LAST WEEK, A LONNDON RESPONSE TO VERDICT DAY IN THE COURT MARTIAL OF BRADLEY MANNING AT NSA HQ, FT. MEADE MARYLAND U.S.A.

Last Tuesday was the verdict day in the Bradley Manning show trial. We had gathered in vigil at the Eros statue in Picadilly & processed single file
to the U.S. embassy where we were joined by another 20+ folks as the verdict came down
REPORT & VID  http://tinyurl.com/ma95xpy


GIUSEPPE CONLON HALL

Last Sunday, we gathered at Giuseppe Conlon venue, as the sentencing phase for Bradley continues at NSA HQ. Ft. Meade, Maryland, U.S.A. We named our venue after Giuseppe Conlon who had left his native Belfast for London as "an act of mercy" to visit his son Gerry tortured, fitted up & jailed. A similar fate was to meet Giuseppe and his in-laws the Maguires who offered him for a bed for the night  http://tinyurl.com/3p3hy2k Giuseppe was to die in a British jail framed, libelled, tortured. Not even in death was he left alone as his body flown back and forth over the Irish Sea, stashed at Hereford before being laid to rest. the Maguires suffered long years in British prisons, also innocent.

DEATH PENALTY FOR THE "ACTS OF MERCY", FROM WORMWOOD SCRUBS TO GAZA FLOTILLA TO THE SCHOOL RUN IN BAGHDAD

On occasion, torture & death, at the hands of empire, remain a consequence for those practising the "acts of mercy". Reflect on the slain father with his children coming on the scene of the collateral murder massacre  http://collateralmurder.com/

The Iraqi father refuses to do what we have done during these long wars. He refuses to avert his gaze. He parks his car and goes to tend to the wounded. He is slain, his children are wounded. But even in the collateral murder footage there is hope, evidence of the human, there is Ethan McCord who refuses orders & rescues the children, he practises an "act of mercy".
 http://tinyurl.com/pam968o

All Bradley had to do in Baghdad, was doing what the rest of us were doing as the killing went on "avert his gaze". Bradley Manning refused to do this and blew the whistle on these high crimes.

For all the posturing, rhetoric & positioning of the short lived anti-war "movement", most serious nonviolent resistance to these wars came from within the U.S. & British militaries. The self appointed leadership of the anti-war movement dropped the ball and abandoned these military resisters. In Britain they have abandoned Bradley Manning over these last 3 years.

Giuseppe's son Gerry survived 16 years in prison, like his father, an innocent man. Gerry and his lawyer Gareth Peirce have been welcome visitors to our house of hospitality. We know like Gerry's mother, Bradley Manning's mother waits for him to return home to Wales. We believe like Gerry, Bradley will walk back into his Welsh home one day tinyurl.com/pstnemr

Throughout the past 2.5 years Catholic Worker, "Veterans for Peace in the U.K." & other new & old friends have been out on the streets, outside court & embassies in solidarity with Bradley Manning, Julian Assange and more recently Edward Snowden. We have undertaken this venture with minimal resources & personnel as more well funded anti-war organisations & NGO's embraced cowardice & cultivated ignorance averting their gaze from Manning & took the U.S./Guardian led default position on Julian. The August 4th event at Giuseppe Conlon was part wake for Bradley's youth on the streets, part a celebration of the motley crew that has traveled through his torture, character assassination, imprisonment.

It always is what it is and August 4th. was what it was folks from Catholic Worker, Veterans for Peacein the U.S. Gay Friends of Bradley Manning, artists who rarely go near activists, activists who rarely go near artists, Aaron Schwartz's Thoughtworks, geeks & technophobes, hippies & punks, young & old, tired & energetic, multi-faith & no faith, former (probably future, "one more time now with feeling") anti-war prisoners, a former policeman, combat veterans and people from Aotearoa, Australia, Belarus, Czech, England, France, Ireland, Malaysia, Sardinia & Scotand, U.S.A. & Wales.

So random. We are going to launch a funding for the Manning family to support Bradley, Since Sunday Razz is planning to host a fundraiser at Tottenham Chances, Jello Biafra has been in touch and do what he can as he passes through to Paris from Blackpool - gigging at Camden this Monday, Maria's put the youtube up, the Bearus woman will post some photos. So it's all good.

Some of those who spoke and performed were....
(archived links)

Lovers Electric,
Vid -  http://tinyurl.com/lat7zrx
Website -  http://www.loverselectric.com/read.html

Ben Griffin of Veterans for Peace in the U.K.
Vid -  http://tinyurl.com/lm9hel8
Website -  http://veteransforpeace.org.uk/

Former Prisoner of the U.S.
Anti-War Resister
Ciaron O'Reilly
Vid -  http://tinyurl.com/pc2yxvp

Tottenham Legend RAZ
 http://tinyurl.com/klt5s6j

Les from the NATIONAL INTEREST BAND
 http://tinyurl.com/l5tayo6


Bradley's sentencing continues and updates are available form this U.S. site
 http://www.bradleymanning.org/

Updates in solidarity actionsin Wales, Ireland, Scotland & England found here
 http://wiseupaction.info/

At the conclusion of Bradley Manning's military show trial he will face a maximum of 136 years following his torture & 3 years of pre-trial detention.

We demand............

FREE BRADLEY MANNING!
EXPOSE THEIR LIES!
END THEIR WARS!