Latest developments in the global Occupy protests

Protestors yell as police move in to arrest those refusing to leave after Mayor Kasim Reed revoked his executive order allowing the Occupy Atlanta protestors to camp out in Woodruff Park Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Protestors yell as police move in to arrest those refusing to leave after Mayor Kasim Reed revoked his executive order allowing the Occupy Atlanta protestors to camp out in Woodruff Park Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Some of the latest developments in the Occupy protests taking place in cities across the world:

GEORGIA

Police moved into a downtown Atlanta park early Wednesday and arrested around 50 Occupy Wall Street protesters who had been encamped in Woodruff Park for about two weeks. Before police moved in, protesters were warned around midnight to vacate or risk arrest. The warnings were drowned out by drumbeats and chants of "Our park!" Police included SWAT teams in riot gear, dozens of officers on motorcycles, several on horseback and helicopters overhead. State Sen. Vincent Fort was among those arrested and had come to the park in support of the protesters in recent days. He called the police presence "overkill."

CALIFORNIA

Protesters gathered at a downtown Oakland library and marched toward City Hall on Tuesday night in an attempt to re-establish a presence in the area of the disbanded camp where police had fired tear gas and beanbag grounds earlier that day to disperse them. By Wednesday morning, the scene was calm but tense as the crowd of hundreds of protesters dwindled to just a few dozen.

NEW YORK

Charges against hundreds of protesters who were arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge or at Manhattan's Union Square could be dropped if the protesters accept a deal from the district attorney. But defense lawyer Martin Stolar says many of them will likely reject the deal because it is void if they are arrested again and might chill their ability to continue protesting. The district attorney's office declined to comment.

MTV said it will follow three young people on the front lines of Occupy Wall Street in New York City for an episode of its "True Life" documentary series. The cable network embedded its cameras over a two-week period to capture protesters' activities and explore what motivates them. The episode is scheduled to air Nov. 5.

BRITAIN

Richard Chartres, the bishop of London, says protesters camped outside St. Paul's Cathedral should go home. Protesters pitched tents outside the cathedral 11 days ago. Initially they were invited to stay, but on Friday the building shut its doors to the public, citing health and safety concerns. Chartres said Wednesday that the protest had "raised a number of very important questions." But, he said, "the time has come for the protesters to leave, before the camp's presence threatens to eclipse entirely the issues that it was set up to address." The protesters say they plan to stay.

CANADA

The Vancouver-based anti-consumerist magazine Adbusters has called on members of the Occupy movement to protest on the eve of the upcoming summit of the Group of 20 rich and developing nations in Cannes, France, and demand the G20 leaders impose a 1 percent tax on all financial transactions and currency trades. It says the Oct. 29 protest would send the G20 leaders a clear message: "We want you to slow down some of that $1.3 trillion easy money that's sloshing around the global casino each day ? enough cash to fund every social program and environmental initiative in the world." The appeal was posted on the Adbusters website last week.

MARYLAND

Baltimore officials want protesters to scale back their presence at a downtown plaza. A draft copy of the city's response to Occupy Baltimore's permit application shows that only two people will be allowed to stay overnight as night watchmen in one tent. Everyone else must leave by midnight, when the plaza closes to visitors. The group said in a statement that it is preparing for possible intervention and calling for supporters to join them. Late Tuesday, more than 150 people had gathered at the site by the time the daily general assembly meeting began.

NEW MEXICO

More than a dozen protesters with Albuquerque's demonstration were arrested at the University of New Mexico after the school ordered them out of a makeshift campsite. Police shut down the protest site at Yale Park, forcing hundreds of protesters onto the sidewalks and a main thoroughfare.

COLORADO

About 30 protesters in downtown Denver stacked blankets and sleeping bags near bags of charcoal as they vowed to remain through the season's first snow, which began falling Wednesday morning. Up to 4 inches was expected, and protesters appeared determined to stick it out. They've received briefings on winter camping and have put a plan in place to check each other for signs of hypothermia. They've also gotten shovels and plan to take turns keeping the sidewalks clear of snow.

