In 2013, Private Bradley Manning wassentencedto 35 years in prison after he was convicted of leaking military documents to WikiLeaks.

Manning subsequently came out as transgender and underwent sex change surgery and a name change following ahunger strike, before President Obama commuted her sentence in January 2017.

Manningis now a full-time activist, posting dozens of emoji-laden rants per day on social media, sometimes making it difficult to keep up.

Here is a guide to Mannings political statements.

1. Stop the police!

The fascists and police/military/intel state are the ones who hurt people every day we can do better, posted Manning on Twitter, Sunday. They wear body armor, carry shields, throw tear gas, throw flashbangs, and shoot people stop the police!! she continued in response to reports of leftist counter-protesters attacking police with bottles of urine in Boston.

Manning then went on to claim that we live in a police/military/intel state and that we need to dismantle it before it destroys us all.

2. Open all borders, to everyone, always.

Open all borders, to everyone, always, posted Manning earlier this month. Catches like need or at-risk are just weapons to keep everyone out.

When another user replied, we should probably keep out convicted felons though, Manning quickly responded: No, everyone, no exceptions.

3. What they call heritage and tradition we call oppression and fascism.

What they call heritage and tradition we call oppression and fascism, wrote Manning on August 15.

Manning has also expressed vocal support for mobs who illegally tear down historical statues.

4. Defend against fascism by any means necessary.

Manning often tweets about fighting against fascism, despite considering heritage and tradition to be fascist.

Manning also dismissively responded to a user on Twitter who said violence wasnt necessary to combat fascists, saying direct action was the only way to do so.

In one post, Manning used the term by any means necessary, a popular slogan used by far-left extremist group By Any Means Necessary (BAMN).

BAMN leader Yvette Felarca, who was arrested in July on charges related to a riot in Sacramento, has called for people to shut down fascists, while also branding former Breitbart Senior Editor Milo Yiannopoulos and Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen Bannon with the term.

After Fox News Tucker Carlson asked Felarca to go into detail on what shut down meant, the BAMN leader refused.

BAMN were also behind the riot at Yiannopoulos UC Berkeley event earlier this year, where far-left riotersstarted several fires,smashed windows and ATMs, looted downtown stores,attacked cars, andassaulteddozens ofMILO fans, male and female, who they falsely accused of being Nazis.

As previously reported by Breitbart News Tom Ciccotta, BAMN wasinvestigatedfor engaging in terrorist activities in 2005 by the FBI.

In 2009, the Department of Defenseclassifiedthe groups activities as low-level terrorism. In June 2016, BAMN led a violent counter-protest outside a white nationalist rally that resulted in ten people being hospitalized with stab wounds.

5. Imagine a world without prisons.

Manning is a vocal anti-prison activist, and has called prisons a form of violence.

Manning has also previously asked her followers to imagine a world without prosecutors.

Charlie Nash is a reporterforBreitbart Tech. You can follow himon Twitter@MrNashingtonand Gab@Nash, orlike his page at Facebook.

P.S. DO YOU WANT MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS ONE DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR INBOX?SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY BREITBART NEWSLETTER.

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A Political Guide to Chelsea Manning: 'Tradition' Is Fascist, 'Imagine a World' Without Borders, Police, Prisons - Breitbart News

Each day shows the president to be morally, intellectually and mentally unfit for the job. He needs to go.

The United States. Maybe long ago. Not now. We should rename our great country the Fractured States because that's what we've become.

Chris Ochadlick, Point Pleasant

In America, it is our right as citizens to believe what we want, however wrong or right it may be. There are no feelings police. Only when our actions, violent or otherwise, destroy the rights of others are we breaking the law. Trump is right; there is blame on both sides for violence, and none of it is justified. Any Republican member of Congress who does not stand with him should be removed next election.

I'm sure the "left" will not be asking to remove statues of Washington and Jefferson any time soon as, despite their flaws, they were our Founding Fathers and patriots, as opposed to treasonous traitors like Lee and his Confederate cohorts.

Frank Fiorentino, Warwick

Our branches of service set standards historically designed to create the fiercest fighting force to win any conflict that confronted the U.S. Recently, in the pursuit of "diversity," social experimentation is being implemented (see Pvt. Bradley Manning). This runs counter to the military's mission and sets a dangerous precedent.

Stephen Hanover, Plumstead

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The Vent for Aug. 21 - The Intelligencer

Health care on life support

In the Aug. 2 edition of this paper, Thomas Olson of Mora wrote a letter entitled, Nolan working to fix health care. However, he fails to state one single thing Rep Nolan has done to fix the problem.

If he is so proud of Nolans work on the issue he should have listed a litany of those things our representative has done to fix the problem. Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that Nolan has done nothing and elections are getting closer. A little boost from an ardent supporter never hurts, even if its over a year before we go to the polls.

