I know this is not really true entertainment gossip, but it is something that is really making me mad, so I am going to go on a little rant. Feel free to skip it if you do not want to read it.
Last year, The UK and Scottish governments decided to free from jail, Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, who was one of the masterminds behind the bombing of a Pan Am flight over Scotland which killed 270 people, 189 of which were American.
At the time they released him the governments said he only had 3 months to live and that it would be a compassionate gesture. Well, now it turns out that not only is the guy expected to live for up to 20 more years but that the reason he was released in the first place was that BP had an oil deal in place with Libya which was going to make the company $20 billion.
Together with government officials and a doctor who was paid to give a bogus medical diagnosis, a convicted terrorist was set free so BP could get their money. In fact, the UK Secretary Of Justice says that it is in the best interests of BP to let the terrorist go home. In his reasoning, there is this lovely section of a memo. "BP has just announced it will begin deepwater drilling next month off Libya’s coast, and it is estimated BP could earn as much as $20 billion from the deal."
Meanwhile, the UK government continues to say they thought he was going to die which is why they released him. Uh huh. BP says it does not comment on matters of speculation. That shows they were up to their necks in it.
This is not about any branch of politics or if you are liberal or conservative. This is about saying that a company making money is more important than justice or terror and that it is perfectly acceptable to kill 300 people if you can write a big enough check. That is what it is saying. What do you tell the families of all those people who were killed? It is like they are saying, you can't bring your family members back so you might as well let this company make some money.
This disgusts me.
He was also treated like a hero by the administration upon returning to Libya. Parades etc etc
ReplyDeleteEvidently it's also OK to pollute the entire Gulf of Mexico if you can write a big enough check.
ReplyDeleteJust the thought of this being true makes me sick to my stomach. I was wondering not long ago, if the guy died or not and looks like he is doing okay to be terminally ill. Wow, this truly is disgusting if it's true!
ReplyDeleteWhen this happened, my brother's best friend David's sister was on that plane. I watched first hand the entire family falling apart due to this tragedy, and how they never recovered. I was young when it happened, but seeing the destruction of that family from this psycho's actions has haunted me since. It is sickening that this guy has been released, and I can only imagine how David and his parents feel hearing this news.
ReplyDeleteyou just figuring out money is the only thing that matters in this world?
ReplyDeletedecisions are made daily all over the world that hurt human beings, animals, the environment, whatever. all made for MONEY.
They will all rot in hell, every GD one of them.
ReplyDeleteBecause of oil, I can almost see where the Mayans had the 2012 thing right.
Our world is in the GD shitter right now (sorry to be so negative) and I am *thisclose* to finding Jesus right about now. Which you'd realize is a truly stunning thing for me to say if y'all knew me.
WOW, I am fucking floored by this, BP is getting away with murder, here and abroad, WTF?!?!
ReplyDeletebest quote...BP should change their name to DP for the way they are fucking us from both ends.
ReplyDeleteWell then, I guess they'll have plenty of funds to pay for the mess in the Gulf for years to come then, won't they?!?!
ReplyDeleteI worked for a Dept of Corrections for many years, left for the private sector a few years ago, and I never understood the compassionate release process. In this case he killed many, many innocent people. Wasn't the point of his incarceration let him die in prison? Didn't anyone think it was odd he was released with 3 months to live? Of course there was a monetary catch.
ReplyDeleteOk I agree that BP is the devil but it was the UK that was so concerned about BP's "best interests." I don't want to hear another Brit whine about how the bad PR in America could cost people jobs in the UK. We made a mistake trusting our shore to BP so that we could make money and the UK has made their mistake getting in bed with BP and now we are all just going to have to deal with the consequences.
ReplyDeleteconsidering it's publicly traded...i'm so glad i don't own shares...that'd be like literal blood on my hands.
ReplyDeleteshame on you, BP.
As a Brit, this appalls me too. BP and all its various arms and branches should just eff off already.
ReplyDeleteWhen they released him, I believe it was the Scottish parliament that made the final decision, not the UK one, and there was very little that could be done about it.
Hope the money keeps them warm in hell, because it's the only they're going.
Reprehensible, disgusting actions from BP? Say it ain't so!
ReplyDeleteWest End Girl is right. The Scottish parliament has a very thumbs up/thumbs down approach. Apparently, there was also some doubt about his guilt. At least officially ...
ReplyDeleteWith this, it sounds much more like he was released for nothing less than blood money.
Selena, I'm starting to wonder if we're going to make it to 2012.
