A day in the life of Bradley Manning
p2pnet view P2P | Politics:- Julian Assange, the man behind WikiLeaks, is looking at —- a cool $1,708,165 Canadian in book deals.
Bradley Manning, the man behind the documents which put WikiLeaks (and Assange) well and truly on the international map is looking at —- even more hard time in a Marine brig.
The lamescream media have gone hog-wild over the Cablegate revelations in a way matched only by their reporting of Apple leaks.
But there’s been relatively little about Manning, who reportedly made it all possible.
Arrested in May, he’s facing a courts martial and, depending on the findings, another 52 years in a military stockade.
In July he was transfered to US Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia where he was “placed in solitary confinement under ‘maximum custody’ and a restrictive ‘Prevention of Injury’ order while he awaits trial”, says an online Firedoglake petition to get him freed.
It says restrictions include >>>
- Detained in his cell for 23 hours a day
- Guards must check on Manning every 5 minutes, and he must reply
- Not allowed to have a pillow or a blanket.
- Not allowed to sleep between 5am and 8pm, with heavy restrictions when he is allowed to sleep.
- Not allowed any substantive exercise.
- No communication allowed beyond a limited list approved by the brig commander. All other letters must be destroyed.
- Not allowed to watch national news.
David House, the MIT researcher who’s been visiting Manning in Quantico, together with Manning’s attorney, reservist Lt Col David Coombs, says Manning is physically and mentally in decline.
On his web page, ”Welcome to the Law Offices of David E. Coombs, established to provide exceptional legal counsel, service, and representation to soldiers”, says Coombs, going on:
“The firm specializes in representing members of the United States Army facing criminal and adverse administrative actions. Mr. Coombs (right) is very serious about his work, and is committed to going above and beyond to help his client-soldiers fight their case. Whether you are facing a simple administrative action or a serious general court-martial, Mr. Coombs has the experience, knowledge, and insight to build a strong, effective, and compelling defense case on your behalf.”
According to Coombs, a typical Quantico day for Manning looks like this, he posted shortly before Christmas >>>
His cell is approximately six feet wide and twelve feet in length.
The cell has a bed, a drinking fountain, and a toilet.
The guards at the confinement facility are professional. At no time have they tried to bully, harass, or embarrass PFC Manning. Given the nature of their job, however, they do not engage in conversation with PFC Manning.
At 5:00 a.m. he is woken up (on weekends, he is allowed to sleep until 7:00 a.m.). Under the rules for the confinement facility, he is not allowed to sleep at anytime between 5:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. If he attempts to sleep during those hours, he will be made to sit up or stand by the guards.
He is allowed to watch television during the day. The television stations are limited to the basic local stations. His access to the television ranges from 1 to 3 hours on weekdays to 3 to 6 hours on weekends.
He cannot see other inmates from his cell. He can occasionally hear other inmates talk. Due to being a pretrial confinement facility, inmates rarely stay at the facility for any length of time. Currently, there are no other inmates near his cell.
From 7:00 p.m. to 9:20 p.m., he is given correspondence time. He is given access to a pen and paper. He is allowed to write letters to family, friends, and his attorneys.
Each night, during his correspondence time, he is allowed to take a 15 to 20 minute shower.
On weekends and holidays, he is allowed to have approved visitors see him from 12:00 to 3:00 p.m.
He is allowed to receive letters from those on his approved list and from his legal counsel. If he receives a letter from someone not on his approved list, he must sign a rejection form. The letter is then either returned to the sender or destroyed.
He is allowed to have any combination of up to 15 books or magazines. He must request the book or magazine by name. Once the book or magazine has been reviewed by the literary board at the confinement facility, and approved, he is allowed to have someone on his approved list send it to him. The person sending the book or magazine to him must do so through a publisher or an approved distributor such as Amazon. They are not allowed to mail the book or magazine directly to PFC Manning.
