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offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

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The Saker
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Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Reeves?s Simplistic Thinking Spawned This Budget from Hell Mon Dec 23, 2024 15:44 | David Craig
Simplistic linear thinking by Rachel from Accounts and the Treasury spawned this Budget from hell, says David Craig. A systems thinker would have known it would send the economy into a doom loop of recession and decline.
The post Reeves’s Simplistic Thinking Spawned This Budget from Hell appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link British Drivers Steering Away From New Cars In Their Droves Mon Dec 23, 2024 13:00 | Sallust
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The post British Drivers Steering Away From New Cars In Their Droves appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Britain on Brink of Recession After Growth Revised to Zero Following Reeves?s Horror Budget Mon Dec 23, 2024 11:09 | Will Jones
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The post Britain on Brink of Recession After Growth Revised to Zero Following Reeves’s Horror Budget appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link What Fresh Hell is This? The Climate and Nature Bill Mon Dec 23, 2024 09:00 | Paul Homewood
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The post What Fresh Hell is This? The Climate and Nature Bill appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Daily Sceptic Christmas Appeal Mon Dec 23, 2024 07:00 | Toby Young
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Voltaire Network
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offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?113 Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:42 | en

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offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?112 Fri Dec 13, 2024 15:34 | en

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Pre-sentence letter to Barack Obama

category international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report author Thursday August 22, 2013 09:47author by Justin Morahan Report this post to the editors

sent by e-mail to US Embassy

Below is a letter to President Barack Obama on the occasion of a protest by Colm Roddy and me outside the US Embassy in Dublin, Wednesday 21 July before Whistleblower Bradley Manning was given a horrendous sentence for telling the truth.

Dear President Barack Obama

I write to you, through your Ambassador in Ireland, as the sentencing of a whistleblower, Bradley Manning is imminent. Bradley is a member of the United States Forces of which you, President Obama, are the Commander-in-Chief. What happens in the US Armed Forces is your responsibility.

When there is heinous wrongdoing happening within your army, you bear the ultimate responsibility for that wrongdoing. If a whistleblower reveals the heinous wrongdoing, it is your duty to protect the whistleblower, to shield her or him from harm and, if possible, honour her or him in order to encourage other whistleblowers and to protect the truth.

What happened in the Baghdad "air strikes" of July 12 2007 was heinous in the extreme. I have seen and perused the video at length but even your own official account is chilling to read.

"When the cameraman on the ground aimed his camera in the direction of Bravo Company 2–16, a pilot remarked "He's getting ready to fire". An Apache maneuvered around a building to get a clear field of fire and shot all nine men, killing eight. " (US Central Command release)

We know that subsequently when a van pulled up to take on board an injured civilian, the Apache opened fire on van and helpers and injured civilian, killing three and wounding two children inside the van. The footage of these events and the accompanying dialogue resembles what one might expect from a seriously deranged horror movie. Bradley revealed the truth of these events. Admittedly he did not report them to his superior officer and later regretted that. But why should that make any difference to you, Mr President? The truth was out. You would be glad that you would be able to stop similar outrages by your forces in the future. You would take the necessary steps to prevent any repetition of the evil-doing of July 12 2007. And you would credit Bradley Manning for helping you to take these steps. Because, as Commander-in-Chief, you do not stand over such atrocities.

Or am I wrong? What did you do?

You allowed (or maybe even ordered) Bradley Manning to be arrested and charged with, among other thing, "aiding the enemy" - an offence that could have draw down the barbarous execution of the accused person. You prejudiced his trial by telling a reporter "He broke the law" at a time when he was not declared guilty of breaking any law. In four words you denied him any chance of a fair trial. Yet, you allowed a trial to proceed.

Meanwhile Bradley Manning was kept under lock and key in chains, subjected to nudity, isolation, harassment, sleep-deprivation - all inhuman punishments bordering on torture. Only international protest ended this inhuman treatment of a prisoner not yet tried in any court.

Now he has been found by a military court to be guilty of lesser charges and today the prosecutors are requesting a sixty year sentence! It is another day of infamy for you and the United States.

Unless, that is, you salvage some credibility by pardoning him, after sentence.

That is my request to you today.

With best personal wishes

Justin Morahan, human rights activist, pacifist.

 #   Title   Author   Date 
   Protests     Justin Morahan    Thu Aug 22, 2013 15:16 
    "Impeach now or forever hold up peace" ...     W. Finnerty    Thu Aug 22, 2013 16:08 
   Our posters are still saying "Bradley". Next time it will be "Chelsea"     Justin Morahan    Thu Aug 22, 2013 19:50 
   US imperialists want to make an example of Bradley.     fred    Thu Aug 22, 2013 22:29 
   Pics from last night's protest at the US Embassy     Justin Morahan    Fri Aug 23, 2013 09:25 
   Credit to Justin and Co     W P    Thu Aug 29, 2013 20:36 
   I am bradley manning     w    Tue Sep 03, 2013 12:34 


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