[Peace] Saturday, June 4th is also important / support Bradley Manning Fwd: Please join us in Fort Leavenworth and elsewhere

[Karen Medina]

This Saturday is also a day to show support for Bradley Manning, the
alleged whistleblower of the U.S. Military.  It will be the first
large public rally to support Bradley since he was transferred to Fort
Leavenworth in April.

Iraq Veterans Against the War are going to Kansas this weekend.

The Bradley Manning Support Network is inviting people to either
travel to Kansas, or to have local demonstrations in solidarity.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bradley Manning Support Network <noreply at bradleymanning.org>
Date: Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 4:18 PM
Subject: Please join us in Fort Leavenworth and elsewhere
To: kmedina67 at gmail.com


In this issue: Rally for Bradley at Fort Leavenworth -- Billboard
campaign a success!-- Press conference marks one year of Bradley's
detainment -- Is Obama echoing Bradley's chat logs? -- Top 10
wikileaks truths

This Saturday we will be demonstrating at the gates of Fort
Leavenworth in Kansas. It will be the first large public rally to
support Bradley since he was transferred to Fort Leavenworth in April.

William Stewart-Starks, Plains Regional Coordinator for Iraq Veterans
Against the War, and one of the Kansas organizers of Saturday's events
says "due process and the assumption of innocence are principles we
soldiers are sworn to defend, but PFC Bradley Manning has already been
declared guilty by our Commander in Chief and subjected to unlawful
pretrial punishment." We ask all who can to join us. Event details.

Other events On June 4th:

Bradley Manning "Way OUT for Justice" march at Waikiki Pride Parade
NYC Solidarity Rally, Times Square Recruitment Center

Billboard campaign a success!

Thanks to your help we have successfully funded a large billboard that
will go up in a prominent location in Washington D.C. It will stay up
for a month to correspond with the dates of Bradley's pretrial
hearing. Not only did we succeed in funding a great visibility
opportunity, we did it in 3 days. The crowd-funding site EpicStep
gives campaigns up to 30 days, and we broke their record. Way to go
Bradley Manning supporters! Next, we'll be looking into ads in the DC
Metro.

Press conference marks one year after Bradley's arrest

Ellsberg, Assange, and other's address charges, audio available. May
25th marked the one-year anniversary since Bradley's detainment for
allegedly leaking the "Collateral Murder" video. Our press call was
attended by journalists around the world. The speakers featured Daniel
Ellsberg, Julian Assange, and other notable legal and military
experts.

We have made the full audio from the conference available, and you can
listen or download it here.



Editorial note: Why is Obama echoing Bradley's chat logs?

On May 19th, Obama gave a "moment of opportunity" speech in which he
praised the democratic protests in the Middle East. He also said:

"Through our efforts we must support those basic rights to speak your
mind and access information. We will support open access to the
Internet, and the right of journalists to be heard – whether it's a
big news organization or a blogger. In the 21st century, information
is power; the truth cannot be hidden; and the legitimacy of
governments will ultimately depend on active and informed citizens.
Such open discourse is important even if what is said does not square
with our worldview."

Ironically, that sounds a lot like Bradley's alleged chat logs, which
are being held by the Pentagon as evidence that Bradley was 'Aiding
The Enemy.'

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

Doubly ironic is that the cables Manning is alleged to have leaked
have been hailed as a catalyst of the growing democracy in the Arab
world. So why the gap between Obama's encouraging words and his intent
on prosecuting both Manning and Assange? You may find some of the
reasons below.

Top 10 Wikileaks truths

2.5 million people had access to most of the classified information
that Bradley allegedly released to WikiLeaks. Though not a very well
kept secret, it is information they didn't want the rest of us to
know. The Bradley Manning Support Network has compiled ten reasons
why. Read more and download the PDF version.







Please help us keep up the work by Donating to Bradley Manning's
defense fund. Read our recent letter to supporters here.