If Scotland is to profit from deals made with Libya, Americans have the right to boycott Scotland in response.

Let the Americans boycott us, I say. It’s their money, after all.

Anyway, if their planned boycott is executed with half the brilliance and success of Reaganomics or the War On Terror, I’d expect Scotland to emerge as a globestraddling economic collossus within about three years.

That said, I don’t think it’s fair to say that “the Americans” are trying to organise a boycott. Most Americans are really quite pleasant, sane and amiable people.

No, when talking about the people organising the boycott, I think it would be fairer to substitute the term “Pig-ignorant wingnut fruitcakes,” or “Socially-deformed internet masturbators”.

We should really take care to differentiate between “Americans” and the assortment of cretinous pinheads and belligerent halfwits pushing the boycott. The latter is a global sub-species of humanity rather than an unfortunate, freakish and possibly incestuous genetic clusterfuck limited to North America.

No-one is going to cancel.
(Or very few anyway.)

Some may go elsewhere.

The website though seems a little confused, it’s headline being
“Boycott Scotland and the United Kingdom”

Speaking as a Scot, I can say that our rulings concerning prison releases should be governed by the rule of law and not the adulation of the yankee dollar.

What would we do in future? Scrap all our laws and replace it with a general ‘What would the Americans want us to do?’.

This smacks of typical American foreign policy of a total disregard for democratically elect governments that we have seen over the last fifty years. So much for the special relationship then.

I think it would be fairer to substitute the term “Pig-ignorant wingnut fruitcakes,” or “Socially-deformed internet masturbators”.

Heh.

I don’t think many Americans know what a boycott means.

Fuck ‘em.

Misogynist, racist, homophobic and xenophobic comments will be deleted.

Luis Enrique, a jack of all footy postions but a master of none…

I suppose The USA will still buy Libyian oil but not Scottish whisky or shortbread.

Yes Steven and let us not forget the part of the US national debt that Libya own.

Most of the tourists in Scotland are German these days, anyway.

Does that mean all those Grand theft auto games will sit on the shelves? What about Hugh Laurie in ‘House’, will they stop that too?

I’ve been an outspoken Anglophile all of my life, but I now support the boycott and if England wants to get involved in this I say boycott them too. Stupid me. After reading many of the comments at the BBC, I keep wondering how I could have ever had any affection for GB?

Scott @ 12

You see this is the type of statement that sums up the ‘special relationship’ that the Right would have us believe exist.

America is only interested in this relationship as long as we play ball. Once we make decisions based on our own laws and then the spite comes out. What will your boycott actually achieve? You resent the Scots running their Country according to their own laws? What is so bad about that, Scott? Why would you care about that?

A few hotels in Edinburgh will lose revenue? A couple of plastic loch Ness manufactures goes bust. A few pairs of hideous tartan trousers will go unsold. You wont hurt the SNP. You may bounce them into an early election, ironically enough at a time when labour is unpopular, that could have the consequence of actually increasing the SNP’s power.

To be honest with you, Scott, we should be stepping up our relations with the EU anyway. We have no need for support from the great Satan, when it is conditional.

An interesting intervention in the debate in the Scottish Parliament by the Labour MSP Patricia Ferguson cast further light on what’s been going on behind the scenes.

First to set her intervention in context.

It became clear today from MacAskill that the Prisoner Transfer request came from the Libyan government, not Megrahi himself. MacAskill said it was the requirement on him to find out what Magrahi’s view on this was which led to the prison visit [given that MacAskill would be opposed to P.T. on principle one could understand why he wanted to check if Magrahi wanted this]. MacAskill seemed to imply that his initial fact-finding activity, including speaking to the families of the bereaved, as well as Megrahi, was made necessary by this move by the Libyan government.

Now to Ferguson’s intervention.

She asked if the Justice Secretary had sought advice from his legal advisers as to whether he was competent to refuse the Prison Transfer rather than to merely check whether Magrahi met the criteria. In other words, she was saying that the Prisoner Transfer legislation, because it was based on a treaty between the UK and Libya, was not something he had authority to intervene in.

