from Fenton High School and returned home on Wednesday to spouse Lois Van Lente and their two sons.

 “He has a torn heart,” said Lois Van Lente, who had not seen her husband of three decades since New Year’s Day. She spent many days and nights for five months with little communication, worrying about his safety.

 In Benghazi, Gheriani assisted in forming the provisionary rebel government and, because of his English skills, became a liaison between the rebel leaders at the seat of the rebel government and the international media. The rebel government formed the National Transitional Council (NTC) in Benghazi. Gheriani said he felt comfortable leaving the NTC and his country’s revolution, but it was still a tough choice to return home.

more expats... http://www.tctimes.com/articles/2011/06/03/news/doc4de93816cc24e927236913.txt

Riding on hope
Date: March 26 2011
Jason Koutsoukis and Simon Mann
...

Rebel leaders estimate that only 1000 of their men have any sort of military training. Their weapons consist mostly of rifles, which on the flat, barren terrain are ineffective against Gaddafi's tanks and heavy artillery.

''We are outgunned, but not outnumbered,'' said Mustafa Gheriani, a senior spokesman for the rebel leadership in Benghazi.

A few months ago, Gheriani, a dual Libyan-American citizen, was fighting to get himself elected to a local school board in his home state of Michigan.

He flew back to Libya hours after the uprising began. ''What do you expect of rebels? We are not an organised fighting force; we are running on emotion, driven by the injustices of Gaddafi's regime.''

more... http://www.smh.com.au/world/riding-on-hope-20110325-1c9yo.html?skin=text-only

Hmmm. Another expat. Trust me, never trust an expat. You've probably seen his name attached to hundreds of communiques and didn't realize what was really going on behind the scenes. Now we know thanks to the Tri-County Times.

He's a dual citizen who lives in Michigan, just 446.95 miles from a famous town in Virginia - far enough to avoid suspicion, but close if you consider how accessible the Detroit airport is. He claims to be in "construction", and a "contractor", which is an obvious cover for someone "building" things for "people" with money.

I'm not buying it for a minute. He's obviously far too overqualified for the local school board.

[al bupp]

74. Very funny, sir

A little pre-emtive sarcasm, prefaced by a strange loop ("Trust me, never trust an expat."), I like it.
:toast:

[tabatha]

71. U.N. Report Declares Internet Access a Human Right

A United Nations report said Friday that disconnecting people from the internet is a human rights violation and against international law.

The report, by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, comes the same day an internet-monitoring firm detected that two thirds of Syria’s internet access has abruptly gone dark, in what is likely a government response to unrest in that country.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/06/internet-a-human-right/

[tabatha]

73. Personal Democracy Forum 2011 - Libya

"Here's the video of my (Andy Carvin's) talk at #PDF11, about Mo and Perditta Nabbous: http://bit.ly/j2k96E"

http://www.livestream.com/pdf2011/video?clipId=pla_20b9efea-edab-429c-abf5-fedb294dc44f&utm_source=lslibrary&utm_medium=ui-thumb

[Iterate]

75. Libya Alhurra Interview with Tripoli Council - June 6, 2011

This is the audio from the Tripoli Council early this morning.

It's in three parts, is 45 minutes in total, and is worth the listen. I won't try to summarize. Some of this has been excerpted in tweets. The audio quality is good as these things go.

http://libya-alhurra.tumblr.com/

Part 1
http://youtu.be/Sfwo64RSKE0

Part 2
http://youtu.be/SfvnXGWbuw0

Part 3
http://youtu.be/mOPuV2SbYOA

[Iterate]

76. Az Zawyia via Surman

4Adam Adam
Fierce confrontations between #AzZawyia's revolutionaries and dictator soldiers on the coastal road. #Libya
vor 38 Minuten

dovenews Libyan
Clashes between #FF & G forces at Mustafa Kamel Institute for Teachers in #AzZawyia. #NOW #Libya
vor 2 Stunden

dovenews Libyan
Fierce fight between G forces & FF in Martyr Square, Costal Rd & the Vegetable Market in #AzZawyia. Fights started @ dawn & still going on
vor 3 Stunden

Late yesterday there were several tweets that suggested the road from Yefren to Surman was in FF control. That was not implausible, as it's only about 100km and has no major towns. There is a major road junction on the other end that would place them only about 15km from the west gate of AzZawyia. The less believable part was that they would have arrived there in enough numbers for a serious fight.

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
#Freedomfighters confirm region of #BirAyyad area under their control up to the diversion of road to #Surman. #Nafusa #Libya #feb17
vor 2 Stunden

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
Western Mountain #Freedomfighters clashing with #Gaddafi brigades near #SuhlJfara on the road towards #Surman #Libya #feb17
vor 4 Stunden

@dovenews: #Nafusa #FF have arrived 2 #Surman's junction after finishing combing #Aljafara's valley. #Surman is west of #AzZawyia . via @libyatv
about 6 hours ago via web

@LibyaFTW: Breaking the #FF are on there way to #Sorman and are just outside the entrance of it #Libya #feb17
about 23 hours ago via web

It's not as though AzZawyia has been waiting for deliverance:

@RRowleyTucson: #AzZawyia: #Freedomfighters have killed 26 of #Gaddafi's troops. #Libya #feb17 #Zawia
3 Juni

Edit for added value:
Fly the flag of independence at the hospital Yfran by rebels two days ago -the hospital was taken over by Gaddafi forces and used as their HQ.
http://youtu.be/MT3eB2Vf7dY

[Yosarian71]

83. Reminds me of a story early in the revolution

Michelle Norris of NPR spoke with Muhammed, a 58 year old businessman from Zawiya. I think of this call often.

http://www.npr.org/2011/02/24/134034859/Militias-In-Libya-Attack-Protesters

I hope that NPR will do a follow up someday, although given the events in that city in the 2 weeks subsequent to this story, Muhammed likely became one of thousands of martyrs lost in winning Libya's freedom. The bravery and will of revolutionaries like this man are the reason that Libya will soon be free.

[Iterate]

85. ...speaking from..."a sit in"?

What in god's name have I missed? My NPR, waaay out of its element.

Uh, dumbstruck.

I happened to watch a Ray Suarez interview with James Foley two weeks ago and was pretty offended by feeling I was (as a viewer) being talked down to and treated like a schoolchild. Didn't comment on it at the time...there are just too many things to comment on.

But that interview, definitely a driveway moment for listeners and time for the janitor to get out the mop in the studio. I hope they do follow up, if they can. What few follow-ups I have seen from Zawiya are usually to report that someone from those early days is gone, like the old guy in Market Square who mocked Gaddafi with a comic impersonation.

[Iterate]

77. Military Small Arms & Libya: Security Puzzles, and Profiteers

Military Small Arms & Libya: Security Puzzles, and Profiteers
By C.J. CHIVERS June 6, 2011, 1:13 pm

In their fight to overthrow the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the rebels in Libya have resorted to many forms of scrounging to arm themselves, step by step, for a war they did not foresee.

They have looted state arsenals. They have bought weapons from opportunists who looted weapons beside them and then put the liberated weapons up for sale. They have lifted weapons from government troops they have wounded, captured or killed. They have assembled makeshift weapons and modified weapons designed for other uses. And they have ventured onto foreign markets to buy items of high utility but limited supply locally, including optical scopes for FN FAL rifles, which have become the sniper-rifle-of-choice.

As the war nears the end of its fourth month, the rebels’ behavior has illustrated in fine-grained detail many of the ways that military firearms and munitions can change hands as they slip from government control. And it has drawn in sharp relief the security paradox presented by fighters who have broad international support but limited arms. More weapons might help the rebels succeed (assuming they use them effectively, which is often not the case). But more weapons would also enable a mostly disorganized and an erratically led force to commit abuses on a broader scale. And the weapons could then be expected to drift to other conflicts and high-crime areas, and last many decades.

That said, no one would seriously dispute that the rebels’ state of supply is well below the scale of their ambitions, and that this has created predictable behaviors.

more... http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/06/06/military-small-arms-libya-security-puzzles-and-profiteers/

Previous and related:
Inferior Arms Hobble Rebels in Libya War
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/africa/21rebels.html?_r=1

C.J. Chivers website http://cjchivers.com/

[Yosarian71]

78. Heinz on Sirte

sirte will join the ff in the next 48 hours offical.
sirte people take over the controll of the city.
high daffi lovers arrested now.

I am skeptical of this report, but would be a huge development if true.

[DainBramaged]

79. Yup, this was supposed to be quick and simple, air operation

another President, another war.


Who is pulling the strings in Washington.

[tabatha]

81. Actually NATO is ahead of where they think they

should have been at this point - according to Gerhard Heinz.

NATO is running this war - with a Canadian in charge, not Obama.

[al bupp]

80. AJE: Libya Live Blog Entry from Cal Perry

From: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/liveblog/libya

7 hours 15 min ago - LibyaAl Jazeera's Cal Perry reports from Benghazi:

It's been a surprising morning, because what we have had are two static military fronts, one to the south of me and then one to the west of me - just east of Tripoli ... We understand that the fighting on that second front has been very heavy, there has been very little movement in the town of Misurata.

But what we saw this morning was rebels rolling into a town just 100 miles from the capital, really on the doorstep of Gaddafi and all they found were Gaddafi positions that had been abandoned. There is video, photographs coming out of that town of Gaddafi forces seemingly just having disappeared to this rebel advance.

Now it's unclear right now what propelled this breakthrough, was it perhaps NATO attack helicopters, was it perhaps the Warfala tribe that just a few days ago sided with the eastern rebel army, what propelled this to happen we still dont know. But what we do know is that the clock certainly seems to be ticking on Gaddafi. This is really the first challenge to the city of Tripoli that we have seen in about four months.

This appears to confirm various Tweets from the last 24 hours to this effect.

On edit, here's the link to the AJE video report:

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

[al bupp]

82. Gerhard Heinz Update

From: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/05/20/disappearing-spring#

Posted by FlitsFlits 2 hours ago

From Gerhard Heinz in the last two hours:

Part of daffis units in Brega try to break out to a point they can go to the road adj. to south.
They fail the second time now.

This is their only chance to escape to Egypt becouse i dont think that libyens like this Belarus guys much.

Yefren is free now, the compound in Yefren is lost for daffi as I say on sunday. (Not by indians but by cats and jets). His route to Algeria is gone. The next compound on the way to Tripoli will follow soon. The Misrata front get a big kick tonight, FF speed up now with NATO's help to come to daffis birthday party in the right time.

Sirte will join the ff in the next 48 hours offical.sirte people take over the controll of the city. high daffi lovers arrested now. Army in Sirte don't want to fight for daffi.

Nalut is still in progress today.

daffis birthday party guest his sons. NATO, FF, may be he wrote invitation to the wrong adress

Et voilà !!

Edited to add capitalization, some punctuation and spacing for readability.

[Iterate]

84. Remember the treatment Alwahat, Jalo, and Kufra got a few weeks ago?

Well they haven't forgotten. And no one will get past them on the way from Brega to Sudan or Sabha.

dovenews Libyan
#ALWAHAT: June 3rd: approx 50 Gaddafi’s armoured vehicles attacked Alwahat south of Ajdabyia @7am from the north & west 1/3
4 Juni

dovenews Libyan
#ALWAHAT: June 3rd: #FF have repelled the attack & defeated G forces, which made them to retreat. 2/3
4 Juni

Libya_from_FR: RT @dovenews: #ALWAHAT: June 3rd: G forces have suffered loss of lives & #FF captured 4 armoured vehicles, 1 with mounted anti aircraft gun 3/3 #libya
2 days ago via web

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
100 of #Gaddafi forces have attacked #AlWahat, south 0f #Ajdabyia killing 1 #Freedomfighter & injuring 3 others. #Libya #feb17
3 Juni

And Yosarian71, as you mentioned Sirte as well, I can't think of the last time (historically speaking), that such a new, wealthy, and upscale city like Sirte has sacrificed itself for any cause. They may not like it, and they may not like the prospects of no longer being the most favored city, but it's hard to imagine them sacrificing themselves for the colonel. Besides, it's one of the few cities than can be bypassed.

