The Bush Wars has taken Howard Dean's 16 Questions for Bush and researched and presents the sources and their accompanying links.

Nice job.

The FBI's highest ranking Arab-American agent has accused the FBI of bias:

The F.B.I.'s highest-ranking Arab-American agent has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the bureau, charging that he was kept out of the investigation of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackings because of his ancestry.

The agent, Bassem Youssef, filed the lawsuit on Friday in Federal District Court for the District of Columbia. Mr. Youssef, a naturalized American citizen born in Egypt, said in his complaint that "no other non-Arab F.B.I. employee with similar background and experience was willfully blocked from working 9/11-related matters."

Lisa English of Ruminate This says " Welcome to the GOP Police State."

Wampum covers Democratic hopeful John Edwards.

Liberal Oasis has the latest Bush poll results in one place.

Kevin Drum at Calpundit has a uranium wrapup.

Hessiod at Counterspin tells what Ashcroft has in common with the Communist Vietnamese Government.

Matt Yglesias is back from Italy, and apparently well-rested, as he's blogging up a storm.

Teresa Nielsen Hayden at Making Light has this astute observation:

At what point did the Bush administration know there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? When Rumsfeld started cutting troop allocations from the war plan. The administration may have known earlier, but they surely knew by then.

Cutting the troop allocations was crazy enough if Rumsfeld assumed US troops would be going up against conventional weapons; but even he wouldn’t have done that if he honestly thought they’d face WMDs.

Max Sawicky writes Congressman John Conyers about his insane plan to make downloading a single file from the internet a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

More to come tomorrow, we've been very negligent in writing about what other bloggers are covering the past few weeks as crime news and issues have been flying so fast and furious. But as Skippy points out on the Kobe Bryant case (not too delicately, either) there's a lot more going on in the world.

27 detainees were released from Guantanamo this week, 16 of them to Afganistan. Three were interviewed by the media upon arrival in Afganistan. Two of them alleged substantial abuse by their captors. One said the abuse included beatings.

"Who says we were not punished? It's not true," said Abdul Rehman, 29, from Faryab province in northeastern Afghanistan. "They pushed us all over, treated us very badly. They put 24 of us in a small congested room. They also put us into cold rooms."

Rehman said he had been "badly punished 107 times," speaking in an interview with Associated Press Television News at Kabul Central Jail shortly before he and the others were released to the international Red Cross in preparation for their return home.

He alleged that during his 20 months at Guantanamo, his captors chained his hands and feet and beat him with a metal rod on his legs and back, but he refused to show scars that may have resulted from any abuse.

Zabet Ullah, 32, of Kandahar, told The Associated Press while walking to the Red Cross bus, "There was very bad treatment of the prisoners in Guantanamo. It was against the human rights of the Geneva Conventions."

The third interviewed detainee had no complaints about his treatment. There are still 660 detainees at Guantanamo, eight of whom just arrived this week from Afganistan.

Here is the timeline of events in the Kobe Bryant case, courtesy of the Denver Post:

June 30: Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and three associates check into The Lodge & Spa at Cordillera, a $360- to $700-a-night resort hotel in Edwards, about 10 p.m.

10:15 p.m.: Bryant moves around the lobby.

11 p.m.: A 19-year-old woman who works at the hotel as a concierge and receptionist goes off duty.

11:13 p.m.: A phone call lasting a few minutes is placed from Bryant's room to what is believed to be his Newport Beach, Calif., home, where his wife, Vanessa, and young daughter are staying.

Before midnight: Bryant's accuser goes to his room and stays for an undetermined length of time, according to several hotel employees.

July 1, morning: Bryant has arthroscopic surgery on his right knee at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail.

Midday: The woman, accompanied by her parents, reports the alleged sexual assault to the Eagle County Sheriff's Department.

Unfortunate news to report about David Boies, the lawyer who represented Al Gore in the 2000 election mess in Florida. He is facing three ethics charges in Florida, due to his having funded a lawsuit.

David Boies, a perennial on the National Law Journal's list of most influential lawyers, faces three charges of ethics violations based on his involvement in a bizarre legal battle between the owners of two Palm Beach lawn-care companies.

A Bar grievance committee in Tallahassee found probable cause on July 10 that Boies had violated rules against misconduct, giving money to a client and improper supervision of other lawyers. The finding is similar to an indictment by a grand jury, and the charges will be heard in a trial proceeding by a judge appointed by the Florida Supreme Court.

Here's the background on the charges:

The ATF is searching for over 1,100 pounds of ammonium nitrate stolen from companies in Colorado and California in recent days.

Ammonium nitrate, mixed with fuel oil, were the key ingredients in the Oklahoma City bomb back in 1995. By itslef, ammonium nitrate is used as fertilizer.

A nationwide alert was issued Monday by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after eight 50-pound bags of an ammonium nitrate-based explosive vanished from the Pike View Quarry near Colorado Springs.

The other theft, 700 pounds of an ammonium nitrate product, occurred Sunday or Monday from Tom C. Dyke Drilling and Blasting in Alpine, Calif., about 30 miles east of San Diego, authorities said. Thieves forced their way into a locked trailer and took 16 50-pound bags. Two of the bags have been found.

This sounds somewhat ominous:

Authorities had said the material stolen in Colorado was already mixed with fuel oil and had a strong diesel fuel odor.

