SERBIA / LIBYA: Not All The World Hates Gadhafi; Some Serbians Cheer Him On.

PRI/ THE WORLD/ 
N. TABAK/ 
Audio report With Transcript/

   It seems hard to believe but not all the world detests Libyan dictator Gadhafi.
   Some Serbians recently rallied in support of him.
   In Belgrade in late March...hundreds marched, proclaiming: “Long Live Gaddafi!” a protest that was even broadcast on Libyan state television.
    There's also a FACEBOOK page: “Support for Moammar al Gaddhafi from the people of Serbia”...that has more than 66,000 “likes.” 
    Also...on this blog, a recent post/link about Serbians possibly serving as Libyan pilots...unexpectedly got hundreds of views.
   Why all the support and interest?
    It seems that the good relations between Gadhafi and Serbia ...go way back.
    Gadhafi and Yugoslav dictator Josip Tito (pictured) both were leaders of the nonaligned movement.
    Also many students from Libya studied in Serbia. Gadhafi even attended the Yugoslav Air Force Academy.
   Most importantly, Gadhafi backed Serbia and Milosevic during the1990s Balkan wars and the Libyan leader stood by Serbia against Kosovo’s independence.
   Many Serbs apparently haven’t forgotten.

BRASIL/ LIBYA: S.Paulo Surgeon Claims Gadhafi Had Cosmetic Surgery in 1995.

AP/ M.HERALD / S. Lehman

   Sao Paulo's well known plastic surgeon Dr. Liacyr Ribeiro claims he did 4 hours of cosmetic work in Tripoli on tyrant Moammar Gadhafi, 68, in 1995...removing fat from his belly and injecting it into his face as well as adding hair plugs.
   Gadhafi, then just 53, suffered thru the surgery with only with local anesthesia...because he said he wanted to be alert.
    Riberiro said :"He told me that he had been in power for 25 years at that time, and that he did not want the young people of his nation to see him as an old man. I recommended a facelift, but he refused."

UKRAINE / LIBYA / Gadhafi's "Voluptuous" Nurse Kolotnytska Flees Tripoli.

GUARDIAN / M. ELDER /

   Galyna Kolotnytska, 38, the nurse described in U.S. cables released by Wikileaks as "voluptuous" and a close confidant of Moammar Gadhafi...has fled him and Libya for the Ukraine.
    She has arrived in Kiev with 185 others.
    Her mother says that Galyna spent nine years as one of several Ukrainian nurses serving Gaddafi. "For some reason, he doesn't trust Libyan women with that," she added.

VENEZUELA / LIBYA: 01 March UPDATE: Hugo Still Hedging Support For Gadhafi But WON"T Condemn Him.

LINK CHANGE/ AP/ M.HERALD

    President Hugo Chavez has refused to come right out and support his long-time friend Libya's Moammar Gadhafi.
    But he won't condemn Gadhafi either.
   "We must be prudent. We know what our political line is: We don't support invasions, or massacres, or anything like that no matter who does it. A campaign of lies is being spun together regarding Libya," said Chavez on TV. "I'm not going to condemn him (Gadhafi)," he said. "I'd be a coward to condemn someone who has been my friend."
   "The United States has already said it's ready to invade Libya, don't you see? And almost all the countries of Europe are condemning Libya ... What do they want. They are rubbing their hands together. Oil is what's important to them," he said.
     Earlier Chavez had said: "I can't say that I support, or am in favor, or applaud all the decisions taken by any friend of mine in any part of the world, no, one is at a distance. But we do support the government of Libya."
    Chavez claimed Libya was in a civil war and his foreign minister said it looked like the west wanted to occupy it for its oil.
    Chavez has showered Gadhafi with gifts and praise on six visits to Libya since 1998.

SERBIA / LIBYA : Are Serbian Mercenary Pilots Bombing Protestors In Tripoli?

GLOBAL VOICES ONLINE/

     The ALO newspaper reveals that Serbian mercenaries are allegedly killing protesters in the streets of Tripoli and Benghazi.
   It also notes that Gadhafi hired Serbian pilots in the 90s against radical Islamists and also in actions against civilians, to ground forces.
   A blogger there informs :

Here are a few things that I've heard from a person who served in the Foreign Legion and later as a solo mercenary. Here is what you get if you're a mercenary in Libya:
1. $10,000-$20,000 monthly in cash
2. Citizenship
3. Wife and prostitutes
4. Gold medals
5. An opportunity to work at Gaddafi's security sector or for security of a Gaddafi family member

ITALY / LIBYA : 24 Feb UPDATE: Berlusconi's Close Friendship With Gadhafi Tarnishes Rome's Image; Are Italian Arms Slaying Libyans?

BLOOMBERG / Flavia Krause-Jackson /

   Italy and PM Silvio Berlusconi's tattered reputations really don't need more challenges.
    But it appears that Berlusconi often went out of his way to court brutal dictator Gadhafi even agreeing to pay $5 billion usd over 25 years for reparations and treat his visits like royalty.
     In return, Libya invested in Italian companies including Fiat SpA, UniCredit SpA and the Juventus soccer team, while oil company Eni SpA got free rein there leaving Italy reliant on Libya for a quarter of its crude oil.
“With hindsight, the more slavish manifestations of deference could have been avoided,” said Italian professor Franco Pavoncello. “He(Berlusconi) went out of his way, more than others, to be best friends with Qaddafi. He can’t exactly take it all back now.”
        ----------------------------------------------------------
  Now, apparently, the pigeons are coming home to roost...and poop... on Silvio and Italy.
     -------------------------------------------------------------
LATEST UPDATE: On the booming arms trade between Italy and Libya. Some believe that Italy is the main supplier of military products to the Libyan regime and those weapons and equipment are now being used to kill citizens. "We can conclude that the Gadhafi government has been using helicopters to suppress the protests. And we know that since 2006 Italy has been selling dozens of military helicopters to Libya. Arguably, it's those that are being used.”
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/italy/110223/libya-protests-weapons?page=full

NICARAGUA/ VENEZUELA/ LIBYA : 23 Feb UPDATE: Prez.Ortega Calls Gadhafi To Express Solidarity; Gadhafi Didn't Flee To Caracas; Fidel Withholds Judgement.

AP/ M.HERALD /

    President Daniel Ortega (below with Fidel Castro) has called Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi several times... to express his solidarity.
    Ortega says Gadhafi "is again waging a great battle" to defend the unity of his nation.
    Earlier, there were rumors on Facebook and Twitter that Gadhafi fled to Venezuela to avoid  violent protests.
    On Libyan TV, Gadhafi said :"I want to show that I'm in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Do not believe the channels belonging to stray dogs." He was seen holding an umbrella in the rain and leaning out of a vehicle.
The station claimed he was speaking outside his house.
    Chavez has been unusually quiet. Bolivia expressed concern over "the regrettable loss of many lives" and urging both sides to find a peaceful solution. Even Fidel Castro is hedging his bets.
  "You can agree or not with Gadhafi," Castro said. "The world has been invaded by all sorts of news ... We have to wait the necessary time to know with rigor how much is fact or lie."

     Hugo Chavez (pictured above) is said to be popular in the Muslim world and has visited Libya half a dozen times. Gadhafi visited Venezuela in 2009 and gave Chavez a large tent he uses to welcome foreign visitors.

     In 2009, Chavez proclaimed that  "Gadhafi is to Libya as Bolívar is to us, calling him a "revolutionary soldier," "a leader of of the Libyan revolution," and a "leader of all of Africa as well as Latin America."