tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69198352478035569302024-02-21T20:28:04.810+02:00on the edge of somethingon the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.comBlogger625125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-5029532846915134362012-03-05T03:26:00.000+02:002012-03-05T03:26:18.858+02:00Just A Few Lines<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style>
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</style> <![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;">Just a few lines to let you know we are well .I have had internet trouble the last three months.The phone lines have moister in them that has prevented proper internet connection. It's is a work in progress,lol! That was around Christmas when that started. THEN..... my computer died , OMG ! For good this time. So had to wait to get a new one . They are few and far between since the war and the ones we have are pretty expensive but my son found me a sexy one by Dell , that I love . Moe too. He says it is nice and quite ,lol .But that presented a whole new batch of problems , such as transferring programs ,pictures, music,etc.That is being done now. A slow process by several angels of genius intellect.And some where in the last 3 months , my computer chair broke ,lol !!! A angel got me a new one of those too . Am I blessed or what ? So , that all happened !<br />
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We have had our good days and bad ones, but we are basically doing ok now.Missed you all . Thought of you much , wondering how your holidays were .I said prayers for you that all is well with you and your loved ones.<br />
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Things are improving here safety and politically wise day by day. Every little achievement is a miracle celebrated.Set backs are abundant but we turn a blind eye to them in hopes that they too will get ironed out soon.We have electricity all the time now . |Yummy junk food is back on the grocers shelves adding even MORE to my lovely curves,lol.Gasoline is normal priced and available all the time .That makes life nice. Still no secret deodorant though. Hope lives in my heart lol, that it too will mysteriously appear one day soon.<br />
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Ok , until I get the computer /internet problem completely fixed , don't look to hear much, if any, from me anytime soon . Ok? Don't worry about us , we are all good here.<br />
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</span></div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-54036585536014420052011-12-21T07:28:00.000+02:002011-12-21T07:28:55.951+02:00Check Santa Clause Out<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggExVEyxBOjth6VcUX8Rs5wpG_dhG9gkDNHHbmz4OOwgJ2ihri8K5YhcfYvNgo7LObEJpv2lWMkwY9rB7QNfu_Ro8J4sK5KsolYDa2zlYKkuNuSDmfD7FwGaRCTLqgM-M0MfXbefKUseZO/s1600/Santa-In-Sleigh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggExVEyxBOjth6VcUX8Rs5wpG_dhG9gkDNHHbmz4OOwgJ2ihri8K5YhcfYvNgo7LObEJpv2lWMkwY9rB7QNfu_Ro8J4sK5KsolYDa2zlYKkuNuSDmfD7FwGaRCTLqgM-M0MfXbefKUseZO/s320/Santa-In-Sleigh.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Tis the season for the wonder that little ones have for Santa and Christmas .I found this sight by Google that allows you to send a video or a phone call from Santa to your special little one this Christmas for free , the only catch is you must live in the USA .<a href="http://www.sendacallfromsanta.com/">Check it out here</a> .Imagine how exciting it would be to get a phone call from Santa .<br />
When my children were little we live in the USA and on every Christmas eve we would go Christmas light looking by driving through different neighborhood decorated with Christmas lights , listening to the radio station announcing Santa's progress on his Christmas night flight to deliver toys to good little children . He was being tracked by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Aerospace_Defense_Command">NORAD</a> on his trip across the USA. NORAD has a special program that allows you and your children to follow his trip . The sight even has some games for the kids to play. This will be available until Dec.25th. This is really neat way for the kids to see where Santa is when they ask you for his location you can <a href="http://www.noradsanta.org/en/index.html#utm_campaign=en_US&utm_medium=gmailsantahpp&utm_source=en_US-gmailsantahpp-na-us-holiday">check it together here.</a><br />
</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-12624552041049248332011-12-20T05:59:00.000+02:002011-12-20T05:59:36.222+02:00Militias Wield Real Power On Libya's Streets<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><h1 class="article_headers"><a href="http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/news/militias-wield-real-power-on-libya-s-streets-1.1201185">Militias wield real power on Libya's streets</a></h1><div class="byline"> December 19 2011 at 09:23pm <br />
By Reuters </div><hr /> <div class="aticle_column"> <div class="aticle_video"> <img alt="libya-jawali" class="pics" src="http://www.iol.co.za/polopoly_fs/libya-jawali-1.1201184%21/image/4234184612.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_300/4234184612.jpg" title="" /> <div class="captions_credit_article">Reuters</div><div class="captions">Libya's Defence Minister Osama Al-Juwali speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli on Monday.</div></div><div class="arcticle_text">Tripoli - It will take weeks to rid Libya's streets of the militias that ousted Muammar Gaddafi, and months to form an army fit to take their place, Defence Minister Osama Al-Juwali said on Monday. </div><div class="arcticle_text">His comments signalled a rift with others in Libya's interim leadership who have called repeatedly for the heavily-armed militias that swept into Tripoli in August to quit the capital and set them a deadline of the end of this month. </div><div class="arcticle_text">“I think this issue will be resolved in a month-and-a-half, approximately. I'm not setting any deadlines,” Al-Juwali said in an interview with Reuters. </div><div class="arcticle_text">Two months after Gaddafi was captured and killed, real power resides with the militias that ousted him and have since carved up the country and capital into competing fiefdoms, each holding out for the share of power they say they are owed. </div><div class="arcticle_text">Turf wars risk spiralling out of control. </div><div class="arcticle_text">Al-Juwali was endorsed by Libya's National Transitional Council as defence minister in November, thanks largely to the clout wielded by the rebels he commanded in the western mountain town of Zintan. </div><div class="arcticle_text">The Zintan fighters played a major role in the fall of Tripoli. They now control the international airport and the fate of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the ousted leader's most prominent son, who was captured by Zintan fighters on November 19. </div><div class="arcticle_text">Without a fully-functioning army or police, Libya's interim government is struggling to stamp its authority on the oil-producing North African country. </div><div class="arcticle_text">Senior officials, including commanders of the nascent army, have called on the gun-toting militias to return to their homes, and the council in Tripoli has set a deadline of end-December. </div><div class="arcticle_text">Zintan fighters have already fought gun battles with the commander of Libyan ground forces and his sons. The army spokesman blamed “rogue militias” and said they would “clear the city of weapons.” </div><div class="arcticle_text">But Al-Juwali conveyed no sense of urgency. He said the government was working on a plan, but provided few specifics. </div><div class="arcticle_text">“There is a general plan to bring the fighters in,” he said. </div><div class="arcticle_text">“Part of them will join the defence ministry, others the interior ministry. There is another plan at the Ministry of Labour to rehabilitate and train these fighters, and I think this plan will be approved soon.” </div><div class="arcticle_text">He spoke in the offices he shares with Prime Minister Abdurrahim El-Keib. </div><div class="arcticle_text">Zintan fighters filled the corridors. The man who piloted the Antonov that brought Saif from the desert where he was caught to his cell in Zintan had swapped his green flight fatigues for a sharp, black suit. </div><div class="arcticle_text">“I think the army will be ready to take on its responsibilities before the end of the transitional government,” said Al-Juwali. The interim government is due to rule until an election mid-next year. </div><div class="arcticle_text">Al-Juwali said the government was analysing the needs of the national army and what hardware it might seek from abroad. He mentioned military transport planes, specifically US-made C-130 transport aircraft. </div><div class="arcticle_text">In the meantime, the Western powers behind the NATO air war against Gaddafi's forces are pressing for the weapons that swept through the country to be secured and accounted for, fearing they might fall into the hands of radical Islamists. </div><div class="arcticle_text">“Libya could enter the Guiness Book of World Records, it has so many weapons,” Al-Juwali said. “By the time this government ends, we will have the weapons under control and in safe places, and the revolutionaries (former rebel fighters) will help collect them.” - Reuters </div></div></div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-9832065629992990572011-12-20T05:19:00.000+02:002011-12-20T05:19:04.353+02:00Let It Snow !<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1m2aYM4TIUGkL4S_4zk6CkKKoYZiSLZHvGWkQIy5_jjOGVhJ2I6K_ej_j-nOGdmaCnRDf8OrM5hInlBu35ZT9vEu-dJS5eLoJNgWKK6ebhx-q95UBm3s2lbfvHLbEoxslmrilv3y5TJK/s1600/Let+it+snow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK1m2aYM4TIUGkL4S_4zk6CkKKoYZiSLZHvGWkQIy5_jjOGVhJ2I6K_ej_j-nOGdmaCnRDf8OrM5hInlBu35ZT9vEu-dJS5eLoJNgWKK6ebhx-q95UBm3s2lbfvHLbEoxslmrilv3y5TJK/s1600/Let+it+snow.jpg" /></a></div><span style="color: #073763;"><i><b>This is for those of you that don't have snow , try it out . It works !</b></i></span><br />
</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-62334913731480214512011-12-19T02:21:00.001+02:002011-12-19T02:23:57.132+02:00In Strikes on Libya by NATO, an Unspoken Civilian Toll<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">NATO bombings, with the alliance countries, played a pivotal part in liberating Libya from Ghadaffy and his government No one can argue that .Most Libyans will say so themselves with a huge thank you directed toward NATO and her allies that helped in the air bombing campaign .But at a precious price, as there were some civilian causalities .The official account by NATO and the Libyan government is deliberately down played, much to the dismay by many of the injured parties involved .Victims want answers to their questions , so far not too many are being given to the satisfaction of the people involved.I found this report by <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/18/world/africa/scores-of-unintended-casualties-in-nato-war-in-libya.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all">C.J.Chivers and Eric Schmitt for The New York Times</a> discussing their findings from their investigation into the matter very informative. <br />
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In Strikes on Libya by NATO, an Unspoken Civilian Toll<br />
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<div class="articleSpanImage"><img alt="" border="0" height="363" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/12/18/world/18nato-span/18nato-span-articleLarge.jpg" width="600" /> <br />
<div class="credit">Tyler Hicks/The New York Times</div><div class="caption">When NATO bombs hit an apartment building in Surt, Libya, on Sept. 16, Mahmoud Zarog Massoud's wife was killed. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/12/17/world/middleeast/20111218-NATO.html">More Photos »</a></div></div><h6 class="byline">By <a class="meta-per" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/c/c_j_chivers/index.html?inline=nyt-per" rel="author" title="More Articles by C. J. Chivers">C. J. CHIVERS</a> and <a class="meta-per" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/eric_schmitt/index.html?inline=nyt-per" rel="author" title="More Articles by Eric Schmitt">ERIC SCHMITT</a></h6><h6 class="dateline">Published: Deember 17, 2011 </h6><div class="articleBody">TRIPOLI, Libya — <a class="meta-org" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/north_atlantic_treaty_organization/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.">NATO</a>’s seven-month air campaign in Libya, hailed by the alliance and many Libyans for blunting a lethal crackdown by Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and helping to push him from power, came with an unrecognized toll: scores of civilian casualties the alliance has long refused to acknowledge or investigate. </div><div class="articleInline runaroundLeft"><div class="columnGroup doubleRule"></div></div><div class="articleInline runaroundLeft" style="margin-top: -11px;"><h6 class="sectionHeader flushBottom">Multimedia</h6></div><div class="articleInline runaroundLeft firstArticleInline"><div class="story"><div class="wideThumb"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html?ref=africa"> <img alt="" border="0" height="126" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com//images/2011/12/16/world/africa/airstrikes-interactive-190.jpg" width="190" /> <span class="mediaOverlay interactive">Interactive</span> </a> </div><h6><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html?ref=africa"> Errant NATO Airstrikes in Libya: 13 Cases</a></h6><h6 class="byline"></h6></div></div><div class="articleInline runaroundLeft "><div class="story"><div class="wideThumb"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/12/17/world/middleeast/20111218-NATO.html?ref=africa"> <img alt="" border="0" height="126" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/12/14/world/middleeast/20111214-NATO-slide-HY4S/20111214-NATO-slide-HY4S-thumbWide.jpg" width="190" /> <span class="mediaOverlay photo">Photographs</span> </a> </div><h6><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/12/17/world/middleeast/20111218-NATO.html?ref=africa"> The Civilian Toll in Libya</a></h6><h6 class="byline"></h6></div></div><div class="articleInline runaroundLeft lastArticleInline"><div class="story expandAssetContainer" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; z-index: 1;"><div class="thumbnailContainer"><div class="wideThumb"><img alt="" border="0" height="126" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/12/18/world/video-natolibya/video-natolibya-thumbWide.jpg" width="190" /> </div><h6><a class="video" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6919835247803556930&postID=6233491373148021451&from=pencil">NATO Airstrikes in Libya</a></h6></div><div class="assetContainer"><div class="assetWrapper" style="display: none;"><div class="videoHeader">NATO Airstrikes in Libya</div><div class="articleInlineVideoHolder" id="100000001231448"></div></div></div><div class="assetCompanionAd" style="display: none;"><div class="adContainer" style="display: none;"><div class="adClose"><a class="dialogBoxClose" href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=6919835247803556930&postID=6233491373148021451&from=pencil">Close Video</a></div><div class="assetAdSectionLink"><a href="http://video.nytimes.com/video/playlist/world">See More Videos »</a> </div></div></div></div></div><div class="articleInline runaroundLeft"><div class="doubleRule"><div class="story"><div class="runaroundRight"><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/nytimesworld"><img alt="Metro Twitter Logo." height="75" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/09/26/world/world_75_twitter/world_75_twitter-thumbStandard.jpg" width="75" /></a></div></div></div></div>By NATO’s telling during the war, and in statements since sorties ended on Oct. 31, the alliance-led operation was nearly flawless — a model air war that used high technology, meticulous planning and restraint to protect civilians from Colonel Qaddafi’s troops, which was the alliance’s mandate. <br />
“We have carried out this operation very carefully, without confirmed civilian casualties,” the secretary general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said in November. <br />
But an on-the-ground examination by The New York Times of airstrike sites across Libya — including interviews with survivors, doctors and witnesses, and the collection of munitions remnants, medical reports, death certificates and photographs — found credible accounts of dozens of civilians killed by NATO in many distinct attacks. The victims, including at least 29 women or children, often had been asleep in homes when the ordnance hit. <br />
