OUCH!

OBAMA SNUBS GORDON BROWN

Guardian, UK - Gordon Brown lurched from being hailed as a global statesman to intense embarrassment, after it emerged US President Barack Obama had turned down no fewer than five requests from Downing Street to hold a bilateral meeting at the United Nations in New York or at the G20 summit starting in Pittsburgh today. The prime minister, eager to portray himself as a leading player on the international stage in America, was also forced to play down suggestions from inside his own party that he might step down early, either due to ill health or deteriorating eyesight. There have been tensions between the White House and No 10 for weeks over Brown's handling of the Scottish government's decision to release the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. Brown's efforts to secure a prestigious primetime slot for his keynote speech at the general assembly in New York were also thwarted when the Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, delivered a 100-minute speech to the UN, massively running over Brown's 15 minute slot.

-Guardian, UK

Susan Boyle on American TV

This is a little rough but you can see how well she sang!

Megrahi release: Obama hits out at Brown

Published Date: 11 September 2009
By Tom Peterkin
US PRESIDENT Barack Obama last night expressed his "disappointment" at the decision to release the Lockerbie bomber during a 40-minute phone call with Gordon Brown.
In their first direct discussions on the matter, the two leaders "exchanged views" on the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said Mr Brown made it clear the decision had been a matter for the Scottish Government.

Following their conversation, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said: "The president expressed his disappointment over the Scottish Executive's decision to release convicted Pan Am 103 bomber al-Megrahi back to Libya."

When Megrahi returned to a hero's welcome in Libya last month, Mr Obama described the decision by the Scottish justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, acting in his quasi-judicial role, to grant the bomber compassionate release as a "mistake".

But last night was the first time that he has expressed his disapproval to the Prime Minister in person.

Although it was a Scottish decision to free Megrahi, Mr Brown has come under fire for failing to indicate whether or not he supported the move.

The controversy has also been fanned by suggestions that the man, convicted of killing the 270 victims of Pan Am flight 103 when it exploded over Lockerbie, was a pawn in trade negotiations between the UK and Libya.

Mr Obama and Mr Brown spoke by telephone to discuss preparations for a Group of 20 economic summit to be held in Pittsburgh later this month and also discussed the economic situation.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister admitted Lockerbie had been mentioned during the conversation.

The spokesman said: "It did come up, and the Prime Minister made it clear that it was a matter for the Scottish Government."

The spokesman declined to say whether Mr Obama or Mr Brown had raised the matter, but claimed that the call between the two men was "warm and substantive".

The release of Megrahi, who is suffering from terminal cancer, outraged the relatives of American victims of the atrocity, who are convinced that the former Libyan intelligence agent is guilty of the worst mass murder in British legal history.

Mr Obama's displeasure has led to speculation that Britain's handling of the case and its involvement in trade discussions with Libya could harm the "special relationship" between the UK and the United States.

Mr Brown's spokesman denied that was the case.

"The two leaders concluded that the special relationship was as strong as ever and that there continued to be good co-operation across the full global agenda," the No 10 spokesman said.

Earlier yesterday it emerged that the UK Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, will be questioned over the Megrahi's release by the Commons justice committee.

The cross-party group of MPs will question Mr Straw on the decision not to exclude Megrahi from a prisoner transfer agreement between the UK and Libya.

Last night the American relatives said they were "very pleased" that Mr Obama had made his feelings clear to Mr Brown and claimed that the special relationship was now under severe stress.

A backlash against the UK and Scotland has been seen across the US ever since Mr MacAskill took the decision to send Megrahi home.

The sight of Scottish saltires flying as Megrahi landed in Tripoli in front of cheering crowds was especially embarrassing to the UK and Scottish governments.

The Scottish Government has always insisted that the decision to release the bomber was the right one given that medical advice suggested Megrahi had just three months to live.

The American families have always said that his release went against an agreement struck between the US and Britain that said he should serve his entire life sentence in Scotland.

"I think the (US] administration's feeling is one of more than disappointment," said Frank Duggan, the Washington-based lawyer, who is president of Victims of Pan Am 103.

"I think the administration is really angry.

"People have been asking me 'what does this mean for the special relationship?' Well, I think it is in tatters."

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/uk/Megrahi-release-Obama--.5638572.jp#4415509

US warned Scotland bomber could get hero's welcome

By DESMOND BUTLER and DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writers – 3 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Attorney General Eric Holder warned his Scottish counterpart in June that the man convicted of blowing U.S.-bound Pan Am Flight 103 out of the sky could get a hero's welcome if allowed to return to Libya, according to the head of a group representing the families of victims.

Holder's warning to Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill came nearly two months before the bomber, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, was released from a Scottish prison and greeted by a cheering crowd on his arrival in Libya last week.

The Scottish administration has faced unrelenting criticism from both the U.S. government and the families of American victims of the airline bombing since the decision to free the terminally ill al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds. The Scots said he was dying of prostate cancer.

