Thank you Bradley Manning!

I am proud to announce in my very first blog post that on June 3rd  2013   I had the great honor to be the very first  of 16 public spectators allowed into the court room  for the first day of the Bradley Manning trial.  I was in the company of major players in the Manning support network and activists such as Michael Ratner who is the lawyer for Julian Assange, professor Cornell West, Media Benjamin of Code Pink, Ben Wizner of ACLU and 3 tour Afghanistan veteran and now anti war activist Jacob George.   I walked onto the base at 7am in pouring rain and was searched and then given bad directions to the courthouse  by the gate soldiers.  I met two other guys on foot one of whom was Jacob George a three tour veteran of the Afghanistan war, now in his third year travelling the country on his bicycle, playing his banjo and singing  out against war and injustice. I had seen him perform with his banjo at the Rally for Bradley Manning 2 days earlier and was very pleased to meet him in the rain that morning.   We walked for about 1/2 an hour until Jacob stopped and asked a Mexican laborer if he knew  where the court was. He said we were on the wrong side of the base and without hesitation he offered to drive us to the court. What a stroke of good fortune, not the first one on my quest I might add.  I was not at all surprised by his kindness to us, strangers! Thanks to him the three of us were among the first to arrive  trying  to  secure a place in the courtroom.  They allowed the first 22 of us into the court itself , I being the first to be admitted. There I was searched a second time.  Daniel Elsburg was among us and he had made the mistake of trying to enter with his cell phone and was turned away not to be allowed to re-enter.   The rest in line, about 70 were led into remote viewing areas.  It was very exciting walking past the heavily armed and numerous scowling soldiers. I proudly greeted them and entered the courthouse.  Once inside the waiting room I realized I was in the company of activist celebrities, wikileaks lawyer, ACLU Lawyer etc. We had time for discussions, introductions etc, it was great to be included in the discussions and be able to finally express myself with likeminded concerned citizens.  However just before the start of trial  the PR officer informed us only 16 would be allowed in after all. We were told we would have to 'squeeze into the benches '.There were cries of injustice from the lawyers.  We were forced to decide amongst ourselves who must leave. It was suggested that some people were more important than others. Well I was outraged at this suggestion.   My two new friends were silent and I spoke up and said 'as far I'm concerned, after walking in here in the rain and being first to arrive that we would not be giving up our seats for more 'important' people!' well that was that and we did get in and the other 'little people' did too.  Once inside it was funny to see how all the other benches had room for at least one or two more spectators and we were made to feel like dirt, sqeezed up against each other, whereas the pampered press and military people were very comfy and had special status with their own green room with food and drink. We had nothing, no access to water never mind food.   The courtroom was very  small. The press sat on one side behind the prosecution.  The two soldiers who escorted Bradley sat next to our two benches   looking at us menacingly and watching 'only' us the whole time. It was hilarious. There was an incredibly squeaky door that opened and closed continuously while the court was in session  and it was terribly annoying and distracting. After many squeaky interruptions a soldier showed up at the end of the day with some Wd-40, but it was little too late. There seems to be much incompetency and disregard for the importance of this historic event!  3 military personell apparently connected to the defense team sat in front of us laughing, joking and rustling sweet wrappers throughout the day. It was like being at a movie theater sitting behind people who have no regard for others. There appeared to be no respect for what was happening.  I sat 3 rows behind Bradley.  Close enough to hear the whispers and chatter between him and his lawyers. I found his lawyer to be very likable and competent and according to the ACLU and Wikileaks lawyer the prosecutions opening statement outlining their case was weak and ludicrous . Well we will see. The defense said Bradley was a humanist, that he was a well intentioned 22 years 'young' man and his only motivation was to share crimes and coverups  with the public. He said Bradley was naive enough to believe his actions might affect or influence the public. It was explained that Bradley had inscribed HUMANIST on the back of his dog tags as his religion.  The prosecution said he was an arrogant opportunist. They were not very convincing! Bradley was tiny and harmless looking. As my father said after seeing him on the news in Ireland 'He looked like a boyscout!' In my opinion he  looked strong of mind and  will. I think the fact that his judge is female and in her late sixties gives me hope she can show some leniency without having to worry about her future career plans.  The judge gave out a good vibe we all agreed and I worked on her telepathically.  Witnesses were called,  one of them, his roommate when asked about sharing quarters with Bradley said, 'he had his side I had mine and we didn't talk much'. We were shown pictures of his work and sleeping quarters'. The investigators who were sent out to his base described their job of securing evidence in great detail.  The hard drives from the base computers/Bradley's apple pro laptop and  CD's were presented into evidence. And so the day closed.  I stole the badge we had to wear to re-enter the court room after recesses' and I almost stood up before the end of the day to sing 'Oh Danny Boy' for Bradley but reason got the better of me. I think this song would be a great tribute to him. I plan to get more involved in promoting truth and encouraging people to seek out independent forms  of news and current events as well as supporting victims of injustice.  I am sick of the shallow lifestyle most of us live in that it serves only to distract us for the short time we have to really live. On the whole I think we are too lazy or too busy to take time out to really consider the terrible state of our world or perhaps feel hopeless or helpless. Whatever the reasons they are perpetuated by the machine and it's operators.  I feel that the chances of real change are next to 0, but I think I'll be happier if I at least try to make a difference even if it's on a very small scale.  I set out from Boulder city intent on supporting Bradley Manning at the rally for him that took place June 1st outside the base where he's being held,Fort Meade and to try and meet like minded people who care about other people. I hoped to attend the trial and I did.  I attended a panel discussion in Washington DC the next night and arriving early I  offered my help to the Bradley Manning support network who organized the event. I helped to set up and it was a big success. I was fortunate to meet Ethan Mc Cord who was the soldier who is seen going to the minivan in the Collateral Murder video to rescue the two innocent children who were horrifically injured when the van their father was taking them to school in was shot up by the Apache helicopter.Their father nobly stopped to help a wounded man who was crawling on the ground. They too shot to pieces.   Ethan returned home after his tour and tried to tell the world about the massacre but nobody cared until the video was released. It's hard to watch it without tearing up. Again, thanks to the courage of Bradley Manning the whole world can expose themselves to the truth of war and the covKering up of that truth. Ethan is himself a father and is haunted by what he saw. He said when he looks at his own children he thinks of how the murdered man in the video surely loved his kids just as much.  He too is a hero for stepping up and speaking out.  If I hadn't got off my Arse and made my way to Maryland I never would have experienced all these things and been influenced in such a wonderful way. There's no reason why we all can't snap out of the slumber of everyday life! Everyone has the ability to care and to do something about injustice.   I accomplished all my hopes and feel empowered and optimistic about influencing people to snap out of ignorance and intolerance. I'd like to to thank you Christina and Husband David for your kindness and generosity in taking me into your home and treating me like one of the family.   I'd also like to thank you Victor A.  Your generosity and support was a great help to me accomplishing my goals at Fort Meade. My dear Sharon, thank you for your love, support and encouragement to go to Maryland and realize my dream.  Lastly, thank you Bradley Manning for putting your whole life and very existence  at risk to enlighten and warn people all over the world of the lies and injustices coming from the government of the United States, the so called beacon of freedom and hope! You will surely be remembered as a great man!  He looked like a boy scout and he had the chance to change the world! He has changed mine!