Flagitious

Flagitious a. Atrocious, heinous, appallingly wicked. Suggested for use where facinorous is not strong enough.

Disappointingly on the lunchtime blander there wasn't anything particularly flagitious going on. Sure a few American tourists annoyed me, and there was a cyclist on the pavement, and a bus stopped in a cycle reservoir... But nothing mind-bogglingly evil going on. Whereas if the blip for 'microhenry' had included the correct data then 'flagitious could have appeared yesterday, and I could have got a picture of Richard Herring's Hitler Mousetache poster.

Good show by the way last night, and another example of the press managing to twist so much. Not long ago Herring was effectively branded a racist by a columnist in the Guardian who hadn't even seen the show. Okay, so he pushes a few taste boundaries, and mentions words that, gasp, you're not supposed to say, even in a non-abusive context, but the whole point of his show comes down to, effectively, don't vote for the BNP.

Tonight is pub quiz after another day utterly drained of motivation. Not sure what is causing this just now, but it had better clear up before the boss is back (he's been up to his usual tricks despite being on holiday, but I've not (yet) been a latest target).

Speaking of 'evil', I've been watching with interest the Al-Megrahi rumblings, and the object of 'evil' isn't necessarily the one you might think. For one reason and another I know a fair amount about the case (including some stuff not in the public domain). The pressure from the US, and Hillary Clinton in particular is remarkable.

You don't need to take my word for it that the way our justice system and security forces acted in relation to the whole affair shames the country, because Dr Jim Swire, father of one of the people killed on the ground, can put it far more eloqently than I. The evidence that wasn't allowed to be put before the court is startling; the expert testimony that was offered by one of the first people on the scene, who happened to be an explosives expert, and not just refused, but ignored completely; the deals that have been worked out in the background; the scene in the aftermath being controlled by the American military, not British forces either police or military. The more you read (avoiding the completely crackpot theories) the more you can see (and I mean 'see') that Al-Megrahi should not have been convicted. 'Beyond Reasonable Doubt'? Not even close.

Instead of indulging in a blinkered-bloodlust that seems to descend over America on an all too frequent basis (and it's not all the relatives of victims who are guilty of this, but certainly a vocal percentage) they should be asking questions. They were handed someone to blame, it gave closure. Tunnel vision took over. Even if Al-Megrahi is released on compassionate grounds this certainly isn't the end of the matter.

the way we have conducted ourselves in the whole matter is nothing short of disgusting. The length of time Al-Megrahi's appeal was delayed, contrary to any rule of law and never seen before or since, hints at darker goings-on in the background. The fact a deal appears to have been cut whereby the appeal is dropped in exchange for release should also ring alarm bells.

The International observer to the court that was set up to try Al-Megrahi certainly thinks so. And the pressure from the States to 'keep him in prison until he dies' (Clinton's comment after speaking to the relatives, the most emotionally involved people in the case) is not without precedent. The special relationship between the UK and the US is somewhat one-sided these days.

Flagitous? I think so...

EDIT:

Meant to say, numbers between 1 and 166, and 1 and 5 for the next word as usual!