This space is dedicated to the proposition that we need to know the history of the struggles on the left and of earlier progressive movements here and world-wide. If we can learn from the mistakes made in the past (as well as what went right) we can move forward in the future to create a more just and equitable society. We will be reviewing books, CDs, and movies we believe everyone needs to read, hear and look at as well as making commentary from time to time. Greg Green, site manager
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Silenced
when it was first released in 1981, today Occupied Palestine seems
eerily prescient and offers a unique record of a pre-Intifada era
The
last time Occupied Palestine screened in the
US in 1981, the theater received bomb threats and had to evacuate and terminate
the show after 10 minutes. After that, film distributors wouldn't even look at
the film, and the media would not touch it.
BPFF
revives this singular documentary, rediscovered earlier this year by the London
Palestine Film Festival, for its first public US screening since then. You can
see it for free at Harvard Law School next week and engage in conversation with
Director David Koff, who will attend and engage with the audience. A few of the
other notable films featured in next week's free screenings on Monday and
Tuesday are listed below.
For
the full program, more free films, and tickets, click here.
For the full program, more free
films, and tickets, click here.
This year alone, we are screening 2 world premieres, 9 US
premieres, and 15 New England premieres.
Films you won't find in other US theatres.
Your Support Makes It All
Possible!
Our all-volunteer
team works year-round to ensure that BPFF can continue to enrich the Boston
cultural scene. Very little of our revenue comes from ticket sales: Your
contributions are essential to our ability to continue this vital
work.
BPFF is a program
of MECCS, a 501(c)(3) organization. Your donation is tax-deductible to the
extent allowed under the law.
Save the Date: November 22-24, 2013 - Converge on Fort Benning, GA
- Justice Not Impunity
The weekend includes a rally with speakers and musicians from across the Americas, a solemn
funeral procession to commemorate the martyrs, art, music and street theater to
celebrate the resistance, a protest at a for-profit immigrant prison, nonviolent direct
action, a conference with workshops, film screenings, trainings etc., concerts,
community, grassroots movement building, and more.
David Petraeus To Join Kennedy School as Belfer Center
Senior Fellow
By Steven R. Watros, CRIMSON STAFF WRITER UPDATED:
October 18, 2013, at 3:47 p.m.
David H. Petraeus, former CIA director and retired
four-star Army general, will join Harvard Kennedy School as a non-resident
senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs,
according to an HKS press release.
At Harvard, Petraeus, who resigned from the CIA in
November 2012, will partner with Kennedy School professor Graham T. Allison ’62
to head a new Belfer Center project called “The Coming North America Decades.”
The project will study scientific, economic, and technological factors that have
contributed to North American competitiveness and analyze the potential effects
of policy options on American interests.
Petraeus stepped down from his post at the CIA following a
well-publicized scandal surrounding an extramarital affair with Paula D.
Broadwell, a Kennedy School alumna and Petraeus biographer. The two met at an
event at the Institute of Politics in 2006.
The press release does not specify when Petraeus’s
fellowship will begin.
In July, Gawker reported that Petraeus had secured a
fellowship at the Kennedy School, citing documents obtained via a Freedom of
Information Law request. Friday’s press release marks the first time the Kennedy
School has acknowledged the appointment.
___________________________________________
Petraeus is now teaching a course on US policy at CUNY's
Macaulay Honors College near Lincoln Center in Manhattan, despite ongoing
student and faculty protests.
Here is important background info and and info on protests
in NY.
Recent Guardian (UK) newspaper video on the links between
former General and CIA Chief David Petraeus and death squads. Key is Petraeus'
direct link to U.S. Colonel James Steele, who worked with death squads in El
Salvador, Nicaragua and Iraq.
The short video version is about 5 minutes, the longer one
some 50 minutes. This is a real eye-opener.
