NationStates Jolt Archive

how appropriate that a kangaroo skinner be tried in this manner.

He skinned kangaroos, now kangaroos are going to skin him.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,255742,00.html

WASHINGTON — The United States has filed charges against David Hicks, an Australian citizen suspected of aiding the Taliban in Afghanistan and the first terrorism-war era detainee to be charged by the Defense Department under new rules for military commissions.

The decision was made even though officials of Australia already had asked the United States not to bring such charges. Australia has been a steadfast ally to the Bush administration in fighting terrorism.

Hicks is a former kangaroo skinner captured in Afghanistan in December 2001. He has been held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for more than five years without trial.

Apparently he is going to be tried by a military tribunal that was established by Congress (not the one that was declared unconstitutional last year but a new one).

Thoughts?

how appropriate that a kangaroo skinner be tried in this manner.

He skinned kangaroos, now kangaroos are going to skin him.

well, we are doing everything we can to take over for soviet russia

well, we are doing everything we can to take over for soviet russia

in soviet russia, Kangaroos skin YOU.

well, we are doing everything we can to take over for soviet russia

SOMEONE's gotta fill the role of "evil hegemon." And China hasn't stepped up to the plate yet.

Meh. They finally get around to charging him with something, since they can't hold him as Enemy Combatant forever apparently. Same with Jose Pedilla.

And in other news, what I wouldn't do for an authentic Soviet Russia joke that isn't simply some lame inversion with no grasp of Soviet-era politics.

SOMEONE's gotta fill the role of "evil hegemon." And China hasn't stepped up to the plate yet.

was got me was when they reopened soviet-era gulag facilities to use as secret torture and murder facilities. it was like they put out a sign that said "now under new management"

And in other news, what I wouldn't do for an authentic Soviet Russia joke that isn't simply some lame inversion with no grasp of Soviet-era politics.

in soviet russia, if you disagree with the state, you are sent to siberia or shot in the head!

no wait, that's not funny.

in soviet russia, if you disagree with the state, you are sent to siberia or shot in the head!

no wait, that's not funny.

Here's an old one I made:

In America, people are fighting to keep Terri Schiavo on life support. In Soviet Russia, everyone knows Lenin is dead but keeps him on public display anyways.

And in other news, what I wouldn't do for an authentic Soviet Russia joke that isn't simply some lame inversion with no grasp of Soviet-era politics.

Seconded. The endlessly repeated iterations of Yakov Smirnoff's lame quips are endured, not enjoyed.

Seconded. The endlessly repeated iterations of Yakov Smirnoff's lame quips are endured, not enjoyed.

Actually, Smirnoff came up with just the one, which was an authentic Soviet Russia Joke and I found it funny in its keen observation. Everything else after that was everyone else's lame interpretation of a Soviet Russia Joke which everyone assumed were his. Sort of like those anonymous hard-right statements that people attributed to Robin Williams and George Carlin.

"In California, I'm always trying to find a party. In Soviet Russia, you can be sure that the Party will find you."

Or something like that.

Actually, Smirnoff came up with just the one,

which one was that?

which one was that?

The one about Parties.

It's sad how people can simply invert a statement and call it a Soviet Russia Joke. Much like calling Taco Bell "Authentic Hispanic Cuisine."

Here's an old one I made:

In America, people are fighting to keep Terri Schiavo on life support. In Soviet Russia, everyone knows Lenin is dead but keeps him on public display anyways.


That makes me giggle. :D

its about time.

trying him is the first step in freeing him. either they have some evidence that he broke US law while living in afghanistan or they dont. i dont see where being moslem, living in afghanistan and working for the taliban qualifies.

if there is something more, he can begin serving a sentence. if there isnt, he can go home.

The decision was made even though officials of Australia already had asked the United States not to bring such charges.

:confused:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21278183-601,00.html

Hicks was al-Qa'ida's golden boy: inmate

* Patrick Walters, National security editor
* February 24, 2007

DAVID Hicks was al-Qa'ida's "24-carat Golden Boy" and was willing to undertake suicide missions, including crashing a plane into a building, a former Guantanamo Bay inmate has claimed.

In a 148-page document written for US government terrorism investigators, British former inmate Feroz Abbasi wrote that Hicks wanted to "go back to Australia and rob and kill Jews".

Abbasi's account also made the claim that Hicks wanted to crash a plane into a building and details the Australian terror suspect's behaviour in al-Qai'da training camps in Afghanistan. The claims made by Abbasi, who was released from Guantanamo Bay in 2005 and has never been charged, are detailed in next week's Time magazine.

In a signed statement made on October 20, 2004, Abbasi - who was arrested in Afghanistan in 2001 after being caught carrying a hand grenade in his underpants - repudiated his written account of Hicks in its entirety, describing the allegations made against the Australian as "ludicrous in their content (yet believed by dense investigators)".

