Since when was 'American' a race? It is a Nation...hell bent on escalating an already unacceptable arms race into space. Jeopardising the security and safety of the entire World is a hate crime towards the human race. How can any 'legitimate' court give credibility to this trumped up charge against this brave woman?

If US personel felt alarmed and harrassed by this woman's flagrant flag-waving, they could've aimed the GPS at her and vaporized her with a plasma beam, they have the technology. She should plead the fifth amendment because this was an American base and an American hate crime, and American style justice will be administered.

The irony of this is that what Ms. Percy did is *not* a crime in the United States. A US citizen is perfectly free to do whatever he or she wants to do to the US flag, including desecration or burning as a form of protest. Previous attempts to criminalize such protests were stricken down by the US Supreme Court as violations of America's First Amendment. Conservative elements of the American government (somewhere to the right of Austria's Haider) are positively sickened by this and are calling for an amendment to the American Constitution to allow Congress to criminalize flag desecration. Ms. Percy could not be charged with any sort of hate crime under American law for her actions. She could, however, be detained for her actions and then released later as the charges are dropped ... a fairly typical police tactic common even in "civilised" nations such as Switzerland.

I have long suspected that the Blair government, much like the Clinton government, would go much further in advancing a reactionary agenda than a Republican/Tory government would under similar circumstances. The prosecution of Ms. Percy confirms my belief.

Flag desecration or burning as a form of protest is legal in America? Well get on with it because it's a rascist hate crime here, (Britain) destroy the Union Jack while you're at it! All the laws are in place to make ANY type of non-conformity to the Totalitarian State, a crime, these laws have no limits, boundaries or restraints. The Crime & Disorder Act, the Criminal Justice Bill, the Anti-Social Behaviour Law and the Domestic Terrorist Act, leave no space for dissent whatsoever.