Assange: "I Do Not Forgive Or Forget"

The guardian.com today reports:

"Swedish prosecutors have dropped their preliminary investigation into an allegation of rape against the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, bringing an end to a seven-year legal standoff.

The decision was taken after prosecutors concluded that “at this point, all possibilities to conduct the investigation are exhausted”, Sweden’s director of public prosecutions, Marianne Ny, said on Friday.

“In order to proceed with the case, Julian Assange would have to be formally notified of the criminal suspicions against him. We cannot expect to receive assistance from Ecuador regarding this. Therefore the investigation is discontinued.

“If he, at a later date, makes himself available, I will be able to decide to resume the investigation immediately.”

Julian Assange's response to the news was to tweet a happy picture of himself and then later another tweet saying: "Detained for 7 years without charge while my children grew up and my name was slandered. I do not forgive or forget.”

---
Well, all I can say I is, that neither will I forgive or forget that Julian Assange is a suspected rapist who evaded the judicial process for seven years by holing up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. He has only himself to blame for the drawn out process of this case.

It is too much to hope for that he will set foot in Sweden before 2020 so that he can be brought to court to answer the serious allegations against him. 

UN Issues LGBT Themed Postage Stamps

"The United Nations Postal Administration has released six new postage stamps promoting equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

The colourful stamps by artist and UNPA art director Sergio Baradat are also meant to celebrate the diversity of the gay community and marks the first time the global body’s post office has issued stamps with an LGBT theme.

(Source: theguardian.com)

Google Backtracks

theguardian.com today reports: Google has backtracked on plans to ban sexually explicit images from its blogging platform Blogger, in the face of widespread opposition from users.

The company had initially announced a ban on “sexually explicit or graphic nude images or video”, with just a few exceptions for content which offered “a substantial public benefit, for example in artistic, educational, documentary, or scientific contexts”.

It planned to enforce the ban from 23 March, when any user with offending material still on their blog would be forced to turn it into a private site.

Now, the company has backed down. Jessica Pelegio, a social product support manager at Google, wrote: “We’ve had a ton of feedback, in particular about the introduction of a retroactive change (some people have had accounts for 10+ years), but also about the negative impact on individuals who post sexually explicit content to express their identities.

“So rather than implement this change, we’ve decided to step up enforcement around our existing policy prohibiting commercial porn.”

You can read the whole article here: theguardian.com: Google backtracks on porn ban in Blogger

(Tipped by J.M.G.)