“It’s Always Christmas Time” For Credit Card Companies
But Consumers Can Get Trapped by Abusive Fees and Practices
Try not to get eaten alive by the damn credit card companies when you shop for all your loved ones this year, eh?
Friday, December 01, 2006
X-mas joy
“It’s Always Christmas Time” For Credit Card Companies
But Consumers Can Get Trapped by Abusive Fees and Practices
Try not to get eaten alive by the damn credit card companies when you shop for all your loved ones this year, eh?
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Forced marriage, abuse behind self-immolation by Afghan women
Forced marriage, abuse behind self-immolation (definition) by Afghan women
Kabul, Nov 15: Forced marriage and chronic abuse are among the key triggers for the growing cases of self-immolation among women in Afghanistan, a regional conference heard yesterday. The high rate of illiteracy -- with under 20 per cent of women said to be literate -- and an incompetent justice system also meant many women could not see their way out of problems and so took their own lives, the three-day meeting heard.The conference of about 400 people, including from other countries that have similar rates of suicide such as Bangladesh, Iran, India and Sri Lanka, was called to try to find ways to stop the phenomenon.
Islamic women an asset for humanity: president
TEHRAN, Nov. 28 (MNA) -- In the Islamic world there are many women scientists and scholars who are regarded as not only assets for Islam but assets for all humanity, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said here on Tuesday.
Wow. Them are some extremes.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad writes a letter to the American people:
Ahmadinejad castigates US policies
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2006
0:10 MECCA TIME, 21:10 GMT
The Iranian president has in an open letter urged the American people to demand the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and reject what he called the US government's "blind support" for Israel...
"Undoubtedly, the American people are not satisfied with this behaviour and they showed their discontent in the recent elections," Ahmadinejad wrote. (here's the whole letter)
Ummm, yeah.
Dear President Ahmadinejad,
This American woman is sorry that my stupid president pooped in your backyard, and you're right, he poops all over the world, including on us Americans, but it looks like you got some of your own dog poop to clean up, eh? And....umm.. here's a little clue for you and maybe you could pass it on to some other leaders in the Middle East? A large percentage of the American public has no fucking clue what a "Zionist" is. Um..yeah, and another thing. This shit ain't gonna happen in America. Why? Because American women won't have it. They're meaner.
(references from the Sibel Edmonds OpEd again...Since the 1950s Turkey has played a key role in channeling into Europe and the U.S. heroin produced in the "Golden Triangle" comprised of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. These operations are run by mafia groups closely controlled by the MIT (Turkish Intelligence Agency) and the military...
... "Bad as it is with Iran, North Korea, and Libya having nuclear-weapons material, the worst part is that they could transfer it to a non-state group. That's the biggest concern, and the scariest thing about all this. There's nothing more important than stopping terrorist groups from getting nuclear weapons.")
And here is a bizarre example of the globalization of sexual exploitation:
Bulgarian man arrested in Iowa for trafficking prostitutes in France
Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006
Kabul, Nov 15: Forced marriage and chronic abuse are among the key triggers for the growing cases of self-immolation among women in Afghanistan, a regional conference heard yesterday. The high rate of illiteracy -- with under 20 per cent of women said to be literate -- and an incompetent justice system also meant many women could not see their way out of problems and so took their own lives, the three-day meeting heard.The conference of about 400 people, including from other countries that have similar rates of suicide such as Bangladesh, Iran, India and Sri Lanka, was called to try to find ways to stop the phenomenon.
Islamic women an asset for humanity: president
TEHRAN, Nov. 28 (MNA) -- In the Islamic world there are many women scientists and scholars who are regarded as not only assets for Islam but assets for all humanity, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said here on Tuesday.
Wow. Them are some extremes.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad writes a letter to the American people:
Ahmadinejad castigates US policies
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2006
0:10 MECCA TIME, 21:10 GMT
The Iranian president has in an open letter urged the American people to demand the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and reject what he called the US government's "blind support" for Israel...
"Undoubtedly, the American people are not satisfied with this behaviour and they showed their discontent in the recent elections," Ahmadinejad wrote. (here's the whole letter)
Ummm, yeah.
Dear President Ahmadinejad,
This American woman is sorry that my stupid president pooped in your backyard, and you're right, he poops all over the world, including on us Americans, but it looks like you got some of your own dog poop to clean up, eh? And....umm.. here's a little clue for you and maybe you could pass it on to some other leaders in the Middle East? A large percentage of the American public has no fucking clue what a "Zionist" is. Um..yeah, and another thing. This shit ain't gonna happen in America. Why? Because American women won't have it. They're meaner.
(references from the Sibel Edmonds OpEd again...Since the 1950s Turkey has played a key role in channeling into Europe and the U.S. heroin produced in the "Golden Triangle" comprised of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. These operations are run by mafia groups closely controlled by the MIT (Turkish Intelligence Agency) and the military...
... "Bad as it is with Iran, North Korea, and Libya having nuclear-weapons material, the worst part is that they could transfer it to a non-state group. That's the biggest concern, and the scariest thing about all this. There's nothing more important than stopping terrorist groups from getting nuclear weapons.")
And here is a bizarre example of the globalization of sexual exploitation:
Bulgarian man arrested in Iowa for trafficking prostitutes in France
Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006
Hard to look at
As I watch this I can't help but to feel resentment as military aircraft flying overhead, and the 10 lane highway 20 metres from my window make it hard to hear the Iraqi national orchestra as they play a popular Western piece, something from the Nutcracker, I think, but I'm not sure.
