First of all David Hicks was purchased during a United Nations invasion of Afghanistan. A human being was purchased wasn't that once abolished ? It was an United Nations invasion what right had the American Army to place him in a prison that is not accountable to a democratic law. ? Guatanamo Bay is suspect to Human Rights the Bush administration uses it's right of veto to ignore the United Nations judgement on Human Rights. Why do we allow human beings to be trated so bad with five years in soliatary confinement yet we would not treat an animal as bad as that. Retrospective laws were brought in by the miliatary court which makes a mockery of the whole saga.An illegal capture, An illegal imprisonment and an illegal kangaroo court with an illegal confession. Bush, Downer, Costello and howard should be made to pay the Hicks family compensation.

If we have learnt one thing over the last decade of the Howard government that is this.

No human life is more valuable than the political ambitions of John Howard and the Liberal/National Coalition. Children overboard, our troops in Iraq, people held captive and executed in foreign jails. The list goes on.

They are all seen fair game for Howard Inc. PTY LTD (merchants of fear and greed)

And oh how flip flop of the Murdoch Media Empire to feign moral fibre of late. It’s truly pathetic. Fear and Greed no longer inebriates a media audience that is slowly but surely waking up from a political Mickey fin it got slipped a long ago. Yes it was political date rape big time, flashbacks will happen for years. No cures available.

Sadly some think it was the best shag they ever had.

What were these terrible tortures that David Hicks was subjected to?
Sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, a bit of nakedness and humilitation. Dont make me laugh.

What about the torture his Islamic friends subjected Western people to, drilling holes through their bodies with an electric drill until they died. Cutting their throat on national TV. Killing some of the Western women that were captured probably because they were raped and they didnt want it known.

We only have Hick's word for this anyway and of course he and his Lawyers are trying to drum up as much public sympathy as possible because they know that public opinion effects politicians and is one route to getting off lightly.

To all these defenders of civil rights and democratic justice out there who think that that is more important than the war on terror.

Understand that if the West falls there will be no more civil rights or democratic justice for anyone least of all westeners like David Hicks. If you want to preserve all these human rights then you must get your priorities right and defend the West first.

When that has been accomplished then some of the draconian laws necessary to achieve this will be revoked by the democratic process because the voting public will demand it.

Don't be an idiot sharkfin. "...if the West falls"? What the hell is that? Who do you think we are fighting anyway? People who want to remove our civil liberties, democracy and justice system? It seems that would be YOU my friend. Bugger off to where you came from.

Debate him bugsy do not act like a child, Hicks was indeed bought and was wrongly held in an American prison while not allowed to use American law to defend himself.
Torture? anyone seen those photos? heard about the convictions of Americans who did that have we?
Hicks is a minnow in the world of hate and bigotry these rabbits he joined live in.
But America and its servant Howard wanted publicity, they must not complain that they now have it.