Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Birthday/Daily Gam Shot
Jean Harlow aka Helen in "Hell's Angels" aka Gwen Allen in "The Public Enemy" aka Lillian 'Lil' / 'Red' Andrews Legendre in "Red-Headed Woman" aka Dolly 'China Doll' Portland in "China Seas" aka Carol Clayton in "Saratoga" (Died in 1937 at age 26)
“Farmers and ranchers are being run off their own property by armed terrorists showing up and telling them they have to leave their land,” Staples said.
[Al Jazeera] Fresh fighting in a tense area of Southern Sudan has killed dozens of people, officials say.
George Athor, a rebel leader, said his forces fought with the southern military in the Jonglei state. Philip Aguer, a front man for the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army, confirmed that the fighting took place.
The corpse counts provided by the two men on Wednesday varied widely. Athor said 110 people died in the fighting, mostly southern soldiers.
Aguer said around 40 were killed. He didn't specify if they were soldiers or civilians, but he called Athor's toll an exaggeration.
"I don't know why he should be proud of killing. The (southern army) is trying to protect against what General Athor did on the 9th and 10th of February in Fangak," Aguer said, referring to the fighting in the same region three weeks ago that killed at least 240 people.
Athor said his men fought southern army troops in three locations in Fangak County on Sunday. He said his forces captured 90 weapons. The fighting has stopped, he said.
Deep internal rifts
Government leaders in Southern Sudan accused Athor, a former deputy chief of staff in the southern army, of committing a "massacre," but Athor said the army had attacked his forces first as they were gathering in "assembly points" outlined in a January 5 cease-fire agreement between his forces and the army.
The cease-fire was signed on the eve of the south's January independence referendum, which passed overwhelmingly and will see Southern Sudan become the world's newest nation in July.
The agreement was brokered with support from the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society peacekeeping mission in Sudan.
Hua Jiang, the mission's front man, said on Tuesday that the UN is "trying to assist in their negotiations."
Athor is considered the most powerful of the several southern rebels who launched rebellions against the Juba government after disputed elections last year. The south's ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement has accused the Khartoum government of backing the rebels.
Regardless of who is backing these rebellions, they have exposed deep internal rifts within the oil-rich south which could continue to destabilise the region after it declares independence on July 9.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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Well now, looks like someone wants a Nobel Peace Prize...
The Libyan government has accepted a Venezuelan plan that seeks a negotiated solution to the uprising in the North African country, a spokesman for President Hugo Chavez said on Thursday.
Information Minister Andres Izarra also confirmed the Arab League had shown interest in Chavez's proposal to send an international commission to talk with both sides in Libya.
"Libya accepts the proposal to work for a negotiated end to the conflict accompanied by an international commission," Izarra told Reuters. "Venezuela will continue its contacts in the Arab world and elsewhere to find formulas for peace in Libya."
Chavez, a former soldier who casts himself as an anti-imperial revolutionary, is a close friend of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and says he believes reports of repression by Gaddafi are exaggerated.
Reports that Chavez's proposal was being taken seriously by Arab leaders pushed down oil prices after a days-long rally on worries the escalating violence in Libya will hit supplies.
Earlier, the chairman of the rebel National Libyan Council entirely rejected the concept of talks with Gaddafi. Arab League President Amr Moussa told Reuters no decision had yet been taken on the Venezuela plan but that it was under consideration. Mo, Hugo...and Jerry makes "strike three".
The Libyan government accepts a plan by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to seek a negotiated solution to the ongoing conflict in the North African nation, a Chavez spokesman told Reuters.
The Venezuelan plan would involve a commission from Latin America, Europe and the Middle East, along with talks between Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi and opposition forces.
Al-Jazeera reports that the deal was struck between Qaddafi and Chavez.
Venezuela's Information Minister Andres Izzara also confirms to Reuters the Arab League has shown interest in the plan. Tomorrow... will they get together or will they end with a breakup? Next on "As the world Burns!" I'm waiting for Obama to endorse this and for the Euros to force the opposition into going along. You know it's coming.
Reuters reports that the chairman of the rebel National Libyan Council rejected proposed talks with Qaddafi. "No one has told us a thing about it and we are not interested anyway. We will never negotiate with him," rebel spokesman Abdul Hafif Goga told The Guardian.
Another member of the committee told the U.K. paper that "talk of peace is far too late" because of the killings.
Too bad, Hugo. There goes your Nobel Peace Prize...
#7
This plan won't work. The Libyan rebels know that they and their families are dead if Gaddafi regains control, and Gaddafi has turned toxic in Western politics.
However the message is clear. Gaddafi has powerful friends in the world who will not abandon him, even though his assets are frozen and he's lost control over Libya's oil.
Gaddafi is still a force to be reckoned with and he might even, with the assistance of his friends reestablish his rule over Libya.
If the rebels don't swiftly crush Gaddafi militarily they will lose. Time is on Gaddafi's side now.
Other winners of this award include Louis Farrakhan, Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega and Tayyip Erdoğan.
Posted by: Lord Garth ||
03/03/2011 14:04 Comments ||
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#9
You mean ... someone has come up with a solution? You mean ... the junior Senator from Illinois' did not provide World Leadership? I even hear his golf score still sucks.
