Julian Assange: But You Don 't Understand, This Is All About Me

Me, me, me!

Chelsea Manning: Two Statements

Earlier today, a story was published in the Guardian by Ed Pilkington regarding Chelsea Manning's reaction to receiving the 2013 Sean MacBride Peace Award. In this letter, Chelsea stated that she was not informed that she had received the award or that Col. Ann Wright was accepting the award on her behalf. She also indicated that she did not consider herself a "pacifist," "anti-war," or a "conscientious objector."

I had a phone call with Chelsea this morning. We discussed the letter that she sent to the Guardian. I reminded her that we spoke about the Sean MacBride Peace Award on three separate occasions: once when she received the award; once prior to Col. Wright accepting the award on her behalf; and once when the award was delivered into my physical possession and I informed her that the medal was made out of disarmed and recycled nuclear weapons systems. 

After being reminded of these conversations, Chelsea indicated that she did, in fact, remember the award and our discussions about it. She told me that she got confused when she recently received mail about the award, and assumed that people were writing to her about a new award. Chelsea told me that she has been feeling isolated and out of touch with the outside world during the indoctrination period at the United States Disciplinary Barracks, which is what led to her confusion over this issue. Due to this confusion, Chelsea said she felt the need to write her letter. She told me that she is sorry if her letter caused any offense to the International Peace Bureau, Col. Wright, or her supporters.

There are three other issues raised by Chelsea's letter that I would like to personally address. First, as mentioned above, Chelsea indicates that she doesn't consider herself a "pacifist," "anti-war," or a "conscientious objector." Rather, she considers herself a "transparency advocate" because she believes "the public cannot decide what actions and polices are or are not justified if they don't even know the most rudimentary details about them and their effects." Chelsea has never claimed to be anti-war; indeed she joined the military to defend her country. However, she is a humanist and was motivated in her actions not only by her transparency beliefs, but also by deep concern for the value of human life...

The start of an open letter by Chelsea Manning's lawyer, David E Coombs.

Here's the now updated Guardian article - and a scan of Chelsea's original letter.

Fagburn's not quite sure why this is being hyped up as Big News.

Did anyone think Manning was an anarcho-communist dedicated to overthrowing the American military-industrial complex?

He was a soldier who learned of immoral and criminal acts that had been committed in secret and so - being a moral agent - chose to expose them.

• A new RT video interview with Noam Chomsky: All superpowers feel exceptional, inflate security myth for ‘frightened population’, which touches on Manning and Snowden.

NB Although she now wishes to be known as Ms Chelsea E Manning, according to the Private Manning Support Group the photograph at the top is the one she prefers to be used at present.
The Daily Telegraph today write about "Bradley Manning" and refer to her as male throughout!

Chelsea Manning: Corrections And Clarifications

A subheading on an interview with Benedict Cumberbatch (Wanted man, 14 September, page 34, Weekend) said he talked about "why Chelsea Manning deserved her sentence". This did not accurately reflect a long and nuanced interview in which Cumberbatch said that though he thought the sentence was very severe, he understood why Manning had to be convicted. Since the interview, he has clarified that he thinks Manning should be pardoned, but that that is unlikely to happen.

The Guardian. 

The actual paragraph reads;

As for Bradley, now Chelsea, Manning, the young US army officer who leaked hundreds of thousands of war logs, diplomatic cables and other US state secrets to Assange and has just been sentenced to 35 years, Cumberbatch is sympathetic on a human level. "But he broke a law. He knew what he was doing." Manning has applied for a presidential pardon, but Cumberbatch can't see why Obama should grant it. "He did what he did out of a conviction that an alarm bell needed to be sounded. But his superiors might have been right to say to him, it's not your position to be worried about it within the hierarchy of the military organisation, which is why he had to be sentenced. He took an oath, and he broke that oath."

The journalist, Decca Aitkenhead, commented astutely; "This sounds to me like the former public schoolboy in Cumberbatch speaking..."

