Bradley Manning nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

[kentuck]

http://www.globalresearch.ca/bradley-manning-nobel-peace-prize-nomination-2013/5325138

<snip>
by Birgitta Jónsdóttir

February 1st 2013 the entire parliamentary group of The Movement in the Icelandic Parliament, the Pirates of the EU; representatives from the Swedish Pirate Party, the former Secretary of State in Tunisia for Sport & Youth nominated Private Bradley Manning for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Following is the reasoning we sent to the committee explaining why we felt compelled to nominate Private Bradley Manning for this important recognition of an individual effort to have an impact for peace in our world. The lengthy personal statement to the pre-trial hearing February 28th by Bradley Manning in his own words validate that his motives were for the greater good of humankind.

....more

[Cleita]

1. That's good.

Other nations need to let ours know what ours is doing to this young man is unwarranted and inhumane.

[dflprincess]

21. +1000

[dixiegrrrrl]

2. Hope he gets it.

But not betting on it, considering how these decisions are made lately.

[WillyT]

3. K & R !!! - Thank You For That !!!

[MADem]

4. You do know that ANYONE can be "nominated" for the Nobel Peace Prize.

This year they have 259 nominations--I believe it is the largest pool ever. Malala is among them. So's Hillary Clinton, if the reports are to be believed.

[aristocles]

7. A slice of apple pie can be nominated. n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

12. What about lemon cream pie?

[harun]

15. Anyone can be nominated but not anyone can do the nominating

[loyalsister]

127. Bush jr and Tony Blair

A nomination for them was kicked around.. pre Iraq invasion.

http://www.snopes.com/rumors/nobel.asp

[NoMoreWarNow]

38. still, Manning is well deserving of it

[JDPriestly]

47. Have you seen the documentary, "Unknown Soldier?"

It is about the reaction of Bavarians to an exhibition on the crimes of members of the German army during WWII.

You can get it on Netflix. It is a German film. I don't know how easy it is to watch if you don't understand German, but it is a great film. Made me think of Bradley Manning. Some of the German soldiers claimed they knew of no crimes. Maybe they didn't since whether they were aware of the brutal killings by German soldiers of Jewish and other East European people would depend on whether they were directly involved. But for some of the German soldiers, knowledge of the crimes they and their comrades committed was a source of shame. Some of the soldiers denied knowing about it, but you knew from their faces that they did.

Manning could not bear the inner conflict of knowing of the criminal killing of innocent people including children. Is that a sign of his moral superiority or of hubris?

At any rate, witnesses to war crimes are supposed to report them. Manning did. On the other hand, soldiers are supposed to obey commands. Manning did not. The German soldiers were in the same situation. Some of them did not obey orders.

Contrary to our ideas about the NAZIs, in the film, they stated that there were no records showing that soldiers who refused to commit war crimes were punished. That contradicts our ideas about the NAZI government.

(In case my statement is unclear: The SS committed war crimes. Not all German soldiers in the ordinary Wehrmacht or military obeyed orders to commit war crimes when they were given. Soldiers who disobeyed orders and refused to commit war crimes were not punished.)

Some of the photos shown in the documentary look very much like pictures from Abu Ghraib.

I highly recommend it: The Unknown Soldier on Netflix. You might find it interesting from what I have seen of your posts on this topic.

[sabrina 1]

88. No, I have not seen it. But would like to, thank your for

the information. It takes great courage to do what Manning did and having read his own words in the chat logs, I have no doubt that he was motivated by the most noble of reasons.

What is interesting to me is that most of what he revealed in the War Logs were from the Bush Era. It's interesting that there are people right here who seem to be protecting Bush by attacking Manning. Strange how partisanship blinds people. The FFs were so right to fear party politics after all.

[Luminous Animal]

50. In this case, he is properly and officially nominated by agencies that the committee

is bound, by their rules, to recognize.

[MADem]

94. Like Rush Limbaugh was...! nt

[green for victory]

5. kr

Bradley Manning: the face of heroism

The 25-year-old Army Private, this generation's Daniel Ellsberg, pleads guilty today to some charges and explains his actions



Bradley Manning did what he is accused of doing, then he is a consummate hero, and deserves a medal and our collective gratitude, not decades in prison. At his court-martial proceeding this afternoon in Fort Meade, Manning, as the Guaridan's Ed Pilkington reports, pleaded guilty to having been the source of the most significant leaks to WikiLeaks. He also pleaded not guilty to 12 of the 22 counts, including the most serious - the capital offense of "aiding and abetting the enemy", which could send him to prison for life - on the ground that nothing he did was intended to nor did it result in harm to US national security. The US government will now almost certainly proceed with its attempt to prosecute him on those remaining counts.

