to have a conversation about bradley manning right now with the panel that we've assembled our two years been twenty of our two has been bradley manning and edward snowden twenty four seven i haven't seen anything on your network about the anti-gay laws of bastion russia. james what islands and still ahead towards gay people james already that we're not going to have a panel discussion james lost the panel discussion on the program about the laws i think you'll find it very informative you can find it on you tube. we had representatives from the community. i think it's you know it's an issue we all take very seriously and so you know you can say what they say on your and they can say they can comment on russian television well they can write these things and rightly so i do want to get all the time and i think russia now where do you see you have your point you know since we are waiting at the moment for the party to be announced i sort of want to go through what we're actually potentially expecting for mr charlie manning now for some he is facing ninety years potentially behind bars for leaking more than seven hundred thousand classified iraq in afghan

power don't want us to know whistleblowers are essential to democracy and that is why bradley manning edward snowden and wiki leaks are so important they're shining a light on the grave injustices that successive us administrations have sought to keep secret thank heavens down to them we know the truth we now know what is being done in the name of the american people and indeed the people of the world also know that that is a good thing not a bad thing bradley manning is a hero he remained a hero all the years he was in prison he remain a hero after his released while the obama administration will forever live with this shame upon its record. we know that bradley manning was cleared of aiding the enemy what is the reason behind that. what first of all i think that the legal case the evidence that he ate of the enemy was virtually nonexistent or best very very flimsy so i think that it was quite right and proper that he was acquitted of that charge and i think it would have been really quite extraordinary if the judge had pressed that one and given a guilty verdict i think the uproar among legal expe

talk about their connection to the struggle for black freedom when you see brother bradley manning brother edward snowden they all the john brown's of the u.s. national security state of the u.s. massive surveillance state in the same way my dear brother the blue and green wall and chris my brother chris hedges. they all the way in lloyd garrison of the u.s. national security state which is to say i use the paradigm of the struggle for black freedom as a struggle for the freedom of everyone and you have those will in the forward their lives manning. those who will in the tell the truth against unbelievable bourbon cutting against the grain green wall hedges and we get at some others as well no make line and glynn for the dear brother bruce dixon and margaret. millie bailey and margaret kimberly of the black agenda. the magnificent raid what is it the black agenda report that's what it is. these are the folks who all the bears who the witness bears and it's very difficult for their voices to surface but if they don't surface. in a world of trouble but we are you mention and speaking of that use you mentio

resonate with different portions of our population. >> paul: when we come back, edward snowden gets asylum and bradley manning life in prison. both have been hailed as heroes in some circles but are they? >>. >> paul: edward snowden left moscow airport thursday after russian government granted him temporary asylum. it comes days after bradley manning was convicted on charges for passing classified information to wikileaks, something that could land him in jail for the rest of his life. some are hailing them as heroes. whistleblowers that don't deserve prison sentences. what do you make the russian decision to grant snowden asylum. >> its slap to the state. it's the way the russians have behaved throughout the years. as for, vladimir putin launching this reset. this is hostile act against the u.s. it should be treated as such. >> paul: what does it say about u.s. influence, not just with russia but more broadly? >> to restore america's standing within the world, these incidents. hong kong and china to dwayne someone that is indicted on three serious counts. you can't influence russia that most countries would

bradley manning . as well as as well as edward snowden are all showing the public what's really going on. do you think today's developments latest developments and mean snowden has temporary responding to from the fear of the u.s. prosecution well it's incredible that he would he probably would have gone to other places if it was possible but what's happened is the west has bought off these other countries of possibilities of the one of the most fascinating aspects to all of this of course is a few days ago the russian deputy prime minister dmitri rosol again said that there was nothing new in what the russians had learned from from snowden what that actually is saying in a bit of a hidden message is that actually what snowden is doing is revealing these things not to the russians or not to america's so-called enemies but to us to the public and that's what's not going on here in the west we've had very little proper investigative journalism really over the last ten years into what our governments are doing with our taxpayers' money so of course snowden is a bit of a hero i mean the weste

now free running around the united states this is wrong we should can gradually edward snowden we should think bradley manning and these these people have brought to light those things that i was in the senate hearing yesterday and they were talking about edward snowden and they were the senators were appalled at what they've seen out of the n.s.a. ron wyden has been saying for years if the american american public knew what was going on behind their backs they'd want change they would be appalled it's time for our government to practice oversight we need are represented. in washington d.c. to use this power of oversight to get to the bottom of what's going on in the n.s.a. and not blow off whistle blowers bring them in ask some questions find out offer them immunity find out what's really going on in our name in the n.s.a. the privatization of information but again bozell and private organization ninety nine percent of its income comes from the united states government no oversight edward snowden brought to what was what was going on to booz allen to the american public and we should know this information so