According to Time, Hicks was nicknamed "Golden Boy" because he was so clearly al-Qa'ida's favourite recruit. Abbasi wrote in his original statement that Hicks, a former kangaroo skinner and father of two who converted to Islam, wanted to "go out with that last big adrenalin rush".

"He once told me in Afghanistan that if he were to go into a building of Jews with an automatic weapon or as a suicide bomber he would have to say something like, 'there is no God but Allah' ect (sic) just so he could see the look of fear on their faces, before he takes them out," Abbasi wrote.

"I can only speculate as to why he likes capturing defenceless animals ... All these factors can only point to the reasons why he wanted to hijack a civilian plane and plough it into a civilian building."

Australian authorities have long maintained that Hicks received the highest level of terrorist training of any caucasian who attended al-Qa'ida training camps in Afghanistan.

Hicks, 31, from the northern Adelaide suburb of Salisbury, was captured in Afghanistan in November 2001 and has since been held in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. He is yet to stand trial under the US military commission process.

US judge Susan Crawford will soon decide whether to recommend charges of attempted murder and providing support for terrorism. Hicks trained with the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Toiba in 2000 before heading for Afghanistan in January 2001 and attending a range of specialised guerilla training, according to US Defence Department files.

By his own account, Abbasi first met Hicks while jogging around the al-Farooq training camp near Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.

He claims the Australian was allowed to break rules while undergoing training and avoided routine punishments.

"We had to stand next to a shooter and catch his bullet shells as they were ejected from the rifle before they hit the ground. Golden Boy Hicks thought it was childish and stupid and absolutely refused."

Attorney-General Philip Ruddock declined to comment last night on the claims made by Abbasi.

Kevin Rudd said earlier this week that Hicks could not expect to get a fair trial under the US military commission process and that there was no presumption of innocence.

In his original account, Abbasi made no secret for his disdain for the Australian, calling him "that little runt David Matthew Hicks Al Qaedah's 24 ct Golden Boy".

According to Abbasi's chronicle, published in Time in Britain, the inmate suggested that Hicks had co-operated with US authorities at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay.

"As long as I do not dance to your tune like Golden Boy ... and tell you what you want to hear, you will always strive to condemn me. In fact, you have already done as much," Abbasi wrote.


http://www.greaterkashmir.com/Home/Newsdetails.asp?newsid=3909&Issueid=144&Arch=
Melbourne, Feb 10: While a debate is raging down over long trial delays for the Australia’s sole Guantanamo Bay inmate David Hicks, Indian government is also interested to talk to him for his alleged involvement in activities in Kashmir.

David Hicks, an Australian citizen, had allegedly fired hundreds of bullets on the Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir in year 2000.

Indian government is believed to have started an investigation about the Australian’s involvement in anti-Indian activities as a member of the Lashkar-e-Toiba.

The chances of Indian government extraditing David Hicks from Australia in the near future are though somewhat bleak as David Hicks faces 20 years imprisonment in the US if terrorism charges labelled by the Americans are upheld.

Hicks was arrested in Afghanistan in late 2001 and is among around 395 suspected al Qaeda and Taliban fighters being held in Guantanamo. He faces charges of providing support for terrorism and attempted murder in violation of the law of war.

While the British and number of other US allies have taken their nationals home, David Hicks is still waiting for the illusive trial to decide his fate.
David Hicks’ father Terry Hicks has been fighting a lone man’s fight to bring his son home ever since the former kangaroo skinner was found among the Taliban fighters in Afghanistan in 2001 by the US forces.

David Hicks, father of two from Adelaide, was used to write to his family in Australia from Pakistan. In an oft-quoted letter he is believed to have written on August 10, 2000.

“I got to fire hundreds of bullets. Most Muslim countries impose hanging for civilians arming themselves for conflict. There are not many countries in the world where a tourist, according to his visa, can go to stay with the army and shoot across the border at its enemy, legally.’’ David Hicks had also claimed to be a guest of Pakistan’s army for two weeks at the front in the “controlled war’’ with India in the same letter.

According to News Limited newspapers, the US prosecution file states that David Hicks converted to Islam and joined the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba in Pakistan in 2000. He is believed to have gone to the disputed Indo-Pak border in Kashmir and allegedly fired on the Indian soldiers.

This information was sent to New Delhi this week by the Indian Deputy High Commissioner to Australia, Vinod Kumar, News Limited newspapers have reported.

“If Mr Hicks was involved with them at any level, and if he was indeed firing weapons at our troops, then, most certainly, we would like to talk to him about it ... We don’t take kindly to attacks on our soldiers — even attacks by people like Mr Hicks,’’ an Indian official has told Australian reporters from New Delhi.


http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,21200396-401,00.html


DAVID Hicks, already facing the possibility of 20 years' jail on terrorism charges in the US, is the subject of a new investigation by the Indian Government over his attacks on their armed forces in Kashmir.
The investigation has been triggered by disclosures in American prosecution files about the involvement of Hicks with a terrorist group that has killed thousands of people in the disputed Indian territory of Kashmir.

