A crack appears in the rotten facade

This blog has supported justice for David Hicks for a long time. He was incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay for a long and inhuman time. Now comes this news:

Hicks' lawyer, David McLeod, has told The Age he is confident that sooner or later either the US Supreme Court or the American political process will find the military commission system that convicted Hicks either unlawful or unsustainable.

"If the Supreme Court gets rid of the commissions, his conviction will go with it, and so will the proceeds-of-crime constraints," Mr McLeod said. It is also possible Hicks would then be in a position to seek compensation.

Go here to read further about the politically trumped up case that even the Chief Prosecutor of the US Military Commissions admits to.

~~~

When you can do nothing else: bear witness.

David Hicks - free at last!

Photo: The Age

It is over. This chapter - the imprisonment chapter - is over. None of us can ever entirely leave the past behind even if - as so often is said - it is another country.

What one hopes is that the regretful moments of our past result in lessons learned and a new wisdom and maturity. We also hope that the scars of our past are healed, cleanly healed, so they do not impede our further journey.

David Hicks - if he ever did commit a crime against justly implemented legislation - has paid for his actions.

Unfortunately, there are still the self-righteous - The Australian and Mike Rann to name two. Added to this list must be the stupid carrying on of yesterday's To-day show on Channel 9 where there was a phone poll on an alleged apology from David Hicks that was predicted for to-day. No such apology came to-day but we now know the measure of Karl Stepanovic. He stated that he would not accept an apology from David Hicks. No forgiveness Karl? No way back...ever?

This blog has often expressed its questioning on how public forgiveness is achieved when a public figure does say sorry, does publicly express repentance, does seek forgiveness. How is this reciprocated? While no public apology has been forthcoming and - who knows? - may not be {and if so, to whom, for what?}, this question still is not clear. How is forgiveness demonstrated in the public sphere?

Miss Eagle wishes David Hicks well and wellness as he embarks on this new chapter. She prays for all the Hicks family and close friends as they support David. Keep safe, David. Grow your children. Honour your family. Rejoice in your friendships. And lastly, David, have a wonderful rest of your life.

David Hicks: politicians get brickbats

Let's be blunt here. There are politicians in this nation who bleat about citizenship and Australian values and who have done nothing to increase the value of either. In fact, they have failed the mateship test. They have failed to show a duty of care towards a citizen - namely David Hicks. Although he is not the first - just the worst - case.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
There is the Black Trinity of John Howard, Philip Ruddock, and Alexander Downer.

For years, they have refused to lift a finger to gain the release of David Hicks from the US detention centre at Guantanamo Bay used to circumvent the Geneva Convention. As the US Government conspired to avoid it human rights obligations, the Australian Government was complicit and these three men were the Australian activists who conspired to ensure the detention of David in this illicit hell hole.

Citizenship, mateship, Australian values. Forget it! These three devalue everything that Australians hold dear.

The duty of care towards a citizen. Forget it. Corruption at AWB gets more support and priority.

Mateship. Forget it. Just because Hicks is Australian did not make him a mate. He was evil - according to the demonisation antics of the Black Trinity. Australia had no law under which he could be convicted and imprisoned. So the Black Trinity took the most convenient option. Revenge, US style. Convict him in the United States. They have a law and, if it doesn't fit, they will make it fit to order.

Australian values. Forget it. Foreign governments - particularly and in particular the United States of America - can do anything they like with impunity to Australian citizens. Britain, however, values their protection of citizens more highly than this Australian government. Tony Blair got every last one of his people released from Guantanamo years ago.

THE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT

Ministers from Mike Rann down continue the demonisation begun by the Black Trinity. Wonderful how Labor and Liberal coalesce and merge into one another sometimes, isn't it?
Caught Kevin Foley briefly on the telly last night saying "he's not a celebrity, he's not a hero." Duh, Kevin!

No, David Hicks is not a celebrity. He is not a hero. He is more than that. He is one of us.

He has been misguided and foolish - as are all of us at some time in our lives, to a greater or lesser degree. But David Hicks is one of us who has been treated abominably. He is one of us who has been a victim of revenge from two governments - from the United States of America, the land of the free and the home of the brave; and from his homeland, Australia, the land of mateship, the fair go and being fair dinkum.

