International Law

When prison works...

By John Hirst

Sir Richard Branson expanded on Nelson Mandela?s private views about the President of Zimbabwe at a celebrity dinner in honour of the South African. ?He?s extremely angry with Robert Mugabe,? the bearded one told Virgin Radio. ?Mugabe could have become a Mandela, but he chose to take another path and he?s [Mandela] mortified by what Mugabe has done to his country.?

The Face: Nelson Mandela

How fitting that Nelson Mandela should bow out of public life with an all-star concert in London today. No other public figure has exerted a similar impact over pop culture. Free Nelson Mandela, the Special AKA?s 1984 anthem, turned the freedom fighter into a cause célèbre for a generation. Amy Winehouse is expected to add her voice to the song in Hyde Park. When Mandela was released in 1990, he cited the support of artists such as Simple Minds, who performed at a 70th birthday tribute concert, as an inspiration while in jail. Gamely, Mandela called the Spice Girls his heroes when they made a pilgrimage to Johannesburg in 1997. But comedians have had their fun too ? Ricky Gervais welcomed the man?s impeccable record since release: ?And they say prison doesn?t work.?

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on July 01, 2008 (boomark / email).