tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post92106543385976..comments2024-03-15T06:02:30.623+00:00Comments on The Lockerbie Case: The Crown and the CIARobert Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03606456028430261555noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post-86532235048267450172015-08-26T13:51:30.869+01:002015-08-26T13:51:30.869+01:00Recalling Colin Boyd's "irreproducible&qu...Recalling Colin Boyd's "irreproducible" conclusion, it could be interesting to see if the Metropolitan police would have had any comment on matters brought up elsewhere, and just how it would have affected the view on Nicholas Green's findings.<br />http://time.com/3970699/thailand-koh-tao-murders-hannah-witheridge-david-miller-latest/<br /><br />SMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13272238187226269250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post-15902545245710295352015-08-26T13:35:10.406+01:002015-08-26T13:35:10.406+01:00"...if Scotland's judiciary has always be..."...if Scotland's judiciary has always been in the pocket of the political establishment..."<br />Well, "the separation of powers" was of course never really that. <br /><br />I feel over this page about the nomination of Clarence Thomas<br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Thomas_Supreme_Court_nomination<br /><br />There is an interesting list of how the senators voted. The case was in the main whether the sexual allegations by Anita Hill would be true or not. <br /><br />Anyone thinking that party-membership would have little impact on that matter should think again. 46 of 48 opposing were Democrats, 41 out of 52 supporters were Republicans.<br /><br />- - -<br /><br />Today, 26th Aug., this article is printed in Bangkok Post.<br />http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/crime/669504/koh-tao-murder-defendants-denied-uk-police-report<br /><br /><i>But the two murder suspects, who have been on trial since early July, applied to the court to hand over the report, arguing that it might be of use to their defence case.<br /><br />The Metropolitan Police opposed their application, arguing that disclosure would impede the force's ability to enter into cooperation agreements with foreign authorities in future.<br /><br />Having seen the full report, the judge ruled that the interests of the police outweighed those of the suspects.<br /><br />"In short I have concluded that there is nothing in the police report which is exculpatory, i.e. would be of material assistance to the claimants in the trial," he said in a summary of his ruling.</i><br /><br />The defense demanding the release of available information, issues having nothing to do with justice making the release inconvenient, and a representative for the judicial system saying "But Oh, there is really nothing much there anyway, trust me.".<br /><br />Does it sound familiar?<br />We do, Nicholas Green, trust you to give the answer expected of you, in this case and the other I have seen.<br /><br />Cute that the public police can reach agreements about making secret reports and that you support its secrecy, as otherwise they might not be able to make another secret report another time. <br /><br />The 'interests of the police' (??) outweighing the interests of the defendants in a murder case, facing a certain death penalty if found guilty.SMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13272238187226269250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post-1844876828716412902015-08-25T13:59:44.578+01:002015-08-25T13:59:44.578+01:00I was reading a report of the trial of Thomas Muir...I was reading a report of the trial of Thomas Muir in 1793, with the guilty verdict a foregone conclusion and the jury packed with government sympathisers. The judge, Lord Braxfield, was determined to convict.<br /><br />It makes you wonder if anything has ever changed, and if Scotland's judiciary has always been in the pocket of the political establishment and prepared to deliver judgements as required. Maybe ordinary non-political trials are generally untainted, but the entire system seems to have a legacy and a culture of corruption and political expediency.Rolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16206952819245786811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post-14954226473318882902015-08-24T09:43:44.572+01:002015-08-24T09:43:44.572+01:00It's not just that they have more important th...It's not just that they have more important things to think about, it's that there's nobody to vote for who will do this.<br /><br />More important things include independence, trying to mitigate the slash and burn policies of Westminster, getting effective value for money out of the shrinking pot of pocket money doled out to Scotland and generally administering the country in a more or less grown-up manner. None of the other parties is capable of any of that.<br /><br />In this context the self-serving horror that is the Crown Office doesn't impact on many people's lives and it isn't a priority at the ballot box. Even if it were, who would you vote for? The rest of the options are even worse. The above affront to justice was perpetrated by a Labour and LibDem coalition. The Conservatives were the power behind the 1989-90 investigation failings. We don't have any options.Rolfehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17849975010197698907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1073021351804532798.post-53016210964487351152015-08-24T04:28:16.373+01:002015-08-24T04:28:16.373+01:00"... it is somewhat difficult to appreciate h..."... it is somewhat difficult to appreciate how it could possibly have been accurate or justifiable for the Crown to state to the Court on Tuesday 22 August that the redacted or censored portions within the documents contained nothing "which could in any way impinge on the credibility of Mr Majid.""<br /><br />In plain terms:<br />The crown supplied totally false critical information under circumstances that leave no room for it being 'an honest mistake'. <br /><br />In even plainer terms: they lied, in a case as serious as imaginable.<br /><br />This is a serious crime by any standard.<br /><br />In a democracy like Scotland's it is so easily fixable, without blood and barricades, or fathers or brothers thrown into jails and tortured. <br />All it would take was that the people said "Hey! Put honest people in the top of of our judicial system, or we will of course not vote for you."<br />But I assume people have more important things to think about.SMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13272238187226269250noreply@blogger.com