Manning's heroism has long been established in my view, for the reasons I set forth in that Op-Ed. But this was bolstered today as he spoke for an hour in court about what he did and why, reading from a prepared 35-page statement. Wired's Spencer Ackerman was there and reported:

"Wearing his Army dress uniform, a composed, intense and articulate Pfc. Bradley Manning took 'full responsibility' Thursday for providing the anti-secrecy organization WikiLeaks with a trove of classified and sensitive military, diplomatic and intelligence cables, videos and documents. . . .

"Manning's motivations in leaking, he said, was to 'spark a domestic debate of the role of the military and foreign policy in general', he said, and 'cause society to reevaluate the need and even desire to engage in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations that ignore their effect on people who live in that environment every day.'

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/feb/28/bradley-manning-heroism-pleads-guilty

[Dragonfli]

6. Undeserved! I don't think he has ordered so much as even one drone strike!

Poser doesn't even know how to win the prize honestly, by killing, the old fashioned way.

[Recursion]

18. My favorite line from "Wag the Dog"...

"If Kissinger can win the Peace Prize, I wouldn't be surprised to wake up and found I'd won the Preakness."

[Dragonfli]

29. LOL I remember that line... it was a good one

[rhett o rick]

66. Dont leave out George Tenet he won the medal of freedom for the bad intellegence that led us to

war in Iraq.

[woo me with science]

27. Indeed. nt

[ReRe]

8. I concur!

K&R

[lovuian]

9. He is a true hero

I think he is a great nominee

[randome]

10. Exactly what an emotionally unbalanced man like Manning needs.

Not.

[WillyT]

11. The Guy Sees A Video That Shows American Troops Committing War Crmes...

And HE'S the one who is unbalanced ???

More than Ironic.

Are you feeling safe yet ???

[randome]

14. He's emotionally unbalanced because of his admitted gender identity issues.

That and punching his superior. And of course handing national security documents over to an Australian because he supposedly couldn't wait to go through news organizations or whistle-blower channels.

Face it, the guy has problems that run deeper than seeing a military video. Everyone wants to use him, including the Left. He's supposed to be our new poster boy for bravery? I don't think so.

[WillyT]

19. "Gender Identity Issues"... Um... Right...

[struggle4progress]

83. You object to Manning using that as a defense?

Manning Defense Focuses on Female Alter-Ego and Erratic Behavior
By SERENA MARSHALL (@SerenaMarsh) and LUIS MARTINEZ (@LMartinezABC)
Dec. 21, 2011

... From the start of the six-day hearing, defense attorneys consistently raised the issue of his gender-identity disorder. Early on Maj. Matthew Kemkes, Manning's military attorney, said raising Manning's homosexuality and his gender identity disorder was important because it would show "what was going on in my client's mind" ...

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bradley-manning-defense-focuses-female-alter-ego-erratic/story?id=15207261

[Recursion]

26. I'm as "anti-Manning" as they come, but I will not stand for that

Being transgender is absolutely not a sign of emotional instability. Period.

[randome]

28. I did not mean to imply that. I meant he clearly had emotional difficulties with it.

[Recursion]

30. Apologies. Looking back, I misread you

I've just seen that a few times here on DU and it really troubles me.

[randome]

32. I wasn't clear enough. No problem.

[WillyT]

35. Everybody... Has "Difficulties With It"...

Jesus...I'm straight, and even I know that.

It has NO bearing on right and wrong !!!

[randome]

37. Of course it has a bearing.

If one's mind is clouded from something as deep-rooted as gender, it can affect one's actions and behavior.

Punching his commanding officer, carving the words 'I want' into a chair and then being found curled on the floor in a fetal position -these are not the behaviors of someone who is stable.

The Iraq Invasion was immoral from so many standpoints, showing a video of soldiers killing Iraqis did nothing to change any of that, for better or worse.

