Bradley Manning: Wikileaks hero was outspoken at school

The child was father to the man even back at school. Bradley Manning, perhaps the real hero of the massive Wikileaks saga, was outspoken in his challenge of authority as a schoolboy in Wales, according to a Channel 4 News report. He'd stand up for what he thought was important and knew he would "right a big wrong" one day.

Manning moved to Wales from the US in 2001 at 13, later joining the army where his impressive computer skills put him at the heart of government skullduggery as an intelligence analyst. Disillusioned with what he found there, such as the Iraq video designated "Collateral Murder", he released a repository of classified foreign policy so that the public could make informed decisions.

Prometheus was an ancient Greek mythical character, a Titan who stole the secret of fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, and was then punished by having his liver pecked out every day by an eagle, growing back each night so his torture was never-ending. In the same way, Bradley's prospects are looking pretty grim what with the American eagle being so mightily pissed off.

His fearless attitude is needed even more now that the large swathes of the media opinionati still in thrall to our political masters slip the truth a rohypnol, rationalising outrages and naturalising horrors. In Britain and the UK, with any luck, the student protests will be a fertile ground for Bradley's brand of integrity and idealism to take root once more.

Website: bradleymanning.org

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Glenn Greenwald on Manning being kept in inhuman conditions in Salon.com.