Zogby News reports on the increasing decline of Bush's approval rating:

Bush Job Performance Slips to 53% Positive, 46% Negative; More Voters (47%) Say It's Time for Someone New Than Say He Deserves Re-election

47% say its time for someone new. That's an increase from 38% a month ago. 42% now have an unfavorable opinion of Bush as a person. [thanks to Media Horse for the link]

We think this signals the Dems can win in 2004. But they need a left-of-center candidate, not a centrist, and they need a platform, not platitudes. Voters will need a clear choice, and that will only come from sharply delineated positions on issues. Iraq and security may be key, but they are not the only issues. As the economy and state budgets continue to crumble and the cutting of essential services begins to affect daily lives, we think more people will be eager for change. It's up to the Democrats to provide them with a clear alternative. We haven't seen one yet among the top contenders, but it's still early and we're still hoping one emerges.

Here is the text of the statement Kobe Bryant's lawyer, Pamela Mackey, gave at the Friday night press conference in Los Angeles:

Kobe Bryant is innocent of the charges that were filed against him today. He stands falsely accused, falsely accused of an extremely serious crime, a crime that carries with it the potential of a life sentence.

No prosecutor should file charges unless the evidence is so strong that the case can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The evidence in this case falls far, far short of that standard. The accusations in this case cannot be proven because they are false. Kobe Bryant did not assault his accuser. Kobe Bryant will plead not guilty. He will request that this case be tried to a Colorado jury. His defense is that what happened on June 30th in Eagle County was a sexual encounter between two consenting adults. He had no reason to believe otherwise. The physical evidence in this case totally supports his belief.

His actions since these accusations were made have been those of an innocent man. He has cooperated fully with every demand, every request made by the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office.

We do not intend to discuss the facts or the evidence of this case because we do not intend to try this case in the press. We intend to try this case to a Colorado jury, and we are confident that a fair and impartial jury will find that Kobe Bryant is innocent.

Every citizen -- every citizen is entitled to an impartial jury. The sheriff in Eagle County and certain of his deputies insist on making public inappropriate statements, statements that are endangering our ability to select a fair and impartial jury. It must stop. If it doesn't, we will ask the court to enter an order stopping the inappropriate comments that continue to be made.

I want to repeat, we will not try this case in the press. We will try it to a Colorado jury, and we are confident that a Colorado jury will find that Mr. Kobe Bryant is innocent. Thank you.

[source: Lexis.com]

[comments now closed]

From last night's On The Record ( Fox News Channel) (via Lexis.com)

(Guest Anchor Laurie Dhue:) Doctor, can the doctors tell the difference between consensual and non-consensual intercourse? And how do they do that?

DR. MICHAEL BADEN, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: No, Laurie. Usually, a physician can't tell consensual from non-consensual. They can tell whether there's been intercourse or not intercourse, but not whether it's consensual because one can have bruises and certain injuries from consensual sex and one can have no injuries from non-consensual sex.

Update: You can view the Complaint against Kobe Bryant here.

Here is the text of Kobe Bryant's statement, made following the announcement by the Eagle, Colorado District Attorney that one count of sexual assault will be filed against Kobe:

I am innocent of the charges filed today. I did not assault the woman who is accusing me. I made the mistake of adultery. I have to answer to my wife and my God for my actions that night and I pray that both will forgive me. Nothing that happened June 30th was against the will of the woman who now falsely accuses me. These false allegations have hurt my family. I will fight against these allegations with all my strength. My wife is the strongest person I know. She is willing to stand by me despite my mistake. That means everything to me. I have so much to live for. And by that I do not mean the contracts, or the money, or the fame. I mean my family. I will fight for them. I appreciate all those who have supported me. Thank you for believing in me. My family and I are going to need your support and prayers now more than ever."

Text of Vanessa Bryant's Statement:

"I know that my husband has made a mistake -- the mistake of adultery. He and I will have to deal with that within our marriage, and we will do so. He is not a criminal. I know that he did not commit a crime, he did not assault anyone. He is a loving and kind husband and father. I believe in his innocence. Because I know him to be innocent, I will stand by him and we will face this together. I will give him all the strength and support he needs to face these false accusations. I will not let him face these accusations alone. I know Kobe better than anyone. The great person you see on the court and in the public is a far greater person off the court."

NBA Commissioner David Stern's statement:

"As with all allegations of a criminal nature, the NBA's policy is to await the outcome of a judicial proceeding before taking any action. We do not anticipate making further comments during the pendency of the judicial process."

The two most critical things to remember:

• A criminal charge filed in Court is an accusation, not evidence. Kobe Bryant is no more guilty today than he was yesterday by virtue of the District Attorney's decision. His belief that he can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt may or may not prove accurate.

• The charge is extremely serious. Colorado has indeterminate sentencing on sexual assault charges. The minimum is four years. The maximum is life. The Judge sets the minimum, but the Parole Board decides when, if ever, to let him out. While the Judge could sentence Kobe Bryant to probation instead of jail if convicted, it would have to be for a term of between 20 years to life, during which time he would have to undergo extremely rigorous sex offender treatment. He would have to register as a sex offender for life, wherever he lived.

Kobe Bryant has been charged with one count of felony sexual assault, a class three felony, punishable by a prison term of between four years to life. If convicted and granted probation, ithe probationary term will be between 20 years and life.

The DA said he considered testimony, physical evidence, statutes, case law and advice from several DA's around the state. He said Kobe was treated the same as everyone else.