[WillyT]

39. So... You Believe That There Was NO Reasonable Reason For Him To Release That Info ???

It HAD to be deep seeded personal issues ???

What if... misguided or not... he thought he was alerting the country to a crime, committed in their name ?

[randome]

42. If he was thinking clearly, he would have spoken to a news organization.

Or gone through whistle-blower channels. The fact that he released hundreds of thousands of national security documents to a foreign organization means, IMO, that he was NOT thinking clearly.

The reason he wasn't thinking clearly can be debated but my bet is that his ongoing personal problems impacted his actions.

He claims to have tried to speak with news organizations but it appears to have been a very half-hearted attempt, if, in fact, he was telling the truth.

[dsc]

46. For the record the government has stated on the record

in open tribunal, that it would make difference at all from their perspective if he leaked to the NYT, the Post, or Wikileaks.

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/112554

After 1,000 days in pretrial detention, Private Bradley Manning yesterday offered a modified guilty plea for passing classified materials to WikiLeaks. But his case is far from over—not for Manning, and not for the rest of the country. To understand what is still at stake, consider an exchange that took place in a military courtroom in Maryland in January.

The judge, Col. Denise Lind, asked the prosecutors a brief but revealing question: Would you have pressed the same charges if Manning had given the documents not to WikiLeaks but directly to the New York Times?

The prosecutor’s answer was simple: “Yes Ma'am.”

The question was crisp and meaningful, not courtroom banter. The answer, in turn, was dead serious. I should know. I was the expert witness whose prospective testimony they were debating. The judge will apparently allow my testimony, so if the prosecution decides to pursue the more serious charges to which Manning did not plead guilty, I will explain at trial why someone in Manning's shoes in 2010 would have thought of WikiLeaks as a small, hard-hitting, new media journalism outfit—a journalistic “Little Engine that Could” that, for purposes of press freedom, was no different from the New York Times. The prosecutor's “Yes Ma'am,” essentially conceded that core point of my testimony in order to keep it out of the trial. That's not a concession any lawyer makes lightly.

end of quote

The government disagrees with you on the rationality of the NYT vs Wikileaks.

[randome]

51. They will say that at trial. It might be a different matter depending on the PR stink.

If a news organization made something front and center that was truly a war crime and not indiscriminate bundling of hundreds of thousands of classified documents, I don't think the government's position would be a strong one.

Legally, yes, but in the court of public opinion, not so much.

[Luminous Animal]

56. Thank you.

[Luminous Animal]

54. Wikileaks is a news organization.

[randome]

60. I don't believe that, no matter what someone else might say.

Even other organizations.

To me, a news organization investigates, not hangs a virtual sign that says, 'Do our work for us, send us the results and we'll publish them.'

[dsc]

64. well your government does

the fact is the government is on the record as stating there is no difference whatsoever between his giving the documents to the NYT and giving them to Wikileaks.

[Luminous Animal]

65. They've won awards from around the world for their reporting.

From organizations that specifically honor news organizations.

For many years, from state to state, from home to home, I carried the issue of my home town newspaper that printed the unabridged (though explicated for profanity) version of the Nixon Tapes. That one issue had more print than a years worth of their regular publication. Can you make the argument that publishing the text of the tapes, without comment or filter, was not news?

[randome]

70. Some work and investigation went into getting those tapes released.

Wikileaks doesn't do much of either. They simply print the work and investigation of others. I think that's the difference.

No one would expect a local newspaper to ferret out stories of national importance but they do work on local issues.

[Luminous Animal]

73. Actually, they print original content AND there are many volunteer journalists

who aggregate the information to separate the wheat from the chaff. It's very exciting.

By the way, the New York Times also published the transcript of the tapes without comment. So did every other major paper in the world.

[Luminous Animal]

48. Admitting to gender identity issues does not mean a person is unbalanced.

It means, quite simply, that a person is admitting to gender identity issues in a society that is more apt to beat the crap out of such a person as support them.

A person who has gender identity issues does not have deep problems. Rather, its most everyone else who has problems with those who admit to having issues.

[randome]

53. I'm quite aware of that.

But Manning's behavior indicates he DOES have deep-rooted problems. My point is only that he was clearly unstable based on the incidents cited elsewhere in this thread.

Punching his superior officer.
Carving the words 'I want' into a chair.
Being found curled on the floor in a fetal position.

The guy has problems, it's fair to say. Whether that's all wrapped up with his gender issues is debatable but SOMETHING set him off.

[Luminous Animal]

55. Yes. War crimes set him off.

[randome]

59. Even Julian Assange did not think the video in question showed indisputable evidence of war crimes.

And even if you believe it does, are you saying YOUR reactions would be to carve the words 'I want' into a chair, punch your superior officer and curl yourself up in a fetal position on the floor?

After giving the video in question to a foreign organization?

I've seen the video. None of my reactions ever approached something like that.

The guy made a lot of bad decisions in this process. I think it's fair to say that his emotional troubles clouded his judgment.

[Luminous Animal]

61. I know you didn't mean "foreign organization", you meant to say global news media...

Actually, it wasn't the video that set him off but rather, U.S. military handing over Iraqis who were criticizing the Iraqi government in print. That hand over resulted in dissidents being tortured. When he brought the issue to his CO, he was told to go back to work. Work that he considered would contribute to more human beings being tortured. I.e., war crimes.

[green for victory]

63. what kind of emotional problems

cause men in helicopters to shoot at civilians in their own nation? Then laugh about it?

There are emotional problems all right, and Thank God for Bradley and all the rest that do what they can.

How much longer do you think the US Military will be hovering over a land 8000 miles away, 12 years after the "cause"? How many more "bugsplats" will there be? This is madness on display. These people have gone insane. It's that simple.

[randome]

69. I am not in the slightest arguing in favor of continued war.

Iraq has been a waste of time, money and, more importantly, lives. Both Iraqis and American.

War is hell. A war of choice is something worse.

[LiberalLovinLug]

107. If you argue against and disparage whistleblowers

who shed light on war crimes, thus helping to whitewash the effects of war


then yes.....you are more than slightly arguing in favor of continued endless war.

[randome]

108. I'm not arguing against whistleblowers at all.

I'm not even disparaging Manning, although some will no doubt prefer to see it that way.

I'm looking at the facts. Manning was emotionally unstable and made some bad decisions. His 'revelations' have not led to war crimes charges and handing over hundreds of thousands of national security documents (which no human being could possibly have reviewed) to an organization outside the country does not, IMO, amount to whisteblowing.

It violates the oath he took when he put on the uniform. And that's why he is being prosecuted.

[LiberalLovinLug]

110. Right....He should have "just followed orders"

But you are so so gracious aren't you? You give him an out....he was simply "emotionally unstable and made some bad decisions".

Does he look like he is unstable to you? Did his blog posts giving his moral reasonings to the leaks seem unstable or the writings of a mentally deranged individual? Is he not pleading guilty to leaking the documents?

You know you may have a nervous breakdown as well if you were confronted with the choice he ultimately made, his own human morals over his oath of duty.

[whatchamacallit]

125. Insane... you're blowing out both holes

You seem to admit that the crimes he whistled on deserved exposure, but then use a weak pop psychology diagnosis to discredit him. If you truly believe the events should have been brought to light, Manning's mental condition is immaterial. Nice try.

[randome]

128. I'm not saying he found concrete evidence of war crimes at all.

Even Julian Assange says the video was inconclusive.

And as for the Iraqis that were handed over presumably for torture, IIRC, those doing the handing over were not even U.S. troops.

Manning's state of mind has a bearing on why he thought that putting hundreds of thousands of national security documents WITHOUT REVIEW into the hands of a non-U.S. organization would make him some kind of hero.

It was faulty thinking on his part. Now what accounted for his faulty thinking? My guess is his ongoing gender identity disorder, which even his attorneys have claimed.

[whatchamacallit]

129. Concrete enough for impartial (non-military) evaluation

Also, most defense attorneys will pursue whatever strategy will get their client the best outcome. That doesn't make his 'instability' conclusive.

[randome]

131. I have no problem with reviews of our ignorant adventure against Iraq at all.

And you're right, we can't go by everything an attorney says since they're biased. But Manning's previously described behavior indicates a certain emotional volatility, IMO.

Not a good frame of mind to be giving national security documents to an overseas organization.

And as I've said many times, I hope he receives leniency or eventually a commutation since there were a lot of other factors impacting this whole thing.

If he had actually reviewed what he handed over and went through whistleblower channels or even through a news organization, I think the P.R. impact would have kept the government from going after him.