The way I see it is that Rick Nolan has done little if anything to prop up the 8th Congressional District in his three terms as our representative. I am sure I am not alone in that regard. On his/her best day, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives is only one of 435 members and it is impossible to do anything without a majority acting in concert. Oh, thats right, the Democrats (both House and Senate) voted en masse against any repeal /replacement of the current mess.

I hold the cowardly Republicans just as guilty for not moving forward to provide a fix. They had seven years to come up with a replacement plan and as long they knew their plan would be vetoed they voted for it. Once they had the majority three Republicans (Murkowski, Collins and McCain) torpedoed it.

If bi-partisanship is what it takes to make changes then, so be it. But dont believe Rick Nolan has been going out on a limb to fix health care. The silence of his accomplishments has been deafening. He, like all the members of his caucus, march to Nancy Pelosis drum beat.

I dont think health care is dead yet, on life support but not dead. Lets hope our duly elected representatives can put party politics aside and do whats good for the country.

Pat Williams

Aitkin

The 57th annual Tamarack Hey Day held on the first Saturday in August has come and gone.

This year, as in many previous years, the day wrapped up with numerous people making a point of thanking me for putting on a fun-filled community event.

As president of the Tamarack Activities Club, I am recognized as the point person for the event. But it would be remiss of me to accept the appreciation of so many people without passing it along to those who really make the event happen.

Heres to the people going mostly unnoticed. To the people who lift and carry any number of heavy furnishings, equipment, embellishments. To the people who spend all day on their feet cooking and serving food in a concession stand, after they have spent several days making preparations.

And to the people who show up after their own work day to set up tents and carnival rides and fencing. And to the people who announce the parade and then spend the afternoon providing music for the crowd. And to the people who create floats or shine up vehicles to show off in the parade.

And to the people who drop what they are doing at the last minute to haul a load of sand, create a hay bale playground to provide fun for children or fix the electrical service.

Heres to the people who spend the day running games for others to play, and to announcers of prizes and events who are on the microphone for hours at a time. And to the people who share family photos and heirlooms for others to enjoy in the history tent.

And to the people who start the morning conducting a marathon and then provide a beanbag tournament and medallion hunt and end by picking up after others. To everyone who went out collecting prizes from hundreds of businesses. To sponsors.

To all the people who fill a spot, serve a need, solve a problem, create fun. To the mayor of Tamarack and city council members who worked for days to ensure a safe and attractive place to hold the event.

You did a great job!

Cheryl Meld

Tamarack

We recently received a mailing from the Aitkin County Health and Human Services. Page one tells how sensitive a childs brain is as it develops. Then pages four and five seem to contradict the first page, especially when it comes to mercury-based thimerosal in multi-dose vials of vaccines. If this mercury-based preservative is not harmful to a childs developing nervous system, then why are we warned to limit our consumption of tuna, etc.? Or why do they wear hazmat suits to clean up a broken curly-style lightbulb with a trace amount of mercury?

In doing some research, I checked the Pro-Con Vaccines website. It told of 1989 as the year Congress took away our right to sue for damages done by vaccines. Instead, now there is a fund to pay for those damages, but the number of claims denied is more than double the claims accepted.

So what can a parent or guardian do? First, find a doctor who really listens to you and your concerns. Second, insist vaccines used are single dose, not from multiple dose vials with thimerosal. Third, pray about it. Some years ago, my wife, Susan, and I were pondering whether to get a certain vaccine for our son. We prayed about it and the answer came clear as a bell!

Finally, the county brochure refers to herd immunity. Just as important is herd mentality, going the path of least resistance and following the crowd. Please remember this: whatever decision you make may have lifetime consequences.

Pastor Bill Sass

Palisade

On President Obamas watch: millions more on food stamps; millions more on Medicaid; millions more on welfare; millions more in poverty; thousands of oppressive rules and regulations added, costing businesses billions annually, raising product costs; a slew of Executive Orders, many without required legislative approval; added 12,600 government employees last two weeks in office.

In his last weeks, Obama arbitrarily declassified thousands of sensitive documents, thus allowing them to be selectively leaked to the liberal media. In 2016, allowed in 100,000 illegal Syrians, unvetted. How many were ISIS-inclined? The Benghazi fiasco; North Koreas imminent threat largely ignored; $300 million ransom payment to Iran (counter to U.S. policy) and later an additional $150 billion. Some of that money has ostensibly found its way to Kim Jong Un. Released around 160 of 200 plus remaining Guantanamo Bay terrorist prisoners, one a Bin Laden guard. Two years later, 20 percent had returned to terrorism.

Special forces had Osama Bin Laden in their crosshairs (first encounter); Obama said no to outing him. Obama and Clinton gave Russias Putin 20 percent of the U.S. uranium stockpile in exchange for $145 million into the Clinton Foundation. Sold out Israel at the U.N. and spent taxpayer money to upset Netanyahus reelection. Israel is our staunchest ally and only democracy between Africa and Asia. Severely decimated the U.S. military capability. The stronger we are, the safer we are. Foreign policy abysmal, ie. Syria, North Korea, Iran, Israel, Iraq, Afghanistan. In the latter two, he reduced troop count, increased it, reduced and each time telegraphing to the enemy numbers and when.

