Free Republic

Oscar winner Timothy Hutton, currently the star of the freshman Fox drama “Almost Family,” has been accused of raping a 14-year-old girl in 1983. According to a report published online by BuzzFeed News, Sera Johnston, who last year filed a criminal complaint against Hutton with the Vancouver Police Department, said she was assaulted by the actor while he was in town to shoot the film “Iceman.” Johnston told the site that she was just 14 when she and two friends were invited to Hutton’s hotel room, where she said she was raped and assaulted by both Hutton (who was then...

OAKLAND (BCN)—The Oakland City Council on Tuesday night will consider a proposal to name a section of De Fremery Park in West Oakland for a 17-year-old Black Panther Party member who was killed in a confrontation with Oakland police in 1968. City Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney, who represents West Oakland, said she and Councilman Larry Reid are recommending that the city name the grove of trees on the park’s south side “Bobby Hutton Grove” to recognize his contribution to Oakland.

Found this video recently. Thought it might put a smile on the face of a few older FReepers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pz7dZ9Q3K-E

Hutton Gibson has been making a three-hour drive each week for the past year from his home in Summersville, W.Va., to rural Westmoreland County, a round trip of more than 300 miles, just to attend Sunday Mass. Now, the 87-year-old Gibson plans to have his own church in Mt. Pleasant Township. The church is St. Michael the Archangel Chapel, now located in a ranch-style brick home along Route 982 South between the villages of Lycippus and Weltytown. Gibson is no ordinary parishioner. Gibson is the father of actor-director Mel Gibson and a follower of an ultraconservative branch of Catholicism that...

Western television viewers and newspaper readers are being fed on a diet of propaganda about the current crisis in Ukraine. The orange flags and uniforms of the opposition fill our screens and decorate the front pages. “People power” and Western-orientated democrats are on the march against evil ex-communist oligarchs. Good is battling against evil for the soul of Ukraine. Sadly it is not so simple. Western media and governments may have edited out the manifestations of extreme nationalism and anti-Semitism which disfigure the Ukrainian opposition’s rabble-rousing but history will record that in the run up to the disputed presidential elections,...

Having read the Hutton report and most of what has been written about it, I have reached the following, strictly non-judicial, conclusions: first, that the episode illuminates a wider crisis in British journalism than the turmoil at the BBC; second, that too many journalists are in denial about this wider crisis; third, that journalists need to be at the forefront of trying to rectify it; and, fourth, that this will almost certainly not happen. The reporting of Lord Hutton's conclusions and of the reactions to them has been meticulous. The same cannot be said of large tracts of the commentary...

BBC apologises to Blair John Plunkett Thursday January 29, 2004 The BBC has offered an unreserved apology to the government over the way it handled its complaint about the Andrew Gilligan story, which Tony Blair immediately accepted, adding the government could now "draw a line" under the whole episode. The BBC acting chairman, Lord Ryder, issued the statement on behalf of the board of governors, which also confirmed the appointment of Greg Dyke's recently appointed deputy, Mark Byford, as acting director general. Lord Ryder said the Hutton report had highlighted "serious defects in the corporation's processes". "On behalf of the...

Sorry for the second post, read comment below for explanation. Here is the link! FREEP IT YES! It'll only take a few seconds. http://tinyurl.com/2392k Click it to vote. Unbelievably, even after the BBC leadership are dropping like flies, basically admitting guilt, there are still people on there (currently 3-1) saying it was a whitewash. FREEP IT AND VOTE YES!!

This is a poll asking: "NEWS POLL Do you think the Hutton Report was fair and balanced?"

There was an odd - and very telling - moment that may have been lost in the excitement yesterday. Former Defence Minister Lord Gilbert was appearing on The World at One, broadcast on Radio 4 immediately after the release of the Hutton Report. He tries to make a point about BBC News Director Richard Sambrook's treatment of reporters, but is immediately stifled by nervous-sounding BBC News presenter Nick Clarke:Lord Gilbert - As for Mr. Sambrook, I hope he won't be allowed to resign. I hope he's dismissed for some of the things he's done, which I don't think Lord Hutton's...

