Free Republic

This is the problem of privilege. It skews our ability to grasp what the world looks like outside our view. The absence of white athletes kneeling for the anthem Sunday was a particularly illustrative moment in white privilege. See, for white athletes the anthem and American flag do represent freedom, liberty and whatever other amorphous American values one might ascribe these symbols. So, from their view, kneeling would be disrespectful to the privileges a white supremacist nation affords them. We’ve all heard the typical argument against kneeling. “Kneeling during the anthem disrespects the flag and the soldiers who fought for...

NORFOLK For the second time, a jury was unable to decide whether Bernell Benn was justified in killing Ramon Colorado in a Norfolk drugstore in 2012. Chief Circuit Judge Karen Burrell declared a mistrial Friday after jurors said they were deadlocked. Benn faced charges of voluntary manslaughter and illegally discharging a firearm in an occupied building. The Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney's Office is evaluating its options, spokeswoman Amanda Howie said. A trial in February 2013 also ended with a hung jury. This week, a new set of jurors listened to testimony, watched video of the shooting and was unable to reach...

Householders could be fined up to £1,000 if they fail to comply with complex new rules on refuse sorting. Food scraps, tea bags and vegetable peelings thrown into the wrong dustbin could land them with hefty penalties under government plans to be unveiled today. Families could end up with five different bins and receptacles - including compulsory slop buckets for food waste - and be forced to sift through rubbish for anything that can be recycled, reused or converted into electricity. The proposals are the brainchild of environment secretary Hilary Benn

Benn questions 'War on Terror' slogan By Martin Beckford Last Updated: 1:16am BST 16/04/2007 Hilary Benn, the Development Secretary, will today risk angering George W Bush by claiming that the US President's phrase "War on Terror" strengthens extremist groups. Mr Benn is to tell an audience in New York that the term, coined by the White House after the 9/11 attacks, makes small, disaffected groups feel that they are part of something bigger. He will also confirm that British ministers and civil servants no longer refer to the "War on Terror". The comments could improve his standing among Labour backbenchers...

To: Assignment Desk, Daybook Editor Contact: Connie Julian, 917-449-9064, Janet Yip 212-941-8086 or commission@nion.us News Advisory: From: International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration WHEN: January 10, 2006 at 1:30 p.m. WHERE: The White House, Walk-in Gate, across from Lafayette Park WEBSITE: http://www.bushcommission.org An unprecedented series of indictments alleging war crimes and crimes against humanity, in five separate areas, on moral, political, and legal grounds, will be delivered by a citizens' tribunal to President Bush at the front gate of the White House this Tuesday, January 10th. Named in the indictments are: President of...

It's G-8 time again — which means that President Bush is about to face concerted pressure... to see things their way on a host of issues. Not least of these is the question of financial aid to Africa — an issue buoyed by the recent publicity over the politically charged "Live 8" worldwide rock concerts (modestly praised by one performer as "the greatest thing that's ever been in the entire history of the world"), designed to "raise awareness" about Africa's desperate plight. Actually, it's not as if the G-8 leaders are unaware of the intense poverty and despair that has...

Saddam Hussein yesterday lashed out at the British interviewer he said had left him "distraught and humiliated". The 65-year-old veteran dictator and novelist accused Tony Benn of abusing his trust and announced that he had lodged a formal complaint with the Independent Television Commission and was considering legal action. "I let Tony come into my life, into my heart, and this is how he betrays me," added a bitter Saddam, speaking from Baghdad. "I welcomed him into my family. I let him hold the hand of my son-in-law. Then I made him put it back on the mantelpiece." Fighting back...

It wasn't Colin Powell who swung opinion on this war, or even Hans Blix. It was Tony Benn. I hate to say it, but his interview was a masterpiece. Until then, we had been getting ourselves into a worse stew than Benn's tea leaves. Suddenly we saw what we were up against, and it galvanised even the most faint-hearted. It had more impact because it came after Martin Bashir's interview with Michael Jackson, the second weirdest man in the world, who also has an obsession with plastic surgery (although Saddam does it on his doubles). They both spend millions on...

Benn and Saddam: the transcript David Aaronovitch Tuesday February 4, 2003 The Guardian "If I meet a powerful man, I ask five questions: What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable? And, how can I get rid of you?" - Tony Benn, July 2002. Tony Benn (switches on tape recorder): I'll just mark this. It is now Sunday February 2, the year is 2003. I'm with President Saddam Hussein somewhere in Baghdad, and I'm on a peace mission. Saddam Hussein: And welcome to you, my...