Rally for Bradley Manning

On March 20 Amnesty will hold a rally at the gates of the Quantico Marine Base to support Pfc. Bradley Manning and protest his treatment at the hands of the Obama Administration. Manning, whose already-unacceptable conditions grow worse weekly, has been held for 289 days for releasing classified information like the infamous “Collateral Murder” video.

It’s hard to listen to defenders of Manning’s torture in any circumstance, but if one must, the neocon sadists are easier to take on this subject than the Democratic apologists. That’s because in the torture-lovers’ case there’s at least some logical consistency that spans at least two administrations. But for too many Democrats, Obama’s presidency provides a blinder to the notion that we’re still violating the Geneva Conventions.

In 2005 I didn’t know a Democrat who was unwilling to blame George Bush for detainee torture. These days it can be hard to find a Democrat who does care much about the executive branch’s policies on detainees, on wars, on Predator drone strikes, on Wikileaks, on Manning. If you’re on the fence about these matters, check out the Collateral Murder video, which you can watch here.

Just so you know what you’re getting into, the video shows a U.S. Apache helicopter shooting and killing eleven civilians in Iraq, including a photojournalist. It’s NSFW, but probably not because of the murders; what makes it NSFW is the language the American soldiers use, e.g. “Fucking prick,” to describe the people they then murder. As they “engage” the civilians, they tell jokes that can only be called depraved. Seven or eight people fall dead. The photojournalist’s driver survives an initial burst of gunfire and runs away; the soldiers follow him and gun him down, laughing as they do. Unlike Manning, none has been charged with any crime.

From "Collatoral Murder." (Screenshot | digitaljournal.com)

As disturbing as the Collateral Murder video may be, I’m glad the American public got to see it. It’s been useful in comprehending why Muslims hate us for our freedoms. But even if you believe it should have remained classified—if you believe even that Bradley Manning is a traitor who ought to die in prison—it doesn’t follow that he should be tortured indefinitely before he is convicted of a crime.

Activist releases another recording with an NPR fundraising executive

Would it be an equal scandal if we had similar “proof” that some member of the military’s top brass lean conservative? I mean, the military receives federal funding!

Virginia progressive groups blast Bob McDonnell for supporting Scott Walker

Heady days for the plutocracy. I’ll bet it’s tempting to Governor McDonnell to legalize collective bargaining for state employees, just so he can experience the pleasure of turning around and outlawing it again.

Huge quake and tsunami hit Japan

This morning a devastating earthquake and tsunami have hit Japan. The tsunami is now making its way across the Pacific; it hit Hawaii around 9 AM EST.

Same-sex marriage vote likely Friday

Last Saturday, thanks to relentless criticism by AltDaily, Maryland Delegate Sam Arora announced that he supports marriage equality after all. Today the bill comes up for a vote. By the time you read this, the Maryland legislature could be sending to the governor’s desk a bill that legalizes same-sex marriage.

Maryland bi-national same-sex couple avoids separation

Another gay news story from our neighbor state offers cause for optimism: still, it’s upsetting that the federal government came so close to forcefully separating an American citizen from his Salvadoran husband. The two were made to live in fear until the very day for which his deportation was set. Even now, Rodrigo Martinez must report monthly to ICE officials, as well as notify them of travel outside of D.C.

Sen. Webb: Ditch corn ethanol subsidies

Blue Virginia has a rundown of why this is a good idea.

Kaine won’t announce Senate intentions this week

Then I won’t editorialize on Kaine’s Senate intentions this week, either.

Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel proposal would include tolls of at least $1 for cars

Maybe I’m feeling cynical today, but it seems to me this toll would bring significant new funds, which VDOT would then give to more auto-only projects that would ultimately create more congestion.

Filmed meetings shed light on eating habits, Norfolk news

Kerry Dougherty says nice stuff about AltDaily in her most recent column.

State supreme court to hear Cuccinelli appeal in climate case

Cuccinelli, a “climate change denier,” is happy about this news but mad at USA Today for running the following story:

Melting ice sheets now largest contributor to rising sea levels

A study in this month’s Geophysical Research Letters uses 20 years of NASA satellite data to conclude that the “ice sheets are losing about 2.2 trillion pounds of mass each year.” The study concludes that “if current ice-sheet melting rates continue for the next 40 years, their loss could raise sea level by 5.9 inches by 2050.”

When those 5.9 inches are “added to the predicted sea level contribution of 3.1 inches from glacial ice caps and 3.5 inches from ocean thermal expansion, total sea level rise could reach 12.6 inches” by 2050.

If you’re curious as to how someone had the audacity to publish these results, the study’s lead scientist based at UC-Irvine, a public university in a state whose attorney general is Kamala Harris. Ah, to live in a state whose attorney general is Kamala Harris! When she worked in the San Francisco D.A.’s office, Harris prosecuted corporations for pollution and even created an Environmental Justice unit. She also supports gay marriage, opposes the death penalty, and has never been seen schmoozing with the leaders of hate groups.

National Book Critics Circle Award Winners

The National Book Critics Circle Award announced its six winners last night; they include A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan and The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson. Which reminds me:

Best translated book award longlist

For weeks I’ve been meaning to link to this longlist of 25 nominees for the 2011 Best Translated Book Awards. If you’re looking for something good to read, you could do worse than starting here.

Beards, hippies, Sarah Palin, oh my!

Earlier this week, The Atlantic Monthly’s Andrew Sullivan, whose blog “The Daily Dish” I read every day, linked to B.C. Wilson’s If You Read the Paper column. We’ve linked to Andrew Sullivan several times, so it’s nice to finally see some reciprocity. Sullivan, whom you could call a beard enthusiast, often discusses both beards and Sarah Palin; in his column, B.C. mentioned both. Thus the link, and thus the seething envy I now feel toward B.C.

The Dish calls B.C.’s descriptions of San Francisco’s beards “Sully bait,” which means one of two things: Andrew Sullivan has been scouring AltDaily for months, waiting for someone to zero in on beards, or else he uses Google alerts. I figure the latter is more likely, and so I’ve prepared some Sully bait of my own, in the hope that Google will answer my prayer. I’ve used the word beard six times so far, and the beards in this beard-counting sentence bring the number of beards to ten. Ten beards. Wait, now eleven beards. No, twelve beards. I can’t keep up, and I’m also falling behind in using Sarah Palin’s name. Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin.

Thank you in advance, Andrew, for linking to me.