The ACLU issued a press release today accusing the Government of stonewalling in the lawsuit over access to torture documents at Abu Ghraib and other prisons:

Decrying the government’s failure to comply with a court order requiring it to respond to a request for information about prisoner mistreatment abroad, the American Civil Liberties Union today said it will raise the issue with the court in a hearing scheduled for September 9.

The government released only a handful of documents, only one of which was not already publicly available. The anemic document production comes less than a week after a federal judge in New York rebuked the government for its failure to comply with the ACLU’s request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

A Pentagon report focusing on military intelligence at Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison was released today, the day after yesterday's report on the Defense Department's role in the scandal. It finds:

The new report says that 27 military intelligence soldiers and civilian contractors "allegedly requested, encouraged, condoned or solicited" the abuse of Iraqi detainees, it said. But, it continued, "Most, though not all, of the violent or sexual abuses occurred separately from scheduled interrogations and did not focus on persons held for intelligence purposes."

This latest report is based on 170 interviews and a review of more than 9,000 documents by a staff of 28 investigators, analysts and legal advisors. But it is far from the last statement in the matter. Seven low-ranking members of the 372nd Military Police Company, which provided guards for the prison's cellblocks, already have been charged in connection with the abuses, and more legal proceedings against other soldiers and perhaps some civilian contractors are expected.

....it concluded that the major cause of the abuse at the prison outside Baghdad was human failings. "The primary causes are misconduct (ranging from inhumane to sadistic) by a small group of morally corrupt soldiers and civilians, a lack of discipline on the part of the leaders and soldiers . . . and a failure or lack of leadership" at several levels of command, states the report, which was scheduled to be released at 1:30 p.m. by the Army.

Update: The text of the Fay report is here.

In the wake of yesterday's release of a new Abu Graib report, John Kerry is calling for Donald Rumsfeld's resignation. Where does the buck stop if not there?

ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero is filing daily dispatches from the military commission proceedings in Guantanamo. Don't miss them.

• Today
• Tuesday
• Monday

[hat tip to Kevin Thurman.]

If you're looking for Rumsfeld to resign over the new Abu Ghraib report, it's unlikely. Someone has to take the fall, and conventional wisdom has it that it will be Brig. General Janis Karpinski.

The Schlesinger panel, which reviewed the Fay report and other related investigations, said disciplinary action "may be forthcoming" against Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, who commanded the 800th Military Police Brigade at Abu Ghraib; and Col. Thomas M. Pappas, commander of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade, which was assigned to Abu Ghraib last year.

Karpinski says she's a victim of a conspiracy that existed to keep her from knowing about it--and a scapegoat. There's more than enough blame to go around, and Karpinski is not off the hook. Richard Sanchez, Barbara Fast and Tommy Pappas are other names that come to mind.

Iraqi soccer player Ahmed Manajid is unhappy that President Bush has used footage of the Iraqi soccer team in a reelection campaign ads:

"Iraq as a team does not want Mr. Bush to use us for the presidential campaign," Sadir told SI.com through a translator, speaking calmly and directly. "He can find another way to advertise himself. How will he meet his god having slaughtered so many men and women?" Manajid told me. "He has committed so many crimes."

In the ad, which you can view here,

.... the flags of Iraq and Afghanistan appear as a narrator says, "At this Olympics there will be two more free nations -- and two fewer terrorist regimes."

His team members share his view:

To a man, members of the Iraqi Olympic delegation say they....find it offensive that Bush is using Iraq for his own gain when they do not support his administration's actions. "My problems are not with the American people," says Iraqi soccer coach Adnan Hamad. "They are with what America has done in Iraq: destroy everything. The American army has killed so many people in Iraq. What is freedom when I go to the [national] stadium and there are shootings on the road?"

[hat tip to Smythe's World]

We wrote last week about the federal bail hearing for two Islamic men in Albany in an Ashcroft terror case that was coming apart at the seams. Today, they were ordered released from custody, and the Judge blasted the prosecution:

Two Islamic men accused of supporting terrorism after an FBI sting operation were ordered released from jail on Tuesday by a judge who blasted the government's case by saying there is no evidence they have any links to terrorists. U.S. Magistrate David Homer ruled Yassin Aref and Mohammed Hossain should be released on $250,000 bonds and held in home detention under electronic surveillance while they await trial. He said that could take up to two years so the men will be allowed to work and attend mosque until the trial.

