Time Magazine has an interview with Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte. Those in secret prisons abroad will remain there indefinitely.

Negroponte also told TIME that three dozen or so of the worst al-Qaeda terrorists held in secret CIA prisons are likely to remain in captivity as long as the "war on terror continues." He added, "These people are being held. And they're bad actors. And as long as this situation continues, this war on terror continues, I'm not sure I can tell you what the ultimate disposition of those detainees will be." Negroponte's comments appear to be the first open acknowledgement of the secret U.S. detention system and the fact that captives such as Khalid Shaikh Mohammad -- involved in Sept. 11 or other major attacks on U.S. interests around the world -- may be held indefinitely.

[Hat tip Patriot Daily.]

Update: The media has corrected the earlier reporting that police attempted to serve search warrants at players' dorm rooms Thursday night. Apparently, they were attempting to interview players and in some instances, walked uninvited inside dorm rooms.

Condolences to defense lawyer Joe Cheshire, whose father passed away today.

Via Atrios, I see that Neil Young is releasing a new album with a song titled "Impeach the President."

Here are some Neil Young interviews on politics. From 2003:

Marijuana Policy Director Rob Kammpia has a new article at Alternet, Your Tax Dollars on Drugs. He writes that marijuana prohibition is a spectacular failure.

The futile effort to "eradicate" marijuana has produced a harvest of misery. By forfeiting any chance to regulate the marijuana market -- you can't regulate what's illegal, after all -- we've given criminals and gangsters an exclusive franchise. We've guaranteed that marijuana will be grown in dangerous locations -- even hidden in wilderness areas or national parks -- instead of by regulated producers who are subject to environmental and labor standards. Unlike liquor merchants, who could lose their very lucrative liquor licenses if they sell to children, marijuana dealers have no incentive not to sell to kids.

by TChris

A federal appellate judge has taken a stand in favor of a compassionate approach to enforcement of immigration laws.

Judge Maryanne Trump Barry wrote in a court opinion this week that immigration regulations designed to combat terrorism sometimes left judges no choice other than to order the deportation of "decent men and women."

She asked U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to intervene to prevent the deportation of Malachy McAllister, making reference to the famous poem by Emma Lazarus welcoming immigrants at the Statue of Liberty.

"I refuse to believe that 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free ...' is now an empty entreaty. But if it is, shame on us," Barry wrote in a concurring opinion to a ruling Monday by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that upheld the deporation order for McAllister.

by TChris

Mitchell Lawrence sold a little more than a gram of marijuana to an undercover cop for $20.

In the months that followed, the cop approached Lawrence again for marijuana. This time, however, Lawrence refused. Weeks later, a crew of undercover cops stormed Lawrence's home and placed him under arrest. On March 22, 2006, Lawrence was sentenced to two years in prison.

Two years for about a joint's worth of weed? Will this benefit society?

Lawrence was set to graduate from high school this spring. Instead, he will watch his fellow classmates graduate from his prison cell.

As the linked editorial opines, "the case of Mitchell Lawrence is one of countless tales of drug war madness that takes place on America's streets daily." Stop the madness. Just Say No to "drug free zones," mandatory minimum sentences, and other ridiculous laws that target insignificant drug crimes. And Just Say No to the politicians who support and promote those laws without regard to the lives they destroy.

Ari Fleischer is a very dangerous witness for Scooter Libby. Check out Fitz's affidavit from August, 2004 submitted in the Judith Miller subpoena suit, which was unsealed by the Court in February, 2006. You can read the unredacted portions in the Court's opinion here or in my prior summary with lengthy quotes.

It's not just that Libby allegedly told Fleischer at lunch on July 7 before Fleischer left for Africa with President Bush that Joseph Wilson's wife worked in the Counterproliferation area of the CIA and that she was involved in the decision to send Wilson to Niger. It's that Fleisher told Fitz and the grand jury that Libby told him the information was "hush-hush" and "on the qt."

Via Signifying Nothing, the Associated Press reports a radio call by one of the officers responding to the grocery store 9-11 call five minutes after it was made at 1:30 a.m. reported the accuser was passed out drunk and not in need of medical attention.

The officer gave the dispatcher the police code for an intoxicated person and said the woman was unconscious. When asked whether she needed medical help, the officer said: "She's breathing and appears to be fine. She's not in distress. She's just passed-out drunk."

Contrary to earlier reports by the media, no more DNA testing is being done. All the results are in.

Bump and Update: More Moussaoui testimony today:

Confessed al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui said Thursday it made his day to hear accounts of Americans' suffering from the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and he would like to see similar attacks "every day."

He mocked the military witnesses at his trial for crying.

"I think it was disgusting for a military person" to cry, Moussaoui said of the testimony of Navy Lt. Nancy McKeown. "She is military, she should expect people at war with her to want to kill her." Asked if he was happy to hear her sobbing, he said, "Make my day."

He said he hopes the attacks on America continue.

Moussaoui said he had "no regret, no remorse" about the 9/11 attacks. Asked by prosecutor Rob Spencer if he would like to see it happen again, Moussaoui responded: "Every day until we get you."

And he expects Bush will release him before the end of Bush's term and he'll return to London.

The Judge in the Scooter Libby trial issued this order (pdf) today threatening a gag order for leaking material not on (or in advance of posting on) the court's docket.

I assume this has to do with the msm writing about Fitzgerald's letter of correction the night before it was filed.

For the record, I have had no contact whatsoever with the Libby defense team or anyone connected to the case or the investigation. When I wrote about the correction letter, my source was the Washington Post.

Maven at Daily Kos has more.

Larissa at Raw Story has a new Iran report. She writes that on orders from Cheney and Rumsfeld, the terrorist group Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) is being used for special ops in Iran to pave the way for a military strike.

According to all three intelligence sources, military and intelligence officials alike were alarmed that instead of securing a known terrorist organization, which has been responsible for acts of terror against Iranian targets and individuals all over the world - including US civilian and military casualties - Rumsfeld under instructions from Cheney, began using the group on special ops missions into Iran to pave the way for a potential Iran strike.

"They are doing whatever they want, no oversight at all," one intelligence source said.

Not only will TSA attorney Carla Martin have to face the Judge in the Zacarias Moussaoui trial over her bizarre conduct that nearly derailed the death penalty trial, but she has now been sued by families of the 9/11 victims for interfering in the civil lawsuit.

Martin "interfered with plaintiffs' right to fair trial," the families' suit alleges, by having "tampered with witnesses and evidence" in the Moussaoui case. The lawsuit alleges Martin "colluded and/or conspired" with representatives of American and United airlines, defendants in a civil action brought by 90 September 11 families in New York. These families opted out of the government's $7 billion victim-compensation fund so they could sue the airlines.

Background here.