Scotland tends to think of itself as a near-independent country. It has its own government, flag, and bristles at the notion that it’s a hunk of land firmly incorporated into Great Britain, like Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Scotland is getting a real taste of what it’s like to be a separate country.

Lockerbie bomber Adbelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi—who has indeed killed a lot more people than we know about, well beyond the Lockerbie horror—is dying of prostate cancer in a Scottish prison.

Libya, now a wonderful, sunny place since 2001, is entertaining offers from the UK and other countries for securing rights for oil exploration. Might be nice, perhaps, if the UK had something tangible to sweeten the deal.

England’s Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis sends Scotland’s MoJ Kenny “Kenny” MacAskill a letter, arguing that al-Megrahi deserves the right to spend out his last days in Libya, released from prison.

Gormogons Spotlight On: ScotlandMacAskill, looking to help out England, authorizes the release of the prisoner, which outrages the civilized world.

Mu‘ammar al-Qaḏḏāfī publicly thanks the English for their assistance in securing al-Mergrahi’s release, and instantly undoes eight years of progress with the rest of the world. The US, understandably, is furious and demands England’s PM Gordon Brown explain the story.

Brown’s handlers disavow any involvement with Scottish justice, and basically throws Scotland under the bus. Certainly, this has nothing to do with any Libyan oil deal, so there was no such letter written.

An unnamed Scottish government worker releases some of the letter to press.

David Cameron, head of UK’s Conservative Party, asks that Brown release the letter from Lewis to expose the dirty deal that Brown’s government was involved in.

Brown then miraculously finds a letter sent to Mu‘ammar al-Qaḏḏāfī from the UK stating that it would be very bad for al-Megrahi to be released. This clearly proves the Brown government had no involvement. As far as anyone can tell, MacAskill acted on his own against the wishes of the Brown government to the South.

Scottish legislators are meeting today to clear up the matter. As MacAskill will be testifying before Parliament, expect a lot more fun to follow.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.