#10
Thing: you say that, but actually Imperial Japan was relatively close to pre-war Poland, as they were both strategic threats to the Soviet Union, and thus had a common interest. I was just reading a book called Bloodlands: Europe Between Hitler and Stalin about the various genocides in the decade-and-a-half between the Elbe and the Dnepr, and how they were more related than not. One of those relations was how much of the Great Purges was aimed against imagined Polish subversion (and by weird extension, Japanese-subversion-through-Polish-exiles-in_Siberia) and Polish citizens of the Soviet republics. There was a very active Japanese intelligence operation run out of Lithuania which was directly responsible for the successful evacuation of a few thousand Lithuanian Jews during Barbarossa. (Kind of a sickly pittance, it was like 1 in 100 or 1 in 50 even in Lithuania, but they tried.)
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
03/03/2011 16:58 Comments ||
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#11
Libyan Government Reportedly Accepts Venezuelan Plan to End Conflict
Does it involve the compromise of smiling during the day and breaking into peoples' houses at night and killing them?
[Maghrebia] Mauritanian youths will rally again in Nouakchott on Tuesday (March 1st) to demand social, economic and political reforms, Journal Tahalil reported. Thousands of young Mauritanians participated in the first Nouakchott protest last Saturday after reportedly learning of the event on Facebook.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ennahar] Brent crude rose back closer to two-and-a-half year highs Wednesday as Libya's Muammar Qadaffy vowed to resist rebellion to the end and his top oil official warned of higher oil prices.
Falls in U.S. oil inventories also boosted prices, brokers said.
Brent crude for April gained 60 cents to $116.02 a barrel at 1341 GMT (8:41 a.m. EST) against the recent peak of $119.79 hit on February 24.
U.S. April crude futures rallied to as high as $101.30 shortly after the U.S. market opened, and was up by $1.40 a barrel around the same time.
"Crude is continuing to climb after a bullish close yesterday and the bullish API inventories and Qadaffy's speech saying he will fight to the end," said Tom Brentz, broker at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc in New York.
Shokri Ghanem, chairman of Libya's National Oil Corporation, told Rooters in an interview that Libya's troubles had created its worst energy crisis in decades and supply cuts to world markets could push oil above $130 a barrel in the next month if troubles persist.
Ghanem said crude oil output had dropped to 700,000-750,000 barrels per day, from a pre-crisis 1.6 million bpd, after the flight of most of the foreign workers who make up about 10 percent of the Libyan energy industry's labor forces.
"The question is what will be the outcome over the next few days -- will there be a full stoppage as the evacuation of personnel from Libya continues?" said Harry Tchilinguirian, head of commodity market strategy at BNP Paribas. Markets had become more volatile and moves of a dollar in either direction had lost significance, he added.
Some oil exports from Libya continued. Two Greek tankers left the Libyan port of Es Sider on Tuesday, but concerns about potential violations of recently imposed U.S.Libya left a cargo sitting off the coast of Texas and Louisiana in the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ennahar] Muammar Qadaffy said on Wednesday that Libyans would die in thousands if the United States or other foreign powers enter Libya, and he was ready to discuss constitutional and legal changes without violence.
"Do they want us to become slaves once again like we were slaves to the Italians?" the Libyan leader said, referring to Libya's former colonial power. "We will never accept it. We will enter a bloody war and thousands and thousands of Libyans will die if the United States enters or NATO enters."
On al Qaeda, he said: "I am ready to debate anyone one of them, one of their 'emirs', whomsoever appoints himself, who comes to me to debate with me, but they do not debate ... they do not have demands at all."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Muammar warns that His demise + US-NATO mil intervention will:
> Libya = another "VIETNAM", espec for US Milfors.
> Cause Libyuh, North Africa, + the entire Mediterranean region to become unstable. Instability in Libya = instability in Mediterranean.
> Africans will march into, agz Europe, + the EURO WILL HAVE NO WAY TO STOP IT.
> Mediterranean = SOMALIA = CENTER, BASE FOR REGIONAL PIRACY AGZ INTERNAT COMMERCE.
> THREATENS CHINA + ASIA.
> EMPOWERS IRAN.
#2
Let me see : no triple canopy jungle, no direct land border with a hostile Red China, no 30+ years of guerrilla warfare experience before fighting the US, no Soviet Union pumping billions of dollars worth of weapons a year to the Libyans, and no LBJ around to micromanage. Other than that, Libya is exactly like Vietnam.
#7
Will a Line of Death drawn in the sands of the desert be more effective than a Line of Death drawn in the waters of the Mediterranean? The last one seemed rather...permeable.
[Ennahar] Muammar Qadaffy launched an offensive to retake territory in Libya's east on Wednesday, sparking a rebel warning that foreign armed forces might be needed to "put the nail in his coffin" and end his long rule.
The veteran ruler twinned the attack with a populist propaganda broadside against the rebels at a televised meeting, playing to nationalist opinion by saying a lot of blood would be shed if foreign powers intervened in the country's crisis.
Government troops briefly captured Marsa El Brega, an oil export terminal, before being driven back by rebels who have controlled the town 800 km (500 miles) east of the capital Tripoli for about a week, rebel officers said.
Their account was contradicted by Libyan state TV, which said Qadaffy's forces held the airport and seaport.
