New Rule: Television Networks Have to Quit Trying to Put a Happy Ending on America’s Wealth Disparity
March 12, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media As irritated as I can get with Bill Maher at times — and tonight was no exception, with him putting on one of the embarrassments to my city on his show that rates right in there with The Gateway Pundit for making St. Louisians look like fools, namely Dana Loesch — I’d say Maher got this one right, with reality television and the real income disparity in the United States that they’re glossing over. Maher: America’s rich aren’t giving you money, they’re taking your money. Between the years 1980 and 2005 80% of all new income generated in this country went to the richest 1%. Let me put that in terms that even you fatass teabaggers, I’m sorry, can understand. Say 100 Americans get together and order a 100 slice pizza. The pizza arrives and the first guy takes 80 slices. And if someone suggests, why don’t you just take 79 slices, that’s socialism! I know, I know. I know, I know, it’s just a TV show. But it does reinforce the stupid idea people have that rich people would love us and share with us if only they got to walk a mile in our cheap plastic shoes. But they’re the reason the shoe factory moved to China. We have this fantasy that our interests and the interests of the super rich are the same. Like somehow the rich will eventually get so full that they’ll explode. And the candy will rain down on the rest of us. Like there’s some kind of pinata of benevolence. But here’s the thing about a pinata. It doesn’t open on its own. You have to beat it with a stick. To which teabagger Loesch gets terribly upset with the “tone” of Bill’s rhetoric which he rightfully ignored because anyone who follows Maher knows he’s not talking about literally beating the hell out of anyone here and it’s a metaphor for forcing them to do what’s right through other means like protests and the political process. That said, I’m sure him joking about dropping Greenspan in with a bunch of poor people will be something she’ll be blogging about to take literally as well. Maher: So I say, forget Secret Millionaire, I have a better idea for a show. Every week one of the men responsible for the global financial meltdown is dropped into a poor neighborhood and… and that’s it. No cameras. We just leave him there. I call it I’m Alan Greenspan, get me out of here. It’s a sad state of affairs that our country has been left in by corporate greed and the fact that most of the have-mores could care less about the American worker. Thank you, Bill, for giving the working class a voice on the subject. It almost makes me want to forgive you for having Dana Loesch on as a guest. If you’re running short on suggestions for who to have on your show, I could give you at least fifty or a hundred as I’m sure the readers here at C&L could as well who would make for better conversation than Loesch.
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Japanese media said officials had detected caesium, one of the elements released when overheating causes core damage, around the reactor at Fukushima No 1 plant in Futuba Japan tsunami and earthquake – live coverage Workers are battling to stave off a possible nuclear meltdown at a plant in north-eastern Japan as the country struggles with the aftermath of Friday’s enormous earthquake and tsunami. Japanese media said officials had detected caesium, one of the elements released when overheating causes core damage, around the reactor at Fukushima No 1 plant in Futuba, 150 miles north of Tokyo. The Tokyo Electric Power Company said it did not believe a meltdown was underway but Ryohei Shiomi, an official with Japan’s nuclear safety commission, said that it was possible. But experts and authorities played down the dangers of a Chernobyl-style disaster saying they believed a partial meltdown was controllable. The government urged people to remain calm. They had earlier evacuated 20,000 residents living within 10km on the plant on the orders of Prime minister Naoto Kan, who had inspected it via helicopter. Experts told Associated Press that the risk area was 6km. The crisis began when the 8.9 magnitude shock cut out power, turning off the water supply needed to cool the system. The tsunami is thought to have cut off the backup diesel generator an hour later, leading to pressure rising rapidly within the reactor. Broadcaster NHK said that attempts to vent radioactive gas to lower pressure had been suspended because the radiation level on one valve was higher than expected, heightening the risk of exposing workers to radiation. Earlier in the day a Japanese nuclear safety panel said radiation levels were 1,000 times higher than normal in a control room and eight times normal just outside the plant. Workers were frequently changing shifts. The Tokyo Electric Power Company has also reported problems with a second reactor at the plant, and declared an emergency at the Fukushima No 2 plant. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said the pressure control system was not functioning at the plant’s three reactors. Officials are evacuating residents within a three kilometre radius and have ordered those with 10 kilometres to stay indoors, NHK said. Naoto Sekimura, a professor at the University of Tokyo, told AP a major radioactive disaster was unlikely. “No Chernobyl is possible at a light water reactor. Loss of coolant means a temperature rise, but it also will stop the reaction,” he said. “Even in the worst-case scenario, that would mean some radioactive leakage and equipment damage, but not an explosion. If venting is done carefully, there will be little leakage. Certainly not beyond the 3 km radius.” A partial meltdown in one of the light water reactors at Three Mile Island in 1979 resulted in the release of radioactive gases in the most serious incident in the history of the US nuclear power industry. The reactor was eventually brought under control despite a series of errors. Across the worst hit north-east Tohoku region of Japan at least 630 people are dead and a similar number missing, according to police sources, with 1,128 injured. The country has mobilised 50,000 rescuers but they have yet to reach the most severely affected areas. Residents woke up after a freezing night on rooftops and in emergency shelters to a sea of mud, water and debris. Earthquakes continued to rock the north-east coast overnight, although some said the worst tremors appeared to be subsiding. Japan downgraded tsunami warnings in most areas but the Tohoku remained on high alert for waves up to 10m high. The tsunami has reached countries across the Pacific region but there were no reports of major damage outside Japan. Images shot from helicopters showed many people still crowding the rooftops of buildings surrounded by water and mud. Some, including small children, were winched to safety by rescuers. Other footage showed the letters SOS spelled out on the roof of a hospital in Iwanuma, Miyagi prefecture. Photographs from Sendai – one of the worst hit cities – showed families crammed into schools. “The flood came in from behind the store and swept around both sides. Cars were flowing right by,” said Wakio Fushima, who owns a convenience store in Sendai, which has around 1 million inhabitants and is 80 miles from the quake’s epicenter. Witnesses said the tsunami had swept inland about six miles. “The tsunami was unbelievably fast. Smaller cars were being swept around me and all I could do was sit in my truck,” said truck driver Koichi Takairin, 34, who was trapped in his four-ton vehicle by the torrent. Hundreds queued outside supermarkets for basic supplies and petrol stations were swamped with cars. Authorities warned citizens in northern Japan to be prepared for severe power cuts due to the shut down of nuclear plants, which provide about 30% of the country’s electricity. More than 1 million households are without water. Phone voice services are also down across much of the north east, although data services seemed to be working sporadically. Japan earthquake and tsunami Japan Natural disasters and extreme weather Tania Branigan guardian.co.uk
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Buckingham Palace says trip ‘postponed’ because of safety concerns rather than cancelled in light of revelations Prince Andrew has pulled out of a proposed trip to Saudi Arabia after almost three weeks of damaging revelations about his personal integrity and links with corrupt and repressive regimes. The Duke of York was due to travel next week to boost defence contracts in his role as Britain’s trade envoy. Buckingham Palace denied the trip was cancelled in light of the allegations, saying simply that the trip had been “postponed” because of safety concerns. “The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, UK Trade and Investment and the palace have agreed to postpone the visit given the current circumstances in the region,” the palace said. “Any suggestion that this had anything to do with recent UK media coverage is absolutely not the case.” The Queen is reported to have held private talks with Andrew on Tuesday over the mounting scandal. The Duke, who is fourth in line to the throne, has been plagued by revelations about his close friendship with convicted sex offender and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. This week former ambassador Stephen Day called on the duke to step down from his role, condemning him as the “worst person” to deploy in the Middle East where his presence is seen as “crass”. A member of the Foreign Office’s advisory group