A Dark Day For Scotland...

So, Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi is released on compassionate grounds, suffering from terminal prostate cancer, and returns home (in a jet belonging to leader Colonel Gaddafi, no less) to Libya to a "hero's welcome" - crowds at the airport waving Libyan and Scottish flags...

Gaddafi's son proclaimed this as a "courageous" move on Scotland's part.

Anger At Lockerbie Bomber Welcome
Homecoming For Lockerbie Bomber
Audio Slideshow: Remembering Lockerbie
Wikipedia: Pan-Am Flight 103
Wikipedia: Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi

In my view, this is a huge mistake. The man is a convicted murderer, found guilty of the killing of 270 people. He should have been left to rot in jail... The MOST he should have been given was a prison transfer to a jail in Libya. As it is, he's not even under house arrest. Sure, his conviction hasn't been overturned, so he's still guilty in the eyes of the law - but he's still at home, with his family... which is more than can be said for those whose lives he ended in such a callous and cowardly manner.

And Scotland scores some brownie points with a country with a history of terrorism... Great(!)

Shame on you, Kenny MacAskill... You have made me ashamed of my nationality for the first time in my life...

The Michael Jackson Songs...

I picked yesterday were met with a "OMG... Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuj!" by Viki (hint... she wasn't impressed)... so I'm being made to post a more acceptable selection of videos:

Earth Song (1995)
Billie Jean (1983)
Dirty Diana (1988)
Black Or White (1991)
Beat It (1983)
Blame It On The Boogie (as The Jackson 5) (1978)

The only one of my choices that she approved of was "Thriller"!

Hope that's better, draga!

The "OMG... I Just Can't Believe It's True" Post...

Didn't have the computer on last night, or the radio or anything, so didn't hear the big news story before I went to bed... just I got a text message from Viki after she'd set off to work this morning that ended with "Michael Jackson has died. Mivan!"

And, indeed, it's true... looking it up on the BBC news site on my mobile phone confirmed it:

Michael Jackson Dies Aged 50

He was declared dead at UCLA hospital at 10:26pm (British Time) last night.

It doesn't feel real yet though... Yes, I along with everyone else had read the stories about how his health was not good, and how there were doubts about his fitness for the series of concerts that were scheduled for the O2 Arena, but Michael Jackson wasn't really mortal... not like ordinary people... Not that I'm saying he was a god or anything like that, because - I'll be honest - he wasn't up there in my Top 10 artists, either as I was growing up, or now... I wasn't THAT big a fan... didn't own any albums or anything, never had his posters on my wall... and, yes, I thought (and still think) he was a bit "Wacko"... certainly there was something wrong with him... a naivety that bordered on mentally underdeveloped... But you can't deny his talent, showmanship, and influence on today's music and artists.

And he was always THERE... all the time I was growing up and discovering music and bands... Let's face it, he's been in pop longer than I've been alive... so you just kind of felt like he would go on forever.

It would be good if it was his music he was remembered for... rather than the baggage that followed him around... the accusations of child abuse (was he guilty? I guess we'll never really know)... the spendaholic lifestyle and subsequent money troubles... the demons that fuelled his plastic surgery obsession... all of that.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family... to his children... his ex-wives... his mother and father... his brothers and sisters... his friends... and to his fans worldwide who feel that they have lost someone special to them...

And I leave you with some of my favourite songs of his as tribute:

Heal The World (1992)
You Are Not Alone (1995)
Scream (With Janet Jackson) (1995)
Thriller (1984)
Say Say Say (With Paul McCartney) (1983)

Life Giving You The Needle?

Think how much worse it could be!

Ananova: Chinese Guy Has Needle Removed From His Arse After 31 Years

Ouch! Just ouch!

But I still have to...

In The News Today...

This story has just sickened me so much today:

Aussie Boy Goes On Animal Killing Spree At Zoo

It's disgusting that he can do something like this at SEVEN years of age, and - to all intents and purposes - get off with it, because he's under the age of legal responsibility.

And I read in another story that his brother had already been in trouble for attacking the crocodile some years ago... What the fuck kind of parents do these two sick little freaks have!?

IMO they should all be thrown to the crocodile!

It's true what they are all saying... he clearly is a serial-killer in the making.