North African & Middle Eastern uprisings

[Gingernuts]

Anyone see the pictures of the riot 'helmets' in the paper today. Absolute gold!

Apparently one bloke made one out of a couple of baguettes, a chibata and some cling wrap.

[JohnnyG]

Fox news are providing an accurate upto date analysis on what is happening there - or wherever it is!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/3 ... 16540.html

an oxymoron if ever i have seen one

[Gingernuts]

Interesting to see protests have sprung up in other countries as well. Iran the most prominent.

The world will be watching the region very closely.

[fish]

Interesting to see protests have sprung up in other countries as well. Iran the most prominent.

The world will be watching the region very closely.

I've been on the road and have listened to the radio most of today. It looks like the winds of change are sweeping through the Middle East and North Africa, with Libya, Yemen and Bahrain all witnessing civil unrest at the moment.

[Q.]

The military stood aside in Egypt though, in Bahrain and Libya they are executing the protesters. Khalifa and Gaddafi won't relinquish like Mubarak did.

Twitter and facebook once again assisted the rapid co-ordination of dissent.

[fish]

The military stood aside in Egypt though, in Bahrain and Libya they are executing the protesters. Khalifa and Gaddafi won't relinquish like Mubarak did.

Twitter and facebook once again assisted the rapid co-ordination of dissent.

Quichy I seem to remember you were in northern Africa recently. Mali maybe? Did you come across any dissent or disillusionment whilst in the region?

[Q.]

The military stood aside in Egypt though, in Bahrain and Libya they are executing the protesters. Khalifa and Gaddafi won't relinquish like Mubarak did.

Twitter and facebook once again assisted the rapid co-ordination of dissent.

Quichy I seem to remember you were in northern Africa recently. Mali maybe? Did you come across any dissent or disillusionment whilst in the region?

Was in Mauritania after the military coup, but it was peaceful there except for the unrelated kidnapping of Spanish NGO workers by Al Qaeda's African branch, who are based in remote northern Mali. There was no unrest in Mali at the time either.

Most interesting was being in Togo during the lead up to their elections. Given that the previous election there saw the tortured bodies of opposition party members get washed up on the beaches of Aneho, it was possibly a little tense. We flew out a couple of days before the polls opened. A Togolese fella kept in touch with me after the election (President was re-elected under dubious circumstances) and said he and others had their computers taken and were temporarily imprisoned for no reason (other than supporting the opposition I suppose). He ended up fleeing the capital out of fear for his safety.

Cote d'Ivoire now suffering from allegations of electoral fraud. Niger and Nigeria with civil unrest too. I was about to wonder whether the unrest in Libya was going to spread south, but quickly realised that it was never that stable down there anyway!

[redandblack]

Thanks for that, Q. Very interesting.

[Q.]

There's now reports of warplanes indiscriminately bombing sections of Tripoli:

Reports of warplanes bombing protesters in Tripoli

Interesting to note from the article:

Two Libyan Air Force fighter pilots defected and flew their jets to Malta where they told authorities they had been ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese government officials said.

They said the two pilots, both colonels, took off from a base near Tripoli. One of them has requested political asylum.


Could the military be turning against Gaddafi? Would be the key to dethroning him.

[Gingernuts]

There's now reports of warplanes indiscriminately bombing sections of Tripoli:

Reports of warplanes bombing protesters in Tripoli

Interesting to note from the article:

Two Libyan Air Force fighter pilots defected and flew their jets to Malta where they told authorities they had been ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese government officials said.

They said the two pilots, both colonels, took off from a base near Tripoli. One of them has requested political asylum.


Could the military be turning against Gaddafi? Would be the key to dethroning him.

Reports are that protestors have control of most major cities now. Apparently the Libyan ambassador to the UN has stated that he no longer represents Gaddafi, but rather the Libyan people.

[Sojourner]

What are the United Nations going to do - call for the US to launch another war perhaps? - Good chance that the UN will be left to compile their own response - nothing, irrespective of how many people die and so on.

[JK]

There's now reports of warplanes indiscriminately bombing sections of Tripoli:

Reports of warplanes bombing protesters in Tripoli

Interesting to note from the article:

Two Libyan Air Force fighter pilots defected and flew their jets to Malta where they told authorities they had been ordered to bomb protesters, Maltese government officials said.

They said the two pilots, both colonels, took off from a base near Tripoli. One of them has requested political asylum.

Also reports that the Navy have been shelling area's heavy with protester numbers.
Could the military be turning against Gaddafi? Would be the key to dethroning him.

Reports are that protestors have control of most major cities now. Apparently the Libyan ambassador to the UN has stated that he no longer represents Gaddafi, but rather the Libyan people.

[Q.]

What are the United Nations going to do - call for the US to launch another war perhaps? - Good chance that the UN will be left to compile their own response - nothing, irrespective of how many people die and so on.

Given that the US and Britain have been supplying Gaddafi with weapons for some time now, there is almost certain to be no obvious action taken.

[Dirko]

Should get this thread title changed to include Libya & Bahrain...

Saw this footage on You Tube. Very confronting and very sad to think that an Army would open up on unarmed protestors.

http://www.youtube.com/verify_controversy?next_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dw9p6GQ7S51A%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded#at=332

And they're still unloading the guns when the Ambulances are their trying to save the shot......

*Warning not for the faint hearted*

[dedja]

That's unbelievable ... how can any decent human being do this?

[Q.]

That's unbelievable ... how can any decent human being do this?

They learnt from the best.

[Gingernuts]

Gaddafi on his last legs??

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/24/3147195.htm

[Psyber]

Gaddafi on his last legs?? http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/24/3147195.htm

Gaddafi has had a good run for a guy who was allegedly in an Egyptian Mental Hospital in the late 1950s, or early 1960s, for treatment of his paranoid Schizophrenia.
That would fit with his reported tendency to "rambling speeches".
[Source: an Egyptian medical specialist in Adelaide who was a medical officer in the Egyptian Army at the time.]

[Sojourner]

Should get this thread title changed to include Libya & Bahrain...

Saw this footage on You Tube. Very confronting and very sad to think that an Army would open up on unarmed protestors.

http://www.youtube.com/verify_controversy?next_url=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dw9p6GQ7S51A%26feature%3Dplayer_embedded#at=332

And they're still unloading the guns when the Ambulances are their trying to save the shot......

*Warning not for the faint hearted*

Its exactly the same as what happened in Rwanda, a tragedy unfolds and the UN simply stand back and watch and take no action at all, Libya are a UN member nation, do their people not then deserve the protection of the UN? If they are paralysed from ever making a decision on anything, what is the point of being a member?

[Dirko]

The shootings in that video was in Bahrain.....