Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Contrasts Heightened

2340 GMT: That, quite frankly, was a bizarre experience. No word on what has happened to Muammar Qaddafi, but Saif al Islam Qaddafi did appear to concede that some of the country is in the hands of the opposition. At the same time, there was the combination of the surreal threat --- drug dealers, foreign media, outside powers, Arabs and Africans --- and defiance.

More tomorrow. Meanwhile, coverage continues on our Live Feed from Al Jazeera English.

2338 GMT: Qaddafi's son concludes, "Our morale is high. May God make Libya a safe country. May God be with you."

2337 GMT: "We will fight to the last," he continues "We will not leave Libya." The Qaddafis will not allow Al Jazeera or Al Arabiya or the BBC to triumph.

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Terrorism Weekly: The Problems of Informers --- From Iraq to the London Bombing

Mohammed Junaid BabarTwo stories in the news week point to the importance of human sources in supplying intelligence but also the risks involved.

The first is the well-known story of “Curveball”, an Iraqi named Rafid Ahmed Alwan al-Janabi. Under the control of German intelligence, he supplied information about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs.His "information" was an important part of the American case for invading Iraq, used by George Bush in his 2003 State of the Union speech and by Secretary of State Colin Powell in a February 2003 speech to the United Nations’ Security Council. Although some already had questions about the reliability of the source, it was only after the WMDs didn’t turn up that the inaccuracy was confirmed.

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US Politics Special: The Conservative Way Forward on Social Security

Last week's quiet in Congress was broken when the House of Representatives debated the spending levels to keep the government in operation through 30 September, the end of the current Fiscal Year.On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday the House did not adjourn until past midnight. Members can presumably catch up on sleep this week when Congress is in recess for President's Day.

Meanwhile, President Obama released his budget for Fiscal Year 2012, which starts on 1 October.Some sympathetic commentators, i.e., those who didn't castigate the President for cowardice or a lack of statesmanship, argued that this was a credible political strategy. Ignore the subject of this year's budget and let the Republicans raise it; with the consequence they become labelled as the party that wants to tear apart America's welfare system. That is not a badge you want to wear as you enter a 2012 election campaign that, as always, will be decided by moderate Independents.

Entitlement reform will be the political battleground for the foreseeable future. The current struggles over cutting government spending are only the initial skirmishes in a long campaign ahead. Momentum is growing for the budget summit called for two week ago by Sen. Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, and Republicans are intimating their leadership will only attend if entitlement reform is on the agenda for discussion.

That brings up to a final look at the Conservative Roadmap put forward by Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wisconson), with its recommendations for Social Security and Tax Reform.

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Sudan Feature: Protesters' Stories --- Abuse, Torture, and Death (Daria)

“I was arrested at 4 p.m., my friends and I started walking away from the protest after security officials cracked down on the protesters and started arresting people. Out of nowhere, a normal car pulls up in front of us and two men wearing civilian attire came out of the car and one of them pointed a gun to my face and asked us to get in the car.”

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The Latest from Iran (19 February): Is That All There Is?

2150 GMT: 1 Esfand. Students at 14 Azad (Technical) Universities around Iran have announced their support of Sunday's rallies.

In an interview with the Green outlet RASA TV, Mir Hossein Mousavi's advisor Ardeshir Amir Arjomand confirms that Sunday's marches go ahead even though Mousavi is under house arrest:

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Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond) Video: The Conflict Escalates

Latest footage from across the Middle East and North Africa. See also Friday's collection, Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond): Filming Protest and Violence.

Libya: Claimed Footage of Protest in Misurata, East of Tripoli

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Libya, Bahrain (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Contrasts

2205 GMT: In Libya, Professor Ali Tarhouni has said tonight that protesters in Nalut, 300 km (185 miles) northeast of Tripoli, burnt down the headquarters of the Revolutionary Committee. Tarhouni also said there have been small skirmishes in Tripoli.

2200 GMT: A photograph of this afternoon's protest in Taiz in Yemen:

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Iran Analysis: Walking the Same Green Tightrope

The regime knows that it must contain Mousavi and Karroubi. Karroubi and Mousavi know that they have to increase pressure on the regime. The people know that they must march. Yesterday's call for more protests finally hint that neither Mousavi or Karroubi are in a mood to compromise; the rhetoric to prosecute or execute the reformist leaders indicate that the regime is unwilling to negotiate.

Someone is going to fall off this tightrope. Someone is going to concede ground, or charge ahead further than they have ever gone. If this happens, expect widespread unrest and chaos in the streets, because this will be the minute the opposition moves from dissent to rebellion.

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From Tunisia to Egypt to ???: The Demise of the Dictators

The revolts in the Middle East remind me of a beautiful Pashto poem from the lands that are now plagued by the Taliban: "Zay zay, abazo la ba ra-zay" --- "No matter where you go or are, you’ll show your true nature eventually.

Such is the case of the dictators of the Middle East. No matter what they call themselves ---, President, king, sheikh, emir, sultan or even the preposterous Guide of the Revolution --- at heart, they’re just cowardly, greedy, heartless tyrants. They are dictators who try to hide behind different guises, but in the end, they all show their true coloirs no matter how much they try to glorify their actions on their way to their demise.

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Egypt in Pictures: Today's Ceremony at Tahrir Square in Cairo

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