Newt was collapsing in Florida before last night's debate. Apparently last night will only contribute to Newt's decline.

The RCP Average has Romney leading Newt by 7.2 points, but the trend is clear- Florida is heading to a Romney double digit blowout. Santorum is said to have done well and that will probably bleed Newt even more.

So that's that it seems. Well Newt. It was fun while it lasted this past week.

Get ready for Obama-Romney in the Fall.

Expendable has been released. You can watch it here. It tells the story of Schapelle Corby, the young Australian woman en route to a vacation in Bali, sentenced to 20 years in a Bali prison when 4 kilos of marijuana were found in her boogie board. Schapelle has always maintained her innocence and her incarceration has resulted in severe mental illness.

How a government wilfully withheld vital evidence from a court of law, deceived its public, orchestrated an unprecedented media campaign, and ruthlessly deployed its organs of state against one of its own citizens.

This is a frightening but entirely true narrative; a grotesque political horror story which is still unfolding today. It exposes what happens when an individual’s human rights conflict with strategic political need.

[More...]

Human Rights Watch has released a new report, “Old Behind Bars: The Aging Prison Population in the United States."

Aging men and women are the most rapidly growing group in US prisons, and prison officials are hard-pressed to provide them appropriate housing and medical care, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Because of their higher rates of illness and impairments, older prisoners incur medical costs that are three to nine times as high as those for younger prisoners.

By the numbers: [More...]

If you're watching the Florida Republican Debate, here's a place to comment.

Unlike in SC, the crowd tonight will be allowed to hoot and holler.

Steven Tyler did a better job on the national anthem. The immigration debate is now about grandmothers. Mitt's father was born in Mexico, his mother in Wales. Mitt 1, Newt 0 on immigration, though he wasted it because at the end, they were saying the same thing. Romney looks refreshed, Newt looks worn and like he could use a few weeks at a health spa. [More...]

Leon Pannetta outlined the new Pentagon cuts today. Fewer troops, increased use of drones, and a bigger role for Secret Ops.

US special forces that were previously committed to Iraq will now be used around the globe, Mr Panetta said.

...Mr Panetta said there would be funding for a floating base that would serve special operations forces as well as drone units.

Poland today signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, or ACTA. In protest, members of the Palikot's Movement, a left-ist group of lawmakers, showed up in Guy Fawkes masks.

Critics say the Agreement will lead to censorship. It has similarities to SOPA and PIPA.

Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Greece also signed on today.

TalkLeft was down this morning, our hosting company had issues. It's fixed now. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome. Thanks to those of you who emailed me to let me know.

BTD -Still a very busy time for me. Maybe post tomorrow.

New Zealand Judge David McNaughton, who denied bail yesterday for Kim DotCom, has granted bail to two of his three co-defendants, neither of whom are New Zealand citizens.

Bram van der Kolk and Finn Batato will be released on bail. Van der Kolk is from the Netherlands but has been residing in New Zealand since April, 2011. Batato (like Ortmann) is from Germany and just flew in for Kim DotCom's birthday party. Germany does not extradite German nationals to the U.S.

Here are Batato's ruling and Van der Kolk's ruling. (Thanks to ComputerWorld NZ for posting the decisions.)

No decision has been reached yet on Mathias Ortmann. [More...]

American Idol airs auditions in Aspen, CO tonight. Steven Tyler calls it "G-ds' Paintbrush."

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Newt Gingrich has taken $10 million (so far) from a PAC funded by Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelman and his wife.

What's Newt doing with the money? He's bought $6 million of ad time in Florida.

Newt, of course, pretends people power is fueling his campaign:

"Gov. Romney will have vastly more money than I will," Gingrich said, but suggested he has more grassroots support. "People power beats money power every time."

Adelson owns, among other things, the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. I'm crossing that one off my list of places to stay.

Steven Slevin, 57, was arrested for a DUI and related minor offenses in New Mexico in 2005. He spent two years in solitary at the Dona Ana County Detention Facility. He was not provided mental health or medical care. Even his request to see a dentist was refused -- resulting in him being forced to pull his own tooth.

A federal jury has awarded him $22 million for the inhumane treatment. [More...]

Is it time to close your Google account? Here's how.

MegaUpload read for today: MegaUpload Meet Morrison. More here. The media has gone wild with its coverage of Kim DotCom's personal life, I'm only interested in the legal aspects of the case. MegaUpload lawyer Ira Rothken is interviewed here.

I've got court today, so here's an open thread, all topics welcome.