Senators John McCain, Maria Cantwell and Lindsay Graham visited Guantanamo this week. Their conclusion, set out in a letter to Rumsfeld: Try them or free them.

[McCain] said in an interview that he believed the continued detention of the prisoners violated basic human rights precepts. "They may not have any rights under the Geneva Conventions as far as I'm concerned," said the senator, an Arizona Republican, "but they have rights under various human rights declarations. And one of them is the right not to be detained indefinitely."

McCain also said:

....a senior administration official told him before the trip that the military has been unable to develop cases against as many as a third of the detainees and that they will have to be released..... [McCain] "blamed bureaucratic gridlock for the pace of administration decision making."

So far all of the detainees were arrested in Afganistan and all are male. But...the first female prisoner is set to arrive this week.

The three 13 to 15 year olds we've heard about are still there:

Three of the detainees are aged 13 to 15 who were "kidnapped into" a terrorist organization and treated brutally, Graham said. He said they are slated for discharge early next year into the custody of United Nations officials who have organized a special program for child combatants.

The U.S. says there are three criteria for a prisoner's release:

He must be judged to pose no threat to the United States, to be incapable of providing further intelligence information and to have been uninvolved in criminal activity.

While 88 have been released to date, no more releases are currently scheduled. Details about the 88 (and the 20 new arrivals who replaced some of them) are here.

Update: Thanks to an astute commenter, it appears John McCain and Lindsay Graham were incorrect in their statement to the Washington Post that all of the detainees at Guantanamo are from Afganistan. At least six were kidnapped from a Sarajevo prison by Bosnian police, handed over to the U.S. and brought there after the Bosnian Supreme Court had ordered them released.

It's "Sir Mick" from now on. The New York Times runs this editorial on it.

Keith Richards called the honor a "disgrace." Mick thinks he's jealous:

"I think he would probably like to get the same honor himself," Jagger told reporters. "It's like being given an ice cream - one gets one and they all want one. It's nothing new. Keith likes to make a fuss."

Jagger was accompanied at the ceremony by his 92 year old father and two of his daughters, Karis and Elizabeth. How come no Jade?

Congratulations to Mick. He's been one of our all-time favorites since:

Our all time favorites are:

Our favorite song is You Can't Always Get What You Want (from Let it Bleed.) Runner-up is Dead Flowers (off Sticky Fingers) -- but that's because it's their only song we can still play and sing by heart on the guitar.

Human Rights Watch says hundreds of civilian deaths in Iraq could have been prevented by abandoning two misguided military tactics--cluster bombs and the U.S. "decaptiation" strategy. Their 147 page report released today is available here.

The use of cluster munitions in populated areas caused more civilian casualties than any other factor in the coalition´s conduct of major military operations in March and April....U.S. and British forces used almost 13,000 cluster munitions, containing nearly 2 million submunitions, that killed or wounded more than 1,000 civilians.

Meanwhile, 50 strikes on top Iraqi leaders failed to kill any of the intended targets, but instead killed dozens of civilians, the Human Rights Watch report revealed. The U.S. “decapitation” strategy relied on intercepts of senior Iraqi leaders´ satellite phone calls along with corroborating intelligence that proved inadequate. As a result, the U.S. military could only locate targets within a 100-meter radius – clearly inadequate precision in civilian neighborhoods.

We wrote this somewhat detailed post on cluster bombing yesterday.

Lt. Col. Allen West was fined $5,000.00 for his misconduct towards an Iraqi prisoner.

In testimony at an Article 32 hearing -- the military's version of a grand jury or preliminary hearing -- West said the policeman, Yahya Jhrodi Hamoody, was not cooperating with interrogators, so he watched four of his soldiers from the 220th Field Artillery Battalion beat the detainee on the head and body.

West said he also threatened to kill Hamoody. Military prosecutors say West followed up on that threat by taking the suspect outside, put him on the ground near a weapons clearing barrel and fired his 9 mm pistol into the barrel.
Apparently not knowing where West's gun was aimed, Hamoody cracked and gave information about the planned ambush on West's convoy, thwarting the attack.

The decision was met by criticism from military prosecutors:

But while West's supporters call him a hero, military prosecutors said his actions amounted to torture and violated articles 128 and 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Prosecutor Capt. Magdalena Pezytulska said West should be tried for assault and for communicating a threat. "This is a case about a man who lost his temper," she argued. "There are consequences for [West's] actions."

West retains his eligibility for retirement and his pension. We don't begrudge him his pension or retirement benefits, he had 20 blemish-free years and earned them. As to the fine and lack of criminal sanction, that's what we in the industry call, "a kiss."

Bob Herbert has the right prescription for a 2004 Democrat win and ouster of Bush in this column from today's New York Times.

Any Democrat will be a long shot next year. Without an infusion of new voters (young people, white working families, Hispanics and women) and another huge turnout by African-Americans, the Democrats are doomed.

The strongest ticket might be Dean-Clark. But the Democrats need more than a candidate or two. The party needs a plan. It needs a coherent, compelling, convincing narrative that shows how voters and the nation would be better off under Dr. Dean or General Clark or Dick Gephardt — take your pick — than they are now.

