War With Iran: "Are You Kidding Me?"

The great Dennis Kucinich.
Oh my god!!! They've got us surrounded!

Bradley Manning: "Media Day"

"Today the Army is hosting a ‘Media Day’ at the prison where Private First Class (Pfc.) Bradley Manning, the Army soldier accused of leaking documents to WikiLeaks, is being held. Pfc. Manning was moved to the Joint Regional Correctional Facility, Ft. Leavenworth from the Marine Corp Brig Quantico following criticism of his treatment there which may have violated his constitution rights.
"Instead of answers and accountability for the potential mistreatment of Pfc. Manning, the Department of Defense only offers fake transparency in the form of a guided tour of his new prison. Instead of responding to criticism from the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, the Army will offer the media a scripted fantasy of Manning’s brand new facility. With this stunt, it is clear that the Department of Defense and the Army are more concerned with public relations than the rights and security of Pfc. Manning.
"This fake transparency ignores the central question: How was Pfc. Manning treated during his long, solitary pretrial confinement at Quantico? What is his mental state after suffering the indignity of being left naked for an undetermined period of time, and after being continually disrupted in the manner of a continuous interrogation?
"If it is determined that there has been a deliberate effort to break Pfc. Manning physically and/or mentally prior to his trial or subvert his rights in any way, then the news media, which is participating in the public relations exercise today at Ft Leavenworth could become complicit in a cover up.
"The Department of Defense must grant my legitimate request to meet with Pfc. Bradley Manning and fully answer serious questions about his treatment.
"I urge the news media not to be taken in by this contrived pretention of transparency. The American people rely on the news media to investigate the cover up of abuses, not tell us about the nice, new prison the Army has built."

US Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Democrat, Ohio) [Pictured right - and one of the good guys] writing on Daily Kos.
After the tour the US Army announced Manning is now considered a "medium custody" prisoner, which means from tomorrow he is allowed three hours of recreation a day, he can interact with other prisoners, receive Army inspected mail, make phone calls, visit the prison library, and meet with pre-approved visitors.

• Bradley Manning Support Network. For latest news follow Bradley Manning UK on Twitter.
Postal address: Bradley Manning, 830 Sabalu Road, Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027, USA.

Bradley Manning: Detention May Be Unconstitutional

There may be some good news - at last - on queer hero Bradley Manning.
The Independent reports today; "Lawyers acting for Bradley Manning, the US intelligence analyst accused of stealing classified diplomatic cables later made public by WikiLeaks, may file for the charges against him to be dismissed on the grounds that the nine months he has been held in solitary confinement breach his constitutional rights."
This comes after calls in January from UK Friends of Bradley Manning - later taken up by Amnesty International in The Guardian ;
'Government asked to intervene on behalf of alleged WikiLeaks source on grounds that he is UK citizen'
The Independent's Kim Sengupta adds drily; "While Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, attended an extradition hearing in London yesterday accompanied by his court of celebrity backers and 100 journalists, 23-year-old Manning spent another day in solitary confinement in his tiny, bare prison cell under conditions which have been described as inhumane and tantamount to psychological torture."
Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich - one of the few American politicians who won't be shot come the revolution - has requested a meeting with Manning.
Kucinich told US TV news networks he is concerned about Manning's "cruel and unusual punishment" in his one-man Guantanamo Boy, and how this is affecting Bradley's mental health.
Fagburn agrees with many that this is all a deliberate attempent to break Bradley Manning.