Bradley Manning moving to Fort Leavenworth
'US officials' say private Bradley Manning is being moved to Fort Leavenworth in Kansas according to the Associated Press. An announcement is expected tomorrow at the Pentagon. "The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the move has not yet been made public."
Fort Leavenworth is home to the United States Disciplinary Barracks, the U.S. military's only maximum-security facility, which houses male service members convicted at court-martial for violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. According to Wikipedia, only enlisted prisoners with sentences over five years, commissioned officers, and prisoners convicted of offenses related to national security are confined to the USDB. Manning is still awaiting trial. Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, opened October 5, 2010, is also on the Fort Leavenworth site and may be the one Manning is headed to.
Press briefing at the Pentagon contained the following:
President Obama recently stated that Private Manning’s conditions comply with the Pentagon’s basic standards. Given that those standards apparently permit Private Manning to be subjected to plainly unconstitutional conditions, it is clear that the Department of Defense must adapt its standards to meet the demands of the constitution. - American Civil Liberties Union
“AGAINST VIOLENCE UNDER THE CLOAK OF CARE”
Second open letter to the president of the American Medical Association
Dear Dr. Wilson,
There has been a disappointing and disturbing silence in answer to the registered letter I sent to you and the American Medical Association you represent. In this letter, sent on February 23rd, 2011, I asked the AMA to take all measures in their power to stop the abuse of medical terminology and the medical profession assisting in torture. More specifically, I asked you to speak out against the sale of the torturous ‘prevention of injury’ procedure used on Bradley Manning to the greater public as a form of justified “care”.
We know from professional literature on extreme forms of abuse that it is attractive to many perpetrators to shift labels to conceal the real nature and seriousness of their actions. These relabeling techniques help them to shrug off responsibility, to maintain their position in society and to further disempower their victims by confusing them (see professional literature on e.g. the phenomenon of gaslighting). The following three articles show us how important it is to continue to correctly label the treatment of Bradley Manning as torture and as inappropriate:
Pioneers of Torture
The National Shame of the US Military's 'Slow Torture' of Bradley Manning
A National Conference for Media Reform (NCMR) put on by Free Press took place over the weekend. Thousands of attendees gathered to discuss the state of media and democracy in the US and how best to fight for better media. While the discussions tended to be general conversations on policy and politics, social justice and movement building, journalism and public media, the role of culture and art in media making, or technology and innovation, one subject was continuously mentioned in panel sessions: WikiLeaks.
It would be a stretch to suggest this if it weren’t for the fact that at the “Media and Corporate Power: Beating Back the K Street Juggernaut” panel The Nation’s Katrina vanden Heuvel mentioned an individual in Russia, who has drawn inspiration from WikiLeaks, and now plans to publish corporate documents from Russia to his own “leak portal” website. Vanden Heuvel wondered why media reformers don’t get their own “leak portal” website established for the sole purpose of giving whistleblowers a place to turn and having a central location for Americans to see the truth about corporate power in the US. Following her remark, Bob Edgar of Common Cause thought it important to add the US should stop torturing or abusing the soldier alleged to have leaked information to WikiLeaks, Bradley Manning.
The panel had nothing to do with WikiLeaks except for the fact that the issue of corporate power and transparency is critical to the story of WikiLeaks. The organization’s commitment to exposing secrets makes the organization an enemy of corporations, especially any corporation that has a well-established relationship with the political class in Washington and has records to prove just how they mutually work together to subvert democracy.
An organization like Free Press may prefer to not elevate WikiLeaks or any stateless news organization like it too much by making it a component of their agenda. That is understandable given the fact that the Knight Foundation, prior to the release of the Iraq War Logs and the beginning of Cablegate, awarded twelve groups with a “News Challenge” grant but did not award WikiLeaks a grant despite the organization’s request to spend about a half a million dollars “over two years to bring its anonymous method of leaking documents to local newspapers.” But, no organization in the world has exposed the fault lines in media and democracy like WikiLeaks has in the past year.
Citizens who are concerned with the state of media and democracy in the United States have gathered in Boston to talk about how to reform media. People are here to dig into some of the biggest developments in media, technology and democratic society to get closer to a truth, which can help citizens take action and improve and transform media in their communities.
