Lieutenant Daniel Choi speaks out for Bradley Manning; Hillary Clinton's shocking remarks about Bradley 29JUN11

UPDATE from THE BRADLEY MANNING SUPPORT NETWORK & COURAGE TO RESIST.....and Sec of State Clinton, you know better than to speak like that, you really should be ashamed.

In this issue: Gay Rights Activists Speak out for Bradley Manning -- Hillary Clinton's shocking remarks -- David house Refuses to Testify

Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.

Lieutenant Daniel Choi says "I am Bradley Manning" Our latest featured member of the "I am Bradley" photo petition, Army Lt Daniel Choi, is speaking out for Bradley Manning. You can join him here. A soldier with a conscience, Lt. Choi is one of the most visible opponents of the Military's Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy, after being kicked out of the Army for coming out on the Rachael Maddow show. He recently declared at Netroots Nation: "I am Proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with Bradley Manning...From the things that I’ve heard [Bradley] signed up because he believed in this country and when he saw things that were unbelievable and were being perpetrated by this country, he wasn’t attacking this country. He was trying to teach this country what this mandate of service really was." You can watch the video of his speech here. Many have been wondering why Bradley's issue hasn't been taken up en mass by the LGBT community, but Dan Choi's statement marks increasing support for Bradley Manning from the Gay Rights Activists, both in The US and Europe. Bradley Manning contingents graced almost every major Pride parade this weekend, from New York to San Francisco and Chicago. Read More here. Hillary's shocking remarks about Bradley Manning For those who don't believe that Bradley's personal life and sexuality may be used against him, this gem of information was presented in a recent Vanity Fair article about Hillary Clinton, while on tour in the Middle East: “Hillary told staff that she could not fathom how an army private, Bradley Manning, with psychological problems and a drag-queen boyfriend could single-handedly cause the United States unprecedented embarrassment just by labeling massive downloads as Lady Gaga songs.” Were those comments verbatim, or just the ill-chosen words of the author? We may never know, but one thing is for sure, they were published in a major pop-culture outlet, and there is no taking them back. Here is a good take-down of the allegation that Manning had “psychological problems.” As for Hillary's comments about Bradley's sexuality, well, we’ll let you be the judge of their appropriateness. David House refuses to testify to WikiLeaks Grand Jury In case you missed it, David House, one of the founding members of the Bradley Manning Support Network, recently refused to testify before the Wikileaks grand jury in Virginia. House was among several Boston area residents who were ordered to testify before the grand jury, which is investigating WikiLeaks, and faced persistent questions about Bradley Manning and the Support Network. He invoked his Fifth Amendment right, later telling the New York Times that the Justice Department is “creating a climate of fear around WikiLeaks and the Bradley Manning support network.” on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show, House said: "WikiLeaks has been cast as a breach of national security because the US Government has been embarrassed by the disclosures. I don't want to wake up every morning and just read how glorious the US Government is." If the prosecution grants him immunity, he will face jail time if he continues to remain silent. Read his full statement and watch video here. Please help us keep up the work by Donating to Bradley Manning's defense fund. Read our recent letter to supporters here.

follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend  unsubscribe from this list| view email in browser

Breaking news: Manning Supporters Detained by Quantico 23JAN11

WHEN a government is afraid of it's own people and is afraid of the truth and afraid of what will happen when truth and the people find each other, then that government will turn on it's own people with cruelty, brutality and illegality. This has been the reaction of the Obama administration in response to Bradley Manning exposing war crimes in Iraq, most notably Collateral Murder, and in their response to Wikileaks exposing the lies, manipulation, corruption and propaganda campaigns with their release of "diplomatic" cables. This from the Bradley Manning Support Network....

Beaking news: David House, supporter and personal friend of Bradley Manning, traveled to Quantico with journalist Jane Hamsher to visit Manning earlier today. Though House is an approved visitor, he was prevented from seeing Manning. They were detained for over 40 minutes.  House and Hamsher communicated their detainment via Twitter status updates.In addition to visiting Manning, House was planning to deliver a petition with 42,000 signatures calling for the humane treatment of Bradley Manning. Military officials demanded Hamsher’s Social Security number and prevented her from leaving the base. Their car was then searched and impounded.  House was unable to visit Manning.
Manning’s prolonged solitary confinement and confined to his cell for 23 hours per day for 7 months, conditions which many have likened to torture and have resulted in enormous public outcry.  Manning’s lawyer has formally protested the conditions. For two days earlier this week, Manning was placed on “suicide watch” against the advice of two psychiatrists, only days after 150+ protesters gathered at Quantico. During that time, he was stripped of all clothing except his boxer shorts, his prescription glasses were confiscated and he was held in his cell for 24 hours per day.  The UN special rapporteur on torture is investigating allegations of mistreatment and Amnesty International has a written a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates protesting Manning’s pre-trial confinement conditions.