The veteran leader told the televised gathering the world did not understand that he had given power to the people long ago.
"We put our fingers in the eyes of those who doubt that Libya is ruled by anyone other than its people," he said at a TripoliLibya, and said he saw a conspiracy to colonize Libya and seize its oil. gathering broadcast live on Libyan television, referring to his system of "direct democracy" launched at a meeting attended by visiting Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 1977. Referring to an unprecedented two-week-old popular uprising against his rule, Qadaffy also called for the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society and NATO to probe the facts about what had happened in
The assault appeared to be the most significant military operation by Qadaffy since the uprising erupted in mid-February and set off a confrontation that Washington says could descend into a long civil war unless the veteran strongman steps down.
But analysts cautioned against drawing firm conclusions from fast moving events in a situation of erratic communications.
"The attack reinforces the idea that the government is capable of projecting power far into the east," said Shashank Joshi, an analyst at Britain's Royal United Services Institute.
"But we should keep in mind that both the government and the rebels are trying to spin an image of momentum.
"Bear in mind that in the area around Tripoli, where the government has more forces to draw on, we see government offensives still being blunted quite easily."
The rebels said they would probably seek foreign military help, a sensitive topic for Western countries uncomfortably aware that Iraq suffered years of bloodletting and al Qaeda violence after a 2003 U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein.
"We are probably going to call for foreign help, probably air strikes at strategic locations that will put the nail in his (Qadaffy's) coffin," Mustafa Gheriani, a front man for the rebel February 17th Coalition, told Rooters.
"They tried to take Brega this morning, but they failed. It is back in the hands of the revolutionaries. He (Qadaffy) is trying to create all kinds of psychological warfare to keep these cities on edge," he said.
There are fears that the uprising, the bloodiest yet against long-serving rulers in the Middle East, is causing a major humanitarian crisis, especially on the Tunisian border where thousands of foreign workers are trying to flee to safety.
Qadaffy is defiant and his son, Saif al-Islam, has warned the West against launching military action. He said the veteran ruler would not relinquish power or be driven into exile.
The Libyan leader might do something "desperate" to defend his regime, Italy's industry minister said.
"There is a possibility, indeed a real possibility, that Qadaffy might make a desperate last-ditch attempt to free himself from the siege that he finds himself in," said Paolo Romani on Italian television.
Across Libya, tribal leaders, officials, military officers and army units have defected to the rebel cause and say they are becoming more organized. Tripoli is a stronghold for Qadaffy in this oil-producing north African state.
"We are going to keep the pressure on Qadaffy until he steps down and allows the people of Libya to express themselves freely and determine their own future," Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told ABC's "Good Morning America."
Captain Faris Zwei, among officers in the east who joined the opposition to Qadaffy, said there were more than 10,000 volunteers in Ajdabiyah, a short distance from Marsa El Brega.
"We are reorganizing the army, which was almost completely destroyed by Qadaffy and his gang before they left," he said.
Two amphibious assault ships, USS Kearsarge, which can carry 2,000 Marines, and USS Ponce, entered the Suez Canal on Wednesday en route to the Mediterranean. The destroyer USS Barry moved through the canal on Monday as part of efforts to increase diplomatic and military pressure on Qadaffy to quit.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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Ala PANARMENIAN NETWORK > The Libyuhn Rebs' "probably seek foreign military help" has now become de facto "REBEL LEADERS CALL FOR IMMEDIATE INTERNATIONAL [foreign]MILITARY NTERVENTION".
versus
* TOPIX > HILLARY: IRAN IN CONTACT WID OPPOSITION GROUPS.
* PEOPLE'S DAILY FORUM > GADDAFI'S SON LAUGHS OFF NO-FLY-ZONE WARNING. Ridicules UK's PM David Cameron's handling of the crisis as a "joke", + warns that PAPA MUAMMAR + REGIME ARE NOT AFRAID OF WESTERN MIL INTERVENTION.
[Ennahar] Arab League foreign ministers met in Cairo to discuss a draft resolution rejecting foreign military intervention in Libya, the deputy secretary general of the league said.
The repositioning of U.S. ships and aircraft closer to Libya is widely seen as a symbolic show of force since neither the United States nor its NATO allies have shown any appetite for direct military intervention in the turmoil that has seen Qadaffy lose control of large swaths of his country.
Italy said it was sending a humanitarian mission to Tunisia to provide food and medical aid to as many as 10,000 people who had fled violence in Libya on its eastern border.
The White House said the ships were being redeployed in preparation for possible humanitarian efforts but stressed it "was not taking any options off the table." Gates said: "Our job is to give the president the broadest possible decision space."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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Foreign military involvement in the internal affairs of a rat-bag tyrant or dictator sets a bad precedent and makes the other rat-bag tyrants and dictators nervous. Once it starts, where will it end?
[Ennahar] The director of state security (intelligence) in Mali, Mami Coulibaly was fired Tuesday after the escaping of a Tunisian man who threw an bomb against the Embassy of La Belle France in Bamako in January according to a security source.
"Colonel Major Mami Coulibaly was relieved of his duties Tuesday following the escape of the terrorist from Tunisia," the source said on condition of anonymity. "That does not mean he is responsible for the leak of the terrorist, but his services were responsible," the sources added.