MacAskill did not accept this, but the fact that he pre-empted having to test this by releasing Magrahi anyway makes one wonder. The fact that Magrahi dropped his appeal may now be understood as a necessary means of maintaining pressure on MacAskill to, either agree to P.T., or respond in some other way [the continuation of the appeal would have ruled out Prisoner Transfer]. Clearly, having objected to the deal, the Scottish government would not want to be seen to be implementing it, if there was an alternative. However, in going for compassionate release, instead, they have muddied the waters and let the UK government off the hook. As a result they have also taken all the flack themselves.

This may also explain the Libyan government’s response of thanking Brown i.e. because the release came out of the process initiated by their request for Prisoner Transfer [something agreed between them and the Labour government]. Presumably, also, they would have been reminded of this option when Gaddafi spoke to Brown at the G8 and his son spoke to Mandelson in Greece.

Brown’s advisors may well have guessed that the Scottish government would be forced by the terms of the Prisoner Transfer legislation to seek an alternative solution, which respected the independence of Scot’s Law.

“Pig-ignorant wingnut fruitcakes,” or “Socially-deformed internet masturbators’

Well, that’s one way of describing the grieving relatives of a terrorist attack.

Prick.

If this was America releasing a mass murderer of Scots you’d be all over them.

‘We should really take care to differentiate between “Americans” and the assortment of cretinous pinheads and belligerent halfwits pushing the boycott. The latter is a global sub-species of humanity rather than an unfortunate, freakish and possibly incestuous genetic clusterfuck limited to North America.’

Sunny, this is the language of Mein Kampf.

Shatterface @ 17

Look at the amount of time it took is to get the IRA Brighton bomber back to justice 18 years, 10 years more than the Libyan spent in jail. The good ole USA made no attempt to circumvent their laws to appease us, even though the man was an escaped convicted terrorist who had attempted to kill our Prime Minister.

The Americans were not exactly accommodating in their support of their pilots being sent to take part in inquests into the death of Scots who died at the hands of ‘friendly fire’ incidents. No justice or compassion for the victims or the families in that instance. For some reason, they were not willing to allow their rules to be bent to accommodate the ‘special relationship’, but now we are expected to roll over and change our laws to suit them? Had this been the EU, the Right would be up in arms.

America does not have ‘allies’ they have useful idiots they can rely on.

‘Look at the amount of time it took is to get the IRA Brighton bomber back to justice 18 years, 10 years more than the Libyan spent in jail. The good ole USA made no attempt to circumvent their laws to appease us, even though the man was an escaped convicted terrorist who had attempted to kill our Prime Minister.’

So you are happy to let this killer go – because it’s revenge against the Americans over the IRA?

Did those who died on the plane support the IRA?

And I don’t remember the Left putting much pressure on the Amaricans to extrodite IRA suspects at the time, either.

From the above article, a quote from the US site Daily Kos:

“There is a rule in the Scottish Jusice System. Anyone who is terminally ill with three or less months to live is released on compassionate grounds to die at home. This is the rule now and has been the rule in the past.”

This is not accurate. The rules on compassionate release from prison are essentially the same in both the English and Scottish systems and don’t require release of the terminally ill on compassionate grounds. This can be done in certain circumstances but it is at the discretion of the Home Secretary in England or the Scottish Minister of Justice in Scotland. They exercise their discretion and judgement, it’s not a requirement or a right and it’s quite rare – it just so happens that the two most recent cases have been high profile ie Ronald Biggs and Mr Al – Megrahi. The rules governing the procedure are available online in PSO 6000 at:

http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/resourcecentre/psispsos/listpsos/index.asp?startrow=101

So, Mr Megrahi was released in accordance with Scottish and UK law but not as a requirement of it. A small point, but there you go.

