Bradley Manning: how keeping himself sane was taken as proof of madness
WikiLeaks suspect's attempts to exercise and stay occupied in bare cell only perpetuated harsh anti-suicide measures
Shortly before Bradley Manning was arrested in Iraq under suspicion of being the source of the vast transfer of US state secrets to WikiLeaks, he is alleged to have entered into a web chat with the hacker Adrian Lamo using the handle bradass87. "I'm honestly scared," the anonymous individual wrote. "I have no one I trust, I need a lot of help."
That cry for assistance was a gross under-estimation of the trouble that was about to befall Manning, judging from his testimony on Thursday. In his first publicly spoken words since his arrest in May 2010, delivered at a pre-trial hearing at Fort Meade in Maryland, the soldier painted a picture of a Kafkaesque world into which he was sucked and in which he would languish for almost one excruciating year.
JUSTICE
Kosovo ex-premier Haradinaj acquitted at Hague retrial
The former prime minister of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, has been once again acquitted of crimes against humanity. The retrial the UN war crimes tribunal in The Hague backed up the court's original 2008 verdict.
Judges at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague ruled on Thursday that Haradinaj and two accomplices were not guilty of charges that they had murdered and tortured Serbs in the 1998-1999 war as members of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
"On the contrary, the evidence establishes that, when he heard about the mistreatment of individuals, Haradinaj said no such thing should happen because this is damaging of our cause," said Bakone Justice Moloto, the presiding judge in the case.
Haradinaj (pictured above), Idriz Balaj and Lahi Brahimija had been acquitted of the charges at a previous trial in 2008. But that ruling was deemed invalid because of reports of witness intimidation.
'Bounty Loves Hurricanes'A Legendary Ship's Final Hours Battling Sandy
By Marc Hujer and Samiha Shafy
As Hurricane Sandy approached the East Coast in late October, Captain Robin Walbridge wanted to save his ship, the legendary Bounty. He set out to sea to ride out the storm -- a decision which ended in disaster. He lost the ship, a crewmember and his own life.
It was still a mild fall day in New London, Connecticut, when Captain Robin Walbridge stepped on deck to prepare his crew for the possibility of dying. It was 5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25.
Morsi decree divides Egypt
Egypt's muddled transition from dictatorship to democracy has entered a dangerous phase.
The president and his Islamist supporters arrayed against the rest and each side claiming to be the true defender of democracy and the revolution.
President Mohamed Morsi said his controversial decree (euphemistically called "constitutional declaration"), which vastly expands his powers, is only a provisional measure to defend the revolution and ensure a swift passage to democracy. And a presidential spokesperson has now said that only decisions related to "sovereign matters" will be protected from judicial review. He may be sincere. But exceptional temporary measures in Egypt have a history of becoming permanent.
Back in 1954, Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, the leader of the military coup that overthrew the monarchy, abolished all political parties in order to fight the "reactionary forces" of the ancient regime. To this day, Egypt is still struggling to extricate itself from his legacy of an all-powerful president who rules by decrees with the help of a secret police.
Greater China
Is China trying to implode Japan's economy?
By Peter Lee
Is the People's Republic of China (PRC) trying to implode the Japanese economy? It is starting to look that way. The PRC has counterprogramed the US pivot to Asia - and US advantages in military and softpower - by leveraging its economic strengths.
When Japan kicked off this year's edition of the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Follies with the national purchase of the uninhabited rocks, the PRC leadership responded by giving free rein to nationalist Nipponphobic demonstrations, boycotts, and occasional anti-Japanese thuggery - and then refused to allow relations to renormalize.
The PRC frequently reiterates a hardline position during the press
conferences of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For instance, on November 19:
When Japan kicked off this year's edition of the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Follies with the national purchase of the uninhabited rocks, the PRC leadership responded by giving free rein to nationalist Nipponphobic demonstrations, boycotts, and occasional anti-Japanese thuggery - and then refused to allow relations to renormalize.
The PRC frequently reiterates a hardline position during the press
conferences of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For instance, on November 19:
Chávez authorized to leave Venezuela for health treatment - Chavismo at risk?
Chávez's travel to Cuba could mean missing important gubernatorial elections in December, potentially benefiting the opposition.
[Tuesday], in surprising fashion, the Venezuelan National Assembly authorized President Hugo Chávezto seek treatment for his ailments in Cuba, under Article 235 of the Venezuelan Constitution which says that any absence of more than five days from the country has to be approved by the Assembly. This is different than a temporal absence, in which the vice president replaces him. (Art. 234), which Chávez has refused to do ever since he started receiving treatment in Cuba for his mysterious ailment.
According to the letter sent by Chávez to the National Assembly, he will receive treatment in a hyperbaric chamber for “oxygenation,” a treatment which according to the American Cancer Society is used for treating bone damage caused during radiation treatment [...]. Chávez has said that he has received chemotherapy, but has never formally acknowledged being treated with radiation, although there are rumors that this was the first type of treatment he received when the cancer was first discovered.
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