Italian prosecutors are seeking the extradition of 22 CIA agents involved with the kidnapping and extraordinary rendition of Egyptian Islamic cleric Mustafa Osama Nasr, also known as Abu Omar. Omar was kidnapped by the CIA on a street in Milan and flown to Cairo where he allegedly was tortured.

Also see the English translation of an Italian news article on the extradition request here, reporting among other things that one of the 22 agents is a woman and that no final decision by the Italian Government has been made on whether to formally seek extradition:

by Last Night in Little Rock

I saw "Good Night, and Good Luck" (see imdb.com) tonight, my first movie in weeks, which is bad for a movie buff, but I work too much.

I am old enough to remember some of Edward R. Morrow's broadcasts. This movie takes place between 1953 and 1958, and it centers on CBS News getting to guts to take on Senator Joseph McCarthy and his trampling of civil liberties. But, it is more about the fear of Americans to question McCarthy, and CBS's own trepidation of taking him on, but they did.

Hilary at Obsidian Wings debunks Sen. Lindsay Graham's claims about detainee lawsuits.

Also, there is now at least one online campaign to support the Bingaman Amendment to defeat the Graham amendment and save habeas corpus for detainees. Please visit One Million Phone March to Save Habeas:

With virtually no advance notice the Republican majority in the Senate approved a last minute amendment to the Defense Authorization Act to deny U.S. courts jurisdiction to examine the legality of detainee detention in Guantanamo and elsewhere. They did this in defiance of the not yet completely packed Supreme Court (another reason to reject Alito), whose authority they would annul.

This is all despite the well-known FACT that many scooped up into these hell holes of torture are not terrorists at all, some even having been sold for bounty. Senator Bingaman immediately responded with a proposed corrective amendment (S.AMDT.2517) to restore jurisdiction.

CNN is continuing to feature bloggers via webcam on its new show, On the Story.

Tonight at 7pm ET, Matt Stoller will be on discussing political campaigns and the blogosphere. Matt has been involved in many internet campaigns, most recently, that of successful N.J. Senate candidate Jon Corzine.

He'll be on towards the end of the show and it repeats tomorrow.

by TChris

People who call the police, and then invite them into their homes, knowing they the police might discover a large stash of a controlled substance, are nearly automatic recipients of "stupid criminal of the week" recognition. Here's the latest:

In retrospect, it probably wasn't such a good idea to call the police. Ronald Meyers summoned officers to his home in an upscale neighborhood Thursday morning, claiming that someone was trying to open his windows and that he could hear voices outside.

Responding officers found no burglar but asked if they could check inside, said Sgt. John Booth, a Palm Springs police spokesman. When Meyers, 59, let them in, officers allegedly found more than $100,000 worth of marijuana, he said.

Actor Bruce Willis is offering $1 million to any civilian who captures Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri or Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

Dog the Bounty Hunter has said several times he'd love to find Osama.

Question: How about finding Osama or someone else in the Middle East? Could you do it?

Dog: Absolutely. Waiting for the phone call from GW.

On CNBC, Dog said he could find Osama in 90 days.

Bruce, meet Dog. Dog meet Bruce.

by TChris

A public university cannot train teachers to teach only white Christian kids. Teachers must be equipped to teach a diverse student population. A university might therefore legitimately be troubled when a student in its education program insists that “diversity is perversity.”

Ed Swan thinks the College of Education at Washington State is discriminating against him because of his political views. Swan was told to complete diversity training if he wanted to remain in the program. If he is correct that WSU is trying to force him to change his fundamental beliefs about abortion or gay marriage, he has a valid gripe. But WSU has a legitimate interest in producing teachers who do not favor students of a particular race or background, and diversity training is a reasonable vehicle for achieving that goal.

"We want prospective teachers to realize they are going to be teaching all children," said Judy Mitchell, dean of education. "We want to make sure a teacher appreciates and values human diversity and others' varied talents and perspectives."

Colin Powell's former Chief of Staff, Lawrence Wilkerson, is back in the news suggesting that a National Security Memo (first reported in USA Today in 2003) outlining the number of troops necessary to fight a war in Iraq may never have reached Bush.

Wilkerson suggests, but acknowledges he cannot prove, that Stephen Hadley who was Condi Rice's NSC deputy, blocked the memo:

by Last Night in Little Rock

I was in Chicago doing a CLE for the Federal Defenders of Northern and Central Illinois and the Illinois Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers on computer searches. I was picked up Thursday night by a friend in Chicago on the NACDL Board who took me out for real Chicago pizza. The conversation: Chicago politics. Always fascinating. It ran the gamit from the former Governor Ryan trial (not going well for the Government) to Mayor Dailey tearing up the downtown airport runway in violation of a court order in the name of national security, to Barack Obama and Keyes ("inevitable Obama"; when will Obama run for President? '12?), what the 2005 gubernatorial races mean for Republicans, to 2006 for Illinois Republicans.

And this bombshell: The only Republican that stands out in Illinois is Patrick Fitzgerald, because of what he is doing in Washington.

Does Fitzgerald have any political ambition? I doubt it. He wouldn't have taken on the Special Counsel's job if he did. If there are rumors of his political viability, it is the people saying it, not him, and not his handlers, because he doesn't have any handlers.

The New York Times Saturday reports that Judge Alito is a "conservative libertarian," one of a growing number of judges who rule in favor of First Amendment rights but take a much dimmer view of consitutional guarantees designed to protect the criminally accused:

Judge Alito's broad reading of the freedom of speech and press clauses of the First Amendment stands in contrast with his narrower interpretation of other constitutional rights, including the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and the Sixth Amendment's guarantees of fair trial rights for criminal defendants....Judge Alito has exhibited little patience for the First Amendment claims of prisoners.

Right after I read this article, I happened upon an article in the Palm Beach Post reporting that Rush Limbaugh had another hearing Wednesday at which his lawyers argued that his medical records and communications were privileged and could not be used to support a charge of doctor shopping against him.

Columnist Robert Scheer has been fired from the LA Times after 30 years. He doesn't know why.

The publisher, Jeff Johnson, who has offered not a word of explanation to me, has privately told people that he hated every word that I wrote. I assume that mostly refers to my exposing the lies used by President Bush to justify the invasion of Iraq.

Beginning Wednesday, his column will appear at Huffington Post.

Update: Armando at Daily Kos reports that Jonah Goldberg will be a colunist at the LA Times. What a waste. If this is a sign of where the LA Times is headed, I doubt I'll be checking them as frequently.

Watch Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld as they turn to rap to recruit soldiers.

[hat tip to Debbie.]