US citizen narrowly escapes total legal limbo

Heeeeeeeey kids! Did you know that the US government is capturing people, including citizens of the United States, and having other countries torture them as per back-room agreements between the nations? Nope, neither did I:

A federal judge ruled Thursday that an American held in Saudi Arabia for suspected links to terrorism might be able to challenge his detention in a U.S. court because there is "considerable" evidence U.S. officials were behind the arrest. The family of Ahmed Abu Ali, who grew up in Falls Church, Va., claims U.S. officials want to keep him in Saudi Arabia so he can be tortured for information.

U.S. District Judge John Bates did not rule on the legitimacy of the claims, but said there is "at least some circumstantial evidence that Abu Ali has been tortured during interrogations with the knowledge of the United States."....Abu Ali's family cited two instances where they say the assistant U.S. attorney in the Virginia case made comments indicating that Abu Ali has had his fingernails removed in the Saudi jail. They also say a witness in Saudi Arabia told them Abu Ali was in so much pain he was unable to pick up a pen to sign documents.

I suppose I should've expected it. Just what are we coming to? How is it we allow ourselves to even go this far?

In his decision, Bates rejected the U.S. government's position that an American court could never have jurisdiction over the plight of a U.S. citizen held captive in a foreign country. Relying on the Guantanamo ruling, Bates said such a declaration is too sweeping and would allow the government "to deliver a United States citizen to a foreign country to avoid constitutional scrutiny, or ... work through the intermediary of a foreign country to detain a United States citizen abroad."

Bravo.

This guy was appointed to his position by Bush Sr, by the way. If anyone screams "he's crippling the War on Terror!", remember like I told you last year: "Conservatives seek out people who appear to be strict constructionalists on the constitution, people who would take it literally. Yet when these people get into office they may make decisions based on that literalness that conservatives themselves don't like. In a way, they're complaining because they're getting what they asked for."

Linked on the Beltway Traffic Jam

In other news...

Electronic Arts now has exclusive rights to use NFL players, team names, and stadiums.

Translation: They shall force me to go without a football game in the future or....argh...endure the excruciatingly-goofy gameplay of Madden, which has not been functional since 96. Geeezus, at least with the NBA games they make somethin' playable (if a li'l too arcade-like nowadays), Madden is f#$%#ing unplayable.

First the decent baseball game dies (the last one with a pitching system that made sense was World Series Baseball for the friggin GENESIS), now the decent football game may go by the wayside.

Great advice that shall not be heeded: Chris Hitchens blasts the snap reaction on our part of insisting that Afghanistan stop growing opium.

It's not like they have anything else.