Help Us Tell Local Media to Cover Bradley Manning's Next Pre-Trial Hearing, 6/6

Each time Bradley Manning goes to Ft. Meade for a pre-trial hearing, I flip through all of my local news channels to see if maybe someone mentions it – but I have not seen so much as a 5 second nod by a single anchor towards perhaps one of the most important whistleblower cases in US history.

In some ways it’s surprising, and in some ways it’s not.

Bradley was tortured for over 9 months in solitary confinement at Quantico Marine Brig until the public caught on to what was happening and it became impossible to keep him there. Today, Bradley remains in pre-trial confinement at Ft. Leavenworth until his court martial, but we hear from his attorney that his living conditions have drastically improved thanks to the outpouring of concern from activists and supporters.

Even so, the government’s campaign of misinformation and secrecy has allowed them to maintain the outrageous charge that he ‘aided the enemy,’ while keeping Manning and any evidence or witness testimony relevant to his defense behind lock and key, almost completely unchallenged.

The point here is that the media’s general carelessness and lack of interest in this case is what has allowed these government charades to continue unabated, spreading damaging misinformation, allowing for his mistreatment, and pushing his case towards unjust conviction behind closed doors. When the public is privy to details about Manning’s treatment, the uproar makes it difficult for these abuses to continue, and the same should be true with regards to the details emerging from the courtroom.

I think there’s a good chance that with enough support we could get some local media to start picking up this story. It would be enough to get some people talking about this case again, and as we near September’s court-martial, that’s exactly what we all need to be doing because the only thing that will complicate the governments plans is intense public scrutiny.

So we’re running targeted Facebook ads urging Bradley Manning supporters everywhere to contact their local news outlets and request coverage of Bradley Manning’s pre-trial hearings and eventual court-martial. We even put together an easy-to-use tool that allows supporters to contact all their local outlets at the click of a mouse.

We need your help getting this campaign off the ground, activating as many Bradley Manning supporters as possible to call on their local media outlets for coverage of this important case.

If you can help out, click here to chip in $5 or more to help us run these ads: https://secure.firedoglake.com/page/contribute/manning_ads

“I didn’t care if I died – I was completely insane.”

That’s what 23-year-old Daniel Chong told reporters after he was abandoned in his cell for 5 days after a 4/20 Drug Enforcement Agency raid at UC San Diego. Handcuffed, alone and forgotten in a windowless, 5×10′ room without food or water, Daniel began to hallucinate, was forced to drink his own urine, and even tried to commit suicide by eating the lenses of his glasses.

Daniel was nearly tortured to death for attending a 4/20 party, and while this is an extreme case, it’s not the first time the DEA has trampled our civil rights and unnecessarily put lives at risk.

The House Oversight Committee is already considering an investigation and we want to join the call for justice by demanding the Senate Judiciary Committee launch one as well – but we need your help.

Can you sign our petition to Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) demanding an investigation into the DEA’s abuse of Daniel Chong?

Click here to sign: http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/daniel_chong

Daniel’s story once again highlights the destructive, regressive drug war as it’s being waged by the DEA. It is a symbol of how the war on drugs itself – meant to protect us from the “dangers” of drugs – is often more harmful to the public.

The bottom line is that if such authority can result in abuses as hideous as these, then the responsible agencies deserve intense scrutiny by our elected officials.

Please join our call for a Senate investigation into the DEA’s detention of Daniel Chong.

On April 7th, I attended a rally for Bradley Manning on the steps of City Hall in downtown Manhattan.

According to the press release (see below), “The Rally for Information Freedom,” was sponsored by a coalition of groups, journalists, lawyers and activists all deeply concerned with the actions of our government and the relative media silence that has since followed.

I was able to take a few pictures and some footage of the protestors and speakers. There was a pretty good turn out; I’d estimate about 50 or so people showed up, many of them filming and snapping pictures as well.

And here are a few videos of some of the speakers in attendance (apologies for my shaky camera work, I was trying to snap photos at the same time!):
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In case you missed it, be sure to check out the top 10 FDL blog posts of 2010!

One of the things that makes FDL such an important resource for news coverage and analysis is our thriving diarist community. Our diarists write some of the most compelling and thought-provoking pieces of ‘citizen journalism’ to be found on the internet, especially among the progressive left.

From liveblogging the Prop 8 trial, to offering unique insights into the Julian Assange / WikiLeaks saga, our diarists make important contributions to the work of Firedoglake as a whole.

Check out the top 10 MyFDL diaries from 2010 (based on pageviews):

10. Manic Monday Expected in Washington: How Many Mil Contractors Are There? by Rayne

It’s no secret that the US Government has made use of private contractors in theaters of war for decades. Part of the reason why it’s no secret is because of some of the appalling acts committed by these contractors, such as defrauding the government of billions of taxpayer dollars, raping and killing innocent civilians and engaging in international human trafficking. When word broke that Washington Post writer Dana Priest would be writing an article investigating the size and scope of America’s addiction to contracted security and intelligence service, those respective agencies became very nervous. A day ahead of the article’s release, Rayne posed some important questions to the community, such as “How many of the intelligence contractors aren’t actually contracted by CIA but by DIA?” and “Just how many of these intelligence contractors are not only working in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in places the American public at large doesn’t think of as threats – like Central and South America?”

9. Liveblogging Prop 8 Trial Wednesday Morning 6/16 Closing Arguments (49) by Teddy Partridge

The Prop 8 trial to overturn the ban on same-sex marriages in California was, and continues to be, one of the most contentious civil rights battles of this generation. It’s been a long, arduous fight, but our writers have remained at the forefront, meticulously liveblogging the proceedings while providing great context and analysis at the very same time. Teddy Partridge is one of our most popular diarists and was part of a team (along with Marcy Wheeler and David Dayen) covering Perry vs Schwarzenegger from the San Fransisco courtroom. His work garnered a lot of attention and was referenced by writers across the spectrum. This post in particular is just one of several of Teddy’s livebloggings — but the entire set is well worth the read.

8. Rand Paul And Historical Amnesia by Jim Moss

Simply put, Rand Paul is a gaffe machine. As of last spring, it seemed as though the Senate candidate from Kentucky could not make an appearance without creating some sort of controversy. Most notably, Paul got himself in a lot of trouble by acknowledging his opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While many were caught up in the accusations that Paul was a racist, Jim Moss pointed out that the more subversive and dangerous point being made here was instead about an ideology pertaining to the role of government. In this excellent post, Jim goes through a list of important government contributions to the preservation of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to disprove the oft-repeated conservative line that government serves to take freedoms, not protect them.

7. Stunning Video of Unemployed Workers: Meet Obama’s Human Shields by Michael Whitney

President Obama caved on his promise to end the Bush tax cuts to the wealthy amidst soaring unemployment and expiring benefits, leaving millions of Americans empty handed and without hope. The AFL-CIO and many other groups worked hard to prevent renewing the Bush tax cuts – an effort that unfortunately failed in the end. As part of the AFL-CIO’s campaign, they put together a tremendous video showcasing several unemployed Americans whose benefits were on the verge of expiration (if they hadn’t expired already). It’s an important look into the struggles facing the nearly 15 million Americans currently out of work.  . . . Read the rest of this entry →