Paying The Price: Killing The Children Of Iraq
Broadcast 03/06/2000 ITV Runtime 75 Minutes
A documentary film by John Pilger
Sanctions enforced by the UN on Iraq since the Gulf War have killed more people than the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945, including over half a million children - many of whom weren't even born when the Gulf War began.
Saudi will intervene in Iraq if US withdraws-aide
29 Nov 2006 11:10:32 GMT
Source: Reuters
Background
Iraq in turmoil
More WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Using money, weapons or its oil power, Saudi Arabia will intervene to prevent Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias from massacring Iraqi Sunni Muslims once the United States begins pulling out of Iraq, a security adviser to the Saudi government said on Wednesday...
...Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer and exporter and a close U.S. ally, fears Shi'ite Iran has been gaining influence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam Hussein's government.
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney held talks with Saudi King Abdullah in Riyadh on Saturday. Details were not disclosed....
...- or the Saudi king "may decide to strangle Iranian funding of the militias through oil policy. If Saudi Arabia boosted production and cut the price of oil in half ... it would be devastating to Iran ... The result would be to limit Tehran's ability to continue funnelling hundreds of millions each year to Shi'ite militias in Iraq and elsewhere."
Greatest Oil Reserves by Country, 2006
Health and Science—Environment and Nature—Energy
Debating to the numbers (or more on Saudi production)
UN: Afghan government officials protecting opium trade
posted November 29, 2006 at 11:45 p.m.
A new report says wiping out heroin production, which reached a record high in 2006, could take a generation.
If you watched the documentary you won't wonder why I decided to throw the last article into this post. It's probably one of the kinder things we can't seem to stop from happening in the M.E. I wonder if the increased number of children suffering from cancers can get their hands on it? That's where the morphine needs to go. I wonder where the heroin is ending up?
The Highjacking of a Nation
by Sibel Edmonds
"The real rulers in Washington are invisible and exercise power from behind the scenes."Justice Felix Frankfurter
Paying The Price: Killing The Children Of Iraq
Broadcast 03/06/2000 ITV Runtime 75 Minutes
A documentary film by John Pilger
Sanctions enforced by the UN on Iraq since the Gulf War have killed more people than the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan in 1945, including over half a million children - many of whom weren't even born when the Gulf War began.
Saudi will intervene in Iraq if US withdraws-aide
29 Nov 2006 11:10:32 GMT
Source: Reuters
Background
Iraq in turmoil
More WASHINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Using money, weapons or its oil power, Saudi Arabia will intervene to prevent Iranian-backed Shi'ite militias from massacring Iraqi Sunni Muslims once the United States begins pulling out of Iraq, a security adviser to the Saudi government said on Wednesday...
...Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil producer and exporter and a close U.S. ally, fears Shi'ite Iran has been gaining influence since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam Hussein's government.
U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney held talks with Saudi King Abdullah in Riyadh on Saturday. Details were not disclosed....
...- or the Saudi king "may decide to strangle Iranian funding of the militias through oil policy. If Saudi Arabia boosted production and cut the price of oil in half ... it would be devastating to Iran ... The result would be to limit Tehran's ability to continue funnelling hundreds of millions each year to Shi'ite militias in Iraq and elsewhere."
Greatest Oil Reserves by Country, 2006
Health and Science—Environment and Nature—Energy
Debating to the numbers (or more on Saudi production)
UN: Afghan government officials protecting opium trade
posted November 29, 2006 at 11:45 p.m.
A new report says wiping out heroin production, which reached a record high in 2006, could take a generation.
If you watched the documentary you won't wonder why I decided to throw the last article into this post. It's probably one of the kinder things we can't seem to stop from happening in the M.E. I wonder if the increased number of children suffering from cancers can get their hands on it? That's where the morphine needs to go. I wonder where the heroin is ending up?
The Highjacking of a Nation
by Sibel Edmonds
"The real rulers in Washington are invisible and exercise power from behind the scenes."Justice Felix Frankfurter
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
She thinks like I do
GNN contributor Heather Wokusch is the author of www.heatherwokusch.com
How the Republicans Could Win It All Back in 2008
Thu, 16 Nov 2006 11:46:50 -0800
...Signals from top Democrats that they will stand behind Robert Gates to be the next Defense Secretary are also disturbing, given ongoing questions over Gates’ role in the Iran-Contra affair and charges of his having politicized intelligence at the CIA. If the Democrats give Gates a blank check during his confirmation hearings, they will have some explaining to do in 2008...
...Investigations, subpoenas, and the forced handover of secret administration documents would help the Democrats shed light on many levels of Bush & Co. corruption and malfeasance, which if properly communicated to the US public, could only help the Democrats in 2008. Unfortunately, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has indicated that he’s “not heavily into investigations,” adding, “That should be way down at the bottom of our agenda.”
How the Republicans Could Win It All Back in 2008
Thu, 16 Nov 2006 11:46:50 -0800
...Signals from top Democrats that they will stand behind Robert Gates to be the next Defense Secretary are also disturbing, given ongoing questions over Gates’ role in the Iran-Contra affair and charges of his having politicized intelligence at the CIA. If the Democrats give Gates a blank check during his confirmation hearings, they will have some explaining to do in 2008...
...Investigations, subpoenas, and the forced handover of secret administration documents would help the Democrats shed light on many levels of Bush & Co. corruption and malfeasance, which if properly communicated to the US public, could only help the Democrats in 2008. Unfortunately, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has indicated that he’s “not heavily into investigations,” adding, “That should be way down at the bottom of our agenda.”