MASSACHUSETTS

A man and woman who had been living in the Occupy Boston tent city have been arrested for allegedly selling heroin to an undercover police officer. They were released after pleading not guilty to drug possession and distribution charges at their arraignments Monday. They also were ordered to stay away from the Occupy Boston encampment. Prosecutors say police set up a sting after learning of drug activity in the encampment.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-26-Occupy-Glance/id-8387c927a9404bfea2902d83793ebcb6

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Genius Handicapped Man Carved a Smartphone Dock into His Fake Arm [Prosthetics]

Some would say if you only had one arm, you're handicapped. I would like to tell those accusing people that they lack imagination. Think about the versatility you gain! Instead of having an arm, you can have a hook, a tentacle or even a smartphone dock embedded in your prosthetic! More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/Hq0kc01jc-0/genius-handicapped-man-carved-a-smartphone-dock-into-his-fake-arm

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Actually Small Business Owners Say Government Regulation Is ...

Gallup released a survey of small business-owners on the problems they face and they blame government regulation above all else. When asked an open ended question, "What is the most important problem facing small-business owners like you today?" 22 percent responded "Government regulation." More depressing, 1 in 3 small businessmen fear they will go out of business when they think ahead to 2012.?

This news drops just as the U.S. Treasury Department claims that the cost of government regulation doesn't burden business.?

Yesterday the Treasury Department posted an article by Jan Eberly to their blog, saying government regulations were not an impediment to business.

They quoted Timothy Geithner's recent senate testimony:?

I'm very sympathetic to the argument you want to be careful to get the rules better and smarter, but I don?t think there's good evidence in support of the proposition that it's regulatory burden or uncertainty that's causing the economy to grow more slowly than any of us would like.

Not so fast, say people in the real economy. Here's Gallup:

Small-business owners' assertion that government regulations are the most important problem facing them today is consistent with another recent Gallup poll (Oct. 6-9) in which 14% of Americans volunteered that?reduced government regulation is the best way to create jobs in the U.S.

Check out the whole depressing survey here.?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/actually-small-business-owners-say-government-regulation-is-killing-them-2011-10

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LG DoublePlay likely to see single release for T-Mobile on October 26th

What phone has a second screen and split keyboard and is likely to make its debut on October 26th? Why yes, it's the LG DoublePlay, one of T-Mobile's latest oddballs. Of course, this is just a screenshot that likely indicates a release later this week (with retail outlets receiving units on November 2nd), so we can't say with an absolute certainty -- though this date would coincide perfectly with the beginning of the National Texting Championship. No word yet on its pricing, and its unique form factor and functionality keeps us from taking any wild guesses. Hopefully we'll know in less than 48 hours.

LG DoublePlay likely to see single release for T-Mobile on October 26th originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 25 Oct 2011 14:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lang Lang to honor composer Frank Liszt

Fri, Oct 21, 2011 8:44 AM PDT

AP 1:48 | 1,459 views

Classical pianist Lang Lang talks about his concert, with the Philadelphia Orchestra, which celebrates the 200th birthday of composer Frank Liszt, and reveals his unusual musical inspiration. (Oct. 21)

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Tim Tebow: ticket-booster ... for the Dolphins?

Tim Tebow boosts ticket sales for Miami vs. Broncos: two of the NFL's worst teams. Is there anything Tim Tebow can't sell?

He may be playing for the opposing team this weekend, but Tim Tebow is scoring big for the Miami Dolphins in terms of ticket sales.

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Since being named the Denver Broncos? starting quarterback last week, replacing a struggling Kyle Orton, Tebow has helped the Dolphins sell an additional 10,000 tickets to Sunday?s game against the Broncos. The former University of Florida Gator and native Floridian is a beloved legend in his home state, and thousands of Gator fans are expected to make the five-hour drive from Gainesville to Miami to support their hometown hero.

"The demand and interest in the game certainly has picked up since the announcement," Dolphins CEO Mike Dee told the Associated Press on Wednesday. "Clearly this matchup and the buzz that's out there have helped with tickets."

Tebow?s start, which, strangely, coincides with a celebration of his own 2008 National Championship-winning Gator team, means there will be a higher number of non-Dolphins fans in the crowd than usual. Financially, however, that?s welcome news for the home team. The struggling Dolphins have managed to sell enough tickets to avoid local TV blackouts since 2003, but the team?s dismal record over the past few years has resulted in declining ticket sales and apathy among fans.

The Dolphins have lost 11 of their last 12 home games and are 0 and 5 for the current season.

