Scott Rosenberg
jon
Saddam Hussein is better than David Hicks
It's the same old story. Kill a man, they call you a murderer and lock you up. Kill a million people, they call you totalitarian and after a few decades, they lose patience, put their foot down and charge you with crimes against humanity. You fuck one sheep... No hang on, that's a different story. At any rate, amid much discussion about Australian Values, instead of writing down our values in a meaningless list, why don't we look at the way we ACT to show our values. By that reasoning you can see the values of our society by what we deem as a crime, and how we treat those that break the law. Steal a loaf of bread - alright, that's a cliche, make it a plasma - from the corner shop and you will be called a thief, then you'll be man-handled, arrested and thrown in gaol. Steal a million dollars from a major company and/or millions of shareholders and you'll be called a "white-collar criminal" or "disgraced former corporate high-flier" and you'll be politely escorted to an endless stream of high profile court appearances, where various notables will testify on your behalf before you will be fined and released once more into the wild.
Money buys justice and the more money you have, the less justice we get. If you're a high profile businessman, mafioso, master criminal, dictator or celebrity your case is going to attract attention and you are either going to use your position, money and influence to wiggle out of it or you'll be tried by the media and hung out to dry in the court of public opinion. If you're the head of state and you're being tried by the people that deposed you, I think you'll want to get some kind of super lawyer like Erin Brockovich on your side. Saddam and Milosevic get their time in the sun and they spend it grilling the judges. They are Big Bad Men and as such, they get attention and also a kind of respect. But please, someone tell me, what makes David Hicks so goddam special? He is obviously much more dangerous than any common dictator. We know this because of the way he is treated. No charge, no trial, no lawyer, no phonecall - he's so bad we can't even see him. Howard, Bush and Ruddock seem to think even the sight of David could activate sleeper cells all over the world. To let him speak may allow coded messages to spurt into the ether and ignite a chain events culminating in 911 times a thousand. Man he's bad. Even Osama gets his videos played. You can still listen to Charlie Manson records if you want. You would think Hicks had three heads or something. Maybe he's like the girl in the exorcist so that whenever he opens his mouth, he says something vile about your mother having fun down below. Maybe he's just plain ugly.
The fact that an Australian citizen is left abandoned by his government, in a lawless, shadowy gulag with no access to common law or common humanity is a festering boil on the Australian psyche. No other country, especially no other member of the "Coalition of the willing" would be willing to allow one of it's citizens to be treated in such a blatantly illegal and immoral way. Britain had only to ask for its citizens and they were released immediately. The US say they have recieved no request from the Australian government. Jeez, even Schapelle Corby and all the other drug mules in Indonesia got a better deal than that. You know you're in trouble when even drug dealers are rated higher than your own sorry arse.
Seriously, Mr Howard, if you want to lecture us about Australian Values, practise some first. Show that Australians value justice and get Hicks a fair trial. Show we value decency and get him fair treatment in a real, accountable prison system. Show that we value the law and treat David Hicks as a Prisoner Of War - not like the Japanese treated us, but how we would want Prisoners Of War to be treated everywhere; with dignity and humanity. Show that we value freedom of speech and allow Hicks to speak. Show that we value family and let David see his mum and dad. Show that we value a "Fair Go" by giving a "Fair Go" to David Hicks.
Seriously, Mr Howard, if you want to lecture us about Australian Values, practise some first. Show that Australians value justice and get Hicks a fair trial. Show we value decency and get him fair treatment in a real, accountable prison system. Show that we value the law and treat David Hicks as a Prisoner Of War - not like the Japanese treated us, but how we would want Prisoners Of War to be treated everywhere; with dignity and humanity. Show that we value freedom of speech and allow Hicks to speak. Show that we value family and let David see his mum and dad. Show that we value a "Fair Go" by giving a "Fair Go" to David Hicks.
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katyzzz
Celebrity Obsession
I could not agree with you more on this topic. I'm of the opinion that if the American govt hasn't managed to make a case on David Hicks in the 4 odd years he's been in detention.....there probably isn't a case to answer to.
For a start, if I hear the term 'war on terror' uttered by John Howard or George Bush one more time there's a very good chance that I'm going to go postal!!!
And the fact that the Aust govt hasn't done more to release Hicks so that he can stand trial for his (alleged) crimes is a sad indictment of our govt.
KylieW
Also the Republicans took a drubbing in the US mid-terms so it's not all bad news. Maybe the Dem's will put pressure on to close Camp X-Ray. We can only hope....