HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHELSEA MANNING! Free her now!   Tuesday 17 December 2013  3-4.30 pm Vigil at St Martin in the Fields  Trafalgar Square London WC2N 4JJ, UK - Charing Cross tube (St Martins request that vigils on the steps are silent) Other actions include Philadelphia and San FranciscoIf you organise an event, let us know and we will publicise it.   Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning is the US soldier sentenced to 35 years in jail for leaking thousands of documents to Wikileaks exposing US and other governments’ war crimes and corruption.  She is 26 years old on this day. Ever since she was detained and tortured in 2010, international protests, including from LGBTQ  people, have demanded her release. Demonstrate your support for her courageous whistleblowing, and for all who blow the whistle on corruption, dictatorship and dirty government secrets.   Thanks to Chelsea we know about The “collateral murder” video of a US helicopter crew killing Iraqi civilians ● the cover-up of rape in Iraq & Afghanistan ● the extent of drone strikes ● US dirty tricks in Haiti, Venezuela & elsewhere ● the corruption of Tunisian dictator Ben Ali that spurred the 2011 revolution ● Israel consulting Egypt & the Palestinian Authority before invading Gaza Protest in Berlin   IF YOU CAN'T JOIN THE VIGIL Sign petitions demanding her immediate release and President Obama's pardon and for the jail to respect her identity and allow her hormone therapy. Details: www.refusingtokill.net "I’m thankful for people who . . . dare to ask probing, even dangerous, questions. Such people are often nameless and humble, yet no less courageous. I’m also grateful for having social and human justice pioneers who lead through action, and by example, as opposed to directing or commanding other people to take action."  Chelsea Manning Time magazine 25 Nov 2013   DEFEND WHISTLEBLOWERS & TELL GOVERNMENTS TO STOP SPYING ON US   The sentence imposed on Chelsea Manning is harsher than that on most soldiers convicted of murder and definitely more than those found guilty of rape and other torture. The US government wants to make an example of Chelsea Manning to discourage whistleblowing on any of their crimes, including surveillance of all of us. Defending whistleblowers is vital to defending ourselves against these state crimes.  And defending Chelsea is vital to encouraging more whistleblowers to come forward.   Julian Assange Founder of WikiLeaks, confined by the UK to the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he was granted asylum in June 2012.  Join the daily vigil. USA – Computer expert exiled in Russia for revealing massive spying by government agencies NSA & GCHQ widely covered by The Guardian. Edward Snowden Jeremy Hammond USA –Stitched up by the FBI.  Jailed for 10 years in November 2013 for hacking the intelligence contracting firm Stratfor in 2011. USA – Journalist who reported on firms like Stratfor and linked to hacked information.     Now gagged by Federal Court, he faces over 100 years in prison . Barrett Brown Information on supporting whistleblowers: www.refusingtokill.net More on Chelsea Manning at PVT Manning Support Network   Payday men’s network  payday@paydaynet.org US: PO Box 11795 Philadelphia, PA 19101 / 215 848 1120 UK: PO Box 287 London NW6 2QU / 020 7267 8698 Queer Strike  queerstrike@queerstrike.net    US: PO Box 14512, SF, CA 94114, / 415-626 4114UK: PO Box 287 London NW6 2QU / 020 7482 2496