» About PVT. Manning Private Manning Support Network

If you had free reign over classified networks and you saw incredible things, awful things things that belonged in the public domain, and not on some server stored in a dark room in Washington DC what would you do?

God knows what happens now. Hopefully worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms I want people to see the truth because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public.

-Quotes from an online chat attributed to PVT Manning

The trial of military whistle-blower and democracy advocate PVT Chelsea Manning (known as Bradley Manning untilher Aug 22, 2013 announcement)finished on August 21st. After a prosecution which starkly showcased US government officials misplaced priorities when it comes to human rights, Army whistleblower PVT Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison. This case sets a dangerous precedent for the first amendment, opening whistle-blowers and those who help them to extreme prosecution. However, as we enter the appeals process, [Chelsea] Mannings story is far from over.

The information that Manning gave to the public exposed the unjust detainment of innocent people at Guantanamo Bay, shown us the true human cost of our wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and changed journalism forever. There is no evidence that anyone died as a result of the leaked information. Through WikiLeaks Manning revealed:

Read more about what was revealed in these documents.

For her actions, PVT Manning has received the following honors and awards:Sam Adams Award (2014) Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence Sean Macbride Peace Prize(2013) International Peace Bureau In His Footsteps Award (2013)- Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club Nobel Peace Prize nominee (2014, 2013 & 2012) Movement of the Icelandic Parliament, Oklahoma Center for Conscience and Peace Research, and former Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire Person of the Year (2012)- UK Guardian 2013 Peace Prize US Peace Memorial Foundation Peacemaker of the Year (2013) The Peace & Justice Center of Sonoma County Hero of Peace Award (2013) Eisenhower Chapter of Veterans for Peace SF Trans March Award (2013) San Francisco Trans March SF Pride Grand Marshal Runner-Up (2013) SF LGBT Pride former Grand Marshals Peoples Choice Human Rights Award (2012)- Global Exchange

More About the Trial On July 30, 2013, PVT Manning was found not guilty of the most serious charge against her, that of Aiding the Enemy. However, she was convicted of 20 offenses, including 6 under the Espionage Act. On August 21, 2013 she was sentenced by military judge Col. Denise Lind to 35 years in prison -less than the 60 years requested by the government, yet still an unusually harsh sentence for a non-violent crime. The New York Times Editorial Board published the following in response:

35 years is far too long a sentence by any standard. In more than two weeks of hearings, government lawyers presented vague and largely speculative claims that Private Mannings leaks had endangered lives and chilled diplomatic relations. On the other hand, much of what Private Manning released was of public value

Human Rights Watch general council Dinah PoKempner stated that:

Continued here:
» About PVT. Manning Private Manning Support Network

Edward Snowden NSA leaker asks for extra security after receiving death threats from US officials !! – Video


Edward Snowden NSA leaker asks for extra security after receiving death threats from US officials !!
1 strike PLZ sub to my back up channel http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC06StA75rt3uUM_EKXC413g Join Cip n Kev on our Radio show G.U.N.N Sundays 6pm - 8pmUK t...

By: cip1883

See the article here:
Edward Snowden NSA leaker asks for extra security after receiving death threats from US officials !! - Video

Snowden Says Whistle-Blower Law Gaps Preclude Return

Edward Snowden, the former government contractor who exposed secret intelligence programs, said he wont return to the U.S. because of gaps in federal whistle-blower laws that he said would leave him unprotected.

Snowden, who fled to Hong Kong and then to Russia after leaking classified documents on the governments Internet and telephone data spy programs, said Congress needs to broaden the Whistleblower Protection Act so that national security contractors can more easily fight for changes from within the intelligence system.

Returning to the U.S., I think, is the best resolution for the government, the public, and myself, but its unfortunately not possible in the face of current whistle-blower protection laws, Snowden wrote yesterday in an Internet question-and-answer session.

While the authenticity of Snowdens identity couldnt be independently verified, two advocates who have advised Snowden - - Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project and Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union -- said by e-mail they could confirm Snowdens participation.

The session was conducted by the Courage Foundation, which describes itself as a trust formed to help defend journalistic sources such as Snowden, who gave classified National Security Agency documents to media organizations including the U.K.-based Guardian newspaper and The Washington Post.

It marked at least the second time that Snowden has used an Internet chat to communicate with the public about his efforts to change U.S. surveillance laws. A similar session was conducted in June on the Guardians website.

Some members of Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, have called Snowden a traitor for disclosing intelligence programs meant to prevent terrorism.

Snowden, 30, faces charges of theft and espionage and is in Russia on temporary asylum. Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday that if Snowden wanted to return to the U.S. and plead guilty, prosecutors would be willing to negotiate.

