Chelsea Manning: Soldier of Humanity

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Sun, 2012-04-15 23:41

max.tennant

* Please Forward Widely *

MAWO Free Public Forum

********************************************
BRADLEY MANNING: SOLDIER OF HUMANITY
********************************************

TUESDAY April 17
7pm
Joe's Cafe Large North Hall
1150 Commercial Dr. at William St.

Bradley Manning, a 24-year-old U.S. Army intelligence analyst, has been in U.S. prison for two years without trial, faced over 10 months of solidarity confinement, in conditions that are illegal even under U.S. military law. His crime? Bradley Manning is accused of leaking the "collateral damage" video footage showing the killing of civilians, including two Reuters journalists, by a U.S. Apache helicopter crew in Iraq. He is also charged with sharing documents known as the Afghan War Diary, the Iraq War Logs, and U.S. diplomatic cables with WikiLeaks. For the so-called "crime" of blowing the whistle on war crimes, Bradley Manning faces 22 charges, including "Aiding the enemy by indirect means," for which a conviction could result in the death penalty or life in prison.

Across the U.S. and around the world, the campaign to Free Bradley Manning is growing. Mobilization Against War & Occupation (MAWO) here in Vancouver, Lower Mainland and across British Columbia, has taken up the campaign to Free Bradley Manning in joining the worldwide campaign that is growing every day. For more info please visit: www.bradleymanning.org

Come out to MAWO's forum to join our launching of the campaign and to learn from leading U.S. organizers and activists about who Bradley Manning is, and why peace loving people should join the campaign to defend the rights of Bradley Manning, a courageous Soldier for Humanity.

Multimedia, Speakers and Discussion

With:
>> Jeff Paterson, Courage to Resist Project Director & Bradley Manning Support Network Steering Committee member, speaking via videoconference
>> A guest activist and organizer from U.S. Veterans for Peace
>> Janine Solanki, Co-Chair of MAWO

For poster click:
http://www.mawovancouver.org/materials/posters/120417-mawo-bradleymannin...

For postcard click:
http://www.mawovancouver.org/materials/postcards/120417-MAWO-BradleyMann...

For Bradley Manning brochure click:
http://www.mawovancouver.org/materials/brochures/MAWO-BradleyManning-bro...

To join facebook event:
http://www.facebook.com/events/302986629772182/

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
MAWO ~ Mobilization Against War & Occupation
http://WWW.MAWOVANCOUVER.ORG
info@mawovancouver.org
P 604.322.1764 || F 604.322.1763

Issues Pages:

Afghanistan

Regions:

Mon, 2013-02-25 11:44

NDPP

Bradley Manning And The Appalling Silence of Gay, Inc. - by Andy Thayer

http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/02/22/bradley-manning-and-the-appalling...

"...So why is it that all of the big gay non-profits from the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) to The Human Rights Campaign (CHRC) - 'Gay Inc.' - have failed to utter a word of support for Private Bradley Manning, let alone really campaign for him? He's gay, has moderately high name recognition, and unlike any number of air-head celebrities, he's actually done something to support social justice..."

Fri, 2013-03-01 11:17

NDPP

The Uncommon Courage of Bradley Manning - by Marjorie Cohn

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-uncommon-courage-of-bradley-manning/532...

"Bradley Manning has pleaded guilty to 10 charges including possessing and willfully communicating to an unauthorized person all the main elements of the WikiLeaks disclosure. The charges carry a total of 20 years in prison..."

Bradley Manning Admits to Leaking 'the Most Significant Documents of Our Time' (and vid)

http://rt.com/usa/manning-sentence-wikileaks-assange-626/

"Manning hoped releasing intelligence to WikiLeaks would 'spark a domestic debate on the role of our military and foreign policy in general'..."

Fri, 2013-03-01 11:54

Slumberjack

Courageous, but if he had sought to spark a debate regarding the pros and cons of US foreign policy, I don't know through what lens he was observing his own country, where as far as I can tell, any and all domestic and foreign atrocities are deemed necessary by the majority. Anything else seems to relegated in what passes for debate as belonging to the realm of 'socialism,' 'liberalism,' or a host of other terms intended as derogatory, and un-American. The USA certainly didn't become the menace to humanity that it is over the objections of the majority who live there.