on ethical foreign policy and UK director of Human Rights Watch, Tom Porteous, suggested that Andrew should take a “crash course in corporate responsibility” and human rights awareness. Last month David Cameron was criticised for taking eight arms dealers on a visit to the Middle East at the same time that corrupt autocratic regimes in the region were using force to put down democratic uprisings. The duke’s connections to Colonel Gaddafi and his family, the president of Azerbaijan and arms smuggler Tarek Kaituni have also drawn public criticism from human rights organisations and MPs. Prince Andrew Saudi Arabia Middle East Monarchy Rowenna Davis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Tsunami warnings: If Republican budget cutters have their way, we won’t get them
March 11, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media [H/t Karoli] Digby has a great point about tsunami warnings: I’m sitting here now, six blocks from the beach in California, waiting for the wave to hit the west coast. Luckily it doesn’t appear to be dangerous to us at this point. The good news is that if the Republicans have their way, when one of these things does hit us in this earthquake zone, we won’t have warning: Thursday night’s massive earthquake in Japan and the resulting tsunami warnings that have alarmed U.S. coasts, seem likely to ignite a debate over a previously little-discussed subsection of the spending bills currently being debated in Congress. Tucked into the House Republican continuing resolution are provisions cutting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the National Weather Service, as well as humanitarian and foreign aid. Presented as part of a larger deficit reduction package, each cut could be pitched as tough-choice, belt-tightening on behalf of the GOP. But advocates for protecting those funds pointed to the crisis in Japan as evidence that without the money, disaster preparedness and relief would suffer. “These are very closely related,” National Weather Service Employees Organization President Dan Sobien told The Huffington Post with respect to the budget cuts and the tsunami. “The National Weather Service has the responsibility of warning about tsunami’s also. It is true that there is no plan to not fund the tsunami buoys. Everyone knows you just can’t do that. Still if those [House] cuts go through there will be furloughs at both of the tsunami warning centers that protect the whole country and, in fact, the whole world.” The House full-year continuing resolution, which has not passed the Senate, would indeed make steep cuts to several programs and functions that would serve in a response to natural disasters (not just tsunamis) home and abroad. According to Sobien, the bill cuts $126 million from the budget of the NWS. Since, however, the cuts are being enacted over a six-month period (the length of the continuing resolution) as opposed to over the course of a full year, the effect would be roughly double. Just remember: When it comes to disaster preparedness and relief, Republicans are the folks who brought you the Hurricane Katrina fiasco.
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Once he was the face of the ladmag generation, now he’s coming over all perceptive and vulnerable. Decca Aitkenhead on an unlikely reinvention Frank Skinner gave a talk at an arts festival 18
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Father of soldier who died at barracks calls for public inquiry after new report seen by BBC Police investigating the unresolved deaths of four soldiers at Deepcut barracks failed to follow up potential suspects who could have been responsible for their murder, according to a new report into the deaths. The soldiers died in mysterious circumstances at the Surrey army base between 1995 and 2002 amid reports of systematic bullying from senior officers. Devon and Cornwall police reviewed Surrey police’s investigation and found that the force failed to follow up specific individuals who could have killed the soldiers, according to the report seen by the BBC. The 140-page document said it was impossible to say whether or not the individuals should have been considered suspects or eliminated from inquiries. But the review said that Surrey police failed to investigate a potential suspect known as the “unknown white male” who could have been connected to the death of Private Cheryl James, an 18-year-old who was found dead with a single bullet wound to the head at Deepcut in 1995. “The unknown male should have been subject to a Trace and Interview action,” said the report. “Operation Stanza [the review] believes insufficient investigative work took place to identify this unknown male who could have potentially been a suspect.” The BBC also quotes the Devon and Cornwall review as finding evidence of a “possible mindset” held by individuals leading the original inquiries who thought that the re-investigations were in some way “different”. James’s father, Des James, has now called for a public inquiry, criticising Surrey police for investigating a suicide rather than considering all alternatives. “[The report] simply confirms what we have always believed – that this was a hurried investigation, put together quickly, more to placate public opinion and media attention than to realistically and honestly find out what happened to these young people,” said James. Surrey police denied failures to follow up potential leads. In a statement, representatives told the BBC that the force had had “an open-minded approach” and “considered all hypotheses with equal weight”. Surrey police also pointed out that Devon and Cornwall produced no evidence to say that they missed anything by not following up the suggested leads. The other soldiers who died from gunshot wounds at Deepcut were Private Sean Benton, 20, from Hastings, East Sussex, Private Geoff Gray, 17, of Hackney, east London, and Private James Collinson, 17, of Perth, Scotland. A coroner recorded a verdict of suicide for Benton but the inquests into the other three returned open verdicts. A report by Nicholas Blake QC in 2006 found that bullying and “foul abuse” were a routine part of life at the army’s training barracks at Deepcut, although no evidence of deaths being anything other than self-inflicted was found. Deepcut Police Military Rowenna Davis guardian.co.uk
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Heavy police presence and official warnings deter protests in Riyadh and result in small demonstrations in eastern provinces Saudi security forces came out in strength in Riyadh on a “day of rage” organised by pro-democracy campaigners who managed only small demonstrations in the eastern provinces. Expectations that the unrest sweeping the Arab world in the last few weeks would spread to its most conservative kingdom appeared to have been dashed by pre-emptive security measures and stern official warnings against any protests. Far larger demonstrations rocked Yemen, where tens of thousands of pro and anti-government protesters took to the streets as President Ali Abdullah Saleh struggled to maintain his grip. Clashes broke out in the nearby island state of Bahrain, where Shia protesters were confronted by riot police guarding the royal court in Manama. Demonstrations were also held in Kuwait by stateless people demanding their rights. The calm in the Saudi capital may have been achieved partly by an incident on Thursday in the eastern city of al-Qatif, where police shot and wounded at least two protesters. Unconfirmed reports described trouble there again. Protesters rallied in Hofuf, close to the eastern Ghawar oil field and major refinery installations. The city has seen scattered protests by Shias who complain of discrimination by the Sunni majority. Saudi sources also reported marches involving hundreds of people in al-Ahsa and Awwamiya near al-Qatif. Security in Riyadh was high-profile and intense, with helicopters hovering overhead and police checks on cars and individuals heading for mosques, where protests were expected after prayers. “Police cruisers were given orders to pull over any car,” tweeted Mohammed al-Qahtani, president of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association. “I saw several cars being searched by officers, and they checked IDs.” Disappointed activists counted more policemen and journalists than demonstrators. “Where were all these policemen and helicopters when Jeddah was drowning?” asked one Saudi — a sardonic reference to the floods that devastated the Red Sea coastal city twice in the last two years and fuelled anger and resentment at government incompetence. Last week Saudi Arabia banned public protests following demonstrations by Shia groups in the eastern areas during which 22 people were arrested and later freed. Activists had used a Facebook page to call for protests but many reformist Saudis said they did not know who the organisers were and raised concerns of a possible provocation by the secret police in a country where demonstrations are rare. Characteristically, the government mobilised religious leaders to speak out. “Islam strictly prohibits protests in the kingdom because the ruler here rules by God’s will,” Sheikh Abdel Aziz Alasheikh told worshippers in Riyadh’s central mosque. Leading scholars had earlier issued a fatwa banning protests. Rumours were rife in Riyadh, with anonymous text messages carrying dire warnings of huge fines, loss of nationality and expulsion from the country. “The messages are not coming from official channels, and are obviously scare tactics employed to discourage large numbers from showing up and adding to