The Broncos, for their part, aren?t doing a whole lot better at 1 and 4. But for his legions of fans, particularly in Florida, Tebow joining the mix turns a matchup between two of the NFL?s worst teams into a can?t-miss event.

Mr. Dee insisted that Sunday?s game wasn?t ?Tim Tebow Day,? but given the surging interest and the Heisman trophy winner's proven track record as a moneymaker, it?s hard to believe that Florida spectators and viewers will agree.

Since Tebow entered the NFL as the 25th pick in the 2010 NFL draft, his marketing power has far outpaced his actual performance as a football player. During the 2010 draft weekend, Tebow rookie jerseys outsold every other rookie and current player, surpassing the sales record set by Mark Sanchez jerseys in 2009. Between April 1 and June 30 of that year, Tebow jerseys outsold those of every other NFL player, including marquee quarterbacks Donovan McNabb, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tony Romo, and Brett Farve.

Despite playing in six games last season, mostly as a backup, Tebow has endorsement deals with Nike, Jockey, and EA Sports. His 2011 memoir ?Through My Eyes,? co-written with Nathan Whitaker, reached No. 22 on Amazon.com?s bestseller list.

According to the Davie Brown index, a tool popular with advertisers who use it to quantify the selling power of various celebrities, Tebow is the seventh most appealing NFL player currently active. Five of the six players ahead of him (Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, and Michael Vick) are franchise quarterbacks ? not second-year players fighting for a starting spot.

And in Florida, at least, some think the Tebow love might be great enough to save an NFL football team. As the 2010 draft approached, then-Florida Gov. Charlie Crist told reporters that the Jacksonville Jaguars, struggling with record low attendance and rumors of an eventual relocation to Los Angleles, might be helped by drafting local boy Tebow. ?I?ve actually talked to the ownership about that. I think it?d be great,? Governor Crist said.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/Gjlwkxh1aL8/Tim-Tebow-ticket-booster-for-the-Dolphins

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Joint preservation in osteoarthritis

[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 21-Oct-2011
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Contact: Dr. Henning Madry
henning.madry@uks.eu
Deutsches Aerzteblatt International

Reconstructive surgical approaches can help delay endoprosthetic joint replacement in patients with osteoarthritis. Henning Madry and coauthors introduce such procedures in the current issue of Deutsches rzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108[40]: 669-77).

Articular cartilage defects often develop subsequent to injury or osteoarthritis. The authors in their article provide an overview of currently available medical and surgical therapeutic options. Medical therapy aims to preserve articular function for as long as possible and to delay surgical intervention. Further to the primarily pain-relieving symptomatic medication, causal treatment with glucosamine and chondroitin aims to improve the joint itself. However, no medical drugs are currently available that can slow down or reverse the process of cartilage degeneration. Surgical measures aim to trigger formation of repair tissue or partially relieve the weight placed on the joint. These procedures include debridement of cartilaginous fragments, marrow-stimulating techniques, transplantation of cartilaginous cells or stem cells, and weight relief by means of osteotomy.

###

Madry H, Grn UW, Knutsen G: Cartilage repair and joint preservation: medical and surgical treatment options. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108(40): 669-77.


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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] Public release date: 21-Oct-2011
[ | E-mail | Share Share ]

Contact: Dr. Henning Madry
henning.madry@uks.eu
Deutsches Aerzteblatt International

Reconstructive surgical approaches can help delay endoprosthetic joint replacement in patients with osteoarthritis. Henning Madry and coauthors introduce such procedures in the current issue of Deutsches rzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108[40]: 669-77).

Articular cartilage defects often develop subsequent to injury or osteoarthritis. The authors in their article provide an overview of currently available medical and surgical therapeutic options. Medical therapy aims to preserve articular function for as long as possible and to delay surgical intervention. Further to the primarily pain-relieving symptomatic medication, causal treatment with glucosamine and chondroitin aims to improve the joint itself. However, no medical drugs are currently available that can slow down or reverse the process of cartilage degeneration. Surgical measures aim to trigger formation of repair tissue or partially relieve the weight placed on the joint. These procedures include debridement of cartilaginous fragments, marrow-stimulating techniques, transplantation of cartilaginous cells or stem cells, and weight relief by means of osteotomy.

