Some people are lucky and get two great or good parents. Some get so-so. Some are very unfortunate and get Gregg Allman types. Those are the breaks.
When a child is in trouble, regardless of their age, they need support. Some parents step up, some fail miserably. I'm not that interested in grading parents but we've got two fathers we need to compare.
Let's start with Lon Snowden. He's the father of Ed Snowden.
Ed Snowden is an American citizen and whistle-blower who had been employed by the CIA and by the NSA before leaving government employment for the more lucrative world of contracting. At the time he blew the whistle, he was working for Booz Allen Hamilton doing NSA work. Glenn Greenwald (Guardian) had the first scoop (and many that followed) on Snowden's revelations that the US government was spying on American citizens, keeping the data on every phone call made in the United States (and in Europe as well) while also spying on internet use via PRISM and Tempora. US Senator Bernie Sanders decried the fact that a "secret court order" had been used to collect information on American citizens "whether they are suspected of any wrongdoing." Sanders went on to say, "That is not what democracy is about. That is not what freedom is about. [. . .] While we must aggressively pursue international terrorists and all of those who would do us harm, we must do it in a way that protects the Constitution and civil liberties which make us proud to be Americans." The immediate response of the White House, as Dan Roberts and Spencer Ackerman (Guardian) reported, was to insist that there was nothing unusual and to get creaky and compromised Senator Dianne Feinstein to insist, in her best Third Reich voice, "People want to keep the homeland safe." The spin included statements from Barack himself. Anita Kumar (McClatchy Newspapers) reports, "Obama described the uproar this week over the programs as “hype” and sought to ensure Americans that Big Brother is not watching their every move." Josh Richman (San Jose Mercury News) quoted Barack insisting that "we have established a process and a procedure that the American people should feel comfortable about." Apparently not feeling the gratitude, the New York Times editorial board weighed in on the White House efforts at spin, noting that "the Obama administration issued the same platitude it has offered every time President Obama has been caught overreaching in the use of his powers: Terrorists are a real menace and you should just trust us to deal with them because we have internal mechanisms (that we are not going to tell you about) to make sure we do not violate your rights." Former US President Jimmy Carter told CNN, "I think that the secrecy that has been surrounding this invasion of privacy has been excessive, so I think that the bringing of it to the public notice has probably been, in the long term, beneficial."
The more Barack attempted to defend the spying, the more ridiculous he came off. Mike Masnick (TechDirt) reviewed Barack's appearance on The Charlie Rose Show and observed of the 'explanations' offered, "None of that actually explains why this program is necessary. If there's a phone number that the NSA or the FBI gets that is of interest, then they should be able to get a warrant or a court order and request information on that number from the telcos. None of that means they should be able to hoover up everything." As US House Rep John Conyers noted, "But I maintain that the Fourth Amendment to be free from unreasonable search and seizure to mean that this mega data collected in such a super aggregated fashion can amount to a Fourth Amendment violation before you do anything else. You've already violated the law, as far as I am concerned." Barack couldn't deal with that reality but did insist, in the middle of June, that this was an opportunity for "a national conversation." He's always calling for that because, when it doesn't happen, he can blame the nation. It's so much easier to call for "a national conversation" than for he himself to get honest with the American people. And if Barack really believes this has kicked off "a national conversation" then demonizing Ed Snowden is a really strange way to say "thank you."
As the government began demonizing his son, Lon went public. The government was doing what it does so very well: Abuse power.
The Clinton White House infamously abused power to go after women. I like Bill a lot, I could care less about a number of women (most of whom seemed like liars) but that doesn't change that his administration wrongly attacked American citizens. The various officials should have kept their mouths shut. They were not paid to do what they did and that they think (even now) that what they did was okay is a serious sign of the lack of ethics in government.
(None of the above refers to Hillary. As Bill's wife, she had every right to comment or characterize.)
Barack's administration loves to demonize and that comes from the very petty and hateful figure at the top.
The conviction of Bradley Manning under the 1917
Espionage Act, and the US Justice Department's decision
to file espionage charges against
NSA whistleblower
Edward Snowden under the same act, are yet further
examples of the
Obama administration's policy of using an iron fist
against
human rights and civil liberties activists.
President Obama has been unprecedented in his use of the
Espionage Act to prosecute those whose whistleblowing he
wants to curtail. The purpose of an Espionage Act
prosecution, however, is not to punish a person for spying
for the enemy, selling secrets for personal gain, or trying
to undermine our way of life. It is to ruin the
whistleblower personally, professionally and financially. It
is meant to send a message to anybody else considering
speaking truth to power: challenge us and we will destroy
you.
Only
ten people in American history have been charged with
espionage for leaking classified information, seven of them
under Barack Obama. The effect of the charge on a person's
life – being viewed as a traitor, being shunned by family
and friends, incurring massive legal bills – is all a part
of the plan to force the whistleblower into personal ruin,
to weaken him to the point where he will plead guilty to
just about anything to make the case go away. I know. The
three espionage charges against me made me one of "the Obama
Seven".