Jeff Paterson, steering committee member for the Bradley Manning Support Network, responded:
“Having experienced solitary confinement in a military prison personally, I can tell you that denying Manning his one opportunity for a personal visitor is nothing short of cruel. I am concerned that Quantico’s actions today are retaliatory in nature as a result of the criticisms and recent public protests against Manning’s confinement conditions. Quantico is sending a message to supporters: if you speak out against these conditions, we will make things harder on Manning. “
Kevin Zeese, who also serves on the steering committee of the Support Network, added:  “These tactics by the military will only result in a wider outcry and more action on the part of Bradley Manning’s supporters.”
Note: this is a developing story. Check back for updates.
UPDATE: 1:08 PM Pacific: Raw Story is providing coverage: Click here to read more.
UPDATE:  1:29 PM Pacific: House confirms: they were held for about 2 hours total and released at 2:50 PM – 10 minutes before the end of visiting hours.  House was unable to deliver a petition.  Formal statements to post soon.
UPDATE: 1:32 PM Pacific: Firedoglake posts statement of events. Timeline as provided by House and Hamsher, via Firedoglake.

From 1:00 – 1:30 MP’s took their ID’s and made them sign a form that they could not deviate to the brig or else they would be trespassing. At this time, one of the MP’s asked for Hamsher’s insurance card. Hamsher attempted to produce a digital copy of the card, at which point MP Gunnery Sgt. Foster informed Hamsher that her car would be towed. House and Hamsher offered to drive away off the base but were denied, despite being detained only ten feet inside the base’s perimeter. The MP’s took the Social Security numbers, phone numbers and addresses of House and Hamsher.

Around 1:40 the tow truck arrived and MP’s instructed House and Hamsher to leave their vehicle, informing them that their vehicle would be searched. At 2:00 pm House observed military officers arriving and entering the MP outpost which oversaw his detainment. House expressed concern that he would miss Manning’s visiting hours but was informed that he could neither exit nor move forward to the base. No explanation for House and Hamsher’s detainment was provided until at 2:50 when they were informed they could leave the base. They were detained for two hours up until Manning’s visitation time period was set to expire at 3:00.

Click hereto read more.

Read more: http://www.bradleymanning.org/16034/breaking-news-manning-supporters-detained-by-quantico/#ixzz1BujbR2bp

Bradley Manning Support Network Condemns Unjust Detainment of Activist 10NOV10

HOW sad the government chooses to violate the civil rights of citizens while supposedly celebrating those same civil rights and the protection of them by the sacrifices by those in the U.S. military. 

                                                      IMPRISONED FOR 169 DAYS

0diggsdigg

116Share

Digg Digg

Washington, DC, November 10, 2010 – Last week, David House, a developer working with the Bradley Manning Support Network, was detained and had his computer seized by the FBI when returning from a vacation in Mexico. He committed no crime, nor was he ever alleged to have committed a crime.  He was questioned extensively about his support for alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning, who has been imprisoned at Quantico for over 160 days.
This invasive search is of great concern to all Americans who value the Constitutionally-protected rights to free speech and free assembly.  The campaign to free Bradley Manning – which has garnered the support of tens of thousands of individuals from across the United States and the world – is rooted in a belief that government transparency is key to a healthy democracy.  Our network stands firm in support of alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning and has raised over $80,000 for his defense.  If he is a source for documents published by WikiLeaks illuminating the campaign of disinformation about US foreign wars, then Manning deserves the gratitude of the entire nation.
House sent an email to the Network describing his detainment, saying that, “My computer, video camera, and flash drive were confiscated, leaving me in a tough spot in terms of research obligations; the reason for the seizure, said the officials, was ‘border search.’”
The FBI denied House’s requests to have a copy of his research data.  This seems to be part of a disturbing trend of intimidation and property seizure being carried out against activists critical of US policies, including the detainment and laptop seizure of activist Jacob Applebaum in July and the September 24th FBI raids against antiwar and social justice activists.
House has not been charged with a crime.
“I try to be as even-handed as possible, but based on the subject of the search I can’t help but feel that this constitutes a form of intimidation,” wrote House in an email to the Network, “I feel as though the DHS has turned to harassing the friends and supporters of Bradley Manning in a potential attempt to disrupt our abilities to run a legal defense network.”
The Bradley Manning Support Network denounces this recent attempt by the FBI to intimidate its supporters.  Blowing the whistle on war crimes is not a crime, and neither is standing up for Bradley Manning.