The case of WikiLeaks and Bradley Manning: Obama criminalizing whistleblowers

First there was Shamai Leibowitz receiving the longest jail sentence in U.S. history for a whistleblower earlier this year, and now there is the case of Australian-born investigative journalist Julian Assange actively being sought by the U.S. Government -- and the arrested, but not yet charged, 22 year-old Pfc. Bradley Manning.

Manning should be a hero for exposing war crimes. However, he is being treated as a dangerous criminal and held indefinitely in Iraq. According to an Internet chat with a convicted felon who subsequently betrayed him, Manning explained why he allegedly gave whistleblower site WikiLeaks two massacre videos (the first released, the second coming very soon) and reportedly 260,000 diplomatic cables:

"I want people to see the truth… regardless of who they are, because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public."

This is evolving into a fascinating case of freedom of the press, and the right of the people to information in a democracy. Sadly, the Obama administration wants to criminalize this activity and WikiLeaks' editor-in-chief is now in hiding.

Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales of Democracy Now reported on this matter:

Journalist and attorney, Glenn Greenwald also wrote an expose on this whole matter, digging into it a bit deeper. He also questions the motivations and tactics of the criminal hacker Adrian Lamo (who also reportedly has some mental issues) who turned Bradley over to Federal authorities and Wired magazine, which did not publish the entire Internet chat logs, only portions of them. Here's Greenwald's article: The strange and consequential case of Bradley Manning, Adrian Lamo and WikiLeaks

My now unused degree in journalism is coming in handy as I follow this case, and observe the various ethical issues involved. I believe the WikiLeaks/Assange/Manning case has a lot of legal and societal implications, and will be remembered in a similar vein to the way Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers are today.

Personally, I believe the people of the U.S. and the entire world need to know of these war crimes. The second video, to be released very soon, is of a massacre in Afghanistan is believed to show the brutal slaughtering of approximately 140 humans, many of whom are children. So, keep watching WikiLeaks...

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Guantanamo put on trial -- May 27th

In eight days, Eve Tetaz, a 76-year old retired D.C. public schoolteacher, will enter a courthouse in Washington, D.C. and engage in the legal debate over the fate of America's detention facilities at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The name of Noor Muhammad has never appeared in an American criminal court. On May 27th, Tetaz will change that. On that day, she will appear at the Washington, D.C. Superior Court as Noor Muhammad. Tetaz was arrested, along with 78 others, at the U.S. Supreme Court on January 11, 2008, protesting the denial of habeas rights to and the torture of inmates at Guantanamo. Like her fellow protestors, Tetaz took the name of an inmate during her arrest. ( See the January 13 Washington Post article "Activists Pose as Guantanamo Prisoners" ) Tetaz says she felt compelled to participate in the protest at the Supreme Court because detainees are being tortured at Guantanamo. "Torture is a terrible crime and sin against humanity," she said. Thirty-four ...

Sheehan to challenge Pelosi

I was there the day about three weeks ago when Cindy announced she was running against Pelosi. It was outside of Rep. John Conyers'office. I think change is in the air, and all politics is local. The San Fran area is perhaps the most staunchly progressive in the whole country. Tomorrow morning I will be dropping a check for Cindy's campaign in the mail. Peace activist seeks SF-area House seat Associated Press report Citing her son as inspiration, a tearful Cindy Sheehan announced her candidacy Thursday for the U.S. House of Representatives. The anti-war activist, a former resident of Vacaville, said she will run as an independent against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has represented San Francisco in Congress since 1987. "The country is ripe for a change," said Sheehan, who spoke at a news conference in San Francisco, with her slain son's photograph attached to the podium. "It's going to start right here and right now." Sheehan's 24-year-old son...

Violence in America as seen yesterday

Troubled white male guns down 20 schoolchildren is a headline that shouldn't happen. But it does. I am truly sickened and exhausted by what happened yesterday in Connecticut. I plan on retiring to Ecuador and the commonality of gun violence in America is just one reason. Our foreign policy (which is also terribly violent) is another reason. The natural beauty and lower cost of living in the Andes are two more reasons. There are some more reasons for my Ecuador plans, but I digress. I want to deeply discuss and try and make some sort of sense out of this mass shooting of innocents by -- the first three words I wrote. Troubled. White. Male. Adam Lanza a resident of Newtown, Connecticut, was quite young himself, 20, and lived with his mother who was a teacher. Not much else is known about him. What is known though from the reports coming out now was that he was severely socially awkward, avoided eye contact, had been on medication for some time; many neighbors said he was a ...

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