By John Ballard
It's great when someone lets you look over their shoulder via Twitter. Here are some current newspaper stories tweeted by Issandr El Amrani.
?The House of Gaddafi: A tangled web of greed and nepotism in Arabia's Asharq Alawsat
A look at the distribution of power and assets in the Qaddafi clan.
Eldest son Muhammad Gaddafi, and the only child of Gaddafi's first wife Fathia Khaled, has carved out a prominent position in the country's telecommunication's industry, heading the country's Telecommunication Committee. He also heads the Libyan Olympic Committee which owns 40 percent of the Libyan Beverage Company which, in turn, is currently the Libyan joint-venture Coca-Cola franchise.
Gaddafi's second son, and first child of his second wife Safia Farkash and his presumed heir-apparent, is Saif al-Islam Gaddafi. Saif al-Islam is the chairman of the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation, he had been considered something of a reformer until he most recently appeared on Libyan national television defending his father and condemning the protestors, saying "we will fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet." The WikiLeaks diplomatic cables reveal that Gaddafi's ploy of using Saif al-Islam as the public face of the regime to the West may have backfired, as many Libyans now view him as a stooge to western interests.
Colonel Gaddafi's third son, Al-Saadi, is known for his love of football, and is the head of the Libyan National Football Association, in addition to owning a share of the Libyan Al Ahli Football club, as well as Italian Seria A giants Juventus. The WikiLeaks diplomatic cables claimed that Al-Saadi was briefly an officer in a Special Forces unit and heads a military battalion; he has a turbulent past, including clashes with police in Italy. Diplomatic cables also included claims that he used military forces under his control to intimidate business rivals, whilst recent reports say that he was involved in crushing the protests in Benghazi.
As for Gaddafi's fourth son, Muatassim, he is a Libyan national security adviser who until recently had been portrayed as something of a rising star. The WikiLeaks cables claimed that he had demanded 1.2 billion dollars from the chairman of Libya's national oil corporation in 2009, reportedly to establish his own militia. Leaked diplomatic cables describe Muatassim Gaddafi as being not "intellectually curious", with one Serbian ambassador describing him as being "not very bright", however he is reported to enjoy the support of many of the regime's old guard. The WikiLeaks cables also claimed that he does not get on with elder brother, Saif al-Islam.
Gaddafi's fifth son, Hannibal, is a major player in Libya's maritime shipping industry, officially holding the post of consult to the Management Committee of the General Libyan Maritime Transport Organization, which is responsible for shipping Libyan oil abroad. Hannibal has a long history of unstable behavior and his mistreatment of two servants at a Geneva hotel � which led to his arrest � resulted in a diplomatic schism between Switzerland and Libya. In December 2009, police were called to London's Claridge's hotel after staff heard screaming from Hannibal's room. Hannibal's wife, the model Aline Skaf, was found to have suffered facial injuries but no charges were brought against the Libyan leader's son after she claimed to have sustained the injuries in a fall.
Gaddafi's sixth son is Khamis is said to be a "well-respected" commander of a Special Forces unit � known as the 32nd Brigade � which "effectively serves as a regime protection unit." This unit was reportedly involved in suppressing unrest in Benghazi.
The least publicly known of Gaddafi's sons is Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, who reportedly lives in Munich, where it is said that he pursues ill-defined business interests, but spends much of his time partying. He was accused of arms smuggling in 2008, however charges against him were later dropped.
Gaddafi's only daughter is Aisha, a lawyer, who is said to mediate family disputes. She runs a Libyan non-governmental organization and is said to be a favored child of the Libyan leader. She also holds the rank of Lieutenant General in the Libyan army and famously was a member of deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's legal defense team.
?Egyptian youth stand behind the man behind Omar Suleiman from the same source.
Apparently some of the younger generation picked someone from the official crowd whom they like.
Hussein Sharif, better known as "the guy behind Omar Suleiman" has appeared in public, only this time it is Egyptian youths who are standing behind him. Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Sharif became something of a cult internet sensation after appearing in the background of the speech issued by former Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman, in which he announced that former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had agreed to step down after 18 days of public demonstrations against his regime. In the days following the end of the Mubarak regime, Sharif's appearance behind the left shoulder of Omar Suleiman during this historic speech aroused intense curiosity, with Facebook and Twitter pages dedicated to discussing his identity, and paying tribute to him.
Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Sharif, who is commander of Group 64 of Egyptian Special Forces, appeared extremely dour and stern during Omar Suleiman's speech; however the Egyptian army officer showed a more relaxed persona during a chance encounter with Egyptian youth in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis, smiling and joking with them. The Egyptian youth asked the Egyptian Colonel, dressed in civilian clothing and smoking a cigar, whether they could take a picture with him, and the smiling Egyptian officer readily agreed.
In the caption of the picture that was posted on a Facebook page entitled "we all love the guy behind Omar Suleiman", the poster said that Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Sharif warmly greeted the Egyptian youths and shook their hands, and agreed to their request that he stand in front of them during this picture so that could be "the guys standing behind the guy behind Omar Suleiman."
The Facebook poster also said that the Egyptian youths told Lieutenant Colonel Hussein Sharif that no insult was meant to him with regards to his cult internet status, and that this was all a bit of light-hearted fun.
?L'h�tier du tr�libyen en exil �ondresin in Le Figaro.
Qaddafi came to power by overthrowing a monarchy. An heir to the throne has been living in Exile ever since. Fascinating footnote. I doubt the younger generation has any inclinations toward a constitutional monarchy, but with almost no intitutions intact Libya needs all the leadership it can gather. (Google translatiions seem to be improving.)
French to English translation
The heir of King Idris I, overthrown by Gaddafi there are forty-two years, sees himself as a possible rallying point, "an umbrella for all opposition groups."
From London, watching on television the Libyan insurgents brandishing his flag, banner, red, black green and hit the star and crescent, that of the Libyan monarchy. Muhammad al-Sanusi, 51, heir to the throne of Libya, calls for a departure from that of a young captain, overthrew his great-uncle King Idris I, there are forty-two years. "Her struggle to stay in power will not last long because of the desire for freedom of the Libyan people. This great popular revolution will ultimately be victorious, thanks to the unity of the Libyan people, "he said in a statement. Dream he ascended the throne? Meeting with Le Figaro in Paris in December 2007, he left the door ajar, "I am fighting for the first story, to uphold my family name. If the Libyans in the future choose the monarchy, I'm here. If they make another choice, I will respect. "Muhammad al-Sanusi was installed in a Paris hotel, 300 meters from Gaddafi's tent, while on an official visit to Paris.
As usual, the heir, a soft-spoken man, wearing a short beard and wearing a dark suit well cut, tried to make its voice heard where it received much fanfare in the Guide of the Revolution . Without much success, at the time. Between him and the Gaddafi regime, there was no room for forgiveness. He said he had been threatened on the Champs-Elysees, by henchmen of the guide who had recognized. He remembered seeing his father, Hassan Reda, Libyan television to sign the death certificate of the monarchy while King Idris I was abroad. "My father told me afterwards that he had put a gun to his head," he recounted.
After two years in prison, Hassan Reda and his family had lived under house arrest in Tripoli until that night in 1984 when militants of the revolutionary committees took them outside to burn their house. In exile in London, Mohammed al-Sanusi sees itself as a possible rallying point, "an umbrella for all opposition groups." He says talk to everyone except the armed Islamists. It offers its visitors the text of the first Constitution, that of 1951, establishing a constitutional monarchy.
Line religious [?JB]
What is its impact today in Libya? The resurgence of the flag does not mean accession to the throne, but simply the desire to replace one of Gaddafi, completely green. The absence of political life for forty-two years makes it difficult to measure the popularity of the monarchical idea. The prestige of the Sanusi is nevertheless still alive, especially in the liberated regions of the East, because the royal family was also the head of a religious brotherhood and fighting, the Senousists. Present in several countries in the region, she said the war against colonial powers, including the French in Chad. Rigorous on the religious, the Brotherhood calls for a return to fundamental principles of Islam, not unlike the Saudi Wahhabism, but did not reach the extremes. [Also called "Brotherhood of Senousists." Cousins of the Muslim Brotherhood?? JB] Gaddafi distrusted the point of having transformed into a barracks of the former headquarters Senousists in Kufra, to eradicate his memory. "But there is a nostalgia in those regions of the brotherhood, transmitted from generation to generation until today's youth," said French researcher Olivier Bend, who lived in Libya. It will probably await the release of all Libya to whether nostalgia is a future.
?Le r�me nord-cor� s'inqui� des r�ltes arabes from Le Figaro.
Another Google translation. The headline reads simply "The North Korean regime is concerned about the Arab Revolt."
Exasperated Pyongyang leaflets sent by the Southern army describing the revolutions in progress.
