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)
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.
Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange and Daniel Bruhl as Daniel Domscheit-Berg in a still from the upcoming Julian Assange biopic “The Fifth Estate”.
I’m sure the Wikileaks Twitter account is currently raging about how Benedict Cumberbatch looks nothing like Assange.
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.”
It must have come as a surprise to the Egyptian teenagers who washed American teargas out of their eyes (during the Arab Spring) to hear that the U.S. supported change in the Middle East. It’s time for President Obama to keep his word … and for the U.S. to cease its persecution of WikiLeaks.Julian Assange • In a video feed, aired at the United Nations on Wednesday, mocking Obama’s UN speech, which encouraged free speech in the Middle East. His point? Wikileaks certainly didn’t get a free-speech pass from the U.S. government; in fact, he says Obama has “done more to criminalize free speech than any other U.S. president.” Ouch.
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Tumblr this morning. [h/t anne]
#@#$%!.tumblr.com
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I think the situation will be solved through diplomacy … The Swedish government could drop the case. I think this is the most likely scenario. Maybe after a thorough investigation of what happened they could drop the case.Wikileaks founder Julian Assange • Speaking about his situation in the Ecuadorian embassy, where he’s been granted asylum but effectively can’t leave. He thinks that it’ll eventually work itself out, but he’ll probably be stuck in the embassy for as long as six months to a year.
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
I don’t want to judge allegations that have not been proven and would not, in any case, be considered a felony in Latin American, too. It has never been the intention of the Ecuadorean government for Julian Assange not to respond to those allegations.Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa • Agreeing with many critics of Ecuador, following the country’s decision to grant political asylum to Julian Assange, that the Wikileaks founder should face the allegations of rape which have been leveled against him. While Correa agrees that Assange should not flee from authorities, he also restated his belief that Ecuador’s diplomatic sovereignty should continue to be respected the United Kingdom and other countries. Some inside of Ecuador have accused Correa of grandstanding, by offering asylum to a known whistleblower in an effort to deflect criticism he faces for closing several radio and television networks across Ecuador, ahead of presidential elections this fall. source (via • follow)
I ask President Obama to do the right thing. The United States must renounce its witch hunt against Wikileaks. The United States must dissolve its FBI investigation. The United States must vow that it will not seek to prosecute our staff or our supporters.Wikileaks founder Julian Assange • Speaking from a written statement in his first public appearance since entering the Ecuadorian embassy in London two months ago. Assange feels that his extradition to Sweden on sex crimes allegations is a preface to send him to the United States — an allegation Swedish officials deny. Ecuador recently granted Assange asylum, but it’s unlikely he will be able to leave the United Kingdom without facing arrest.
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