After Cumberbatch complained about being misrepresented, The Guardian published online an unedited transcript of his comments on Chelsea.
Here's a withering critique of Cucumberpatch's words by Alexander Reed Kelly on Truthdig; "What is heartbreaking about this set of sentences? Aside from the abandonment of the notion that individuals are obligated to the best of their ability to discover and struggle for what is right—especially as they grow up—it’s the contradiction involved in simultaneous claims to sympathy for one’s fellow humans and unthinking deference to authority."

• Queer+ Friends Of Chelsea Manning.

Cumberbatch is set to play Alan Turing in a biopic. Fagburn wonders if BC believes Turing deserved to be arrested and chemically castrated, too.

Bradley Manning: Leaker Leaked

Today, Freedom of the Press Foundation is publishing the full, previously unreleased audio recording of Private First Class Bradley Manning’s speech to the military court in Ft. Meade about his motivations for leaking over 700,000 government documents to WikiLeaks. In addition, we have published highlights from Manning’s statement to the court.
While unofficial transcripts of this statement are available, this marks the first time the American public has heard the actual voice of Manning.

[There should be a direct link to the - more moving than Pickford's - audio embedded here. If it doesn't work for you click here].

He explains to the military court in his own cadence and words how and why he gave the Apache helicopter video, Afghanistan and Iraq Wars Logs, and the State Department Diplomatic Cables to WikiLeaks. Manning explains his motives, noting how he believed the documents showed deep wrongdoing by the government and how he hoped that the release would "spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan." In conjunction with the statement, Private First Class Manning also pleaded guilty to 10 of the 22 charges against him.

Freedom of the Press Foundation is dedicated to supporting journalism that combats overreaching government secrecy. We have been disturbed that Manning’s pre-trial hearings have been hampered by the kind of extreme government secrecy that his releases to WikiLeaks were intended to protest. While reporters are allowed in the courtroom, no audio or visual recordings are permitted by the judge, no transcripts of the proceedings or any motions by the prosecution have been released, and lengthy court orders read on the stand by the judge have not been published for public review...

Freedom Of The Press Foundation.
Courtroom sketch by Clark Stoeckley.

Update: Providence - a video by Laura Poitras based on Bradley talking about why he decided to release the Collateral Murder footage.
 

Bradley Manning: One Week Til 1,000 Days

Events are planned worldwide for Saturday February 23 in support of Wikileaks army whistle-blower Bradley Manning. The following week a judge may rule on whether to dismiss Bradley’s charges due to speedy trial violations

Events planned across the U.S. and internationally will mark Bradley Manning’s 1000th day in prison without trial. Bradley’s trial, which threatens a truth-chilling life sentence, is now expected to start on June 3, 100 days after this International Day of Action. 

There has never been a more important time to broadcast our message of support for exposing war crimes, international justice, and people’s right to know what the government does in our name.

Bradley Manning Support Network. 

• US EMBASSY, LONDON W1A 2LQ.

• US AIRBASE, MENWITH HILL, NORTH YORKSHIRE.

• FAIRFORD, GLOUCESTERSHIRE.

Bradley Manning: Days

After more than two weeks of intense litigation by Bradley Manning’s defense, and hearing how Quantico brig staff blatantly disregarded Navy Rules, military Judge Denise Lind has confirmed that Bradley was punished unlawfully before trial by awarding 112 days credit...
Judge Lind has granted credit for the 7 days Bradley was kept on suicide risk watch against Navy Rules, 75 days from November 1 to January 18 when he was kept needlessly on Prevention of Injury watch, and 20 days from April 1-20 when he was forced to remove his underwear at night. Lind said Bradley’s confinement was “more rigorous than necessary,” and that it “became excessive in relation to legitimate government interests.”

Bradley Manning Support Network.  

Bradley Manning has been imprisoned without trial since May 29th 2010 - 956 days.
His actual trial/court martial has been put back again, and now won't start until June 3rd at the earliest - that's over 150 days from now.
And it'll be over three years he's been in solitary. 
What's 112 days off Life again?

PS Hegemony and Sodomist Strategy: Gay Inc. against Bradley Manning, Andrew Fogle, Jacobin.

