Chelsea Manning On Life Before & After WikiLeaks

Chelsea Manning

You be the judge on this being a "Success Story"? Hero or traitor?

NPR: The former military analyst has been called both a whistleblower hero and a traitor for leaking classified information about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In a new memoir, READ ME.txt, she talks about why she did it. We also talk about her childhood and gender dysphoria, her time in Iraq, and her experience in solitary confinement.

Listen to the 45 minute "Fresh Air" interview

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Chelsea Manning New Book

Background from Amazon: While working as an intelligence analyst in Iraq for the United States Army in 2010, Chelsea Manning disclosed more than seven hundred thousand classified military and diplomatic records that she had smuggled out of the country on the memory card of her digital camera. In 2011 she was charged with twenty-two counts related to the unauthorized possession and distribution of classified military records. [Is Trump guilty of same?] In 2013 she was sentenced to thirty-five years in military prison. 

The day after her conviction, Manning declared her gender identity as a woman and began to transition, seeking hormones through the federal court system. In 2017, President Barack Obama commuted her sentence and she was released from prison.

In README.txt, Manning recounts how her pleas for increased institutional transparency and government accountability took place alongside a fight to defend her rights as a trans woman.

Manning details the challenges of her childhood and adolescence as a naive, computer-savvy kid, what drew her to the military, and the fierce pride she has about the work she does. This powerful, observant memoir will stand as one of the definitive testaments of our digital, information-driven age.

Queer Delusion 1889

 

My Note: I purchase this whole 1889 "Richmond Virginia Weekly Dispatch" on EBay a few years back. It was described as having a Queer Delusion Story.  Yes it did. On page 6 of the January 25, edition was this story below. It is my conclusion "Queer" in that time period just meant unusual; not today's vernacular.

There is much to note here.  First, it is so well preserved, and yes the paper was completely yellowed, almost brown. However, the type was readable after some scanning/editing magic. Which brings me to question, why it was saved for all these years?  Second, it was just reported as a regular news story. I know that reading it is not easy because we are all accustomed to today's concise reporting. Third and most remarkable, this story is over 133 years old!  Enjoy.  

One other personal note: My father's family are from the Eastern Shore of Virginia, several generation back. More than once while growing up I would hear "weird" thrown around when describing Eastern Shore inhabitants. Maybe this story was the genesis?   

FYI -  The sheet size is 20" by 28"