Having got that out of the way, who the hell do these Americans think they are? Calling into question the judgement of one of “our” politicians, how dare they? I mean, we would never do that …… oh wait a minute. And as for the relatives of that lot on the plane, I mean why on earth are they complaining? I think the best thing to do would be to hurl abuse at them, don’t you? Or maybe we should mention some pretty dodgy decisions, heel dragging on extradition and general stupidity by the American Judiciary/Political Administration in the past. I mean that evens it up doesn’t it? Difficulty extraditing an IRA man or getting American pilots to appear at inquests has a direct bearing on Mr Al Megrahi’s release, doesn’t it? Yes, let’s all throw insults at grieving relatives and their countrymen because they’ve expressed a bit of discontent that one of our politicians let someone who was convicted of over 200 murders out of prison.

The quality of the posts on this thread has been outstanding, here’s my favourite:

“I don’t think many Americans know what a boycott means.

Fuck ‘em.”

Yeah, you really told them there DHG. Which do you think they found most devastating, the unassailable logic of your argument or the fact that you are clearly expressing the opinion of the nation?

Anyway, hope this winds a few of you up into even more of an impotent frenzy than you are clearly already in. Some of your comments are really quite revolting.

Shatterface @ 20

“So you are happy to let this killer go – because it’s revenge against the Americans over the IRA?”

No, you misunderstand the point I was making. The Americans have a lengthy legal process that took 18 years to resolve. They did not take our ‘feelings’ into account, nor did they miss out a few appeals or other parts of the procedure to maintain the ‘special relationship’ or any other consideration. They followed the ‘rule of law’ because their system demands it. They did not handcuff him and return him to London, they gave him full recourse to the law and came to a decision that satisfied their system.

That is exactly what Kenny McKaskill did. He made his decision based on Scots Law. Not a trade deal, not an ‘assurance’ on conduct or expediency. This decision has been made with complete consistency with the current law.

Whatever we feel about that law, we are bound to follow it. We cannot just wink to the ‘audience’ and make up the law as we go along. We cannot pretend that the law says ‘A’ but means ‘B’. The law states this man can go home to die, so must respect the rule of law.

“And I don’t remember the Left putting much pressure on the Amaricans to extrodite IRA suspects at the time, either.”

You need to take that up with the left.

No, he didn’t just “follow the law” he acted within the law and exercised his judgement and/or discretion. You make it sound as though there was a legal process. There wasn’t. The decision was (rightly and according to the rules) taken by a politician, not a judge, and informed by reports from medical professionals and others, not factual evidence of the kind used in a trial or appeal process. It wasn’t just a case of “applying the law” in an impartial or impersonal manner, it was a judgement call, he had a choice and that’s one of the things that pisses a lot of people (many of them apparently American) off. The other thing that pisses them off is the fact that the guy was convicted of killing a whole loada people and sentenced to life imprisonment and now he’s at home and making TV appearances with his Head of State. Now who could possibly be irritated by little things like that?

Richard

“Or maybe we should mention some pretty dodgy decisions, heel dragging on extradition and general stupidity by the American Judiciary/Political Administration in the past. I mean that evens it up doesn’t it? Difficulty extraditing an IRA man or getting American pilots to appear at inquests has a direct bearing on Mr Al Megrahi’s release, doesn’t it?”

What it does do is show that the Americans demand their legal system is not to be abandoned for either the wishes of an other Country or the outrage of the victim’s family. They don’t just scrap the judicial process because a few ‘foreigners’ where killed in a bombing, nor does the mere fact that a man has already been convicted in a foreign court mean anything either.

Their legal system is sacrosanct. The Scottish process, however, well that is just a silly system and should be bent to fit the whim of the American opinion and the threat of the dollar.

Why?

Why is it that the Scottish Government should change a single sentence of their laws, just because it happens not to sit with American sensibilities?

I support Kenny MacAskill, not because I necessarily support the decision he made, but because he was willing to make a decision that would be very unpopular, rather than ignore the law. Surely everyone who contributes to the board can agree that we need politicians that can make deeply unpopular decisions if they are correct.

Jim, I haven’t suggested that “the Scottish Government should change a single sentence of their laws.”