Due to being held on Prevention of Injury (POI) watch:
PFC Manning is held in his cell for approximately 23 hours a day.
The guards are required to check on PFC Manning every five minutes by asking him if he is okay. PFC Manning is required to respond in some affirmative manner. At night, if the guards cannot see PFC Manning clearly, because he has a blanket over his head or is curled up towards the wall, they will wake him in order to ensure he is okay.
He receives each of his meals in his cell.
He is not allowed to have a pillow or sheets. However, he is given access to two blankets and has recently been given a new mattress that has a built-in pillow.
He is not allowed to have any personal items in his cell.
He is only allowed to have one book or one magazine at any given time to read in his cell. The book or magazine is taken away from him at the end of the day before he goes to sleep.
He is prevented from exercising in his cell. If he attempts to do push-ups, sit-ups, or any other form of exercise he will be forced to stop.
He does receive one hour of “exercise” outside of his cell daily. He is taken to an empty room and only allowed to walk. PFC Manning normally just walks figure eights in the room for the entire hour. If he indicates that he no long feels like walking, he is immediately returned to his cell.
When PFC Manning goes to sleep, he is required to strip down to his boxer shorts and surrender his clothing to the guards. His clothing is returned to him the next morning.
Stay tuned.
Also see Manning’s condition ‘deteriorating’
book deals – p2pnet World Headlines: Dec 27, 2010
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
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December 28th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
I guess he should have tought about this before doing what he did. If you don’t want to do the time, don’t do the crime. I feel no sympathy whatsoever for that guy. He did it, said he was proud of what he did, bragged about it and said he would do it again. So he deserve to be in jail for a long, long time.
And I hope they keep talking about how miserable he is, that way all the other out there that were thinking about doing the same thing might think about it twice and not do it.
I know most the people who share their toughts on this site, will disagree with me, but that’s how I feel.
December 28th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
People should not expose wrongs in case they end up in jail like Bradley? But people like you still get the benefits of their courage.
December 28th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
We are moving into a World where our every moment is monitored by the Governments, we are told what to do and how to think.
That we should never question the powers that be, they are there to rule not to be questioned.
The future of the World is developing into a place where there is only one ruling organisation.
People have a right to know what is going on in the World, without knowledge we cannot have democracy.
December 28th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
“People have a right to know what is going on in the World, without knowledge we cannot have democracy.”
Without laws you cannot have democracy either. If people don’t respect the laws, you have anarchy and chaos. Go see how it is working in Somalia. If you don’t like the laws you have the power to vote people that will change those laws.
December 28th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
“But people like you still get the benefits of their courage.”
What benefits ? As far as society in general is concerned, what has these leaks done for us ? What did it change in your life or mine ?
December 28th, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Amazing twists of logic in the last two comments.
You would think the guy must be a child, and has never cracked a history book. I am embarrassed to live in a country with such poor education.
Anyone who lived through the 60s and 70s (Vietnam, Watergate, BOP, Cuba) or even mildly studies history cringes at such ignorance.
Get a clue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Woodward
December 28th, 2010 at 4:25 pm
To make good and informed decisions in elections, people need access to information about their potential representatives and their activies in power.
Without access to full and unbiased information on government affairs, especially where government officials and reprentatives are supposed to be acting in the interests and in the name of the people they govern, there can be no hope of a true democracy.
The benefits of the leaks on US international relations are still to be seen.
Whoever the source of the leaks is, they saw awful miscarriages of justice and sought to find a way of resolving them through possibly the only way they knew how.
However, it seems that Bradley Manning is already being subject to punitive action without being found guilty in a court of justice.
War criminals in the Hague who are found guilty of being responsible for the murder and rape of thousands of people got, and continue to get, better treatment in custody than Bradley Manning does for allegedly passing on confidential information.
A bit of perspective people, please!
December 28th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
“If you don’t want to do the time, don’t do the crime”
Mantra of non-thinking followers everywhere. The world is perceived like it’s a sporting event.