the tensions,” one resident told the Guardian. Last month King Abdullah, who is 87, sought to defuse opposition demands for change by unveiling an unprecedented package worth about $37bn (£23bn) to pay for unemployment benefits, education and housing subsidies the day after he returned from three months of medical treatment in the US and Morocco. But critics said he was resorting to a familiar tactic of throwing money at a problem and not addressing its root causes — a lack of significant political reform. Since then the streets of Riyadh have been festooned with flags and large green posters of a smiling King Abdullah welcoming him home. “If you are well, we are all well,” one read. “Welcome king of humanity,” said another. Before a soccer match on Thursday, a message was circulated among fans urging them not to wear their team’s colours but the green of the Saudi national flag. For some Middle East analysts the extent of unrest in Saudi Arabia has been seen as a possible indicator of whether the popular unrest across the region will begin to ebb or continue to intensify. But a low turnout in protests may lead the king and his advisers to conclude that internal pressure for reform can be ignored. A special correspondent in Riyadh contributed to this report Saudi Arabia Middle East Bahrain Yemen Kuwait Arab and Middle East protests Ian Black guardian.co.uk
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Qhuram Awan and Karl Ness face life sentences after being convicted of aiding Raoul Moat’s gun rampage last summer Two accomplices who helped the fugitive killer gunman Raoul Moat stay on the run for almost a week are facing life sentences after being convicted of a number of serious offences, including conspiracy to murder, by a jury. Qhuram Awan, 23, and Karl Ness, 26, claimed they had been held hostage by Moat during his rampage through Northumberland last summer. But the jury at Newcastle crown court rejected their version of events and found they conspired with their friend before, during and after Moat shot three people, killing one and seriously injuring the others. They were convicted of a series of charges and can expect life sentences. Ness was convicted of murder and both were found guilty of conspiracy to murder, attempted murder and robbery of a chip shop. Ness was convicted of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life but Awan was cleared of the same charge. The first victim was Chris Brown, 29, a karate expert who was shot dead. He was dating Moat’s former partner Samantha Stobbart, 22, whom Moat shot and seriously injured at a house in Birtley, Gateshead. Brown’s mother, Sally, wept as the verdicts were delivered. Moat then declared war on Northumberland police and shot and blinded unarmed traffic officer Pc David Rathband. Relatives of victims cried “Yes” when the unanimous verdicts were read out. One male jury member appeared overcome by the emotion in the courtroom and had his head in his hands. Pc Rathband hugged his wife, Kath, and sobbed in the public gallery as the verdicts were announced. Mr Justice McCombe said: “A lot of people have been seriously affected by this case.” Moat had a grudge against police after he wrongly believed that Stobbart was dating a police officer. Moat died in July after a six-hour standoff with police in Rothbury, Northumberland, when he shot himself, despite hostage negotiators trying to persuade him to put the gun down. He was also shot by a police Taser that had not undergone proper testing. The hunt for Moat led to a Tornado fighter jet, normally used on covert missions in Afghanistan, being brought in to scour the countryside at dusk as hundreds of officers searched the countryside and woodland in Rothbury. Survival expert Ray Mears was brought in to advise officers after an abandoned campsite was discovered on the edge of the village. The search, costing £1.4m, was one of the biggest ever police operations in the UK. The fugitive’s ability to keep one step ahead of the police for a week fuelled further interest in the investigation, putting pressure on detectives who knew just how dangerous Moat could be. Moat, a former bouncer, had a history of violence and was involved in at least two road rage incidents. He regularly beat his girlfriend and was jailed for assaulting a child. From prison, he ordered Ness to spy on Stobbart, asking him to go through her bins, check her Facebook account and sit outside her house to catch her with another man. During the trial, Awan said he felt he was trapped in a cross between a Bourne Identity film and the Grand Theft Auto game. In notes he made entitled “Diary of a hostage” he wrote: “I know it sounds horrible but it is a game about a man on a mission. You’re going round shooting people and stealing cars.” For a time, the police ordered a news