Barack's actions make Bully Boy Bush look reasonable by comparison.
And when a private citizen is being attacked by the US government, they need all the help and support they can get.
Lon speaking up for his son may have factored in when the Russian government decided to grant Ed Snowden temporary asylum. Lon's speaking out certainly ensured that the slanders and attacks from the White House did not go unchallenged.
If tomorrow, you were being demonized by the government, Lon is the type of parent you'd want, someone who would step forward and defend you.
Ed's very lucky at this point in his life to have a father like Lon.
By contrast, Bradley Manning's been screwed over non-stop.
Monday April 5, 2010, WikiLeaks released military video of a July 12, 2007 assault in Iraq. 12 people were killed in the assault including two Reuters journalists Namie Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh. Monday June 7, 2010, the US military announced that they had arrested Bradley Manning and he stood accused of being the leaker of the video. Leila Fadel (Washington Post) reported in August 2010 that Manning had been charged -- "two charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The first encompasses four counts of violating Army regulations by transferring classified information to his personal computer between November and May and adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system. The second comprises eight counts of violating federal laws governing the handling of classified information." In March, 2011, David S. Cloud (Los Angeles Times) reported that the military has added 22 additional counts to the charges including one that could be seen as "aiding the enemy" which could result in the death penalty if convicted. The Article 32 hearing took place in December. At the start of this year, there was an Article 32 hearing and, February 3rd, it was announced that the government would be moving forward with a court-martial. Bradley has yet to enter a plea. The court-martial was supposed to begin before the November 2012 election but it was postponed until after the election so that Barack wouldn't have to run on a record of his actual actions. Independent.ie adds, "A court martial is set to be held in June at Ford Meade in Maryland, with supporters treating him as a hero, but opponents describing him as a traitor." February 28th, Bradley admitted he leaked to WikiLeaks. And why.
Bradley Manning: In attempting to conduct counter-terrorism or CT and counter-insurgency COIN operations we became obsessed with capturing and killing human targets on lists and not being suspicious of and avoiding cooperation with our Host Nation partners, and ignoring the second and third order effects of accomplishing short-term goals and missions. I believe that if the general public, especially the American public, had access to the information contained within the CIDNE-I and CIDNE-A tables this could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general as [missed word] as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan.
I also believed the detailed analysis of the data over a long period of time by different sectors of society might cause society to reevaluate the need or even the desire to even to engage in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations that ignore the complex dynamics of the people living in the effected environment everyday.
For truth telling, Brad was punished by the man who fears truth: Barack Obama. A fraud, a fake, a 'brand,' anything but genuine, Barack is all marketing, all facade and, for that reason, must attack each and every whistle-blower. David Delmar (Digital Journal) points out, "President Obama, while ostensibly a liberal advocate of transparency and openness in government, and of the 'courage' and 'patriotism' of whistleblowers who engage in conscientious leaks of classified information, is in reality something very different: a vindictive opponent of the free press willing to target journalists for doing their job and exposing government secrets to the public."
Tuesday, July 30th, Bradley was convicted of all but two counts by Colonel Denise Lind, the military judge in his court-martial.
Brad's father is Brian Manning and, if you hear the father speak, you realize Brad's life has been troubled.
In the 1973 TV movie The Girl Most Likely To . . . (script by Joan Rivers), Stockard Channing plays college student Miriam Knight and, prior to blossoming into a swan, Miriam finally gets a moment where she can shine. Having landed the lead in a college production, she's winning over the audience when she is undermined by her roommate and catcalls begin from her roommate's boyfriend (Larry Wilcox) leading to even the guy Miriam invited (her sort of boyfriend) Herman (Warren Berlinger) joining in. It's a crushing moment that provides the twist for the rest of the movie (Miriam gets her revenge).
Herman's betrayal is pathetic. He doesn't go to the college, he doesn't know these people but he's so desperate to fit in that he betrays Miriam.
That's how Brian Manning comes off when he opens his mouth. Such as on Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN).
He's worthless and should be ashamed of himself.
He comes off desperate for both fame and acceptance -- mostly though, he comes off as the worst parent ever.
And when a private citizen is being attacked by the US government, they need all the help and support they can get.
Lon speaking up for his son may have factored in when the Russian government decided to grant Ed Snowden temporary asylum. Lon's speaking out certainly ensured that the slanders and attacks from the White House did not go unchallenged.
If tomorrow, you were being demonized by the government, Lon is the type of parent you'd want, someone who would step forward and defend you.
Ed's very lucky at this point in his life to have a father like Lon.
By contrast, Bradley Manning's been screwed over non-stop.