[Iterate]

86. On War: Two weeks in Libya with Rodrigo Abd

On War: Two weeks in Libya with Rodrigo Abd
Posted Jun 03, 2011

Associated Press photographer, Rodrigo Abd, has been capturing the scene in Libya for the past two weeks.
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2011/06/03/on-war-two-weeks-in-libya-with-rodrigo-abd/4484/

This is the whole series, a couple of which are pretty familiar.

Misrata: A family returned home to find........ http://twitpic.com/5802iz
Blast from the Past: A picture of Saleh and Gaddafi sitting together, taken in the 1970s. #Yemen #Libya http://twitpic.com/57zp51

[pinboy3niner]

87. Libya government fails to prove claims of NATO casualties

Source: Washington Post

By Simon Denyer, Monday, June 6, 2:28 PM

TRIPOLI, Libya —

...


Nearly three months into NATO’s bombing campaign, Moammar Gaddafi’s government churns out daily propaganda about the alliance supposedly inflicting civilian casualties. Last week, it said that 718 people had died from mid-March to late May and that 4,067 had suffered significant injuries.

But it has failed to show foreign journalists more than a handful of dead or wounded people. Indeed, when reporters are taken on official trips, what they see suggests that NATO is being accurate and careful.

...


It feels like some vast piece of political improvisation, with the participants just riffing off the central theme — NATO is killing Libyans, all of whom love Gaddafi — without any regard for the truth.

The propaganda machine grinds on, with officials filling out reports of trips conducted for the news media, perhaps without even admitting to themselves that no one had been convinced.

...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/libya-government-fails-to-prove-claims-of-nato-casualties/2011/06/06/AGIluYKH_story.html

[al bupp]

89. Typical of the Gaddafi G'mnt

Bald-faced lies put forth as fact which are unfortunately convincing to a pre-disposed subset.

[pinboy3niner]

88. Exclusive: Libyan Eman al-Obeidi's treatment in Qatar 'outrageous'

Channel 4 News foreign correspondent Jonathan Miller reports that Obeidi's sudden deportation from Qatar back to Libya--despite her protected staus as a refugee and imminent UN plans to evacuate her to Europe--resulted from a request by some members of Libya's rebel TNC.

The sudden deportation by Qatar--a major supporter of the Lilbyan rebels' Transitional National Council--seemed inexplicable. Obeidi had been granted protective status as a refugee and was awaiting imminent evacuation from Qatar by the UN human rights aency to a refugee processing center in Romania (where Obeidi currently is).

Now Miller addresses some of the murky details surrounding the deportation:

It is understood that Ms al-Obeidi fell out with representatives of Libya's rebel Transitional National Council (TNC). She had reportedly refused to appear on the Doha-based rebel satellite television station.

Members of the TNC, including the resident representative, Mahmoud Shammam, were thought to have been frustrated by her unwillingness to publicly support the TNC movement as "a hero of the revolution" while in exile.

Ms al-Obeidi had complained to me over her treatment by the local TNC representative and had stated to others her belief that the TNC was "using" her. Mr Shammam denied to me that the TNC was doing so, but it is now reported that Mr Shammam and the TNC Prime Minister, Mahmoud Jibril, had sent a request to the Qatar government that she be deported immediately.

Other members of the TNC in Benghazi are said to be aghast at Ms al-Obeidi's experience.

http://www.channel4.com/news/libyan-eman-al-obeidis-treatment-in-qatar-outrageous

[tabatha]

90. Libya Stokes Its Machine Generating Propaganda

TRIPOLI, Libya — The nightly propaganda tour to NATO bombing sites around the Libyan capital — the main component of every foreign reporter’s routine in a city controlled by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi — led to a rustic backyard in the predawn hours of Monday where a family with several small, frightened children, said to have been dining outside late into the night, had supposedly endured a narrow escape from a NATO missile.

But a NATO missile with Cyrillic script on its components? With that discovery from the wreckage, the official briefing about 50 journalists paused in his fulminations against NATO, but only to recalibrate his account. Yes, he said, it was a Russian missile, part of Libya’s armory, but it had reached the backyard by what foreign reporters familiar with arcade games quickly dubbed the “bank shot” or “pinball” method.

...

But a more fitting epitaph may have been the admonition offered by a government minder who tried to stop Western TV crews from going into the church’s courtyard and filming the pile of bombing debris in the adjacent plot, the one identified by the girl as a military installation.

“This is ridiculous!” a British reporter protested. “Yes,” the minder replied mirthlessly, “it is a big ridiculous.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/07/world/africa/07libya.html?_r=3&ref=global-home

[pinboy3niner]

91. Even before clicking the link (worth reading) I guessed this was Burns reporting

For all our criticism of the media, we've seen some fine reporting from Libya.

Interesting, too, to see so many press reports now openly contradicting and ridiculing regime propaganda--something that only a short time ago led to deportations of the offending reporters.

Now, even the regime's minders and press reps are sick of the propaganda.

Thanks for posting this one, Tabatha.

[pinboy3niner]

92. DAY 110: CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 7 AM TUESDAY, JUNE 7

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

[pinboy3niner]

93. China diplomats visit Libya rebels

(AFP) – 1 hour ago

BEIJING — Chinese diplomats have arrived in the rebel-held Libyan city of Benghazi to meet with members of the opposition and assess the conflict in the oil-rich nation, the government said on Tuesday.

The unnamed diplomats from China's embassy in Egypt arrived in the eastern city "to gain an understanding of the humanitarian situation and the situation for Chinese investing entities", a Chinese foreign ministry statement said.

It said the trip was also intended to "maintain contact with the National Transitional Council", the leadership body established by opposition forces, and urged all sides in the Libyan conflict to seek a political solution.

...


Russia also said on Monday that President Dmitry Medvedev's envoy Mikhail Margelov would meet Libyan rebel leaders in Benghazi on Tuesday but would not travel to Tripoli.

...


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iCQwM7iVlWPX_f5KBcQgjaHkruvA?docId=CNG.48e5969155ce19b16358f893e95f2b3d.4f1

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

106. Got oil?

Rebels get the victory.
China gets the oil.
NATO picks up the check.

[tabatha]

116. I guess

you did not read that all current Libyan oil contracts would not be changed after the war.

I guess you are not aware of all of the other countries that have been visiting the NTC in recent weeks.

Another guess - you are unaware of the gratitude all Libyans have for NATO.

And I can guess once more, that you are just guessing - with extreme prejudice.

http://youtu.be/sDGvlD1Tw5g

I also read somewhere (no source) that Libyans had offered to pay for the NATO action.

Russia urges Gadhafi's departure, offers aid to opposition
BENGHAZI, Libya - An envoy of Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said Tuesday Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi's regime is illegitimate and pledged to provide economic and humanitarian aid to the rebels, an opposition official told Xinhua.

During his meeting with Mustafa Abdul Jalil, chairman of Libya' s rebel National Transitional Council (NTC), Russian presidential envoy on Africa affairs Mikhail Margelov confirmed his country's stance that Gadhafi regime is no longer the legal representative of the Libyan people and he must depart from Libya, said Ahmed Gebreel, spokesman of the NTC's foreign affairs office.

Margelov also promised to work with the NTC in reconciliation and stabilization efforts during the post-Gadhafi era, Gebreel told Xinhua.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2011-06/08/content_12654978.htm

[Cerridwen]

150. Awwww. And they just sold some to the US. I guess China's already

got theirs?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1226813#1259820

[pinboy3niner]

94. Gaddafi's Libyan army collapsing, say defectors

John Follain
From: The Sunday Times
June 05, 201110:27AM


COLONEL Muammar Gaddafi's regime is close to collapse and his army is suffering hundreds of desertions every day, according to generals who have fled Libya and plan to fight alongside the rebels.


In exclusive interviews with The Sunday Times, two generals and a colonel who have sought refuge in Italy said Colonel Gaddafi's military capacity had shrunk to just a fifth of its strength, and predicted he would fall from power within weeks.


“Thousands of members of the armed forces have defected or deserted, especially over the past two weeks. There are defections every day. Everyone who gets an opportunity grabs it,” said General Melud Massoud Halassa.


Eight defectors - five generals, two colonels and a more junior officer - were extracted from Libya via Tunisia and brought to Rome with the help of the Italian foreign intelligence service.

...


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/gaddafis-libyan-army-collapsing-say-defectors/story-e6frg6so-1226069500257

[joshcryer]

95. Rare daytime NATO airstrikes hit Libyan capital

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jIdkNV4-Sj28gTcWpiiUpB5VuxEQ?docId=2ad70415cd7c4e5e900c1c8f1d286762">Rare daytime NATO airstrikes hit Libyan capital
TRIPOLI, Libya – Low-flying NATO military craft hit Tripoli in eleven successive attacks on Tuesday in rare daytime strikes on the Libyan capital.

The strikes that shook the city appeared to land close to Gadhafi's sprawling compound, but government officials were not immediately available to confirm the targets.

Reuters link:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/06/07/uk-libya-idUKTRE74E1I420110607">Huge blast, column of smoke at Gaddafi compound area
A huge explosion shook the area around Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound in central Tripoli on Tuesday, sending a column of grey smoke into the sky.

Not much info yet, just happened a few mins ago.

[joshcryer]

96. There has still been no word on blogger Amina Arraf (openly lesbian Syrian kidnapped)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/jun/07/syria-yemen-middle-east-unrest-live#block-2

:cry:

I always feared for her safety. This will not end well. :(

[pinboy3niner]

97. UPDATE on Eman al-Obeidi: Libyan woman who claimed rape arrives in Romania

By DRAGOS BOTA, Associated Press – 2 hours ago

TIMISOARA, Romania (AP) — A Libyan woman who claims she was raped by Moammar Gadhafi's troops has arrived at a U.N. refugee center in Romania, an official said Tuesday.


Iman al-Obeidi, 29, made headlines around the world in March when she was rushed into Libya's Rixos Hotel, seeking to speak to foreign reporters and saying she had been detained by a number of Gadhafi troops at a Tripoli checkpoint and raped.


UNHCR spokeswoman Claudia Liute said that al-Obeidi arrived in Romania unaccompanied on a flight from Italy late Sunday. Liute said the Libyan is staying in a refugee transit center in the western Romanian city of Timisoara.


"She will have the same treatment as other refugees: medical treatment, psychological counseling and interviews with authorities from the country where she will be relocated," Liute said in a telephone interview. "It is a delicate case and I can't say more. She will leave Romania in a maximum of six months."

...


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hex-CCFVCGAlRi7O8iLu2xo2TZLQ?docId=be4b08ecba544179b0c54f24ce88f988

My guess is that Secretary Clinton will get her to the U.S. in short order.

[Yosarian71]

98. Heinz reports and collapse of Gadhafi's western front

Heinz had some very bullish updates last night that were consistent with twitter reports:

helen
garyan is patly in ff hand,there are not much troops in the compound south of the city left.
most defected,or just move towards south on sunday night.
the groops of mercs there are operating stupid without comand.
heavy clashes around al-zawiyah after demoral daffis troops by nato in the last days

some news from tonight.
around sirte
nato bombs positions of pro daffi forces based on informations coming out of sirte.
misrata
there are several attacks by daffi -troops on the front this night ,but very weak with out any effekt on ff-lines .
they lost a lot by air attacks
i think last night teach daffis troops that there is only one way for them flee or die
mountain fronts working well.
regime will loose anything about 70km close to tripoli today.
daffis birthday party looks more like a nightmare if he get the news

Zawiyah is in open revolt again, with mountain rebels reaching Surman, which is only 25km away. There are some isolated Gadhafi units west of that capable of launching rocket attacks, but it appears increasingly possible that Tripoli will be reached from the West before it is reached from the East.