now free running around the united states this is wrong we should can gradually edward snowden we should thank bradley manning and these these people have brought to light those things that i was in the senate hearing yesterday and they were talking about edward snowden and they were the senators were appalled at what they've seen out of the n.s.a. ron wyden has been saying for years if the american american public knew what was going on behind their backs they'd want change they would be appalled it's time for our government to practice oversight we need are represented. in big washington d.c. to use this power of oversight to get to the bottom of what's going on in the n.s.a. and not blow off whistle blowers bring them in ask them questions find out offer them immunity find out what's really going on in our name in the n.s.a. the privatization of information but again bozell and private organization ninety nine percent of its income comes from the united states government no oversight edward snowden brought to what was what was going on to booz allen to the american public and we should know this informatio

and today we have bradley manning and edward snowden both have lead to classified information about questionable questionable government programs but the government doesn't even consider them whistleblowers. i don't think mr snowden was a patriot as i said in my opening remarks i called for a thorough review of our surveillance operations before mr snowden may be. my preference and i think. the american people's preference would have been for a lawful orderly examination of these laws a. thoughtful fact based debate. there would then lead us to a better place. president obama says snowden should be brought back to the u.s. to be charged as such legal experts say the whistleblower protection act does not apply to him because he was a government contractor not a government employee however fifty five percent of americans consider him a whistleblower and only thirty five consider him a traitor bradley manning was sentenced to thirty five years in prison today under the espionage act for leaking classified american information but there are some who consider him a whistleblower and save the result o

whistleblower edward snowden someone who was not discouraged by the crackdown so the government definitely doesn't want more people following suit as far as public support is concerned bradley manninghas probably. edward snowden's revelations more and more people are starting to realize that the government will always be trying to sweep controversial issues on the right. they have never left iraq iraq the government granting them immunity from prosecution is something that the obama administration was trying to negotiate around the same time bradley manning leaked all those are opening files president obama would have not announced a review of n.s.a. surveillance programs if it weren't for edward snowden and whether or not that review is just a symbolic gesture is a question worth asking of course but still we wouldn't be even having those conversations if it weren't for the supporters of bradley manning saying what's at stake here is not just manning future but also the future of journalism and the public's right to be informed on the actions that their government is taking on their behalf in washington i'm going to check on him a potential as one of the activists who's been campa

white house and the state department is somehow the way they can to raise the memory of bradley manning or edward snowden or any of the other whistleblowers by trying to take some kind of moral high ground i think most people around the world would say it's too late even the state broadcaster here the b.b.c. was moaning about how obama didn't come and see david cameron at the g. eight recently as if that's even comparable but even here the idea that a sitting united states president won't have a one to one meeting with his nuclear counterpart because let's remember all those nuclear missiles that the americans deny pointed at russians right now as we speak all right thank you so much for giving us your thoughts on this hour's artist contributor talking to us from london. and let's now turn to the other stories that we're following for you here today on r.t. the united nations has launched an investigation into the reported slaughter of kurdish civilians by al qaida affiliated groups in syria that comes from a common made by the u.n. to r t four hundred fifty kurds most of them women and children were all

. >> when we look at bradley manning and edward snowden and whistleblowers, are they heros to you? omebody who i commend for what he did. this entire focus on his personal back ground is a bit of a distraction. it's an attempt by the defense to try to get some mercy from the judge. they want the sentenced reduced. he's facing a maximum of 90 years in jail. a lot of people have been focusing on the apology, that somehow did he disappoint his biggest followers out there? absolutely not. he's been convicted and facing 90 years in jail. he spoke about how this is a matter of conscience for him and how he wanted to spark a debate. i think it's really a travesty has done to bradley manning. he was detained for three years before he even got a trail. some of that time at the marine brig at quantico. >> one word, hero or villain? >> it's not our job to weigh in on that. he's delusional, though. he's talking about his disclosures could end the wars in iraq and afghanistan. this is not someone who should be handling life and death decisions. >> but these are disclosures no one else is willing

seems to happen to them and yet, people with no status, no political connections like bradley manning or edward snowden or lower officials leak classified information and get hit with the full blunt of the u.s. justice system. i'm not condoning the breaking of a law, but is the system unfair here? >> the system is unfair. we need a better way for those that want to blow the whistle on the government to do so. there is talk that edward snowden could go to, for example, a member of congress and tell them about the program, that it wasn't being applied in what he thought was a constitutional manner. that's not true. edward snowden couldn't come to me or most members of congress and talk about it. he had to go to superiors and might be able to talk to people on the intelligence committee. they don't have a lot of avenues and if you look at some of the intelligence committee members, it's pretty staffed in favor of people who support these programs with the exception of a few people like senator widen and others. >> appreciate your time. thank you. >>> thanks so much. >>> let's dig deeper with edward snowde