In all, at least 40 civilians, and perhaps more than 70, were killed by NATO at these sites, available evidence suggests. While that total is not high compared with other conflicts in which Western powers have relied heavily on air power, and less than the exaggerated accounts circulated by the Qaddafi government, it is also not a complete accounting. Survivors and doctors working for the anti-Qaddafi interim authorities point to dozens more civilians wounded in these and other strikes, and they referred reporters to other sites where civilian casualties were suspected. <br />
Two weeks after being provided a 27-page memorandum from The Times containing extensive details of nine separate attacks in which evidence indicated that allied planes had killed or wounded unintended victims, NATO modified its stance. <br />
“From what you have gathered on the ground, it appears that innocent civilians may have been killed or injured, despite all the care and precision,” said Oana Lungescu, a spokeswoman for NATO headquarters in Brussels. “We deeply regret any loss of life.” <br />
She added that NATO was in regular contact with the new Libyan government and that “we stand ready to work with the Libyan authorities to do what they feel is right.” <br />
NATO, however, deferred the responsibility of initiating any inquiry to Libya’s interim authorities, whose survival and climb to power were made possible largely by the airstrike campaign. So far, Libyan leaders have expressed no interest in examining NATO’s mistakes. <br />
The failure to thoroughly assess the civilian toll reduces the chances that allied forces, which are relying ever more heavily on air power rather than risking ground troops in overseas conflicts, will examine their Libyan experience to minimize collateral deaths elsewhere. Allied commanders have been ordered to submit a lessons-learned report to NATO headquarters in February. NATO’s incuriosity about the many lethal accidents raises questions about how thorough that review will be. <br />
NATO’s experience in Libya also reveals an attitude that initially prevailed in Afghanistan. There, NATO forces, led by the United States, tightened the rules of engagement for airstrikes and insisted on better targeting to reduce civilian deaths only after repeatedly ignoring or disputing accounts of airstrikes that left many civilians dead. <br />
In Libya, NATO’s inattention to its unintended victims has also left many wounded civilians with little aid in the aftermath of the country’s still-chaotic change in leadership. <br />
These victims include a boy blasted by debris in his face and right eye, a woman whose left leg was amputated, another whose foot and leg wounds left her disabled, a North Korean doctor whose left foot was crushed and his wife, who suffered a fractured skull. <br />
The Times’s investigation included visits to more than 25 sites, including in Tripoli, Surman, Mizdah, Zlitan, Ga’a, Majer, Ajdabiya, Misurata, Surt, Brega and Sabratha and near Benghazi. More than 150 targets — bunkers, buildings or vehicles — were hit at these places. <br />
NATO warplanes flew thousands of sorties that dropped 7,700 bombs or missiles; because The Times did not examine sites in several cities and towns where the air campaign was active, the casualty estimate could be low. <br />
There are indications that the alliance took many steps to avoid harming civilians, and often did not damage civilian infrastructure useful to Colonel Qaddafi’s military. Elements of two American-led air campaigns in Iraq, in 1991 and 2003, appear to have been avoided, including attacks on electrical grids. <br />
Such steps spared civilians certain hardships and risks that accompanied previous Western air-to-ground operations. NATO also said that allied forces did not use <a class="meta-classifier" href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/cluster_munitions/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier" title="More articles about cluster munitions.">cluster munitions</a> or ordnance containing depleted uranium, both of which pose health and environmental risks, in Libya at any time. <br />
The alliance’s fixed-wing aircraft dropped only laser- or satellite-guided weapons, said Col. Gregory Julian, a NATO spokesman; no so-called dumb bombs were used. <br />
While the overwhelming preponderance of strikes seemed to have hit their targets without killing noncombatants, many factors contributed to a run of fatal mistakes. These included a technically faulty bomb, poor or dated intelligence and the near absence of experienced military personnel on the ground who could help direct airstrikes. <br />
The alliance’s apparent presumption that residences thought to harbor pro-Qaddafi forces were not occupied by civilians repeatedly proved mistaken, the evidence suggests, posing a reminder to advocates of air power that no war is cost- or error-free. <br />
The investigation also found significant damage to civilian infrastructure from certain attacks for which a rationale was not evident or risks to civilians were clear. These included <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html#page/warehouses" title="Link to interactive map and report.">strikes on warehouses that current anti-Qaddafi guards said contained only food</a>, or near businesses or homes that were destroyed, including <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html#page/missile-depot" title="Link to interactive map and report.">an attack on a munitions bunker</a> beside a neighborhood that caused a large secondary explosion, scattering warheads and toxic rocket fuel. <br />
NATO has also not yet provided data to Libyans on the locations or types of unexploded ordnance from its strikes. At least two large weapons were present at sites visited by The Times. “This information is urgently needed,” said Dr. Ali Yahwya, chief surgeon at the Zlitan hospital. <br />
Moreover, the scouring of one strike site found remnants of NATO munitions in a ruined building that an alliance spokesman explicitly said NATO did not attack. <br />
That mistake — a pair of strikes — killed 12 anti-Qaddafi fighters and nearly killed a civilian ambulance crew aiding wounded men. It underscored NATO’s sometimes tenuous grasp of battle lines and raised questions about the forthrightness and accuracy of the alliance’s public-relations campaign. <br />
The second strike pointed to a tactic that survivors at several sites recounted: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html#page/civilian-buildings" title="Link to interactive map and report.">warplanes restriking targets minutes after a first attack</a>, a practice that imperiled, and sometimes killed, civilians rushing to the wounded. <br />
Pressed about the dangers posed to noncombatants by such attacks, NATO said it would reconsider the tactic’s rationale in its internal campaign review. “That’s a valid point to take into consideration in future operations,” Colonel Julian said. <br />
That statement is a shift in the alliance’s stance. NATO’s response to allegations of mistaken attacks had long been carefully worded denials and insistence that its operations were devised and supervised with exceptional care. Faced with credible allegations that it killed civilians, the alliance said it had neither the capacity for nor intention of investigating and often repeated that disputed strikes were sound. <br />
The alliance maintained this position even after two independent Western organizations — <a href="http://www.hrw.org/" title="The group’s Web site">Human Rights Watch</a> and the <a href="http://www.civicworldwide.org/" title="The group’s Web site.">Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict</a>, or Civic — met privately with NATO officials and shared field research about mistakes, including, in some cases, victims’ names and the dates and locations where they died. <br />
Organizations researching civilian deaths in Libya said that the alliance’s resistance to making itself accountable and acknowledging mistakes amounted to poor public policy. “It’s crystal clear that civilians died in NATO strikes,” said Fred Abrahams, a researcher for Human Rights Watch. “But this whole campaign is shrouded by an atmosphere of impunity” and by NATO’s and the Libyan authorities’ mutually congratulatory statements. <br />
Mr. Abrahams added that the matter went beyond the need to assist civilians harmed by airstrikes, though he said that was important. At issue, he said, was “who is going to lose their lives in the next campaign because these errors and mistakes went unexamined, and no one learned from them?” <br />
Human Rights Watch and Civic also noted that the alliance’s stance on civilian casualties it caused in Libya was at odds with its practices for so-called collateral damage in Afghanistan. There, public anger and political tension over fatal mistakes led NATO to adopt policies for investigating actions that caused civilian harm, including guidelines for expressing condolences and making small payments to victims or their families. <br />
“You would think, and I did think, that all of the lessons learned from Afghanistan would have been transferred to Libya,” said Sarah Holewinski, the executive director of Civic, which helped NATO devise its practices for Afghanistan. “But many of them didn’t.” <br />
<b> Choosing Targets </b> <br />
When foreign militaries began attacking Libya’s loyalists on March 19, the United States military, more experienced than NATO at directing large operations, coordinated the campaign. On March 31, the Americans transferred command to NATO. <br />
Seven months later, the alliance had destroyed more than 5,900 military targets by means of roughly 9,700 strike sorties, according to its data, helping to dismantle the pro-Qaddafi military and militias. Warplanes from France, Britain, the United States, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Belgium and Canada dropped ordnance. Two non-NATO nations, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, participated on a small scale. <br />
France carried out about a third of all strike sorties, Britain 21 percent and the United States 19 percent, according to data from each nation. <br />
The attacks fell under two broad categories. So-called deliberate strikes were directed against fixed targets, like buildings or air-defense systems. These targets were selected and assigned to pilots before aircraft took off. <br />
Deliberate strikes were planned to minimize risks to civilians, NATO said. In Naples, Italy, intelligence analysts and targeting specialists vetted proposed targets and compiled lists, which were sent to an operations center near Bologna, where targets were matched to specific aircraft and weapons. <br />
For some targets, like command bunkers, NATO said, it conducted long periods of surveillance first. Drones or other aircraft chronicled the daily routines at the sites, known as “patterns of life,” until commanders felt confident that each target was valid. <br />
Other considerations then came into play. Targeting specialists chose, for example, the angle of attack and time of day thought to pose the least risk to civilians. They would also consider questions of ordnance. These included the size and type of bomb, and its fuze. <br />
Some fuzes briefly delay detonation of a bomb’s high-explosive charge. This can allow ordnance to penetrate concrete and explode in an underground tunnel or bunker, or, alternately, to burrow into sand before exploding — reducing the blast wave, shrapnel and risk to people and property nearby. <br />
(NATO could also choose inert bombs, made of concrete, that can collapse buildings or shatter tanks with kinetic energy rather than an explosion. NATO said such weapons were used fewer than 10 times in the war.) <br />
Many early strikes were planned missions. But about two-thirds of all strikes, and most of the attacks late in the war, were another sort: dynamic strikes. <br />
Dynamic strikes were against targets of opportunity. Crews on aerial patrols would spot or be told of a potential target, like suspected military vehicles. Then, if cleared by controllers in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/25/world/africa/25nato.html" title="Times article">Awacs</a> aircraft, they would attack. <br />
NATO said dynamic missions, too, were guided by practices meant to limit risks. On Oct. 24, Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard of Canada, the operation’s commander, described a philosophy beyond careful target vetting or using only guided weapons: restraint. “Only when we had a clear shot would we take it,” he said. <br />
Colonel Julian, the spokesman, said there were hundreds of instances when pilots could have released ordnance but because of concerns for civilians they held fire. Col. Alain Pelletier, commander of seven Canadian CF-18 fighters that flew 946 strike sorties, said Canada installed a special computer software modification in its planes that allowed pilots to assess the likely blast radius around an intended target and to call off strikes if the technology warned they posed too great a risk to civilians. <br />
Colonel Julian also said that NATO broadcast radio messages and that it dropped millions of leaflets to warn Libyans to stay away from likely military targets, a practice Libyan citizens across much of the country confirmed. <br />
<b> A Blow to the Rebels </b> <br />
Civilians were killed by NATO within days of the alliance’s intervention, the available evidence shows, beginning with one of the uglier mistakes of the air war: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html#page/rebel-convoy" title="Link to interactive map and report.">the pummeling of a secret rebel armored convoy</a> that was advancing through the desert toward the Qaddafi forces’ eastern front lines. <br />
Having survived the first wave of air-to-ground attacks, the loyalists were taking steps to avoid attracting NATO bombs. They moved in smaller formations and sometimes set aside armored vehicles in favor of pickup trucks resembling those that rebels drove. Pilots suddenly had fewer targets. <br />
On April 7, as the rebel armor lined up on a hill about 20 miles from Brega, NATO aircraft struck. In a series of attacks, laser-guided bombs stopped the formation, destroyed the rebels’ armor and scattered the anti-Qaddafi fighters, killing several of them, survivors said. <br />
The attack continued as civilians, including ambulance crews, tried to converge on the craters and flames to aid the wounded. Three shepherds were among them. <br />
As the shepherds approached over the sand, a bomb slammed in again, said one of them, Abdul Rahman Ali Suleiman Sudani. The blast knocked them over, he said. His two cousins were hit. <br />
One, he said, was cut in half; the other had a gaping chest wound. Both died. Mr. Sudani and other relatives returned to the wreckage later and retrieved the remains for burial in Kufra. The men had died, he said, trying to help. <br />
“We called their families in Sudan and told them, ‘Your sons, they have passed away,’ ” he said. <br />
Colonel Julian declined to discuss this episode but said that each time NATO aircraft returned to strike again was a distinct event and a distinct decision, and that it was not a general practice for NATO to “double tap” its targets. <br />
This practice was reported several times by survivors at separate attacks and cited to explain why some civilians opted not to help at strike sites or bolted in fear soon after they did. <br />
Colonel Julian said the tactic was likely to be included in NATO’s internal review of the air campaign. <br />
<b> An Errant Strike </b> <br />
NATO’s planning or restraint did not protect the family of Ali Mukhar al-Gharari when his home was shattered in June by a phenomenon as old as air-to-ground war: errant ordnance. <br />
A retiree in Tripoli, Mr. Gharari owned a three-story house he shared with his adult children and their families. Late on June 19 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html#page/tripoli-home" title="Link to interactive map and report.">a bomb struck it</a> squarely, collapsing the front side. The rubble buried a courtyard apartment, the family said, where Karima, Mr. Gharari’s adult daughter, lived with her husband and two children, Jomana, 2, and Khaled, 7 months. <br />
All four were killed, as was another of Mr. Gharari’s adult children, Faruj, who was blasted from his second-floor bed to the rubble below, two of his brothers said. Eight other family members were wounded, one seriously. <br />
