With all the supposed uproar in the States, and in the UK, concerning the release of al-Megrahi, the convicted Lockerbie bomber, it's important that the debate is not left to those who would respond to every point with the words "but terrorists are evil".

Of course the American administration is disappointed with the Scots: they would much rather that the man was left to rot in jail and that no-one ever opened the case again. But the fact that the Lockerbie bombing trial was a travesty of justice is an open secret: the families of the Scottish victims accept this, which should tell you something.

This week, the Scots government did the right thing, in letting a terminally ill man with only months to live, who was convicted in the shadiest of manners, spend his few remaining days at home with his family.

The linked article is well worth a read.

http://www.lrb.co.uk/v29/n12/mile01_.html

How about it, then? This is surely something which tells everyone a lot about you.

My choice? 'Verisakeet' by Moonsorrow.

What does this say about me? Possibly, that I love nature, and times long since passed, and heroism, and loud, bloody music and screaming.

The last song, 'Kaiku', is current choice for my funeral song.

Why on earth would anyone drink tequila?

I just had some. It was left over from a party Eva had. I thought I'd tried some.

Just say no. If you want to try a strong alcoholic drink, then seriously, just have some whisky or brandy. That's some proper drink there: full of flavour and honour.

Tequila tastes likes you've just raped a disabled girl and you're hiding from the police: so, so wrong. Don't drink tequila.

A people's tragedy. Not since the infamous Leopold have the Belgian people lived under such a callous tyrant, only then the crimes of the King were inflicted mainly upon foreigners. Today, the world, and especially the proud Belgian people, suffer by the hand of he who sits on the Belgian throne. The usurper Fangio Syx and his supporters have held control for years now, using the sons and daughters of their countrymen as tools in their quest for greater power.

The King in Exile, Nick Malbasa, is yet hidden, and the memory of that man diminishes in the minds of many Belgians, too many. They easily forget the grandeur of the Malbasa dynasty, its accomplishments, its victories, and the good it did for the land. Not so long ago was Belgium a place to be loved, even envied; a place where justice, respect and love were found in all life's aspects.

Now is Belgium a fearful region of the world, a land of repression and misery. The man who arranged this wishes next to visit his vision upon Belgium's neighbours.

Now is the time for Malbasa to return. He must know that we will die for him.

Hmm, I haven't posted for a while. What's brought me back?

Well, I've just been reading a book, and the question came to me: why do those who sin, insult a god, go against a god, call it what you will - why must they be punished by that god's representatives on earth? Surely they will receive punishment in due course from that god regardless of how they are dealt with by earthly inhabitants. Why is it any business of the god's followers to 'get an extra hit in'?

All thoughts welcome.

What films have I seen recently that I can talk about?

Well, to start with, 'Oklahoma!' Which was nice in a way. They should have cut out about 45 minutes, though: the dance scenes and that absurd dream-sequence that had me gnawing at my own arm.

Not quite good as 'Seven Brides for Seven Brothers', which makes charming fun out of kidnapping six nice young ladies. A lesson we can all be happy with.

Now, onto the bad stuff. It's easier to sort of like old musicals because you can't take them too seriously, but films that want to be taken seriously?

'The Golden Compass'. Tsonge jonge, not good. Not likeable in any way. Waste of time. But nothing compared to...

...Juno.

One of the worst films I have the misfortune to know. Smarmy, thinks-it's-clever garbage. Totally unlikeable characters, gash humour suited to 11 year old Americans, and the most awful 'music' of any film.

I'm too angry thinking about 'Juno' to go on much further, except to say that I also saw 'Soldaat van Oranje' and '3:10 to Yuma' which were good.

During a quiz, the question "In which country did Dracula live?" was asked. One person says Transylvania, another says Romania. Answer in quiz book was Transylvania. Cue big argument about what constitutes a country. (Because we were speaking about the fictional character but also the supposed historical inspiration, and thus not just about fictional countries.)

To my mind it depends on your definition of a country. There are, for me, a couple of different and acceptable ones. First, there are modern political borders, recognised internationally; second, there is a less quantifiable view which incorporates history and geography.

Transylvania is not recognised as a country by the UN and for some people that is the end of the debate. But it is a distinct area, geographically, and it has been incorporated into different empires in its history. It used to be a part of Hungary, for example, and is now part of Romania. What happens if Russia conquers Romania and abolishes the government? Would you tell a Romanian that there is no longer a country called Romania?

In one sense, that would be correct; but in another sense, a country is more than the name given it by the resident with the most swords. Scotland, England and Wales were all separate countries when they had the same government.

http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Police-quiz-Dungeon-bosses-over.4315420.jp

The title sums up my thoughts: there is no joke that won't be complained about. That is the nature of society; too many people, too many issues, people can't figure out the correct thing to get angry about.

Anyone who's ever read anything I've written will spot the hypocrisy straight away!

Seriously though, this is just a waste of police time. If you want to get huffy and tell abody you meet that it's racist then fine, but honestly -- calling the police? That's just sad.

There's nothing in the concept of going to the cinema that necessitates being bludgeoned by a vile sadist, but it happens every time. For those of you who are clever enough to resist paying a small amount of money to have your mind brutally violated, I refer to the advertising.

There was no advertising at the cinema in past years. They had 'Overture Music' which was vastly superior in many ways; the main one being that this music didn't usually make you want to gnaw your own arms off. Eva and I went to see Prince Caspian last week; I promised to write about it then so here it is.

We saw the same adverts twice. Actually, you know those pointless little films that last about 12 seconds, feature some animated character, and advertise something you don't even know (possibly the light bulbs used in making the film -- you never find out)? They played one of them twice in succession, just straight up one after the after. The same damn thing.

Man, I hate cinemas.

And I didn't even like the film. Eva liked it, so I suppose it wasn't entirely a bad evening. I promise you, I will never buy another product advertised to me by a cinema. Screw you Dove, and screw you Bacardi.