David Hicks trial … some quotes

On 26 March, the first proceeding under the Military Commission Act (MCA) is due to take place at Guantánamo with the arraignment of Australian detainee David Hicks. Another 23 detainees of 13 nationalities have currently been identified as potential defendants for trial by military commission.Amnesty International does not believe that trials under the MCA will meet international standards of fairness. In cases of civilians taken into custody outside a zone of armed conflict, the military commissions should not even have jurisdiction to try them. … [1]

…

… Many, including the Prime Minister, have pointed out that the length of Hicks’ detention has certainly been exacerbated by the challenges made to the earlier military commissions. But Guantanamo Bay detainees were entitled to resist the legality of the process by which they were to be tried — and were vindicated by the United States Supreme Court in the Hamdan decision of last year.

That case forced the American Government to redesign the powers and procedures of the military commissions. The revamped system received the approval of Congress, but Major Michael Mori, Hicks’ US military lawyer, continued to argue that the validity of the new commissions under the international Geneva Convention remained in doubt. There certainly remained elements — including reliance on hearsay evidence — that gave disquiet over the fairness of the process by which Hicks was to be tried. … [2]

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…Guantanamo Bay observer and Australian lawyer Lex Lasry QC said the media gag would be unconstitutional under US law and it was an “interesting co-incidence” the 12-month gag would extend past the upcoming federal election. …[3]

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…”And yet there is nothing in the Australia-US arrangement that seems to reflect the enforceability of this,” he told ABC Radio.
“And, indeed, it could be argued that if the Australian government was agreeing to such an order, it’s contrary to the Australian constitution, where the High Court has said there is a right of freedom of political communication in the Australian constitution,” Prof Rothwell said. …[3]

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[1] Military Commissions Act: Justice delayed and justice denied at Guantánamo [Amnesty International]
[2] Guilt in the minor league 28-Mar-2007 [The Age]
[3] Ruddock denies asking for Hicks’ gag deal 02-Apr-2007 [The Age]

This weeks links: 2007-03-28

Dutch auction nets unreal deal [The Age]
One of the hottest tracts of virtual real estate has been sold on eBay for $US50,000 ($62,000).
The Amsterdam sim in Second Life was put up for sale last week by its Florida-based owner, online sex industry entrepreneur Kevin Alderman – known in-world as Stroker Serpentine.
He listed it for auction at a starting price of $US20,000 or as a “buy it now” for $US50,000. …

SLURL-Amsterdam 128,128,0

The Origins of Mindstorms [Geekdad - Wired News]
… How many teachers really have the training and enthusiasm to make self-directed learning truly effective? How many schools can afford enough Mindstorms systems for every student? Even Papert’s own website says that his methods are “too far ahead of the times for large-scale implementation.”
Fortunately, as parents, large-scale implementation isn’t a prerequisite. Any time you create a situation in which your child needs math to accomplish something desirable, like making a robot, or a videogame, or a model airplane, you are taking your kid a little closer to Mathland. And that’s an amazing place to be.

Public Library Geeks Take Web 2.0 to the Stacks [Wired]
… “The last thing we want is for people to come into our libraries and ask about Flickr or Second Life and be met with a blank look,” said Christine MacKensie, director of the Yarra Plenty Regional Library in Melbourne, Australia, which just finished a four-month version of Learning 2.0. “And they certainly won’t now.” …

Learning 2.0
Yarra Plenty Regional Library