Fri, 2013-03-01 12:24

kropotkin1951

American Exceptionalism is the only religion adhered to by more Americans than Christianity.

Fri, 2013-03-01 13:51

contrarianna

Manning, imprisoned and abused for 1000 days or so without trial. finally gets to speak.

Apparently, prior to going to Wikileaks, Manning tried, to no avail, to interest the complicit major media in the disclosures directly--only to be rebuffed.

It was was only when major press knew Wikileaks would make them public that some of them made publishing agreements to avoid being scooped. These agreements (in some cases broken by the major publishers) were followed by the same media engaged in relentless attacks on their Wikileaks partner.

Quote:

Bradley Manning: the face of heroism

The 25-year-old Army Private, this generation's Daniel Ellsberg, pleads guilty today to some charges and explains his actions

Glenn Greenwald
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 February 2013

....

"Manning explain[ed] his actions that drove him to disclose what he said he 'believed, and still believe . . . are some of the most significant documents of our time' . . . .

"He came to view much of what the Army told him — and the public — to be false, such as the suggestion the military had destroyed a graphic video of an aerial assault in Iraq that killed civilians, or that WikiLeaks was a nefarious entity. . . .

"Manning said he often found himself frustrated by attempts to get his chain of command to investigate apparent abuses detailed in the documents Manning accessed. . . .[Wired]

Manning also said he "first approached three news outlets: the Washington Post, New York Times and Politico" before approaching WikiLeaks. And he repeatedly denied having been encouraged or pushed in any way by WikiLeaks to obtain and leak the documents, thus denying the US government a key part of its attempted prosecution of the whistleblowing group. Instead, "he said he took 'full responsibility' for a decision that will likely land him in prison for the next 20 years — and possibly the rest of his life."...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/28/bradley-manning-hero...

Sat, 2013-03-02 01:54

jerrym

That Manning was able to give such a strong coherent condemnation of US war practices after the more than two years of isolation and other abuse rather than show up at trial as a broken, incoherent shell of a man asking for clemency as the US government expected only increases my admiration of him.

Sat, 2013-03-02 03:44

NDPP

Apart from Greenwald's excellent piece above, however, the effect of Manning's immense contribution as a whistle-blower is seriously undermined and devalued by The Guardian's outrageous attacks and prolonged smear campaign against Manning's 'messenger' WikiLeaks and Julian Assange...

Pravda UK: Guardian's Assange Coverage Descends Into Farce - by Simon Wood

http://99998271.blogspot.jp/2013/02/pravda-uk-guardians-assange-coverage...

Mon, 2013-03-04 12:49

NDPP

Chris Hedges: We Are Bradley Manning

http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/369-wikileaks/16...

"A statement that Manning made to the court was a powerful and moving treatise on the importance of placing conscience above personal safety, the necessity of sacrificing careers and liberty for the public good, and the moral imperative of carrying out acts of defiance.

Manning will surely pay with many years - perhaps his entire life - in prison. But we too will pay. The war against Bradley Manning is a war against us all..."

Mon, 2013-03-04 14:13

#10

contrarianna

NDPP wrote:

Apart from Greenwald's excellent piece above, however, the effect of Manning's immense contribution as a whistle-blower is seriously undermined and devalued by The Guardian's outrageous attacks and prolonged smear campaign against Manning's 'messenger' WikiLeaks and Julian Assange...

Pravda UK: Guardian's Assange Coverage Descends Into Farce - by Simon Wood

http://99998271.blogspot.jp/2013/02/pravda-uk-guardians-assange-coverage...

This is somewhat msleading in its unnuanced attack on the Guardian.

Although it's historically true the weight of Assange press in the Guardian, probably backed by considerable editorial and/or publisher weight, has favored anti-Assange articles and the promotion of critters like David Leigh and his book (which may have violated the Guardian-Wikileaks publishing agreement by publishing the lengthy encryption code to the cables file,--allowing anyone to access to the entire locked, unredacted, file).

Yet, since Greenwald was hired by the Guardian, he has continued his exposure of the media smear campaigns and anti-Wikileaks political manuevering. Additionally, the Guardian has allowed a number of other dissenting voices on the topic, including John Pilcher. This has provided some balance to the picture.

This is in contrast to the New York Times which also turned its symbiotic relationship with Wikileaks into a unrelenting parisitcal one in attacking its source.
The largley ad hominem attacks resulted in the NYT not being included in the second release of the redacted cables--(whereupon the Guardian struck some sort of side-deal and forwarded the documents to the NYT again, apparently, contrary to its own Wikileaks agreement).

Whatever the reason, the Guardian now allows more diversity of articulate opinion on Assange than any other major english-speaking media outlet.

See also from the Hedges article:

Quote:

After Revealing Atrocities of Asymmetrical Warfare, Manning Will Face Asymmetrical Trial
Monday, 04 March 2013 10:29 By Chris Hedges, Truthdig | News Analysis
....
The cowardice of The New York Times, El Pais, Der Spiegel and Le Monde, all of which used masses of the material Manning passed on to WikiLeaks and then callously turned their backs on him, is one of journalism’s greatest shames. These publications made little effort to cover Manning’s pretrial hearings, a failure that shows how bankrupt and anemic the commercial press has become. Rescuing what honor of our trade remains has been left to a handful of independent, often marginalized reporters and a small number of other individuals and groups—including Glenn Greenwald, Alexa O’Brien, Nathan Fuller, Kevin Gosztola (who writes for Firedog Lake), the Bradley Manning Support Network, political activist Kevin Zeese and the courtroom sketch artist Clark Stoeckley, along with The Guardian, which also published the WikiLeaks documents....

http://truth-out.org/news/item/14906-after-revealing-atrocities-of-asymm...

Mon, 2013-03-04 17:46

#11

Todrick of Chat...

Have you ever thought about how many innocent Iraqi deaths Bradley Manning is responsible for?

How many death warrants did he sign off on? How many drone attacks were conducted because of his work as an Intelligence Analyst?

Do you believe as I do, the only reason why he released on material to Wikileaks was to redeem and clear his conscience?

Why do we hold him such high regards for such dishonourable actions as fighting against the innocent Iraqi people and by willfully joining the American killing machine after knowing the crimes it has committed since 2002 in Iraq and Afghanistan (and earlier wars)?

Yes, he did the world good by releasing those secrets that he did however these actions should not be covered up by the other crimes he committed in Iraq.

Mon, 2013-03-04 17:56

#12

Slumberjack

He was a low ranking collector of information. Others performed the analysis. Other than that there is no evidence his intel collection responsibilities led to any deaths.

Mon, 2013-03-04 18:00

#13

NDPP

For more information on The Guardian, described by one early insider as "a paper that will remain bourgeois to the last", See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian

Mon, 2013-03-04 18:13

#14

Todrick of Chat...

I do not believe it is that simple, he was part of a BCT that conducted hostile offensive operations against the Iraqi people. No matter what level he participated he, he was part of collection of intelligence that lead to operations that killed many innocent Iraqi civilians.

The fact of this is being covered up, and not talked about sickens me.

Even a low level collector of intelligence would have preformed some type of analytical work before pushing it up the chain of command.

Drones are controlled by the BCT, so it is very possible and likely that he prepared reports and targets for the drones to hit.

All coverage I have seen states that his unit was missing intelligence analysts, so it likely that more work was pushed down on to him.

Mon, 2013-03-04 18:35

#15

Slumberjack

Complicity can be extended all the way down to the average voter and taxpayer. I'm not sure that we know to what extent stop loss affected him. I’d be comfortable in wagering that many analysts have no idea of the tactical uses that the information is dedicated toward, especially in 'need to know' environments. They're lucky if they see something weeks or months later in a newspaper relating to their work.

Tue, 2013-03-05 18:04

#16

Fidel

Yeah let's not waste our time pointing out how the vicious empire is becoming even more the centrally planned and secretive military dictatorship that it is and has been since 1947. That Obama has prosecuted more whistleblowers than all other cosmetic governments in Warshington combined is not, and we repeat, is NOT the issue here.

The issue is not even whether the USSA has become "like a police state." In fact, the USSA IS a police state!

And our vicious, vicious toadies at the helm in Ottawa simply follow orders from their bosses in Warshington.

The glasnost is half full.

Sat, 2013-04-27 20:24

#17

onlinediscountanvils

Slumberjack wrote:

Complicity can be extended all the way down to the average voter and taxpayer.

