McKinnon ain't goin' nowhere

It looks like Gary McKinnon won't be extradited to the United States. The entire episode is a farce of epic proportion. If you're not familiar with the story, here's a brief summary:

A man who was "diagnosed last August [2008] as having Asperger's Syndrome" hacked systems belonging to NASA and the US Navy looking for "classified documents on UFOs which he believed the US authorities had suppressed." He illegally accessed a total of 97 systems in 2001 and 2002. The US Government claim McKinnon's actions caused $800,000 of damage and wish to prosecute him accordingly.

For me, the key element in this case is that McKinnon used his own email address throughout. Furthermore, as McKinnon used his own email address, it cannot have cost the US Government anywhere near $800,000 to ID him.

There are so many levels of pedantry at work here. The USA got 0wned and they're not happy about it. I understand why they're upset, but why on earth are they making such a big deal of it? If Joe Calzaghe spilled some nobody's pint and got knocked out because of it, he wouldn't sue. He wouldn't get litigious, he wouldn't do a damn thing after the event. He'd take it, like a man, probably buy the bar for the feller in question and move on with a wink and a nod. The last thing he'd do is plaster it all over the news and push for charges to be brought.

The "greatest super power on the face of the earth" got h4x0red, and now they're crying to mummy. What has America come to? The founding fathers didn't sail across the Atlantic so their descendants could piss and whine about some limey exposing their weaknesses.



Author's note: - I don't remember posting this. Quite eloquent for an alcoholic though, if I may say so myself.

...According to The Daily Mail...

...Sarah Palin is "blasting the media" "for giving her unfair and class-biased treatment during the election campaign." She has also allegedly "questioned whether Caroline Kennedy, John F Kennedy's daughter, was getting better treatment from the news media in her quest for a Senate seat than she herself received."

Wow. Where do I start, how on Earth do I close, and who is to blame for this shambolic piece of reportage? The Mail's report gives no indication of how Palin's coverage was "class-biased," so I won't take that approach, nor does it expand on how she was "exploited." One quote The Mail has printed [on the subject of Caroline Kennedy's interest in her mother's soon-to-be-vacant seat in the Senate, which was assumably uttered by, but not explicitly accredited to Palin] reads "It's going to be interesting to see how that plays out and I think that as we watch that we will perhaps be able to prove that there is a class issue here also that was such a factor in the scrutiny of my candidacy versus, say, the scrutiny of what her candidacy may be." Take that as you may.

Two things jump out at me here. One. The article in question is terrible; poorly written and devoid of any real meaning, and more importantly, evidence. Two. According to said article, Palin is upset about the treatment she received from The Press whilst running for Vice President of the United States of America alongside John McCain. Now it may have been over a year ago, but I distinctly remember the President-elect getting a pretty tough time in the press over his admission of drug use and attacks on his lack of experience, whilst being 'accused'* of being a Muslim and a terrorist sympathiser.

A lot of shit's been written about Palin online, and while the bulk of it may not be nice, un-biased or even fair, once you step onto the World Stage you must not only expect The People to discuss you, but also to dissect, ridicule and ultimately judge you. Obama had to weather the same adversity, and went on to win fair and square.

In my mind, the entire shit-storm you weather once you step up is just part of the race for candidacy. I don't necessarily agree with any of it, but complaining about it post-defeat, especially as your adversary had such an uphill struggle sounds pretty unsporting.

Palin's comment about Caroline Kennedy's interest in becoming Senator for New York sounds even more desperate. The Kennedys are practically royalty in America, and drawing comparisons or picking a fight with any of them can only end in tears.

Palin can and should by all means run again in 2012, but right now, don't gripe about what could have been; the people of America don't want to hear such talk and it will do you no favours.


*How do you accuse someone of being Muslim? One might suggest someone is a Muslim, or a Christian, or a Patriot or a Hard-Working-Average-Joe, but I don't see how that could be an accusation.