Bradley Manning is acquitted of the most serious charges and thus won't be sentenced to life without possibility of parole. Eric Holder has promised that Edward Snowden will not get the death penalty. I think both of these decisions are reasonable. I don't think that these two guys intended to be traitors and deserve a second chance. I do think that they deserve some punishment. How much? I am not sure. One thing I am sure is that these two guys are not heroes as painted by their supporters. Manning was a soldier. When you are a soldier you cannot unilaterally decide to go against your country even if you believe that it acted irresponsibly. In Snowden's case, his supporters say that what he did was civil disobidience. This brings to mind someone who goes against the government but is willing to go to jail to prove his point. Well, Snowden tried to escape. And he escaped to China and Russia. And he is trying to get asylum to places like Venezuela and Bolivia. Not exactly the bastions of freedom! So to me these two are not heroes by any means.
Snowden revealed that the U.S. spies on other countries! That caused a ruckus in Europe against the U.S. for a few days. Obama came out and said all nations spy. He is right. I would not want my country to not spy on other countries. This is not an ideal world and if we are going to survive we have to protect ourselves. I hope we act more responsibly and more fairly than other nations. But I would be upset if my country is not doing what every other country is doing. Notice there was very muted response from other governments over this revelation. Even China and Russia had very little to say. I guess you don't throw stones if you live in a glass house!
Young guys like Snowden and Manning can be more easily manipulated by bad guys than older folks who have more experience in the world. Unfortunately in cyber wars we depend on young guys who are way more technologically advance that old folks like me. Right now there are young men in China on computers battling with our young guys over the internet. In a free society it is very difficult to keep our young guys in line. But we have an advantage that in a country like China where it is more difficult to take secrets out of the country, the restrictions and monitoring also stiffen the creativity of the young hackers. So in a sense the two systems may be on trial in this battle over cyber space.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
3 comments:
Use the following html code to make a clickable link in your comment (instructions in the sidebar). You can test the link by previewing your comment.
<a href="http://angryyellowman.blogspot.com">Angry Yellow Man</a>
The above example will display as Angry Yellow Man
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Manning deserved what he got. As a soldier, you take an oath to protect this country. When you hand over documents and leak them for all to see, that's treason.
ReplyDeleteWhat Snowden did is similar to what Manning did. As a citizen, I think we are responsible for all actions for and against country. So when you leak documents to other nations, that to me, is treason. If you don't believe in what the country is doing, that is fine, but I can guarantee you that this country is doing what every other nation is doing.
So like I said before, if Snowden wants to live in Russia or China, let him. Maybe then he'll realize how good he had it in the United States.
I don't get the people who call Snowden a hero. Do people really think that this government doesn't spy on other countries or even its own people?
I am sort of surprised you didn't bring up Weiner. I personally think that Weiner should pull out. What do you think?
I actually think that the story here is his wife and her relationship with the Clintons. She probably should have distanced herself from Weiner when the news came out. I don't know if Hilary will use her when she runs for president.
-LBOAYM
Are you trying to be funny? I think pulling it out was Weiner's problem to begin with!
ReplyDeleteWeiner and his wife could have been a great example for America. A Jew marrying a Muslim and both being in big time politics would have been a great American story. Now not only he is a laughing stock but he has pulled her down as well.
If Hilary still has the stomach to run, I think she can overcome the Weiner problem. The only Republican who has a chance against her would be Christie. But Christie is already getting hit by Rand Paul. The Republican nomination will be a bloody battle. Christie will have to lean right to get the nomination although I think he can do better than Romney did. But unless the conservatives drop out early, Christie will be bloodied by the time he faces Clinton. So I think Hilary still has the edge even if Weiner stays in the news longer.
The NY mayoral race is nothing to laugh about. Weiner faces stiff competition and for him to be caught with his pants down again is a bone headed decision. For the news to come out just weeks before the primary erection is horrible news!
ReplyDeleteNow he has to stimulate and pump up his supporters and go ball out. I don't know if it can be done and if I were one of his supporters, I would definitely tell him to pull out and try to reserect his career at a later time!
As far as the GOP goes, do you think that the party has gone that far to the right that they would pick a Libertarian to be the nominee? If so, they are out of their minds. There is no chance for Paul to win, unless the Democrats trot out Kerry or Biden. Then it's a toss up.
I actually like what I've been hearing from Christie recently. He sure sounds like he is walking that line and staying pretty moderate.
It will be an interesting couple of years for sure. Who knows, maybe some other candidates will pop up. I can see Rubio running this time around. Do you think Huntsman will try again?
-LBOAYM