The LA Times writes an editorial advocating legislation approving the non-prescription purchase of syringes:

There is no evidence that drug abuse is any higher in states that do not require prescriptions for syringes. More than 26,000 Californians have AIDS because of syringe-sharing. Legislators can't stop junkies from shooting up, but they can give them a better alternative than poisoned needles.

45 states permit limited syringe sales without a doctor's approval. But for a veto last year by former Governor Gray Davis, it would be the law now in California. California should pass the measure, and Gov. Arnold should endorse it.

Drug Policy Alliance is working on placing a series of ads titled "The RIGHT Response to the War on Drugs" in the New York Sun and Roll Call during the Republican Convention, with quotes like:

"...I wouldn't be surprised if in 10 years or so you saw the conservative coalition come out for an end to drug prohibition." -- Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform

"Can any policy, however high-minded, be moral if it leads to widespread corruption, imprisons so many, has so racist an effect, destroys our inner cities, wreaks havoc on misguided and vulnerable individuals and brings death and destruction to foreign countries?" -- Milton Friedman, Nobel Prize Winner (Economic Science, 1976), Presidential Medal of Freedom (1988)

If you're one of the conservative commenters on TalkLeft, go on over and read the reasons conservatives should be opposed to the drug war. In a nutshell, the drug war amounts to unwanted government intrusion, has too high a price tag and is disasterous foreign policy.

[link via Drug War Rant.]

Public Defender Dude has one of the best blogs around on being in the courtroom trenches. He's also in Northern California, somewhere near where the Scott Peterson trial is going on. He says in no uncertain terms that he believes Scott Peterson is going down, and explains why -- despite the lack of evidence against him, the piss-poor job the prosecution is doing and the great job Mark Geragos is doing. And his reason is not Amber Frey.

I don't share his pessimism yet--but if he turns out to be right, it may be that Scott Peterson becomes the latest victim of the media. The media focuses on guilt because guilt sells. What a sad statement of affairs for a country whose criminal justice system is grounded in the presumption of innocence.

If Public Defender Dude is right, it's Michael Skakel Redux. Once again we have the victim's family grieving on the news night after night. A prevalence of prosecution-oriented pundits proclaiming the defendant's guilt. A camera fest outside the courtroom. Witnesses with spinmeisters masquerading as legal counsel, continually grabbing the media spotlight. Well-known former cops and journalists siding with the victim's family. People Magazine and tabloids trumpeting a pretty picture of the victim week after week. And for the final touch there is always a Dorothy Moxley and Sharon Rocha, wholly good and tragic figures, just separated at birth.

A leading British medical journal has published an article that criticizes the medical ethics of the U.S. military at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and in Afghanistan.

U.S. military doctors working in Iraq collaborated with interrogators in the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad, an article in the British medical journal The Lancet said on Friday. Professor Steven Miles, the report's author, cites evidence that some doctors falsified death certificates to cover up killings and hid evidence of beatings. "The medical system collaborated with designing and implementing psychologically and physically coercive interrogations," the University of Minnesota professor said.

The Wall St. Journal (subscription required), reports:

Britain's leading medical journal says U.S. military and coalition health personnel might have violated professional ethics by participating in abusive prisoner treatment in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. An article in the Lancet's Aug. 21 issue by Steven Miles, a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota's Center for Bioethics, concludes that "government documents show that the U.S. military medical system failed to protect detainees' rights, sometimes collaborated with interrogators or abusive guards, and failed to properly report injuries or deaths caused by beatings."

Joe Conason in Salon:

Trying to counter the success of Michael Moore, Karl Rove's men in Hollywood are rushing to release a pro-Bush epic, "The Big Picture." But are they violating federal campaign law?

....The next salvo in the cinematic campaign war of 2004 is "The Big Picture," a documentary film attacking John Kerry sponsored by David Bossie's Citizens United, the right-wing group that unsuccessfully sued to stop national advertising of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11." But Bossie's latest project could create legal problems for him and his organization -- in part because Lionel Chetwynd, the award-winning director, is working not only on the documentary but also on two shorter films to be screened at the Republican National Convention.