Bashir Simoun, a 24 year old Tunisian claiming to be a member of al-Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has beat feet Monday from Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location where he was held in Mali since he had committed an attack in early January against the Embassy of La Belle France in Bamako.
The circumstances of the escape were not specified, "but many persons responsible of his custody were nabbed," said a source at the Malian Ministry of Interior.
January 5 at night, equipped with an automatic pistol, a bomb and a grenade, Bachir Simoun was able to detonate the device or the grenade, according to divergent testimony at the time.
This attack against the embassy located in the heart of Bamako, was unprepared, which seemed to indicate that the man, nabbed shortly after, had acted alone, according to Sherlocks. AQIM has not grabbed credit.
An investigator had said that Simoun had "personally, hatred of La Belle France," adding that he was a member of a katiba (camp of Islamist fighters) of AQIM in the Sahel, where operates this organization that has pledged allegiance in 2006 to the leader of Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ennahar] The transitional government formed by the Libyan opposition will begin work in Libya, even if Muammar Qadaffy refused to leave Tripoli, said on Tuesday a Libyan diplomat at the UN.
But it may take even weeks to force the Libyan leader, increasingly surrounded by the opposition and pressure from the international community, to leave office, warned Ibrahim Dabbashi, Deputy Ambassador of Libya to the UN.
Mr. Dabbashi was one of the first Libyan diplomats to defect to protest against the brutal repression on the opposition by the forces of Colonel Qadaffy.
The Libyan opposition Saturday announced the formation of an "independent National Council" in Benghazi (east), second largest city and stronghold of the contestation to represent "all the liberated cities of Libya."
This body will be "the face of Libya during the period of transition," said a front man for the Council, Abdelhafez Ghoqa.
The transitional government will be formed "soon" and will start working even if Muammar Qadaffy continues to control the capital, said Dabbashi.
"Everybody supports the transitional government. It earns the support of people in all parts of the country," he said, adding: "We want it to be installed as soon as possible to ensure the link between the Libyan people and the outside world."
In the context of recognition by the international community, contacts have already been made at the UN, said Dabbashi.
He explained that the transitional government would serve as a first step in Benghazi and would be transferred to the capital only when it would be "liberated".
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] Libya's deputy UN ambassador said Tuesday that Muammar Qadaffy is trying to replace him and Ambassador Mohamed Shalgham because they have both called for an end to his regime.
Ibrahim Dabbashi told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named on Tuesday that "certainly it will not be accepted by the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society." But UN diplomats and observers say it could be complicated because, from a legal and protocol standpoint, the Qadaffy government is still accredited to the United Nations and therefore has the right to choose who represents it.
UN front man Martin Nesirky confirmed "that the United Nations has received a notification from the Libyan authorities." He refused to elaborate, saying only that "the correspondence is being studied." A UN official, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the letter involved Shalgham and Dabbashi.
At the UN, virtually all deputies have ambassadorial rank.
Dabbashi, surrounded by members of Libya's UN Mission, called on Qadaffy to step down on Feb. 21. Shalgham initially refused to oppose Qadaffy, calling him "my friend," but he did an about-face last Friday and denounced the Libyan leader.
The Qadaffy regime also informed the State Department that it was firing its US ambassador, Ali Aujali, who announced last week he was siding with the opposition. State Department lawyers are looking into whether the US will accept the legitimacy of the request.
US State Department lawyers are reviewing a Libyan government document that purports to fire Aujali. US officials said Tuesday that until the review is complete, the B.O. regime will recognize the sacked envoy as the representative of the Libyan government in Washington. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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[Arab News] The men, armed with handmade weapons, knives and automatic rifles, hunker down in an unfinished concrete building meant to one day be a hotel. They lie on mattresses, drink tea and take turns watching the long road to Tripoli for any sign of imminent attack.
The men at the impromptu hilltop post are the first line of defense for their remote town of 18,000 in Libya's northwestern desert, which shook off the rule of Muammar Qadaffy -- "Liberated Nalut," as the graffiti sprayed on walls in town proclaimed.
"The youth here lost hope in this country," said Mustafa, a 37-year-old civil servant among the men. "So when the uprising started, we took whatever arms we could find and we went kaboom! -- we took our town back." He, like many others in the town spoke on condition their full names not be used for fear of retaliation.
The rebellion in Libya has been centered along the long Mediterranean coast where most of its population of 6 million live. Nearly the entire eastern half of the coast has broken away from Qadaffy's regime, leaving him in control of the seaside capital of Tripoli and nearby cities in the west.
But the uprising is also raging in this corner of Libya's sparsely populated desert hinterland, 140 miles (240 kilometers) southwest of Tripoli. An News Agency that Dare Not be Namednews hound spent two days with the self-declared "revolutionaries" in Nalut, one of a string of "liberated" towns nestled in the Nafusa Mountains near the border with Tunisia.
The border crossing -- 40 miles (68 kilometers) from Nalut along a winding mountain road -- was briefly in the hands of anti-Qadaffy forces for several days. But military units loyal to Qadaffy moved in Monday and retook it.
That, and the presence of an army base only a short drive away to the north, raised fears in Nalut that the military was now moving on the town.
On Monday, residents worked furiously to erect what defenses they could. At the town entrance, they used a bulldozer to pile up a hill of dirt and rocks as a road barrier. Others dug trenches for defenders to take cover in.
