Libyan Revolution Day 48 (rebels want more NATO influence, Obeidy interviewed by AC360)

[joshcryer]

Links to sites with updates: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-april-6">AJE Live Blog April 6 (today) 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://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://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

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=439x812269#812995">Day 47 here.

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

Children climb on a tank in Benghazi

Photograph: EPA

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/04/libya.rape.case/index.html?hpt=T1">Alleged rape victim in Libya: 'My life is in danger'
(CNN) -- Eman al-Obeidy, the woman who burst into a Tripoli hotel to tell journalists she was beaten and raped by forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi last month, is no longer in custody but says she still fears for her life.

In two telephone interviews with CNN's "AC360," al-Obeidy spoke about her alleged abuse. At times in tears, at other times defiant, she recalled men pouring alcohol into her eyes and repeatedly using rifles to sodomize her. Al-Obeidy said has since been stopped trying to leave Libya and that she has nightmares.

"My life is in danger, and I call on all human rights organization ... to expose the truth and to let me leave now. I am being held hostage here," she said. "They have threatened me with death and told me I will never leave prison again, if I go to the journalists or tell them anything about what's happening in Tripoli."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x570188"> Turborama's post on the AC360 video, please go there and give it a rec!

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWoWtCC019s
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewY7nlMOYOw
Post interview discussion: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsnhcirzvoE
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1104/04/acd.01.html">Full transcript for those on low speed connections.

All thanks to Turborama for covering this!

http://arabnews.com/middleeast/article345625.ece">Qaddafi planned to crush protests by killing civilians, says ICC
BENGHAZI: The International Criminal Court has evidence Muammar Qaddafi’s government planned to put down protests by killing civilians before the uprising in Libya broke out, the ICC’s prosecutor said on Tuesday.

Protests against the government that began on Feb. 15 swiftly descended into civil war after Qaddafi’s forces opened fire on demonstrators. He then put down uprisings in Libya’s west, leaving the east and the city of Misrata in rebel hands.

Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo is to report back to the UN on May 4, and is then expected to request arrest warrants.

“We have evidence that after the Tunisia and Egypt conflicts in January, people in the regime were planning how to control demonstrations inside Libya,” Moreno-Ocampo said. “They were hiding that from people outside and they were planning how to manage the crowds ... the evidence we have is that the shooting of civilians was a pre-determined plan.” “The planning at the beginning was to use tear gas and (if that failed to work) ..., shooting,” he added.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0406/1224294012231.html">Libyan rebels criticise Nato, saying it is too slow to act
BENGHAZI – LIBYAN REBELS said yesterday that Nato was too slow to act and they would take the issue up with the UN Security Council unless the alliance “did its job properly”.

“Either Nato does its work properly or I will ask the national council to raise the matter with the security council,” said Abdel Fattah Younes, head of the rebel forces, speaking at a news conference in Benghazi in the rebel-held east.

He said Nato’s inaction was allowing forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gadafy to advance and letting them kill the people of the rebel-held city of Misurata “every day”.

“Nato is moving very slowly, allowing Gadafy forces to advance,” he said. “Nato has become our problem,” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/25/world/middleeast/map-of-how-the-protests-unfolded-in-libya.html">Click here for updated map

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=hwWwOeZqz6M

Sky News went with Gaddafi minders to find a "civilian town bombed" only they were never shown any such thing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O5KJavfiQo

TNC presser talking about various details of the revolution (thanks to Waiting for Everyone): http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=730234&mesg_id=731532

Topic on the women of the revolution, dispels myths that they are treated poorly: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x594751

Videos to bring the Libyan Revolution into context:

The Battle of Benghazi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0vChMDuNd0

BBC Panorama on Libya Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyaPnMnpCAA

BBC Panorama on Libya Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMzwQvcx62s

Tea of Freedom Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD5tu5bJWKc

Latest indiscriminate shelling in Misurata: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wop3C4zrPXI

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x677397">Text of the resolution.

How will a no fly zone work? AJE reports: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWEwehTtK2k

Canada: http://winnipeg.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110317/cf-libya-canada/20110317/?hub=WinnipegHome">Canada to send six CF-18s for Libya 'no-fly' mission Norway: http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFOSN00509220110318">Norway to join military intervention in Libya Belgium: http://www.lesoir.be/actualite/monde/2011-03-18/la-belgique-prete-a-une-operation-militaire-en-libye-828970.php">Belgium ready for a military operation in Libya Qatar and the UAE: http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/776/?SID=e80884adc09a37d26904578a9b5978cb">Run-up for Western world’s next military commitment ... with unusual support Denmark: http://www.cphpost.dk/news/international/89-international/51229-denmark-ready-for-action-against-gaddafi.html">Denmark ready for action against Gaddafi France: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/africa/19libya.html?src=twrhp">Following U.N. Vote, France Vows Libya Action ‘Soon’ Italy: http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFLDE72G2HE20110317">Italy to make bases available for Libya no-fly zone-source United Kingdom: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12770467">Libya: UK forces prepare after UN no-fly zone vote United States: http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/nations-draw-up-plans-for-no-fly-zone-over-libya-1.2765122">Nations draw up plans for no-fly zone over Libya Jordan: http://www.smh.com.au/world/military-strikes-on-libya-within-hours-20110318-1bzii.html?from=smh_sb">Military strikes on Libya 'within hours' Spain: http://english.cri.cn/6966/2011/03/19/2801s627320.htm">Spain Expected to Join NATO No-fly Zone Enforcement over Libya

"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://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.

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://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2011/03/2011328194855872276.html">Libyan Karzai? Chalabi? Forget it
Fortunately, the Council wasn't made-in-the-USA or manufactured by another foreign power. Rather it came into existence, a month ago, at Libyans' own initiative, soon after the winds of revolutionary change blew Libya's way, and after its people rose to the occasion with pride and courage.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/31/getting_libyas_rebels_wrong">Getting Libya's Rebels Wrong
Don't buy Qaddafi's line: The rebels aren't al Qaeda.

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/04/04/110404taco_talk_anderson#ixzz1HvS7iW22">Who Are the Rebels?
During weeks of reporting in Benghazi and along the chaotic, shifting front line, I’ve spent a great deal of time with these volunteers. The hard core of the fighters has been the shabab—the young people whose protests in mid-February sparked the uprising. They range from street toughs to university students (many in computer science, engineering, or medicine), and have been joined by unemployed hipsters and middle-aged mechanics, merchants, and storekeepers. There is a contingent of workers for foreign companies: oil and maritime engineers, construction supervisors, translators. There are former soldiers, their gunstocks painted red, green, and black—the suddenly ubiquitous colors of the pre-Qaddafi Libyan flag.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/29/vision-democratic-libya-interim-national-council">A vision of a democratic Libya
The interim national council, formed by opposition groups in Libya, has said it will hold free and fair elections and draft a national constitution. Here is its eight-point plan in full.

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.

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

Mo's last report, a fallen hero trying to spread the word to the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecu_iWLn-rg

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. Current time in Libya, 2:51am Wednesday, April 6

[tabatha]

2. Have to repeat this graphic here.

(Hope you had a good rest.)

[joshcryer]

7. Thanks, I did!

Work was hell today, though. At least the weather was nice.

[joshcryer]

3. Please follow Jenkins' Ear for news on the Ivory Coast, which has gone mostly ignored.

http://jenkinsear.com/

[pinboy3niner]

4. K&R

:hi:

[joshcryer]

5. What were you smoking today pinboy3niner?!

Slow down! Seems like you got your computer problems fixed with how many updates you did!

[pinboy3niner]

16. It was over a long period of time, Josh...

I think I did something like 57 posts in about 21 hours. You've just done 9 within your first half hour. :rofl:


:hug:

[joshcryer]

6. Libyan rebels sell first oil shipment

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/05/libya-rebels-sell-first-oil">Libyan rebels sell first oil shipment
Libyan rebels have received a crucial financial boost, selling an estimated $125m (£77m) worth of oil to a Swiss trading company – the first export of Libyan oil in nearly three weeks.

The 1m-barrel consignment is due to be loaded on to a tanker near the key eastern oil port of Tobruk on Wednesday. It will provide essential funds to bolster the political credibility of the revolutionary council, allowing it to pay wages to the large numbers of people who had relied on government salaries, as well as funding imports of food and, possibly, weapons. The sale will also help the revolutionary leadership project itself as a viable alternative to the regime in Tripoli.

A revolutionary council spokeswoman, Iman Bughaigis, declined to comment on the oil shipment, saying it was a security matter.

But the rebel leadership says Qatar has agreed to market oil from fields in the east of Libya which are no longer under Muammar Gaddafi's control.

