Early in the morning of May 12 an anonymously leaked audio recording of Tarek giving his statement at the sentencing hearing was made public and is now being circulated!

Tarek has been transferred again. Now he is in Manhattan at the MCC New York. We have no idea when he will be moved again. Chances are he will be placed in a federal prison, rather than these detention centers, very soon.

Background on the case: Criminalized for Doing the Right Thing [Chicago IMC] | If Tarek Mehanna is Guilty So Am I [commondreams.org] | Mehanna Verdict Compromises First Amendment, Undermines National Security [ACLU].

The slow-turning gears of justice have begun to grind the Hancock 33 -- including the Buffalo-7 subgroup of those wonderful individuals. On April 22, they were arrested and zip-tied while journeying to inform uninformed uniformed people of their Constitutional obligation to refuse to follow illegal orders related to our per-Magna Charta extrajudicial execution of human beings by unmanned aerial vehicles (drones).

Bad news, but there is a silver lining in these unwarranted arrests: the anti-drone signs shown for several years at the bimonthly vigil at Hancock Field in Mattydale NY seem to be having an effect. For the past 2 years, the Onondaga Sheriff's Department acted as though they couldn't have cared less about the wording on the signs. Now, the sheriff's behavior changed suddenly and dramatically -- for mysterious reasons... read more

Boston, Mass.-March 17, 2012: A small but vocal and inspired group of anti-war activists gathered on Boston Common today for a speakout against the US soldier, Sgt. Robert Bales, massacre of 16 Afghani civilians-9 children, 3 women, and 4 men, last weekend. A fervent call was issued by the protesters for an immediate end to the US war on the people of Afghanistan, as well as no war on Iran and Pakistan. [...] Many of the St.Patricks Day weekend passersby stopped to listen to the anti-war message. Read More & Pics | Video (youtube) | More Photos

Related: "Violence is As American As Cherry Pie" by BNimri Aziz via Peoples MEDIA Center

A "Free Bradley Manning" protest was held in front of the county courthouse in Santa Cruz on February 23 to coincide with Manning's arraignment in military court in Maryland on charges stemming from the accusation that he provided thousands of classified defense department documents to Wikileaks. Approximately two dozen community members participated in the demonstration, which was located at the courthouse general assembly location of Occupy Santa Cruz on Water Street.

In a statement released before the demonstration, community members stated, "Bradley Manning's case should serve as a wake up call for everyone in the USA and, indeed, the world. As a Whistle blower/ Conscientious Objector - Manning allegedly gave information to Wikileaks about War Crimes committed by the USA in the names of the 99%. We must stand up for what is right! Manning has been tortured, denied due process, persecuted, and even deemed "guilty" before a trial by President Obama."

Read more and view photos | Related: Report Back From Bradley Manning’s Arraignment

 The National Day of Action to protest war on Iran was held on February 4, 2012. Austin protesters gathered at 6th St and Lamar to voice their opposition to engaging in another foreign conflict.

Attorneys representing some 700 arrestees and detainees in the famed March 20, 2003 antiwar protest on Chicago's Lake Shore Drive announced that they have won a multi-million dollar settlement with the City of Chicago over the illegal crackdown of that protest by the Chicago Police that night.

It is a win nearly nine years in the making -- first to get all charges against Chicago peace protesters dismissed, then to wait three years before achieving class certification of the lawsuit (Vodak v. City of Chicago), then to fend off a spurious police countersuit, then to appeal a summary judgment in 2010 dismissing the lawsuit altogether, finally winning an appeal in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirming the protesters' rights and restoring the suit.

With Israel threatening war with Iran by April, protesters set up on Penn Ave in front of the White House on Feb 4 to demand that the US refuse to participate in the war and refuse to allow Israel to attack Iran either. Read More | VIDEO: Antiwar protesters at White House say NO to US or Israeli attack on Iran

Related: Oppose War on Iran: Fight for Peace in the World! | Boston No War On Iran Protest | So, how's the anti-war movement doing?

Last week marked the tenth anniversary of foreign nationals being held at Guantanamo Bay, the US military base in Cuba. On the anniversary, activists organized the largest protest as of yet to demand its closing and and to bring attention to its human rights violations. Largest ever Gitmo protest demands Gitmo be CLOSED | Guantanamo Bay Turns Ten: Former Soldier Discusses the “Detention Camps” | In the Shadow of Indefinite Detention - Guantanamo Year 10.

