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Guest Occupation: Clairvoyant, Historian, Author, Teacher
Guest Biography:

Tricia McCannon is a renowned American clairvoyant, historian, author, and teacher who has traveled the world in search of answers to the greatest Mysteries of the Ages. For over two decades she has been a Headliner at Conferences in both Europe and America. As a mystical symbologist and initiate in many ancient paths of wisdom, she has appeared on over 200 radio shows, including Coast to Coast AM, Dreamland, Gaiam TV and a number of international documentaries. She the author of three acclaimed books: Dialogues with the Angels, The Return of the Divine Sophia, and Jesus: The Explosive Story of the 30 Lost Years and the Ancient Mystery Religions. Her latest book, The Angelic Origins of the Soul: Discovering Your Divine Purpose, is due out in the Fall of 2017 through Inner Traditions.

Initiated in many ancient streams of wisdom, her workshops are a powerful synthesis of history and mystical wisdom. She is the Founder of the Phoenix Fire Lodge Mystery School in Atlanta, a Bishop in the Madonna Ministries, and the author of over 30 DVD’s and 13 on-line classes. As a healer, hypnotherapist and clairvoyant, she has given Readings to over 6000 people worldwide in her continuing commitment to inner awakening and world unity.

Guest Category: History, Paranormal, Physics & Metaphysics, Spiritual, Clairvoyant & Telepathic
Guest Occupation: Expert on cannabis, author, advocate, lecturer
Guest Biography:

Chris Conrad (born March 10, 1953) is an American author, activist, curator, publisher and court-recognized expert in cannabis cultivation and use. He has played a key role in the shaping of the modern industrial and medical cannabis reform movements as the author of such seminal books as Hemp: Lifeline to the Future (1993) and Hemp for Health (1997), as well as through his activist work as the co-founder and first President of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA), founder of the Business Alliance in Commerce and Hemp (BACH), and the signature gathering coordinator for the Proposition 215 volunteer effort which made California the first US state to legalize the medical use of cannabis.[1] The December, 1999 issue of High Times ranked Conrad #10 on its list of top 25 “living legends in the battle for legal cannabis

Conrad’s writing career began when he designed and edited a revised edition of the hemp prohibition classic The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer in 1990. He followed this with the publication of Hemp: Lifeline to the Future (1993), which was subsequently translated into Italian, and Hemp for Health (1997),[6] which was subsequently translated into Spanish Portuguese, Czech and German. He is also the author of Cannabis Yields and Dosages (2004) and Nostradamus and the Attack on New York.

Conrad has co-authored two books with collaborators Virginia Resner and his wife Mikki Norris: Shattered Lives: Portraits From America’s Drug War   and Human Rights and the US Drug War.

In 2007, Conrad contributed a chapter on cannabis history to Pourquoi & Comment Cultiver Du Chanvre by Michka,[12] where his writing appeared alongside contributions from other notable authors such as Jorge Cervantes, Raphael Mechoulam and Stephen Jay Gould.

In 1989, Conrad and his wife Mikki Norris co-founded the American Hemp Council, with the purpose of educating the American public on the many uses of industrial hemp and the laws against the crop in the United States.

In 1996, in the final weeks of the campaign (after the money came in and he was hired to do so), Conrad became the signature-gathering coordinator for the volunteer effort to pass California’s Proposition 215, the initiative which would go on to make the state the first in the US to legalize the medical use of marijuana.[14] He was also a vocal supporter of California’s Proposition 19 in 2010, which came within four points of making California the first state to legalize all adult uses of cannabis.[

Conrad has also been active in the movement to legalize industrial hemp, serving as the first president of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and founding the Business Alliance of Commerce in Hemp (BACH).

Since 2007, Conrad has taught at Oaksterdam University’s Oakland, California campus, where he teaches the history and politics of cannabis.

