Wikileaks: Hillary Clinton Stole Our Logo

Snowden Applauds Chelsea Manning

Chelsea Manning Granted Name Change

Chelsea Manning is now legally Chelsea Manning.

A Kansas judge granted a request Wednesday to formally change the name of the soldier convicted of leaking classified documents to WikiLeaks from Bradley Edward Manning to Chelsea Elizabeth Manning. The former intelligence analyst is serving a 35-year prison sentence for passing classified U.S. government information to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. Manning is serving the sentence at the Army prison on Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. Leavenworth County District Judge David King said he'd allow the name change during a court hearing that lasted about a minute. Manning didn't attend the hearing but issued a statement saying it was "an exciting day." "Hopefully today's name change, while so meaningful to me personally, can also raise awareness of the fact that we (transgender) people exist everywhere in America today, and that we must jump through hurdles every day just for being who we are," Manning said.

Manning remains in a men's prison and the name change "does not compel the military" to transfer her to a women's prison, according to the Associated Press.

Senate Committee Passes Media Shield Bill That Excludes Some Digital Journalists

Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill that will protect journalists from being forced to testify about their work. But there's something of a catch.

The new legal protections will not extend to the controversial online website Wikileaks and others whose principal work involves disclosing "primary-source documents … without authorization." Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) insisted on limiting the legal protection to "real reporters" and not, she said, a 17-year-old with his own website. "I can't support it if everyone who has a blog has a special privilege … or if Edward Snowden were to sit down and write this stuff, he would have a privilege. I'm not going to go there," she said. Feinstein introduced an amendment that defines a "covered journalist" as someone who gathers and reports news for "an entity or service that disseminates news and information." The definition includes freelancers, part-timers and student journalists, and it permits a judge to go further and extend the protections to any "legitimate news-gathering activities."

USA Today has more:

The question of just who is a journalist and should merit protection has become much more complex in the digital era, in which bloggers and others who are not traditional reporters engage in journalistic activities. Under the committee's compromise, those covered would include someone who has had an employment relationship with a journalism organization for one year within the past 20 years, or three months within the past five years. Also covered are people with "a substantial track record of freelancing" in the past five years and student journalists.

Matt Drudge is furious.

RELATED: I've been on the staff of Pride Magazine for eleven years, so it appears that I might be covered under the "compromise" and therefore would not be forced to reveal the name of a JMG source.

Mixed Verdicts For Bradley Manning

Edward Snowden Flees To Moscow

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has helped NSA leaker Edward Snowden get out of Hong Kong.  But he apparently won't be in Moscow for very long:

Edward Snowden left for Moscow on Sunday and his final destination may be Cuba, Ecuador, Iceland or Venezuela, according to various reports. The move is bound to infuriate Washington, wherever he ends up. "It's a shocker," said Simon Young, a law professor with Hong Kong University. "I thought he was going to stay and fight it out. The U.S. government will be irate." Russia's Interfax news agency quoted a source at the Aeroflot airline as saying there was a ticket in Snowden's name for a Moscow-Cuba flight. Itar-Tass news agency cited a source as saying Snowden would fly from Havana to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. The South China Morning Post said his final destination might be Ecuador or Iceland.

On Friday night the federal government formally charged Snowden with espionage. Should he ever come to trial, he faces up to thirty years in prison.

LGBT Military Family Group Denounces San Francisco Pride, Others Call For Boycott >>>UPDATE: SF Pride Cancels Bradley Manning As Grand Marshal

The support group for military LGBT families has denounced San Francisco Pride for naming imprisoned WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning as one of this year's grand marshals. Via press release:

“Manning’s blatant disregard for the safety of our service members and the security of our nation should not be praised,” said Stephen Peters, president of AMPA. “The LGBT military community is outraged by this decision and we genuinely hope that San Francisco Pride will reconsider their appointment of Bradley Manning as a grand marshal for this year’s celebration. No community of such a strong and resilient people should be represented by the treacherous acts that define Bradley Manning.”

In a separate move, the organizer of the 2011 Active Duty Military March in San Diego Pride (the nation's first-ever pride appearance of uniformed military members) has called for a boycott of San Francisco Pride. Sean Sala emails:

I am appalled, infuriated and sad. San Francisco has spit in the face of LGBT Military by using a traitor to our country as a poster child. They are not using Manning for anything they truly admire, only to boost their attendance and garnish more currency for their parade.  Manning makes Gay military, the Armed Forces and cause of equality look like a sham. He deserves no recognition.  I am calling all LGBT Military and national LGBT news to announce a boycott for San Francisco Pride. Specifically LGBT Military, Active and Veterans of all Branches.

Sala has launched a petition.

UDPATE: San Diego LGBT Weekly reports that San Francisco Pride has canceled the naming of Bradley Manning as grand marshal, saying that his election by a board of former grand marshals was a "systemic failure that now has become apparent and will be rectified." From the statement by San Francisco Pride board president Lisa Williams:

Bradley Manning will not be a grand marshal in this year’s San Francisco Pride celebration. His nomination was a mistake and should never have been allowed to happen. A staff person at SF Pride, acting under his own initiative, prematurely contacted Bradley Manning based on internal conversations within the SF Pride organization. That was an error and that person has been disciplined. He does not now, nor did he at that time, speak for SF Pride.

Bradley Manning is facing the military justice system of this country. We all await the decision of that system. However, until that time, even the hint of support for actions which placed in harms way the lives of our men and women in uniform — and countless others, military and civilian alike — will not be tolerated by the leadership of San Francisco Pride. It is, and would be, an insult to every one, gay and straight, who has ever served in the military of this country. There are many, gay and straight, military and non-military, who believe Bradley Manning to be innocent. There are many who feel differently. Under the US Constitution, they have a first amendment right to show up, participate and voice their opinions at Pride this year.

(Tipped by JMG reader Kathy)

SF Pride Grand Marshal: Bradley Manning

Imprisoned WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning has been named one of this year's grand marshals for San Francisco Pride.

Pride's electoral college, which is made up of former grand marshals, has selected Army Private First Class Bradley Manning as its choice for grand marshal. Manning has admitted to leaking 700,000 classified U.S. government documents to WikiLeaks and is facing court-martial. He is currently in custody and will not be attending the parade, although he will have supporters appearing on his behalf.

The Bradley Manning Support Network issued a press release this morning.

PFC Manning, awaiting trial for three years behind bars, cannot attend the Pride celebration in-person. However, Pentagon Papers' whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg will attend in his stead, and hundreds are expected to march in support of PFC Manning in the parade. In past years, Manning pride contingents have marched in New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, San Diego, and Los Angeles. Even wider national support is expected this year, in anticipation of his summer court martial.

In late February, PFC Manning plead guilty to 10 charges concerning unauthorized use and disclosure of classified information, explaining his desire to promote “debates, discussion and reforms” concerning U.S. foreign policy. Those 10 charges alone would carry a maximum prison sentence of 20 years; nonetheless the U.S. military continues to pursue a life sentence in prison for “aiding the enemy through indirect means.” Supporters argue that without evidence of any damage done to U.S. national security, this is primarily an attempt to frighten other would-be military whistleblowers.

A spokesperson for the support group added: "The LGBT community is unique in that being a member requires a willingness to disclose the truth about ourselves to the benefit of those around us and society as a whole. As a longstanding Manning supporter, I’m thrilled to see our community publicly embrace his courage in disclosing classified truths about the war in Iraq and other facts which empower the American public to promote smarter future policy."