What very good news….congratulations on your hard and successful efforts.

This is all well and good, but I think we should keep up the pressure to try and get him sprung on the grounds that 1) he’s been tortured and 2) he isn’t a criminal, but a whistleblower, and is entitled to whistleblower protections, not a jail cell in Leavenworth (and yes, I realize that BHO is somewhat unsympathetic to the whole notion of whistleblower protections).

That being said, we done good.

For once the circumstances for Manning are improving. Thanks for your hard work Jane. BTW, do you think he was moved to make it harder for you, manning’s friends and legal team to stay in contact with him?

Thank you, Jane, for the confirmation that the dramatic improvement in Manning’s treatment is for real.

Thanks, Jane.

Yes, of course. There is still much more to be done, particularly around Obama declaring mannings guilt. But a good victory st this stage.

Important to Note – Bradley Manning is allowed mail:
Bradley Manning 89289
JRCF
830 Sabalu Road
Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027-2315

I think this is the best news I’ve heard all week. And I mean BEST.

I hope this continues.

Great news but I’m not surprised at the manner in which he’s treated at Leavenworth. Leavenworth is not Quantico.

I contacted DOD concerning sending mail and packages to Brad at Leavenworth the night of the webinar. I have yet to receive a response.

Thanks for the update Jane. I’d say this is not only a victory for David Coombs, FDL and all of those who provided pressure to improve his conditions but most especially for Mr. Manning himself. He’s the one that had to endure pretrial torture, (because that’s exactly what it was), and still has to endure confinement apparently without a trial date or a chance for bail. No props for Obama or the DoD for finally doing the right thing, (or closer to the right thing than they’ve been doing).

Kudos to you, Jane and everyone that took a part in getting “at least” this much done on Mannings situation. I’ve been enthused with the events that have been taken place in the past two weeks. Let’s hope more is on the way.

Excellent news!
Kick Ass, FDL.
We have to remember though, they still want this kid’s blood.
We can’t rest.
I’m not foolish enough to believe this government has all of a sudden developed a respect for the principles of due process and the rule of law. Whatever they do seems to only be based on the newest PR strategy.
“Extra-Judicial” defines them.
Please continue to keep us informed Jane, and thanks for all you do.

NO question about it, Jane & FDL have done an OUTSTANDING job covering the horrendous pretrial torture of an American soldier. The real story, yet to be addressed, is that Manning’s disgraceful treatment was ordered by senior Military officers with the full awareness of the President of the United States – the one WE elected. Thanks Jane, GREAT JOB!

Thx for the address, I just wrote him.

And, I included a check!

Just be aware, that the jail can read that mail before he does. So, a nice post card with “greeting from” is good. Some screed about overthrowing the government will only hurt Manning’s situation.

Think about Manning’s wellbeing before you write. Also try not to write anything that will upset or depress the kid.

Now perhaps we can get a description of Manning’s torturers. These bastards need to do hard time.

AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen Hamsher:

This should be a very “proud” day for you, Sister Hamsher, and for FDL. The organizing, messaging and direct action you coordinated was a thing of beauty to watch and provides a template for the kind of political action this community can inspire in the larger population. In my opinion, FDL found it’s legs and began to define an identity for itself through the coalition that you brought together and to bear that didn’t just speak truth to power but screamed it loud enough for the world to hear.

The success of this effort, though, has not yet been measured because the rights of citizen soldiers in a democracy are still under threat and our people need to learn about the entire issue of secrecy and the militarization of our politics through the trial process. Forcing our executive to grant human rights to its citizens is a great victory and more importantly it proves that there is no safety for the President in taking the path of least resistance in dealing with the military and the security apparatus. This President, may not like it, but he isn’t stupid and he knows that his political survival requires coming down on the right side of this issue.

You have earned first Norske Silver Star of citizenship for yourself and FDL…Kobe is barkin’ his head off up there, Sister Jane.

KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITION, DEMOCRACY IS NOT COMFORTABLE!!

Oh, and how great is this outcome?

At last some good news, i.e. news that involves something being better than it had been. We will keep watch.

IMO, it’s not an “outcome” yet. He still stands charged with some serious crimes, has already been declared guilty without trial by the President himself, has no idea when, if ever there will be a trial and is still subject to the whims of the Department of Defense. This is good news but not time to relax and celebrate.