. >> when we look at bradley manning and edward snowden and all of these whistle-blowers are they heroo you? >> absolutely. i think bradley manning is somebody i commend for what he did. i think the focus on his personal background is a distraction. sure, it's an attempt by the defense while in the sentencing phase to try to get some mercy from the judge. they want the sentence reduced. this kid is facing a reduced sentence of a maximum of 90 years in jail. a lot of people have been focusing on the apology saying maybe did he mislead or disappoint his supporters out there. absolutely not. what options does he have left? he is convicted, facing 90 years in jail. if you go back to statements he made at the pretrial hearing in february, he read a 35-page document where he spoke about how this is a matter of conscience for him and he wanted to spark debachlt i think it is travesty what the government has done to bradley manning an this way they treated him. he was detained three years before he got a trial. some at the brig in quantico , stripped naked in isolation. >> not our job to weigh

leaker edward snowden accused. bradley manning's lawyer will appeal for a presidential pardon for the whistleblower who's been sentenced to thirty five years for revealing to us what klein. calls for an investigation in syria saying there's no confirmation of chemical weapons used as rebel fighters claim hundreds have been gassed on the outskirts of damascus. news from russia under on the wall this is r.t. with me thanks for joining us. it seems it's not only whistleblowers now being steamrolled by exposed governments but also those who somehow eight of them in their task just days ago london police detained the partner of the guardian reporter who's been publishing edward snowden's revelations confiscating his computer and disks in the process while the u.s. based email provider love a bit has gone permanently offline its owner shut down the service after it was demanded to hundred over information about his customers following revelations snowden himself how to used it leveson says he doesn't want to perpetrate what he called a cr

trayvon martin but the same level as intensity as he does in persecuting brother bradley manning and brother edward snowden but you see for me it's quite ironic that you get black president black leaders who on the one hand talk about their connection to the struggle for black freedom when you see brother bradley manning and brother edward snowden they all the john brown's of the u.s. national security state of the u.s. massive surveillance state in the same way my dear brother the blue and green wall and chris my brother chris hedges they are all the way in lloyd garrison of the u.s. national security state which is to say i use the paradigm of the struggle for black freedom as a struggle for freedom of everyone. and you have those will in the forward their lives manning. those will within the tell the truth against unbelievable bourbon cutting against the grain green wall hedges and we get at some other the well known make line and glynn for the dear brother bruce dixon and margaret. millie bailey and margaret kimberly of the black agenda. the magnificent raid what is it the black agenda report that's wh

bradley manning has been convicted -- not of the most serious crime aiding the enemy, but about 20 other counts, a number of them involving espionage. you have written extensively about bradley manning. also edward snowden his story which exploded. to show edward snowden understood how seriously he would be treated -- it was in the midst of the lead up to the court-martial. can you comment on bradley manning's convictions? >> bradley manning is a national hero who deserves all kinds of metals the national gratitude, not criminal prosecution, let alone decades of prison. he exposed serious war crimes, all kinds of deceit on the part of not only the united states government, that governments around the world. even bill keller from the new credits the publication of the diplomatic cables with exposing corruption about tierney's in the arab world that helped spark the arab spring, one of the greatest of aquatic revolutions of the last several centuries. clearly, his intent was to spark exactly the kind of reform that he was hoping to see in the wake of publication showing the apache helicopter killing unarmed civilians in baghdad. what this bradley manning trial is about is about creating fear in the u.s. w

and wikileaker bradley manning gets convicted. and nsa leaker edward snowden gets asylum. both are being celebrated in some circles, but are they really heroes? >>> welcome to "the journal editorial report." well, if you fund it, you're for it. that's the message this week from a group ofseative lawmakers to fellow republicans as they continue their push to make defunding obama care part of a deal to keep the government running past september. the plan, which could result in a government shutdown, is being met with resistance by some in the gop, with critics calling it political suicide. florida senator rubio had this message for the skeptical senators. >> if we pass this, you did not do everything you could. you paid for this. you doubled down on it. in ways that will have harm to our country. this is our last best chance. >> joining the panel this week, "wall street journal" columnist and deputy editor dan he ddinger. assistant editor james freeman. and washington columnist kim strasle. so, dan, this rubio strategy, what do you think of it? >> i think it's probably -- ot

eavesdropping obtained from edward snowden. bradley manning appeals for a presidential pardon on his thirty five year sentence for killing u.s. war crimes but the mainstream media is in a frenzy over the whistleblowers gender identity. and egypt freeze its former president hosni mubarak amid fears the military. is intensifying in a nation already.

