From CNN:
Bradley Manning, the Army private whose disclosure of hundreds of thousands of U.S. military and diplomatic documents gave American officials a global case of heartburn, was sentenced to more than three decades in prison Wednesday.
A military judge sentenced Manning to 35 years in prison — less than the 60 years prosecutors sought, as well as the 90 years he could have received — minus credit for the about three and a half years he's already been behind bars. He showed little to no reaction when the judge, Army Col. Denise Lind, sentenced him at Fort Meade, outside Washington…
…Manning, 25, was convicted in July of stealing 750,000 pages of classified documents and videos and disseminating them to WikiLeaks, the online anti-secrecy group. Lind also reduced his rank from private first class to private, ordered him to forfeit pay and benefits and be dishonorably discharged.
This is obviously a significant national story, and it may have implications in Colorado during the 2014 Senate race. Sen. Mark Udall, who serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has been outspoken about the need for greater transparency around the NSA's collection of information.
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Some dozen hours later. Hmmm. Figuring this diary would get the most comments I put off reading it. Saving the best for dessert, so to speak. I dine alone.
I'm guessing that polsters are a bit conflicted about the Manning case, and, therefore, hesitant. I was. For a while. But as the days, months, years wore on, I finally got it.
So I'll say it: That kid is a fucking hero. And the shit he's been put through is a lasting shame that will stain our national image and our (progressive) conciences until the hour he's pardoned.
He may be young, but being in the military and the field he was in, he knew there would be hell to pay for revealing the truth. But he also knew that blowing the lid off the corruption, cover-ups and foetid hypocricy he was privy to was and is a higher service to us fellow citizens that he, in good concience, had to perform. So he stood up and performed his duty to us. And to those who bring up the old crap about "chain of command": That's worked so well for rape and harrassment victims, hasn't it? We're talking about the military, here.
And he stood up in that court room and took his sentence, as they say, "like a man."
George Bush? Directly responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and thousands of American men and women in and out of uniform–slinks away and piddles with mixing paints (Ochre? Chrome? Cerise? Oh, the decisions the ex-Decider now faces.) to produce doggy portrait$. Directly responsible. And he achieved his personal, Freudian killing spree by lying to us, lying to his fellow Americans and to the world. Lying repeatedly. To us and to the world. Repeatedly.
And Dick Cheney? Manipulated, bullied, and lied, lied, lied. And threated you and me as despicable non-patriots, while doing everything he could to help Bush kill, kill, kill. And Rumsfield? And Rice? And Powell? They all lied to us fellow Americans and to the world as accomplices to Bush's killing of hundreds of thousands of Earth's human beings.
And are they standing in a court room to accept their sentences? Hell, are they even disgraced? Shamed from Sunday TV blather shows? Even ignored, maybe?
Standing beside liar Bush and his lying accomplices, Bradley Manning towers. As a fellow Amarican I'm grateful for his service.
Hear,hear. +2
Well said, Larry…I agree with every word.
Wow. "Chelsea" Manning is a hero, now. I wonder if she will be pardoned and able to get hormone therapy before she is 40? Regardless, what Larry said is true.
Her true gender identity doesn't rescind her service nor does it change the criminality of George Bush and his accomplices. And she's still a hero. Thanks, all.
Gee Larry, I wonder if you might want to rething that remark about taking the sentence "like a man", in light of the recent revelations about this person's condition?