Slashdot Mirror
Bradley Manning Sentenced To 35 Years
An anonymous reader writes with bad, but not unexpected news: "The U.S. soldier convicted of handing a trove of secret government documents to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks has been sentenced to 35 years in prison. Pte First Class Bradley Manning, 25, was convicted in July of 20 charges against him, including espionage. Last week, he apologized for hurting the U.S. and for 'the unexpected results' of his actions. He will receive credit for three and a half years, but be dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Army."
It's not a legitimate secret. It's a coverup of war crime. They are not the same thing.
He's a traitor, he deserves it. I know I'll get down-voted to oblivion for that, but that's how I feel. Why people have such a problem with the fact that he was in the army, supposedly serving his country, and did something that he was forbidden to do, and so should face the consequences? Personally, I wouldn't have any objection to execution as the standard punishment for acts of treason.
So now we know how much it costs to reveal the truth: 35 years. I would say that it's worth it.
senteced
I'm glad that traitor is behind bars now
The bar needs to be raised again...
Uhmm yeah, who the fuck even thought that needed to be MENTIONED. If you get convicted by a *MILITARY TRIBUNAL* it's pretty damn well certain you're being dishonorably discharged.
The real question is: Why didn't they do the humane thing and put a bullet in his head rather than having him spend more of his life in prison than he's already lived?
If he's really gay though, I suppose it might be a field day for him...
Considering today news is breaking about the NSA monitoring 75% of all domestic US internet traffic, and logging all domestic emails, as well as their plans for a national facial recognition system (as in live video feeds), it seems obvious to me that they sentenced him today and announced it in this way in an effort to distract us from what really matters.
Sources: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/nsa-has-access-75-percent-us-internet-traffic-says-wsj-6C10967780
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/21/us/facial-scanning-is-making-gains-in-surveillance.html?_r=0
This is a serious story, Manning, however a sad person, actually did the right thing by releasing this information. He cemented his status is a martyr for a just cause, I consider him to be some kind of a real American hero actually. This judgement is a travesty, an authoritarian oppressive regime, crashing everything on its way to power and anybody who challenges that power, however illegal and unconstitutional.
But /. editors, they actually deserve, if not 35 years... then 35 lashes.
You can't handle the truth.
Fix The Fine Title
How is this bad news? If you want to blow whistles, there are legal ways to do it. At least is was less cowardly than what Snowden did. Snowden just dumped it and ran.
Slashdot editor senteced to 35 years of grammar school.
Meanwhile Bush, Cheney, and a whole line of people that authorized or performed torture remain free. People who murdered innocent civilians and laughed about it, free. It's all a big joke.
are that the truth about the government spying on its own people comes out, and for once the public listens rather than looking at Manning as though he's wearing a tinfoil hat.
Laughter is the Spackle of the Soul.
.. by the time he gets out there will be no more licence plate records of his car stored in the CA traffic police database!
How many lives were lost? How many billions of dollars was lost? How many shills lost their jobs because of this?
William Calley, the officer in charge of the My Lai massacre (murder of 304 civilians) server 3 1/2 years house arrest.
Bradley Manning has been sentenced to 35 years, and must server 1/3 to get parole which they will of course deny him.
President Obama authorized the killing of Americans without trial, something illegal under the very rules of the U.S. (constitution)
One of those Americans killed was a 16 YEAR OLD BOY who was murdered by his own government, without trial.
The United States no longer pretends to be the land of the free, it now openly favors corporations (Apple given presidential override of import ban), rich individuals and political cronies.
Today is a very sad day. The truth is the enemy, justice inconvenient, and money/power the one true ruler of this country.
Merely disgusted.
2 bad they didnt hang the traitor
I know he did something considered wrong, and the punishment has been dealt out (excessively but there had to be something).. but I'm wondering when the crimes of the people Manning exposed will be dealt with if at all?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
if the government's idea of "secret" weren't complete and total BS. Today, "secret" simply means "stuff that would embarrass us". The only context that getting most of today's government "secrets" into the public's scrutiny would qualify as "aiding an enemy" is if they consider the American people to be their enemy. Which is, sadly, closer to the truth than it ever should be.
In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
"Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance. Barack Obama will strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government. Obama will ensure that federal agencies expedite the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and whistleblowers have full access to courts and due process."
The United States government is the largest criminal organization in the world. Bradley Manning exposed some of the war crimes routinely committed by the United States. That, in and of itself, makes him a hero. It takes no courage to invade another country that is drastically weaker than you are and to then shoot people (mostly civilians) who are simply defending their country from foreign invaders. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to the Imperial US Government.
suffocating in their own feces.
ACLU's Ben Wizner: "When a soldier who shared information with the press and public is punished far more harshly than others who tortured prisoners and killed civilians, something is seriously wrong with our justice system."
