 By creeping In other words, as Gawker titled their story: Muammar Qaddafi More or Less Owns Your Links. Astute reporting below from a blog entitled Workbench:  Bit.ly Builds Business on Libya Domain
The URL shortening service Bit.ly just secured $2 million in financing from investors including O’Reilly’s AlphaTech Ventures. Though URL shorteners have been around for years, Bit.ly believes there’s money in offering Twitter-friendly short links along with web analytics to track how the links are used. The company reports that its links were clicked 20 million times last month. So far, the news coverage I’ve read about Bit.ly has neglected an unusual aspect of the startup: It’s one of the only prominent online ventures using a domain name in the .LY namespace, which is controlled by Libya. There are two issues that arise from this relationship. First, of course, is the appearance of an American company doing business with Libya, a country that the U.S. considered a state sponsor of terror from 1979 through 2006. On Dec. 21, 1988, Libyan intelligence agents planted a bomb on Pan Am Flight 103 that blew up 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people onboard. Bit.ly’s only doing a trivial amount of business with Libya — the domains sell for $75 per year from the registrar Libyan Spider Network — but its use of .LY domain is helping to popularize and legitimize the top-level domain for general use on the Internet. It’s only a matter of time before a reporter decides to ask the families of Lockerbie victims what they think of the arrangement. I can’t imagine that story going well for the company. Even without that PR hit, there’s another potential concern for Bit.ly and any other venture that builds its business on an .LY domain. These domains are governed by Libyan law, as it states on the Libyan Spider Network site: Any .LY domain names may be registered, except domains containing obscene and indecent names/phrases, including words of a sexual nature; furthermore domain names may not contain words/phrases or abbreviations insulting religion or politics, or be related to gambling and lottery industry or be contrary to Libyan law or Islamic morality. So the names must conform to Islamic morality, and it’s possible that the use of the domains could fall under the same rules. What are the odds that some of those 20 million clicks on a Bit.ly-shortened URL end up at sites that would be considered blasphemous or otherwise offensive in an Islamic nation? Bit.ly conveniently provides search pages for such topics as Islam, sharia, gambling and sex, any of which contain links that could spark another controversy. Bit.ly’s building a business atop a domain that could be taken away at any time, and the company’s only recourse would be to seek redress in the Libyan court system. Take a look at Section 11 of the regulations for .LY owners: The Arabic language is the language of interpretation, correspondence and the construction of the Regulation or anything related to it. … In case of conflict between the Arabic and the English versions the Arabic version shall prevail. I hope Bit.ly’s attorneys are brushing up on their Arabic. ~end More from Domain Name Wire: Is it wise to run a web service using a questionable country code domain? I’ve warned about the dangers of country code top level domains. Rogers Cadenhead made some interesting observations about Bit.ly, a URL shortening service that just scored $2M in funding. You see, .ly is the country code for Libya, which has a not-so-great history with the United States. He also points out some of the rules attached to country code domains. I’ve written before about .AE for United Arab Emirates that restricts uses within Muslim law. There’s no poker.ae, for example. The same thing goes for .ly. This presents a problem since the Bit.ly service let’s you forward to just about any web site with any topic. Technically the content isn’t hosted on a .ly domain, but the danger is there that Libya would lay the hammer on this. No serious business should use a country code domain name other than a major, unrestricted domain without special content rules. Update: Twitter’s selection of bit.ly is demise of popular URL shortening service tr.im: tr.im is now in the process of discontinuing service, effective immediately. Statistics can no longer be considered reliable, or reliably available going forward. However, all tr.im links will continue to redirect, and will do so until at least December 31, 2009. Your tweets with tr.im URLs in them will not be affected. We regret that it came to this, but all of our efforts to avoid it failed. No business we approached wanted to purchase tr.im for even a minor amount. There is no way for us to monetize URL shortening — users won’t pay for it — and we just can’t justify further development since Twitter has all but annointed bit.ly the market winner. There is simply no point for us to continue operating tr.im, and pay for its upkeep. We apologize for the disruption and inconvenience this may cause you. (there’s money in tr.im somewhere – how about an auction?) Another update: Feedback from tr.im users convinced them to continue the service. With thanks to Creeping Sharia (Note also Tinyurl as another option) 