[defendandprotect]

18. LIBYA HURRA -- !!

[joshcryer]

8. Nato lacking strike aircraft for Libya campaign (re: US withdrawal)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/05/nato-lacking-strike-aircraft-libya">Nato lacking strike aircraft for Libya campaign
Nato is running short of attack aircraft for its bombing campaign against Muammar Gaddafi only days after taking command of the Libyan mission from a coalition led by the US, France and Britain.

David Cameron has pledged four more British Tornado jets on top of eight already being used for the air strikes. But pressure is growing for other European countries, especially France, to offer more after the Americans withdrew their attack aircraft from the campaign on Monday.

"We will need more strike capability," a Nato official said.

While I want the revolutionaries to succeed, I want the United States to fulfill its promise to withdraw as it has done. Sorry, revolutionaries, it's your job now.

[tabatha]

10. Agreed.

And they seem to be doing heaps better under the new military leader.

But, I think they want to use their own planes and get very aggressive. They are mad as hell, and don't want to take it anymore, and if something is not under their control, they are frustrated.

There's a problem though --- that means Gaddafi could use planes, too.

[defendandprotect]

22. hmmm... look at NATO's response re how Gaddafi is moving his troops ...

and I think, in fact, the rebels pointed that out days ago --

Wouldn't they have established a way to tell the rebels from G-forces?

Also would think would be best to keep the skies clear of everything but those

enforcing a NFZ -- does G even have any planes left?

And what of Chad -- are they still supplying G with weapons?

And wouldn't that be a line to knock out?


The picture of Gates face testifying re this mission sticks in my mind --

and doubt he is the only rw force working against this mission --

Needless to say, for the right wingers, it would be undesirable to have these fights

for freedom and democracy succeed.

These uprisings are sending a message all over the world -- to the poor and wealthy, alike.

What UN and NATO do here will either look like a humanitarian effort -- or it will look

like a mission intended to fail for imperialistic goals.

One of the clear messages is that Superpowers are not only a threat to their neighbors,

they are a threat to their own citizens.

And that TORTURE is the way that dictatorships are established.


Perhaps these messages are really why so many here at DU prefer to distance themselves

emotionally from Libya?

[defendandprotect]

19. OK -- so that's at least one reason that NATO may be less effective ...

[defendandprotect]

23. hmmm... repeat

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=820843&mesg_id=821547

[pinboy3niner]

24. Libya air ops: "The U.S. retains the possibility of launching a unilateral mission if necessary"

Source: Air Force Times

U.S. ready to resume Libya strikes if needed


By Scott Fontaine - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Apr 5, 2011 18:28:44 EDT


NATO has command of the no-fly zone over Libya, but an array of American airframes fly daily and the U.S. retains the possibility of launching a unilateral mission if necessary, the commander of U.S. Africa Command said Tuesday.

Army Gen. Carter Ham told members of the House Armed Services Committee that American troops have moved into a support role — but some scenarios might the require U.S. to take the operational lead. The alliance took over enforcement of the U.N.-backed operation March 24.

“There is always the potential for some U.S. unilateral military missions,” he said. “One could think of, for example, personnel recovery of a downed pilot or something like that. If that were to occur, that would fall to U.S. Africa Command to execute those responsibilities.”

http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2011/04/military-libya-africom-ready-to-launch-strikes-040511w/

Especially interesting that he's talking about more than the U.S. being called upon by NATO to help out. He's talking about UNILATERAL U.S. action without any need for a NATO request.

[joshcryer]

9. Libya gives spies a chance to shine

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/05/libya-spies-british-intelligence-officers">Libya gives spies a chance to shine
While David Cameron praises British pilots and enthusiastically announces an increase in the number of RAF Tornado aircraft deployed against Libya, British intelligence officers are operating rather more discreetly on the ground.

Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6, is in the thick of it and the Libyan conflict should be right up its street. The Libyan desert may have been the birthplace of the SAS during the second world war when MI6's main playground was the deserts of Arabia further east. But in recent years their officers have got to know the deserts of north Africa, and of Libya in particular.

Their role should be key now, as the coalition's military operation, which the US says it is abandoning, appears to have run its course.

While Cameron is gung-ho for the fight, defence chiefs and commanders, in Washington as well as London, are increasingly concerned about a stalemate. It is time for intelligence agencies to prove their worth.

[tabatha]

11. MSNBC live

http://www.justin.tv/rockinroosters21#/w/1047492960/4

seems to have changed

[pinboy3niner]

12. CNN: There is no longer a 'battle for Brega'--the next battle may be Ajdabiyah

That's what Ben Wedeman said in his latest live report from Ajdabiyah.

He said opposition fighters have been pushed back 25 miles east of Brega. Earlier speculation that Gaddafi forces supply lines had been disrupted by airstrikes was wrong...they had plenty of ammunition and they fired their artillery with deadly accuracy along the highway leading to Ajdabiyah.

The fear now is that Ajdabiyah will come under attack next. And, Wedeman reminded viewers, the last time Gaddafi forces held Ajdabiyah many people disappeared...

[joshcryer]

14. I suspect Gaddafi is throwing everything he has at the front lines.

He knows that if they don't shore it up quick then they will not be able to outlast the revolutionaries. My opinion of course.

[tabatha]

15. I am worried.

This is make or break for the rebels. If they don't hold this, I think it is going to get worse, not better.

No defections in the world will matter - Gaddafi has other countries in the world that will support him and buy his gold and oil.

[joshcryer]

13. UK paves way for flight of Libyan defectors

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/04/libyan-defectors-william-hague">UK paves way for flight of Libyan defectors
Britain will lift its ban on members of the Libyan regime entering the UK if they renounce their loyalty to Muammar Gaddafi, the foreign secretary, William Hague, told MPs as western governments continued to try to engineer a political solution to the deadlocked conflict.

The announcement came ahead of news that Scottish authorities investigating the Lockerbie bombing are expected to question Moussa Koussa, Libya's foreign minister and Gaddafi confidant who defected to Britain last week.

After making a formal request to speak with him, Scottish police and prosecutors met Foreign Office officials yesterday and are now expected to gain access to Koussa in the coming days.

[catchnrelease]

17. K&R

[Turborama]

20. Anderson Cooper just said he's going to connect Eman with her family during the upcoming show

IMO AC360 is vital viewing for anyone who's following what's going on in Libya.

Videos and transcript will be online not long after, too.

[pinboy3niner]

21. Great idea!

Looks like he'll bypass the lack of connections between eastern and western Libya simply by making it a conference call.

Thanks for the heads-up (though I've been watching AC360 religiously since he began doing excellent coverage of Libya)! :fistbump:

[defendandprotect]

27. Watching -- heartbreaking and frustrating --

Hard to believe that Gaddafi won't find some way to kill this woman --

The unbelievable belief by the mother in Allah reminds me of old Catholic ways --

Evidently every time she goes out she is harassed and accosted by G thugs --

I was watching the scene at the hotel when the government people take her away --

one man tries to protect her. How many people in the hotel were government?

Every time someone tried to react, more government people seemed to pop up?

Looks like G takes few chances that anything anywhere could be happening which would

effect him negatively!


Doesn't sound like anyone who might really be able to help Eman has been able to contact

her so far -- ???? At least to hide her and protect her in Tripoli and/or move her out?

[pinboy3niner]

34. CNN's story and video on this AC360 segment:

Alleged rape victim in Libya tells mother of ordeal, threat
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/05/libya.rape.case/

[Turborama]

73. Thanks, man. I tried going to AC360's site to get the transcript and came across this...

Will try again in a bit.

Who the hell is Matt?

[joshcryer]

25. Photos Found in Libya Show Abuses Under Qaddafi

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/06/world/africa/06libya.html?_r=1">Photos Found in Libya Show Abuses Under Qaddafi
ZAWIYAH, Libya — In the second-floor office of a burned-out police station here, the photographs strewn across the floor spun out the stories of the unlucky prisoners who fell into the custody of the brutal government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

Some depicted corpses bearing the marks of torture. One showed scars down the back of a man dressed only in his underwear, another a naked man face down under a sheet with his hands bound. The faces of the dead bore expressions of horror. Other pictures showed puddles of blood, a table of jars, bottles and powders and, in one, a long saw.

In a labyrinthine basement, workers were clearing out burned books and files. One room contained a two-liter bottle of gin. Gesturing into another room that was kept dark, a worker mimicked a gun with his hands and murmured “Qaddafi,” suggesting it was an execution chamber.

Journalists discovered the photographs and records on an official trip to this devastated city, where Qaddafi forces battled rebels for nearly a week to retake control. They were the latest reminder of the long record of arbitrary violence against civilians that now overshadows the government’s efforts to broker an end to the international airstrikes and domestic rebellion threatening Colonel Qaddafi’s four decades in power.

