I Am Bradley Manning

Good evening everyone!

If you are reading this, you probably have some knowledge of what has happened tonight regarding the ongoing Bradley Manning case, but I'm going to reiterate it anyway. Tonight, Judge Lind finally passed the verdict on Bradley, and he has been found guilty of 19 charges, including five charges of espionage and theft. Crucially however, he was acquitted of 'aiding the enemy'. His sentence hasn't been passed yet; there is no minimum sentence, but the maximum sentence is 136 years (why they apparently expect him to live that long is beyond me, to be honest.)

Obviously this is quite disappointing; we were all hoping that he would be acquitted, especially given the appalling way that he has been treated up until now. While I did not think it was particularly likely that he would be acquitted, it does not stop me from being disappointed and angry with this decision.

However, I do think that some progress has been made. The one drop of hope in a stormy sea is that the authorities have admitted that Bradley Manning did not aid the enemy. I feel that this is the clincher; once something like that has been conceded, it restores hope that there is more progress to come. I think that Bradley's defence lawyer David Coombs spoke it best when he said, 'We won the battle, now we need to go win the war.' I'm not going to stop campaigning. There is so much more that can be done (some suggestions of how you can help below). We are Bradley's supporters. Together we stand as one on his behalf. He will not stop fighting, and neither will we.

Bradley's family released this statement this afternoon

'While we are obviously disappointed in today's verdicts, we are happy that Judge Lind agreed with us that Brad never intended to help America's enemies in any way. Brad loves his country and was proud to wear its uniform. 

We want to express our deep thanks to David Coombs, who has dedicated three years of his life to serving as lead counsel in Brad's case. We also want to thank Brad's Army defense team, Major Thomas Hurley and Captain Joshua Tooman, for their tireless efforts on Brad's behalf, and Brad's first defense counsel, Captain Paul Bouchard, who was so helpful to all of us in those early confusing days and first suggested David Coombs as Brad's counsel.

Most of all, we would like to thank the thousands of people who rallied to Brad's cause, providing financial and emotional support throughout this long and difficult time, especially Jeff Paterson and Courage to Resist and the Bradley Manning Support Network. Their support has allowed a young army private to defend himself against the full might of not only the US army but also the US government.'

So, what can I do to help, do I hear you ask? Well to start with, you can get in touch with Major Jeffrey Buchanan. He is the Convening Court Martial for Bradley's trial, and has the authority to lessen Bradley's sentence, whatever he is charged with. You should remind him of the following points:

-That Bradley 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 Bradley 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 Bradley Manning's supporters that any transcripts exist.

-That under the UCMJ, a soldier has the right to a speedy trial, and that is was unconscionable to wait three 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 Bradley Manning is a hero who did the right thing when he revealed the truth about wars that are based on lies.

I have already been in touch with Major Buchanan, and I'd request that anyone reading this does the same. His email address is jeffrey.s.buchanan@us.army.mil.

The other thing that you can do is to assist RootsAction with their petition to award Bradley the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. At the moment, they are taking donations to deliver their petition in person to the Norwegian Nobel Committee. I admit that this is something that I have not done - I'm not earning, so am not currently in a position to be able to donate - but anyone who is able to, please chip in what you can. Receiving this prize will be a key stepping-stone to ensuring his freedom. Bradley is counting on you.

In my opinion, Bradley Manning is today's incarnation of the heroism which was once served by Nelson Mandela. Apart from the obvious things, there are two things in particular that strike me as things that Nelson and Bradley share. Firstly, Nelson was not demotivated by his time in prison, and came out as strong as ever and ready to fight. From what I've heard, Bradley is still the same man he always has been. The other thing is that many South Africans feel a personal bond with Mandela, almost as if he was a member of their own family. With Bradley, we go a step further than that. We feel that we are literally him. We share his suffering and his pain, and we will share his relief when he is released and hailed as the hero that he is. Please join me in holding him in your thoughts, and remembering that he is Bradley Manning. I am Bradley Manning. You are Bradley Manning. We are Bradley Manning.

I'm going to leave you with two things. Firstly this lovely video of the Haitians standing with Bradley. Secondly, a rather beautiful quote from The Railway Children by E. Nesbit. I've used this passage before, and I think it is very appropriate here. Thanks for reading my blog. I love you all.

Later on, when the Russian stranger had been made comfortable for the night, Mother came into the girls' room. She was to sleep there in Phyllis's bed, and Phyllis was to have a mattress on the floor, a most amusing adventure for Phyllis. Directly Mother came in, two white figures started up, and two eager voices called:

"Now, Mother, tell us all about the Russian gentleman."

A white shape hopped into the room. It was Peter, dragging his quilt behind him like the tail of a white peacock.

"We have been patient," he said, "and I had to bite my tongue not to go to sleep, and I just nearly went to sleep and I bit too hard, and it hurts ever so. Do tell us. Make a nice long story of it."

"I can't make a long story of it tonight," said Mother; "I'm very tired."

Bobbie knew by her voice that Mother had been crying, but the others didn't know.