 THE condition of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the Libyan sentenced to life imprisonment for the Lockerbie bombing and repatriated in August has deteriorated in Tripoli. A medical bulletin said today the cancer that afflicts him has spread through his body. "A scan has shown a worsening of the disease which has spread more than before,'' said the bulletin from the Tripoli Medical Centre where Megrahi is being treated for terminal cancer. The bulletin said Megrahi, 57, arrived at the hospital on Saturday coughing and vomiting. He was also suffering from "secondary effects of the sessions of chemotherapy'' that he has been undergoing, including a weight gain, high blood pressure and sugar in the blood along with muscular fatigue. "His condition was examined Saturday by a team of European experts who agreed on the continuation of chemotherapy sessions while also administering other medicaments to treat the disease,'' the hospital said in its first bulletin released since Megrahi's return in August. Under the terms of his release from a Scottish jail on compassionate grounds, Megrahi cannot leave Tripoli or change his address and must keep in regular contact with East Renfrewshire Council. "We have now spoken to Mr Megrahi, who is in his house. There is no cause for alarm, he is in his house,'' said a spokesman for East Renfrewshire Council in western Scotland. Megrahi is the only person convicted over the December 1988 bombing of a New York-bound Pan Am Boeing 747 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, which killed 270 people. He was freed on August 20 after doctors said he had only three months to live, and returned to a hero's welcome in Libya, angering relatives of those killed. His release also caused tensions between Britain, the devolved Scottish government and the United States and sparked questions about London's growing trade relationship with Tripoli. The Australian
 When the craven dhimmi Brits freed him for oil, they should have seen this coming a mile off. "Mystery as Lockerbie bomber goes missing from home and hospital," by Martin Fletcher, Tim Reid and Angus Macleod in The Times, December 16 The Lockerbie bomber appeared to have gone missing last night after he could not be reached at his home or in hospital. Libyan officials could say nothing about the whereabouts of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, and his Scottish monitors could not contact him by telephone. They will try again to speak to him today but if they fail to reach him, the Scottish Government could face a new crisis. Under the terms of his release from jail, the bomber cannot change his address or leave Tripoli, and must keep in regular communication with East Renfrewshire Council. Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic and relatives of the 270 people who died in the 1988 bombing expressed anger about al-Megrahi's disappearance. Richard Baker, Labour's justice spokesman in the Scottish Parliament, said the whole affair was turning into a shambles and putting Scotland's reputation at risk. "This flags up just how ludicrous it is that East Renfrewshire Council, a local council thousands of miles away from Libya, is responsible for supervising al-Megrahi's conditions of licence," he said.... Relatives of the victims were furious in August when Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish Justice Secretary, released al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds because he was expected to die of prostate cancer within three months. On Sunday evening The Times called at the bomber's home in suburban Tripoli. A policeman sitting on a plastic chair outside was asked to deliver a message to al-Megrahi. He spoke no English, but indicated that al-Megrahi was not there. The next day The Times visited the Tripoli Medical Centre where al-Megrahi was treated soon after his return to Libya. The receptionists said that he had left the hospital some time ago. Back at al-Megrahi's home, there was no sign of activity. One of three security officers sitting in a grey Mercedes car outside said: "They've all gone." He refused to elaborate. Alerted by The Times, Jonathan Hinds of East Renfrewshire Council tried to telephone al-Megrahi at his home yesterday. He spoke to a Libyan man who said al-Megrahi was too ill to speak to him. Mr Hinds has called al-Megrahi every other Tuesday since August, and has always been able to speak to him. Yesterday was not one of the regular Tuesdays, so al-Megrahi would not have been expecting a call. "We will continue to attempt to call Mr Megrahi tomorrow and will then consider the situation," a council spokesman said. If there were grounds for suspecting al-Megrahi was breaching the terms of his release, "we would report that to the Scottish Government and it would be up to them to decide what action to take".... Even so, Bill Aitken, the Scottish Conservative justice spokesman, called for an immediate investigation.
He said: "This is outrageous and there will be intense anger that Britain's biggest mass murderer appears to be able to disappear."... Uh, yeah. With thanks to JihadWatch
 Paul Woodward Jihadist ideology is now under attack from some of its erstwhile proponents. A Libyan group has issued a new religious document denouncing the tactics used by al Qa'eda as illegal under Islamic law.
