Manning Testifies At Last

UPDATE Friday  Co-author of my book on Manning, Kevin Gosztola, covering this and here's his full report on Thursday.  He's at court today for Friday's cross-examination. 

Thursday:  Bradley finally got part of a day in court.  Here's a full Salon report.    My co-author on Manning book, Kevin Gosztola, of course there, and tweeting @Kgosztola.

Reporting via Twitter, the Guardian’s Ed Pilkington noted that Manning’s lawyer drew a life-sized Quantico cell on the floor and had the soldier stand in it to convey his cramped conditions. For nine months, the 24-year-old was confined to a 6-by-8-foot cell with no window for more than 23 hours each day. “If you put your head on cell door [and] looked through crack you could see reflection of t[he] window,” Manning told the hearing Thursday, according to Pilkington’s reports.

Manning also told the court that he was pleased when returned to American soil in 2010, having felt like he was in an “animal cage” while detained by the U.S. military in Kuwait.

Updates via Pilkington: Manning says,  "I was authorized to have 20 minutes sunshine call" – i.e. 20 mins outside his cell - in chains - every 24 hour  Also: "The most entertaining thing in my cell was the mirror. You can interact with yourself. I spent a lot of time with it."