Hot Topics
In addition to Castro:
Pay attention to these two quotes from the same article:
With the support of smaller groups and independent candidates, the opposition could gain the two-thirds majority in parliament needed to impeach Musharraf, who has angered many Pakistanis by allying the country with Washington in 2001 to fight al-Qaida and the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
And now from one of our own
Sen. Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and one of several U.S. lawmakers who observed the election, said Tuesday the results mean the United States can shift its Pakistan policy.
“This is an opportunity for us to move from a policy that has been focused on a personality to one based on an entire people,” Biden said, adding that Washington should help democracy take deeper root in Pakistan.
The Supreme Court rejected a challenge Tuesday to the Bush administration’s domestic spying program.
The justices’ decision, issued without comment, is the latest setback to legal efforts to force disclosure of details of the warrantless wiretapping that began after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The American Civil Liberties Union wanted the court to allow a lawsuit by the group and individuals over the wiretapping program. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the suit, saying the plaintiffs could not prove their communications had been monitored.
The government has refused to turn over information about the closely guarded program that could reveal who has been under surveillance.
ACLU legal director Steven R. Shapiro has said his group is in a “Catch-22″ because the government says the identities of people whose communications have been intercepted is secret. But only people who know they have been wiretapped can sue over the program, Shapiro has said.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled against an Islamic charity that also challenged program, concluding that a key piece of evidence is protected as a state secret.
In that case, the Oregon-based U.S. arm of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation alleged the National Security Agency illegally listened to its calls. The charity had wanted to introduce as evidence a top-secret call log it received mistakenly from the Treasury Department.
A separate lawsuit against telecommunications companies that have cooperated with the government is pending in the San Francisco-based appeals court. A U.S. district court also is examining whether the warrantless surveillance of people in the United States violates the law that regulates the wiretapping of suspected terrorists and requires the approval of a secret court.
The case is ACLU v. NSA, 07-468.
Yawn!
Speaking on soil once stained with the blood of Rwanda’s genocide, President Bush called Tuesday on all nations to step up efforts to end “once and for all” the ethnic slaughter still continuing in Sudan’s western Darfur region.
The president said the U.S. is using sanctions, pressure and money to help resolve the Darfur crisis that Bush calls a genocide. But the president, frustrated at the lack of willingness of some other countries to do the same, sought to give his campaign for their increased involvement added weight by making pointed remarks on it from the Rwandan capital.
“The Rwanda people know the horrors of genocide,” Bush said after meeting with Rwandan President Paul Kagame. “My message to other nations is: ‘Join with the president and help us get this problem solved once and for all.’ And we will help.“
“On-time performance is a key element of Amtrak service. We are fully mindful of that. This is not about train delays,” Bill Rooney, the railroad’s vice president for security strategy and special operations, told The Associated Press.
Really? I sat in Chicago’s Union Station for 3 hours on Friday. The train was to depart at 12:15 p.m.. At 11:40 a.m. , we were told of a delay due to mechanical problems and new cars were being brought in. We were told 1 hour delay. 15 minutes later(12:05 p.m.), we were told another hour delay. 10 minutes later(12:20 p.m.), we were told a total of 45 minutes and don’t leave the terminal. We then heard nothing..absolutely nothing. I went to the Amtrak Customer service desk and was informed that they have no idea what was going on with my train, but if I want to change, go stand in that long line…no attempt was made to call to find out what the hold up was..I went and stood in the line and was told that to change the ticket would cost me additional dollars! By now it is 2:30 p.m. and they are lining us up to get on a train. We depart at 3:15 p.m. Best part of the story? The conductor wasn’t clued in on what were were told. He informed us that it was ice on the tracks…the problem with that story? Lie! I will not support federal funds to Amtrak. It needs to die out and be replaced by a responsible company that can deal with the public…I have never seen so many employees standing around doing absolutely nothing but chit chatting with each other.
February 19, 2008 - 11:36 AM on February 19th, 2008
[...] Right Voices wrote an interesting post today on Hot TopicsHere’s a quick excerpt In addition to Castro: Pakistan’s Ruling Party Concedes Defeat Pay attention to these two quotes from the same article: With the support of smaller groups and independent candidates, the opposition could gain the two-thirds majority in parliament needed to impeach Musharraf, who has angered many Pakistanis by allying the country with Washington in 2001 to fight al-Qaida and the Taliban after the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States. And now from one of our own Sen. Joseph Biden, chairman o [...]