[whatchamacallit]

132. Fair enough n/t

[struggle4progress]

84. ... Defense attorneys pressed several witnesses on whether there had been any investigative focus

on Manning's issues of gender identity, saying the line of questioning gets at Manning's "state of mind" and whether he had "diminished capacity" at the time the government has accused him of leaking the materials ...
Attorney: Manning showed signs of distress in Iraq
WikiLeaks hearing continues at Fort Meade
December 17, 2011|By Annie Linskey, The Baltimore Sun

Manning's defense has repeatedly argued that he had diminished capacity due to gender dysphoria

[Luminous Animal]

86. Defense does what it has to do. But you already knew that.

[struggle4progress]

87. The argument that Manning suffered from an incapacitating gender dysphoria has been

regularly advanced by the defense: if you feel this is a homophobic line of argument, you should discuss that with Manning's defense team

[Luminous Animal]

91. Um, no, not regularly.

[rhett o rick]

68. You really hate whistle blowers dont you? They make life tough on the elite. nm

[randome]

71. I'm afraid Manning didn't make life tough for anyone but himself.

[rhett o rick]

72. Interesting how much the conservatives hate Manning. They always side with the elite. nm

[leftynyc]

103. Just because people don't agree

with your assessment doesn't mean they are conservatives. Holy shit, when did liberals become so fucking retarded regarding a difference in opinion? And who the fuck nominated people from DU as the arbiters of who is and who is not a liberal? But thanks, it does make it easier to know who to take seriously.

[rhett o rick]

111. Just pointing out a fact that conservatives hate Manning. Strange how you put "lefty" in your

name but yet you call liberals "retarded". Just sayin.

[leftynyc]

118. You argue like a winger

Should I hate dogs because Hitler loved them? Same stupid thing. And frankly, I'm sick and tired of people here deciding who and who is not a liberal. If people who have been around here as long as I have (over 10 years), perhaps the benefit of the doubt is warranted instead of assuming if they stray from whatever measure you're using, that they're the enemy. It's annoying and childish. Manning broke the law - period. I don't hate him, I feel sorry for him for believing he was going to be branded a hero for breaking the law.

[rhett o rick]

120. Why was it important to put "lefty" in your name? Just curious.

On reflection, never mind.

[leftynyc]

133. The assumption of those

not on political boards is that I'm lefthanded. I'm a proud liberal - that's why I did it. That you don't think so doesn't mean a thing to me.

[EOTE]

100. Because this country treats its whistle blowers so well!

And the Obama administration definitely HASN'T doubled the amount of Espionage Act prosecutions of all other presidents combined who came before him. What a totally unbalanced man to believe that he wouldn't have good luck going through those whistle-blower channels.

[RILib]

116. what?

People with "gender identity issues" are emotionally unbalanced?

What is this, psychology circa 1950?

[randome]

124. If you'll read the rest of this thread, you'll know I don't believe that is always true.

But it is a FACT that Manning was emotionally unstable. I don't see what other interpretation can be made of the incidents cited elsewhere in this thread.

[duhneece]

23. Revealing war crimes makes him a hero in my eyes

I couldn't care less if he's transgendered.

[randome]

33. I couldn't care less, either.

But not everyone deals with transgender issues like it's a walk in the park. Manning clearly struggled with his issues and I can't help but think his emotional volatility had much to do with his dumping classified documents into the hands of an Australian.

[WillyT]

41. So Again... He Wasn't Sure Of His Gender... And Therefore, In Your Eyes... He Commits Treason ???

Wow...

You sure you're on the correct site ???

[randome]

43. I don't consider it treason, really, regardless of what the miliary thinks.

And his superiors are culpable since they were warned not to deploy him to Iraq and should never have let him have access to classified material.

That's why I think he should get some leniency in his sentencing or even be pardoned after a few years.

But the Nobel Peace Prize is stretching things too far in the other direction.

[JDPriestly]

82. Read about Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Do you think he deserved

maybe a Nobel Prize?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer

The situations were somewhat different. Bonhoeffer really did betray the NAZIs. He really was a traitor. Manning simply released papers that were true but the product, the writings of American diplomats. The essential question that both examples present is what punishment if any is appropriate for a person who disobeys immoral orders and fights against or reveals war crimes, crimes against mankind?

