popelizbet says: I continue to disapprove of shortformblog’s misgendering of Breanna Manning, but I greatly approve of her nomination for the Prize.
» SFB says: We continue to disapprove of people placing a gender on someone without concrete proof. This is NOT something that is bestowed upon someone third-hand based on communication that was intended to be private. It is decided and publicly-revaled first-hand. It is irresponsible to do otherwise. — Ernie @ SFB
(Source: nedhepburn)
Good news for all you “regular people standing up against vast injustice” fans out there.
We doubt anyone could take issue with Yousafzai’s nomination, and we know Bradley Manning’s countless, fierce public advocates must be happy to hear of his recognition. Of course, the latter comes with palpable irony, as he now faces charges for allegedly leaking classified information collected by the war/national security apparatus of… Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama.
The judge presiding over the prosecution of the WikiLeaks source Bradley Manning has ruled that the US soldier was brought to trial in good time within the military rules governing a court martial.
The ruling dashes the defence team’s hopes of having the charges against Manning dismissed. His lead lawyer, David Coombs, had argued in legal argument to the court that “extreme foot-dragging” by the prosecution had violated the accused’s right to a speedy trial.
The ruling has yet to be completed, with Colonel Denise Lind still set to rule on whether or not Pfc. Manning’s rights were violated under the Sixth Amendment and/or Article 10 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, though Col. Lind is not expected to side with Manning on those claims either. Assuming there are no changes, Pfc. Manning’s 12-week trial is scheduled to begin on June 3.
If someone tells me they’re going to shoot themselves in the face, I’m not going to give them a gun.Marine Master Sgt. Craig Blenis • Discussing, during a trial for Pfc. Bradley Manning, why he recommended, as a member of the board he was on, that Manning remain at suicide-risk status, leading to the oft-reported harsh conditions Manning faced while staying in Quantico, Va. Among the reported tell signs: A noose fashioned out of a bedsheet from when he was held in Kuwait, and a written statement where Manning claimed he was “always planning and never acting” on suicidal impulses. These claims overrode a psychiatrist’s opinion that Manning was of no harm to himself or anyone around him.
I didn’t feel that PFC Manning should be detained more than 90 days in the brig.Daniel Choike, former commander of Marine Corps Base Quantico • Testifying on recommendations he made to the Pentagon regarding the long-term detention of Pfc. Bradley Manning during a pre-trial hearing today. The hearing in Fort Meade, Maryland is scheduled to last until Sunday, and Manning’s legal team hopes to convince the judge that the young soldier was subjected to illegal pre-trial punishment. If they are able to do so, Manning’s charges and sentence could be reduced or dismissed entirely. source
The Defense Department has said Manning’s treatment properly conformed to his classification as a maximum-custody detainee who posed a risk of injury to himself or others. He was moved in April 2011 to Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where he has a medium-security classification.
Publicity about Manning’s treatment helped bring worldwide attention to his case. In March, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E. Mendez presented a report to the UN’s Human Rights Council in which he criticized the U.S. government for refusing his repeated requests for a private visit with Manning.
Although they never spoke, “I am persuaded that Pfc. Manning was subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment” in violation of the UN Convention Against Torture, Mendez wrote in a Nov. 15 email to The Associated Press.
Mendez said he doesn’t know if Manning’s treatment amounted to torture, as Manning supporters claim.
If Manning gets a life sentence, such a sentence decrease — which could be as much as seven years — would be useless, according to Jeff Paterson of the Bradley Manning Support Network, who adds, “If that credit is meaningless, then that signals that you can actually torture any personnel or detainee without any actual consequences.”
PFC Manning has offered to plead guilty to various offenses through a process known as “pleading by exceptions and substitutions.” To clarify, PFC Manning is not pleading guilty to the specifications as charged by the Government. Rather, PFC Manning is attempting to accept responsibility for offenses that are encapsulated within, or are a subset of, the charged offenses. The Court will consider whether this is a permissible plea.
PFC Manning is not submitting a plea as part of an agreement or deal with the Government. Further, the Government does not need to agree to PFC Manning’s plea; the Court simply has to determine that the plea is legally permissible. If the Court allows PFC Manning to plead guilty by exceptions and substitutions, the Government may still elect to prove up the charged offenses. Pleading by exceptions and substitutions, in other words, does not change the offenses with which PFC Manning has been charged and for which he is scheduled to stand trial.
PFC Manning has also provided notice of his forum selection. He has elected to be tried by Military Judge alone.
The Guardian simplifies the point: “By taking this legal route, Manning is not pleading guilty to any of the 22 charges brought against him, and nor is he making a plea bargain. He is asking the court to rule on whether his plea accepting limited responsibility is admissible in the case.”
Judge Denise Lind has scheduled a six-week period, from February 4 until March 15 2013, for the trial of Bradley Manning. Manning, who will face a total of 22 charges due to his alleged work with Wikileaks, will also appear in court on November 27 as his lawyers fight to have 1,384 emails related to his incarceration released by the U.S. Army. His defense team hopes to prevent further incarceration by proving that his time/treatment at Quantico qualified as cruel and unusual punishment. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images) source
Excerpt from a documentary on the film “Collateral Murder,” aired by the television station Al Jazeera English in 2010.
Assange later told Frontline and CBS News after Pfc. Brad Manning was arrested that Wikileaks would have no way of identifying its source:
“Our technology means we don’t know who is submitting us materials,” Assange told Katie Couric in a segment aired by CBS News on December 18, 2010. “But the name Bradley Manning was first heard by us when we read an article about his arrest in Wired magazine.”
Assange also told the Frontline Club: “We don’t keep records of who our sources are, because it’s very difficult with modern communication spying to keep anything secret over the long term, extremely difficult when dealing with organizations that do not follow the rule of law like the NSA — so instead, our sort of modus operandi is when we receive material is to never know who it’s come from precisely.” - http://goo.gl/jvmsD
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popelizbet asks: Will you please start referring to Breanna Manning by her chosen name and pronouns? Misgendering someone is not cool.
» SFB says: Please see our previous comment on the matter. — Ernie @ SFB
I don’t remember the last time I was outside.Bradley Manning pleads with his captors to end their harsh treatment of him. (via aheram)
Normally, these games are not played. You hand over discovery and let the facts speak. You don’t play hide the ball, and that’s what the government’s been doing.David Coombs, Attorney for Pfc. Bradley Manning • Accusing prosecutors not only of failing to disclose, but actively working to prevent the disclosure of information and evidence that could be vital to Manning’s legal team and defense. Yesterday, during a hearing at Fort Meade, military judge Colonel Denise Lind gave prosecutors until July 25 to provide Manning’s lawyers with a “due diligence statement” outlining the steps they’ve taken to disclose information over the last two years. In addition, Colonel Lind demanded that the CIA, FBI, Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, state department, and other government agencies hand over any/all “damage assessments” related to the crimes Manning stands accused of. source (via • follow)
Spotted in DC today: An ad sponsoring Bradley Manning’s fight for freedom. It was paid for via EpicStep, which appears to be a Kickstarter for nonprofit advertising campaigns. Here’s the successful entry for this ad.
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