###

Madry H, Grn UW, Knutsen G: Cartilage repair and joint preservation: medical and surgical treatment options. Dtsch Arztebl Int 2011; 108(40): 669-77.


[ Back to EurekAlert! ] [ | E-mail | Share Share ]

?


AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.


Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-10/dai-jpi102111.php

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Rick Perry's flat tax plan is a political gamble

FILE - Steve Forbes speaks during a press conference ahead of Forbes Global CEO Conference 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in this Sept. 12, 2011 file photo. Forbes said Thursday Oct. 20, 2011 that Texas Gov. Rick Perry is preparing to unveil a plan designed to simplify the federal tax code and lower the rate that many people pay on income and investments. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin, FILE)

FILE - Steve Forbes speaks during a press conference ahead of Forbes Global CEO Conference 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in this Sept. 12, 2011 file photo. Forbes said Thursday Oct. 20, 2011 that Texas Gov. Rick Perry is preparing to unveil a plan designed to simplify the federal tax code and lower the rate that many people pay on income and investments. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin, FILE)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Texas Gov. Rick Perry's call for a flat income tax rate will tie his Republican presidential campaign to a contentious issue that excites many conservatives but has repeatedly failed to win the embrace of mainstream America.

Perry, struggling to get his campaign back on track, will unveil "a blockbuster" plan designed to simplify the federal tax code and lower the rate that many people pay on income and investments, said Steve Forbes, a longtime flat-tax advocate who is advising the campaign.

"People's mouths will water" when they see the details, said Forbes, a wealthy businessman who sought the GOP presidential nomination in 1996 and 2000.

Liberal groups quickly criticized Perry's idea, saying it would raise taxes on lower- and middle-income Americans while giving breaks to the wealthiest.

Perry campaign aides offered no details of the plan Thursday. They acknowledged, however, that Forbes is a key adviser for the plan, which Perry will unfold next week.

The flat tax has an uneasy history in U.S. politics. Numerous Republicans and some Democrats hail its simplicity. But they have never managed to win enough support to enact it.

While many variations exist, the main idea is to replace the current stair-step range of income tax rates with one rate, paid by everyone. Advocates typically call for eliminating some or all of the existing tax deductions, such as those allowed for mortgage interest payments, gifts to charity and some medical costs.

Forbes said in a phone interview Thursday that he expects Perry to propose "a clean sweep" of such deductions.

"I think the public receptivity has grown enormously," Forbes said of the flat tax. The current tax code "has gotten even junkier, and the economy is obviously not doing well, so people are in the mood for something drastic," he said.

Forbes said Perry's plan will differ from Herman Cain's so-called 9-9-9 plan because it will not call for a national sales tax. Cain, whose presidential bid has prospered lately, wants a 9 percent flat tax on personal and corporate income, as well as a 9 percent national sales tax.

Perry said this week his plan will be "flatter and fairer" than Cain's.

Criticisms of a flat tax focus on its full or partial elimination of the progressive nature of the current tax code. In a progressive system, higher earners pay higher tax rates on their income.

Under a pure flat tax, with no exemptions or deductions, someone who earns $200,000 a year would pay exactly 10 times the amount of tax paid by someone who earns $20,000 a year. All income would be subject to one flat rate.

Under a progressive system, even if there were no exemptions or deductions to help poorer people, the $200,000 earner would pay more than 10 times the amount of tax paid by the $20,000 earner. That's because he pays higher rates on the upper portions of his income.

Supporters of progressive income tax systems say the feature is important to social fairness because other taxes tend to be regressive. For instance, a 5 percent state sales tax hits lower-income people proportionately harder than high earners because they must spend a larger portion of their income on necessities. That leaves them less able to save, invest or otherwise protect their income from the sales tax.

Payroll taxes, gasoline levies and other taxes also tend to be regressive because they essentially are flat.

A flat income tax "is inherently a shift of taxes off the wealthy and onto the middle class," said Michael Ettlinger of the Democratic-leaning Center for American Progress. When prominent politicians propose a flat tax, "there's often an initial episode of popularity," he said. "But then people understand the shift from the wealthy to the middle class," and support wanes, he said.

Forbes proposed a 17 percent flat rate in his presidential campaigns, which gained modest traction. He finished fourth in the 1996 Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary. In 2000 he finished second in Iowa, 11 percentage points behind George W. Bush. He finished a distant third in New Hampshire.