Are South Australian politicians so used to law and order debates and upping the ante on who is the toughest on criminals, that they just automatically mouth off?

Have they never heard of mercy and compassion?

We know the Black Trinity does not understand mercy and compassion. Corruption and privilege and special pleading for people of privilege is what is understood best.

So Rann and Co - who like to appear non-partisan, who appoint a churchman to the halls of government - look no better. No mercy for Hicks. No compassion for Hicks. Demonise Hicks. Belittle Hicks. Kick Hicks while he is down. Feet of clay, Mike and Kevin, feet of clay!

Homecoming for David Hicks

David Hicks is home - where he belongs.

Please continue to pray for his welfare.

Thanks be to God. David Hicks is home in Australia. The list of people to thank is endless. But David's greatest support has been his father, Terry. Terry Hicks has acquitted himself well. He was on a steep learning curve as he faced the media, lobbied politicians, learned to use film to promote David's cause. No parent could have done more in such circumstances than Terry Hicks.

Terry Hicks - 3 February 2007

Then there are the lawyers. They twisted. They turned. They persevered to gain every inch. Australian lawyers supporting David Hicks grew in number. Vital support. But the one who spoke to the hearts of Australians was Major Mori. An unknown in his own country he has become a well-known figure in Australia. Major Mori was exemplary. And he loves cricket which helped the case to take yet another direction in attempts to free David from Guantanomo Bay. Michael Mori now has his own row to hoe. At this time, it does not appear that Michael's strenuous efforts on behalf of his client have helped his career.

So many people assisted in the battle for David Hicks, Australian Citizen. People took to the streets, prayed in churches and a cathedral, lobbied, kept vigil, wore orange.

And one website kept faith and kept us going - Fair Go for David.

The Tao of John (for David Hicks)

In order to be strong

Make somebody weak.

To be at the centre of the crowd,

Make somebody as lonely outcast.

To gain extraordinary privilege,

Deny somebody their rights.

Sacrifice a man in the outer world.

Keep a man alone and tormented in a cage.

He will mirror the inner man you have sacrificed.

Thus pain will balance pain and end all feeling.

As you have controlled yourselfSo you shall control the world.

Leunig - The Age, December 9, 2006

David Hicks coming to Yatala Labour Prison

Short Shadow has left a comment on Miss Eagle's previous post about David Hick's homecoming. Miss E doesn't want such a worthwhile comment left unnoticed so is posting it here:

Unfortunately Premier Rann seems bent on squeezing as many populist brownie points as he can out of the last few months of Hicks' incarceration by insisting that he's kept in conditions which resemble Guantanamo as closely as possible. In SA prisoners approaching the end of their sentences are allowed to access various pre-release programs etc to prepare them for their eventual release. Rann has not only ruled this out in Hicks' case but he's also banging on about how after his release he'll still be a major threat to the community, and demanding that his liberty be restricted further by control orders and the like once he is set free. Given that the US Military Commission imposed a much lighter sentence than all the Rumsfeldian hyperbole (Hicks "the worst of the worst"?) seemed to suggest some people, hearing Mr Rann's drum banging, might smell a rodent and conclude that the Premier is trying to create a smokescreen over the perception that his government's dealing with crime, and perhaps corruption, is sub-optimal.

David Hicks: Home soon - very soon it seems

G Division, Yatala Labour Prison, South Australia

David Hicks who will be incarcerated there.

The arrival home of David Hicks to Yatala Prison is drawing closer in what might even be called an expeditious manner. Pray for his welfare.

Fair Go for David

Free at last....?

David Hicks spruced up to meet the demands of the Military Commission aka as Kangaroo Court

Miss Eagle's rejoicing is postponed until he arrives on Australian soil. The news is here. John Howard clearly thinks this will remove the Hicks issue from any consideration by Australian electors in the forthcoming Federal election. Who can tell? He may be right. But one thing is clear to all who give a moments thought to the situation of David Hicks. That is the collusion of the Australian Government in the manner of his "trial", his "sentencing, and his expected release.

