The judge presiding over the case of Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange's extradition to Sweden has ruled he can be extradited.

The Judge ruled Assange can get a fair trial in Sweden and that the extradition request and warrant were valid. He rejected Assange's claim that he also could be extradited to the U.S. or Guantanamo and said there was no evidence Assange faced torture or extradition if that happened.

Assange can appeal the decision.

3 stories for your consideration:

Obama Administration a year late and a lot of dollars short with haircuts for banks:

The Obama administration is trying to push through a settlement over mortgage-servicing breakdowns that could force America's largest banks to pay for reductions in loan principal worth billions of dollars. [. . .] Under the administration's proposed settlement, banks would have to bear the cost of all writedowns rather than passing them on to other investors. [. . . E]ven if banks agree to a $20 billion penalty, the number of mortgages that can be cured with that number is limited [. . .]

Goldman Sachs says budget cuts will significantly reduce economic growth:

Criminal Injustice Kos has a good diary today on solitary confinement as a form of torture.

Remember Marvin Booker, the homeless man in Denver jailed on a drug paraphernalia charge, who died after being tasered when he went to retrieve his shoes before going back to his holding cell? The cops won't face charges, but his family announced today they will sue.

Lindsay Lohan got some bad news from the judge today. She has until March 10 to consider her dismal options.

Tonight on TV: Survivor, American Idol, the premiere of the new season of America's Next Top Model, and a new Justified.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

Radley Balko has a new article at Reason, The Mind of a Police Dog, discussing reasons why drug dogs are not as accurate as police and courts assume. It may not be the dog's fault:

The problem is our confusion about when dogs are picking up a scent and when they are responding to cues from their handlers.

....The problem is that a dog barking or sitting may be responding not to a smell but to his handler's hunch about a suspect's guilt. The reason we have a Fourth Amendment is precisely to prevent searches based on hunches.

Courts don't require warrants for K-9 searches, yet they conclude that a positive hit is probable cause for a search.

A recent Chicago Tribune study found the dogs are frequently wrong. More on the study here, and from Jacob Sullum, in A Drug-Sniffing Coin Would be Cheaper. Once again, the Fourth Amendment is going to the dogs.

The DEA raided Florida pain clinics today, arresting 22 people, including 5 doctors. The raids, part of "Operation Pill Nation," took place in Miami, Broward and Palm Beach counties. The charges include drug and money laundering violations.

A few weeks ago Florida Governor Rick Scott halted the state's planned prescription monitoring database program, calling it a waste of financial resources and privacy invasive. 38 states have the program. [More...]

Today has been a mess. Sorry for the lack of posting.I know a lot has been going on today, but I just don't have time to get to anything.

Here's an Open Thread.

Here's the case (PDF). Discuss.

Full analysis later when I can.

I'm busy with work and will be until Thursday.

Of interest: Oral arguments today in the Supreme Court over the 10th Amendment.

The Sentencing Project has released a report on the state of sentencing in 2010. It begins with some sobering facts:

Today, 7.2 million men and women are under correctional supervision. Of this total, five million are monitored in the community on probation or parole and 2.3 million are incarcerated in prisons or jails. As a result the nation maintains the highest rate of incarceration in the world at 743 per 100,000 population.

NACDL and the Brennan Center for Justice have submitted an FOIA request for secret documents pertaining to changes in the Justice Department's policy on Miranda Warnings. Are the feds creating a terrorism exception to Miranda?

Looks like Rahm Emanuel is the next Mayor of Chicago. While I feel for Chicago, I'm glad he's off the national radar for a while.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.

In the wake of a USA Today/Gallup Poll showing that Americans strongly oppose union busting bills such as the one proposed by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, two GOP governors have come out against such bills. In Indiana, Mitch Daniels advised his party to abandon its "right to work" bill. And in Florida, Rick Scott, perhaps smarting from following the Tea Party's bad advice on HSR funding, supports collective bargaining for public sector employees:

My belief is as long as people know what they're doing, collective bargaining is fine," Scott said in an interview with Tallahassee's WFLA FM radio station.

Overreach by Walker? Can he extricate himself now?

Update: Also Michigan's GOP Governor.

Speaking for me only

Kevin Drum has been writing some great stuff on unions, Wisconsin, the Democratic Party and income inequality. You should check it out.

Open Thread.

This headline, Under Obama, Taxes Are Lower Than Ever, made me wonder if President Obama has plans to be more progressive on tax policy after the 2012 election. Defenders of The Deal have argued that President Obama's motivation for agreeing to The Deal was political, which means to me concerns about getting reelected in 2012. Let's concede the point for a moment, and even pretend that that easily predictable dire consequences (slashing of government spending for the next 2 years) are a fair cost for Obama's reelection, the question for me is will Obama, even if he is willing and determined, be able to raise taxes after 2012?

Strictly speaking, if Obama wins, he will have the clear power to raise taxes - by letting the current tax cuts expire. Moreover, Obama will not be facing any more elections after 2012,so he should be able to make a non-political decision. Will he? I'd like to think yes, but I can't say I am convinced. Time will tell.

Speaking for me only

I pause now to assert my bona fides. I got my first union card while still in college and remained a member of the Newspaper Guild throughout my career, paying dues even when I no longer had to. I can whistle union ditties, and I swell with pride at the ancient picture of my grandfather, posed with his good friend, the union organizer.

Some of his best friends are in unions. Sheesh.

Speaking for me only