While I understand NATO's efforts to minimize rebel casualties by drawing red lines east of Brega and Zliten that rebels can not cross until the Gadhafi troops are completely bombed out, I think the time is close for victory rather than safety, even if it results in more casualties. I am concerned about what Gadhafi will do to the citizens of Tripoli as he gets more and more cornered.

[Iterate]

99. Italy: Sea Rescue , Damage in Yefren

Uploaded by unhcr on 6 Jun 2011

A Guardia di Finanza vessel, which normally operates against drug smugglers, arrives in Italy's Lampedusa Island with a group of boat people rescued at sea after fleeing Libya.
http://youtu.be/ERWfTONS09I

Video from the rescue of 500 yesterday. "Almost 38,000 have made the dangerous sea crossing this year..."

Rebels capture mountain town in Libya (3:02)
June 6 - Libyan rebels seize full control of the disputed mountain town of Yafran, 60 miles southwest of the capital, Tripoli. Deborah Lutterbeck reports.
http://uk.reuters.com/video/2011/06/07/rebels-capture-mountain-town-in-libya?videoId=211577587&videoChannel=1
or
http://youtu.be/ZDSM4PvlUpY

[pinboy3niner]

100. Kadhafi can no longer lead Libya: Mauritania president

(AFP) – 2 hours ago

NOUAKCHOTT — Moamer Kadhafi can no longer lead Libya and needs to step down, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has said in an interview with AFP.

"Whatever happens, there will be a negotiated solution, even later. In any case, Kadhafi can no longer lead Libya. His departure has become necessary," he said Monday.

...


"He (Kadhafi) must be made to leave without causing more damage," he said.

The 53-nation African Union called last week for an end to the air strikes on Libya to pave the way for a political solution to the conflict.

...


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hrFBFXmDdrFY6HVYxgjHKPuAto8A?docId=CNG.0188ac6bd8569c2fcac4194065f4834d.2c1

[pinboy3niner]

101. Libyan kids maimed by war remnants

UNICEF workshops in Libya help to educate about the dangers of "explosive remnants of war" that remain deadly.



After mistaking explosive remnants of war as shrapnel in Misurata, an undetonated cluster bomb exploded in Ayman's hands - injured, him and his friend were evacuated to Benghazi for medical treatment (UNICEF/Rebecca Fordham)


Rebecca Fordham
Last Modified: 07 Jun 2011 14:06


On May 31, 2011, UNICEF Communication Specialist Rebecca Fordham boarded the relief boat carrying two boys injured from explosive remnants of the war in Libya. She also participated in workshops to raise awareness and protect children from these horrific weapons of war in the conflict-affected eastern Libya. This is her first-hand account.


I witnessed the graphic impact of conflict on children when I boarded a boat coming into Benghazi from Misurata. Two young boys, who had been severely injured by explosive remnants of war (ERW), lay on beds inside the onboard field hospital, provided by LibAid, with their fathers standing patiently beside them.


Both boys stared out, Ayman, 14, his wrists heavily bandaged and, Mahmud, 9, lying quietly in the bed next to him. The boys had been playing close to the Medical Technical College in Misurata, Ayman's father told me, when his son picked up what he thought was shrapnel from an exploded bomb to take home and show his family. It exploded when he touched it.


His father knew there were "cluster bombs" that had been dropped close by, and that they could explode when someone tried to move them, but he didn't know the exact location and what they looked like.


Children are particularly at risk, because their natural curiosity means they often pick up items that adults are more cautious to touch. In Libya, they need to understand the dangers of unexploded ordinance and also have safe spaces for their children to play in, even though many of them have been living under extremely challenging and stressful conditions for over three months.

...


http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/06/20116674436348565.html

[pinboy3niner]

102. NATO Warplanes Pound Tripoli / Gaddafi's Labor Minister defects to rebels

Source: New York Times

By JOHN F. BURNS
Published: June 7, 2011


TRIPOLI, Libya — NATO warplanes dropped bombs in repeated low-flying raids Tuesday on targets in and around Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s compound in their most intense daytime strikes on the Libyan capital since the aerial campaign began two months ago


What appeared to be bunker-busting bombs laid waste to an area of about two acres, leaving a smoking, twisted mass of the steel remains of six or seven buildings that had stood three to four stories high.

...


Colonel Qaddafi’s regime has become increasingly isolated as the conflict has dragged on, beset by increasing numbers of high-level defections and evidence that support for him even among residents of Tripoli, his stronghold, has become fractured. On Tuesday, Libya’s labor minister, Al-Amin Manfur, added his name to the growing exodus, declaring at a meeting in Geneva of the International Labor Organization that he was now supporting the rebel government, the National Transitional Council, Agence France-Presse reported.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/world/africa/08tripoli.html

[pinboy3niner]

103. Gadhafi: 'We will not surrender, we will not give up'

By the CNN Wire Staff
June 7, 2011 -- Updated 1629 GMT (0029 HKT)


Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi vowed Tuesday that "we will not surrender," even as NATO airstrikes bombarded his compound in Tripoli.


"I am now speaking as planes and bombs fall around me," Gadhafi said in a live audio broadcast on state television. "But my soul is in God's hand. We will not think about death or life. We will think about the call of duty."


At least 35 loud explosions rocked Tripoli around midday Tuesday as NATO targeted a military base and Gadhafi's compound, state television reported.


The compound was under "intensive continuous bombardment," according to state TV, which reported buildings and infrastructure in the area were destroyed in the strikes.


"We will not surrender, we will not give up," Gadhafi said. "We have one option -- our country. We will remain in it till the end. Dead, alive, victorious, it doesn't matter."

...


http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/07/libya.war/

[Iterate]

104. I thought the People's Congress building had already been burned out?

The pic below the header:


"Libya's deputy foreign minister Khaled Kaim shows the damage to the General People's Congress -- Libya's parliament"

My memory can be just awful at times, but I do remember this:

Libya protesters set fire to government buildings in Tripoli
Anti-Gaddafi demonstrations spread to capital from Benghazi as some soldiers reportedly switch sides to aid activists

Ian Black and Matthew Taylor guardian.co.uk, Monday 21 February 2011 13.00 GMT

...

Witnesses said that the brutal crackdown, that began in the country's second city of Benghazi, has spread to the capital overnight with reports of automatic gunfire and teargas in Tripoli for the first time since the unrest began.

The government building where the general people's congress, or parliament, meets was reported to be on fire and there were separate reports that protesters had attacked the headquarters of the state television network.

"I can see the People's Hall is on fire, there are firefighters there trying to put it out," a Reuters reporter said.

A hotel worker told the Guardian: "The mood is very tense here. We have heard that government buildings are on fire and locals are scared to leave their homes. Most foreigners are trying to leave."

more... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/21/libya-protesters-fire-government-tripoli

[tabatha]

105. SecularLibya and RRowleyTucson

SecularLibya MargBar Khamenei
Unconfirmed: Reports that Al Asabiah garrison in south Gharyan district have mutinied and joined the FF's. Gharyan will fall. #Libya #Feb17
Breaking : #NAFUSA : #Ghiryan : #Alasaba'a big #Gaddafi supporters have REVOLTED ! #Feb17 #Libya
Alert : Large battalion being stationed at coastal city of #Jeddayim 15km west of #Zawiya ,attack imminent via @libyanexpat

Gaddafi spent %50-60 of our oil wealth on his military brigades RT @mijami2 Libya must be one massive military complex with ppl living in it
Heinz- Few Daffi troops left south side of Gharyan, most deserted Sunday. Heavy clashes in Zawiya. #Libya #Feb17
Heinz- Daffi counter attack at #Zlitan was very weak and easily contained by FF/#Nato. #Libya #Feb17
The attack from the south and east on Misrata was repulsed and it is claimed 40 - 100 Daffi casualties vs 4 FFs. #Libya #Feb17

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
Good thing: #Gaddafi being bombed in his hole in Bab. Bad thing: he has 10s of billions in #Libya's gold down there with him. #feb17
#RAF used Paveway guided bombs to attack the military base, situated in the south-west of the city yesterday evening. #Libya #feb17
#Gaddafi calls on supporters to go to his compound despite #NATO air strikes #Libya #feb17 #EasyTarget #WipeOutAllHisTrashAtOneTime
#RAF struck headquarters of the domestic intelligence service, in central #Tripoli, during the morning. #Libya #feb17
#RAF Tornado & Typhoon aircraft have mounted attacks on one of #Gadafi’s secret police headquarters in the heart of #Tripoli. #Libya #feb17

#US Senate is expected to consider its own resolution in support of Obama's policy in #Libya, likely by Kerry/ @senjohnmccain #feb17
#Zawiya: Huge clashes in the city started 2 days ago & still ongoing. Reports a group of #Freedomfighters from #Nafousa joined too. #Libya
Today is heaviest day of #NATO bombing in #Tripoli so far. Reports of up to 33 explosions heard. #Libya #feb17

[Yosarian71]

107. Would be ironic

If freedom fighters from Zawiyah reached Tripoli before any others did.

I don't think of the mountain rebels as even an organized fighting force, more like a collection of bands of men. But I suspect there is not an organized regime fighting force standing between Gharyan and Tripoli. If a few hundred of them could pile in cars and get to the Tripoli suburbs, the city might explode in revolt.

I understand the NATO red lines in Brega, but now is the time to seize the initiative in Zliten. A coordinated, aggressive attack on the regime's forces in Zliten could smash them, especially if the locals help.

http://shabablibya.org/news/libya-rebels-frustrated-by-natos-safety-first-strategy

[tabatha]

108. PRESS STATEMENT: Miss Iman al-Obeidi

PRESS STATEMENT: Miss Iman al-Obeidi
PRESS STATEMENT NTC Press Statement No. 31 Issued: June 8, 2011 Benghazi, Libya

For immediate release

At the request of the National Transitional Council and in coordination with it, the Government of Qatar received and provided Miss Iman al-Obeidi with medical treatment. All necessary steps were taken to provide her with medical treatment and make her stay in Doha comfortable. This included granting her and her father a visa to stay in Qatar, where all her needs were met. The Government of Qatar responded out of understanding and sympathy for her predicament and what she has been through. Her stay was extended upon her request and after all medical formalities had been completed. On 6th June 2011 and in full coordination with the NTC, in accordance with the expiry of her visa, she was requested to leave Qatar and return to her homeland, and she complied. Miss Iman al-Obeidi returned, accompanied by her father, to her homeland and specifically to Benghazi. The NTC did not restrict her freedom of movement, travel, or the right to meet humanitarian organizations or the media. Miss Iman al-Obeidi left Libya voluntarily on the 5th June 2011. The Executive Office of the NTC offered a formal apology to the Government of Qatar for the conduct of Iman al-Obeidi, and for any violation of the laws of their country. The NTC once again confirms its deep gratitude and heartfelt thanks to His Highness the Emir of Qatar and HH the Crown Prince and the people of Qatar for their historic and heroic support of the just cause of the Libyan people.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/05/2011528144520326964.html#comment-213983764

Cannot find another link. Something is being covered up; not sure what.

[tabatha]

109. It is all over twitter, now.

ChangeInLibya Mhalwes
@emmagable @bobschoo @lissnup It's out of respect and sympathy for a lady that suffered so much. It's a very long story.

ChangeInLibya Mhalwes
@bobschoo @lissnup @emmagable She turned into a person obsessed with the media. She caused a big mess in Qatar with Libyans there. FYI.
http://twitter.com/#!/ChangeInLibya

http://twitter.com/#!/NTC_of_Libya

[Yosarian71]

110. Time for media to give her some space

She did something incredibly heroic by stepping forward, but that should not give the media free license to follow her every movement. She has gone through a horrific experience, and is possibly suffering from severe PTSD. No woman who has gone through what she went through should have to face this kind of media coverage. She has to be left alone to heal.