GD discussion by The Straight Story: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x821480

[pinboy3niner]

26. The NYT's David Kirkpatrick just mentioned this on AC360

It will be in the paper tomorrow.

[defendandprotect]

29. Thanks --

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=821480&mesg_id=821905

and he's taken up "NATO" under scrutiny --

but couldn't hear all of it -- did anyone say anything really enlightening?

[pinboy3niner]

30. Gaddafi forces accused of torture--Al Jazeera

Libyan anti-government soldiers are reportedly being tortured and executed in an underground prison in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, according to one prisoner who since escaped.

Al Jazeera's Sue Turton reports that there are more and more stories emerging across the country of abuse and suffering at the hands of the Gadaffi forces.

Watch at AJE...
4:26am:
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-april-6


...OR on YouTube:

Gaddafi forces accused of torture (2:46)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3KvoByWyO8&feature=player_embedded

[Turborama]

37. Thanks for the links, as always

I miseed that one and will watch it now.

How many hours have you been up so far for this session?

:hi:

[pinboy3niner]

41. I could tell you...

...but then I'd have to...well, you know... :evilgrin:

I plan to sleep well--and long--tonight. You've been running on fumes, too--you ought to follow my example. :)

[Turborama]

36. It's in LBN, too

Here: nhttp://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4802422

Hope you had a good rest...

:hi:

[tabatha]

28. WPIX-TV News Exclusive: Qaddafi Meets Former U.S. Rep. Weldon, Resolution to Be Discussed

By Larry Mendte

TRIPOLI, Libya, April 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- (WPIX) -- WPIX Diplomatic efforts to end the bloody stalemate in Libya have taken a surprise turn with the involvement of former U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon, who led delegations to the country in 2004.

Weldon, a 10-term congressman from Pennsylvania who served as vice-chair of the House Armed Services Committee, was invited to Tripoli by Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in the hopes he can broker a deal with international leaders, including the Obama administration. WPIX-TV's Larry Mendte and photographer John Frasse accompanied Weldon on the trip.

Weldon arrived with a proposal of simultaneous actions he hopes will lead to stabilization in Libya. They include a ceasefire agreement, Qaddafi stepping aside, the formation of an interim government led by both sides, and monitored elections.

The meetings with Weldon come a day after Qaddafi dispatched an envoy to meet with European leaders in the hopes of finding a diplomatic solution to the crisis, a civil war that has divided Libya into a rebel-held east and a western region controlled by Qaddafi loyalists. The U.N. authorized a no-fly zone and airstrikes on Qaddafi's forces as they were about to pounce on the rebel stronghold of Benghazi last month.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wpix-tv-news-exclusive-qaddafi-meets-former-us-rep-weldon-resolution-to-be-discussed-119295159.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[tabatha]

31. Libya: Women, Girls Locked Up Indefinitely Without Charge

The Libyan government is arbitrarily detaining women and girls indefinitely in “social rehabilitation” facilities, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Officially portrayed as protective homes for women and girls “vulnerable to engaging in moral misconduct,” these facilities are de facto prisons.

The 40-page report, “A Threat to Society? Arbitrary Detention of Women and Girls for ‘Social Rehabilitation,’” documents numerous and serious human rights abuses that women and girls suffer in these facilities. These include violations of their rights to liberty, freedom of movement, personal dignity, privacy and due process.

Libyan authorities are holding many women and girls in these facilities who have committed no crime, or who have completed a sentence. Some are there for no reason other than that they were raped, and are now ostracized for staining their families’ “honor.” Officials transferred the majority of these women and girls to these facilities against their will, while those who came voluntarily did so because no genuine shelters for victims of violence exist in Libya.

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2006/02/26/libya-women-girls-locked-indefinitely-without-charge

[pinboy3niner]

33. Quite a contrast with how Tunisians are aiding and supporting rape victims from Libya:

A Safe Place After Horror in Libya
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=812269&mesg_id=815728

[tabatha]

40. Is it possible when doing Libya times, to also state GMT time.

Here is a cool headline summary for Libya, all times are GMT
http://af.reuters.com/news/country/?type=libyaNews

Also one for Ivory Coast
http://af.reuters.com/news/country/?type=ivoryCoastNews

and the headline on the main page:
Gbagbo negotiating exit from Ivory Coast
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE73400M20110405

[pinboy3niner]

43. I used to add U.S. Eastern and Pacific Time equivalents...

...but that became too much of a chore to do the conversions and take the extra time to type them into every post.

Regular followers of these threads may be acquainted with the time standards used by our "usual suspect" sources. The UK media generally use GMT (which I believe is the same as the Western European standard). Al Jazeera uses local Libya time on its Libya stories and blog posts. Some sources, like CNN, may use different standards for their U.S. and International versions (though CNN usually specifies the time standard used on every story).

In most cases, it's the date and not the time that is important. For blog sources, the timestamp is included as a reference for finding the original source content easily.

Where the time is important, I try to show a U.S. equivalent. If I screw up and omit it, the reader can always follow the link to the source to determine which standard is used.

I also periodically make 'CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA' posts, which include conversion information for GMT, U.S. Eastern Time and U.S. Pacific Time.

I really do try to be helpful with time information. I hope I haven't made it sound complicated, because it really isn't--I swear! :)

[tabatha]

44. I should not be so lazy and just do it for myself. :-)

[defendandprotect]

110. Reminiscent of the Irish "Mary Magdalene" Asylums for girls --

they had branded as "wayward" and "loose" --

Funny how these ideas keep popping up in patriarchal societies!

[tabatha]

32. Spotted: NK Arms in Libya

By Evan Ramstad

North Korea makes worldwide headlines when it talks about its nuclear-weapons program or tests an atomic explosive. But one of the effects of that attention is that it tends to overshadow the North’s bread-and-butter business in conventional weapons.

Some analysts estimate North Korea’s trade in conventional weapons brings it several hundred million dollars a year, a sizable portion of an economy that generates just $5 billion to $10 billion a year in output.

A reminder of that business came in a report earlier this week by South Korean broadcaster SBS, which said that North Korean weapons were discovered in Libya by rebels who took over positions held by the forces of strongman Moammar Gadhafi.

The report showed images of rockets, anti-aircraft guns and other weapons, some of which were unpacked from crates that were labeled “bulldozer parts.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/korearealtime/2011/03/30/spotted-nk-arms-in-libya/

[Turborama]

35. Libya planned killing civilians before the latest upheaval started - International Criminal Court

Not sure if this has been posted in a GD thread before, but I just posted it in LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4802441

[pinboy3niner]

38. I put it in the last thread, but it deserves more attention

Especially considering one argument that is made--that Gaddafi only reacted to violent protesters (!).

Here's what I posted (and someone also posted at least one story from a different source in that thread):

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=812269&mesg_id=814774

[Turborama]

48. Doh!!!

It's also in the OP of this thread! That'll teach me to start posting before I've had my 1st coffee!! :rofl:

[pinboy3niner]

52. I hear you on the coffee, man

When I was younger, I drank it all day long. My friends used to say my two major food groups were coffee and cigarettes, lol! (But for me it was less funny, as coffee and cigarettes were strongly associated with PTSD.).

I'd gotten down to 2 cups in the morning, but--like you, I imagine--coffee seems to be a constant crutch in these intense times.

It doesn't bother me at all when someone posts something that's already been put up. At least in your case, with your sense of what's important, I know it will always be something that's WORTH posting more than once.

Hang in there, Turbo. Be sure to get some sleep. I think we're gonna need you in the days ahead...


:hug:

[joshcryer]

51. Hehe!

Just realized others found out it was in the OP. Yeah I read the days events before posting an OP. All thanks to ya'll!

[tabatha]

39. Well-connected Washington firm aids Libyan rebels

By Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON, April 5 (Reuters) - The Harbour Group, a small but well-connected Washington public relations firm, is helping Libya's most prominent rebel organization to raise its profile among journalists and politicians in the U.S. capital.

Richard Mintz, a Harbour Group principal, said his company was not getting paid for its work for the Washington office of Libya's transitional national council that is headed by Ali Aujali, who resigned in February as Tripoli's ambassador to United States.

"We are volunteering our time," Mintz told Reuters.

The Harbour Group, whose three principals are veterans of Democratic and Republican politics, arranged a well-attended talk by Aujali on Monday at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think-tank close to President Barack Obama.


http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFN0513976020110405?sp=true

(Is the think tank connection an exaggeration.)

[Turborama]

42. OT but may be of interest to posters/readers of these threads: France's ruling party discusses Islam

Article posted in LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4802480

[tabatha]

46. Well at least they are open minded enough to even discuss it.

I'll have to read it tomorrow.

[tabatha]

45. US commander: Libya mission upset some in Africa

WASHINGTON - The military force unleashed on Libya by the U.S. and its partners upset several African nations despite the international community's widespread concerns over Moammar Gadhafi's use of force against his own people, the top U.S. commander for the continent told Congress on Tuesday.