"In May 2007, Sayyid Imam al Sharif, better known as Dr Fadl, a former member of the al Qa'eda leadership, attacked its tactics of mass slaughter, arguing that this inevitably led to the deaths of innocents, and was therefore un-Islamic," wrote Michael Smith in The National.
"He was particularly critical of the way in which Muslims lived freely within western societies, then attacked the very people who had given them shelter.
Fadl's attack was dismissed by his fellow Egyptian, and former fellow student, al Zawahiri, as having been written while Fadl was in prison in Egypt.
"But last week saw a fresh attack, this time not from just one man, but from a complete militant movement previously aligned to al Qa'eda. The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), issued a new religious document denouncing the tactics used by al Qa'eda as illegal under Islamic law."
The text featured in a new documentary, "The Jihadi Code", which aired on CNN on Sunday.
Omar Ashour, writing for the Carnegie Endowment, described what he calls a second wave of modern Islamist de-radicalisation, which is being laid out through a process of ideological revision in a corpus of writings.
"The new body of literature, which is composed of more than 30 books, mainly deconstructs the eight major arguments of jihadism: al hakimmiyya (God's exclusive right to legislate), al riddah (apostasy, mainly of ruling regimes), al jihad/qital (fighting) for the Islamic state, jihad al daf' (defensive jihad), ahkam al diyar (rules of conduct in the 'abode of Islam' and the 'abode of infidelity'), methods for sociopolitical change, the inevitability of confrontation, and the 'neo-crusader' arguments.
"Deconstructing those arguments in the post-jihadist literature entails an inference shift. The theological arguments of jihadism rest on the idea that literal orders from God supersede any rational calculations or material interests. In other words, al nass fawq al maslaha (the text is above interests); believers are to follow divine commands literally and leave the consequences and results to God. This usually translates into an impetus to engage in armed confrontations against much stronger powers.
"In post-jihadist literature, there is a shift to the idea that interests determine the interpretation of religious texts. If a confrontation, or any other behavior, is likely to lead to negative consequences, it must be forbidden and should be avoided. In other words, it is theologically sanctioned pragmatism."
Johann Hari, in The Independent, tracked down some of Britain's best known former jihadis to find out what had led to their change of heart. They included Maajid Nawaz who had been a prominent member of the pan-Islamist political group, Hizb ut-Tahrir. More at the National
 Libyan Leader Muammar al-Qaddafi gave a lecture on Islam to more than 100 young Italian women on Sunday night, encouraging them to convert and telling them it was false that Islam discriminated against women. Qaddafi, in Rome for the United Nations World Summit on Food Security, told the women that Christ came for the Jews, but that Mohammed came for everyone, according to Italian press reports. Libyan officials used an agency that provides hostesses for conferences to advertise for Italian women between the ages of 18 and 35 to attend the talk, held at the Libyan embassy in Italy. The women were told to dress modestly, with no miniskirts and no plunging necklines. At the end of the lecture Qaddafi gave each woman a copy of the Koran, and took their names, telling them they would be invited for a vacation in Libya. Foxnews
 Editors Note: This story is the result of a two-year CNN investigative report into peace talks held between the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) and the Libyan Government which recently culminated in the LIFG, a militant jihadist group once close to Osama bin Laden, repudiating al Qaeda. "The Jihadi Code," a documentary on the breakthrough against al Qaeda in Libya, airs on November 15 at 1200 GMT. Tripoli, Libya: From within Libya's most secure jail a new challenge to al Qaeda is emerging. Leaders of one of the world's most effective jihadist organizations, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), have written a new "code" for jihad. The LIFG says it now views the armed struggle it waged against Col. Moammar Gadhafi's regime for two decades as illegal under Islamic law. The new code, a 417-page religious document entitled "Corrective Studies" is the result of more than two years of intense and secret talks between the leaders of the LIFG and Libyan security officials. The code's most direct challenge to al Qaeda is this: "Jihad has ethics and morals because it is for God. That means it is forbidden to kill women, children, elderly people, priests, messengers, traders and the like. Betrayal is prohibited and it is vital to keep promises and treat prisoners of war in a good way. Standing by those ethics is what distinguishes Muslims' jihad from the wars of other nations." The code has been circulated among some of the most respected religious scholars in the Middle East and has been given widespread backing. It is being debated by politicians in the U.S. and studied by western intelligence agencies. In essence the new code for jihad is exactly what the West has been waiting for: a credible challenge from within jihadist ranks to al Qaeda's ideology. While the code states that jihad is permissible if Muslim lands are invaded -- citing the cases of Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine -- the guidelines it sets down for when and how jihad should be fought, and its insistence that civilians should not be targeted are a clear rebuke to the goals and tactics of bin Laden's terrorist network. Read more here,,,, Source: CNN
 The disclosure will reignite the row over the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds despite his conviction for the murder of 270 people when Pan Am flight 103 exploded in mid-air over Lockerbie in 1988. Megrahi, who is suffering terminal prostate cancer, was sent home to Libya to die after medical experts concluded in a report on July 30 he had just three months left to live.