These petitions didn’t do shit — and they never do. What changed the White House’s treatment of Manning was somebody paid $74,000 of their own money to get into an Obama fundraiser and embarrassed him (which got filmed) and then he later said that Manning ‘broke the law’. Now, when stuff like that runs on Fox News, Obama is convinced to change his position. He’s always seeking approval from his opponents. Otherwise, forget it.

Congrats! I think whomever brought up Manning’s British citizenship deserves a nod of appreciation too.

Nice job!

Gregg Levine’s weekly vlog is already in progress: The Party Line – May 6, 2011
Spoiler Alert

Jane,

Thanks so much for all you’ve done here. Manning’s treatment was the thing I cared about the most of all the topics we have discussed here, because it stood (stands) for everything that has gone wrong with this country since the Supreme Court overturned the rule of law in December, 2000. I wrote my friends in Europe, and I hope their influence had at least a little part to play in his change of status.

I’m curious about one thing. What do you and others think the odds are that his treatment was being hidden from the President? Given the amount of things he has to attend to, it would be easy for people lower down(and that includes Holder) to simply suppress the information until it got too hot to handle. I know that people here are not enamored of Obama, and I am certainly disappointed in his performance on a number of dimensions, but I find it hard to believe he would countenance Manning’s particular kind of torture once he was informed of it. My guess is that Manning’s new treatment comes directly from the White House.

Citizen Crider:

And the UN human rights folks takin this to the next level, that didn’t do shit? Amnesty Intl leveraging off of the UN, that didn’t do shit? Britain and other NATO folks raising formal objections, that didn’t do shit? The entire corporate media establishment bein’ forced to deal with the issue every day, that didn’t do shit? No Citizen, every action in a resistance movement has some serious “shit” behind it and causes some level of discomfort in the rulers. I think you’re so used to losin that you can’t recognize even the smallest victory.

Well said.

And thus we see the obvious difference between activism and keyboardism.

The petitions didn’t do it, but they helped raise consciousness, which led to the PUBLICITY, which is what worked. After the $74,000 embarrassment, Obama knew that his campaign events from then on would offer a forum for more accusations of Obama’s torture of Bradley Manning.

But it was FDL and Jane Hamsher who got Bradley Manning’s torture right out there in front of everyone at every opportunity, which is what led to the $74,000 embarrassment and to the countless less-publicized events all over the U.S. to raise awareness of Manning’s torture and Obama’s culpability.

I still want to know when Rep. Kucinich, Juan Mendez (the UN special rapporteur on torture), and the Red Cross will be allowed to interview Bradley Manning.

And I’m grateful to the woman whose $74,000 contribution bought the publicity that seems to have ransomed Bradley Manning from the gruesome brain destruction that Obama was allowing.

Petitions by themselves never solve anything. They’re a platform from which activists can launch a campaign and organize supporters of the issue, which, when played right, can result in this kind of victory. It all works together.

Is Manning entitled to Bail, and a Bail hearing?

Please excuse my ignorance of the UCMJ.

This is good news, and it’s a relief to know that Manning is receiving humane treatment as he should have all along.

There are no bail provisions in the UCMJ. What they do instead is restrict the accused to the base, requiring them to check in with base security on a regular basis. I would imagine the military will say they consider him a flight risk due to his dual citizenship. His mother is British and they consider him a British citizen.

This is excellent news, and Jane and FDL, along with others who pursued humane treatment for Bradley Manning, are to be congratulated. Whether or not this translates into justice regarding charges for Manning is yet to be determined.

I would ask those who supported Manning to consider that the conditions he endured are those suffered by many other prisoners in U.S. custody, from those who are locked away in Supermax prisons, to those still held in indefinite detention at Guantanamo and at Bagram.

The kind of treatment meted out to Bradley Manning exists, moreover, as military policy as part of the U.S. Army Field Manual on interrogations, primarily in its Appendix M, which okays the use of isolation, sleep deprivation, and forms of sensory deprivation and environmental manipulation on prisoners deemed illegal enemy combatants, while the AFM itself allows the use of intense fear, drugs, and stress positions on all DoD prisoners.