It's not clear what tax rate Perry will propose. Forbes said Thursday that some amount of lower income will be exempt for everyone, and some breaks will be given to parents of young children.

Such features will make Perry's plan less regressive than a pure flat tax system. But the impact probably will be slight, said Chuck Marr, federal tax policy director for the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

"If it's revenue-neutral, a flat tax imposes a large increase on middle-class people, and a tax decrease for wealthy people," Marr said.

Perry touts his record of cutting taxes, and Republican strategists expect his proposal to be revenue-neutral, or better, in the sense that the tax burden on Americans would stay level or fall if all other conditions remained unchanged. Forbes said Perry's plan would generate greater revenue only because it would spur economic growth and investment, a frequent claim of tax-cut advocates.

Perry's tax gambit may force a more definitive response from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, his chief rival for the GOP nomination. Romney has given mixed signals over the years about a flat tax system, sometimes praising it in concept but criticizing details offered by politicians.

In 1996, Romney bought a $50,000 newspaper ad in Boston saying Forbes' flat tax would primarily benefit the rich. He called it "a bad idea for the Republican Party."

Campaigning Thursday in Iowa, Romney said a flat income tax has "positive features" but it should not be allowed to "raise taxes on middle-income Americans."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-10-21-US-Perry-Flat-Tax/id-f1d44ba25be148d1b284216c0b0e87a2

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Pulled from drain pipe, Gadhafi was shown no mercy

A man holds a photo said to be the body of Moammar Gadhafi after announcement of the former leader's death in Tripoli, Libya, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. Libya's information minister said Moammar Gadhafi was killed Thursday when revolutionary forces overwhelmed his hometown, Sirte, the last major bastion of resistance two months after the regime fell. Amid the fighting, a NATO airstrike blasted a fleeing convoy that fighters said was carrying Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Abdel Magid al-Fergany)

A man holds a photo said to be the body of Moammar Gadhafi after announcement of the former leader's death in Tripoli, Libya, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. Libya's information minister said Moammar Gadhafi was killed Thursday when revolutionary forces overwhelmed his hometown, Sirte, the last major bastion of resistance two months after the regime fell. Amid the fighting, a NATO airstrike blasted a fleeing convoy that fighters said was carrying Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Abdel Magid al-Fergany)

Revolutionary fighters celebrate the capture of Sirte, Libya, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. Moammar Gadhafi was killed Thursday when revolutionary forces overwhelmed his hometown, Sirte, the last major bastion of resistance two months after the regime fell. Amid the fighting, a NATO airstrike blasted a fleeing convoy that fighters said was carrying Gadhafi. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

This video frame grab image taken from Libyan TV, purports to show former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi alive and surrounded by revolutionary fighters in Libya, Thursday Oct. 20, 2011. Arab satellite TV stations have broadcast the video showing Gadhafi captured alive by revolutionary forces. The video shows a wounded Gadhafi with a blood-soaked shirt and bloodied face leaning up against the hood of a truck and restrained by fighters. They then push him toward another car, as he shouts and struggles against them. (AP Photo/Libyan TV)

This video frame grab image taken from Libyan TV, purports to show former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi alive and surrounded by revolutionary fighters in Libya, Thursday Oct. 20, 2011. Arab satellite TV stations have broadcast the video showing Gadhafi captured alive by revolutionary forces. The video shows a wounded Gadhafi with a blood-soaked shirt and bloodied face leaning up against the hood of a truck and restrained by fighters. They then push him toward another car, as he shouts and struggles against them. (AP Photo/Libyan TV)

People photograph a body revolutionary fighters claim to be that of Muatassim Gadhafi, son of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, in a house on the outskirts of Misrata, Libya, Thursday, Oct. 20, 2011. Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's dictator for 42 years until he was ousted in an uprising-turned-civil war, was killed Thursday as revolutionary fighters overwhelmed his hometown of Sirte and captured the last major bastion of resistance two months after his regime fell. Interim government officials said Muatassim also was killed in Sirte, and another, one-time heir apparent Seif al-Islam, was wounded and captured. (AP Photo/Manu Brabo)

(AP) ? Dragged from hiding in a drainage pipe, a wounded Moammar Gadhafi raised his hands and begged revolutionary fighters: "Don't kill me, my sons." Within an hour, he was dead, but not before jubilant Libyans had vented decades of hatred by pulling the eccentric dictator's hair and parading his bloodied body on the hood of a truck.

