Was the Lockerbie Bomber freed for oil?

It is said that Lord Palmerston once said, "Nations have no permanent friends or allies, they only have permanent interests." His words seem trenchant in light of new allegations out of the United Kingdom that the Lockerbie Bomber was freed, not for compassionate reasons, but in order to advance Britain's oil interests.

Gordon Brown’s government made the decision after discussions between Libya and BP over a multi-million-pound oil exploration deal had hit difficulties. These were resolved soon afterwards...Two letters dated five months apart show that Straw initially intended to exclude Megrahi from a prisoner transfer agreement with Colonel Muammar Gadaffi, under which British and Libyan prisoners could serve out their sentences in their home country...Straw then switched his position as Libya used its deal with BP as a bargaining chip to insist the Lockerbie bomber was included.

The exploration deal for oil and gas, potentially worth up to £15 billion, was announced in May 2007. Six months later the agreement was still waiting to be ratified.

It is this kind of intermarriage between ethics and business that makes so many distrust government. How can we trust faceless bureaucrats with our health, education, and wealth when we can't even trust them to punish the guilty when justice become inconvenient to business interests?

The USA's first CIO is suspended

Well, it was an awfully short honeymoon. Vivek Kundra has been placed on indefinite leave after a raid on his former offices in Washington D.C. Apparently, the FBI is investigating some of his business partners on bribery charges. The president says the action is merely because of an "abundance of caution".

Is it really so hard to find qualified, competent people without a skeleton in their closet? Or this merely a sign of the level of scrutiny that the new president is under? Either way, it would be good to see the cabinet forming up without so much turmoil

Blagojevich booted

Illinois Governor Blagojevich has been impeached after a 4-day-trial in the Illinois Senate. This is a first for any Illinois governor, and was followed up with another vote banning him from holding any elected office in Illinois for life.

Mr Blagojevich has now been replaced as governor by Patrick Quinn, a fellow Democrat and the state's lieutenant governor.
Senators voted 59-0 against him after an impeachment hearing, despite his claim that he had "done nothing wrong" and there was no evidence of a crime.
After being sworn in, Mr Quinn told the senate "the ordeal is over".
He said the elected representatives had "reflected the will of the people".

All of this came out of FBI recordings in which the former governor attempted to sell President Barack Obama's vacated senate seat. Ah, the joys of innocent Chicago politics.

Diamond in the Rough, Or Just Shiny, Shiny Coal?

From Townhall.Com.