Monday April 5, 2010, WikiLeaks released military video of a July 12, 2007 assault in Iraq. 12 people were killed in the assault including two Reuters journalists Namie Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh. Monday June 7, 2010, the US military announced that they had arrested Bradley Manning and he stood accused of being the leaker of the video. Leila Fadel (Washington Post) reported in August 2010 that Manning had been charged -- "two charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. The first encompasses four counts of violating Army regulations by transferring classified information to his personal computer between November and May and adding unauthorized software to a classified computer system. The second comprises eight counts of violating federal laws governing the handling of classified information." In March, 2011, David S. Cloud (Los Angeles Times) reported that the military has added 22 additional counts to the charges including one that could be seen as "aiding the enemy" which could result in the death penalty if convicted. The Article 32 hearing took place in December. At the start of this year, there was an Article 32 hearing and, February 3rd, it was announced that the government would be moving forward with a court-martial. Bradley has yet to enter a plea. The court-martial was supposed to begin before the November 2012 election but it was postponed until after the election so that Barack wouldn't have to run on a record of his actual actions. Independent.ie adds, "A court martial is set to be held in June at Ford Meade in Maryland, with supporters treating him as a hero, but opponents describing him as a traitor." February 28th, Bradley admitted he leaked to WikiLeaks. And why.
Bradley Manning: In attempting to conduct counter-terrorism or CT and counter-insurgency COIN operations we became obsessed with capturing and killing human targets on lists and not being suspicious of and avoiding cooperation with our Host Nation partners, and ignoring the second and third order effects of accomplishing short-term goals and missions. I believe that if the general public, especially the American public, had access to the information contained within the CIDNE-I and CIDNE-A tables this could spark a domestic debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general as [missed word] as it related to Iraq and Afghanistan.
I also believed the detailed analysis of the data over a long period of time by different sectors of society might cause society to reevaluate the need or even the desire to even to engage in counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations that ignore the complex dynamics of the people living in the effected environment everyday.
For truth telling, Brad was punished by the man who fears truth: Barack Obama. A fraud, a fake, a 'brand,' anything but genuine, Barack is all marketing, all facade and, for that reason, must attack each and every whistle-blower. David Delmar (Digital Journal) points out, "President Obama, while ostensibly a liberal advocate of transparency and openness in government, and of the 'courage' and 'patriotism' of whistleblowers who engage in conscientious leaks of classified information, is in reality something very different: a vindictive opponent of the free press willing to target journalists for doing their job and exposing government secrets to the public."
Tuesday, July 30th, Bradley was convicted of all but two counts by Colonel Denise Lind, the military judge in his court-martial.
Brad's father is Brian Manning and, if you hear the father speak, you realize Brad's life has been troubled.
In the 1973 TV movie The Girl Most Likely To . . . (script by Joan Rivers), Stockard Channing plays college student Miriam Knight and, prior to blossoming into a swan, Miriam finally gets a moment where she can shine. Having landed the lead in a college production, she's winning over the audience when she is undermined by her roommate and catcalls begin from her roommate's boyfriend (Larry Wilcox) leading to even the guy Miriam invited (her sort of boyfriend) Herman (Warren Berlinger) joining in. It's a crushing moment that provides the twist for the rest of the movie (Miriam gets her revenge).
Herman's betrayal is pathetic. He doesn't go to the college, he doesn't know these people but he's so desperate to fit in that he betrays Miriam.
That's how Brian Manning comes off when he opens his mouth. Such as on Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN).
He's worthless and should be ashamed of himself.
He comes off desperate for both fame and acceptance -- mostly though, he comes off as the worst parent ever.
At one point, he tells Anderson Cooper, of his own son, "Yeah, I think he was
grandstanding. I mean, I can't fathom
any reason to myself why he should be -- that I should forgive him for
doing something like that because it's against my creed, or code of
honor."
What a piece of trash.
How awful it must have been for Brad growing up with this pig.
Lon Snowden showed up to help his son. He was there to come forward and talk about his son at a time when his son was being demonized.
For three years, the government has illegally imprisoned Brad, denying him his right to a fair and speedy trial. And where the hell was Brian Manning?
He gave at least one interview prior (which was similar to the one with Anderson) and that's it. He has done nothing for his son. He's basically betrayed and abandoned his son. And then he wants to go on CNN and attack his son.
Brian Manning should at least place in 2013's Worst Parent of the Year contest.
Brad's mother didn't go public until over the weekend. For her son, she should have. (She issued statements of support over the weekend.) But some people can't handle the press and I understand that. So I don't fault her. When she did speak, she spoke out of love.
But if your child is in a situation similar to Ed or Brad, you need to know that if you don't speak out, if you don't go public and provide an alternative to the government attacks, your child will suffer.
Brad, for example, can't give interviews. That's been true throughout his imprisonment. A parent could have. A parent who had advocated for Brad publicly could have humanized Brad and it could have made a difference in Brad's court-martial.
To Anderson, Brian Manning blathers on about this being his "country." I'd probably cling to country as well if I'd betrayed my child and continued to do so.
Today there is a rally for political prisoner Lynne Stewart in NYC:
Rally for Lynne Thursday August 8
A RALLY IN OUR COMMUNITY,
THURSDAY, AUGUST 8, 2013
Free Lynne Stewart Now!
12 – 2PM
Near the Federal Court Building
AT FOLEY SQUARE, IN THE PARK in Lower Manhattan
Trains: J/Z, 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall.
Lynne's husband Ralph Poynter is a guest on today's Democracy Now!
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
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