Disastrous Obamacare. You can keep your doctor and your plan. Lies. Premiums on average will go down $2,500 a month. They went up $2,500. And Obama raided the Medicare fund of billions to sustain Obamacare.

Obama and Clinton both told the media they had convinced Syrias Bashar Assad to destroy his chemical weapons. Not. April 2017 he chemically killed many more. President Trump immediately acted.

Economy, tepid. Two economic barometers are GDP: historically rises around three percent annually. Significantly lower under Obama. In late 2016, 1.4 percent. Dow-Jones average on election day was 17,200. Six months with Trump 22,000 plus and a million new jobs created.

The alleged Trump-Russia hacking issue the media and Democratic hierarchy have been hyperventilating over for months has no basis. Three months before the election, the three security agencies advised Obama that Russia had hacked the Democratic National Committee. Obama did nothing.

Outgoing presidents pardon incarcerated persons, typically 150-300. Obama pardoned nearly 2,000; many were lifers, in for murder. Pvt. Bradley Manning was serving 35 years for releasing 750,000 classified documents pardoned after seven years.

Now out of office, Obama is deeply involved with Organizing For Action. OFA is 30,000-strong and dedicated to stonewalling and disrupting everything the new administration tries to accomplish. President Obama was a micro-manager, frequently ignoring the advice of his cabinet and generals. Some of those generals are now speaking out.

Several of the items listed potentially impact our security.

Obama has done a monumental disservice to our country.

Jim Warneke

Aitkin

Most people appear to give little credibility to the idea of aliens in UFOs. Having followed this subject for decades, there is no doubt about such existences and the role they have played in bringing our civilization to its present state. You will not get any satisfaction from our government about this because a mandate by the defense part of government number 0463, I believe, makes it a federal crime for anyone in government to tell us about them, even if such government people have worked with aliens. For information as to what they are and how they are linked to Christianity, you can check out the Urantia Book (Urantiabook.com), which tells about it.

The concern at present is what happens if North Korea makes good on its intention to perhaps make targets in the USA. With our president, who has said he will take care of the matter maybe with nuclear bombs, the response is quite clear based on what has happened to other planets according to people who once were on such other planets. The story about the Koradorians seems to tell us what aliens do to mortal races who intend to destroy their environment due to conflicts.

What happened to the Koradorians was the Cold Death which was caused by space clouds of hydrogen put between their star Korena and the planet Korendor. This caused Korendor temperatures to go to minus 200 degrees Fahrenheit for a period of 40 years. The result was the reduction of the planets population from six billion to 40,000. It was painful to start all over again.

If nuclear bombs on our planet are launched they will never likely reach their targets because aliens will stop them. Then, having lost our right to be on Earth, life will eventually start all over again on planet Earth, called Urantia by aliens.

Things are not right when our defense industry takes on the job of political intrigue as part if its role of defending the country. They kill people who disagree with them! They muzzle people in government by their mandate to say nothing about aliens. This kills our concept of freedom of speech because such freedom is worthless if you dont know what you are talking about. Our minds cannot conceive intelligent ideas about something it has no knowledge of.

Robert Newton

Aitkin

Are you one of the many farmers without an identified farm successor? Purdue University says thats around 75 percent and about half expect nonfamily members to take over. A gradual shift of responsibilities and ownership, plus an extended mentoring period, can help ensure the continued success of the farm business.

After checking out a candidates experience and references, a short trial period with paid labor can be a good step. This probationary period can help both of you assess how well you work together, how your daily priorities match up and how you deal with setbacks.

A phased transition plan can follow, based on the goals and capabilities of you and your successor. Responsibilities for farm decisions and management can be shifted gradually or by specific enterprises. Critical elements may be held for later, while new enterprises conceived by the new farmer could be her or his full responsibility and ownership right away.

A written transition plan can ensure that timing and responsibilities are clear. A five-year plan for major progress will tell you if it's working.

A new farmer will benefit from your knowledge of your land and from your experience in the business. Remaining a minority partner or a mentor gives access to your valuable advice. However, there are no guarantees of the farm business surviving the transfer, or indeed, from any year to the next under your control. You have gained skills and have built a business to withstand financial, weather and market risks. But your successor will be operating in a world with a market and regulatory climate that differs from when you farmed. You have to be prepared to accept that decisions will be made that would not match yours.

The Center for Rural Affairs has resources for retiring and beginning farmers at http://www.cfra.org/beginningfarmer-rancher.

Wyatt Fraas

Center for Rural Affairs

Lyons, Neb.

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Letters to the editor - 170816 - Aitkin Independent Age

There is a single thing worth noticing about the photo shoot of Chelsea Manning, this eras second most infamous transgender woman, in the September issue of Vogue. She is not glamorous.