The time span was crucial because only prisoners with three months or less to survive are eligible for release on compassionate grounds. Within three weeks of the medical examination by Professor Karol Sikora, one of Britain's leading cancer specialists, Megrahi was put on a plane and sent home to Tripoli to die. But three months on from Prof Sikora's diagnosis, Megrahi is well enough to "walk and talk" and shows no sign of deterioration, according to a senior source involved in his release. The source told The Sunday Telegraph: "His condition has not deteriorated in three months.
He is pretty much in the same way as he was when this all started. He is just as he was. There is nothing that leads anyone to believe he is in any different condition to when he left Scotland." A frail-looking Megrahi was able to walk with the aid of a stick when he arrived back in Tripoli, amid jubilant scenes in the Libyan capital that caused widespread anger in the US and elsewhere. The source told The Sunday Telegraph that Megrahi, 57, is still able to talk and walk with a stick, contradicting claims from his family that he is bedridden, unable to speak and near to death. "He can still walk and he can still talk," said the source. Read more here,,,, Source: Telegraph
 SCOTTISH police are re-examining the evidence surrounding the 1988 Lockerbie bombing as they seek new suspects in connection with the attack that killed 270 people.
They said detectives are reviewing the case to establish who might have acted with Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi, the only person convicted over the bombing of a Pan Am jet which exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
The former Libyan agent was freed from a Scottish jail on compassionate release in August after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. He insists he is innocent but dropped his appeal against conviction prior to his release.
"Now that Mr Megrahi has decided to abandon his appeal against conviction, a further review of the case is under way in respect of others who acted with him in the murder of 270 people," said Patrick Shearer, chief of Dumfries and Galloway Police.
He added: "The work that is being undertaken is the latest in a series of reviews which have formed part of an investigative strategy in keeping with our determination to pursue every possible lead."
Megrahi, 57, was convicted in January 2001 at an extraordinary Scottish court convened in the Netherlands, but has always maintained his innocence.
His release and return to Libya was strongly opposed by the United States, where many of the victims had lived.
A spokeswoman for the Crown Office prosecuting authority in Scotland said there was “no question” of re-opening the case against him.
"The open case concerns only the involvement of others with Megrahi in the murder of 270 people and the Crown will continue to pursue such lines of inquiry that become available," she said.
"The trial court accepted the Crown's position that Mr Megrahi acted in furtherance of the Libyan intelligence services and did not act alone."
Foreign Secretary David Miliband told the BBC the investigation "was not formally closed and that's why it's wholly appropriate if there are grounds for taking new steps, that they should be taken."
The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported that four detectives were now working full-time on the case to follow up any new potential leads.
Jean Berkley, whose 29-year-old son Alistair died in the attack as he flew to New York to see his parents for the Christmas holidays, welcomed the news.
"It has to be encouraging that there is some kind of taking a fresh look,” the 79-year-old told AFP, adding: “We have to try to keep them to that."
Despite this, she and other relatives continue to demand a full public inquiry into who planned the bombing and why, and put this request to Prime Minister Gordon Brown in a letter on Friday.
"We are still calling for an inquiry because there seem to be so many unanswered questions," Berkley said.
However, a spokesman for Brown's Downing Street office said: "It is our belief that nothing can be gained from a public inquiry."
 The United States and other countries are against a discussion on the report, but even if the Libyan initiative is curbed, the matter is expected to be raised during the periodical discussion on the Middle East on October 20.
