FLIPPING BIRDS

The latest international hornets nest is the return of the convicted Lockerbie terrorist, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrabi, to Libya, having been freed by Scotland for “compassionate” reasons. I find it interesting that compassion applies to a convicted murderer but not to the families who lost 270 dear ones in that horrific bombing at Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.

A conspiracy theory is floating around in the papers and on the tube which has it that a deal was made to protect U.K. oil interests in Libya where British Petroleum (B.P.) has a huge investment and other British business interests. The British government has denied this vigorously. Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary (the equivalent of the Secretary of Commerce in the U.S.A.), in the absence of the Prime Minister., Gordon Brown, who is on holiday and has been extremely mute, put out a strong denial that a deal had been made. I wonder: oil makes a lot of unlikely bedfellows, as does the profit motive.

Several British governmental voices have been quick to condemn the tasteless celebrations in Libya that greeted the arrival of the terrorist who was hailed as a hero. Obviously, America has made its feelings known to both Libya and Scotland.

Personally, I think we have a case of dual bird flippings (or two fingers up in U.K.). I think both Libya and Scotland just love the opportunity to demonstrate how they can stand up to the big bad U.S.A. and assert their symbolic independence. No one is going to tell them what to do, by God! We run our own countries, and we’ll do it, as Frank Sinatra said, our way!

In the case of Libya, they love to posture in front of the Arab world against these western infidels. As for Scotland, I love the Scots, but they have that same stubborn streak as those other Celts, the Irish, and they are pushing hard for devolution, the separation of Scotland from the U.K as an independent nation, so they want to express their own opinion, even when it’s wrong.

It was a bad decision which they are trying to justify by claiming that this is true compassion. Their own M.S.P. (Members of the Scottish Parliament) are planning a discussion and some are pressing for a debate. That should be interesting…

Sometimes it’s a hasty and ill-advised move to flip a bird.