I don’t, for a change, want to sound patronising but read my posts and you will see that I haven’t suggested that. The point I am making is this:

a. Mr Megrahi was not released because the law requires it. It allows it but it would also allow his continued detention.
b. The decision to release him was not taken in order to comply with the law, because the law allows either early release or continued detention in these circumstances.
c. This issue isn’t one of Scottish Sovereignty, the Rule of Law or anything like that, it’s about a decision taken by a politician which was not part of a Judicial Process. People are criticising Mr MacAskill’s judgement, not attacking the right of the Scots to govern themselves or follow their own laws. Under the circumstances it’s easy to see why some people might do that.

Jim, did you even read Richard’s post?

There is no LAW stating that a sick prisoner must be released, let alone one who has served two weeks for every murder he has committed.

This isn’t some pensioner who had failed to pay his TV licence.

Shatterface – thanks.

I can’t believe that at least some of the posters here don’t see the irony of a group of supposedly left leaning individuals (I think the word intellectual would be out of place in this thread, eh?) employing rhetoric which is a cross between the righteously indignant, one – nation Tory and the bile spewing hatred of a jubilant member of the BNP. It’s directed at Americans, so it must be ok to make idiotic generalisations. I assume that’s the logic they employ.

The other thing I can’t believe is the utter vacuity of some of the posts.

Anyway, I’ve been visiting this site for about 4 or 5 weeks (I came to it by following a link from another forum of which I’m a member – scientific, not political) and I think it’s time to say ta ta. There’s only so much mindless, right – on sloganising, masquerading as argument a guy can take.

Ta ta and thanks for your more entertaining and provocative posts.

It’s now becoming clearer that this is not a case of Scotland being pressurised, inefectually, by the USA, but being pressurised, effectually, by Downing Street.

So much for independence.

In order for the boycott to really make an impact every American has to go all-out with the boycott and play their own part.

That is why I put together a list of things every American should know about Scottish produce and what to avoid.

http://www.boycottscotland.co.uk/

We have to make sure as many Americans as possible know about the Boycott, is the only way to really show those Terrorist loving Scots!

A trade war ………probably the only war Americans might win, why could’nt they review their fleet at Pearl Harbour in glass bottomed boats that would keep them occupied.!!!!!

Peter @ 30

Thanks for the great post: it was enough to show me that I shouldn’t waste my time responding to what people say here, but that I should instead send emails to my two senators and congressman telling them how angry I will be if they vote for any measure that assists Scotland. Which I did.

Maybe the boycott will amount to nothing, and maybe it will cause serious problems for Scotland for the next decade or two: time will tell. My hope is that the US ends all relations with Scotland — commercial, financial, political, cultural, scientific, military, intelligence, and travel — but if it doesn’t I won’t care. Scotland means nothing to me now.

Jim @ 14

I can assure you, Americans care more about the brand of coffee they buy than they do about the Scottish judicial system. There are ONLY two reasons Americans care about this issue: (1) Pan Am 103 was an American plane, owned by an American company, flying to an American destination, and filled mostly with Americans. As far as we are concerned, Scotland became a part in this solely because that plane happened to hit the ground within Scotland’s borders. (2) Some of us consider Pan Am 103 to be almost an extension of 9/11, and if you push us at all in that area, we will, as newspapers have described it, be “furious.”

You guys had a chance for all of us to walk away from this with minimal damage, but because of the remarks of many people on these forums, it wouldn’t surprise me if relations between Scotland and the US, and maybe even between England and the US, deteriorate and never again become what they have been.

I’ve learned a lot from these forums. I wasn’t, for instance, aware of the massive inferiority complex many people in the UK have for the US.

Finally, Jim, I agree with you that Scotland should see if it can become friends with the EU, because Scotland certainly does not have a friend on this side of the Atlantic anymore. You don’t like us, and we no longer like you.

Gosh, I never knew that so many Scots hated Americans.
That’s so sad because we can’t control what our government does.
Right now we are all just trying to get by. I pray a lot as well.
I pray for peace which I know will never come.

Fuck America.

You can’t control what your government does? You vote for it. If that isn’t enough for you, then that’s your fucking problem.