Monday, November 27, 2006
Is conflict in Iraq a civil war?
(sigh)
Riverbend asked that in February
"...I’m reading, and hearing, about the possibility of civil war. The possibility. Yet I’m sitting here wondering if this is actually what civil war is like. Has it become a reality? Will we look back at this in one year, two years… ten… and say, “It began in February 2006…”? It is like a nightmare in that you don’t realise it’s a nightmare while having it- only later, after waking up with your heart throbbing, and your eyes searching the dark for a pinpoint of light, do you realise it was a nightmare…"
Our nightmare began in January 2000 when the Presidency was handed to some legacy, frat boy, spoiled, useless brat who's been in over his head his whole fucking life and now he's flushing our country down the toilet and blowing up the Middle East.
Can the world wake up from this nightmare?
Update: Randi Rhodes says the CIA was asking this same question in January of 2004.
Riverbend asked that in February
"...I’m reading, and hearing, about the possibility of civil war. The possibility. Yet I’m sitting here wondering if this is actually what civil war is like. Has it become a reality? Will we look back at this in one year, two years… ten… and say, “It began in February 2006…”? It is like a nightmare in that you don’t realise it’s a nightmare while having it- only later, after waking up with your heart throbbing, and your eyes searching the dark for a pinpoint of light, do you realise it was a nightmare…"
Our nightmare began in January 2000 when the Presidency was handed to some legacy, frat boy, spoiled, useless brat who's been in over his head his whole fucking life and now he's flushing our country down the toilet and blowing up the Middle East.
Can the world wake up from this nightmare?
Update: Randi Rhodes says the CIA was asking this same question in January of 2004.
Monday morning history
Mmmmm hmmmmm, really effing sick of turkey.
So, how about some history?
No, no, not the crapola they serve you in jr. high or high school, but the real stuff, OK?
Howard Zinn on The Uses of History and the War on Terrorism
Howard Zinn is one of this country's most celebrated historians. His classic work "A People's History of the United States" changed the way we look at history in America. First published a quarter of a century ago, the book has sold over a million copies and is a phenomenon in the world of publishing - selling more copies each successive year.
Broadcast - 11/24/06 - Democracy Now!
Listen or read transcript
The Current Crisis in the Middle East
True to form, Noam Chomsky makes a sweeping and copiously detailed indictment of U.S. Middle East policy, brooking no contrary or alternate views. His history-filled lecture (interrupted by occasional applause) focuses on four crises, involving the Palestinians, the Lebanon invasion, the Iraq war and the “impending catastrophe in Iran.” While to many the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel seems hopeless, “degenerating to tribal warfare, an endless cycle of revenge and fanaticism,” says Chomsky, a “very clear solution” has long existed:
09/21/06 Runtime 110 Minutes
So, how about some history?
No, no, not the crapola they serve you in jr. high or high school, but the real stuff, OK?
Howard Zinn on The Uses of History and the War on Terrorism Howard Zinn is one of this country's most celebrated historians. His classic work "A People's History of the United States" changed the way we look at history in America. First published a quarter of a century ago, the book has sold over a million copies and is a phenomenon in the world of publishing - selling more copies each successive year.
Broadcast - 11/24/06 - Democracy Now!
Listen or read transcript
The Current Crisis in the Middle East
True to form, Noam Chomsky makes a sweeping and copiously detailed indictment of U.S. Middle East policy, brooking no contrary or alternate views. His history-filled lecture (interrupted by occasional applause) focuses on four crises, involving the Palestinians, the Lebanon invasion, the Iraq war and the “impending catastrophe in Iran.” While to many the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel seems hopeless, “degenerating to tribal warfare, an endless cycle of revenge and fanaticism,” says Chomsky, a “very clear solution” has long existed:
09/21/06 Runtime 110 Minutes
Saturday, November 25, 2006
See what they do to whistleblowers here?
I've been following the Stephen Heller and Sibel Edmonds cases for a while now and I predicted this.
Why?
Because of course if you have evidence of malfeasance by the highest levels of government they gonna smack you down. Then they gonna tell the the public about it while the public is distracted by the holiday. The government is so fucking predictable.
DIEBOLD WHISTLEBLOWER STRIKES PLEA DEAL ON FELONY CHARGES
'State secrets privilege' blocks fired translator from suing FBI
Updated 11/24/2006 12:17 AM ET
Why?
Because of course if you have evidence of malfeasance by the highest levels of government they gonna smack you down. Then they gonna tell the the public about it while the public is distracted by the holiday. The government is so fucking predictable.
DIEBOLD WHISTLEBLOWER STRIKES PLEA DEAL ON FELONY CHARGES
'State secrets privilege' blocks fired translator from suing FBI
Updated 11/24/2006 12:17 AM ET
Friday, November 24, 2006
Deep thoughts?
The Elephant Speaks
Deep Thoughts from the Republicans
(San Diego CityBeat)
Deep thoughts?
Huh.
No mention of how the war that their cheerleading helped set in motion is going.
Fucktards.
They probably think the war on drugs is a good thing too. They probably don't know that stuff like this happens, and you can bet your ass Negroponte knows about it, so does Ollie North.
Deep Thoughts from the Republicans
(San Diego CityBeat)
Deep thoughts?
Huh.
No mention of how the war that their cheerleading helped set in motion is going.
Fucktards.
They probably think the war on drugs is a good thing too. They probably don't know that stuff like this happens, and you can bet your ass Negroponte knows about it, so does Ollie North.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Theo-Con propaganda and spies
I have no idea why all the spy stories caught my eye this morning, but they did. Propaganda is always fascinating to me.
