Integrity and Ivorité: Manning and Gbagbo

DN Tuesday, January 4, 2011: Please answer three of the following questions:

1. Psychologists Protest Army’s Treatment of Bradley Manning: Read his attorney’s account of Manning’s typical day. Do you think this constitutes torture? If the purpose of detention is to prevent someone from causing harm to others, is there any non-punitive reason for this treatment?
2. Below are three excerpts from Salon.com, December 15, 2010, “The inhumane conditions of Bradley Manning’s detention” by Glenn Greenwald. They cite Bradley Manning’s online chat with Lamo, the person who turned him over to the CIA. What do you think of his motives? Has the response been what he hoped for, or are we screwed? Does the military have a right to require absolute obedience once a person enlists?
   1. Lamo: what’s your endgame plan, then?. . .
   2. Manning: well, it was forwarded to [WikiLeaks] – and god knows what happens now – hopefully worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms – if not, than [sic] we’re doomed – as a species – i will officially give up on the society we have if nothing happens – the reaction to the video gave me immense hope; CNN’s iReport was overwhelmed; Twitter exploded – people who saw, knew there was something wrong . . . Washington Post sat on the video… David Finkel acquired a copy while embedded out here. . . . – i want people to see the truth… regardless of who they are… because without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public. ..if i knew then, what i knew now – kind of thing, or maybe im just young, naive, and stupid . . . im hoping for the former – it cant be the latter – because if it is… were fucking screwed (as a society) – and i dont want to believe that we’re screwed.
   3. Manning described the incident which first made him seriously question the U.S. Government: when he was instructed to work on the case of Iraqi “insurgents” who had been detained for distributing so-called “insurgent” literature which, when Manning had it translated, turned out to be nothing more than “a scholarly critique against PM Maliki”: i had an interpreter read it for me… and when i found out that it was a benign political critique titled “Where did the money go?” and following the corruption trail within the PM’s cabinet… i immediately took that information and *ran* to the officer to explain what was going on… he didn’t want to hear any of it… he told me to shut up and explain how we could assist the FPs in finding *MORE* detainees… i had always questioned the things worked, and investigated to find the truth… but that was a point where i was a *part* of something… i was actively involved in something that i was completely against…
   4. Manning explained why he never considered the thought of selling this classified information to a foreign nation for substantial profit or even just secretly transmitting it to foreign powers, as he easily could have done:
   1. Manning: i mean what if i were someone more malicious- i could’ve sold to russia or china, and made bank?
   2. Lamo: why didn’t you?
   3. Manning: because it’s public data
   4. Lamo: i mean, the cables
   5. Manning: it belongs in the public domain -information should be free – it belongs in the public domain – because another state would just take advantage of the information… try and get some edge – if its out in the open… it should be a public good.
3. Go to the website 6 billion others and click on search of 6Bo testimonies. Put in Palestinian territory as the country parameter and launch search. Listen to some of the video clips, especially of Aghsam and Misbah, two students at the university. How does the wall figure in their lives? How do other restrictions of living under occupation affect them?
4. Ivory Coast Showdown: A Discussion on the Political Crisis in West Africa: Gnaka Lagoke, an Ivory Coast political analyst, talks about the differences between Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo and longtime opposition leader Alassane Ouattara. Which one is the economist and which is the politician? Who is the socialist and who follows neoclassical practices? Which one was a freedom fighter? Who is the liberal? Who represents the North and the South, and how do they differ? Who supported the policies of the IMF?
5. What is “Ivorité?” How does it relate to the election conflict, according to Horace Campbell? Who do you agree with in the debate, if you agree with either?