Fuck America, fuck Obama, fuck the wingnuts who believe Al Megrahi should’ve been tortured to death (which is how America normally deals with “terrorists”), fuck the right on this side of the pond condemning the SNP, fuck any leftist like Dave Osler who can’t see why Al Megrahi is innocent or why compassion is what separates us from the right, and oh yeah, fuck you too.

Shatterface, why do you waste your time trying to push the Harry’s Place line on LibCon? It’s getting tiresome.

Thanks for the point re compassionate release Richard – and for the reference source.

The boycott site actually seems to be inhabited mostly by Scots having a go back – I like the prospect of a Buckie ban.

http://twitter.com/search?q=%23boycottscotland

And eh, much funnier than the witless ‘fuck ‘em’ comments directed here against Americans.

@Shatterface
Well, that’s one way of describing the grieving relatives of a terrorist attack. Prick.

How many grieving relatives are involved in this campaign, son? One? None? Actually just a lot of none-too-smart right-wing headbangers?

Tragic, tragic Concern-Troll Fail.

Sunny, this is the language of Mein Kampf.

You are wrong – my words are literally Adolf Hitler himself. Sadly, in this scenario, reason is the Wehrmacht and your feeble attempts at argument are the Maginot Line. I strongly advise that you withdraw your ramshackle flotilla of pisspoor reading comprehension skills from this Dunkirk of a thread and sail them right up the English Channel of your arse.

Sunny, the racism on this thread – particularly from FlyingRodent and Denim Justice – is disgusting and your response to this:

‘I think it would be fairer to substitute the term “Pig-ignorant wingnut fruitcakes,” or “Socially-deformed internet masturbators”.

Heh.’

…ought to have you hang your head in shame.

Describe any other group than Americans as a ‘global sub-species of humanity’ or an ‘unfortunate, freakish and possibly incestuous genetic clusterfuck’ and the you would see these comments for the racist bile they are.

To recap – Gadafi gives up a fall guy (post-Lockerbie) to get his feet under the table with the West?

8yrs later Broo’n, senses an opportunity to promote UK oil interests, so leans on the Scots to release the non-bomber, who may or may not have advanced prostate cancer (I understand no medical reports have been released detailing specifics of the prognosis?).

The Scots claim the moral hi-groon’d, the sinister Libyans have another laugh at the West, the Yanks go mad, threatening to boycott trade with Scotland, while Broo’n keeps schtum?

Meanwhile the Scottish B&B owners wait anxiously for further developments?

Why can’t we all just be friends? – dream on, that’s what I say.

Describe any other group than Americans as a ‘global sub-species of humanity’ or an ‘unfortunate, freakish and possibly incestuous genetic clusterfuck’ and the you would see these comments for the racist bile they are.

1) Read the section you’re quoting from again.

2) Think about what it says for a bit.

3) Try commenting again.

Shatterface, you have mis-read FR and are making an arse of yourself. Don’t worry, we all do it from time to time and the best thing to do is make a clean breast of it. There are Ameriphobic dullards on this thread, but FR is not one of them. Shorter FR @2: “we must be careful to differentiate between Americans and morons”.

For what it’s worth, I think the comments policy should be amended to: “Misogynist, racist, homophobic and xenophobic comments, except when directed at Americans, will be deleted.” Which has the virtue of honesty, if not moral and intellectual consistency. People only make an arses of themselves by writing dumb things about Americans, but it should be water off a duck’s back for the nation that’s produced this and this.

Fuck anyone who wants to boycott Scotland.

As far as I see it there are three separate issues here:

1 – Should he have been released? Debatable, almost as debatable as whether he should have been found guilty in the first place a sacrificial lamb put forward by the Libyan government prosecuted with reasonably suspect and circumstantial evidence. The point is however, he was prosecuted for a crime committed over Scotland under Scottish law, the decision whether to release him was made under provisions of Scottish law. In the end it is a Scottish decision whether he should have been released not an American one.

2 – Should Scotland have bowed to American pressure? Never, Scotland has a long and proud history of standing up to more powerful nations trying to impose their will on it. This comes from an Englishman, from the nation that Scotland has the greatest history of standing up against. The US may be our allies, but ally does not mean lord and master. We British should have the right to make our own decisions, especially democratic ones. After all America wants to promote democracy across the world, it seems hypocritically only democracy that meets their wants and desires. Be free, but do what we tell you. Speaking as an Englishman that type of attitude makes me want to give the American government the good old one finger salute.