Bradley Manning: An Open Letter

Last week, PFC Bradley Manning offered to accept responsibility for releasing classified documents as an act of conscience – not as charged by the US military. As people who have worked for decades against the increased militarization of societies and for international cooperation to end war, we have been deeply dismayed by his treatment. The military under the Obama administration has displayed a desire to over-prosecute whistleblowing with life-in-prison charges including espionage and "aiding the enemy", a disturbing decision which is no doubt intended to set an example.

We have dedicated our lives to working for peace because we have seen many faces of armed conflict and violence, and we understand that no matter the cause of war, civilians always bear the brunt of the cost. With today's advanced military technology and the continued ability of business and political elites to filter what information is made public, there exists a great barrier to many citizens being fully aware of the realities and consequences of conflicts in which their country is engaged.

Responsible governance requires fully informed citizens who can question their leadership. For those citizens worldwide who do not have direct, intimate knowledge of war, yet are still affected by rising international tensions and failing economies, WikiLeaks releases attributed to Bradley Manning have provided unparalleled access to important facts.

Revealing covert crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan and corporations' pervasive influence in governance, this window into the realities of modern international relations has changed the world for the better. While some of these documents may demonstrate how much work lies ahead in terms of securing international peace and justice, they also highlight the potential of the internet as a forum for citizens to participate more directly in civic discussion and creative government accountability projects.

Questioning authority, as a soldier, is not easy. But it can, at times, be honorable. Words attributed to Bradley Manning reveal that he went through a profound moral struggle between the time he enlisted and when he became a whistleblower. Through his experience in Iraq, witnessing suffering of innocent civilians and soldiers alike, he became disturbed by top-level policy that undervalued human life. Like other courageous whistleblowers, he was driven foremost by a desire to reveal the truth.

PFC Bradley Manning said in chat logs attributed to him that he hoped the releases would bring "debates, discussions and reform", and condemned the ways in which the "first world exploits the third." Much of the world regards PFC Manning as a hero for these efforts toward peace and transparency, and he has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as a result. Much as when high-ranking officials in the United States and Britain misled the public in 2003 by saying there was an imminent need to invade Iraq to stop them from using weapons of mass destruction, however, the world's most powerful elites have again insulted international opinion and the intelligence of many citizens by withholding facts regarding Bradley Manning and WikiLeaks.

The military prosecution has not presented evidence that, by releasing secret documents, PFC Manning injured anyone, and they have asserted in court that the charge of "aiding the enemy through indirect means" does not require them to. Nor have they denied that his motivations were conscientious; they have simply argued they are irrelevant. In ignoring this context, and recommending a much more severe punishment for Bradley Manning than is given to US soldiers guilty of murdering civilians, military leadership is sending a chilling warning to other soldiers who would feel compelled by conscience to reveal misdeeds. It is our belief that leaders who use fear to govern, rather than sharing wisdom born from facts, cannot be just.

We Nobel Peace Prize laureates condemn the persecution Bradley Manning has suffered, including imprisonment in conditions declared "cruel, inhuman and degrading" by the United Nations, and call upon US citizens to stand up in support of this whistleblower who defended their democratic rights. In the conflict in Iraq alone, more than 110,000 people have died since 2003, millions have been displaced, and nearly 4,500 American soldiers have been killed. If someone needs to be held accountable for endangering Americans and civilians, let's first take the time to examine the evidence regarding high-level crimes already committed, and what lessons can be learned.

If Bradley Manning released the documents attributed to him, we should express to him our gratitude for his efforts toward accountability in government, informed democracy and peace.

An open letter sent to The Guardian and other media internationally, signed by Desmond Tutu, Mairead Corrigan-Maguire and Adolfo Pérez Esquivel.

• Bradley Manning Support Network

Bradley Manning: Repeat To Fade

Bradley Manning was back in court today for yet another pre-pre-pre-trial hearing.
Here's a live blog from Dissenter.
He's now been interned without trial for over 900 days - a major crime. 
Does the fact that the UK won't let Gary McKinnon be extradited mean an acknowledgment that someone like Bradley doesn't stand a hope in Hades of getting a fair trial?