"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities." -- Prof. Dumbledore
so got enough oil now?
people distracted enough?
jump-started economy by borrowing/printing money and getting it
into peoples pocket by hiring soldiers to chop down poppy plants
in some mountain village?
what's next?
I'd like to believe that someday we will get to a more enlightened part of our evolution and realize that Bradley Manning's actions were the start of a more transparent government, and that the Internet took on the role of government overseer that the media long ago surrendered to the very same government. Maybe then he will be released, pardoned, and seen as the hero that he is.
And reading the comments, especially on the Reuters article, is depressing. There is a lot of hate out there, and blind devotion to the overlords.
I have respect for this man. He broke the law for the sake of what is right.
Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance. Barack Obama will strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government. Obama will ensure that federal agencies expedite the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and whistleblowers have full access to courts and due process.
change.gov/agenda/ethics_agenda/
Change you can believe in.
I would gladly spare a few bucks to get the criminals who got Manning condemned shot.
That should teach a geek to not to stray from covering up government wrongs. Well, maybe at least, he will win the Nobel Prize.
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
Your "fair share" is NOT in my wallet.
Ummm...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Manning#Deployment_to_Iraq.2C_discussion_with_counselor
Not so sure... this is the kindest way to refer to them.
n/t
America, fuck yea! Coming to save the mother fucking day yea!
Suck it up libtards!
He is definitely guilty. He did the things with which they're accusing him. The punishment of that crime is straightforward.
However, I think he is a patriot and should be lauded for his efforts. When he did it, he knew that this was what he risked. He obviously felt that it was worth it to provide such a tremendous service to his country. I applaud him and consider him a national hero for making such a sacrifice for me and everyone else. I would like to think I would do the same, but without being placed in that situation, I obviously can't say for sure. He can. His moral character was tested and he passed with flying colors.
This is the way things should/need to work. If there weren't consequences, we'd have all sorts of deluded people releasing classified documents (that they - possibly errantly - felt needed to be released) because they thought they'd just be allowed to go on their way (the world needs to know that we use slightly too weak of bolts on our drones, so here are the plans to prove it!).
The best possible timeline for this type of situation in my opinion:
1. He releases documents and is exposed as doing so
2. He is arrested and tried for the crime
3. He is found guilty and sentenced
4. If the public good that came from the action is so dramatic as to warrant it, he should receive a pardon (but that doesn't mean he shouldn't have been found guilty to begin with).
Of course, I won't hold my breath for the pardon, though. Politicians are too concerned with appearances to risk being "soft" on "terrorism" (everything bad is "terrorism", don't you know).
I salute you Bradley Manning. Serve your sentence with pride.
And again history has repeated itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler
google fascist plot, who ran those civil war vets out of DC.
Nothing has changed they are just going about it another way.
really nothings changed in the last 100 years other then the names.
I expect today this general would have been weeded out long before his crazy thinking corrupted others.
Secrets depend on inducing terror in the people charged with keeping those secrets. That means the explicit tangible threat of massive prison sentences.
We are keeping too many things secret that shouldn't be secret.
Is it fair to have such massive prison sentences covering things that shouldn't be secrets in the first place?
Theres no "restart game" button when you f*ck around with governments and spy agencies. There are lifelong jail sentences and potential assassinations. We've seen a half dozen of these "hacker-martyers" in recent years.
It only requires that their adversaries define what crime is.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Don't worry, so it doing a hit of crack cocaine, or breaking into a private computer (what should be a civil case).
It will never change until everyone stops saying, "there should be a law against that." That includes every single person here at /., btw.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
When Bush was president, any criticism of him was seen by the "rednecks" as an attack on America. "Why do you hate America?" was pretty much a cliche.
Laws depend on inducing terror in the people charged with following those laws. That means the explicit tangible threat of massive prison sentences.
We are keeping too many things illegal that shouldn't be illegal.
Is it fair to have such massive prison sentences covering things that shouldn't be illegal in the first place?
Congratulations, you've just described every mandatory sentencing law in the world.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
Respect for mr. Manning. He did the right thing although breaking the law.
According to this, parole and time off could reduce his remaining sentence to as little as 8.3 years.
Which is still a shitload of time to have to sit in a prison cell, particularly if he's really trans and they won't let him transition.
Should have been death.
What a violation of his rights. Reveal the crimes and murders committed by government, and you get sent to jail.
Signature intentionally left blank.
It's a... bouncing marsupial.
He was charged with 20 counts NOT 10,000. Prosecutors don't need to read all 10,000 they only needed to read 20.
Just because you kill someone in self defense doesn't mean that you can kill anyone you want.
Even if 9,880 documents are evidence of war crimes, he is still guilty of releasing sensitive information the SHOULD be kept secret.