The Qaddafi government, given to exaggeration, claimed that nine civilians died in the airstrike, including a rescue worker electrocuted while clearing rubble. These deaths have not been independently corroborated. There has been no dispute about the Gharari deaths. <br />
Initially, NATO almost acknowledged its mistake. “A military missile site was the intended target,” an alliance statement said soon after. “There may have been a weapons system failure which may have caused a number of civilian casualties.” <br />
Then it backtracked. Kristele Younes, director of field operations for Civic, the victims’ group, examined the site and delivered her findings to NATO. She met a cold response. “They said, ‘We have no confirmed reports of civilian casualties,’ ” Ms. Younes said. <br />
The reason, she said, was that the alliance had created its own definition for “confirmed”: only a death that NATO itself investigated and corroborated could be called confirmed. But because the alliance declined to investigate allegations, its casualty tally by definition could not budge — from zero. <br />
“The position was absurd,” Ms. Younes said. “But they made it very clear: there was no appetite within NATO to look at these incidents.” <br />
The position left the Gharari family disoriented, and in social jeopardy. Another of Mr. Gharari’s sons, Mohammed, said the family supported the revolution. But since NATO’s attack, other Libyans have labeled the family pro-Qaddafi. If NATO attacked the Ghararis’ home, the street logic went, the alliance must have had a reason. <br />
Mohammed al-Gharari said he would accept an apology from NATO. He said he could even accept the mistake. “If this was an error from their control room, I will not say anything harsh, because that was our destiny,” he said. <br />
But he asked that NATO lift the dishonor from the family and set the record straight. “NATO should tell the truth,” he said. “They should tell what happened, so everyone knows our family is innocent.” <br />
<b> A ‘Horrible Mistake’ </b> <br />
In the hours before his wife and two of their sons were killed, on Aug. 4, Mustafa Naji al-Morabit thought he had taken adequate precautions. <br />
When Colonel Qaddafi’s officers began meeting at a home next door in Zlitan, he moved his family. That was in July. The adjacent property, Mr. Morabit and his neighbors said, was owned by a loyalist doctor who hosted commanders who organized the local front. <br />
About a month later, as rebels pressed near, the officers fled, Mr. Morabit said. He and his family returned home on Aug. 2, assuming that the danger had passed. <br />
Calamity struck two days later. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html" title="Link to interactive map and report.">A bomb roared down in the early morning quiet and slammed into their concrete home</a>, causing its front to buckle. <br />
Mr. Morabit’s wife, Eptisam Ali al-Barbar, died of a crushed skull. Two of their three sons — Mohammed, 6, and Moataz, 3 — were killed, too. Three toes on the left foot of Fatima Umar Mansour, Mr. Morabit’s mother, were severed. Her lower left leg was snapped. <br />
“We were just in our homes at night,” she said, showing the swollen leg. <br />
The destruction of their home showed that even with careful standards for target selection, mistakes occurred. Not only did NATO hit the wrong building, survivors and neighbors said, but it also hit it more than two days late. <br />
Mr. Morabit added a sorrowful detail. He suspected that the bomb was made of concrete; there seemed to be no fire or explosion when it struck, he said. NATO may have tried to minimize damage, he added, but the would-be benefits of its caution were lost. “I want to know why,” he said. “NATO said they are so organized, that they are specialists. So why? Why this horrible mistake?” <br />
It is not clear whether the mistake was made by the pilot or those who selected the target. NATO declined to answer questions about the strike. <br />
On Aug. 8, four days after destroying the Morabit home, NATO hit buildings occupied by civilians again, this time in Majer, according to survivors, doctors and independent investigators. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html#page/civilian-buildings" title="Link to interactive map and report.">The strikes</a> were NATO’s bloodiest known accidents in the war. <br />
The attack began with a series of 500-pound laser-guided bombs, called GBU-12s, ordnance remnants suggest. The first house, owned by Ali Hamid Gafez, 61, was crowded with Mr. Gafez’s relatives, who had been dislocated by the war, he and his neighbors said. <br />
The bomb destroyed the second floor and much of the first. Five women and seven children were killed; several more people were wounded, including Mr. Gafez’s wife, whose her lower left leg had to be amputated, the doctor who performed the procedure said. <br />
Minutes later, NATO aircraft attacked two buildings in a second compound, owned by brothers in the Jarud family. Four people were killed, the family said. <br />
Several minutes after the first strikes, as neighbors rushed to dig for victims, another bomb struck. The blast killed 18 civilians, both families said. <br />
The death toll has been a source of confusion. The Qaddafi government said 85 civilians died. That claim does not seem to be credible. With the Qaddafi propaganda machine now gone, an official list of dead, issued by the new government, includes 35 victims, among them the late-term fetus of a fatally wounded woman the Gafez family said went into labor as she died. <br />
The Zlitan hospital confirmed 34 deaths. Five doctors there also told of treating dozens of wounded people, including many women and children. <br />
All 16 beds in the intensive-care unit were filled with severely wounded civilians, doctors said. Dr. Ahmad Thoboot, the hospital’s co-director, said none of the victims, alive or dead, were in uniform. “There is no doubt,” he said. “This is not fabricated. Civilians were killed.” <br />
Descriptions of the wounds underscored the difference between mistakes with typical ground-to-ground arms and the unforgiving nature of mistakes with 500-pound bombs, which create blast waves of an entirely different order. <br />
Dr. Mustafa Ekhial, a surgeon, said the wounds caused by NATO’s bombs were far worse than those the staff had treated for months. “We have to tell the truth,” he said. “What we saw that night was completely different.” <br />
In previous statements, NATO said it watched the homes carefully before attacking and saw “military staging areas.” It also said that it reviewed the strikes and that claims of civilian casualties were not corroborated by “available factual information.” When asked what this information was, the alliance did not provide it. <br />
Mr. Gafez issued a challenge. An independent review of all prestrike surveillance video, he said, would prove NATO wrong. Only civilians were there, he said, and he demanded that the alliance release the video. <br />
Ms. Younes said the dispute missed an essential point. Under NATO’s targeting guidelines and in keeping with practices the alliance has repeatedly insisted that it followed, she said, if civilians were present, aircraft should not have attacked. <br />
The initial findings on the Majer strikes, part of the United Nations’ investigation into actions by all sides in Libya that harmed civilians, have raised questions about the legality of the attack under international humanitarian law, according to an official familiar with the investigation. <br />
<b> Homes as Targets </b> <br />
NATO’s strikes in Majer, one of five known attacks on apparently occupied residences, suggested a pattern. When residential targets were presumed to be used by loyalist forces, civilians were sometimes present — suggesting holes in NATO’s “pattern of life” reviews and other forms of vetting. <br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html#page/surman-general" title="Link to interactive map and report.">Airstrikes on June 20 in Surman leveled homes</a> owned by Maj. Gen. El-Khweldi el-Hamedi, a longtime confidant of Colonel Qaddafi and a member of his Revolutionary Council. NATO has said the family compound was used as command center. <br />
The family’s account, partly confirmed by rebels, claimed that the strikes killed 13 civilians and wounded six more. Local anti-Qaddafi fighters corroborated the deaths of four of those killed — one of the general’s daughters-in-law and three of her children. <br />
General Hamedi was wounded and has taken refuge in Morocco, said his son Khaled. Khaled has filed a lawsuit against NATO, claiming that the attack was a crime. He said that he and his family were victims of rebel “fabrications,” which attracted NATO bombs. <br />
On Sept. 25, a smaller but <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html#page/surt-general" title="Link to interactive map and report.">similar attack destroyed the residence of Brig. Gen. Musbah Diyab in Surt</a>, neighbors and his family members said. <br />
General Diyab, a distant cousin of Colonel Qaddafi, was killed. So were seven women and children who crowded into his home as rebels besieged the defenses of some of the Qaddafi loyalists’ last holdouts, witnesses said. <br />
By this time, tables in Libya had turned. The remaining loyalists held almost no territory. They were a dwindling, disorganized lot. It was the anti-Qaddafi forces who endangered civilians they suspected of having sympathies for the dying government, residents of Surt said. <br />
On a recent afternoon, Mahmoud Zarog Massoud, his hand swollen with an infection from a wound, wandered the broken shell of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/12/16/world/africa/nato-airstrikes-in-libya.html#page/apartment-building" title="Link to interactive map and report.">a seven-story apartment building in Surt, which was struck in mid-September</a>. His apartment furniture had been blown about by the blast. <br />
He approached the kitchen, where, he said, he and his wife had just broken their Ramadan fast when ordnance hit. “We were not thinking NATO would attack our home,” he said. <br />
Judging by the damage and munitions’ remains, a bomb with a delayed fuze struck another wing of the building, burrowed into another apartment and exploded, blasting walls outward. Debris flew across the courtyard and through his kitchen’s balcony door. <br />
His wife, Aisha Abdujodil, was killed, both her arms severed, he said. Bloodstains still marked the floor and walls. <br />
Provided written questions, NATO declined to comment on the three strikes on homes in Surman and Surt. <br />
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<div class="authorIdentification">C. J. Chivers reported from Libya, and Eric Schmitt from Washington, Brussels and Naples, Italy. </div></div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-62904358199181955592011-12-17T06:23:00.000+02:002011-12-17T06:23:41.244+02:00America , The Newest Military State ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgiTjK3LG2zgbmFkWOVoJ2CcW2LVfGMnxgsXaxlb5D39tD2nXFaZZ35LwCExQhMTBkcEj2QhBFpzI5MCkfzMA2efmkxrfiS6XN31g4qH-N38OrVkNVaP15HMMSZm8NXzI5fZOKwm4hlYxi/s1600/42-15370495.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgiTjK3LG2zgbmFkWOVoJ2CcW2LVfGMnxgsXaxlb5D39tD2nXFaZZ35LwCExQhMTBkcEj2QhBFpzI5MCkfzMA2efmkxrfiS6XN31g4qH-N38OrVkNVaP15HMMSZm8NXzI5fZOKwm4hlYxi/s320/42-15370495.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
America, the newest military state in the world? With a new security law enacted ,not vetoed by President Obama, that in essences allows a USA citizen to be arrested on US soil , detained , sent to Guantanamo Bay prison for ever if so desired, by the military , all with out a trial. Well , there goes the <a href="http://www.constitution.org/constit_.htm">Constitution</a> and the <a href="http://www.constitution.org/billofr_.htm">Bill Of Rights</a> out the window! I mean who needs them? Look out all third world countries , there's a new kid in town.Human rights are a thing of the past it would seem .<br />
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In an article by <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/15/americans-face-guantanamo-detention-obama">Chris McGreal for the Guardian</a>, he quotes Tom Malinowski of<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Watch"> Human Rights Watch </a>as saying : "It's something so radical that it would have been considered crazy had it been pushed by the Bush administration," said Tom Malinowski of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Watch">Human Rights Watch</a>. "It establishes precisely the kind of system that the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa" title="More from guardian.co.uk on United States">United States</a> has consistently urged other countries not to adopt. At a time when the United States is urging Egypt, for example, to scrap its emergency law and military courts, this is not consistent."<br />
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<a href="http://www.salon.com/2011/12/16/three_myths_about_the_detention_bill/singleton/">Glen Greewald reporting for Salon writes</a> in his article Three Myths About The Detention Bill : " The most important point on this issue is the same as underscored in the prior two points: the “compromise” reached by Congress includes language preserving the status quo. That’s because the Obama administration already argues that the original 2001 AUMF authorizes them to act against U.S. citizens (obviously, if they believe they have the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/09/world/middleeast/secret-us-memo-made-legal-case-to-kill-a-citizen.html?hp" target="_blank">power to target U.S. citizens for assassination</a>, then they believe they have the power to detain U.S. citizens as enemy combatants). The proof that this bill does not expressly exempt U.S. citizens or those captured on U.S. soil is that<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/1969/12/31/military-detention-us-citizens-senate-second-vote_n_1123929.html" target="_blank"> amendments offered by Sen. Feinstein providing expressly for those exemptions were rejected</a>. The “compromise” was to preserve the status quo by including the provision that the bill is not intended to alter it with regard to American citizens, but that’s because proponents of broad detention powers are confident that the status quo already permits such detention."<br />
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It would appear that a USA citizen may be arrested anywhere in the world , no questions asked , put into prison , no trail ,and there isn't a thing anyone can do about it now. Possibly assassinated without question. Imagine that. Khadaffy did that and he is dead now. <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2011/12/2011121475544131362.html">Al Jazerra's D. Parvaz explains things a little clearer in their report</a> on this new bill .His examples will clarify things for you best.<br />
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Americans can say this is for our national defense, our national security, and yes this would , could, be correct, but if you start down this road , what next? Cancellation of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution">Constitution </a>because it is not relevant in today's environment? After all when it was written way back when 1787 , they didn't have <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda">AlQaeda</a> or the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban">Taliban</a> did they?<br />
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In the 1960's there was a proliferation of world wide terrorist organizations and terrorist acts against not just Americans , but most of the worlds citizens in countries all around the world. Groups like : <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weather_Underground">The Weathermen or The Weather Underground</a> ,Red Army Faction that was a German militant group , not to be confused with the Japaneses Red Army which was a communist terrorist group, and last but not least the infamous Irish Red Army otherwise known as the IRA.But no one thought it necessary to abandon the USA Constitution or the Bill Of Rights , law and order, to fight against them .<br />
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Why are things so different now? Because of 9-11 happening on American soil? So close to home .So scary.People were murdered by those other groups , Americans among them .It was just being done in someone else back yard, so to speak , not ours.Now it is Very Personal .So, to hell with all those things that the founders of America thought was a good ideal ,the things we propose to others that are so important to make a free, just society .We are under attack and we are not taking this lying down. We will use whatever means or force it takes to justify our actions in doing so.While we preach to other nations to do as we say and not as we do.<br />
