Wednesday, March 28, 2007
AL WEIGHDA
Labor leader Kevin Rudd was complaining only the other day that Australian Talitubby David Hicks could not expect a fair trial. Pixie’s mentioned Hicksy quite often in recent months; but after Hicks pleaded guilty yesterday, Rudd issued one of the wordiest no-comments you’ll ever read:
Mr Rudd said there were at least three or four stages of the legal process to go before the sentence was handed down.
"One is the stipulation of the facts. The second, the determination of any sentence and if it’s any custodial sentence,” Mr Rudd told ABC Radio.
"Third, the question of appeal rights which exist under the relevant US statute and before the US Supreme Court, and finally the whole question of if a custodial sentence is imposed and the operation of the International Prisoner Transfer Act as it operates under Australian domestic law.
"We are, therefore, now in the midst of this quite complex legal process and for those sorts of reasons we ourselves are reluctant to comment,” he said.
Chicken Kevin – it’s our version of Chicken Kiev. Other Hicks advocates indicated their sadness:
Anti-war protesters in orange jump suits marching in Brisbane’s city centre Tuesday were stunned by the news of David Hicks’ guilty plea … There was a palpable air of disappointment among those who had campaigned to bring Hicks home.
Foreign minister Alexander Downer seems to have been checking out lefty blogs, judging by this observation:
Downer has told 2GB’s Alan Jones the guilty plea has silenced misguided supporters of Hicks …
They’re possibly still trying to cope with the fact their little al-Qaeda pal has evidently been feasting on al-Quarter Pounders:
He’s small and overweight. Chubby to some observers, “puffy” to his father, Terry.
Descriptions of hollowed cheeks, sunken eyes, despair and suicidal thoughts have been floated out by his legal team in recent months, but Hicks looked nothing of the sort.
Alan Grey predicted this in February: “If other [Gitmo] prisoners are used as an example, then he has probably gained weight.” Spot on, Al. If he keeps piling it on at his next home, Hicks’ll soon have company even when he’s in solitary:
The U.S. military will seek a jail sentence of less than 20 years for Australian David Hicks … “Other similar cases have been a sentence of 20 years and we will take into account the five years he has been in custody and his early guilty plea,” Air Force Colonel Morris Davis told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio today.
Following Dave’s relocation, Canada’s Omar Khadr is the only Westerner left at Gitmo. More burgers for him, eh! Naturally, the Age’s Ron Tanderg suspects a Howard plot; more rational takes are available from the Australian, Luke McIlveen, and Jules Crittenden, who deals with the Koslings:
Daily Kos observes that “pleading guilty is the best option when the deck is completely stacked against you.” Could be. And dying is the best option when a bomb goes off in your nightclub! What was that guy doing scoping out embassies, learning kidnapping and assassination techniques, anyway? Just curious.
Not much warmth in Dave’s old home town from this young Adelaide woman:
my blog for today is kill david hicks and his bloody dad too! Thnku
Whoa! Better balance that with a pro-Dave view:
As an active protester in the streets of Sydney to bring David Hicks home, I can tell you that the matter of his innocence or guilt was never my reason for marching. If he is guilty, I believe that he should be punished to the full extent of Australian law and he should serve his time. But his guilt must be proved through a fair trial, in Australia, where I have faith that the premise of innocent until guilty rings true. This, I believe, is not the case in the USA ...
Hmmm … do we detect the loamy scent of a Truther? Indeed we do:
Bush has enough against him to be impeached and charged with war crimes. Howard lies through his teeth at every possible opportunity and is the number one spin doctor. Exhibit A- weapons of mass destruction. And then delve a little deeper and do your research. Heard of WTC #7? That was the 3rd building to come down on Sept 11. Have a look …
Let me guess; did fatso Hicks sit on it?