Libya, which represents the Arab countries bloc at the Security Council, surprised the Arab countries and the Palestinians when it asked for a discussion on the report. Ynet has learned that other countries are also opposed to a Security Council discussion, both because of the political aspect and due to the fact that the report should be first discussed by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, which was behind the initiative to probe the Israeli operation in Gaza. The Geneva vote has been postponed by half a year after the Palestinians pulled a resolution to adopt the Goldstone Report and condemn Israel. Diplomatic sources have said that the Libyan initiative will be opposed by several Security Council members, but that the issue may be voted on any case, although Libya may find it difficult to get the support of nine countries out of 15, as required. Behind the scene, the Americans are trying to come up with a compromise which will see the vote on the Goldstone Report held as part of the open periodical discussion on the situation in the Middle East. As far as Israel is concerned, this option is the lesser of two evils, as the discussion will deal with a variety of issues in the region. One possibility is that the sides will compromise on moving up the discussion on the situation in the Middle East. A State Department source said that the US had not changed its mind on the report, which the source said focused on Israel in an unbalanced manner in most of its recommendations. The American stand, which was to be expressed at the Security Council discussion Wednesday night, is that the report includes serious accusations which must be probed by both sides. Washington wants the discussion on the report to be held as part of the Human Rights Council in Geneva rather than at the UN headquarters in New York. The Obama administration supports an independent Israeli investigation into the war crime claims, for fear that the controversy over the Goldstone Report will disrupt the efforts of US special envoy George Mitchell to resume peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. Source: YNet
 Libya on Tuesday requested a meeting of the Security Council to discuss a UN report that accused Israel and Palestinian militants of war crimes during Israel's offensive in Gaza, diplomats said. Dang Hoang Giang, a spokesman for the mission of Vietnam, which currently holds the council's rotating presidency, said the Libyan request was being considered. A Libyan spokesman, however, said he understood a meeting would be held on Wednesday. An investigation ordered by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council and led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone found that both the Israeli armed forces and Hamas militants committed war crimes in the December-January war. But it was more critical of Israel. The council had been due to vote on Friday on a resolution that would have condemned Israel's failure to cooperate with the inquiry and forwarded the report to the Security Council. But action was postponed until March after US pressure aimed at getting the peace process back on track.
A Palestinian official said the Palestinian Authority had agreed to a request from the United States, European Union and Russia for a delay. The Libyan spokesman, Ahmed Gebreel, said his country, which currently has a Security Council seat, had requested the meeting "because of the seriousness of the report and because we think it's too long to wait until March." Critics of the Palestinian Authority have accused President Mahmoud Abbas of letting his people down by agreeing to the postponement. A statement by the Palestinian observer mission at the United Nations said it fully supported the Libyan request for a council meeting. US veto power in the Security Council effectively rules out any action or statement by the 15-nation body that is hostile to Washington's ally Israel. Source: YNet
 BRITAIN secretly offered to pay £14 million to Libyan leader Muammer Gaddafi as part of a deal to end his country's support for Irish paramilitary group the IRA, according to a report. The offer, worth £500 million today, was made during negotiations in the 1970s the government of then prime minister Harold Wilson held with Libya aimed at halting the supply of weapons to the now-defunct Irish Republican Army, documents seen by The Independent show.
The deal on the IRA was part of a package of compensation measures to appease the Libyan leader and help open up British trade with the north African state in the 1970s, the newspaper said.
It quoted a “personal message” from Wilson to Gaddafi in which it said the prime minister made clear the government was prepared to pay Libya in return for ending material support for the IRA.
“I do not want to anticipate the results of the forthcoming talks, which we shall enter into in a truly constructive spirit, but it might be helpful nevertheless to mention two questions of particular importance to us.”
“The first of these concerns Northern Ireland,” Wilson wrote in 1975.
The letter is among documents released to Britain's National Archives.
The paper said by the end of the 1970s it was clear negotiations had failed, with Gaddafi holding out for a payment of £51 million, or the equivalent of £1.5 billion today.
Britain's Foreign Office said it was unaware of any offer to Gaddafi, who admits having supported the IRA. Much of the material in its arsenal dumps came from Libya.
Libya has said it will resist demands for compensation over attacks by the IRA, who killed more than 1000 people during their armed campaign to rid Northern Ireland of British sovereignty through violence.
Britain's dealings with oil-rich Libya have come under intense scrutiny following the release in August of the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, a move that sparked anger in the United States.
Former Libyan intelligence agent Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was freed on compassionate grounds by the Scottish government because he has terminal prostate cancer.