[struggle4progress]

85. Manning's sexual orientation raised at hearing

By DAVID DISHNEAU, PAULINE JELINEK
updated 12/17/2011 2:43:37 PM ET

... Lawyers for Pfc. Bradley Manning began laying out a defense to show that his struggles in an environment hostile to homosexuality contributed to mental and emotional problems that should have barred him from having access to sensitive material ... The defense revealed that Manning had written to one of his supervisors in Baghdad before his arrest, saying he was suffering from gender-identity disorder. He included a picture of himself dressed as a woman and talked about how it was affecting his ability to do his job and even think clearly ... Prosecutors objected several times to the questions. Kemkes responded that if the government can argue that Manning intended to leak secrets, "what is going on in my client's mind is very important" ...

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/45707454/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/mannings-sexual-orientation-raised-hearing/


The gender identity and gender dysphoria issues have been repeatedly raised by Manning's defense, in an effort to show he had dimished capacity. In your opinion, is he entitled to present this defense if he wants to present it?

[Luminous Animal]

49. Nobody deals with their gender identity like it is a walk in the park. Everyone who questions

their societal proscribed gender struggles. Coming out results in contempt, loss of job, family, friends, and the very real threat of physical violence.

[JDPriestly]

80. I think it is emotionally disturbing to discover that your

employer is acting in wanton disregard if the law. It would be especially disturbing to discover that your employer is not only violating laws but killing or harming innocent children and leaving them to die.

Manning's emotional state may have been the rational reaction of a moral person when faced with the dilemma between letting the world know of criminal behavior on the part of his employer and his country or remaining silent and allowing the crimes to proceed without notice.

In the film, The Unknown Soldier, someone mentioned Dietrich Bonhoefer, a German pastor who resisted the NAZIs. I don't know whether you have heard of him.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer (German: [ˈdiːtʁɪç ˈboːnhœfɐ]; 4 February 1906 – 9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, dissident anti-Nazi, and founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity's role in the secular world have become widely influential, and many have labelled his book The Cost of Discipleship a modern classic.[1] Apart from his theological writings, Bonhoeffer became known for his staunch resistance to the Nazi dictatorship. He strongly opposed Hitler's euthanasia program and genocidal persecution of the Jews.[2] He was also involved in plans by members of the Abwehr (the German Military Intelligence Office) to assassinate Adolf Hitler. He was arrested in April 1943 by the Gestapo and executed by hanging in April 1945 while imprisoned at a Nazi concentration camp, just 23 days before the German surrender.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer's and Manning's situations were very different, but both followed their consciences. On one level, Manning had a duty to be loyal to the US Army and to obey the security restrictions imposed on enlistees in his position. But on another level, he felt that he had a moral obligation to reveal the truth about American war crimes and other reprehensible information. Men of conscience are rare. Bonhoeffer paid a terrible price for following his conscience. Emotionally disturbed? Fanatical? That is, probably, what many Germans who knew about him thought at the time. In the broader scheme of things??? What do you think? Should a person follow his/her conscience and disobey immoral orders? Or should they follow the orders?

[rhett o rick]

67. Interesting how the conservatives all hate Manning. Truth to power isnt their strong suit. nm

[JDPriestly]

77. I recommend the German documentary, The Unknown Soldier

to you too. It is available from Netflix and concerns the reactions of the German people to an exhibition on the war crimes of the ordinary German foot soldiers in WWII. It was quite interesting and thought provoking.

[Vanje]

13. I love this

because truth is important.
Shine the light on it.

[WillyT]

16. Word !!!

I've heard it's the best disinfectant.

[Recursion]

17. This may surprise people, but I think this is good

While I'm no fan of Manning, the USG needs to be called to account over their treatment of him.

[WillyT]

24. Agreed !!!

[SidDithers]

20. In 2007, Rush Limbaugh was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize...

In 1939, Adolf Hitler was.
In 1945, Joe Stalin was nominated.

Being nominated and $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee.

Sid

[Luminous Animal]

57. Rush was not nominated through any official channel that the Nobel Committee

is bound to recognize through the rules of their charter.

Manning has.

[derby378]

22. "Swedish Pirate Party?"

Did Lord Such open up a branch office in Stockholm?

[Earth_First]

25. This ought to ruffle somw feathers...

Including our own here at DemocraticUnderground.

