King's Speech wins Oscar, but real winner of Oscar for best world-stage-act was Gadaffi's Speech(es)

Waning Ruler Speeches nab real Oscar spotlight, Israel's ungracious response to its Oscar star, settlers rough-handled by police criticize Israeli force, and a peek into the hide-out of Gaddhafi.

Oscar and a King's Speech when the world is more interested in a falling Ruler's (Gaddafi's) Speech(es)

Global Voices [5]

World: And the Best Actor Award Goes to Gaddafi!

Colin Firth may have won the Oscar for Best Actor, but it was Libyan dictator Colonel Muammar Al Gaddafi who got the most mentions. Sharing snapshots of the world twittering on Gadaffi even while discussions of the Oscars were providing light relief from the histrionics and theatricals of Mid-East Revolution. @MuslimMindNinja: I wonder what #Gaddafi would wear to the #oscars? @martyalen: Overall, I think Colonel Gaddafi did a better job hosting last year in the pickup truck with his umbrella. #Oscars

Mondoweiss [6]

Israel preparing to deport star of Oscar-winning doc ‘Strangers No More’

It’s big news here in Israel that “Strangers No More”— a documentary film that focuses on a South Tel Aviv school attended by zarim, Hebrew for foreigners or strangers—has won an Oscar. For all it's talk of exemplifying "through education, understanding, and tolerance, peace really is possible.” Mondoweiss' Mya says PEACE SHMEACE!! as she sets the tone of the blog item, cutting to the crux: "what is the Israeli government showing us by planning a mass expulsion of such children? Understanding and tolerance won’t be found here. (And you’d better look somewhere else for peace, too)." Absurdly, "the deportation of 400 children and their parents is scheduled to begin on Sunday—just a week after “Strangers No More” won an Oscar. Just a week after a crowd in the US applauded the touching story of foreigners who find a home here in Israel." Including the child actor and star of the film.

Zunguzungu [7]

WikiLeaks Spinoffs?

The uprisings in Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain (and elsewhere) have not been “spinoffs” of the Tunisian intifada, at least not in any simple way. Read to find about the post-WikiLeaks effect: "which we can see most clearly in the many WikiLeaks spinoffs that are now coming to exist. But while WikiLeaks has certainly emboldened and energized these groups (they all have “leaks” in the second part of their name), I suspect it is the free speech deficit of the world that we live in that makes them as inevitable as they are. WikiLeaks came into existence for particular reasons to its time and place, but it’s the ways the broader political media environment is changing (has changed) that helps explain why organizations like Greenleaks, Enviroleaks, Ruleaks, BrusselsLeaks, Tradeleaks, Balkansleaks, Indoleaks, and Unileaks are suddenly popping up like mushrooms after a rainfall."

Haaretz Blogs [8]

What if Israeli forces treated West Bank settlers like Arabs?

Settlers rough-handled by police criticize Israeli force, though they 'ain't seen nothing yet' as they are not Palestinian Arabs. "I've never seen police firing on innocent bystanders and on women," Messica told Army Radio. "I've never seen things like this - maybe only with Gadhafi in Libya, or in Bil'in. But (firing on) children, Jews..."

The Arabist [9]

Qadhafi's Bunker

A glimpse into Gaddafi's Palace...