To regain control of the White House, the Democrats need to give voters, who are frightened by terrorism and disoriented by the pace of 21st-century events, new reasons to hope. That can only be done by a thoughtful, united, energized and creative party. A party with a plan and a ferocious will to win.

[link via Atrios.]

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) announced today that she and Rep. Rush Holt, (D-NJ) will introduce a bill to require that a receipt for electronic voting be provided at the ballot box. They will try to get the bill passed by the November, 2004 elections.

Boxer's bill would provide emergency funding for counties across the country to accommodate printers, expected to cost at least $500 per machine.

...Voting rights advocates and computer scientists have argued that paperless voting machines such as touchscreen terminals expose elections to hackers, software bugs and mechanical failures. But voting equipment companies and county registrars say requiring paper records would dramatically increase the cost and complexity of voting.

Some voting companies expressed doubt they could comply in time for the November elections. They need to try harder. Work overtime. Whatever it takes.

An 11 year old pleaded guilty today in New Jersey to kidnapping and killing a toddler when he was 10. Aaron Kean was not charged as an adult. The Court sentenced him to 18 years in the custody of the juvenile justice system.

Under terms of the sentence, he will be evaluated periodically and could be released at any time it is determined that he is rehabilitated. If he is released early, he would be subject to six years of supervision.

Kean is expected to be sent out of state to a specialized children's mental health facility. This is how child offenders should be treated--through attempts at rehabilitation. Not like Florida treated Lionel Tate.

After a three hour hearing in the Detroit terror trial case today, Judge Gerald Rosen said the Government should have provided a letter to the defense that might have impeached the credibility of its star witness. Background on the hearing is here and here.

The Judge didn't rule today, saying he needed to hear more evidence. Several prosecutors testified the letter should have been turned over:

Several Justice Department lawyers on Friday conceded the evidence should have been turned over. And assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Gershel said he ordered Keith Corbett, one of the prosecutors at trial, to turn over the letter from gang leader Milton "Butch" Jones.

"Oh, eloquent profanity, it rolls right off my tongue" (Roll Um Easy, Little Feat, Linda Ronstadt)

This is one bill we would love to see live debate on:

HR 3687 IH, 108th CONGRESS, 1st Session

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, December 8, 2003

Mr. OSE (for himself and Mr. SMITH of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL (Introduced in House)

To amend section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, to provide for the punishment of certain profane broadcasts, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 1464 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

(1) by inserting `(a)' before `Whoever'; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

`(b) As used in this section, the term `profane', used with respect to language, includes the words `[ enumerates profane words] compound use (including hyphenated compounds) of such words and phrases with each other or with other words or phrases, and other grammatical forms of such words and phrases (including verb, adjective, gerund, participle, and infinitive forms).'.

Hopefully Atrios or someone who doesn't care about censor blocking software will print the actual words. If not, go here and type in "HR 3687.

One lawyer who read the bill speculates that it just a step toward re-instating blasphemy laws. He says "Profane" is a religious term and refers to blasphemy" and "The antonym to "profane" is "sacred."

Update: Atrios has the actual language up here.

Update: From Urban Legends, origin of the F* word

Daily Kos reports on the newest Iowa poll, taken after Al Gore officially endorsed Howard Dean:

Dec. 8 - 10 numbers (November results are in parentheses):

Dean 42 (32)
Gephardt 23 (22)
Kerry 19 (15)
Edwards 10 (11)
Other 7 (10)
Undecided 4 (6)

Civil rights groups held a press conference Thursday to demand that the Justice Dept. drop its civil suit against Greenpeace:

...leaders from national environmental and civil liberties groups called on Attorney General John Ashcroft to drop a criminal case against Greenpeace USA pending in Miami, which could set a dangerous precedent threatening Americans' First Amendment right to peaceful protest.

The criminal prosecution of an advocacy group for the free speech activities of its members – and the chilling effect on its activities – is unprecedented in the U.S. A Greenpeace motion to dismiss will be heard in Miami federal court tomorrow in the case, which charges Greenpeace with criminal conspiracy and unlawful boarding.

For background on the case, go here.

Our thoughts and best wishes are with Time Magazine senior correspondent Michael Weisskoph who lost a hand today in Iraq during a grenade attack on his vehicle. Weisskoph picked up the grenade to throw it out of the Humvee he was riding in when it exploded. He also suffered serious shrapnal wounds to his chest and arms. Time photographer James Nachtwey and two soldiers were also in the vehicle. All received some injuries.

Time would not offer details on the incident. But a memo sent to Weisskopf's former colleagues at The Washington Post said he picked up the grenade and tossed it out of the Humvee. It exploded, blowing off his hand and wounding him in the chest and arms. The memo said Nachtwey received shrapnel wounds that were not as serious.

"According to people he works with at Time, he picked up the grenade and tossed it out, losing his right hand in the process while saving four lives," the memo said.

The memo said Weisskopf's wife, Judith, had spoken with him and he was eager to return home. He was to return to Washington within a few days, the memo said.