QFT

[url=http://www.commondreams.org/view/2013/04/27-5]Bradley Manning is Off Limits at SF Gay Pride Parade, but Corporate Sleaze is Embraced[/url]

Quote:

News reports yesterday indicated that Bradley Manning, widely known to be gay, had been selected to be one of the Grand Marshals of the annual San Francisco gay pride parade, named by the LGBT Pride Celebration Committee. When the predictable backlash instantly ensued, the president of the Board of SF Pride, Lisa L Williams, quickly capitulated, issuing a cowardly, imperious statement that has to be read to be believed.

Williams proclaimed that "Manning will not be a grand marshal in this year's San Francisco Pride celebration" and termed his selection "a mistake". She blamed it all on a "staff person" who prematurely made the announcement based on a preliminary vote, and she assures us all that the culprit "has been disciplined": disciplined. She then accuses Manning of "actions which placed in harms way the lives of our men and women in uniform": a substance-free falsehood originally spread by top US military officials which has since been decisively and extensively debunked, even by some government officials (indeed, it's the US government itself, not Manning, that is guilty of "actions which placed in harms way the lives of our men and women in uniform"). And then, in my favorite part of her statement, Williams decreed to all organization members that "even the hint of support" for Manning's action - even the hint - "will not be tolerated by the leadership of San Francisco Pride". Will not be tolerated.

Quote:

when I wrote several weeks ago about the remarkable shift in public opinion on gay equality, I noted that this development is less significant than it seems because the cause of gay equality poses no real threat to elite factions or to how political and economic power in the US are distributed. If anything, it bolsters those power structures because it completely and harmlessly assimilates a previously excluded group into existing institutions and thus incentivizes them to accommodate those institutions and adopt their mindset. This event illustrates exactly what I meant.

Sun, 2013-05-12 23:00

#18

NDPP

'Shame, Shame, Shame!' SF Pride Revokes Choice of Bradley Manning as Grand Marshal

http://www.worldcantwait.net/index.php/wikileaks

"...The political firestorm that has broken open over Bradley Manning and the San Francisco Pride parade is of great import not only for the LGBT community but far beyond..."

Sun, 2013-05-12 23:52

#19

Bacchus

Is anyone not expecting the news to break that Manning has 'killed himself over the shame of his actions"?

Sun, 2013-06-02 13:28

#20

mmphosis

Worldwide protests ahead of Bradley Manning's Monday trial (rt.com)

Creating a public transcript of the Bradley Manning trial (rabble.ca)

Sun, 2013-06-02 13:29

#21

lagatta

This is an extremely important story, but why is it in "national news"?

Tue, 2013-06-04 12:13

#22

NDPP

@ Lagatta

Perhaps because of the Canadian solidarity event which begins the thread..

Day One of Manning Trial Focuses on Intent of WikiLeaks Source (and vid)

http://rt.com/usa/bradley-manning-military-trial-182/

"The military trial of admitted WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning began Monday morning in Fort Meade, Maryland, more than three years after he was arrested in Iraq." LIVE UPDATES

A New Front in War on WikiLeaks - by Danny Schecter

http://consortiumnews.com/2013/06/01/a-new-front-in-war-on-wikileaks/

Doco 'We Steal Secrets' portrays Manning's alleged acts as failure of character..

Tue, 2013-06-04 12:47

#23

lagatta

I'd have put the Canadian solidarity event for an outrage abroad in "activism".

Tue, 2013-06-04 16:50

#24

mmphosis

George Orwell wrote:

In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act

Hypocrisy lies at the heart of the trial of Bradley Manning (guardian.co.uk)

Gary Younge wrote:

In this world, murder is not the crime; unmasking and distributing evidence of it is. To insist that Manning's disclosure put his military colleagues in harm's way is a bit like a cheating husband claiming that his partner reading his diary, not the infidelity, is what is truly imperilling their marriage. Avoiding responsibility for action, one instead blames the information and informant who makes that action known.

Wed, 2013-06-05 00:50

#25

takeitslowly

If anyone read the wikipedia entry on Bradly Manning, it is safe to say he is more transgender than gay.

Wed, 2013-06-05 03:11

#26

NDPP

Manning Exposed Myriad of Criminal Activities by US Government: Scott Rickard (and vid)

http://www.presstv.com/detail/2013/06/03/307016/bradley-manning-case-tra...

