4 ms·

From http://change.gov/agenda/ethics_agenda/ http://change.gov/agenda/ethics_agenda/ "Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste,

From http://change.gov/agenda/ethics_agenda/ http://change.gov/agenda/ethics_agenda/ "Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance. Barack Obama will strengthen whistleblower laws to protect federal workers who expose waste, fraud, and abuse of authority in government. Obama will ensure that federal agencies expedite the process for reviewing whistleblower claims and whistleblowers have full access to courts and due process."

maukdaddy 16y ago
What he did is not even close to whistle blowing and you know it.
- patrickaljord 16y ago
  “EVERY attack now made on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange was made against me and the release of the Pentagon Papers at the time.” http://www.ellsberg.net/archive/public-accuracy-press-release http://www.ellsberg.net/archive/public-accuracy-press-releas...
  - jbooth 16y ago
    Whistleblowing would be if the things he was leaking about were illegal activities that need to be stopped. You could sort of make an argument about war crimes for some of the leaks but it'd be a huge stretch to call it whistleblowing when he dumps a bunch of mostly-innocent cables en masse. And I love wikileaks and what they're doing. But if you're the military here, you have to throw the book at the guy.
  - tzs 16y ago
    What does this have to do with what Manning (allegedly) did?
    - anthonyb 16y ago
      Did you even read the link? Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, having watched Iraqi police abuses, and having read of similar and worse incidents in official messages, reportedly concluded, “I was actively involved in something that I was completely against.” Rather than simply go with the flow, Manning wrote: “I want people to see the truth … because without information you cannot make informed decisions as a public,” adding that he hoped to provoke worldwide discussion, debates, and reform.
    - tzs 16y ago
      @anthonyb: no, I did not read the link. I assumed that the relevant part was the quote, and the link was just a citation to the source.
      - anthonyb 16y ago
        So go read it already.
  - tptacek 16y ago
    It means something thast Ellsburg supports Manning's actions, but it doesn't decide the question of whether he's a whistleblower (I don't think he remotely is either).
Joakal 16y ago
Unfortunately, he's being subjected to a military justice process with a different set of rules which is largely biased or inherently unfair against people the military doesn't like.
- philwelch 16y ago
  As I said in another comment, nearly every veteran I've discussed the matter with would rather be prosecuted under the UCMJ than the civilian justice system. The process is fair. It's also a rather simple matter of fact that what Bradley Manning did is, in fact, illegal. You might think it should be legal to leak classified information, but in that case your complaint isn't with the justice system at all, it's with the laws it is enforcing.
- acabal 16y ago
  You give up many of your civilian rights when joining the military and agree to be bound by the UCMJ, not civilian court. How can the UCMJ be biased against people the military doesn't like if it only applies to the military? I agree his detention is horrific, but he's bound by rules he agreed to, and rules which are probably not (I assume, and in general) that biased or "inherently unfair" when viewed from the perspective of the military--which is the perspective to which they solely apply.
  - Qz 16y ago
    See DADT for how the military can easily be biased against people it doesn't like while only applying to the military...
  - jbooth 16y ago
    Well, there is the matter of discretion. The collateral murder video put a lot of egg on a lot of people's faces and I bet some of those people were the one who declared him a "suicide risk" and put him in indefinite solitary.
  - vaksel 16y ago
    that always seemed weird to me. The constitution guarantees inalienable rights, yet apparently the government thinks that you can sign your rights away

maukdaddy 16y ago

What he did is not even close to whistle blowing and you know it.

patrickaljord 16y ago
“EVERY attack now made on WikiLeaks and Julian Assange was made against me and the release of the Pentagon Papers at the time.” http://www.ellsberg.net/archive/public-accuracy-press-release http://www.ellsberg.net/archive/public-accuracy-press-releas...
- jbooth 16y ago
  Whistleblowing would be if the things he was leaking about were illegal activities that need to be stopped. You could sort of make an argument about war crimes for some of the leaks but it'd be a huge stretch to call it whistleblowing when he dumps a bunch of mostly-innocent cables en masse. And I love wikileaks and what they're doing. But if you're the military here, you have to throw the book at the guy.
- tzs 16y ago
  What does this have to do with what Manning (allegedly) did?
  - anthonyb 16y ago
    Did you even read the link? Army Pvt. Bradley Manning, having watched Iraqi police abuses, and having read of similar and worse incidents in official messages, reportedly concluded, “I was actively involved in something that I was completely against.” Rather than simply go with the flow, Manning wrote: “I want people to see the truth … because without information you cannot make informed decisions as a public,” adding that he hoped to provoke worldwide discussion, debates, and reform.
  - tzs 16y ago
    @anthonyb: no, I did not read the link. I assumed that the relevant part was the quote, and the link was just a citation to the source.
    - anthonyb 16y ago
      So go read it already.
- tptacek 16y ago
  It means something thast Ellsburg supports Manning's actions, but it doesn't decide the question of whether he's a whistleblower (I don't think he remotely is either).

Joakal 16y ago

Unfortunately, he's being subjected to a military justice process with a different set of rules which is largely biased or inherently unfair against people the military doesn't like.

philwelch 16y ago
As I said in another comment, nearly every veteran I've discussed the matter with would rather be prosecuted under the UCMJ than the civilian justice system. The process is fair. It's also a rather simple matter of fact that what Bradley Manning did is, in fact, illegal. You might think it should be legal to leak classified information, but in that case your complaint isn't with the justice system at all, it's with the laws it is enforcing.
acabal 16y ago
You give up many of your civilian rights when joining the military and agree to be bound by the UCMJ, not civilian court. How can the UCMJ be biased against people the military doesn't like if it only applies to the military? I agree his detention is horrific, but he's bound by rules he agreed to, and rules which are probably not (I assume, and in general) that biased or "inherently unfair" when viewed from the perspective of the military--which is the perspective to which they solely apply.
- Qz 16y ago
  See DADT for how the military can easily be biased against people it doesn't like while only applying to the military...
- jbooth 16y ago
  Well, there is the matter of discretion. The collateral murder video put a lot of egg on a lot of people's faces and I bet some of those people were the one who declared him a "suicide risk" and put him in indefinite solitary.
- vaksel 16y ago
  that always seemed weird to me. The constitution guarantees inalienable rights, yet apparently the government thinks that you can sign your rights away