Re: The Bigger, Badder, Even More Serious Thread

by Eldorion Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:06 pm

Well, the rebel's reports from over the weekend appear to have been wildly optimistic. Saif al-Islam was not actually arrested and there is still ongoing fighting. I find it hard to imagine Gaddafi's rule surviving, but it's going to be longer and bloodier than anyone would like, I am sure. On the other hand, there is already a rebel interim government that has been ruling much of the country for six months and not making a total mess of things, so I think Libya is definitely better off than Iraq in 2003.

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Aug 25, 2011 8:34 pm

Deputy PM and Leader of the Lib-Dems is touring the north of England and Scotland. Today he decided to visit Scotland.

"A man has been arrested after Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was splattered with blue paint in Glasgow.
Mr Clegg's suit and face were struck as he arrived at Woodside Hall in the west of the city for a meeting with Lib Dem Party activists.
The BBC understands an anti-cuts campaigner has said he carried out the attack in protest at the Lib Dem coalition with the Conservatives.
A man, in his 20s, is being held for an alleged breach of the peace."

Welcome to Glasgow Mr Clegg! And Breach of the Peace, I think the police are on the protesters side here. Very Happy

by Kafria Thu Aug 25, 2011 10:10 pm

Pettytyrant101 wrote: Today he decided to visit Scotland.

Yes I'm sure he woke up this morning and just decided to toddle north of the border despite his previous plans Rolling Eyes

by Pettytyrant101 Fri Aug 26, 2011 12:22 am

He would have been better changing his settled plans and not crossing the border at all. Very Happy

But yes my tone did betray the demeaning way in which London based MP's occasionaly grace us with their completely orchestrated presence.
And he sided with the enemy, that is not something easily forgotten or forgiven.

by Pettytyrant101 Mon Aug 29, 2011 11:31 am

More of the lies told by Tony Blair when PM comes out-

"Iraq posed no threat to the UK when then prime minister Tony Blair took Britain to war in 2003, former MI5 boss Baroness Manningham-Buller has said. She told the Radio Times: "Iraq did not present a threat to the UK. The service advised that it was likely to increase the domestic threat and that it was a distraction from the pursuit of al-Qaeda. I understood the need to focus on Afghanistan. Iraq was a distraction."

So when Blair stood up in Parliament and before the country and said he was seeing and hearing top secret reports that confirmed without a shadow of a doubt Sadamm was a threat to the UK it was an outright lie. Surely there must be some mechanism to call a PM to account? Can there be a more serious crime for a PM to committ than to lie to the country in order to persuade it to participate in an illegal war that left thousands dead?

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Sep 01, 2011 8:39 am

Interesting how legal matters get reported in the press. This mornings Scottish Sun comes with the front page headline Thugs 1 Justice 0. It refers to a court case which ended yesterday. And its about that unpleasant side to Scotland- sectarianism.
Last year Scottish Football- often an ugly violent place exploded when Neil Lennon an ex-Celtic player became their manager. He is dyed in the wool Celtic and his use of words like wanting his players to go to "war" did not help endear him to non Celtic fans. On top of that he began a systmatic attack on Refereees claiming them of bias against his club with the unspoken, but clear to anyone Scottish, implications it is becasue of Celtic Catholic associations. added to that Celtic and their biggest rivals and Protestant team Rangers met an unprecedented 7 tmes last season thanks to getting drawn against one another in cup games. Things went from bad to worse when Lennon began to get death threats- then bullets sent to key Celtic staff including Lennon- and finally a bomb in the post which thankfully was intercepted by Police. And then this happened during a game between Celtic and Hearts (Edinburgh's team);