Exhausted and their faces lined with fear, organizers at the town's former State Intelligence Service building -- now a community center -- made harried phone calls to sympathetic former army officers, trying to get information on the military's movements.
"We only have Kalashnikovs," one man screamed into the phone. "What do you think we can do with those?" Farther east in the Nafusa mountain range, the military did strike Monday night, attacking the opposition-held town of Zintan. Troops in about 20 vehicles with heavy machine guns launched the assault but were repulsed by armed residents and allied army units, who captured one of the vehicles, said two residents of Zintan.
"We will not give it up no matter what forms of terrorism" Qadaffy uses, one man in Zintan said. "From now on, people will not accept anything less than freedom and a democratic state." At least three other towns in the mountain range, which is dominated by members of Libya's ethnic Berber minority, have also been taken over by the opposition, said Nalut residents, who are in touch with their brethren.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Interesting that the Berbers have joined in the rebellion, since they are also restive on the other side of the border.
Al
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
03/03/2011 11:17 Comments ||
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#2
The Berbers seem to be a contrary people -- they fought against the Roman emperors for a great many years over differences in Christian theology. I think it was Constantine who sent out the legions to settle the issue, but I could be wrong.
[The Nation (Nairobi)] Libyan strongman Muammar Qadaffy repeated on Wednesday his claim that Al-Qaeda is behind a popular uprising against his 41-year rule and promised to fight it to the last man and woman.
In a speech broadcast live on state television, Qadaffy also challenged calls from at home and abroad for him to step down, saying he has "no real power."
"Sleeper cells from Al-Qaeda, its elements, infiltrated gradually ... They believe the world is theirs, they fight everywhere, the intelligence services know them by name," he told a ceremony of loyalists in the capital Tripoli.
"Suddenly it started in (the eastern town of) Al-Baida... The sleeping cell was told to attack the battalion ... and it took arms from cop shoppes," said Qadaffy.
"The soldiers went home and left their battalion" while the Al-Qaeda cells "took the weapons and control of the town.
"The women decamped ... bullets were everywhere. It was the same situation in Benghazi," he said of the main eastern city under the control of the rebel forces.
But he said "we will fight to the end, to the last man, the last woman ... with God's help."
The ceremony was aired live shortly after rebels said they had repelled an attack by Qadaffyi's forces in the eastern town of Brega on Wednesday, with witnesses reporting two civilians killed.
The event was to mark the anniversary of the launch of the People's Committees, according to the broadcaster.
Reading from a prepared text, Qadaffy 's speech was frequently interrupted by chants of support, which he duly praised.
Qadaffy criticised media reports about the resignations of bigwigs from his regime including several military leaders and ambassadors abroad.
"The resignations from abroad, the statements from inside (Libya) ... don't believe them," he said.
"As far as Libya is concerned ... nothing happened ... and it is strange that the world received news from correspondents and TV stations not present in Libya."
"They don't want any real news from Libya," Qadaffy said, before adding that "there are no political prisoners in Libya at all."
"The Libyan people challenge ... even Muammar Qadaffy who has no power," said Qadaffy, who rose to power after a coup against Libya's monarchy in 1969.
"When the People's Committees issue something, it becomes law and is implemented for all Libyans. No one can declare war or peace unless the People's Committees decide," the Libyan leader said.
"Muammar has no real power to surrender."
Qadaffy urged the international community to establish a commission of inquiry into the estimated deaths of more than 1,000 people killed in the unrest by his forces.
"We urge the world, the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society, to see where the people were killed, to send a fact-finding team to investigate."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Just because Mo said it doesn't automaticly mean the statement doesn't have merit. BTW, has anyone heard from YaYa lately?
[Ma'an] Libyan rebels said they repulsed forces loyal to Libyan strongman Moammar Qadaffy in Brega on Wednesday after they stormed the eastern town with tanks and heavy artillery.
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03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Jazeera] Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy ... an Arab institution for 42 years ... has said that he is not a president and so cannot resign his position, and that power is in the hands of the people, during a televised public rally in the capital, Tripoli.
"Muammar Qadaffy is not a president to resign, he does not even have a parliament to dissolve," Qadaffy said on Wednesday, his third public appearance since the uprising, surrounded by dozens of supporters in a large ballroom for a ceremony to mark 34 years of "people power".
"Attacks on me are seen by Libyan people as attacks on their symbol and dignity.
"The foreigners want Qadaffy to step down, to step down from what? Qadaffy is just a symbol for the Libyan people... This is how the Libyan people understood it."
He said that the world did not understand the Libyan system that puts power in the hands of the people.
"The people are free to chose the authority they see fit," he said.
"We put our fingers in the eyes of those who doubt that Libya is ruled by anyone other than its people," he said, referring to his system of "direct democracy" which he outlined in his Green Book political manifesto, launched in 1977.
"I have always said that the Libyan people are free [in managing their own business]."
He did however announce that he was willing to discuss constitutional and legal change without armed conflict or chaos.
Qadaffy added there were no protests in the second largest city, Benghazi, Derna, or the eastern town of al-Baida ... that it all started with sleeper cells taking over weapons and security stations.
He said that snuffies released prisioners from jails and included them in their forces.
