Manning

The United States Army and Marine Corps call their enlisted job specialties, "MOS's," or Military Occupation Specialties.

Bradley Manning was a 35F or 35 Fox, Military Intelligence Analyst, assigned to Company B, 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division Light Infantry (LI), when, the US Government says, he disclosed the largest leak of classified information in US History.

According to the US Army, the mission of the 35F Military Occupational Specialty [MOS] is to "gather, analyze, and report intelligence information that reveals the intended secrets of hostile forces," and 35F "must qualify for a top secret clearance with special access eligibility."

It should be noted, his alleged leak concerned information only marked at the lowest level of classification, "SECRET", or was not classified at all.

For example, on testimony by Army CID Agent, Toni Graham, at Bradley Manning's Article 32 Pretrial Hearing and similarly at the March 16, 2011 Motion Hearing for US v PFC Bradley Manning, there is still uncertainty as to whether or not the July 12, 2007 Baghdad air strike video, commonly known as "Collateral Murder" was classified or not.

35Fs analyze data including weather, terrain, and the position of opposing forces. They are trained to read and interpret maps, electronically plot symbols, and consolidate intelligence data onto a situation map.

WikiLeaks News:

• May 3 was World Press Freedom Day. The United States plummeted in its press freedom ranking, falling from 20th to 47th. Despite this, the U.S. still made a statement touting its freedom of speech. EFF's Trevor Timm authored an article which commented on the U.S.'s crackdown on whistleblowers, the secret grand jury on WikiLeaks, and the arrests of journalists at Occupy protests. Politico's Byron Tau also wrote about the attacks on whistleblowers and WikiLeaks.

WikiLeaks News:

• A WikiLeaks cable shows that private media journalists in Ecuador served as informants for the U.S. Embassy in Quito.

• WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson spoke on two panels at the International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy: "Dossier Wikileaks: Italian secrets. By those on the inside" with Stefania Maurizi and Gavin MacFadyen (see below), and "Whistleblowers and anonymous leaks: can the media do without them?" Both panels contain English and Italian speakers.
  

WikiLeaks News:

• Andy Worthington, WikiLeaks media partner for "The Guantánamo Files," has written an article for the one-year anniversary of the release. He also updated his four-part Definitive Guantánamo Prisoner List.

• Jacob Appelbaum was on Democracy Now! discussing CISPA, surveillance, WikiLeaks' Spy Files, Tor, and the "Militarization of Cyberspace." Watch the video below.
  

WikiLeaks News:

• One year ago today, WikiLeaks released The Gitmo Files, thousands of documents detailing 765 of the 779 prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay.

• Stratfor emails released by WikiLeaks reveal an anti-Obama prejudice within the company, with Vice President Fred Burton often referring to him as "Barry Hussein."

• Blogger Peter Knight has written seven articles correcting recent smears against WikiLeaks and Julian Assange from various media outlets.

WikiLeaks News:

• WikiLeaks cables show that U.S. officials see Manitoba Hydro, which plans to spend $18B on export-dependent projects, as a struggling utility whose enthusiasm about proposed dams is not shared.

• Virgin Airlines stated that WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson was stopped at Heathrow Airport due to "security issues." Virgin continued by saying it was not an airline issue, but something to be brought up with security services or the Home Office. Robinson also gave an interview with WSWS discussing the incident, as well as government and media attacks on WikiLeaks. See our in-depth coverage of the incident here.

WikiLeaks News:

• WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson was delayed at Heathrow Airport, being told she had been put on an "inhibited" list for apparently doing "something controversial." Australian Attorney-Genreal Nicola Roxon denied involvement with her placement on the list and said she is investigating the matter. Meanwhile, Australian citizens protested outside a law conference which both Roxon and Robinson were attending. Crikey has also put out a rather amusing comic about the incident. Watch an interview with Robinson on the matter below:
  

WikiLeaks News:

• WikiLeaks published a press release for the 500th day of the unlawful banking blockade against them. Many individuals and organizations support WikiLeaks and are fighting for their right to spend.

• Cabledrum has released the GIFiles Top 20, a list of the Stratfor emails which have received the most media attention. The list includes backgrounds and summaries of the emails, as well as links to related articles.

• WikiLeaks cables from the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines show that Chinese investment scandals in the Arroyo administration affected the Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal.

