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Michael Moore Praises Bradley Manning, Suspected WikiLeaks Source
HAGERSTOWN, Md. -- Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning filmmaker, will contribute $5,000 to help defend the Army private suspected of leaking classified documents to an Internet whistle-blower from serving time in prison.
US Army Private Bradley Manning A champion of liberal and left-wing causes, Moore told The Associated Press in a telephone interview he also hopes to make the public understand that Pfc. Bradley Manning exposed what Moore called "war crimes."
"He did a courageous thing and he did a patriotic thing," Moore said.
Manning, 22, faces up to 52 years in prison if convicted of downloading classified material and passing it to an unauthorized person while working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq.
He is charged with leaking video of a 2007 U.S. Apache helicopter attack that killed 11, including a Reuters news photographer and his driver. WikiLeaks posted the video on its website in April.
Investigators say Manning also is a person of interest in the release of 77,000 Afghanistan war logs that WikiLeaks published online in July.
U.S. officials say the July disclosures endangered innocent people or confidential informants.
Mike Gogulski, founder of the Bradley Manning Support Network, said he was delighted with Moore's support. The group is raising money for a civilian defense attorney for Manning.
Maj. Thomas F. Hurley, one of Manning's military lawyers, declined to comment.
Moore won the Academy Award for his 2002 documentary, "Bowling for Columbine."
- Posted in
59 Comments so far
Show AllBoth Michael and Bradley are heros. They each have the balls to tell it like it is. Let`s replace the US government and the US media with people like Michael, Bradley, Helen Thomas and the employees of WikiLeaks. Stop the Empire and Impearlism. Capitalism is dying...the tide is rising literally...
I would agree that Manning is a hero. Moore on the other hand is just an opportunist who support the warmongering Democratic Party who are just as bad as the Republican Party.
When/if Moore becames a Green or Independent, denouces the scummy corporate Democratic Party, then he'll have hero potential, until then, he's doesn't count as a hero in my book.
Bring America Back !!!!
**Bradley Manning is an American Hero, an Idol, and deserves all the praise Michael Moore can give. Hopefully many more progressive patriots will help contribute to Manning's defense.
**King George and Prince Dick went totally free for divulging the CIA identity of Agent Valerie Pflame publically, and were also behind the illegal war crime of invading the sovereign nation of Iraq, for provenly false and fictious reasons.
**Compared to the war crimes of Bush and the continuing war crimes--deadly-- of ZTeam Obama==Bradley Manning is a pure
scapegoat. May the force be with Manning as he fights on
with the Tyranny, war criminals, and the out of control
military industrial complex.
Now people, let's get serious! Breaking news!
Thailand:
In order to stop of the censorship of wikileaks in Thailand, a new group has formed,
WIKICONG!
I know that Emerson thought that 'The Shot Heard Round the World' was in Amercia..but the newest one is in Thailand.
Wikileaks has a new sibling, Wikicong. Now I suppose that rape charges will become world wide for activists. Really, CIA et al, activists are too busy to deal with call girls, or privately paid citizens that choose to work for criminal governments!
Stardust, I need to know if the WIKIKONG are good guys or bad guys. (or, I can wait for Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin and . . . well, you know . . . the other Patriots to expain their significance). I like to be ahead of the news.
Hong Kong = Good (especially for our Capitalist brothers).
King Kong = Hmmm. I haven’t decided yet. He may have had good intentions, but his actions resulted in damage to a landmark building.
Viet Kong = Definitely bad, bad, bad.
* However, their offspring operate a damn good airline. And they are busy with adding a second airport now in Hanoi.
Kong Fu = It’s a matter of taste.
Thank you very much.
JUST REPORTED: Charges against Julian Assange have been dropped saying the charges were unsubstantiated.
