Community | December 17, 2010 | 161 comments

Bradley Manning's Health is Deteriorating

source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/16/bradley-manning-health-deteriorating

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jubal

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/16/bradley-manning-health-de...

As Julian Assange emerged from his nine-day imprisonment, there were renewed concerns about the physical and psychological health of Bradley Manning, the former US intelligence analyst suspected of leaking the diplomatic cables at the centre of the storm.

Manning, who was arrested seven months ago, is being held at a military base in Virginia and faces a court martial and up to 52 years in prison for his alleged role in copying the cables.

His friends and supporters also claim they have been the target of extra-judicial harassment, intimidation and outright bribery by US government agents.

According to David House, a computer researcher from Boston who visits Manning twice a month, he is starting to deteriorate. "Over the last few weeks I have noticed a steady decline in his mental and physical wellbeing," he said. "His prolonged confinement in a solitary holding cell is unquestionably taking its toll on his intellect; his inability to exercise due to [prison] regulations has affected his physical appearance in a manner that suggests physical weakness."

Manning, House added, was no longer the characteristically brilliant man he had been, despite efforts to keep him intellectually engaged. He also disputed the authorities' claims that Manning was being kept in solitary for his own good.

"I initially believed that his time in solitary confinement was a decision made in the interests of his safety," he said. "As time passed and his suicide watch was lifted, to no effect, it became clear that his time in solitary – and his lack of a pillow, sheets, the freedom to exercise, or the ability to view televised current events – were enacted as a means of punishment rather than a means of safety."

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  1. groups:
    Community,   News and Politics,   US Politics,   Educating America,   1 more
  2. tags:
    Wikileaks,  Pentagon,  Bradley Manning,  cablegate
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161 comments // Bradley Manning's Health is Deteriorating

  • telcod
    • 0
      telcod  
    • MoonLoon:

      First night on my sailboat, no sheets or pillowcases. In fact, I was drink bottled water and using a camping stove to heat food. I can still go without pillow cases, pillows or sheets.

    • 2 years ago
  • MoonLoon
    • 0
      MoonLoon  
    • telcod:

      My Dad and I built a 26 ft. sloop with cabin, sleeping beds and stove, in 1966. He sailed it for 40 years and then gave it away due to his age and declining health. Enjoy your boat, sailing is a wonderful experience.

    • 2 years ago
  • dustinfineout
  • MoonLoon
    • -2
      MoonLoon  
    • dustinfineout:

      He is free to retreat into his fantasy world, or pray, or do anything else that deprived humans do to maintain their sanity. He is not my problem. The Army owns him and nothing that you or I, say, can change that fact.

    • 2 years ago
  • dustinfineout
  • MoonLoon
    • -1
      MoonLoon  
    • dustinfineout:

      This may surprise you, but my reality, is understood by most of the world. It is only spoiled American brats, supported by their parents that have not come to terms with the real World, outside of the protection of American interests. This boy was seduced in a classical manner to reveal information that he was sworn to protect. So, for me he can spend life in jail, until he delivers the real culprits.

    • 2 years ago
  • ayipis
  • jeffreyak
    • +3
      jeffreyak  
    • ayipis:

      Who is the criminal? The guy who questions his party and expects explanation, or the one who listens to everything his party says and turns the other cheek to criminal injustice towards other humans?

    • 2 years ago
  • Incredulous
  • mik661
    • -6
      mik661  

    • There are approximately 440 prisoners in leavenworth alone. Many of them endure the same conditions as Manning. I dont see any tears for them. Maybe his mental deterioration has to do with the mindset that led him to steal and release thousands of pages of classified documents directly contravening the oath he swore to uphold. He might be a little depressed now that Assange is getting to play hero on the global stage while he is rotting away in the brig.

    • 2 years ago
  • jeffreyak
    • +4
      jeffreyak  
    • mik661:

      And they are criminals. Our founding fathers created this nation with men like this in mind. He stud up to our government and the criminals in power. This is a battle against evil and Manning is a front line hero. The illegal detention of this man must be stopped. If injustice is not exposed then where does it stop? Free Manning.

