Military judge contradicts Obama admin on Chelsea Manning dick size

[Kuya]

Manning got 35 years. That'll teach that lil nigga to snitch

[SamanosukeShiva]

wishful thinking but hopefully in the future when new presidents comes a long, one of them gives manning a pardon.

[Callisto]

That's actually not too terrible given what he could have gotten/what the prosecutors were asking for.

[archibaldcrane]

Manning will never get a pardon. Snowden would have a much better chance. (he's also not going to get one)

[Kuya]

I'm assuming people are only pursuing a pardon to put Obama on the spot. Otherwise,i don't get it. As i understand it, Obama's government has prosecuted more whistleblowers than Bush.

[archibaldcrane]

Manning may be able to seek parole after serving one third of his sentence, and has already spent three years in jail since he was first identified as the source of the WikiLeaks releases. He was also credited with serving 112 days of his sentence after Judge Lind ruled that he was improperly treated during his detainment at a facility in Quantico, Virginia. That mistreatment included being kept in solitary confinement, forced to sleep naked nightly. Thanks to those possible shortenings of his prison term, WikiLeaks’ Twitter feed called Wednesday’s outcome a “significant strategic victory,” pointing out that he may be eligible for release in less than 9 years.

So there's that.

[archibaldcrane]

While I think the way the government has treated him in detention is deplorable, I also think he should get prison time. His method of "whistleblowing" was pretty fucking irresponsible, handing over hundreds of thousands of classified docs which he hadn't read is not the way a thoughtful whistleblower should behave.

[Edelweiss]

While I think the way the government has treated him in detention is deplorable, I also think he should get prison time. His method of "whistleblowing" was pretty fucking irresponsible, handing over hundreds of thousands of classified docs which he hadn't read is not the way a thoughtful whistleblower should behave.

But even the U.S. government itself acknowledged that there isn't any real indication that the published material actually did any harm. Unless we consider embarassing governments or government officials.. something.

[archibaldcrane]

They acknowledged it didn't put anyone in danger, but embarrassing governments and governmental officials is not good for diplomacy (harmful) - and the larger issue is that Manning gave away these docs without knowing that to be the case. He took a risk that wasn't his to take by handing over such a huge trove of data, as opposed to specific things that he felt were being unjustly classified and needed to be brought to light (and then stupidly got caught because he couldn't keep his idiot mouth shut).

[Churchill]

It's not about if it did or didn't.

The way the US is acting towards Snowden is ridiculous and makes the entire country look bad, and Snowden is an autist for signing himself up for accidental death down the road, but what this kid did was with angst and no thought towards what his actions could do. Anyone who has worked in intelligence knows that information can be traced back to sources can be traced back to real people and those people are in danger should that information be released. Were we fighting people who aren't illiterate neanderthals the information he leaked could have been pretty terrible. I know this is all would have, could have, but that's sort of the point of making an example of someone. I don't know the right answer, but being a terrible country as far as detaining him doesn't really absolve him of what he did. I would fully expect to have black helicopters swoop down on me should I ever break my NDA and it would be fair if it happened.

[Qalbert]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...woman/2684009/

Bradley Manning, the Army private sentenced to 35 years in military prison for leaking classified documents, revealed Thursday he intends to live out the remainder of his life as a woman.

"I am Chelsea Manning. I am female," the Army private wrote in a statement read on NBC's TODAY show Thursday by his attorney. "Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition."

Manning, 25, was sentenced to 35 years in prison on Wednesday after having been found guilty of 20 charges ranging from espionage to theft for leaking more than 700,000 documents to the WikiLeaks website while working in Iraq in 2010.

"I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility)," he continued in the statement posted on the show's web site. "I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the opportunity to write back."

Manning signed the letter "Chelsea E. Manning."

Manning faced a maximum of 90 years in prison after his conviction last month on charges of espionage, theft and fraud.

He was convicted of one of the largest leaks of classified material in U.S. history and was at the center of a growing debate over government secrecy.

Supporters of Manning's consider him a whistle-blower whose exposures served the public interest.

The government called Manning a traitor who hurt the country.