Fri, 2013-06-07 03:12

#27

NDPP

Transcripts From Bradley Manning's Trial Here

https://pressfreedomfoundation.org/bradley-manning-transcripts

"We will post full transcripts shortly after each day's proceedings end."

Fri, 2013-06-07 12:11

#28

NDPP

RT-Cross Talk: The Passion of Bradley Manning (and vid)

http://rt.com/shows/crosstalk/passion-of-bradley-manning-366

"Should Bradley Manning be on trial? What is he supposedly guilty of? Is he merely a scapegoat, a warning to all whistleblowers? And what does this trial say about the US judicial system? CrossTalking with Tighe Barry and David Sheldon."

Fri, 2013-06-07 13:12

#29

Slumberjack

Quote:

News reports yesterday indicated that Bradley Manning, widely known to be gay, had been selected to be one of the Grand Marshals of the annual San Francisco gay pride parade, named by the LGBT Pride Celebration Committee. When the predictable backlash instantly ensued, the president of the Board of SF Pride, Lisa L Williams, quickly capitulated, issuing a cowardly, imperious statement that has to be read to be believed.

Williams proclaimed that "Manning will not be a grand marshal in this year's San Francisco Pride celebration" and termed his selection "a mistake". She blamed it all on a "staff person" who prematurely made the announcement based on a preliminary vote, and she assures us all that the culprit "has been disciplined": disciplined. She then accuses Manning of "actions which placed in harms way the lives of our men and women in uniform": a substance-free falsehood originally spread by top US military officials which has since been decisively and extensively debunked, even by some government officials (indeed, it's the US government itself, not Manning, that is guilty of "actions which placed in harms way the lives of our men and women in uniform"). And then, in my favorite part of her statement, Williams decreed to all organization members that "even the hint of support" for Manning's action - even the hint - "will not be tolerated by the leadership of San Francisco Pride". Will not be tolerated.

Quote:

when I wrote several weeks ago about the remarkable shift in public opinion on gay equality, I noted that this development is less significant than it seems because the cause of gay equality poses no real threat to elite factions or to how political and economic power in the US are distributed. If anything, it bolsters those power structures because it completely and harmlessly assimilates a previously excluded group into existing institutions and thus incentivizes them to accommodate those institutions and adopt their mindset. This event illustrates exactly what I meant.

That was a very good analysis olda. A point I would add is that power's adaptablilty is nearly infinite. It appears capable of including anything that doesn't seriously threaten the central issue that must always remain intact, no matter what favours are loaned out to the population. The issue is the current power arrangement itself. Things are in vogue and at the service of power until they're not. All possible combinations are brought together as required into a state of constant flux. The confused idiots on the right who can't seem to keep up with events are only useful until they begin repeating out loud the convenient things they were told before. We witness the same phenomona when the left are finally made like gangsters and recognized as part of the establishment, only to have someone open their mouth about socialism. To locate those unfortunates you'd have to check the trunk or look under a bus. The more an organization depends upon the good graces of power, the more it begins to speak with the voice of the authority that recognizes it.

Thu, 2013-08-01 11:42

#30

NDPP

Manning Not Guilty of Aiding the Enemy, Faces 130+ Yrs in Jail on Other Charges

http://rt.com/usa/manning-not-guilty-aiding-enemy-805/

Updates

Manning Guilty: War Criminals On The Loose - by Pepe Escobar

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/World/WOR-01-310713.html

"...Manning may die behind bars. Meanwhile, Dubya, Cheney, Rummy, Wolfie - certifiable war criminals - remain at large."

Thu, 2013-08-08 12:18

#31

NDPP

The Courage of Bradley Manning Will Inspire Others - by John Pilger

http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-courage-of-bradley-manning-will-inspire...

"...It is a funeral here at Fort Meade,' Alexa O Brien told me. 'The US government wants to bury Manning alive. He is a genuinely earnest young man with not an ounce of mendacity. The mainstream media finally came on the day of the verdict.

They showed up for a gladiator match - to watch the gauntlet go down, thumbs pointed down.'

