Manning trial to set precedent on what "aid to the enemy" means.

[Doktor Howl]

Subject matter aside, this article makes me sad.

Pfc. Bradley Manning, the former Army intelligence officer who was branded both a whistle-blower and a traitor after he sent 700,000 secret government documents to WikiLeaks, was acquitted Tuesday of aiding the enemy but convicted of most other charges.

Private First Class is not an officer rank.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, where he has been hold up for more than a year to avoid extradition to Sweden, that Manning was a hero and that the case set a dangerous precedent.

"Holed", not "hold".  Who the fuck writes this stuff?

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger, D-Md., the chairman and ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, said that justice was served by Tuesday's verdict.

"PFC Manning harmed our national security, violated the public's trust, and now stands convicted of multiple serious crimes," they said in a joint statement. "There is still much work to be done to reduce the ability of criminals like Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden to harm our national security."

When "national security" means "doing whatever the fuck the government feels like doing, for any reason or no reason at all."

[Cain]

Of course, this is the same House Intelligence Committee who thinks the NSA is super-awesome, when they can actually agree on what specific lie they are peddling about it that day.  I would expect no less.

And, well, dictionaries are Old Media.

[Doktor Howl]

Of course, this is the same House Intelligence Committee who thinks the NSA is super-awesome, when they can actually agree on what specific lie they are peddling about it that day.  I would expect no less.

And, well, dictionaries are Old Media.

I expect illiteracy from the general public, ranging from "Texas" to "Semi-Literate", bottom to top.  I don't know why I expect anything more from staff writers.

And as for these yahoos, well, Harry S Truman is dead and gone.

[Cain]

Well, journalism school is expensive.  Way too expensive for journalists.

[Doktor Howl]

Well, journalism school is expensive.  Way too expensive for journalists.

What's funny is that Journalism degrees are mostly good for permanently unpaid interns.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

It is a good question though- who does write these things?

[Junkenstein]

I've actually pondered that for years.  To be honest if I pointed out every fuckup in any news story I post (Even BBC links) there's at least one typo per article usually.

There seems to be some kind of correlation between the availability of spell-checkers and the total lack of using them. Or the vast majority of articles are written by non-native speakers. That would make sense, we've outsourced most other things, why not reporting?

[Left]

I expect illiteracy from the general public, ranging from "Texas" to "Semi-Literate",

AR YEW IMPLINING I CAIN'T SPEL RAIGHT?

@ CPD...military culture...
I'm sure the military would have been happy to kill him for revealing  possibly illegal activities, and certainly unethical activities, of our current government...

*Mutters something about defending the constitution against enemies foreign and domestic*

[Doktor Howl]

I expect illiteracy from the general public, ranging from "Texas" to "Semi-Literate",

AR YEW IMPLINING I CAIN'T SPEL RAIGHT?

@ CPD...military culture...
I'm sure the military would have been happy to kill him for revealing  possibly illegal activities, and certainly unethical activities, of our current government...

*Mutters something about defending the constitution against enemies foreign and domestic*

Thing is, the military doesn't care.  It's a big stupid beast, with a rulebook for a brain.  There is no "happy" to do ANYTHING.  Just things get done.  Because.

[Don Coyote]

I expect illiteracy from the general public, ranging from "Texas" to "Semi-Literate",

AR YEW IMPLINING I CAIN'T SPEL RAIGHT?

@ CPD...military culture...
I'm sure the military would have been happy to kill him for revealing  possibly illegal activities, and certainly unethical activities, of our current government...

*Mutters something about defending the constitution against enemies foreign and domestic*

Thing is, the military doesn't care.  It's a big stupid beast, with a rulebook for a brain.  There is no "happy" to do ANYTHING.  Just things get done.  Because.

Yep. The military is a bureaucracy. it does what Policy and Rules tell it to do.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

Militaries (and prisons for that matter) are what sociologists call total institutions. They are designed to basically strip you of your previous identity(both also give you a serial number) and build a new you from the ground up. And that new you is supposed to be you for the rest of your life. They both literally give you a uniform and you are supposed to be that uniform. Matter of fact i have no doubt that is why dok specifically chose uniforms for his metaphor for a group identity that takes your individuality over. You can use the word label or ism or what have you. But honestly i cant think of a better metaphor. And i never would have thought of it myself.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I also just realized that the united states has given me- as either a citizen or otherwise legal resident- my own serial number.

Twid
Has a social security number

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I also just realized that the united states has given me- as either a citizen or otherwise legal resident- my own serial number.

Twid
Has a social security number

Did you just get one?

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/30/19771789-bradley-manning-verdict-could-test-notion-of-aiding-enemy

A far better outcome than I expected, honestly.

[Nephew Twiddleton]

I also just realized that the united states has given me- as either a citizen or otherwise legal resident- my own serial number.

Twid
Has a social security number

Did you just get one?

No, it's just that I remembered that I have one and that also counts as a form of serial number.