Australia flags denying U.S. whistleblower Chelsea Manning entry visa

[webfact]

Australia flags denying U.S. whistleblower Chelsea Manning entry visa

 

Whistleblower Chelsea Manning talks during the Roskilde Festival 2018 at the Gloria Stage about activism in Roskilde, Denmark, July 5, 2018. Ritzau Scanpix/Torben Christensen via REUTERS/Files

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has signalled it is preparing to ban U.S. whistleblower Chelsea Manning from entering the country ahead of a scheduled speaking tour, the organiser of the engagements said.

 

Manning, the transgender U.S. Army soldier who served seven years in military prison for leaking classified data, is scheduled to speak at the Sydney Opera House at the weekend.

 

However, Suzi Jamil, owner of the company organising Manning's speaking tour in Australia, said late on Wednesday Manning had received a notice from the Australian government informing her Canberra was considering cancelling her visa.

 

"We are looking for support from relevant national bodies or individuals, especially politicians, who can support Chelsea's entry into Australia," Jamil said.

 

A spokeswoman for Australia's Department of Immigration declined to comment on the possible visa ban on Thursday.

 

Australian law allows the immigration minister to deny anyone a visa if they do not pass a character test, a broad criteria that affords the government sweeping powers.

 

Manning is scheduled to travel to New Zealand after finishing her three events in Australia but the centre-right opposition National Party has also called for her to be denied entry.

 

Manning was denied entry into Canada late last year but was subsequently allowed to appear at another event.

 

Manning was sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison for sending more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks. Her sentence was later commuted by former President Barack Obama.

 

The classified and sensitive documents leaked by Manning - who was assigned to an army unit in Iraq as an intelligence analyst - shone a light on the nature of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

(Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Paul Tait)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-08-30

[ezzra]

In earlier times, people like him/her would be shot, hung and quartered, but in that age of PC and free speech proponent libertinas, even a traitor now days can profit from giving speeches on how screwed the old guard and live to tell about it...

[dirtynomad]

you're not missing much chelsea.

[SpaceKadet]

Easy ezzra! IMO, he is not a traitor. He saw things swept under the carpet by his government and had "balls" enough to do something about it.

Since then, he became she and the rest is history.... but traitor she is not.

[Chassa]

40 minutes ago, SpaceKadet said:

Easy ezzra! IMO, he is not a traitor. He saw things swept under the carpet by his government and had "balls" enough to do something about it.

Since then, he became she and the rest is history.... but traitor she is not.

He's stating a fact - read it properly!

[SpaceKadet]

 I read it properly, and reacted to this "... even a traitor now days can profit ..."

She is regarded as a traitor only by those who committed the wrongdoings and would like to have them kept hidden.

Not in my book though....

[TGIR]

Disclosing classified information is a traitorous act, not "whistle-blowing".  

[impulse]

19 minutes ago, TGIR said:

Disclosing classified information is a traitorous act, not "whistle-blowing".  

 

The USA would probably still be fighting Commies in Vietnam had brave people not disclosed classified information detailing illegal and immoral behavior on the part of government officials.

 

[AsiaHand]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

In earlier times, people like him/her would be shot, hung and quartered, but in that age of PC and free speech proponent libertinas, even a traitor now days can profit from giving speeches on how screwed the old guard and live to tell about it...

And the liberal president pardoned the he/she just as easily as he had done to a lot of drug dealers.

[Sir Dude]

Countries are within their rights to deny access/entry to whoever they deem as unsuitable...despite what the far-left liberal Borg collective thinks.

[cookieqw]

8 hours ago, SpaceKadet said:

Easy ezzra! IMO, he is not a traitor. He saw things swept under the carpet by his government and had "balls" enough to do something about it.

Since then, he became she and the rest is history.... but traitor she is not.

he she  was fighting a battle with his her body and mind, recipe for disaster

[Scott]

Off-topic, offensive, vulgar posts and replies removed.  

 

[manarak]

4 hours ago, Sir Dude said:

Countries are within their rights to deny access/entry to whoever they deem as unsuitable...despite what the far-left liberal Borg collective thinks.

yes...

completely understandable as far as said countries have any relationship or interest at all in the person being denied.

 

in this case, it simply looks like a petty attempt to please the US.

[impulse]

9 hours ago, Sir Dude said:

Countries are within their rights to deny access/entry to whoever they deem as unsuitable...despite what the far-left liberal Borg collective thinks.