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I, as a American , proud to be so , am so alarmed with the direction my country is moving towards.I always took great pride in being an American; knowing we had a justice system in place that was the envy of the world. One the was fair to all .A person accused of a crime had a fighting chance to defend themselves against their accuser by a jury of their peers in a court of law.That is no longer true. A Sad , dark time ahead for America and Americans .</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-72470419926450131982011-12-12T06:09:00.000+02:002011-12-12T06:09:23.169+02:00Rumors, PTSD, And Paranoia, Or Life In Libya<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I am hearing voices , but they are not in my head .I hear that the phones in Libya are censored again as when Gadaffi was in control . Ok , so that is sorta per normal these days for most countries including the USA and Great Britten . When asked about it the standard answer is security against the bad guys.I guess Libya has plenty of those these days , what with Gadaffi supporters still at large causing trouble for the country just to name one group and I am sure there are many more .But on the side of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia">paranoia</a> , I won't go into that !<br />
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I am told that the computer and all that entails is censored as well . That stands to reason also since the revolution started and was sustained by social media on the internet.Actually this is the only way we in Libya have of finding out what is going on in the country . Like today , yesterday and the day before, there were rumors floating around like crazy that the militiamen from Zintan that are in control of the <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_LIBYA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">Tripoli International Airport had stared a war .</a> By going on the internet I was able to learn the truth of the matter .<br />
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The past two days there was<a href="http://feb17.info/news/libyan-government-and-media-gather-in-doha-to-envision-a-new-media-system/"> a conference on media in Doha </a>for Libyans. This is something that is badly needed here in Libya, a free press and media that is allowed to cover everything that is the news. The Libyan people are tired of rumors, they want the truth and the facts of what is going on .They would like some entertainment that is suitable for families to watch together on TV, but isn't so bland it will put you to sleep. Nor so old your grand mother watched it back in her day .It would be so nice to have another TV channel in English as well such as the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_and_television_channels_of_Dubai">Dubai One channel or the numerous MBC channels that are mostly in English.</a> TV channels of quality one might have maybe in America , but not too racy.<br />
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This brings me around to health care here in Libya. So much has already been said of what is lacking here in Libya in the maters of health care services from maternity to mental , dental to surgery.Clinics and hospitals were down to the absolute basics in providing care before the war are now completely stripped of everything from meds to supplies needed to care for the patient . The war has introduced wounds never dealt with until now. Doctors dealing with gunshot and other weapons related inflicted wounds that they were not trained to treat have been coping the very best they can with the little they have.There will be a <a href="http://feb17.info/news/libya-over-a-100-surgeons-to-hone-skills/">seminar for just this sort of thing this coming week , to train over a 100 doctors organized by the INRC and the Libyan Ministry of Health</a> . This will be a big help for many of these young doctors .<br />
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There should also be something for<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posttraumatic_stress_disorder"> mental health care for the many that are suffering from PTSD which is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder </a>.It can vary from debilitating to mild discomfort with situations that arise in daily life.I suffer from it to a degree when I see a helicopter or a tank . I feel a little panicky when the helicopters fly over head here in Tagura. I KNOW there is trouble somewhere . Generally I am correct in believing this, as the rumors will verify ,usually days later, that there was a disturbance somewhere.The helicopters were used for visual surveillance.I have a freind that was attacked or threatened ,depending how you would feel if a gun was shoved into your face and you were threatened with death ,during the times we had gasoline rationing , while she was in line for petrol. She says she has a difficult time purchasing gasoline , going to the petrol station. It scares her still.Gunfire is a major item that most people complain about , the loud noises .Someone told me once the sight of the trucks the militias used with guns mounted in the back scares them .<br />
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So , from one thing to another it is back to the same old thing here in Libya , lay down your weapons men, government build your infrastructure , provide jobs through improved economy by private sector growth.Improve everything such as education and health care.Stop the rumor mils with a free factual media. Stop the paranoia,tell the people that they ARE being spied on , listened to on their computers and phones for national security reasons .Stop thinking by not telling the people you are using these extreme measures to provide national security, that they don't know , they do. They aren't stupid.<br />
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Some days it seems as if Libya will make it with patience and lots of wise care taking by it's governing people.Other days I am ready to pack up and leave it all behind .I have had enough of the stress of wondering if the rumors of a civil war coming is true or not .Wondering if it will be safe to go to town today or not .Will the kid walking by with the gun decide to use it or not ? Do I need to stock up on water again ... just in case? Should I buy more candles since the lights have been off and on this past week Does that mean something ? I think I might be able to see the future better by reading the coffee grounds than trying to figure out what is true or not . Everyone says ," Oh , things are just FINE now . Nothing is wrong !", then you learn some one some where has decided it isn't today.<br />
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</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-92183258569004733472011-12-09T05:09:00.001+02:002011-12-09T05:12:25.079+02:00Exscape To Sand , Sun , And opps ... NOT !<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL5SRKRNUX-Z8PeMAQQNXeYbzPpwPZv5dnqcXgbXE9toIh1-T89tG_lxStVhWWal2-mr_PbpC3qfhUOEPbjBG8v48IZYDrTxkfI3qY4SG8ZvOzshHQdpPXByfl-iLM7JNZ_JFJ_-WAGyhs/s320/toronto-na1207-punta-mita.jpg" width="148" /></div>Those wild and crazy Gaddafi kids are at it <i><b>AGAIN </b></i>! What ever are we to do with them ? This time Saadi had planned to sneak into <a href="http://puntamita.com/">Punta Mita, Mexico</a> , an exclusive resort that hosts celebrities from all over the world, in order to continue to live in the life style in which he has become accustomed , along with his family , of course.The plot thickens as it involves people from New Zealand, Canada,and Mexico.And of course millions of Libya's stolen money paying for this life style of the Rich and Famous while he is on the run from <a href="http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/10476212-interpol-issues-arrest-warrant-against-saadi-gaddafi-at-the-request-of-the-cnt/images">Interpol arrest warrant .</a><br />
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In the article :<b> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1601796524"> </a></b><a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/06/saadi-gaddafi-planned-escape-to-luxurious-home-in-trendy-punta-mita/">Sun, sand, celebrities and Saadi: How Gaddafi’s son planned escape to lost Mexican refuge</a><br />
an exclusive report by Stewart Bell and Natalie Alcoba for the <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/12/06/saadi-gaddafi-planned-escape-to-luxurious-home-in-trendy-punta-mita/">National Post</a> , the Canadian Libyan Council spokeswoman Amal Abuzgaya says :<br />
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"Since ousting Col. Gaddafi with the help of NATO, the National Transitional Council has been trying to trace the billions worth of assets the late dictator, his family and associates held around the world. About $2.2-billion worth of Libyan assets are held by Canadian institutions.<br />
The Canadian Libyan Council said if members of the Gaddafi family own the Mexican property it should be considered an asset to be returned to the Libyan people. “Any institution, private individuals or governments who accept money from the Gaddafi family is to be held accountable through the international community, as this is unacceptable,” said Council spokeswoman Amal Abuzgaya.<br />
She said Saadi Gaddafi’s “lavish lifestyle” had come at the expense of Libyans. “The expenditure of the Libyan peoples’ money is unacceptable and needs to be returned back to the Libyan people via their transitional government.”<br />
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The deviousness of the Gaddafi's to have stolen all this money belonging to the Libyan people , putting the money into hidden assets that are basically untraceable due to most of it being in alias's , assumed and false names channeled through many different people and companies seems to be standard criminal operating procedure. Libya may never regain their money because of all the convolutions and deceit that hides their money all over the world.In the mean time , the Gaddafi family continues to enjoys a luxurious life style that many can only dream of , while they are on the run from their past. There is a saying that goes something like this... your past will ALWAYS catch up with you with a price. In the case of the Gaddafi family and Libya's money , one can only hope this is so . </div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-30736564760166565802011-12-02T02:02:00.000+02:002011-12-02T02:02:00.746+02:00Justice For Libya's Mass Rape Victims<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9x7WEcwnYGOwkdOwunPKW_wO20cVJ3Mg7ef2VV8KRyRs2Sm0rnxV3Qo1IgDGhxFrx24fDHr7vAju-G2CqWux1D9VaVrMYqft7ko74y87Aq2i5lQH_FIxn1mS4YB4nnHCSJXR5MQMsYNM/s1600/32882f85ddfa5dbd1a72daf23301fcc9.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT9x7WEcwnYGOwkdOwunPKW_wO20cVJ3Mg7ef2VV8KRyRs2Sm0rnxV3Qo1IgDGhxFrx24fDHr7vAju-G2CqWux1D9VaVrMYqft7ko74y87Aq2i5lQH_FIxn1mS4YB4nnHCSJXR5MQMsYNM/s320/32882f85ddfa5dbd1a72daf23301fcc9.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="print-site_name">Published on <em class="placeholder">World Affairs Journal</em> (<a href="http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/">http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org</a>)</div><br />
<div class="print-breadcrumb"><a href="http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/">Home</a> > A Step Closer to Justice for Libya’s Mass Rape Victims </div><hr class="print-hr" /> <div class="print-content"><div class="node node-blog node-promoted view-mode-print clearfix" id="node-5694"> <h2 class="node-title"><a href="http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/ann-marlowe/step-closer-justice-libya%E2%80%99s-mass-rape-victims">A Step Closer to Justice for Libya’s Mass Rape Victims </a> <span class="print-footnote">[1]</span></h2><div class="submitted"> <span rel="sioc:has_creator"><a class="username" href="http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/users/ann-marlowe" title="View user profile.">Ann Marlowe</a> <span class="print-footnote">[2]</span></span> </div><div class="content"> <div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img alt="" src="http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/sites/default/files/styles/full_view/public/hp.11.18.11.libyawoman.jpg" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">On November 9th, two female Libyan human rights lawyers scored a victory in a first-of-its kind lawsuit representing 15 Zwara women who charge mass rape by members of Qaddafi’s militia. Tunisia announced that it will extradite Qaddafi henchman Baghdadi Mahmudi to Libya to face a battery of charges, including those from the Zwara attorneys. Mahmudi, who held a variety of ministerial positions under Qaddafi beginning in 1992, including one equivalent to that of prime minister, fled to Tunisia on August 21st and on September 22nd was sentenced to six months in a Tunisian jail for entering the country illegally. The Tunisian government dragged its feet on the Libyan extradition request, and finally, on November 5th, Rebab Haleb, 31, and her law partner Zeituna Moammar, 42, organized an impromptu protest in front of the Zwara courthouse that attracted about 100 citizens of both genders—the first such demonstration in Zwara.<br />
The case stems from a March 14th phone conversation, intercepted and taped by NATO, in which Mahmudi speaks with Tayeb Essaffi, another member of the Qaddafi inner circle. Mahmudi gives orders to Essaffi to tell the kitaib—specially well-paid and equipped militia under the command of Qaddafi’s sons or trusted consigliere—to station five young men in front of every house in Zwara so that kitaib men can “enjoy themselves” inside. (The word “rape” wasn’t used.) The tape was released by NATO on August 12th and aired on TV and radio in liberated areas of the country. Qaddafi fled Tripoli a week later.<br />
In Libya, as in many other Islamic countries, rape carries a stigma for the victims. So the attorneys obtained permission to present the private testimony of the victims, sparing them a humiliating appearance in court. Here in the Muslim world, many rape cases are never prosecuted because the victims will not testify. And under sharia law, the requirement of the rapist’s confession or four male (!) witnesses makes it particularly difficult to prove guilt.<br />
Moammar and Haleb both support shariah law, even its approval of polygamy. Moammar, earthy and outgoing, said that polygamy was good for single women in Libya like her, since there was an imbalance between single women and men, especially now that so many men have been killed in the war. Haleb, married and more self-contained, said she would have no objection if her husband took another wife for one of the reasons allowed by Islam.<br />
Neither attorney seemed to think that shariah would interfere with effective prosecution of their case. Moammar, a physiotherapist for ten years before attending law school, says that the women were examined by a doctor so this evidence will be used in court. Haleb says that while just one of the rapists was caught—accidentally—he confessed and knows the names of some of the others.<br />
The two attorneys are bringing the lawsuit in Libya rather than before the International Criminal Court (ICC) because the chance of a maximum sentence is greater. Although under Libyan law rape carries a penalty of three to fifteen years, they hope that Mahmudi will get a longer sentence. “There is a long list” of charges against Mahmudi, Haleb explained. He apparently incited rape in other cities, too. Asked what sentence she hopes for, Haleb made a throat-cutting gesture—but the charges don’t warrant the death penalty under Libyan law.<br />
The rape case is one of the dirtier chapters in Qaddafi’s dirty war against his own people. A relaxed beach town with gentle Caribbean-green water, located only 47 miles from the Tunisian border, Zwara rebelled against the regime on February 20th. Revolutionaries seized about 200 assault rifles from the government arsenal with their bare hands. The city remained free for several weeks, but on March 18th, several hundred men of the kitaib entered Zwara with about a dozen tanks. As Ayoob Sufyon, 24, a student of English literature who was active in the rebellion put it, “Of course we lost.” Many of the kitaib fighters were from Jumayl, an inland Arab town that has a long history of land disputes with Zwara.<br />
