Update 6/1/12: Rocky Anderson supports Bradley, military madness, London advocates for Bradley, and 2 years in jail
Justice Party's Rocky Anderson
Rocky Anderson “would pardon Bradley Manning.” While President Obama continues to contradict his promise to protect whistle-blowers, presidential candidates are surrounding him with support for PFC Bradley Manning. Republican Ron Paul, the Green Party’s Jill Stein and Roseanne Barr, and now the Justice Party’s Rocky Anderson have all praised Bradley as a truth-teller who’s been a scapegoat for the military’s crimes. Here’s Anderson’s statement:
Lynn Feinerman on the “military madness” of Bradley Manning’s prosecution. Starting with President Obama declaring Bradley guilty at least a year and a half before court martial, Feinerman recaps the various ways the government, military, and pundits have spun Bradley’s case to obscure his motive – which if the chat logs attributed to him are true, was in the interest of peace, justice, and truth:
We are alive, and so is PFC Manning, who has offered us the gift of consciousness and truth and thus drawn a connection between us. “I feel connected to everyone … like they were distant family,” Manning wrote in the chatlogs. “We’re killing ourselves … and no one seems to see that … and it bothers me.”
We see it, PFC Manning. We are still breathing, still thinking, and we want you to know that you really did “change something,” as you wished to do. The life in your truth, in your gift to us, is still quite vital. You are keeping us all alive.
May we obtain your freedom.
The military is seeking to preclude Manning’s alleged motive from the courtroom, but we must make it widely known that Bradley never intended to “aid the enemy.” If he did indeed release documents to WikiLeaks, he did so to uncover grave abuses the public deserves to see. (Read more…)
Bradley Manning supporters come to Julian Assange’s extradition ruling. On Wednesday, London’s Supreme Court ruled that the WikiLeaks publisher must be extradited to Sweden. Supporters of PFC Bradley Manning came out to advocate for punishing the criminals, not the messengers. Photos from the hearing protests are here and here.
Bradley supporters at Assange's extradition ruling in London
Greg Mitchell marks Bradley’s 2-year anniversary in prison. At The Nation, Mitchell excerpts from the book he and Kevin Gosztola wrote on Bradley, called “Truth and Consequences.” As Mitchell writes, “Coverage of the Manning case may heat up this summer, so to mark the two-year anniversary of when he first came to the attention of the public, here is a look back at how the story unfolded in early June, 2010.” Read the excerpt here.
Send us your photo, and tell us why you support Bradley Manning
From the start I have been with Bradley Manning in my head and in my heart. I do believe this land is lost morally in the woods, militarily on the side
of the Gods,(Lords and Profiteers)of war, and headed on the path to collapse. 1984 will be lived in spades.
Here’s Anderson’s statement:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XG0T2rPkhk
I’m Rocky Anderson running for President on the 2012 Justice Party ticket. As president I would pardon Bradley Manning, and guarantee legal protections for whistle blowers who play a vital role in keeping government accountable to the people. I would also guarantee decent treatment of prisoners and fair trials as guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Whistleblower Protection Act.
A video leaked by Bradley Manning exposed the murders by US agents of innocent people, including journalists in Baghdad. Bradley Manning was arrested for leaking this video and secret documents and imprisoned in deplorable conditions. He now is on trial for espionage, which carries the possibility of life imprisonment.
The Obama administration has carried out increasingly harsh treatment of whistleblowers. According to the ACLU the government’s overreaction in making an example out of Bradley Manning has disastrous implications for the future of civil liberties and governmental transparency.
President Obama and his administration have never been held accountable for the loss of innocent lives in Afghanistan and Iraq, and now in Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan. It is an horrific injustice that the elites in the executive branch will use Bradley Manning as their scapegoat when blood is on the hands of the Obama and the Bush administrations.
I urge everyone who can to support Bradley manning by going to his trial, at Fort Mead, Maryland on
June 6th through the 8th,
July 16th through the 20th, and
August 27th through the 31st.
You can find details about these and more support actions at bradleymanning.org.