Bradley (aka Chelsea) Manning is discovering that the real world is not as easy a touch as Obama-world.

Manning is a former US Army private who went completely Jack on his mates.

In 2010 Manning was a very junior soldier stationed in Iraq.  His REM job gave him access to highly classified US defence data. 

Manning smuggled out classified files indiscriminately downloaded on a CD labelled ‘Lady Gaga’ and passed them on to God knows who  - Wikileaks is known to have received the material. The files included the identities of locals working with US forces - an action that placed their lives in danger.

Manning was arrested for treason after bragging about what he'd done in an online chatroom.

A US court-martial sentenced Pfc. Bradley Manning to 35 years in prison for leaking government secrets after he was convicted of six Espionage Act violations.

Obama released him from jail, but did not quash his convictions.

To me, he's a traitor and a crook - but to the ABC she's a whistleblower (as opposed to the ABC stance on, say Ralph Blewitt).

#BREAKING: Federal Government preparing to ban US whistleblower Chelsea Manning from coming to Australia https://t.co/RfZrxWUpNe

— ABC News (@abcnews) August 29, 2018

I doubt the event will go ahead.  35 years is a very severe punishment, reflecting the severity of Manning's offending.  There's no way he'd be allowed into Australia because, among other things of the precedent it would set.

Here's part of the letter to him/her/they from our immigration authorities.

Canada (of all places) sees it much the same way.

Manning wasn't discriminating or limited in what he downloaded and took from US defence data systems.  He didn't, for example, witness atrocities, report them, then as a last resort release evidence to back up his claims.

Manning was reckless and dangerous.  He's no hero, just a self-important maladjusted freak and traitor.

But to some, one single dimension of his life eclipses his criminality.

Our ABC is in thrall to him apparently because it's trendy.

It's their top story today.

I hope the Morrison administration sticks to its guns.

Manning is of poor character - an undesirable and not welcome.

Except, of course, at the ABC.

"There’s this notion of morality and this notion of legality and they do not always align, often they’re in conflict with each other,” activist and convicted US whistleblower Chelsea Manning @xychelsea says ahead of her visit to Australia on #MatterOfFactABC @StanGrantMOF pic.twitter.com/ALVHPKbvsc

— ABC News (@abcnews) August 28, 2018