Utopia Talk / Politics / OT - Best 1st Audition

Hot Rod Member	Mon Aug 24 09:06:30 Best 1st Audition I have ever seen. -Simon Cowell http://www...eek-1-danyl-johnson_shortfilms
Ovidian Member	Mon Aug 24 09:08:59 http://www.../scotland.lockerbie/index.html LONDON, England (CNN) -- Scotland's justice minister Monday defended his decision to allow Lockerbie bomber Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi to go back to Libya last week, as outrage over the move prompted an emergency Scottish parliament session. Kenny MacAskill last week ordered the release of al Megrahi on "compassionate" grounds, saying that he was dying of prostate cancer and had just three months to live. "Those were my decisions and my decisions alone," MacAskill told parliament. "I strictly followed due process." MacAskill acknowledged that there has been widespread condemnation throughout the world on the terrorist's release but said those concerns exceeded his jurisdiction. "There remain concerns to some on the wider issues of the Lockerbie tragedy," he said. "This is a global issue." The 57-year-old Libyan was serving a life sentence for bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988, resulting in the deaths of 270 people, including 189 Americans. Monday's parliamentary session is expected to pile pressure on the ruling Scottish National Party. The Scotsman newspaper said the meeting could lead to a vote of confidence in the SNP and its leader Alex Salmond. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who had earlier faced criticism for remaining silent on the issue, said Monday that freeing al-Megrahi would not act as an encouragement to terrorists. Brown declined to offer any opinion on the release, insisting "It was was and it remains a decision for the Scottish Justice Secretary," a spokesman for the prime minister said, asccording to the UK Press Association. The spokesman added: "Clearly the prime minister recognizes this was a very difficult decision, and was clearly an extremely sensitive one, and there will be very strong feelings from the families of those people who were victims of this terrorist attack." Anger over the decision has prompted a call for Americans to avoid travel to Scotland and boycott Scottish products including whisky. Both tourism and whisky account for billions of dollars of revenue for the Scottish economy. "The actions of the Scottish government are inexcusable. A man who is responsible for the mass murder of 270 innocent civilians must be held accountable for such a cold blooded and ruthless act," a statement on the Web site, Boycottscotland.com, said. "Unless the Scottish government rescinds this decision to release al Megrahi, and if the British parliament continues to avoid intervening in the matter, we urge all Americans to protest this action by boycotting the United Kingdom and Scotland in full." It was not known who was behind the Web site, or the extent of its support. Email enquiries from CNN have so far gone unanswered. The boycott call comes in the middle of the "Year of Homecoming," a Scottish government tourism initiative aimed at encouraging anyone of Scottish descent, mainly Americans, to visit their ancestral homeland. Intensifying criticism over the release was a jubilant welcome that greeted al Megrahi on his return to Libya, despite request from Britain to handle the homecoming with sensitivity. President Barack Obama said Friday that al Megrahi's warm reception was "highly objectionable." British Foreign Secretary David Miliband called it "deeply upsetting." On Saturday, FBI Director Robert Mueller waded into debate over the bomber's release, calling it "a mockery of the rule of law." In a letter to MacAskill, he described the Scottish justice minister's decision "as inexplicable as it is detrimental to the cause of justice.
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