Keyword: Chelsea Manning

The Gambit to Free Chelsea Manning

Picture: Indy Media UK Charles Davis - Chelsea Manning was an all-American patriot when she joined the U.S. military in 2007 at the height of the surge in Iraq. But when she saw what her country was actually doing abroad — handing over thousands of Iraqi Sunnis to be tortured by state-sponsored Shiite death squads, for instance — she decided she couldn’t be a part of it. Nor could she just do nothing as injustices were committed in her and every American’s name. So, using the access available to her...

Statues of Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning Unveiled in Berlin

Picture: Davide Dormino and his sculptures that form part of the "Anything to Say?" project courtesy World Socialist Website Stefan Steinberg - Bronze statues of persecuted whistleblowers Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Bradley Manning were unveiled in Berlin on May Day. The statues are part of an art project entitled “Anything to Say?”, the work of Italian artist Davide Dormino, which pays tribute to the courage of the three. The life-size effigies of the trio stand in a row on chairs beside one extra empty chair. The extra chair invites passersby to express their solidarity with the three whistleblowers and share...

Chelsea Manning Wins Milestone In Years-Long Fight for Gender Rights

Picture: Chelsea Manning courtesy Wikipedia Sarah Lazare - Famed whistleblower Chelsea Manning just achieved a limited—but important—triumph in her battle for gender affirmation as she serves out her 35-year sentence in Army prison: a court order mandating that the military officially stop referring to her using male pronouns. Manning, who is a transgender woman, has vigorously pressed the military to use correct pronouns and provide gender-affirming medical care, despite the hostility she has faced from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas prison...

Onward with the Struggle for Free Speech

Picture: Charlie Hebdo solidarity march in Brussels courtesy The Interpretor Fazila Farouk - There likely aren’t many journalists, bloggers, cartoonists or comedians anywhere in the world who don’t feel a connection with the massacred staff of French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo. These are the men and women of the world who regularly scale the chillingly exposed platform of public opinion to hold a mirror to the world. It’s a frightening space to inhabit in a world of such diversity and difference of opinion. One never really knows how those whom one has...

Assange Spends Two Years Trapped Inside Ecuadorian Embassy

Picture: celluloid blonde Video World famous whistle-blower, Julian Assange, marked the second anniversary of his political asylum inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London yesterday, June 19. Assange has been trapped inside the building for two years, since entering it after being ordered extradited to Sweden from the UK to answer questions regarding allegations of sexual misconduct. Speaking to the Real News Network earlier this week, Assange’s lawyer, Michael Ratner reminded the public what the saga was all...

Watching the Watchers: The Case for the Moral Superiority of Hackers, Leakers and Citizen Watchdogs

Picture: End the Lies Glenn Ashton - Edward Snowden, Chelsea (Bradley) Manning and Julian Assange have all attained legendary status amongst citizens’ rights advocates. They have exposed the extent that modern government has, under the aegis of security and intelligence gathering, encroached into all of our lives. This blanket surveillance of the citizenry, on a previously unimaginable scale, is the current manifestation of Orwell’s 1984 Big Brother. Yet few have heard of Jeremy Hammond, sentenced to 10 years for...