The Light side of things or the deep serious side of things?

Debbie

The light side: Have you seen the movie The Ugly Truth with Gerard Butler and did you like it?

The Serious side: Should Gary Mckinnon be extradited to U.S.?

poxy

No.

graeme

Has anyone heard the new missing Stone Roses song on the 20th Anniversary boxset?

David

Surely its just one of the old singles played backwards, right? As for Gary Mckinnon, they should be giving him a well paid job, not penalising him for showing up their security.

graeme

aha yes you would think so, but it is in fact an entirely new song that wasn't on any of the old demos/Hannett album.

Sounds like a cross between Made of Stone and Mersey Paradise, though is a bit lumpen. Spotify has it. "Pearl Bast..d"(!)

Guardian website also has home movie footage of them messing about in boats while recording Fools Gold should any Roses train-spotters wish to see Mani rolling <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2009/aug/03/stone-roses-fools-gold">bifters</a>.

As for McKinnon, it's the idea that he's at the mercy of an apparently uncontestable 2003 Extradition Treaty, which the Home Sec Alan Johnson seemingly champions as "(making) sure the laws that govern extradition are neutral and beyond political influence or the ebb and flow of populist opinion. "

Johnson conveniently forgets (as they do) that it was just this political influence and populist opinion of Labour ministers that forced this 2003 Treaty into being - just as Parliament was heading for recess and without major debate, and signed in secret by Blunkett under royal perogative powers.

Grim.

bennyfromtheblok

I agree, the government should give McKinnon a job rather than pack him off to the US where surely he will get a huge sentence to make a point to anyone thinking of doing the same.

My concern here and with a great deal of situations involving UK/US is would they do the same? I really can't see the US not bowing to a massive wave of public support or even sending such intellectual capital over for some pantomime court case.

rainbow_carnage

Oh please. If someone broke into your house, would you want them arrested or given a cushy job as a burglary-prevention consultant? Would it make a difference if you left the window unlocked?

I don't really have an opinion on the extradition issue--I don't know how it works--but the man clearly broke the law.

Moreover, I'm really annoyed that every time they show this story on the news, they feel the need to mention that the guy has Asperger's. What difference does that make? I would understand it if the guy had an IQ of 70, but having Asperger's doesn't make you any more likely to commit a crime, or any less liable. It's a bit of an insult to all the other people living with the same condition.

Marquis

Also, he's supported by Marillion.

David

And Dave Gilmour. Rather odd I thought. Not convinced hacking US Military computers should be treated the same way as common burglary. He has some pretty unique skills which could be used positively. I read an article somewhere recently on the media's obsession with autistic savants as opposed to most commonplace forms of the syndrome, can't find it.

poxy

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8192895.stm" target="rainman">Autistic Impressions</a>

I read it this morning.

graeme

That the UK will so easily give up our citizens to the US justice system without so much as a peep is the crime. Thin end of the wedge. Better not copy those mp3s or your mates DVDs, they'll be after that next.

<a href="http://www.infoworld.com/d/security-central/extradited-copyright-infringer-sentenced-849">oh. on a larger scale, granted...</a>

bennyfromtheblok

Actually, my friend own a corporate espionage, intelligence, security consultancy and they use hackers and sophisticated burglars all the time to consult on various matters - they use prople from all walks of life as long as you have the skills.
This guy didn't just break into the tesco web site and get himself some free ginger biscuits, he perpetrated the biggest hack of all time. Useful stuff in the world we live in.
As for the Aspergers, the reason it's mentioned so much is because it was the grounds of his appeal not to be extradited. Lets face it, if burglars are given leniency because they steal to fund a drug habit of their own doing, then surely having a mental disorder is some sort of mitigating circumstance?
Interesting to see all the different views though....

graeme

He embarrassed the US, after all the tax billions they spent on security and scaring the public post-9/11 - and all that was worth bobbins to some nutjob on a dial-up from Wood Green.

Who's the REAL criminal here?
<img src="http://www.bbc.co.uk/threecounties/theatre/2003/02/images/rik_youngones_150.jpg" ></img>
Right, kids?

injoke

i don't understand the fuss about mckinnon, although it's an interesting/remarkable crime it's a perfectly standard extradition request. he's admitted doing it and he fulfills not only the criteria for this (admittedly unbalanced) extradition treaty but pretty much any extradition treaty anywhere in the world. aspergers also exists in the US and their courts, in the opinion of the UK government, are every bit as capable of taking that into account as our own.