Mannings cropped strawberry blonde hair is windswept and wet, and other than what appears to be a bit of mascara and perhaps some lip balm, there is little evidence of makeup. The styling, by Phyllis Posnick, is all about looking natural and relaxed or as much as one can while being attended to by a village of fashion editors and assistants. The backdrop is a nearly empty, rocky beach with foamy waves in the distance on a fairly overcast day. An empty lifeguards chair sits off to the side. There is nothing particularly sophisticated or chic about the setting or the styling. This is not one of those white-sand beaches dotted with elegant cabanas and oiled-up bar boys standing at the ready.

Instead, this is Everymans beach - a place for day trips, not summering.

This is Mannings fashion coming out in the pages of a magazine that transforms fashion into popular culture, politics into iconography, controversy into high gloss. She is the former Fort Drum soldier previously known as Bradley Manning. However one might view Manning as a whistle-blower or a traitor the message of this photo is accessibility, normalcy, calm.

This is a far cry from the haughty, hyper-feminine Hollywood unveiling of Caitlyn Jenner on the cover of Vanity Fair in 2015. Jenners long chestnut hair was done up in flowing waves. Inside, there were more pictures featuring perfect makeup, a glittering gold evening gown, retro ivory lingerie, contoured cleavage and legs stretched long like Marlene Dietrich. Everything about Jenners photographs, from the cover to the inside pages, declared, loudly and emphatically: I am the visual epitome of a woman, from the top of my perfect blow-out to my stiletto heels.

Manning is not so insistent that her femininity, her womanliness, is consistent with such narrow standards. Perhaps its because she is younger than Jenner by almost 40 years a millennial rather than a baby boomer. Perhaps its because the culture has shifted in the past two years. (And with a single presidential tweet, continues to shift.) Perhaps its simply because Manning and Jenner are two very different people, and blessedly, that is reflected in how they are photographed, even though both were shot by Annie Leibovitz.

In Vogue, Manning wears a red Norma Kamali one-piece swimsuit. With its sweetheart neckline and wide straps, it has a retro aesthetic. And had Manning been styled differently, with smoky eye makeup and tousled hair, it would have been the perfect costume for a pin-up. Instead, the suit, with its tummy concealing ruching along the sides, is more reassuring than sexy. As swimwear goes, its not especially revealing. Its conservative. Its purpose isnt to flaunt the body so much as it is to flatter it.

The accompanying story by Nathan Heller is filled with detailed descriptions of the various ensembles Manning wears as Heller accompanies her to a literary party and engages her in a conversation on the banks of the Hudson River. The list of designer wear is long and impressive: Altuzarra, Marc Jacobs, the Row, Vetements.

Manning notes that she has a lot of fashion news to catch up on, thanks to her detention at Fort Leavenworth military prison. She has been a fast study and is particularly enamored of collections that blur gender lines, that do not aspire to create perfection but that revel in the off-beat the off-kilter. When she posted an image of herself on Instagram after leaving prison, her bright red lips stood out against her cropped hair and simple black dress. The picture was controlled but inviting. She looked like she was headed to the office, not declaring her personal freedom. Although sometimes, freedom can simply mean the sweet ability to just be boring.

Manning isnt on the cover of Vogue. Jennifer Lawrence stars in four different versions of the September issue, which celebrates the magazines 125th anniversary. And she gets the full Vogue fantasy gloss, dressed up as everything from a screen siren to (sort of) a 19th-century debutante. Manning isnt even a head-turner. She doesnt startle you by how pretty she looks. She is so pale against the washed out sky and the sand. The swimsuit pops into focus before she does. Manning is looking directly at the camera and smiling. She doesnt look relaxed. (Perhaps only a professional celebrity could fully exhale in the bullseye of Leibovitzs lens.) But Manning definitely looks pleased.

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Manning doesn't look glamorous in Vogue shoot; and that's great - WatertownDailyTimes.com

Chelsea Manningis feeling free.

The 29-year-old transgender soldier, who spent seven years in prison forleaking700,000 classified documentsto WikiLeaks, shared a photo of herself walking along the beach in a red one-piece bathing suit. The photo comes from feature on Manning in the September issue ofVogue.

Guess this is what freedom looks like, she captioned the image on Instagram.

The shot of Manning, who smiles as she runs her hands through her hair, was taken by veteran photographerAnnie Leibovitz.

RELATED VIDEO:Chelsea Manning Released from Prison After Seven Years for Leaking Government Secrets

The accompanying story forVoguefollows Manning as she nervously prepares to attend anafter-party for the Lambda Literary Awards, an event that honors LGBTQ writers. As soon as she entered, she was greeted by admirers.

Its a completely different scene than where she grew up in Oklahoma.

I knew that I was different, Manning tellsVogue. I gravitated more toward playing house, but the teachers were always pushing me toward playing the more competitive games with the boys.

She recalls, I spent so much time wondering, Whats wrong with me? Why cant I fit in?

