Sunday, March 20, 2011

Rally for Bradley! Quantico VA. Sunday, March 20-Free Private Bradley Manning Now!

Click on the headline to link to the Bradley Manning Support Network website for more on the Private Bradley Manning story

Rally for Bradley! Quantico VA. Sunday, March 20
2011-03-13 58 comments


On March 20, 2011, there will be a rally at the Quantico Marine Base in Virginia to support accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower Army Pfc. Bradley Manning. Supporters will gather for a 2pm rally at the town of Triangle (intersection of Anderson Road and Route 1/Jefferson Davis Hwy), then march to the gates of Quantico. Bradley has been held at the Quantico brig in solitary-like conditions for eight months without any meaningful exercise. We stand for truth, government transparency, and an end to our occupation wars… we stand with Bradley! Event endorsed by the Bradley Manning Support Network, Veterans for Peace, Courage to Resist, CodePink, and many other groups.

We will meet at 2pm immediately adjacent to Rt. 1 and Anderson Road. Parking can be found at the Marines Corps Museum. They have HUGE parking lot, there. About 1/4 mile walk. There might also be some parking behind church adjacent to Inn Rd and Rt. 1, behind the rally location.

The day before, on Saturday, March 19th, in Washington DC, supporters of Bradley’s will be joining the noon rally at Lafayette Park and march on the White House to “Resist the War Machine!”

Reserve your seat (only $10 round trip) on our chartered bus from Washington DC at couragetoresist.org/bus. Buses will leave from in front of Union Station, Washington DC, at 12:30pm.


Download, view, print and share the event leaflet (PDF)

WHO: Daniel Ellsberg, Pentagon Paper’s Whistleblower; Ret. Col. Ann Wright; Representatives from Veterans for Peace, Bradley Manning Support Network.

WHAT: Rally in support of Pfc. Bradley Manning

WHERE: US Marine Corps Base Quantico Entrance and neighboring Triangle. Rally to be followed by a march to the intersection of Rt. 1 and Fuller Road where the main entrance to Quantico is located.

WHEN: Sunday, March 20, 2011 at 2:00 PM ET

CONTACTS: Pete Perry, Veterans for Peace. (P) 202-631-0974 (W)pete4peace [at] gmail [dot] com; Trevor FitzGibbon, FitzGibbon Media. (P) 202.406.0646 (W) Trevor [at] FitzGibbonMedia [dot] com

DRIVING DIRECTIONS TO THE QUANTICO RALLY

General Directions: Park in the Marines Corps Museum Parking Lot first. If that lot fills up, try and park in the church parking lot behind where we are going to rally.

After parking in the museum’s parking lot, walk back to Route 1 and turn left. Cross over Joplin Road. In another 30 yards you will be at the rally point on the left hand side of Route 1.

DIRECTIONS FROM I-95 SOUTH:

1.Take Exit 150A to Route 1 (Jefferson Davis Highway)
2.Turn right (South) onto Route 1
3.Travel approximately one-quarter (1/4) mile to the Museum entrance on the right.
DIRECTIONS FROM I-95 NORTH:

1.Take Exit 150 (Jefferson Davis Hwy)
2.Turn right (South) onto Route 1
3.Travel approximately one-quarter (1/4) mile to the Museum entrance on the right.
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Why I Will Be Standing In Solidarity With Private Bradley Manning At Quantico, Virginia On Sunday March 20th At 2:00 PM- A Personal Note From An Ex-Soldier Political Prisoner

Markin comment:

Of course I will be standing at the front gate to the Quantico Marine Base on March 20th because I stand in solidarity with the actions of Private Bradley Manning in bringing to light, just a little light, some of the nefarious doings of this government, Bush-like or Obamian. If he did such acts. I sleep just a shade bit easier these days knowing that Private Manning (or someone) exposed what we all knew, or should have known- the Iraq war and the Afghan war justification rested on a house of card. American imperialism’s house of cards, but cards nevertheless.

Of course I will be standing at the front gate to the Quantico Marine Base on March 20th because I am outraged by the treatment of Private Manning meted to a presumably innocent man by a government who alleges itself to be some “beacon” of the civilized world. The military has gotten more devious although not smarted since I was soldier in their crosshairs over forty years ago. Allegedly Private Manning might become so distraught over his alleged actions that he requires extraordinary protections. He is assumed, in the Catch-22 logic of the military, to be something of a suicide risk on the basis of bringing some fresh air to the nefarious doings of the international imperialist order. Be serious. I, however, noticed no ‘spike” in suicide rates among the world’s diplomatic community once they were exposed, a place where such activities might have been expected once it was observed in public that most of these persons could barely tie their own shoes.

Now the two reasons above are more than sufficient reasons for my standing at the front gate to the Quantico Marine Base on March 20th although they, in themselves, are only the appropriate reasons that any progressive thinking person would need to show up and shout to the high heavens for Private Manning’s freedom. I have an addition reason though, a very pressing personal reason. As mentioned above I too was in the military’s crosshairs as a soldier during the height of the Vietnam War. I will not go into the details of that episode, this after all is about soldier Manning, other than that I spent my own time in an Army stockade for, let’s put it this way, working on the principle of “what if they gave a war and nobody came.” Forty years later I am still working off that principle, and gladly. But here is the real point. During that time I had outside support, outside civilian support, that rallied on several occasions outside the military base where I was confined. Believe me that knowledge helped me through the tough days inside. So on March 20th I am just, as I have been able to on too few other occasions over years, paying my dues for that long ago support. You, brother, are true winter soldier.

Private Manning I hope that you will hear us, or hear about our rally in your defense. Better yet, everybody who read this join us and make sure that he can hear us loud and clear. And let us shout to those high heavens mentioned above-Free Private Bradley Manning Now!

Read more: http://www.bradleymanning.org/16125/rally-for-bradley-quanitco-virginia-sun-march-20/#ixzz1Gt5eDliE

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