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi plans to visit the United States next month when he addresses the U.N. General Assembly. The trip is part of a long effort to rehabilitate his image and thaw relations between the West and Libya, but public anger over the Lockerbie release may drown out such efforts.

Notes prepared ahead of Holder's June 26 conversation with MacAskill were provided to The Associated Press by Frank Duggan, president of Victims of Pan Am Flight 103 Inc. Duggan says a Justice Department official read him notes that Holder used during the conversation.

Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller said he would not comment on the private conversation between the two officials. It was not clear whether the notes were a complete summary of Holder's message to MacAskill.

Duggan also provided notes of a July 9 teleconference between MacAskill and some victims' relatives, an emotional exchange in which family members told stories of their loved ones and implored MacAskill not to return al-Megrahi to Libya.

The telephone conversation between the U.S. and Scottish officials dealt with Scotland's consideration of transferring al-Megrahi to Libya under a prisoner transfer treaty that Britain and Libya concluded this year. MacAskill rejected that possibility before he granted al-Megrahi's request for release on health grounds. The application for compassionate release came after MacAskill's conversations with Holder and the family members.

According to the notes, Holder said the United States opposed al-Megrahi's transfer. Among a number of reasons given, Holder warned that Libya might pardon him, if not give him a hero's welcome upon his return.

Such a transfer would be perceived as a vindication of al-Megrahi's innocence before the Scottish process had run its course, the notes say.

Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of the Libyan leader, was quoted Friday in Scotland's Herald newspaper as saying, "The U.S. knew a long time ago that Mr. Megrahi would probably be released and asked us to keep the reception low-key." He claimed that most of the families of the victims in Scotland "have written us to say they are pro the decision and more than 20 percent of the American families say they have no objection."

A spokeswoman for MacAskill, Fiona Wilson, said her office had notes on the call with Holder, but would not discuss the conversations with Holder or the family members until the parties consented to MacAskill's request to release the documents summarizing them, which he hopes will help explain his decision.

Al-Megrahi, a former Libyan intelligence officer, was convicted in 2001 of taking part in the bombing of the Pan Am flight on Dec. 21, 1988, and sentenced to serve a minimum 27 years in prison. The airliner, which was carrying mostly American passengers to New York, was destroyed by a bomb in its cargo hold as it flew over Lockerbie. All 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground died.

Although Libya accepted formal responsibility for the bombing, many there see al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the bombing, as an innocent victim made a scapegoat by the West. Even as he left prison, al-Megrahi, protested his innocence.

In the July 9 conversation with family members, MacAskill said the Scottish authorities had asked the British government to include an exemption for the Lockerbie case when it negotiated the prisoner transfer agreement with Libya, according to notes of the teleconference MacAskill's office provided to family members this week. He said that because the exemption was not included, he was bound to consider the possibility of a transfer.

MacAskill told the family members that "he would be making his decision on judicial grounds alone and that economic and political matters would not be part of the process."

Since al-Megrahi's release, Scottish and British authorities defended themselves against accusations that they sought to return the Libyan in order to curry favor with Libyan authorities dangling business deals. Libyan officials have said that they repeatedly raised al-Megrahi's release when negotiating commercial deals and had sought the prisoner transfer agreement specifically with al-Megrahi in mind.

Gadhafi's son told the Herald that "Lockerbie is history. The next step is fruitful and productive business with Edinburgh and London. Libya is a promising, rich market and so let's talk about the future."

In the teleconference, family members told of the two decades they have suffered since the deaths of their loved ones.

Duggan says MacAskill's office provided families no indication that he was considering releasing al-Megrahi on compassionate grounds and did not respond to correspondence following the teleconference.

Some family members who joined the call with MacAskill said they had believed that MacAskill opposed returning al-Megrahi to Libya and was sympathetic to their position. They say they now feel betrayed.

In an e-mail sent to MacAskill on Wednesday, Michelle Lipkin, who lost her father, Frank Ciulla, on the flight, said she left the teleconference "feeling optimistic."

"I had faith that the right decision would come, and I am stunned by the unfathomable decision you have made," she wrote.

Brian Flynn, whose brother John was killed, said he also thought MacAskill shared the families' opposition to returning al-Megrahi.

"Now it seems that MacAskill was just being patronizing," he said.

___

Associated Press writer Ben McConville in Edinburgh, Scotland, contributed to this report.

http://indepth.news.sky.com/InDepth/topic/Libya_And_Kenny_MacAskill

'Boycott Scotland' bid to brand nation a global pariah

Published Date: 22 August 2009
By Tom Peterkin
A FURIOUS anti-Scottish backlash over the decision to free the Lockerbie bomber erupted last night as Americans threatened to cancel trips across the Atlantic and were urged to stop doing business with Scotland.
The Scottish tourism agency VisitScotland confirmed it had received e-mails from Americans saying they no longer wanted to holiday in Scotland in the aftermath of Kenny MacAskill's decision to free Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi.