    • 2 years ago
  • mik661
  • robertkferrell
  • jahbini
    • 0
      jahbini  
    • mik661:

      I thought we were and ARE at war. Two of them at last count, and another one with Iran being loaded onto the launch pad.

      Or are some wars not really war?

      Or do we believe every nuance of reduced culpability or increased hate that some politician or three letter agency throws in our direction?

    • 2 years ago
  • noxidereus
    • +7
      noxidereus  
    • mik661:

      Bullshit. Which takes more guts/character/intelligence

      A. Blindly following the dogmatic rules/laws of a lying oppressive government
      B. Risking your own personal safety in exposing the lies of said government for the benefit of all of us.

    • 2 years ago
  • noxidereus
    • +8
      noxidereus  
    • mik661:

      You are basically saying to anyone who lives in a corrupt government, "tough shit, do what you're told". You are advocating for a slave society. You are saying that governments should not be held accountable by the governed.

      ...but America is predicated on the premise that our government is by, for, and of the people. Our government was originally specifically designed to be held accountable by us, the people. However, now America is corrupt beyond imagination. We need to hold our government accountable. If our government is doing something wrong and someone knows about it and neglects to inform the rest of us, that is the opposite of holding out government accountable and we cease to be America (as in the advertised perception of America as being free and self-governed).

      To put it into perspective that even blind nationalistic Americans can understand it, let's say a man (Joe) has a friend (Chester). Chester belongs to a club and asks Joe if he wants to join it. Chester tells Joe that the club is very cool, but secret, and Joe must not tell anyone at all what goes on in the club. Joe trusts Chester and takes an oath that he will not tell anyone. Joe eventually finds out that the club is a bunch of guys who kidnap, gang-rape, and murder little children. Joe tells the police.

      According to your reasoning, as dogmatic as it is, it was wrong for Joe to tell the police because he took an oath. Also according to your reasoning, whatever retaliation is taken by Chester and the rest of the club is justified and that the club should just continue to be allowed to rape and kill children without any interference from anyone who feels that what the club does is horribly wrong.

      Obviously for your perspective with respect to Mannings to make any sense, you are assuming that the American government/military is automatically always in the right (or that might makes right). You are also asserting that if any American citizen/soldier sees something that America does as illegal/wrong/corrupt/etc then that citizen/soldier is automatically always in the wrong if he exposes it, which brings me back to my premise: You are saying that governments (i.e. America) should not be held accountable by the governed.

    • 2 years ago
  • jeffreyak
    • +1
      jeffreyak  
    • mik661:

      And his military betrayed his oath by killing innocent people and wrongfully and illegally invading another country. What are you trying to say? That we really were in Iraq for WMDs. That has proven to be a lie. And are you also saying that the thousands of men, women, and children killed were WMDs or for that matter a threat of any kind what so ever? This man stood up to injustice and justice will prevail.

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
    • +4
      jubal  
    • mik661:

      Do you consider corruption within the government to be A OK with you? So you are alright with people stealing, lying, torturing, coercing, personally enriching themselves all under the guise of national secrecy and security? Your OK with that?

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
    • +3
      jubal  
    • mik661:

      Do you consider corruption within the government to be A OK with you? So you are alright with people stealing, lying, torturing, coercing, personally enriching themselves all under the guise of national secrecy and security? Your OK with that?

    • 2 years ago
  • jahbini
    • 0
      jahbini  
    • jubal:

      I'm not OK with being hit by a bus. It still happens sometimes.

      I'm glad the busses are in plain sight. Not so much for the other stuff.

      It still happens.

    • 2 years ago
  • dudefromtherock
  • Darr247
    • -3
      Darr247  

    • 52 years???

      How is espionage on this scale not punishable by firing squad?

      While I'll argue for wikileak's duty to publish them once leaked, all Manning did was steal 3 CDRW's full of everything he had clearance for... he should have got area 51 documents and a copy of crybaby OHBoner's venezuelan birth certificate (to prove he's a mole planted here as a janitor 30 years ago by Yugo Chavez with orders to work his way up the ladder).

    • 2 years ago
  • jeffreyak
    • +4
      jeffreyak  
    • Darr247:

      Our founding fathers created this nation with men like this in mind. He stud up to our to our government and the criminals in power. This is a battle against evil and Manning is a front line hero. The illegal detention of this man must be stopped. If injustice is not exposed then where does it stop? Free Manning.

