2012-02-24 #WikiLeaks News Update: #Manning's arraignment; Financial Blockade; Cablegate Coverage; More

WikiLeaks has been financially blockaded without process for 448 days.
Julian Assange has been detained without charge for 445 days.
Bradley Manning has been imprisoned without trial for 642 days.

News:

Bradley Manning had his arraignment on February 23, which lasted 45 minutes. Some key developments are as follows:
- Bradley deferred both his plea as well as his decision to be tried by judge or panel.
- The prosecution requested a trial date of August 3rd, which would have Bradley at over 800 days of pre-trial confinement.
- The next court session is scheduled for March 15.

Mastercard confirmed it will be maintaining its financial blockade of WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks supporters are planning a day of action against the blockade.

Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt says he is worried about a smear campaign against Sweden by WikiLeaks, which Swedish tabloid Expressen claims to know about due to an internal memo it received. Professor Ferrada-noli has analysed Expressen's claims in a recent article. A reference document is also available which contains all articles, tweets, and relevant information regarding the claims.

An article in Salon looks at the next steps for Julian Assange regarding his upcoming extradition verdict, his TV show in March, and the just-released WikiLeaks insurance file.

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters sent out a message voicing his support for Bradley Manning and calling on others to do the same. Last December in a Rolling Stone interview, Waters said he believed WikiLeaks to be a "fundamentally important thing" which we should not allow to go away.

Bradley Manning has been nominated for Global Exchange's Human Rights Award. You can vote for Bradley at their website.

Center for Constitutional Rights' Bill Quigley has written an article about Bradley Manning, solitary confinement, and Occupy 4 Prisoners.

Theodor Reppe, owner of "wikileaks.de", has been acquitted of all charges related to dissemination of child pornography.

In a video interview, WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson answered a question about the general state of world-wide apathy.

Cablegate Coverage:

Cablegate Researcher is a new tag-based tool for searching through cables.

Colombia: The U.S. Embassy in Bogota acknowledges 257,089 registered victims of the paramilitaries, which continue to work with the U.S.-supported Colombian military.

Iran: A cable shows that current warnings about Iran and its nuclear capabilities are not too different from the warnings in 2005.

WikiLeaks Press has released its coverage of all Cablegate-related news from February 2 to 8.

Further Coverage of Bradley Manning's Arraignment:

Logan Price's article on Bradley's quest for justice.

Bradley Manning Support Network's coverage of the arraignment.

PBS Frontline's Arun Roth's analysis of the prosecution's decision to decline "aiding the enemy" as a capital offense, as well as the possibility and implications of a plea deal.

Video: Bradley Manning Support Network's Kevin Zeese on RTAmerica.

Video: Firedoglake's Jane Hamsher on The Alyona Show.

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Upcoming Dates & Events:

February 26: The announcement of Academy Awards. "Incident in New Baghdad", a documentary on 'Collateral Murder,' is in the running for 'Documentary Short Subject.'

March 1: Julian Assange will host a Q&A on "Europe's Last Dictator," 6:30PM at The Old Vic Tunnels, London.

*NEW* March 8: Daniel Ellsberg will speak at Princeton University at an event called "Secrets, Lies, and Leaks: From the Pentagon Papers to WikiLeaks."

March 15: Bradley Manning's next court appearance.

April 25: Kristinn Hrafnsson to speak at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy.

May 23: Julian Assange to speak at Enterprise Information Management Congress 2012 in The Netherlands.

May 27: "Incident in New Baghdad" to air on The Documentary Channel, 8PM.