On March 18th, after destroying many shops—a mile or so of storefronts were still smashed and gutted when the town fell to the rebels on August 23rd, though they are mainly repaired now—the kitaib moved on to searching houses for revolutionaries or weapons. They arrested about 400 men. But after arresting men from the house, some of the kitaib went back to rape women. Mahmudi denied the accusations and said the women in question had sex voluntarily or for money with the Jumayl militia—a ridiculous argument in such a small, insular town.<br />
As an Amazigh city, Zwara had a greater stake in the downfall of the Qaddafi regime than most places in Libya. The concept of a people who were indigenous to Libya but were not Arab (or, originally, Muslim) was anathema to Qaddafi, who tried to extirpate their ancient Tamazight language and culture. Qaddafi starved Zwara of resources. For twenty years, the town’s broken desalination plant wasn’t repaired, though it’s working now. There’s no proper hospital—Zwara mothers still give birth in one of the neighboring Arab towns with maternity wards, and births are registered as such to make it appear that the Zwara population is not increasing. There isn’t even a public playground with functioning equipment.<br />
In addition to the resentment that most people here felt for the Qaddafi regime, Haleb’s family has a special burden. On October 6, 1984, her 31-year-old cousin, Ferhat Haleb, was hung in public in Zwara for having the telephone number of an anti-Qaddafi activist on him. The Libyan government had tried to force Haleb’s relatives to sign his execution warrant to make it appear to be the will of the people. When they refused, the Libyan army threatened to send jet fighters to bomb Zwara. The family had to cave in and solicit signatures from their neighbors on Ferhat’s execution warrant to avoid the bombing (see <a href="http://www.temehu.com/imazighen/berberism.htm#libyanberbers">here</a> <span class="print-footnote">[3]</span> for further details). Next to the spot where he was executed, a former cinema damaged on March 18th was re-labelled “Hall of the Martyr Ferhat Haleb” after Zwara was liberated on August 23rd. But the extradition of Mahmudi is perhaps the best memorial so far to those, like Ferhat Haleb, who were murdered, raped, and imprisoned by the Qaddafi regime.</div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="print-footer"> </div><hr class="print-hr" /> <div class="print-source_url"><strong>Source URL:</strong> <a href="http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/ann-marlowe/step-closer-justice-libya%E2%80%99s-mass-rape-victims">http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/ann-marlowe/step-closer-justice-libya%E2%80%99s-mass-rape-victims</a></div><strong>Links:</strong><br />
[1] http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/ann-marlowe/step-closer-justice-libya%E2%80%99s-mass-rape-victims<br />
[2] http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/users/ann-marlowe<br />
[3] http://www.temehu.com/imazighen/berberism.htm#libyanberbers</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-69661669388333230292011-12-01T03:11:00.000+02:002011-12-01T03:11:42.920+02:00Map Of NATO Bombings Of Libya<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDm-d2G8UHwEnE7OT8lOyUfrmfENSRCHcS7OVYnCfl6T-Yrarl8asAKv60Ni-awvAS5Xwme2uJe5pR-NYQL68yTO6yC7Ba2REpETxXOrDju_sI2L9JmA-Zs4E0PbACWpiO7OvySxm_5wI/s1600/Libya.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDm-d2G8UHwEnE7OT8lOyUfrmfENSRCHcS7OVYnCfl6T-Yrarl8asAKv60Ni-awvAS5Xwme2uJe5pR-NYQL68yTO6yC7Ba2REpETxXOrDju_sI2L9JmA-Zs4E0PbACWpiO7OvySxm_5wI/s320/Libya.gif" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I found in the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/may/23/libya-nato-bombing-no-fly-zone">Guardian Data Blog</a>.,a map of all the NATO bombings in Libya during the Libyan conflict from March 31, 2011 to October 20,2011. Personally I think it is not showing all the places that were hit, or total amounts of ordnance that was dropped .It sure seemed like a whole lot more bombs than the map indicates. It is pretty interesting to see though.Check it out , <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/may/23/libya-nato-bombing-no-fly-zone">click here to see</a> the interactive map of NATO bombings in Libya .<br />
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</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-90814219053975060802011-11-29T18:15:00.000+02:002011-11-29T18:15:06.646+02:00Taking A Break<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NQUcx21xIvD73sRH8njg7ugnVnwaP6lJNGWi6tMzMthYEWromghkY-jBekkHQvlP1e3O7wiOEf-7VigU1fLXfDJ9gpWdAaN8zmeTpa0VhJIIlR7BCbLpZ7YzPCQiqjRl4F5CDU_Lkkoy/s1600/ATT11294123.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1NQUcx21xIvD73sRH8njg7ugnVnwaP6lJNGWi6tMzMthYEWromghkY-jBekkHQvlP1e3O7wiOEf-7VigU1fLXfDJ9gpWdAaN8zmeTpa0VhJIIlR7BCbLpZ7YzPCQiqjRl4F5CDU_Lkkoy/s320/ATT11294123.jpg" width="293" /></a></div><br />
Well , lets see , what have Moe and I been up too lately ???? Last Thursday was Thanksgiving . For the first time in years I didn't cook Thanksgiving dinner .You can't find a turkey anywhere here in Tripoli , turkey breast maybe, but an entire turkey, no way. We have looked for months now for a turkey but nothing.We have even tried to special order a turkey, no luck .Sent Moe and our son out to buy some chickens , thinking maybe to cook chicken instead of turkey, but my son refused to buy any , saying that there was a bad/contaminated shipment of imported chickens in town. That they might have possibly been mixed up with Libyan chickens ?, Anyway, no luck with the chicken ideal. I thought to myself , why get so stressed over nothing .It's just another day on the calendar.<br />
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We went out that evening for a coffee run.While we were out Moe said why don't we buy chicken ( Yes I said chicken . Evidently chicken was safe after all !) shawarmas wrapped in<a href="http://libyanfood.blogspot.com/2011/01/libyan-stove-top-flat-bread-ftat.html"> fatera</a> , which is one of our favorites .Then we stopped and got some gooey sweets . So this Thanksgiving dinner turned out to be one of my bests. I didn't have to cook it ! Any cook will tell you the best meal is one they didn't have to cook , lol .<br />
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Friday we went for a drive in the countryside around Tripoli. All the early rain we have had the last two months has tricked the grass and plants into thinking it is spring. There were tiny delicate little flowers strewn all over fields that haven't been plowed under for winter crops.Everything is so green . It is amazing how little water can turn the desert green.<br />
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Saturday, a group of ladies I am friends with had a get together at <a href="http://khadijateri.blogspot.com/2011/11/something-different-for-change.html#comment-form">Khadijateri's beautiful house</a>.It was so nice to sit in some one else home , talking ,enjoying other women's companionship after months with no one but Moe to talk to , lol .Everyone brought tons of food.All sorts of delicious varieties that made one forget all about diets and other ugly words.We had a fantastic time.<br />
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I have started to read books again. I find I am able to concentrate once again now that there is more stability in the world around me. I have read three books so far and almost finished with the book " <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Help-Kathryn-Stockett/dp/0399155341">The Help</a>". I am able to relate to this book being from the south of the USA and from the time period that the book is set in.Although I was raised in the south , my mother was from the north of the USA.She raised my sisters and I not to be prejudice of blacks and other minorities. I was considered an "outsider" when it came to civil rights and "southern civil right philosophy" of the 50's and 60's .<br />
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While doing all this reading , I have taken a break from the computer , the internet , and the world at large.It has been actually nice not to be "so connected" to all the news , all the time .I feel less stressed , calmer , less worried about whether or not the world is going to hell in a hand bucket or not. I have stopped worrying about the Libyan political scene , for now.I have even taken a break from my daily household chores, doing only what is required.Yeah !I hate making the bed ! Life is good again.</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-2899161818813495702011-11-24T03:03:00.000+02:002011-11-24T03:03:05.940+02:00It's Turkey Day !<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQFiPxc8PB6v9HrVvYpjSjo0VaV0lF9mH0C99I3-eTCyiN1DBiemzIf9E8Cw2Nij3dAM8paEgrya0Bgxdp2fZzndmW-yjwE_2SH8XcfLDw_-zRhOTbfBpBhUqzmuVOKff-BqjUABiaZeF/s1600/thanksgiving2.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAQFiPxc8PB6v9HrVvYpjSjo0VaV0lF9mH0C99I3-eTCyiN1DBiemzIf9E8Cw2Nij3dAM8paEgrya0Bgxdp2fZzndmW-yjwE_2SH8XcfLDw_-zRhOTbfBpBhUqzmuVOKff-BqjUABiaZeF/s320/thanksgiving2.gif" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>This is sooooo true , especially this year , at least for Mohamed and I . We survived a war, terror and fears we never had before the war, managing to come out the other side all in one piece .Thanks to God's many blessings .We have been so blessed with great family , friends , and wonderful neighbors that have helped us countless times this past year .Truly I am not sure what we would have done with out them all .<br />
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So , I wish to say that I hope all of you will take a moment today to count your many blessings and give thanks . You will be surprised at how many you have once you start the counting. Happy Thanksgiving to all from Mohamed and OTE .</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-36122225574034811032011-11-24T02:39:00.000+02:002011-11-24T02:39:39.396+02:00New Libyan Government Posts And Libyan Womens Rights<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfh5GyC5b5cSIUABJ6x5hQnqSHzftF-ZkWnhr3En51DoiQOvN_2X1iTlWz0L48r9nkIJrmnH0A0P_yWvhHqF3_NREI1hLBjk5WbuUFuL1P-s-4mUNcSKRrkSQKBCePRrHgwqcDWwKygMfU/s1600/country+road.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfh5GyC5b5cSIUABJ6x5hQnqSHzftF-ZkWnhr3En51DoiQOvN_2X1iTlWz0L48r9nkIJrmnH0A0P_yWvhHqF3_NREI1hLBjk5WbuUFuL1P-s-4mUNcSKRrkSQKBCePRrHgwqcDWwKygMfU/s320/country+road.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>Well , Libya is moving toward the long road of recovery. It may take a while but it looks like Libya just might make it.Below at the bottom of the page is a list of new ministers in the new NTC Prime Minister Abdulraheem El Keeb's transitional executive board . <br />
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The women in Libya are also getting their voices herd as well .They are voicing their concerns for their future rights in the new Libya , along with their hopes and fears.<a href="http://feb17.info/news/for-women-in-libya-a-long-road-to-rights/">Read this article ,</a> it is quite informative as to what Libyan women themselves are thinking .It covers all topics including their views on Shari'a law , polygamy , a larger and more active role in politics ,and foreign intervention on their behalf .The new NTC ministers have three posts held by women now. There are many assistant minister posts and assistant-assistant minister posts now being held by women in this new government. I take it as a positive sign that women are being given a more active seat in the government and not just merely as a show piece or window dressing. <br />
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New NTC Minister Posts :<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Official List for Prime Minister Abduraheem El-Keib’s Transitional Executive Board</strong></div><br />
Prime Minister: Abduraheem El-Keib<br />
Deputy Prime Minister: Mustafa AbuShagur<br />
Minister of Religious Affairs: Hamza AbuFaris<br />
Minister of Justice: Khalifa Ashour<br />
Minister of Telecome: Anwar Fituri<br />
Minister of Labor: Mustafa Rujbani<br />
Minister of Health: Dr. Fatima Hamroush<br />
Minister of Interior: Fawzi Abdela’ali<br />
Minister of Energy: Awad Beroin<br />
Minister of Trade and Commerce: Sharkasi<br />
Minister of Education, Sulaiman Sayeh<br />
Minister of Foreign Affiars: Ashour Ben Khayil *<br />
Minister of Defense: Col. Osama Juwaili<br />
Minister of Planning: Isa Tuwaijri<br />
Minister of Social Affairs: Mabrouka Jibril<br />
Minister of Oil: Ben Yizza<br />
Minister of Finance: Hasan Zaglam<br />
Minister of Agriculture: Abdul-Hamid Sulaiman BuFruja<br />
Minister of Industry: Mahmoud Fetais<br />
Minister of Scientific Research and Higher Education: Dr. Naeem Gheriany**<br />
Minister of Investment: Ahmed Attiga<br />
Minister of Culture and Civil Society: Abdul Rahman Habil<br />
Minister of Electricity: Awadh Barasi<br />
Minister of the Martyrs: Ashraf bin Ismail<br />
Minister of Local Government: Mohammad Hadi Hashemi Harari<br />
Minister of Housing: Ibrahim Alsagoatri<br />
Minister of Transportation: Yousef Wahashi<br />
Minister of Youth: Fathi Terbil<br />
Minister of Construction: Ibrahim Eskutri<br />
*earlier reported as Ibrahim Debbashi<br />
** earlier report as Fathi Ragab Akkari<br />
<ul><li>رئيس الوزراء: د. عبدالرحيم الكيب.</li>
<li>نائب رئيس الوزراء: د. مصطفى أبوشاقور.</li>
<li>نائب رئيس الوزراء: عمر عبدالله عبدالكريم.</li>
<li>وزير الخارجية: عاشور بن خيال.</li>
<li>وزير الداخلية: فوزي عبدالعالي.</li>
<li>وزير الدفاع: العقيد أسامة الجويلي.</li>
<li>وزير المالية: حسن زقلام.</li>
<li>وزير البحث العلمي والتعليم العالي: د. نعيم الغرياني.</li>
<li>وزير الإقتصاد: الطاهر شركس.</li>
<li>وزير العمل والتأهيل: مصطفى الرجباني.</li>
<li>وزير الصحة: د. فاطمة الحمروش.</li>
<li>وزير الصناعة: محمد محمود الفطيسي.</li>
<li>وزير الثقافة والمجتمع المدني: عبدالرحمن هبيل.</li>
<li>وزير الأوقاف والشؤون الدينية: حمزة أبوفارس.</li>
<li>وزير التعليم: د. سليمان الساحلي.</li>
<li>وزارة العدل: علي حميدة عاشور.</li>
<li>وزارة الحكم المحلي: محمد الهادي الهاشمي الحراري.</li>
<li>وزارة الإسكان والمرافق: إبراهيم السقوطري.</li>
<li>وزارة المواصلات: يوسف الوحيشي.</li>
<li>وزير الشباب والرياضة: فتحي تربل.</li>
<li>وزارة الشؤون الإجتماعية: مبروكة الشريف جبريل.</li>
<li>وزارة التخطيط: عيسى التويجري.</li>
<li>وزارة الزراعة: سليمان عبد الحميد بوفروجة.</li>
<li>وزارة الكهرباء: د. عوض البرعصي.</li>
<li>وزارة الإتصالات: د. أنور الفيتوري</li>
</ul><br />
</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-9275243041637906192011-11-22T03:30:00.000+02:002011-11-22T03:30:41.973+02:00The Places I Have Been<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWnw51RBZ91Xtq7FpgmGJFFkDQJdPPVOAoMJLJhzVU6UIF_pyXoc9zdNJMlIIli6zUPllmFjlT1Teu9HVXogn8bCRB35lmU9L_r8P3QeL0YFa9IBlMUDf9HEQIZTV7K11B7wORu9Wfkp7/s1600/Me+%2526+Moe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZWnw51RBZ91Xtq7FpgmGJFFkDQJdPPVOAoMJLJhzVU6UIF_pyXoc9zdNJMlIIli6zUPllmFjlT1Teu9HVXogn8bCRB35lmU9L_r8P3QeL0YFa9IBlMUDf9HEQIZTV7K11B7wORu9Wfkp7/s320/Me+%2526+Moe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><span style="font-family: georgia,serif;"><br />
I have......<br />
<br />
been in many places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently, you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone.<br />
<br />
I've also never been in Cognito. I hear no one recognizes you there.<br />
<br />
I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport; you have to be driven there. I have made several trips there, thanks to my friends, family and work.<br />
<br />
I would like to go to Conclusions, but you have to jump, and I'm not too much on physical activity anymore.<br />
<br />
I have also been in Doubt. That is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.<br />
<br />
I've been in Flexible, but only when it was very important to stand firm.<br />
<br />
Sometimes I'm in Capable, and I go there more often as I'm getting older.<br />
<br />
One of my favorite places to be is in Suspense! It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart! At my age I need all the stimuli I can get!<br />
<br />
And, sometimes I think I am in Vincible but life shows me I am not!<br />
<br />
I have been in Deepshit many times; the older I get, the easier it is to get there.<br />