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
    • +3
      jubal  
    • Darr247:

      Do you consider corruption within the government to be A OK with you? So you are alright with people stealing, lying, torturing, coercing, personally enriching themselves all under the guise of national secrecy and security? Your OK with that?

      Are you for real?

    • 2 years ago
  • Darr247
    • +1
      Darr247  
    • Image
    • jubal:

      https://flowcharts.llnl.gov

      If Manning had not bragged about his caper to someone that needed to move the fulcrum of their own plea bargaining lever, he would not have been caught. An appropriately named (lamo) L337 haX0r turned him in after Manning tried to impress him with tales of his exploits. So that's entirely his own fault.

      The repugnant ones have been hypocritically whining about loss of freedom and lack of "transparency" by the demon rats for 2 years... after 8 years of Darth Cheney running the show from the bunker under the naval observatory and overseeing the biggest - yet needless - expansion of the justice department *ever* (DHS/TSA) instead of simply coordinating exchange of information between the existing branches, and warrantless wiretapping of the internet backbone. (is it any wonder they don't want it officially declared a "communications" network?)
      Well, wikileaks is the ultimate transparency.

      In my opinion, the UN should have moved on the Taliban when they started shelling the Bamiyan Buddhas. I said it when it was happening, and nothing has changed my mind during the interim.

      If they feel compelled to wipe out all traces of any belief other than sharia law (and they have to whip women with steel cables to keep them in line), then maybe they need to be on the receiving end of a little karma themselves.
      Like, everyone converting to electric cars and natural gas trucks, then see how all their oil tastes (since they won't have any money to buy food). If half the money spent on the iraq war had been put into windmills, and PV + SHW panels on roofs, here in the USA over the last 10 years, we could have cut our coal burning at least in half... and turned our power grid into a distributed system instead of 68% of all electricity made in the USA getting thrown away by transmission losses (the light gray bars in the flow charts at https://flowcharts.llnl.gov ) caused by generation being located hundreds of miles from point of use. A distributed grid is more robust AND inherently more secure (since there are fewer weak links).

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
  • MoonLoon
    • 0
      MoonLoon  
    • jubal:

      Jubal, you have hit the nail on the head! This boy was seeking recognition and acceptance on a social website, never realising that he was exposing himself to harm. Let this be a lesson to all. Stay off of these sites if you are breaking the law, having an affair, molesting children, robbing banks, or contemplating killing your spouse! And do not brag about burying your neighbors in the backyard.

    • 2 years ago
  • jahbini
  • MoonLoon
  • jahbini
    • 0
      jahbini  
    • MoonLoon:

      May be we should advocate criminals to cover their tracks mo bettah?

      We can start CrimeSaver's Notebook. Kind of a Farmer's Almanack for spies. With an erotic twist, we might get an advance from the publisher.

    • 2 years ago
  • Darr247
  • NickerBocker09
    • -8
      NickerBocker09  

    • I dont agree with the people who fully support Wikileaks and this man. There was no goal in releasing all those documents, and they didnt even read them. Their only mission was to simply release classified information. What good does it do anyone?

      He committed treason. Plain and clear.

    • 2 years ago
  • jeffreyak
    • +4
      jeffreyak  
    • NickerBocker09:

      And they are criminals. Our founding fathers created this nation with men like this in mind.He stud up to our to our government and the criminals in power. This is a battle against evil and Manning is a front line hero. The illegal detention of this man must be stopped. If injustice is not exposed then where does it stop? Free Manning.

    • 2 years ago
  • ayipis
  • jeffreyak
    • +3
      jeffreyak  
    • ayipis:

      What would you have me do? Run into my local gov building and open fire. I didn't say anything about a revolt. There are politicians in office right now willing to stand up to our current government. They are willing to change military strategy as a whole not just the wars. They are willing to pursue wrong doing and injustice within our military and government complex. No tears here just hope for a better nation and world.

