Update 8/28/12: Kevin Gosztola’s courtroom blog
Kevin Gosztola, blogging for FireDogLake, has “live” updates of the events unfolding in the courtroom today. Due to military restrictions, Kevin can’t actually “live post” from either the courtroom or the designated media room, but runs out to the parking lot during breaks. Some highlights of Kevin’s blog from the morning session today:
- Government reported the Court of Appeals of the Armed Forces (CAAF) was provided filed rulings, orders, motions & transcripts pertaining to press and public access to court records for review. CAAF is hearing the lawsuit brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) petitioning for press and public access to records (which I am a plaintiff).
- Upcoming dates on case calendar: October 1-5, October 29-November 2, December 10-14 and then there are dates in January.
- The key issue here is the defense knows the government can look at all kinds of classified information for their case preparation. The defense has no access. The scale of discovery issues has led the defense to be reasonably skeptical of the government’s handling of evidence requests. They are virtually certain material is being withheld that should have been provided.
Kevin also points out that there was this short letter to the editor from a Vietnam war whistleblower published by Spokesman-Review in support of Manning, Assange & WikiLeaks.
Courtroom sketch by Clark Stoeckley. Lead prosecutor standing left, defense attorney David Coombs standing right, with supporters wearing “truth” shirts.
Clark Stoeckley shared new courtroom sketches today. Clark notes, “I am at the hearing today and am the only sketch artist. The courtroom sketch artist that works for the AP is no longer attending.” Fortunately for us, Clark is pretty good–and shares his work freely.
Yesterday, Veterans for Peace, shared the following announcement with its national membership:
News from Veterans For Peace
216 S. Meramec Avenue St. Louis, MO 63105
(314) 725-6005
www.veteransforpeace.orgCalling for Nationwide Actions on September 6 to Free Bradley Manning
Dear Veterans and Friends,
Since Army PFC Bradley Manning’s arrest in May 2010 for allegedly sharing the “Collateral Murder” video and other evidence of war crimes and government corruption with the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks, many have wondered “Why hasn’t President Obama supported Bradley?”
After all, in May 2011 President Obama declared, “In the 21st Century, information is power; the truth cannot be hidden; and the legitimacy of governments will ultimately depend on active and informed citizens.”
On Thursday, August 16, I took part in an action organized by the Bradley Manning Support Network, Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, March Forward and others in Portland, Oregon, Oakland and Los Angeles.
We successfully occupied Obama 2012 campaign offices and sent a letter of demands to the Obama campaign’s central office.
Our demands included that Bradley be freed, given he has already endured 800 days of pretrial confinement including 9 months of treatment called “inhuman and degrading” by the United Nations Rapporteur on Torture. Unfortunately, we have not yet received a reply from the President. However, the response from our community and the media was nothing short of inspiring.
Please join me, along with the Bradley Manning Support Network and Veterans For Peace in a nationwide effort to hold actions at many more local Obama campaign offices on September 6th, the day of Barack Obama’s nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention.
President Obama needs to hear loud and clear from veterans and concerned citizens across the country that the American people want amends for the unlawful torture of Bradley Manning, and believe he should be freed.
We want to overwhelm Obama campaign offices with messages of support for Bradley from coast to coast! Please forward and spread the word!
Free Bradley Manning!
-Scott Olsen, VFP Chapter 69
This call-out also comes from the Bradley Manning Support Network, Afghans for Peace, SF Bay Area Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Veterans For Peace.
VFP chapters and members who wish to help organize actions on September 6 are encouraged to email Gerry Condon, Co-Chair of our GI Resistance Working Group and member of the Steering Committee of the Bradley Manning Support Network, or give Gerry a call on 206-499-1220.
*To find out if other activists in your area are planning September 6 actions, contact [email protected]. Emma can also provide you with organizing plans used in the successful actions on August 16.
Reports, photos, and videos from the August 16th West Coast events
Having been brought up in the USA and taught that our nation was all about moral values, it would seem to me that PFC Bradley Manning was exposing an incident of terrorism. As terrorism is not defined by a uniform or country of origin, but by the actions of the perpetrator,it follows that as a military representative of USA citizenry he was legally bound to report this incident to anyone who would listen. As such any attempts to sweep the incident under the PR carpet and punish PFC Manning for his act of moral heroism in exposing the incident is treasonous on the part of USA officials. I cannot support any individual in a political office who does not take a stand for PFC Manning.
The (mis)treatment of Bradley Manning makes a sham of any of our protests against the treatment of dissenters in other countries like Russia and China. We are well on the way to becoming a totalitarian government.