Permanent Second-toTop-Post / Start Point
(last real update 29 November 2010)
Welcome to “The Lockerbie Divide,” a site dedicated to addressing the mountainous divide in opinion that exists over Truth and Justice regarding the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103. Some samples of the two sides can be glimpsed in a related essay, and it should be clear they are not equal in numbers or influence, nor in accuracy. One side wins on power, the other on Truth. Obviously I’m in the latter camp, but it’s more than just hyperbole at work.
The material on this site is all written by myself unless otherwise noted. My own posts vary from empty marked (incomplete) to major essays. Some is little more than "thinking out loud" and subject to change, but much else is actually at the cutting edge of what anyone knows about the case.
The original plan for this site was to gather some of the amazing talent I'd encountered on the Internet into a powerful site for crossing and wearing down the divide. And I have gratefully accepted some amazing contributions from others:
> Dr. Jim Swire, leader of the British families of PA103 group - Comment on creation of the Lockerbie Divide
> Professor Robert Black QC, Lockerbie Trial "architect" - From Lockerbie to Zeist (via Tripoli, Tunis, and Cairo) (re-published from a book, on-line exclusive)
> Robert Forester, Justice For Megrahi campaign founding member - Circumstantial Jigsaw Puzzle, and also Justice for Megrahi Campaign (details about the group)
> Barry Walker, inspired theorist - Camp Zeist: Perils and Pitfalls of a Designer Trial
> Patrick Haseldine, former public servant - The South Africans Theory with rebuttals by myself and Robert Forrester
And then, posts by others that weren't submitted, but taken by me, with generalized permission, from other sources.
>"Rolfe," JREF forum inspired researcher/commentator
- Some Background on Karol Sikora
- Rewards and Bribery
These are now both among my most-viewed posts here. More excellence from Rolfe will be coming up (with a head's-up next time).
> Various: Richard Marquise Disputes the Findings of the Zeist Court. Awesome comments from a post at The Lockerbie Case by Richard Marquise, Rolfe, Matt Berkley, Jo G, Ben Six, Ebol (the Bolliers), Full Inquiry, and myself. Subject: the FBI SCOTBOM chief's continued promotion of the evidence of "witness" Abdul Majid Giaka.
And finally, words by many people besides me skimmed from different sources, expressing doubts (or inverse certainty) about Megrahi's guilt. Recently updated, with 84 names, no Libyans or their lawyers, no known crackpots, just several QCs, lawyers, political and religious leaders, reputable journalists, academics, and experts speaking of their doubts. A varied list including Robert Baer, Noam Chomsky, David Frum, Margaret Thatcher (sort of), and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
> No one Seriously Doubts the Libyan's Guilt?
Also, learn about the Justice for Megrahi Campaign
How this site works:
The post-dated blog format usually brings the newest post to the top, and I usually put the newest posts right beneath this. But I also reassign dates and times to bring certain articles near the top or further down. Simply scrolling the page may be confusing, especially if one is not familiar with the details of the case. The more useful organization starts here and progresses with links.
Comments and questions are encouraged wherever there's a "post a comment" type link. I offer heartfelt thanks to anyone who takes the time to read and engage this material. You’re probably here to learn something, whether you realize it or not, and I’d like to help.
The Sources
The information on this site draws from a variety of sources: official reports (PDF), books, magazine and Internet articles, opinions and commentary, digital videos, photographs, and most importantly Megrahi's second appeal paperwork (see link to the right, second from top) and the complete (?) transcripts of the 2000 trial at Camp Zeist. This is not openly available to most people, but I've been blessed with a full copy - over 10,000 inefficiently-formatted pages of people talking in great detail, for 87 days, about the evidence al Megrahi was convicted on. It's proven very useful so far in clarifying details, and will continue to offer gems to those who follow this site. Many of my sources, aside from the trial transcripts, will be gathered at the post Lockerbie Documents.
More Bite-sized
Guided tour of the case against Megrahi if you feel you're ready to look at the actual evidence.
- Images and introductions to 12 key points of the case can be found in my Lockerbie cards collection.
- And for those willing to learn but not in the mood to read, there's a page that links to numerous videos on the subject.
Anyone intrigued or infuriated or otherwise willing to give me a piece of your mind, I'm willing to accept. I can be reached by e-mail at
caustic_logic@yahoo.com
- Adam Larson aka Caustic Logic
Spokane, WA, USA
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14 comments:
'The Lockerbie Divide' can provide the impetus for those rather than relying on simply what they have been told, to form their own opinion and conclusions on the eviendence that was presented, how it was presented, and perhaps most crucially, the evidence that was NOT presented at the original trial at Zeist. People can then decide for themselves. It may be that the The Lockerbie Divide will at least help those reach the summit and become The Lockerbie Decide. I sincerely wish Caustic Logic the very best in his efforts.
Eddie of Ed's Blog City, I presume? Great to have you involved here. Comments are welcome from you across the board. Submissions too.
Shouldn't people ask where we keep coming from? You, me, Rolfe, Baz, Prof. Black, Dr. Swire, Hans Kochler, Robert Baer, Noam Chomsky, Tam Dallyel...
and more coming.
Couldn't have said it better than Eddie did above.
Keep up the excellent work Caustic Logic (and Professor Black and others who post informed comments and keep the debate about Lockerbie alive through their own research, dedication and websites).
Not all people are newcovers, some of us have been here all along, strongly affected, closely following, for 20-plus years, researching not only this blog but everything out there, looking for the truth, but remaining publicly silent, mainly out of fear of incurring further losses at the hands of the spooks involved.
Perhaps some of us were not as affected as the very honourable Dr. Swire and the other relatives, but we were certainly just as innocent and definitely very negatively affected by the Lockerbie tragedy and its aftermath, and suffered various huge, personal losses of a different, secondary type....but have not been compensated.
