WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning 'faces punishment for prison suicide attempt' - Polidicks

[QUOTE] Chelsea Manning, the US soldier imprisoned for passing classified files to WikiLeaks, now stands accused of misconduct stemming [URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/06/chelsea-manning-reportedly-hospitalised-after-attempting-suicide/"]from her suicide attempt earlier this month[/URL] and could land in solitary confinement indefinitely, her lawyers said on Thursday. The [URL="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11801761/Chelsea-Manning-may-face-solitary-confinement-over-Caitlyn-Jenner-magazine.html"]transgender Army private[/URL], who was born male but revealed after being convicted of espionage that she identifies as a woman, was notified by the Army on Thursday that she was under investigation, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU, which has acknowledged a suicide attempt by Manning earlier this month, said the 28-year-old soldier remains despondent over what the civil liberties group describes as the Army's continued denial of appropriate health care for her. The ACLU denounced the latest disciplinary action as "unconscionable". "While Chelsea is suffering the darkest depression she has experienced since her arrest, the government is taking actions to punish her for that pain," ACLU staff lawyer Chase Strangio said. Pentagon and Army officials did not immediately reply to Reuters' requests for comment. A transcript of the Army notice of investigation, as dictated over the phone by Manning to one her supporters and posted online by the ACLU, makes no explicit mention of a failed suicide. But Manning was told the inquiry stemmed from her July 5 attempt to take her own life, which led to her being in hospital for 24 hours, Strangio said. The circumstances of the incident have not been disclosed, but the ACLU said it occurred in her cell and that she lost consciousness. Manning has since been returned to confinement at the Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where she remains in a medical observation unit, Strangio said. The notice lists three "administrative offences" for which Manning is under investigation: "resisting the force cell move team," "prohibited property," and "conduct which threatens." Manning has yet to respond to the charges, Strangio said. If convicted, she could face punishment that includes indefinite solitary confinement, reclassification into maximum security and an additional nine years in medium security, the ACLU said. Manning, a former intelligence analyst in Iraq, was sentenced in 2013 to 35 years in prison after a military court conviction of providing more than 700,000 documents, videos, diplomatic cables and battlefield accounts to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks. The case ranked as the biggest breach of classified materials in US history. Among the files Manning leaked in 2010 was a gunsight video of a US Apache helicopter firing on suspected Iraqi insurgents in 2007, an attack that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff. [/QUOTE] [URL]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/29/wikileaks-whistleblower-chelsea-manning-faces-punishment-for-pri/[/URL] Honestly this is really sad. Sad also the Civil Rights Act which granted protection to whistleblowers has been also harshly ignored. The future is so grim for America. This is what happening to our country, you're incriminated and treated like shit when you expose systematic corruption in the US.

Poor thing. Her life must be hell and it's only getting worse, because she did what she thought was right.

Damn. Poor guy. Makes me said to see them like this. [editline]29th July 2016[/editline] Why would you punish someone for trying to commit suicide? If anything that'll make them [i]more[/i] suicidal.

[QUOTE=ScoobyV2;50796171][URL]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/29/wikileaks-whistleblower-chelsea-manning-faces-punishment-for-pri/[/URL] Honestly this is really sad. Sad also the Civil Rights Act which granted protection to whistleblowers has been also harshly ignored. The future is so grim for America. This is what happening to our country, you're incriminated and treated like shit when you expose systematic corruption in the US.[/QUOTE] Do you even know anything about Manning's case? In what world do you think the whistle-blower act applies to Manning's reckless, illegal, and indiscriminate public leak of top secret government information? Are you confusing her with Snowden? Manning is not a hero. [editline]29th July 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=MaximLaHaxim;50796256]Damn. Poor guy. Makes me said to see them like this. [editline]29th July 2016[/editline] Why would you punish someone for trying to commit suicide? If anything that'll make them [i]more[/i] suicidal.[/QUOTE] Probably because she did some illegal stuff or appropriated items she shouldn't have during the carrying out of her suicide attempt.

[QUOTE=InvaderNouga;50796276]Do you even know anything about Manning's case? In what world do you think the whistle-blower act applies to Manning's reckless, illegal, and indiscriminate public leak of top secret government information? [editline]29th July 2016[/editline] Probably because she did some illegal stuff or appropriated items she shouldn't have during the carrying out of her suicide attempt.[/QUOTE] Punishing an unstable, suicidal person will do nothing more then fuck them up even harder than they already are, no matter the offence.

Isn't solitary confinement basically torture?

Let us just kick those suicide thoughts out of your head.

[QUOTE=Mudkipslol;50796307]Let us just kick those suicide thoughts out of your head.[/QUOTE] They'll prepare a room so she'll be all alone with her thoughts

Yeah! That'll show her for being depressed!