mccain and obama whose inclusion we can buy a seat that makes that crazy such as the bradley manning trial the edward snowden revelations and the george zimmerman trial so this is this administration is know how to fish the years i said to them and i think this has been reflected in his foreign policy. if you would put a figure on it how happy or not is the west with al qaeda being in syria right now . i think it's increasingly i'm biased by i don't think it's what i'm happy is the word to use i think it's i'm biased i think it was quite comfortable with al-qaeda being in syria but it's. violence and it's barbarity it can no longer be ignored and has to be said. if you could equate your politics to soccer then at this point in time a flood to me of putin's government is the political equivalent of bottle no obama administration is we're going to where they. wish to we're going to play pick not sleep bush well up all the way along the line russia's being calling for political dialogue here is the only way forward all along that the away along the line that's kind of not happening is that the door for politica

i'm very glad that people like grabbing manning and edward snowden -- bradley manning and edward snowden have done a service for the country and we are finally able to have a discussion like this one today about these important issues. as for my question, my question is -- can you tell me what the difference is between the nsa and the cia and where we need both agencies? time and i short on wanted to a unit that, but go ahead and answer period guest: -- and answer. collectse cia information from human sources. it conducts covert actions out in the field. the nsa's mission is to collect essentially electromagnetic emanations from people, signals. people calling each other. people e-mail in each other. that is the difference between the two entities. there are between 16 to 19 different intelligence organizations in the country. and there is some overlap in their functions. new: gary is from hampshire, republican line. the nsa seems to be able to help secret service always show up on time when there's a .eal threat to the president' we have seen those arrests have been with the kids were j

whatever people think of leakers like bradley manning or edward snowden, one of the key defenses of the surveillance has been that congress authorized and therefore it's legal. in fact, that's been a bipartisan defense since the news first broke that the nsa had drastically expanded its power. >> what is clear from this information released by the dni is that each of these programs is authorized by law. >> -- overseen by congress and the courts and subject to ongoing and rigorous oversight. >> i'm glad the nsa is trying to figure out what terrorists are up to overseas and outside the country. >> what you've got is two programs that were originally authorized by congress, have been repeatedly authorized by congress, bipartisan majorities have approved them, congress is continually briefed on how these are conducted. there are a whole range of safeguards involved. and federal judges are overseeing the entire program throughout. >> but we just learned that's actually not quite true. a new bomb shell "new york times" story demolishes this court offense of the nsa's expanded spying program.

hundred eighty four day dozens of us also doubled up in support for whistleblowers edward snowden and bradley manning the rallies were organized by a grassroots roots movement called restore the fourth and calls for an end of warrantless communications spying fourth amendment of the us constitution to protect citizens from unlawful search and seizure. radioactive waters are leaking into the pacific ocean from the fukushima nuclear reactor in japan the leak began a month ago but the contamination is only now flowed to be on a protective barrier is the product of tons of water dumped into the reactor to cool it plans nuclear regulatory authority has warned that it's facing an emergency if the leak is not contained. powerful car bomb has killed at least six people and wounded more than thirty in the southern philippines city of kut a barter device went off during rush hour and leaving victims blood it in causing damage to nearby buildings is thought a local official may have been the target of the attack religious tension is on the increase in the mixed muslim catholic city with previous bombings having

cities demonstrations that also doubled up in support for whistleblowers edward snowden and bradley manning rallies were organized by a grassroots movement called restore the falls that holds for an end of warrantless communications spy force amendment of the us constitution protects its citizens from unlawful search and seizure. the powerful car bomb that has killed at least six people under wounded more than thirty in the southern philippines city of a bar so the device went off during rush hour leaving victims bloodied and causing damage to nearby buildings is thought and local officials may have been the target of that religious tension is on the increase and the mixed muslim catholic city was previous bombings having been carried out by a local militant muslim group. the mayhem sparked by a massive mishi all that smashed into russia's ules could well happen again but there is. this space for huge and potentially devastating as it was hostile towards earth and noticed in our scientists age may not have been flying so as first thought it was part of a group of asteroids that still pose a