In 1993 and 2000, Conrad curated and designed the Hash-Marijuana-Hemp Museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In 1995, Conrad and his wife Mikki Norris partnered with Virginia Resner to create and curate the “Human Rights ’95: Atrocities of the Drug War” photo exhibit to put a human face on non-violent prisoners of the Drug War and to show how the Drug War operates through their stories. Launched at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco on June 24, 1995 for the 50th Anniversary the United Nations, the exhibit was put in context of the UN’s Declaration on Human Rights. The grand opening presented a program called, “Give Drug Peace a Chance,” that included Ram Dass, Paul Krassner, Jello Biafra, Ngaio Bealum, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and Terence Hallinan. They toured with this exhibit for many years, creating smaller excerpted displays that were shown at libraries, universities, conferences, and events under the name “Human Rights and the Drug War.” From 2011 to the present, Conrad has curated the Oaksterdam Cannabis Museum in Oakland, California.In 2014, Conrad and his wife Mikki Norris were jointly awarded the Seattle Hempfest Outstanding Cannabis Activist Award in recognition of their writing and advocacy work.

In 2010, Conrad was the recipient of Oaksterdam University’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2004, Conrad and Norris received the Outstanding Citizen Activism Award at the 2004 national NORML conference.

In 2001, Conrad and Norris received the Drug Policy Alliance’s Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action, along with collaborator Virginia Resner, Randy Credico of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice and Nora Callahan of the November Coalition.

The above information was taken from Wikipedia where Chris is listed.

Guest Category: Education, Health & Lifestyle, Medicine, Politics & Government, Science, Self Help
Guest Occupation: Expert on cannabis, author, advocate, lecturer
Guest Biography:

Chris Conrad (born March 10, 1953) is an American author, activist, curator, publisher and court-recognized expert in cannabis cultivation and use. He has played a key role in the shaping of the modern industrial and medical cannabis reform movements as the author of such seminal books as Hemp: Lifeline to the Future (1993) and Hemp for Health (1997), as well as through his activist work as the co-founder and first President of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA), founder of the Business Alliance in Commerce and Hemp (BACH), and the signature gathering coordinator for the Proposition 215 volunteer effort which made California the first US state to legalize the medical use of cannabis.[1] The December, 1999 issue of High Times ranked Conrad #10 on its list of top 25 “living legends in the battle for legal cannabis

Conrad’s writing career began when he designed and edited a revised edition of the hemp prohibition classic The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer in 1990. He followed this with the publication of Hemp: Lifeline to the Future (1993), which was subsequently translated into Italian, and Hemp for Health (1997),[6] which was subsequently translated into Spanish Portuguese, Czech and German. He is also the author of Cannabis Yields and Dosages (2004) and Nostradamus and the Attack on New York.

Conrad has co-authored two books with collaborators Virginia Resner and his wife Mikki Norris: Shattered Lives: Portraits From America’s Drug War   and Human Rights and the US Drug War.

In 2007, Conrad contributed a chapter on cannabis history to Pourquoi & Comment Cultiver Du Chanvre by Michka,[12] where his writing appeared alongside contributions from other notable authors such as Jorge Cervantes, Raphael Mechoulam and Stephen Jay Gould.

In 1989, Conrad and his wife Mikki Norris co-founded the American Hemp Council, with the purpose of educating the American public on the many uses of industrial hemp and the laws against the crop in the United States.

In 1996, in the final weeks of the campaign (after the money came in and he was hired to do so), Conrad became the signature-gathering coordinator for the volunteer effort to pass California’s Proposition 215, the initiative which would go on to make the state the first in the US to legalize the medical use of marijuana.[14] He was also a vocal supporter of California’s Proposition 19 in 2010, which came within four points of making California the first state to legalize all adult uses of cannabis.[

Conrad has also been active in the movement to legalize industrial hemp, serving as the first president of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and founding the Business Alliance of Commerce in Hemp (BACH).

Since 2007, Conrad has taught at Oaksterdam University’s Oakland, California campus, where he teaches the history and politics of cannabis.

In 1993 and 2000, Conrad curated and designed the Hash-Marijuana-Hemp Museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In 1995, Conrad and his wife Mikki Norris partnered with Virginia Resner to create and curate the “Human Rights ’95: Atrocities of the Drug War” photo exhibit to put a human face on non-violent prisoners of the Drug War and to show how the Drug War operates through their stories. Launched at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco on June 24, 1995 for the 50th Anniversary the United Nations, the exhibit was put in context of the UN’s Declaration on Human Rights. The grand opening presented a program called, “Give Drug Peace a Chance,” that included Ram Dass, Paul Krassner, Jello Biafra, Ngaio Bealum, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and Terence Hallinan. They toured with this exhibit for many years, creating smaller excerpted displays that were shown at libraries, universities, conferences, and events under the name “Human Rights and the Drug War.” From 2011 to the present, Conrad has curated the Oaksterdam Cannabis Museum in Oakland, California.In 2014, Conrad and his wife Mikki Norris were jointly awarded the Seattle Hempfest Outstanding Cannabis Activist Award in recognition of their writing and advocacy work.