Manning, born Bradley Manning, served a portion of her original 35-year sentence for leaking classified documents.Shortly before finishing his second term as president, Barack Obama shortened the sentence for Manning.

I appreciate the wonderful support that I have received from so many people across the world over these past years, Manning said in an exclusivestatement to ABC News at the time. As I rebuild my life, I remind myself not to relive the past. The past will always affect me and I will keep that in mind while remembering that how it played out is only my starting point, not my final destination.

Manning confirmed that she identified as a woman just one day after her 2013 sentencing. She began her gender transition while in prison, although she had made appearances as a woman since as early as 2010.

See the original post:
Chelsea Manning Poses in a Red Bathing Suit for Vogue: 'Guess This Is What Freedom Looks Like' - PEOPLE.com

First Bradley Manning betrayed his country. Then he betrayed his own gender. By all means, lets celebrate his achievements, and enable his delusions about himself and the world he lives in.

Amber Athey reports:

Vogue recently photographed Chelsea Bradley Manning, who has been released from prison after being convicted of espionage and theft

Manning has now been photographed by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz for Vogue, a womens fashion magazine. In the headline for a story about Manning, Vogue says, Manning changed the course of history. Now shes hes focusing on herself himself.

Bask in the glory of it:

To which I can only reply:

Dont let anybody shame you out of telling the truth about this man. Hes not a woman, hes not a patriot, and hes not sane. Pretending otherwise doesnt help anybody, least of all him.

And saying so isnt hate. Its reality. Trying to coerce people into telling a lie is wrong, even if you think youre sparing somebodys feelings.

Plus, that color is all wrong for him. Good lord, Leibovitz, youre supposed to be a professional.

Read more from the original source:
Traitor And Genetic Male Bradley Manning To Appear On Cover Of Vogue - The Daily Caller

If Bradley Manning had stayed Bradley Manning, would he still be in prison? If Bradley Manning had stayed Bradley Manning, would he be basking in celebrity, enjoying fawning photo shoots? Given the magnitude of his crimes, I dare say that hed be in prison today if he still identified as a man. Then hed be nothing but what he actually is, a garden-variety traitor a faithless soldier who should count himself fortunate not to face capital punishment.

Its worth remembering what he did. He disclosed, in a gigantic document dump, more than a million pages of classified information, including information about American military operations, American diplomacy, and American allies. The Obama administration was forced to rush to safety foreign friends whom Manning had outed as helping Americans. He broke faith with every relevant provision of the Armys warrior ethos he abandoned his mission, he actively aided the enemy, and he acted with stunning disregard for the lives of his comrades. He did so because, acting on his own authority, he decided he wanted to stimulate worldwide discussion, debate, and reforms.

To be clear, this wasnt whistleblowing. He didnt identify a specific wrong and expose it responsibly while taking care to minimize the harm of disclosure. He just disclosed documents without regard for their contents. He didnt know if anyone would die because of his actions. He didnt know to what extent vital missions or programs would be compromised. He just did what he wanted to do. There was no honor in his action. None.

And now look at him. Hes the subject of a fawning Vogue profile and photo shoot:

In fact, hes an LGBT celebrity now, swarmed at public events and even featured at New Yorks Pride March, where he waved from a drop-top Nissan alongside Gavin Grimm. When Trump issued a series of tweets declaring a ban on transgender soldiers in the military, media outlets flocked to cover Mannings response. But one wonders, do the transgender soldiers actually serving look at Chelsea Manning as a poster child for trans service?

But no matter. For many leftists, Manning offers the irresistible combination radical criminal acts combined with revolutionary identity. Its Radical Chic all over again, this time through the lens of latest civil-rights fashion, transgender rights

The radical quarters of the Left have a long history of excusing and celebrating even the most vile of criminals so long as they have the right revolutionary politics. Disturbingly, that celebration leaks even into organizations that are billed as meanstream. Recall, it was just last month the Womens March tweeted its appreciation for convicted cop-killer and FBI most-wanted terrorist Assata Shakur:

Earlier this summer, New Yorks Puerto Rican Day Parade sought to honor convicted terrorist Oscar Lopez Rivera as a National Freedom Hero. Under pressure, he decided to forgo that honor, but he was featured in a float anyway and parts of the crowd gave him a heros welcome.

These kinds of celebrations are not just morally abhorrent; theyre deeply polarizing. They represent the idea that the rule of law even when the subject is murder or treason is contingent upon the politics and racial or gender identity of the lawbreaker. Americans on opposing sides of the ideological divide are given a signal that when it comes to advancing the radical cause, not even human life or national security can stand in the way. There are no lines that cant be crossed.

This is what radical identity politics does. It twists and distorts normal moral analysis. It declares that the ends justify the means, and then goes even farther to say, By any means necessary. This is an unacceptable ethic not just for a constitutional republic but for any form of civil society. Allegedly mainstream media outlets, politicians, or organizations that honor or respect the likes of Manning, Rivera, or Shakur cover themselves in shame.