[tabatha]

112. Agreed.

Additionally, no one should imply wrong-doing by people who have done nothing but help her - e.g Qatar and NTC. That was the point of the press release.

As ChangeInLibya is implying in her tweets, there is more to the story than is generally known, but people who are supportive of her are not discussing it, because of what she has gone through. Which means, until all is known, no conclusions about anyone should be reached by anyone. All are presumed innocent until shown guilty.

[pinboy3niner]

111. DAY 111: CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 2:10 AM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8

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

[pinboy3niner]

113. Anxious in Benghazi: Watching Out for Gaddafi's Saboteurs

Source: TIME

By Steven Sotloff / Benghazi Tuesday, June 07, 2011


"I have to close my restaurant when it gets dark," complains Ahmad al-Dursi, 43, the owner of a small hamburger joint in Benghazi, the capital of what is called Free Libya. But it is not completely free yet. "It is not safe here with the revolutionary committees still active," says al-Dursi, referring to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's loyalists who have terrorized the population for most of Gaddafi's 42 years in power.


Though Gaddafi's troops withdrew from eastern Libya in the days following the Feb. 17 uprising, his agents are still active in the rebel capital, prolonging the climate of fear and preventing the celebration of a dictator's departure. Residents whisper of a fifth column waiting to pounce and of spies working for Gaddafi who send reports back to Tripoli about rebel activity. A series of arrests, killings and bombings has reinforced these worries.

...


Gaddafi's agents have not limited themselves to gathering intelligence. In March, they allegedly killed a cameraman from the Arab news channel al-Jazeera after carefully monitoring his movements. Just last week they allegedly assassinated an army colonel who defected to the rebels, as he exited a mosque with his children. Both murders took place in the Benghazi area.

...


These attacks and arrests have sparked fear that the people of eastern Libya are still within reach of the long arm of Gaddafi's security services. It is difficult for many to fathom that the "Brother Leader" who towered over the country for more than four decades is no longer in charge. "Gaddafi's forces were everywhere before the revolution and knew everything we were doing," explains Mustafa al-Awjali, 46, an engineer, following the bombing last week.


http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2076206,00.html

[joshcryer]

114. NATO unleashes blistering airstrikes in Libya

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110608/ap_on_bi_ge/ml_libya">NATO unleashes blistering airstrikes in Libya
TRIPOLI, Libya – Moammar Gadhafi stood defiant Tuesday in the face of the heaviest and most punishing NATO airstrikes yet — at least 40 thunderous daylight attacks that sent plumes of smoke billowing above the Libyan leader's central Tripoli compound.

The strikes continued overnight. Early Wednesday, some 10 explosions shook the Libyan capital. It was not immediately clear what was hit.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Libyan state television broadcast an audio address from Gadhafi, who denounced NATO and the rebels challenging his rule. He vowed never to surrender.

"We will not kneel!" he shouted.

Gaddafi will not kneel, eh? But he'll http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LV2drSvflrI">happily make others kneel in his name.

[tabatha]

115. Libyan labour minister defects in Geneva

Libyan Labour Minister Alami Manfor has confirmed that he is defecting during an official visit to Geneva, he told swissinfo.ch on Tuesday.

Manfor said he disapproved of the “immoral methods” used by the Moammar Gaddafi regime towards the Libyan rebels.

He had travelled to the western Swiss city as head of the Libyan delegation attending the 100th International Labour Organisation conference, taking place from June 1 to June 17.

Manfor is reported to have announced his resignation to the Libyan Mission to the United Nations in Geneva on Monday evening.

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/Libyan_labour_minister_defects_in_Geneva.html?cid=30410378

[defendandprotect]

117. K/R ---

[tabatha]

118. Dr Abdurrahman Sewehli

confirm that, by the grace of Allah, freedom fighters were able to free my father, Dr Abdurrahman Sewehli (PhD in engineeering, UK) and my 2 brothers from their 3 months of captivity in Tripoli under Gaddafi's forces. Libyan FFs from many areas were inviolved in freeing my father and getting him to safety. I have spoken to my father and he is in good health and spirits. My father said that he was impressed by the high morale of the FFs that helped him and those he met on his journey to safety. My father, along with my brothers, was involved in the protests during the first 10 days of the uprising, and he spoke on Arabic TV, mainly AJA, against Gaddafi's atrocities and demanded that he leave as the Libyan people did not want him. He spoke using his own name, and was taken away from his own home in Tripoli. Well, alhamdulillah, he is free now, and I am sure that Gaddafi, who has some history with my father, is fuming!

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/05/2011528144520326964.html#disqus_thread

[joshcryer]

119. heh, Heinz's updates, quite an optimistic fellow:

Gerhard Heinz 1 hour ago

libyan jew
daffis troops are long over the breaking point..
if you see the picture of moving it looks desperate .his units round misrata are most infanterie with low moral and deflektion rates from about 10% every night.
his elite unit he have left inside al khums and zlitan is not more than 2-3 days feed for cats.
inside tripoli he lost the controll by night .
but the main reason is that his military ranks dont want to fight for him.
the best sample is yesterday
daffis sons plan a big offensiv aktion ,both in the mountains and arround misrata.
tell the goverment people we can retake the towns in the mountains in hours (anouncement from this minister)
and they want a "victory"on daddys birthday.
they try to massive troops in the mountains and also round misrata from sunday night on.
from this troops there is only a small number still aktive,and the aktion from them is not worth to report.


Gerhard Heinz 1 hour ago

i do not think that they read rommel or even study any later operations spezial israel-arab wars or golf war.
all the operations they do up to now looks brainless.
the presence of helis will step up in the next days .
now the defection of secret police in tripoli start in bigger numbers .
in some days daffi is a general with some officers but without soldiers .
they still moving units who did not exist in real.

Gerhard Heinz 2 hours ago

good morning free libya
for another day after a nice birthday-party ,time is running now for daffi onli 9 days left for him in power.

[pinboy3niner]

120. Clinton and NATO to Plan Post-Qaddafi Libya

Source: Bloomberg

By Flavia Krause-Jackson - Jun 7, 2011 8:55 PM PT


Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Abu Dhabi to discuss with NATO allies the outlook for Libya without Muammar Qaddafi even as the focus may shift further east to Yemen, which is on the brink of civil war.

With North Atlantic Treaty Organization jets stepping up daytime strikes on the Libyan capital of Tripoli, the United Arab Emirates will host Clinton and other members of the 22- nation Libya Contact Group on June 9. Qaddafi yesterday said “martyrdom is a million times better” than surrender, in his first broadcast comments in more than three weeks.

President Barack Obama renewed his demand that Qaddafi leave as a growing chorus of world leaders predicted the demise of the Libyan dictator, who after a 42-year rule has failed to crush a popular uprising that began mid-February.

...


NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said this week Qaddafi is now “part of Libya’s past,” signaling the time has come to start planning for the aftermath. Qaddafi remains in control of the capital, in the country’s west, even though rebels are running most of eastern Libya.

...


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-08/clinton-to-discuss-with-nato-libya-outlook-after-qaddafi-as-yemen-unravels.html

[pinboy3niner]

121. Nearly Six in 10 Support Involvement in Libya

Source: ABC News

June 07, 2011 4:00 PM

Nearly six in 10 Americans support U.S. military involvement in NATO efforts against the Libyan government – but few of them want to see it increase from its current level.

Fifty-eight percent in the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll support the current U.S. role, essentially the same as in mid-April. Among supporters, seven in 10 say U.S. involvement should be held at the current level, vs. 15 percent increased and 11 percent trimmed back.

President Obama’s approval rating for handling the situation also is essentially unchanged, at 44 percent; but there’s been an 8-point drop in disapproval, to 41 percent, with more undecided.

...


http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenumbers/2011/06/nearly-six-in-10-support-involvement-in-libya.html

[pinboy3niner]

122. BREAKING, CNN: Yemeni rebels take over city of Taiz; big setback for gov't.

No links yet, but further clashes likely today as gov't. forces are expected to attempt to re-take the city.

[pinboy3niner]

125. Yemen: Political talks open as Saleh recovers in Riyadh

Source: BBC

8 June 2011 Last updated at 06:52 ET


Yemen's ruling party has opened talks with the country's main opposition coalition following the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment.


Protesters have called on the acting president, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, to form a presidential council to seek a solution to the crisis in country.

...


Official sources told the BBC the talks in Sanaa between the ruling General People's Congress (GPC) and the opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Party (JMP) are the first of its kind.


The JMP includes the main Islamist Islah party, socialists, Nasserists and some newer independent parties.

...


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13693731

[al bupp]

123. Guardian: Libya rebels frustrated by Nato's safety-first strategy

From: The Guardian (UK)

Tension between Libyan rebels and Nato commanders is growing over the military tactics being used to put pressure on Colonel Gaddafi's forces.

Rebel leaders in Misrata say they are being urged not to launch further pushes against regime troops to the east of the city, and claim they have been told not to cross certain "red lines", even though they feel prepared for battle.

...

In Misrata, the Guardian spoke to rebel commanders from the Black Brigade and the Swehdi Brigade, who said they felt constrained from launching pre-emptive assaults. Khalid Alogab, a section commander in the Libyan rebel Black Brigade, said the western alliance had given rebel units firm instructions not to cross into certain areas. "The red line, we cannot cross," he said. "If we get the order from Nato we can go. We can capture Tarhuga (a town to the east) in two hours."

...

Nato says it has not issued formal red lines to the rebels, but acknowledges that there is real danger to their forces if they stray into zones that are being targeted by missile and bombing strikes. The coalition needs to know the areas that are safe to bomb and clear of civilians, said a source. "Nobody wants a return to the kind of confusion there was before. Nato has a very clear duty to ensure that civilians are not caught up in the fighting."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/07/libya-rebels-nato-strategy

[pinboy3niner]

124. SA talking to government, rebels about (photojournalist) Hammerl's remains

Source: Times LIVE (South Africa)

Jun 8, 2011 7:37 AM | By Sapa


The South African government is in negotiation with both, the Libyan government and the rebels, in an attempt to get slain photographer Anton Hammerl's remains returned to the country.

...


Hammerl, who held dual South African and Austrian citizenship, was covering the conflict in Libya when he was shot by militia loyal to Gaddafi near the town of Brega,The New Age reported on Wednesday.


According to American journalists Clare Gillis and James Foley and Spanish photographer Manu Brabo, Hammerl was left to die in the desert after the three were arrested.

...


South Africa accused the Libyan government of lying about Hammerl, after it assured officials he was safe even though it knew he had been killed.


http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article1107312.ece/SA-talking-to-government-rebels-about-Hammerls-remains

[pinboy3niner]

126. Sweden extends Libya forces mandate

Source: Reuters Africa

Wed Jun 8, 2011 10:47am GMT


STOCKHOLM, June 8 (Reuters) - Sweden said on Wednesday it would extend its participation in the military alliance against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, with its planes to carry out reconnaisance operations for the NATO-led forces.

Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said the Nordic nation would cut the number of fighter jets it commits to the alliance to five from eight, but this was enough to carry out its mission.

"To maintain the military pressure is very important ... so that the political process may lead to a very fast solution, so that we then can move over to democracy and state building in Libya," Bildt told reporters.

Swedish jets have been patrolling the U.N. no-fly zone since early April, but Bildt said that operations would now focus on reconnaisance.


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7570KU20110608

[pinboy3niner]

127. Report from Tripoli on intensified NATO airstrikes

From The Guardian:

Paul Owen has just been speaking to Xan Rice, who is in Tripoli, about the heavy Nato bombardment of the Libyan capital over the last few days. Normally the bombing takes place during the night, but yesterday it began in the morning and continued in the afternoon into the night and early morning. Nato says it conducted 66 strike sorties and destroyed large part of Gaddafi's command compound and several other targets. "It certainly was a major attack by the standards of what has gone on so far," Xan said.