In 2010, Conrad was the recipient of Oaksterdam University’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2004, Conrad and Norris received the Outstanding Citizen Activism Award at the 2004 national NORML conference.

In 2001, Conrad and Norris received the Drug Policy Alliance’s Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action, along with collaborator Virginia Resner, Randy Credico of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice and Nora Callahan of the November Coalition.

The above information was taken from Wikipedia where Chris is listed.

Guest Category: Education, Health & Lifestyle, Medicine, Politics & Government, Science, Self Help
Guest Occupation: psychologist, cannabis expert on dosing
Guest Biography:

Constance Finley, founder and CEO of Constance Therapeutics, was inspired by her own personal experience with a chronic illness. After nearly dying from the pharmaceuticals prescribed to help alleviate pain and inflammation caused by a rare autoimmune disease, Finley turned to medical cannabis for relief.

She quickly became fascinated with the science behind the medicinal benefits of cannabis. Studies have found that cannabinoids, like THC and CBD, are more effective when working in tandem with the entire phytochemical profile of the female cannabis flower versus working in isolation – what is known as “The Entourage Effect.” Based on her research, Finley became determined to make standardized, whole plant cannabis extracts that incorporate all the naturally occurring cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids in cannabis, and are safe for those with compromised immune systems.

Prior to Constance Therapeutics, Finley was founder and CEO of Housing Allies, Inc. She pioneered the use of tax credits to create high-quality, aesthetically delightful low-income housing for the working poor and ill, utilizing corporate investments motivated by financial tax benefits. Finley also worked as a clinical psychologist and taught psychology courses at Naropa University, Greeley Junior College and Lone Mountain College. She holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the University of San Francisco, where she graduated first in her class, and a Bachelor of Arts in Eastern Studies and Psychology from Lone Mountain College, where she graduated summa cum laude.

Our whole plant cannabis extracts are integrated into traditional healthcare to provide physicians and their patients with expanded treatment options.
Guest Category: Education, Health & Lifestyle, Medicine, Politics & Government
Guest Occupation: Attorney and National Policy Advisor of the Weed for Warriors Project (WFWP)
Guest Biography:

Attorney Brandon L. Wyatt Esq., a decorated army combat solider and disabled veteran, is the National Policy Advisor of the Weed for Warriors Project (WFWP). Weed for Warriors Project is the largest veteran advocacy group in the world actively trying to raise awareness about cannabis and its potential use as an alternative to many of the pharmaceuticals championed by not only the VA, but by almost all research driven hospitals like Johns Hopkins.

Brandon speaks not only for WFWP’s wonderful veteran community, but also as a disabled veteran himself, one who almost became a statistic.

Brandon L. Wyatt  is a decorated army combat solider and disabled veteran, and admitted to practice law in the state of Maryland. He received his Juris Doctorate from Howard University School of Law. Continuing the commitment to his clients, he is currently matriculating through the World Executive Masters of Business Administration program at the George Washington University – School of Business. He runs the Maryland Le Prade Cannabis Commission's Diversity Consultant team.  

Brandon's work embodies a commitment to service and an affinity for applying the law fairly to citizens to promote equity, fairness and fair dealing though out all aspects of the law.

Weed For Warriors Project was started in the San Francisco Bay Area by an OEF United States Marine Corps Veteran who found relief from his service connected disabilities through medical marijuana and the fellowship of other like-minded Veterans within the cannabis community. With the help of organizations like SANTA CRUZ VETERANS ALLIANCE, Weed for Warriors Project is able to provide Veterans with medical marijuana information, a safe place to fellowship with other Veterans and safe access to free medicine with proof of service/ current medical recommendation.

The vets, some of whom suffer from PTSD, say their symptoms are alleviated by cannabis — smoked, eaten, vaporized or in capsule form. And they say disabled vets are benefiting from the drug in states where it’s legal for residents, including D.C. They say the powerful pharmaceuticals being used to treat veterans’ disabilities including Opioids and Psychotropics are so dangerous, some of the drugs are labeled with suicide warnings.