Gen. Carter Ham, commander of the U.S. Africa Command, described the mixed reaction from the African Union to the airstrikes and enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya, and his imperative to explain the need for swift action to perturbed nations. His comments came as the U.S. military drastically slashed the number of air and naval forces committed to the operation, now under NATO control.

"I think frankly as we proceed I'm going to have the responsibility, as I engage with our African partners, to have a very frank discussion about what U.S. Africa Command's role was and why we did what we did and just be as truthful and forthright as I can," Ham told the House Armed Services Committee.

He added: "There is an impact and there will be an impact in the region."

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_17780876?source=rss

[tabatha]

47. Well, hope you all get some good zzzzzzs.

:hi:

[pinboy3niner]

49. Goodnight, Tabatha

I plan on sleeping very well tonight.

Don't know about Josh--he may be crashed right now. But hey, he's younger than we are--no sympathy for him (insert 'Sleep Nazi' pic here)! :evilgrin:

Turborama's been running on fumes, too, with the heroic job he's been doing in LBN (as well as posting in GD and Political Vids).

I have a guess as to where Iterate is located, and I'm also guessing his work schedule allows him little time to be here. For others, like Misty, I don't have a clue as to circumstances. Still, we've formed a 'merry band' here.

I think we also have a lot of silent followers who don't post. I'd encourage them to give a kick now and then just for the visibility of the thread--and I also wouldn't have to scramble so hard to find news to salvage the thread when it's sinking.

All in all, we've got a great bunch here who are committed to humanitarian solutions--even if that means military action to prevent a broader bloodbath.

Sleep well, Tabtha. :hug:

[tabatha]

76. Thanks, sleep is important for all ages.

Especially if one does physical work. I sit for far too many hours each day, but I have to have adequate sleep otherwise I do not think clearly. I am a sleep pacifist :-) and a nutrition junkie. I think one should maintain a state of health so that if a big disaster happens, one has more chance of being able to deal with it. (Off soap box)

And of course, an humanitarian. Funny that I called what I thought were slow NATO responses before the rebels did. I am that caught up in it, and agonizing over the killings and destruction.

Thanks for all the work you do.

[Turborama]

50. Sky News Report: Zawiyah's Mosque Razed To The Ground By Gaddafi's Forces (Video)

Posted in the Videos Forum: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x570593

[defendandprotect]

111. The country, itself, will be evidence of his insanity and brutality ...

had read that he was putting snipers on the rooves of Mosques in Tripoli

to ensure control over any citizens who might be thinking of protesting!

[Iterate]

53. Libyan rebels, Gaddafi forces fight on coast road

UPDATE 1-Libyan rebels, Gaddafi forces fight on coast road

AJDABIYAH, Libya, April 6 (Reuters) - Libyan rebels reported heavy fighting with the forces of Muammar Gaddafi on the Mediterranean coast road on Wednesday as both sides tried to break a stalemate in the seven-week war.

Mohamed el-Masrafy, a member of a rebel special forces unit, said clashes began at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) after Gaddafi's forces were resupplied with ammunition and moved eastwards out of the oil port of Brega.

He told Reuters after returning to the eastern town of Ajdabiyah there was heavy fighting with machineguns and other weapons.

"The rebel army is about 60 kms from here," he said. That would put them about 20 kms from Brega, the focus of a week-long see-saw battle. Gaddafi's forces mounted a sustained assault on Tuesday that pushed the rebels about half way back to Ajdabiyah, gateway to their stronghold of Benghazi.

continued...

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7350RT20110406

[Iterate]

54. UPDATE 2-Migrant boat sinks off Italy, 130 missing

ROME, April 6 (Reuters) - More than 130 people were missing and at least 15 appeared to be dead after a boat carrying Eritrean and Somali refugees from Libya capsized south of Sicily early on Wednesday, coast guard officials said.

Rescuers picked up 47 people, including a number of women and children, after the boat, which left Libya two days ago, sank at about 4:00 a.m. (0200 GMT) 40 miles south of the island of Lampedusa.

Fifteen bodies had been seen in the water by mid-morning, officials said but high winds and rough seas made it difficult for coast guard boats and a police helicopter to operate.

On Monday, the United Nations refugee agency said more than 400 people fleeing Libya on two boats were missing.

continue...

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7350RW20110406?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

55. It seems like a legitimate complaint about NATO that govt forces are getting re-supplied

NATO is supposed to be targeting command & control and commo, but Gaddafi forces' logistics seems to be healthy--too healthy. Re-supply of artillery shells is what allowed them to drive the revolutionaries from Brega back toward Ajdabiyah.

And artillery, tank and mortar rounds are being used to pound Misrata in the West, and to attack the smaller mountain towns.

If NATO is truly concerned about preventing civilian caualties, interdiction of the supply of the munitions that are killing them is a good place to start. And re-supply convoys ar not a difficult target.
e

[Iterate]

59. The road goes both ways...

It may be a long way to Sirte for the rebels, but it's a long push home for the last tanker to run out of fuel. Frankly, the most nervous I've been was when the rebels approached Sirte the first time -no strength and easily cut off from the south. Good thing actually that it wasn't concentrated.

So, good morning again. The feeds have been very slow for the past few hours, but then you're always good at finding the hidden bits.

[pinboy3niner]

60. Good afternoon, again

NATO's explanations seem a little thin. Their reluctance to rely on the opposition's assurances that no civilians are present in a civilian area is understandable, as NATO will bear the responsibility for civilian casualties. What's harder to understand is why they apparently are not hitting Gaddafi's supply convoys that are delivering those heavy munitions. Cutting that off would give besieged towns a break and really level the playing field.

I see things are, indeed, slow. That's when you have to look harder and do creative searches. :)


:hi:

[pinboy3niner]

62. You know Libya news is slow when the top story is the Aussie FM saying 'world must stay course'

Wedeman's latest live report on CNN was very quiet, too. His biggest news (from near the front outside Ajdabiyah: "NATO doesn't seem to be striking at the moment on Gaddafi's positions."

On the positive side, when things are slow on the battlefield, that's a GOOD thing...

[Iterate]

65. Ha, "next on AJE...speaker at local Kiwanis luncheon claims...

Actually though there's a good point in all that -the less we hear Libyan voices, especially in the west, the more news time gets filled with inane comments from western sources -and even the bench gets its turn.

Somewhere this morning I saw a small item saying (paraphrase) that the press would be limited by the TNC in its previously open access and live reports at the front lines of the fighting. I didn't immediately attach any importance to it, and didn't note it here. Now I can't find it.

[pinboy3niner]

66. The press restrictions were imposed a few days ago

There were concerns that the Gaddafi regime was getting intel on the opposition forces from news reports at the front. It came at the same time as news that inexperienced civilian volunteers weren't being allowed to go to the fighting. It was covered in posts here.

That's why news from the front takes even longer to get now. A claim of an opposition victory will be reported and we don't see confirmation/debunking for many hours. The press is being held back--they're at Ajdabiyah now, relying on what they hear from fighters returning from the front.

[David__77]

72. If bombing couldn't break the Ho Chi Minh trail, it won't work now either (necessarily).

There are a lot of ways to transport equipment. Ways that do not look like a military convoy at all. NATO is not going to bomb everything that moves.

[defendandprotect]

112. Agree -- do we know who is supplying him -- Chad, still?

[pinboy3niner]

56. CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 3 PM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6

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

[Iterate]

57. Libya rebels asked for oil export clearance-U.N.

GENEVA, April 6 (Reuters) - Rebels fighting Muammar Gaddafi in Libya have asked the United Nations to help them restart oil and gas exports from ports they control, according to a U.N. statement.

The statement confirmed what the rebel Transitional National Council said this week after a visit by a U.N. special envoy.

It did not provide any information on what the U.N. might do, and a spokeswoman was unable to clarify the U.N. position on Wednesday.

"The council raised concerns about the lack of funds as well as issues surrounding the marketing and sale of oil and gas in Libya, stressing that the issues required urgent attention in order to enable the economy to function effectively," the U.N. statement quoted its special envoy Abdel Elah al-Khatib as saying after a meeting with Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the chairman of the council.

Continued...

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE73518D20110406?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

58. CNN reporting that FBI is interviewing Libyans living in the U.S. re: terrorism

:wtf:

[pinboy3niner]

61. French Foreign Minister says that negotiations with Gbagbo have failed #Ivorycoast

A tweet from a news producer:

fieldproducer French Foreign Minister says that negotiations with Gbagbo have failed #Ivorycoast
6 minutes ago


I was surprised to wake up and find Gbagbo is still hiding in his panic room. This can't last much longer...