One of the panels at the conference, "WikiLeaks, Journalism and Modern-Day Muckraking," offered attendees a chance to discuss how WikiLeaks has forced journalists to rethink their role in society and how, in an age of radical transparency, the need for muckraking journalism is greater than ever.
Participating panelists included Greg Mitchell of The Nation, Micah Sifry of the Personal Democracy Forum, Christopher Warren of Australian Media and the Entertainment & Arts Alliance, Emily Warren of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University, and Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com. Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now! moderated.
Vote for Julian Assange in The 2011 TIME 100 Poll, here!
As of today, April 8, 2011, Julian Assange is ranked number 8, behind Susan Boyle at number 4, Beyonce at number 3, Jay Chou at number 2 and Rain at number 1. Bradley Manning is ranked at No. 38 out of 203 nominees. The poll asks its readers to: "Cast your votes for the leaders, artists, innovators, icons and heroes that you think are the most influential people in the world. The winner will be included in the TIME 100. Voting closes on April 14."
In last year's Time Person of the Year poll, Julian Assange was the clear readers' favourite, 148,383 votes ahead of the runner up. (Bradley Manning did not receive a nomination for Person of the Year 2010.) Time ignored the readers votes and chose the tenth placed Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg. Julian Assange received 382,026 votes, and a 92% average rating, Zuckerberg received 18,353 votes and a 52% average rating. As pointed out by many, Assange's organization takes information from public organizations and gives it freely to private citizens, while Zuckerberg's takes information from private citizens and sells it to public organizations. The distinction was famously acknowledged by Time managing editor Rick Stengel as: "While Assange attacks big institutions and governments through involuntary transparency with the goal of disempowering them, Zuckerberg enables individuals to voluntarily share information with the idea of empowering them. Assange sees the world as filled with real and imagined enemies; Zuckerberg sees the world as filled with potential friends."
In defending the move, Stengel said he felt that “When I make the choice, I think of [what] has actually affected people’s lives the most [in] the past year. Five years from now, who’s going to look smart? Julian Assange has been in the news a lot lately. I think five years from now, he’ll be an asterisk. If you really wanted to, [you would] make [leaker] Bradley Manning. Julian Assange was the wine bottle, and Bradley Manning supplied the wine. In the grand scheme of things, it will be a footnote to history.” He did not however, supply any information in the interview addressing why Bradley Manning was not nominated for Person of the Year, despite his stated opinion that Manning was the real newsmaker.
Last year as the Time Person of the Year vote concluded, Assange was in solitary confinement in a jail in London. Now, as fellow Time 100 nominee Bradley Manning continues in solitary confinement, Assange awaits an appeal trial on July 12 and 13 against his extradition. If it fails, it will most likely result in him being in solitary confinement again, this time in Sweden.
As WL Central reported on Tuesday, in an adjournment debate in the UK House of Commons on Monday evening, Henry Bellingham, parliamentary undersecretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, confirmed that Bradley Manning acquired British citizenship at birth.
The video of the debate is now available here.
The opening argument of MP Ann Clwyd (Labour - Cynon Valley) is notable for emphasizing that Bradley Manning's citizenship is not the sole reason a government of laws should be concerned about his treatment. She had earlier raised the interpretation of the British Nationality Act with the foreign minister in committee and in the Commons, but in this address, she reminds the government of its commitment to speak out against human-rights abuses everywhere, regardless of the victim's nationality. She also asks for assurances that Manning's British family will receive UK consular assistance in their future attempts to visit him at the US Marine base at Quantico, Virginia.
Bellingham responds affirmatively on all three counts -- on the strict interpretation of the Nationality Act (with qualifications based on Manning's right to privacy), on the commitment of the UK government to make formal representations to other nations concerning human-rights abuses, and on the willingness of the government to assist Manning's family in their attempts to visit him.
Previous WL Central coverage of Bradley Manning
WL Central action page for Bradley Manning
A letter in support of WikiLeaks from Frontline and others:
We believe that free societies everywhere are best served by journalism that holds governments and corporations to account. We assert that the right to publish is equal to, and the consequence of, the citizen's right to know. While we believe in personal privacy and accept a need for confidentiality, we hold that disclosure in the public interest is paramount. Liberty, accountability and true democratic choice can only be guaranteed by rigorous scrutiny. We defend the right to publish the truth responsibly without obstruction and persecution by the state. The primary duty of journalists everywhere is to advance the cause of understanding, not to assist governments and powerful interests in suppressing information, and never to defer to ingrained habits of secrecy.