A 15-month investigation by the Guardian and BBC Arabic
reveals how US colonel James Steele, a veteran of American proxy wars in El
Salvador and Nicaragua, played a key role in training and overseeing US-funded
special police commandos who ran a network of torture centres in Iraq. Another
special forces veteran, retired Colonel James Coffman, worked with Steele and
reported directly to General David Petraeus, who had been sent into Iraq to
organise the Iraqi security services
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2013 07:56:22
-0400
Subject: CUNY/Petraeus: Ad Hoc
Committee Against Militarization of CUNY statement
From:
adhoccunycommittee@gmail.com
*Press release* – Ad Hoc
Committee Against the Militarization of CUNY
Email:
adhoccunycommittee@gmail.com
Protests Cause CUNY to Move War
Criminal’s “Class” to High-Security Building
David “Death Squad” Petraeus,
Out of CUNY Now!
OCTOBER 4 – After four
consecutive weeks of protests against its hiring of ex-CIA chief David Petraeus,
the administration of the City University of New York has responded by moving
his Macaulay Honors College seminar to a new location: the BMW Building at 555
West 57th Street. According to administration memos published by the “Gawker”
website, Petraeus’ seminar – “Are We On the Threshold of the North American
Decade?” – will be held on the highly securitized 16th floor of the building,
which is part of CUNY’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The previous
schedule of 3:00-6:00 p.m. on Mondays is slated to continue. According to press
reports, a key feature of this new location is its secured parking garage, which
would allow Petraeus to come and go without having to encounter protesters. As
the “Gawker” site notes: “It’s not clear whether other CUNY classes have ever
been placed under such security.”
Together with CUNY students and
faculty, labor and anti-racist activists have joined with many other opponents
of imperialist war abroad and repression at home to protest CUNY’s provocative
political decision to hire this certified war criminal, who as Iraq/Afghanistan
war commander oversaw the creation of death squads and a network of torture
centers. As documented by the British Guardian, Petraeus’ specialist in this
grisly work was Colonel James Steele, who had worked closely with the notorious
military and paramilitary death units that ravaged Central America.
The change in the seminar’s
location is but a small victory emerging from persistent struggle on both
coasts. The seminar move comes after a protest by Iraq and Afghanistan veterans
in the “March Forward!” group at the University of Southern California,
resulting in the cancellation of a private luncheon Petraeus was scheduled to
hold there. CUNY activists have proclaimed their solidarity with those at USC,
who have expressed indignation that David “Death Squad” Petraeus was appointed
to be a “veterans’ adviser” there. Petraeus has also declared his intention to
“mentor” members of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), whose return to
CUNY is another focus of the ongoing protests.
The seminar move also comes
after the violent NYPD arrest of six protesters at the September 17 Macaulay
fundraiser that featured Petraeus as a keynote speaker. At the City University
and beyond, outrage has been expressed at the use of brutal police repression on
behalf of war criminal Petraeus. A “Statement of Support to CUNY Students”
attacked at the September 17 protest has been signed by hundreds of academics,
while the Professional Staff Congress, the union representing 25,000 CUNY
faculty and staff, passed a “PSC Resolution in Protest of Violent Police
Response to Peaceful Protest by CUNY Students” by unanimous vote of the union’s
Delegate Assembly. On September 30, when two of the CUNY Six were invited to
address a PSC “Contract Now!” rally in front of the CUNY Board of Trustees'
meeting at Baruch College, they got an enthusiastic response from union members
as they explained the goals of the struggle. The repression unleashed against
protesters shows “a fundamental fact,” emphasized one organizer of the
anti-militarization campaign: “Petraeus’ backers cannot answer the documented
truth about his actions as CIA chief and war commander – so they send enforcers
in blue to try to silence our voice. But the truth of our message will not and
cannot be silenced by the NYPD’s billy clubs, choke holds and fists.”
An Ad Hoc Committee spokeswoman
stated: “We want to express our gratitude to supporters, near and far, for
taking a firm stand against the militarization of our schools. In light of these
developments, we are even more determined to oust Petraeus and ROTC through
protest and exposure.” In the following weeks it will be crucial to continue
spreading the word about developments in this struggle to defend the university
from a targeted campaign of imperialist militarism and police-state repression.
