28bea21e   
   XPost: alt.alien.visitors, alt.alien.research, alt.astronomy   
   XPost: alt.conspiracy   
   From: bradguth@gmail.com   
      
   On Jun 9, 12:04 am, "Amazin"  wrote:   
   > Clearly, for the financial-military-political establishment, 'the enemy' is   
   > the rest of the human race, and that is a de facto act of war.  They don't   
   > want us of 'the cattle' to notice or think.  They just want us to pay and   
   > fight and die for it.   
   >   
   > The influence of those who masterrmind the whole racket has to be annulled.   
   >   
   > "Sir Arthur C.B.E. Wholeflaffers A.S.A."  escribió   
   > en el mensaje de noticiasnews:0d3b696e-5e2e-4a05-9af6-49168685   
   5b9@ys5g2000pbc.googlegroups.com...   
   > Bradley Manning’s court martial begins   
   >   
   > After 1,100 days in prison, Army private Bradley Manning faced a   
   > military court martial Monday. Day one of the trial, like the months’   
   > long series of pre-trial hearings before it, was characterized by   
   > government secrecy, vindictiveness and lies. Manning, accused of   
   > leaking some 700,000 military and diplomatic files to whistleblower   
   > organization WikiLeaks, faces a possible life sentence if convicted on   
   > 20 charges, the most serious of which is “aiding the enemy” under the   
   > Espionage Act. The Obama administration prosecutors argue that Manning   
   > knowingly provided intelligence information to al Qaeda because   
   > anyone, including terrorists, could access it on the WikiLeaks web   
   > site.   
   >   
   > In a statement before military judge Colonel Denise Lind in February,   
   > Manning explained that he transmitted the material in order to expose   
   > the crimes of the US government and military being carried out in the   
   > name of the American people. His aim, he said, was to spark “worldwide   
   > discussion, debates, and reforms.”   
   >   
   > Lind ruled that the questions of motive or conscience were irrelevant   
   > to the case, stripping the 25-year-old soldier of the ability to mount   
   > a whistleblower defense, and ruling inadmissible any discussion of the   
   > content of the leaked material. Manning offered to plead guilty on   
   > several charges in order to reduce the possible sentence. The Obama   
   > administration rejected the possibility of a plea deal, seeking to   
   > secure the maximum possible sentence.   
   >   
   > Manning’s is the most prominent case of a systematic attack on   
   > whistleblowers by the Obama administration, which has prosecuted more   
   > individuals under the Espionage Act than all other administrations in   
   > US history combined. Over the course of his three-year-long ordeal,   
   > Manning has been subjected to conditions tantamount to torture,   
   > including being held in solitary confinement 23 hours a day for months   
   > at a time, forced nudity and sleep deprivation.   
   >   
   > The government intends to make an example of Manning for other would-   
   > be leakers. The case likewise sets a dangerous precedent for   
   > journalists, Internet sites and all those who access information the   
   > government considers sensitive or detrimental to its “interests.”   
   > The implications of the arguments advanced in the prosecution of   
   > Manning were indicated in the revelation earlier this month that the   
   > Obama administration had alleged criminal activity on the part of a   
   > Fox New reporter for arranging to obtain classified information from a   
   > government informant—a basic element of newsgathering. The   
   > administration is seeking to criminalize media activity that exposes   
   > secret government activities, part of a broader criminalization of   
   > political dissent.   
   >   
   > Even as Manning is prosecuted to the fullest extent for seeking to   
   > reveal war crimes, those whose criminality were exposed in the leaked   
   > material not only remain free, but are being actively protected by the   
   > Obama administration.   
   >   
   > A Kafkaesque atmosphere surrounds the proceedings. Much of the trial,   
   > scheduled over the next three months at Fort Meade, Maryland, will be   
   > held behind closed doors. Military prosecutors intend to present a   
   > large amount of classified material as evidence and will call on 24   
   > witnesses who will testify anonymously, in disguise, within only   
   > limited view of the public and the press.   
   >   
   > Lind argued that the extraordinary arrangements were necessary to   
   > prevent “spillage of classified information”; reportedly, several of   
   > the secret witnesses were members of the Navy Seals team that   
   > assassinated Osama bin Laden in 2011. The defense team will not be   
   > allowed to cross-examine the secret witnesses on anything involving   
   > the Abbottabad raid or their personal backgrounds.  Lind ruled that   
   > documents published on WikiLeaks must remain classified and cannot be   
   > mentioned in open court.   
   >   
   > The Center for Constitutional Rights has pointed out that Manning’s   
   > legal hearings have been “more restrictive than military tribunals at   
   > Guantanamo Bay.” At least 30,000 documents have been produced over the   
   > past three years in relation to the case, very little of it   
   > unclassified. This unprecedented censorship exposes the entire process   
   > as an anti-democratic frame-up. It suggests a great nervousness on the   
   > part of the political and military establishment over the growing   
   > opposition to American imperialism.   
   >   
   > Only 16 seats are available for the public to attend in the courtroom;   
   > a trailer on the base has 35 additional seats for public viewing of a   
   > video feed. Only 10 credentialed media personnel are allowed in.   
   >   
   > The Washington Post noted that the courtroom was packed on Monday,   
   > with several of Manning’s relatives in attendance. Supporters of the   
   > whistleblower have held rallies outside the gates of the base for the   
   > past few days.   
   >   
   > On Monday, lead prosecutor Captain Joe Morrow delivered an hour-long   
   > opening argument in which he laid out new allegations, including that   
   > Manning was taking direction from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.   
   > WikiLeaks has never acknowledged or denied that Manning contacted the   
   > organization at all. Morrow’s assertions were predicated on a blatant   
   > attempt at character assassination. He told the court that Manning was   
   > driven to “gain the notoriety he craved.”   
   >   
   > “If you had unprecedented access to classified networks 14 hours a day   
   > 7 days a week for 8 months, what would you do?” Morrow asked, quoting   
   > a statement Manning made in a private chat later handed over to the   
   > government by hacker-turned-informant Adrian Lamo.   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)