The news has been filled with articles about the FBI expecting violence from protesters at the Republican convention in New York next week. The New York Times reports on the anarchists--and on the tactics police will use to try and prevent violence.

Even anarchists who are against violence are warning of trouble and admit that they are planning acts of civil disobedience, including blocking intersections, staging "chaos on Broadway'' when the delegates attend Broadway shows on Sunday night, holding a "die-in'' near Madison Square Garden, sneaking into parties and other functions and generally harassing the 4,853 delegates and alternate delegates.

What do the anarchists believe in?

Definitions vary but most see anti-capitalism as the bedrock of their ideology. They question and disdain authority and hierarchal government as corrupting and intrusive in personal affairs. "Neither slave nor master'' is a common slogan. Some are zealots; others see anarchism as a way to raise awareness of problems like hunger, greed and materialism.

There's not just one, but a whole bunch of internet cybercynics satirizing the candidates and elections. In addition to those mentioned in the article, there's Tom Burka of Opinions You Should Have, who was one of the Boston DNC bloggers. Comic relief provides a welcome respite to the depressing news we come across every day courtesy of the Bush Administration.

This is just great. Pretty soon Bush will have us at war with the whole world.

Iran says it is considering a pre-emptive strike against U.S. forces in the Middle East.

Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani warned that Iran might launch a preemptive strike against US forces in the region to prevent an attack on its nuclear facilities.....We will not sit (with arms folded) to wait for what others will do to us. Some military commanders in Iran are convinced that preventive operations which the Americans talk about are not their monopoly," Shamkhani told Al-Jazeera TV when asked if Iran would respond to an American attack on its nuclear facilities.

"America is not the only one present in the region. We are also present, from Khost to Kandahar in Afghanistan; we are present in the Gulf and we can be present in Iraq." said Shamkhani, speaking in Farsi to the Arabic-language news channel through an interpreter.

Update: Salon's Mark Follman has more on Iran and the possibility of war.

Say Hello to the new RNC blogger aggregator where you can read the posts of the bloggers covering the Republican Convention and protests by blogging live from The Tank.

Also bookmark Cosmopolity, which has the latest info on the Tank bloggers and events. TalkLeft is going to blog from The Tank along with the other anti-Bush oriented bloggers.

The real story for TalkLeft will be the action in the streets--the protesters, the security, the riot police and their attitudes. I'll have my digital camera, tape recorder , ipod and laptop. I have recruited two volunteers so far to capture the images on the streets, so TalkLeft can upload and bring them to you as they are happening.

Do I need help to do this? Yes, it's not cheap to spend a week in New York City.... If you're in a position to assist, you can do so via

• PayPal.

If you'd like to donate anonymously, use

• Amazon.

Both are secure. Many, many thanks. So, why blog from the streets?

How far have race relations come in the last century? In Nevada, they are going backwards. The medium security High Desert State Prison has implemented a new policy -- inmates are housed according to race.

According to several corrections officers, all black inmates are now being housed in separate pods, or units, while whites have been moved to their own units and Hispanics to theirs. The prison houses nearly 2,000 inmates, according to the Nevada Department of Corrections' Website.

The prison responds with a half-heart denial which is not so much as a denial as a lame justification:

Howard Skolnik, spokesman for the prison, said it's not intentional segregation. "We've moved inmates around based on behavior," Skolnik said."

[hat tip Kevin Hayden of American Street]

How to start your day with a positive attitude.

1. Create a "new folder" on your computer.

2. Name it "George W. Bush".

3. Send it to the trash.

4. Empty the trash.

5. Your computer will ask you: "Do you really want to get rid of "George W. Bush"?

6. Calmly answer, "Yes", and press the mouse button ....

[hat tip to ZGM]

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed itself and ruled that forced DNA testing of those who have completed their jail sentences and been placed on parole is consitutitonal. Criminal Appeal has all the details.

Howard Bashman of How Appealing has a roundup of news articles on the decision. He provides this quick analysis of the ruling.