[QUOTE=jiggu;50796291]Isn't solitary confinement basically torture?[/QUOTE] being locked up in a room all by yourself with no outside contact? that depends on your definition of torture, but I would class it as mental torture.

That's fucked up.

[QUOTE=jiggu;50796291]Isn't solitary confinement basically torture?[/QUOTE] Yes. Isolation + abysmal living conditions will turn anyone into a lunatic.

[QUOTE=DeEz;50796371]Yes. Isolation + abysmal living conditions will turn anyone into a lunatic.[/QUOTE] I'm sure the conditions are no 'abysmal', its a prison so I doubt (and hope) its not luxury. But solitary would fuck with you more

[QUOTE=MaximLaHaxim;50796283]Punishing an unstable, suicidal person will do nothing more then fuck them up even harder than they already are, no matter the offence.[/QUOTE] you say that like that isn't the point in this instance

jesus christ, indefinite solitary confinement? She will never be the same when she gets released

[QUOTE=ScoobyV2;50796171]you're incriminated and treated like shit when you expose systematic corruption in the US.[/QUOTE] Have you actually read about what Manning did? I believe the Army's treatment of Manning is absolutely abhorrent and a disgrace to this country's support for LGBT rights, but I simultaneously recognize that what Manning did wasn't whistleblowing wrongful conduct, it was leaking as much classified info as she could get her hands on, including military deployments and other information that may have gotten US servicemen killed, without making any attempt whatsoever to follow the legally protected channels for whistleblowing. She deserves punishment- conducted humanely and in accordance with our laws, not being driven to suicide like a political prisoner in a third-world dungeon.

[QUOTE=catbarf;50796625]Have you actually read about what Manning did? I believe the Army's treatment of Manning is absolutely abhorrent and a disgrace to this country's support for LGBT rights, but I simultaneously recognize that what Manning did wasn't whistleblowing wrongful conduct, it was leaking as much classified info as she could get her hands on, including military deployments and other information that may have gotten US servicemen killed, without making any attempt whatsoever to follow the legally protected channels for whistleblowing. She deserves punishment- conducted humanely and in accordance with our laws, not being driven to suicide like a political prisoner in a third-world dungeon.[/QUOTE] -> [QUOTE=Mattk50;50664391]Manning *did* uncover something awful, and she thought it was awful enough to warrant putting out the whole blob fast. You clearly disagree that what she uncovered was worth putting out the rest of the information too. Personally i consider systematic disregard for human life to be a much bigger problem in the long run than immediate risk posed by other revealed documents. If anything, it's the fault of the nonfunctional whistleblowing system and the chain of command that intentionally punishes and silences people for doing whistleblowing "the right way", not mannings, that dangerous documents got released. She was literally backed into the corner, one corner being human decency and the other corner being potentially releasing too much. Because the people around her were proving too evil to handle it properly, she chose human decency. Yeah maybe you think im exagerating by calling the people who block whistleblowers evil but [B]maybe you'll change your mind when you read about what happened to [URL="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/22/how-pentagon-punished-nsa-whistleblowers"]people who did it "the right way"[/URL][/B].[/QUOTE]

While we're on the subject of people like Thomas Drake, has there actually been any legit whistleblowers that didn't get fucked over? I am actually curious.

[QUOTE=MaximLaHaxim;50796256]Why would you punish someone for trying to commit suicide? If anything that'll make them [i]more[/i] suicidal.[/QUOTE] With how bad mental health systems are in America, EVERYONE is punished for trying to commit suicide. Seriously, being in a mental hospital was one of the worst hells I've ever been through. The staff are unqualified idiots, the policies are retarded, and you can't do anything. It's essentially jail, no effort is made to actually help people.

[QUOTE=Complifusedv2;50796382]I'm sure the conditions are no 'abysmal', its a prison so I doubt (and hope) its not luxury. But solitary would fuck with you more[/QUOTE] [IMG]http://pravda-team.ru/eng/image/article/7/4/1/54741.png[/IMG]

Indefinite solitary confinement is my pretty much my idea of hell I can't imagine how some people that have been put in those cells for 30 years can cope.