At least it's a benevolent gesture. It is hard for me to put too much faith in Michael Moore's actions since he, like Oprah, was one of the celebrity shills for Obama. I am left wondering whose side he is really on...The powers that be seem to think of him as relatively harmless. I suppose it could be because he presents himself as a court jester of sorts and as such is not to be taken seriously-The Royal Shakespeare Company provides historical context for the role of the fool:
In ancient times courts employed fools and by the Middle Ages the jester was a familiar figure. In Renaissance times, aristocratic households in Britain employed licensed fools or jesters, who sometimes dressed as other servants were dressed, but generally wore a motley (i.e. parti-coloured) coat, hood with ass's (i.e. donkey) ears or a red-flannel coxcomb and bells. Regarded as pets or mascots, they served not simply to amuse but to criticise their master or mistress and their guests. Queen Elizabeth (reigned 1558-1603) is said to have rebuked one of her fools for being insufficiently severe with her. Excessive behaviour, however, could lead to a fool being whipped, as Lear threatens to whip his fool. [1] ...and "In literature, the jester is symbolic of common sense and of honesty, notably in King Lear, the court jester is a character used for insight and advice on the part of the monarch, taking advantage of his license to mock and speak freely to dispense frank observations and highlight the folly of his monarch. This presents a clashing irony as a "greater" man could dispense the same advice and find himself being detained in the dungeons or even executed. (side note-like the Kennedy's, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, John Lennon, among many others throughout history). Only as the lowliest member of the court can the jester be the monarch's most useful adviser."(wikipedia)
Sounds like an apt description of Moore to me.
Much better.
Yes, I'm happy to see ANY donation to Manning's defense. But let's not confuse Moore for a saint. He's not.
Folks, there are NO saints out there. Every last one has feet of clay. Take the good where and when you find it. Walk away if you don't, but quit squabbling with each other about what people you don't personally know ought to have done or ought now to do and why they are therefore now no longer deserving of any kind of support. You can't know that. These good/bad binaries are not serving you. Easy for me to say perhaps because I don't live in the U.S., but the infighting keeps the so-called "progressive left" fighting only with itself.
nellemason good post , when your dying of thirst, do you reject the half empty cup of water?
Glenn ford,
Are you annoyed that the discussion that you and I were engaged in with dinsmore and another poster was selectively censored out?
Befuddled,
I noticed early postings sometimes disappear.
Maybe it was censored by the "Right to Defame Fat People Club"
Well actually, it was dinsmores two posts that were deleted - which forces them to also remove our rejoinders to the now non-existent posts.
In this case, the moderator was technically within-policy to remove his posts because they did contain personal attacks. But he should have left a "post deleted due to violation of policy" in it place. Whether he was wise to do so and leave the impression of censorship, is another question. During the runup to last election, CD certainly practiced flagrant censorship and banning of critics of Obama from the left.
FWIW, I've noticed that the practice of simply disappearing comments without leaving the administrative boilerplate message is most frequent on weekends; I have no idea why.
And although at one time admins actually had the courtesy to occasionally post the explanation that deleting a comment meant also deleting responses to the deleted comment, this appears to be at the discretion of the deleter.
I've seen many sub-threads preserved even when the lead comment is removed.
I'm not sure exactly what you mean about leaving an "impression", but it's perilous to pursue such questions.
I have never had a problem with having policies on an internet forum against irrelavant personal attacks (like Moores waist-size), and enforcing the policy with deletions, but always with explanation. This isn't censorship, it is "ground-rules". In my deleted post, I sugggested that if dinsmore had made the sort of statements about fellow activists and an organizing meeting that he did in this forum, he would be asked to leave.
But such things should be done with caution with only flagrant cases - since accusations of censorship happen anyway.
But just to be clear, any deletion without an explanation, and certainly CD's shennanigans toward completely civil critics of Obama in 2008 is censorship most-foul, of the Orwellian disappear-in-the-memory-hole sort.
Good post. Moore exposed more people to more important issues than perhaps anyone, given his popularity at the box office. No need for him to be a saint or to have my political affiliations for me to applaud his efforts. And the squabbling is depressing--aren't CS posters always complaining that USians are constantly being pitted against one another?
RealChange
A thoughtful and interesting observation of Michael Moore. It is also very heartening to have read in another comment that charges against Julian Assange have been dropped.
RealChange,
Bravo!
Moore is just "window dressing" for the Dem Party.
Nope. You're wrong.
Com'on Moore!
You are calling these acts war crimes while at the same time supporting a Democratic party and president that allow the war crimes. Your actions put you in the same boat as Kucinich (criticize policy without criticizing the Democrats supporting the policy).