"These are criminals not political prisioners ... there are no political prisioners in Libya ... We had to destroy the weapons storages to prevent them from falling into the hands of the terrorists.
He repeated his claim that al-Qaeda was behind the popular uprising against his 41-year rule and promised to fight to the last man and woman.
"Sleeper cells from al-Qaeda, its elements, infiltrated gradually ... Suddenly it started in al-Baida... The sleeping cell was told to attack the battalion ... and it took arms from cop shoppes.
'Brainwashed'
"The soldiers went home and left their battalion" while the al-Qaeda cells "took the weapons and control of the town. It was the same situation in Benghazi," whcih is under the control of the rebel forces.
But he said "we will fight to the end, to the last man, the last woman ... with God's help."
Qadaffy said in a previous speech that protesters were brainwashed by Osama bin Laden and had their milk and coffee spiked with hallucinogenic drugs.
Al Jizz's Jacky Rowland, reporting from Benghazi, said that Qadaffy's claim that al-Qaeda is behind the unrest will have some resonance in the West.
Amid continued tensions, the Libyan leader also reiterated oil fields in the country were safe but added that foreign companies were concerned of "gangsters".
He added that if Western companies choose to leave, they will be replaced with "Indian and Chinese companies".
Qadaffy also called for the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society and NATO to investigate what had happened in Libya, saying that he saw a conspiracy to colonise Libya and seize its oil.
"I dare you to find that peaceful protesters were killed. In America, La Belle France, and everywhere, if people attacked military
stores and tried to steal weapons, they will shoot them," he said.
He urged the United Nations and NATO to "set up fact-finding committees" to find out how people were killed.
However, The infamous However... he also warned that if the United States or other foreign powers entered Libya they would face a bloody war.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
MUAMMAR = DE GAULLE = HE IS LIBYUH [France], ERGO HE IS.
Again, NO MUTUAL "DEAL" WHERE HE GETS TO REMAIN A KEY/MAJOR POWERBROKER = HIS LOYALIST ARMY WILL CONTIN ITS RAMPAGE IN HIS DEFENSE; + HE'LL HAVE TO BE KILLED OR ASSASSINATED TO BE REMOVED FROM POWER.
Prolly safe to say that iff he survives, NO DEAL = THE US-NATO/WEST WILL SEE LIBYA RE-START ITS NUCPROGS, perhaps even begin new RAPPROCHEMENT wid IRAN JUST TO SPITE THE US-NATO/WEST???
[Al Jazeera] The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... has said he will open a formal investigation into possible crimes against humanity in Libya.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, decided to launch the investigation on Wednesday after a "preliminary examination of available information."
The announcement was an unprecedentedly swift reaction to the violent crackdown on anti-government protests by Muammar Qadaffy, the Libyan leader, and his supporters.
Prosecutors often take months and sometimes years to decide whether to open an investigation into possible war crimes.
The ICC has previously said that it has been in contact with Libyan army officers to gather information about civilian deaths during the uprising and pledged "no impunity" for anyone found to have committed crimes against humanity.
"Information suggests that forces loyal to President Muammar Qadaffy are attacking civilians in Libya. This could constitute crimes against humanity and must stop," Moreno-Ocampo said on Tuesday.
"There will be no impunity for leaders involved in commission of crimes," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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[Al Arabiya] In a speech aired on Wednesday, the Libyan President Moamer Qadaffy ... Custodian of Wheelus AFB for long 42 years ... blamed al-Qaeda for all the unrest happening in the oil-rich country, and said that he is ready to enter in a dialogue with the Osama bin Laden--led group.
Qadaffy whose 42 years stay in power makes him the longest-serving ruler in Africa, envisaged his own side of the story over the uprising in Libya and said that the unrest started in in the country's third largest city, Bayda, where a sleeping terrorist cell penetrated the country gradually from Afghanistan and Iraq, only later to start executing people "Zarqawi-style" in the name of extremism.
He said that al-Qaeda beturbanned goons took Bayda as their starting point and moved to spread their terror all to the way to Benghzai where they started imposing curfew on people, who now according to him plead for help from the Libyan government to get rid of the al-Qaeda terror in their cities.
The Libyan president who vowed to fight 'to the last man and last woman', said that he is ready to discuss constitutional changes and law reforms, but without the use of violence and that he will give amnesty for those who decide to disband their weapons. He said that any foreign intervention will only cost thousands of Libyan lives.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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Yemeni President President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, after serving as a lieutenant colonel in the army. He had been part of the conspiracy that bumped off his predecessor, Ibrahim al-Hamdi, in the usual tiresome military coup, and he has maintained power by keeping Yemen's many tribes fighting with each other, rather than uniting to string him up. ... called the White House on Wednesday to express regret for "misunderstandings" related to his remarks about the United States and Israel and say he is firmly committed to political reform in Yemen, the White House said.
Saleh called President Barack B.O. Obama's top anti-terrorism advisor, John Brennan, a day after the White House complained he was scapegoating, after he described the Arab uprisings as an Israeli plot backed by Washington.
"President-for-Life Saleh ... exemplifying the Arab's propensity to combine brutality with incompetence... called assistant to the president, John Brennan, this morning to convey his regret for misunderstandings related to his public remarks that Israel and the United States have engaged in destabilizing activities in Arab countries," the White House said in a statement.