Good.

[Recursion]

31. Let's be blunt, that's what the Peace Prize does.

That's it's point. And USG could use some ruffling after their treatment of Manning. (And, again, I say this as someone who thinks he deserves to be in jail for a long time; just not held in solitary without trial.)

[demwing]

102. Why should Manning be in jail at all?

What he did was the moral and ethical thing to do. Do you believe that people should be punished for acting for the greater moral and ethical good?

[Recursion]

104. I disagree that dumping classified documents you haven't read is moral or ethical

So there's that.

[bvar22]

34. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL.

This makes me happy!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

36. He deserves it a helluva lot more than some of the previous recipients.

Henry Kissinger springs to mind.

[Nika]

40. It would be a pleasure to see him get this.

Good luck, and my thoughts are with you PFC Manning.

[CincyDem]

44. Will the US join the list...

Of countries with a citizen willing the Nobel Peace Prize while under illegal detention. Either house arrest or prison.

Seems like a list to which we should not aspire.

Let's try the guy, get his sons in the open and hear the testimony of his accusers. If he's guilty then lock him up and throw away the key.

That's supposed to be the great thing about our system. Charges. Trial. Guilty. Prison. In that order. How hard can it be.

[Nye Bevan]

45. Well, if Yasser Arafat can win it..... (nt)

[RKP5637]

52. K&R !!! +++ 1000 +++ n/t

[defacto7]

58. Maybe...

...the wrong guy doing the right thing at the wrong place at the right time?

[JI7]

62. i hope Malala wins it, anyone known when they will be announced ?

[LeftInTX]

95. I think October

[LeftInTX]

74. Can you imagine the Fox News heads exploding if he wins?

[green for victory]

93. Blowhard Bob Belt Buckle's head would pop first since he called for the assassination

of Julian Assange

that 2 bit punk isn't a "liberal" he's a psychopath



Fox News' Bob Beckel Calls For 'Ilegally' Killing Assange: 'A Dead Man Can't Leak Stuff' (VIDEO)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/07/fox-news-bob-beckel-calls_n_793467.html

A Democratic Fox News analyst called for the assassination of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Speaking on the Fox Business show "Follow The Money" on Monday, Bob Beckel excoriated Assange for leaking the State Department cables that have roiled the world in the past week, and said that American special forces should kill him.

"A dead man can't leak stuff," Beckel said. "This guy's a traitor, he's treasonous, and he has broken every law of the United States. And I'm not for the death penalty, so...there's only one way to do it: illegally shoot the son of a bitch."

*********************************

Imagine sitting around mocking people, calling for assassinations and generally making an ass of yourself and getting paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

Way to go US! USA USA USA USA

[Fire Walk With Me]

75. K&R!

[moondust]

76. I know how Iran, North Korea, and the Taliban are voting!

Oh wait...they don't get to vote on that. Bummer.

[sabrina 1]

89. Well they sure won't be voting for Bradley Manning.

He exposed war crimes, such as torture. I think those three might be a bit sensitive about that.

We in the US otoh, 'don't torture'!

Oh wait ....

[frylock]

119. i don't believe that you know much of anything

[moondust]

121. Welcome to ignore, ding dong.

[frylock]

123. oh no please don't!

whatever will I do?

[TheKentuckian]

78. Good

[struggle4progress]

79. Record 259 Nominations For Nobel Peace Prize

By IndiaTimes | March 5, 2013, 11:30 am IST - Posted 12 mins ago

... This year’s Nobel Peace Prize nominees include Pakistani teenage women education activist Malala Yousafzai ... The nomination period for 2013 ended on Feb. 1. The previous record of 241 nominations was in 2011 ...

http://www.indiatimes.com/news/americas/record-259-nominations-for-nobel-peace-prize-64510.html

[sabrina 1]

96. Awesome. Out of six billion people, Manning is one of only 259 worthy

of mention for the Nobel Peace Prize. Anyone who actually listened or read his own words would find it difficult to disgree that this is a good nomination.

[struggle4progress]

81. IIRC Jónsdóttir also nominated Manning for the 2011 and 2012 prizes

He didn't win it after the earlier nominations, and he won't win it after this nomination

[sabrina 1]

92. He's been nominated, that is fantastic.

Pressure will no doubt be applied to make sure he doesn't win. We saw how pressure was applied to Spain to protect Bush and his fellow war criminals from prosecution by the Spanish court in the cables released by Wikileaks. That was valuable information for the American people, to see how fooled we were to ever think those war criminals would be held accountable by either party here. It certainly changed the perspective of many Democrats for the good.

