“Julian Assange cannot be extradited to US, British judge rules” (Guardian):
Julian Assange cannot be extradited to the US to face charges of espionage and of hacking government computers, a British judge has decided.
Delivering her ruling the judge said said the WikiLeaks founder was likely to be held in conditions of isolation in a so-called supermax prison in the US … “I find that the mental condition of Mr Assange is such that it would be oppressive to extradite him to the United States of America,” she said.
But she accepted the evidence of prominent medical experts, including details of how Assange had suffered from depression while in prison in London. “The overall impression is of a depressed and sometimes despairing man who is genuinely depressed about his future,” said Baraitser.
My Facebook friends assure me that government-imposed isolation is no hardship whenever the person who is isolated has access to Zoom. Perhaps the U.S. could obtain Assange if we promised the UK that we would let him have access to unlimited video chat?
Separately, Jan Steen’s painting of Londoners (those fortunate enough to live in a multi-person household) trying to make it through their Nth lockdown… (from the (real) National Gallery)
From London, 2017, #AheadOfTheCurve:
And a Messerschmitt car to keep you safe while traveling solo during COVID-19 (London 2007):
The Sitting Ducks of St. James’s Park (2007):
Related:
- Los Angeles’s mandatory quarantine-after-travel order: Except as otherwise provided in this Directive, all persons traveling into Los Angeles County, …. must quarantine for at least 10 days after arrival. For the purposes of this Directive, “quarantine” means staying at home or another place of temporary shelter and away from contact with others, including those in one’s household … for a period of 10 days
- “PM announces ‘tier 4’ Covid curbs and curtails Christmas mixing in England” (Guardian, December 19, 2020): Members of the public will be ordered to stay at home, aside from a few exemptions such as taking exercise.
The US prison shitholes have been judged worse than the UK prison shithole.
Rejoice, justice is served!
re: st. james park pic.
No smart phones in sight. Two people are reading books!
@Mememe: That was back in the Pleistocene Epoch of 2007. A brief thaw and bloom was captured there, but if you squint you can see the wooly mammoths in the deep background. In my little town, one of the women who works at the local convenience store still reads romance and adventure fantasy novels rippers wherein the characters identify as binary “Men” and “Women” while taking her cigarette breaks. She sits outside and people marvel at her prehistoric habits. She also basically keeps the store running single-handedly; they’ve had to fire half a dozen kids half her age this year because they can barely add.
The ruling itself is actually a big surprise. Everyone expected the judge to wave through the extradition request. Incidentally, its still not clear what Assange is supposed to be charged with.
Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.
Johnson says Britain is probably going to Tier 5 lockdowns soon.
Here are the rules right now:
“If you live in Tiers 2, 3 or 4 in England, you can no longer meet anyone socially indoors – other than those in your family, support bubble or people you care for…So, the rules ban social visits – but they do leave wriggle room for lots of the necessities of daily life.”
And they should thank their lucky stars for that! 75% of Britain is currently under Tier 4. “And later on Monday, Mr Johnson said tougher measures would be announced “in due course”. They’re going to try to preserve some “mental health bubbles.”
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-what-might-change-under-tier-5-restrictions-12178579
It looks like Pamela Anderson succeeded in her “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals” campaign to keep Assange from being extradited. She was married to Tommy Lee of
Mötley Crüe, so she has some background in this area. Here’s Tommy Lee on post-Trump politics. Assange has all the cool kids on his side:
https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/08/motley-crue-tommy-lee-trump-political-tweet/
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/londoners-diary/pamela-anderson-joy-julian-assange-damien-hirst-b672956.html
From “Fortune Presents Gifts Not According to the Book” – Dead Can Dance, Aion
“Because in a village a poor lad has stolen one egg
He swings in the sun and another gets away with a thousand crimes
When you expect whistles it’s flutes
When you expect flutes it’s whistles”