(English) “I take comfort in the fact that I am not alone and that there is strength in numbers. Today we were told that we could only protest across the street from the base at Quantico. We chose not to obey that order and instead marched across the street and right through the gates chanting “Free Bradley Manning!” There were a few Marines and police officers stationed at the street and gate to stop us. They held up their hands and told us to stop but we did not hesitate and marched on through.

“Likewise, there is strength in numbers if the peace and social movements join together to speak out against the concentrated corporate power that controls our government and our media. Together we can create the changes we so desperately need. Together we can raise our voices so high that we cannot be ignored.”

(English) David Swanson of WarIsACrime.org catalogues and questions recent developments regarding Bradley Manning’s treatment in confinement, and suggests a course of action:

There are conflicting accounts of exactly how Bradley Manning, the alleged whistleblower on countless U.S. government crimes, has been illegally punished for 8 months so far, pre-trial. There’s no denying that this young man who allegedly sought to make his government’s actions known for the public good and did not seek to profit thereby has been denied a speedy trial. The question is to what extent he has already been punished, and even cruelly and unusually punished, without having been convicted of any crime. But the accounts differ less than it at first appears. And there is one sure way to find out the facts.

(English) A mature American leadership, rather than prosecuting Manning, would encourage an honest debate about U.S. foreign policy. Thomas Jefferson warned that “oppressions are many” and that for the people to govern we should “leave open . . . all the avenues to truth.” Manning has provided an avenue to truth where we can look honestly at our government and dramatically change direction. Enlightened leadership would renounce blackmail, threats and spying of foreign officials, as well as torture and war.

(English) Kevin Carson: “I think the last time American soldiers actually fought for the freedom of Americans was probably the Revolutionary War . . . But I can think of one exception.”

(English) I spoke for about 20 minutes with Lt. Brian Villiard, from the Public Affairs Office at Quantico Prison. He gave me a chance to express my understanding of the current conditions of Private Bradley Manning’s confinement. I echoed the information that I had read, that Bradley is in solitary confinement, that he has not been out doors in four weeks, that he previously had been sporadically allowed only one hour of exercise time out of the cell, that he is not allowed to exercise in his cell, that lights are left on all night, and that the blanket he uses is rough, more like carpeting than a blanket.

On December 17, in a prison cell in Quantico Virginia, Bradley Manning will be celebrating his 23rd birthday, alone. Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and ex-Pentagon official KT McFarland are calling for Manning’s execution, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is vowing “aggressive steps” will be taken against those responsible for the leaks. As WikiLeaks scrounges to find a way to keep their site alive after being shut out by PayPal, Amazon and EveryDNS, Manning is held in prison, unable to meet with his family and prevented from getting the vast majority of his mail.

US Army specialist Ethan McCord was amongst the first dismounted soldiers to arrive on the scene of fresh carnage after the July 2007 Apache helicopter attack in East Bhagdad, Iraq – now infamous as the Wikileaks “Collateral Murder” video. He has successfully met the greatest challenge of our time: the reclaiming of our humanity.