1. UCMJ isn't 'notionally' under the constitution. It's completely under the constitution.
2. UCMJ trials aren't actually harsher than civilian courts. Consider how long it's been since somebody was sentenced to death under the UCMJ, as opposed to federal or even state courts.
3. You keep your rights even as a soldier.
4. Murder/rape trials - can you cite a source on this? I thought kidnapping charges were fairly commonly associated with rape charges. Besides, you only need to be convicted of 1 count of aggravated murder in order to be sentenced to death/life in prison. It's not the severity of the act that gets you multiple charges, it's complex behavior. Murder, in the end, can be extremely simple.
5. 'Major Counts' can be misleading. As I said in #3, the penalty for murder is so severe that if Manning had murdered somebody in the course of his thefts all the espionage, fraud, theft, and such would be minor counts.
I don't read AC A human right
You can feel them as they watch you,
A thousand eyes now filled with pain,
I'll just sit back and relax now,
As your heart disconnects from your brain.
Yes I guess I see,
They ain't doin nothin here but livin' off of you and me, well
Yes I guess I know,
There ain't no place left on this earth that you can call your own, and
Yes I hope I see
The day we all wake up and get up off our bended knees, well
Hallelujah,
Let it all just burn,
Cause they ain't the type for listenin and they sure ain't never gonna learn.
-- Devil Makes Three, Never Learn
while [ 1 ]; do echo -n -e "\xe2\x95\xb$((($RANDOM&1)+1))"; done
You now belong to that august hall of esteemed justices that loyally carried out the Chancellors' laws from 1933 to 1945.
Your descendants will be so proud.
Ghandi.
Nelson Mandela.
Not saying Bradley Manning is in the same category. But sometimes people in prison do end up as powerful symbols.
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
What enemy? The ones that were made up for justification, or have you forgotten about WMD already. Lies, lies, lies. Stupid little boys still playing cowboys and Induns. Fucking pathetic.
Per the article, hasn't the sentence already been decided at 'life in prison'? The only question now is whether or not he'll ever be eligible for parole. His being eligible for parole in a decade if it's allowed is part of the administration details - it's how the military parole system is set up, it doesn't consider Bales specifically.
My sense of justice is that he never gets parole, or if he does manage it that it doesn't come for at least 60 years.
I don't read AC A human right
Does anyone remember how he got caught? I mean we can sit around here talking about how the NSA would of found him sooner or later, but in all reality the guy talked his head off to Adrian Lamo who in turn turned him. He didn't do it for the sake of a free and open society, he did it because he wanted to feel like his low level job meant something. Sooooo, I fail to see how any of these arguments hold any merit. The kid was dumb enough to talk, and he got caught. First rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club.
Which is still a shitload of time to have to sit in a prison cell, particularly if he's really trans and they won't let him transition.
My first thought on this was: Then maybe he shouldn't have released the information; in which case he'd have been out in less than 2 years. Depending on how long he enlisted for, he'd have been out in 2012(4 year enlistment) to 2014(6 year), with the GI bill, VA benefits, etc...
I don't read AC A human right
Plusgood. He is given 35 years helpwise for Big Brother.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
"In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act."
From a comment at Zero Hedge:
35 years for exposing war crimes, a Nobel Prize for committing them.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/restore-united-states%E2%80%99-human-rights-record-and-grant-clemency-pvt-bradley-manning/L7zHZv4r
Prove anything by multiplying Huge Number times Tiny Number
often means you die a horrible death for something you believe in. Being shot in the head for disobeying an order that goes against your belief system, is the same as running into a burning building to save someone when the chance of survival is near zero.
Real life is not the movies.
So, the prison sentence just furthers the fact that there was real risk in exposing the crimes of the US government. Most people are getting hung up on the fact that he went on a fishing expedition after the initial video leaks (which are arguably a war crime). If he had stopped at the initial leaks i'm sure he would still be sitting in prison had they caught him. Being morally right doesn't mean the government won't throw the book at anyone that gets in its way.
Same with Snowden, If the government gets its way, he will be rotting in prison long before anyone is charged, or any trials commence based on the evidence of wrongdoing that is now public. Even if in the end, all those programs are deemed illegal, he will still be rotting in jail (or dead) for daring to challenge the government.
Considering how there are US soldiers convicted of murdering Afghans and Iraqis who still got lesser sentences, how did Manning get more years in prison than them?
Don't apologize. A presidential pardon (or his liberators) will release him on the exact same day; the apology accomplished nothing.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/restore-united-states%E2%80%99-human-rights-record-and-grant-clemency-pvt-bradley-manning/L7zHZv4r
He should have been hanged, the rat.
an ill wind that blows no good
Good patriot, bad strategy perhaps. Likewise I don't see any riots, cars burning, lynching our leaders, good thing the masses are choked up on high fructose, maybe at best they'll rally online and an annual fake event on facebook in his memory?
