Going down, if slowly

Paul Schemm and Maggie Michael of the AP have an article about the latest from the Middle East, especially Libya:

The scope of Moammar Gadhafi's control was whittled away as major Libyan cities and towns closer to the capital fell to the rebellion against his rule. In the east, now all but broken away, the opposition vowed to "liberate" Tripoli, where the Libyan leader is holed up with a force of militiamen roaming the streets and tanks guarding the outskirts.
In a further sign of Gadhafi's faltering hold, two air force pilots, one from the leader's own tribe, parachuted out of their Russian-made warplane and let it crash into the eastern Libyan desert rather than follow orders to bomb an opposition-held city.
International momentum was building for action to punish Gadhafi's regime for the bloody crackdown it has unleashed against the uprising that began on 15 February. President Obama said the suffering and bloodshed in Libya "is outrageous and it is unacceptable", and he directed his administration to prepare a full range of options, including possible sanctions that could freeze the assets and ban travel to the United States by Libyan officials.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy raised the possibility of the European Union cutting off economic ties.
Another proposal gaining some traction was for the United Nations to declare a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent it from using warplanes to attack protesters. The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, said that if reports of such strikes are confirmed, "there's an immediate need for that level of protection".
Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said estimates of 1,000 people killed in the violence in Libya were "credible", although he stressed that information about casualties was incomplete.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch has put the death toll at nearly 300, according to a partial count.
In Tripoli, Gadhafi's stronghold, protest organizers called for new rallies on Thursday and Friday, raising the potential for a more bloody confrontation.
Militiamen and Gadhafi supporters (a mix of Libyans and foreign African fighters brought in) roamed the capital's main streets, called up by the Libyan leader in a fist-pounding speech in which he vowed to fight to the death. The gunmen fired weapons in the air, chanting Long live Gadhafi, and waved green flags. With a steady rain, streets were largely empty, residents said.
In many neighborhoods, residents set up watch groups to keep militiamen out, barricading streets with concrete blocks, metal, and rocks, and searching those trying to enter, a Tripoli activist said. Gadhafi's residence at Tripoli's Aziziya Gates was guarded by loyalists, along with a line of armed militiamen in vehicles, some masked, he said. The radio station building downtown was also heavily fortified. In one western neighborhood, security forces stormed several homes and arrested three or four people, a witness said, while tanks were deployed on the eastern outskirts, witnesses in at least one neighborhood said.
"Mercenaries are everywhere with weapons. You can't open a window or door. Snipers hunt people," said another resident, who said she had spent the night in her home awake hearing gunfire outside. "We are under siege, at the mercy of a man who is not a Muslim."
But below the surface, protesters were organizing, said the activist. At night, they fan out and spray-paint anti-Gadhafi graffiti or set fires near police stations, chanting The people want the ouster of the regime before running at the approach of militiamen, he said. The Tripoli residents, like other witnesses around the country, spoke on condition of anonymity because of fear of retaliation.
In opposition-controlled Benghazi, the eastern city where the uprising began, residents held a mass rally outside the city's main courthouse, vowing to support protests in the capital, said Farag al-Warfali, a banker. They also called a one-day fast in solidarity with them. Afterward, young men went into the courthouse to register to obtain weapons, which had been looted from police stations and military bases and then turned over to the city's new rulers, he said. The idea is to "take their weapons and march toward Tripoli," Warfali said, although Benghazi lies 580 miles east of the capital, and territory still loyal to Gadhafi lies between them.
There were similar calls in Misrata, several hours' drive from Tripoli, the closest major city to the capital to fall to antigovernment forces. A mosque called residents to come to jihad, or holy war, in support of the anti-Gadhafi camp, said one resident, Iman. "We are going to join forces with our brothers in Tripoli," she said.
The extent of Gadhafi's control over the country he has ruled for 41 years had been reduced to the western coastal region around Tripoli, the deserts to the south, and parts of the center.
After Gadhafi's speech Tuesday night, militiamen flooded into Sabratha, a town west of Tripoli famed for nearby ancient Roman ruins, and battled government opponents who had taken over, said one resident. About 5,000 militiamen from neighboring towns, backed by army and police units, clashed with the rival group and drove it from the streets, he said. But his territory was being eroded.
The opposition said Wednesday that it had taken over Misrata, Libya's third-largest city. Residents honked horns in celebration and raised the pre-Gadhafi flags of the Libyan monarchy after several days of fighting that drove militiamen from the city, about 120 miles east of Tripoli, said Faraj al-Misrati, a local doctor. He said six people had been killed and 200 wounded in clashes that began on 18 February.
Residents had formed committees to clean the streets, protect the city, and treat the wounded, he said. "The solidarity among the people here is amazing, even the disabled are helping out." An audio statement posted on the Internet, reportedly from armed forces officers in Misrata, proclaimed "our total support" for the anti-Gadhafi movement.
Government opponents were also in control in Zwara, a town about thirty miles from the Tunisian border in the west, after local army units sided with them and police fled, said one resident, a 25-year-old unemployed university graduate. "Gadhafi has reached the point that he's saying he will bring armies from Africa. That means he is isolated," he said.
At the Egyptian border, guards had fled, and local tribal elders have formed local committees to take their place. "Welcome to the new Libya," proclaimed graffiti spray-painted at the crossing.

In Yemen, President Ali Abdullah Saleh said he had ordered his security services to protect protesters, stop all clashes, and prevent direct confrontation between government supporters and opponents. The directive came at the end of a day when security forces in the port of Aden used tear gas and fired bullets in the air to disperse hundreds of protesters, and government supporters wielding clubs attacked demonstrators in the capital, Sana'a.
In Bahrain, thousands of anti-government protesters flooded Manama's Pearl Square after the release of at least 100 political prisoners, including 25 Shi'ite activists on trial since last year for allegedly plotting against the state.
In Egypt, an angry crowd of hundreds taunted three former high-ranking members of ousted President Hosni Mubarak's regime as they arrived in court for a corruption hearing, screaming Thieves and You robbed our money. The three were ex-Housing minister Ahmed Maghrabi, ex-Tourism minister Zuheir Garana, and steel tycoon & ruling party leader Ahmed Ezz.
In Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah nearly doubled a development fund that helps citizens buy homes, marry, and start businesses, and he set up unemployment aid. The steps appear aimed at shoring up popular support and fending off unrest that has spread to Bahrain.
In Jordan, the cabinet approved laws making it easier to organize protests and will revive a body that works to ensure that basic commodities remain affordable to the poor.

Rico says they may chant Long live Gadhafi, but not for long...