At dawn today, Army personnel at Ft. Meade inspected the vehicles of reporters who arrived to cover the Wikileaks trial. One of the vehicles was @wikileakstruck. Yochai Benkler testifying on July 10 in the Bradley Manning court martial. Sketch by Clark Stoeckley (@wikileakstruck).I traveled to Ft. Meade, Maryland today to observe the trial of Army… READ THE REST
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Thank you for being there, for those of us who can’t.
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Thanks for reading!
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So thrilled that you are there. What a great experience it must be. I bet it’s tough not to yell out at times.
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Lesson from today’s edition of the Manning trial: if you are an attorney, never, ever try to out-intellect Prof. Yochai Benkler in court.
The brightest people are often on the right side in cases like this.
On the other side, not so much…
Thank you for your service to your country (and the world, for that matter), Xeni.
Just in case anyone’s not filled in on previous events related to the trial, Manning will not be testifying, but he did give an extensive, exhaustively detailed deposition. The full audio and transcripts of that deposition are available in various forms online.
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Great reporting. I have a couple questions. Was there any discernible bias in the courtroom? Did the judge seem impartial? Did the tenor have a “we-military-are-insiders, the rest of you are outsiders” feel? Can you characterize it a little more, describe the scene as you saw it? Thanks! Great stuff.
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To me, the Bradley Mannings and Edward Snowdens of the world are the heroes. And with the extreme media out there it’s hard to tell what side the world falls on - but I know I only want to be on the side that thinks for itself. Too many outlets are calling for the crucifixion of these people that only stood up and said “this is illegal/immoral!” In typical US govt fashion, they get destroyed for blowing the whistle. To me, these two guys are the tip of the iceberg. If everyone spoke up when they saw immoral and illegal government activity, we’d be better off. Also, congrats to BB for being one of the few outlets to tell the story from the side of the accused…these guys’ story gets bowled over by hyper-patriotic/nationalist news networks.
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furious masturbatory flag waving ensues
Yeah it’s good that a dedicated journalist covers the trial for us but can we cut the smarmy patriotism?
After reading about 90 pages of the transcript, the judge appears impartial, perhaps even a little sympathetic.
The government’s mouthpieces seem quite incoherent, which is fitting.
Cautiously optimistic.
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Not all patriotism is smarmy, and this wasn’t.
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If Manning is found innocent the cable news and talk radio shows are going to go apoplectic. I would be such a reversal of their party line that their heads would explode.
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People doing their job is patriotic? Probably heroic too, eh? USA - Where everyone is a patriotic hero: policemen - heroes, firefighters - heroes, soldiers - heroes, journalists - heroes…
Up next: Taking your trash out - patriotic hero.
This overly enthusiastic patriotism got you in this mess. It made you complacent. Before Snowden everyone thought that those NSA guys can’t do nothing wrong - they’re working for America, fighting off the evil brown terrorists - true american heroes! ???
Taking your trash out - patriotic hero.
Your bitterness is showing, FFabian. I show appreciation for people that do things I respect and so does Spock. Do you feel left out? Do you need a hug? Are you ok, FFabian? If you want a pat on your back, then let me know.
This overly enthusiastic patriotism got you in this mess. It made you complacent.
Have you ever met @wrybread or something like that? I mean, I’m not saying you’re being a presumptuous ass or anything, but maybe you should know who’re talking to before making such wild assumptions about people?
First you object to what you call “smarmy patriotism”, then you turn your spite towards “enthusiastic patriotism”. Are you angry and confused, FFabian? It would certainly appear so.
How about this? Lighten up and float away.
I do too - without the smarmy patriotism.
The rest:
and
“Physician, heal thyself” (probably more likely a psychiatrist)
This whole goofy kerfuffle reminds me of a story: a canvaser for Obama knocked on a door, and the occupant said “I’m Republican! Can’t you see the flag in my yard???”
The point is that there’s a lot of robotic patriotism out there, but that’s not a good reason to condemn all forms of it. And furthermore, patriotism shouldn’t be entirely ceded to the crazy right wingers of the world, even though they often try really really hard to brand themselves as such.
And its certainly not a reason to condemn others for pointing out true patriotism where it exists, but I think @Cowicide nicely rebutted you there.
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I do I do!
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I do too - without the smarmy patriotism.
Don’t forget “overly enthusiastic patriotism”, you hate that too.
Me too! Can’t we all get along? I pat your back, you pat mine?
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