We invite groups and individuals in solidarity with this struggle to keep
mobilizing for protests outside of Petraeus’ sinister “class."
All those who defend students’
basic right to protest and oppose police brutality are encouraged to attend a
public meeting on Tuesday, October 15, calling to “Defend the CUNY Six – Drop
the Charges Now!” Lending vocal support is crucial, as two of the CUNY 6 will
have their first court appearance on October 17th. The public meeting will be
held at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 15, in the New Building of John Jay
College, 524 West 59th Street, Room 9.64 (9th floor). Press are
invited.
A key protest will occur on
October 16th at a John Jay gala, where Petraeus will be “honored” as a featured
speaker on – “Educating for Justice” (!). (More details to come.) We call on all
opponents of militarization to join in building the mobilization to oust
Petraeus and ROTC through massive protest and exposure.
CUNY must not be a war
college!
War Criminal Petraeus, ROTC,
Military Contracts and Military Recruiters: Out of CUNY!
Defend the CUNY 6!
Drop all charges
now!
--
Marty Goodman
9/23/13
CUNY students, faculty and
supporters protested today at Macaulay Honors College (35 West 67th ST.), near
Lincoln Center in Manhattan (photos bvelow). That is where retired war criminal
and CIA chief General David Petraeus is teaching a CUNY course.
Petraeus oversaw the slaughter
in Iraq and Afghanistan. Petraeus was original offered $200,000 to teach just
one course by the increasingly militarized CUNY administration. There will be
weekly protests to boot Petraeus out of CUNY.
Last week, 6 students were
beaten and arrested. They were held for 20 hours and released on charges of
riot, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental
administration.
The protestors marched from
Macaulay Honors College at 67th street to Columbus Circle at 59th street for a
rally.
Lots of UNAC flyers for Joya's
Oct 4 appearance in NYC were distributed. Good reaction.
There is a meeting Thursday to
plan the next stages in the struggle.
Kick Petraeus Out!!
President Obama, Pardon Pvt. Manning
Because the public deserves the truth and whistle-blowers deserve protection.
We are military veterans, journalists, educators, homemakers, lawyers, students, and citizens.
We ask you to consider the facts and free US Army Pvt. Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning.
As an Intelligence Analyst stationed in Iraq, Pvt. Manning had access to some of America’s dirtiest secrets—crimes such as torture, illegal surveillance, and corruption—often committed in our name.
Manning acted on conscience alone, with selfless courage and conviction, and gave these secrets to us, the public.
“I believed that if the general public had access to the information contained within the[Iraq and Afghan War Logs] this could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy,”
Manning explained to the military court. “I wanted the American public to know that not everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan were targets that needed to be neutralized, but rather people who were struggling to live in the pressure cooker environment of what we call asymmetric warfare.”
Journalists used these documents to uncover many startling truths. We learned:
•Donald Rumsfeld and General Petraeus helped support torture in Iraq.
•Deliberate civilian killings by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan went unpunished.
•Thousands of civilian casualties were never acknowledged publicly.
•Most Guantanamo detainees were innocent.
For service on behalf of an informed democracy, Manning was sentenced by military judge Colonel Denise Lind to a devastating 35 years in prison.
Government secrecy has grown exponentially during the past decade, but more secrecy does not make us safer when it fosters unaccountability.
Pvt. Manning was convicted of Espionage Act charges for providing WikiLeaks with this information, butthe prosecutors noted that they would have done the same had the information been given to The New York Times. Prosecutors did not show that enemies used this information against the US, or that the releases resulted in any casualties.
Pvt. Manning has already been punished, even in violation of military law.
She has been:
•Held in confinement since May 29, 2010.
•Subjected to illegal punishment amounting to torture for nearly nine months at Quantico Marine Base, Virginia, in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), Article 13—facts confirmed by both the United Nation’s lead investigator on torture and military judge Col. Lind.
