Bob Hoskins retires after being diagnosed with Parkinsons Desease

Maybe it's just me, but people in general seem to be driving more crazy than usual lately.

I dunno.  I think my patience and tolerance levels are still good.  The last time I was out, there were more people driving like maniacs.  Police roaming about.  Maybe I'm just getting old.  

HECK YA! 

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/family-four-bears-breaks-cabin-drink-100-beers-181034427.html

The T wrote: Oh my country of origin, as always in the front news for all the wrong reasons. Now, I would even agree with the asylum if it was given to protect an individual's (and people's) freedom of expression, but in a Chavez-like governmet where that freedom is diminished by the day, everybody knows this is pure politics. And now the country will get bad blood with everybody including the UK which has said it will not grant safe passage and even threatened to storm the embassy (something that would be going too far and certainly an abuse by British authorities).

While I'm all for jumping on the back of colonial jingoism, especially from a piss-pot country like Britain, the "threat" is not that the UK police are intending to storm the embassy - under British law we are entitled to "revoke the diplomatic status of an embassy on UK soil, which in this case would potentially allow police to enter the building to arrest Mr Assange for breaching the terms of his bail." - this act came into being after WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot outside the Libyan embassy and in that light it is not unreasonable. Whether it should be used to detain an alleged sex-offender who is using this as a means of evading trial for a criminal offence is another matter, what we should be considering is whether diplomatic immunity is immunity from criminal prosecution in any country.

The whole situation stinks. If Assange is innocent, then that implies Britain and a lot of other countries'  leaders still bend over backwards for US interests. For whatever reason I don't know, but it sure would be easy for the US or whoever to mock up these charges as a means to extradite him to America.

stonebeard wrote: The whole situation stinks. If Assange is innocent, then that implies Britain and a lot of other countries'  leaders still bend over backwards for US interests. For whatever reason I don't know, but it sure would be easy for the US or whoever to mock up these charges as a means to extradite him to America.   On the other hand, if he is guilty of sexual assault then I would like to see hi tried. I suppose I would like a trial anyway, but the US government wants its grubby little hands on this guy so bad. We apparently have tons of other countries in Europe taking part in extraordinary rendition for our government....I doubt it would be hard for Assange to find his way onto US soil, especially with a vague backdrop of legality we usually neglect.

The T wrote: ^On the other hand, I am a citizen of the US, and I hate Ecuador's government with a huge passion. So, we can resume peace talks

On the other foot, I am a citizen of the UK, and I hate Britain's government with a mild passion. Let the piece talks begin.