September 30, 2008
Posted by Coonsey in Domestic Policy, Misc.Tags: laptop, S. 3612 Bill, Travelers' Privacy Protection Act
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Protect Info on Your Laptop
Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) has authored S. 3612, the Travelers’ Privacy Protection Act of 2008, which would ensure that American citizens and legal residents returning to the U.S. from overseas are not subject to invasive searches of their laptops or other electronic devices without any suspicion of wrongdoing.
“Most Americans would be shocked to learn that upon their return to the U.S. from traveling abroad, the government could demand the password to their laptop, hold it for as long as it wants, pore over their documents, emails, and photographs, and examine which websites they visited – all without any suggestion of wrong-doing,”
The bill would require all Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agents to have reasonable suspicion before searching the contents of laptops or other electronic equipment carried by U.S. citizens. It would also ban profiling based on travelers’ race or ethnicity, allow people detained to witness the process of their laptop being examined, limit the time officials can hold a traveler’s hardware and provide compensation for damage to a traveler’s computer.
Write or call your representative and ask them to support the S. 3612 bill, Travelers’ Privacy Protection Act of 2008.
September 30, 2008
Posted by Coonsey in Foreign Policy, Military, Politics.Tags: afghanistan, iraq, karzai
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Karzai is Willing To Protect Taliban from U.S.?
KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghanistan’s president said Tuesday he has repeatedly asked Saudi Arabia’s king to facilitate peace talks with the Taliban.
Hamid Karzai said Afghan officials have traveled to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in hopes of ending the country’s six-year conflict but there have not been any negotiations so far.
“For the last two years, I’ve sent letters to the king of Saudi Arabia, and I’ve sent messages, and I requested from him as the leader of the Islamic world, for the security and prosperity of Afghanistan and for reconciliation in Afghanistan … he should help us,” Karzai said in a message to Afghans to mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
Saudi Arabia is a leader of the Sunni Muslim world and the location of Islam’s two holiest shrines in Mecca and Medina. It was one of a handful of countries that recognized the strictly Islamic Taliban as rulers of Afghanistan in the 1990s.
Even after their ouster by a U.S.-led invasion in 2001, Saudi kept its doors open for Taliban members to make the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. (more…)
September 30, 2008
Posted by Coonsey in Domestic Policy, Politics.Tags: bailout, congress, Debate, Joe Biden, Sarah Palin
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My Prediction for Bailout
There is absolutely no way members of Congress will allow their OWN banks to go belly up. There is no way they will allow ATMS to freeze. They ‘want’ their money just as badly as we all do. Even if they are millionaires.
Remember, those that ‘have’ money hate ‘losing it’. Each day the stock market loses, so do they. They especially, because that’s where all their money is being accumulated.
This whole mess is being held up for political reasons only. People are holding back their votes in order to ‘get something’ they want.
Once those wishes are met, a bill will be passed. Guess when that will be? Friday Morning or very early Friday afternoon. Why you may ask? The Vice Presidential Debate between Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joe Biden is being held the night before.
It’s a known fact that there are many conservatives very worried about Sarah Palin’s performance that night. Some have even suggested before hand that she withdraw from the position.
If Palin does a terrible job Thursday night — the passing of a new bill will override any ‘bad news’ from the Debate.
If Palin does a great job, then the bill will still be passed but just not necessarily on Friday.
Keep in mind folks, this GOP crew (led by Karl Rove) have always ‘used’ breaking news stories to ‘hide’ stories they’d rather not be seen.
So, it appears that the United States Economy and Financial market is completely reliant on Governor Sarah Palin’s performance Thursday night.
September 30, 2008
Posted by Coonsey in Foreign Policy, Military, Politics.Tags: Barack Obama, iraq, John McCain, surge, victory
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What Is Victory in Iraq?
Secretary Gates and Prime Minister al-Maliki
BAGHDAD (AP) — Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Monday that the government is ready to compromise to reach a security accord with the United States because his country still needs American troops despite the drop in violence.
In an interview with The Associated Press, al-Maliki said neither he nor Iraq’s parliament will accept any pact that fails to serve the country’s national interests. A poorly constructed plan would provoke so much discord in Iraq that it could threaten his government’s survival, he said.
Al-Maliki said, however, that he is firmly committed to reaching an accord that would allow U.S. troops to remain in the country beyond next year…
Answering questions in his office in Baghdad’s heavily guarded Green Zone, in an ornate room once used by Saddam Hussein’s son Odai, al-Maliki said a compromise was near on the thorny issue of legal jurisdiction over U.S. forces. He said it would involve an offer of limited immunity for American forces.
“We have proposed that the legal jurisdiction would be … with the Americans … when the troops are performing military operations,” he explained.
“When they are not performing a military operation, they are outside their camps, the legal jurisdiction would be in the hands of the Iraqi judiciary.”… (more…)
September 29, 2008
Posted by Coonsey in Military, Politics.Tags: Barack Obama, donate, John McCain, ron paul, troops
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TROOPS DONATE MORE TO OBAMA
WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. soldiers have donated more presidential campaign money to Democrat Barack Obama than to Republican John McCain, a reversal of previous campaigns in which military donations tended to favor GOP White House hopefuls, a nonpartisan group reported Thursday.
Troops serving abroad have given nearly six times as much money to Obama’s presidential campaign as they have to McCain’s, the Center for Responsive Politics said….
McCain’s campaign played down the significance of the donations.
“John McCain has been endorsed by more retired admirals and generals than Barack Obama has military donors,” McCain spokesman Michael Goldfarb said in a statement…
Among soldiers serving overseas at the time of their donations, 134 gave a total of $60,642 to Obama while 26 gave a total of $10,665 to McCain. That was less than the amount received by Republican Ron Paul, who collected $45,512 from 99 soldiers serving abroad, the report said.
It would appear that the troops that John McCain talks to must only be those that support him. During last weeks debate, McCain claimed the troops told him to “Let us come home in Victory and with Honor”. Maybe McCain only allows ’supporters’ into his rallies — sort of like the Bush Administration always did.
