And that other pesky thing, like the fact that the permissible recipients of the documents, in this case, are either (1) the ones who generated the information, or (2) the people who approved of the policies referenced in the information.  I mean, what are the chances anyone's going to hear any whistles being blown?  It's the reason people were so offended by Obama's reporting that he "actually asked" the Pentagon if the procedures being used on Manning were appropriate, and was assured they were - what other answer did he expect to receive from the department responsible?

If I want to blow the whistle on a private company, I have a lot of options - and while I understand that perhaps the protocol in this case is driven by the nature of what might be revealed, you still have to acknowledge that we have been fighting an uphill battle, with little progress, for years now, trying to get someone, anyone, in these agencies and offices to tell us what the hell is going on.  No one wants to own up to having known about anything we've been doing - they've all shut down to protect their own asses.  We've been lied to over and over and over, up and down the line, so, how would you suggest we obtain any information that might shed some light on what our government is doing in our name?

Even if we agreed that Manning isn't a whistleblower - and I am sort of surprised how quick you are to declare that he is not, given that we still don't have all the facts - there still is no justification for the conditions under which he is being held.  None.  We don't protect people from harm - if that's their rationale - by subjecting them to harsh treatment.  We don't punish people before they have been tried and convicted - regardless of whether you agree or disagree or approve or not of whatever it is he is being accused of.

People are engaging in the same how-many-angels-can-dance-on-the-head-of-a-pin argument - again - about what is and isn't torture, what does and does not justify it, which pretty much just disgusts me.

If, as is alleged, Manning delivered a wealth of information to Wikileaks, which has been working on the analysis of that information with its media partners to give it context and understanding, it is generally agreed that the worst that has happened as a result of what has been released is the extreme embarrassment within various departments.

Manning is serving as an example to anyone who might be considering dropping a dime on the government - in spite of Obama's rhetoric that such people serve a valuable purpose and function within the government.

"There's no reason why, technologically, we can't employ nuclear energy in a safe and effective way," Obama said. "Japan does it..."

or, a bit of nostalgia:

"It turns out, by the way, that oil rigs today generally don't cause spills. They are technologically very advanced."

Although, the planet will survive.

When I read about our government pushing for "clean coal", my eyeballs spin in their sockets. When I read our government issuing assurances about the safety of offshore drilling, they do a similar turn.

To me, all of these modes represent thinking of the past. They evoke an era that has past.

Nuclear, to me, is not the future. It is the dregs of the nineteen-fifties.

The design of the plants in Japan were never safe. ABC news issued a story about an engineer and two of his colleagues who sounded the alarm at the time of their construction. But you can bet that GE did not widely disseminate this information. MARK 1 REACTOR.

There are technologies that are environmentally friendly that could solve our problems were we to invest in them heavily.
Wind is one. Solar is another. I have also heard about landfill being converted to energy in a safe manner.

But there might be, and probably are, other means that exist and could be found if we could but have the will to pursue them.

Comparing the number of deaths attributed to coal, oil or nuclear doesn't get us anywhere. Are we looking for something safe, or the least worst amongst these antiquated methods of producing energy?

It might not happen, and I hope with all my heart it doesn't, but we are on the threshold of witnessing the potential deaths of hundreds of thousands of people. If plutonium is released into the air, as it might be from the uncovered waste on the exposed roofs of these damaged plants, all hell will break loose. And not just in Japan. The wind has a way of blowing wherever it wants.

I, for one, do not accept the premise that I should be forced to choose amongst these disasters. The industries that promote them and the politicians they pay to be their spokespeople have no standing with me.

After WWII, civil defense routes and rules were part of our lives because of Oak Ridge.  (My dad helped build ORNL and my husband was a theoretical physicst.)  

I did my part for clean energy, I think, when I built this last house in 1999 on enough land to put in geo-thermal heat (and hot water to boot).  It still needs electricity to run the pump and blower.  Before then, we heated mainly with wood stoves supplemented with passive solar (never activated the asthma, but I know wood is not technically 'clean.')

Solar was 'out of favor' when I planned this house, and even our property is not big enough for a wind farm.  Maybe the current crop of physicists (theoretical or not) and engineers like my dad could get back to the drawing board?

One of the things revealed by WikiLeaks is Department of State pressure on Egypt, under Clinton, to end its indefinite detention under military law. Of all the cables revealing US hypocrisy in its diplomatic affairs, those are the cables that really demonstrate to me how we have lost our moral standing.

Here's a link to and the relevant portion of the cable:

(C) A/S Posner told his interlocutors that three pillars guide the Obama administration's human rights policy:  principled engagement with foreign countries in a spirit of friendship; universal standards for all countries, including the United States, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and the recognition that reform will come from internal, not external, actors.  A/S Posner noted that strong governments conduct an open dialogue with a variety of stakeholders, and partner with robust civil society organizations.  A/S Posner queried GOE officials on the Emergency Law's uses and prolonged detention without charge. He urged the GOE to replace the State of Emergency with a law specifically focused on counterterrorism.

I didn't realize the 'shelter in place' zone near the site is not a suggestion.... it is an order.  They are hostages.  There are no services, nor food and water going into the zone.  They have been written off.