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President Obama Commutes Chelsea Manning's Sentence (theverge.com)
The New York Times is reporting that President Obama has commuted Chelsea Manning's sentence. What this translates to is a reduced sentence for Manning, from 35 years to just over seven years. Since Manning has already served a majority of those years, she is due to be released from federal custody on May 17th. The Verge reports: While serving as an intelligence analyst in Iraq, Manning leaked more than 700,000 documents to Wikileaks, including video of a 2007 airstrike in Baghdad that killed two Reuters employees. In 2013, Manning was sentenced to 35 years in prison for her role in the leak and has been held at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth for the past three years. Julian Assange, who has long been sought by U.S. and EU authorities for extradition on Swedish rape charges, had previously pledged to surrender himself to U.S. authorities if Manning was pardoned. Born Bradley Manning, Chelsea announced her gender transition the day after the verdict was handed down. "I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female," she said in a statement. "Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible." Obtaining the resulting medical treatments was extremely difficult for Manning, and was the subject of significant and sustained activism. After a lawsuit, Manning was approved for hormone therapy in 2015. In September 2016, she launched a hunger strike, demanding access to gender reassignment surgery; the military complied five days later.
I'm not sure how I feel about this. If it was my estimation that the two political parties were more interested in what is best for America, rather than just winning their ideological war, this would hold more weight for me.
Snowdon seems the logical "other pardon". Not sure I'd like that to happen. Would prefer a trial where he would be allowed to make his case. Manning wasn't afforded that opportunity either.
Neither case is at the instigation of a foreign government. So the issues need to be gone through in an open court so the country can understand the issues. And legally decide whether a crime was committed, or these were justified acts done by patriots.
Another consultant who stuck it out.
"We are the Priests, of the Temples of Syrinx..."
Manning wasn't pardoned, his sentence merely got reduced. Assange's offer was for a pardon.
The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
Whistle blowing should not be considered treason. After seeing how other whistleblowers were treated, by the Obama administration, I can see why Snowden chose the actions he took. He was willing to give up his comfortable life to alert us all to a gigantic problem. One which has generated a huge amount of public debate. And has led to some actual reforms.
I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
And let taxpayers foot the bill for gender reassignment. How many millions of $ did this cost? Does that now mean that anyone in Obamacare can get it free of charge?
Obama is a hard core neoliberal neocon freakshow. This is the guy that bombed more countries than Bush, make the Patriot Act look like the Magna Carta by repealing Habeas Corpus with an NDAA, and started a war in Libya without Congressional authorization. Which his own VP said he would have supported Bush's impeachment if he had done the same thing with Iran.
You mean after he tortured Manning for a year with solitary confinement, and committed unlawful command influence by declaring Manning guilty before a conviction - and promoted the judge during the trial. But now, after seven years in prison, with consistent humiliation (and a little torture mixed in) is he not merciful?
Still, you might get a few years left where your prejudice may be voiced in polite company, as trans rights are 20-30 years behind gay rights in this country.
As long as they go to prison, sure, they can get a gender reassignment.
And I think you're off by a hair on your "millions" estimate. Male to female ranges from $7-$24,000. (source)
For reference, a new knee will cost about $50k. Technically a knee replacement is an elective surgery. How many of those were done to inmates last year? Should they be denied therapy as well? Or does gender reassignment bother you because it doesn't match your world view?
Still waiting on SensitiveAuthortarian to see why Manning's release is more upsetting than the fact that government contractors were engaged in child trafficking in Afghanistan - as revealed by Wikileaks. It's only SA's tax dollars that were hard at work, supporting boy fucking abroad...
Can you point to an American who was killed due to the leak? No? Then STFU.
Regardless of what they did or didn't do, what message does it send to the rest of the military that those imprisoned by the US are tortured with official sanction even up to and including the POTUS?
"Because our enemies are worse" is not a position of respect.
I think the important distinction is that military folk swear to uphold and protect the Constitution first. Next, they are to obey lawful orders of the President and their superiors.
Copy and pasted from "A Duty to Disobey All Unlawful Orders:"
"During the Iran-Contra hearings of 1987, Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, a decorated World War II veteran and hero, told Lt. Col. Oliver North that North was breaking his oath when he blindly followed the commands of Ronald Reagan. As Inouye stated, "The uniform code makes it abundantly clear that it must be the Lawful orders of a superior officer. In fact it says, 'Members of the military have an obligation to disobey unlawful orders.' This principle was considered so important that we--we, the government of the United States--proposed that it be internationally applied in the Nuremberg trials." (Bill Moyers, "The Secret Government")"
Right or wrong, Manning felt like she had a duty to bring attention to what she felt was unlawful conduct by the military. I believe she did the right thing. I would hope that if / when things truly go south in this country, the military will be on the People's side in taking the government back.