Update: Libyan rebels are reported to have taken complete control of Az-Zawiyah and Zliten. Unless Gaddafi's brigades have some uber counteroffensive in the workings, it looks like he is in really dire straits now. Apparently, the ring around Tripoli is bad enough to warrant a sea rescue of foreigners in the coming days.

Do you frequently find yourself typing out complete messages, whether on forums, e-mail, etc., and then for whatever reason, decide not to post the messages (maybe you thought the message or post was inappropriate, arbitrary, lame, or stupid)? I find myself doing this a lot on forums, where maybe 1/5 of all messages I type end up discarded, even if they are complete. I am still trying to gauge if this is normal, or if I am being overly cautious about what I write.

What about you?

I'd climb aboard their star ship and head towards the sky.mattbbpl

And you thought they were angels!

I hope not I like dictatorships... There so much more effective in every regard, to bad they always end up killing people

LaytonsCat

Yeah...if those regards do not include levels of corruption, inequality, development of proper state institutions, and pretty much anything else that defines long term stability in nations.

That article sounds as biased as hell. Apparently, he hasn't paid attention to the events of the last week, or the fact that there are nowhere near 2,000+ tribes in Libya.

While fighting has been bogged down on the eastern front for many months, the western fronts of the Libyan Civil War, centered around the Nafusa Mountains and the city of Misrata have recently seen a lot of movement. Already, the Nafusa Mountain rebels have descended from their stronghold onto the coastal road to Tripoli. They are now about 30 miles from the capital, with fighting now centered around the major oil port of Az-Zawiyah.

This is significant not only because fighting is getting much closer to the capital, but also because this means that the coastal road from Tripoli to Tunisia, a major supply route, is now cut for Gaddafi. It also leaves a sizeable number of Pro-Gaddafi troops trapped in a pocket between the Tunisian border and rebel held territory. Another supply route going from Algeria has also been cut from the south, leaving Tripoli and 5 other adjacent strongholds under partial siege. This comes as rebels seize control of the Az-Zawiyah oil refinery, the only functioning one with any proximity to the capital. As you know, oil and gasoline is of particular importance in a large country like Libya, especially in conducting mechanized blitzkrieg warfare across largely open desert terrain (not that this can be done easily anyway, with NATO air supremacy).

With that oil refinery now cut, the two primary supply lines (including for gasoline) also cut, and only about 30 miles (~50 kilometers) standing between rebels and the capital, does this finally spell endgame for Gaddafi? Or will he find ways to push the rebels back, or at least gain enough advantage to broker a settlement keeping him in power? To me, the latter is looking less and less likely with each passing day. And although the rebels have not been known to necessarily maintain their advance, I think it's becoming clear that months of brutal fighting, economic sanctions, a partial sea blockade, and NATO airstrikes are beginning to really take their toll.

The only question I have is what will happen in Tripoli should the rebels make an advance on it. Support there might not be entirely forthcoming. A recently captured senior intelligence official claims that some 70% of Tripoli residents still support Gaddafi. No matter their number, he still likely has a large number of die hard supporters who will fight to the death. Anything less than a bloody fight for the city does not look likely. There is always the potential of just continuing to besiege the capital and hope to trigger a popular uprising, but that might not work either, and it could just also backfire and make Tripoli have even more hatred toward the opposition. And of course, negotiations can continue to end this peacefully. Gaddafi, despite his firebrand image, is said to be smart and a pragmatist, and he will know when he no longer has a way out. But in this case, will he negotiate an exit, or fight to the finish?

All I know is that this is the point where events should get very interesting. This war has had enough surprises, and before it is over, I will expect many more.

No, but I've had a police car approach me while I was outside of my car, siren flashing and all. The police officer pulled up to me, rolled down his window, and looked like he was about to say something to me, but then rolled his window back up and drove away. Don't know what to make of that :?.

How about just general "contempt for the masses"? I can't count how many times I've seen stuff along the lines of "wake up *insert presumably sleeping thing*!" on the Internet (and to a certain degree on this forum). The ironic thing of course is that the authors of such statements are almost always completely unaware of their own bigotry and ignorance about the very things they condemn others for. I'd go as far as to say this line of thinking is one of the most dangerous around.

Instead of leaving behind all that you perceive to hate or despise, it's much better to simply try to make a change for the better in your community. At least in this context. That's the way I now see it anyway.