Paul asked what effect the bombardment was having on the people of Tripoli and their morale. Xan said:

I was actually downtown yesterday in the Old City while the bombing was going on … and it was actually quite interesting. There didn't seem to be much reaction from ordinary people at all, even though the daytime bombing was rare, and there were one or two shouts of "God is great", but for the most part people seemed to ignore what was going on or have a nonchalant attitude.

He said this might be because of the lack of civilian casualties: "People don't feel under threat going about their daily lives." But it was "perhaps also an indication that support for Gaddafi is not that strong in Tripoli." He described being taken to a 150-300-strong anti-Nato demonstration, "which in a city of a couple of million isn't very many".


Xan and other journalists were taken this morning to what their government minders called "a nature reserve" around half an hour from Tripoli, where a couple of missiles had struck. "The local officials on the ground were unable to explain why (a) truck and a tent were there if this was just a nature reserve … It appeared to be a small military centre of some sort."


Audio report at link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/jun/08/syria-middle-east-unrest#block-16

[pinboy3niner]

128. NATO: No Troops on Ground in Post-Conflict Libya

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press
BRUSSELS June 8, 2011


NATO's top official says the alliance won't put troops on the ground in Libya to keep order once the conflict ends.


Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen spoke Wednesday after meeting with defense ministers from the 28 members of the North Atlantic military alliance.


Fogh Rasmussen said everyone at the meeting agreed progress was being made in Libya. He says, "For Gadhafi, it is no longer a question of if he goes but when he goes."


THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

...


http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=13789429

[pinboy3niner]

129. Thousands of Gaddafi troops attack Misrata--Reuters

From The Guardian's news blogs:

Thousands of troops loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi advanced on the rebel-held western city of Misrata on Wednesday, shelling it from three sides in attacks that killed at least 10 rebels, a rebel spokesman told Reuters.

There was no immediate comment from Gaddafi's government.

Hassan al-Misrati said from inside the town:

Misrata is under heavy shelling ... Gaddafi forces are shelling Misrata from three sides: east, west and south. He has sent thousands of troops from all sides and they are trying to enter the city. They are still outside, though. We have lost 10 rebels and 26 wounded, most of them are critically wounded.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/jun/08/syria-middle-east-unrest#block-18

[al bupp]

134. ChangeInLibya Misrata Tweet

17:13 (UTC +2)

ChangeInLibya tweets: “Misrata: Breaking: Heavy bombardment on Gaddafi’s convoys just outside Misrata. NATO jets everywhere & rumours of helis too.”

If true, perhaps NATO's tactic of holding the rebels back was intended to draw Gaddafi's troops into the open where they can more easily targetted.

[pinboy3niner]

137. "NATO jets everywhere" vs. "no sign of Nato bombing" (Post #136)

It may be that both reports are correct(one may have been filed before the airstrikes began).

Discrepancies like this tend to pique my curiosity about the explanation.

[pinboy3niner]

136. UPDATE on Misrata: Rebels repel attack by Gaddafi forces--The Guardian

Chris Stephens has sent a report from Misrata, Libya, where Muammar Gaddafi's forces have attacked the city from three sides.

Government forces unleashed a barrage of grad rockets and mortar shells against rebel positions to the east, west and south of the town in the early morning … An hour after the shelling began, pro-Gaddafi forces launched an infantry assault on positions on the western front … The rebels eventually beat off the attack and, according to (injured rebel fighter Sadik Ibrahim) Muhammad, Gaddafi's soldiers took heavy casualties … For all the ferocity of the bombardment, in which several thousand mortar bombs and rockets were fired, the city itself was not hit and the pro-Gaddafi forces appeared either to lack tanks or to be unwilling to commit them to the eastern assault.

On Facebook, Chris added:

Heaviest bombardment since rebels took control of the city. On all three fronts. There was an assault on only one front, near Tarhouga ...the Gaddafi soldiers advanced over the 3km of flat grassland at 5am in pickups with the lights on. Apache city except no Apaches. They seemed to have overrun outlying checkpoints but were stopped at the main checkpoint and by end of day rebels are back at the old front line. Hekma (hospital) say 10 rebels dead. no sign of Nato bombing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/jun/08/syria-middle-east-unrest#block-30

[Iterate]

140. Gaddafi forces mount offensive on Misrata but are beaten back

The report from Chris Stephens:

Gaddafi forces mount offensive on Misrata but are beaten back
Ten rebels reported dead after city's heaviest bombardment, but the rebel-held city suffered very little damage
Chris Stephens in Misrata
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 8 June 2011 16.49 BST

...

By afternoon, the town echoed to the thunder of the impacts and the wailing of imams in the city mosques, chanting prayers to boost the morale of the inhabitants. The Hikma hospital reported 10 rebel fighters dead and 26 wounded by mid-afternoon.

An hour after the shelling began, pro-Gaddafi forces launched an infantry assault on positions on the western front. Troops advanced across two miles of open grassland towards rebel positions in cars and pick-up trucks.

"We saw them coming. Some of the cars had their lights on," said Sadik Ibrahim Muhammad, an injured rebel fighter who was recovering in the Hikma hospital, where the small wards were so full that lightly wounded patients lay on trolleys in the crowded corridors.

Muhammad, who was shot in the leg, said he had been manning a 40mm anti-aircraft gun mounted on the back of a jeep at a checkpoint at Kalarim, two miles behind the rebel frontline, when the attack came.

more... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/08/gaddafi-offensive-misrata-beaten-back

@LibyanDictator: #Misrata: Captured Gaddafi forces said Abdallah Asenussi and Khamis Gaddafi had organised and ordered attack on Misrata today. #Libya
@tripolitano: #Misrata witness: things r under control. Still clashes in west in Dafniya. East and south r quieter now. Many arms gained from G forces

LibyanDictator The Dictator
#Misrata: Gaddafi forces used GRADs and thermal rockets heavily in attack on eastern Misrata, only heavy artillery and rockets today.
vor 21 Minuten
#Misrata: fighters on eastern front found that killed Gaddafi troops had deeds to Misrata port and the steel & iron factory.
#Misrata: Captured Gaddafi forces said Abdallah Asenussi and Khamis Gaddafi had organised and ordered attack on Misrata today. #Libya
#Misrata: Clashes on Eastern front resulted in many Gaddafi forces killed and others captured, ALL over 50 years of age.
#Misrata: Attack on city from eastern front was repelled by f. fighters. Gaddafi forces pushed back to outskirts of Tawargha. #Libya
vor 31 Minuten

[Yosarian71]

139. Probably not thousands

Probably a few hundred soldiers advanced and were quickly driven back. If thousands launched an attack the casualties would be larger and it would imply a much different dynamic in the conflict. Gadhafi may have 15k troops in total outside of Brega, and those are pretty widely spread out between Sirte, Tripoli, the Western Mountains, western front, and Zliten/Misurata.

[pinboy3niner]

130. Alleged Libyan rape victim 'recovering from trauma'

(AFP) –

BUCHAREST — A Libyan woman who accused soldiers loyal to strongman Moamer Kadhafi of raping her is recovering from trauma at a refugee centre in western Romania, a UN official said on Wednesday.


Iman al-Obeidi, who was evacuated from Libya to Romania on Monday, needs "space and privacy in order to begin the process of recovering from traumatic events," the representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Romania, Machiel Salomons, told a press conference.


He declined to provide details of her current condition, citing safety reasons.

...


It is impossible to predict where she will be going next," he stressed, adding that "out of respect for her, the UNHCR prefers not to disclose any information" as to her final destination.


But he added that all the refugees at the centre are in the process of being interviewed for resettlement by either the United States or The Netherlands.

...


http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iLrRwI8K6mbEx0sMJjFExyUjUCqQ?docId=CNG.0188ac6bd8569c2fcac4194065f4834d.51

[pinboy3niner]

131. Spain recognises Libyan rebel council - minister

Wed Jun 8, 2011 12:04pm GMT


BENGHAZI, Libya, June 8 (Reuters) - Spain has recognised Libya's rebel National Transitional Council as the country's legitimate representative, Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jimenez said during a visit to rebel-held east Libya.


"I'm here today to confirm that the National Transitional Council is the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people," Jimenez told reporters in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi on Wednesday.

...


The council has won full recognition from France, Italy, Qatar and Jordan as the true representative of the Libyan people, while the U.S. has invited the rebels to open an office in Washington.

...


"What the Spanish government wants is the same thing that the Libyan people want which is democracy and freedom, and that is why the Spanish government will pledge assistance to the national council," she said.


http://af.reuters.com/article/egyptNews/idAFLDE7571E720110608

Ed. to add that media sources have differing tallies of countries recognizing the TNC. Another recent report included Senegal; and here's a different list from AGI (Agenzia Giornalistica Italia):

Madrid has joined France, Italy, Great Britain, Jordan, Qatar, Malta and Gambia as countries who have recognized the rebels in Benghazi as the interlocutors for the Libyan rebels.

http://www.agi.it/english-version/world/elenco-notizie/201106081545-pol-ren1061-spain_recognizes_benghazi_rebels

[pinboy3niner]

132. Libyan FM in China / Support for rebels in Tripoli

Libya's foreign minister, Abdelati Obeidi, is in China, where his counterpart, Yang Jiechi, told him the most pressing task facing Gaddafi's government was to secure a ceasefire, according to the Reuters news agency. China opposed any actions which "exceed the mandate of UN security council decisions, and upholds the respect of Libya's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, as well as the decisions of the Libyan people themselves," Yang said. China is currently attempting to play a more active role in ending the fighting. Chinese diplomats have met key rebels in recent days, including Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the rebels' de facto political leader. Reuters notes: "About half of China's crude oil imports last year came from the region, where Chinese companies have a big presence."


Reuters has been interviewing residents of Tripoli about the heavy wave of Nato bombing of the last few days. A taxi driver told the news agency:

We are all happy when Nato bombs like that. Everyone here has rebel flags at home, just waiting for the day when the rebels finally reach the outskirts of the city, when we will pour out into the streets.

Reuters wrote: "Alone in their shops and cars, out of earshot of the feared secret police and their informants, Tripoli residents are about as likely to express support for the government as opposition."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2011/jun/08/syria-middle-east-unrest#block-22

[muriel_volestrangler]

133. Rebels seek to break out of Misrata

Libyan rebels have sustained casualties during an attempt to break out of their western enclave of Misrata.

Pro-Gaddafi forces are reported to have killed 14 rebels who had surged towards the south, east, and west of the city.
...
Rebel fighters told the BBC's David Loyn in Misrata that they had moved several miles forward of their eastern frontline.

Field ambulances took a stream of casualties for treatment, and traffic built up around Misrata hospital as people responded to an appeal for blood donors, our correspondent adds.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13700908

[al bupp]

135. Tripolitanian Re-tweet: Clashes in Janzur & AlHadba

From: http://twitter.com/#!/Tripolitanian">Tripolitanian

Tripoli: Clashes now taking place between freedom fighters and Gaddafi forces in Janzur and AlHadba.

[al bupp]

138. The Story of Zawiya

The following purports to be a first hand, eye witness account of events in Zawiya.

THE STORY OF ZAWIYA 8thJune 2011
Eye witness who left Libya Friday 27th May

Zawiya went out on 19th of February for Benghazi. With our Soul and Blood we will sacrifice for you Benghazi they chanted. We stayed in the main square. The dignitaries of the city began meeting inthe main and oldest mosque in Zawiya called Zaituna Mosque (also known as Al Soug mosque). A room was designated to food and drink supplies for those taking part in the peaceful sit in the main square. Then Saif Gaddafi made his infamous speech. There was a screen placed in Zawiya's mainsquare, so the City saw it. Gaddafi then made a speech directed specifically to Zawiya's tribes. He sent an envoy to Zawiya offering 200,000 dinars to each family if they stopped their support for the revolution. Zawiya refused. His envoys were told, after what he did in Benghazi, Zawiya would not change their stance. Gaddafi sent Sabratha's Khweldi Al Hmedi brigade and they entered Zawiya from Daman street that leads to the main square from the West. On 24th Feb 3 at 8 am, whilst protesters were sleeping, 3 Gaddafi vehicles entered one with a machine gun and the other 2 had soldiers. They started shooting at the protesters in the main square leading to death of 3 protesters. (Video will follow of one of the martyrs). As these 3 vehicles attempted to escape viacoastal road Zawiya protesters managed to kill 4 of these soldiers.

