Gary McKinnon is probably NOT a name you have heard unless you are a lover of UFO's or fear that the "man" will get you for exposing your conspiracy theory of the day. And although it is tempting to uncover the "Truth" by going to the source, cracking into the US government computer files in, oh, say, the Pentagon, it is not generally considered to be a really good idea. Seems they take the idea of hacking into their computers seriously. Even if the person doing it is a geeky kid from North London.
Imagine that.
Gary has been going through a lot of stress lately. Seems the entire US government is really pissed at him...and have managed to convince the UK government to extradite him back to the US to face trial.
The story is all here ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/01/gary-mckinnon-extradition-nightmare
Now why is this stupid kid be worthy of even a moment of my valuable time? Well, where should I start? How much SHOULD we protect people from their stupid actions? Should we forgive people who create breaches of security of military security? How about the stupid Pentagon IT clerks who left their laptops unprotected? You think THEY will get more than a slap on the wrist? (actually I do...one thing I am certain about is that the military will eat their own...grin!)
Balance that against the fact that "Hell yeah, he's guilty as sin", with the question, "Will he get a fair trial?"
I don't think he will get a fair trial...though I am certain he will get a trial of some sort. I suspect that his reasons for entering into areas which are forbidden will not be found as important as the fact that he did it at all. A young joy rider who steals a car for "a little fun" is just as guilty as the hardened criminal who steals it in order to send it to a chop shop.
But one might think that perhaps a little humanity might be in order....perhaps at his hearing they may decide that the offence was perhaps misguided. Not malicious.
Regardless, we should all keep this case on the front burner....if only to keep an eye on the goings on of the "aroused tiger" who is proving to not be constructed of paper after all.
2 comments:
I had heard of this down under - its a worry that they can extradite - considering the issue of the border less internet - they can extradite for that but not for the Russian and other crims who swindle and steal identities - not for the paedophile networks which feed off the young in third world countries, seems like the security if the US is more important than these things -
I concur.
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