For more information go to: https://www.wfwproject.org/

Guest Category: Health & Lifestyle, History, Kids & Family, Medicine, Military, News, Politics & Government, Self Help, Variety
Guest Occupation: Spiritual Teacher and Healer
Guest Biography:

Who is Sumaya and why is she so passionate about the spiritual path?

Her life has been a journey of healing. As she has learned to heal from illness and the wounds of her past, her spiritual path has sustained her. She learned that her ability to be vulnerable is one of her greatest strengths.

Along life’s journey, she managed to travel around the world more than once, get get a Masters degree in Counseling Psychology, and walk a series of spiritual paths with truly wise, generous, and amazing teachers. Through each path, she gained an appreciation of the divine as it manifests in its many forms in people’s lives.

Sumaya began her love affair with the healing arts and spiritual traditions over 30 years ago. She studied Yoga, Shamanism, Tai Chi, Chi Gung, Reiki, Process Oriented Psychology, and spiritual healing, to name a few. She has had a private practice in Rosen Method bodywork, and in Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy. Sumaya studied with her Tibetan Buddhist teacher for 10 years and also studied in the Dalai Lama’s India headquarters in the Himalayas. For 16 years, she studied with a Sufimaster from Jerusalem.

For four years she participated in a process and study group facilitated by the Untraining for White Liberal Racism. She also taught diversity awareness workshops at JFK University in Campbell. Interspersed with all this, she also practiced as a Certified Financial Planner, tax preparer, and technical writer. There is something to be said for developing both the left and right brain equally!

In 2003, she graduated from a three-year program at the University of Spiritual Healing and Sufism. She loved it so much she also took a six-month teacher training program, and has been teaching and doing spiritual healings ever since.

In 2016 Sumaya experienced a major soul transformation, triggered by the death of her spiritual teacher of over 16 years. It was earth-shattering, and for many months she felt her inner life turn upside down and disintegrate. At the end of this period, she experienced a new integration, and the door closed on her previous spiritual path of Sufism.

She awoke to her soul contract with the Ascended Master Saint Germain, and has deeply dived into the teachings of the I AM Presence, the Seven Rays, and the Violet Flame. Her 30+ years of studying spiritual traditions was her divine preparation for this task. She was able to quickly absorb and assimilate these teachings, which are now her major work in the world.

Sumaya has witnessed how the spiritual path and healing performs miracles in people’s lives, her own included. It is her privilege to serve as your Soul Alchemist, spiritual teacher and healer.

Guest Category: Health & Lifestyle, Energy Healing, Kids & Family, Philosophy, Psychology, Self Help, Spiritual
Guest Occupation: Singer,Songwriter,Guitarist,Producer
Guest Biography:

P E T E R   A S H E R  

LEGENDARY SINGER-SONGWRITER-GUITARIST FOR

PETER & GORDON 

LEGENDARY PRODUCER FOR LINDA RONSTADT

AND JAMES TAYLOR

LEGENDARY A&R HEAD FOR THE BEATLES APPLE RECORDS

Peter Asher, CBE was born in London June 22, 1944, the son of a doctor and a professional musician.  He was educated at Westminster School in London and at Kings College, London University, where he studied philosophy. 

Peter’s entry into the world of the performing arts was as a child actor.  At the age of eight he starred in his first film, “The Planter’s Wife” as the son of Claudette Colbert and Jack Hawkins.  He went on to act extensively in various film, TV, radio and stage productions. 

His legendary music career began in 1964 as one-half of the singing duo Peter & Gordon, who amassed nine Top 20 records during their career. Their debut single, “A World without Love” – a song given to them by Paul McCartney – went to number one in over 30 countries, including the U.S. and U.K. In 1968, Mr. Asher became head of A&R for the Beatles newly formed record company, Apple Records, where he found, signed and produced James Taylor and worked closely with the Beatles on their individual projects.  During this period he became a key figure in the “revolution” of The Sixties, founding the book shop and art gallery “Indica” (where John and Yoko met and where Allen Ginsberg and William Boroughs visited) and found himself at the centre of an era of profound social and artistic change. 