It's really not fair to put Kucinich in the same boat as Moore. While he's made a few mistakes recently, he's definitely much more of a legitimate crusader than is Moore. Where was Moore when the establishment lambasted Kucinich and railed him into obscurity during the 2008 presidential campaign? He was dangling from the Obamachine's status quo dingdong, that's where he was. Kucinich is one of very, very few actually principled people occupying a position of such significance. Until he really effs up, he's got my support.
Kucinich is a sell out--all hat and no cattle.
Please....
In the end, Kucinich supported Obama too (at the end of primary). Plus, Kucinich supported Obama's abysmal health-insurance funding plan, just to support Obama.
Those are things maybe to consider. However, it's more important to understand that the Dem Party just supports wars and corporate interests, like the Repubs. Any support for the Dems/Repugs is an injury to all (to all people, that is). Only the richest one percent, maybe, are represented by the duopoly.
-TIA
Agreed. His support for Obama, the "healthcare" bill, etc. were all unacceptable. I don't think he's corrupt, though. I just think he's foolishly faithful in a system that's irreparably damaged.
Michael Moore is worth more than a thousand Dennis Kucinich's.
Kucinich did drop the ball. When it came time to stand up for Healthcare Reform-Single Payer, he walked back over to the President's team and voted for Obamacare Deform. He is a Party man despite the progressive image he likes to project. His support of the Obama's corporate and regressive policies speak louder than his words. He is a disappointment and has lost all credibility with me.
Progressive101
A most telling and accurate remark about Michael Moore.
Progressive101,
Indeed you are correct!
If Moore were serious about these war/health care issues, he would become an Indy or join the Green Party.
Moores ongoing support of the Democratic Party has turned me off to him and
I no longer take Moore seriously, nor will I see his films.
I have to disagree with you about Moore being serious only if he joins the Green Party. I think he should join an even smaller political party that nobody has ever heard of. Also, he should stop making films, give all his money away, live in a mud hut and grow his own food. Then the commentators on this site could take him seriously.
I stated that Moore should become an INDEPENDENT or Green.
I disagree--he should not have to live in a mud hut and be poor to make a point. He can use his wealth wisely. Making SICKO was a good thing--but what Moore should not do is support ANY PARTY or politician that doesn't support HR-676--a dump the Dem Party which are the same miserable corporatist as the Rethugs.
I don't have a problem with Moore being wealthy--I have a problem with him suppoting/promoting the Democratic Party which values are in direct opposition
of what he states are his values.
Hipocracy is the problem--not his $.
He doesn't support the Democratic Party. Supporting Obama is different than supporting a party, and I'm guessing that he regrets supporting Obama.
You hit the nail n the head !
HR-676 was introduced by a Democrat, John Conyers, Jr. He's served 22 terms. As a Democrat.And there are 88 sponsers of HR-676 as of now. I imagine they are all Democrats. Certainly no Greens or Independents.Look at Conyers' record. Sterling. Unlike most Democrats but what party is he a part of?
In the 1930s, Upton Sinclair broke with the Socialist party and ran as a Democrat and a socialist for Governor of California (EPIC--End Poverty In California). He lost but did well enough that his effort, along with the FDR/ Democratic Party passage of the Wagner Act, the National Labor Relations Act,etc.,led to about 1/2 the socialists bolting to the Democrats. In 1940 and 1944,the Communist Party supported the Democrats.In 1948,the Communist Party supported the Progressive Party, the Henry Wallace-led split of progressive Democrats from the Cold War Imperialist Democrats. In 1972, George McGovern,a Henry Wallace man in 1948, won the nomination of the Democratic Party.That same year the Socialist Party split into factions with the majority becoming Democrats.And they remained Democrats,critically (in Democratic Socialists of America).In 1988, the CPUSA finally realized that Gus Hall and Angela Davis were not going to do anything but siphon votes away from the Democrats and they began to support the Democratic Party,critically.And still do.
As for other assorted socialists, Tom Hayden, Carl Davidson, Mark Rudd,Bobby Rush and other New Leftists have joined the Democratic Party (critically).As the right-wing nuts kept reminding us, leaders of the former Weather Underground gave support to Obama. There are Maoists,Trotskyists and Anarchists who have worked for Democrats.
African American,Hispanic American, Native American and other national minorities have overwhelmingly been part of the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party is not a single entity. Yes, the rat bastards, including, I'm sorry to say, our smoke-and-mirrors President,are running the show as of now.But it has open primaries! It has historic ties to the trade union movement, to social security and other progressive programs. And it is not a party whose mention will make people say "who?" or cause their eyes to glaze over.People will listen.
