The naive wee soul that I am pondered for a second and thought, in any true democracy a national paper wouldn't really swallow hook line and sinker a story promoted by a right wing nut job blogger fed to him by a Labour mouth piece.
So imagine my surprise, feigned or otherwise, when I read on Newsnet this morning that McTernan did in fact have an article in todays Scotsman giving him the opportunity to regurgitate his story that claims Kenny MacAskill was angling for a 'deal' that would include Megrahi in the planned Blair, Prisoner Transfer Agreement with Libya as long as there was a timebar put on the ECHR ruling on slopping out compensation and a transfer on air rifle controls to the Scottish Government. I've always believed that the Tartan Overlord and crew are canny operators, but does anyone truly believe they'd get into bed with Labour for the price of legislation of BB guns and paying prisoners compensation for shiting in a bucket?
A brief visit to the Hootsman discovered that McTernan's piece was there, but no comments allowed and the content firmly hidden behind their ever popular and really profitable paywall... So, as a chap who has vowed never to buy a copy of the Scotsman or Scotland on Sunday, even for cat puke mopping up purposes, I decided to take a wee photo of it with my super duper iPhone.
McTernan, doesn't just get a wee sidebar column, he gets a whole page, with which to repeat his frankly dribbling assertions on a conversation he wasn't privvy too. But hey nevermind, it's the Hootsman, they'll print any old shoite as long as it bashes the SNP.
A wee analysis of the above article reveals propaganda worthy of the finest exponents of that dark art. For unprecedented levels of obfuscation, I take my metaphorical bunnet off to the man.
For example:
" It's now clear there was no 'Deal in the Desert' - no trade of oil for convict."
Say whaaaaaat?
" My name is being banded about on the blogosphere in relation to this story because someone leaked an email of mine from 2007 to Guido Fawkes."
I get it a political enemy, unbeknownst to you, held on to a long forgotten memo full of half baked conjecture and inconsistancies, that you sent to Mark Davies and Tom Greatrex from your official governement email address. Why sir, I would be outraged at such flagrant abuse of your communications, an inquiry must be established forthwith to discover which villain, Davies or Greatrex, forwarded your email to the arch Tory Fawkes.
How about this spectacular display of a lack of medical knowledge?
" I will never tire of asking why a man who had three months to live is still alive - not I think the quality of the Libyan health service."
Ok, here's my stab at explaining it. I'm informed by an oncologist chum that when Megrahi's hormone treatment failed, he chose not to undergo, the painful and invasive bouts of chemotherapy or radiation treatment associated with pancreatic cancer. Mr McTernan, put your feet in his size nines for a few minutes. You're diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, your first treatment which sometimes works, failed, your thousands of miles from home and family, your appeal is being strenuously fought by the Scottish and British legal establishment. There's nobody to sit with you and hold your hand as chemicals are pumped into your veins for hours on end. The possibility of getting out of jail, back to your family is remote, so you opt to stop treatment and die as fast as you can. Not an uncommon occurence I'm told. Naturally on return to Libya, his family and friends persuade him to undergo chemotherapy treatment, where the Libyan governement are only too happy to spend a fortune in bringing in experts to administer care. The result no cure, but certainly a prolonged life. Or do you really believe he's only pretending to have cancer?
Then there's this spectacular imagined conversation that get's its very own quotation marks, signifying it was actually said by someone, rather than imagined by a furiously back peddling spinner...
" You give us what we want and we'll give you Megrahi."
This quote is attributed to the catch all 'Nationalists'.
As if that wasn't bad enough, blow me and call me Uncle Fifi if the Hootsman didn't go and make it their top editorial too.
As Mr McTernan obviously trawls the 'blogosphere' I'd love it if he could answer this conspiracy theorists question. Jack Straw, in his letter of December 13th 2007, to then Secretary for the State of Scotland, your boss Des Browne, states the following.
Quote:
" I am also happy to speak to Wendy Alexander if you think that would be helpful."Mr Browne, in his reply of the 19th does not answer the Wendy question, is it safe to presume that either Mr Browne or yourself told Ms Alexander of the London Government's desire to facilitate Megrahi's release?
Overall, what a smashing display of the overt use of propaganda. You'll note that there's not one mention in the whole article of whether Iain Gray or Richard 'the boy who looks as if he chews with his mouth open' Baker, knew about Blair and Brown's determination to facilitate Megrahi's return to Libya.
One final comment, Pat Baskerville, Head of Offender Policy and Rights Unit sent the following note to Jack Straw on the 7th of December.
" There does not seem to be any direct gain to Scotland from the contracts (although BP provides at least 2,000 jobs in Scotland) and a further public disagreement over the terms of the PTA could allow Alex Salmond to take the moral high ground."
Two points, if there was no deal in the desert and a BP oil contract had nothing to do with the PTA, why does Ms Baskerville mention them, specifically in a Scottish context?
Finally isn't it the case that the last thing the Labour Government wanted to do was hand the 'moral high ground' to Alex Salmond and the SNP? Answers on a leaked email to madasahatstand@labour.org.uk
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