[pinboy3niner]

63. New hazard for civilians in Libya: unexploded munitions

The International Committee of the Red Cross says civilians in Libya face a new major hazard from unexploded munitions that have been strewn across areas where fighting has occurred or can remain in destroyed military vehicles.

I'd add another concern--the anti-personnel and other mines that Gaddafi's forces are planting. "The gift that keeps on giving..."

[pinboy3niner]

64. As war rages in Libya, diplomatic wheels spin

Source: CNN


As war rages in Libya, diplomatic wheels spin


By the CNN Wire StaffApril 6, 2011 9:33 a.m. EDT

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

*NEW: Gadhafi sends letter to U.S. State Department, source says
*Former U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon to urge Gadhafi to step down, calls for cease-fire
*Weldon's proposal also calls on rebel forces not to advance further
*Rebel fighters try to recover from onslaught by pro-Gadhafi forces

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- As rebel forces in Libya endure setbacks on the battlefield, a former U.S. lawmaker came to Tripoli armed with a plan to end the bloody war.

Curt Weldon, a former Pennsylvania lawmaker who met with Libyan leader Gadhafi last decade, paid a visit to Tripoli with a cease-fire plan and a clear message to the embattled ruler that he must step down from office.

The diplomatic overture occurred as rebel fighters try to recover from a heavy artillery barrage by Gadhafi forces in the town of al-Brega and residents in the western city of Misrata spend their days in fear.

And it comes amid other moves. A U.S. representative paid a visit to opposition leaders in Benghazi in the east. And, Gadhafi sent a letter to the State Department, according to a senior administration official.

There were no details on the contents.

Weldon said in an interview with CNN affiliate WPIX that he plans to meet with Gadhafi and Deputy Foreign Minister Khalid Khaim.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/04/06/libya.war/


Nic Robertson reported on CNN from Tripoli that Weldon is to meet with Gaddafi this evening. State TV there is reporting that the U.S. has withdrawn from the "coalition crusade" against Libya, and Robertson said Gaddafi has sent another letter to President Obama. I guess he wants to take back that "unfriend" thing now. :)

[Iterate]

67. Nic Robertson, CNN journalist tweets about US former congressman Weldon’s proposal

15:53 Nic Robertson, CNN journalist tweets about US former congressman Weldon’s proposal to Gaddafi. The proposal includes a ceasefire, withdrawal of government troops from key cities, no further advance by revolutionaries and unfettered humanitarian access.

He also proposes setting up a parliamentary commission including US, Middle East, African and European politicians to help set up the new Libyan parliament.

He further proposed allowing Gaddafi’s son Saif to run in elections and a possible title for Gaddafi as honorary chairman of the African Union.

Nic Robertson adds that although Libyans are desperate to break international isolation and re-establish contact with the US, they are unlikely to appreciate these proposals. They are “extremely unpalatable” to both sides

http://www.libyafeb17.com/

[pinboy3niner]

68. Libyan rebels sending reinforcements and supplies towards Brega

Libyan rebels send re-enforcements and supplies towards Brega on Wednesday as former military officers, now with the opposition, were trying to keep untrained fighters from leaving Ajdabiya towards the frontline.

After several days of skirmishes, the frontlines keep moving back and forth between Brega and Ajdabiya, with neither side able to make any significant move.



Rebel fighters resting along the road between Ajdabiya and Brega as Gaddafi forces pushed rebels back (Reuters)


3:55pm:
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-april-6

[pinboy3niner]

69. Gaddafi troops have reportedly shelled an oil field in Ojla, south of Ajdabiya

Gaddafi troops have reportedly shelled an oil field in Ojla, south of Ajdabiya, according to a source from the local council in Tobruk.

Meanwhile rebel fighters tightened security measures and strenghtened military fortifications in the western district of Ajdabiya, allowing only authorised persons to enter.

In Misurata Gaddafi's troops attacked the coastal road leading to the port and tried to seize supplies and rations warehouses.

4:49pm:
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-april-6

[Iterate]

70. Backstitch on the frontline

Backstitch on the frontline
By Sue Turton on April 6th, 2011.

"Good morning chaps, how's the war going?" our security consultant Mike Yells in a mock British accent as we approach Ajdabiya's West gate.

The ragged bunch of anti-government foot soldiers smile broadly and flick up the customary victory sign, waving us through in the direction of the frontline.

The Eastern Libyans couldn't be more friendly. Petrol stations give us fuel for free, Benghazi's 'revolutionary laundry' refuses to take any money for washing our smalls and when we're pulled over on the road it's not for a passport check but to hand us bottles of water or juice and biscuits. Chocolate muffins are a bit of an odd handout on the frontline but this is an odd kind of war.

After one push on Brega we found ourselves crouching on a small sandy hill with a good view of the battle about six kilometres away. A perfect opportunity to light up the mini stove for a cup of ready-made mochacino. Nobody does frontline catering like Al Jazeera.

Continue...
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/africa/2011/04/06/backstitch-frontline

[pinboy3niner]

71. More dissatisfaction with NATO level of bombardment

Speaking to Al Jazeera from London, Ashur Shamis, a Libyan journalist, said there seemed to be some discrepancies between the number of NATO flyovers and actual hits on the ground.

It is not hitting anything. More and more people in Benghazi are getting to the end of their tethers in relation to this situation.

As long as Gaddafi remains in Tripoli he will turn nastier and nastier, and he will produce more weapons and more tricks so that there will be more citizens dying because he has no aim or cause … he is just destroying the country, the people and causing more bloodshed.

Shamis says NATO should get its act together and show the people that it is up to task in implementing the UN resolution.

They have to show that they are doing something in Misurata and preventing Gaddafi's troops from killing civilians.

They have to do something in Tripoli … I understand there are ways there with which to get at Gaddafi's forces. Now it is slowly opening up to strikes and this will encourage people to turn against Gaddafi.

4:15pm
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-april-6

[pinboy3niner]

74. Libyan rebels push towards Brega

Source: Reuters


Libyan rebels push towards oil port


By Alexander Dziadosz Alexander Dziadosz


AL-ARBAEEN, Libya (Reuters) – Libyan rebels pushed back toward the contested oil port of Brega on Wednesday, regaining mostly desert territory lost to Muammar Gaddafi's army the day before.

At the tiny outpost of al-Arbaeen, half way between Brega and Ajdabiyah, on the Mediterranean coastal road, rebels returning from the front reported rocket duels close to the port.

The rebels had clearly made ground after retreating at least 40 km on Tuesday but it was impossible to verify accounts that they were back close to sparsely populated Brega, which sprawls across about 25 km (15 miles). This reporter saw a plume of black smoke west of al-Arbaeen on the desert road to the port.

...


Another rebel, Idriss Abdel Karim who said he had returned from the front less than two hours previously, told Reuters: "The rebels are on the outskirts of Brega. Gaddafi's forces are inside...God willing, we are going to try to enter Brega today."

...


Mohamed el-Masrafy, a member of a rebel special forces unit, said clashes began at 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) after Gaddafi's forces were resupplied with ammunition and tried to resume their advance eastwards out of Brega.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110406/ts_nm/us_libya_east_3


And Reuters even put in GMT just for Tabatha! :rofl:

[pinboy3niner]

75. CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 6:15 PM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6

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

[defendandprotect]

113. LIBYA HURRA -- !!

[pinboy3niner]

77. Under criticism, NATO moves 4 British warplanes from policing role to ground attack role

Britain has moved four Typhoon jets from policing the Libya no-fly zone to ground attack roles following opposition criticism that NATO forces failed to protect Misurata.

In a statement the defence ministry said the move aimed at "further bolstering NATO's ground attack capability".

The Typhoons based at Gioia del Colle in southern Italy had been policing the no-fly zone while the Royal Air Force's Tornado warplanes conduct air raids on Gaddafi's ground forces.

Britain now has 20 fighter jets committed to implementing UN Resolution 1973 aimed at protecting civilians against Gaddafi loyalists.




British Eurofighter EF-2000 Typhoon jets at Gioia del Colle NATO airbase on southern Italy (Reuters)


4:37pm:
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-april-6

[pinboy3niner]

78. Opposition ldr says Gaddafi's forces obliterating everything in sight in Misrata while NATO watches

From The Telegraph:

The BBC's Tim Willcox has Tweeted on the situation in Misurata:

@BBCTimWillcox Opposition figure says Gaddafi's forces obliterating everything in sight in Misurata while NATO just watches

[pinboy3niner]

81. NATO admitted it has to be "particularly careful" with its air strikes in Misurata

NATO admitted it has to be "particularly careful" with its air strikes in Misurata as government troops were using civilians as human shields, as France pledged to open a sea corridor to the Mediterranean port.

