

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.


Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

Judge Col. Denise Lind will now hear arguments from both the prosecution and defense over how much time Manning should spend in jail following the verdict that critics are calling a blow to whistleblower protections and press freedom across the world.
Follow Kevin Gosztola's live blog for updates or watch live tweets below from journalists and experts following the hearing:
Manning, who exposed U.S. war crimes through revealing a trove of U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks, was found guilty on Tuesday of nearly all 21 criminal charges that he had faced in the military court in Fort Meade, Maryland.
The Center for Constitutional Rights blasted the verdict on Tuesday, stating:
While the "aiding the enemy" charges (on which Manning was rightly acquitted) received the most attention from the mainstream media, the Espionage Act itself is a discredited relic of the WWI era, created as a tool to suppress political dissent and antiwar activism, and it is outrageous that the government chose to invoke it in the first place against Manning. Government employees who blow the whistle on war crimes, other abuses and government incompetence should be protected under the First Amendment.
Each side will call up to 20 witnesses, meaning the sentencing phase will not conclude today.
_______________________
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

Judge Col. Denise Lind will now hear arguments from both the prosecution and defense over how much time Manning should spend in jail following the verdict that critics are calling a blow to whistleblower protections and press freedom across the world.
Follow Kevin Gosztola's live blog for updates or watch live tweets below from journalists and experts following the hearing:
Manning, who exposed U.S. war crimes through revealing a trove of U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks, was found guilty on Tuesday of nearly all 21 criminal charges that he had faced in the military court in Fort Meade, Maryland.
The Center for Constitutional Rights blasted the verdict on Tuesday, stating:
While the "aiding the enemy" charges (on which Manning was rightly acquitted) received the most attention from the mainstream media, the Espionage Act itself is a discredited relic of the WWI era, created as a tool to suppress political dissent and antiwar activism, and it is outrageous that the government chose to invoke it in the first place against Manning. Government employees who blow the whistle on war crimes, other abuses and government incompetence should be protected under the First Amendment.
Each side will call up to 20 witnesses, meaning the sentencing phase will not conclude today.
_______________________
Jacob Chamberlain is a former staff writer for Common Dreams. He is the author of Migrant Justice in the Age of Removal. His website is www.jacobpchamberlain.com.

Judge Col. Denise Lind will now hear arguments from both the prosecution and defense over how much time Manning should spend in jail following the verdict that critics are calling a blow to whistleblower protections and press freedom across the world.
Follow Kevin Gosztola's live blog for updates or watch live tweets below from journalists and experts following the hearing:
Manning, who exposed U.S. war crimes through revealing a trove of U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks, was found guilty on Tuesday of nearly all 21 criminal charges that he had faced in the military court in Fort Meade, Maryland.
The Center for Constitutional Rights blasted the verdict on Tuesday, stating:
While the "aiding the enemy" charges (on which Manning was rightly acquitted) received the most attention from the mainstream media, the Espionage Act itself is a discredited relic of the WWI era, created as a tool to suppress political dissent and antiwar activism, and it is outrageous that the government chose to invoke it in the first place against Manning. Government employees who blow the whistle on war crimes, other abuses and government incompetence should be protected under the First Amendment.
Each side will call up to 20 witnesses, meaning the sentencing phase will not conclude today.
_______________________