Glenn Beck interviews Benjamin Netanyahu
CNN - Video 11/15/06 Runtime 5 Minutes
War Pimp Alert
U.S. & Israeli Propaganda Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran
Bush's Desire for a Conflict With Iran Is A Crisis Made in Israel
By Scott Ritter, Nation Books. Posted November 20, 2006.
CIA analysis finds no Iranian nuclear weapons drive: report
By Agence France-Presse
11/19/06 "AFP"-- -- WASHINGTON - A classified draft CIA assessment has found no firm evidence of a secret drive by Iran to develop nuclear weapons, as alleged by the White House, a top US investigative reporter said on Saturday
Scroll down to May 11
Israeli Actions in the Americas
USS Liberty incident
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Did the CIA kill Bobby Kennedy?
Spy leaves egg on U.S. faces
Book says Ali Mohamed engaged in terrorism for two decades
By THANE BURNETT
11/19/06 "Toronto Sun"
"For almost two decades, the former Egyptian army commando succeeded in living a double life. Brazenly slipping past watch lists, he moved in and out of the U.S. with impunity, marrying an American woman, becoming a naturalized citizen, and posing as an FBI informant—all while acting as chief of security for Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri."
This sentence fascinates me because a long time ago I knew somebody who knew somebody, who knew somebody who would pay lower income American women around $2500 to marry men from the Middle East so that the men could get their citizenship. I don't know anybody who did it and I immediately turned my nose up with disdain, even though you didn't have to live with them, and could divorce them as soon as they got their citizenship. Poverty was better than dealing with those men to me. I didn't like the ones I'd met. The ones I'd met, for the most part, treated this American woman disrespectfully, & I 'd heard from other women, that I wasn't alone in feeling this way. I wonder if the woman who married him loved him, or she was poor, or what? I haven't read the book.
Poisoned spy 'had death threats'
Alexander Litvinenko is being treated in a London hospital
Update on condition
A friend of a former Russian spy seriously ill in a London hospital said both had received e-mail threats days before his poisoning.
Glenn Beck interviews Benjamin Netanyahu
CNN - Video 11/15/06 Runtime 5 Minutes
War Pimp Alert
U.S. & Israeli Propaganda Manufacturing Consent For War With Iran
Bush's Desire for a Conflict With Iran Is A Crisis Made in Israel
By Scott Ritter, Nation Books. Posted November 20, 2006.
CIA analysis finds no Iranian nuclear weapons drive: report
By Agence France-Presse
11/19/06 "AFP"-- -- WASHINGTON - A classified draft CIA assessment has found no firm evidence of a secret drive by Iran to develop nuclear weapons, as alleged by the White House, a top US investigative reporter said on Saturday
Scroll down to May 11
Israeli Actions in the Americas
USS Liberty incident
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Did the CIA kill Bobby Kennedy?
Spy leaves egg on U.S. faces
Book says Ali Mohamed engaged in terrorism for two decades
By THANE BURNETT
11/19/06 "Toronto Sun"
"For almost two decades, the former Egyptian army commando succeeded in living a double life. Brazenly slipping past watch lists, he moved in and out of the U.S. with impunity, marrying an American woman, becoming a naturalized citizen, and posing as an FBI informant—all while acting as chief of security for Osama bin Laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri."
This sentence fascinates me because a long time ago I knew somebody who knew somebody, who knew somebody who would pay lower income American women around $2500 to marry men from the Middle East so that the men could get their citizenship. I don't know anybody who did it and I immediately turned my nose up with disdain, even though you didn't have to live with them, and could divorce them as soon as they got their citizenship. Poverty was better than dealing with those men to me. I didn't like the ones I'd met. The ones I'd met, for the most part, treated this American woman disrespectfully, & I 'd heard from other women, that I wasn't alone in feeling this way. I wonder if the woman who married him loved him, or she was poor, or what? I haven't read the book.
Poisoned spy 'had death threats'
Alexander Litvinenko is being treated in a London hospital
Update on condition
A friend of a former Russian spy seriously ill in a London hospital said both had received e-mail threats days before his poisoning.
Monday, November 20, 2006
angry, frustrated, so what else is new?
1:39 hours video:
Why We Fight
United States Rides Weapons Bonanza Wave
Published on Saturday, November 18, 2006
by Foreign Policy in Focus
by Frida Berrigan
So there you go. People all over the world think America is some wonderful democracy and the Americans are just blood-thirsty killers who want war, otherwise they would vote differently and the American people could stop the wars, right?
Bbbbbzzzzzzzzzzt!
Fucking wrong answer dudes.
They obviously haven't seen Why We Fight
Propaganda is exposed in the movie.
If somebody who is rich and powerful enough (VP Cheney) wants to make money on wars, it's gonna happen. The American people don't vote on that, and since the last two Presidential elections were stolen (my opinion, and I'm not alone) even though they did vote it didn't fucking matter.
Watching this again made me wonder if the Dems were granted this win because Cheney made enough money, and Bush bought land in Paraguay, so all these rotten fuckers will leave the country before they can be tried as war criminals.
Y'all keep your eyes peeled down there in Paraguay and do me a favor?
Do to these top guys, the guys who really run things, do what they taught you how to do, remember? at the SOAs?
Why We Fight
United States Rides Weapons Bonanza Wave
Published on Saturday, November 18, 2006
by Foreign Policy in Focus
by Frida Berrigan
So there you go. People all over the world think America is some wonderful democracy and the Americans are just blood-thirsty killers who want war, otherwise they would vote differently and the American people could stop the wars, right?