Manning is a hero. And I am glad to see him recognized as such outside of the US where there is so much propaganda and protection of war criminals like Bush, oddly now even on boards like this which once were united in demanding accountability for those crimes.

[LiberalLovinLug]

113. It's more than odd

But at least its only a tiny frightened minority here on DU that cannot allow themselves to accept anything other than the State sanctioned and redacted "truth". I'm actually quite encouraged by the support for Manning I see on this thread.

[I Cant Dance]

90. Unless he bombs babies with disregard, then he will not

win it.

[woo me with science]

97. K&R

It would go a long way toward correcting the error of awarding a drone warrior.

[Fantastic Anarchist]

98. Good, I hope he gets it ...

... and that it will shed more light on his plight.

[Freddie Stubbs]

99. 2002: Tony Blair & George W. Bush nominated for Nobel Prize:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1801773.stm

[randome]

101. To be fair, I think it was premature to award it to Obama.

He's the best President in a long time, IMO, but a peace prize seems inappropriate.

[frylock]

122. as was Barack Obama

[G_j]

105. good choice:

[IMG][/IMG]

[NCTraveler]

106. I think the peace prize should have a prerequisite.

One should have to do something that fosters peace.

Things like this are why the peace prize has lost integrity.

[LiberalLovinLug]

109. Its true a private like Manning cannot himself order an end to war

But he can, in this case, shed light on lies, corruption, and war crimes of a State. This would have an indirect effect on the support for future war declarations in the general population, if even minimally, and it also solidifies the resolve in those of us who are against unnecessary war in the first place.

Not to mention that the political prisoners in Tunisia's and Kadafi's Libyan prisons, freed because of the Arab Spring, may feel a little more peaceful today.

[NCTraveler]

114. I really like this sentence.

"This would have an indirect effect on the support for future war declarations in the general population, if even minimally, and it also solidifies the resolve in those of us who are against unnecessary war in the first place."

While I think it's significance is extremely minimal, thousands of acts shedding light on reality, not propaganda, will make the general population more weary in the future.

I will still stand behind my post. But I fully agree with you and your post.

[sabrina 1]

112. Fostering peace is what he was trying to do. Reporting war crimes, Bush war

crimes btw, so it's odd to see Bush being defended here. The world knows what Bush did and it is nominating someone like Manning who did what we all once wished someone would have the courage to do, that will restore some faith in the peace prize. While it appears most Americans are not aware of his motives, he did clearly state them before he was arrested, he knew the consequences but went ahead anyhow, and people in other countries are more informed about these things AND certainly less willing to 'move forward' from the brutal, war crimes committed by the Bush administration, than Americans are, sadly that now appears to include some Democrats.

In his own words for anyone who has taken the trouble to read them, as he wrestled with his decision, it is clear that this was a very intelligent man, a person who could not set aside his humanity in order to cover up crimes he became aware of.

His nomination should cause this country to at least ask some questions as he did, about our foreign policy in general, policies the world views now with great fear. He at least restores some hope that not all Americans support those policies and in that process he makes this country look a little better in the eyes of the world.

[NCTraveler]

115. Spot on with your last paragraph.

"His nomination should cause this country to at least ask some questions as he did, about our foreign policy in general, policies the world views now with great fear. He at least restores some hope that not all Americans support those policies and in that process he makes this country look a little better in the eyes of the world."

If this nomination makes even a few more individuals in this country question the militaristic moves of the US, then it is worth it. But I stand behind my beliefs that Manning is in no way peace prize worthy. I would put the Sandy Hook children above him any day. There is a possibility, due to their deaths, that some form of legislation will be passed making our streets safer. So far Mannings contributions in this country, and abroad, are just about insignificant.

[brooklynite]

117. Rush Limbaugh has been "nominated" as well...

...and as I recall in the Terri Schiavo case, Sean Hannity kept referring to a "Nobel Prize nominated physician" to butress his position.

Admirable companions...

[libodem]

126. .

[mwrguy]

130. I hope he gets it, then Obama would

be forced to pardon him.