Update:The final leg of #365Leaks will be completed during the next hours.
April 5 marks an important anniversary in the history of WikiLeaks. It was the day that WikiLeaks released the "Collateral Murder" video showing a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in New Baghdad. It was when WikiLeaks became a much more prominent organization.
Following "Collateral Murder," WikiLeaks went on to release the Afghan War Logs and the Iraq War Logs. At the end of the year, it began to release 250,000 US State Embassy Cables that still continue to be released. It went from just an organization posting documents to the web to one that made attempts to form partnerships with media organizations to provide context to the information being released.
The year also saw one soldier, Pfc. Bradley Manning, arrested and eventually taken to Quantico Marine brig. Suspected of (and later officially charged with) leaking the material WikiLeaks would go on to release throughout 2010, Manning has suffered cruel and unusual punishment and has been deprived of his right to a speedy trial. Brig officers appear to be using "learned helplessness" techniques to wear Manning down and force him to make a confession that can tie him to Assange and the wider WikiLeaks organization, making it possible for the US government to expand their targeting of WikiLeaks and anyone connected to the organization.
If Manning is responsible for leaking material many have benefited from reading in the past year, he is clearly a hero. Today, WL Central celebrates "365 Days of WikiLeaks." We also call attention to Manning's inhumane treatment, which must come to an end now, and call on everyone sympathetic to the cause of freedom of information and transparency to support this brave individual if he came to the conclusion that information he had access to needed to be seen by the world so massive injustice and suffering in wars and under repressive regimes could begin to come to an end.
Follow this feed as @kgosztola tweets #365Leaks — to honor the bold work of WikiLeaks over the past 365 days. Tweets will come throughout next days, specifically: (1) 7-9 am New York Time on April 5th (2) 8-10 pm New York Time on April 5th, (3) 7-9 am New York Time on April 6th and (4) and, finally, to finish up, (4) 8-10 pm New York Time on April 6th.
Update: Rop Gonggrijp writes on his blog: "It may be good if we all take a deep breath and get grounded a bit here. There are no new events other than the justice minister in The Netherlands providing rather obvious answers to questions from MPs. I really don’t think the minister giving perfectly predictable answers should be news. There is, as of yet, no indictment. Let alone an extradition request. I helped publish a video documenting war crimes. My lawyers and me have absolutely no idea what crime they could even charge me with. If they indeed want something from me, the prosecutors are likely facing the same problem.
"So there may very well never be an extradition request, just a very long period of nothing much happening. Which doesn’t mean this isn’t something to worry about or keep a close eye on. But it’s probably not worthy of getting in a nationwide or even global frenzy over just yet."
Uri Rosenthal, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands, responded to questioning from Green MP Arjan El Fassed by saying that he does not rule out extradition of Rop Gonggrijp (pictured left) to the US.
At the end of today's sitting, the UK Parliament at Westminster will debate the treatment of Bradley Manning, a debate that will be opened by Ann Clwyd (Labour-Cynon Valley).
Clwyd has raised Manning's plight and the concern for him of her constituents in Wales before in committee and in the Commons, and has received considered and relatively positive responses from both the foreign secretary and the leader in the Commons, as we reported here. Manning's mother is a Welsh citizen of the UK.
No time is given for the start of the debate. It is scheduled to go on until 10:30 pm or for half an hour, whichever is later.
Via @GregMitch on Twitter.
Update: An edited version of the podcast is now posted along with a complete transcript of the interview with Ethan McCord.
April 5th will mark one year since WikiLeaks first released the "Collateral Murder" video, which showed a 2007 Apache helicopter attack in Iraq. To mark the anniversary, the show's guest the show's guest was Ethan McCord, an Iraq War veteran and one of the US soldiers on the ground in Baghdad in 2007 who can be seen in the video helping to rescue children wounded in the attack.
In the aftermath of the attack, McCord's superiors ordered him to stop saving the wounded. He was deeply bothered by the fact that he was the only one interested in saving lives.