Howard clearly thinks Australians are mugs.

It is quite clear that what Howard has done now, the Australian Government has had the capacity to do and could have been done previously (give or take legal manoevering around the Military Commissions legality issue). This re-inforces the belief that Howard could have done for Hicks what Blair did for Britons.

Howard refused.

Howard was inhumane.

Howard was vengeful.

Hicks breached no Australian law but Howard was determined that, one way or another, punishment would be visited on David Hicks. Some Australians may want to just put the Hicks matter away in a bottom draw. Others of us will remember David Hicks. We will remember John Howard.

LEST WE FORGET.

LEST WE FORGET.

Hicks, hair, and light

An artist depicts David Hicks' appearance in the US military courtroom in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, today.Photo: AP

Published in The Age, Melbourne.

David Hicks has grown his hair to chest length in an attempt to try to avoid the never-ending light in his cell.

The charges - or lack of them - against Hicks are noteworthy:

The charge sheet does not allege Hicks fired on US troops or attacked a US target, but says he conducted surveillance on the abandoned US embassy in Kabul and met Osama bin Laden as well as accused "shoe bomber'' Richard Reid.
Previous charges of attempted murder, conspiracy and aiding the enemy have been dropped, with defence lawyers saying the move shows US authorities have a weak case.

The prosecutor in this jumped-up, stuffed-up, kangaroo court proceedings at Guantanamo Bay has used the argument that Terry Hicks told David Hicks that taking up arms was wrong.

So this is to prove the guilt of David?

In that case what are we waiting for? Let's arrest Bush, Cheney, Rumsefield, Blair, Howard & Uncle Tom Cobbley and all. After all hundreds of thousands - at least - of their citizens have told them that they are wrong in what they are doing and how they are doing it. What is the measure of their guilt? Are their circadian rhythms interrupted? Do they sleep well at night?

They have proved themselves gun-totin' cowboys with no idea of nation building. Afghanistan is still a mess. Freedom loving democracy is not a reality there. It is not a reality in Iraq.

The US cannot build a decent democracy itself. The most powerful political figure in the world does not have and cannot prove that he has the majority of support of the citizens of his nation. Because it's a good day if more than half of the US population turn out to vote. The US cannot help its own. Hurricane Katrina proved that beyond any shadow of a doubt. And in the case of New Orleans many, so many of us, believe that the US will not help its own if they are black.

Nation building? The Government of the USA should try it some time.

Sign of the times

Photo: Craig Abraham/The Age

"JUSTICE FOR DAVID HICKS"

has become a cause for Melbourne's Anglicans. Not only is the demand made in an eight-metre banner hanging from St Paul's Cathedral, but new Archbishop Philip Freier has written to Prime Minister John Howard on Hicks' behalf.

John Howard's Comedy: no sense of timing

One thing a comic needs is a good sense of timing.

Here a list of examples are given of a good sense of timing.

Monty Python's Quest for the Holy Grail

� The African/European Swallow debate at the beginning is a great use of pauses.

Dennis Miller

� He bulls through the punchlines quickly and effectively.

Noises Off

� The entire play/movie (especially the middle section; excellent physical use of timing!)
Back to the Future

� Michael J. Fox uses timing brilliantly by pausing before his line to create wonderful facial expressions, conveying a wealth of emotion.

The comedy of life isn't really much different. Great statesmen give every appearance of a good sense of timing. Churchill and the war against the Nazis; Robert Menzies and post-war prosperity.

Shakespeare said it all in Julius Cæsar. Act iv. Sc. 3:

There is a tide in the affairs of men

Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

Until 1996, John Howard seemed to have misjudged the tide. Ten years as Prime Minister of Australia has given every appearance that Howard has judged the tide very well. Now, in 2007, John Howard's judgment of tides has ebbed indeed.

Climate change denial by Howard has seen him overtaken by the electorate and he is now in catch up mode. He is under constant pressure from an increasingly vocal electorate to bring David Hicks home to Australia from Guantanamo Bay. Now, Tony Blair has overtaken him in his surprise announcement to bring British troops home from Iraq.