Rear Admiral Russell Harding, the deputy commander of Libya operations, said on Wednesday:

NATO forces have been particularly careful to avoid injury to civilians who are in close proximity to the fighting, often precisely because of the tactics of government forces.

Libyan government forces have increasingly shifted to non-conventional tactics, blending in with road traffic and using civilian life as a shield for their advance.

5:23pm
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-april-6

[defendandprotect]

115. Starting to remind me of how helpless Democrats are vs Repugs ... !!

Collusion or Collaboration -- where's the truth of this?

[tabatha]

79. Libya: Rebels Should Open Books on Oil Sales

New York) - Reports that opposition forces in Libya will begin exporting crude oil from areas under their control raise concerns about the transparency of oil revenues, Human Rights Watch said today. Libya's people have a right to information about a major national resource, Human Rights Watch said.

Human Rights Watch called on the self-appointed opposition authority, the Interim Transitional National Council, to respect internationally accepted standards of transparency for all sales of crude oil and gas that it arranges. In contrast, oil and gas transactions by the Gaddafi government have been opaque and lacked accountability for many years, Human Rights Watch said.

"Any emerging Libyan authority should break with past practice in Libya and open the books on oil and gas transactions," said Arvind Ganesan, business and human rights director at Human Rights Watch. "Failure to do so could lead to continued mismanagement and corruption. The Libyan people have a right to know what's happening with a precious national resource."

http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/05/libya-rebels-should-open-books-oil-sales

[tabatha]

80. WRAPUP 7-Libya rebels retake land, NATO cites air strike woes

NATO said Gaddafi was making it increasingly difficult for its pilots to carry out air strikes by ensconcing his forces in heavily populated areas and using civilians as human shields.

In their eastern heartland, ill-trained insurgents thrust back westwards towards the contested oil port of Brega, recovering mostly desert terrain lost in a pell-mell retreat from Gaddafi's superior firepower the day before.

Rebels returning to the tiny outpost of al-Arbaeen, midway between Brega and their frontline town of Ajdabiyah, spoke of rocket duels close to Brega's port as both sides strived to end a ragged stalemate in the oil-producing state's civil war.

There was little doubt the rebels had made ground after falling back at least 40 km (25 miles) on Tuesday but it was impossible to verify accounts that they were closing in on Brega once again.

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE7342BL20110406?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

[tabatha]

82. WRAPUP 8-Attack on Gbagbo bunker in Ivory Coast repelled

ABIDJAN, April 6 (Reuters) - Forces loyal to Ivory Coast presidential claimant Alassane Ouattara launched a heavy attack on Wednesday on the bunker where Laurent Gbagbo is holed up but appeared to have been repelled, a Western military source said.

Fighting raged for a third straight day in the economic capital Abidjan as Ouattara's forces tried to unseat Gbagbo, who has refused to cede power after losing a November election to Ouattara, according to U.N.-certified results.

The source, who lives near Gbagbo's heavily defended residence in Abidjan, said fighting had died down in the afternoon and Ouattara's forces had regrouped.

"As I understand it, they tried to take Gbagbo residence this morning. The assault failed," said the source, speaking on condition of anonimity.

http://af.reuters.com/article/ivoryCoastNews/idAFLDE73500H20110406?sp=true

[pinboy3niner]

83. Black Africans say Libyan troops try to make them fight

Source: Reuters

Africans say Libyan troops try to make them fight


Mon Mar 7, 2011 3:17pm GMT


By Douglas Hamilton


RAS JDIR CAMP, Tunisia (Reuters) - Libyan troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi are rounding up black African migrants to force them to fight anti-Gaddafi rebels, young African men who fled to Tunisia said on Monday.

In separate accounts at this refugee camp, they said they were raided in their homes by soldiers, beaten and robbed of their savings and identity papers, then detained and finally offered money to take up arms for the state.

Those who refused were told they would never leave, said Fergo Fevomoye, a 23-year-old who crossed the border on Sunday.

"They will give you a gun and train you like a soldier. Then you fight the war of Libya. As I am talking to you now there is many blacks in training who say they are going to fight this war. They have prized (paid) them with lots of money."

He said Africans who are first intimidated and stripped of everything were then offered 250 Libyan dinars to train as fighters.

"They said I should take money and fight. They would give me 250 dinars. I said No. When I told them No they told me I would not go anywhere," he told Reuters.


http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7260G620110307

[pinboy3niner]

84. Bodies recovered after another boat sank: "Somebody shot them after they left Libya"

Further to the refugee boat story, an Eritrean priest has reported that some of the bodies pulled out of the sea from a different vessel were killed by gunfire. The Independent quotes Father Mussie Zerai, a Catholic cleric based in Rome, as saying:

There are five bodies in total, two women, two boys and an Egyptian who we believe was the boat’s captain. Their bodies have gunshot wounds in them. Somebody shot them after they left Libya.

16:08:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8390035/Libya-Live.html

[pinboy3niner]

85. RAF Tornados hit 6 tanks and 6 armored fighting vehicles around Misrata and Sirte yesterday

The Ministry of Defence said RAF Tornados yesterday attacked targets around Misrata and Col Gaddafi's home city of Sirte, hitting a total of six armoured fighting vehicles and six battle tanks. As a whole, the alliance flew 137 missions on Monday, 186 on Tuesday, and had planned 198 for today.

13:58:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8390035/Libya-Live.html

[pinboy3niner]

86. NATO Says Libya Strikes Are Growing After a Pause

Source: New York Times

NATO Says Libya Strikes Are Growing After a Pause


By DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK and C. J. CHIVERS
Published: April 6, 2011


TRIPOLI, Libya — Stung by criticism from rebel leaders, NATO officials said Wednesday that the pace of attacks on the forces of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi was increasing, after a slight slowdown as the coalition handed off responsibility earlier in the week.

...


Rebels said the Qaddafi forces appeared to have adopted new tactics in response to the Western airstrikes, using mortars far more than tanks, either to present smaller targets or because the tanks were wiped out. “They are changing the technique and they are shelling by mortar now everywhere, so instead of no-fly zone we have no safe zone,” said Aiman, a doctor in the besieged city of Misurata whose last name was withheld for safety reasons, in an Internet message.

...


In the rebel-held city of Misurata in western Libya and on the eastern front with the rebels around the oil town of Brega, Qaddafi forces continued to hammer rebels with rockets, artillery and mortars, as rebel leaders expressed exasperation at the limits of NATO’s support.

The rebels in the east played cat and mouse on Wednesday with the superior Qaddafi forces entrenched in Brega, advancing a few miles from their position about 15 miles outside the city, firing rockets and then rushing back to avoid the highly accurate artillery fire that inevitably ensues. In contrast to Tuesday, when the skies were largely empty, several airstrikes were seen on Wednesday, a doctor with the rebels said. But the Qaddafi forces were clearly in control of Brega, and there seemed little chance of dislodging them without the heavy airstrikes that two weeks ago sent the loyalist forces reeling toward the Qaddafi stronghold of Surt.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/world/africa/07libya.html

[defendandprotect]

117. Is it impossible to find some kind of system to ID the rebels ....?

Something agreed upon with NATO?

[tabatha]

87. South Africa, Togo may take Ivory Coast's Gbagbo-sources

* Diplomats say Uganda also outside possibility

* France says negotiations have "failed"

By Barry Malone

ADDIS ABABA, April 6 (Reuters) - South Africa, Togo and Angola are possible safe havens for Ivory Coast's besieged Laurent Gbagbo should he negotiate an exit from his West African country, African Union (AU) sources said on Wednesday.

"South Africa has offered several times before and Togo is now indicating to us that it could be willing to take him in," a senior AU official told Reuters.

"Togo is not a great option, though, as there will obviously be fears that he could cause problems and spoil peace from there -- it's so close to Ivory Coast. I'm betting strongly on South Africa," said the official, who declined to be named.

Two other diplomats in Addis Ababa also said on Wednesday they had heard South Africa and Togo had made asylum offers.

http://af.reuters.com/article/ivoryCoastNews/idAFLDE73526T20110406

[pinboy3niner]

88. Qaddafi asks Obama in letter to end airstrikes

Source: CBS/AP

April 6, 2011 1:21 PM


Qaddafi asks Obama in letter to end airstrikes



(CBS/AP) Despite complaints from Libya's rebels that the NATO campaign is not doing enough to protect civilians, the coalition airstrikes appear to be having some effect on strongman Muammar Qaddafi.


Qaddafi appealed in a letter to President Barack Obama to halt the NATO operation to protect opponents of his regime. The letter, obtained by The Associated Press, implores Obama to stop what he called an "unjust war against a small people of a developing country."

...


In the letter, sent Wednesday, Qaddafi says his country had been hurt more morally than physically by the NATO campaign and that a democratic society could not be built through missiles and aircraft. He also repeated his claim that his foes are members of al Qaeda.