READ MORE: NR Editorial: The Injustice of Communting Mannings Sentence Chelsea Manning Is Not a Whistleblower Chelsea Manning and the Problem with Pronouns

David French is a senior writer for National Review, a senior fellow at the National Review Institute, and an attorney.

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Transgenderism Doesn't Excuse Treason - National Review

This interview is a joint project of Truthdig and The Nation magazine.

LONDON A tiny tip of the vast subterranean network of governmental and intelligence agencies from around the world dedicated to destroying WikiLeaks and arresting its founder, Julian Assange, appears outside the red-brick building on Hans Crescent Street that houses the Ecuadorean Embassy. Assange, the worlds best-known political refugee, has been in the embassy since he was offered sanctuary there last June. British police in black Kevlar vests are perched night and day on the steps leading up to the building, and others wait in the lobby directly in front of the embassy door. An officer stands on the corner of a side street facing the iconic department store Harrods, half a block away on Brompton Road. Another officer peers out the window of a neighboring building a few feet from Assanges bedroom at the back of the embassy. Police sit round-the-clock in a communications van topped with an array of antennas that presumably captures all electronic forms of communication from Assanges ground-floor suite.

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), or Scotland Yard, said the estimated cost of surrounding the Ecuadorean Embassy from June 19, 2012, when Assange entered the building, until Jan. 31, 2013, is the equivalent of $4.5 million.

Audio clip two: Julian Assange shares his thoughts on the Bradley Manning Case. Your browser does not support the audio element. (Transcript)

Britain has rejected an Ecuadorean request that Assange be granted safe passage to an airport. He is in limbo. It is, he said, like living in a space station.

The status quo, for them, is a loss, Assange said of the U.S.-led campaign against him as we sat in his small workroom, cluttered with cables and computer equipment. He had a full head of gray hair and gray stubble on his face and was wearing a traditional white embroidered Ecuadorean shirt. The Pentagon threatened WikiLeaks and me personally, threatened us before the whole world, demanded that we destroy everything we had published, demanded we cease soliciting new information from U.S. government whistle-blowers, demanded, in other words, the total annihilation of a publisher. It stated that if we did not self-destruct in this way that we would be compelled to do so.

But they have failed, he went on. They set the rules about what a win was. They lost in every battle they defined. Their loss is total. Weve won the big stuff. The loss of face is hard to overstate. The Pentagon reissued its threats on Sept. 28 last year. This time we laughed. Threats inflate quickly. Now the Pentagon, the White House and the State Department intend to show the world what vindictive losers they are through the persecution of Bradley Manning, myself and the organization more generally.

Assange, Manning and WikiLeaks, by making public in 2010 half a million internal documents from the Pentagon and the State Department, along with the 2007 video of U.S. helicopter pilots nonchalantly gunning down Iraqi civilians, including children, and two Reuters journalists, effectively exposed the empires hypocrisy, indiscriminate violence and its use of torture, lies, bribery and crude tactics of intimidation. WikiLeaks shone a spotlight into the inner workings of empire the most important role of a press and for this it has become empires prey. Those around the globe with the computer skills to search out the secrets of empire are now those whom empire fears most. If we lose this battle, if these rebels are defeated, it means the dark night of corporate totalitarianism. If we win, if the corporate state is unmasked, it can be destroyed.

U.S. government officials quoted in Australian diplomatic cables obtained by The Saturday Age described the campaign against Assange and WikiLeaks as unprecedented both in its scale and nature. The scope of the operation has also been gleaned from statements made during Mannings pretrial hearing. The U.S. Department of Justice will apparently pay the contractor ManTech of Fairfax, Va., more than $2 million this year alone for a computer system that, from the tender, appears designed to handle the prosecution documents. The government line item refers only to WikiLeaks Software and Hardware Maintenance.The lead government prosecutor in the Manning case, Maj. Ashden Fein, has told the court that the FBI file that deals with the leak of government documents through WikiLeaks has 42,135 pages or 3,475 documents. This does not include a huge volume of material accumulated by a grand jury investigation. Manning, Fein has said, represents only 8,741 pages or 636 different documents in that classified FBI file.

There are no divisions among government departments or the two major political parties over what should be Assanges fate. I think we should be clear here. WikiLeaks and people that disseminate information to people like this are criminals, first and foremost, then-press secretary Robert Gibbs, speaking for the Obama administration, said during a 2010 press briefing.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, and then-Sen. Christopher S. Bond, a Republican, said in a joint letter to the U.S. attorney general calling for Assanges prosecution: If Mr. Assange and his possible accomplices cannot be charged under the Espionage Act (or any other applicable statute), please know that we stand ready and willing to support your efforts to close those gaps in the law, as you also mentioned.

Republican Candice S. Miller, a U.S. representative from Michigan, said in the House: It is time that the Obama administration treats WikiLeaks for what it is a terrorist organization, whose continued operation threatens our security. Shut it down. Shut it down. It is time to shut down this terrorist, this terrorist Web site, WikiLeaks. Shut it down, Attorney General [Eric] Holder.

