The Associated Press has obtained documents showing that the Navy secretly contracted for Gulfstream jets to fly detainees to other countries for interrogation. This means that the military, not just the CIA was involved in the secret rendition process:

A branch of the U.S. Navy secretly contracted a 33-plane fleet that included two Gulfstream jets reportedly used to fly terror suspects to countries known to practice torture, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The Navy issued classified contracts to ten U.S. companies, including two that flew detainees to Egypt and other places:

Thousands of anti-war protesters en route to D.C. from major Northeast cities were delayed for hours due to an Amtrak power failure.

In a hitch for some coming to the protest, 13 Amtrak trains running between New York and Washington were delayed for up to three hours Saturday morning for repair of overhead electrical lines. Protest organizers said that held up thousands coming to the rally.

Organizers delayed the start of the march, originally planned to begin at 12:30 p.m., to wait for protesters arriving on the Amtrak trains. There were other reports of Metro delays in northern Virginia on the Blue and Yellow lines.

Coincidence?

by TChris

A new report by Human Rights Watch, relying on interviews with members of the 82nd Airborne, concludes that "Army troops subjected Iraqi detainees to severe beatings and other torture at a base in central Iraq from 2003 through 2004, often under orders or with the approval of superior officers."

Three U.S. army personnel—two sergeants and a captain—describe routine, severe beatings of prisoners and other cruel and inhumane treatment. In one incident, a soldier is alleged to have broken a detainee’s leg with a baseball bat. Detainees were also forced to hold five-gallon jugs of water with their arms outstretched and perform other acts until they passed out. Soldiers also applied chemical substances to detainees’ skin and eyes, and subjected detainees to forced stress positions, sleep deprivation, and extremes of hot and cold.

Mistreatment was ordered by Military Intelligence personnel as an interrogation tactic, but was also used to "relieve stress," according to the soldiers.

by TChris

After Michael Brown proved that Arabian horse management isn't a helpful background for disaster management, some senators are asking whether other White House appointees to management positions are qualified to do their jobs. Susan Collins and Joe Lieberman wonder whether Julie Myers is fit to be assistant secretary of homeland security for immigration and customs enforcement, and Carl Levin questions whether technology lawyer Stewart Baker has the necessary experience to be assistant secretary of homeland security for policy.

At the same time, the Center for American Progress, a research institute for out-of-office Democratic policy experts, has questioned whether Andrew B. Maner is qualified for his position as chief financial officer of the Homeland Security Department, which has a budget of about $35 billion and more than 180,000 employees. Mr. Maner's main government experience before joining this administration was a job in the White House press office under the first President Bush.

Via John Cole , Crooks and Liars and Oliver Willis, Here are my results from the Politics Test:

You are a Social Liberal (83% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (23% permissive) You are best described as a: Strong Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

Arianna has an important post up about Abdul Amir Younes Hussein, a 25 year old CBS reporter who has been imprisoned without charges for five months in Iraq. CBS is not getting answers about his case.

For 25-year-old CBS cameraman Abdul Amir Younes Hussein, being shot and wounded by American forces in Iraq was just the beginning. On April 5, Mr. Hussein, a freelancer employed by the network in the northern city of Mosul, went to the scene of a car bombing to film the aftermath. He was standing near an armed insurgent when U.S. forces opened fire, killing the militant and wounding him lightly. The military released a statement that expressed regret about the incident and said it was under investigation.

Three days later, the military released a second statement saying that Mr. Hussein had been "detained for alleged insurgent activity" and there was probable cause to believe he posed "an imperative threat to coalition forces."

Ultimately, no charges were brought by the Iraqi authorities. Yet, Hussein still was not released. He was supposed to have a hearing yesterday, but it was canceled. Arianna reports,

Is Warren Beatty getting ready to challenge Arnold Schwarzenegger in California? I don't really think he's going to run, but it sure sounds like he's testing the waters.

by TChris

Clarence Elkins has long wondered whether the person who murdered his mother-in-law and raped his niece was Earl Mann. Mann, a convicted rapist, had been a neighbor of Elkins' mother-in-law, and five days before the murder he fled from the halfway house where he'd been staying. But the niece identified Elkins as the rapist, and he's been in prison for seven years.

DNA tests later excluded Elkins from the crime scene, but the judge in his case said that wasn't enough to overcome the eyewitness identification. Fate was on Elkins' side, however, when Mann ended up doing time in the same prison. Elkins was able to give his lawyer cigarette butts that had been in Mann's mouth, and DNA tests made Mann a stronger suspect than Elkins.

To top it off, the niece has recanted. There is no longer any credible evidence that Elkins committed the crimes.

In the words of the Akron Beacon Journal: "Summit County prosecutors should respond by doing the right thing: moving quickly to free Elkins from prison."

"It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap. We gotta get out while we can...."[Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run]

The New York Times:

.... as many as 2.5 million people jammed evacuation routes on Thursday, creating colossal 100-mile-long traffic jams that left many people stranded and out of gas as the huge storm bore down on the Texas coast.

Acknowledging that "being on the highway is a deathtrap," Mayor Bill White asked for military help in rushing scarce fuel to stranded drivers.

A bus carrying nursing home evacuees caught fire, killing 20.

Politics, hurricanes, crime, whatever's on your mind, here's a place to inform and vent.

The legal, judicial and corrections systems in Texas have been put on hold - and in many cases, sent packing. Prisoners have been moved, courts have closed and extended deadlines, law firms have shut down.

Humor has not, however, been suspended:

At the Galveston County Courthouse, a prerecorded message says all county operations have stopped. For those planning on serving their sentences in the county jail this weekend, the prerecorded message warns: "Do not show up. You'll serve it later."

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg spoke out today on the potential replacement for retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. She said:

• She'd like to see a woman nominated but not any woman would do. She said it's important for the nominee to respect human and women's rights.
• She has a list of suitable women nominees, but President Bush hasn't asked her opinion
• With respect to Judge John Roberts' expression of doubt on consulting foreign law, she defended the practice and said,

"I will take enlightenment wherever I can get it," she said. "I don't want to stop at a national boundary."...When reminded that Roberts has indicated he disagrees with the practice of referring to foreign laws, Ginsburg said it appeared he "is a man who does listen and is willing to learn."

by TChris

David Safavian barely had time to resign from his White House position before he was arrested. This article asks how many other "leading figures in the Republican hierarchy that dominates Washington" are threatened by their association (nefarious or otherwise) with Jack Abramoff.

House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who once called Abramoff "one of my closest and dearest friends," already figures prominently in the investigation of the lobbyist's links to Republicans. The probe may singe other lawmakers with ties to Abramoff, such as Republican Senator Conrad Burns of Montana, as well as [Ohio Rep. Robert] Ney.

Other names mentioned: Republican strategists Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed.