'Toontime: Where the Ships Are

[credit: Joel Pett, Lexington Herald-Leader]

More: Fascist dictator Muammar Qaddafi vowed to die a martyr and fight to the last drop of blood as he urged his supporters in Tripoli to fight democrats in the streets. [photo: An example of the close ties to the West the dictator enjoyed lately, he is embraced by former British PM Tony Blair. UK firms have sold Libya a large arsenal of weapons over the years] When asked about possible reforms, a democracy fighter in Benghazi said, "What reforms? The man has been promising reforms for 42 years! That chapter is closed. The man is over. We will not negotiate."

Latest: {21.2.11}The wave of democratic uprising in the Middle East has hit the wall of violent repression in Libya. Unlike Egypt where the military has taken a constructive role in building democracy, the unhinged dictator of Libya, Muammar Qaddafi has lashed out violently against democracy fighters, killing hundreds, perhaps a thousand, with his security forces and foreign mercenaries. Freedom fighters have in turn overrun military installations and are arming themselves with captured automatic and anti-tank weapons [photo]. The backlash against Qaddafi's brutal repression seems to be setting in among some military and air force officers as well as the diplomatic corps. Libya's UN ambassador said Qaddafi was committing genocide against his own people. AP says the dictator has lost the support of one major tribe and several military units. Air Force pilots have flown their Mirage jets to Maltaafter receiving orders to bomb protesting civilians. Escaping foreigner visitors spoke of a "bloodbath" in Tripoli which is shut down today. Despite the bloodshed, democracy supporters appear determined to haul down the brutal, forty-one year regime of the fascist Qaddafi. Benghazi, the major city in eastern Libya, is in the hands of protesters. Only chaos reigns in Libya now. Update: {18.02.11}Bahraini troops opened fire on protesters using bullets and tear gas causing many casualties. Une grenade a explosé dans une manifestation en Taiz, Yemen: au moins six morts et vingt-sept blessés. Porte a onze tués depuis le début du mouvement populaires aux cris de "le peuple veut la chute du régime". Reports from Libya say 24 anti-Kadhafi protesters were killed on Thursday according to Agence France-Presse. Where in the world is Bahrain? An island in the Persian Gulf between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, so that location makes it important to the oil dependent United States. The democratic protests took a violent turn Thursday as security forces moved into a peaceful encampment before dawn to clear Pearl Roundabout of protesters. The security forces killed five protesters and wounded more than 200. The violence has a sectarian aspect since the government and its security forces are Sunni while the population is majority Shiite (70%). The government said the violent crackdown was necessary to prevent the country from "falling into sectarian abyss".  United State's criticism of the Bahraini monarchy is even more muted than it was of the Egyptian dictatorship, given the fact that thirty US Navy ships of the 5th Fleet are there to protect oil shipping routes through the Straits of Hormuz and counterbalance Iran.  Only in December, Secretary Clinton praised the monarchy for the "democratic path that Bahrain is walking on".   It is a path now littered with the bodies of democrats.