11 ms·
I don't live in the US but when I read that kind of story or how Bradley Manning is treated (regardless of whether he's guilty or not), it really looks like the
by patrickaljord 16y ago
I don't live in the US but when I read that kind of story or how Bradley Manning is treated (regardless of whether he's guilty or not), it really looks like the US is acting like the worst kind of police state or despotism (where the despot would be a mixture of corporations and corrupt media/politicians).
- paulbaumgart 16y agoKeep in mind that the US is a very distributed system. You can have a local District Attorney who decides to pursue cases like this, but in the next jurisdiction over, you could very well have a DA who is an entirely reasonable person and would never allow something like this to happen. Eventually these things usually get sorted out in some higher court, but that can take years and can really mess up a person's life in the meantime. Especially if that person is poor, unfortunately.
- jrockway 16y agoWell, as long as some people aren't being abused, the system is fine and in no need of repair.
- mscarborough 16y agoNot the point he was trying to make. There are plenty of flaws, but there are different avenues available other than what the GP mentioned.
- 3pt14159 16y agoThis is why a government of law is far, far better than a government of men.
- pyre 16y agoThe way that Bradley Manning is being treated doesn't surprise me too much. He is suspected of "leaking classified information," so it would make sense to keep him in solitary confinement from a government/military bureaucrat's point of view. If they don't segregate him, he might leak more secrets to other people. The other stuff (no mattress or pillow) just seems like pettiness on the part of the people in power that were embarrassed.
- jrockway 16y agoAnyone can be suspected of anything. Let's have a trial, a real trial, and then worry about punishment after he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. (And by real trial, I mean a jury of Americans, not some bullshit military tribunal. Yeah, yeah, he signed some papers that said he can't have a real trial. Fuck that. This is America, not Saudi Arabia.)
- pyre 16y agoAs philwelch stated, you give up a bunch of rights to join the military. "Fuck that. This is America." is a 'bunch of bullshit' on your part. Even the Constitution itself states that you give up rights when you join the military. Don't invoke the Founding Fathers only when it's convenient.
- philwelch 16y agoManning is a soldier charged with violating the UCMJ, and should be court-martialed like any other soldier charged with violation of military law. (This is distinct from the "military tribunals" established for "enemy combatants" during the Bush administration.) The duties and obligations of a soldier don't change just because he's become a cause celebre on the internet in the course of allegedly violating his duties. Interestingly, nearly every service member I've heard discuss the subject would prefer to be tried by a court-martial than by a civilian court.