09 ring them bells

In Honiara so this is a false rider’s log. Will be on a bike in Gizo but I don’t even like driving a car in Honiara. The air is so dirty that riding a bike would be very hard on your health. Gizo is different.

In Gizo the roads are so bad that a dirt bike makes heaps of sense. We have a couple small 125 cc machines plus a couple nice 400 cc bikes. They are all a hoot.

Busy at home today; catch up on business affairs through the day, give all 4 dogs a bath about 3 pm, fix the faulty pool pump, then, after playing in the rain, convince Mendozza to have a shower without too much argument, and now I’m being accosted by flies as the day ends, the birds chatter and Chewy snores in the chair beside me.

Over cast with nice showers throughout the day.

Tattoos itch like crazy. Connie is getting supper ready and it smells great. Steve will come over for a yarn. The dogs are happy and the kids can use the pool tomorrow.

Sorta sounds like a country n western song…

Life is gud…

Always good to get back to the tropical heat,

The LDC airport that works, almost, but is filled with friendly people…

The milling crowds and too friendly taxi drivers that accost you as you pry your way through the throng of bodies at the exit from Immigration,

The developing world traffic, and roads and the scenic (cynic) beauty one finds on the Prince Philip highway…

The grand kid who has experienced so, so much in the few weeks I was travelling and can’t wait to tell it all,

The dogs who treat me like a stranger for about 8 nanoseconds then proceed to jump and play,

The house staff that are genuinely happy to see me, if for no other reason than they have a complaint to make about another employee…

Always good to get back home.

Weather still spotty. Fly back to HIR tomorrow. Managed to get a nice ride into Maroochydore on the 1200. Both bikes now shined up and resting until I can get back.

Sure hope the weather is better…

But the traditional global powers really need to sort their forward game plan out… picking up the pieces after revolutions in western supported totalitarian states simply do not make sense…

Western efforts should focus on building relationships with opposition leaders in Beghazi, where this anti-Gaddafi protester is seen waving a flag during Friday prayers. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP

More ink done today. I must say that inking the region around the nipple is not a lot of fun…

Off early to Brisbane on the 1200. Traffic was pretty good. Got a bit of rain both coming and going.

An hour and a half to coffee with Capt Kirton and his Mrs. A visit with KH then back to Palmwoods by about 2pm.

Fly back to Honiara on Thursday so both bikes well cleaned and ready for a rest.

Doing some more Ta Moko tomorrow…

03 By the Sea

… who said, after the French Revolution, “…the hardest thing after a succesful reolution is disarming the rabble…”

Libyan rebels celebrate securing an area west of the captured oil town of Ras Lanuf.

After capturing at the weekend the coastal oil port of Ras Lanuf, anti-Gaddafi forces were planning a push along Libya’s central coast towards Tripoli.

This would set up a major confrontation with the bulk of Gaddafi’s forces who are determined to keep the rebels from advancing towards Tripoli.

After the rebels forced government soldiers from Ras Lanuf, fighting intensified as forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi sought to retake Zawiya, only 50km west of Tripoli.

Tanks surrounded the city and pounded it yesterday.

Zawiya has now become the most important battle – the Gaddafi forces want to repel rebels from the city as it is seen as a possible launching pad for an assault on Tripoli, Gaddafi’s headquarters.

The shelling appeared to be indiscriminate as tanks surrounded a group of rebels cornered in one part of the city.

“Gaddafi has no sanctity for hospitals or residential areas or anything,” an opposition spokesman told The Australian.

Reports were unclear but it appeared that scores of rebels were killed in the weekend shelling of Zawiya.

Airforce jets bombed Ras Lanuf but were unable to dislodge the rebels.

But the regime appeared to have re-taken the town of Misrata.

Ras Lanuf was the latest to fall after some rebel troops unilaterally decided to make a push on it without the approval of the rebels’ military command.

Rebels stormed Colonel Gaddafi’s seaside home in Ras Lanuf.

At least 17 rebels were killed in an explosion at a military depot in Al Rajma, near Benghazi.

The airforce had been attempting to bomb the facility for several days and it was not known whether the explosion was due to sabotage by Gaddafi supporters or by accident.

Meanwhile, Libya’s former Minister for Justice Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who resigned recently in protest at Gaddafi’s attacks on protesters, yesterday unveiled at a news conference the new “interim national council.”

Although it will have 30 members, only nine were prepared to be identified yesterday – an indication of the fear that still operates in Libya.

• Friday: Events and reaction
• Rebels on the run?
• Tuaregs ‘join mercenaries’
• Tripoli simmers

Libyan rebels have been locked in fierce battles with pro-Gaddafi forces on two fronts.

Rebel-held Zawiya, just 50km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, was the subject of a fierce government assault. Both sides later claimed to be in control.

Heavy casualties were reported there and in other key cities, including the eastern port of Ras Lanuf.

Dozens of people were also killed and hurt in apparently accidental blasts at an arms dump in rebel-held Benghazi.

Hospital sources in the city, Libya’s second-largest, said they believed the two explosions were not triggered by an air strike.

