28 ms·

And this is why I love the US and am a citizen! I can think of almost no other country where such a man would not have been arrested and had no legal recourse.

betterunix 14y ago
Sadly, most people who are arrested or punished because they exercised their rights have no recourse in this country. A legal battle is pricey, risky, and the damage is often done long before anyone sees a courtroom.
msbarnett 14y ago
Evidently you're not familiar with most of the First World? You have less freedom than most of us, not more. The NDAA wouldn't fly in Canada, or Scandinavia, or ...
- graue 14y ago
  > Scandinavia Maybe better in some respects, but Sweden seems pretty corrupt in light of the Pirate Bay trial and Assange prosecution.
  - nisse72 14y ago
    > pretty corrupt Based on those two examples? According to this: http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/results/ http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/results/ ...4 nordic countries place in the top 7. Sweden is nr 4. The US is nr 19.
    - graue 14y ago
      My opinion of Sweden's government has worsened considerably thanks to those extremely blatant examples of politically-motivated injustice. A high ranking shouldn't be an excuse to sweep real problems away. For more on the Pirate Bay trial, see Falkvinge's post here: http://falkvinge.net/2013/01/06/banana-republic-justice-behind-the-scenes-of-the-pirate-bay-trial/ http://falkvinge.net/2013/01/06/banana-republic-justice-behi... HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5016277 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5016277
      - Snoptic 14y ago
        Sweden's two most famous failures were both kowtows to the US, so aren't much relevant in a comparison against US corruption.
- lucian1900 14y ago
  I'm pretty sure the parent was being sarcastic. Even vague knowledge of Europe makes that statement obviously silly.
  - msbarnett 14y ago
    I've met a number of Americans who deeply believe that they are the free-est people on earth and that literally all of us who live outside the US are by definition constantly battling with abusive governments against which we have no recourse. It's absurd but not uncommon, sadly.
illuminate 14y ago
This "we're the best because we're the best!" attitude is harmful and resting on laurels "as an American" is why we're not the best, leading to a continued erosion of freedom, ill-action, and our deserved opinion in the eyes of the rest of the world.
linuxhansl 14y ago
I'm sorry, but it just reveals how deluded you are. While I agree it is great that he did not have to face any further repercussions, it actually did go to trial and he was in fact found guilty by the lower court.

betterunix 14y ago

Sadly, most people who are arrested or punished because they exercised their rights have no recourse in this country. A legal battle is pricey, risky, and the damage is often done long before anyone sees a courtroom.

msbarnett 14y ago

Evidently you're not familiar with most of the First World? You have less freedom than most of us, not more. The NDAA wouldn't fly in Canada, or Scandinavia, or ...

graue 14y ago
> Scandinavia Maybe better in some respects, but Sweden seems pretty corrupt in light of the Pirate Bay trial and Assange prosecution.
- nisse72 14y ago
  > pretty corrupt Based on those two examples? According to this: http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/results/ http://cpi.transparency.org/cpi2012/results/ ...4 nordic countries place in the top 7. Sweden is nr 4. The US is nr 19.
  - graue 14y ago
    My opinion of Sweden's government has worsened considerably thanks to those extremely blatant examples of politically-motivated injustice. A high ranking shouldn't be an excuse to sweep real problems away. For more on the Pirate Bay trial, see Falkvinge's post here: http://falkvinge.net/2013/01/06/banana-republic-justice-behind-the-scenes-of-the-pirate-bay-trial/ http://falkvinge.net/2013/01/06/banana-republic-justice-behi... HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5016277 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5016277
    - Snoptic 14y ago
      Sweden's two most famous failures were both kowtows to the US, so aren't much relevant in a comparison against US corruption.
lucian1900 14y ago
I'm pretty sure the parent was being sarcastic. Even vague knowledge of Europe makes that statement obviously silly.
- msbarnett 14y ago
  I've met a number of Americans who deeply believe that they are the free-est people on earth and that literally all of us who live outside the US are by definition constantly battling with abusive governments against which we have no recourse. It's absurd but not uncommon, sadly.

illuminate 14y ago

This "we're the best because we're the best!" attitude is harmful and resting on laurels "as an American" is why we're not the best, leading to a continued erosion of freedom, ill-action, and our deserved opinion in the eyes of the rest of the world.

linuxhansl 14y ago

I'm sorry, but it just reveals how deluded you are. While I agree it is great that he did not have to face any further repercussions, it actually did go to trial and he was in fact found guilty by the lower court.