McCord recently appeared in a Panorama documentary. He talked about the shooters in the video being protected and not charged with war crimes, highlighted how the US had covered up the truth of the attack prior to WikiLeaks’ release of the video and juxtaposed that dark reality with the fact that former Pfc. Bradley Manning, alleged to have leaked the video (along with other material) to WikiLeaks, is being held in solitary confinement and abused and humiliated in prison. And, McCord said after the attack he could no longer justify being a US soldier in Iraq.
McCord has recently been going to schools to tell his story and talk to students about what it is really like to be in the military. He thinks he might have found his calling: talking to kids.
Update: Complete edited podcast is now posted for listen and download
Last week, “This Week in WikiLeaks” took the week off. The host Kevin Gosztola participated in a WikiLeaks panel at the Left Forum in New York City. I appeared with Danny Schechter, who can be found at MediaChannel.org.
The panel looked at what has been revealed by WikiLeaks and had extra significance as it happened right around the eighth anniversary of the Iraq War. Audio of my presentation and Schechter’s presentation will be posted as a podcast episode soon.
Regular scheduled programming resumed last weekend. The show’s guest was Trevor Timm, the person behind the Twitter account @WLLegal. Timm recently helped to make possible a great Personal Democracy Forum event called, “WikiLeaks & the Law.” [Go here for video of the full panel.]
The podcast is now edited and can be listened to by clicking on the widget below:
If this campaign does not reach $5,200 by 15 Apr 08:32 UTC, no credit cards will be charged.
UPDATE: Great job guys! With your support we have been able to fund one WikiLeaks billboard in Los Angeles and hope to fund more. This particular campaign is to fund a billboard in Chicago to further spread the WikiLeaks cause throughout the nation.
It is my sincere hope that everyone who believes in freedom of speech and transparency in government will take action by supporting this billboard campaign. Our government is treading in dangerous waters on this issue. We need to show our elected officials that we defend WikiLeaks, and demand adherence to the 1st Amendment and transparency in government. I stand behind WikiLeaks. Many Americans do. And though we all love our country, we want the facts and deserve the truth.
Our billboard will demand attention and entice news outlets to cover it. It will compel our elected officials to take notice, as we loudly express our support for WikiLeaks. We have a tremendous opportunity here. We can actually make our voices heard. It's up to us to spread this message.
I am extremely passionate about this campaign, but know that with the help of my fellow Epic Steppers, we can make it even better. I came up with this message: "In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act! - George Orwell." While I like this message, I think there could be a better one out there. So, I'd like to ask all you amazing designers and writers out there to come up with witty messages and creative designs. We need to have the best options possible to choose from in order to make our billboard really stand out and capture the hearts, minds, and news cameras this cause so desperately needs.
Sign the Open Letter to the United States Government, Demand that they Stop Prosecution of Assange and WikiLeaks
Sign RevolutionTruth's open letter in defense of WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. Let the US Government know the world is watching, and we don't approve. Go here.
Open Letter to the United States Government Regarding WikiLeaks, Julian Assange and the Fundamental Tenets of Democracy and Open Societies.
To President Obama, US Senators and Congressmen and women, Attorney General Eric Holder, the Department of Justice, and all of those involved in the attempt to prosecute Julian Assange, founder of the nonprofit news organization WikiLeaks.org:
We are a diverse group of people from around the world who have come together for a common purpose: to defend WikiLeaks, to ask the United States to cease its attempts to manufacture a case against Julian Assange, and to defend democratic principles and our fundamental rights guaranteed therein. We are professionals, homemakers, activists, students, and others who believe that government derives its power from the consent of the governed, as stipulated in the Declaration of Independence, but that citizens can only give meaningful consent if they are fully informed about their government's actions. Nothing more violates American principles, which inspire both those of us who are and are not American citizens, than the idea that "government knows best" and has the right to deceive its own people.
"FREE ASSANGE! FREE MANNING! FREE SPEECH!"
Four Days of Action announced for Julian Assange and Bradley Manning 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th February.
Cyber, anti-war and human rights activists will today descend on the Australian High Commission and on Monday/Tuesday on the Woolwich magistrates court, while on Saturday there will be a public meeting in Harringay, north London.
FOUR DAYS OF ACTION ANNOUNCED
"FREE ASSANGE! FREE MANNING! FREE SPEECH!"