ReplyDeleteThe US government tried to broker a similar deal a few years ago but the Scottish parliament prevented it.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why he was released had more to do with preventing is appeal which would've shown he was innocent and which would've embarrased both the UK and US governments. The latter in particular which is known to have supressed vital evidence.
wow...just wow.
ReplyDeleteThanks, stevebfd, for the unsupported conspiracy theories blaming, who? Ahhhh yes, the Americans. We're a bunch of bastards. All 300,000,000+ of us.
ReplyDeleteWhen I heard this on the news last night, it made me sick. Now on top of everything that BP had done to destroy the Gulf, they've got the blood of all the Pan Am victims on their hands. Money really is the root of all evil, non?
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but are American corporations ethically pure??
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable, this just makes me sick.
ReplyDelete@deleted, didn't you know? The EU thinks the US is responsible for all the world evils by default. lol
ReplyDeleteUgh. This kind of f*ckery. Used to be the purview of the Noam Chomskys of the world to expose this sort of thing (and be ignored). Go, Enty. This is why I love ya.
ReplyDeleteUm, I remember the story and them begging for his release b/c of the "illness" at which I thought was total bullshit. You kill that many people, you don't get a compassionate gesture.
ReplyDeleteI really don't know why anyone is surprised.... Government Officials+Big Oil = ALL CORRUPT no matter what party you belong to.
I'm glad he's free - he's innocent.
ReplyDeleteEnty, you of all people should know how justice and the courts can royally fuck up and railroad an innocent person. Read up on this case. The guy is innocent.
Too bad the police didn't nail the real bastards behind this monsterous crime.
And now that he has more than a few months left, he can spend his time releasing the evidence of his innocence to the world. Unfortunately, I don't think too many people are interested in listening.
I had read in one of my books about Danny Casolaro and the Octopus conspiracy theories that they were tied into this, and that Al-Meghri was a set up guy... Might have to read more
ReplyDeleteYou are right, SWM -- so many giant US corps are also so totally sick and evil that it would boggle the mind.
ReplyDeleteThe sickness, degradation and cruelty in this whole fucking WORLD boggles my mind.
I just wanna get through this life without killing myself first. A psychic told me I can't commit suicide otherwise I'll be doomed to keep repeating the same sitch.
It's been a good life by most standards, mind you, but still--I wanna be in charge of when and how I check out. And I will. And it might not be too far off, given the FUCKED UP state of things these days.
This seems to be typical of big oil companies – especially big multinationals like BP.
ReplyDeleteAlthough after their oil rig disaster recently they’ve now had to put $20billion in a fund for compensation- the same amount they were set to make from this deal.
But who was behind the bombing was always a murky affair. The US Defense Intelligence Agency alleges that Ali Akbar Mohtashamipur (Ayatollah Mohtashemi), a member of the Iranian government, paid $10million for the bombing.
SelenaKyle, You're worrying me...Have you exhausted your unemployment benefits and are watching the Senate on CSPAN too? I say this only because you sound like you belong with us over on unemployed-friends.org We've got your back. Even if what you're going through has nothing to do with that, I've got your back.
ReplyDeleteIf you want your faith in humanity restored, take a look at the "please don't jump" group on Facebook which resulted from a postcard published on PostSecret's blog awhile back. It helps.
Meanwhile...If you haven't already, can we all agree to boycott BP gas stations going forward? If enough people do this maybe....well hell I don't know if it will help but I sure as hell will feel better about it knowing no one is filling up their tanks with "blood"
ReplyDeleteThere are no huge US corporations. Those "huge US corporations" are huge global corporations. Coca-Cola is no more an American corporation than BP is "British Petroleum" anymore.
ReplyDelete1 - it was the Scottish Government that released him, not the UK/Britain/England.
ReplyDelete2 - many people, including victims of the bombing, doubt that he is guilty. It's more likely he was a patsy for the real terrorists.
3 - BP is not a British company, it's a multi-national.
4 - If this story is true it's a frakking disgrace.
Dear Americans, please remember that people in glass houses should through stones - very easy for you to blame another country for the environmental devastation that a company from another country has caused you. If you speak to a Bengali, an Ecuadorian, a Bolivian or an Indian they would love to list the environmental atrocities that an American company has unleashed onto them, with more than a little underhanded support by your government.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting shades of gray commenters are adding here, I'm really appreciating it and trying to get a full sense of the tragedy and issues around the release. Thanks, smarty fellow CDAN readers, you're the best!
ReplyDelete