On the evening of December 3, the Bradley Manning Support Network sponsored a presentation by Manning’s attorney David Coombs. Coombs played down the media’s role in covering the military tribunal, yet acknowledged the more humane treatment that positive press coverage resulted in after Manning was removed from harsh conditions in Quantico, Virginia and moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. See the full hour video embedded below, featuring Emma Cape, Michael Ratner, and David Coombs. A detailed writeup is available from the Dissenter.
Rick Van Wickler is the superintendent of the Cheshire Department of Corrections, which operates the county jail, aka the Keene Spiritual Retreat. Rick has for years been speaking out against the insane “War on Drugs”, which is really just a war on our friends and family. Here’s his recent appearance as part of the Beyond Bars “Safekeepers” campaign, where he explains his path to finding compassion for the people he is tasked with keeping in a cage, many of whom don’t belong in jail, but are forced there by an inhumane system. Van Wickler brings a level of humanity to an operation where it’s normally hard to find. I really appreciate that we have him running the Cheshire jail, rather than some sadist, as is frequently the case in other “Departments of Correction”:
If I were a busybody, I might assert that there needs to be a crackdown on the drug-addled maniacs that occasionally interject disorder into the harmony of Keene’s otherwise pleasant populous. As Keene Cop Block has been operating consistently since autumn began, something I had discovered quickly was that KPD does not pose the greatest threat to recording equipment on Friday and Saturday nights. Drunken commoners have the least concern for other’s personal property. Though not always through malevolence, some young people find it gratifying to shout praise of their alma mater while holding a Cop Blocker’s videocamera inches away from their face.
Once in a blue moon, you come across someone as disoriented and insecure as a friend we made last week, Tim. Tim considers himself to be the king of the alphabros. He had the most violent reaction to cameras of any druggie that the crew has come across. From his perspective, he may have felt infringed upon. Despite the fact that he had approached a group of videographers as his friends walked away, he had concerns about cameras being in his face. When I approached the group after seeing him stepping towards fellow filmer James in the way that a great ape squares off with its opponent, he then spoke as though he took preference for my clothes and hair. “Look at this afro mutherfucker…with a videocamera.” He began counting people, “One, two…,” and at “three”, he pounces towards me like a tranquilized animal. (more…)
Most trials are pretty dull, but this one has lots of laughs and absurdities as the Sheriff attempts to defend his shoddy and unconstitutional order and the women that work at the court claim they were scared of peaceful, singing activists who dared ask them questions!
Judge Burke came off as objective today and even interjected thoughtful questions. Enjoy the video, there are gold nuggets of content in here:
UPDATE: The video has now had the traffic noise removed.
Dave Ridley recently released a compilation video of ambush interviews with legislators, and ultimately, a representative of the liquor commission. The focus of his interviews is the ban on some liquor store protestors who sang inside a now defunct Concord store on one occasion, and numerous times outside of others. Meanwhile, the liquor commission is currently under threat of restructuring after a state house panel found the commission in violation of a prohibition on contracting lobbyists. Ridley’s interviews are embedded below.
On the evening of December 3, the Bradley Manning Support Network sponsored a presentation by Manning’s attorney David Coombs. Coombs played down the media’s role in covering the military tribunal, yet acknowledged the more humane treatment that positive press coverage resulted in after Manning was removed from harsh conditions in Quantico, Virginia and moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. See the full hour video embedded below, featuring Emma Cape, Michael Ratner, and David Coombs. A detailed writeup is available from the Dissenter.