Bbbbbzzzzzzzzzzt!
Fucking wrong answer dudes.
They obviously haven't seen Why We Fight
Propaganda is exposed in the movie.
If somebody who is rich and powerful enough (VP Cheney) wants to make money on wars, it's gonna happen. The American people don't vote on that, and since the last two Presidential elections were stolen (my opinion, and I'm not alone) even though they did vote it didn't fucking matter.
Watching this again made me wonder if the Dems were granted this win because Cheney made enough money, and Bush bought land in Paraguay, so all these rotten fuckers will leave the country before they can be tried as war criminals.
Y'all keep your eyes peeled down there in Paraguay and do me a favor?
Do to these top guys, the guys who really run things, do what they taught you how to do, remember? at the SOAs?
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Funny guy!
Ole Gadaffi's yammering out his neck again.
"The West exploits tribalism, sectarianism and (skin) colour to feed war, which leads to backwardness and Western intervention in a number of countries," he said.
WTF, are we also backing the Janjaweed? Aren't they Arab Muslims? Isn't the whole Darfur crisis Muslims killing Muslims?
Leads to backwardness? So, it's the West's fault that there is some backwardness on the African continent? Maybe something got lost in translation here?
Oh, yeah, and there's the oil question, which I suspect also, but who wants to get their mitts on this oil?
Who wants to know about it?
What's that you say? China, that harbinger of human rights is investing in Sudanese oil?
Umm, yeah, so why do we want to get involved in another civil war again?
Oh boy, Jon Tester, Jim Webb and Koppel talks about a documentary he did for the Discovery Channel in Iran on Press the Meat watch it here
about 40 minutes in Koppel says the dirty word: OIL
"The West exploits tribalism, sectarianism and (skin) colour to feed war, which leads to backwardness and Western intervention in a number of countries," he said.
WTF, are we also backing the Janjaweed? Aren't they Arab Muslims? Isn't the whole Darfur crisis Muslims killing Muslims?
Leads to backwardness? So, it's the West's fault that there is some backwardness on the African continent? Maybe something got lost in translation here?
Oh, yeah, and there's the oil question, which I suspect also, but who wants to get their mitts on this oil?
Who wants to know about it?
What's that you say? China, that harbinger of human rights is investing in Sudanese oil?
Umm, yeah, so why do we want to get involved in another civil war again?
Oh boy, Jon Tester, Jim Webb and Koppel talks about a documentary he did for the Discovery Channel in Iran on Press the Meat watch it here
about 40 minutes in Koppel says the dirty word: OIL
Friday, November 17, 2006
Bush appointing people like crazy
Bush Choice for Family-Planning Post Criticized
By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 17, 2006; Page A01
...Eric Keroack, medical director for A Woman's Concern, a nonprofit group based in Dorchester, Mass., will become deputy assistant secretary for population affairs in the next two weeks, department spokeswoman Christina Pearson said yesterday.
yeah, take a look at the services offered and think about what you see.
By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 17, 2006; Page A01
...Eric Keroack, medical director for A Woman's Concern, a nonprofit group based in Dorchester, Mass., will become deputy assistant secretary for population affairs in the next two weeks, department spokeswoman Christina Pearson said yesterday.
yeah, take a look at the services offered and think about what you see.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
no ruling yet
Judge tentatively rejects California medical marijuana suit
The Associated PressPublished: November 16, 2006
The Associated PressPublished: November 16, 2006
SAN DIEGO: A state judge tentatively rejected San Diego County's challenge of California's decade-old law permitting marijuana use for medical purposes before hearing oral arguments from the county meant to change his mind....
San Diego County sued California and its health services director in February over the state's decade-old law permitting use of the drug with a physician's approval.
Two other California counties, San Bernardino and Merced, joined San Diego as plaintiffs. All three counties have refused to comply with a state requirement that counties issue identification cards for medical marijuana users and maintain a registry of people who apply for the cards....
...California's law allows people suffering AIDS, cancer, anorexia, chronic pain, arthritis and migraine and "any other illness for which marijuana provides relief" to grow or possess small amounts of marijuana with a doctor's recommendation.
Since California voters passed the law with 55 percent approval in 1996, 10 other states have adopted measures protecting qualified patients from prosecution. They are Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
Last week, voters in South Dakota rejected a ballot measure to permit marijuana use for medical purposes.
In 2003, the California Legislature amended the 1996 bill to direct county health departments to issue identification cards to medical marijuana users.
Counties, which did not receive money to fulfill the requirement, have been slow to issue ID cards, but San Diego was the first to refuse on legal grounds.
Yeesh, let's hope the judge doesn't have a pow wow with these dipshits , the will of voters in California won't have a chance if he does.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Ugh
San Diego votes Republican they have no idea WHY THEY DESERVED DEFEAT .
Was it live or was it Diebold TSX touchscreens and Diebold optical scanners?
They use the same memory card, I think.
Thank God for the rest of the country, anyway.
Was it live or was it Diebold TSX touchscreens and Diebold optical scanners?
They use the same memory card, I think.
Thank God for the rest of the country, anyway.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Monday, November 13, 2006
GOP dirty tricks
Scoobie points us to the American Prospect who's Rick Pearlstein tell us to keep in mind the GOP dirty tricks:
...In California's 50th District -- where Democrat Francine Busby had hoped to win a rematch against incumbent Brian Bilbray in Republican felon Duke Cunningham's former seat -- Busby staffers shut down their phone banks because they were reaching so many callers enraged at the "Hi-I'm-calling-with-information-about-Francine-Busby" deluge....
