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The View From a Libyan Hospital

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Posted on Aug 26, 2011
AP / Giulio Petrocco

Corpses accumulate in the Abu Salim hospital in Tripoli, Libya, on Friday, a grim testament to the chaos in the capital. Hospital floors were covered with shattered glass, blood and medical equipment as doctors did their best to treat the wounded.

The morgues in Tripoli hospitals are overflowing with dead bodies, and doctors in just one hospital said they have been treating more than 500 patients a day for gunshot wounds.

Many of those doctors haven’t had the chance to leave the hospital for the six days that have passed since the revolt reached Tripoli on Sunday, and the environment is not one suited for productive medical care. On Saturday and Sunday, Tripoli Central Hospital was controlled by pro-Gadhafi forces. Soldiers roaming the halls would drag away patients who had been shot for protesting, never to be seen again. Doctors said they worried because they had run out of the most basic supplies, including antibiotics. But by early morning Monday, the hospital was suddenly under control of rebel forces. Volunteers swooped in with supplies and extra hands and the demographic of those receiving care changed swiftly from pro-Gadhafi wounded to rebel wounded.

Thursday was the bloodiest day yet, with bodies stacking up much faster than in previous days. And while the hospitals remain grossly understaffed, under-supplied and downright unclean, doctors expressed optimism that the fighting might end soon. —BF

The New York Times:

The Qaddafi government went into the hospitals and removed the televisions on which the doctors and others had furtively watched the independent news channel Al Jazeera. Closed-circuit television cameras appeared everywhere. Soldiers stationed in the hospital intimidated the doctors, threatening them with weapons and even hitting them, Dr. Masoud and others said.

Dr. Masoud said he kept working surreptitiously for the rebels. In preparation for the final uprising, he said, he and other doctors from Tripoli Central Hospital helped set up 15 makeshift field hospitals of a network of 30 in homes around Green Square, where they treated wounded rebels last weekend. That way they could avoid sending patients to Qaddafi-controlled hospitals and could ship those needing serious care out of town. “The rebels can’t come here or the Qaddafi people would shoot them,” Dr. Masoud said.

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blogdog's avatar

By blogdog, August 28, 2011 at 10:08 am Link to this comment

Yesterday we heard of the NTC setting up shop in Tripoli and today of Gaddafi’s
‘offer to negotiate’ - the later can be keyed in anywhere, most likely Brussels -
wonder where NTC’s footage set is located - for something that sounds
considerably more plausible:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uDedstBoto&feature=player_embedded
plus voluminous commentary here: http://tarpley.net/

and finally some entertainment amidst the horror:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZb0aL8rVTk
seems this pair of talking heads can’t tell one set of WOGs from another even when
flying their own flag

curiously (or not) Scheer & Sons prefer sticking with NATO’s propaganda

Report this

By joell, August 28, 2011 at 8:18 am Link to this comment

Most media reports   on   Libya give propaganda   a bad name.

One positive outcome from the Libyan   disaster is the vast majority of the so called alternative, indy & progressive   media have been exposed as subsidiaries of the   major corporate media. They have morphed into Fox News,  CNN, BBC,  Aljazeera, etc.

The real news is to be found on URL’s like the ones   included by other posters   to this article.

I also like   http://mathaba.net/ 

A Mumia Jamal quote seems appropriate: “The major media is to be rejected not   consumed, for your very patronage gives it life.”

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By Cliff Carson, August 28, 2011 at 8:02 am Link to this comment

Thank you Patrick Henry for a most informative Link.

I should be required reading.

We need to be aware of the monstrosity arising from our acceptance of the incestuous relationship of our American Government and the International Financial Cabal that owns the IMF, World Band, and yes, you and me.

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PatrickHenry's avatar

By PatrickHenry, August 28, 2011 at 7:13 am Link to this comment

Remember why we went there in the first place.

http://poorrichards-blog.blogspot.com/2011/03/virtually-unknown-in-west-libyas-water.html

The U.S. could give a shit about the people of other nations, its corporations see a buck to be made, contact their lobbyists and we invade.

The founders are rolling in their graves.

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blogdog's avatar

By blogdog, August 27, 2011 at 7:36 pm Link to this comment

virtually everything in the MSM from Tripoli is a lie - perhaps biggest of all: FAKE
GREEN SQUARE footage
- http://stopwarcrimes.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/al-jazeeras-fake-green-square/

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By Cliff Carson, August 26, 2011 at 11:00 pm Link to this comment

The U S was the first to step in and NATO followed just like a little puppy.

The pretext was to protect Civilians.

Anyone who believes that was the honest reason for the intercession of the U S and NATO please raise your hand.

And I have a different reason to proffer:

Qaddafi was trying hard for the last several years to get the African Nations to form a United States of Africa as a common defense mechanism for protection of the African Resources. They would have their own currency.  And most egregious to the people who really run this world, this African Union would be trying to get the other Arab Nations to join the African Nation in forming their own world banking system as a competitor to the current International Financial Cabal.

There has been a mother lode of oil discovered in
Africa and Libya sits on top of the largest fresh water system in the world.

The World International Cabal has been lusting after both the Oil and the water ( they have already gotten control of the other Minerals in Africa).  And they have done it over the years much like this latest adventure - identify the target, foment discord, move to protect “Corporate Interests”, get the Neo-Con Armies involved, overthrow the Government on any demonetization of the regime that they can get the people to swallow (this time to protect civilians), and then invade and plant their new strongman Government.

Its been working for years.

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By expat, August 26, 2011 at 9:34 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

nato slaughter of civilians

war crimes and crimes against humanity

by nato

but

this ain’t over yet

Qaddafi is a tough cookie

the rape of Libya and North Africa

by the uSSa - nato - zionists

shall not stand!

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blogdog's avatar

By blogdog, August 26, 2011 at 4:13 pm Link to this comment

More NATO propaganda - a massive campaign in an effort to establish the appearance of a
‘rebel victory’ to give cause to then call in NATO ‘peacekeepers’

a for these numbers - makes sense considering reports of a swath of carpet bombing and a
squadron of Apaches strafing a path from the sea to the city through thousands of civilians

no breakdown as to civilians and combatants - not surprising - probably impossible to
determine

so-called ‘rebels’ are comprised largely of recycled al-CIA-duh and untrained camp followers,
more keen on looting than anything else

so-called ‘loyalists’ are comprised both of military regulars and civilians, particularly since more
than a million small arms were distributed to civilians in anticipation of a NATO invasion

if the propaganda campaign fails, the ‘rebels’ will be lucky to get even what amounts to a
battalion out of the city alive - if the propaganda wins the day, NATO will land a force to save
them after which a decade of protracted civil war is launched

NATO are now the world’s greatest war criminals - moreover,  propaganda is now their most
desperate weapon - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGoCxAIagFQ

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