          In 1971, Asher moved to the U.S. and founded Peter Asher Management, representing James Taylor and, beginning in 1973, the management and production of Linda Ronstadt as well.  Peter Asher Management became one of the most successful Artist Management companies in the US, handling artists such as Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, and Carole King as well as James and Linda.

Asher quit the personal management business in 1995 when he was appointed Senior Vice President of Sony Music, a post he held for eight years. 

          As a producer, Mr. Asher has worked with such diverse artists as James Taylor, 10,000 Maniacs, Diana Ross, Ed Sheeran, Neil Diamond, Ringo Starr, Linda Ronstadt, Cher, Morrissey, Robin Williams, Jane Monheit, Kenny Loggins, The Dixie Chicks, Fall Out Boy, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Hans Zimmer and Billy Joel, among many others.  He has been awarded 37 RIAA-certified gold albums and 22 platinum albums in the U.S., and many more internationally.  Mr. Asher has produced fourteen Grammy Award-winning recordings, and in 1977 and 1989 was honored individually with the Grammy Award for “Producer of the Year”.  He won a further Grammy in the category of “Comedy Album of the Year” for his production work with Robin Williams.

After a 37 year gap, Peter & Gordon reunited in New York for one benefit concert for a friend on August 2, 2005 which was very successful and they went on to perform together on various special occasions just for the fun of it until Gordon’s untimely death in July of 2009. 

          Since then Peter has continued to be in high demand as a record producer, consultant, lecturer and as a performer again in his highly successful one-man show, “A Musical Memoir of the 60s and Beyond”.   He has also received various international awards, is a member of Mensa and of SAG-AFTRA, President of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Recording Academy and has been a frequent keynote speaker at industry events. 

          Other projects have included “Carole King & James Taylor Live at the Troubadour”, an album from guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela (“Area 52”, recorded in Cuba) and the Buddy Holly tribute “Listen to Me” (an album and PBS TV Special). 

          With Hans Zimmer, Peter produced music for “Pirates of the Caribbean 4”, “Sherlock Holmes 2”, “Madagascar 3”, “Man of Steel” and “Rush”.  In fact, Peter sang and produced the only original song in “Madagascar 3”, the love theme “Love Always Comes as a Surprise” which Peter co-wrote with his friend Dave Stewart.  

          Recent productions include “So Familiar”, the follow-up album to the highly successful (and Grammy-winning) “Love Has Come for You” (Steve Martin & Edie Brickell) .These albums have also generated a PBS special and a stage musical, “Bright Star”, of which Peter is the music supervisor.  “Bright Star”, directed by Walter Bobbie, opened at the Cort Theater on Broadway in March of 2016 and is playing at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles in 2017.  The Broadway Cast Album (produced by Peter) was released in May and was nominated for a Grammy. 

Peter also directed the highly acclaimed Hans Zimmer Live show which first opened in London in 2014.  It is now on an extensive world tour which began at the legendary Coachella Festival in California.

He is currently working with Steve Martin on a new bluegrass album with the Steep Canyon Rangers, and with Elton John on an album to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Elton John/Bernie Taupin songwriting partnership. 

In the New Year’s Honours list for 2015, Peter Asher was awarded a CBE (“Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire”) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, for services to the music industry.  The official investiture took place at Buckingham Palace on February the 24th, conducted by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.

Most recently, it was announced with much fanfare that an official Apple-approved Beatles channel is to premiere on SiriusXM Radio at the end of May and that the programming will include a weekly one hour show, “From Me to You”, hosted exclusively by Peter Asher.

 

SPECIAL ACOUSTIC DUO DATES BY PETER ASHER AND ALBERT LEE

SAT. JUNE 17, 2017 -- VAN DYCK LOUNGE, SCHENECTADY, NY

SUN., JUNE 18, 2017 --CUTTING ROOM, NEW YORK, NY

MON. JUNE 19, 2017--WORLD CAFE LIVE, PHILADELPHIA PA

TUE. JUNE 20, 2017 -- TIN PAN, RICHMOND, VA

WED.  JUNE 21, 2017 -- JAMMIN JAVA, VIENNA, VA

THUR., JUNE 22, 2017 -- MCLOONE'S, ASBURY PARK, NJ

FRI. JUNE 23, 2017 -- TOWNE CRIER, BEACON, NY

SAT. JUNE 24, 2017 -- PETER ASHER (NO ALBERT LEE, BUT MANY OTHER PERFORMERS...)-CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY, LOCATION TBA, NY,NY