</span></b></div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-85274885038075120372011-11-22T00:54:00.000+02:002011-11-22T00:54:13.959+02:00Prozac Anyone ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0e897LkF8Z2HKY-unNyP_FwFvaKn6rISq9F2K4PbP2A74LNV-A6Ki2gLRhhbApRPIsITeUGfgV6nfUBPy31ByUJBJLz6QCibDXRqfIRhYMx16w0JvtfOj2jYZqMDQnnq2PfJBpbWFX6te/s1600/prozac+turkey+%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0e897LkF8Z2HKY-unNyP_FwFvaKn6rISq9F2K4PbP2A74LNV-A6Ki2gLRhhbApRPIsITeUGfgV6nfUBPy31ByUJBJLz6QCibDXRqfIRhYMx16w0JvtfOj2jYZqMDQnnq2PfJBpbWFX6te/s1600/prozac+turkey+%2521.jpg" /></a></div>There were a few Thanksgivings I wish I had thought of this ! LOL! Just a few more days until <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving">Thanksgiving </a>. It is this Thursday , which also happens to be my oldest daughters birthday.For both of our sakes , I won't say HOW long ago that was , hehhehe. Hope it will be a happy non-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluoxetine">Prozac</a> Thanksgiving for all of you Americans.<br />
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</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-75623764149687385202011-11-19T02:54:00.000+02:002011-11-19T02:54:08.410+02:00Men Want Shri'a Law In Libya<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1bIstEnXBviJlsIQ5L8anMeQfGRhD6lPUBu-oypzf07FUHdbfo2esEdRU01dlpf4uLA-DkCGEe6PyWuNfxYkg04Q11sroeJKXpzNPxJ3_8SQW2YRcT-47nDIL7uY_QVfgt0udSPzZO_i/s1600/OutsideTheBox_Thumbnail.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc1bIstEnXBviJlsIQ5L8anMeQfGRhD6lPUBu-oypzf07FUHdbfo2esEdRU01dlpf4uLA-DkCGEe6PyWuNfxYkg04Q11sroeJKXpzNPxJ3_8SQW2YRcT-47nDIL7uY_QVfgt0udSPzZO_i/s1600/OutsideTheBox_Thumbnail.gif" /></a></div><br />
I found this article on Facebook tonight on some ones post. I think it says it all .<span style="color: red;"><b>In Libya, Young Men Who Don't Want Women Empowered, they like Sharia law</b></span><a href="http://www.muslimwomennews.com/n.php?nid=6533"> </a>I have talked to men of all ages here in Tripoli , of all walks of life , educated and not so educated ,and they all agree with this sentiment of having <a href="http://www.muslimwomennews.com/n.php?nid=6533">Islamic Shari'a law, as the law of the land.They think it is fair and just for all , including women</a><br />
<br />
In the Quran it does say that women have their rights to own property , handle their money , right to inheritance,etc, but a women is under her father, her brother , uncle, cousin, husband, or sons guardianship all her life depending who is in charge of her .If they say she can not do something , go somewhere , have something , see someone, then she can not , no matter what her rights are , because it also says in the Quran a man knows best for a woman, and her guardian has the best knowledge for her. Period , end of story, no discussion do what he says .So yeah , for a man it is the ideal law . For a female , not so much.<br />
<br />
I have heard university educated girls agree with this sentiment, saying a man will know what is best for me. Wives opt for the " no comment" silence when the subject of plural wives are brought into the conversation I have noticed , but in private it is a whole other discussion . Not a single one agrees with pluralism .Nor do I . It also says in the Quran that a man MAY have 4 wives ... as long as he can support them identically and most importantly and telling , <i><b>equally</b></i>. We all know that yes , you might have more than one love in your life at a time , but never will you love them exactly the same . It is impossible to love more than one person at the same time, the same way as the other.Ask any parent .So , in essence Allah is saying in a very vague way , no to pluralism, I feel .<br />
<br />
I feel that so many of these men are secretly afraid of women. The power of women , their strength, their fortitude , the ability to think for their selves, to reach a conclusion all on their own with out a man's input.Why it is so , I am not too sure since men owe their very being is due to some woman's willingness to put her life on the line giving him his own life at birth.Her care in raising him to manhood , teaching him right from wrong , good from bad, to love and to trust. Somewhere in that man's life these teachings most have been lost,for him to be so fearful of the very beings that gave him love and kindness .It takes a strong man to love a strong woman.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: red;"><b><br />
</b></span></div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-36060378401811319032011-11-14T04:26:00.000+02:002011-11-14T04:26:39.489+02:00Glass Half Empty<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLd75JarfNOT54lS7bFx9ask63tlsYJIbp-EExZXnvCPRqzVWfIEXtF8xjItF-hV4sn36MgT6Irr6yQza9RTe5oLsy22SKYEAiBTe_PbVcBi1yJ8siZu-S9u1YfvZCmM-Su8054fSHdk3e/s1600/divorce_document_2-Tilly-+Strauss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLd75JarfNOT54lS7bFx9ask63tlsYJIbp-EExZXnvCPRqzVWfIEXtF8xjItF-hV4sn36MgT6Irr6yQza9RTe5oLsy22SKYEAiBTe_PbVcBi1yJ8siZu-S9u1YfvZCmM-Su8054fSHdk3e/s320/divorce_document_2-Tilly-+Strauss.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Things have been sorta crazy in different parts of Libya , mainly <a href="http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7AC07U20111113?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true">near Tripoli, the last couple of days</a> . Here in Tagura it has been calm-ish . We had a sad incident here in our neighborhood over the week end, that is Libya's week end ( Thursday night , Friday, and Saturday) .One of the young guys that is a member of the Weapons Retrieval team that is sent to different areas of town to collect arms and ammunition from civilians was shot and killed . He was shot in the head by a Ghadaffy loyalist .One other member of the team was shot and wounded in the leg at the same time. We had a lone person shooting off gun fire Friday and Saturday in our neighborhood.That stopped yesterday thank goodness.<br />
<br />
I have heard conflicting stories by this one and that one , depending what side they were/ are on, as to different reasons for the on going conflict. If you speak to a " New Libya " person , the majority are ":sunshine and roses, we can work it out, everything will be ok" genre . There are a few that are quit sensibly worried about a eruption of civil disobedience and possible civil war between the two factions due to Gadaffy's sons still at large , stirring up trouble among the population.The die hard Gadaffy supporters are enraged over real or supposed inequities or injustices shown toward them . Plenty of blame for both sides to go around , but when listening to them all I hear is , " I don't want compromise and I don't want to forgive and forget".How do you come to an understanding with such attitudes ?<br />
<br />
Then there are the "moderates" who call themselves<a href="http://tripolipost.com/articledetail.asp?c=1&i=7293"> modern , open minded , </a>" cool " Muslims.They want their country to be Islamic ,but not too Islamic , but Islamic , get it?Me neither.They want a medium , half way meeting place where the men can still have it all and " of course the women have their freedom too", but only if the men get to have a say in how , when , where , and how much freedom. Oh, they don't admit it publicly , but that is what they mean when you have a discussion in private with them.<br />
<br />
Don't forget those earnest non moderate Muslims that want to rule by the strict Islamic code of law, the Shari'a .They at least don't try to hide the fact that they want to have complete control over everyone in their own little world , like their women.Got to admire them in their honesty at least.<br />
<br />
There are the Libyans that don't want to have people that speak their minds freely on any and all subjects , the non freedom of speachers as I like to call them . I have heard some say in this new Libya there is no room for different religions , such as Christians or Jews.I wonder , do they realize that there have been Christians and Jews in Libya longer than Islam has been here ?Wouldn't that blow their minds if one day I just throw that fact in for chuckles and grins,lol.<br />
<br />
On the plus side of things , I read where Egyptian Air will resume fights into Tripoli on Nov.17th.Turkish Airlines and Italy's Alitalia are already flying in and out of Tripoli.Good news for those that want to return to Libya , or come here to help/work? I am not sure , but I haven't heard much talk to support this next news item ,but not too many of the previous foreign company's that were operating here in Libya are back yet.Many Libyans are eagerly awaiting for them to come back , reopen their doors for business , so they can have their jobs back .So many people waiting , doing nothing , earning nothing,depressed because they have no income , with sky rocketing prices on everything for sale , making it impossible to support their families.<br />
<br />
I don't feel too hopeful tonight as I write this.I think Libya's glass is half empty right now.Can't some one go fill up that darn water pitcher up, so it will have water in it to fill the glass up ?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-76971732216949078792011-11-09T01:51:00.000+02:002011-11-09T01:51:06.630+02:00Someone Like You<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Hope your Eid was as great as Mohamed's and mine ... filled with family and friends .<br />
<br />
Wanted to share this song with you ,"Someone Like You ",by Adel. All of us has a "Someone " in our life somewhere in our past.<br />
<br />
<object height="315" width="560"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qemWRToNYJY?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qemWRToNYJY?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="560" height="315" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-7500741762674504822011-11-07T12:39:00.000+02:002011-11-07T12:39:47.023+02:00Happy Eid Adha 2011<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhle-eFsd_fiFUIhT0PfTYEPq8Ds-uLr56j0VCKTKGYqxyNUrswBBDtGRaOOZenQpbSgqcj8ln4LMJps-vPppow-3oRs1uri_OXQQyVlxO-L-pyayWbImMDBuIeIuNQhnu_zQoN7FrWl6ai/s1600/eid_mubarak_041-300x296.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhle-eFsd_fiFUIhT0PfTYEPq8Ds-uLr56j0VCKTKGYqxyNUrswBBDtGRaOOZenQpbSgqcj8ln4LMJps-vPppow-3oRs1uri_OXQQyVlxO-L-pyayWbImMDBuIeIuNQhnu_zQoN7FrWl6ai/s1600/eid_mubarak_041-300x296.jpg" /></a></div>Wishing all a peaceful Eid filled with happiness , health, and wealth for the coming year !<br />
<br />
</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-35573712077171530682011-11-03T04:19:00.000+02:002011-11-03T04:19:20.436+02:00Shoot Out At Tripoli Hospital On Halloween ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZoyByOiBAigzeE_iNOwpavQ0g6NJpGorrjXON8g7jwrS8k7XkhKxZF4XffaFg8VWpnamTkpErPq1N8xm145_PK8bO_i9Tp-T1TXW_xc8UVngcJxJFHxiKyH8daX63WbJibsqX7S4AZ8x/s1600/omg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZoyByOiBAigzeE_iNOwpavQ0g6NJpGorrjXON8g7jwrS8k7XkhKxZF4XffaFg8VWpnamTkpErPq1N8xm145_PK8bO_i9Tp-T1TXW_xc8UVngcJxJFHxiKyH8daX63WbJibsqX7S4AZ8x/s1600/omg.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Well , here I was just now bragging about how things were getting so much better and I learn about this ! There was a shoot out between two militia factions here in Tripoli at the main hospital from around 1a.m until dawn which is almost 7a.m.on Monday, October 31st . How's that for a trick or treat ,surely no treat ! I thought that was a thing in the past , happening under Ghadaffy.Guns , machine guns , and anti air craft guns all being fired <i><b>inside</b></i> a hospital? Drunken militia men coming to a hospital to <i><b>kill</b></i> a wounded patient? Read the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8860684/Libya-revolutionaries-turn-on-each-other-as-fears-grow-for-law-and-order.html">below report by Nick Meo for The Telegraph.</a><br />
<br />
<div id="tmglCrumbtrail"> <div class="styleOne"><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/">Libya News</a></div></div><div class="access"><a href="" name="article"></a></div><div class="storyHead"> <h1>Libya: revolutionaries turn on each other as fears grow for law and order </h1><h2> Hundreds of revolutionaries fought each other at a hospital in Tripoli early on Monday, in the biggest armed clash between allies since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. </h2></div><div class="oneHalf gutter"> <div class="story"> <div id="storyEmbSlide"> <div class="slideshow ssMain"> <div class="nextPrevLayer"> <div class="ssImg" style="display: block;"> <img alt="Libya: revolutionaries turn on each other as fears grow for law and order: Libyan National Transitional Council (NTC) fighters fire at loyalist forces in central Sirte on October 16, 2011" height="287" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02042/Rebels_2042125c.jpg" width="460" /> <div class="artImageExtras"> <div class="ingCaptionCredit"> <span class="caption">A file photo of Libyan National Transitional Council fighters in action</span> <span class="credit">Photo: AFP</span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="cl"> </div><div class="bylineComments"> <div> <div class="bylineImg"> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/nick-meo/"><img alt="Nick Meo" border="0" height="60" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01771/Meo_60_1771079j.jpg" width="60" /></a> </div><div class="bylineBody"> By <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/nick-meo/" rel="author" title="Nick Meo"> Nick Meo</a>, <span>Tripoli</span></div></div><div class="publishedDate">9:00PM GMT 31 Oct 2011</div><div class="comments"> <img alt="Comments" src="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/template/ver1-0/i/share/comments.gif" /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8860684/Libya-revolutionaries-turn-on-each-other-as-fears-grow-for-law-and-order.html#disqus_thread">133 Comments</a> </div><div class="cl"> </div></div><div id="mainBodyArea"> <div class="firstPar"> The fighting fuelled growing fears that nobody is in control of thousands of swaggering armed men who are still based in Tripoli and that the country's interim government will struggle to impose law and order. </div><div class="secondPar"> Two people died from bullet wounds and at least seven fighters were injured during a battle that started when militia from the town of Zintan were stopped by guards from the Tripoli Brigade from entering the city's Central Hospital to kill a patient. </div><div class="thirdPar"> The hospital front door and entrance hall were afterwards left pocked with bullets, doctors and patients had to flee the building and two elderly patients died of heart attacks during the shooting, which lasted from about 1am until dawn. Heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft guns were used by both factions, supposed allies who in reality nurse a dangerous rivalry. </div><div class="fourthPar"> The shoot-out started when a group of gunmen arrived at the hospital in search of a man they had shot earlier in the night. Witnesses said the gunmen were drunk, and had come to finish the man off after learning that he had survived and been taken for medical treatment. </div><div class="fifthPar"> Doctors asked them to leave, at which point one of them pulled out a pistol and began shooting. </div><div class="related_links_inline" id="tmg-related-links"> <div class="headerOne styleOne"><h2><span>Related Articles</span></h2></div><ul><li class="bullet"> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8860680/Nato-formally-declares-end-of-operations-in-Libya.html">Nato formally declares end of operations in Libya</a> <br />
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</ul></div><div class="related_links_inline hidden" id="outbrain-related-links"> <span id="outbrainCurrentPosition"></span> </div><div class="body"> "He was overpowered, but then hundreds of Zintan men arrived outside the hospital with heavy weapons and shooting started," said Mohamad Hamza, a Tripoli Brigade fighter in charge of security. "We had to call for backup, and our boys came from all over Tripoli. <br />
"We couldn't believe that they were shooting at us. I had to say to them, you are shooting at a hospital, not at Muammar Gaddafi's 32nd Brigade. Eventually, after several hours, a Shaikh came from the mosque and persuaded them to stop and they handed over three of them who started it to Tripoli's military council." <br />
He said one Zintan fighter and a passer-by were killed in shooting, and seven Tripoli Brigade men were injured, two seriously. He said he believed Zintan injured were taken to other hospitals. <br />
The incident will raise pressure on the fragile National Transitional Council to disarm the former rebel fighters who are still at large in Libya's capital, even though they were asked to leave weeks ago and have been ordered to give up their heavy weapons. <br />
The Zintan brigades were some of the most ferocious fighters against Gaddafi's forces and helped lead the attack on Tripoli, but have outstayed their welcome, earning a reputation for mayhem and looting. <br />
Thousands of them have ignored pleas to go, staying put instead of returning to their town in the mountains three hours drive to the south. <br />
