WikiLeaks whistle-blower Chelsea Manning and US military war resisters today
Tuesday, March 10th 2015, Weaver Hall, Church of the Crossroads,1212 University Ave., Honolulu Hawaii Presentation by Jeff Paterson, former Kaneohe Bay Marine who publicly refused to...
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WikiLeaks whistle-blower Chelsea Manning and US military war resisters today - Video
Manning later moved overseas to Wales with her mother, whose marriage had crumbled. She began high school and sought friends she could trust. "There were a lot of points where I would start to come out, face stern resistance and mockery from people I thought were my friends, and then reverse course. I was scared," she says. "I don't think I ever said 'I'm gay' or 'I'm trans.' It was more like, 'Is it normal for guys to crossdress a lot?'"
Manning's father, Brian Manning, has sharply different memories, recalling a child who liked to play with Legos and the family computer, not in Casey's room. He remembers a happy household, no bullies at school. He does not believe that Manning could have leaked hundreds of thousands of documents alone without catching the attention of colleagues. Having worked in information technology for 30 years, he says, "I know what you can do and what you can't do."
Manning's mother, Susan Manning, said through a representative at the Private Manning Family Fund that her child has always been idealistic and she believes this is the root of any leaks. She said she supports Manning "one hundred percent" in her desire to live as a woman.
More turmoil followed Manning's return to Oklahoma after high school in 2005. She lived with her father and got an internship as a software programmer and designer, but both the job and the relationship with her dad went south. A period of homelessness followed, during which she largely lived out of her truck in Chicago. She later moved in with an aunt near Washington, D.C., enrolling at Montgomery College. She worked 60 to 70 hours a week at two sales jobs to pay for it, she says, and the juggle became "insane."
Thoughts of living as a woman loomed. "But my schedule was hectic, and therapists cost a lot of money," she says. "And even though I started seeing a psychologist with the specific intent of exploring my trans identity, I panicked and never brought up the subject with her. It was all exhausting me to the point I was turning to soda, cigarettes, and the Internet for an escape."
A future in the military came into focus, urged on by her father. "I was following the coverage of the Iraq war and the ongoing 'surge,'" she says. "I began to wonder if I could help out. Sure enough, I enlisted." Another thought occurred too: Perhaps the macho environment would distract her from thoughts of living as a woman.
AP Patrick Semansky
Basic training in Missouri in 2007 was rough. "I absolutely was caught off guard by the intensity," she says. "There were points when I was humiliated pretty badly. One of the drill sergeants who inventoried my personal belongings made comments about my phone: It was pink. I didn't think much about bringing it with me I just liked it."
One difficult night, she says, is "burned in my memory." It came after a long day of marching with weapons loaded with blank rounds. "We arrived at a range where you low-crawl under razor wire," she says. As she was crawling, she says, her weapon got stuck in semiautomatic-fire mode. She became frustrated and tried to force the switch back. "This was a stupid idea," she says. "It went off." The blast infuriated the tired recruits. The next night, "I was jumped by two of the guys who lived with me," she says. "They turned off the lights and tried to push me into my wall locker so they could lock me inside of it. I fought back." A sergeant came as Manning was ready to strike a blow, she says, and she was sent to a behavioral health clinic for "fits of rage." She says she kept the locker incident to herself, and the guys "respected that and left me alone."
Manning went on to become an Army intelligence analyst in New York and prepared to deploy to Iraq. She entered a happier phase, beginning a relationship with a student at Brandeis University. "I fell in love with him. He was not my first relationship, but he was certainly the most serious one," she says. He was the first person Manning recalls telling about her desire to be a woman.
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Chelsea Manning Shares Her Transition to Living as a Woman ...
InterAksyon.com The online news portal of TV5
WASHINGTON -- Chelsea Manning, the US soldier imprisoned for spilling state secrets, has said in an interview that much of her life has been marked by a lonely anguish over her gender identity.
In her first interview from Fort Leavenworth military prison where she is serving out a 35-year sentence for a massive leak of classified documents, Manning, 27, described her life behind bars in an article published Wednesday in Cosmopolitan magazine.
She said she is pained by rules that still forbid her from growing her hair long.
After Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning, was convicted and sentenced in 2013 for the massive document dump, the US Army private announced she was a female and requested medical treatment -- including hormone therapy -- to enable her to become a woman.
Manning has won partial legal victories and judges have backed her request to be referred to as a woman. But while she is undergoing hormone therapy and allowed make-up and female underwear, authorities do not permit Manning to grow her hair long.