Qaddafi addresses Mr. Obama as "our son" in the letter and says he hopes Mr. Obama will win re-election in 2012.

NATO assumed command of the aerial onslaught on Libya a week ago, conducting 851 sorties in the first six days. Although the alliance does not normally release information on the number of airstrikes on Qaddafi's forces, it said warplanes had bombed 14 targets on Monday. Canadian Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard -- who commands the Libyan operation from his headquarters in Naples, Italy -- estimated that 30 percent of Qaddafi's military capacity has been destroyed since the airstrikes began March 19.


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503543_162-20051336-503543.html

[Waiting For Everyman]

89. K&R

Just wanted to say "hi" :hi: and let you all know that I'm following along every day. I have a little "battle" of my own going on, over my house, that I've been fighting (for 2+ years on "low boil") which is now heating up or reaching turning point, so I haven't had time lately to bring in any new news.
But I'm still here with you "in spirit", and you all are doing a great job. :yourock:

[pinboy3niner]

90. Former Libya official: Mbrs of Gaddafi inner circle scared to defect; NATO should "finish the job"

Omar Fathi bin Shatwan, the former Libyan energy minister, has said many memebrs of Gaddafi's inner circle are too scared to defect and has urged Nato to step up its campaign "to finish the job".

18.42:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8390035/Libya-Live.html

[tabatha]

91. APNewsBreak: Top Libyans said to be very scared

LONDON (AP) — Several members of Moammar Gadhafi’s inner circle want to defect but are too scared about the safety of their families and friends to do so, Libya’s former energy minister said Wednesday.

Omar Fathi bin Shatwan, who also served as Libya’s industry minister, told The Associated Press that he had fled by fishing boat to Malta on Friday from the western Libyan city of Misrata.

Shatwan, who left the government in 2007, said he still was in contact with some top government figures. He explained that many feared for their safety if they flee — in some cases, their families are under siege, he said.

“Those whose families are outside Libya will flee if they get a chance,” Shatwan said in a telephone interview from Malta. “But many can’t leave, and all the families of ministers are under siege.”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/04/06/apnewsbreak-top-libyans-said-to-be-very-scared/#ixzz1Ilfdts5B

(Dupe of Niner's above - different source)

[tabatha]

92. Over 20,000 people kidnapped in Libya are being held in inhuman conditions

6th April 2011 Urgent Press Release

Over 20,000 people kidnapped in Libya are being held in inhuman conditions

Over 20,000 people have been kidnapped or arrested by Gaddafi’s security forces in Tripoli and the surrounding cities over the past 5 weeks. Many of these had been taken from their homes, their places of work or from the streets and comprise mainly of young men, although it is believed that a small proportion are also women. It is understood that some of the detainees have been accused by the Gaddafi regime of being activists involved mainly in contacting foreign media outlets and sending video footages. Others have merely been accused of participating in pro-democracy demonstrations or involved in anti-regime activities via social media tools such as Facebook.

According to prison guard sources within Tripoli, detainees have been crammed into Abu Saleem prison, Ein Zara Prison, the Police Academy, the former Tobacco factory in Tripoli and other various military camps across the city. The conditions under which they are being held are believed to be extremely harsh, inhumane and degrading. Prisoners are denied basic sanitary facilities, including showers and have been refused medical assistance even for the most critical of cases. Detainees have not been given any change of clothing and are forced to sleep on cold and uneven concrete floors.

http://www.imtidadblog.com/TNC06042011.pdf

[defendandprotect]

116. K/R -- Cross posted this in a thread in GD .... they need to know and they're not

coming to the watering hole!!

[pinboy3niner]

93. Libya: Allow Eman al-‘Obeidy to Leave Tripoli--Human Rights Watch

Libya: Allow Eman al-‘Obeidy to Leave Tripoli


Woman who Alleged Rape Needs Protection, Access to Medical Care


April 6, 2011


(New York) - Libyan authorities should immediately allow Eman al-‘Obeidy, the woman who alleged that she was raped by Muammar Gaddafi's security forces, to leave Tripoli for her safety and to receive medical care, Human Rights Watch said today.

"Libyan authorities have further victimized al-‘Obeidy by refusing to let her leave Tripoli," said Nadya Khalife, the Middle East women's rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. "They should ensure that she can leave Tripoli at once to receive supportive medical and psychological care, following the trauma she experienced."

On April 4, 2011, in two phone interviews with CNN's Anderson Cooper, al-‘Obeidy confirmed that Libyan authorities had freed her after she was examined by a doctor. She told Cooper that the medical evidence supported her allegations that she had been raped and tortured. Al-‘Obeidy also told Cooper that men poured alcohol into her eyes and used rifles to sodomize her when she was detained at a checkpoint in Tripoli on March 26. She said that she had escaped when a woman who was detained with her untied her hands and feet while the soldiers were asleep.

On April 3, in a phone interview with Qanat Libya al Ahrar, a recently established satellite channel based in Qatar, al-‘Obeidy said that she wished to return to her family in the eastern city of Tobruk because she had received death threats from Libyan authorities and feared for her life. Al-‘Obeidy said that she had tried to leave Tripoli on three occasions since she first told journalists about the rape on March 26, but was stopped by government forces. She said that she believed that if she left her home, officials from the police or army would stop her.

"It's very difficult for women in Libyan society to report that they have been raped because of the shame and fear they feel, and it has been even more difficult for al-‘Obeidy," Khalife said. "But she has courageously ignored all these barriers to tell her story to the world."

...


"Instead of treating rape as a crime, seriously investigating cases, and punishing perpetrators, the Libyan authorities have again tried to silence brave women like al-‘Obeidy," Khalife said.





Women hold a picture of Eman al-‘Obeidy during a protest in Benghazi on March 27, 2011. (Reuters)


http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/04/06/libya-allow-eman-al-obeidy-leave-tripoli

[tabatha]

94. From Guns to Guitars: Tinariwen Pioneers Berber Rock

To classify Tinariwen as “unique” would be an understatement. The rock ensemble, founded by Ibrahim Ag Alhabib in the late 1970s, is composed of ex-Tuareg rebel fighters turned guitarists who employ an eclectic sound of Blues Rock and Algerian Rai to raise awareness on the plight of Saharan nomadic groups.

Safe to say, they have succeeded.

Hailing from the deserts of northern Mali, the original members of Tinariwen met in the training camps of Libya and Algeria where they were among thousands of Tuaregs—a Berber ethnic group—who were recruited by Muammar Ghadafi to wage a secessionist war. It was in this context that Ag Alhabib, Hassan Ag Touhami, and others began experimenting with native musical traditions and the electric guitar. Their result was vibrant tracks which would serve as an impromptu soundtrack for the Tuareg independence movement.

After peace was declared with Mali, Tinariwen emerged as an underground voice for displaced peoples facing extinction. Their popularity eventually spread throughout Africa and then into Europe and North America. From Glastonbury to Coachella, they have performed worldwide, including at last year’s World Cup Kick-Off Concert in South Africa. Now entering an impressive fourth decade, the band has reincarnated itself with the addition of younger members who lack their predecessors’ battle scars.



(Bias - I listen to them frequently. The song at the link is not the best; there are many others on YouTube)

[Fire Walk With Me]

95. K&R.

[pinboy3niner]

96. wolfblitzercnn Former Rep Curt Weldon joins me from Tripoli #Libya today to discuss mtg w/ Gadhafi

wolfblitzercnn Former Rep Curt Weldon joins me from Tripoli #Libya today to discuss his meeting with Gadhafi #SitRoom 5-7PM ET #CNN
7 minutes ago

[pinboy3niner]

97. Full text of Gaddafi letter to President Obama:

8:14PM BST 06 Apr 2011
Our son, Excellency,

President Obama

U.S.A

We have been hurt more morally that physically because of what had happened against us in both deeds and words by you. Despite all this you will always remain our son whatever happened.

We still pray that you continue to be president of the U.S.A. We Endeavour and hope that you will gain victory in the new election campaigne.

You are a man who has enough courage to annul a wrong and mistaken action. I am sure that you are able to shoulder the responsibility for that.

Enough evidence is available, Bearing in mind that you are the president of the strongest power in the world nowadays, and since Nato is waging an unjust war against a small people of a developing country.

This country had already been subjected to embargo and sanctions, furthermore it also suffered a direct military armed aggression during Reagan's time.

This country is Libya. Hence, to serving world peace ... Friendship between our peoples ... and for the sake of economic, and security cooperation against terror, you are in a position to keep Nato off the

Libyan affair for good.

As you know too well democracy and building of civil society cannot be achieved by means of missiles and aircraft, or by backing armed member of AlQuaeda in Benghazi.

