Wednesday 17 August 2011

Unsafe is as Unsafe does.....

Today is the second anniversary of Kenny McAskill's decision to release Abdelbaset Al Megrahi. Sky has an interesting piece about the circumstances of his diagnosis and release, with a prominent cancer specialist who gave his opinion on Mrgrahi's health showing his unhappiness at how his opinion was used in the decision to release Megrahi. 

Today it is also announced that Nat Fraser has been charged and will face a retrial on charges of murdering his wife.

This coincidence prompts the thought: why is the Nationalist government happy to release Megrahi on doubts over the safety of his conviction but the same Nationalist government is incensed by the Supreme Court ordering a retrial of Nat Fraser over doubts about the safety of his conviction?

Does justice come into it all, or is it, like most things to do with SNP actions, explained by the usual Nationalist politicking and posturing?

9 comments:

  1. Are you really going to lie about the Megrahi release and hope that the mud will stick?

    Details of the MacAskill statement on his decision to release Megrahi are easily obtainable.

    Try here for a reminder
    http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Lockerbie--Kenny-MacAskill39s-statement.5574230.jp

    Megrahi was sent home to Libya after his application for compassionate release was accepted. No quibbles about the safety of the conviction. No outside influence, despite Jack Straw and Tony Blair (Labour guys aren't they ?) actively currying favour with Gaddaffi.

    Indeed, given recent circumstance in Libya I'm surprised you Labour boys want a reminder of how badly wrong you got your middle Eastern Diplomacy.

    I'm sure the Nats will settle for the more mature sentiments of true world statesmen such as Nelson Mandela.

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  2. Sorry Jim, you're right. The reason given was that he had three months to live.

    Two years later........

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  3. Ronnie Biggs was released on compassion grounds too, as he only had 3 months to live. He was released on 6 August 2009 (i.e. before Megrahi).

    AFAIK, he's till alive.

    But don't tell me, Jack Straw thought his conviction was unsafe...

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  4. Read the statement braveheart... or is it too long for you to reach this bit...


    "Assessment by a range of specialists has reached the firm consensus that his disease is, after several different trials of treatment, "hormone resistant" – that is resistant to any treatment options of known effectiveness.

    "Consensus on prognosis therefore has moved to the lower end of expectations.

    "Mr Al Megrahi was examined by Scottish Prison Service doctors on 3 August.

    "A report dated 10 August from the director of health and care for the Scottish Prison Service indicates that a three-month prognosis is now a reasonable estimate. The advice they have provided is based not only on their own physical examination but draws on the opinion of other specialists and consultants who have been involved in his care and treatment. He may die sooner – he may live longer.


    I've got no doubts that Megrahi's health would have been boosted by a return to his homeland rather than continuing his dank existence in a Greenock prison cell.

    The real scandal for me though is how poor our own cancer treatment appears to be.

    Rather than worrying about Megrahi - that's now a done deal! - why not concern yourself with the need for improvement in our health service. I'm sure you'll find it a much more rewarding ocupation.

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  5. The Health Service is always in need of effective maintenance and improvement.

    How would that be improved, in any way, by breaking Scotland away from the UK, or "independence" as Nationalists call it?

    Taks as many or as few words as you like.

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  6. It's an entirely separate issue as far as I'm concerned...

    I don't see Independence as a cure for the Health Service failings, but neither do I see our wasteful and inefficient Health service as any sort of Union dividend.

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