WikiLeaks News:

• Today marks the 500th day of the unlawful financial blockade against WikiLeaks by MasterCard, Visa, PayPal, Bank of America, and Western Union. WikiLeaks has lost 95% of their revenue because of this blockade. Find out how you can donate at the WikiLeaks website.

• WikiLeaks lawyer Geoffrey Robertson QC and Australian Attorney-General Nicola Roxon were among the panelists on Australian TV show "Q and A" last night, where WikiLeaks and Julian Assange was discussed. An audience poll showed 79% believe the Australian government is not doing enough to support Julian Assange. At one point, Roxon falsely stated that Julian Assange had fled from Sweden. Watch the full segment below.
  

• WikiLeaks announced that the first episode of Julian Assange's 12-part talk show, "The World Tomorrow," will premiere April 17 on RT, 11:30AM GMT (see below for times worldwide). Here are some highlights of the announcement:
  • Official website for "The World Tomorrow."
  • Official video page for "The World Tomorrow."
  • The official hashtag on Twitter is #ExpectAssange.
  • The opening and ending themes have been composed by award-winning British-Sri Lankan hip hop artist M.I.A.
  • RT interviewed Julian Assange about his decision to create the show and the philosophy behind it.

WikiLeaks News (Releases):

• Cablegate coverage:
  • Invisible Children, the makers of the viral Kony2012 video, were informers for the Uganda People's Defense Force, leading to the arrest of multiple suspected opponents of the regime. While Invisible Children initially denied the claims, they have now confirmed their involvement.
  • Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is undergoing extensive treatment for an unnamed condition, though cables released by WikiLeaks suggest he is battling terminal prostate cancer.

James Madison once said, "Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives". Madison recognized that accurate knowledge is essential for each person to take charge of their own lives. With the explosive growth of social media like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, we now have access to more information than any other time in the history of this planet. Through the Internet, pictures, news and ideas travel around the globe like the speed of light. Social networks are creating avenues of free communication that move beyond centralized systems of information distribution.

WikiLeaks's chief editor, Julian Assange pointed to Madison's idea that pertinent information is critical for the public to perform as a check and balance to those in power. Elsewhere he spoke of how concealed information has the greatest potential for just reform because those who hide it spend a lot of energy and resources in that concealment for a reason. He pointed out that this signal of suppression is a sign of opportunity and that exposing this information could lead to reform. The online collective Anonymous is also standing up for freedom of speech and assembly and for the conviction that public control of the flow of information is essential for any society to guard against the inevitability of corruption.

WikiLeaks News:

• WikiLeaks issued a press release offering to host a discussion on the future of Malaysia between Prime Minister Najib Razak, Anwar Ibrahim, and Raja Petra. Shortly after, Anwar Ibrahim accepted the invitation.

• BBC Two aired the first part of a new special, "WikiLeaks: The Secret Life of a Superpower." The documentary focuses on Cablegate revelations and the effects it had around the world. Part two will air March 28 at 9:00PM GMT.
  

• According to emails from Stratfor, a U.S. mercenary "took part" in the killing of Muammar Gaddafi, after which he was sent to assist the Syrian opposition.

Below is a series of drawings sketched by artist, Clark Stoeckley, at the Motion Hearing for U.S. v. PFC Bradley Manning on March 15 and 16, 2012 at Fort Meade, MD.

Stoeckley was situated either in the courtroom gallery or in the media operations center, where a live video feed of the proceedings was broadcast.

Bradley Manning has been held without trial since May 29, 2010. Former State Department spokesperson, P.J. Crowley, described Manning's treatment by the U.S. as "ridiculous and counterproductive and stupid." Crowley also said, the "exercise of power in today's challenging times and relentless media environment must be prudent and consistent with our laws and values."

The same week that Crowley was forced to resign for his remarks, Stoeckley adorned a former U-Haul box-truck with the WikiLeaks hourglass logo and signage reading: "Release Bradley Manning" and "WikiLeaks Top Secret Mobile Information Collection Unit".

Stoeckley drove the now world famous WikiLeaks Truck around the White House, and was subsequently arrested and interrogated by Secret Service, despite his never having been charged with a crime.

Stoeckley WikiLeaks Truck has been a staple of Occupy Wall Street since September 17, delivering food and supplies to the revolution in New York, D.C., Boston, Philadelphia, and Newark.