"Well, make it as long as you can," said Phil, and Bobbie got her arms round Mother's waist and snuggled close to her.

"Well, it's a story long enough to make a whole book of. He's a writer; he's written beautiful books. In Russia at the time of the Czar one dared not say anything about the rich people doing wrong, or about the things that ought to be done to make poor people better and happier. If one did one was sent to prison."

"But they can't," said Peter; "people only go to prison when they've done wrong."

"Or when the Judges think they've done wrong," said Mother. "Yes, that's so in England. But in Russia it was different. And he wrote a beautiful book about poor people and how to help them. I've read it. There's nothing in it but goodness and kindness. And they sent him to prison for it. He was three years in a horrible dungeon, with hardly any light, and all damp and dreadful. In prison all alone for three years."

Mother's voice trembled a little and stopped suddenly.

"But, Mother," said Peter, "that can't be true now. It sounds like something out of a history book — the Inquisition, or something."

"It was true," said Mother; "it's all horribly true. Well, then they took him out and sent him to Siberia, a convict chained to other convicts — wicked men who'd done all sorts of crimes — a long chain of them, and they walked, and walked, and walked, for days and weeks, till he thought they'd never stop walking. And overseers went behind them with whips — yes, whips — to beat them if they got tired. And some of them went lame, and some fell down, and when they couldn't get up and go on, they beat them, and then left them to die. Oh, it's all too terrible! And at last he got to the mines, and he was condemned to stay there for life — for life, just for writing a good, noble, splendid book."

"How did he get away?"

"When the war came, some of the Russian prisoners were allowed to volunteer as soldiers. And he volunteered. But he deserted at the first chance he got and — "

"But that's very cowardly, isn't it" — said Peter — "to desert? Especially when it's war."

"Do you think he owed anything to a country that had done that to him? If he did, he owed more to his wife and children. He didn't know what had become of them."

"Oh," cried Bobbie, "he had them to think about and be miserable about too, then, all the time he was in prison?"

"Yes, he had them to think about and be miserable about all the time he was in prison. For anything he knew they might have been sent to prison, too. They did those things in Russia. But while he was in the mines some friends managed to get a message to him that his wife and children had escaped and come to England. So when he deserted he came here to look for them."

"Had he got their address?" said practical Peter.

"No; just England. He was going to London, and he thought he had to change at our station, and then he found he'd lost his ticket and his purse."

"Oh, do you think he'll find them? — I mean his wife and children, not the ticket and things."

"I hope so. Oh, I hope and pray that he'll find his wife and children again."

Even Phyllis now perceived that mother's voice was very unsteady.

"Why, Mother," she said, "how very sorry you seem to be for him!"

Mother didn't answer for a minute. Then she just said, "Yes," and then she seemed to be thinking. The children were quiet.

Presently she said, "Dears, when you say your prayers, I think you might ask God to show His pity upon all prisoners and captives."

"To show His pity," Bobbie repeated slowly, "upon all prisoners and captives. Is that right, Mother?"

"Yes," said Mother, "upon all prisoners and captives. All prisoners and captives."

LGBT teens in Russia

Hi everyone.

I have something quite disturbing to talk about today. I just learned about this today, and I feel that it's something that I need to write about. It appears that this has not actually hit the media very hard, but we are lucky to live in a world where regardless of how little something is reported, someone will pick up on occurrences like this and the word will spread across social networking sites.

There is a man in Russia called Maxim Martsinkevich, who is a former leader of the far-right extremist group Format18, the armed wing of the Russian Nazi organisation NSO. You have probably heard recently about President Putin's attacks on the LGBT community in Russia - I believe it's getting to a stage where even saying the word 'gay' in public is illegal there. At the moment, Martsinkevich is involved in this onslaught. Spectrum Human Rights reports the following:

'Infamous Russian ultra-nationalist and former skin head, Maxim Martsinkevich, known under the nickname “Cleaver” (or “Tesak” in Russian) spearheaded a country wide campaign against LGBT teens using a popular social network VK.com to lure unsuspected victims through personal ads. Mr. Martsinkevich’s numerous and enthusiastic followers started two projects: “Occupy Pedophilyaj” and “Occupy Gerontilyaj”. Allegedly they are trying to identify and report pedophiles using these “movements”. In reality, over 500 online groups have been created inside VK.com social network in order to organize illegal militant groups in every Russian city. Oddly enough their idea of fighting pedophiles targets exclusively male teenagers who respond to the same-sex personal ads and show up for a date. Captured victims are bullied and often tortured while being recorded on video.

'These self-proclaimed “crime fighters” perform their actions under the broad day light, often outside and clearly visible to general public that indifferently passes by or even commend them. Video recordings of bullying and tortures are freely distributed on the Internet in order to out LGBT teens to their respective schools, parents and friends. Many victims were driven to suicides, the rest are deeply traumatized. So far Russian police took no action against these “movements” even though Russian criminal code was clearly violated and despite numerous complaints from parents, victims and LGBT activists. Social network VK.com intermittently shuts down selected groups and profiles only to allow them to be re-open on the next day. Currently, the founder of VK.com, Pavel Durov, resides in the US and so far has not released any comments.