The death Thursday of Gadhafi, two months after he was driven from power and into hiding, decisively buries the nearly 42-year regime that had turned the oil-rich country into an international pariah and his own personal fiefdom.

It also thrusts Libya into a new age in which its transitional leaders must overcome deep divisions and rebuild nearly all its institutions from scratch to achieve dreams of democracy.

"We have been waiting for this historic moment for a long time. Moammar Gadhafi has been killed," Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said in the capital of Tripoli. "I would like to call on Libyans to put aside the grudges and only say one word, which is Libya, Libya, Libya."

President Barack Obama told the Libyan people: "You have won your revolution."

Although the U.S. briefly led the relentless NATO bombing campaign that sealed Gadhafi's fate, Washington later took a secondary role to its allies. Britain and France said they hoped that his death would lead to a more democratic Libya.

Other leaders have fallen in the Arab Spring uprisings, but the 69-year-old Gadhafi is the first to be killed. He was shot to death in his hometown of Sirte, where revolutionary fighters overwhelmed the last of his loyalist supporters Thursday after weeks of heavy battles.

Also killed in the city was one of his feared sons, Muatassim, while another son ? one-time heir apparent Seif al-Islam ? was wounded and captured. An AP reporter saw cigarette burns on Muatassim's body.

Bloody images of Gadhafi's last moments raised questions over how exactly he died after he was captured wounded, but alive. Video on Arab television stations showed a crowd of fighters shoving and pulling the goateed, balding Gadhafi, with blood splattered on his face and soaking his shirt.

Gadhafi struggled against them, stumbling and shouting as the fighters pushed him onto the hood of a pickup truck. One fighter held him down, pressing on his thigh with a pair of shoes in a show of contempt.

Fighters propped him on the hood as they drove for several moments, apparently to parade him around in victory.

"We want him alive. We want him alive," one man shouted before Gadhafi was dragged off the hood, some fighters pulling his hair, toward an ambulance.

Later footage showed fighters rolling Gadhafi's lifeless body over on the pavement, stripped to the waist and a pool of blood under his head. His body was then paraded on a car through Misrata, a nearby city that suffered a brutal siege by regime forces during the eight-month civil war that eventually ousted Gadhafi. Crowds in the streets cheered, "The blood of martyrs will not go in vain."

Thunderous celebratory gunfire and cries of "God is great" rang out across Tripoli well past midnight, leaving the smell of sulfur in the air. People wrapped revolutionary flags around toddlers and flashed V for victory signs as they leaned out car windows. Martyrs' Square, the former Green Square from which Gadhafi made many defiant speeches, was packed with revelers.

In Sirte, the ecstatic former rebels celebrated the city's fall after weeks of fighting by firing endless rounds into the sky, pumping their guns, knives and even a meat cleaver in the air and singing the national anthem.

The outpouring of joy reflected the deep hatred of a leader who had brutally warped Libya with his idiosyncratic rule. After seizing power in a 1969 coup that toppled the monarchy, Gadhafi created a "revolutionary" system of "rule by the masses," which supposedly meant every citizen participated in government but really meant all power was in his hands. He wielded it erratically, imposing random rules while crushing opponents, often hanging anyone who plotted against him in public squares.

Abroad, Gadhafi posed as a Third World leader, while funding militants, terror groups and guerrilla armies. His regime was blamed in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland and the downing of a French passenger jet in Africa the following year, as well as the 1986 bombing of a German discotheque frequented by U.S. servicemen that killed three people.

The day began with revolutionary forces bearing down on the last of Gadhafi's heavily armed loyalists who in recent days had been squeezed into a block of buildings of about 700 square yards.

A large convoy of vehicles moved out of the buildings, and revolutionary forces moved to intercept it, said Fathi Bashagha, spokesman for the Misrata Military Council, which commanded the fighters who captured him. At 8:30 a.m., NATO warplanes struck the convoy, a hit that stopped it from escaping, according to French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet.

Fighters then clashed with loyalists in the convoy for three hours, with rocket-propelled grenades, anti-aircraft weapons and machine guns. Members of the convoy got out of the vehicles, Bashagha said.

