Gaddafi regime: We will fight to the end
Dictator’s son warns of civil war during rambling TV address as violent protests spread to Libyan capital
By Catrina Stewart and Kim Sengupta Monday, 21 February 2011
In a a sign that the first cracks are starting to show in the Libyan regime, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s son warned in a lengthy and rambling address broadcast live last night that the overthrow of the regime would lead to civil war and the break-up of the country.
The address by Saif Gaddafi, who is viewed as reform-minded in the West, came as the first major anti-government protests spread to the capital, Tripoli, striking at the heart of the regime and making Colonel Gaddafi’s 42-year hold on power appear increasingly precarious.
She Simply Chose Too Speak Out
Chinese mother imprisoned for taking part in peaceful protest
AS YOU read this Mao Hengfeng, a Chinese mother of three and a former factory worker, is being held in what the Chinese government calls a Re-education Through Labour (RTL) facility. Others would simply call it a labour camp. Her 18-month sentence is for taking part in a peaceful protest in support of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo last March.
But this is not the first time Mao Hengfeng has been behind bars. In 1988 she was working in a soap factory when she became pregnant with her third child, violating China’s family planning regulations. She was ordered by officials at the factory to have an abortion but she refused, determined to continue her pregnancy and give birth.
Don’t Be One of The…..
Sheep aren’t stupid after all? That’s something to ruminate on
SHEEP are a byword for stupidity and mindlessly following the crowd. But they are far more intelligent than they are given credit for.
Researchers have found that sheep have the brainpower to equal monkeys and, in some tests, even humans. They have advanced learning capabilities, are adaptable, can map out their surroundings mentally and may even be able to plan ahead.
Jenny Morton, a neuroscientist at the University of Cambridge, said the intelligence of sheep was greatly underestimated.
We Really Don’t Want You Back
Madagascar blocks return of president
Marc Ravalomanana said aviation authorities in Madagascar had written to South African Airways to say he was not welcome.
Ravalomanana had been booked on the carrier’s regular Saturday flight to Antananarivo, Madagascar’s capital.
“I’m very, very upset,” Ravalomanana told reporters shortly after South African Airways said he could not board the plane. “I’m very disappointed right now because many Malagasy people are at the airport waiting for my arrival. But I’m still here – I’m stuck here.”
Republicans Blinded By Ideology
As Republicans See a Mandate on Budget Cuts, Others See Risk
WASHINGTON – In Congress and in statehouses, Republican lawmakers and governors are claiming a broad mandate from last year’s elections as they embark on an aggressive campaign of cutting government spending and taking on public unions. Their agenda echoes in its ambition what President Obama and Democrats tried after winning office in their own electoral wave in 2008.
In Washington, the House approved more than $60 billion in spending cuts before dawn on Saturday that would hit virtually every area of government, setting up a showdown with Senate Democrats and the White House.
In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie, who is embroiled in a political fight with the teachers’ union, is expected to call for drastic steps on Tuesday to close a roughly $10 billion budget gap.
The Silence Is Finally Broken
Former medical school site in Tokyo is connected to Unit 731, which used prisoners in germ and biological warfare programme
Japan unearths site linked to human experiments
Authorities in Japan have begun excavating the former site of a medical school that may contain the remains of victims of the country’s wartime germ and biological warfare programme.
The school has links to Unit 731, a branch of the imperial Japanese army that conducted lethal experiments on prisoners as part of efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction.
The Japanese government has never officially acknowledged the unit’s existence, despite testimony from former members and a growing volume of documentary evidence.
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