At least a dozen American governmental agencies, including the Pentagon, the FBI, the Armys Criminal Investigative Department, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the Diplomatic Security Service, are assigned to the WikiLeaks case, while the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence are assigned to track down WikiLeaks supposed breaches of security. The global assault which saw Australia threaten to revoke Assanges passport is part of the terrifying metamorphosis of the war on terror into a wider war on civil liberties. It has become a hunt not for actual terrorists but a hunt for all those with the ability to expose the mounting crimes of the power elite.

The dragnet has swept up any person or organization that fits the profile of those with the technical skills and inclination to burrow into the archives of power and disseminate it to the public. It no longer matters if they have committed a crime. The group Anonymous, which has mounted cyberattacks on government agencies at the local and federal levels, saw Barrett Brown a journalist associated with Anonymous and who specializes in military and intelligence contractors arrested along with Jeremy Hammond, a political activist alleged to have provided WikiLeaks with 5.5 million emails between the security firm Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor) and its clients. Brown and Hammond were apparently seized because of allegations made by an informant named Hector Xavier Monsegur known as Sabu who appears to have attempted to entrap WikiLeaks while under FBI supervision.

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The Death of Truth - Truthdig

Besides grabbing a slice of hot, greasy pizza and sipping on champagne, one of the first things that Chelsea Manning , famed whistleblower and trans activist, did following her release after seven years of a 35-year prison sentence was go out to brunch for some avocado toasta normal enough activity for someone getting reacquainted with contemporary American society, but one that held extra significance for Manning. The meal marked her first real-life encounter with Heather Dewey-Hagborg, the artist to whom shed been sending DNA samples for years.

Before that, the pairs collaboration, which is now publicly on view at New York's Fridman Gallery through September, had been largely clandestine. The former U.S. Army intelligence analysts spell at five different facilities over the last seven years, which a United Nations expert called cruel and inhumane, allowed for little outside contactwhich is why, in 2015, when Paper wanted to publish a portrait of Manning along with an interview conducted via email and encrypted web platforms, the magazine resorted to unusual methods and called on someone who was then arguably one of the industrys least popular artists.

Heather Dewey-Hagborg, Radical Love, Chelsea Manning, 2016. Installation at World Economic Forum.

Courtesy the artists and Fridman Gallery, New York. Photo by Monika Flueckiger

At that point, Dewey-Hagborgs infamous portraits constructed out of the DNA extracted from found items like cigarette butts and chewing gum had attracted the artist her fair share of flack, but in this case, they provided the perfect phenotypic opportunity: A couple of ear swabs and hair clippings later, she was able to create two 3D-printed portraits of Manningthe first images of her seen since 2010. They were also the first images of Manning, who was known as Bradley Manning at the time she was sentenced, since she announced that she was transitioning. "The only thing, really, was that she was concerned about appearing too male, Dewey-Hagborg recalled recently of her early interactions with Manning.

Dewey-Hagborg's infamous, intentionally provocative DNA works were always intended not only as a warning about the risk of surveillance, but of the potential harm of the emerging technology of DNA phenotyping and its reductionism when it comes to identity, particularly stereotypes and biases. Essentially, her interests lined up neatly with those of Manning, a dissident who's also vigorously campaigned for humanparticularly transgenderrights. The pairs correspondence continued long after the Paper project, even though it had to be mostly via letters, written on actual pen and paper.

Heather Dewey-Hagborg, DNA Extraction Process, Radical Love, Chelsea Manning, 2016.

Courtesy the artists and Fridman Gallery, New York. Photo by Thomas Dexter

Together, their previous collaboration grew to 30 more portraits of Manning, which called for much more immediate actionand more swabs and hairs smuggled via Mannings lawyer. Dewey-Hagborg fed these samples into the software she wrote back in 2012, which analyzes the DNA extractions to create a probable face based on the genetic data. (The possibilities are almost endless: Mannings DNA alone could result in light skin or dark skin; brown eyes or blue eyes; freckles or no freckles; and so on and so forth.)

The resulting 30 faces Dewey-Hagborg chose now make up A Becoming Resemblance, the Fridman Gallery exhibition that, for the most part of its making, was actually just a dream. In 2016, Manning's already brutal time in custody took a turn for the worse: She tried to kill herself, was sentenced to solitary confinement, tried to kill herself again, and went on hunger strike to protest her mistreatment and the mishandling of her gender dysphoria (which she ended when the military granted her request for gender transition surgery). At that point, obviously I was really worried about her, and I was trying to send positive messages however I could, Dewey-Hagborg said.

Installation view of "A Becoming Resemblance," 2017, at Fridman Gallery.

