as for Manning’s “...stealing and releasing protected info…” - something needs be cleared up:

he got access to nothing he wasn’t supposed to and may have finally realized how he was played and that’s what those running the OP do not want, from his lips, the media to hear

PBS and its detractors are all doing good ‘unwitting’ service in keeping the Wiki- psy-op spinning, as it it will certainly continue to be used to ‘leak’ whatever need be ‘leaked’ and ‘believed’ in order to manipulate geopolitics…. by whom? the hegemons, of course, the only ones interested in doing so

RayLan,

1. According to RICO laws you have no rights to privacy when you break certain laws. 

2. According to several people here all I need is an opinion that you’re immoral, unjust, or, to put it simply, just plain stupid. 

3. I have a suspicion that you are doing things you aught not be doing.  I passionately and strenuously believe you need to be looked at closely in order to determine if you’re lying or harmful to others.  Therefor you have no rights of privacy.  In fact, according to some here, I have an obligation to make certain demands on you.

Now be sure to post your SSN, DOB, home address, credit card numbers (with security code) all scrn names and your last 1000 E-Mails.

GRYM
“No.  You confuse protected government information with an unrealistic notion of transparency.
“
Yup. The notion of transparency in this corrupt government is unrealistic. It has a lot to hide, none of which compromises our security - but does expose the lies and crimes.
It isn’t analogous to social security numbers. The government is not an individual and when it acts like one, it’s become a totalitarian dictatorship.

mackTN, - “You confuse personal privacy with governmental transparency issues.”

-

No.  You confuse protected government information with an unrealistic notion of transparency.

Are you prepared to argue that pfc. Manning read each of the 250,000 State Dept. cables he allegedly released and determined all were fit for public consumption? 

I am against nuclear weapons.  Which is not to suggest that I believe U.S. nuclear launch codes should be “public information”.

In a country where civil rights have rapidly eroded(see Patriot Act) for civilian citizens, it isn’t surprising that a member of the military would be deprived of his day in court. The attempt to attack Manning’s character and psychology departs from proper standards of journalism. Reason and reality are always the first casualties of immoral wars like the aggression on Iraq. It is cognitive dissonance on a national scale. Unfortunately a vulnerable young man like Bradley, who has being gay to add to those vulnerabilites is snack food to the military-corporate monster. What’s a public broadcast channel to do? This David fought a Goliath, that only the complete uncensored truth can bring down. I applaud Wikileaks. Blind patriotism and the denial of national crimes be damned.

Sorry, GRYM:  The “information” in the cable releases is not “private.”  The question involved is whether and to what degree governments have a “right” to spend trillions of our money—yes, ours—on wars based on secrecy, bribes, profits from arms sales, personal vendettas, deceit, injustice, “great games” and petty exchanges of character assassination—all labeled “diplomacy” or “negotiations.” and “classified” to prevent the charade being discovered.

A wise government would take advantage of the release as an opportunity to self-correct (the one outstanding advantage of democracies being the ability to self-correct). But no.  Our government is so frightened by its own people finding out the truth that they lash out automatically to kill the messengers instead of heeding the message.

Also, personalizing this issue, pilloring “villains” etc. takes people’s attention away from the basic issue of public information and the people’s right to know how their government is operating. Focusing on “villains” scares people, and by over-simplification hides other things going on behind the curtain that people need to understand and participate in changing—such as?  Public health care, global warming, pollution, nuclear proliferation, depending on endless wars for profits, top-heavy imbalance of economic and political power, widespread public ignorance, etc. etc.

Not that other countries don’t have problems.  But these are our problems, not theirs, and we are the only people who can and should do something to improve matters. The first step is in trying to understand what is going on, and why.

@go right

” believe you are wrong in some of your opinions.  Please post your SSN, DOB,
Credit Card Numbers, Home Address and your last 1000 E-Mails.  We all have a
right to know if you are breaking any laws or hurting people.”

You confuse personal privacy with governmental transparency issues.  BTW,
with the extension of the Patriot Act, the govt already has taken the right to
know everything about you, to background check you, to retrieve all your
financial records.  Posting the information would be redundant.

Ask yourself, at what point would you disclose a wrongdoing?  Would you have
leaked the wrongdoing at Abu Gharaib(?).  Would you have reported the My Lai
massacre?  Coverups are often classified.

diamond,

I believe governments classify FAR TOO MUCH information.  But then that’s not the point.