I can't help but wonder if people who voted for Bilbray read this?
or this: San Diego's Potemkin Villages
By Neil Morgan
Friday, Sept. 29, 2006 This is a transcription of Neil Morgan's remarks at the Helen Edison lecture series presentation held at UCSD Sept. 26.
and I rolled my eyes when this guy started talking up Pete Wilson. I wondered which Pete he was talking about, or if he knew about this Pete Wilson .
oh yeah , here's an update on the vote count here in podunk
...In California's 50th District -- where Democrat Francine Busby had hoped to win a rematch against incumbent Brian Bilbray in Republican felon Duke Cunningham's former seat -- Busby staffers shut down their phone banks because they were reaching so many callers enraged at the "Hi-I'm-calling-with-information-about-Francine-Busby" deluge....
I can't help but wonder if people who voted for Bilbray read this?
or this: San Diego's Potemkin Villages
By Neil Morgan
Friday, Sept. 29, 2006 This is a transcription of Neil Morgan's remarks at the Helen Edison lecture series presentation held at UCSD Sept. 26.
and I rolled my eyes when this guy started talking up Pete Wilson. I wondered which Pete he was talking about, or if he knew about this Pete Wilson .
oh yeah , here's an update on the vote count here in podunk
Freeper busted?
California man arrested for mail threats to celebs
Sun Nov 12, 2006 10:32pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A California man suspected of mailing threatening letters containing a suspicious white powder to celebrities and U.S. politicians has been arrested and could face federal charges on Monday, the FBI said.
Investigators identified Chad Castagana, 39, of Woodland Hills, California, as the person suspected of sending more than a dozen threatening letters to media outlets and the homes of public figures in various cities, the FBI said in a statement on Sunday evening.
Anthrax hoaxer may be Free Republic poster
Larisa Alexandrovna and Brian BeutlerPublished: Monday November 13, 2006
Print This Email This
The man arrested on Saturday for sending more than a dozen envelopes containing "fake anthrax" to anti-war celebrities, journalists, and politicians may have ties to the conservative supersite Free Republic, RAW STORY has found.
Chad Castagana, a 39 year old Californian named as the FBI's prime suspect in the case, is due in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles today, where procecutors are expected to file criminal complaint against him for sending threatening letters through the U.S. mail. Castagana has an extensive online history, often writing about science fiction and conservative politics, and many bloggers are convinced that he is also a contributor at the conservative activist Free Republic website under the name Marc Costanzo.
Sun Nov 12, 2006 10:32pm ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A California man suspected of mailing threatening letters containing a suspicious white powder to celebrities and U.S. politicians has been arrested and could face federal charges on Monday, the FBI said.
Investigators identified Chad Castagana, 39, of Woodland Hills, California, as the person suspected of sending more than a dozen threatening letters to media outlets and the homes of public figures in various cities, the FBI said in a statement on Sunday evening.
Anthrax hoaxer may be Free Republic poster
Larisa Alexandrovna and Brian BeutlerPublished: Monday November 13, 2006
Print This Email This
The man arrested on Saturday for sending more than a dozen envelopes containing "fake anthrax" to anti-war celebrities, journalists, and politicians may have ties to the conservative supersite Free Republic, RAW STORY has found.
Chad Castagana, a 39 year old Californian named as the FBI's prime suspect in the case, is due in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles today, where procecutors are expected to file criminal complaint against him for sending threatening letters through the U.S. mail. Castagana has an extensive online history, often writing about science fiction and conservative politics, and many bloggers are convinced that he is also a contributor at the conservative activist Free Republic website under the name Marc Costanzo.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Not surprised by this at all
This four part story will break your heart. Mine's already broken. I've seen veterans on the street my whole life. I was born here. I was raised here. A Vietnam vet helped me when when I needed help, and he had his own demons to deal with. Up close and personal, I've seen what war can do to people.
Mind Games
Conservatively, one out of every three homeless males who is sleeping in a doorway, alley, or box in our cities and rural communities has put on a uniform and served our country ... now they need America to remember them.
Mind Games
Conservatively, one out of every three homeless males who is sleeping in a doorway, alley, or box in our cities and rural communities has put on a uniform and served our country ... now they need America to remember them.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Election '06: Great Outcome, Flawed Votes
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet. Posted November 10, 2006.
Don't confuse a good political outcome with a bad electoral process.Election integrity activists face a quandary this week. After an Election Day where new voting machines failed from coast to coast, and GOP-favoring voter suppression tactics unfolded in state after state, this largely liberal-leaning community knows all too well that the machinery used to slam the breaks on the dreadful Bush administration is deeply flawed, that Tuesday night's vote counts shouldn't fully be trusted.
But will they say so? Will they stand with, gag, the apparently dethroned Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and demand the electronic machines in 27 counties be impounded and examined for vote-count problems? That could reveal, once and for all, why new electronic machines need to be junked. Or will political victory throw a wet blanket on a fired-up election integrity movement?
(click on title link, read the whole thing)
and then there's this from Billmon (supply and demand on K Street)
US vetoes UN draft condemning Israel
In response to draft resolution condemning Israel for Beit Hanoun explosion, American ambassador to UN Bolton says: Draft biased against Israel, doesn't address issue of Palestinian terror. Four other countries abstain from voting
Yitzhak Benhorin, Washington
Published:
11.11.06, 20:54
Do I think this will change in January? We'll see, but color me cynical, K?