•Denied a speedy trial in violation of UCMJ, Article 10, having been imprisoned for over three years before trial.
•Denied anything resembling a fair trial when prosecutors were allowed to change the charge sheet to match evidence presented, and enter new evidence, after closing arguments.
Pvt. Manning believed you, Mr. President, when you came into office promising the most transparent administration in history, and that you would protect whistle-blowers. We urge you to start upholding those promises, beginning with this American prisoner of conscience.
We urge you to grant Pvt. Manning’s petition for a Presidential Pardon.
FIRST& LAST NAME _____________________________________________________________
STREET ADDRESS _____________________________________________________________
CITY, STATE & ZIP _____________________________________________________________
Please return to: For more information: www.privatemanning.org
Private Manning Support Network, c/o Courage to Resist, 484 Lake Park Ave #41, Oakland CA 94610
Note that this image is PVT Manning’s preferred photo.
President Obama Pardon Chelsea Manning Now!
Note that this image is PVT Manning’s preferred photo.
The Struggle Continues …
Six Ways To Support Heroic Wikileaks Whistle-Blower Private Manning
*Call (202) 685-2900- Major General Jeffery S. Buchanan is the Convening Authority for Private Manning’s court- martial, which means that he has the authority to decrease the sentence imposed no matter what the judge handed down. Ask General Buchanan to use his authority to reduce the draconian 35 year sentence handed down by Judge Lind.
Please help us reach all these important contacts: Adrienne Combs, Deputy Officer Public Affairs (202) 685-2900adrienne.m.combs.civ@mail.mil
Col. Michelle Martin-Hing, Public Affairs Officer (202) 685-4899michelle.l.martinhing.mil@mail.mil The Public Affairs Office fax #: 202-685-0706
The Public Affairs Office is required to report up the chain of command the number of calls they receive on a particular issue, so please help us flood the office with support for our heroic whistleblower today!
*Sign the public petition to President Obama – Sign online or print and share PDF petitionPlease sign the petition on the reverse side of this letter, “President Obama, Pardon Pvt. Manning,” and make copies to share with friends and family!
You can also call (Comments”202-456-1111), write The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, e-mail-(http://www.whitehouse.gov’contact/submitquestions-and comments) to demand that President Obama use his constitutional power under Article II, Section II to pardon Private Manning now.
*Start a stand -out, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, in your town square to publicize the pardon and clemency campaigns. Contact the Private Manning SupportNetwork for help with materials and organizing tips http://www.bradleymanning.org/
*Contribute to the Private Manning Defense Fund- now that the trial has finished funds are urgently needed for pardon campaign and for future military and civilian court appeals. The hard fact of the American legal system, military of civilian, is the more funds available the better the defense, especially in political prisoner cases like Private Manning’s. The government had unlimited financial and personnel resources to prosecute Private Manning at trial. And used them as it will on any future legal proceedings. So help out with whatever you can spare. For link go to http://www.bradleymanning.org/
*Write letters of solidarity to Private Manning while she is serving her sentence. She wishes to be addressed as Chelsea and have feminine pronouns used when referring to her. Private Manning’s mailing address: Bradley E. Manning, 89289, 1300 N. Warehouse Road, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 66027-2304. You must use Bradley on the address envelope.
Private Manning cannot receive stamps or money in any form. Photos must be on copy paper. Along with “contraband,” “inflammatory material” is not allowed. Six page maximum.
Smedley Butler Brigade, Chapter 9, Veterans For Peace-President Obama Pardon Chelsea Manning Now!
Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning in her own words:
"God knows what happens now. Hopefully worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms...
I want people to see the truth... because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public."
The Smedley Butler Brigade of Veterans for Peace proudly stands in solidarity with, and defense of, Private Manning and her fight for freedom from her jailers, the American military.
Private Manning has paid the price for her acts with over three years of pre-trial confinement, including findings of torture during this period, and is now facing 35 years (essentially for her effective life) for simple acts of humanity. For letting the American people know what they perhaps did not want to know but must know- when soldiers, American soldiers, go to war some awful things can and do happen.
