Trial Begins for Wikileaks Soldier Bradley Manning: VIDEO

Wikileaks soldier Bradley Manning's trial began today, three years after his arrest in May 2010.

Mashable, in an "everything you need to know" piece about the Manning trial, spoke with Elizabeth Goitein, the co-director of the New York University School of Law Brennan Center for Justice about Manning's best hope and what will likely happen:

Even though the defense can't technically argue that his actions were motivated by noble intentions, Goitein says, it may be a bit more complicated in practice to "disentangle his subjective motive from what he should have thought or believed." This may be Manning's best hope.

"He does not appear to have intended in any way to harm the U.S. or to give an advantage to a foreign nation," Goitein continues. "The fact that he didn't intend this result may be hard to tease apart from whether he objectively should have believed that that result would occur."

Despite his partial guilty plea, the outcome of the case is still very open-ended. Manning pleaded guilty to 10 charges, which collectively could carry a 20-year prison sentence, but the judge may issue a lesser sentence. The prosecution, meanwhile, is still asking a life sentence for the "aiding the enemy" charge.

Manning also still has the option of entering a plea deal with the government to get a lesser conviction. So far, however, the defense hasn't indicated that this is a possibility.

David Coombs issued a brief statement on his website Sunday thanking supporters:

On behalf of both myself and PFC Manning, I would like to thank everyone for their continued support over the last three years.  I especially appreciate the the tireless fundraising and awareness efforts of Courage to Resist and the Bradley Manning Support Network.  Finally, a special thank you to those journalists who have been reporting on PFC Manning since the beginning and who have brought worldwide attention to this important case.

Watch a Euronews report on the start of the trial, AFTER THE JUMP...

Famous Gay Marine Pops the Question: Video

Brandon Morgan, the marine whose homecoming put the internet in a tizzy early last year, popped the question to his boyfriend. 

Watch his boyfriend's response AFTER THE JUMP...

Marine Corps Captain Matthew Phelps Marries Ben Schock: Photos

U.S. Marine Corps Captain Matthew Phelps wed Ben Schock this Saturday in Seattle. Captain Phelps famously proposed to Schock this past December, becoming the first gay couple ever to do so at the White House.   

As you may recall, Phelps and Schock have been outspoken about the damage DOMA has caused gay military couples such as themselves. 

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Check out a few more shots AFTER THE JUMP...

(via Nate Gowdy Photo)

It's Time Again For The Herndon Climb: PHOTOS

BY SAM GREISMAN

Well, it's the time again for the sexiest and possibly the most homoerotic tradition that happens at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. In case you don't know, every May the upperclassmen grease up the Herndon Monument and shirtless plebes struggle and flex their way up it as they progress to midshipmen.

Much more, AFTER THE JUMP...

This grouping of greasy photos comes courtesy of Washington, DC-based photographer Scott Henrichsen whose physique work can be found here. Also check out scottfoto.com for his commercial work. 

Feel free to revisit past Herndon climbs, here, here, and here.

Pentagon Recognizes for First Time That Transgender Veterans Exist

The Department of Defense for the first time has made an official acknowledgement that transgender people have served in a uniformed capacity in the armed forces by reflecting in its records the gender identification of activist and veteran Autumn Sandeen, Buzzfeed reports.

In a short letter dated May 2, a Navy official told Autumn Sandeen, a veteran and transgender activist: “Per your request the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS) has been updated to show your gender as female effective April 12, 2013.”

Sandeen’s military identification card now reflects the change, a move called “quite significant” by the head of OutServe-SLDN, a national organization for LGBT service members and veterans and their families.

“The fact that a process exists [to change the gender listed] indicates that there are people in the Department of Defense who are aware of the needs of transgender retirees and who are working to see those needs met. And, in that sense, the significance of this symbolic act for our broader work and for our goal of open service becomes I think a little bit more apparent,” OutServe-SLDN executive director Allyson Robinson told BuzzFeed.

Much more at Buzzfeed...

The Military's Sexual Assault Problem Affects Men and Women, Gay and Straight

By ARI EZRA WALDMAN

The United States military has a rape problem, and it's nothing new.

Earlier this week, two women -- Rebekah Havrilla and BriGette McCoy -- appeared before a Senate subcommittee chaired by New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to recount their experiences of being raped and sexually harassed during their time in the military. They were joined by one man, Brian Lewis, who testified that he was raped by a senior officer in the Air Force while serving on the island of Guam. It was the first time a male victim appeared before Congress to discuss his sexual assault.

Their heartbreaking stories of abuse and command inaction are bad enough on their own; in the context of a military in which rape, sexual assault, and harassment are more common than morning coffee, they are downright enraging. According to the military's own report, the number of service members anonymously reporting a sexual assault jumped more than 30% in the past two years. In 2012, more than 26,000 troops reported experiencing "unwanted sexual contact," a significant jump from the 19,300 who reported such victimization in 2010. What's more, 10,700 of the 19,300 victims in 2010 were men. And that covers only those incidents reported to authorities; men are far less likely to report being victims of sexual assault, especially in a macho, testosterone-filled environment like the military. The real numbers are probably shockingly high.

P erhaps as high -- if not higher -- as they were in 1991, when 83 women and 7 men were assaulted during the Tailhook convention in Las Vegas in September 1991. Even that scandal, which was supposed to change the military forever, did not result in a single prosecution. The bankruptcy of the military justice system came back into the news recently when an Air Force general tossed out the conviction of an officer after the officer had been convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a woman. 

This unique and dangerous facet of the military criminal justice system -- the near boundless discretion given to the so-called "convening authority" to sign off on, reject, or modify the sentence of a general court-martial -- is complicit in the growing epidemic of sexual crimes in the military today. But it is not alone. 

Let's discuss the elements of military law that are contributing to this problem,
AFTER THE JUMP...