SUN., JUNE 25,  2017 --STEPHEN TALKHOUSE, AMAGANSETT, NY

MON., JUNE 26, 2017 --PETER ASHER (NO ALBERT LEE, BUT MANY OTHER PERFORMERS...)-CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY, LOCATION TBA, NY, NY

Guest Category: Arts, Entertainment, History, Music, TV & Film
Guest Occupation: Activist/Singer/Songwriter/Organizer
Guest Biography:

Evan Greer is a trans/genderqueer activist singer/songwriter, parent, and organizer based in Boston. She writes and performs high-energy acoustic songs that inspire hope, build community, and incite resistance! Evan tours internationally as a musician and speaker, and facilitates interactive workshops to support movements for justice and liberation. Wielding an arsenal of fiercely radical songs that vary in style from pop-punk poetry to foot-stompin’ bluegrass singalongs, Evan has been honored to collaborate, tour, and share stages with artists as musically diverse as Pete Seeger, Talib Kweli, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, Immortal Technique, Hari Kondabolu, Billy Bragg, Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, Pamela Means, Anti-Flag, Downtown Boys, Against Me!, The Coup, Anne Feeney, Oi Polloi, Dispatch, Dirty Projectors, Holly Near, and Chumbawamba. She's currently the campaign director for Fight for the Future, the viral digital rights nonprofit. Evan writes regularly for The Guardian and Huffington Post, has been a guest on All Things Considered, and has been interviewed about her activism by the New York Times, Rolling Stone, TIME Magazine, NBC, the Wall Street Journal, CBS News, Democracy Now!, The Atlantic, CNN, Mother Jones, and even Fox News.

Evan is Campaign Director of Fight For the Future...

Fight for the Future is a non-profit organization founded in 2011 whose mission is to ensure that the web continues to hold freedom of expression and creativity at its core. We seek to expand the internet's transformative power for good, to preserve and enhance its capacity to enrich and empower. We envision a world where everyone can access the internet affordably, free of interference or censorship and with full privacy.

Our goal—always—is to build tech-enhanced campaigns that resonate with millions of people, enabling them to consolidate their power and win historic changes thought to be impossible. In 2012 we organized the largest online protest in history, an internet-wide strike against web censorship which defeated the SOPA and PIPA bills. More recently, our Battle for the Net campaign drove nearly four million people to contact the FCC resulting in the game-changing passage of net neutrality rules (a “First Amendment” for the Internet). Here’s exactly how we did it. Our Reset the Net campaign organized around protecting the privacy of hundreds of million of internet users.

Our accomplishments are testament to the notion that with the right approach and creative activism, the public interest can prevail—even over some of the most entrenched political forces in the world. For more details on these and other accomplishments, check out a timeline of the events leading up to and immediately after the SOPA strike.

Evan has been also been at the forefront of supporting the humane treatment and release of Chelsea Manning who had her sentence commuted by President Barack Obama.

 

Why I Fought for Chelsea Manning

by Evan Greer

Chelsea Manning is my friend, but I’ve never seen her face to face, or given her a hug.That’s because Chelsea has been in prison for the last seven years, sometimes held in conditions that the United Nations considers to be torture. She has been serving what was meant to be a 35-year sentence — all for helping to expose some of the U.S. government’s worst abuses by making public thousands of military documents.  This week, Chelsea will be released. I have to type those words again to believe them.

This week, Chelsea Manning will walk out of an all-male, maximum-security military facility in Leavenworth, Kansas, and begin the rest of her life.This moment may never have come. Chelsea attempted to take her own life twice over the last year of her incarceration, after years of abuse and harassment at the hands of the U.S. government. She was first locked up as a whistleblower, but as a transgender woman behind bars she was systematically denied medically recommended health care, and routinely subjected to degrading treatment even as the Obama administration trumpeted its support for LGBTQ rights.

