What a master stroke to vindicate Bush and Howard

[Aussie leftie]

Has anyone ever heard of a situation where after a plea bargain has been arranged the accused then has to prove his/her guilt? I dont blame Hicks for taking the "plea bargain" option because I feel sure that if he had pleaded not guilty to the trumped up charges there would have been no way he would have been found not guilty. Besides, who would want him to spend one second more than necessary in that hell-hole.

What infuriates me is the fact that on the face of it, it appears to vindicate Howard, Downer and Ruddock.

Under the Howard Government our economy may be in reasonable condition, but the country sold its soul to the devil to get there.

[Esra Star]

1. David Hicks will still be a problem for the fascists when it comes

election time. They will try to spin it, but you
can't hide the complicity with the Americans.
They are destroying all freedoms in the name of preserving freedom.
It reminds me of Vietnam when they said that in order to
save the villages, they had to destroy them.
Here's a pic of part of the My Lai massacre.

[Violet_Crumble]

2. Just a warning about saying too much about the Americans here at DU...

There's a thread about David Hicks up in LBN and I said what I thought of the US military and their sham trial and my post got deleted. So, guys, be careful what you say about the Americans up there. I'll keep my opinions about the way David Hicks was treated down here in this forum in future...

[Violet_Crumble]

3. He had no choice but to go for the plea bargain...

In my opinion, after watching his legal team get sacked by the judge and then having the judge rule in favour of the prosecution on every point, he would have been crazy to want to go to trial, because it was crystal clear that he wasn't going to get any sort of fair trial....

I don't know about it appearing to vindicate Howard and his cronies. They'll spin it to try to make themselves look good, but hopefully most people will be bright enough to see right through it...

[Aussie leftie]

4. Catch 22

After pleading guilty as prearranged in the plea bargain, he then had to convince the judge that he really WAS guilty. If he couldn't convince the judge of his guilt, does that therefore make him innocent. If found innocent by the "judge" does that make him guilty of perjury? If guilty of perjury does that then mean he would have had to serve a new jail sentence?

I'll put this question to the DU'S in the political section and see what happens.

[Matilda]

5. Your points have been raised also by a number of letter-writers

to the Sydney Morning Herald. It is encouraging that around 90% of the letters see right through
the whole sham, and are not buying the Government spin for one minute.

I think one worrying thing about Hick's plea bargain is that he is being forced to give evidence
against other people, and it may or may not be factually correct, but can give the Pentagon
ammunition against others who may be innocent or very minor players.

[Aussie leftie]

6. It is the readers of the Daily Telegraph that worry me

[Matilda]

7. They read the Telegraph, watch Channel 9 News,

and listen to Alan Jones. I sometimes meet them by accident and it's always a shock to remember
that some people are that ignorant.

[Aussie leftie]

8. And it is these very people that actually have the final say

as to which political party rules this country. They are the swingers that are taken in by outrageous headlines, Andrew Bolt, Piers Ackerman, Gerard Henderson and Alan Jones. Thank god for the ABC.

[Esra Star]

9. I don't think that the characters you name do swing the vote.

I think that they just impress the right anyway.
The bottom line will always be the wallet.
The majors will just buy as many votes in the marginals
as they can.
Yes, thanks to the ABC for my sanity.

[Matilda]

10. I think you're right about the marginals.

They're certainly the ones who benefit from any pork-barrelling.

I live in a blue-ribbon area (Fed. Warringah - Tony Abbott's seat), and I can tell you, Labor never
even bothers to campaign. Neither does Abbott, except in 2000 when he was challenged by Peter
McDonald, who got very close. Abbott got very busy, for the first and last time. The Greens do
what they can with limited funds, but in general, we're ignored because most of the selfish wannabees
in our area don't bother to think.

I sometimes think it would be nice to live in a marginal seat, where my vote would count.

[RFKHumphreyObama]

11. You know I'd give anything to be living in my old home in Howard's electorate

Nothing like being able to actually vote against his name on the ballot paper. Unfortunately I moved out before either Andrew Wilkie or Maxine McKew came on the stage