Arab spring
Climate change summer
American fall
Nuclear winter
Cryonics - Keep cool and carry on.
I keep hearing: "If Manning/Snowden/[insert whistleblower name here] are killed/jailed I will give the government hell to pay", from friends and family.
The news came in about Manning today and everyone was abuzz about it and when I asked them what we should do about it, most of them told me:
- "What is there to do? Not like we can do anything about it even if we did try"
- "I don't want to end up in jail like him, I think it's best to just leave it be"
- "Maybe he did something wrong we don't know about? He did apologize to the judge he is obviously showing remorse for something bad he had done"
- "I don't think protesting will do any good remember we tried before and it hadn't helped one bit"
What seriously got to me even worse than all of the stuff said by my friends is what my dad told me just a few days ago: "Just be very safe. I know you like to get your friends fired up on a cause and even though this cause is something I wholeheartedly agree on that deserves not just a few people but everyone, it's just far too dangerous and the government has geared up into it's old Cold War era mentality".
As I see it this world is going to hell in a handbasket :'(
Every citizen of the United States of America, of course civilian Federal Employees will abstain, can thank Pfc Bradley Manning for saving their lives from death in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia.
Pfc Manning's sacrifice has saved million of citizens lives in those countries as well; they owe him a debt of gratitude.
The real villains of this drama are Richard Cheney and Barak Hussein Obama and their supplicants lurking the halls like the Director of National Intelligence, the 'Off Limits' sections of the CIA at Langley Virginia, and of course the 'Justices' of the 'Supreme Court' and the 'tools' at the Department of Justice. Ah; "Tools"! Think, "Eric Holden." Oh! And the 'Media'; Here see ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Reuters US, and their "dirt dog" blogs to spread the filth.
Well! Manure can be used to grow things, but raw shit is worthless as in the ANCCR above.
Yes. Pfc Manning is sentenced to 35 years. Possible parole hearing with reduction of time served and at the 1/3 rule means about 7 year from now.
I suspect he will indeed serve at least 7 years in Leavenworth. Why? Answer: Barak Obama!
His attorneys in news reports state that they will appeal to Barak Obama!
A failed request from the start!
Obama has no time nor inclination to anger Richard Cheney and dismay his 'Terror State' Apparatchiks from whom Obama enjoys such succulent comforts every day-by-day.
The tax paying citizens of the United States of America will be paying the 'comforts' for Obama and his 'dependencies' for many decades to come, if his Kenya Astrologers are correct.
Wow! What could be done with 1000 billion dollars per 10 years, other than fuel the cocaine, heroine and sexual habits of Obama.
Lt William Calley was sentenced to life for murder of more than 20 unarmed civilians, then pardoned by Nixon, serving something like 18 months of house arrest in his regular office and unit. A slap in the face of relatives of the hundreds of victims in My Lai.
Now is the time for Obama to do the right thing. But I'm not really getting my hopes up. After all, he's got a Nobel Peace prize, just like Kissinger did for bombing Cambodia.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
So if Manning gets 35 years for a bit of "undermining" how long should someone get for revealing an active CIA agent to the press?
How about selling US made weapons to a terrorist group that had killed over a hundred US marines plus a lot of civilians with a bomb only one year previously, and skimming a bit off the top of the sale to pay for house airconditioning and a convertable?
Partisan politics leads into a very sickening swamp.
will he have the right to wear a feminine wig in prison?
Ryszard Kuklinski was a Polish Colonel, one of Warsaw Pact commandants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryszard_Kukli%C5%84ski
He passed Top Secret Warsaw Pact documents to USA. Not about crimes, but secret military documents about tactics, strategy, and also blueprints of advanced weapons. He was a traitor ot his own country, that's technically obvious.
USA considered him a hero (!), and after 2000 also Poland changed their mind, mostly on patriotic level - because he made damage to Russians, not only to his own country. He is still very controversial figure.
Now you have people like Manning and Snowden who expose commited crimes and wrongdoings of their country. It is not as clear as with Kuklinski to say they are traitors, maybe whistleblowers, line is much more blurred.
Guess what!
Kali's morality here on behalf of USA governement!
Foreigner gives secret documents to USA - GOOD!
USA guy reveals USA crimes to world - BAAAAD!
Hypocrisy, plain and obvious.
Mother, should I run for president?
Mother, should I trust the government?
Mother, will they put me in the firing line?
Mother, do you think they'll try to break my balls?
A terrorist is a freedom fighter who isn't on your side.
Casteism
Manning's release of classified documents led to the deaths and imprisonment of an unknown number of political dissidents and informants in regime states. He should've been locked up for good, if not executed, depending on your view of capital punishment. TREASON IS THE ONLY CAPITAL CRIME EXPLICITLY STATED IN THE CONSTITUTION!