 

You're confusing "countries" with "governments". 

 

It's not like governments always act in the best interest of the people in a country.  If they did, there would be no need for the Manning's, Snowden's and Ellsberg's of the world, would there?

 

[radiochaser]

14 hours ago, impulse said:

 

The USA would probably still be fighting Commies in Vietnam had brave people not disclosed classified information detailing illegal and immoral behavior on the part of government officials.

 

I don't remember hearing anything about that. 

Could you post some links to that information.  

I could not find anything about any classified information that forced the U.S. out of Vietnam.

 

[impulse]

5 minutes ago, radiochaser said:

I don't remember hearing anything about that. 

Could you post some links to that information.  

I could not find anything about any classified information that forced the U.S. out of Vietnam.

 

Pentagon Papers.

 

[radiochaser]

46 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Pentagon Papers.

 

Interesting, what little that I have skimmed over in the last few minutes.  I did not know that the Pentagon Papers were available for reading and is not what I had imagined them to be.  

So far, after looking at the index and and some of the pdf documents that I opened, it appears to be more of a historical report of the U.S. involvement with Vietnam, rather than a report of illegal and immoral activities of the U.S. government.   It also stops, it would appear, in the year 1967.  Still, it looks to be interesting reading.  

I will see if I can track some of what is reported in the, "Report of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Vietnam Task Force", to other, partially declassified material that I have downloaded from the Internet.   I will even post the link of the underacted report to groups of people that were there (some who may have already read this report), at least from 1960 and onwards, working in Signals Intelligence and Electronic Intelligence gathering activities, in Vietnam.  Similar to what I participated in from the late part of 1970 through to early 1973.  

As to illegal and immoral activities.  You should have seen the reports the VC and NVA sent to their headquarters in Hanoi, of the terroristic activities they committed against the South Vietnamese people. 

I do not recall seeing the release of any reports, by the U.S. news media, or the U.S. government about the physical, emotional, and psychological cruelty the VC and NVA committed.  Acts similar to those of some of the other  communist regimens of the world. 

[Cats4ever]

15 hours ago, Sir Dude said:

Countries are within their rights to deny access/entry to whoever they deem as unsuitable...despite what the far-left liberal Borg collective thinks.

In light of the above, I find it interesting that the crypto fascist (that'll get a few going) right who are all for free speech when Milo Yiannopoulos (sorry if I mispelt it) and other cranks all drag out the free speech wagon train if someone wants to restrict them. I am not saying I want to listen to the subject of this story, those who do should be able to.

[JemJem]

I am sadly not surprised. Australia and the UK have been in an 'obedience to the US' mode since many years ago.

 

This also shows that Julian Assange is totally right in worrying that he will most probably be arrested and then extradited to the US if he leaves the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

[TGIR]

On 8/30/2018 at 6:02 PM, impulse said:

 

The USA would probably still be fighting Commies in Vietnam had brave people not disclosed classified information detailing illegal and immoral behavior on the part of government officials.

 

Still makes it treason.  The reason we are not still fighting in Vietnam is we lost......and had to turn tail and run before we got slaughtered.

[impulse]

3 minutes ago, TGIR said:

Still makes it treason.  The reason we are not still fighting in Vietnam is we lost......and had to turn tail and run before we got slaughtered.

  

We lost, but many years, 50,000 American lives and millions of Vietnamese lives before we pulled out.  The reason we finally saw sanity and pulled out is because it became politically untenable to stay, and win the next election.  The slaughter had already been going on for years, and for no legitimate reason.

 

I'd contend that the treason was perpetrated by those who violated their oaths to honor the constitution, lied to the public, and sent millions of our kids to kill and to die 10,000 miles away under false pretenses. 

 

Thank God for the brave whistleblowers who ratted them out.  And the ones today who continue to expose corruption and treason by our so called leaders. 

 

You wanna hang someone for treason?  I'd suggest you get your list from the documents these guys bring to the surface.

 

[Different]

On 8/30/2018 at 8:16 AM, ezzra said:

In earlier times, people like him/her would be shot, hung and quartered, but in that age of PC and free speech proponent libertinas, even a traitor now days can profit from giving speeches on how screwed the old guard and live to tell about it...

Those who hide the truth, must fear consequences of their wicked behavior.