Not a clue as to how society has progressed and REFORMED over the centuries.
Not a clue as to how the act of sacrificing your own personal freedom in exchange for exposing massive criminality and corruption within the gov’t is considered heroic.
“What did it change in your life or mine?” If only he had the wisdom or historical context to understand…
But that’s OK, he’s got an opinion too, just like a big boy, fresh from the talking heads on Canwest.
December 28th, 2010 at 4:47 pm
Hi Jon,
Thank you for signing our letter to stop the inhumane treatment of Bradley Manning. More than 27,000 people have stood up for Bradley’s basic human rights. It’s an incredible show of support.
Bradley Manning released a brief holiday message for his supporters right before the holidays through his lawyer, and I want to share it with you.
“I greatly appreciate everyone’s support and well wishes during this time. I am also thankful for everything that has been done to aid in my defense. I ask that everyone takes the time to remember those who are separated from their loved ones at this time due to deployment and important missions. Specifically, I am thinking of those that I deployed with and have not seen for the last seven months, and of the staff here at the Quantico Confinement Facility who will be spending their Christmas without their family.”
David House, Bradley’s one friend allowed to visit him in prison, wrote on Firedoglake last week about the extreme isolation in which Bradley is detained at Quantico. David appeared on MSNBC and BBC to discuss the petition you signed, and he’ll deliver your signature when he visits Bradley next month.
Can you ask your family and friends to sign our letter urging for Bradley Manning to be treated humanely while he awaits trial?
If you’re on Facebook, click here to share our petition for Bradley Manning on your wall.
http://fdl.me/f24hox
If you’re on Twitter, click here to tweet about our petition.
http://clicktotweet.com/w035i
You can forward the email message below and ask your friends to sign, or just send them this link:
http://action.firedoglake.com/BradleyManningMessage
Michael, Jane, and the rest of the Firedoglake team.
(Cheers)
December 28th, 2010 at 6:11 pm
For the record I’m a baby boomer, so I know all about the 60s and 70s. In fact I could write the history book myself.
And for you to compare Watergate and Deep Throat with what Manning did is completely ludicrous. All I will say about this is Bob Woodward was a real journalist. He did everything by the book.
RW said: “The benefits of the leaks on US international relations are still to be seen.”
I expect a lot more harm than benefits. Time will tell.
BTW when you call somebody ignorant, you’re just showing you have no good argument against it. Don’t like the message, attack the messenger.
December 28th, 2010 at 6:22 pm
*to compare Watergate and Deep Throat with what Manning did is completely ludicrous*
Not really. One was print with print limitations and Assange/Manning is the internet with no such limitations. I will guess we will be seeing the fallout for far longer than Watergate.
When it comes to harm, what harm? We know a lot more now than we did before Manning leaked the papers, if it was him who leaked them. That is good, not bad.
December 28th, 2010 at 7:30 pm
@Captain555
“Don’t like the message, attack the messenger.”
You really know how to publicly contradict yourself, don’t you? You should stop now before you further expose your lack of intellect. Isn’t “attacking the messenger” exactly what people are doing to Wikileaks (even Manning?)
December 28th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
“Don’t like the message, attack the messenger.”
u just contradicted what you said….thats whats happening to bradley
the people have the right to know what the govt is doing
u may feel it doesnt concern u but if u lost a kid in a war by friendly fire but were told it was enemy fire i wonder what u would say
December 28th, 2010 at 8:06 pm
Thank you captain for being a rare voice of reason on this issue.
Nixon was actually committing crimes and breaking the law, hello? Despite assange claiming he has evidence of gross crimes and abuse everytime hes about to leak something (gets his name in the papers i guess) nothing like in nixon’s case has come out. Only soldiers social security numbers, schematics of IED removing equipment and the names of informants in afghanistan.
December 28th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
Speaking of lying, that petition basically lying about his conditions is funny, what afraid if you actually tell the truth nobody’s going to feel sorry enough for him to sign it?
