The Daily Swarm

WBBM:

An autistic computer genius, space aliens and Pretenders legend Chrissie Hynde are all wrapped up in what the federal government says is an effort to contain the most prolific computer hacker in American history.

His mother, Janis Sharp, has publicly appealed to President Obama to help her son.

“I think Obama probably doesn’t know about it, and he’s got so many things to consider, but I’m really desperately trying to get through to Obama, because this is from the Bush era,” she told the British press outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London. “It’s not of Obama. He would not want this to happen.”

Neither, it seems, would Pretenders front woman Chrissie Hynde, who has recorded an old Crosby, Stills and Nash tune “Chicago” to promote McKinnon’s cause.

The Pretenders:

Chrissie Hynde, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour and Sir Bob Geldof have joined forces to record Graham Nash’s ‘Chicago’ to highlight the predicament of alleged computer hacker Gary McKinnon, who is under threat of extradition to the US.

In 2002, Gary apparently got into US military computers to search for the existence of UFOs and was subsequently charged by US authorities, who wish to extradite him for trial there.

Under the UK / US Extradition Treaty the US does not have to provide any proof—something that doesn’t apply to US citizens. Therefore, regardless of the possible crime, Gary has been cited as an example of a counter-terrorism law being used against someone who isn’t a terrorist. In addition, Gary has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (a form of Autism) by eminent psychologist Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, who has said that Gary poses ‘no harm to society’, and there are strong fears that Gary’s fragile personality would not survive US incarceration.

The single is a plea to US President Barack Obama to review Gary’s case, and features lyrics rewritten by Gary’s mother, Janis Sharp, to reflect Gary’s circumstance. It is available as a download with an optional payment from the Free Gary McKinnon website (http://www.freegarymckinnon.co.uk).