Saturday, June 3, 2017

At Least Partially O/T: Has It Been Four Years... Already?


Exactly four years ago this morning, the espionage trial of (then Edward, now) Chelsea Manning began with opening arguments. By July of 2013, Sfc. Manning was convicted by court-martial of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly three-quarters of a million classified, or unclassified but sensitive, military and diplomatic documents.

Per WikiPedia, then -- a bit:

. . . .Reaction to Manning's disclosures, arrest, and sentence was mixed. Denver Nicks, one of Manning's biographers, writes that the leaked material, particularly the diplomatic cables, was widely seen as a catalyst for the Arab Spring that began in December 2010, and that Manning was viewed as both a 21st-century Tiananmen Square Tank Man -- and, as an embittered traitor [by many others]. . . .


The case, and Mr. Obama's commutation of her sentence -- raise morally complex, and nuanced issues -- and serve, at least for me, to remind that if one decides to look with clear, open eyes at any series of events -- especially with the benefit of hindsight, one may come to a less knee-jerk, black and white (parochially but falsely moralistic) conclusion.

It doesn't seem that four years have passed -- but they have. Now, to bend this back "on topic," do go read up on all that's happening in immuno-oncology at ASCO this weekend. I'm out -- for a day, and night -- of good fun now. [See last night's concluding 'graph.]

नमस्ते

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