So in order to get through security, you have to get through security's security?

Larnach Castle? Isn't that in Dunedin, NZ?

The Swedes don't want to question him, they want to charge him and that can only happen on Swedish soil. In order to charge someone they need to do that as part of a formal interview. So by volunteering to be interviewed in a place where he cannot be charged and wouldn't agree to leave with them if he could be, Assange is playing to the crowd by offering terms he knows cannot be accepted.

That whole article sums up what is wrong with these venture capitalist funded start-ups; they want to compete on a different playing field than established companies. They want to be able to import cheap labour from other countries as they aren't willing to pay the going rate for local engineers. They don't want to register their employees properly as they will be liable for more taxes and to give their employees the rights they are entitled to.

As a European, I'm glad these guys are finding it difficult to ride roughshod over the laws has to protect workers. If you can't afford to do things the proper way then your business is not viable. Complaining that you can't find exploitative loopholes that depress wages for the rest of us is laughable.

That's nothing, in Swedish "gift" means both "married" and "poison" !

Despite the name, the Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation is actually British

You are over-egging NK from my experience.

Friendliness is hard to judge as most people can only speak Korean and almost exclusively pretend like you don't exist. Whether that is through fear or not, I can't say but it is unusual when you consider that NK is the most homogenised society in the world and that the number of western tourist is only ~2000/year that most people did not seem curious at all to see us.

Cooking skills may not be lacking but raw ingredients certainly are. I never realised how much I depend on fruit until I visited NK. I don't particularly like apples but after almost a week of no fruit and almost the same meal everyday (kim shi), I was genuinely excited when I managed to get half an apple. I can only imagine what it is like for ordinary NK citizens.

For all its affront and posturing, you cannot visit NK without recognising that it is a poor country masquerading as a rich one. The paucity of cars even in the city centre of Pyongyang was eerie - especially so when we drove on an empty 10-lane motorway. There seemed to be only about 5 styles of clothing available (especially for men) that reminded me of school uniform every where we went. The complete lack of crime (except against humanity, perhaps) was almost disconcerting.

I have actually visited North Korea in order to see the Arirang Mass Games. Although Truman Show is a good analogy of what it is like there, I feel a better description is like a human safari. While it is heavily locked down there to an amusing extent (my guide genuinely thought Madonna was man but had heard of her), every now and then you saw a glimpse of something that showed you that it wasn't entirely true.

When I was leaving the country and passing through passport control, I was lightly grilled by the border guard. He asked me a few questions and then asked me what my job was.
"Programmer", I replied.
"Which language do you use?"
"Java"
He then leaned forwarded and whispered to me as he gave me my passport back, "Me too".

Actually it was Evelyn Beatrice Hall who said that as a summarisation of Voltaire's beliefs.

The most startling fact I found out when reading this article is that I am now, at 29 years old, past it. I had heard of hardly any of the "top" artists in these lists never mind pirate their music.

All this supposition that Assange is being extradited to Sweden only for them to extradite him to USA his nothing short of a conspiracy theory. Why would anyone go such a convoluted route when they could simply extradite him from the UK using the fast track extradition process (that the USA has failed to honour incidentally). Involving Sweden in the process makes no sense what so ever, to extradite him from there requires both the UK and Sweden's permission and if the USA can get the UK to agree then why involve Sweden at all!

Over and over it has been said that Sweden wants to question him as they need to do this formally before charging him and that needs to take place in Sweden legally. So to drop by or phone is of no interest to Sweden and in any case, why should he be treated differently from every body else?

The key part you neglect to mention is that the Icelanders signed up to a statutory guarantee to guarantee up to a certain level of depositors funds. When Landsbanki collapsed taking IceSave with it, Iceland turned around and said that this guarantee only applied to Icelanders and not to other countries. Only then did the UK and the Netherlands start taking Landsbanki's assets.

With one hand, attack the nuclear computer systems of another country and with the other hand, demand extradition and decades of imprisonment for those who break into your systems to have a look around.

Except you cannot always extradite someone who you have had extradited to your country. The first country normally adds caveats to prevent that