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‘The Right Stuff’ -- Bradley Manning
by Staff report via stan - CommonDreams Friday, May 31 2013, 1:14pm
international / prose / post

I recall a movie of that name portraying US test pilots as incredibly brave heroes in the era of rapidly developing fighter jets -- it was an entertaining semi-fiction-doco piece. The dauntless pilots were classic alpha types, some would say insane for pushing known faulty aircraft designs past their limits and paying the ultimate price. But alpha type personalities thrive on danger and risk and while not in that category I know how it is to be an ‘alpha type’ personality; after leaving high school I undertook a very high paying dangerous job in order to quickly earn enough to head for Asia to study philosophy and smoke the world’s best charas.

I remember my first day on the job as a totally inexperienced multi-storey window cleaner (I had bullshitted my way into the job) the leading hand grumbled something about a ‘new bloke’ at the meet location not realising it was me. When he discovered the reality after the supervisor appeared with the days worksheets and crew assignments, he became very pragmatic -- it’s just one of those jobs.

We were rostered together on a 25 storey building in the CBD. After preparing our gear, scrim, shammy and squeegee and three-quarter filling our mid-sized buckets with water and a detergent/retarder solution to resist fast vaporisation, up we went to the top floor.

Wally used a special window lock key to open the large frame windows, which spun on their middle axis; he immediately stepped out onto a 12" ledge between an alloy sun visor shield and the building’s outer wall, expecting me to follow. Well, you can imagine, I had never been higher than the roof of the family house and here I was peering down 25 stories to the ground. Wally looked right at my eyes waiting for me, I returned his gaze, collected myself and just stepped out after him -- I realised later that’s all he wanted to see, that I was able to handle heights; Wally demonstrated the routine and I began to clean windows making my way around the building on the outside using the alloy sun visor as a touch balance, as it was not capable of supporting a man’s weight in the middle sections. Within a few days I was an old hand and Wally and I became good friends -- but it’s an experience one doesn’t forget in a hurry.

That first day was revealing, I discovered an ability I hadn’t realised I possessed. It was simply a matter of mind-body sync and highly focused attention, one couldn’t fall as one was in complete control of one’s feet hands and limbs -- it was that simple! I remember appearing around the corner of the building on the outside as we progressed around the building, women in typing pools and other staff could scarcely believe their eyes, I was only eighteen at the time -- if Wally could do it then so could I -- the women nearly had heart attacks watching a young lad moving around the building with no harness or other safety equipment but that’s what it was like before the regulators stepped in and fucked the job, slowing us down with cumbersome, compulsory safety equipment. I describe this event as a qualification, to appreciate alpha type personalities.

I learned later that alpha types required major challenges or dangerous situations in order to reach peak performance -- I thrived on it.

It wasn’t that aspect of the movie that pissed me off -- gritty realism depicting stress and danger is food for me -- but Hollywood can’t help itself, it was the unnecessary injection into the movie of what foreigners call the ‘John Wayne syndrome,’ (non-existent in reality) the all American, mythic, conquering hero. The movie just didn’t need that fictitious crap.

Instances of raw courage, unfaltering moral conviction and unwavering determination in the face of overwhelming odds are extremely rare in the cowardly USA today -- the overwhelming majority of Americans are clearly INCAPABLE of preserving their rights, liberties and hard won democracy, which are under continuous attack from a spineless but shrewd plutocratic MINORITY; however, outstanding exceptions always appear to remind us all of what is RIGHT and JUST -- I refer to one very notable example that history will record as a major influence in the overthrow of the criminals that have temporarily stolen American democracy.

The person to which I refer is Pfc. Bradley Manning, who consciously, and with full knowledge of the consequences, exposed US war crimes to the entire world.

Manning has since been tortured and illegally detained well over the limit for pre-trial detention. I would also add, judging by Manning’s statement/declaration in court, that he has not ‘broken’ under torture and remains of very sound mind after nine months of continuous mind-breaking psychological torture -- the heroic character, mettle, moral stature and conviction of Bradley Manning is beyond question. This man is made of the "Right Stuff".

Manning’s farcical trial makes Alice in Wonderland look like a conservative realist novel; consider the absurdity of the person that exposes war crimes/criminals being placed on trial by the criminals and institution he exposed -- only in America could this ludicrous situation occur. But the free sane world is witness to this farcical trial and it will sink the criminal US regime as surely as an iceberg sank the Titanic.

In an era where the ‘right stuff’ is a rare commodity, Manning stands apart as an example of exceptional courage and principle against one of the most criminally powerful organisations the world has ever seen. Indeed, Manning is not just a hero, he is a hero’s hero of the highest order.

Manning’s legacy and positive influence is already apparent, though his closed door 'trial' has not yet officially begun -- got something to hide have we, Washington and the Pentagon?

America remains the world’s LEADING CIVILIAN KILLING, TERRORIST (you won’t see it coming, Obama) and (we came, we saw, he died, Clinton) NATION IN THE WORLD TODAY -- F-A-C-T!

While supporters intend to demonstrate over the gross injustice of this trial the rest of humanity should hang its collective head in shame for allowing the PROVEN criminal US regime to crucify a man of the highest moral integrity.


Story from CommonDreams follows:

Bradley Manning is a Hero: Supporters Gather for Weekend Protest March at Ft. Meade
by Jon Queally, staff writer

As peace groups and supporters of Army whistleblower Bradley Manning plan for a large rally outside Fort Meade in Maryland over the weekend, the officials at the military base say they will shutter the main gate and possibly close off local traffic throughout the day.

The planned protest comes just days before Manning's official military trial begins on Monday. If convicted on the all counts, Manning could face life in prison.

Hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of people are scheduled to attend the demonstration on Saturday, calling Manning a hero—not a criminal—for a releasing thousands of classified military documents and other material that showed the inner workings of how the Bush administration was executing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including a video of innocent civilians being gunned down by US soldiers.

In a recent statement, Daniel Ellsberg, famous for his release of the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War era and an outspoken critic of government's prosecution of whistleblowers, said the event will shine a light on the courageousness of Manning's actions.

"In releasing documents and videos to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, PFC Manning made an enormously positive impact on world events," said Ellsberg. "He revealed the terrifying misdeeds by American and coalition forces, such as the 2007 Baghdad airstrike that targeted and killed at least 12 Iraqi civilians. He opened a new pathway for truth and justice to reach the world, perhaps preventing the next unjust war from ever beginning. He even helped inspire a new, global movement for openness and democracy, ringing out from Tahrir Square to Wall Street. To me, and many others, Bradley is a hero."

Ellsberg will speak at Saturday's rally, which is being organized the Bradley Manning Support Network, Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, Code Pink, and others. Also speaking at the rally will be Ethan McCord, a soldier who saved the children seen in the "Collateral Murder" video leaked by Manning and released by WikiLeaks.

“Bradley Manning is a hero who wanted to aid the public, not a traitor who wanted to aid the enemy, ”said Gerry Condon, a spokesperson for Veterans For Peace. “It is a shame that our nation did not pay more attention to the information he shared with us three years ago. Many lives could have been saved - hundreds of Afghani civilians and hundreds of U.S. soldiers.”

Ellsberg urged concerned citizens to come out in support of Manning, saying his persecution by the government was a direct assault on transparency, accountability, and the public's right to know about the acts performed in their name.

"There are those in government who rely on crimes and secrets," said Ellsberg, "who will seek to punish him and dissuade others from offering truth to the American people. Mercifully, the Vietnam War did end, and many consider the release of the Pentagon Papers to have helped. With your assistance, Bradley’s impact can be even greater."

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