Defense lawyer Terry Kindlon had this to say:

Defense attorney Terence Kindlon said the government was not merely overzealous but had presented false information. "We've gone from something that sounded sinister and ominous and scary and terrible to zero in less than two weeks," he told the judge. "Our government doesn't need to go after a pizza man and an Iman who are perfectly innocent." He added: "All we have here is basically the wreckage of the first hearing at which the government presented a lot of information that turned out to be bogus."

Among the traditional protests scheduled for New York next week are these:

But not all the demonstrations will be unorthodox attention-grabbers. Among the more traditional acts of protest will be a parade of thousands of abortion-rights advocates marching across Brooklyn Bridge; the Hip-Hop summit's poor people's march to Madison Square Garden, where the convention is being held; the 5,000-strong permitless march of the poor being organised by a welfare mother from Philadelphia; and the huge demonstration planned for Sunday, which the demonstrators insist will be in Central Park and the New York Police are adamant will be on the West side highway, but which could reach a million-strong.

There will be a 1:2.4 ratio of law enforcement to civilians during the convention:

At least 20,000 security personnel, representing everyone from the Secret Service to civilian units of the Army National Guard, have been mustered. Given that the convention is expected to attract only 48,000 visitors, including delegates, lobbyists and journalists, this is the equivalent to one law-enforcement official for every 2.4 civilians.

If there is violence, it won't be tied to the Democrats:

With Kerry taking a moderate stance on the war, these demonstrations have little, if anything, to do with the Democratic party. None the less, many believe that whoever is responsible, a rash of violence so close to the election will once again benefit the Republicans.

The Republicans will spin it that way though. Don't fall for it.

John Kerry will be on the Daily Show tonight. Did any of you see it?

In follow-up to TalkLeft's post this morning on the new U.S. report showing abuse of Iraqi teenagers at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, now there's this:

Abuses photographed at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq represented "deviant behavior and a failure of military leadership and discipline" at the facility, but direct and indirect responsibility for those acts and others elsewhere went higher up the chain of command, an independent panel reported Tuesday. The prison's weaknesses were no secret and they should have been fixed, said James Schlesinger, chairman of the four-member advisory panel appointed by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in early May to investigate abuse allegations.

"We believe that there is institutional and personal responsibility right up the chain of command as far as Washington is concerned," Schlesinger told a news conference to release the report.....There was sadism on the night shift at Abu Ghraib, sadism that was certainly not authorized,"Schlesinger said. "It was kind of 'Animal House' on the night shift.

Update: The text of the report is here. (pdf.)

A good ruling by Judge Ruckriegle in the Kobe Bryant case. There will be no video cameras allowed during trial testimony. Still photos will be allowed during opening and closing arguments and audio and videotaping will be allowed only during closing arguments.

For once, the prosecution, accuser and defense were on the same side. All opposed cameras in the courtroom. Jury selection begins Friday and trial testimony is set to begin September 7.

The Aspen Daily News is sticking by its policy of refusing to cover the case --it will only report the outcome when it's over. That's dumb. There are legitimate journalistic issues in the trial--such as the legalities and politics involved in raising a consent defense to a sexual assault charge--and in how courts handle high-profile cases.

Here's notice to TalkLeft readers that TalkLeft has been granted press credentials to cover the trial, and will report on major developments and perhaps provide a short daily trial summary with links to what I consider the better news articles. TalkLeft will not be all Kobe all the time or slack off on its regular coverage.

The police in Long Beach, California would like it known that they displayed compassion and did the right thing while executing a search warrant. Here's the e-mail that was sent by one of the drug officers to an advocacy group for the disabled:

Greetings from the "seedy" world of narcotics. (No pun intended!) Just wanted to let you know that for all the problematic cases that the LBPD seems to generate to torment you and make your work difficult, today I was involved in one that should make you happy. We were called out to assist patrol who had been called to a domestic violence call and found six marijuana plants growing in the backyard. The original call was for a domestic violence, of which the home owner was not involved, but we did not know that at the time.

We obtained a search warrant on the house and as part of our investigation we learned that the owner of the house was a medicinal marijuana patient, registered through Compassionate Caregivers, with a doctors prescription that could be verified and confirmed. As a result of the PROPER documentation, the woman was left alone and her plants remain with her.

So, as you talk to the community let them know that there are some positive interactions between the LBPD and the medicinal marijuana community, and as long as we are able to verify their claims through proper documentation they will not have a problem. Hopefully this email finds you well, let me know if I can be of assistance to you.

There was an officer's name and other identifying information in the email which I have deleted, not knowing how public he wanted to go with his e-mail. Good work, Long Beach. TalkLeft is glad to know you followed state law and your consciences instead of Ashcroft.