The Torture Chambers Of Benghazi

As Gaddafi forces move out of towns and cities across Libya, the media are moving in. For the first time we are seeing the extent of the regimes apparatus of torture, and it's victims, as this report from Al-Jazeera shows:

pop stars and a knight, it must be a gaddafi party

Over the last few weeks, Wikileaks has published some damming reports that the Gaddafi family has given millions of pounds to fund their education and their entertainment. This has forced some celebrities to donate the earnings to a charity and to give a some what half hearted apology, mixed with an excuse. Wikileak's findings has also cause an independent enquiry into the funding of over 3.7 million pounds to the London School of Economics from the Gaddafi family and the resignation of its director Sir Howard Davies.

The artists and reported earnings for Gaddafi linked events:

2005 - 50 cent - unknow - undcilosed fee

2007 - Nelly Furtdo - 45 mins - $1million

2009 - Mariah Carey - 4 songs - $1million

2009 - Beyonce Knowles - 1 hour - $2million

2009 - Usher - 1 hour - undisclosed fee

Rumoured to have perform, Lionel Richie, Enrique Iglesias and Timberland. Most the pop stars have come out with regret at preforming at these event and have since donated their earning from this to charities.

Donations or payments to London School of Economics:

£2.2 - to train Libyan civil servants and professionals

£20,000 - tuition to head of Libyan investment authority 

£31,000 - advice from Davies himself on Libya's wealth fund

£22,857 - travel costs from for academic LSE speakers to go to Libya 

Gaddafi's son attended LSE and is now being investigated for plagiarism on his PhD thesis.

VIDEO: Up To 20 Killed In Gaddafi Air Strikes On Brega

Should Saif Gaddafi Take A Leaf Out Of German Defence Ministers Book?

Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, the German Defence minister has resigned after a scandal involving his PhD thesis.

The German aristocrat was found to have copied large sections of text from sources without attribution, including newspapers and a US government website.

After a backlash from the academic community, which led to a wider campaign in Germany, Guttenberg has finally stood down, stating that he was the minister for defence, not self defence.

Guttenberg is not however the only politician to be facing charges of plagiarism. Saif Gaddafi, son of Libya's beguiled leader Colonel Gaddafi and widely seen as his heir and right hand man, is caught up in a similar scandal.

Saif Gaddafi studied at the London School of Economics from 2003 - 2008, earning a masters degree and a doctorate. The LSE is investigating allegations that he plagiarised, or rather his ghost writer plagiarised, large sections of his thesis.

The institution received £300,000 from the Gaddafi regime and is under pressure to give this money to charity, and to revoke Saif Gaddafi's doctorate.

Last week Saif was questioned on whether he and his father would leave Libya. His response was:

 

"There are three plans, plan A, plan B, and plan C. Plan A is to live and die in Libya. Plan B is to live and die in Libya. Plan C is to live and die in Libya."

 

I see he hasn't forgotten how to copy and paste.

 

 

 

If you would like to help humiliate Saif Gaddafi, check out the Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi Thesis Wiki, where you can collaborate on finding evidence of plagiarism in the thesis.

 

UPDATED Mar 1: Map Of Areas Of Regime & Protester Control Within Libya

Map showing areas controlled by the Gaddafi regime (red) and anti-government protesters (green).

 

If you can help improve this information leave a comment below.

Should The UN Deploy Peace Keeping Troops To Libya

Some commentators have drawn a parallel to Libya of the situation in Bosnia and later Kosovo in the 90's. There are similarities: an autocratic leader slaughtering his own people, use of the armed forces to carry out these atrocities, potential for the crisis to affect other states in the region.
There are however major differences. Firstly the Gaddafi regime doesn't have the kind of popular support that Milosovic enjoyed. Every day that passes sees his power base crumble still further as diplomats defect, the armed services switch to the side of the rebels, and more and more towns and cities become stable under opposition control.
Gaddafi now has a firm hold over only parts of Tripoli. Certainly he still has the support of a substantial part of his military, but as the crisis progresses there will be more defections, which will act as a vicious circle of waning support for the regime.
The deployment of foreign troops onto Libyan soil would likely make the situation worse, vindicating Gaddafi and his statements on the intents of foreign parties. This would without doubt stabilise the tyrants support at least.
Worse still military intervention could force the Gaddafi regime into deploying chemical weapons against his own people, or the peacekeeping troops.
Of course, if he does possess these weapons there is a risk that Gaddafi would use these weapons even without UN intervention - but as we saw with Libyan pilots flying to Malta, or ejecting instead of carrying out bombings against civilians, giving an order does not mean it will be executed. If Gaddafi did order his military to commit genocide I believe it would be the final straw in his own demise.
The UN must prepare and make itself ready, and do so quickly - Gaddafi is nothing if not unpredictable - but for now it must be calm and patient, and give this abominable regime a chance to destroy itself.

UPDATED: Map Of Areas Of Regime & Protester Control Within Libya

Map showing areas controlled by the Gaddafi regime (red) and anti-government protesters (green).

 

If you can help improve this information leave a comment below.

Gaddafi appears in public

In the last few mins Gaddafi appeared and gave a speech in Green Square, Trapoli. He again mentioned that the forces of evil are behind this upraising and that he is one of the people. He tells them to dance, sing and stay up all night in the streets. He also says that he will not be beaten by these few, "We will die here, on the dear soil of Libya, we will beat all foreign threats like we did to the Italians." It comes as a surprise that he has made this public appearance, compared to only his telephone call the other day to state TV, but with the World's media allowed in for today maybe it shouldn't come as such a surprise and that Green Square has been bulked up for this show of defiance. 

Gaddafi uses the old blame it on al-Qaeda

Speaking on Libyan state TV via telephone call Gaddafi claims that Osama bin-Laden has brain washed the youth and supplied them with weapons.  "It is obvious that this is run by al-Qaeda" he says. "Those armed youngsters, our children, are incited by people who are wanted by America and the Western world."  He also says that "Those young teenagers are carrying machine guns, and they feel trigger-happy. They shoot, especially when they get stoned with drugs." Gaddafi's strangest remark was an attack on British Royalty and the Queen rule, "Queen Elizabeth has ruled longer than I have and nothing has happened to her, no one has bothered her."

Map: Areas Of Regime & Protester Control Within Libya

 

Map showing areas controlled by the Gaddafi regime (red) and anti-government protesters (green).

If you can help improve this information leave a comment below.

Gaddafi: "I will die a martyr"

Colonel Gaddafi has said that he will not leave Libya, and will die a martyr.

During his defiant, rambling speech he tried to stir Libyans into reacting against the protesters. He used rhetoric about defying and defeating America, Britain and NATO.

He suggested that the young people of Libya were trying to emulate the people of Tunisia and Egypt, which he conceded.

He then went on to say that these young people - which he referred to as "cockroaches" - had been given drink, drugs and arms by unspecified groups and this was the cause of their actions. 

He went on to say that if he had been a president he would have resigned, but as he was not he couldn't.

He said that he had already resolved the issue of power in Libya, saying the country was managed by the people via people's committees, which he suggested he may try to reform.

Gaddafi said that from tomorrow security should be restored by the police and the military. He also urged Libyans to "chase away" and "destroy" the protesters.

He continued by saying that if order wasn't restored then America would occupy Libya, and went on to discuss US engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The tone of his speech was defiant and did not sound like a leader that was about to step down.

Gaddafi Loses Control Of Eastern Libya

Reuters are reporting that Gaddafi has lost control of the Eastern regions of Libya, including Benghazi and the border with Egypt, which is now controlled by anti-Gaddafi forces, some of them wearing military uniforms.