WikiLeaks: When Julian Met Gaga

The normally shy and retiring Julian Assange met Lady Gaga last night to discuss their mutual hatred of self-publicity.
Seeing as Bradley Manning's saga began with Lady Gaga, I hope they talked about how she could use her fame to help him, rather than serve Assange's ego...

(2:14:21 pm) Manning: listened and lip-synced to Lady Gaga's Telephone while exfiltratrating [sic] possibly the largest data spillage in american history

Online chat with (the evil) Adrian Lamo, May 2010.

Bradley Manning: Another Man

And while that self-publicist continues to self-publicise, Bradley Manning has been holed up for 800 days.
"It is unwise to give power to those who seek it" - Old anarchist saying.
Run from the vain, their egos will betray all your ideals - New Fagburn saying.

Julian Assange: I'm Meme!

I learn from The Sun that this "Spoof Assange pic is [sic] massive hit."
But for why? Apparently, it is "hilarious". 
The Sun explains helpfully; "But Assange — a lookalike of the actor — is definitely NOT free. He remains holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London’s Knightsbridge after being granted asylum, but is visited by girlfriend Sarah Harrison."
So now you know.

PS Think The Sun adding that he's got a girlfriend may be a legal thing.

Update Sunday: Just watched Julian's Evita moment at the Ecuadorean Embassy. I have a problem with Assange's ego, but good for him for drawing attention to Bradley Manning...

Bradley Manning: Like A Kangaroo

'PFC Bradley Manning, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower, has spent more than 660 days locked up while he waits for the government to prepare its case against him. Juan Mendez, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, has declared Bradley Manning’s treatment “cruel and inhuman”, but his requests to visit PFC Bradley Manning have been repeatedly blocked by the government. Soldiers have the right to a fair and speedy trial, but thus far the trial has proven to be a kangaroo court, "a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted". 'The judge in fact told the defense that a speedy trial would be impossible if the defense continued to file motions such as the requests to access key evidence and key witnesses that have thus far been blocked, and which are vital to PFC Bradley Manning’s defense. 'Bradley Manning’s attorney insists all charges must be dismissed after the government’s refusal to provide vast amounts of evidence and key witnesses. Criticizing “gamesmanship,” David Coombs said the prosecution “has so hopelessly confused discovery in this case so as to prejudice my client.”
'Unfortunately the judge was unable to establish an expected timeline for the trial, and two motions filed by the defense were denied, and another left unanswered, but the court is scheduled to reconvene for three days at Ft. Meade April 24th-26th'

Bradley Manning Support Network. 

Bradley Manning: 22 Charges

Announced today.
Including "aiding the enemy".
Presumably by releasing video footage of their children being shot and killed.

Update: Here's a report on the arraignment from Bradley Manning Support Network.
At its conclusion a man shouted; "Judge, isn’t a soldier required to report a war crime?”
There was no reply.

Noam Chomsky: On Bradley Manning

"Bradley Manning is a particularly ugly case. He's been detained without charges for about nine months, he was basically being tortured - that's what it means to be in solitary confinement with pretty ugly treatment. That's the kind of thing we complain about bitterly when it happens in Iran or China and so on. It's happening right here - no charges. He isn't being brought to a civilian court... he's being severely punished, in fact tortured, for claims that even if they were established should be a reason for respect not criminal charges."

From video interview with Noam Chomsky on CaTV.
Interview conducted December 2011, but posted last week.

Today the US Army announced a date has been set for Bradley Manning's arraignment, Thursday February 23rd.
This will set the dates for hearings on pre-trial motions, and the start of the full court-martial.
The court-martial is expected to start in May.

“Bradley Manning’s show trial will begin in earnest with this arraignment. If the Obama administration was the least bit concerned with providing a fair trial, they would have allowed the defense to explore critical issues, such as unlawful command influence, over-classification, and the torturous conditions to which PFC Manning has been subjected while in their custody. If they were concerned about justice, they would drop the charges against Bradley Manning and prosecute those whose crimes have been revealed.”