POOR SENSE OF TIMING, JOHN.

Will David Hicks ever come home?

John Quiggen raises the question that even if David Hicks is tried and found to be not guilty that he would not necessarily be released from Guantanamo Bay. Quiggen quotes documents here, here, and here.

The United States of America throws justice out the window and expects the world to take it seriously as an exponent of democracy and freedom. They are not even up to caped crusader standard.

God loves a fair go

More than 800 people attended a prayer service in support of David Hicks at St Paul's Anglican Cathedral yesterday. Miss Eagle is disappointed that she could not attend because illness intervened. The news of such a large attendance is heartening. Many, many more came to pray than turned up at the Coburg dinner the week before - but then the church service was free.

The time is drawing nigh, Miss Eagle thinks, when a multi-faith prayer service should be considered.

Miss Eagle applauds Archbishop Philip Freier's emphasis that God loves justice. The Howard Government talks loud and long about Australian values even to the point of attempting to mandate Australian values for newcomers. Central to the ethos of Australians is the fair go: what God would call justice.

This is why so many Australians have begun to focus on David Hicks and his unchristian, unjust, and uncivilised treatment at the hands of the government of the United States of America.

An increasing number of Australians believe that - whatever David Hicks may or may not have done - he is not getting a fair go. Australians - at least in this instance and in spite of inhabiting one of the most secular societies on the face of Planet Earth - believe in The Golden Rule. They want to treat another as they themselves wish to be treated. They want a fair go for themselves. They want their government to act in their best interests if they are in trouble overseas and are at the mercy of a foreign government.

Australians want for David Hicks what they want for themselves: a fair go.

The sound of roosting chickens in the distance?

Is that the sound of roosting chickens in the distance?

Miss Eagle has posted previously (here and here) that she does not want John Howard to resign or leave the political scene until he is visited with the results of his bad decisions and bad policies which have ridden roughshod over the Australian polity and those who seek protection - whether they be citizens or sojourners - from its government.

Could the reports here and here be the first sounds of the death knell of the Howard Government? Are these the first sounds of chickens coming home to roost?

Bring David Home - 3

Last night, Miss Eagle joined more than 300 other Melburnians at a Civil Rights Defence dinner at the Coburg City Hall.

Terry Hicks, father of David Hicks, was the guest of honour and guest speaker.

As can be seen below, Terry was honoured.

Terry has won the admiration of many Australians for his tenacity and courage in battling for his son against not only the powerful USA but his own government. He has done this with modesty and integrity.

You make parents proud, Terry!

Join the campaign to bring David Home by emailing bringdavidhome@theage.com.au

From memory, there were three standing ovations for Terry including one before he spoke!

The crowd honours Terry with a standing ovation.

Three speakers: well known civil libertarian Brian Walters SC

Les Thomas, brother of Jack Thomas

Omar Merhi, brother of Abdulla Merhi, one of the Barwon 13

As Miss Eagle listened to the speakers, she could not help but think - as a mother of sons - there but for the grace of God go many of us.

These families are ordinary working families. The are not wealthy nor do they dwell in the halls of power and influence. They have been caught up in the defence of their children and siblings and their love and determination is something to behold.

The representatives of the Hicks, Thomas and Merhi families were saw speaking last night are fine examples not only of values Australians hold dear but of the greater family of humanity.

MAY JUSTICE REIGN

AND

MAY THESE SONS BE RESTORED TO THEIR FAMILIES

Jack Thomas with baby son Gabriel conversing with Terry Hicks.

Jack and Terry were very gracious allowing a photograph for The Eagle's Nest

An intransigent Australian Government continues to fail to lobby for the release of David Hicks who is continually subject to harsh, inhumane and unjust treatment by the government of the United States of America at Guantanamo Bay.

This shirt says it all!

Take a ticket for Hicks

Another Australian lining up for justice for David Hicks is George Williams. George Williams is Director, Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law and Anthony Mason Professor.

