Great Wiki Leaks info
Fri, 12/10/2010 - 7:10pm
I'm distracted today in my tour-booking by getting immersed in reading about Wiki Leaks, learning about that Julian Assange guy, and learning about the 22 yr old kid Manning who allegedly was responsible for leaking a lot of daming US military information to the public vis WIki Leaks. All of this is blowing my mind!
Manning has now been arrested, and a correspondent on Fox has even declared he should be executed (typical). This military kid Manning has a fascinating story, he's young and gay and upset at the army's don't-ask-don't-tell policy, and felt abused/ignored by his superiors, in addition to feeling outraged at the abuses he regularly saw the army engaged in in Iraq... so he got revenge by exposing some of the abuses detailed in these secret files, which he had access to because everybody ignored him - it's almost exactly like Jason Woodrue in Swamp Thing # 21, (the famous "Anatomy Lesson" issue, Moore's first), secretly taking control of Sunderland's computer system!
After doing this, Manning felt so isolated he turned to email chatting with one guy he thought he could trust, an infamous former hacker... the hacker however was working for the FBI or something and ratted Manning out, thus Manning's arrest. There's a transcript of the actual cyber chat conversations between Manning and this hacker-turned-informant, it is really touching and amazing stuff... Manning saying exactly what he did and why, while the hacker strings him along before ratting him out. Check it out if you have the time and inclination (or just pass it on to someone else who might) -
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/06/wikileaks-chat/
Sat, 12/11/2010 - 12:42pm
#2
I always find the comments setions...
to be incredibly interesting. Sometimes more interesting than the actual bodies of the articles.
One thing that strikes me, no one seems to pay heed to the fact that, if you come across wrongdoing, it is your duty to do something about it. To put it another way, the allied powers actively and aggressively prosecuted rank and file German soldiers for war crimes in WWII. Their defense, that they were just following orders, was deemed to be insufficient.
So, what do people expect from our servicemen and women? It seems that a slavish adherence to orders is expected, even if it forces them to commit or be complicit in illegal acts. Needless to say, I don't think that is the best idea.
Thanks for the link Jeff!
Sat, 12/11/2010 - 1:59pm
#3
Wow
I knew of the chat logs, but hadn't read them before. Really interesting, although quite difficult to read in places.
Sat, 12/11/2010 - 11:50pm
#4
More calls for execution
Here's another Fox news bit, Republican Congressman calling for Manning to be executed for the Wiki Leaks -
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/08/03/congressman-calls-execution-w...
Sun, 12/12/2010 - 11:39am
#5
Not to be picky, but I think
Not to be picky, but I think this issue in particular demonstrates that even using "Republican" or "Democrat" as a descriptive risks misdirecting the focus. Lieberman is causing the most actual damage at the moment.
Sun, 12/12/2010 - 11:59am
#6
That's a good point
I think we should kick him out of the party. That guy is a serious bummer.
Sun, 12/12/2010 - 12:27pm
#7
It makes you wonder: it seems
It makes you wonder: it seems obvious that 9/11 was initially planned during Clinton's era (they had already bombed WTC once). Bush may or may not have been the reason we invaded Iraq (meaning that perhaps Gore--or any prez from those two parties--would have). But 9/11 would have went down regardless and Lieberman would have been the VP. Something tells me that he would have been a huge problem even if the 2000 elections had gone differently. He would have been Gore's Cheney. The guy really upsets me.
Sun, 12/12/2010 - 6:00pm
#8
Agreed
The guy is a borderline Orthodox in democrats clothing with a definite agenda. Comparing him to Cheney is a bit extreme in my opinion. That dude is friggin monster!
I also found this link to be very helpful in sorting through the US Embassy cables: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2010/nov/28/us-embassy-cable...
"Here to do great things."