Just read through the thread (needed a coffee break halfway through
). Interesting ideas and comments.
Why do allegedly democratic governments insist on lying to their bosses (us)? If they told us the truth we might even be able to give them some reasonably well thought out instructions. We might be able to tell them that we'd prefer that the rule of law as we all understand it is paramount and above the machinations of government. But if they told us why they wanted to do things like torture individuals, keep them in detention without facing judicial authorities for several years an the rest, we might even see the point and agree to it. But they had better be pretty persuasive because torture and detention might happen to any one of us.
The Habib issue is an example of how "democratic" (what a joke) governments can defy the very laws they themselves approve of. Habib might well be a dangerous bastard, well if he is then tell us on what grounds he is. We can take it I'm sure. If he isn't a dangerous bastard then for crying out loud forget about him. The Australian Government has disgraced itself on this issue. Mind you it has priors for outrageous behaviour so let's not all suck our breath in in shock. As voters we have to actively mistrust our governments (spare me, I'm sounding like a right wing nutter libertarian) because if we don't keep an eye on them they'll screw us.
