Still not sorry

Phil of the Dead:
My view is that one should not apologise for seeking to ensure that matters that tragically occur that involve terrorist acts are thoroughly investigated to see whether or not there are any implications for Australia.

You know what? I agree with Phil.
But there’s just one problem with his argument about why an apology [...]

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Blamelessness

Today, we have two stories that illustrate how a Government can render itself blameless:

Here at home, the Clarke Inquiry has found that Mohamed Haneef should never have been charged, but that Kevin Andrews did not use the Haneef case for political advantage and acted out of “grave suspicions”. But, as much as some might claim [...]

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Confirmation bias

The AFP has finally released a public version of its submission to the Clarke inquiry into Mohamed Haneef’s detention; The Oz has coverage, and the full submission is available [255kB PDF].
It’s a pretty good demonstration of how confirmation bias operates; the suspicion-arousing elements were fed into a theory that Haneef was connected to the crimes [...]

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Confidence

They also have every confidence that Santa Claus is going to bring them a My Little Pony playset for Christmas:
THE Federal Government has declared its full support for Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Mick Keelty, who is facing mounting pressure over the Mohamed Haneef case.

What strikes me about this is that it comes before the [...]

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Disinterested at last

I guess it was best that they said this before the inquiry finishes its job and says it for them:
The AFP has declared that the Indian-born doctor Mohamed Haneef is no longer a person of interest.

No shit, Sherlocks.
Mr Keelty must have been otherwise engaged – he was so open to holding press conferences when they [...]

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Fill in the gaps

The Commonwealth DPP’s office provides another sign that the Federal Police’s actions deserve serious scrutiny:
In its submission to the inquiry into the handling of the case, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) says one of its staff felt “extreme pressure” to assure police they could charge Dr Haneef.
The CDPP also says they were not [...]

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What’s the story now?

Not that I like suggesting that discussion of petrol prices should not be our major concern, but perhaps this little revelation could be the subject of sustained investigation by some self-respecting journalists:
DOCUMENTS have revealed the department of former prime minister John Howard became involved in the Mohamed Haneef affair less than 48 hours after the [...]

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Keelty, come clean

An e-mail obtained under Freedom of Information has confirmed that the AFP had communicated with the Department of Immigration about a contingency plan to detain Mohamed Haneef after he was granted bail [PDF of e-mail]. Kevin Andrews’ office denies that the Minister was aware of such communication, or of any contingency plan.
While Kevin Andrews’ knowledge, [...]

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Pitching in

Team Howard must be wishing they had sent out a memo asking all Commonwealth Government departments to lay low for a while.
First, Mick Keelty emerged from the woodwork to say he never thought there was much of a case against Mohamed Haneef:
Asked if he had told the DPP of his concerns, Mr Keelty replied: “Oh, [...]

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Prolonging the stupidity

The Government has lodged its appeal against the Haneef visa decision.

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