Update 4/4/12: NYT post calls crackdown on Manning supporters “outrageous,” erosion of privacy, and a puppet show for Bradley
David House of the Bradley Manning Support Network
Andrew Rosenthal calls the U.S. crackdown on Bradley Manning supporters “an outrageous abuse of power.” At his New York Times blog, Rosenthal chronicles the efforts of the Support Network’s David House to sue the U.S. government for seizing his electronic equipment solely for his political affiliations. He provides more detail about the case before denouncing the government for trying to chill First Amendment-protected speech:
From the use of customs as a pawn in what is obviously a political game, to the seizure of Mr. House’s computer devices, this is an outrageous abuse of power. But the government didn’t think Mr. House deserved even a day in court. It demanded that the court dismiss Mr. House’s claims that the search and seizure violated his Fourth and First Amendment rights.
The court said Mr. House had a legitimate claim concerning the 49-day delay in returning his property. And it granted him the chance to argue that the entire search and confiscation was based solely on his association with the Bradley Manning Support group, and therefore violated his First Amendment rights.
Judge Casper did the right thing by assessing this case on its merits, and not on the propaganda of fear that has dominated the national security debate since Sept. 11, 2001.
House’s case proceeding to trial is a minor but important victory for free speech, whistle-blowing, and political dissent. The government cannot be allowed to silence those who merely seek to expose the truth. (Read more…)
Bradley Manning supporters Birgitta Jónsdóttir and Mike Gogulski discuss the erosion of privacy and increasing surveillance. Jónsdóttir, of the Icelandic Parliament, and Gogulski talk about advocating for WikiLeaks and Bradley Manning, and the U.S. government’s crackdown on their supporters. The interview starts at about 1:40:
Puppet show at Columbia University highlights Bradley Manning’s case. In Columbia’s Prentis Hall, a puppet show put Bradley Manning’s courage and plight in the context of the ongoing War on Terror, and how that war incites terror itself. The show’s conclusion quotes from chat logs attributed to Bradley:
The show ends with the haunting footage of Iraqi journalists being attacked by an Apache Helicopter, from one of the tapes that Manning leaked. As the video transitions from blurry to focused Manning’s words echo louder and louder: “Hypothetical question: if you had free reign over classified networks for long periods of time… say, 8-9 months… and you saw incredible things, awful things… things that belonged in the public domain, and not on some server stored in a dark room in Washington… what would you do?”
Books, songs, a high-profile play in Wales, and even a puppet show are raising awareness of Bradley’s unjust treatment. Supporters around the world are making it clear that Bradley, if he did what the government says he did, is a heroic agent of change. (Read more…)
Thank you for standing up for the “First Amendment” as it was origionally intended and for the right of everyone to see the horrors of the generals who are forcing the American soldiers to act as war criminals. Pleases continue to make this and anything possible that will eventually get out to the public so they can hold their leaders accountable to our constitution as it was intended.