blackout as they thought they were dealing with a hostage situation while Moat was on the run. However, Ness and Awan were willing participants. Awan admitted driving Moat and Ness in his black Lexus from the roundabout where the gunman shot and blinded unarmed officer Rathband. The trial heard that Moat had laughed in the moments after he seriously injured Rathband. Awan claimed he had played along with Moat because he was too afraid to turn him over to the police and said he thought he was only going to “scare” Rathband, not shoot him. Awan said he feared for his life after Moat made threats against his family, and told him: “You’re with me now.” The part-time mechanic, of Blyth, Northumberland, waved to a police helicopter moments before he and Ness were caught by armed officers. He told the court of his relief upon being arrested, and his belief that he would be released to see his family immediately after being interviewed. Detective superintendent Jim Napier said: “Ness was a very close associate of Moat’s – you could probably refer to him as Moat’s right-hand man. He did a lot of running about for Moat, a lot of his dirty work. “Ness was a long-term friend of Moat’s. Moat was the dominant, bullying, assertive, bodybuilding individual. Ness would look after his house, his dogs, his car, run errands for him. “He was under the influence of Raoul Moat and would do whatever Moat demanded, willingly, and always.” Ness’s mother, Maureen, said her son was scared of Moat, his only friend. She said: “I felt on the one hand Karl admired Raoul, but on the other hand he also feared him. If Karl mentioned Raoul I would say, ‘Don’t go, you don’t have anything to do with him’, because I didn’t think he was any good. “Karl took no notice, he just said, ‘It’s OK, mam’.” Much of the evidence used against Awan and Ness came from CCTV cameras that “paranoid” Moat had installed outside his home in Fenham, Newcastle. Napier said the three men were in cahoots and he said “neither has taken responsibility for his actions or shown any remorse. For me, that sums up their cowardliness. They are beneath contempt.” Sentencing was adjourned by the judge until Tuesday. Raoul Moat Gun crime Crime Helen Carter guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Who’da thunk? Evangelicals denounce Glenn Beck as a "New Age" Mormon because of new feel-good book
March 11, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Back when he was blaming President Obama for the fact that so many malinformed right-wingers believe that he is Muslim, Glenn Beck was fond of remarking that Obama’s brand of Christianity is “a Christianity that many Americans just don’t recognize,” and “I don’t know what that is, other than it’s not Muslim, it’s not Christian. It’s a perversion of the gospel of Jesus Christ as most Christians know it.” As Jon adroitly observed at the time, he was playing with fire: “Sadly for the Fox News host, as many of his Tea Bagging allies view his Mormon faith in precisely the same terms.” Of course, you’ll recall that much of the thrust of Beck’s work in the past year, particularly his big shindig on the Capitol Mall, was about marrying the Tea Partiers with the Religious Right. But we had to wonder how long it would be before his new “friends” on the evangelical set couldn’t stomach his Mormonism any longer. Well, now we know . From WorldNutDaily: Christian author: Glenn Beck actually New Age ‘anti-Christ’ A Christian author and national speaker has just released a video in which he flays radio and TV commentator Glenn Beck as a pagan, New Age “anti-Christ” who is deluding many believers away from the Bible’s teachings and leading them toward Eastern mysticism. Brannon Howse of Worldview Weekend in Collierville, Tenn., who was once a defender of Beck, is now blasting the popular Fox News host based on content of Beck’s new book, “Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life,” co-authored by psychiatrist Dr. Keith Ablow. “Back in August of 2010, I tried warning folks that Glenn Beck was a pagan, New Age, universalistic Mormon, and indeed, he now has revealed his hand,” Howse says in the video, which is based on a column he wrote earlier this year. “Beck’s book is nothing less than a promotion of universalism, postmodernism and pagan spirituality, also known as the New Age movement.” I doubt that this will even slightly deter the intrepid Beck, who mostly tries to tamp down these kinds of controversies and pretend they didn’t happen. At some point, he may have to actually confront these kinds of voices, but most likely he will try to spin it as vindication somehow that he was right all along. Or something. But it’s also a reminder of the pitfalls that await the presidential candidacy of Beck’s fellow Mormon, Mitt Romney. This should be an interesting year ahead.