You — yourself — said on many occasions, one of them in the UN General Assembly, I was witness to that personally, that America is not responsible for the security of other peoples. That America helps only.

This is the right logic.

Our dear son, Excellency, Baraka Hussein Abu oumama, your intervention is the name of the U.S.A. is a must, so that Nato would withdraw finally from the Libyan affair. Libya should be left to Libyans within the African union frame. The problem now stands as follows:-


1. There is Nato intervention politically as well as military.


2. Terror conducted by al-Qaeda gangs that have been armed in some cities, and by force refused to allow people to go back to their normal life, and carry on with exercising their social people's power as usual.


Muammar Gaddafi


Leader of the Revolution


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8433367/Libya-Col-Gaddafis-letter-to-Barack-Obama-in-full.html

[tabatha]

98. Dear Muammar Gaddafi

You cannot cling to power by guns, tanks, torture and murder.

This too has been documented.

Libya and the ICC.

[tabatha]

103. Clinton rebuffs Gaddafi letter, demands withdrawal

WASHINGTON, April 6 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rebuffed a personal appeal from Muammar Gaddafi to U.S. President Barack Obama, saying the Libyan leader should impose a cease-fire, withdraw his forces and go into exile.

The White House confirmed that Gaddafi had written a letter to Obama but said nothing about its contents, first reported by the Associated Press, which said he had appealed to Obama for a cease-fire in a rambling, three-page message.

"With respect to the letter you referred to, I think that Mr. Gaddafi knows what he must do," Clinton told a news conference with Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.

"There needs to be a cease-fire, his forces need to withdraw from the cities that they have forcibly taken at great violence and human cost. There needs to be a decision made about his departure from power and ... his departure from Libya," Clinton told reporters.

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFN0625602220110406

[pinboy3niner]

99. DoD says NATO has to change its approach in Libya to keep up with changing tactics

The US defence department says NATO has to change its approach in Libya to keep up with changing tactics by Gaddafi's forces.

Colonel Dave Lapan, a department spokesman, said on Wednesday the situation illustrated the saying "the enemy gets a vote", and that it was up to the European alliance to adjust to Gaddafi's tactics.

"Gaddafi's forces have adjusted to the environment, seeking ways to disguise forces and movements to avoid attacks."

Rebels have complained that delayed air strikes had allowed forces loyal to the Libyan leader to push them from Brega.

7:45pm:
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-april-6

[defendandprotect]

118. K/R

[Iterate]

100. Video: The moment that Tajoura and Souq Al Jummah demonstrations merged

Misratah News Group on Facebook have published some old footage that shows the moment that Tajoura and Souq Al Jummah demonstrations in Tripoli merged together. Quickly thereafter, the protesters became targets for sniper fire in an attempt to scatter them away. An injured man is seen in the back of a pickup truck near the end while someone calls: “Guys be careful of the ambulance vans, they’re full of mercenaries!”

http://www.libyafeb17.com/2011/04/video-the-moment-that-tajoura-and-souq-al-jummah-demonstrations-merged/

I'm not sure which day this is from and the source doesn't say, perhaps Feb. 25th and early in the demonstration. It's clear that the raucous but completely unarmed protesters were fired upon before there was even any teargas in the air.

This source is from Bahrain on the 26th:
Protesters shot dead
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=300576

The Scottish Daily Record was more blunt:
Gaddafi sends in thugs to murder Libyans after they ignore bribe bid
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/2011/02/26/prayers-then-bullets-libyans-stand-up-to-mad-dog-dictator-86908-22950485/

[defendandprotect]

119. K/R

[Iterate]

101. LPC: Doctor in Misrata describes a captured 15 year old boy soldier, casualties.

LPC: Doctor in #Misrata describes a captured 15 year old boy soldier, casualties.

Audio: http://audioboo.fm/boos/323105-lpc-doctor-in-misrata-describes-a-captured-15-year-old-boy-soldier-casualties-libya

[tabatha]

102. Athletes and sports fans supporting the revolution and calling out to NATO - Libya (4/5/2011)

Athletes and sports fans supporting the revolution and calling out to NATO - Libya (4/5/2011)
http://youtu.be/1QRwu4RsQUY

We're not Al Qaeda (#2) - Libya (4/1/2011)
http://youtu.be/FQ0lvkSJTvM

A 13 year old volunteer in the ER - Libya (4/4/2011)
http://youtu.be/zTDT9bdeQTc


(Wow - great people)

[tabatha]

104. Out of Brega

23:31 Almanara Media reporting from Press Solidarity that eyewitness have seen coalition fighter jets bomb Gaddafi’s tanks and artillery near Bin Jawad. Press Solidarity also report that the revolutionaries have driven Gaddafi’s forces 20km out of the city of Brega and are now sweeping the city completely for any remaining forces.

http://www.libyafeb17.com/2011/04/april-6th-updates/

[pinboy3niner]

105. CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 12:20 AM THURSDAY, APRIL 7

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

[Waiting For Everyman]

106. Alert: reports of another Gaddafi minister defecting - to Malta.

timesofmalta timesofmalta.com
Former Libyan industry minister escapes to Malta http://dlvr.it/Mgqjf
2 hours ago

feb17libya Feb17Libyano
RT @ksnavarra : ALERT: Former #Gaddafi Minister Shatwan escapes to #Malta by fishing boat to #Misurata - #Libya #Feb17
20 minutes ago

@ksnavarra reports for Times of Malta.

[tabatha]

109. He is mentioned in this article:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=820843&mesg_id=827499

States that others want to defect but are too scared. He has been out of the Libyan government for some time.

[pinboy3niner]

107. Libya: Belarus mercenary 'paid £1,900 ($3,094) a month to help Gaddafi forces'

Source: The Telegraph

Libya: Belarus mercenary 'paid £1,900 a month to help Gaddafi forces'


A mercenary from Belarus has spoken of getting paid £1,900 a month to help Col Muammar Gaddafi's forces fight against the rebels and said there were "several hundred" of his compatriots doing the same thing.


By Andrew Osborn, Moscow 10:43PM BST 06 Apr 2011


The mercenary, who only gave his name as Mikhail, said he and his colleagues did not take part in the actual fighting but acted as advisers and were always present on the frontline. He told Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda that many of his fellow Belarusians were veterans of the Soviet Union's 1979-89 war in Afghanistan and often had Special Forces backgrounds.

The paper, which reported that Nato's tactics were being frustrated by Col Gaddafi's forces, claimed that the mercenaries from Belarus were responsible for the Libyan army's unexpected resilience.

"It looks very much like the Belarusian advisers have managed to keep the Libyan army disciplined and have told them how to use mobile tactics against the rebels and how to deal with Nato air activity," the paper wrote. "For now the Belarusian partisans are winning!"

Five hundred Belarusian advisers were in Libya before the war broke out though some had since been evacuated, it added. While the mercenary named as Mikhail said he was working for the Libyans as a private contractor, it was not clear whether some of the other advisers were on official secondment from the Belarusian armed forces or also hired guns. Witnesses in Libya claim to have spotted Belarusian mercenaries fighting on Col Gaddafi's side but the Belarusian foreign ministry has angrily dismissed the alleged sightings as false rumours designed to tarnish its reputation.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8432996/Libya-Belarus-mercenary-paid-1900-a-month-to-help-Gaddafi-forces.html

[pinboy3niner]

108. Al-Qaeda could get their hands on Libyan missiles, officials warn

Source: The Telegraph

Al-Qaeda could get their hands on Libyan missiles, officials warn


Hundreds of hand-held ground to air, heat seeking missiles lying in unguarded weapons depot in Ajdabiya could fall into the hands of al-Qaeda terrorists, Human Rights Watch has warned.


By Bruno Waterfield, Brussels 10:29PM BST 06 Apr 2011


Staff from the human rights charity inspected 35-bunker weapons dump on the eastern outskirts of the Libyan city, which is currently in the hands of rebel forces, which Western intelligence agencies fear are infiltrated by Islamist terror groups.

Peter Bouckaert, a senior Belgian HRW official, found that no guards were defending the depot, allowing civilians to haul away munitions including hundreds of Soviet "Strela" SA-7 anti aircraft missiles.

"When ordinary civilians, even children, can walk into a weapons depot and remove surface-to-air missiles capable of shooting down a civilian aircraft, you have a real problem," he said.

"Once they are fired, these weapons find the heat of jet engines. You can take out low-flying aircraft, including passenger jets taking off."

...


Human Rights Watch inspected 20 of 35 weapons bunkers in Ajdabiya, as well as heat seeking missiles were thousands of rockets, anti-tank weapons, guns and ammunition.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8432874/Al-Qaeda-could-get-their-hands-on-Libyan-missiles-officials-warn.html

[joshcryer]

114. Day 49 here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x830413