"President Saleh also said that he is firmly committed to meaningful political reform in Yemen and that he is reaching out to opposition elements in an effort to achieve reform through a democratic, inclusive, and peaceful process."
"Mr. Brennan expressed appreciation for the call and said that any comments that seek to attribute blame for recent developments in the region are unhelpful, as they ignore the legitimate aspirations of people in the Arab world," the White House statement said.
Brennan also encouraged Saleh to continue trying to reach out to opposition groups, amid mass protests against his rule in Yemen, and called on all sides of the political dispute to eschew violence.
Saleh is a key U.S. anti-terror ally for Washington, largely due to the presence on Yemeni soil of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which has plotted several recent foiled attacks against the United States.
But he complained on Tuesday about Obama's critiques of the wave of protest and revolt sweeping North Africa and the Middle East, accusing Washington of backing an Israeli plot.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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[Asharq al-Aswat] Dr. Fuad Sajwani, chairman of the economic committee of the Sultanate of Oman's Shura Council, has asserted that all of the country's state institutions are studying the various demands presented by the protesters over the past few days. In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat he stressed that everyone supports the reform process and the reasonable demands for reform "but implementation of the reforms needs more time to be examined and therefore the rational thing is for things to be handled calmly."
He pointed out that the state had previously approved a package of reforms and demands some time ago in order to improve the conditions of Omani citizens, especially those on low income. Foremost among these reforms was raising the minimum wage, removing some restrictions for earning social security, and granting the unemployed monthly financial allowance.
However Dr. Sajwani added that some demands being made by the protesters were unreasonable and illogical "as there are rules and laws in every country that have to be observed. Support for the conditions of low-income families should be within a broader framework that is not confined to financial grants but also strengthens the overall local production and attracts investments and more."
Sajwani also revealed that action is currently underway to study raising pensions for the private sector's employees after approval was given to raise pensions of state employees. The Omani cabinet is also studying discussing proposals of increasing the student capacity of Omani universities and private colleges. Dr. Sajwani also told Asharq Al-Awsat that the state was covering the education costs of around 4,000 Omani students in private universities, institutes, and colleges and this number would increase in the coming stage. In addition to this, the state is also funding the education of a large number of students at public universities and colleges following the approval to increase the monthly expenses offered to the students.
The Omani official called for the public to look carefully at the many decisions taken recently by the Omani state to improve the conditions of its citizens, stressing that "an extremely important law was approved some three months ago allocating funds for building housing estates of approximately 13,000 housing units for low-income families. This is an extremely important step but what is needed today is to hasten the implementation of these projects because they are an urgent priority and are bound to facilitate many things for the people."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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The man who shot and killed two American troops in Germany Wednesday was a recently radicalized Muslim who seems to have been influenced by local radical Islamist websites, a German official said Thursday.
#3
"Ferget dis wuz a murderous attrocity aginst American Citizens! Deez labels are NOT PC!" Mawalis President Obama, Attorney Ginerale Holder, Secretary of State Hillary (Wife of a recent Commander-In-Briefs)
#4
a rational response to Jooooo atrocities against Kosovo, Albania, or Fiji.....or something. Regardless, the Great Satan and Da Jooos are at fault - it's in the Koran , somewhere
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/03/2011 21:14 Comments ||
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#5
Regardless, the Great Satan and Da Jooos are at fault - it's in the Koran , somewhere
A man arrested on suspicion of killing two US airmen at Frankfurt Airport yesterday has confessed to targeting US military members, according to a German security official today.
A Pentagon spokesperson said that the four military men involved in yesterday's shooting were en route from their base in Britain to Afghanistan. The Pentagon also said that one of the key aspects of the investigation into yesterday's shooting is whether the shooter acted alone or had assistance.
German authorities say their investigation has so far concluded that he acted alone, but added that "there are signs that this is about a radicalised Muslim".
Arid Uka's neighbours in Frankfurt said they were shocked at the incident and described him as someone who kept to himself, but didn't seem unfriendly. Ah, a "loner", a "quiet man"... "Misunderstood..."
#1
The Chandler police report also reveals that the victim believed in Santa Muerte, a Mexican saint of death, and had bragged to his companions shortly before his beheading that he had died and come back to life five times and could kill with a look.
#2
I seem to remember Gov. Jan Brewer taking some abuse for saying that cartel beheadings had happened in AZ. Abuse from Janet "Nappy" Incompetano and others. When will that lying dirt bag apologize? How about resign?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/03/2011 7:46 Comments ||
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#3
"There can be only one"
- Hey, it's just a 'diversity' thingy of reviving old Aztec/Mayan cultural practices.
#4
While the cartels are a nuisance, I am very concerned about the Santa Muerte cult. A throwback to Aztec religion, more and more of its symbols are showing up in the US.
All these people need is a charismatic leader, and America could have the equivalent of thousands of Thuggee dispersed throughout the US. Even worse, no doubt criminals, even Anglo criminals, would want to join the cult as a Mafia.
In realistic terms, it could quickly become like MS-13, but ten times its size. With a primary emphasis on robbery and murder.
[Asharq al-Aswat] Gunmen rubbed out Pakistain's minorities minister on Wednesday for challenging a law that mandates the death penalty for insulting Islam, the second top official killed this year over the blasphemy law.