The U.S. calls today for Abdelbasset to be returned to Scotland are ridiculous, and now it's time to add my voice to those publicly demanding a full inquiry. Some U.S. officials clearly do not even have the good sense to keep quiet when they are ahead.
I'd love to see some demands started for compensation for those affected by the UN Sanctions and air embargoes against Libya, all imposed on the basis of "evidence" like Grand Jury testimony from the likes of the proven liar and paid CIA informant Giaka.
That will probably happen about the same time as Abdelbasset jumps up and agrees to voluntarily rush back to prison in Scotland - or when hell freezes over!
On the other hand the mainstream media is slowly reporting more and more about the real facts (albeit such reports are not prominent here in North America and still usually fail to be balanced).
Maybe we will get a full inquiry some day - I am a lot more optimistic about that that I was ten years ago.
Keep up the good fight Caustic Logic and everyone. The search for truth and justice is a noble cause.
I'll be commenting more.
Fullnquiry: I'm saddened by the missing letter (was it an I or an E?), but quite glad to have you here as a commenter. Things have been slow that way. You've dropped tantalizing clues about your interest in the case, and I'd like to learn more...
But in the meantime, certainly the situation is better now, vis-a-vis the truth, compared to when the trial was all new and impressive and credible-seeming. I'm still pretty pessimistic about the odds of an official inquiry, but on the other hand, we're already well into our own public one.
The enforcement part will obviously have to fall to others, but there's no reason ordinary people can't put together as much truth as they can and try to shame the powerful into acting on our findings. And personally, I trust myself and people like Jim Swire and "Rolfe" more than some stodgy old judge. The one's we've seen have this tendency to metamorphose into Kangaroos...
But I'm watching the skies for anything that can change my mind about established mechanisms of "Justice."
Thanks again for taking the time and whatever else to put your voice out there.
Caustic: I don't think I missed a letter, I did miss putting in a space in the google name when I signed up
My interest first began when the indictments and Malta Bag Theory first came out, (which eventually led to the Sanctions, which eventually had many affects on me and many people I know).
Having travelled regularly through Malta airport, I doubted the theory because airport security there was good, and unique.
When boarding a plane at Malta Luqa airport, one had to walk accross the tarmac, and before climing up the stairs into the plane, each passenger had it identify their bag(s) to an Air Malta person who chalk-marked each bag and set it on a cart for loading onto the plane.
If there were bags left over or inidentifed, everyone would disembark from the plane and the exercise was repeated - this happened to me personally.
In my view there was no way to put an unaccompanied bag on an Air Malta flight.
So I started looking into the Libyan accusations for several reasons - and found, just below the surface of the "official story", a murkey tale, which is as murkey today as it was then - the information is just a lot easier to find today than it was in the early 1990's.
Having also been in Libya in 1986 when the bombing raids took place, and witnessing some of that carnage, I have my own views on how "Acts of Terror" are categorized by the media and western governments.
There are some pretty hefty double standards out there, which in my view are one of the leading causes why some people turn to terror to make their points (which I strongly disagree with).
Unfortunately its a vicious circle, and there are a lot of victims. Some have stronger voices than others. Some are silenced forever, others for only a time...
Caustic: I don't think I missed a letter, I did miss putting in a space in the google name when I signed up
Holy crap, pardon, you're right. Tired eyes last night.
In Libya when it was bombed in 1986?Wow, more tantalizing clues...
I concur with your sentiments about double standards. The chronic bullying of Libya is sickening, with false charges triggering actual bombs and deadly economic sanctions.
I'm somehow sure SOME of the terrorism charges leveled against Tripoli are true, but having a hard time now deciding any particular point must be. Certainly not PA103, probably not the LaBelle bombing.
That leaves us where? Extracting "justice" for a faked terror plot, allegedly spurred by our real bombing, triggered by another possibly false attack, allegedly spurred by real U.S. aggression into Libyan waters and murder of Libyan defense force pilots.
I'm almost surprised Libya wasn't nuked for their role in the 9/11 attacks in revenge for jailing Megrahi earlier that year.
Unfortunately its a vicious circle, and there are a lot of victims. Some have stronger voices than others. Some are silenced forever, others for only a time...
That makes me want to say, and referring back to a pervious point, thank whatever we're not in the shadowy 1990s when hardly anyone spoke up, and the scattered high-profile critics like Alan Frankovich and Paul Foot were dying of heart attacks in airports. The story is simply too big to disappear now, and any attempt to do so will just add fuel to the fire.
In the 1990's there was a PA-103 website with a discussion board, and it was pretty active. Of course this was long before the Camp Z. trial.
As time went on all sorts of nutcases were systematically posting all manner of long and crazy posts, which were in my opinion designed to discredit the website. I wonder who was behind that?
It doesn't look like your blog is subject to anything like that, so perhaps you're right - the story is too big now. There are enough credible people seeking the truth.
But in my view there is still a very long way to go until the truth comes out. Because there actually was a conviction, shakey as it was, that is all most people need to call anyone with views like yours a conspiracy theorist.
A year ago there were radio talk shows in my city the day Abdelbasset was released. The radio hosts expressed their outrage, and so did all of those that called in. Susan Cohen was given quite a bit of time to express her viewpoint.
There was no mention whatsoever of the new appeal that had been grinding on, no mention whatsoever that the conviction was based on shakey grounds or of the SCCRC findings.
I called in, and e-mailed to try and put some balance in the debate but they weren't interested in airing any viewpoints that didn't match the "official story".
Anyone searching for the truth will have to change public opinion - that may be happening to a small degree with respect to those that have an interest in this matter, but does the general public really care? Of course they should, for the issues at play here affect everyone, the question is do they really care or care enough?
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