The 1988 bombing of a Pan Am plane over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, Britain's worst-ever terror attack, killed 270 people. Source: The Australian
By John Rossomando The White House declined to comment on a letter that an Illinois Republican send to President Obama demanding that he cancel funding for two $200,000 State Department grants to groups belonging to Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's children. Rep. Mark Kirk wrote the letter after the State Department notified the House Appropriations Committee on Sept. 15 of its intent to provide the foundation belonging to the Libyan dictator’s son, Saif, with a $200,000 and an additional $200,000 to Wa’ettasmeno UNDP Foundation run by his daughter, Aisha. “Last month, when Scotland freed Abel Baset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, Gadhafi greeted him with a hero’s welcome,” Kirk wrote in his Sept. 23 letter to President Obama. “As you know, Megrahi was accompanied back to Libya by Gadhafi's son, Saif, who was involved with negotiations for Megrahi’s release. Just weeks after the Gadhafi family celebrated the return of a terrorist for the murders of 189 Americans, the U.S. taxpayer should not be asked to reward them with $400,000. For the sake of the victims’ families who have endured so much pain these last few weeks, I ask you to withdraw your Administration’s request.” Read more ...Source: NewsMaxHon. Mark Kirk
Latest recipient of The MASH Award
 Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi launched a spirited defense of Afghanistan's hardline Taliban in a rambling address to the UN General Assembly. 'Why are we against the Taliban? Why are we against Afghanistan?' he asked leaders of more than 120 nations attending the annual General Assembly debate. 'If the Taliban wants to make a religious state, okay, like the Vatican. Does the Vatican constitute a danger against us? No,' said the Libyan leader, addressing the 192-member body for the first time in his 40 years in power. 'If the Taliban wants to create an Islamic emirate, who said they are the enemy?' he added. The Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan is now at its deadliest since a 2001 US-led invasion ousted their extremist regime. Winning the war in Afghanistan is one of the priorities of the new US administration. Gaddafi went on to attack the United Nations Security Council in his first appearance at the world body criticising it for failing to prevent 65 wars around the world since it was founded in 1945. Gaddafi's called for reform of the Security Council either by abolishing the veto power of the five permanent members or by expanding with extra member states to make it more representative. He says it shouldn't be called the Security Council but would be better named the 'terror council'. Source: SkyNews
 BY DAVID SCHENKER Libya’s Muammar al-Qaddafi, once a terrorism-sponsoring pariah, is on the brink of rehabilitation. Can he hold his tongue long enough to pull it off? Today, Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi arrives in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Although he hasn't touched down yet, the colonel is already fraying nerves.
In the spring, with the Obama administration in the White House, the old tensions between Washington and Tripoli had started to ease. At the July summit of the G-8 in Italy, President Barack Obama and Qaddafi had one of those handshakes often described as "historic."
But, last month, Libya affronted many by giving the Lockerbie bomber a hero's welcome. (A Scottish court had convicted Abdelbaset al-Megrahi of killing 270, including 189 Americans, by blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988.
In August, a judge granted the bomber compassionate release as he is terminally ill.) More recently, the State Department has had to scramble to find appropriate accommodations for Libya's quixotic leader after New York City and New Jersey said they wouldn't allow him to pitch his tent. Most of all, workers in Foggy Bottom are wringing their hands because Qaddafi has a long history of making humiliating statements when he has an international stage. Thus, as he arrives for a week in the Big Apple, one question looms large: Will Qaddafi restrain himself, helping foster the quiet U.S.-Libya diplomatic rapprochement, or will he let loose, shoot from the hip, and foment outrage? European leaders have been the most recent victims of the Qaddafi treatment. In the past two years alone, the Libyan leader has managed to embarrass French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and, most recently, Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz.
In the last case, Qaddafi upbraided Merz after Swiss authorities arrested his son, Hannibal Qaddafi, for assaulting two maids at a Geneva hotel. The Libyan colonel managed to shame Merz into traveling to Tripoli to issue a public apology -- after, allegedly, threatening to cut Libya's bank deposits and oil exports to Switzerland. With the Swiss public far from amused, Merz's humiliating actions might cost him his job. Read more here,,,, Source: Foreign Policy
 Stewart Stogel NEW YORK – Feeling the heat of growing U.S. resentment over Libyan strongman Col. Muammar Gadhafi's visit to the United Nations, President Barack Obama is moving quickly to keep his distance from the mercurial leader. There will be numerous opportunities for the two to meet this week, such as a lunch and dinner hosted by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for visiting VIPs, including Gadhafi and Obama. U.N. sources admit the two will be kept at some distance, making it as difficult as possible for them to cross paths at the receptions. That didn't work at last summer's G-20 Summit in Italy, where Gadhafi sought out Obama for a brief photo op.
