Update 10/8/12: Will Bradley win the Nobel Peace Prize? Protest songs & commentary on media coverage
‘Will Bradley Manning win the Nobel Peace Prize?’ Ruth Hull asks in her article titled “Nobel Peace Prize or Nobel War Prize: Will Assange and Manning Restore the Integrity of the Nobel Peace Prize?” She writes,
“… the Norwegian Nobel Committee could try to redeem the image of the award by giving the”Peace” Prize to peacemakers, Julian Assange and Bradley Manning. It would go a long ways in making up for 2009 if if this year the committee gave a deserved peace prize to the men of peace who were tortured or sought for torture by the Nobel Peace Prize man of war.”
A petition has been launched on roots.org on behalf of Bradley’s Nobel nomination. Sign here. Also check out the “Bradley Manning for a Nobel Peace Prize” facebook group. (Read more…)
Nicholson Baker discusses “Whistleblower Song”, a protest song inspired by Bradley Manning, pointing out how a protest song can critique without coming across as negative,
“The nice thing about a protest song is that it takes the complaint, the fussing, the finger-pointing, and gives it an added component of sociable harmony. Yes, X is bad, and the basic fact of my objection to X is discordant, but music, even music performed by someone like me—an amateur who can barely sing in tune some afternoons—is (with some crucial help from pitch-correction software) healing and good.”
Read more in an interview on Slate.com, and then check out Baker’s own article published in the New Yorker. (Read more…)
What do we do when justice comes into conflict with corporate and government interests? This is exactly what journalist Nick Bell asks, when he describes reasons the main stream media has been so silent about the Bradley Manning hearing:
“While the media tried to generate ad revenue off other stories like the Trayvon Martin case, the Manning case fell to the wayside. It’s easy to get the public riled up over issues like race, but getting the public riled up against the military-industrial complex is against the corporate conglomerates’ and governmental institution’s interests.”
Bradley Manning will have spent 983 days in pretrial confinement, and a year of that will have been spent in solitary confinement. The UN has issued a report stating that the unlawful pretrial abuse Bradley endured was “cruel, inhuman, and degrading”. As Bradley’s court martial approaches in February, let’s hope media coverage improves and that justice prevails. (Read more…)
I support Bradley Manning for having the courage to listen to his Heart.
Submit your photo.
Flyer For The Smedley Butler Brigade- Veterans For Peace 2012 Veterans Day/Armistice Day Commemoration And March –Sunday November 11 in Boston At Noon
President Obama Pardon Private Bradley Manning Now!
Free The Alleged Wikileak Whistleblower Now!
Photo in uniform (color) from Wikipedia- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/Bradley_Manning_US_Army.jpg
Bradley Manning in his own words:
“God knows what happens now. Hopefully worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms…
I want people to see the truth… because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.”
*************
The Smedley Butler Brigade of Veterans for Peace proudly stands in solidarity with, and defense of, Private Bradley Manning and his fight for freedom from his jailers, the American military.
Private Manning is facing a February 2013 court-martial for allegedly simply blowing the whistle on something that is a hard fact of war- war crimes by American soldiers through release of the “Collateral Murder” tape and what have become known as the Iraq and Afghan War logs.
Private Manning has paid the price for his alleged acts with almost 900 days of pre-trial confinement, including allegations of torture during this period, and is now facing life imprisonment for simple acts of humanity. For letting the American people know what they perhaps did not want to know but must know- when soldiers, American soldiers, go to war some awful things can and do happen.
For more information about the Private Manning case and what you can do to help or to sign the online petition to the Secretary of the Army for his release contact:
Bradley Manning Support Network: http://bradleymanning.org/ or the Courage To Resist Website:http://www.couragetoresist.org/
Smedley Butler Brigade- Veterans for Peace Website: http://smedleyvfp.org/ – on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/smedleyvfp -on Twitter: http://twitter.com/SmedleyVFP#