The 3 martyrs were taken to the mosque, then the people of Zawiya headed as one towards the military camp of Terfas with old shot guns, rocks, AK47s from police stations. The forces in Terfas camp were not large in number, so they fled. Protesters managed to get 3 tanks, ammunitions and weapons. They found the tanks were useless as the turret firing mechanism was disabled beforehand. The protesters headed back to the main square with the acquired weapons. Then 12 colonels joined the revolt in Zawiya. Then they formed a National Transitional civilian council, a media council and a military council after they learnt of the formation of the NTC in Benghazi.

...

Friday 25th Feb 2011, after Friday prayers, Zawiya protesters headed via Jamal Abdel Nasser St (which cuts through Zawiya heading to Tripoli) to join the protesters in Tripoli without weapons in the hope of carrying on peacefully, naively thinking it was possible to continue in thisvain. The Khamis brigade began firing on the Zawiya protesters from the traffic lights at the Eastern entrance of Zawiya as the protesters were on the bridge and around it. Around 50 casualties between injured and killed were a victim of this live fire on this peaceful protest. The Zawiya protesters returned to the main square. Everyone realised peaceful protesting was pointless from that day onwards. The plan was to meet up with protesters with Tajura.

Preparations began to face Gaddafi forces. Entrances to the city were blocked using sand dumped by trucks and old cars and they created check points. Khamis brigade began arriving with tanks and armoured vehicles. The coastal road from Tripoli to Zawiya was shut, but was open from the other direction for use by Khamis brigade. From the 27th Bridge, 2 tanks were placed every 500m heading towards Zawiya. It would take 4 hours to get from Zawiya to Tripoli those days because of the checkpoints. The Khamis brigade surrounded Zawiya from the Western side. They began attempts to enter Zawiya from the coastal road and from Jamal Abdel Nasser St that was blocked with sand. The first attempt was at night and Gaddafi forces suffered heavy losses. Some surrendered and were released as those captured said they were forced to advance, otherwise they would be killed by snipers from behind them, which proved true. Gaddafi forces realised Zawiya was a tougher proposition than expected and they would not be able to take the city from one front. So Alkhweldi Al Hmedi brigade from Surman opened a new front from the Eastern side. Zawiya held hope Surman would rise against AlKhweldi Hmedi to protect their Eastern border. In the end Surman could not join due to clamp down by Gaddafi forces and Zawiya divided its forces between the Western and Eastern front. In an infamous incident, the Khamis brigade told forces from Da3m (Riot police) that Zawiya was not armed and made the riot police enter with only battons from the Eastern gate of Zawiya.

Zawiya freedom fighters realised the riot police were not armed, so via microphones they told theriot police to return or join them. The Riot police realised Zawiya was armed. Khamis Brigade began firing from behind, so the Zawiya freedom fighers had to retaliate. Around 40 riot police were killed. Some were treated and some escaped.

Much more at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/57368383/Untitled

[tabatha]

141. RRowleyTucson updates

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
#Gaddafi agents busy in #Netherlands transferring his assets to safeguard 160 #Tamoil Petrol Stations from being frozen. #Libya #feb17
#Misrata: Eastern front: 12 martyrs, 18 injured. Western front: 2 martyrs, 35 injured 5 of which are in critical condition. #Libya #feb17
Jacob Zuma of #SouthAfrica received $50 million from the #Gaddafi, during his recent election and beyond http://tiny.cc/jl0cv #Libya #feb17
#Misrata: Captured #Gaddafi forces said Abdallah Asenussi & Khamis Gaddafi had organized & ordered attack on Misrata today. #Libya #feb17

#Tripoli: Reports of #NATO strikes continuing on military locations in the outskirts of Tripoli right now #Libya #feb17
#Algeria Watch also accused the Algerian gov of having provided air transport planes that have carried #African mercenaries to #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: #AlHadba is rising again against #Gaddafi regime #Libya #17feb
#Zimbabwe & #Algeria sending troops to support #Gaddafi in #Libya war bit.ly/mqrWdd #feb17

#Tripoli big demonstrations in #Janzour & #Hadba areas of Tripoli now! #Libya #feb17
#Gaddafi forces are attacking #Almarabah & the Tunisia crossing border area West #Nalut w/ missiles & artillery. #Libya #feb17 #Nafusa
#NATO planes above #Nalut. 6pm local time. #Libya #feb17
Swiss take back Libya compensation money http://goo.gl/A2HRG #Libya #feb17

We are in a war, some Gaddafi figures in Benghazi were arrested to prevent sabotage&executions of activists. Please spare us the crap Tlgrph
#Turkey FM will attend the meeting of #Libya Contact Group in #AbuDhabi #UAE. #Turkey will host the Libya Group in Mid-July. #feb17
#Sabrata: Reports that city is raising again now. #Libya #feb17
#Gaddafi forces are using basic communication equipment in their cars as #NATO destroyed most of #Gaddafi's C&C centers. #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Around 20 #NATO rockets targeted #BabAlAzaziyah yesterday. #Libya #feb17

#Tripoli: #NATO further bombed #Yarmouk and 77 brigades, both completely destroyed. #Libya #feb18
#Tripoli: #NATO has also bombed #AlNasr Jungle as underneath it was a command center for the battalions. #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: #NATO has bombed a farm on Airport road & #Alnaqliyah & 3 tanks on same road. #Libya #feb17
#Misrata: Explosions can be heard on outskirts of city from #NATO attacking #Gaddafi trash. #Libya #feb17
#Senegal's President will visit #Benghazi on Thursday Thursday. #Libya #feb17

#Misrata: #Freedomfighters defeated #Gaddafi forces on all fronts, managed to capture large number #Gaddafi troops #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: #NATO now bombing #BabAlAzaziya again. #Libya #feb17
#AU leader, President Abdel Aziz & AU now against #Gaddafi, scared Free #Libya may rightfully spurn them & membership therein. #geb17
#Tripoli: Clashes now taking place between #Freedomfighters & #Gaddafi forces in #Janzur & #AlHadba. #Libya #feb17
#Russian presidential envoy, met with Ahmed Gaddaf Ad Dam in #Cairo today. #Libya #feb17

#Misrata: Heavy bombardment on #Gaddafi's convoys just outside Misrata. #NATO jets everywhere w/ rumors of Apaches #Libya #feb17
#China's changing tone on African investment aje.me/jAUIZu #Libya #feb17 @NTC_of_Libya
#China now kissing #NTC butt, more worthless talk of political solution/cease fire. China's concern is it's investments now & future #Libya
#Misrata: Confirmed: #Gaddafi forces have been pushed back to #Tawergha's eastern outskirts by Misrata freedom fighters. #Libya #feb17
#Misrata: #Gaddafi attack defeated. Many vehicles destroyed, many Gaddafi soldiers killed. 1000’s of troop reports exagerated #Libya #feb17

#Misrata: Reports now of #NATO jets bombing #Gaddafi forces. #Libya #feb17
#Gaddafi forces using 2 GRAD & 8 rocket launchers, 6 cannons plus anti-air-craft guns to attack East #Misrata #Libya #feb17
Video: press conference by #NATO Secretary General at Defence Ministers Meeting http://youtu.be/nIMOvGHiFtE #Libya #feb17
#Gaddafi's Head of internal Security for Western regions of #Libya, Sassi Gradah, has fled to join his family the #UK. #feb17
#Misrata: Advancing #Gaddafi forces using families taken hostage previously as human shields. #Libya #feb17

#Misrata: #NATO jets have arrived over Misrata. Happy Birthday Aka, your present is the destruction of your remaining forces. #Libya #feb17
Reports of large number of #NATO jets headed from #Italy into #Libya in last hour. #feb17
#Misrata: Huge attack on the city from 3 different directions right now. Heavy shelling paves way for #Gaddafi troop advance. #Libya #feb17
#AlQalaa is under attack, 20 grad missiles on average per day. #Libya #feb17
1000's of #Gaddafi troops reported to be advancing on #Misrata, heavy shelling kills 10 #Freedomfighters. #Libya #feb17

http://twitter.com/#!/RRowleyTucson

From comments, it may be that RRowley is Libyan American.
We normally get to just over 100 posts per week; we are already over 140 this week.

[Iterate]

142. Wikileaks cable 2009: Regime-Orchestrated attacks against Berbers in Yefren

Published in the Telegraph Wednesday 08 June 2011
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wikileaks-files/libya-wikileaks/8294907/REGIME-ORCHESTRATED-ATTACKS-AGAINST-BERBERS-IN-YEFREN.html

REGIME-ORCHESTRATED ATTACKS AGAINST BERBERS IN YEFREN
Ref ID: 09TRIPOLI22

Date: 1/13/2009 14:57

Origin: Embassy Tripoli

Classification: CONFIDENTIAL

Destination: 08TRIPOLI530|08TRIPOLI588

Header: VZCZCXRO5726OO RUEHTRODE RUEHTRO #0022/01 0131457ZNY CCCCC ZZHO R 131457Z JAN 09FM AMEMBASSY TRIPOLITO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4314INFO RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 0733RUEHAS/AMEMBASSY ALGIERS 0865RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 0808RUEHSW/AMEMBASSY BERN 0028RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 1376RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0669RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0982RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI 4837

Tags: PGOV,PHUM,PREL,PROP,LY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TRIPOLI 000022 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/MAG AND DRL/NESCA (SKWIRAM) E.O. 12958: DECL: 1/13/2019 TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PREL, PROP, LY SUBJECT: REGIME-ORCHESTRATED ATTACKS AGAINST BERBERS IN YEFREN REF: A) 08 TRIPOLI 588, B) 08 TRIPOLI 530 CLASSIFIED BY: Gene A. Cretz, Ambassador, U.S. Embassy - Tripoli, U.S. Dept of State. REASON: 1.4 (b), (d)

1.(C) Summary. On December 24, individuals from the Revolutionary Committees (RevComm) and Libya al-Ghad (Libya of Tomorrow) descended on the predominately Amazigh (Berber) town of Yefren, attacking the homes of Berber leaders. The attacks - parts of which were filmed and posted on YouTube and opposition web sites - included beatings of counterprotesters and property damage. While anti-Berber sentiment in Libya is not a new phenomenon, the attacks come after a year of generally positive signals from the regime about greater respect for Berber rights. Even more curious than the timing was the joint action by conservative RevComm members and individuals purporting to represent Libya al-Ghad, an ostensibly reformist group led by Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi, son of Muammar al-Qadhafi. End summary.

2.(SBU) On December 27, Berber opposition groups based in Morocco issued statements to London-based al-Sharq al-Awsat claiming that the predominantly Berber town of Yefren, some 150 kilometers southwest of Tripoli, had been "completely surrounded" by elements of the hard-line Revolutionary Committees and members of Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi's Libya al-Ghad organization on December 24. Press releases from self-described oppositionists cited extensive regime-orchestrated violence against Berbers, as well as a government shutdown of all communications and travel into and out of Yefren. On January 1, the first evidence of the attacks appeared on YouTube, featuring a man identified as a RevComm member leading a group of 40-50 protesters contained by about 20 national police officers in light riot gear. (Note: Two videos are available at youtube.com/watch?v=P_P0tV693Wk and youtube.com/watch?V=YKzsQnl1im4. End Note.) During pauses between chants by the crowd of "Brother Muammar , we are with you!", the speaker argued that Berbers are actually Arab and that Berber community leaders had sought to destroy Libya's national unity, a political "red line" that was not to be crossed. The video concluded with two protesters crossing the police line to kick the gate of a Berber leader's home. The Berber website tawalt.com reported that protestors called Berber leaders "treasonous traitors" and called for their deaths.

