International pressure on Moammar Gadhafi to end a crackdown on opponents escalated Monday as his loyalists fought rebels holding the two cities closest to the capital and his warplanes bombed an ammunition depot in the east. The U.S. moved naval and air forces closer to Libya and said all options were open, including patrols of the North African nation's skies to protect its citizens from their ruler.
"My people love me. They would die for me," he said. ABC reported that Gadhafi invited the United Nations or any other organization to Libya on a fact-finding mission.
Gadhafi's remarks were met with derision in Washington. "It sounds, just frankly, delusional," said U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice. She added that Gadhafi's behavior, including laughing on camera in TV interviews amid the chaos, "underscores how unfit he is to lead and how disconnected he is from reality."
But if you weren't logged on to Facebook, you probably missed it.
That's because the protest was Nicaragua's first virtual march. Throughout the day, activists joined the cyber-revolt ("Marcha Virtual en Nicaragua!!!!") by swapping their Facebook-profile photos for a common protest image and turning their status updates into a picket line: "Our Heroes and Martyrs Didn't Fight and Die to Replace One Dictatorship with Another!," "Down with Mubarak, Gaddafi, and Ortega!" and "No to Idolatry!" It's not a stretch to lump Nicaragua's President with the Libyan strongman
A petition is being circulated to grant asylum to these two pilots I doubt if a petition would be of any benefit or not in this case
We call on the Maltese government to grant asylum to these two pilots, which will save their lives and encourage more pilots and ship captains to refuse to attack civilians.
February 28, 2011, 9:13 am Latest Updates on Libya’s Revolt and Mideast Protests
2:51 P.M. |Video Shows Qaddafi's Son Promising Arms to Supporters
As he has done for days, Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader's son and presumed heir, strongly denied that the regime had used force against protesters in an interview with Christiane Amanpour on Sunday.
That face of moderation and peace is not the one shown in a video clip posted on YouTube on Sunday that appears to show the younger Mr. Qaddafi waving a machine gun and promising to provide supporters in Tripoli with all the weapons they need to crush the "bums, brats and druggies" who have risen up against his father's rule.
In Zawiya, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli, residents said they were anticipating a possible attack by pro-regime troops to try to retake the city. “Our people are waiting for them to come and, God willing, we will defeat them,” said on resident who only wanted to be quoted by his first name, Alaa.
In Misrata, Libya's third largest city 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of Tripoli, skirmishes took place overnight between rebel forces controlling the city and troops loyal to Gadhafi, according to residents. Each side controls part of a sprawling air base on the outskirts of the city, and neither was able to make any gains in the latest sporadic fighting, they said.
One resident said pro-Gadhafi security forces man checkpoints around the city of 2 million and prowl the city for any sign of unrest. She told The Associated Press that the price of rice, a main staple, has gone up 500 percent amid the crisis, reaching the equivalent of US$40 for a five-kilogram (10-pound) bag.
Bakeries are limited to selling five loaves of bread per family, and most butcher shops are closed, she said.
Some schools reopened, but only for a half-day and attendance was low. “My kids are too afraid to leave home and they even sleep next to me at night,” said Sidiq al-Damjah, 41 and father of three. “I feel like I'm living a nightmare.”
The capital saw violence Friday when residents said pro-Gadhafi militias opened fire on protesters trying to march. But since then, Tripoli has been quiet, with many families staying off the streets.
Gadhafi has launched by far the bloodiest crackdown in a wave of anti-government uprisings sweeping the Arab world, the most serious challenge to his four decades in power.
Kadafi loses another city to Libyan opposition A possible standoff shapes up as protesters with tanks and antiaircraft guns mass in Zawiya, the city just west of Tripoli that Moammar Kadafi's forces have surrounded with armor and military checkpoints.
Libyan city grapples with self-rule Having broken free of Kadafi's rule, but with no government to replace it, the residents of Benghazi are making their own piecemeal efforts to keep city services running and provide security.
Telling Libya's story over the Internet An ad hoc network of information smugglers uses social media, accessed from across the border in Egypt, to share videos and firsthand accounts of the violence.
Zjailil, an engineer in the Libyan coastal city of Tobruk, is determined to deliver visual proof of President Moammar Kadafi's bloody tactics against a mounting populist rebellion.
African mercenaries in Libya nervously await their fate
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.
Gaddafi's commanders told the ragbag army they had rounded up that rebels had taken over the eastern towns. The colonel would reward them if they killed protesters. If they refused, they would be shot themselves. The result was bloody mayhem.
"Gaddafi betrayed us all. We were told we were being sent east to stage demonstrations in favour of Colonel Gaddafi. I didn't know there was going to be an attack on the protesters."
U.N. Council Split on Sending Libya to Int'l Court By REUTERS Published: February 26, 2011
Filed at 2:58 p.m. EST
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - U.N. Security Council diplomats clashed on Saturday over a proposal to refer the deadly crackdown against anti-government demonstrators in Libya to the International Criminal Court, council envoys said.
But council members were divided over whether to refer the issue to the war crimes court. It was unclear whether the call for an immediate ICC referral would be cut to get unanimous agreement on the draft's other punitive steps.
In an attempt to break the deadlock, Libya's U.N. delegation, which has denounced Gaddafi, sent a letter to the president of the Security Council, Brazilian U.N. Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, confirming its support for an immediate ICC referral.
I would rather have a Long Term, Friendship, Commitment or Companionship basically the same however, seems when paperwork is signed the relationship starts to decline, No paperwork seems couples make more of an effort in keeping the relationship alive and well through passion and romance, Once married all that takes a sharp decline ...jmho
toxicaura Forum Posts (749)
hi Leigh, One day at a time...
RE: I think I’ve made a big mistake…
They got parasites