Friday 4 February: Cyber, anti-war and human rights activists will today descend on the Australian High Commission and on Monday and Tuesday 7 and 8 February on the Woolwich magistrates court, attached to the Category A Belmarsh Prison, to demand freedom for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, presently on restrictive bail and facing extradition, and also for Bradley Manning, the young soldier who is being held in solitary confinement in Quantico Marine Base in USA. The activist groups will join others from WikiLeaks London Support group outside the court.
Saturday 5 February: a public meeting will be held at Harringay's Giuseppe Conlon Hall, which also serves as a 'house of hospitality' for refugees and others in need of help and support. Speakers will include former political prisoner of the US, Ciaron O'Reilly, and a speaker from the support group 'UK Friends of Bradley Manning'. Footage from the 'Collateral Murder' video Manning is accused of leaking will be shown and there will also be live music.
IRISH DISARMAMENT ACTION MENTIONED IN WIKILEAKS
Call to Action in support of Julian Assange / WikiLeaks in Monday's London Extradition Hearing
Auto-emailing United Kingdom media, their Embassy and Consulates in support of Julian in his extradition hearing. There are 5 individual identical emails each with 25 addresses. PLEASE sign all 5. Click here to go there.
The following letter of support for Julian Assange and WikiLeaks will be available for signing at the Minneapolis, MN: Demonstration supporting Julian Assange and Wikileaks and will be delivered. Any group in one of the other 27 cities with British Consulates (or UK Embassy in Washington DC) is free to copy our letter as a model:
February 7, 2011
Honorary United Kingdom Consul William R. McGrann:
Today Julian Assange stands before a court that will decide if he will be extradited to Sweden. Our concern is the same as that of Mr. Assange's lawyers - that this is just the first step in his being rendered illegally from Sweden to the United States. We hope and stress that the laws of the United Kingdom be upheld. Political rendition is unlawful in the United Kingdom, but there are several indications that extradition to Sweden would serve as false cover to effectively render him illegally to the United States.
The seven major points of law (see Guardian article: "WikiLeaks: Julian Assange 'faces execution or Guantanamo detention'") outlined by Assange's attorneys need to be fairly evaluated without any of the extra-legal political pressure from the United States that has, unfortunately, occurred during the Chilcot Inquiry or vis a vis Spanish authorities' inquiries into Iraq War crimes and the Bush Administration's use of torture and illegal renditions.
We note that United States' interference in other countries' justice systems, including the justice system of England, runs against the international wisdom of how we honor each other as nations.
Translated from German
The massive intimidation by corporations such as Visa, Master Card, Paypal and Amazon against Wikileaks is a frontal attack on press freedom. Subscribe to our appeal to the company!
To those in charge of Visa, Mastercard, Paypal and Amazon
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your notice to Wikileaks provide a massive attack constitutes at the press freedom at risk with this approach a cornerstone of democracy. Quit now your obviously politically motivated attempts to block and take the business to Wikileaks again!
Yours sincerely,
Please join us in signing our petition here.
Support Julian Assange Our Freedom Depends on it.
2011-01-19 Video Protest: This is a simple and direct open letter to the US government about WikiLeaks and Julian Assange spoken on video by people from around the world. We presently have approximately 12 countries and 35-50 people on board. The video will include your voices as part of a collective message as well as other relevant imagery and quotes that provide a full picture to help us meet our objective. The goal is for this video to be powerful, intelligent, moving and straightforward.
The objective of this project is two-fold. First, it is to interrupt the US government’s attempts to villainize and prosecute Julian Assange and bring down WikiLeaks. Second, it is to assist in shifting public opinion in the US by strategically highlighting the potential loss of key freedoms including free speech and a free press and the implications this could have on open societies everywhere. This video will be uploaded onto YouTube, highlighted on the www.support-julian-assange.com site, and loaded onto our new site (in construction) called www.nomino.org.
Open letter to be read
2011-01-15: Dear President Obama,
I am outraged by the abuse of power by your government I have been witnessing against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange.
It is very clear to me that actions in those regards are NOT designed to protect the people, but to keep information about corruption and deceit by the government covered at all cost.
I ask you to stop all action against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange. I ask you to expose the corrupt individuals in your government and those who are protecting them. I ask for them to bear the consequences of their actions. Lastly, I ask you to assume personal responsibility for the humane and just treatment of Bradley Manning.
Sincerely,
Dagi Cueppers (on behalf of anybody who signs this petition)
Please join us in signing the petition and tweeting the message to Barack Obama here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
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