Reports said at least 17 people had been killed in the blasts.

Earlier in the day, clashes briefly erupted after Friday prayers in the capital, Tripoli, but protesters dispersed after security forces fired tear gas and baton rounds.

‘Pockets of resistance’

Reports from Zawiya said the most senior rebel commander in the city was among those killed there.

One resident told BBC Arabic TV that many people had died when a peaceful demonstration came under fire.

Another told Reuters news agency up to 50 people could have been killed.

A second Reuters witness said he had just come from the hospital and many people were lying dead and injured.

“We have counted 30 dead civilians,” he said. “The hospital was full. They could not find space for the casualties.”

Libyan state television said the town had been retaken by pro-Gaddafi forces, although later government reports spoke of “pockets of resistance”.

After nightfall, some unconfirmed reports said electricity had been cut and there were fears of further government attacks.

Fierce fighting was also reported outside Ras Lanuf, with the sound of multiple explosions and heavy artillery being heard after opposition fighters advanced on the city. Pro-Gaddafi forces withdrew to Ras Lanuf two days ago after a battle.

Rebels at Ras Lanuf later told news agencies they had taken complete control of the town, but there was no independent confirmation.

There were also conflicting reports about the situation in Brega. Some government sources said the town was in rebel hands, while others insisted it was not.

In other developments:

• A Libyan warplane bombed the rebel-held Mediterranean port town of Ajdabiya, narrowly missing a munitions dump
• Several hundred mercenaries from the Tuareg community in the north African country of Mali have just joined government forces, a senior Malian official told the BBC
• Interpol issued an “orange alert” relating to Col Gaddafi and 15 other Libyans, saying it would help member states enforce sanctions against them

In Benghazi, the leader of the opposition National Libyan Council reportedly told cheering crowds in the city they would not give up.

“We are people who fight, we don’t surrender,” former Libyan Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil, who went over to the opposition last month, was quoted as saying by Reuters news agency.

“Victory or death. We will not stop till we liberate all this country.”

Refugee fears

The UN refugee agency UNHCR has expressed new concerns that people trying to flee into Tunisia may be finding their way blocked by armed pro-government forces, after a sudden drop in the numbers crossing the border.

At least 10,000 people a day were crossing the border earlier in the week, but the number suddenly fell to fewer than 2,000 on Thursday, the agency says.

“Many of those who have crossed the border appear to be frightened and are unwilling to speak,” said UNHCR spokeswoman Melissa Fleming.

“We believe that has implications – that they may have been intimidated in some way.”

Tens of thousands of people, most of them migrant workers, have streamed to the border since the unrest began, sparking a humanitarian crisis.

The European Union’s humanitarian aid commissioner has demanded that Libya allow help into the country, citing increasing concerns over the situation of refugees in border areas, AFP reported.

Obama: Gaddafi must go

US President Barack Obama says Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi has lost his legitimacy to lead and must leave.

The president said violence must end in Libya, where Gaddafi is violently attempting to put down an uprising.

Obama’s comments at a joint news conference with Mexico’s president were the first time Obama had appeared in person to call for Gaddafi to leave.

Obama also said he was directing humanitarian assistance to the Libyan border. And he said he had approved the use of military aircraft to help get Egyptians who had fled the uprising there back home.

Meanwhile, witnesses said one of Gaddafi’s warplanes had bombed the oil terminal town of Brega, 800km east of Tripoli, for a second day.

Brega is the site of a struggle for control of a strategically vital coastal road and oil industry facilities.

It is currently held by the rebel forces, but they are under intense pressure from the Libyan military.

“The bombs were just to frighten them to go away,” Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, said of the Brega air strike on Britain’s Sky News

A slow drizzle of a rain today. Was suppose to ride with my neighbor, the policeman. Adrian is a great guy, has boys the same age as Angelo and Mendozza and is the descendant of imported cane workers from Vanuatu. We like the “island” touch.

So Adrian had today off. We were going to do a long ride together. He’s been hanging out like a kid on christmas eve for his ride.

Bummer…

Lets hope it clears up a bit this afternoon.

They sure look like a bunch of fun…

3am my time and wide awake…

Thats Ok becuase my floors need cleaning. The house has been shut up too much. So I’ll use the wired energy left over from travel for a useful purpose…

All gud

And the battery to the big bike is flat…

bummer

But the weather is grand and the 800cc runs fine. Off for a ride before I get too sleepy…

yep,

my time in jolly ol England is done. I am in the airport lounge drinking an English ale and watching the clock.

In half an hour or so I’ll go have a shower and prepare for the long, long hours of sitting. but it’s OK.

Had a great run this trip. Got loads of work done and last eve/ today spent time with old friends.

Pete… been 12 years and what a venue to catch up. The Makins are legendary hosts.

The boys are so so big and mature. Must make me real old… ???

Brenda is a star.

Nick is a bit stingy on the gargle but that’s ok too. We slip it on the sly from the cellar so no complaints… only kidding… the fare is unparalleled in my experience… (who in Iowa has a cellar like that?!)

It is all very, very, very guuuud.