The Islamist militant group Boko Haram claimed responsibility for a devastating car bomb attack that killed at least 18 people at a United Nations compound in Nigeria's capital, Abuja, on Aug. 26. Police immediately responded by deploying bulldozers around the city to demolish all "illegal" structures, with the aim of securing better control of the streets. Several makeshift homes and shops have been destroyed.

Juan Cole of the Informed Comment blog was a hero of the left when he slapped down mainstream media jive on the Iraq war just a few short years ago. But now he takes on idiot left jive on Libya—which has at times deteriorated into shameless cheerleading for Qaddafi. You don't have to support the NATO intervention—you can voice legitimate protest over the civilian casualties, and the Orwellian arguments that have been raised in defense of the bombing. But you can still recognize the anti-war left's own Orwellian arguments—and join with Cole in acknowledging that "this is a moment of celebration, not only for Libyans but for a youth generation in the Arab world that has pursued a political opening across the region." In a piece picked up by CNN (!), Cole identifies "Top ten myths about the Libya war," which we slightly condense here:

As fighting continues in Tripoli, Qaddafi once again took to the airwaves to appeal to his followers to "purify" the capital of "rats, crusaders and unbelievers"—indicating that at least some of the city's TV transmitters remain in his hands. In what accounts called an "audio broadcast on loyalist satellite TV channels," Qaddafi sounded as defiant—and delusional—as ever:

Representatives of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) flew to Doha, Qatar, Aug. 24 to meet with officials from around the world, seeking $2.5 billion in emergency financing for an interim government. Mahmoud Jibril, the NTC's number two leader behind President Mustafa Abdel Jalil, said in a press conference that the rebel government-in-waiting will soon move to Tripoli, and is eager for emergency funds ahead of upcoming Eid al-Fitr celebration that marks the end of Ramadan. Abdel Jalil was quoted in Italy's Repubblica newspaper saying that he expects presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya by next April. "We want a democratic government and a just constitution," he said. (CSM, Aug. 24)

The Palestinian team responsible for preparing the initiative for United Nations recognition in September has been given an independent legal opinion that warns of risks to Palestinian rights in the proposal. The initiative to transfer the Palestinians' representation from the PLO to a state would terminate the legal status held by the PLO in the UN since 1975 as sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, the document states—meaning there would no longer be an institution that can represent the rights of the Palestinian people in the UN and related international institutions. The seven-page opinion, obtained by Ma'an News Agency, was submitted to the Palestinian team by Guy Goodwin-Gill, a professor of public international law at Oxford University and a member of the team that won the 2004 non-binding judgement by the International Court of Justice that the route of Israel's wall was illegal.

As Libyan rebels continue to hunt Tripoli for Moammar Qaddafi—and to battle the remnants of his forces—the elusive strongman again delivered two broadcast messages during the night. In a speech carried by the website of the TV station headed by his son Seif al-Islam, he said he had abandoned his Tripoli compound after it had been bombed by NATO warplanes. "Bab al-Azizya was nothing but a heap of rubble after it was the target of 64 NATO missiles and we withdrew from it for tactical reasons," he said. The speech gave no indication of his whereabouts. In a later audio message on Syria-based Arrai Oruba TV, Qaddafi urged residents to "cleanse Tripoli of rats." He claimed he had walked the streets of Tripoli incognito, and was heartened by Libyans fighting back against the rebels. (Middle East Online, Aug. 24)

A nuclear power plant that was shut down after an earthquake struck central Virginia Aug. 23 had seismographs removed in the 1990s to save money. Officials said that the North Anna Power Station, which has two reactors, lost offsite power and switched to diesel generators to maintain cooling operations after the 5.9 quake. The North Anna plant, which was near the epicenter of the quake, is reportedly located on a fault line. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) rates the plant as the seventh most likely to receive core damage from a quake, although it says the odds are very low. According to the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME), the Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory (VTSO) removed all seismographs from around the plant in the 1990s due to budget cuts. In February, Dominion Virginia Power announced plans to add a third reactor at the plant. (Raw Story, Aug. 23)

Libyan rebels on Aug. 23 stormed Moammar Qaddafi's fortress-like compound in Tripoli, the Bab al-Aziziya, blasting through the gates and meeting no resistance, after hours of gun-battles in the surrounding streets. The compound was overrun by rebels and Tripoli citizens generally. A statue of Qaddafi was dragged out and dismantled, his head thrown to the ground. One young man raided Qaddafi's bedroom, and was interviewed for the cameras while wearing the strongman's infamous gold-braided colonel's cap, gold chain and golden scepter. But there is no sign of Qaddafi or his family. State TV, apparently still in pro-Qaddafi hands, continued to broadcast audio messages from the missing strongman, but they were presumably pre-recorded. Rebel leaders say they believe Qaddafi is still in Tripoli, and they are determined to hunt him down.