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Diplomacy not enough when people are dying, spokeswoman tells EU leaders as Gaddafi’s forces begin to regain control Libya’s revolutionary leadership has appealed for France and Britain to launch air strikes against an intensive assault by Muammar Gaddafi’s forces that has forced the rebel army to retreat towards its eastern stronghold of Benghazi. The Provisional Transitional National Council said that calls by European leaders for Gaddafi to quit and the threat of more sanctions were not enough as the regime regains its footing after the initial shock of the popular uprising. The revolutionaries fear that the hesitation by most European states and the US to take direct action is providing a breathing space for Gaddafi to continue his attempts to crush the uprising in areas around Tripoli and to move toward Benghazi. “If you don’t want to do something, you rely on the diplomatic side. It is not enough when people are dying,” said Iman Bugaighis, spokeswoman for the revolutionary council. “We need more than diplomacy. We need a no-fly zone but we need more than that. We need air strikes. I think they know where to bomb if they want to bomb. They know how to intervene. It’s urgent.” Bugaighis said the Libyan revolutionaries were particularly looking to France for help after the government in Paris on Thursday became the first to recognise the transitional council as the “only legitimate representative of the Libyan people”. “We are sure France will stand with us. It was the first country to recognise us so they believe in our right for a free, democratic Libya,” she said. The revolutionary council is also hopeful that it can win support for military action from Britain, as the other European power with the capability to launch air strikes and potentially the political will to do so. The rebels have appealed for weapons supplies, saying they are being outgunned by Gaddafi’s forces. However, Bugaighis said the revolutionary administration remains opposed to foreign troops intervening in Libya on the ground. The council’s appeal came after Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, said the regime was hitting back against the three-week-old rebellion with a full-scale assault. “It’s time for action. We are moving now,” he told Reuters on Thursday. On the same day, mobile phone subscribers in Benghazi received text messages appearing to originate from the Gaddafi regime saying the city would soon be recaptured. The rebels’ military situation appeared to deteriorate further on Friday after the regime in Tripoli intensified its assault against the frontline town of Ras Lanuf. The rebels said Gaddafi’s forces entered the town with tanks and from the sea, and that there had been fighting in the streets. The regime’s military were firing rockets and shells at the coastal road in an attempt to stop rebels bringing supplies and reinforcements into the strategic oil town. But the insurgents continue to hold the oil and port facilities about 10 miles from Ras Lanuf. Gaddafi’s forces also bombed the towns of Brega and Uqaylah behind rebel lines. Following the crushing of most resistance in Zawiya, near Tripoli, the only revolutionary holdout in western Libya, Misrata, about 125 miles east of Tripoli, was reported to be calm but bracing for an assault. Further evidence that Gaddafi is regaining control in Tripoli came amid reports that security forces used tear gas and fired in the air to disperse worshippers near a mosque planning anti-Gaddafi protests. Foreign reporters were prevented by the regime from reaching the Tajoura district where there have been violent clashes after Friday prayers in recent weeks. “About 300 people were inside the mosque praying. Militia men fired tear gas and shot in the air to intimidate them,” a resident of the district told Reuters. “There was a lot of tear gas. Everyone ran away. They tried to prevent the protests and succeeded.” Thousands of people rallied outside the revolutionary council’s headquarters in Benghazi on Friday to back the call for the no-fly zone. Some waved French flags. One banner strung between lamp posts read: “Save Zawiya from bombing: no food, no medicine, no baby formula.” Another dismissed Gaddafi’s attempts to portray the revolutionaries as Islamist terrorists: “We are freedom fighters. We are not al-Qaida. We do not support it.” The protesters chanted defiant calls for Gaddafi to go but the mood in the city has shifted as the initial expectation that Libya’s dictator would swiftly be driven from power by popular protest has given way to the realisation that the fight could be long and bloody. Libya Middle East Arab and Middle East protests Muammar Gaddafi France Europe Chris McGreal guardian.co.uk
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