Tha man who did that was in court yesterday charged with Breach of the Peace and Assault aggrevated by Religous Hatred. The reason for the headline is that the jury found him guilty of Breach of the Peace but found the Assault charge Not Proven.
The Sun newspaper, and others, argue that everyone can see he assualts Lennon on the footage and the man himself was willing to admit too the assualt. So how could a jury find it Not Proven? It goes on to be further outraged in its editorial.
But so like the Sun it leaves out the important bits. A bit of digging around has unearthed how this came about. The accused offered to plead guilty to Breach of the Peace and Assault if the Crown dropped the Religous Hate charges which the accused totally refuted. The Crown refused the plea and the Religous Hate Charge, tied to the Assualt charge, stood. This was a mistake by the Crown in my view as with 40,000 chanting and screaming fans no one heard what the accused was shouting as he drunkenly scrambled over the barrier and ran at Lennon. And as the accused was pleading not guilty to the charge of religous motivated assault the jury had no choice but to find it Not Proven. The Crown could not provide evidence of Religous Hatred- it was an assumption not a proven fact.
It hasn't stopped the Sun from attacking the decision however, just as they have consistently done over the decision to release the Libyan bomber.
I wonder if whilst it would be wrong to curb a papers right to an editorial slant whether it should be made binding however that they have to present all the facts when reporting and not just those which give them the story they want or supprot the case they wish to make? Would better journalism here not have been to see why the Crown was so addiment to maintain a Religous Hatred Charge they must have known they might not be able to persuade the jury on- and was that decision a result of pressure on the Judiciary from Politicians who have been waging a high profile war on Sectarnism since last year?
But apprently thats not as important to journalism as an attention grabbing headline is.

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Sep 01, 2011 10:34 am

A picture from the deprating Juno spacecraft of earth and the moon from roughly 9.5 million km away- doesn't it make you feel small? All of us and all the plants and animals on that tiny prick of light in a sea of black.

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by Pettytyrant101 Mon Sep 05, 2011 8:26 pm

No more Tories in Scotland!!
Well not quite but the Scottish Tories who only managed 1 MP at the last general election are having a leadership contest and the forerunner in that is planning to dissolve the Scottish Tory party and recreate it independant of the Westminister Tories in order to create a 'Scottish flavoured' Tory party.
In some ways this might be a good idea to dissasociate themselves with the hugely unpopular up here Tory party in Westminister. The problem is the Tory party trades under the name the Conservative and Unionist party. So there is something odd about a split away Scottish Tory party then fighting in the Scottish parliament to stop Scotland splitting away from Westminister when they will have done just that with their own party. Not sure that will help their cause. Not helped already I am sure by the latest polls which sees the SNP's unprecedented popularity continue to grow.

by **Orwell** Thu Sep 08, 2011 5:48 am

Pettytyrant101 wrote:No more Tories in Scotland!

Excellent idea.

by **Orwell** Thu Sep 08, 2011 9:40 am

I haven't changed my opinion, Orwell.

by **Orwell** Thu Sep 08, 2011 11:36 am

Or have I? Question

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Sep 08, 2011 4:06 pm

Now THATS'S spam!

by Eldorion Thu Sep 08, 2011 7:50 pm

Orwell is trying to catch up with us. Razz

BTW, Petty, your post total passed what GB had on the old forum making you the highest-posting person in the history of Forumshire. cheers

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:10 pm

Really? By Eru's hairpiece I don't half go on! Drunken rambling does that to a post count. Very Happy

by Eldorion Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:12 pm

Evidently. Laughing

Maybe we should change the top post count rank to "Wannabe Tyrant". Razz

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:16 pm

Never watched Highlander? "There can be only one (Tyrant)" Very Happy

ps is there a prize for top poster- say a crate or two of buckie seems suitable.

by Eldorion Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:17 pm

That's why they're wannabes. Very Happy

And you can have all the buckie you want (once you start the picnic Razz

)!

by Pettytyrant101 Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:20 pm

Ouch Eldo! Sad

Rub in the loss of my pc why don't you?!!! Bloomin Yanks!! Evil or Very Mad

(it got sent back on Monday by courier- hopefully have it back next week- possibly with an new HDD -meaning I have to start all over- or hopefully with some other fault fixed but HDD contents intact. I shall keep you all informed of progress)