While it is a victory to get Bradley Manning into humane conditions of detention, it is one battle in a long campaign to bring all prisoners into such conditions, and to end the reliance on torture and cruel, inhumane treatment of prisoners that has become the hallmark of U.S. policy over the last decades (not just since 9/11).

Tell me what democracy looks like, this is what democracy looks like.

Anyone who thinks he still wouldn’t be rotting in that jail without Jans’s spotlight is out of touch.

Spot on Jane, as my daughter said” it’s easy to suck but it takes hard work to kick ass…”

Excellent news, looking forward to your longer reports on how this worked out, Jane, including a discussion of tactics that helped make it happen and people who mattered.

I hope Bradley Manning’s days and nights are better than they were. And I hope his strength continues to carry him through.

” it’s easy to suck but it takes hard work to kick ass…”

Right on.

I am encouraged that the campaign worked. As a member of both the ACLU and Amnesty Intl USA my concern was always directed solely at the conditions PFC Manning was being forced to endure. It’s fair to characterize those conditions as torture, and it’s difficult to square President Obama’s complete failure to appreciate the significance of this fact. The significance is that if PFC Manning, an American soldier was being tortured then who else is being tortured? This incident makes it clear to me that President Obama was not serious when he said he would end torture as the official policy of the U.S. I believe torture is alive in well in American military facilities, and around the world. Until we are provided proof that the torture of Bradley Manning is not par for the course, then we should assume that people are being tortured around the world at our direction and on the orders of the President of the United States.

Actually, what I’m sure prompted this move was the conclusion of the mental evaluation board which, although not covered by this site, found Manning to be mentally responsible and competent to stand trial. Next stop arraignment and then I’m confident a series of defense-requested delays.

http://www.nimjblog.org/2011/04/rcm-706-board-finds-manning-fit.-to.html

This is wonderful news, Jane! Many thanks to everyone here who showed up at rallies (I couldn’t do that and still get to work)… however, I signed many petitions on his behalf.

Really good work here, everyone.

from Attorney David Coombs post:

Immediately after dinner, PFC Manning is permitted to either go to the library or to the indoor recreation area (both of which are outside the common area of his cell quarters).

any clue if the library might have internet access ?

will be writing him this week end – have to get my hands on some actual stationery – oh, and I will be using one of those upload & print your own postage stamp services – here is my stamp :D

It’s perfectly reasonable to refer to Bernard Obama as a lying sack of shit, in my opinion.

No, they just gave up trying to get Manning to lie about what Assange said to him. Obama’s got to start shaking his ass for 2012, so he really can’t be torturing a gay white kid while touring the country jacking off the remnants of his base.

Might get heckled.

“No, they just gave up trying to get Manning to lie about what Assange said to him.”

Or did Manning make a deal/statement/break? Guess we’ll find out eventually, 2013? 2014?

Thanks Jane, that is some good news.

Nice stamp!

Actually, what I’m sure prompted this move was the conclusion of the mental evaluation board which, although not covered by this site, found Manning to be mentally responsible and competent to stand trial.

Yes, because we are all aware of how beneficial it is for one’s mental health to be stripped nude and left in a bare cell every night.

Thanks be to God! Thanks Jane, look forward to your further reports.

Blessings,

Big thanks and kudos to Jane and the FDL crew for taking this on!!!

amen!

Jane, thank you for all your great work on this.

Unfortunately this post is being misunderstood on at least one blog. Where you write

Everyone who said that Manning was being stripped naked, held in solitary confinement and shackled in chains “for his own good” was evidently lying.

“Extreme Liberal” seems to think you mean Manning’s lawyer “was evidently lying” about the whole mistreatment story:

http://extremeliberal.wordpress.com/2011/05/07/did-bradley-manning-almost-blow-the-operation-to-capturekill-osama-bin-laden/#comment-3759

The problem is that your sentence is ambiguous. I was confused too. To avoid giving that impression, maybe you could add an update of some kind to clarify that you mean the “for his own good” was a lie by the Quantico people, which seemed obvious from the very beginning.

Whether Extreme Liberal’s story about a relevant wikileak appearing on April 24 is true and/or relevant, I don’t know. I wanted to get word to you about the ambiguity in your post before looking further into that.

UPDATE: My mistake — it was a commenter named Grant, comment #3 to Extreme Liberal’s post, that quoted you in this misleading way. My reply to Grant is directly below his comment.