What is the Green Party? G(et) R(epublicans) E(lected) E(very) N(ovember).The rat Republicans are funding them, for crying out loud!!!
Millions of people in our country hate and oppose imperialism,hate and oppose (and are being ground into the dirt by) capitalism. Women, gays,national minorites,trade unionists,environmentalists,the unemployed,the old and the young,the disabled and the offbeat (artists and others...:) ),Christians,Moslems,Jews and every other religious group that isn't just going through the motions want change, do what they can to effect change,hope (that cruel word discredited by the 2008 campaign) for change and what party do they look to?
So lets knock off the marginalizing sectarianism and take our place on the Great Mandala as it moves through our brief moment of time.We have a world to win. We have nothing to lose but our chains.
Bagenal Harvey
You may wish to pick up a copy of Lance Selfa's The Democrats: A Critical History as Selfa effectively demonstrates, from a leftist perspective, that the Democrats, despite what you have written, have not been a true friend of the working class and the poor in this country for the past sixty years or so. Dennis Perrin also takes the Democrats to task by pointing out how the Democrats have consistently been as militaristic as Republicans [if not more so] since the end of World War II in his book entitled Savage Mules.
Harvey thanks for the info. Democratic Socialists of America does not equate to being in the Democratic Party.
Many Parties in the USA were unknown shortly before they took power.
Greens are not the only alternative.
Your history is well and good but the present laws,practices,structures (MIC, Multinationals, Hordes of Professional Lobbiests, AIPAC, State Spying, etc.) have changed the power dynamics.
This more recent Power Dynamic seems according to most left observers to have a Fascist death grip on the Dims.
I would sooner believe the Dims would dissolve before they became liberal again.
Just look at their last two years with a supermajority, they accelerated the Neo Lib/Con agenda in many areas.
The only hope with the Dims is if someone does a reverse OilyBomber... Act like a corporate shill and then after election become a revolutionary.
Bagenal,
You are not corect about the open primary stuff.
Here in Pennsylvania, it is very difficult to mount a primary challenge to the incumbent or annointed Democrat candidate. At least 5000 petetion signatures need to be gathered, then the Democrats will hire lawyers to disqualify those signatures on the most fiivolous grounds, for which the primary challenger doen't begin to have the money and resources to fight.
Maybe if you were floating down the Indus river on a mat of grass, gasping for every breath, I could take you more seriously. Geez dude!
You are incorrect. Moore is a rabble rouser not supporting mainstream Democrats. I'm pretty sure Obama doesn't like people like him.
Moore's films are worth it. His films have slammed the fascist pricks and stopped them dead in their tracks. I'll never forget the howls of rage issued forth by them after the health care film came out. I remember the privatization jihad that was announced after the film broke. They tried like hell to refute it, but couldn't.
Wait, didn't Michael Moore claim in Sicko that he anonymously donated over $10k for the medical bills of someone who ran an anti-Moore website?
Admirable that he did... buuuuut we need more Bradley Manning's and money for other whistleblowers than we need funding for anti-Moore websites.
$5,000 contribution. MY GOD, YOU'RE ONE MEAN INDIVIDUAL MICHAEL MOORE.
I attacked a rich pop musician once for not helping a street kid. He said he'd have loved to help, but he's too poor. So, I obtained his financial accounts. The previous year, he had "earned" over $50 milllion. He received over $800,000 in bank interest alone on just one of his bank accounts. His PA said he wasn't inundated with requests to help people. I now know why! He gave over $350,000 in an interest free loan to a music studio, with no requirement to pay back the money.
Moore isn't spending a penny of his own money. It's a fraction of the vast sums he gets in interest from his bank each year.
Moore is worth tens of millions, and when he came to London, England, he stayed at The Ritz Hotel, one of the most expensive hotels IN THE WORLD. His stay there cost more than $5,000.
Same old garbage from these famous stars that progressives worship. Chomsky, Moore - they take vast sums from the public for merely spouting their opinion, and then when it comes to actually doing something, they do NOTHING!
Had I been Moore, I would have guaranteed to pay for Manning's legal team, if enough wasn't raised. And not just any legal team, but the best possible.