For more information about the Private Manning case and what you can do to help or to sign the online petition to President Obama for his release contact:
Note that this image is PVT Manning’s preferred photo.
President Obama Pardon Private Manning Now !
Note that this image is PVT Manning’s preferred photo.
This person is not a spy. Private Manning (now, at her request, to be called Chelsea and the heroic soldier Wikileaks whistle-blower formerly known as Bradley) is not a criminal. Private Manning is a brave whistleblower who has exposed war crimes, government misdeeds, and corruption. Private Manning embarrassed the government, but her disclosures did not cause a single documented death. Private Manning released the following documents to WikiLeaks, now faces years up to 35 years in prison (minus the three plus years of pre-trial confinement already served and any "good time" to be accrued), and must be pardoned by President Obama.
*The Collateral Murder Video, which showed U.S. troops firing and killing unarmed civilians, including a Reuters photographer, and firing on children in a van.
http://www.collateralmurder.com
*U.S. attempts to block investigations into CIA rendition of prisoners.
http://is.gd/poVGfc
*U.S. ignoring torture of Iraqi prisoners.
http://is.gd/2ftWlt
Documentation of many more civilian deaths than had been reported previously.
Documents exposing the corruption of the Tunisian government, which led to rebellion in Tunisia, and the Arab Spring.
A cable that proved that U.S. troops executed at least 10 civilians, including a woman in her 70s and a 5 month old baby, in Ishaqi in 2006, and then called in an air strike to cover it up. Soldiers involved did not serve a day in jail! This led to the Iraqi government refusing to allow U.S. troops to remain after 2011.
*Many more war crimes and revelations, including spying on diplomats at the U.N.
Contact the White House at 202-456-1414 and demand that Pres. Obama pardon Manning. Or go to http://www.whitehouse.gov and leave your comments.
To send letters of solidarity and support the new address for sending letters to Manning; these must still be addressed to "Bradley" to be delivered:
Bradley E. Manning
89289
1300 N. Warehouse Road
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas 66027-2304
Call General Buchanan And Request Clemency For Private Manning!
Call (202) 685-2900-The military is pulling out all the stops to chill efforts to increase transparency in our government. Now, we’re asking you to join us to ensure we’re doing all we can to secure Private Manning's freedom as well as protection for future whistleblowers.
Major General Jeffery S. Buchanan is the Convening Authority for Private Maning's court- martial proceedings , which means that he has the authority to decrease Private Manning's sentence, no matter what the judge handed down (35 years). On August 28th hundreds of activists joined supporters in DC to demonstrate at Maj. Gen. Buchanan’s base, Ft. McNair. We are asking you to join support our action demanding he do the right thing by calling, faxing, and e-mailing his Public Affairs Office.
Let’s Remind Maj. General Buchanan:
that Private Manning was held for nearly a year in abusive solitary confinement, which the UN torture chief called “cruel, inhuman, and degrading”
that President Obama has unlawfully influenced the trial with his declaration of Private Manning’s guilt.
that the media has been continually blocked from transcripts and documents related to the trial and that it has only been through the efforts of Private Manning’s supporters that any transcripts exist.
that under the UCMJ a soldier has the right to a speedy trial and that it was unconscionable to wait 3 years before starting the court martial.
that absolutely no one was harmed by the release of documents that exposed war crimes, unnecessary secrecy and disturbing foreign policy.
that Private Manning is a hero who did the right thing when he revealed truth about wars that had been based on lies.
Remind General Buchanan that Private Manning’s rights have been trampled – Enough is enough!
Please help us reach all these important contacts: Adrienne Combs, Deputy Officer Public Affairs (202) 685-2900adrienne.m.combs.civ@mail.mil
Col. Michelle Martin-Hing, Public Affairs Officer (202) 685-4899michelle.l.martinhing.mil@mail.mil The Public Affairs Office fax #: 202-685-0706
The Public Affairs Office is required to report up the chain of command the number of calls they receive on a particular issue, so please help us flood the office with support for whistleblower Bradley Manning today!
