dagblog - Comments for "The travails of Pfc Bradely Manning "

"Before, or after, getting

wws — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 20:27:19 +0000

"Before, or after, getting his mind 'right'?"

Good question. One would think that a young soldier would be encouraged to exercise as much as he wants to, to keep his mind and his body fit -- a far more tried and true health regimen that pumping him full of volatile drugs. Unless, of course, the right mind they have in mind has nothing to do with fitness, but rather, fits the cynical standard -- an inside joke beloved by those who work at the NYT -- of "all the news that's fit to print".... as in what fits the format.

Hey, Wally!Pretty transparent

SleepinJeezus — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 20:09:17 +0000

In reply to Are you guys nuckin futz?

Hey, Wally!

Pretty transparent effort here to avoid discussing the indefensible conditions under which Manning is presently being held by thumping your chest and bellowing a strawman argument.

Purposefully depriving a prisoner of any exercise is only one such condition that cannot be reasonably defended for ANY prisoner under ANY circumstance. It is established that the conditions - as described - are deliberately torturous, and all your cute indignation about Eve St. Laurent bed linens, etc., cannot disguise the facts here.

I expect these kinds of arguments from the Roger Ailes' and the Dick Armeys of the world. But I gotta tell you, they aren't welcome here.

Are you guys nuckin futz?

Hey Wally — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 19:51:19 +0000

In reply to "Sources say that the

Are you guys nuckin futz? Jails don't issue sheets or pillows for two simple reasons that have nothing to do with torture: the potential for suicide by hanging or asphyxiation and the expense of maintaining laundry facilities for the incarcerated. Jails are not Hiltons where the maids routinely fluff up the Eve St. Laurent pillows and change the Egyptian-cotton sheets daily.

Thaks, I see that now.

A Guy Called LULU — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 18:31:41 +0000

In reply to I just meant those who might

Thaks, I see that now.

I just meant those who might

artappraiser — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 18:29:14 +0000

In reply to "Wow.Any doubters should

I just meant those who might doubt the antiwar.com source.on the story.

"Wow.Any doubters should

A Guy Called LULU — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 18:10:14 +0000

In reply to Wow.Any doubters should

"Wow.
Any doubters should follow through to the link to the original story at The Independent."

Doubters of what? I do not know what you mean by that statement nor what you think we should take from your quote below.

"American officials view persuading Pte Manning to give evidence that Mr Assange encouraged him to disseminate classified Pentagon and State Department files as crucial to any prospect of extraditing him for a successful prosecution. To facilitate that, Pte Manning may be moved from military to civilian custody, they say."

I added bolding as part of my speculative take on it. Private 1st Class Manning has been shown for seven months that the government can make life very miserable for him. They have no doubt already tried to get testimony from him. Heat is being put on them as knowledge of their treatment of Manning is starting to make news. Time is of the essence.
So, time for a new tactic that plays off the old one. Lighten up, show him how much better things can be if he gets a few years of incarceration under humane conditions rather than the fifty years in the hole that he can expect if he continues to be uncooperative. Send in the good cop. Use the smart interrogation methods we heard about during the discussions about waterboarding.

The U.S wants Assange badly and and officials have stated that to facilitate getting him with any pretense of legality it is crucial that they persuade Manning to testify along specific lines.

I think it is clear that they will do anything to or with Manning that they can get away with to facilitate accomplishing their greater purpose.

Moved? From military to

SleepinJeezus — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 18:03:30 +0000

In reply to Wow.Any doubters should

Moved? From military to civilian custody?

The obvious question is: Will that be before or after they "get his mind right?"

My country tis of

we are stardust — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:26:59 +0000

In reply to Makes you want to just jump

My country tis of thee...sweet land of Liberty. Makes me cry. Couldn't post the Aretha version.

Wow.Any doubters should

artappraiser — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:22:36 +0000

In reply to http://news.antiwar.com/2010/

Wow.

Any doubters should follow through to the link to the original story at The Independent.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/freed-on-bail-ndash-but...

Kim Sengupta and David Osborne are quite experienced reporters on the international beat and The Independent is pretty centrist overall, so it's not like this info. has slant from antiwar.com.

This is particularly interesting and unsual:

American officials view persuading Pte Manning to give evidence that Mr Assange encouraged him to disseminate classified Pentagon and State Department files as crucial to any prospect of extraditing him for a successful prosecution. To facilitate that, Pte Manning may be moved from military to civilian custody, they say.

Some gams on 'em, yeah?

we are stardust — Sat, 18 Dec 2010 17:19:43 +0000

In reply to I love the choreography.

Some gams on 'em, yeah?