Obama is also hosting his own lunch for African heads of state on Tuesday and a gala dinner at the Metropolitan Opera House for U.N. VIP's Wednesday. A White House spokesman, Ben Chang, however, told WND that Gadhafi is definitely "not on the invite list" for either function. Chang refused to elaborate. That would put the Libyan out in the cold with Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, however, two long-time U.S. foes, may get a pass this time. Obama also holds the presidency of the U.N. Security Council for September, and Libya is a non-permanent Council member. Chang admitted the two "could meet" during a special meeting called for Thursday morning by the White House to discuss nuclear non-proliferation. It was less than four years ago that Libya admitted to operating a secret nuclear arms program for more than a decade. Many feel the nation only came clean after the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. "[Gadhafi] felt he could be next," explained former US/UN Ambassador John Bolton. While Obama attempts to give Col. Gadhafi the cold shoulder, New York City officials have also been keen to jump into the fray. Intentionally leaking various attempts by the Gadhafi entourage to find a place to set up his infamous traveling tent, city officials succeeded in forcing Gadhafi to set up shop inside the Libyan U.N. mission on East 48th Street. Not missing a beat, The New York Daily News today highlighted a photo showing a neighbor's dog relieving herself on the red carpet being rolled out in front of the Libyan high-rise. "She has great taste," said a smiling passer by. Mayor Michael Bloomberg was not available for comment. Source: WND
 TRADE deals with Libya played a "very big part" in Britain's decision to include the Lockerbie bomber in a prisoner transfer deal with Tripoli, a Government minister acknowledged in an interview. Justice Secretary Jack Straw told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper that trade and an oil exploration deal between BP and Libya were factors in deciding whether to make Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi eligible for transfer to a prison back home. However, his spokesman insisted Megrahi's release was not agreed because any possible transfer was always subject to a veto by the Scottish authorities. Asked if trade and oil were part of the discussions, Straw said: "Yes, a very big part of that. I'm unapologetic about that... Libya was a rogue state. We wanted to bring it back into the fold. "And yes, that included trade because trade is an essential part of it and subsequently there was the BP deal." Megrahi, the only person convicted of the 1988 bombing of a plane over the Scottish town of Lockerbie which killed 270 people, was released last month on compassionate grounds because he is terminally ill. Scotland rejected a prison transfer for Megrahi. Yet London has been forced to deny allegations that it struck a deal with Libya to free him in return for improved trade ties. Documents released this week show Mr Straw initially opposed including Megrahi in the prison transfer agreement due to opposition from Scotland - but changed his mind, citing "wider negotiations" with Tripoli. At the time, talks on the ratification of a huge oil deal between BP and Libya had become bogged down. The $US900 million ($1.07 billion) deal was ratified in January 2008 shortly after Mr Straw's change of mind. Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kusa said in an interview that trade had nothing to do with Megrahi's release. "You should not do an injustice to the British government," he told The Times from Tripoli. "It was nothing to do with trade. If we wished to bargain we would have done it a long time ago." BP said on Friday it had lobbied Britain to speed up the agreement with Libya to improve business relations, but denied pressing for Megrahi to be released. Source: The Australian
 By ALBERT AJI, Associated Press Writer DAMASCUS, Syria – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez attacked Israel Thursday during his visit to Syria, calling it an imperialist nation that annihilates other people. Chavez comments came during a news conference with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad after a one-hour meeting at the hilltop presidential palace. "Israel has become a country that annihilates people and is hostile to peace," he said, according to the Arabic translation of his remarks to reporters. In comments carried by Venezuelan state television, he also accused Israel of being part of imperialist efforts to divide the Middle East. "The entire world knows it. Why was the state of Israel created? ... To divide. To impede the unity of the Arab world. To assure the presence of the North American empire in all these lands," he said. Chavez is on an 11-day trip to Libya, Algeria, Syria, Iran, Belarus and Russia in his bid to build a multi-polar world and decrease U.S. influence in the region. "I believe it is a fateful battle. It's either now or never in order to liberate the world from imperialism and change the world from a unipolar into a multi-polar world," Chavez told reporters in Damascus. Source: Yahoo News
 The disclosure threatens to undermine the Government's determinedly neutral stance over the release of Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi.