    • 2 years ago
  • jeffreyak
  • jubal
    • +3
      jubal  
    • NickerBocker09:

      Have you ever even bothered to look at the documents? They are redacted so as not to give away vital information that would put innocent people at risk. The only people being harmed by the release of information is the corrupted people who are the subjects of the actual leaked documents.

      You should really read and learn things before you make such sweeping comments that are based only on nationalistic and moral grounds that are extremely shaky.

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
  • Progresshiv
  • ayipis
    • -3
      ayipis  
    • Progresshiv:

      the constitution PROTECTS your rights to defend yourself...

      so defend yourself..and if you are guilty...then suffer the punishment..and how many punishment that you know that is not harsh?? and how can it be called punishment if its not harsh at all??

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
    • +2
      jubal  
    • Progresshiv:

      Apparently not if the Obama administration has continued the policy of torture and indefinite detention.

      Obama is just another Harvard Corporatist who has to answer to the power elite while he tries to push some pet projects forward. He is very disappointing even though I understand his hands are tied by many factors.

      The biggest concern I have is the continuation of war crimes without any remorse.

    • 2 years ago
  • CalgarC
  • ahappymintleaf
    • +4
      ahappymintleaf  

    • This is disturbing, disgusting, and inexcusable. The message they are trying to send is clear. Inform the masses, suffer in the worst way that the government legally can do.

    • 2 years ago
  • ayipis
  • jahbini
  • Stever_B
  • tommic
    • +1
      tommic  

    • This is a very difficult decision in determining who to support, while I fully endorse a government that is open and support the freedom of information act I also realize that high military, intelligence and government needs some barrier to be able to have open and honest discourse without the fear of what gets said comming back to bite them in the ass. Unfortunatly we now live in a country where the great majority are undereducated/ emotionally driven, logic lacking morons.
      Bradley Manning is a soldier who did commit acts that were while commendable were also against military law. Another dichotomy. Jullian Assange is all about himself that is clear. After reading much of the Wkileaks I kinda laugh, much of what was released I long suspected or knew in my mind was probably true and or happening. So no surprise there.
      Personally I think its far more overblown than it should be, but Bradly Manning is in for a long hard prison term there can be no doubt about that, and thats too bad, he will die in prison for his alleged crimes.

    • 2 years ago
  • jeffreyak
    • +1
      jeffreyak  
    • tommic:

      And they are criminals. Our founding fathers created this nation with men like this in mind.He stud up to our to our government and the criminals in power. This is a battle against evil and Manning is a front line hero. The illegal detention of this man must be stopped. If injustice is not exposed then where does it stop? Free Manning.

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
  • oppressed1
  • panichead
  • jeffreyak
    • +3
      jeffreyak  
    • oppressed1:

      He is not a murderer, or a criminal at all for that matter. And they are criminals. Our founding fathers created this nation with men like this in mind.He stud up to our to our government and the criminals in power. This is a battle against evil and Manning is a front line hero. The illegal detention of this man must be stopped. If injustice is not exposed then where does it stop? Free Manning.

    • 2 years ago
  • ayipis
  • ayipis
  • MoonLoon
  • jahbini
  • Almibry
    • +2
      Almibry  
    • oppressed1:

      Murderers DO NOT spend 50-60 years in solitary confinement. They may spend a few (non-consecutive) months in solitary after committing another violent crime in prison, or if he/she is on suicide watch, a few weeks.

    • 2 years ago
  • oppressed1
    • -1
      oppressed1  
    • panichead:

      that is in a regular court of law you fucking idiot. He is under UCMJ nothing you consider holy is law here. The military can do what ever they want. If he wasn't guilty they wouldn't be holding him.

    • 2 years ago
  • oppressed1
    • -2
      oppressed1  
    • jeffreyak:

      says the weird liberal. If Washington had secret documents release he would have beheaded him in the front of the lawn. America wasn't built on homosexuals giving up secrets detrimental to the national security.

    • 2 years ago
  • Pawper
    • +13
      Pawper  

    • I may be a bit extreme in my belief that people shouldn't be punished, but I don't think it's extreme at all to say this is ridiculous--and as an American, embarrassing. Can we just be done with torture and, y'know, evolve a little? Even if this man is a huge threat to national security, he is still a human being. Torture doesn't work anyway.

    • 2 years ago
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