3 – The response from certain sectors of the American population (especially the boycott website). This arrogant throwing of the toys out of the pram, while beating your chest is one of the reasons that the view of America has steadily declined in the vast area of the world that is not the USA. So someone stood up to you and did not do as you demanded, boo hoo, you’re a super power be the big man and deal with it. Proposing to do harm to the Scottish economy, potentially putting Scottish jobs at risk is not big, not clever and not proportional. It smacks of being a spoilt child throwing a tantrum. Yes there are American relatives who will be upset by the decision, which is regrettable, there will be Scottish relatives that are upset by the decision, but to suggesting getting your own back on a nation because of feelings of a few aggrieved relatives (especially as not all the relatives are actually aggrieved) is a pathetic excuse for bullying.

Sure some of the Scottish/British responses to this boycott have been petty and childish, which is regrettable, but they are no more petty and childish than the boycott itself. Foreign governments, even allies don’t always do what you want, that’s the reality of the world. Strangely the Scottish government puts the wishes of the Scottish people before those of the US, now if the Scottish people wish to take umbrage against the decision that’s fine. Though I am guessing that many Scottish will take more umbrage against the US citizens throwing their perceived weight around and trying to rename whisky ‘freedom liquor’!

Scott

“I can assure you, Americans care more about the brand of coffee they buy than they do about the Scottish judicial system.”

Yes, well that is perfectly clear. Sums up the American wingnuts perfectly.

“You guys had a chance for all of us to walk away from this with minimal damage”

This will be damage caused because we apply the rule of law of our own Country? That is not damage mate.

“Scotland certainly does not have a friend on this side of the Atlantic anymore. You don’t like us”

Well, I happen to live twenty miles from Edinburgh, so we will see if there is likely to be a mass exodus of American businesses in the near future.

“You don’t like us, and we no longer like you.”

The wing nuts don’t like us? Yeah, I will try and not throw myself of a bridge.

Nancy @ 33

Sorry Nancy we don’t hate Americans, well not all of them, just the loud mouth right wing nut jobs, but I hate Scottish loud mouth right wing nuts equally. I don’t believe the majority of Americans are like Scott or any of the other boycott advocates.

I don’t want to see a trade war. No-one wants to see American businesses petrol bombed or boycotted, nor do I want the Americans who live here made uncomfortable just because a few Right wing Americans cannot fathom out that we have the right to determine our own laws.

What’s going to happen to the Scottish-Americans? Will they be forced to hide their identity by posing as Irish-Americans for the next few months?

‘A trade war ………probably the only war Americans might win, why could’nt they review their fleet at Pearl Harbour in glass bottomed boats that would keep them occupied.!!!!’

Pearl Harbour jokes now? This is a new low.

Neil asks

‘What’s going to happen to the Scottish-Americans? Will they be forced to hide their identity by posing as Irish-Americans for the next few months?’

Well there was quite a bit of ‘heads-down’ among American Scots after the 1770s rebellion, when many if not most Scots (certainly Highland Scots) were loyalist – the loyalists were called the ‘Scotch Party’ in Virginia, for example.

The ‘Scotch-Irish’ on the other hand – the thousands of Scots who had settled in Ulster then moved to America in the 18th century – were overwhelmingly pro-independence and won the rebellion at the Battle of Kings Mountain (urinating on the body of that gallant Scot, Patrick Ferguson, after their bloody victory).

Franklin called the Scotch-Irish ‘savages’ but they won his rebellion for him. So the answer is pretend to be Scotch-Irish.

USA and Scotland; Please.

I think most people think the Scottish decision was a bit crap especially as there are so many grieving relatives.

But Americans; understand that a suggestion to boycott Scotland / UK is also very silly and will, inevitably, create a backlash.

The USA has shot Iranian airliners down, supported the IRA; removed legitimate electored governments and so on. All with their grieving relatives.

