Libyan Revolution Tweets, Day 8, Part 8 (The Time has come the walrus said...)

MilitantNews MilitantNews
#Gaddafi The time has come' the walrus said 'to talk of many things: of shoes and ships-and sealing wax-of cabbages and kings' Lewis Carroll
2 minutes ago

LibyanThinker The Libyan Thinker
Remains of Soldiers Burned to Death for Not Shooting Protesters in #Libya http://www.twitvid.com/YXKOT & http://tinyurl.com/4d6a57n

Interview: French rights official sees up to 2,000 dead in Libya

PARIS | Thu Feb 24, 2011 12:14pm EST
(Reuters) - France's top human rights official said on Thursday that up to 2,000 people could have died in the revolt against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's more than four decades in power.

In an interview with Reuters, Francois Zimeray also said there was clear evidence to suggest the Libyan leader had committed crimes against humanity.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/24/us-libya-france-rights-idUSTRE71N4NZ20110224

Gaddafi's Sanity in Question
By Mosaic News
FEBRUARY 24, 2011, 12:48 PM
NBN reports on Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi, describing his madness as "laughable and tragic." The Libyan dictator reached a new low when he described himself as a Greek god and said that he is the one who created Libya and will also be the one to save it. The report includes an interview with Gaddafi in which he gives his own unique definition of democracy.

Lebanese Impersonator Ridicules Gaddafi
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIEw0IVUFN0&feature=player_embedded

http://www.linktv.org/about/blog/post/662/gaddafis-sanity-in-question?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Don't Libyan protesters care about r'n'b stars?
If Gaddafi goes, who will bankroll enormous gigs of the kind played by Lionel Richie and Beyoncé?



Like everyone, Lost in Showbiz has spent this week looking aghast at events in Libya: the violence, the bloodshed – and Gaddafi's insistence that everyone taking part in the demonstrations is on "hallucination pills", as if the whole thing is being orchestrated by Hawkwind. And, with every news report that arrives, the same unanswered question presents itself. Will these people not think at all of the careers of Lionel Richie, Beyoncé and Mariah Carey? Standing up and courageously fighting for freedom, human rights and democracy in the face of almost unimaginable horror is all well and good, but what about the human right of the world's leading r'n'b stars to make vast sums by performing at the behest of a tyrannical dictator and his family?

If the Gaddafi regime falls, who will bankroll enormous gigs of the kind played by Richie in the grounds of the Bab al-Azizia barracks in 2006? Wouldn't it be a terrible pity if his son were too distracted by political events to arrange the annual New Year's Eve gig on St Barts that in 2009 paid Beyoncé a reported $2m for five songs and the year before played host to Carey and Timbaland?

Let's have a little perspective here! Lost in Showbiz looks the Libyan protesters sternly in the eye and asks: Are you sure your struggle to free yourself from the yoke of tyranny is worth disrupting Beyoncé's schedule for? Perhaps you should ruminate on the recently expressed opinion of noted political philosopher Jim Davidson and reconsider: "Once people start protesting in those kind of numbers the politicians have to listen. What I can't get my head around is everyone saying democracy is the way forward. I don't think it is. Look at us. I lived in Dubai. They have a ruling family and all's well. Giving the people a right to choose who governs them is a stupid thing to do." You see? You're screwing everything up for Carey in pursuit of something the greatest socio-political mind of our epoch thinks is stupid!

Lost in Showbiz is well aware of the carping voices that suggest Richie, Beyoncé et al should have thought twice about associating themselves with the Gaddafi regime in the first place. To them, it can only say: the benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it? Perhaps it's worth reminding yourself that Richie's Tripoli gig – a concert that ended with a group of children dressed as angels singing We Are The World – took place five years ago, an era when there was no sign that the Brother Leader might be the kind of crazed despot who would bomb his own people, unless you count the website set up that year that listed 343 victims of murder and political assassination under Gaddafi, the ongoing imprisonment of the late democracy campaigner Fathi el-Jahmi and the Human Rights Watch report that detailed "the continued arrests and incarceration of political prisoners, some of them 'disappeared'; the absence of a free press; the ban on independent organisations; violations of the rights of women and foreigners; and the torture of detainees".