Her appeals for medical care have been difficult because she feels "like a joke" to military officials, Manning told the magazine.
It is "painful and awkward" to be banned from letting her hair grow, Manning said.
"I am torn up," Manning said. "I get through each day OK, but at night, when I'm alone in my room, I finally burn out and crash."
The magazine interview was conducted by mail, as military authorities prohibit inmates from speaking to journalists by phone or in person.
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BECOMING CHELSEA | Manning recounts struggle with gender identity, decries treatment in jail
Chelsea Manning #39;s First Interview With "Cosmopolitan"
Chelsea Manning, the U.S. Army soldier formerly known as Bradley Manning, has given her first interview to the media since she was convicted of espionage and sent to military prison. Her publicatio...
By: wochit News
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Chelsea Manning's First Interview With "Cosmopolitan" - Video
Chelsea Manning, the transgender Army private formerly known as Bradley Manning, has given her first interview since she was convicted of leaking hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks.
The interview, done by mail because the military does not allow prisoners to speak with reporters by phone or in person, appears in Cosmopolitan magazine -- a womens magazine best known for its fashion, sex and dating advice.
In the article, Manning, convicted and sentenced to 35 years in a military prison in July 2013, shares details of her time in the Army and her struggles with the lifelong desire to live as a woman despite being born male.
Manning focuses on her struggle with gender dysphoria, telling the magazine she would sneak into her older sister's room to secretly spend time dressing as a girl when she was 5 or 6.
"I had always known that I was 'different.' I didn't really understand it all until I got older," Manning tells Cosmopolitan. "But there was always this foreboding sense something was 'wrong.' I never knew how to talk about it. I just remember feeling terrified about what would happen if someone found out. It was a very lonely feeling."
Manning also touches on her quest for medical care for gender dysphoria, which was diagnosed by military doctors. After more than a year without medical care, Manning and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the military. Manning is optimistic, but told the magazine she feels like a joke to officials in the military.
I am torn up. I get through each day OK, but at night, when Im alone in my room, I finally burn out and crash, she says.
Just four days ago, it became known that Manning apparently joined from prison. In her posts, Manning revealed her plans for Twitter, thanked her supporters and shared the difficulties of tweeting while incarcerated.
"I'm hoping to stay connected with this account as much as possible but would rather tweet about more meaningful things than not #lessismore," she said in one tweet. Tweeting from prison reqs a lot of effort and using a voice phone to dictate #90sproblems.
Today, Manning tweeted out the Cosmopolitan article.
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Chelsea Manning Gives 1st Interview Since Sentencing - to Cosmo
The Army made her feel like a joke but they couldnt keep her silent.
Chelsea Manning formerly known as Bradley E. Manning the ex-Army intelligence analyst sentenced to 35 years for leaking a treasure trove of secret documents to WikiLeaks, has given her first public interview with the press from military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
Bradley Manning, now known as Chelsea Manning, in 2013.Photo: Getty Images
Speaking through the mail to Cosmopolitan magazine, Manning opened up about her recent experience behind bars and her lifelong desire to live as a woman.
I dont know how [this struggle] shaped my life and who I am, but its absolutely a factor in the decisions that I made before and including when I enlisted in the Army, she explained.
Manning who began transitioning into a woman last year through the use of hormones, makeup, and female clothing also describes feeling disconnected most of her life.
I had always known that I was different. I didnt really understand it all until I got older, she said.
Manning tells Cosmo that she joined the Army with hopes that the macho environment would distract her from thoughts of living as a woman. But she got a rude awakening in 2007 during basic training in Missouri.
I absolutely was caught off guard by the intensity, she remembered. There were points when I was humiliated pretty badly.
Serving in Iraq, though, would prove to be a turning point emotionally for Manning.
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Chelsea Manning breaks silence from behind bars
Chelsea Manning gave aninterviewto Cosmopolitan from Fort Leavenworth prison in Kansas, serving 35 years for violating the Espionage Act After being convicted in July 2013 as Bradley Manning, she admitted having gender dysphoria and announced plans to transition into a woman She officially changed her name last year and sued for permission to undergo hormone therapy for gender reassignment from within prison Says it's 'painful and awkward' to be forbidden from letting her hair grow Reveals how being deployed to Iraq made her realize life is volatile
By Joel Christie For Dailymail.com
Published: 17:07 EST, 8 April 2015 | Updated: 01:35 EST, 9 April 2015
Whistleblower Chelsea Manning has given in an in-depth interview from behind bars inFort Leavenworth, Kansas, describing the 'painful and awkward' process and conditions of transitioning to a woman from inside a military prison.
