Numbat. I do not concede Howard has lied.

Belief is potentially dangerous, it can justify any action or inaction and take away any personal responsibility to think and act for oneself.

Once you admit to one belief it is a short step to another.

Hitler was a catholic, but it is that his people were prepared to believe, not question and prove.

To Mr WRE

You must be a pretty odd "right wing" person if you do not have the wit to figure out that we are in a war situation, and that you are displaying sympathy with the enemy. Supporting traitor Hicks is characteristic of an anti everything trendy lefty. It is not indicative of a person who is intelligently right of centre.

You say that you have a legal background. Does it worry you that the law and justice and now considered two separate entities? The old saying that "justice must not just be done, it must be seen to be done" applies to Hicks.

You mentioned the movie "Dirty Harry" before, have you ever heard of another topical movie "Death Wish" starring Charles Bronson? By the late seventies, Americans were so disgusted at the ineffectiveness of their own legal system, that when Hollywood released "Death Wish" it caused a sensation. The hero of the movie was a victim of violent crime who could not obtain justuce. So he spent the entire movie hunting down and then gunning down muggers and rapists. Audiences in the US were so affected, that they actually clapped and cheered whenever Charles Bronson murdered another violent criminal. The movie was such a success that it spawned no less than four sequels.

The movie was reflecting a deeply held conviction that the law was more concerned with protecting the rights of criminals than protecting the community.

When Bernard Goetz, "The Subway Vigilante" copied Bronson's on screen behaviour and gunned down 4 muggers on a NY subway train, he bacame such a hero that the NY legal system was unable to charge him with murder. The NY legal system knew that no jury would have found him guilty.

Most people are interested in justice, and the law is supposed to be the handmaiden of that. If the law no longer serves that concept then "legal people" such as yourself can hardly complain if the public turns Nelson's famous "blind eye" to any breaches of legal principle that obtain their desired outcome.

Leigh

Bob Ellis has penned more than one book. He is a social commentator who has made many important contributions.
For your information The 7.30 Report’s Kerry O’Brien made a pertinent remark last week (it’s easy to find the transcript!).
O’Brien said: “Almost as telling as this morning's headlines were the lurid newspaper pictures of former AWB executive Trevor Flugge and AWB senior manager Michael Long brandishing firearms - two men handpicked by the Government to act as special advisers to Baghdad in the wake of the Iraq war”.
A picture of traitor David Hicks bearing arms has featured in mainstream media too!
Soon after his introduction, O’Brien interviewed Foreign Minister Alexander Downer who was clearly in damage control.

Regards etc.

Gin & Tonic

It shows that pictures do not tell all, the interpretation, is in the mind of the viewer!

Wre, Howards pants are on fire, and they have been for years. it doesnt really matter what you are prepared to concede, Howard is a LIAR, LIAR, LIAR.