Comments on: Kucinich suggests Sec. of Defense Gates suborning human rights in treatment of Manning

By: Burkey

Burkey — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 22:44:19 +0000

It may be a good point that Manning is better off in the Marine Brig than with the Army, but none of this should be happening. The outrage is that the whole thing is posed as “protecting him from himself” when they’re the ones he needs protection from, the people who are punishing him before trial. This does not give me confidence in the prospects for a just trial. But anyway, the solitary confinement and lack of exercise are tactics to destroy his ability to assist with his own defense. That is why they are unconsititutional and against everything this country is supposed to stand for.

Congressman Kucinich said this:
“I’d like to see any prisoner, anywhere in this country, who’s being subjected to that where there wouldn’t be cries of outrage by the public. Everyone’s presumed innocent until proven guilty.”

He needs to know (if he doesn’t) how common this treatment is for prisoners. There is a great book by Tammy Menendez that you can find on Amazon in which she describes the total state of power the prison system has over individuals. If a person talks to the press, they get punished. Her story is really worth reading, and very well-written and even movingly told. It is a horrifying first-hand look at how prisoners are treated in the California prison system. When you consider the profit motive that is incentivizing imprisoning Americans, and also consider the huge outcry that goes up when anyone mentions releasing even nonviolent prisoners, and also consider that the US imprisons more people per capita than any country anywhere–this has some very disturbing things to tell us about the world we are living in. Many of us in the US grew up with a fairy-tale story of American history and only occasional dark clues from grownups about the “real” world–the one in which slaves were beaten and tortured and torn from their families, the one in which our government dropped A-bombs in the Japanese, who are now being retraumatized; and the one in which our corporo-government props up the economy with weapons-making. Consider the hugeness of the government contracts to make fighter jets, for example. It is an endless money hole. And the best some of us can hope for is jobs making the weapons. Anyone who speaks out against this religion of weapons and war is being shown what happens when they do. That is part of what this is.

So Manning being tortured and being told it’s for his own good is utterly debauched and wrong. It’s another sign of how sick the machine is. Anyone with eyes to see can tell this is not any kind of protection for Manning.

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By: adele pace

adele pace — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 21:24:45 +0000

You are right Sharon. The US preaches about the sanctity of human rights yet defends the torture of their own citizens on US soil, and have a history of propping up the most brutal dictatorships from central America to the Middle East, anywhere where there are vested interests. Hopefully these Lawyers, international human rights groups and protest groups will continue to apply pressure to the US and at least focus the public’s attention on the US violation of human rights. The US are nothing more than posturers and I think the present and former officials need to be brought to justice for the human rights violations that occurred with their knowledge. It will never happen though.

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By: Spy Hater

Spy Hater — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 16:17:43 +0000

WOW. We have both Constitution lawyers and international lawyers on human rights on this blog. I am impressed. LOL You people are really REALLY funny. The kid did what he did. Be glad they parked his young self with the marines and not a army base. How do you think the army would treat one of their own for doing this. At least the marines dont have a ax to grind.

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By: Sharron Pitcher

Sharron Pitcher — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 20:41:57 +0000

The United Nations would not dare do anything against the sociopaths that rule America. The United Nations is a farce and is run by America. Americans have proved to the world what dangerous creeps they are. Americans love war, steal oil, overthrow countries and rely on other creeps such as Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard, Mark Arbib and Bill Shorten. These people have sold Australia out to the American government and would sign us up for any war the Americans want to pursue. Americans are not peaceful, they kill civilians, provoke and instigate war, they are a nation of war mongerers.

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By: adele pace

adele pace — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 16:14:29 +0000

Not only is it a breach of 8th Amendment rights under the US Constitution but also a breach of the Bill of Rights and the UN Declaration of Human Rights. His treatment constitutes torture and should be actioned by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture which I understand is awaiting a response from the state Secretary on Manning’s case.

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