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/lostinshowbiz/2011/feb/24/dont-libyan-protesters-care-about-r-and-b-stars

Leader 'preparing to flee' Libyan bloodshed
Updated 6 hours 31 minutes ago

A political activist says Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi is readying to flee the country, as violent civil unrest continues and rebels continue to take power of towns close to the capital Tripoli.

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Tripoli is still held by pro-Gaddafi forces. Tanks have been seen in the suburbs and the streets are quiet as any protest would almost certainly be crushed.

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London-based Libyan political activist, Guma el-Gamaty, has told the ABC's Lateline that "quite reliable sources" believe Mr Gaddafi is readying to flee his country.

"Gaddifi's own private plane is loaded with gold bullion and lots of hard currency, mainly dollars, and is preparing to flee to Zimbabwe to stay there with his friend Robert Mugabe," he said.

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http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/25/3148403.htm?section=justin

“We hear about protesters joining fri. protests from the East”
Posted on February 24, 2011 by admin

AUDIO

Here is one of the latest audioboo files of a woman saying that they hear about people from other towns coming to join the protests planned for tomorrow after friday prayer.

She also describes the checkpoints and security measures in Tripoli at the moment.

AUDIO


Listen to more voice files from Feb17Voices here

http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2358

BREAKING: Large scale clean up process in Tripoli – New footage!
Posted on February 24, 2011 by admin

With journalists and tv camera crews invited to tour Tripoli tomorrow, the Gaddafi regime has ordered a large scale clean up mission around Tripoli. In the first segement, The People’s Council building which was burnt is being repainted white, whereas the second segment shows streets being cleaned from debris and other remnants from the clashes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3L62zok05V0&feature=player_embedded

http://www.libyafeb17.com/?p=2362

How Kadafi Went From Foe to Ally

Common cause against Islamic radicals has woven U.S. intelligence ties with Libya, whose secular regime is still listed as a state sponsor of terrorism.
September 04, 2005|Ken Silverstein | Times Staff Writer

LONDON — As it struggles to combat Islamic terrorist networks, the Bush administration has quietly built an intelligence alliance with Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi, a onetime bitter enemy the U.S. had tried for years to isolate, topple or kill.

Kadafi has helped the U.S. pursue Al Qaeda's network in North Africa by turning radicals over to neighboring pro-Western governments. He also has provided information to the CIA on Libyan nationals with alleged ties to international terrorists.

In turn, the U.S. has handed over to Tripoli some anti-Kadafi Libyans captured in its campaign against terrorism. And Kadafi's agents have been allowed into the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba to interrogate Libyans being held there.

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Critics charge that the partnership with Libya, like those with countries such as Sudan, Uzbekistan and Egypt, illustrates how Washington is allowing its war on terrorism to trump its effort to promote democracy and human rights in the Arab world. They say that in cooperating with Kadafi, the U.S. has strengthened his oil-rich regime and permitted him to crack down on political opponents, some with democratic credentials far stronger than his own.

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http://articles.latimes.com/2005/sep/04/world/fg-uslibya4

PayPal Freezes Account of Group Raising Money for Bradley Manning
By Kim Zetter February 24, 2011 | 4:03 pm | Categories: Bradley Manning, WikiLeaks


PayPal has frozen the account of a group that has been raising money for the legal defense of accused WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning, citing a failure to meet PayPal’s requirement for nonprofit groups.

According to Courage to Resist, a military veterans advocacy group that has been raising donations for Manning’s defense, PayPal froze the account after the group refused to link its PayPal account to its checking account, which would give the online payment provider access to funds in the checking account.

“We exchanged numerous emails and phone calls with the legal department and the office of executive escalations of PayPal,” said Jeff Paterson in a press release. “They said they would not unrestrict our account unless we authorized PayPal to withdraw funds from our organization’s checking account by default. Our accounting does not allow for this type of direct access by a third party, nor do I trust PayPal as a business entity with this responsibility given their punitive actions against WikiLeaks — an entity not charged with any crime by any government on Earth.”

The advocacy group has been raising funds for the Manning Support Network and has so far paid Manning’s defense attorney at least $50,000 from money that it raised on the soldier’s behalf. Paterson did not respond to a call for comment, but said in the press release that his group opened the PayPal account in 2006.

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http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/02/paypal-manning-freeze/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#