Scents of "jasmine revolution" have not reached Pyongyang, but the revolt of the Arab world make the North Korean leaders nervous. This Sunday, the dictatorship has roared back by threatening to open fire against the enemy along the DMZ, the most militarized border in the world, tearing the peninsula since 1953. Reason for this anger out leaflets and audio messages describing the progress of revolts in the Middle East, sent by the South Korean army over the border. Pyongyang has demanded that Seoul immediately cease this "psychological war" on pain of conducting "direct and targeted attacks" on its positions. The North has also threatened to turn the South Korean capital into a "sea of fire" on the eve of the launch of new military exercises US-South Korean major.
In recent days, sending forces south across the barbed wire of thousands of leaflets describing the latest events taking place in the Arab world. In stressing dictatorships and regimes "hereditary" are doomed to failure. A provocation at a time when the Kim family prepares for the arrival in power of its third generation. Messages in addition to DVDs and other leaflets sent by NGOs via helium balloons, and report in detail the labor camps and other crimes of the family of Kim Jong-il.
The immediate and violent threat from Pyongyang said that events in North Africa are taken seriously by the hermit kingdom, although no sign of spreading revolution is apparent in the country. And South Korean policymakers have decided to press on this sensitive issue. They vowed to continue their operations and send new messages giving the latest information about the revolts in Libya or Egypt.
[With thirty thousand US forces backing them, replete with missiles, South Korea can be pushy. Remember, we're there keeping peace. Riiight. JB}
"They feed on wild herbs"
"The most senior North Korean leaders are aware and watching what happens," said South Korean Minister of Unification, Hyun In-taek. But "the population probably does not know the facts because television brings in nothing, and people can not use the Internet," adds the falcon. Only a handful of senior officials among the 24 million people have access to the Internet, the country has established an intranet giant cut off from the global network. A totalitarian takeover of the company that makes North Korea the most isolated of the world and explains the extraordinary longevity of the regime, many are betting on the collapse since the end of the Cold War. For most experts, this isolation makes it unlikely the chances of a revolt inspired by the Arab movement. "Any attempt to challenge would be immediately suppressed in blood," said Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute.
More than a political protest, the regime is concerned about the worsening food situation that could undermine its grip on a population devastated. In point of using food aid to the UN, fearing catastrophic harvest in 2011. 50-80% of wheat and barley are threatened, and some people "eat wild herbs," noted a group of five humanitarian NGOs, back from Libya Pyongyang.la whether nostalgia is a future.
?The Barricades Then; the Uprisings Now
This short book review in the Chronicle of Higher Education looks at the history of barricades in populist uprisings, comparing those of the Nineteenth Century with what we have seen lately. Harsh and deadly crackdowns now often trigger exactly the opposite result of what they were intended to do. Media scrutiny has changed everything. Quick, short read.
Whether glorious, heroic, or foolhardy, barricades were rarely suicidal, Traugott says. Think gaming theory, he suggests: A bravura pretense of total commitment was necessary to achieve desired outcomes, and meanwhile the tactic bought protesters time to make a realistic assessment of their chances of success; they could always hightail it when the firing and military charges began.
Often, he argues, fraternization, socialization, and solidarity building�with like-minded protesters, past and present�were the only benefits that insurrectionists could hope for.
?On the frontiers of two revolutions: Awlad Ali on Libya and Egypt
Al-Masry Al-Youm is a privately owned Egyptian Daily
This brief article is a peek behind the curtain of tribal relationships that Western analysts and pundits pretend to understand.
One look at just the Bedouins in Wikipedia should put tribal complexity into perspective. I read this article through a couple of times and decided not to make any comment. As the saying goes, it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.
One part sticks in my head.
But allegations of Qadhaf al-Dam�s collecting tribal mercenaries from Awlad Ali sounded like an insult to many of them. �It didn�t happen and it won�t happen,� insisted Abul Zalat.
Fellow tribesman Hamad Khalid, who works for the Ministry of Culture, denounced such media reports �as they treat Bedouin tribesmen as sheep with no brain.�
He used the same tribal logic that Abul Zalat referenced to showcase the falsity of such claims. �What ties our tribes together is much stronger that what ties a state together. It is inconceivable that a tribesman in Egypt kills his brother in Libya. In fact it is the political regime in Libya and its repressive apparatuses that make us revert to our tribal links and prioritize them.�
Wikipedia article puts it another way.
A widely quoted Bedouin saying is "Me against my brother, My brothers and me against my cousins, then my cousins and me against strangers".
?On The Square -- Were the Egyptian protesters right to trust the military? by Wendell Steavenson in The New Yorker.
First person account of events leading up to the time whem Mubarak finally left.
Exciting reading, almost like a screen play, in the polished prose expected of the New Yorker.
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