The criminal nature of the American military is beyond dispute..."

as is that of their servile northern ally

Wed, 2013-08-21 14:15

#32

NDPP

Bradley Manning Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison

http://rt.com/usa/manning-sentence-years-jail-785/

"A US military judge has sentenced Army Pfc Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison. Manning faced up to 90 years behind bars, while prosecutors sought to put the whistleblower away for a minimum of six decades. Manning will have to serve a third of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

The prosecution had sought a 60-year sentence, arguing that the stiff term would deter others from leaking 'classified information.' 'There's value in deterrence,' prosecutor Capt. Joe Morrow said in his closing argument on Monday.

For reaction and more details follow RT's LIVE UPDATES"

Wed, 2013-08-21 20:15

#33

Todrick of Chat...

He deserves the 35 years in jail for being part of an Army of Occupation. Innocent Iraqi blood is on his hands.

Wed, 2013-08-21 20:27

#34

6079_Smith_W

That's a joke, right?

How about like you and me and everyone else here deserves that same sentence for being plugged into the oil that blood paid for?

No... that's not a General Electric warhead sitting over on my kitchen counter; it's a GE toaster.

I mean, I'm not surprised at the sentence, and it could also be seen as a poke in the eye to the military establishment, but really, who are you kidding?

Wed, 2013-08-21 20:57

#35

Todrick of Chat...

He was an Intelligence Analyst, what do you think he was doing in Iraqi, handing out candy to little kids and helping old ladies cross the road? He is responsible for Iraqi deaths, he may not have pulled the trigger himself but he helped send in the soldiers that did pull the triggers.

However since no suppose progressive organization wants to look into the deaths he is responsible for, he is viewed as a national hero. It is okay he maybe be responsible for killing Iraqis however we can ignore that because he help spill the beans on a few issues.

Let’s not ask tough questions. Stick with the party line.

Wed, 2013-08-21 21:19

#36

NDPP

He did say he was sorry that his actions hurt people...

Bradley Manning Apologizes For Hurting US

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/08/14/manning-wikileaks-apology....

"US soldier Bradley Manning took the stand Wednesday at his sentencing hearing in the WikiLeaks case and apologized for hurting his country, pleading with a military judge for a chance to go to college and become a productive citizen.

'I am sorry that my actions hurt people. I'm sorry that they hurt the United States,' he said as he began. He said he realizes now that he should have worked more aggressively 'inside the system' to draw attention to his concerns about the way the war was being waged.

Manning's attorneys contend he showed clear signs of deteriorating mental health before and during his deployment that should have prevented commanders from sending him to a war zone to handle classified information.

Navy Capt. David Moulton, a psychiatrist who spent 21 hours interviewing Manning at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. after his arrest, testified as a defnce witness that Manning's gender identity disorder, combined with narcissistic personality traits, idealism and his lack of friends in Iraq, caused him to conclude he could change the world by leaking classified information...

Moulton also reported for the first time in open court that Manning has symptoms of fetal alcohol syndrome and Asperger syndrome, which is an autism spectrum disorder.."

Wed, 2013-08-21 21:47

#37

6079_Smith_W

@ Todrick

Hey, not everyone is singing his unreserved praises, and personally, I don't take the fact that he betrayed his oath lightly. There was no way around him getting convicted.

But if it's all about the punishment, and putting people in jail until they are 60 is the sort of thing that seems just and fair to you, you might want to look at ways in which the rest of us support that exact same system, with the difference that many of us do nothing about it.

Putting all the blame on those who do our dirty work and saying they deserve their fate is nothing short of hypocrisy. That would be level six of Dante's inferno - spending eternity walking in circles wearing a gold-plated monk's robe that is filled with heavy lead.

Wed, 2013-08-21 23:39

#38

arielc

6079_Smith_W wrote:

@ Todrick

Hey, not everyone is singing his unreserved praises, and personally, I don't take the fact that he betrayed his oath lightly. There was no way around him getting convicted.

But if it's all about the punishment, and putting people in jail until they are 60 is the sort of thing that seems just and fair to you, you might want to look at ways in which the rest of us support that exact same system, with the difference that many of us do nothing about it.

Putting all the blame on those who do our dirty work and saying they deserve their fate is nothing short of hypocrisy. That would be level six of Dante's inferno - spending eternity walking in circles wearing a gold-plated monk's robe that is filled with heavy lead.