You display a great many passionate opinions.  None of which allows Bradley Manning to break the law, while in uniform, while on the battle field, while handling protected material and information, while he may or may not agree with some or all of your opinions.

You claim you are driven to vomit.  You also claim that any U.S. soldier has the right, even an obligation, to release protected material when he or she agrees with your view of events.  For this reason I note a reality in my last post.  You are amongst the miniscule minority.

-

I believe you are wrong in some of your opinions.  Please post your SSN, DOB, Credit Card Numbers, Home Address and your last 1000 E-Mails.  We all have a right to know if you are breaking any laws or hurting people.

“On this and other Web spaces it seems universally understood that Manning is guilty of stealing and releasing protected information.”

And why was this information ‘protected’? Because it showed the US military behaving like serial killers in Iraq, brutally and recklessly gunning down unarmed civilians, including a Reuters journalist and two children in a civilian vehicle. What it showed was the truth about US behaviour in Iraq and THAT must never be allowed. The truth about that horror show must never be told let alone plastered all over the internet.

You are trying to pretend that Manning’s actions in releasing information (if he even did it) to the public which they have a right to know is on a par with the murderous and illegal behaviour of the monsters calmly and coldly saying from somewhere far away , ‘Light ‘em up. Light ‘em up’ as if they were barbequing chickens on a spit and not shooting living human beings to bits. People like you who defend these mongrel dogs make me want to vomit. If the American public knew the full truth about what its forces have done to civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan they would close those two wars down and that is why the information (the truth) is ‘protected’ - to protect the guilty and to protect two disgraceful, futile and immoral wars.

It’s PBS for crying-out-loud! What did anybody expect?

The central question here is how much secrecy should we allow a democratic
govt to have?  Most of those diplomatic cables were bs—gossip or descriptions
of how diplomats shill for corporations in foreign countries. 

How can we ever make a well thought out decision on an issue if we don’t have
enough information about it? 

Secrecy defeats democracy and makes a real world one of illusions, smoke &
mirrors.

This first part of the Frontline profile of Manning focused way too much on his
homosexuality.  I’d expect this kind of profile for the Boston Strangler or some
other mass murderer, not an alleged whistleblower.  Whistleblowers, however,
are usually degraded in the same way rape victims are because both must be
discredited.  I would hope Frontline is not doing the USG’s job of tearing down
the accused.

On this and other Web spaces it seems universally understood that Manning is guilty of stealing and releasing protected information.

While it’s understandable that a small minority will see the young man as a hero, if he is as guilty as most here assume his actions are, at best, a first degree felony.  As an active soldier deployed in the battlefield Manning’s actions are, quite possibly, treasonous.

The Frontline piece is obviously prejudicial, and in too many ways to go into in a brief comment.

Clearly, the government (along with milllions of citizens who don’t know what’s at stake here) are all out to get “freedom of information.” 

But then comes hackers themselves, targeting the very thing they should defend—you got it—“freedom of the press.” Looks like the information (and disinformation) war is on, and those of us who want to keep the internet alive and well had better gear up to defend Assange and Manning bigtime on the basis of forcing power to speak the truth, for a change.

This “game” is not for marbles.

GFYS,

Over the last thirty years I have been opposed to the death penalty with the exception of treason.

If Manning is found guilty he should be promptly executed.

The entire house and senate would be placed up against the wall and shot for what secrets Israel has been given from them.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110524006801/en/6.64-Billion-Damages-Sought-Israeli-Government-AIPAC

Lets go after the trolls who pimp for Israel next.

Right O.K.
He was on the rebound like damaged goods. It makes perfect sense if you think about it. I knew a guy who gave all of his nuclear secrets to Russia because he saw his parents naked as a child.

Always breast feed your children ladies. It’s a matter of national security.

Over the last thirty years I have been opposed to the death penalty with the exception of treason.

If Manning is found guilty he should be promptly executed.

If anyones interested Wikileaks posted the full interview witch you can watch @
http://pulsemedia.org/2011/05/25/wikisecrets-julian-assange-full-interview-
footage/
The reason is obvious from the oboe story, but as the fallowing quote says it was
hardly a surprise… “Wikileaks has released the full video of Martin Smith’s
interview with Julian Assange because it predicted that the film would distort
reality” end quote.