Chelsea’s release is a victory for human rights and the future of freedom of expression. And it’s a testament to the power of grassroots organizing. If not for the hundreds of thousands of people from across the political spectrum who spoke up, rose up, and fought for Chelsea’s freedom, I firmly believe that she would not be with us today.Well before I met Chelsea, a strong network of activists, lawyers, journalists, nerds, veterans, free speech advocates and LGBTQ folks were rallying around her, drawing public attention to her case and ensuring that the U.S. government’s persecution of this brave woman did not go unnoticed.

"By refusing to remain silent Chelsea Manning has shifted the world in ways that will benefit so many."

Through my work at Fight for the Future, I connected with Chelsea and began to speak with her regularly on the phone. She is one of the most compassionate and humble people I have ever met. Whenever we would speak, in spite of the inhumane conditions of her incarceration, she would always ask me how I was doing — what could she do to help?

Chelsea has always been motivated by a driving desire to help others and make the world a better place. And by refusing to remain silent she has shifted the world in ways that will benefit so many, from other trans people living in America’s prisons to those in the crosshairs of our foreign policy.

Chelsea is a great connector. From behind bars, without access to the Internet and prevented from speaking directly with the press, Chelsea still managed to share herself with the world. She ran a Twitter account, and wrote a column for The Guardian. She even drafted a piece of cyber security legislation, which Fight for the Future delivered to lawmakers’ desks.

When prison officials targeted Chelsea and threatened her with solitary confinement, a broad coalition of organizations worked together to defend her. We gathered hundreds of thousands of petition signatures, and flooded officials with phone calls, tweets and messages demanding basic dignity and humane treatment.

We protested in the streets, at the Pentagon, at the prison, at pride parades. We rallied artists, technologists, libertarians, queer folk and rock stars.

The U.S. government wanted to erase Chelsea Manning along with the crimes that she exposed. We helped keep her in the spotlight, and ensured that she was never forgotten.

When Chelsea walks through those prison doors on Wednesday, everything will change. She’ll have the chance to make her own choices and define her own destiny for the first time in her adult life. She’ll be a prominent and outspoken transgender woman — one who has already inspired so many of us.

It was an honour to fight for Chelsea’s freedom. After all, she has dedicated her life to fighting for mine.

Tom Morello, Thurston Moore Contribute to Chelsea Manning Benefit Compilation

Graham Nash, Against Me!, Downtown Boys, more lend songs to raise money for whistleblower

Tom Morello, Thurston Moore, Graham Nash and more have contributed songs to a new compilation benefiting whistleblower Chelsea Manning. Chiaki Nozu/WireImage/Getty

Chelsea Manning's Commutation: What It Means

Before President Obama granted clemency, Manning was serving 35 years in prison, the longest sentence for a leak in U.S. history

Hugs for Chelsea also includes contributions from Amanda Palmer, Anti-Flag, Downtown Boys, Priests, Kimya Dawson and Sammus. While the majority of the comp comprises previously released material, it also includes unreleased tracks from Ted Leo, Screaming Females and Mirah. Greer also plans to keep adding songs to Hugs for Chelsea.

Several songs on Hugs for Chelsea are specifically about Manning, who, in 2013, was sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to providing hundreds of thousands of classified documents to WikiLeaks (former President Barack Obama commuted her sentence in January). Thurston Moore's "Chelsea's Kiss" is a benefit track the former Sonic Youth rocker released in 2016, while Graham Nash shared "Almost Gone" – a collaboration with James Raymond – in 2013 to protest the particularly harsh conditions of Manning's incarceration.

"Chelsea Manning is one of my heroes," Nash said. "Anyone that has the courage to disturb the 'status quo,' to 'rock the boat' as she did is very brave and what she did was show some truth to the American people about what the government was doing in our name."

"As a transgender artist who fights for my community, it's hard to overstate the impact that Chelsea has had by sharing herself with the world," Greer tells Rolling Stone. "From her legal battles for access to hormones and appropriate clothing items to her highly publicized hunger strike, Chelsea fought for all trans people and secured victories that will benefit so many of us."

"She's been through so much and she needs our support," Michael Stipe added in a video promoting the project. "[Proceeds from the album will] help cover her basic needs as she transitions our of seven years of incarceration."

Along with Hugs for Chelsea, Greer and Manning's attorney, Chase Strangio, have set up a GoFundMe page to help raise additional funds for Manning.

Guest Category: History, News, Politics & Government