Go away, Moore.
Go away, Chomsky.
Go away, DemocracyNow.
Go away, CommonDreams.
You're all hypocrites of the worst kind, taking money from the public and giving nothing back. Articles CHANGE NOTHING!
Bradley Manning has guts. You lot are SPINELESS!
You're prepared to let someone rot in jail for 52 years FOR HAVING THE BALLS TO DO SOMETHING.
And if I'm banned from CD for this post, I really don't care - it's what I'm expecting.
To some extent, I see your point about the voices of the left benefiting from the current system. But it also seems that some of your vitriol would be better off if saved for the two parties, the corporations, and the military industrial complex-- in short capitalism.
And if you make claims about the left doing nothing then I'd like to ask you, very earnestly, what you are doing. What can anyone do as a part of the fragmented, powerless left? Sure there is meaningful work to be done. But you've got to come together with others and get some power before meaningful steps can be made.
I look to Democracy Now and Chomsky and even Moore for a little bit of truth. And it's important to me to have a sense of truth amid the lies of the main stream media, and the interests of the elite. This is not worthless. We all need an anchor in reality or we'll just become capitalist drones.
I agree with you, but I do wonder at times why no one in this Country is Protesting the wars, or the healthcare, or anything ?? I am trying like hell to get a protest together in my town, I even got permission from the City, but I can't find anyone to March. They either don't know much about the wars, and don't care, or they think we should Nuke em All ! Thats America something to see... ain't that America home of the Brave ??? Where are these Brave people ? I have only met myself so far that even cares enough to write this down to you people. I'm going to the Sept. 27th March on Washington D.C. against Mountain Top minning, and I am very excited ! I hope all of you will check it out, and see if you can go. They are providing rides and shelter and food. I'm going to drive myself but still any one can go to this.
If we the People don't start showing the world, that we are not in agreement with what our Leaders are doing, then they will continue to hate us, and one day when we need them, they will turn their backs on us...as they should. We are involved in two illigal wars, and we need to stop them. If we don't the blood will continue to be dripping on your hands.
Nice to know there is at least one - probably only one - person i can trust and support without reservation. Thanks for your perfection, especially your willingness to stoop as low as Common Dreams to share your wisdom with us losers and sell-outs.
While you're slumming at Common Dreams maybe you can help me understand something. With your line that all this will "CHANGE NOTHING" how come you also change nothing? Did i miss out on your great success at changing everything? Or at changing anything? Oh wait, you must have plans to keep Manning out of jail, since you rip Moore Chomsky DemocracyNow and Common Dreams for being "prepared to let someone rot in jail for 52 years FOR HAVING THE BALLS TO DO SOMETHING." i expect we'll be reading soon about how you saved the day, since you are NOT prepared to let him rot in jail. You go!
Nobody's a saint pal, and your self-righteous posturing is SOOOOO helpful... NOT.
Michael Moore is one of the few bright spots in the USA.
You, on the other hand, are a dim bulb.
Why would you say anything about commondreams ? It is just a place to vent out your opinion. No body here works for you, or owes you anything. If you don't like it here why do you log on ?
Actually your point about Moore, and all thos movie star types, is very true. They give a tiny tiny portion of money, and say look at me...and they invest their money with companies that are destroying our Country, and everybody worships these idiots, that are so overpaid it is criminal, those sports people too. Just a very few of the stars do real humanitarian work, and they rarely brag about it.
As much as Michael Moore has done, exposing the Evils of our Country, he also jumped right on the Band Wagon and now he is one of them...
You should chill out on commondreams though...no body told you to come here !
You neocon stazi prick ,, get off common dreams, go iron your brown shirts and report to your stazi master that you posted here, so you can get your lolipop and pat on the back.
Its one thing to state you opinion about Mr. Moore, and claim he is cheap, but to make comments about forums of free speech, or people who speak truth to power, well sir , you are an imbecile and a coward .
Name the number of billionaires in this country that have donated one penny to Bradley Manning's defense.
Imagine that, in America , where the free market and our constitution which protects us and our ability to enrich ourselves in a free market, the people who have benefited the most , wont step up to protect a patriotic American that wont stand by and watch this government abuse we the people.
if you believe the free market protects we the people you've been sleeping since at least 1980.
See what happens when you forget to take your meds??