Iraq Veterans Against the War support Bradley

How do solitary confinement and forced strip searches affect the human psyche? Helen Redmond reports on the troubling treatment of America’s prisoners that drove the inmates of one Supermax prison to starve themselves in protest. She writes,

“One of the most humiliating aspects of life for inmates are the frequent strip searches – forced to be naked, ordered to bend over by guards and spread the buttocks apart to have the anus inspected for contraband while coughing. Strip searches are the old normal.”

Solitary confinement and being forced to strip naked is standard treatment for those on suicide watch, but as Redmond argues, “this extreme environment of sensory deprivation and social seclusion makes men go mad.” How then, can Bradley Manning, who hasn’t been convicted of any crime but who has received similarly brutal treatment, possibly be given a fair trial?

Manning a criminal? Try Murdoch! Jane Stillwater, writing for Buzzflash, asks how Bradley Manning is being treated so harshly in comparisson to Rupert Murdoch. One released documents to let people know the truth, while the other intentionally deceived and spied. Yet Manning is in jail awaiting a trial, and Murdoch reigns free, with no real charges in sight.

At Alternet, reporter Nick Turse outlines the continuance of worldwide aggressive U.S. military policy under President Obama. Many of the details in the article were provided by WikiLeaks, and allegedly Bradley Manning.

Last week the Pentagon has announced that it will invest up to 42 million dollars in a program that will monitor and influence social media websites, such as twitter.

Operation Paperstorm is having a revival August 13th. The organizers ask that you print out and distribute fliers in support of Wikileaks, Bradley Manning, or your favourite hacktivist group – all in the cover of darkness!