Inhumane Living Conditions

Bradley Manning has been imprisoned without trial in solitary confinement for over 200 days. He is being held in the "brig" at the Quantico, Virginia Marine Corps Base in inhumane conditions, with severe restrictions on his ability to exercise, cannot communicate with anyone save one exception, or even sleep properly.

His lawyer is quoted as saying:

"PFC Manning is held in his cell for approximately 23 hours a day. He is not allowed to have a pillow or sheets. However, he is given access to two blankets and has recently been given a new mattress that has a built-in pillow.

He is not allowed to have any personal items in his cell.

He is prevented from exercising in his cell. If he attempts to do push-ups, sit-ups, or any other form of exercise he will be forced to stop. He does receive one hour of "exercise" outside of his cell daily. He is taken to an empty room and only allowed to walk. PFC Manning normally just walks figure eights in the room for the entire hour. If he indicates that he no longer feels like walking, he is immediately returned to his cell.

When PFC Manning goes to sleep, he is required to strip down to his boxer shorts and surrender his clothing to the guards. His clothing is returned to him the next morning."

The only person allowed to speak to him (twice a month) has been David House, who vividly described the inconsistencies in the claims regarding Manning's treatment as a prisoner. His ultimate conclusion was that based on his own personal observation: Manning's physical and mental health have deteriorated considerably.

Manning told House that his blankets are "similar in weight and heft to lead aprons used in X-ray laboratories, and similar in texture to coarse and stiff carpet." He stated the blankets are not soft in the least and expressed concern that he had to "lie very still at night to avoid receiving carpet burns." The problem of carpet burns was exacerbated, he related, by the stipulation that he must sleep only in his boxer shorts as part of the longstanding POI (Prevention of Injury) order.

Manning also told House that hallway-mounted lights shine through his window at night. This constant illumination is consistent with reports from attorney David Coombs' blog that marines must visually inspect Manning as he sleeps. He is confined to his cell 23 hours a day, and when he is allowed to see television, he cannot see any sort of news programs. Manning also related that he is not allowed any newspapers, contrary to claims that he has access.

Manning has not been convicted of any crime. The ridiculous restrictions of his basic rights to sleep, exercise and communication under the Prevention of Injury order are unnecessary and should be lifted immediately.

His Words

In one message to a contact, Manning said: "I'm exhausted . . . in desperation to get somewhere in life . . . I joined the army . . . and that's proven to be a disaster now."

In an apparent swipe at the army, he also wrote: "Bradley Manning is not a piece of equipment," and quoted a joke about "military intelligence" being an oxymoron.

Bradley Manning also allegedly told a contact that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "and several thousand diplomats around the world are going to have a heart attack when they wake up one morning, and find an entire repository of classified foreign policy is available, in searchable format to the public . . . everywhere there's a US post . . . there's a diplomatic scandal that will be revealed."

It's "important that it gets out . . . I feel, for some bizarre reason . . . it might actually change something," he said. He expressed a wish that the release of the information would cause large-scale scandals and lead to "worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms."

There is supposed to be a Facebook page, however, it is being blocked from public view.

Only "Worthy" Lives Count

The big complaint with the entire WikiLeaks situation is that it is "putting lives at risk." One might ask, whose lives? The lives of war criminals, snitches and rotten politicians?

One might rightly say it will hopefully save lives by throwing a wrench into the war machine and grinding it to a halt...the lives of those countless innocent civilians whose lives have been destroyed by war, bombs, rape and terrorism.

It's a matter of which lives are WORTHY lives, according to the Evil Empire, just like when they claimed the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki SAVED lives! No doubt about it, this thinking reflects every bit as much of a fascist, racist, Nazi mentality as anything to come out of Hitler or Mein Kampf.

Yes, indeed, it might and should change something, Bradley, namely the seeming impunity with which the United States and selected friends commit crimes against humanity and nothing happens as a result.

There is no doubt that the United States of America is an Evil Empire, a superpower gone mad. A superpower that flaunts and thumbs its nose at international law. A superpower that seeks to extend and have its national laws obeyed by citizens of the world no matter where they live, throughout the entire planet. Their calls for the extradition of Viktor Bout and Julian Assange have demonstrated that.