3.(C) xxxxxxxxxxxx (strictly protect)confirmed in a conversation with P/E Chief on January 7 that GOL elements had targeted Berbers in al-Shgarna, a suburb of Yefren. xxxxxxxxxxxx said that an elderly woman featured in slide shows about the incident posted on tawalt.com was his mother. Citing telephone and email exchanges with relatives, xxxxxxxxxxxx said seven buses and two trucks carrying individuals from the Revolutionary Committees and Libya al-Ghad arrived in Yefren on/about December 24.

4.(C) xxxxxxxxxxxx said Abdullah al-Hwajj, Chair of Libya al-Ghad's Human Rights Committee, led the group and directed much of the activity. (Note: In pictures of the incident posted on the website, al-Hwajj is the individual wearing a bright green hat. End note.) RevComm and al-Ghad members, joined by local police, initially targeted the homes of Berber leaders Salem Madi (a close relative of Madi's), Imhemmed al-Hamrani and Isa Sijouk. Other homes and businesses were subsequently targeted as well. Madi and Hamrani had both been arrested previously in connection with their roles as leaders of the Berber community, most recently after they attended a World Amazigh Congress in Meknes, Morocco October 31-November 2, 2008. Sijouk was exiled in the 1990's to Tunis, where he lived for 13 years, and had returned to Libya several years ago. RevComm and al-Ghad members broke windows at the three leaders' homes, spraypainted the walls with epithets - including "death to you and your families" - and attempted to set at least one of the residences alight.

5.(C) According to xxxxxxxxxxxx, RevComm and al-Ghad members threw stones at and beat al-Shgarna residents who gathered to protest the attacks xxxxxxxxxxxx. A number of businesses and other residences were damaged, including several that were burned. Police threatened to imprison anyone who attempted to interfere with the RevComm and al-Ghad members. RevComm and al-Ghad members chanted anti-Berber slogans ("death to the Berber dogs") throughout the incident.

6.(C) Noting that anti-Berber sentiment in Libya was "nothing new", xxxxxxxxxxxx said Berber leaders and residents of al-Shgarna were nonetheless surprised by the attack and unsure about what prompted the timing of it. Yefren has been the target of regime-orchestrated, anti-Berber violence before, most recently TRIPOLI 00000022 002 OF 002 in 1983, when xxxxxxxxxxxx family home was destroyed and a large group of xxxxxxxxxxxx were imprisoned, some for years. Describing the recent attack as "serious", he said there was "considerable fear" in al-Shgarna, Yefren and other towns in the Jebel Nafusa that the December incidents could signal a broader round of anti-Berber violence. Noting that the GOL and the Qadhafi Development Foundation (the latter is also headed by Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi) had sent positive signals between 2007 and mid-2008 about greater respect for Berber rights, he said Berber leaders were particularly troubled that Abdullah al-Hwajj, whom he described as "one of Saif's right hands", personally led the attacks. (Note: The GOL granted permission for the Amazigh World Congress to host a large gathering in Tripoli in August 2007; Prime Minister-equivalent al-Mahmoudi and Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi made high-profile visits to Berber communities in August and September 2007, respectively. End note.) The Morocco-based World Amazigh Congress is working to organize an emergency meeting, to be held in Geneva within the next two weeks, to review the incident and develop a public awareness campaign.

7.(C) Comment: While initial reports from xxxxxxxxxxxx raised doubts as to the veracity of the information, xxxxxxxxxxxx was able to provide detailed information that lends the news additional credibility. The unrest does not appear to have lasted much more than a day. xxxxxxxxxxxx around Yefren have been able to contact them by telephone without difficulty, and their relatives did not relay any news about the event, suggesting that it was relatively small and isolated. Emboffs passed through Yefren on January 10 as part of a scheduled trip and reported that there were no additional checkpoints on the highway or other obvious signs of recent disturbance. While there have been some positive developments since 2007 with respect to the GOL's interaction with and rhetoric about the Berber community, Post's request in March 2008 for Emboffs to visit the predominantly Berber town of Zuwara prompted a sharp warning not to interfere in internal Libyan affairs that some GOL officials believe could only have been authored by Muammar al-Qadhafi himself (ref B). That Saif al-Islam's Libya al-Ghad would join forces with RevComm members is an unexpected development. Saif has repeatedly irked hard-liners by calling publicly for political reform and a turn away from the heavy-handed tactics of the past. He is closely involved in day-to-day management of Libya al-Ghad; it is difficult to believe that Abdullah al-Hwajj would have led such an effort without at least tacit approval from Saif. His apparent tack towards the old guard may signal an effort to curry favor with his most stalwart opponents - possibly in connection with his reputed aspirations to succeed his father - by making common cause against an easily identifiable group that represents the political equivalent of low-hanging fruit. End comment. CRETZ

As with Misrata, Zawiya, and Benghazi, the targets of regime attacks against civilians has as much to do with past defiance as it does with the current revolution.

[tabatha]

143. Further accumulated updates

RRowleyTucson Robert Rowley
#Tripoli: #NATO once again hitting #Gaddafi, 2 eplosions heard in past couple of minutes. #Libya #feb17
No @NATO strikes on G forces in #AlGazaya even knowing their position. G forces start attacking #Nafusa cities when NATO planes leave #Libya
#Tripoli: Reports of more low flying #NATO jets overhead right now. #Libya #feb17
#Benghazi: Visiting #Spain FM says now Spain only recognizes #NTC as representative of #Libya #feb17

#Tawasil delivers 18 tons of vegetables from #Tunisia farms 2 ppl of #Nafusa mtns. 2 donate visit lytawasil.com http://goo.gl/nmbxl #Libya
#Misrata: 170 #Gaddafi vehicles and artillery pieces have been completely destroyed by #NATO today. #Libya #feb17
#GADDAFI CONCENTRATION CAMPS Map showing location of “OLD TOBACCO FACTORY” & the “SPORTS CITY” http://tl.gd/b01q6j #Tripoli #Libya #feb17
@NoahSinking @Shipguru Other EU countries aren't shipping to him nor allowing it, 3rd party or other
#MarshallIslands CARGO SHIP "KOZA" has recently departed #AlKhums #Libya #feb17

#Tripoli: Ships anchored outside port: #Liberia CARGO SHIP "ST.VALENTINA", #Panama CARGO SHIP "ADVENT" #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Ships now in port: #StVincentGrenadines CARGO SHIP "BLACKSTONE" #Gaddafi CARGO SHIP "JARIF" #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Ships now in port: #Turkey CARGO SHIPS "ILKE METE" & "ARON", #Malta CARGO SHIP "GASCOGNE" #Libya #feb17
#Tripoli: Reports that #Janzour & #AlHathba areas raising & large operations are taking place #Libya #feb17
#Freedomfighters attack #Gaddafi forces at the heights of #Safeet near #AlQalaa #Libya #feb17

live2Tripoli live2Tripoli
Ahhhh defections, defections defections and more defections..... hope this will be over soon god willing.
...but don't relax yet, keep your eyes and minds open for the hard part is yet to come. #Libya #feb17
We need to start preparing our minds for after #Muammar is gone, if we haven't already. Yes the the situation is clearing up...
It's near.......Can you feel it? So close, after all this time..... You could almost reach out and touch the end, but it's just not over yet
Oh and by the way, I don't even have a weapon. Except my camera. Not sure exactly how to waste it. #Libya

Gerhard Heinz
beside the long discuss with my special friend zukow
its now confirmed that sebha not longer on daffis side as i say last week.
about sirte
daffis attacks from today have only one reason ,to produce fear in sirte ,but i think he fail.
so tonight the aktivity will raise up in tripoli again but also on the coast in the west.

i think now ff realise for what red lines are.
32 brigade have left material now for only one attack
and hunting night is coming soon
their way back to tripoli is closed
time for them to give up .
i go to have a dinner before aktion over tripoli start and the door to tunesia will be closed

tara
slow down
nato know the situation very well
if you want to catch a rat ,let them come out of the hole,
troops from daffi now out of zlitan atack misrata
nato can protect civ. now.
daffi need a victory about sirte situation ,he will not get this viktory

[Iterate]

144. Sabha/Sebha reported to be liberated

Sabha
Last week there was this video of secondary explosions at the weapons bunkers at
Nato Attack on #Gaddafi's Weapon Depots North East #Sabha
von 10libyan am 28.05.2011
http://youtu.be/6dI7b9fCGsU

Sabha has figured into any number of nightmare scenarios from large reserves counterattacking from the south toward Misrata or the Nafusa, to the chemical weapons facilities once built there, to an escape route for Gaddafi to continue fighting from the Sahara. The destruction of the weapons bunker seems to have clarified the thinking of any remaining forces there and emboldened the resistance.

@freelibyanyouth: Protests took place in #Sabha yesterday in several areas. One reported dead. #Libya
19 minutes ago via web
@ChangeInLibya: Sabha: Acts of defiance all around the city yesterday. Freedom flags were lifted on top of schools & anti-G sentiment is spreading
@LibyaNewMedia: At least one person named Adel Ali Bashir known to be killed in Sabha when Gaddafi forces started firing on demonstrators.
@LibyaNewMedia: Persistent demonstrations in Sabha is remarkable as it has always been considered a Gaddafi stronghold.
dovenews Libyan™
Early today: Clashes between Gaddafi forces & FF in #Sabha today in Almansheya square. #Sabha is South of #Tripoli
@freedom4libya: Second largest city in South #Libya Brak is said to be liberated (peacefully). If confirmed real good news. Largest city is #Sebha.
@SayNoToGaddafi heard this too? RT@Fezzanfighter Libya Al Ahrar: Mass Demonstrations in #Sebha kicked Gaddafi forces out Sebha is Free!!!!

Earlier today there were reports of defections and fighting between Gaddafi forces:

LibyansWB Libyans W. Borders
BREAKING: defecting unit is firing @ "Massud Abdelhafeed" offices & HQ in Sabha. #Tripoli #Sebha #Libya #Feb17 their numbers is not know yet
vor 19 Stunden
BREAKING: from a verified source in sabha : defecting army units encircle sabha's general army center (pro gaddafi) and firing at it now
vor 19 Stunden

We can now say that 22 of the largest 25 cities have now reported major demonstrations, and likely one more city is free.

ETA:
LibyansWB Libyans W. Borders
Fighting is going on now #Sebha #Libya #Feb17
vor 3 Minuten

LibyansWB Libyans W. Borders
Defecting Units of True Libyan army in #Sebha are fighting against troops Loyal to #Sebha governor Massoud Abdulhafeed now. #Libya #Feb17
vor 3 Minuten

Massoud Abdelhafid is a prominent Libyan general in the regime of Muammar al-Gaddafi. He has held various positions of government since the 1969 coup d'etat of Muammar al-Gaddafi including Commander of Military Security,<1> Governor of Southern Libya<2> and Head of Security in Major Cities.<3> He is a key figure in Libya's relations with neighbouring Chad and Sudan.<4> Massoud Abdelhafid was a senior commander in the Libyan Army during the Libya-Chad Conflict.<5>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massoud_Abdelhafid

[pinboy3niner]

145. DAY 112: CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 3:30 AM THURSDAY, JUNE 9

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

[tabatha]

146. #Misrata #Libya update - 8 June 2011

On Thursday 9th June 2011, @LibyaAlHurraTV said:

#Misrata #Libya update - 8 June 2011
Shelling more intense

#Gadhafi's forces attempted to attack Misrata again today starting at around 5:00 AM local time. #Tawerga based brigades bombarded the #Sabha area near the Steel Factory complex using heavy artillery and Russian made Grad rockets. After the shelling, infantry forces armed with rocket launchers, anti aircraft and anti armor weapons, advanced east from the sea side. Misrata's democracy forces were able to repel the attackers. Today's shelling is the most violent and intense for quite some time. The fighting continued until late afternoon today, Wednesday. Misrata revolutionary forces were able to capture ammunition and mechanized vehicles and were able to chase Gadhafi's brigade personnel away from the area.