Photos by Paola Abreu Pita, courtesy the artists and Fridman Gallery, New York

And, with President Obamas term coming to an end then, she also made a plan: Working with the illustrator Shoili Kanungo, Dewey-Hagborg and Manning set about creating a comic book envisioning Obama commuting Mannings sentence, and a freed Manning visiting an exhibition of her portraits in-person. The resulting book, Suppressed Images , was published three days before the end of Obamas term, on the morning of January 17, 2017the same day that, a matter of hours later, Manning ended up being freed. I have no idea if Obama actually saw [the book], but it felt like magic, Dewey-Hagborg recalled.

Last week, Manning did indeed get to visit the exhibition, whose mission to illuminate the importance of identity issues has only magnified since Mannings more recent struggles. Its about uniting us, Dewey-Hagborg said. Were 99 percent the same on the genomic level, and were focusing on that molecular solidarity instead of divisivenesspointing out that we have so much that brings us together and that connects us.

Manning is still limiting her contact with reporters, but that didnt keep her from accepting hugs and posing for selfies with her admirers, whom Dewey-Hagborg said turned the opening night into a love festone that the pair definitely seems like they'll continue themselves, even if that means just sitting in the park or running errands to Home Depot. Its so wonderful now that I can just send her a text message, Dewey-Hagborg said of their friendship. Its incredible.

Related: Chelsea Manning Makes Her Case in First Post-Prison Interview

Meet the Women Who Made History as the Organizers of the Women's March on Washington:

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How Chelsea Manning Covertly Made a High-Tech Art Exhibition While In Prison - W Magazine

30 lifelike 3D portraits of Chelsea Manning's face hang from the ceiling in the Fridman Gallery in Manhattan. 30 lifelike 3D portraits of Chelsea Manning's face hang from the ceiling in the Fridman Gallery in Manhattan. Related Content

NEW YORK (CNN) - For years, we only had one photo of Chelsea Manning: that iconic black and white mugshot she sent to her therapist.

It was made public by the Army in 2013 and remained the only photo portraying her as a woman until her release from prison in 2017 -- other photos were prohibited while she was in custody.

It's strangely fitting, then, that 30 lifelike 3D portraits of her face now hang from a ceiling in the Fridman Gallery in Manhattan.

They are part of a project called "A Becoming Resemblance," by Heather Dewey-Hagborg, who created them from computer-generated images made using Manning's DNA.

"This is a sampling of thirty possible faces that could be produced algorithmically reading Chelsea's DNA data," said Dewey-Hagborg during the exhibition's private view.

"They represent a wide range of the diversity that exists within Chelsea's genome, a diversity in which that same DNA data can be read."

Manning spent seven years in prison for leaking government documents to WikiLeaks. During that time, she had gender transition surgery.

Originally sentenced to 35 years when she was still known as Bradley Manning, she was pardoned in January 2017 by then President Obama -- on his third-to-last day in office -- and then released on 17 May.

The DNA samples were recovered from cheek swabs and hair clippings that were part of a correspondence between Manning and Dewey-Hagborg.

It's a similar process to Dewey-Hagborg's groundbreaking 2012 project "Stranger Visions," which used random bits of DNA found on cigarette butts and other litter to create portraits of strangers.

"In 2015 I received an email more or less out of the blue from Paper magazine. She couldn't be visited and photographed at that time and so they reached out to Chelsea and asked if she'd be interested in having a DNA portrait made."

A handful of letters were exchanged over the next two years through an intermediary.

"Chelsea was excited about the idea, but also concerned the she might appear too male in a portrait generated just based on her DNA," said Dewey-Hagborg.

"I'm hoping that people will take away the idea that genetics is not destiny and a kind of push for self-determined identity and a push against efforts to inscribe identities into us, or for external forces to tell us who we are rather than listening to us say this is who I am."

Ruddy Shrock, the curator of the exhibition, defined it as a "a poetic investigation Heather took into issues of identity and ownership of oneself."

Around 250 people were in attendance at the opening. Manning arrived accompanied by friends and her agent, but declined to speak with the media.

She was followed around by the documentary team for "Chelsea XY," which will be released at Sundance Film Festival in January 2018.

She did engage with fans and supporters and took photos with them.

"To have Chelsea out, in a dress, creating art, on this wonderful journey with other activists and people in the media, it's really moving," said Suzie Glbert, one of the attendees.

Jeff Seelbach, a fan of Chelsea and producer at the company funding her documentary, said: "The thing that fascinates me about it is the very unique and terrible situation she was in, that her identity and her ability to have an image and a representation was completely suppressed by the government and by our legal system."

Artist Heather Dewey-Hagborg also got to meet Chelsea in person for the first time after their mail exchange.

"It was both totally amazing and then completely normal. I mean we had brunch, avocado toast, you know, your typical New York thing. But then it was also just completely stunning to see someone you've pictured in your head," she noted.

"She's [Chelsea] really excited about it, this is her kind of art debut."

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Chelsea-Mannings-DNA-spawns-lifelike-3D-portraits - Story | WTAJ - WTAJ