There's no proof whatsoever that this arrest was politically motivated. aaronsw's furtive behavior really muddies the waters here - if my sysadmin found a similar laptop in a server closet I would also have called the cops.
I agree, his arrest was probably not politically motivated. However, I believe the way the authorities proceed with prosecution and punishment will be influenced by Aaron's other activities.
Asking why there aren't more female developers is like asking why there aren't more guys who go into nursing or more guys who wanna be fashion designers or a chef.
Perhaps its personal interest, societal view that industries like games and computers are more masculine...
Honestly, who cares if the developer is a chick or a guy as long as the application or site being built is useful
Everything Aaron does is out of good intentions. I know, I've worked with him before.
His crime isn't "borrowing" the data...it's getting caught.