The prosecution file states that the former kangaroo skinner and father of two who converted to Islam joined the terror group Lashkar-e-Toiba in Pakistan, travelled to the border with Indian Kashmir in 2000 and fired on Indian troops.

Reports of the American disclosures were sent to New Delhi this week by the Indian deputy high commissioner to Australia, Vinod Kumar.

Senior officials in New Delhi yesterday confirmed they were examining that material.

"We're looking into it and finding out the facts," an official in New Delhi told The Weekend Australian.

"If Mr Hicks was involved with them at any level, and if he was indeed firing weapons at our troops, then, most certainly, we'd like to talk to him about it.

"We'd be interested to talk to anyone who has done that. We don't take kindly to attacks on our soldiers -- even attacks by people like Mr Hicks."

The American file is consistent with a letter Hicks wrote to his family in Adelaide in which he admits to firing hundreds of bullets in Kashmir at the enemies of Islam.

In a March 2000 letter, Hicks told his family "don't ask what's happened, I can't be bothered explaining the outcome of these strange events has put me in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in a training camp. Three months training. After which it is my decision whether to cross the line of control into Indian-occupied Kashmir."

The training camp was run by Lashkar-e-Toiba, the army of the pure, Islamic fundamentalists fighting to free Muslims under Indian rule and designated a terrorist group by Australia in 2003.

In another letter on August 10, 2000, Hicks wrote from Kashmir, claiming to have been a guest of Pakistan's army for two weeks at the front in the "controlled war" with India.

"I got to fire hundreds of bullets. Most Muslim countries impose hanging for civilians arming themselves for conflict. There are not many countries in the world where a tourist, according to his visa, can go to stay with the army and shoot across the border at its enemy, legally."

Australia has an extradition relationship with India as a fellow member of the Commonwealth that could allow the transfer of a suspect in special circumstances.

Hicks has been detained at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba since being captured in Afghanistan in 2001 where he was fighting alongside Taliban forces.

US prosecutors last week announced Hicks will face a US Military Commission to answer new charges of attempted murder and providing material support to a terrorist organisation.

LET has waged a brutal insurgency aimed specifically at "destroying" India and "annihilating" Hinduism and Judaism, having proclaimed Hindus and Jews to be enemies of Islam.

It has over the years - including 2000 when Hicks was apparently in action with it - waged a war not just targeting Indian troops in Kashmir, but also rounding up Hindus and Sikhs in the disputed territory and massacring them.

LET militants in 2000 massacred 35 Sikhs in the village of Chittisinghpura.

Since hostilities broke out in earnest in Kashmir in 1989, an estimated 5000 Indian soldiers and paramilitaries have been killed. Estimates are, too, that 80,000-odd civilians have perished, and hundreds of thousands of others have been displaced from their homes.

John Howard yesterday expressed extreme frustration at the time the US is taking to bring Hicks to trial, vowing to press them "almost daily" over the matter.

The US last week began the process of charging Hicks. But US officials have admitted the final charges could be a month away - falling short of an Australian request that the issue be dealt with by the middle of February. And they have admitted a full trial could be as much as a year away.

The Prime Minister said he was reasonably satisfied that the process was now in train, but was concerned about how long it might be before Hicks actually goes to trial.

"Let me, without getting into the weeds of the technical jargon, let me simply say that it has gone on for so long now that we will be pressing the Americans almost on a daily basis," Mr Howard told Southern Cross Broadcasting.

I'm not sure if he's broken US law, but if he's Australian, and served with the Taliban, and the Taliban are effectively our enemies, wouldn't that make him guilty of treason? Granted, I'm not sure what exactly constitutes treason in Australia, but I imagine serving in the enemy forces would count.

Question : Why on earth is Pakistan an ally of the US in this War on Islam crap?

Esp. since it's been training guerrilas and is being used as a base for Taliban fighters, who are our supposed enemy and such.

At the moment the Australian government is defending itself in a case in which it was sued because of a breach of their duty of care to David Hicks.

The only reason he still is in Gitmo is because Howard is such a sycophant. They say that Australia doesn't have the laws in place to convict him of anything (what a thing to say!), so it has to be done in the States.

The fact that he's not being tried in a proper court tells me the case wouldn't hold up in fair conditions either, so he'll be tried in a place in which the prosecutor and the judge are from one and the same party.

Either way, it's a joke.

By the way, there was a documentary made about him, called "The President vs David Hicks" (http://www.filmstransit.com/hicks.html), in which his father travels to Pakistan to find out what happened there. Quite interesting.

how appropriate that a kangaroo skinner be tried in this manner.

He skinned kangaroos, now kangaroos are going to skin him.

And in a Kangaroo court of all places.

SBS did an excellent episode of Insight on the David Hicks case.

http://news.sbs.com.au/insight/topic.php?id=122

It's well worth having a look at if you're interested.