Don't confuse a good political outcome with a bad electoral process.Election integrity activists face a quandary this week. After an Election Day where new voting machines failed from coast to coast, and GOP-favoring voter suppression tactics unfolded in state after state, this largely liberal-leaning community knows all too well that the machinery used to slam the breaks on the dreadful Bush administration is deeply flawed, that Tuesday night's vote counts shouldn't fully be trusted.
But will they say so? Will they stand with, gag, the apparently dethroned Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and demand the electronic machines in 27 counties be impounded and examined for vote-count problems? That could reveal, once and for all, why new electronic machines need to be junked. Or will political victory throw a wet blanket on a fired-up election integrity movement?
(click on title link, read the whole thing)
and then there's this from Billmon (supply and demand on K Street)
US vetoes UN draft condemning Israel
In response to draft resolution condemning Israel for Beit Hanoun explosion, American ambassador to UN Bolton says: Draft biased against Israel, doesn't address issue of Palestinian terror. Four other countries abstain from voting
Yitzhak Benhorin, Washington
Published:
11.11.06, 20:54
Do I think this will change in January? We'll see, but color me cynical, K?
Friday, November 10, 2006
Ladies and Gentlemen
How about let's wake up now, eh?
We start by reading this book, so we're not shocked regarding our own dubious (not exactly pushed at us in school) history:
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power
Learn a little history
Learn a little more
and more
Maybe grab a DVD from the Library.
and start making some lifestyle changes
We start by reading this book, so we're not shocked regarding our own dubious (not exactly pushed at us in school) history:
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power
Learn a little history
Learn a little more
and more
Maybe grab a DVD from the Library.
and start making some lifestyle changes
Veterans and their families deserve justice and honesty
Veterans and their families deserve justice and honesty
Posted on Fri, Nov. 10, 2006
By Mike Honda
This Veterans Day, as we reflect upon the ideals and freedoms that define our country, we honor those who fought to protect them since the founding of the republic; and we unite in celebrating the patriotism and valor of soldiers, sailors, aviators and marines who have served, or are serving, in Iraq, Afghanistan and across the globe in the struggle against terrorism.
This has nothing to do with Veterans Day, but I found these two articles interesting:
...Google video suit could signal YouTube trouble ahead
Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006
ELECTIONS-US:
E-Voting Squeaks By With Passing Grade
Mark Weisenmiller
TAMPA, Florida, Nov 9 (IPS) - An estimated 80 to 90 percent of the nearly 79 million U.S. voters either cast their mid-term elections ballot by computer on Tuesday or had their vote tabulated that way, and as experts had predicted, there were various glitches with electronic voting machines throughout the country.
And finally, America, it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
History doesn't stop:
China anticipates bumpy road with U.S.
Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi climbed the Democratic Party ranks in Congress savaging China for its human rights abuses...
Euro gains as China plans to dump U.S. dollar reserves
News Story
Ottawa Business Journal StaffFri, Nov 10, 2006 11:00 AM EST
BOSTON WORLD OIL CONFERENCE
Oil Futures
Posted on Fri, Nov. 10, 2006
By Mike Honda
This Veterans Day, as we reflect upon the ideals and freedoms that define our country, we honor those who fought to protect them since the founding of the republic; and we unite in celebrating the patriotism and valor of soldiers, sailors, aviators and marines who have served, or are serving, in Iraq, Afghanistan and across the globe in the struggle against terrorism.
This has nothing to do with Veterans Day, but I found these two articles interesting:
...Google video suit could signal YouTube trouble ahead
Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006
ELECTIONS-US:
E-Voting Squeaks By With Passing Grade
Mark Weisenmiller
TAMPA, Florida, Nov 9 (IPS) - An estimated 80 to 90 percent of the nearly 79 million U.S. voters either cast their mid-term elections ballot by computer on Tuesday or had their vote tabulated that way, and as experts had predicted, there were various glitches with electronic voting machines throughout the country.
And finally, America, it's time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.
History doesn't stop:
China anticipates bumpy road with U.S.
Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi climbed the Democratic Party ranks in Congress savaging China for its human rights abuses...
Euro gains as China plans to dump U.S. dollar reserves
News Story
Ottawa Business Journal StaffFri, Nov 10, 2006 11:00 AM EST
BOSTON WORLD OIL CONFERENCE
Oil Futures
Thursday, November 09, 2006
woo hoo
In two days they've managed to count 20,000 paper ballots right here in podunk (San Diego) California.
(There are still 180,000 left to count as of 7:28 PM 11/9/2006).
current registration pdf
past turnout rates pdf
Is it me, or is there something funky about the hundred-fifty thousand number jump up in registered voters for the 2004 presidential, and an immediate bump downward back to more normal numbers for the county?
Eh, maybe not.
(There are still 180,000 left to count as of 7:28 PM 11/9/2006).
current registration pdf
past turnout rates pdf
Is it me, or is there something funky about the hundred-fifty thousand number jump up in registered voters for the 2004 presidential, and an immediate bump downward back to more normal numbers for the county?
Eh, maybe not.
Rumsfeld to Gates
Battterrrrrr uuuuuuppp
Yeesh, wtf is it with these ol leftover Iran/Contra dudes?
then there's this: Robert Gates Promoted and Financed Osama Bin Laden
Update: not hurting local defense contractors, looks like.Press Release Source: SAIC
Wednesday November 8, 5:00 pm ET
SAIC Acquires AETC Incorporated
Yeesh, wtf is it with these ol leftover Iran/Contra dudes?
