The US did attempt negotiations with the IRA once upon a time...

Krad might remember.

quote:

Originally posted by Boogerhead:
but it would seem to me that letting someone known to have provided support, logistics and funding to an organization bent on destroying you might not be the most effective way of guaranteeing the public saftey.

And you're right. I bet the majority of Brits agree with you 100%. But like us, their citizens don't get to vote on individual interpretations or applications of the law. For sure, I don't think the British government at large approved of this release.

I also believe they have the public safety angle well covered and might even use this to their advantage, intelligence-wise. When the Judiciary hands you lemons you make lemonade. And the guy better not litter or jaywalk or he's right back in the pokey.

quote:

letting someone known to have provided support, logistics and funding to an organization bent on destroying you might not be the most effective way of guaranteeing the public saftey.

I'm surprised you would say that. I'm sure you know there is no way to guarantee public safety, that well intentioned attempts to do so often backfire, and that it is one of the best excuses for abuse of power there is.

I don't think it's a WTF moment, except that, if he was such a known terrorist biggie, and given all the new laws everybody has been introducing for the children to stop terrorism, they couldn't find anything to legitimately accuse him of.

Dammit colin, how do you do that?

I guess what's really stinging is the appearance of a loophole exploitation.

quote:

Originally posted by Boogerhead:
The US did attempt negotiations with the IRA once upon a time...

Krad might remember.

Yes, I'm well aware of it. Of course this was after years of inviting people like Gerry Adams (then a member of the IRA, now a legitimate politician) to New York and allowing money to be raised for terrorism despite the UK continually asking for it to be made illegal.

There is no loophole exploitation. The judges are applying the law as it is written. If the government want to change the law they will have to debate it and get both houses to vote on it, as they are with the bill to allow suspected terrorists to be held for 42 days. So far this bill has been passed by the House of Commons, but it is unlikely to be passed by the House of Lords. This country is ruled by the law, not the whims of the prime minister.

Even if the judges had decided not to release him, he would have appealed to the EU court of human rights who mostly like would have.

However, I can't see why they will allow Abu Hamza to be extradited to the US when they won't let Abu Qatada be extradited to Jordan, given both regimes use of torture to gain evidence, or use evidence gained through torture in trials.

A group of cuban illegal immigrants arriving by boat, detained in southern Mexico, get hijacked by an armed group while travelling by bus to an immigration center. They disappear. Then they ended up in Texas and are released free, even while they supposedly used forged documents and authorities on boths sides of the border were up to this event. WTF?

quote:

Originally posted by Kradlum:
However, I can't see why they will allow Abu Hamza to be extradited to the US when they won't let Abu Qatada be extradited to Jordan, given both regimes use of torture to gain evidence, or use evidence gained through torture in trials.

That is indeed deeply fucked up. No precedent will result in no conviction.

quote:

Originally posted by Kradlum:
However, I can't see why they will allow Abu Hamza to be extradited to the US when they won't let Abu Qatada be extradited to Jordan, given both regimes use of torture to gain evidence, or use evidence gained through torture in trials.

Only in some military tribunals so far. Allegedly.

Hey, it's something.

I wouldn't be surprised if the other fellow ended up in Jordan eventually, though. High profile extraditions can go through various stages of negotiations. He may end up going to Jordan with guarantees of what kind of re-trial he'd get. More difficult for you guys with the multi-layered national and Euro courts, but still theoretically possible.

And yes, the whole Irish thing was a stinking travesty. No argument there. More a question of the legacy of Irish influence (and quaint, misguided pseudo-Irish national nostalgia) on American electoral politics than disdain for the English. Still terribly shameful.

So, ummm....Should I be as worried as they're telling me to be?

Probably not. Remember the deafening silence that greeted Israel's bombing raid into Syria last year? And at least Syria is Sunni. Does anyone believe that the rest of the Islamic world wants to see a nuclear-armed Shiite Iran?

In Athens, an official with the Greek air force's central command confirmed the substance of the US media report, stating that it had taken part in "joint training exercises" with Israel off the Mediterranean island of Crete.

The manoeuvres, code-named "Glorious Spartan 08," took place on May 28 and June 12, and consisted of aerial exercises and knowledge exchange, said the Greek source, who requested anonymity.

Hey! my baby bro was part of that exercise. Would you believe he went as an MP... He showed us pics of him goofing off in uniform. Fucking hilarious!

But back on topic.
If the US or anyone else stupid enough tries to attack Iran I will hate them with all my heart. Because that will not only fuck up the middle east. It will majorly fuck us all up! This entire region will be screwed; big time.

It would transform the Middle East into a ball of fire.

That's like transforming Britney Spears into a stunned cunt.

If Iran is stupid enough to have their offensive-nuke producing infrastructure bombable (and it's probably impossible to make it fully bomb-proof), then I think bombing it is within Israel's rights.

That is, of course, if Israel is prepared to completely give up its own nuclear arsenal.

quote:

That is, of course, if Israel is prepared to completely give up its own nuclear arsenal.

Right. They are running a 40 plus year old reactor that is a disaster waiting to happen.


Dimona

quote:

Originally posted by striv:
If the US or anyone else stupid enough tries to attack Iran I will hate them with all my heart. Because that will not only fuck up the middle east. It will majorly fuck us all up! This entire region will be screwed; big time.

Jeez. You are such a buzzkill.

Yeah -- who cares about Zimbabwe, or AIDS, let's all get arguing about this stuff

We need more bishops in the world. Hard to understate their relevance in today's society.

Amen