Scotland is part of a force fighting alongside you in Afghanistan, Iraq and so many other areas. Part of the UK AND part of the EU.

SO dont lose a friend or start dogfights with the EU.

It aint worth it.

Besides its so sad to watch fat burger munchers and skirt wearing alcoholics squabble.

Yours

British by birth
English by the grace of god

Daniel H-G says ‘fuck em’ to Americans and when I call this observation ‘witless’ responds by telling me to ‘fuck off’.

Sunny – can you pop in and explain how DHG is not in breach of your ‘tight comments policy’ re abuse and xenophobia?

Edwin Mooore Tedious Bore:

Fuck’ em is flippant indeed but I am not as yet convinced that the American boycott will happen, or at least happen on a scale that will have impact, or that American’s em masse are aware and or able to actually boycott Scotland and it’s products; more that it is a lovely bit of tat for the media over there to run, rather like the Freedom Fries nonsense which had no impact on the French economy and made the entire nation look thick, myopic and even funnier than usual.

So just as the world coughed and sighed that the French helped the US define itself as a nation, clever people like Boycott Scotland will point out that any boycott will fail due to the reach of ‘Scottish’ goods.

Also, let us repeat the fact that Libya owns a good part of the US, will the US force the Libyans to sell that in some act of pique.

No.

My point with fuck ‘em is that seriously debating US boycotts of Scottish goods, is at the moment, a massive waste of fucking time and energy, never mind pointless.

Seriously, some of you have got to relax a wee bit.

I’ve deleted a comment aimed at people. But I don’t buy shatterface’s point aimed at Flying Rodent that he’s somehow abusing all Americans. Or that he’s mimicking Hitler. That’s just ludicrous.

Ludicrous indeed, it’s like a nerves been hit and fair play on the delete dude.

We English are sitting back and enjoying the show between you colonies. Good old Palmerston (or was it Gladstone’s?) balance of power-politics.

And the Oil money; t’is ours.

Popcorn anyone?

Samantha:

I’m up for popcorn but are you willing to share some nachos?

Daniel Hoffmann-Gill:

Nachos? Aaar Gill lad.

Whom are you supporting? Skirt Wearers or Burger munchers?

Do you think that Scotland is out of its depth, just a tinsey-winsey?

Fireworks is all it is, as I’ve said above I don’t even think it is a case of Scotland being out of it’s depth, I think it’s all hype so far, nowt else.

My mine a large coke.

Well, I’m quite relaxed actually DHG – I even agree I can bore for Scotland – but I don’t agree that ‘fuck ‘em’ is ‘merely’ flippant. Just try substituting the word ‘Arab’ for ‘American’ in your posts.

Have just re-read the thread – I somehow missed the remarkable one at 34, good grief. Makes you look good.

Liberal Conspiracy seems to me to be a bit of a boys’ club (reminds me of Glasgow Uni’s pre-integrated male student union when Charlie Kennedy was prez, but without the laughs) and the banter favoured by you fits that roughhouse setting. And it’s clear that Sunny – who owns the joint – has no problem with it. As someone who drops in from time to time, I have to say I’m not that at ease with the atmosphere so I’ll visit less regularly.

Pubs belong to locals and this is obviously not my sort of boozer!

Gill-Hofman:

Hmmm youre right t’is merely fireworks.

I’m surprised the Scots arent blaming the English for this mess (they normally blame us for everything else). Maybe they can blame our (unelected) prime minister (aka Mr G F##wit Brown)? Ooops no he’s a Scotch too.

Ooh slice of pizza (with extra onions) please.

Edwin:

Nah, the reversal don’t cut it, nice try but I’ve made it clear, the usage and stance but you can keep chasing the rabbit even if it is circular.

Sam:

Pizza at the pictures? Fair play to you!

Ooh d’ya think there maybe a conspiracy – MI6 3/4 gave the Libyan a radioactive pill, with the intent to kill him off, in order to release him and get the oil?

Meanwhile those poor unsuspecting Scots (in between vomitting and p###ing in the gutter) got caught up in it. They once only looked like rough lesbos in skirts. Now they now look to be mincing too.

