I'll be in Baltimore next week for the US v. Manning trial

For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with these developments, I was recently subpoenaed to testify at the court martial of Private Bradley Manning. Manning is accused of releasing classified documents to WikiLeaks, and I’ve been called as a witness due to a series of conversations I had with Manning throughout 2009. All of our chat logs have already been published, so I’m not quite sure what they intend to ask me about, but it’s really not a big deal. It’s more of an inconvenience than anything, and I’m going to have to stay in Baltimore from July 6th to the 13th. I believe I’m supposed to testify that Monday, but I’m not certain on this. In any case, I’ll be stuck in a hotel by myself in a city I’ve never been to, so I’m going to have plenty of free time for just about anything. Lots of videos every day? Marathon live shows? I really have no idea.

By the way, members of the public can actually attend the proceedings at Fort Meade and sit in the courtroom throughout the day. There are instructions for this on BradleyManning.org. If any of you want to be there for this, that would be really cool. If not, the Freedom of the Press Foundation publishes independent transcripts of the trial at the end of every day, and I’ll be keeping you updated about everything I see. I’m just going to focus on getting through this, and I’ll let you know if anything else happens.

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I'll be in Baltimore next week for the US v. Manning trial
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10 thoughts on “I'll be in Baltimore next week for the US v. Manning trial

  1. 1

    Are you looking for something to do in the city when you know you have nothing to do at Ft. Meade? Baltimore Aquarium is a awesome, if you’re actually in Baltimore. Being there during a feeding time is pretty cool! Basic admission is like $35, though, which isn’t in everyone’s budget. If you just goof around the Inner Harbor in the vicinity of the Aquarium, there’s other things around too, kinda touristy, but hey, enjoy being a tourist when you are one, right? Get that dragon-shaped paddleboat and paddle your heart out. If you don’t mind paying $5 for the privilege of using your peepers, there’s actually a really nice view to be had from the World Trade Center, which also claims the peculiar distinction of being “the world’s tallest pentagonal building.” I know there’s a science museum down there too, but I’ve never been.

  2. 3

    Zinnia: Fort Meade is only notionally in “Baltimore,” and then only if you have a Texian view of travel distance. Ft. Meade is actually much closer in travel-time to Annapolis, and Annapolis has many good eateries and tourist spots, not the least of which is the State House. There’s also a fairly impressive “see it once” WWII memorial, but it is completely without, I believe, any supporting Docentry like brochures or a museum, or even very good public signage. (But I may be maligning the place.)

    Baltimore itself (as opposed to the grander metro region loosely called Baltimore) is the home of Thurgood Marshall, whose Birth anniversary we recently remembered but whose home (nor other accoutrements of his having lived here) are not public attractions. It is also home of Edgar Allan whose house may be open.

    If you are actually staying at a Baltimore Hotel/Motel, try to find somewhere else to eat! Not because the Hotel/Motel food will be in any way bad (it won’t!) but because in B’more, you can find any number of unpretentious independent restaurants that serve excellent food. Try Miss Shirley’s for breakfast/brunch if you have the time and the money. (It isn’t *too* expensive, but can’t compare with a “complimentary” hotel b’fast.)

    We two are widely separated in age, so I doubt I can offer useful advice on “fun,” but if you want further opinions from a 15+ ‘Balti-moron,” contact me via my e-mail. pH

  3. 5

    Yeah, Meade is about 30min from the city proper, and more in the mornings (rush hour on 295 sucks). The food options near the Fort are mostly terrible, so you might want to plan on a big breakfast if you’re a person who can handle that early in the morning.

    Have you been to Baltimore before? The Inner Harbor is the most touted tourist attraction, but I find it kind of dull (oooh, water!). There’s a free bus http://www.charmcitycirculator.com/ that hits the “touristy” spots. Restaurants on Federal Hill, pub crawl in Fells Point – I’m not sure what you’re into but those are popular. One relaxing way to spend a day is to go to the free!!! Walters Art Museum http://thewalters.org/ . The circulator stops there, and it’s right next to the Washington Monument, a park area, and a bunch of other nice statues. And googling just now, I find there is a tourist center http://baltimore.org/visitor-center/ .

    /suburbanite, worked on the Fort for a decade, go to school in Baltimore now

  4. 10

    If you are actually in-in Baltimore on Sunday, you should visit Bookthing! (http://www.bookthing.org/) It is a big warehouse full of books. Leave a book. Take a book. Many, many books! Man, I miss Bookthing.

    National Aquarium in the Inner Harbor is also pretty great, and it is right near all the clubs/restaurants down there.

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