And at 8:00 AM this morning, Gadhafi's brigades started bombarded the #Dafnia area west of Misrata using heavy artillery and Russian made Grad missiles. Misrata's defenders were also able to repel advancement attempts by the Brigades' infantrymen. A third attack was from south of the city and started around Noon local time and was centered in an area called Jenan Alzaitoon, or Olive Gardens.

The city's defenders lost 13 martyrs and 43 were injured. On the other side more city residents are volunteering for training to join the city's defenders.

On the other hand, the number of volunteers in Misrata has increased in order to gain adequate military training to protect the people in Misrata and in long run to liberate Libya from this aggressive regime. There are more than 10,000 fighters capable of using weapons to protect the city and its inhabitants from this dictator.

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/b0444c



FF of #Yefren & #Qalaa during liberation of #BirAyyad at the south front
(one reads a lot about the fighting ... this is a little more real; I am sure they wish it was over)
http://youtu.be/CjOpWOe5mZ4

Yefren center after liberation from Gaddafi's battalions <2/2>
http://youtu.be/WVc1Q06rYbQ

CNN's cameraman mocks Gaddafi in Qalaa. FF in Suffeet
http://youtu.be/Z9K6vKQTL6U

Reuters: Deborah Lutterbeck reports the distraction of #Yefren by Gaddafi's forces 6/6/2011
http://youtu.be/ZDSM4PvlUpY

:loveya: :cry: :loveya: :cry: :loveya: :cry: :loveya: :cry:
VIDEO OF Maya Mohamed Nabbous
http://youtu.be/jKQ0vsvszfM

[pinboy3niner]

147. Libyan rebel group sells first oil to U.S.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Tesoro, a U.S. refiner, entered into a deal May 25 with the Transitional National Council

• Deal is for 1.2 million barrels of Libyan crude oil, the State Department says

• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in UAE for Libya Contact Group meeting

By Jamie Crawford, CNN National Security Producer
June 9, 2011 -- Updated 0044 GMT (0844 HKT)


Washington (CNN) -- The rebel government in control of the eastern part of Libya has made its first sale of oil from territory it controls, the State Department confirmed Wednesday.


Tesoro, a U.S. oil refiner, entered into a deal May 25 with the Transitional National Council based in Benghazi, Libya for 1.2 million barrels of Libyan crude oil, the State Department said in a written statement. The shipment was scheduled to arrive aboard the MT Equator, a Liberian-flagged tanker, at the Single Point Mooring in Hawaii on Wednesday. The dollar value of the deal is not known.

...


The sale was made possible following an April announcement by the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department that established a new licensing policy with Libya. That action was taken to ease barriers to certain oil related transactions with the TNC, in place because of wider U.S. sanctions on Libya.


The announcement came the same day Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in the United Arab Emirates for a meeting with the Libya Contact Group, a coalition of various countries and international organizations that seek to build support for the TNC while preparing for Libya's future after the presumed end of Moammar Gadhafi's regime. This is the third meeting of the group.

...


http://edition.cnn.com/2011/US/06/08/libya.rebels.oil/

[pinboy3niner]

148. John Kerry may scrap Libya resolution

Source: Politico

By MANU RAJU | 6/8/11 3:18 PM EDT Updated: 6/8/11 4:09 PM EDT


Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) may scrap a resolution backing President Barack Obama’s military strategy in Libya, the latest sign of the troubles facing the White House in winning congressional approval for the two-month-old NATO-led bombing campaign.


Kerry, who drafted a resolution with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and other senior senators backing the military campaign, told reporters he may drop plans to push for the plan altogether.


“I don’t know about a resolution on Libya,” Kerry told reporters Wednesday in the Capitol. “I don’t know if it’s necessary.”


Asked why, Kerry said: “Because a lot of colleagues feel that it’s not necessary.”


Both parties are divided on how much to support the White House. Some senators are pushing for a resolution that authorizes force in the nation, others are looking to impose new reporting requirements on the administration, still others want to punt on the issue altogether since the Senate already backed a no-fly-zone in Libya earlier this spring.

...


http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0611/56537.html

And from WaPo politics blog:

Senators add voices to House rebuke of Obama over Libya campaign

By David A. Fahrenthold and Paul Kane
Updated 9:35 p.m.

President Obama’s hopes that the Senate would vote to support the military campaign in Libya seemed to be fading Wednesday. Instead, the same kind of discontent that led the House to rebuke Obama over Libya last week seems to be spreading to Congress’ other chamber.


Two senators on Wednesday introduced a resolution, which largely mirrors the one passed Friday in the House, stating that Obama “has failed to provide Congress with a compelling rationale” for the conflict. Legislators from both parties have criticized Obama for not obtaining congressional authorization before sending U.S. troops to join the international force against Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi.


“This is unacceptable. This is an unacceptable way to treat a coequal branch of the United States government,” said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who co-sponsored the resolution along with Sen. James Webb (D-Va.).


The proposal includes a “sense of Congress” that the president should formally request authorization for the conflict. Also, like the House resolution, it would give Obama 14 days to provide Congress with detailed answers about why the U.S. entered the conflict.

...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/2chambers/post/senators-add-voices-to-house-rebuke-of-obama-over-libya-campaign/2011/06/08/AGsAqOMH_blog.html

[Cerridwen]

149. Aaaaaaand, the AU flips...again.

Africa stance on Libya turns with call for Kadhafi to quit

NAIROBI (AFP) – An African Union call for Moamer Kadhafi to step down exposes cracks in the continent's public stance towards the Libyan strongman who has long championed its various causes, analysts say.

The leader of the AU's heads of state mediation team on Libya, Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, said this week Kadhafi's departure had become necessary as "he can longer lead Libya".

It was the first time a head of state on the AU panel, which has made several trips to Libya to try to negotiate a settlement to the conflict, has made such a direct public reference to the departure of the Libyan leader.

"Clearly more and more African heads of state feel they can openly express their dislike of Kadhafi," said Paul-Simon Handy, director of studies at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.

<snip to more link>

It's from yahoo so take for whatever that is worth.

I'm busy with sick dog so kinda on again off again and not a lot of investigate time.

[joshcryer]

153. Nice! This would actually be a first, for the AU to officially tell Gaddafi to step down.

Whoever is behind the scenes on that one is doing a heroic job, because the AU is one corrupt organization and it is shocking that they would actually say this; what it signals to me is that Gaddafi truly doesn't have much longer. Just as the US sided with the Egyptians toward the end, the AU is siding with the rebels toward the end.

[Cerridwen]

154. True. Please don't hate me for this one...

but I think their checks got cut off from gaddafi and that has a lot to do with this decision.

If they're smart, the next thing they do is go make nice with the rebel forces and leadership.

Yes, I am that much of a cynic.

I am so rooting for the Libyan people. I know they know what to watch out for and what can happen. And I am so sure they can get co-opted and corrupted by "we, the imperialistic forces of the west, et. al" that I watch this with hope and fear and a whole lot of other emotions at the same time. *sigh*

[tabatha]

155. I think the US sided with the Egyptians

all along but not publicly - there was Israel that supported Mubarak and they also probably did not want to appear to be behind the revolution, even though it was completely grassroot (e.g. people claiming that the CIA is behind Libya because NATO is involved.) Gates did keep the Egyptian army from doing what is being done in Syria.

The AU on the other hand will always look to which side the bread is buttered.

[pinboy3niner]

151. Obama Hints U.S. Might Tap Petroleum Reserves To Combat Libya Oil Disruption

Source: HuffPo

First Posted: 06/ 8/11 04:44 PM ET Updated: 06/ 8/11 08:15 PM ET


WASHINGTON -- President Obama on Wednesday appeared to raise the possibility that the administration would release oil from the nation’s strategic petroleum reserve to provide relief to Americans grappling with high gas prices.


Speaking at a gathering of personal finance writers at the White House, Obama suggested the conflict in Libya has removed large enough flows of oil from the global supply to perhaps justify a release of oil from the nation’s emergency stockpile to address soaring prices.


“My general view has been that the strategic petroleum reserve is to be used when you don’t have just short term fluctuations in the market, but where you have a disruption,” Obama said. “Libya has taken 125 million barrels off the market. We’re examining broadly what that means in terms of the oil market.”

...


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/08/libya-oil-obama-disruption-petroleum-gas_n_873319.html

[pinboy3niner]

152. Women in the Crossfire (Rape as a military weapon)

The wars in Libya and the Congo highlight the vexing problem of rape as a military weapon

by
Liesl Gerntholtz
Published in:
The Mark.
June 8, 2011


Iman Obeidi became famous in March when she burst into the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli and accused Libyan forces of raping her. She was quickly taken by authorities, but eventually found her way to Qatar to seek refugee status in the West. Last week, Qatari authorities inexplicably sent her back to Libya. She has since begun the process of moving to the U.S., where she will apply for refugee status. Her story has highlighted a growing problem - the use of rape as a tool in war zones. (Note: This interview took place before news broke that Obeidi is headed to the U.S.)

...


THE MARK: There have been so many of these reports coming out of Libya and they've all been saying that rape has been used intentionally as a tool of war. Why would anyone use rape as a tool of war? What does this achieve?

GERNTHOLTZ: It's really one of the most effective ways of victimizing and terrorizing communities. It's not just the rape of women, but very frequently when it is used as a tool of war the rapes are perpetrated in public so you shame both the woman, and you emasculate and shame her husband and her father and the male members of her family. And particularly in a place like Libya where family honour is very important, you really undermine these incredibly important values for these communities. If you think about what happened in the (Democratic Republic of Congo) and in Bosnia, these are not rapes that are happening behind closed doors; they are rapes that are very much about subjugation and dominance of the whole community, not just of the women and girls who have been raped. So it's a really effective way of damaging communities.


THE MARK: From Moammar Gadhafi's standpoint, does he really think that he can regain his authority by ordering his mercenaries to do this?

GERNTHOLTZ: I can't really comment on that, but what does strike me is that one of his sons ... said - in the early stages, when there was still a possibility that he was going to leave - that we will fight house by house, drop of blood by drop of blood, etc. So clearly for him this is not a heart-and-mind struggle. For Gadhafi this is a struggle for power and to win, and if he has to kill his own population, then he has shown himself completely willing to do so.

...


http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/06/08/women-crossfire

[tabatha]

156. Gates Calls Others to Join Libya Fight

By STEPHEN FIDLER and JULIAN BARNES

BRUSSELS—In a "very blunt" speech Wednesday, outgoing U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates named five European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that he said should boost their contributions to the alliance's air mission over Libya.

At a closed-door meeting of defense ministers here, he called on Germany and Poland to start participating in the mission, to which neither has yet made a direct contribution, according to several Nato officials and diplomats. Mr. Gates, who steps down on June 30, also cited Spain, the Netherlands and Turkey as allies that could do more.

...

France and Britain carry out the most ground strike missions. But U.S. officials singled out Denmark and Norway for "punching above their weight." Norway has indicated its forces are at their limit and will not be able to continue to contribute at the same rate. Denmark plans to maintain its current rate. Another U.S. official said the debate in the NATO meeting was more about burden sharing than the sustainability of the mission. Under NATO rules, an ally that participates in a mission pays for its own contribution.

Although the U.S. has stepped back from ground strikes, it still carries out a majority of air sorties in the background, playing a major role in refueling, surveillance, and air-defense suppression.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304778304576373793280428126.html

[joshcryer]

157. Week 16 part 2 here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1261092