It’s the clearest video yet of the moments after Libyan rebels took him under their control, and it shows a bloodied, terrified, but still alive Gaddafi being propped up, dragged around, as well as abused by his captors.

On Sunday, reports emerged from Libya that named the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head, and also confirmed reports that the Colonel had been shots multiple times before eventually succumbing to his wounds. What actually happened in the moments leading up to Gaddafi’s death is still unknown, but it is speculated that he might have been executed by one of his captors. The BBC has video of one of his captors who apparently takes credit for the killing.

The United States has joined other nations calling for a full investigation into his capture and death.

In an incredibly odd turn, it was learned that Gaddafi’s body has been turned into an attraction for some in Libya, as it is being stored in a refrigerated unit inside a shopping mall in Misrata.

The video above is now part of the historical record, and gives an important look into the crucial moments (presumably) right before his death. No matter how you feel about Gaddafi or the actions that led to his demise, one thing is certain: it’s a harrowing portrayal of the realities of war.

Apparently, Gaddafi was captured and shot in both legs near dawn on Thursday. He was reportedly fleeing rebel fighters in a convoy when NATO warplanes attacked. He was rushed away in an ambulance.

“He (Gaddafi) was also hit in his head,” National Transitional Council official Abdel Majid Mlegta told Reuters. “There was a lot of firing against his group and he died.”

Gaddafi was captured and eventually killed near Sirte, which is his hometown. There, anti-Gaddafi forces overtook many of the last remaining loyalist forces before taking Gaddafi himself.

There has not been additional confirmation of the NTC’s claims.

UPDATE: CNN Reports that a cell phone phone distributed by the AFP shows a bloodied, wounded man that is being identified as Gaddafi.

Here’s some early Twitter reaction:

Check out what others are saying about his death at his Famous Dead page.

Essentially, maps are largely viewed as means, er, directions to an end point, but for people fighting for their freedom in foreign lands against despotic rulers, maps, even something simple has naming conventions for certain areas, have a great deal of power that goes way beyond getting from point A to point B.

Just ask the Libyan rebels who renamed an area in Tripoli to one that better fits their cause. What was once “Green Square” is now “Martyrs’ Square,” at least in relation to Google Maps.

The change has even been recorded in the Libyan version of Google Maps:

If you somehow doubt the power of maps in relation to politics and social issues, ask Palestine how it feels about Israel’s attitude towards the Gaza Strip, and vice versa. So imagine how it feels to be a Libyan rebel when you discover Google has acknowledged your efforts with a map name alteration, a simple act that has powerful, powerful repercussions.

Imagine Gaddafi’s disdain at such knowledge, provided he’s able to receive any news about it. If he still had his iron-clad grip over the Libyan people and the country’s policies, you can guarantee such a change would not take place unless he approved it.

According to IBT, the change came about as something of a crowd-sourced movement. Google allows users to make alterations to maps for personalizing purposes, but how often does it include them in their final product?

With Martyrs’ Park, you get the idea Google was more than happy to oblige, because it allows them, as a company, to subtly voice their support for Libya’s freedom fighters. There is some pause to be taken with the name change, at least in regards to the comments that accompany it.

For instance:

In Benghazi, they’ve been lynching (beheading and burning alive) suspected Gaddafi’s supporters on the main city square. I wonder if that fine tradition of these brave freedom fighters will be continued on this square once they are in full control of the city.

It’s easy to understand the hatred for Gaddafi and his supporters, but going after the leader is one thing, murdering his supporters is an entirely different matter altogether. That being said, the majority of the comments concerning the renaming of Green Square to Martyrs’ Square has been positive, even if people have a hard time spelling everything correctly:

Proud of the free people in lybia

And:

Way to go, Google! Proud of you for being on top of this. And congratulations to the people of Libya – we’re all rooting for you in reclaiming your country as your own. You deserve freedom and dignity – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!

The Libyan version of Google Maps features many of these supporting comments as well:

Kudos to Google for keeping it up to date! Happy for the Libyan people

So was it appropriate for Google to use their maps for such a purpose or are they obliged to sit it out and wait for the results before inserting itself, considering the political power maps possess?

