2011-07-01 Qaddafi's Million Man March

This quality seems to be virtually universal in all pro rebel discourse on line, whether in posts or comments, rebel news sites, twitter, etc. Nothing seems to be able to stem the tide, which not only includes the absurdly exaggerated human rights allegations that were manipulated so frantically by both rebel supporters and the US and several European countries but also contains a constant stream of lies about rebel battlefield achievements, and most importantly about the level of popular support enjoyed by the rebels. This is a vitally important point, and it is something that distinguishes this uprising from others in the Middle East recently. There is a virtually constant stream of completely unsubstantiated allegations pouring out of hundreds of rebel twitter and facebook accounts. These claims virtually never contain any supporting evidence, and we are apparently supposed to accept this at face value regardless. Of course, in reality when you make a completely unproven allegation, it is treated as automatically doubtful or unreliable until you present compelling proof. In the rebel case, the mainstream media has played an opposite role, accepting virtually any allegation, no matter how obviously untrue, as if it unchallenged fact.

This contains several instances. First, it uses a video of a man in extreme closeup making unverified claims. Note that these claims, unlike what is related in this article, do not seem to specifically relate to a particular protest. Thus they are vague at the outset. This article than openly manipulates this to imply that this claim (which is itself false) somehow applies to the July 1st protest. This is of course absurd and any rational mind can see this. The claim here is that a demonstration larger than the one in the square (completely filling it) took place and that it was dispersed by gunfire. Now if this had actually happened, there would have been sustained gunfire for probably several days, and the chaos would have been easily perceived. Thus the use of this video in this context is deliberately misleading.

Next we see unsubstantiated claims about the size of the demonstration. Note that if anyone views the you tube videos, these claims are facially absurd and anyone who makes them has a serious credibility problem. It is hard to argue with a straight face that the demonstration had less than 250,000 people, given the size of the square and the fact that the demonstration filled it completely. It is entirely possible, indeed probable that 500,000 or more demonstrated.

With respect to the quality of the video, CGI, etc. A full 30 minute version of the demonstration can be found on you tube.
FOUND HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iVgGLPAEqg&feature=relmfu
The video contains many different angles, panning shots, closeups, shots from a variety of distances, and focusing shots (both pulling away and focusing in). It is absurd to assert that some ultra sophisticated group of Libyan programmers was able to create such a thing, considering both the technical skill required and the expense involved.

Now we get the twitter element. Gamal Gamaty (who recently tweeted about black magic, which pretty much destroys him as a credible source, see his account for this) makes a completely unsubstantiated claim that can be disproven by simply looking at the video. Once again absurd. In addition, a claim that protesters were paid, once again no evidence, and note the arrogance of the rebels as they imply that no one can oppose them because of honestly held beliefs.

In conclusion, this piece is a bad attempt to deceive people who will not actually examine the footage, and it fails completely. It reflects the approach taken in pretty much all other rebel propaganda. It reflects the arrogant assumption made by the rebels that they represent a majority of the country when facts show otherwise. There are now over 2 million armed Libyans in the vicinity or Tripoli and other areas, and if they wanted to overthrow the government, it would probably take them a matter of hours. In fact we see that the rebels have virtually no support in any area that they do not already control. And finally with respect to your accusations of cowardice. If Gaddafi was a coward, he would have taken the deal offered by the Western imperial powers now trying to subjugate Libya. As a human being he does not wish to be murdered by NATO warplanes, and in addition he, unlike NATO, cares about the many innocent civilians that NATO would be willing to murder without a second thought to kill him.

Propaganda is best employed when it creates confusion and division rather than mere disinformation.
I am beginning to believe that is what we are witnessing on a global scale and more obviously in the Libyan situation. Granting credence to particular ‘news’ reports may be more a matter of personal bias than of applied logic.
Examination of the evidence and history of the conflict yields the possibility of at least eight separate vested interests at play in Libya:
1) Follow the money. At a minimum, Libya’s oil production would generate $10 million/day for whoever controls it. Certainly this must provide a temptation to the various tribal factions within Libya.
2) For Europe, Libya’s oil is a vital counterbalance to dependence on oil from other sources such as Russia, the Middle East, and Nigeria.
3) Libya was also a potential source of oil for China.
4) Mr. Gaddafi was in the process of forming an African power block through his support of the African Union.
5) Embroiling Western countries in an obvious ‘regime change’ operation in Libya further discredited their policies.
6) The price of oil is so high that it has over-run the demand of the global economy causing a glut. In order to maintain this price, the supply must be artificially reduced and threatened.
The “Interests” as I see them are: Gaddafi, Tribal factions, Europe, China, Russia, The Global Oil Cartel, The US Government, and The Arab League. How these forces may align and whether they have played an active part is beyond my ability. All I’m certain of is that not one of them has any intention of public disclosure.

Before every NATO war a huge false informations are
created from media:
- chemistry weapons;
- terrorism
- civilian casualties
etc etc

After 2 or 3 years a leak permit the people to know that
the war reason didnt exist.

We'll discover that China say yes to NATO resolution
for no USA intervetion about the islands in the chinese sea.

We'll discover that some summits with TOTAL and Sarkosy
decided the France and then NATO intervention.

We'll discover....

I think that we need good information, solid based
on facts. Not opinion that create only confusion, mess.

One example, you write: "According to one tweet...". Are you joking?
Now I'll send a tweet and you'll write an article about it!

Please, before write, study, check informations, go in the country.

I repeat some questions and I would like that you
answer:
1- which are the problems between the 2 sides
of the country (west and east)?
2- why catholic church is against the war?
3- why France drives the attack?
4- why the mass grave was a fake?
5- why in Italy the Libyan students against war were arrested?
6- why China approved ONU resolution?

To be faced with the dillema of choosing whether to defend a megalomaniac loose cannon like Gaddafi, or to condone the global manipulations of the International Oil Cartel and Corporate America.

If forced to make a choice I would need to choose Gaddafi who is after all just a low level thug and idiot. To support the Corporate interests would be supporting the people who force 100 million Nigerians to live in poverty while the oil is pumped from under their feet.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/03/20113673454229769.html

In light of the imbalance of greed and attrocities, there is no need to comment on Gaddafi's fake video. If Gaddafi had spent less of his money on infrastructure and domestic disbursements, and more on weapons, he probably wouldn't be facing his current problem. Certainly, the international oil cartel will not be interested in the well being of ordinary Lybian people.

I'd expect better from WL. The numbers might have been inflated but most western media didn't have the numbers below 100k. To suggest that they where all bused in and/or intimated into being there and that the videos where manipulated is ridiculous. There is very little evidence presented that this is the case. There is just as much loose evidence to suggest that there was actually 1.5 million people there.

Sourcing information from message boards is not "scientific journalism". And neither are anonymous sources or individualized accounts.

ahh, yes. Who Would Wikileaks Bomb again.

I am sorry someone called Ahmed went missing near Tripoli in February. Of course lots of Libyans are going "missing" - the overwhelming majority being killed by Nato missile strikes, as I think there can be no doubt that NATO is the leading purveyor of death in Libya now and has been for sometime.

It takes a lot to make Bush's intervention in Iraq look noble and high-minded, but Cameron, Sarkozy and Obama's grubby covert instigation of civil war in Libya has done just that.

As for Claycai, if he is so concerned with media spin, he should look at the way the media conspired to make it look like Benghazi was under assault in March, so as to justify the air assault.