The anti-Scottish feeling was fuelled by a new website called Boycott Scotland, which published Mr MacAskill's e-mail address and called on Americans to contact him directly to register their anger.

The website 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.

"Don't travel to Scotland or do business there (or in the United Kingdom in general) and don't buy any British or Scottish products."

VisitScotland suggested the website's creation was insignificant when compared with the number of Americans who regularly come to Scotland to spend their dollars.

But the agency admitted it had already had messages from the United States asking if Scottish holidays could be cancelled.

A spokeswoman said: "The strong and enduring relationship between Scotland and the United States will continue, as will the friendship between the American and Scottish people.

"Our priority is ensuring that American visitors and tourists are extended a very warm welcome to Scotland. One unattributed website is not a significant factor, when compared to the thousands of US citizens who visit and will continue to visit Scotland."

But just a few hours after Megrahi was seen stepping on to Libyan soil after being freed from HMP Greenock, the tourism agency revealed Americans had already started contacting them to indicate their displeasure at the decision.

"We have had several e-mails from people saying they may cancel," the spokeswoman said.

Iain Herbert, chief executive of the independent trade body the Scottish Tourism Forum, said: "This certainly means that we are going to have to work much harder than normal to attract Americans over here."

Americans are the biggest contributors to Scotland's £980 million overseas tourism market, accounting for 14 per cent of foreign visitors.

First Minister Alex Salmond insisted: "The relationship between Scotland and the United States is deep and enduring and will continue to be deep and enduring. We can't have a relationship based on always agreeing with each other. We have to have the ability to disagree where our system takes us in a different direction."

CBI Scotland director Iain MacMillan was hopeful that the economic damage would not be too severe. He said: "We came to America's side on 9-11, we have fought at the side of America in Iraq, we are close allies and I hope that this parting of company over Megrahi will be seen in the context of a much bigger alliance with America."

Despite the First Minister's confidence that Scottish/American relations would not be soured in the long term, a different story was emerging in cyberspace.

The Scotsman was bombarded by members of the public, who added their fury to the anger already expressed by US relatives and politicians by posting their views on our scotsman.com website.

"For the first time in my life, I am ashamed of my Scottish heritage," said Richard Gordon from Florida.

Jim Yanacek, from Maryland, said Megrahi did not display any "compassion or conscience" when he "slaughtered the men, women and children on the aircraft".

But Mr MacAskill had some supporters. Carol Hamilton, of Pittsburgh, said that the release of a dying man was "high-minded, noble and eminently civilised. What he (MacAskill] said speaks well for Scotland and Scottish values."

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "Mr MacAskill made it clear in his statement that he expected that there would be opposition to his decision and that he understood the hurt and pain that the families would be feeling. But a decision had to be made and he has taken that decision."

http://news.scotsman.com/latestnews/39Boycott-Scotland39-bid-to-brand.5578581.jp

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Americans are not going to punish Scotland for this by staying away in my opinion. I certainly do not hold this against the Scots although it makes me deeply sad. What has occurred to me is how the politicians of both our nations are much too cozy with oil companies and multinational corporations. Most of us in the US are shocked and disappointed by the release of Megrahi because now no one will ever know the truth about Pan Am Flight 103 and there will be no justice for the 270 souls lost over Lockerby. Sadly this move by Mr.Salmond reminds me of something Bush would do for a lucrative oil contract. President Obama is struggling with Israel and the Palestinians and with Iraq and Afghanistan and I do not think he will want to start any rows with old allies. While relations may cool some between Washington and Scotland I do not think it will be a long lasting freeze. What no one seems to understand in the UK press about all this schmoozing in the past by Mr. Salmond with American politicians is that Mr.Salmond was courting the conservatives and racist right wing in the USA. He was not courting respectable politicians who value human rights. Mr. Salmond's friend Trent Lott is one of the most despicable politicians ever to emerge from the deep South here in America. I know Lott started Tartan Day which I love but he is still a despicable person who left office under a cloud. Lott is a segregationist and hails from the poorest state in the USA, Mississippi where racism is an enormous social problem. For this reason I do not respect Mr. Alex Salmond. There is a sinister white-supremacy movement in the American South that has long been nurtured by Trent Lott and the likes of the now deceased Strom Thurmond his long time good friend. These people Mr. Salmond is friends with here are people who would like to see America segregated as it was before the civil rights movement took hold. They are also mostly fundamentalist Christians who think any form of socialism is the same as hard line communism. I am very surprised I have not heard anyone in the UK mention the fact Salmond courts racists and fundamentalists in the USA. I truly would like to see the SNP find a leader without this baggage. Salmond does not have the power to arrange trade deals but he certainly gave this exchange the OK. Gordon Brown and Blair most likely gave the nod to trading oil contracts in exchange for freeing Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi. Had Alex Salmond stood up and said something strongly against this he could have stopped this whole train. His silence is deafening.

-Beth Maxwell Boyle


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Lott