Note that this image is PVT Manning’s preferred photo.
Send The Following Message (Or Write Your Own) To The President In Support Of A Pardon For Private Manning
To: President Barack Obama White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Washington, D.C. 20500
The draconian 35 years sentence handed down by a military judge, Colonel Lind, on August 21, 2013 to Private Manning (Chelsea formerly known as Bradley) has outraged many citizens including me. Under Article II, Section II of the U.S. Constitution the President of the United States had the authority to grant pardons to those who fall under federal jurisdiction. Some of the reasons for my request include:
*that Private Manning was held for nearly a year in abusive solitary confinement at the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia, which the UN rapporteur in his findings has called “cruel, inhuman, and degrading”
*that the media had been continually blocked from transcripts and documents related to the trial and that it has only been through the efforts of Private Manning’s supporters that any transcripts exist.
*that under the UCMJ a soldier has the right to a speedy trial and that it was unconscionable and unconstitutional to wait 3 years before starting the court martial.
*that absolutely no one was harmed by the release of documents that exposed war crimes, unnecessary secrecy and disturbing foreign policy.
*that Private Manning is a hero who did the right thing when she revealed truth about wars that had been based on lies.
I urge you to use your authority under the Constitution to right the wrongs done to Private Manning – Enough is enough!
City / Town/State/Zip Code_________________________________________
Note that this image is PVT Manning’s preferred photo.
We Will Not Leave Our Sister Behind-President Obama Pardon Chelsea Manning Now!
Note that this image is PVT Manning’s preferred photo.
From The Pen Of Peter Paul Markin
The headlines of the summer are now still. The verdict, the legal verdict if not the verdict of history, in the case of the United States vs. Private First Class Bradley Manning has been proclaimed, guilty on 20 of 22 counts. The draconian 35 year sentence has been imposed by the cruel pro-government military judge, Colonel Lind. The media pundits and commentators too have had their say, mainly that stern justice had been served by the conviction, a conviction in keeping with their own desire to keep things secret from us and not let some lowly enlisted soldier expose their house of cards. Some, like the ostrich-like New York Times, balked a little at the excessive sentence and then moved on. Others had a momentary titter when Bradley turned into Chelsea to express her real gender and then they too moved on. All is now quiet, the case is yesterday’s news now long outside the 24/7 cycle interest. In their eyes Chelsea Manning has had her fifteen minutes of fame and now she is reduced to just another military prisoner confined to the maximum security barracks out in the prairies of Kansas at Fort Leavenworth to face an uncertain future.
Chelsea Manning now also faces the hard fate that occurs in almost all political prisoner cases, doing the hard time while waiting for the slow cumbersome appeals process to work its way through the military and civilian courts of appeal. Waits in the near term for a possible reduction in sentence by the convening officer of Private Manning’s court-martial who has the authority to do so, General Buchanan. And waits too, with fading hopes, for some short way home presidential pardon from a President who wrongfully interjected himself into the case with his comments early on. That pardon campaign took a serious turn for the worst when a recent Amnesty International/ Private Manning Support Network White House on-line petition failed, falling seriously short of gettingthe required 100,000 signatures that would have forced the Obama Administration to address the question posed by the petition.
She must also face the very real falloff that has already occurred in the positive public support and activity around her case now that the verdict and sentence are in and the media interest has shut down around the case. Also there will fewer periodic public rallies around the world from Afghanistan to the States on her behalf, reflecting a diffusion of focus now that supporters are not riveted to the public presence at trial. The long list of those celebrities and average citizens who have contributed their names, their time, their money and their energies have and will fall off on behalf of our heroic Wikileaks whistle-blower as well. Even strong and committed supporters who have led the Manning efforts here in the Boston, including members of an organization I support, Veterans for Peace, and who have publicized the case for the past three years have decided to curtail their weekly stand-out that had been running over the past two years. They have decided to pursue other less public strategies to gain Chelsea’s freedom. To fight that battle for her freedom on other fronts from fund-raising events to contacting any governmental officials who will “grease the way” to the President to give us a hearing on the pardon application.