It could also deepen the rift with the Obama administration, which has demanded answers from the Government over its role in the affair.
Papers released by the Scottish government included the minutes of a meeting earlier this year during which a Libyan official stated that Bill Rammell, then a foreign office minister, had told Tripioli that neither the Prime Minister nor David Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, "would want Mr Megrahi to pass away in prison".
Britain is under pressure over the decision to strike a prisoner transfer deal with Libya. Revelations that Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, believed that such a deal would be in the overwhelming interests of the UK have infuriated US diplomats.
The release of documents in both London and Edinburgh also show the pressure being applied by business leaders on Scotland to release al-Megrahi.
Lord Trefgarne, of the Libyan British Business Council, wrote saying that the possibility of al-Megrahi dying in prison would have "serious implications for UK-Libyan relations".
If his return under the prisoner agreement was not possible then the executive should consider compassionate release, the Tory peer added.
Mr Rammell, who visited Tripoli in February, did not dispute Libyan claims about the views he attrributed to Mr Brown and Mr Miliband. He said the decision to release al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds had been one for the Scottish government.
Downing Street sources did not comment directly on the claims but they pointed out that even the words attributed to Mr Rammell had been followed by an explicit statement that the matter of al-Megrahi's future was for the Scottish executive to decide.
David Cameron accused Mr Brown of double dealing and demand an inquiry: "The Prime Minister has got to be straight with the British people."
 The Times gained access to the dress rehearsal of a spectacular two-hour show which extols Colonel Gaddafi for reviving his country and restoring Arab pride. As the finale approaches, the screen at the back of the giant stage in Tripoli's Green Square shows Abdel Baset Ali al-Megrahi stepping off the plane that brought him home from his Scottish prison two weeks ago. His arms are raised aloft by Colonel Gaddafi's son, Saif, as he acknowledges the joyful reception from the crowd below. Unless it is cut out at the last minute, the clip's inclusion seems almost calculated to provoke the West. Britain and the US had urged Libya to keep Megrahi's homecoming low-key. US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown both expressed disgust when he was given what appeared to be a rapturous welcome at Tripoli airport. It flew in the face of repeated assurances by Libyan officials, including Saif Gaddafi, that the reception was muted and not intended as a display of gloating. Megrahi himself is now in hospital, seriously ill with prostate cancer. Anxious to dampen down the controversy caused by Megrahi's release, Britain is expected to send only a junior representative to the ceremonies. The British embassy in Tripoli said that the ambassador Vincent Fean was in Malta, suggesting the job would be left to a more junior diplomat. "We are still considering the level of representation," a spokesman said. Other European states are sending ministers, ambassadors or official delegations, but the President of Malta is thought to be the only European head of state attending. However, the audience will include a large number of African leaders and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. Read more here,,,, Source: The Australian
 Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, has said much of Africa's violence is due to foreign meddling, pointing the accusing finger at Israel. Gaddafi, who is also chairman of the African Union (AU), was speaking on Monday at a special summit of the group, which is coinciding with the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the coup that brought him to power. Israel is "behind all of Africa's conflicts", Gaddafi told about 30 African leaders gathered under a huge tent at Tripoli airport.
"As African brothers, we must find solutions to stop the superpowers who are pillaging our continent," he said. He demanded the closure of all Israeli embassies across Africa, describing Israel as a "gang" and saying it uses "the protection of minorities as an excuse to launch conflicts".
Israel has acknowledged operating what it called a forward policy in Africa between the 1960s and 1980s, intervening in wars in Ethiopia, Uganda and Sudan. Gaddafi claimed that a Darfur rebel group had opened an office in Tel Aviv while its leader lives under French protection, a reference to Abdelwahid Mohammed Nur, the head of the Sudan Liberation Army who lives in exile in Paris, France. Al Jazeera's Amr El-Kahky, reporting from the Libyan capital, Tripoli, said: "Libya is portraying itself as opening up, but it is still holding to the same principle: which is anti-Israel feeling, and that is what we have heard from Colonel Gaddafi today, saying that people - the African nations - should shy away from the Israelis because they are the ones behind all the African problems." Read more here,,,, Source: Al Jazeera (English)
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