The Nerve Center of the Libyan Revolution



A Courthouse in Benghazi

 

By Clemens Höges in Benghazi, Libya  

The old general is crying, his cheeks trembling. His eyes are red from weeping. Then he buries his face in his hands. Brigadier General Abdulhadi Arafa is one of the most powerful men in Benghazi, in the entire rebel-held eastern part of Libya, in fact. The 64-year-old officer commands 2,000 members of a special-forces unit. And he did everything right a week and a half ago when, after 41 years of service, he decided to refuse to obey Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

When the revolt began, he ordered his officers to stay in their barracks, lock the gates and not take any action against the protesters. Their men were not to shoot at anyone unless they were shot at themselves.

Stats

¥4,800 Price of a one-way ticket from Tokyo to Bangkok offered by travel agency H.I.S. from March 15 to May 8

¥68 billion Estimated sales of e-books in Japan during fiscal 2010, according to the Tokyo-based Yano Research Institute

216.8 million Number of appliances and electronics disposed of in Japan last year, according to the environment ministry

840 Students at an elementary school in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, stricken with food poisoning after eating a school lunch of “potato-miso soup, salad… and radish

Government By Tweet  

Yea, That Will Work  

These Tests May Seem Important  

Truthfully They’re Pointless

Eels He Imported Fake Eels  

Fake Eels?  

How-to books on living comfortably on welfare selling well





TOKYO  

A healthy economy affords almost everyone a livelihood. For those who fall through the cracks, there’s welfare relief. An unhealthy economy swells the welfare rolls. Japan’s current economy is extremely unhealthy. The welfare system is strained to the breaking point. “Strange world,” muses Shukan Shincho (March 3), referring to a recent spate of briskly-selling how-to books offering advice on milking welfare for all it’s worth and more. Why struggle? is the implied message. You can live pretty comfortably on welfare, if you know the ropes.

By 2005, the nation was some 15 years into its ongoing “lost decade,” and 1 million households were on welfare. By last November 1.42 million households were – 1.97 million individuals. Welfare payments in 2009 came to 3 trillion yen.

Gadhafi’s forces break through Libya rebel lines



Opposition appear to be losing in Zawiya in west, but their flag flies over new city in east

NBC, msnbc.com and news services  

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s forces broke through rebel defenses at the city of Zawiya Saturday, witnesses said after a battle in which dozens of people were killed.

The attack on the city, about 30 miles west of Tripoli, saw an improvised force of rebels armed with hunting rifles and swords take on troops from the elite Khamis Brigade – named after the son of Gadhafi who commands it.

The witnesses said that forces loyal to the regime had overcome rebel positions with tanks, heavy mortar shelling, machinegun fire.

The rattle of gunfire and explosions could be heard as they spoke to The Associated Press by phone. They did so on condition of anonymity because of fears for their safety.

‘Gaddafi’s men had heavier weapons but we had more to fight for’



Rebel forces have repelled attacks by troops.

By Kim Sengupta on the front line of a civil war, and Catrina Stewart in Brega  Friday, 4 March 2011

Rebels pursuing the retreating troops of Muammar Gaddafi have set up a new frontline in regime-held territory in preparation for an offensive which they claim will significantly change the course of the conflict.

After repulsing an attack on Brega, a strategic town and oil production centre, the revolutionary forces have moved on to Agheila, 40 miles further west towards Sirte, Colonel Gaddafi’s birthplace and a loyalist stronghold.

Although the outcome of what is now a civil war is far from certain, the failure of the regime to take Brega and push on to Benghazi, the capital of “Free Libya”, has provided a great boost to the morale of the dissident movement.

US says Gaddafi is ‘delusional’ and unfit to lead



A senior US diplomat says Gaddafi’s behaviour ‘underscores how unfit he is to lead and how disconnected he is from reality’

Ben Quinn and agencies

guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 1 March 2011

Muammar Gaddafi is “delusional”,  “unfit to lead” and “disconnected from reality”, according to the US ambassador to the UN.

Susan Rice made the comments following an interview Gaddafi gave in which he insisted the people of Libya love him and denied that there have been any demonstrations against his regime.