December 29th, 2010 at 6:51 am
Otis you should do your research before regurgitating your propaganda and making a total ass out of yourself.
Within the leaks there is evidence of MASSIVE criminality and corruption within the gov’t. You might try reading instead of just repeating TV news talking points.
Are you so ignorant you didn’t know about Dyncorp kidnapping and pimping out 8-year old boys for Afghan gov’t officials and tribal leaders? This a U.S. defence contractor under the direction of several US gov’t officials. Highly criminal activity.
Or how about the same thing with the KLA run kidnapping rings? Oh, you didn’t read that either, right?
This only scratches the surface of some of the criminality and corruption that was exposed within these leaks. Oh, I guess you were too busy drinking kool-aid and doing the establishment goose-step to actually have a thought of your own.
December 29th, 2010 at 6:56 am
Otis says “Only soldiers social security numbers, schematics of IED removing equipment and the names of informants in afghanistan.”
US embassy cables: Afghan government asks US to quash ‘dancing boys’ scandal
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-embassy-cables-documents/213720
http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/wikileaks_reveals_us_tax_dollars_fund_child_sex_slavery_in_afghanistan
http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2010/12/wikileaks_texas_company_helped.php#
This is just ONE of many highly criminal acts that were exposed by the leaks.
But please, don’t let facts get in the way of your hidden agenda.
December 29th, 2010 at 7:03 am
In July 2009, a confidential cable originating from the United States Department of State, and under US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s name, ordered US diplomats to spy on Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and other top UN officials. The intelligence information the diplomats were ordered to gather included biometric information (which apparently included DNA, fingerprints, and iris scans), passwords, and personal encryption keys used in private and commercial networks for official communications. It also included Internet and intranet usernames, e-mail addresses, web site URLs useful for identification, credit card numbers, frequent flier account numbers, and work schedules. The targeted human intelligence was requested in a process known as the National Humint Collection Directive, and was aimed at foreign diplomats of US allies as well.
THIS is highly illegal activity by U.S. gov’t officials. It also exposes a broader pattern of criminality and disregard for U.S. domestic law as well as international law.
Where’s the kooks that say “if you do the crime you should do the time” now? Probably enjoying Dyncorp’s services.
December 29th, 2010 at 7:14 am
In the cable, the French decision to suspend Monsanto’s MON 810 patented seed product line was described as “damaging”. The French government’s “apparent recommitment” to the precautionary principle written in the French Constitution was also referred to as “damaging”. In the cable, Stapleton stated, “Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits. The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory.”
I guess the people of the EU should be kept in the dark when a huge U.S. corporation is working intimately with the U.S. gov’t to strong-arm EU nations into allowing proven harmful GMO crops into their food supply in the name of higher profits. And I suppose the people of the U.S.A. should be kept in the dark that their fascist gov’t has become intertwined with the mega-corps to the point they are acting as taxpayer-funded mafia thugs.
To all you shiit-for-brains morons who can’t defend gov’t corruption fast enough, go to hell.
December 29th, 2010 at 9:01 am
Here’s a good read, a nice example of something you really should not be allowed to know!
Not-So-Gentle Persuasion: US Bullies Spain into Proposed Website Blocking Law
It’s no secret that the US government has used its annual Special 301 Report to intimidate other countries into adopting more stringent copyright and patent laws by singling out particular countries for their “bad” intellectual property policies, and naming them on a tiered set of “watch lists”. Listing results in heightened political pressure and in some cases, the potential for trade sanctions, which encourages foreign trading partners to change their laws to mirror those in the US. But now some of the cables provided by WikiLeaks to Spanish newspaper El Pais confirm that the US government has pushed other countries to adopt measures that go beyond US law, unleashing the fury of Spanish Internet users.
more:
http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/12/not-so-gentle-persuasion-us-bullies-spain-proposed