Our insanity continues.

Roberto and I were out among the people who try to do some good for others, working for justice or just letting people know that the wars are still going on in the Middle East [...]

We were on the Hawthorne Bridge about 4:00 PM [...]

About 11 in the morning we were at the Governor Hotel over on 11th Avenue to protest the exclusion of all candidates [...]

The other meeting we went to was a Labor Committee that is attempting to submit a people's budget to the City Council [...]

Almost forgot, went to a council meeting [...]

The First United Methodist Church of Germantown calls it a wrap after conducting a monthly vigil in opposition to the Iraq War since late 2006.

Fox News is terribly upset that Iraq War veterans didn't receive an enthusiastic homecoming parade in their honor, but Al Jazeera examines the site of the war's biggest battle between insurgents and Americans and finds Fallujah is still a pile of rubble, citizens there are still pulling dead bodies from the wreckage, there's still no steady electrical power, still no real victory.

Our frequent contributor Stephen Lendman has recently written on Iraq's and the Middle East's condition several times.

This year's version of the National Defense Authorization Act, in addition to allocating massive amounts of tax dollars to war, contains provisions that will allow the president to indefinitely detain anybody he determines is part of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, an "associated group," or has committed "belligerent acts" against the United States until such a time as he declares an "end to hostilities." The wording of the bill is vague enough to create the potential for the detention of peaceful activists for positive change, and eliminate the rights of due process and trial by jury.

From the LA newswire: Banner Drops Urge Veto of NDAA and Occupy Riverside Challenges Indefinite Military Detention by Rockero | | Is The Passed Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (retroactive) To Detain Americans? by Sue Riley | | Obama Year Three: Continuing His Rogue Agenda by Stephen Lendman

UPDATE: On New Year's Eve, President Obama quietly signed the NDAA from his holiday hideaway in Honolulu. Although he issued a signing statement promising that his administration would not use the law to violate the rights of American citizens, the statement has no force of law, and there is no guarantee whatsoever that future presidents will keep that promise. The ACLU has vowed to fight the military detention provisions in the courts, while Occupy and other justice advocated have vowed to take that fight to the streets.

[On] December 19, 2011, Bradley Manning Support Network sent a representative into the courtroom to take notes for the public on what happened at Bradley Manning’s hearing. No recording devices (like cell phones or audio recorders) were allowed, so all these notes are hand-written and as accurate as written notes and memory allow. Notes were taken by Rainey Reitman, any omissions or inaccuracies are entirely her fault and not reflective of the Support Network positions. Please send corrections to rainey@bradleymanning.org

For updates see bradleymanning.org

Eighteen months after he was first detained on accusations of revealing information to WikiLeaks, PFC Bradley Manning appeared before an Article 32 investigating officer for a pre-trial hearing on December 16th at Fort Meade in Maryland. Supporters gathered outside the gates of Fort Meade to call for Manning's freedom and denounce the proceedings as unjust. Supporters have long argued that PFC Manning could not receive a fair hearing due to unlawful command influence from President Obama, who publicly declared in April that the former Army intelligence analyst "broke the law."

CodePink Austin, along with allies from Veteran's for Peace and Women in Black staged a Don't Buy War "freeze" at Barton Creek Mall on Saturday, December 3rd.  The strategically chosen mall location was between the Santa photo station and the Gamestop store, which prominently advertises the 'Modern Warfare 3' video game.

The goals were to raise awareness about the continuing wars on Iraq and Afghanistan, to educate shoppers about the costs (both human and economic) of the wars, and to dissuade parents from purchasing war toys. The creative action was well received by shoppers, and several veterans approached the group to thank us. All was peaceful until mall security and APD arrived, and an APD officer brutally attacked a young woman who had joined the group spontaneously. She was seriously beaten and ended up with three cracked ribs and bruises all over her body!

‘We will not allow corporations to profit off the brutality against our people in the US or abroad! Egyptian revolutionaries have asked for the movements in the US to shutdown the manufacturing and shipment of weapons and we heed their call in solidarity. We are calling for a targeted campaign against the corporations that profit off the use of these chemical weapons.’