“All my people love me. They would die to protect me,” the Libyan leader said, speaking to news organisations including the BBC, laughing off international pressure to step down.

“As if anyone would leave their homeland,” he replied, accusing western leaders of betrayal and of having “no morals.”

Rebel government tries to bring order to the shattered streets of Benghazi

By Kim Sengupta in Benghazi  Monday, 28 February 2011

Libya has taken its first steps towards a new future following four decades of dictatorship with the formation of a new administration in the half of the country which is out of Colonel Gaddafi’s control.

The National Council set up in Benghazi, the “capital of Free Libya”, will present itself for recognition by the international community as emissaries of the people who will be representing the country from now on.

Former justice minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil announced that he would head an interim government with the suggestion that it has the backing of the US.

African mercenaries in Libya nervously await their fate

Mercenaries captured in Libya are facing an uncertain future, writes Nick Meo in Al-Bayda.



By Nick Meo, Al-Bayda, Libya 7:30AM GMT 27 Feb 2011  

Crowded into an empty classroom which was stinking of unwashed bodies and reeking of fear, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s defeated mercenary killers awaited their fate.

A week earlier the men – Libyan loyalists of the dictator and black African recruits – had been landed at airports throughout eastern Libya and sent out into the streets to shoot protesters in a murderous rampage. They killed dozens before they were overwhelmed by anti-Gaddafi militias.

The survivors were exhausted, filthy, far from home, and fearful of execution, even though they had been assured of good treatment. Fifty of them lay on mattresses on the floor in one classroom alone, with nearly 100 more in the same school building which was being used as a temporary prison. Most looked dazed. Some were virtually children

FIGHTING CLING-ONS FOR THREE DECADES

 

Toto’s warm water-spraying Washlet toilet seats celebrated 30 years of keeping things clean down under, living up to their slogan, “Buttocks, too, want to be washed.”

Locals in Miyazaki rolled out the welcome wagon for the Yomiuri Giants as they opened “spring” camp, lavishing 20 kilos of kumquat, 20kg of mikan, 10 boxes of strawberries and 100 broiled eels on the Central League powerhouse.

But the Giants gave as good as they got, donating some ¥3 million to support local relief efforts as Miyazaki battles bird flu and a spewing volcano.

Meanwhile, the Softbank Hawks also got a welcome gift at their camp when 10kg of tuna and 10kg of shrimp were dropped off by the Miyazaki Fish Federation.

16-year-old ballet dancers Shizuru Kato and Yuko Horisawa finished fifth and seventh, respectively, at the prestigious Prix de Lausanne competition, each earning year-long scholarships to some of the top dance schools in the world.

Rebels lay siege to Gaddafi stronghold



Desperate dictator tells faithful: ‘We can crush any enemy’

By Donald Macintyre, Terri Judd and Catrina Stewart in Benghazi  Saturday, 26 February 2011

The beleaguered  Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi defiantly appealed to his hardcore supporters to “defend the nation” against an uprising which was last night closing in on Tripoli after thousands of protesters braved gunfire to try to march through the capital.

Standing on the ramparts of a fort overlooking the city’s Green Square, Colonel Gaddafi pumped his fist and told 1,000 pro-regime demonstrators: “We can crush any enemy. We can crush it with the people’s will. The people are armed and when necessary, we will open arsenals to arm all the Libyan people and all Libyan tribes.”

New Zealand earthquake: ‘slim chance’ of further survivors

Emergency services continue earthquake rescue efforts but no survivors found in last 24 hours

• Toby Manhire in Christchurch

• The Guardian, Friday 25 February 2011



As the death toll from Tuesday’s earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, continues to rise, the authorities have admitted that the chances of finding further survivors are increasingly slim.

With 113 people confirmed dead, including two babies, and more than 200 people still missing, civil defence minister John Carter said: “We’re still hopeful, but it’s getting less and less likely.”

The bleak warning came as one of two Britons confirmed dead in the quake was named as Gregory Tobin, 25, a chef, from Tadcaster, North Yorkshire. Tobin had been on a round-the-world trip and was believed to have been working temporarily at a garage in Christchurch. One tribute on his Facebook page read: “Such a nice guy and at such a young age.”