At a press conference after the sentencing Manning's attorney, David Coombs, said the case against his client sends a "chilling" message to those who want to expose government wrongdoing.

The judge in the case, Army Col. Denise Lind, announced the sentence in a military courtroom in Fort Meade, Md.

Prosecutors had urged the judge to sentence Manning to 60 years as a deterrent to others who might be tempted to leak secret documents.

"He betrayed the United States, and for that betrayal, he deserves to spend the majority of his remaining life in confinement," Capt. Joe Morrow had said during the sentencing hearing.

Manning's defense had urged the military to sentence Manning, who served as an intelligence analyst in Iraq, to no more than 25 years in prison.

Manning leaked secret documents, which included battlefield reports and State Department cables, to WikiLeaks, which posted them on the Internet.

The U.S. government said his actions jeopardized U.S. interests and exposed informants and sources to danger. Manning's defense attorneys painted him as a an idealist who opposed the war in Iraq.

During his trial, Manning's defense team suggested his struggles with gender identity as a gay soldier were a factor in his decision to leak. His attorneys presented an email to a former supervisor from April 2010 in which he said he was transgender and joined the Army to "get rid of it."

The email, which had the subject line "My Problem," also included a photo of Manning in which he is wearing a blonde wig and lipstick. During Manning's nine-month detainment at the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Va., following his arrest in 2010, he sent two letters to his counselor using the name "Breanna,'' Master Sgt. Craig Blenis testified at his trial.

In the statement read on TODAY, Manning thanked his supporters. "I want to thank everybody who has supported me over the last three years," he wrote. "Throughout this long ordeal, your letters of support and encouragement have helped keep me strong.l I am forever indebted to those who wrote to me, made a donation to my defense fund, or came to watch a portion of the trial. I would especially like to thank Courage to Resist and the Bradley Manning Support Network for their tireless efforts in raising awareness for my case and providing for my legal representation."

Manning will likely serve his sentence at Fort Leavenworth, the only military prison for service members sentenced to 10 or more years, a Military District of Washington spokesperson told The Associated Press. The facility does not provide hormone therapy or sex-reassignment surgery for gender identity issues but does provide psychiatric care, a Fort Leavenworth spokeswoman told Courthouse News.

In the U.S. prison system, transgender prisoners who have not had genital surgery are generally assigned to live with their birth-sex peers, but the military policy is unclear.

[notorious bum]

What a giant load of steaming shit. Nobody was ever put in anymore danger, after the leak, than they already were, for every waking day, by participating in illegal wars and executing the innocents, which is certainly what Bradly Manning exposed.

People continuing to cling onto the remnants of the propaganda story that the govt has told about him being some naive fame-whore who wasn't intelligent and aimlessly published documents that somehow aided the terrorists and put lives in-danger(which was subsequently retracted) is just as aggravating as having to listen to TV news in waiting rooms.

Calling our favorite terror organizations illiterate makes me die of laughter from the irony. Thanks for that.

[Mazmaz]

Article opens with the fact that she's a woman, then continues to use "he" and "Bradley".

[SamanosukeShiva]

didn't see that coming...

[Rhinox]

Had to check the link.


Thought it was an onion article

[Tyche]

What a twist!

[SamanosukeShiva]

Had to check the link.


Thought it was an onion article

lmao same, earlier I saw a new tweet about the article, I thought I accidentally followed the onion

[Churchill]

What a giant load of steaming shit. Nobody was ever put in anymore danger, after the leak, than they already were, for every waking day, by participating in illegal wars and executing the innocents, which is certainly what Bradly Manning exposed.

People continuing to cling onto the remnants of the propaganda story that the govt has told about him being some naive fame-whore who wasn't intelligent and aimlessly published documents that somehow aided the terrorists and put lives in-danger(which was subsequently retracted) is just as aggravating as having to listen to TV news in waiting rooms.

Calling our favorite terror organizations illiterate makes me die of laughter from the irony. Thanks for that.

thanks for the reminder that you don't know what you're talking about

[Kuya]

Church was in nam

[octopus]

Thought it was an onion article

lol me too... this is out of left field...