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The most worthy nominee for Australian of the Year

Mike Carlton says it all - and to a t - in his latest column in the SMH:

"My nominee for Australian of the Year is Major Michael Mori of the United States Marine Corps. His efforts to extract David Hicks from the horrors of Guantanamo Bay exemplify our values of a fair go and equality before the law.

Not for the Howard lot, though. There is not a lawyer of standing in Australia now who believes Hicks can get a fair trial, but Howard, Ruddock, Downer and Co do not care. Their subservience to the White House, the Pentagon and the US Attorney-General is sickening. They twist and bluster to do Washington's bidding.

The game got rougher again this week. The new Pentagon plan for military commissions would allow Hicks and other "terrorist suspects" to be tried, convicted and executed on hearsay evidence or coerced testimony.

The major went on the attack yet again. The rules "just don't provide for a fair trial", he said on Friday. "The right to a speedy trial - that's gone. Any right against self-incrimination has been taken away, along with the right to confront your accuser. They say all hearsay can come in and the burden is on the defence to show why the prosecution shouldn't be able to use this."

Semper fidelis, as they say in the Marines. Michael Mori would make a dinkum Oz of the Year. Far more so than some."

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