Obama commutes Chelsea Manning sentence

[Kellhound]

Manning SHOULD have been placed in front of a firing squad. Letting it out early is a travesty.

[Zandalarian Paladin]

Manning SHOULD have been placed in front of a firing squad. Letting it out early is a travesty.

I don't know what's worse. The bad word play or the horrible claims you're making right now.

[Pendulous]

It's one thing to leak classified intel to the enemy, but leaking information about bad behaviour to the public should be a defensible action. I'd prefer if governments didn't have dark secrets they wanted to keep hidden in the first place, rather than punishing those who reveal them. Whistleblowing should be a form of protected speech.

That's the thing. Whistleblowers ARE protected https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistl...Protection_Act

Which is what I never understood. Whistleblowers get a lot of shit for bringing out truth, both in the government and in business. But it's necessary to know what's really happening as opposed to what is being pushed out to the public.

[Slybak]

Hell he lies about random easily disproven things that do not even benefit him. He just goes with whatever the voices in his head tell him regardless of what reality is. People accept a certain amount of BS but I will be curious how long Trump's honeymoon is. Given the current polls it is looking like he already used it up so this is going to be a pretty interesting 4 years.

Most Trump pessimists think that his administration will be marked most by either cruelty or corruption. The above is why I'm going with "incompetence."

Sure, there will be cruelty and corruption, too, and lots of it, but the fact that the entirety of the Executive Branch will not be able to speak with one voice will make the actual task of bureaucratic governance a nightmare. Not just because Trump doesn't know what he's going to say from one second to the next and has absolutely no desire to learn anything, but because his cabinet will be so at odds with each other that the entire operation will be incoherent to those who will have to deal with it (which is pretty much every major institution on the planet).

Just look at the conflicting messages this week on the importance of NATO, with Trump saying one thing to a foreign newspaper and his SecDef nominee saying something completely different to Congress. That's going to be the next four years.

[Tsar Bomba]

Nobody died because of her. Nobody.

http://www.newsweek.com/taliban-says...ikileaks-74257

What do you think happened to them? They all received free first class seats to New York?

[Spiffums]

I thought WikiLeaks was the devil to Liberals? Why is their head cheerleader freeing someone who leaked classified info to "the devil"?

[Deleted]

Because the devil will leave hell then probably?

[Endus]

Yeah, to hell with NDA's and security contracts people sign to get these jobs. Just so long as they are committing treason for "the greater good (tm)", all should be forgiven!

Breaching an NDA is almost always a civil lawsuit, not a criminal case.

And yes; in this case, "treason" is determined by the interests of the people, to be informed about the conduct of their government. If you want to defend "treason" as a protection of the government against its citizens, then I'd argue you're twisting what that word means beyond reason in a democratic and fair society.

That's the thing. Whistleblowers ARE protected https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whistl...Protection_Act

Which is what I never understood. Whistleblowers get a lot of shit for bringing out truth, both in the government and in business. But it's necessary to know what's really happening as opposed to what is being pushed out to the public.

Right, I'm basically saying the same protections should exist when the whistle's being blown against the government. If anything, the protections should be stronger, since there's little chance of civil damages.

In an ideal world, there'd be nothing to blow the whistle on, but until we hit that ideal, exposing this stuff needs to be protected. Or at least make the penalties non-egregious; Manning was convicted for 35 fucking years. She could've lured passerby into a dark alley and slowly carved pieces off of them until they died, and served less time.

[minteK917]

I thought WikiLeaks was the devil to Liberals? Why is their head cheerleader freeing someone who leaked classified info to "the devil"?

Because the devil promised to come out of this was done, because he never expected it to ever happen. So now the devil has to either do it or be a fraud.

[HumbleDuck]

I thought WikiLeaks was the devil to Liberals? Why is their head cheerleader freeing someone who leaked classified info to "the devil"?

To pressure the head of the devil.

[Endus]

I thought WikiLeaks was the devil to Liberals? Why is their head cheerleader freeing someone who leaked classified info to "the devil"?

Or, just maybe, "liberals" aren't as overly-reductive as you are, and recognize that groups can do both good and bad things, and take issue with those actions on their individual merits.

[Blacktop Cadence]

Or, just maybe, "liberals" aren't as overly-reductive as you are, and recognize that groups can do both good and bad things, and take issue with those actions on their individual merits.

I think it's more that seven years in the slam, a dishonorable discharge, a criminal record, and little to no chance of engaging in similar criminal activity might well allow one to conclude enough "punishment" has been meted out.

[Destump]

he gave away information that got people killed. innocent people.

Really? I had no idea people were killed. can you show me some proof of that?
(btw, if any nsa/cia/fbi etc people were killed because of the leaks then u cant count those as innocent people)

[Sky High]

Really? I had no idea people were killed. can you show me some proof of that?
(btw, if any nsa/cia/fbi etc people were killed because of the leaks then u cant count those as innocent people)

I'll admit there were no reported deaths directly related to the leaks, however it allowed terrorist cells the opportunity to evade our surveillance.

[satimy]

The CIA found out about Manning's betrayal and leaked fake documents to him that implicated our enemies. How do you know, because the US did nothing bad in all of the thousands of documents Manning leaked. Okay, let Manning out.

Snowden gave the enemy specifics on how to bypass our defenses, something that's been called treason since the beginning of history.

Yea and that information was also a shadow program that was hidden from the majority of the Senate! Whats that called?

[Independent voter]

Yea and that information was also a shadow program that was hidden from the majority of the Senate! Whats that called?

They can't tell you, state secret. Unless you want them to wind up like Manning.

[Kellhound]

I don't know what's worse. The bad word play or the horrible claims you're making right now.

He/She/It was a traitor who's actions were performed with complete disregard for the potential harm they would cause in direct violation of oaths sworn to.Firing squad is appropriate for traitors that release classified material.

[Orlong]

This is total bullshit!!!! Bradley Manning is a traitor to this country and a scumbag. He is no better than Benedict Arnold! He shouldve been left to rot in hell. I really hope President Trump can find some way to reverse this travesty of justice!!! I am beyond outraged, I am LIVID!!!!!

[Sky High]

This is total bullshit!!!! Bradley Manning is a traitor to this country and a scumbag. He is no better than Benedict Arnold! He shouldve been left to rot in hell. I really hope President Trump can find some way to reverse this travesty of justice!!! I am beyond outraged, I am LIVID!!!!!

well if it upsets you this much it can't be that bad of a move.

[PACOX]

He/She/It was a traitor who's actions were performed with complete disregard for the potential harm they would cause in direct violation of oaths sworn to.Firing squad is appropriate for traitors that release classified material.

Even with that said, Manning is the equivalent of a street level dealer and became the fall for king pin. Assange is the king pin. I doubt Assange will actually turn himself in but I'm willing to bet that something bigger is happening behind the scenes.