Iraq, Afghanistan, and Beyond Audio: Bradley Manning Tells Court Why He Gave Documents to Wikileaks

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In a pre-trial hearing on 28 February in military court, Private Bradley Manning --- detained since May 2010 --- explains why he passed videos and hundreds of thousands of documents to WikiLeaks.

At the hearing, Manning pled guilty to 10 reduced charges;h however, the Government said it will pursue all 22 original counts, including aiding the enemy --- which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison --- and espionage. The trial begina in June.

The unofficial transcript of the remarks has also been posted.

An extract from the testimony, in which Manning describes one of the leaked videos, showing US military fire killing civilians and journalists in Iraq in 2007:

WikiLeaks Opinion: Why This Court Case Goes Far Beyond Julian Assange

Julian Assange at the Oslo Freedom Forum in 2010

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The past three years has seen a dramatic shift in the way news and information about events around the world are generated, processed ,and consumed. At the time that governments started chasing Assange, the movement was in its infancy. Perhaps they thought putting him behind bars would end it. Now, thanks in part to the Arab uprisings, that wave has swept past Assange and his fate.

The genie that is citizen journalism cannot be put back in the lamp. Because for Assange's supporters, and indeed for some of his detractors, this is not about the founder of one significant outlet. It is about all the others and their right to exist as part of a free, meaningful, and competent press.

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Iran Special: The Nuclear Scientist, WikiLeaks, and the Executed Kickboxer

Reuters' report on the execution of Majid Jamali Fashi

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Majid Jamali Fashi did not seal his fate by speaking with the US Embassy in Baku in August 2009, only for his words to appear publicly months later. That fate may have influenced by an Iranian official who made inaccurate guesses about the source in the original WikiLeaks document or who thought that, regardless of the truth, it could be a prop for Jamali Fashi's arrest, trial, and execution. Given the absence of public evidence in this case, we will never know.

But then, at least for me, there is the bigger story, which is similar to that of others in the Islamic Republic. Majid Jamali Fashi lost his life as an act in the continuing political theatre, both for the domestic script and for that of Iran's relations with Israel and the US. When Iranian officials needed to establish that they were doing something about the slayings of the country's scientists, he played his part as the confessing suspect. When they needed to show their continuing strength and determination, amid the pressure of sanctions and US and Israeli rhetoric, the kickboxer was sentenced to die. And when the Islamic Republic needed to show that its version of justice would be done, in the face of the "enemy", he was hung.

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Bahrain/Egypt Video & Transcript: Nabeel Rajab and Alaa Abd-El Fattah with Julian Assange

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Alaa Abd-El Fattah is a prominent Egyptian activist and blogger. Imprisoned in 2006 for 45 days by the Mubarak regime, he was also detained for more than two months by Egypt's military rulers at the end of 2011.

Nabeel Rajab is the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. He has been detained on several occasions by the regime and is currently in prison after his arrest last Saturday.

Just before Rajab's detention, the two men were interviewed by Julian Assange for almost three hours --- Assange's organisation WikiLeaks has posted a full transcript.

US War-On-Terror Opinion: A "Liberal" Betrayal? (Davis)

Bradley ManningMore than three years into the presidency of Barack Obama, it’s almost a cliché now to ask: What if George W. Bush did it? From dramatically escalating the war in Afghanistan to institutionalizing the practice of indefinite imprisonment, Obama has dashed hopes he would offer a change from the Bush’s national security policies – but he hasn’t faced a whole lot of resistance from liberals who once decried those policies as an affront to American values.

Like those on the right who now crow about fascism but spent the Bush years gleefully declaring left-wing celebrities “enemies of the state,” many of those on the liberal-left treat issues of war and civil liberties as useful merely for partisan purposes. When a Democrat’s in power those issues become inconvenient. And usually ignored.

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Middle East Video: From Media Battle in Syria to Imprisoned Egyptian Blogger to Video Games

Al Jazeera's Listening Post, takes on the contest between the regime and opposition to frame the presentation of the conflict in Syria, the situation of imprisoned Egyptian blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah, the latest news from Wikileaks and Julian Assange, and the case of an Israeli whistle-blower.

And then there is the last item on how video games are being used to simulate the news, hopefully engaging, educating, and inspiring audiences along the way:

When Israel & Turkey Co-operated: West Jerusalem Asks Ankara for Help with Hamas

In a week when Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened to punish Turkey by supporting the Kurdish insurgency PKK, this document, released by WikiLeaks, is a useful reminder of public illusions and private politics --- even as Israel criticised Ankara's acceptance of Hamas as a legitimate political force, it was trying to take advantage of Turkey's relationship with the Gazan leadership.

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WikiLeaks and Iran Document: Why US Diplomats Suspected Fraud in 2009 Election

Iran analysts, both Iranian and foreign, have reacted with incredulity to the results of the Iranian presidential election and accused the IRIG of grossly rigging the election and falsifying the resuls. The Iran Regional Presence Office's review of Iran's recent presidential elections and the current election indicate the accusations of fraud have merit.

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EA Cyber-Special: What is LulzSec? And Is It More than a Bit of LOL and Mischief? (Dunne)

LulzSec's "Pierre DuBois"LulzSec --- the mischievous internet group responsible for infiltrating servers at Sony, Sega and the International Monetary, as well as disabling Government websites on both sides of the Atlantic --- has expanded its operation, codenamed AntiSec, to South America. Early on Wednesday, the group claimed to have disabled two websites of the Brazilian Government, Portal Brazil and the site of President Dilma Vana Rousseff.

The group maintains it is acting simply "for the Lulz", a play on "LOL", getting amusement from random digital anarchy. Fridays become "FF", the designated day of the week for dissemination of stolen material.

But is there a significance beyond mischief and laughs?

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Libya Feature: How US Oil Companies Fell Out with Muammar Qaddafi (Mufson)

In 2004, President George W. Bush unexpectedly lifted economic sanctions on Libya in return for its renunciation of nuclear weapons and terrorism. There was a burst of optimism among American oil executives eager to return to the Libyan oil fields they had been forced to abandon two decades earlier. Gaddafi, who had been sanctioned for Libya’s role in the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, also looked forward to U.S. help in reviving his flagging oil production.

Yet even before armed conflict drove the U.S. companies out of Libya this year, their relations with Gaddafi had soured. The Libyan leader demanded tough contract terms. He sought big bonus payments up front. Moreover, upset that he was not getting more U.S. government respect and recognition for his earlier concessions, he pressured the oil companies to influence U.S. policies.

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