cities or demonstrations that also doubled up in support for whistle blows edward snowden and bradley manning rallies were organized by brass roots movement called restore the fourth it calls for an end of warrantless communications by the fourth amendment of the us constitution protects citizens from unlawful search and seizure . protests continue across to near zero as pro and anti islamist government supporters take to the streets police fired tear gas to disperse a crowd that tried to block the governor's residence in the town of cebu's it on monday the rallies were triggered by the murder of secular politician mohammad grammy at the end of last month. the mayhem sparked by a massive meteor that smashed into russia's urals could well happen again remember this. when this was. it was a. huge potentially devastating as it was total towards. it may not have been flowing sort of i was first sort of part of a group of us droids that still pose a threat to. explain. it may be hard to believe that an eleven thousand ton eighteen meter across meteor made its way to earth undetected but that's exa

very unnecessary all the spying that they do so what do you think of the of the bradley manning news in the edward snowden's. why i think cali off them i think i think of them like daniel ellsberg daniel ellsberg you know was they try to put him away for a long time in prison they tried the you the new york times for it for releasing the truth about how the vietnam war was started how we were lied into that war and i think people now who are people now are trying to tell us the truth about what happened in iraq and afghanistan they should be seen more as heroes because you take a guy like snowden he knows exactly what he was up to and he knows the that you know the danger of it and but he believed i sincerely believe although i've never met him that he was convinced that he was doing a service to the people by doing this and we should be calling people like this traitors i i think we don't have enough whistleblowers and we should pay more attention to our laws of whistle blowing that when people tell us the truth they should be called traitors but this is characteristic of an empire our you know if treason

leaker edward snowden confused. bradley manning's lawyer will appeal for a presidential pardon for the whistleblower who's been sentenced to thirty five years for revealing to us when clients. calls for an investigation in secret saying there's no confirmation of chemical weapons used as rebel fighters claim hundreds of the gassed on the outskirts of damascus.

whistleblowers like edward snowden and bradley manning. here is a look. isk is howgest sluggish will they get? speaking out can be dangerous. we write calls on purpose. -- we write laws on purpose. all the politicians want truth. they want us to know everything about government. there might be laws that say you are a whistleblower -- whistleblower. we will protect you. sure. if you do that they charge you with treason. this reminds me in a dictatorship the truth is treason within empire of lies. only heldment is together by lies. these revolutions whether it is ravi manning or snowden they have not really hurt anybody but they have hurt the politicians. they have embarrassed them. you mean we spy on every country in the world? all of our friends? all of our trading partners? it is out in the open. tot becomes treasonous they getng the facade away by claiming they are the humanitarians. you have a desire for humanitarian treatment for the people will and the best help for the poor. that is humanitarian with a result that has been proven throughout history.

very unnecessary all the spying that they do so what do you think of the of the bradley manning news in the edward snowden's. why i think highly of them i think i think of them like daniel ellsberg daniel ellsberg you know who was they tried to put him away for a long time in prison they tried to you the new york times for it for releasing the truth about how the vietnam war was started how we were lied into that war and i think people now who are people now are trying to tell us the truth about what happened in iraq and afghanistan they should be seen more as heroes because you take a guy like snowden he knows exactly what he was up to and he knows that you know the danger of it and but he believed i sincerely believe although i've never met him that he was convinced that he was doing a service to the people by doing this and we should be calling people like this a traitor and you can watch the full interview this thursday at nine pm eastern time right here on r t moving on more allegations of chemical weapon use in syria syrian opposition groups and activists are saying that more than thirteen hundred peo

the bradley manning incident and the edward snowden incident, will it change the way they do contractors as well? >> the senate is looking into this. there is a ballooning national security structure that comes from having more and more classified. so much information is classified, so there is a big push to declassify a lot of information. the government has the mentality of when in doubt, classified it. it is easier to keep information classified than to make the calculations to be classified something and get it wrong and cause all sorts of issues in the agency. we have seen members of congress said that over classification needs to be dealt with as well as looking into defense contractors at what level of access people are getting. the things they are seeing on a daily basis. on the issue of records and data. >> they already keep them for 18 months, how long do you need it? >> a lot longer than 18 months. >> once you have picked up someone who has been communicating with parts of the world that might have originated this activity, you want to go back and find out if , >> maybe that i