The battle came on the day Human Rights Watch warned in a report that the entire population of 30,000 people from the town of Tawargha, near Misurata, has been driven out by former rebels for siding with Gaddafi. There have been reports that some of its men, who are predominantly black-skinned, may have been shot or beaten. <br />
Tripoli's residents fear that there will be more clashes in their city, which is desperate to get back to normality. Mr Hamza, in charge of security at the hospital, said he expected more trouble. "I think it will happen again," he said. "They will be back for revenge." <br />
Peter Cole, Libya analyst with the International Crisis Group, said: “Rivalry between brigades from different cities has not been resolved and it does now pose a threat to Libya’s security. <br />
“This suggests that the National Transitional Council needs to work harder with the militia groups to bring unity among them.” <br />
<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8860680/Nato-formally-declares-end-of-operations-in-Libya.html"><strong>The fighting came on the day that Nato formally ended operations in Libya</strong></a>. <br />
The military action, unprecedented in setting out from the beginning to win a war while guaranteeing not to use troops to do so, was declared a success by Nato’s chief. “At midnight tonight, a successful chapter in Nato’s history is coming to an end,” Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the Nato secretary-general and a former Danish prime minister, said at a press conference with the interim Libyan president, Mustafa Abdul Jalil. <br />
Libya’s interim leadership meanwhile elected an academic from Tripoli as the country’s new interim prime minister. <br />
Abdel-Rahim al-Keeb was chosen by the National Transitional Council and will appoint a new Cabinet in coming days. The new government is to run Libya in the coming months and to pave the way for general elections</div></div></div></div></div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-43971290109767564762011-11-03T02:39:00.000+02:002011-11-03T02:39:41.755+02:00The Sound Of Silence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPT3Jkknlmvpey84_OGL1B0kcdZH6JA1Sbunr9tTw5HryUOFj3XldzO-psiepqcgJnk8sMW0GA1V4gVPAIqsQl_OUZ5jP2KCbVElWEnAyy1-xWaXkSs4ikOyc64toRGnn1I6QjiBuLECS2/s1600/eidsheep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPT3Jkknlmvpey84_OGL1B0kcdZH6JA1Sbunr9tTw5HryUOFj3XldzO-psiepqcgJnk8sMW0GA1V4gVPAIqsQl_OUZ5jP2KCbVElWEnAyy1-xWaXkSs4ikOyc64toRGnn1I6QjiBuLECS2/s1600/eidsheep.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Another night of silence .This will make number six.It is becoming common place to have a peaceful nights sleep these days .We had gunfire just several days in our neighborhood but it was a short burst. I think the boy has either run out of bullets , or he has surrendered his gun as all citizens have been requested to do .They have options of course of joining the army or the police force if they still want to do armed duty .Right now there are groups of, I think the army or the militia , not to sure which , but groups are going door to door gathering up arms.It won't be long before the gun/gun firing at random situation will be under control .Already about town you can see men and young guys getting their cars unconverted from a fighting war machine back to a civilian car .Nice. They did an amazing job fighting as they did with so little training and arms.But normal is nice too .<br />
<br />
Went to the larger grocery store today and was dismayed over how empty the selves remain. It was almost impossible to find a simple thing like shaving cream .Had to go to several stores before finding any for Moe.But on the other hand , more and more of the food items we had taken for granted are beginning to appear. I found something I haven't seen in two yesterday . The wise businessman would load up in Tunis with all sorts of food items for here and make a killing. Food is still very expensive here with prices continuing to raise by the hour seemingly.<br />
<br />
The Eid is coming this weekend . This is the celebration where Muslims sacrifice a sheep.I have heard different people say that the price of a sheep is anywhere from 900 dinars to as low as 450 dinars . This is for a Libyan sheep which most Libyans prefer. It is reported that the government has imported some sheep from Eastern Europe for people that want or can not afford the more expensive sheep at a much lower price than local sheep.We are leaving the whole thing up to our son this year.<br />
<br />
Our weather has been very mild this past week, cool at night and comfortable in the day with sunny skies . But right now I can hear loud thunder booming occasionally in the distance.I have become spoiled by all this rain we have so early this year.Today driving past a field I could smell fresh cut grass.A unheard of thing for this time of year in Tripoli area.That is a late winter, early spring thing.Imagine grass tall enough to need cutting in the first week of November in Libya !Farmers are preparing their fields for winter crops.Not too many fields were planted for the autumn crops this year because of the war. Now , they will need a work force to harvest the fields when the crops ripen.Most of the guest workers went back to their countries when the war broke out . They have been slow to return.<br />
<br />
Since NATO has ended it its mandate here the no fly zone has been lifted. As of now, only Haj pilgrims are flying out of Libya/ Tripoli, but reportedly some commercial fights will be allowed to begin flying in to Tripoli starting next week .At least that is my understanding.I might be incorrect on this matter. It seems to be a " blurred" subject. I do know of different friends returning this week end though from abroad.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2OIE8emtfjG2Q3vXJ0fSaWL71DhERovcuCjFxIU6tsYMwg91Lyf5MWvonVVnOC3WclvgKguNjNeo3LFD3GnJDkYhwahRAzVvQIvwlTcj1-Y1yTusWYHIDI4Ig4ZvJuBpvxKtaKRDiBRN/s1600/alice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU2OIE8emtfjG2Q3vXJ0fSaWL71DhERovcuCjFxIU6tsYMwg91Lyf5MWvonVVnOC3WclvgKguNjNeo3LFD3GnJDkYhwahRAzVvQIvwlTcj1-Y1yTusWYHIDI4Ig4ZvJuBpvxKtaKRDiBRN/s1600/alice.jpg" /></a></div><br />
So, all in all it seems progress is being made on all fronts.There is a <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/11/01/new-libya-prime-minister-to-balance-demands-former-rebels-west/">new prime minister</a> that has hopes running high.New political parties are being formed here and there. New activists groups are coming together to test the new governments polices toward various civil rights issues that they feel are long over due to be addressed. It is an interesting time in Libya.A very unique time .Some times it feels like not just <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice%27s_Adventures_in_Wonderland">Alice</a> feel down the rabbits hole , but all of Libya too.</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-28796482890260428442011-10-31T04:34:00.001+02:002011-10-31T04:35:06.464+02:00Happy Halloween !<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTP1bhibBLL03yS-oSw4-d1WDXANZrW44ouhbHst6-hzObuJhCPZqnwgwuP4_GdG3e18V2-PalI7dPKkPa_JH4TXkmgXyykFHmh2cKJ480-Y1PiTnAR5w-Zw_1HZyEzaaP92iycThjl-yt/s320/halloween_flying_lesson.jpg" width="320" /><span style="color: black;"><i><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">H</span></span></b></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-90596751000935842502011-10-29T04:41:00.000+02:002011-10-29T04:41:47.833+02:00About Last Thrusday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLq6enoIhBHjSh59e0XN5UOSbkQ9y_lUqnzL5G0SJ4hr3L7cw59rl2EHJhyphenhyphen_6NGQfVWUFMJH58wkZJz8LQnxzbeFflqr5QF3l66aY4ywK7jHhy0T-9mMKzn4hMDXr6x8wcaGMMtVUp3Hu/s1600/h38_21246163.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmLq6enoIhBHjSh59e0XN5UOSbkQ9y_lUqnzL5G0SJ4hr3L7cw59rl2EHJhyphenhyphen_6NGQfVWUFMJH58wkZJz8LQnxzbeFflqr5QF3l66aY4ywK7jHhy0T-9mMKzn4hMDXr6x8wcaGMMtVUp3Hu/s320/h38_21246163.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>My internet has been acting up for several weeks now. It quit altogether week before last . Tonight I thought I would try it one more time " Just in case", to see if another miracle has happened. It has . It is working ... for the moment . I thought I would try to express the emotions I have felt this past week.It is so difficult to put into words these feelings. So ....About last Thursday and the rest of this week.<br />
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<br />
Last Thursday, the 20th of October,Moe and I were leaving the Condo around 12:30 p.m.(noon) to the sounds of the neighborhood people shooting whatever they had available to shoot ,very scary,afraid we might be shot by a random bullet. We drive to the cafe down the street from us to get coffee before going further , wanting to debate with Moe the wisdom of going back home since we didn't know what was happening.The coffee guy looked scared, distracted. People sitting outside looking very nervous . We could feel the tension building in the air . I became frightened but had to remain calm for Moe.The man brought us our coffee. I asked him what was on the radio we could faintly hear in the back ground.He look quickly around to see if anyone was listening.He whispered to us ever so slightly over all the commotion around us, "I think Muammar has been shot, maybe even dead. No one knows for sure".Our hearts skipped a beat . We were not too sure how we should react to this news in so public a place.We stirred our hot coffee in silence , each of us lost in our own thoughts.My hands started to shake slightly.I glanced toward Mohamed just as he looked at me.Our unspoken thoughts were could this be true? At last?<br />
<br />
I was of the mind to go home and the hell with getting my injection at the clinic in downtown Tagura , for by this time things were decidedly on the verge of chaos.Rocket launchers on the back of passing trucks were being fired into the air toward the beach.More gunfire from seemingly every passing car ,accompanied by shouts of Allah Akbar.Moe was insistent we go on to the clinic. He was hungry for adventure. I saw a look in his eye I haven't seen in a long time shining brightly. I was ready to crawl under any handy bed and pull the covers over my head.I was sure we would finally be killed by random gunfire.So , off we went , me driving reluctantly , Mohamed fueled with urgency.<br />
<br />
On the way to the clinic we were greeted by shouts of jubilation from any one on the streets. Passing cars honking rhythmically to enthusiastic waving hands holding the new national flag. Children marched out of their schools smiling ,waving their flags , shouting , cheering; down the middle of the roads. Mothers and their children poured out of their houses in small skittishness groups , like wild mustangs being herded .Still we disbelieved it was true , that Ghadaffy was captured or dead.It had to be another false rumor as all the others had been.I refused to believe.Moe was rocking on the brink of hesitation.I guarded my hopes close to my heart this time.I wouldn't be fooled again. <br />
<br />
The main health clinic in Tagura is situated next to the center of the municipal heart of Tagura.A traffic round about is there ,as well as a town square where celebrations are held. The 20 minutes it took us to get to the town square from where we had been,had changed the square into a melee of cars , trucks with mounted guns on the back, young NTC fighters firing off any thing they could lay their hands on, to the man on the street with his own gun of choice.Smoke from so many guns being fired all at the same time had turned the air blue with smoke.It stung the eyes ,made you choke on the cordite. Our ears ushered us into near deafness.It was beyond scary.All I could think of was what goes up must come down.Shell casings littered the roads in bright copper sheets.<br />
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<br />
I found the back way into the clinic.We still didn't definitively know for sure whether or not Ghadaffy was alive ,dead, or what, at this point in time.The clinic was almost abandoned for most of the staff had joined the people on the main street that runs in front of the clinic.I found a lone nurse , sitting dejectedly staring off into space, a frown on her brow.I greeted her thankful to be inside somewhere that I felt safe from the gunfire outside.I asked her had she heard the news?Hoping she had . She gave me a go to hell look and said there wasn't any news , just false rumors. So , I asked her what she thought of all the commotion outside in the street , not realizing she was a unhappy Ghadaffy supporter.She told me a bunch of dead people were celebrating their demise .My blood ran cold with her words.That little tiny light of hope I had secretly held deep inside me went out with a sizzle.I got my injection and hobbled to the car feeling crushed , again.<br />
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I found Mohamed almost dancing a jig . If he had been capable , he would have danced. One of the clinics employees had a radio and the news was out , Ghadaffy had been captured and was now dead. It was official.It was real. A actual fact. The man was dead.Here we sat , at the end of a very long road for us.One we thought we would never see.Astonishment, amazement for the feat the young men and women of Libya had accomplished, the sacrifices we had all made , sorrow,the anger,the brains defense mechanism kicked in to protect us and refused to let us assimilate this news in too positive light. There must be a catch , there just had to be one somewhere.Then we would break into a tiny smile, as if a forbidden thought that we alone knew ,brushed up against across our conciseness. This was something that needed time.<br />
<br />
We drove up and down the main street in downtown Tagura with the parade of humanity celebrating a miracle the rest of the day.Up and down , back and forth we drove .Sometimes dazed,other times in euphoria bordering on hysteria .I still held something back deep inside me . I couldn't let go as the others were doing . I honked my car horn , flashed my peace sign like all the others but something said don't give in to joy just yet.Then a man on the side of the street , handing out paper to all that passed him , gave one to me.It was a picture.A picture of a man that had ruled my life in ways even Mohamed didn't know . A man that was so clever in his insanity , that he twisted everything he touched.That picture showed Ghadaffy dead.That was when I felt the dam break. The emotions came flooding out of me until tears soaked my blouse.I drove while wearing a veil of tears from pure joy and relief.<br />
<br />
Since Thursday last ,Moe and I have run the gauntlet emotions.Disbelief still assails us off and on .Hope comes as a bright comet .We will hear a news report causing us to plummet to earth once again in near despair.Fear sneaks up to attack us in doubts for the future.Terror of the unknown lurks in dark shadows waiting to grab us if we walk to near.Happiness dances all around us in shades of exhilaration and ecstasy.Bliss fights off desolation.I think we will make it. I hope we will make it. I have my fingers crossed that we will make it.Good luck Libya !<br />
</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-62401352482871290812011-10-15T09:18:00.000+02:002011-10-15T09:18:23.380+02:00Land Of Confusion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrPzl6PFiF1CGmLtvcyaI3gB9Ly4tgXQfAjR3hRQ4ngqOxw4S8HTivQU_8rkZEdzMHCSYx8VmkcZB1W47CeTKBUqFuosFxTO2Pff80szBRSxUk4QvGKHjuwWeHFvz3uy0z5dVh2jevD2ij/s1600/smoke+over+tri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrPzl6PFiF1CGmLtvcyaI3gB9Ly4tgXQfAjR3hRQ4ngqOxw4S8HTivQU_8rkZEdzMHCSYx8VmkcZB1W47CeTKBUqFuosFxTO2Pff80szBRSxUk4QvGKHjuwWeHFvz3uy0z5dVh2jevD2ij/s320/smoke+over+tri.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Normally on a Friday Moe and I stay home especially since the war started.Sometimes we will go for a ride into<a href="http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/map/google_map_Tripoli.htm?address=Tripoli%2C+#"> town </a>to check things out, but the last few weeks there has been some sort of march , festival , protest , or demonstration for the new government ,or against Ghadaffy.I don't particularly enjoy driving in the traffic , and as neither Moe nor I are able to do any walking , parking the car is out of the question. Generaly we drive around a certain area in town that isn't too crowded.<br />
<br />
BUT.... this Friday I decided to surprise Moe and go off the beaten path. I choose to drive into town on the freeway instead of the coast road. I wanted to see where it had flooded . To see if there were any traces of the flood we had last week .There wasn't ,but we did encounter check points on the highway leading to the freeway.Well , it was a Friday , so we really didn't think much about that.<br />