Born Bradley Manning, the 27-year-oldformer intelligence analyst was convicted of espionage in July 2013 for sending a trove of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website and was subsequently sentenced to 35 years prison.
One month after being found guilty, Manning announced that he had always identified as female and planned to start living as a woman named Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, officially switching names in April 2014.
In February this year, after suing the Defense Department, Manning was approved for hormone treatment, allowing the former Army private to make the transition into a woman while serving out her sentence.
Speaking:Chelsea Manning, 27, the soldier convicted of leaking a trove of secret documents and sentenced to 35 year prison, has given her first in-depth interview since announcing plans to transition into a woman
Manning, a former army private who enlisted as Bradley, has had her name officially changed to Chelsea and recently received approval to undergo hormone therapy for gender reassignment while in prison
She was also permitted to have some amenities, including makeup and underwear, but is not allowed to grow her hair long, which she sees as a major affliction.
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Chelsea Manning shares gender transition story from inside Fort Leavenworth prison
Chelsea Manning seen in a photo she sent to a military supervisor in 2010.
The article marks the first time Manning has spoken "as an army private who leaked classified documents, went to military prison, and sued for the right to transition into living as a woman in jail," according to the story, which is in the magazine's May issue and online.
Manning was convicted of violations of the Espionage Act in 2013 for turning over a trove of classified data to the website WikiLeaks. Since the conviction as Private Bradley Manning, the soldier has transitioned, in prison and aided by federal funding, into a transgender woman.
"I'm fascinated by the character of Chelsea Manning; I'm fascinated by the fact that Julian Assange was played by Benedict Cumberbatch, the hottest thing in town, in a big Hollywood movie and yet Chelsea Manning disappeared from view," Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Joanna Coles said in an interview with CNN.
She pointedly added that without Manning, there would be no WikiLeaks as it's known to the public today.
Manning has penned opinion pieces for The New York Times and The Guardian from prison. With Cosmopolitan, she shared a more personal side, detailing her experience as a transitioning woman in prison.
Writer Abigail Pesta, an investigative journalist and contributor to the magazine, communicated with Manning through letters since the military does not allow prisoners to speak to the press by phone.
Coles estimated that the piece was in the works for about a year. Pesta brought the idea to Coles.
We "were very interested in the transition to Chelsea and the idea of transitioning to being a women in a men's prison. I couldn't get my head around it," she said.
Coles called it an idea that was "hiding in plain sight," but no doubt a huge get for the women's magazine.
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Cosmopolitan magazine secures first Chelsea Manning interview
Chelsea Manning seen in a photo she sent to a military supervisor in 2010.
The article marks the first time Manning has spoken "as an army private who leaked classified documents, went to military prison, and sued for the right to transition into living as a woman in jail," according to the story, which is in the magazine's May issue and online.
Manning was convicted of violations of the Espionage Act in 2013 for turning over a trove of classified data to the website WikiLeaks. Since the conviction as Private Bradley Manning, the soldier has transitioned, in prison and aided by federal funding, into a transgender woman.
"I'm fascinated by the character of Chelsea Manning; I'm fascinated by the fact that Julian Assange was played by Benedict Cumberbatch, the hottest thing in town, in a big Hollywood movie and yet Chelsea Manning disappeared from view," Cosmopolitan editor-in-chief Joanna Coles said in an interview with CNN.
She pointedly added that without Manning, there would be no WikiLeaks as it's known to the public today.
Manning has penned opinion pieces for The New York Times and The Guardian from prison. With Cosmopolitan, she shared a more personal side, detailing her experience as a transitioning woman in prison.
Writer Abigail Pesta, an investigative journalist and contributor to the magazine, communicated with Manning through letters since the military does not allow prisoners to speak to the press by phone.
Coles estimated that the piece was in the works for about a year. Pesta brought the idea to Coles.
We "were very interested in the transition to Chelsea and the idea of transitioning to being a women in a men's prison. I couldn't get my head around it," she said.
Coles called it an idea that was "hiding in plain sight," but no doubt a huge get for the women's magazine.
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Cosmopolitan secures first Chelsea Manning interview
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Dressed in reflective yellow construction gear while working under the cover of darkness early Monday, a small group of artists installed a tribute to NSA-leaker Edward Snowden in a Brooklyn...
By: wochit News
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Artists Secretly Install Edward Snowden Statue in Brooklyn Park - Video