And that last point is really the crux of this commentary. The struggle continues, continues until Chelsea is free. That is where mentioning the support of Veterans for Peace comes in, people who have served in the military, who have gotten “religion” on the right side of the angels on the questions of war and peace and who have stood in solidarity with, and defense of, Manning since almost the beginning of her incarceration. All of us, whether we served in wars or in “peace-time,”went through the rigors and madness of basic training where hoary old drill sergeants beat us over the head with the notion that you had to take care of your buddy, that your survival and by this they meant in the heat of battle depended on buying into that concept. Any veteran can tell you many stories about how in the end their involvement with the military came down to just that embedded idea when the deal went done and the dust settled. Not letting down their buddies. Not leaving your buddies behind. Whether most drilled-in military concepts are worth anything is hard to judge, fear and recklessness may in fact play a larger role. Nevertheless we can take that not leaving your buddy behind concept and apply it here. However we may end up supporting Chelsea Manning it is with the understanding that she is our buddy. We will not leave our sister behind. Remember that. Remember this as well- President Obama Pardon Chelsea Manning Now!
Free Chelsea Manning Now!
Update 10/16/13: New WikiLeaks-like program to assist news organizations; Remembering the Iraq War Logs release
The future of internet whistleblowing? On the heels of army whistleblower Chelsea Manning’s sentencing, non-profit organization Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) has announced that they will be helping mainstream news outlets to install software allowing sources to communicate with them anonymously. They are calling the program SecureDrop, and it uses code that was designed by Aaron Swartz, the young coder and activist who tragically committed suicide following harsh federal prosecution for downloading and sharing academic articles with the public. FPF’s project demonstrates how the idea of the internet as a forum for democracy and bringing transparency to those in power lives on, news we believe Chelsea will be only happy to hear. One of the documents that whistleblower Manning is most famous for releasing is the Iraq War Logs, which gave unparalleled insight into the inner-workings of the Iraq War, as well as statistics on important incidents such as reports of torture and civilian casualties. Now, Al Jazeera reports on a new study published by researched in the US, Canada and Iraq that estimates the Iraqi casualty even higher at 500,000, when including deaths caused by the destruction of medical infrastructure. Perhaps most strikingly, they also report on a polling of US citizens from 2007 which showed that while most opposed the war, all but a small percentage of people vastly underestimated the number of civilian casualties.
It was in October of 2010 when WikiLeaks released the Iraq War Logs. While studies such as that reported by Al Jazeera have been criticized on their methods, the Iraq War Logs gave the public a primary source. As we remember the third anniversary of that groundbreaking release, we are asking people to organize members of their community to write letters to the Convening Authority in support of Chelsea’s release. Learn more about getting involved here.
From pardon.privatemanning.org: “I am Sangeetha Delampady, a cyber laws and Japanese language student from Bangalore, India and I support Chelsea Manning because she stood up for what is good for humanity. She has done nothing wrong, and doesn’t deserve to be treated like a criminal. Chelsea deserves justice and to be free.”
Chelsea Manning rejects 'pacifist' label in first statement since sentencing
Exclusive: In first public remarks since guilty verdict, WikiLeaks source expresses intense upset at public presentation of her
'It’s not terribly clear to me that my actions were explicitly done for peace'. Photograph: Patrick Semansky/AP
Chelsea Manning, the WikiLeaks source formerly known as Bradley Manning, has expressed intense unhappiness at the public profile that is being presented about her, warning that a false impression is being given to the outside world that she is an anti-war pacifist and conscientious objector. In a statement issued to the Guardian, Manning insists that she did not leak hundreds of thousands of US classified documents to WikiLeaks because she was explicitly motivated by pacifism. Rather, she sees herself as a “transparency advocate” who is convinced that the American people needs to be better informed.