Hutton: Fleet Street's reaction Journalists from Britain's national press give their initial responses to the Hutton Inquiry report.Michael White, political editor, Guardian: Lord Hutton has been very severe on the BBC, rightly so in many respects in my view. But he has been overly generous to the government machine and some individuals within it. Any 72-year-old who pronounces the word "hotel" without an "h" is a very establishment figure. Hamish McDonnell, political editor, Scotsman: It's not quite what we expected. It's surprised a lot of people in the way the government got off the hook while the BBC has taken...

Live Video of Lord Hutton delivering his report on http://news.bbc.co.uk/ now

The prime minister still does not know if he will win Tuesday's vote Tony Blair is entering the toughest 48 hours of his premiership as MPs prepare to vote on university top-up fees and publication of the Hutton report nears. The prime minister spoke to Labour MPs on Monday and, it was claimed, won over some waverers for the fees vote. However, further concessions have been ruled out and Downing Street said the numbers were still "too close to call". Hours beforehand ministers get their copies of the Hutton report into the death of scientist Dr David Kelly. Other...

The BBC is taking extensive steps to prevent its own journalists from getting their hands on advance copies of the Hutton report from within the corporation. BBC staff who gave evidence at the Hutton inquiry, including director general Greg Dyke and news director Richard Sambrook, will receive a copy of the report the day before it is published next week. But Lord Hutton's confidentiality agreement bars them from passing it to the news division. To prevent leaks within the BBC, the corporation has ordered that lawyers be present whenever a copy of the report is being studied. No one who...

Lauren Hutton and Georgette Mosbacher squared off in a verbal claw-fest Tuesday night at the Sony Club, significantly upping the entertainment value of a State of the Union-watching party hosted by Atlantic Monthly magazine. "Bush is responsible for a trillion-dollar deficit," declared the gap-toothed fashion icon, rising from her seat to respond to Mosbacher's lonely defense of President Bush amid a liberal-leaning crowd that included Walter and Betsy Cronkite, Pete Peterson, David Dinkins, Tina Brown and Harry Evans, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld and Moby. "I guess you can't read, or something," Hutton jabbed. "Because I can - and I'm...

New evidence submitted to the Hutton Inquiry supports recent claims of bias against the BBC’s coverage of the Iraq War. Whose Agenda? The BBC Reporters’ Log on the Iraq War, a quantitative analysis of articles posted online by BBC journalists throughout the War, found that correspondents were more likely to criticise Coalition strategy and discuss setbacks than to offer praise or evaluate advances. Reporters were also more likely to be sceptical of claims made by the Coalition than they were of claims made by the Iraqi authorities. Whose Agenda? is based on 1343 posts made on the BBC Reporters’ Log...

A computer expert has pointed to "seeming anomalies" on the handheld computer BBC journalist Andrew Gilligan used to record his conversation with Dr David Kelly. The weapons expert's apparent suicide came after he was named as the suspected source for Mr Gilligan's story about the government "sexing up" intelligence in its Iraq weapons dossier. Forensic computer expert Edward Wilding told the inquiry he was worried about why Downing Street media chief Alastair Campbell's name did not appear in one of the memos on Mr Gilligan's Sharp personal organiser. He had also found some experimentation with the computer. "Somebody was looking...

Lord Hutton is to set out how he intends to conduct his inquiry into the death of Government scientist Dr David Kelly. The preliminary session was set after the Law Lord met Dr Kelly's widow. At a preliminary hearing, Lord Hutton will explain how he plans to conduct the investigation and possibly outline who he intends to call to give evidence. He is also expected to hear requests from broadcasters to lift a ban on television cameras at everything but the opening and closing statements. Media interest is huge, with journalists from all over the world expected in such high...