[QUOTE=bitches;50796652]->[/QUOTE] Gonna echo JumpinJackFlash: [QUOTE=JumpinJackFlash;50667670]We agree on a lot of stuff and this isn't any different, Manning blew the whistle on something bad but that isn't the end of the information that was released. Whistleblowers in the past that history looks favorably on were more discreet, probably because they weren't in the middle of an emotional meltdown. Sure everyone has dirty laundry but when it's relevant and useful to assassinate somebody's character it's probably best to do everything possible to avoid becoming a tabloid figure. What else is Manning at this point? Yeah I really don't see how it has to be "either release nothing or release it all" since plenty of other people found a middle ground, I'm sure plenty of them found it equally as difficult to deal with their coworkers too. Personally I would have spent more time carefully going over the data precisely because I'd have human decency and a duty to do it right; there is [U]one[/U] chance when doing something like this. Part of whistleblowing is to get the public or the authorities to investigate a wrongdoing, when the authorities themselves are suspected of corruption the individual taking the initiative to uncover wrongdoing has to take every measure to be as professional as possible to appeal to the public. I think part of the mix of apathy and derision toward Snowden and others who came after Manning directly comes from the way the media handled that and the nature of the leak itself.[/QUOTE] I'd probably be a lot more sympathetic if the story was 'Manning tried to whistleblow the protected way, and failed, so had no choice but to go to the press'. I'd also be a lot more sympathetic if Manning only leaked documents relative to the wrongdoing she saw. But neither is how it went- the real story is that Manning took as many classified documents as she could get her hands on and sent them to Wikileaks without making any attempt to verify their contents or follow whistleblowing procedure. I don't deny that the whistleblowing system needs an overhaul, but putting the lives of your fellow countrymen at risk by exposing classified information to the public should be the last resort, not first course of action, and leaking all kinds of irrelevant information was unnecessary and unjustified.

[QUOTE=ScoobyV2;50796171][URL]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/07/29/wikileaks-whistleblower-chelsea-manning-faces-punishment-for-pri/[/URL] Honestly this is really sad. Sad also the Civil Rights Act which granted protection to whistleblowers has been also harshly ignored. The future is so grim for America. This is what happening to our country, you're incriminated and treated like shit when you expose systematic corruption in the US.[/QUOTE] You do realise that once you sign the dotted line and enlist in the military that you give up certain rights and freedoms right? I'm not talking about the ability to go home whenever or wear whatever you want, I'm referring to your rights listed on the bill of rights. Once you enlist you can pretty much say goodbye to all of your rights in a legal aspect, you are literally property of the US government and are legally bound to the UCMJ, not the constitution. Reguardless of what you think of the manning case, that is how things are for the military. Hell I almost got NJP'd (just below a Court Marshal) for getting severe sun burn , which equates to damage of government property.

lets put the suicidal person in indefinate solitary confinement that seems like a sane and logical decision.

[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;50796868]You do realise that once you sign the dotted line and enlist in the military that you give up certain rights and freedoms right? I'm not talking about the ability to go home whenever or wear whatever you want, I'm referring to your rights listed on the bill of rights. Once you enlist you can pretty much say goodbye to all of your rights in a legal aspect, you are literally property of the US government and are legally bound to the UCMJ, not the constitution. Reguardless of what you think of the manning case, that is how things are for the military. Hell I almost got NJP'd (just below a Court Marshal) for getting severe sun burn , which equates to damage of government property.[/QUOTE] that's just creepy being the law does not make it justice

[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;50796868]You do realise that once you sign the dotted line and enlist in the military that you give up certain rights and freedoms right? I'm not talking about the ability to go home whenever or wear whatever you want, I'm referring to your rights listed on the bill of rights. Once you enlist you can pretty much say goodbye to all of your rights in a legal aspect, you are literally property of the US government and are legally bound to the UCMJ, not the constitution. Reguardless of what you think of the manning case, that is how things are for the military. Hell I almost got NJP'd (just below a Court Marshal) for getting severe sun burn , which equates to damage of government property.[/QUOTE] This shit is both correct and [I][B][U]incredibly[/U][/B][/I] fucked up.

[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;50796868]Hell I almost got NJP'd (just below a Court Marshal) for getting severe sun burn , which equates to damage of government property.[/QUOTE] I thought we were told this as a joke.

[QUOTE=Raidyr;50797110]I thought we were told this as a joke.[/QUOTE] Yeah it was no joke, I got to sit in front of my 1stSgt and legal cheif and convince them I'd still be able to train to get off the hook. Most painful week of my life, but didn't get NJP'd.

[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;50797130]Yeah it was no joke, I got to sit in front of my 1stSgt and legal cheif and convince them I'd still be able to train to get off the hook. Most painful week of my life, but didn't get NJP'd.[/QUOTE] The fact that marines like you do one of the hardest jobs in the world, risking your life for your, fighting in wars some of you might not agree with but do so anyway because it's your job and service - and then for so many to come back and to be treated horribly while reintegrating into normal society is a disgrace. I'm not an American - but thank you for your sacrifice and your service.

[QUOTE=Raidyr;50797110]I thought we were told this as a joke.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=UncleJimmema;50797130]Yeah it was no joke, I got to sit in front of my 1stSgt and legal cheif and convince them I'd still be able to train to get off the hook. Most painful week of my life, but didn't get NJP'd.[/QUOTE] Which is the important contextual point. You can easily imagine that someone could 'maliciously' get sunburn, render themselves unfit for duty, and cash themselves out of the armed forces that way. It's not the military being ridiculous, it's them taking the steps needed to ensure that it's not an abused system.