Jeff Brazer, Bradley Manning Support Network.

• Photo shows defaced mural near Occupy Wall Street protest.

Bradley Manning: Educating The Media/Breaking...

Dear friends,

We know that to win Bradley’s case in a military court we first needed to win his case in the court of public opinion.

We are working to harness broad-based grassroots support for the accused WikiLeaks whistleblower in the United States, combined with international pressure. Our aim is to make it difficult — even embarrassing — for the United States government to continue their persecution of Bradley Manning.

Key to this strategy is our media outreach effort. Unfortunately, we may be forced to scale back that effort, only for lack of funds. We’re writing you today to ask you to support our continued media outreach effort. This effort provides us with media professionals who educate reporters about Bradley Manning and WikiLeaks, so that Americans can learn the truth – and not just what the government wants them to hear.

Read more about The Challenges and The Solution.

BMSN has just written a great primer on some of the tricksiest questions and canards abouut the Bradley Manning case.

Update: Glenn Greenwald in Salon on the latest twist to the WikiLeaks saga -the strange appearance recently of all the cables online, the continuing spat between The Guardian and Julian Assange, and how all this might make things worse for Bradley Manning; there are accusations Guardian journalists have outed Manning as a whistleblower...

Update 2: Bradley Manning Support Network official statement on the latest WikiLeaks leak.

"I Guess I'll Tell You The Basic Life Story Since I'm At It..."

I thought I'd publish an edited version of the just released online chat between Bradley Manning and Zinnia Jones - mainly cause I found it fascinating and moving.
As it'll be so long I've given it its own blog (currently a work in progress").
I'm editing it so it's more readable and just Bradley talking about Bradley, his life and beliefs (but not computers).
But I'm not correcting much of the original text - I think it's positively Salingeresque!
Please let me know if A) Anyone else has done this, and I'm completely wasting my time and B) If you can think of anyway to make it (even) more reader-friendlerlyly.
Thank you.

bradass87: oh, my name is brad manning,btwim 21, male, and i dont reallyknow where im from xD... but my stuff is in potomac,maryland... outside DC... and i live and work at fortdrum in upstate ny
bradass87: yessh, i spent some time outthere in chi-town [chicago] ... i was there in '06... lived in apickup truck, sleeping in the ohare parking lot,commuting downtown during the day... LONG story
bradass87: my father kicked me out of his house in Oklahoma City in early 06
bradass87: i guess will tell you the basiclife story since im at it already... was born in oklahoma, lived in the small town of crescent, disproportionately evangelical town... i was the science and computer nerd through school... not the most friendly of places, but i did my best

Update: Zinnia Jones has posted a great video Statement On The New York Story and Bradley Manning.
Really great apart from the last minute or so. ARGH!

• Image from WikiLeaksMovie.com

Bradley Manning: An Army Of One

'Bradley Manning’s Army of One
'How a lonely, five-foot-two, gender-questioning soldier became a WikiLeaks hero, a traitor to the U.S., and one of the most unusual revolutionaries in American history.'

Interesting/odd essay in New York magazine.
Why "traitor"?
Why mention his height in the intro?
Steve Fishman argues that it was "all in the mind", but does talk about Manning wanting to act morally.
He claims to have spoken to his father and an un-named gender counsellor.
But a counsellor wouldn't talk about a client - it's confidential (Fagburn has never seen any evidence for the rumours that Bradley was "gender-questioning").
And his father says Bradley's taken him off his visitor list, so one wonders what he says can be believed.
Most importantly (if it's true) it says how Adrian Lamo entrapped Bradley Manning by flirting with him - scum.
Be interested to hear what Bradley thinks about Julian Assange...

Update: The Guardian has run a piece on this that misses the Lamo story but concentrates on newly released weblogs where - allegedly -Manning says he was bullied for being gay in the army; "It took them a while, but they started figuring me out, making fun of me, mocking me, harassing me, heating up with one or two physical attacks."
But a "Guardian Exclusive" said this in May.