bringdavidhome@theage.com.au

They're lining up to speak out on justice for David

Take a number and line up on the right. People are coming out of the woodwork in support of justice for David Hicks - now it is Australia's first director of military prosecutions for the new Australian Military Court, Brigadier Lyn McDade.

bringdavidhome@theage.com.au

Bring David Home

The Sunday Age has received more than 6500 emails and letters supporting its campaign to bring David Hicks home.

They have been packed up and sent to federal Attorney-General Philip Ruddock. He has been invited to write in next week's Sunday Age about the issue. The campaign to bring Hicks home will continue in 2007 as Hicks enters his sixth year in jail — without trial. We look forward to your support. The email address
— bringdavidhome@theage.com.au — will remain active.

Justice, torture, coercion, and moral bankruptcy

Australia does not provide justice to all Australians.

Malcolm Fraser speaks plainly about how Australia, along with other western nations, has moved away from the rule of law and is prepared to accept evidence gained through torture in spite of the long battle under British law to outlaw such a practice.

Brian Walters SC, a Melbourne barrister and the immediate past president of Liberty Victoria, says that, contrary to well-known principles of international law, Australia's Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, says that sleep deprivation is not torture: it is merely "coercive".

You can decide but Miss Eagle thinks the only point of argument is whether Australia, as a nation state, has reached a state of moral bankruptcy or is merely on the road to it.

Free David Hicks and bring him home

"America would not tolerate this for one of its citizens,"

says [DavidHicks' military lawyer, Major Michael] Mori.

"Nor would it tolerate any politicians sacrificing some American citizen to the whim of a foreign country, regardless of whether they are our ally or not. It just doesn't happen."

Read more here

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David Hicks has broken no Australian law, albeit that one school of thought is that it would be possible for David to face some kind of charges. Australia has not stood by its own. Miss Eagle believes that Howard, Ruddock et al clearly display vengefulness mixed with a dog in a manger attitude.

Australia can't convict Hicks so he will be left somewhere where he can be convicted. Justice, mateship, Australian values. None of this is wasted on David Hicks as the Australian Government seeks to reek vengeance upon him. A fair go? Not for David Hicks.

David has obtained British citizenship and the United Kingdom has not, apparently, lifted a finger to get him out of Guantanamo Bay as it has for all other British citizens.

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In Melbourne,

The Sunday Age is becoming involved in the campaign to bring David home.

The Sunday Age is inviting readers to register their support to bring David Hicks home, and it will pass it on to the Federal Government.
Send your messages to bringdavidhome@theage.com.au

Enough is enough!

One week from to-day there will be a National Day of Action in support of David Hicks.

An increasing number of Australians are outspoken in their demands to bring David home from Guantanamo Bay.

Enough is enough!

International Day of Action for David Hicks - Melbourne
2pm Saturday 9 December
Federation Square, Melbourne

(with simultaneous events in Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide, as well as in the UK)
Speakers include:

Major Michael Mori, David Hicks' US lawyer

Les Thomas, CRD member and brother of Jack Thomas

Nicole Bieske, Amnesty International Australia

Lex Lasry, QC

Nicola Roxon, Shadow Attorney General

Brian Walters, Liberty Victoria

Michelle O'Neil, Textile, Clothing, Footwear Union
Rob Stary, civil libertarian and lawyer
David Hicks : Five years in hell : Close Guantanamo! Bring David Home!
Organised by Amnesty International, Liberty Victoria and Civil Rights Defence

For more information, call 0407 856 628

For more about David Hicks:

Fair Go for David

Amnesty International: Send a letter to the PM: Bring David Hicks home

Amnesty International : Campaign focus: Guantánamo Bay and David Hicks
Get Up!

David Hicks details abuse in Guantanamo Bay

David Hicks: affidavit on abuse and mistreatment
The 'Australian Taleban'

Let's Bring David Hicks Home by Danna Vale

David Hicks: Five Years in Guantanamo

Plea from churches for Hicks :

Catholic Cardinal George Pell & Anglican Archbishop Peter Jensen