Gadhafi and other supporters fled on foot, with fighters in pursuit, he said. A Gadhafi bodyguard captured as they ran away gave a similar account to Arab TV stations.

Gadhafi and several bodyguards took refuge in a drainage pipe under a highway nearby. After clashes ensued, Gadhafi emerged, telling the fighters outside, "What do you want? Don't kill me, my sons," according to Bashagha and Hassan Doua, a fighter who was among those who captured him.

Bashagha said Gadhafi died in the ambulance from wounds suffered during the clashes. Abdel-Jalil Abdel-Aziz, a doctor who accompanied the body in the ambulance during the 120-mile drive to Misrata, said Gadhafi died from two bullet wounds ? to the head and chest.

A government account of Gadhafi's death said he was captured unharmed and later was mortally wounded in the crossfire from both sides.

Amnesty International urged the revolutionary fighters to give a complete report, saying it was essential to conduct "a full, independent and impartial inquiry to establish the circumstances of Col. Gadhafi's death."

The TV images of Gadhafi's bloodied body sent ripples across the Arab world and on social networks such as Twitter.

Many wondered whether a similar fate awaits Syria's Bashar Assad and Yemen's Ali Abdullah Saleh, two leaders clinging to power in the face of long-running Arab Spring uprisings. For the millions of Arabs yearning for freedom, democracy and new leadership, the death of one of the region's most brutal dictators will likely inspire and invigorate the movement for change.

As word spread of Gadhafi's death, jubilant Libyans poured into Tripoli's central Martyr's Square, chanting "Syria! Syria!" ? urging the Syrian opposition on to victory.

"This will signal the death of the idea that Arab leaders are invincible," said Egyptian activist and blogger Hossam Hamalawi. "Mubarak is in a cage, Ben Ali ran away, and now Gadhafi killed. ... All this will bring down the red line that we can't get these guys."

Thursday's final blows to the Gadhafi regime allow Libya's interim leadership, the National Transitional Council, to declare the entire country liberated.

It rules out a scenario some had feared ? that Gadhafi might flee into Libya's southern deserts and lead a resistance campaign. Following the fall of Tripoli on Aug. 21, Gadhafi loyalists mounted fierce resistance in several areas, including Sirte, preventing the new leadership from declaring full victory. Earlier this week, revolutionary fighters gained control of one stronghold, Bani Walid.

Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam told AP that Muatassim Gadhafi was killed in Sirte. Abdel-Aziz, the doctor who accompanied Gadhafi's body in the ambulance, said Muatassim was shot in the chest. Also killed was Gadhafi's Defense Minister Abu Bakr Younis.

Justice Minister Mohammed al-Alagi said Seif al-Islam Gadhafi had been wounded in the leg and was being held in a hospital in the city of Zlitan, northwest of Sirte. Shammam said Seif was captured in Sirte, but the senior NTC leadership did not immediately confirm.

The National Council will declare liberation on Saturday, Mohamed Sayeh, a senior council member, said. That begins a key timetable toward creating a new system: The NTC has always said it will form a new interim government within a month of liberation and will hold elections within eight months.

But the revolutionary forces are an unruly mix of militias from Libya's major cities, and already differences have emerged between them. Revolutionaries from Tripoli, Misrata and Benghazi ? Libya's second-largest city that has served as the rebel capital during the civil war ? have exchanged accusations that each is trying to dominate the new rule.

Also, Islamic fundamentalists have taken an increasingly prominent role, pushing for some form of Islamic state in Libya, causing friction with more secular leaders.

"Libyans aim for multiparty politics, justice, democracy and freedom," said Libyan Defense Minister Jalal al-Degheili. "The end of Gadhafi is not the aim, we say the minor struggle is over. The bigger struggle is now coming. This will not happen unless all the Libyan people are ... united."

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Associated Press reporters Rami al-Shabheibi in Misrata, Libya and Hadeel Al-Shalchi, Maggie Michael and Sarah El Deeb in Cairo contributed to this report. Gamel reported from Tripoli.

(This version CORRECTS Minor edits to correct misspellings in paragraphs 11 and 17. With interactive, 2011/gadhafi/. AP Video.)

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-20-ML-Libya/id-89cf1efb3a47488faebfe3b95af1ac06

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