The liquidation of Shahbaz Bhatti, the only Christian in Pakistain's cabinet, is the latest sign of the deep political instability in the nuclear-armed U.S. ally. Frequent turban attacks and chronic economic problems have raised fears for the country's future.
Pak Talibs grabbed credit for killing Bhatti, with a Taliban front man saying the minister was a blasphemer.
Bhatti was shot in broad daylight while travelling in a car near a market in the capital, Islamabad, police said.
"The initial reports are that there were three men who attacked him. He was probably shot using a Kalashnikov, but we are trying to ascertain what exactly happened," said Islamabad police chief Wajid Durrani.
The windscreen of Bhatti's car had four or five bullet holes and blood covered the back seat. A hospital front man said Bhatti, who had spoken out against the anti-blasphemy law, received several wounds.
The law has been in the spotlight since last November, when a court sentenced a Christian mother of four to death.
On January 4 the governor of the most populous province of Punjab, Salman Taseer, who had strongly opposed the law and sought a presidential pardon for the 45-year-old Christian farmhand, was killed by one of his bodyguards who had been angered by the governor's stand.
Bhatti was travelling without security, having left two escorts provided by police at home, Durrani said.
"There was no protection when he left the house," the police chief said. "There was just a private driver with him. We don't know about the minister's thinking, but we had provided him two escorts because he was under threat."
Pak Talibs had called for Bhatti's death because of his attempts to amend the law and a turbanfront man, Sajjad Mohmand, said they had killed him.
"He was a blasphemer like Salman Taseer," Mohmand said by telephone from Qazi's guesthouse an undisclosed location.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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[Ma'an] Gazoo residents on the outskirts of Khan Younis reported Wednesday an Israeli force entering the Gazoo borders, penetrating some 200 meters beyond the Green Line.
The force entered under the cover of gunfire, witnesses said, and included three military vehicles and an armored bulldozer.
An Israeli military front man said he had no reports of fire in the area.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
IIRC YNETNEWS > ARABS IN ISRAEL WILL PROTEST LIKE IN EGYPT UNDER SOCIAL WORKERS' STRIKE.
[Ma'an] Paleostine's delegation to the UN Human Rights Council walked out Monday in protest of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's ... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as Another Walter Q. Gresham ... speech in which she criticized the council for bias against Israel.
The Paleostinian representative in Geneva on Tuesday confirmed reports in the Arabic media that delegates stormed out of Clinton's speech, which was heavy on criticism of Israel's neighbors and the UN body.
"We walked out to protest Clinton's death-defying defense of Israel when she said the council was biased against Israel," Ambassador Ibrahim Khreisha said Tuesday.
He told Ma'an radio that Clinton spoke about human rights ... which are not the same thing as individual rights, mind you... violations in Egypt, Tunis, Libya, Bahrain, Yemen and Iran, then cited Israel as a victim and ignored its "crimes against the Paleostinians."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/03/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Consider it a Reset.
Posted by: Pearl Gleaper1127 ||
03/03/2011 0:41 Comments ||
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#2
Well, you have to admit that practically EVERY Moslem country on the planet has less than a town hall meeting sort of outlook when it comes to how they treat their own people.
How many Moslem countries are there? Enough. Most are stinky old boots and Big moustache sorts of places. And the vast majority are dusty and dry and not much available sorts of places on the rim of dirty toilets.
You wont find prosperity founded on free speech and free press and open opportunity in any of them. As to bias toward Israel......I think Farrakhan sort of says it all when he speaks from the heart concerning the Moslem point of view.
Nasrallah is what you find in Islam's point of view department.
Most Moslems are Nasrallah kinda guys. The religion of Peace kills people a lot...eighty persent of the worlds wars are usually Moslem centered in their efforts.
When you get off the truck outside of Juba and the truck drives away.....you are there in the heart of the average Moslem Paradise. What IS that smell?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Al Jazeera] Fresh fighting in a tense area of Southern Sudan has killed dozens of people, officials say.
The Libyan government accepts a plan by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to seek a negotiated solution to the ongoing conflict in the North African nation, a Chavez spokesman told Reuters.
[Ennahar] Brent crude rose back closer to two-and-a-half year highs Wednesday as Libya's Muammar Qadaffy vowed to resist rebellion to the end and his top oil official warned of higher oil prices.
[Ennahar] Muammar Qadaffy said on Wednesday that Libyans would die in thousands if the United States or other foreign powers enter Libya, and he was ready to discuss constitutional and legal changes without violence.
[Ennahar] Muammar Qadaffy launched an offensive to retake territory in Libya's east on Wednesday, sparking a rebel warning that foreign armed forces might be needed to "put the nail in his coffin" and end his long rule.
[Ennahar] The director of state security (intelligence) in Mali, Mami Coulibaly was fired Tuesday after the escaping of a Tunisian man who threw an 
Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffy
International Criminal Court
Moamer Qadaffy
[Yemen Post] Yemen's security forces 
President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
The man who shot and killed two American troops in Germany Wednesday was a recently radicalized Muslim who seems to have been influenced by local radical Islamist websites, a German official said Thursday.
The windscreen of Bhatti's car had four or five bullet holes and blood covered the back seat. A hospital 
Hillary Clinton's
