Newsdome: Was Qaddafi executed? Does it make a difference?

• [http://clatl.com/atlanta/ImageArchives?by=1942446|Wikimedia]
• Mustafa Abdul-Jalil

>> Mass celebrations are going on today as Libya’s transitional leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil declared the country’s liberation following the death of former dictator Muammar Qaddafi. However, there’s international pressure to investigate how Qaddafi died, since footage shows he was alive when captured, and many are concerned the new country will follow Sharia law. Furthermore, Human Rights Watch says the bodies of 53 loyalists were executed with their hands bound at a Sirte hotel. Sure, NATO was bombing the hell out of Qaddafi’s compound, but it’s not like we expected him to die or anything. (BBC)

>> Nine months after Tunisian President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali was ousted, nearly 70 percent of the country’s 4.4 million registered voters took part in the first legitimate election. Those elected will join a 217-assembly in creating a new constitution and appointing a new Muslim government. And to think, Arab Spring is because of this guy. (AP, USA Today

>> Brits want to vote on the country’s European Union membership, according to a Guardian poll, with 49 percent saying they would want Britain out of the EU. Prime Minister David Cameron is against a referendum, saying that there are more pressing matters at hand, but what could be more pressing than the collapse of Europe’s economy? (the Guardian))

>> Leon Panetta, the former CIA head under President Obama, was confirmed 100 to 0 as the new Defense secretary. Panetta, the first Democrat Defense secretary since 1997, used to be a liberal dove but is now “fairly hawkish and aggressive,” said one Republican. Really, he’s just motivated by $10,000 bottles of wine. (the New York Times)

>> And finally: Julian Assange, currently under house arrest in England for sexual assault accusations, announced that WikiLeaks will stop publishing because of an “unlawful financial blockade” by Bank of America, Visa, MasterCard and PayPal refusing to accept donations. These institutions are just so unfair—one second Assange is whistle-blowing on them, the next they don’t want to help. (the Telegraph)