OOh its enough to make you run screaming from your home after a night of Orson Wells reading “War of the Worlds” on the radio. (American style of course)

I’d like a pigs bladder full of offal please (aka Haggis); tastes better than Irish potatoes it does

Meanwhile I wonder why Mr Madison ran away?

CENSORED!!!

Will members of the US administration be getting a similar ticking off for consorting with those who, (ignoring the doubts about evidence relied upon in the conviction, and assuming his guilt) would have been the instructing force behind Megrahi’s actions?

Compassionate release is, in the vast majority of cases, granted in Scotland – regardless of the severity of the crime. That’s not everyone’s cup of tea, naturally….but the emphasis has to be on matters such as whether the person is terminally ill and whether there is any likelihood of them posing a risk on being released. Diplomatic relations with other countries are not one of the grounds that the Secretary of Justice is entitled to look at, in considering such a request.

I would think that however intense this current anti-Scottish feeling in the US is, it will burn itself out pretty quickly. If it doesn’t…well, so be it. Americans are perfectly entitled to avoid visiting Scotland and avoid doing business with us if they wish. Economically it’s not ideal – but I guess the Scots have a dry enough outlook to shrug this xenophobic frenzy off as the pure nonsense it is.

I am full agreement of the boycot of Scotland. I just can not see how compassionate release could be justified. The man should have died in jail instead of his homeland. They should have let him die and then bargained to let his body go home.

65 George

There was never any real prospect of him dying in jail. His next move would have been to a hospice and all the security problems and issues that entails, not least of course the huge cost.

George Weiss @ 65,

Then, thankfully, the decision wasn’t up to you. Go ahead and boycott, it’s you democratic xenophobic right.

‘Compassionate release is, in the vast majority of cases, granted in Scotland – regardless of the severity of the crime.’

Vast majority? So there are dying prisoners in Scotish jails less worthy of compassion?

Sunny, either you can’t read or Rodent can’t write:

‘We should really take care to differentiate between “Americans” and the assortment of cretinous pinheads and belligerent halfwits pushing the boycott. The latter is a global sub-species of humanity rather than an unfortunate, freakish and possibly incestuous genetic clusterfuck limited to North America.’

The ‘rather than’ seperates the ‘sub-species of humanity’ Rodent describes as ‘cretinous pinheads and belligerant halwits pushing the boycott’ from the ‘unfortunate, freakish and possibly incestuous genetic clusterfuck limited to North America’.

Vast majority? So there are dying prisoners in Scotish jails less worthy of compassion?

No, but there may be some who pose a greater risk of serious re-offending in their remaining time.

The ‘rather than’ seperates the ’sub-species of humanity’ Rodent describes as ‘cretinous pinheads and belligerant halwits pushing the boycott’ from the ‘unfortunate, freakish and possibly incestuous genetic clusterfuck limited to North America’.

A strange reading… FR is obviously presenting two alternative hypotheses on the nature of said “cretinous pinheads”, rather than presenting contrasting descriptions of them versus “Americans”. It seems perfectly clear, unless you’re going out of your way to come up with the least charitable interpretation possible, and one which is diametrically opposed to what FR actually seems to be saying. Have you considered the possibility that you may have misinterpreted?

Dear God, is Shatterface still at this?

I thought I’d said – in quite clear terms – Americanness is peculiar to America, but plain fucking idiocy is a global phenomenon.

It’s very tempting to mine this thread for proof of that contention, but I suspect I don’t have to.

Remember American friends, if you boycott Scotland to any great length, the EU could boycott the USA and you’d be forced into a humiliating retreat.

The position of power isnt in your favour as it once was, say, 20 years ago.

This stupidity by the yanks is one of the reasons why people do not like them. They forget that it was in fact American fighter pilots shooting down a libyan Passenger liner killing 290 people which caused the retaliation and the lockerbie disaster. Does anyone remember the Amercians funding the IRA? They are busy getting fatter and lazier, their own self importance has been out of control for years. The yanks need to shut the hell up, boycott goods if you like, to be honest who cares.