This graphic and violent video shows an underage victim in Moscow, Russia. He was bullied, tortured and sprayed with urine in the broad day light …'

There follows a video which I am proud to say I have not seen, and which I have no intention of seeing.  For those who are more emotionally prepared to view disturbing content than I am, I will leave a link below:

http://www.thegailygrind.com/2013/07/25/russian-neo-nazi-groups-tricking-and-torturing-gay-male-teenagers-the-blood-is-on-putin-hands/

I think that it is very important to share this information. I think the thing that shocks me the most about it is not so much the fact that it is happening (although that is shocking in itself), but the fact that it doesn't appear to be being reported a huge amount. When I was trying to research this issue in preparation for this blog, the majority of the links that I found were from independent websites and obscure blogs. There do not seem to be many notable sources reporting this, which means that were it not for the power of the Internet in 2013, this would largely go unnoticed by the world. This is not right. I think that the major news sources of the world need to pick up on this so that the world knows about it, and there is pressure on the authorities in Russia to prevent this from happening again. No one should feel harassed for being who they are, and especially no one should be tortured or tormented the way that the person in this video is obviously being, for any reason. I suppose that that is the reason why I run this blog; to make people aware of issues that are not being reported in the press, and to encourage people to do something about them.

So what can I do about it, I hear you ask? Well to start with, share this information. Put it on your Facebook Timeline, tweet it, tell people about it. Share my blog, and other blogs with this information. I will look for any petitions to sign, and possibly start one myself if I cannot find one. If and when that occurs, I will share the link here. However, I feel that knowledge is the greatest tool against this form of attack. When people know that it happens, and are prepared to stand up and stop it from happening again, that creates an amazing form of defence.

There is something else that I want to say before I sign off. This evening, I have been watching the famous 1995 Panorama interview by Martin Bashir with the late Diana, Princess of Wales. I remember when she died; I was only three years old at the time, but I remember watching her funeral on television with her parents. As I have grown older and become more aware of certain things, I have found Diana a fascinating individual, and definitely a person to be admired. However, until this evening (or yesterday, technically; I'm writing this at three in the morning) I had never actually heard Diana speak. I was not prepared for the calm, articulate and intelligent demeanour of the lady I was watching. She truly is something special; that is clear straight away. Obviously the Royal Family have received quite a bit of media attention recently because of the birth of the new Prince George. People who read my blog regularly will probably know that I am not a great fan of the Royal Family, and I can't help feeling concerned about the sort of life young George is destined to have. Although I doubt it will actually happen, I hope that he takes after his grandmother; realises that he can use his privileges for the good of the people, and revolutionise the monarchy into representing the modern world.

I was talking to a friend of mine about the Diana interview, and he said that she is one of his biggest inspirations and role models. I also think that she is a role model. Personally I think the role model thing can carry on through the generations. Although Diana is sadly long gone, her legacy lives on in the people whom she has inspired. Hopefully, this inspiration can manifest itself within those people to create something special themselves, and in turn go on to be role models for future generations within their own right. That is something special to leave behind when you die, I think.

So, I hope you learned something from this blog, and I really request that people spread the word about the terrible things that have been going on in Russia. I'd also like to apologise for the variation in sizes of the text in this blog. I have copied and pasted a few things, and it messed things up, and I was too focussed on getting this finished to work out how to sort it (yes, I know. Writing these in the early hours of the morning really isn't the best idea.) The Diana interview is on YouTube as well, and I seriously suggest people go and watch it. She's so inspiring.

Peace out, guys!

The bedroom tax direct action

Hello!

It's just going to be a shortish blog this time to update people on a meeting that I went to tonight. A few months ago, the newspapers were full of the new 'bedroom tax', but recently other things (such as the royal birth, oddly) have been dominating the headlines, and the bedroom tax seems forgotten about. Unfortunately it's still there, but fortunately there are still some people who haven't forgotten about it and are preparing to do something about it.

I went to a meeting tonight with a group of people who are planning some direct action in Bristol. Firstly, there is a fantastic petition going around - there are currently 1,100 signatures, we aim to get 3,500 and we're hoping that the Harbourside Festival on Saturday will be a great way to get people involved. Secondly, in August we are planning a mass sleep-out on the streets. I won't say much about that yet because it's very early days, there is still a lot more to be planned for it and I don't want to state anything as firm fact that might later turn out not to be the case - but I will be revealing more about this as it's planned. I definitely want to do it, it's all terribly exciting! There are other cities preparing to do this kind of thing as well.

Finally, on 29 September there are plans for a big protest at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to go, because that's the day I'm leaving home, but I hope to be able to help with it in some way.

That's pretty much all I have to say this time actually. I feel a bit ashamed because I think this is the shortest blog I've ever done - but it's late, I have things to do tonight and I just wanted to give people an update on what I've been doing. I will be bringing more information about these projects as they happen.

Take care everyone, and check back soon!