Update 2: Glenn Greenwald responds in Salon; The Motives Of Bradley Manning.
Greenwald's consistently defended Manning. He's also interviewed Lamo who he considers "deranged" and an attention-seeker.

Update 3: "It's obviously improper for the executive to intervene and impose a jail sentence without a trial [in Venezuela]. And I should say that the United States is in no position to complain about this. Bradley Manning has been imprisoned without charge, under torture, which is what solitary confinement is. The president in fact intervened. Obama was asked about his conditions and said that he was assured by the Pentagon that they were fine. That's executive intervention in a case of severe violation of civil liberties and it's hardly the only one. That doesn't change the judgment about Venezuela, it just says that what one hears in the United States one can dismiss..."
Noam Chomky in an interview with The Observer about Hugo Chavez. The full transcript was released by The Guardian today after Chomsky accused them of "extreme dishonesty" for the spin they had put on what he'd said.

Update 4: I've started a new post on what's turning into "Fishmangate".

WikiLeaks: What Does It Cost To Change the World?

What Does it Cost to Change the World? from WikiLeaks on Vimeo*.

MasterCard is one of several big credit card companies that's blocking over $15million in donations to Wikileaks.
Personally I think Julian Assange's vanity is unbearable, and the Bradley Manning Support Network need your money far more.
Credit where credit's due.**

* Takes a while to charge this video up.
** Fangyewverymuch. I'm here all week.

Bradley Manning: Only Connect?

Queerty have just put up this video which they commissioned from media activists The Standard Rebellion.
It brings up an interesting paradox, for Fagburn at least; how the media will often detail Bradley Manning's biography/sexuality - while ignoring what those WikiLeaks showed us. *
And how they will describe Manning's troubled childhood, split with his boyfriend blah blah blah as if they explain his - alleged - action.
But also use all this to discredit him; as if he's just some crazy fag, rather than a brave and noble (gay) man who acted out of conscience.
Conversely, see if you can spot a slight hint of homophobia in any of the comments made by Bradley's "supporters" in the video above.

"I want people to see the truth… because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public."

• In Support Of Bradley Manning - an open letter to LGBTQ orgs & individuals.

* Ironically so does the SR video - this page of the Bradley Manning Support Network website gives links.

Bradley Manning: Frontline

Hello!
You can watch the "controversial" PBS Frontline programme about Bradley and Wikileaks here.
Fagburn is about to watch it.
It'll probably suck, but I'll give a more consindered review in a bit.
Bradley's only 5'2" by the way - adorable!

Right!
I can't do a sustained critique, cause it's late and I've been drinking cider.
In TVLand terms Bradley came out okay, I guess... it's just that he fraternised with twats like Assange and Adrian Lamo.
Here's some transcripts from Greg Mitchell they cut out, which may explain things better...

Manning "i want people to see the truth... regardless of who they are... because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public
Manning: if i knew then, what i knew now... kind of thing... or maybe im just young, naive, and stupid...
Manning: i dont believe in good guys versus bad guys anymore... i only a plethora of states acting in self interest... with varying ethics and moral standards of course, but self-interest nonetheless...
Manning: i guess im too idealistic
Manning: i think the thing that got me the most... that made me rethink the world more than anything
Manning: was watching 15 detainees taken by the Iraqi Federal Police... for printing "anti-Iraqi literature"... the iraqi federal police wouldn't cooperate with US forces, so i was instructed to investigate the matter, find out who the "bad guys" were, and how significant this was for the FPs... it turned out, they had printed a scholarly critique against PM Maliki... i had an interpreter read it for me... and when i found out that it was a benign political critique titled "Where did the money go?" and following the corruption trail within the PM's cabinet... i immediately took that information and *ran* to the officer to explain what was going on... he didn't want to hear any of it... he told me to shut up and explain how we could assist the FPs in finding *MORE* detainees...
Manning: everything started slipping after that... i saw things differently
Manning: i had always questioned the things worked, and investigated to find the truth... but that was a point where i was a *part* of something... i was actively involved in something that i was completely against..."

Hero.