Manning will be eligible for parole in about 7 years.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/us/manning-sentenced-for-leaking-go...

@Todrick:

The materials that Private Manning gave to WikiLeaks included a video taken during an American helicopter attack in Baghdad in 2007 in which civilians were killed, including two journalists. He also gave WikiLeaks some 250,000 diplomatic cables, dossiers of detainees being imprisoned without trial at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and hundreds of thousands of incident reports from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

@NDPP

The documents he gave to WikiLeaks set off a scramble inside the government as officials sought to minimize any harm, including protecting foreigners identified in some documents as having helped American diplomats or the military. No evidence emerged that anyone was killed because of the leaks.

Thu, 2013-08-22 00:09

#39

Todrick of Chat...

@Airelc

Sure he provided a lot evidenced of war crimes, I am not disputing what he did. I want to talk about his war crimes as an Intelligence Analyst as a member of illegal Army of Occupation.

Thu, 2013-08-22 00:09

#40

6079_Smith_W

I'm not holding out any hope of him getting out soon. He is in the military system after all, and I bet some of them are pissed off he's not swinging from a rope.

Parole, even in the regular system, is contingent on admitting that what you did was wrong and saying you would not do it again - Robert Latimer failed to get parole for that very reason.

His regrets aside, I don't think Manning's post-sentence statement reflects that admission of wrongdoing:

http://www.democracynow.org/blog/2013/8/21/bradley_manning_sometimes_you...

Thu, 2013-08-22 09:17

#41

NDPP

Bradley Manning: 'Everything is Going to Be OK'

http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/367-wikileaks/19016-bradley...

"It is a sad day in America when the revealer of war crimes goes to prison while the war criminals remain free..."

Thu, 2013-08-22 09:20

#42

Unionist

[url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/bradley-manning-says-he-is-fem... Manning will begin hormone therapy to live as a woman[/url]

Quote:

Bradley Manning, sentenced to 35 years in military prison for the biggest breach of classified U.S. documents in U.S. history, said in a statement on Thursday he is female and wants to live as a woman named Chelsea.

“As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning, I am a female,” Manning, 25, said in the statement read on NBC News’ Today show.

Thu, 2013-08-22 14:11

#43

Geoff

On the CBC this morning, there was discussion of nominating Manning for the Nobel Peace Prize. For those who are interested, here's a link to one of what I'm sure are several petitions that is making the rounds:

http://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7612

Thu, 2013-08-22 14:23

#44

Catchfire

Unbelievable courage.

Thu, 2013-08-22 14:37

#45

Bacchus

You can actually nominate anybody for a Nobel prize. So tey dont have to discuss it, they can jsut do it

Fri, 2013-08-23 01:35

#46

Left Turn

Quote:

This morning's big news story/pounding headache is courtesy of convicted spy Bradley Manning's announcement that she wishes to live the rest of her life as a woman/the internet's predictably shitty response to that announcement, respectively.

First, the news: Manning announced today via a letter to the Today Show that she wishes to begin hormone therapy and live the rest of her life as Chelsea Manning. Here's her statement, in part, courtesy of the Guardian,

As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition. I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility). I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the opportunity to write back.

During her trial, Manning's defense team claimed that she had suffered from "gender identity disorder" throughout most of her life; her decision to undergo hormone therapy shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who was paying attention. And no matter what your stance on Manning's role in leaking documents, it's hard to argue with the fact that the timing of her transition — right before entering a men's prison to serve a 35-year sentence — puts Manning in the lines of some pretty harrowing and unconscionable scenarios.

Of course — OF COURSE — Manning's announcement was met with general idiotic fuckery from exactly the sort of people who have made it a part of their personal brand. And like most general idiotic fuckery, it was predictable and easy to categorize. It's too early for me to feel so pessimistic about other human beings' capacity for compassion and empathy, but here we go.

1. He

In her statement, Manning indicated that she wished to be referred to using female pronouns from now on. Using the wrong pronoun for a trans person is considered exceptionally shitty, and a violation of that person's identity.

That didn't stop CNN, The Dallas News, CBS, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Daily News, USA Today, Politico, etc etc etc etc etc from using sentences like "He would like to be referred to by female pronouns" or CNN's charming "Bradley Manning says he wants to live as a woman, called Chelsea." Cool, guys.