H/t to The Atlantic for another awesome image of the Libyan rebels.

To say “the revolution will not be televised” is no longer accurate:

There’s really no doubting the fact the Libyans are tired of the Gaddafi rule and willing to do just about anything to end it.

As indicated, the Libyan situation is a hot commodity on Twitter right–thankfully, no “Promoted Tweets” are present–with “Tripoli” and “Gadhafi” being two of the bigger related trends. The “Gadhafi” trend also shows the various ways to spell the last name of person in question. With The Telegraph and other British publications, the “Gaddafi” spelling is used, but in the United States, the alternate spelling is used.

For what it’s worth, Wikipedia uses the “Gaddafi” spelling, so we’re sticking with that.

With regards to Twitter, instead of focusing on the various tweets, instead, I’d like to draw your attention to the Twitter accounts of Omar Mashjari (@OmarMash) and Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi (@SultanAlQassemi). Both of these accounts have been absolute founts of knowledge concerning the chaos going on in Libya. For instance:

Which maybe one of the most powerful tweets I’ve ever read, and:

If you’re at all interested in keeping up with the story and you’d like to go beyond CNN, I recommend following both of these accounts. Again, these–the video and the Twitter accounts–are just another example of the strength of social media, even in regards to the overthrowing of despotic leaders whose time has finally come.

On the map page, the description reads: "This map has been created by compiling reports from trusted accounts on Twitter. Nonetheless, these reports are in general unconfirmed. This information should be considered in the context of there being absolutely no independent media in Libya at this time. This map is not automatically produced. Each posting is considered before it is mapped. These considerations have evolved over time as conditions on the ground have changed."

To that note, creator @Arasmus tweeted:

"Because of the difficulty in properly translating Arabic town-names into English, reports including latitude and longitude data are preferred," the map page says. The video below explains how to gather the coordinates data to submit it: 

A couple other noteworthy tweets from @Arasmus:

Arasmus also puts out a "daily" using paper.li. 

(via: Wired)

The O.L.P.C. project spearheaded by Nicholas Negroponte is due to receive a $250 million investment as part of the agreement terms. In return, the nation is slated to receive 1.2 million laptops, a server for each school, satellite Internet service and a slew of other technical support services.

The laptops will include a wireless Internet connection, a built-in video camera, and a hand crank rechargeable battery.

The ultimate plan is to provide a laptop computer for Libyan students that will cost around $100 to produce. Quanta Computer, Inc. based out of Thailand will handle all the manufacturing of the machines.

Mass production is scheduled to begin in mid 2007.

Unable to reach an agreement with Microsoft to offer Windows at an affordable price for the machines, Negroponte turned to Linux to provide operating system support for the laptop devices.

The O.L.P.C. agreement is viewed by most as part of Libya’s recent attempts to transform its national identity from that of a terrorist haven into the image of a progressive leader in Africa’s educational, economic and technological development.

Negroponte reflects on meeting with Libyan leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in a New York Times piece on the agreement.

“When I met with Qaddafi, it had all the mystique and trimmings expected: middle of the desert, in a tent, 50 degrees C. etc. It took him very little time to find O.L.P.C. appealing as an idea.”

Of course, this wouldn’t be the first time M.I.T. researcher has been involved in bringing educational technology to underprivileged nations.

According to the Times article, Mr. Negroponte was part of an operation to provide laptops to Cambodian children.

What was the first English word the students learned to speak?

Google.

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Libya was off limits to U.S. companies in the past, but last year, President Bush cut back restrictions with the country after it agreed to put an end to weapons programs.

Occidental is not the only U.S. company doing business in Libya. Amerada Hess and ChevronTexaco also won licenses in the country.

“We were testing the water with medium-sized companies,” the Libyan prime minister said. He expects more offers to be made in March. Libya hopes that the bids will come more aggressively next time.

According to MarketWatch,

“On Saturday, ChevronTexaco said its Libya affiliate obtained a license for exploration of one onshore block. The company said it would be doing business in Libya in 28 years.

Dow Jones reported that Amerada Hess also won the right to explore in Libya.”

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