Weve always indicated that clemency for Snowden is off the table, Holder said during a forum at the University of Virginia. Were he to come back to the United States and enter a plea, we would engage with his lawyers.

Snowden yesterday defended his actions as an act of civil disobedience and said hes aware of threats that have been made against his life.

Visit link:
Snowden Says Whistle-Blower Law Gaps Preclude Return

Edward Snowden: Did the American whistleblower act alone?

The Snowdenistas as I call his supporters use this largely underwhelming material as proof of systematic abuse by out-of-control spy services. Did anyone really think that the hackers and code-crackers in Cheltenham (home to GCHQ) or in Fort Meade, Maryland (headquarters of the NSA) spent all day playing Sudoku? Their capabilities are indeed colossal. So they should be, given the taxpayers money they consume.

Spy agencies engage in espionage, an inherently disreputable trade: it involves stealing secrets. When details leak, they look shocking. But the hypocrisy of the Snowdenistas is as jarring as their naivety.

Our enemies notably Russia and China are spying on us. So too are our allies. France runs a mighty industrial espionage service for the benefit of its big companies. Germany has an excellent signals intelligence agency, the Kommando Strategische Aufklrung. Germanys spies were recently caught spying on their Nato ally, Estonia, using an official who was also spying for the Russians.

Far from denigrating American intelligence, we should applaud it. It helps catch terrorists, gangsters and spies. Moreover, its oversight and scrutiny is the toughest in the world. America has taken the most elusive and lawless part of government and crammed it into a system of legislative and judicial control.

America is also part of the worlds only successful no-spy agreement, with its close allies notably Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A list of countries that would trust Germany or France not to spy on them would be rather shorter.

Snowdens published revelations include material that has nothing to do with his purported worries about personal privacy. They reveal how countries like Norway and Sweden spy on Russia. Why is it in the public interest to reveal how democracies spy on dictatorships? The Snowdenistas outrage is based on the fact that this spying takes place in cooperation with the NSA, the fount of all evil.

Other disclosures are similarly hard to justify. Why is it in the public interest to reveal how the NSA intercepts emails, phone calls and radio transmissions of Taliban fighters in Pakistan, or to show that the agency is scrutinising the security of that countrys nuclear weapons? Snowden even revealed details of the NSA hacking computers and mobile phones in China and Hong Kong. The result is to cast a distorting and damaging light on agencies work. The harm is catastrophic.

In the spy world, the damage-control involved when even a handful of secret documents is leaked is colossal. When the breach involves tens of thousands, it is paralysing.

Our agencies have to assume that the material is either already in Moscow and Beijing, or will get there eventually. Many operations must be shut down or started anew: a serious spy service does not put lives at risk on the assumption that the other side will not exploit our blunders.

It is fatuous for Snowdens allies to say that they are keeping the stolen material safe: they lack the knowledge and skills to do so. With equal fatuity, they assert that they redacted the published material in order not to breach security. How can they know what will be damaging or harmless?

More here:
Edward Snowden: Did the American whistleblower act alone?

Scooter and Snowden

Edward Snowden says hes in no rush to leave Vladimir Putins Russia, despite a public offer by Attorney General Eric Holder to engage in conversation if Snowden would return home and plead guilty to unspecified federal charges.

We would do the same with any defendant who wanted to enter a plea of guilty, the attorney general added.

But Snowden is not just any defendant. Michael Hayden, former NSA director, describes him this way: Edward Snowden will likely prove to be the most costly leaker of American secrets in the history of the republic.

In sharp contrast, President Obama suggested Snowden wasnt worth the bother, saying he was not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker.

We cant help comparing the liberal reaction to Ed Snowden with the reaction to I. Lewis Scooter Libby. While Snowden has exposed tens of thousands of secrets, Libby was the aide to Dick Cheney whom Democrats and the media wanted pursued to the ends of the earth for having leaked the name of a single CIA agent, Valerie Plame, to columnist Robert Novak.

When it turned out this wasnt true, Libby was still prosecuted and convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice. The man who had in fact leaked Plames name, Richard Armitage at State, was never charged.

So, Mr. President, we have a deal for you: Before your administration offers new deals to Edward Snowden a man who admits to having intentionally exposed tens of thousands of secrets, how about a full pardon for Scooter Libby, who was accused falsely of leaking just one?

Read the original here:
Scooter and Snowden

Feinstein Admits ‘America Is the Great Satan’ as She Defends NSA Spying – Video


Feinstein Admits #39;America Is the Great Satan #39; as She Defends NSA Spying
On Sunday #39;s "Meet the Press" Senator Dianne Feinstein told host David Gregory, "A lot of the privacy people perhaps don #39;t understand that we still occupy the...

By: TRUTHstreammedia

Continue reading here:
Feinstein Admits 'America Is the Great Satan' as She Defends NSA Spying - Video