Hicks pleads guilty

[Jimmy]

Great post Psyber.

Also interesting to note that America's so called terrorists have all been dealt with and shipped home pretty quickly (some of whom Hicks was alleged to have communicated with), so what was the difference between him and them?

A further point: it will be interesting to see how Australian history remembers David Hicks. I get the feeling in 100 years time, our population will have a different take on him. Look at Ned Kelly, and also Breaker Morant (another who was tried in a Kangaroo Court) who committed crimes which would have been viewed distastefully by the greater public at the time, but who are now regarded as Australian icons.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but....

no no no no...dogwatcher....no....this is terrorism, not some hillbilly thug, please....

in no way will that scum be thought of as an 'aussie icon'...i feel sick at the thought.

[Dogwatcher]

There's not much difference between a hillbilly thug who terrorised the inhabitants of country towns.....

I know what you're saying, but.....

[Sojourner]

[quote="redden whitesWhich terrorist act was he charged with aiding SOJOURNER?Maybe it was the Madrid train bombings or london underground bombings? All i need is an answer as I dont the hell know.

I am assuming you will support putting Gerry Adams on the rope as well?
Would you have put Mandela on the rope as well?[/quote]

He was charged with recieving training from and being a member of al-queda, that is my understanding.

Gerry Adams is one situation that I havent followed closely and suggest that the EU courts can jusdge his actions and take a decision on.

What is the reasoning of your questioning in implying that I would have Nelson Mandela hung? I find that quite offensive. How have you made an association between his situation and my thoughts on David Hicks? In answer to your question, I supported and called for his freedom. His situation and David Hicks are two completley different things. I suggest you go do some research and read David Hicks thoughts on how he would like to torture and kill Jewish people and make them suffer before comparing him to Nelson Mandela, a true hero in the sense of the word.

[JK]

There's not much difference between a hillbilly thug who terrorised the inhabitants of country towns.....

I know what you're saying, but.....

So you think Martin Bryant will be viewed upon favourably in 100 years?

[Dogwatcher]

I certainly do not - Bryant had no perceived cause. Just his own insanity.

[JK]

I knew you wouldn't have mate, and I prob should have worded better, was just an example though of how I think someone like Hicks differs to Ned Kelly and won't be revered as such with the passing of time.

[Dogwatcher]

I don't know if Hicks and Bryant is a fair comparison even in that circumstance.

I guess neither of us will be around in a 100 years time to know how he's perceived either

[mick]

There is a huge difference between Hicks and Ned Kelly. Kelly although a murdering criminal showed extrordinary bravery in the siege at Glenrowan in his facing of overwhelming odds, such things win VCs in wartime. The fact that the saying "as game as Ned Kelly" was used quite commonly in Australia until recently, underlines the fact that Kelly did not lack courage. This of course does not excuse the crimes he committed, others who I believe are misguided see Kelly as a pioneering republican martyr or revolutionary. Hicks on the other hand sided with international terrorism and was a supporter of the the the Taliban regime (certainly an evil and oppressive regime), unlike Kelly he is a non entity who will be forgotten, within a decade or two. Hicks is presently useful to those on the left to attack the government, I would suggest that if we have a change of government this year his trip to obscurity will be even more rapid.

[Booney]

I know it takes many individuals in unity to form a force to be feared (ie:Taliban),but,did David Hicks really believe in the causes he was (allegedly) training to fight for,or was he a nomad or loner who had finally found a 'home' and felt accepted? It may well be a case of just hanging with the wrong crowd,not a case of premeditated attacks on the Western world.

In any case,as is my opinion on the story,the amount of interest the media shows is many times more than mine is.

I think average Jo/Joe Australia couldnt give a rats.

[Psyber]

I suspect that both Bryant and Hicks have in common some form of marginal schizophrenia, or some similar disorder, which basically disconnects their grip on reality and makes embracing odd philosophies or ideas more likely. You also meet these somewhat odd and disconnected prople in other "isms" embracing the more marginal religious groups, like the fundamentalists who "speak in tongues" for example, or the Australian Nazi movement. I guess radical Islam has the same appeal as other extreme philosophies to lost souls.