Skip to main content

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...
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 ...
7 comments
Read more

The Sad and Disturbing Tale of Dustin Thompson

Wow, it has been a while since I have written a blog entry. In fact, it has been a year, and I have a lot to fill you in on. But let's get down to what I covered via Tweets recently -- the insurrectionist Trial of Dustin Thompson, of Ohio, who entered into the Capitol Building on January 6, 2021, and stole first a bottle of booze and then a coat rack from the office of the Senate Parliamentarian. Yesterday Thompson was convicted on all six criminal counts the Department of Justice had charged him with. There have now been about a half dozen January 6th insurrectionists (many call them rioters) who have been convicted following a trial. About 170 have already plead guilty. Growing up in central Ohio, Thompson was originally a libertarian with moderate political views overall. According to his wife Sarah, the two met when they were both students at Ohio State University, Thompson had a double major of history and psychology. Sarah, a democrat, was a fashion merchandising major an...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rev. Yearwood attacked by police, arrested, injured

This is American democracy in action. My friend, Rev. Yearwood, was jumped by these six power-tripping Capitol Hill Police officers. He was wearing a button which read "I love the people of Iraq." I have seen the video a couple of times, and while it is disturbing it will be useful in court. If it was me, I'd probably pursue a civil case for damages. Rev. in hospital after anti-war arrest Published: Sept. 12, 2007 at 11:28 AM WASHINGTON, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- An anti-war minister and U.S. Air Force veteran was treated in hospital after his arrest by Capitol Hill police outside this week’s Iraq congressional hearings. The Rev. Lennox Yearwood, president of the Washington-based Hip-Hop Caucus, was charged with disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer after being denied entry to a House hearing room in which Gen. David Petraeus was giving evidence Monday, Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider told United Press International. But a video of his arrest, post...
4 comments
Read more