“It’s not terribly clear to me that my actions were explicitly done for ‘peace’... I feel that the public cannot decide what actions and policies are or are not justified if they don’t even know the most rudimentary details about them and their effects.”
In her first public comments since she was sentenced in August to 35 years in military custody for leaking the largest quantity of US state secrets in history, Manning writes that she is increasingly concerned about what she calls a “substantial disconnect” between her experiences at the US military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she is being held, and messages that are being put out to the rest of the world without her knowledge or approval. “I was shocked and frustrated about what’s occurred here,” she writes.
Manning’s concerns relate to the 2013 Sean MacBride peace award which was granted to the former army private last month by the International Peace Bureau in recognition of her “outstanding work for peace” in “revealing information about US war crimes”. The award was accepted on Manning’s behalf by Ann Wright, a retired US army colonel who is a prominent peace activist and opponent of the Iraq war.
In that speech, Wright suggested that Manning was “overwhelmed” that the Sean MacBride award had recognized “her actions as actions for peace.” Yet the former soldier insists that she has never perceived her actions in transmitting more than 700,000 classified US classified documents to WikiLeaks in 2010-11 as an act for peace.
“I don’t consider myself a ‘pacifist,’ ‘anti-war,’ or (especially) a ‘conscientious objector’,” she writes. “Now – I accept that there may be ‘peaceful’ or ‘anti-war’ implications to my actions – but this is purely based on your [Wright’s] subjective interpretation of the primary source documents released in 2010-11.” Chelsea Manning. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesManning goes on to state that the material contained in the WikiLeaks trove could be used to support the opposite conclusions. “I believe it is also perfectly reasonable to subjectively interpret these documents and come to the opposite opinion and say ‘hey, look at these documents, they clearly justify this war’ (or diplomatic discussion, or detention of an individual).”
Manning is expected to spend at least eight years in military prison for her role as the source of the WikiLeaks disclosures. She writes that since the end of the trial in August she has been “trying to decompress and focus on other things after a lengthy and exhausting court-martial process”.
Those other interests includes her request to have treatment for gender dysphoria, which she announced through her lawyer David Coombs at the end of the trial.
Wright, speaking from South Korea where she is on a speaking tour, said she was distressed that Manning felt her beliefs had been inaccurately portrayed in the acceptance speech. “My intention was to reflect in an appropriate way Chelsea’s views drawn from her statement to court and her previous comments. I deeply apologise to her.”
In her statement, Manning said she was not aware of having received the award. However later on Wednesday, her lawyer, David Coombs, said that he reminded Manning in a phone call that they had discussed the issue on three occasions. Coombs wrote in his post:
After being reminded of these conversations, Chelsea indicated that she did, in fact, remember the award and our discussions about it. She told me that she got confused when she recently received mail about the award, and assumed that people were writing to her about a new award.
Chelsea told me that she has been feeling isolated and out of touch with the outside world during the indoctrination period at the United States Disciplinary Barracks, which is what led to her confusion over this issue. Due to this confusion, Chelsea said she felt the need to write her letter. She told me that she is sorry if her letter caused any offense to the International Peace Bureau, Col. Wright, or her supporters.
Manning opens her statement using the name Bradley Manning – a legal requirement insisted upon by the military prison hierarchy. She ends it with the sign-off Chelsea Manning, and thanks “everyone who has avoided misgendering me and switched to using my new name and feminine pronouns”.
She also makes clear that in the light of her sentence she no longer expects to be referred to by military rank such as Spc, Pfc, or Pvt. Instead, she asks to be called “Ms” or with no honorific at all.
The weekend includes a rally with speakers and musicians from across the Americas, a solemn
funeral procession to commemorate the martyrs, art, music and street theater to
celebrate the resistance, a protest at a for-profit immigrant prison, nonviolent direct
action, a conference with workshops, film screenings, trainings etc., concerts,
community, grassroots movement building, and more. 
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