<br />
We drove towards town and the exit that would take us to Bab Azazia. I changed my mind about going there as it would entail walking , so exited before we got to the off ramp going to Bab Azazia.This was the exit off the freeway ,on the opposite side from <a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/10/2011101414312833767.html">the Khaddbah and Abu Salim neighborhoods </a>, that leads towards the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8748286/Libya-beleaguered-Rixos-Hotel-to-act-as-home-of-new-government.html">Rixos Hotel</a>.I haven't been too interested in going to the Medan Shuhada (or as it is known in English, The Martyrs Square) formally known as the Green Square, but I did want to go to the hotel and have a cup of coffee there.The most popular places to go to in town these days are the Medan Shuhada , Bab Azazia , or the Rixos Hotel. Here again we encountered check points along the way where before there hadn't been any.<br />
<br />
We got caught up in a heavy flow of traffic coming off the freeway. This was unusual too , all this traffic on a Friday.We found the hotel but couldn't get to it. It was blocked off. Oh well .So , off we go to another part of town that was fairly close and easy to get to , so I thought.Once again we ran into traffic from check points . Lots of NTC fighters to-ing and fro-ing all over the place, but this is the normal these days. Resounding shouts of Allah Alkhabar rang in the air.Moe said he heard shots, but I was too busy concentrating on driving to pay any attention to shots in the air.More check points , traffic , cars being check thoroughly , which is a good thing .Eventually we get to where we want to go .<br />
<br />
We could hear reports now and then at different check points of trouble in first one place ( <a href="http://feb17.info/news/live-libyan-unrest-october-14-2011/">the ones we had just been near </a>!) and then another .Fighting had broken out , reports of attacks and we could now see a pall of smoke in the distance hanging over the city.We decided it was time to go home . Enough of adventurous sight seeing in town.<br />
<br />
We passed through so many check points between town and Tagura I lost count. I got to where when we approached a check point I automatically popped the trunk to my car. I didn't really mind as it was reassuring to see they were being so thorough in looking for any hidden weapons .<br />
<br />
Later last night Moe was watching the Libyan news in Arabic. I could pick up key words now and then. My Arabic is atrocious. Moe's strokes have left him with difficulties with his speaking language skills , so it makes for very interesting and unique translations .More like a puzzle that needs assembling.I have to admit I am not very good with puzzles, so I am often in the dark as to what has happened .It wasn't until I could get the internet to open for me that I found out all the trouble spots we had been in the middle of ,or around yesterday. It probably was a good thing I didn't know at the time , lol .I am pretty sure it will be a while before we will go into town again.<br />
<br />
One more thing I want to talk about before I go that happened yesterday .I saw on the news where some <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/story/2011-10-13/libya-religious-tensions/50750562/1">mosques had been desecrated </a>in attacks by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salafi">Salafi hardliner Muslims</a> here in Tripoli. They said the mosques they attacked belonged to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufism">Sufi Muslims</a> ,therefore Not permissible.They don't consider the Sufi's to be Muslims . The Salafi are a branch of the<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunni_Islam"> Sunni Muslims</a>. The Salafi said that the mosques they attacked had relics , bodies of men buried in them that many ( not just the Sufi's) consider holy men or holy imman's (teachers) that are respected .They believed this to be wrong and took these drastic steps to right the wrong .<br />
<br />
<br />
Here is the part I have trouble with, and many others may as well , almost all mosques here in Libya will be named after some holy man ,having his body buried within the mosque .It is just a custom that is a hold over from the time of Turkish occupation .<br />
<br />
Another thing I find ironic is that during the entire time of the battles for Sirte , Bani Walid, and Sebha, the mosques all over Libya ,especially the Tripoli area, have played almost non stop a hypnotic chant over the loud speakers of " Allah Alakhbar" . Usually the mosques will broadcast this from noon prayers until the last prayers of the night , but sometimes even afterward.This is a welcomed and acceptable action from the mosques .The catch? This is in actual fact a Sufi custom, this chanting, therefore by the Salafi's own beliefs , not religiously acceptable. Religious intolerance should be unacceptable in the New Libya . <br />
<br />
I heard this song by Genesis last night as I was waiting for the internet to connect.Thinking to myself how true this was for the world .Enjoy.<br />
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</div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6919835247803556930.post-47345255961883070522011-10-13T05:05:00.000+02:002011-10-13T05:05:53.453+02:00Need $2,000,000 ?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Writer Nick Meo, for <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8815421/No-stone-unturned-in-the-hunt-for-Colonel-Gaddafi.html">The Telegraph</a>, wrote a great article on the search for Muammer Ghadaffy.Read below:<br />
<br />
<div class="storyHead"> <h1>No stone unturned in the hunt for Colonel Gaddafi </h1><h2> Libyan forces are still on the hunt for Colonel Gaddafi. But, as one man leading the chase tells Nick Meo, they plan to "examine every grain of sand in the search for him." </h2></div><div class="oneHalf gutter"> <div class="story"> <div id="storyEmbSlide"> <div class="slideshow ssMain"> <div class="nextPrevLayer"> <div class="ssImg" style="display: block;"> <img alt="No stone unturned in the hunt for Colonel Gaddafi " height="287" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02021/l_2021666c.jpg" width="460" /> <div class="artImageExtras"> <div class="ingCaptionCredit"> <span class="caption">Col Gaddafi could be a fugitive in the desert, hiding in a secret bunker under the capital, or living abroad after a successful escape out of the country</span> <span class="credit">Photo: REX</span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="cl"> </div><div class="byline"> <div> <div class="bylineImg"> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/nick-meo/"><img alt="Nick Meo" border="0" height="60" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01771/Meo_60_1771079j.jpg" width="60" /></a> </div><div class="bylineBody"> By <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/journalists/nick-meo/" rel="author" title="Nick Meo"> Nick Meo</a>, <span>Ghadames</span></div></div><div class="publishedDate">8:00AM BST 09 Oct 2011</div><div class="cl"> </div></div><div id="mainBodyArea"> <div class="firstPar"> His eyes burning, the former police colonel leant forward in his chair and described in a quiet voice what he would do to Muammar Gaddafi if his men were lucky enough to catch him. </div><div class="secondPar"> Colonel Moftah Al-Swiah, a wiry 38-year-old former detective, was in the police force in a town near Tripoli until he defected last February to become a commander in <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/" target="_blank"><strong>Libya</strong></a>'s revolutionary army. </div><div class="thirdPar"> Now he is using his investigation skills in the vast desert along the Algerian border in the biggest manhunt Libya will ever see. </div><div class="fourthPar"> "I would not kill him if I found him, I would put him in a cage and take him around Libya," the colonel said. "And I pray to God that it is we who get the chance to capture him; my men will not rest until they find that criminal." </div><div class="fifthPar"> His "men" were in fact mostly battle-hardened teenagers, 50 young rebels who were at school or university when the revolution broke out. </div><div class="related_links_inline" id="tmg-related-links"> <div class="headerOne styleOne"><h2><span>Related Articles</span></h2></div><ul><li class="photo"> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/8818370/Anti-Gaddafi-forces-celebrate-gains-in-Sirte-but-the-fight-goes-on.html">The battle for Sirte</a> <br />
<span class="relContDate">10 Oct 2011</span> </li>
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<span class="relContDate">08 Oct 2011</span> </li>
<li class="bullet"> <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8806825/Gaddafi-forces-turn-Sirte-into-military-nerve-centre.html">Gaddafi forces turn Sirte into military nerve centre</a> <br />
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</tbody></table></div></div></div></div></div><div class="body"> Since then they have fought through the civil war, and now they have joined the hunt for Gaddafi in the desert. They know it could be as dangerous as anything they have faced since they took up arms. <br />
The clue that set the former detective on Gaddafi's trail came up as he interrogated an important regime supporter near Tripoli last week. <br />
The man let slip to Colonel Al-Swiah a hint that Gaddafi's hiding place was somewhere near the town of Ghadames – the colonel will not disclose exactly who his informant was or what he said. But it was enough for him to jump into his pick-up truck and immediately drive for six hours south into the Sahara. <br />
He outlined his mission sitting in the foyer of the Dar Ghadames, a luxury hotel usually full of tourists at this time of year, but on Saturday with none to seen. <br />
Instead the hotel had been taken over by the colonel's men, who propped up their machine-guns in the foyer before relaxing on the sofas ahead of their next desert foray. <br />
"The blood of 14 martyrs who fought with us and died is on our conscience," Col Al-Swiah said. "We are hunting Gaddafi because of them, so they can rest in peace. We will examine every grain of sand in the search for him." <br />
In reality, less poetically, he was sending his men out to pick up Gaddafi supporters, then interrogating them for information. <br />
Afterwards, when the colonel left to give his men their orders, Fathi Uoshi, the National Transitional Council's military chief in Ghadames, said: "He and his men had a hard time in the fighting; I think they feel guilty for surviving when their comrades died. <br />
"That is what is driving them. We depend on men like them if we are to have any chance of finding Colonel Gaddafi." <br />
The hunt for the fugitive former leader was infused with new energy last week. <br />
Ghadames was flooded with NTC fighters from Tripoli and the north, after the interim government realized that it had to do more to try to seal a western border that was wide open to anybody trying to get out of Libya. <br />
More NATO aircraft than usual were flying overhead, local people said, and the new government sent a military aircraft to be based at the airport, from where it is patrolling the desert, looking for convoys or unusual activity. <br />
The town, surrounded by desert palms eight hours' drive from Tripoli, is one of the last habitable outposts on the edge of trackless sand-seas and sun-baked mountain ranges in the vast and empty south; the wastes, traversed only by smugglers and wandering Tuareg nomads, are an ideal hiding place for a fugitive, . <br />
Colonel Fathi – a former officer in Libya's air force – was busy dealing with the messy aftermath of a tribal war that broke out in Ghadames two weeks earlier between Tuareg tribesmen, supporters of Gaddafi, and Arabs who had joined the revolution. Fifteen people died in the fighting, which threatens to re-erupt at any time – a problem hampering an effective manhunt. <br />
Colonel Fathi, who is also in overall charge of the hunt for Gaddafi in the district, said he was exchanging information with NATO daily, and directing NTC forces, including 30 expert desert trackers, to search for signs of Gaddafi or other key regime figures making their way towards Algeria and safety. Patrols have been sent out along the unmarked border as well, to try to catch anyone going across, no doubt spurred to greater efforts by the NTC increasing the reward on Gaddafi's head to $2 million. <br />
"All the NATO technology is trying to pick him up, they are using the satellites, the listening devices," Colonel Fathi said. "But perhaps an old man who knows the ways of the desert will be the one to find him." <br />
The last reliable sighting of the former Brother Leader was soon after the fall of Tripoli in August. <br />
He gave no inkling in his latest recorded message to the Libyan people, broadcast by a Syrian-based television station on Thursday, in which he called on them to "go out and march in their millions" in protest at the "unbearable" conditions they now faced. <br />
He could be a fugitive in the desert, hiding in a secret bunker under the capital, or living abroad after a successful escape out of the country. <br />
But the desert south of Ghadames seems one of the likeliest hiding places and potential escape routes; his wife, daughter and a son fled into Algeria from there in August. <br />
Last week Hisham Buhagiar, a carpet tycoon turned leading Gaddafi-hunter, said he thought his prey was somewhere near Ghadames. <br />
Rumor and speculation are buzzing across the south; one story has it that Gaddafi is paying his way with stolen gold bars, each stamped with his image. <br />
According to another he escaped in a $5 million armored BMW, supplied by France when he was friends with its government - a car reputedly bristling with the latest electronic-jamming devices and thus "invisible" to NATO's radar and satellites. <br />
More likely is that he is being helped by Tuareg friends on both sides of the border. <br />
The nomads have long been loyal supporters who were well-treated by his government, and Gaddafi was said to have relied for guidance on a Tuareg soothsayer, who has since fled her home. An impoverished people who once ran the caravan routes across the Sahara, they know the desert trails, and Gaddafi may have paid Tuareg guides for help. <br />
If Algeria's government – run by old friends - was prepared secretly to take him under its wing, it could offer him a protection that impoverished African nations like Niger or Mali, also spoken of as possible refuges, could not. <br />
"If he is still in Libya, Gaddafi probably travels in convoys a lot smaller than the ones he used to use," said Abdelrahman Busin, a spokesman for the NTC's forces, now called the Libyan Liberation Army. <br />
"He probably doesn't move much, and when he does it must be under the cover of dark, discreetly and quickly. He may still have hundreds of loyal supporters, many motivated by money, although they probably function as a spy network. He cannot afford to draw attention to himself by having too many people around him." <br />
For the NTC, beset with problems, catching Gaddafi is just one among a string of competing priorities. <br />
But Mr Busin added: "As long as he is alive and roaming free we must expect the possibility of his supporters launching terrorist attacks." <br />
Senior NTC officials in Ghadames are urgently trying to mend fences with the Tuareg after last month's fighting, fear that without their help and information Gaddafi will prove impossible to find. <br />
"I visited the Tuareg refugees who have fled Ghadames and told them if you catch Gaddafi, you will be number one in Libya," said Sharif Abdulmula, 33, the field commander for Colonel Al-Swiah. However, many were still unwilling to turn against their former ally. <br />
Commander Abdulmula, who had never been to the Sahara before, knows how much he needs their help; he was organizing a four-day patrol deep into the desert with his men who, like him, were all from the cities of the coastal north. <br />
"It is very dangerous, with a big risk of ambush," he said, stroking the bushy beard which he has vowed to shave only when Gaddafi is captured. <br />
Without the help of the Tuareg, it may have grown a lot longer before that happens. <br />
</div></div></div></div><div class="oneSixth"> <style>
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</style></div></div>on the edgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10587819346285495087noreply@blogger.com0