Voting Machine Fiasco:
SAIC, VoteHere and Diebold
by Lynn Landes
Dissident Voice
August 19, 2003
then there's this: Robert Gates Promoted and Financed Osama Bin Laden
Update: not hurting local defense contractors, looks like.Press Release Source: SAIC
Wednesday November 8, 5:00 pm ET
SAIC Acquires AETC Incorporated
Oh, yeah, guys?
Sorry, they want the Sandinista dude in Nicaragua
Never let me go: can Ortega reclaim Nicaragua?
The reinvention of Daniel Ortega, may be enough for the majority of poor Nicaraguans to give the Sandinista hero-villain of the 1980s another chance, reports Ivan Briscoe in Managua.
Ivan Briscoe
2 - 11 - 2006
Hmm, think Ortega is interested in this?
Nicaragua Canal Present Day
As of 2004, the Nicaraguan government is again proposing a canal through the country, large enough to handle post-Panamax ships of up to 250,000 tons, as compared to the 65,000 tons or so that the Panama Canal can manage. The estimated cost of this scheme may be as much as 25 billion dollars; this is 25 times Nicaragua's annual budget.
Not buying it
I don't believe that 87 and 89 went down.
Posted on Thu, Nov. 09, 2006
Successful framing led No on 87 campaign to election victory
By Rick Jurgens
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Prop 89 We've Opened a Door for Reform That Will Never Be Closed
Nov 9,2006
By Rose Ann Demoro
Executive Director
California Nurses Association
Do you know anybody that voted against the oil companies actually having to pay taxes on the oil they suck out of the ground in California?
Well, maybe Debra Bowen can clean up the voting machine debacle.
And here's some interesting information on Robert Gates, Rummy's replacement:
Permission to excerpt or reprint granted, with link tohttp://www.blackboxvoting.org
Rumsfield replacement (Robert Gates) was director of voting company
by Bev Harris
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfield will resign, reportedly to be replaced by former CIA director Robert Gates. Gates was on the board of directors of VoteHere, a strange little company that was the biggest elections industry lobbyist for the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). VoteHere spent more money than ES&S, Diebold, and Sequoia combined to help ram HAVA through. And HAVA, of course, was a bill sponsored by by convicted Abramoff pal Bob Ney and K-street lobbyist buddy Steny Hoyer. HAVA put electronic voting on steroids. You can find copies of the VoteHere lobbying forms here:http://sopr.senate.gov/cgi-win/m_opr_viewer.exe?DoFn=0 I can't get them to save to pdf, perhaps you can. Enter search terms in both "registrant" and "client" fields and put in terms"Rhoads" "Livingston" and "Votehere" (one at a time.). Then look at the gravy train while it was in the process of derailing American democracy. I first became acquainted with VoteHere when I met a source, Dan Spillane, who is the wonderful guy that identified the Diebold source code modules for me after I found the Diebold files. Heis the person who introduced me, and subsequently everyone else,to the odd role of The Election Center and R. Doug Lewis in the elections industry. Spillane also filled me in on The Livingston Group, VoteHere lobbyists, run by Bob Livingston -- the fellow that Hustler publisher Larry Flynt outed during the Bill Clinton blow job days. Larry Flynt offered a million dollars to anyone who could locate a Republican congressman committing adultery, and out popped peccadilloes by Livingston. Livingston couldn't live that one down, so he resigned his postas House Speaker-Elect and became a lobbyist -- but that's not all! He also launched a group called "Center for Democracy"which was going to "monitor elections." This group also featured several good old boys from the tobacco industry and some mining companies. Former VoteHere test engineer Dan Spillane was looking into all this because he had been fired after he questioned the certification process on a touch-screen system in which he had identified 250 flaws. It was way back in November 2002 that Spillane told me, "The voting machine industry is a house of cards. And the certification and testing process is the bottom card in the house of cards." BUT DON'T RUN OUT OF THE ROOM TO TAKE A SHOWER YET. There's more. VoteHere was a company shilling cryptographic solutions and filled with NSA types (another director was Admiral Bill Owens,another crony of Rummy, Perle and Wolfowitz). For some reason this company claims it was unable to prevent itself from being hacked. In this alleged hack, VoteHere claims that someone stole their source code. Said source code was offered to me in October 2003, an obvious attempt at entrapment which I refused. Nevertheless, VoteHere claimed to the media that its master security experts had supposedly "tracked" the hacker and had identified the hacker as an activist in the election reform community. For some reason, it was decided that I should be investigated in connection with this "hack" of VoteHere -- nevermind that I can't remember how to change the password on my own laptop. Therefore I was interviewed by the Secret Service several times about this. Curiously, they never seemed to ask any questions about VoteHere, only my role in finding the Diebold files and publishing the Diebold memos. This nonsense eventually culminated in a gag order and a letter from the U.S. Attorney to appear in front of a federal grand jury with information on all the visitors to the Black BoxVoting Web site. (As if they couldn't get that in less dramatic ways in post-Patriot Act America). Attorney Lowell Finley (now with http://www.VoterAction.org ) went to bat for me on this. A reporter named George Howland from the Seattle Weekly also got wind of it. When it hit the press, and with Lowell Finley's help, their harassment of me stopped. VoteHere never sold any voting machines that I can find, but apparently did set up some deals to embed its cryptography into some voting systems. We found memos in the Diebold trash about VoteHere's crypto-crap, and Maryland Director of Elections Linda Lamone shows up in VoteHere-related letters. Sequoia Voting Systems signed an agreement with VoteHere, but its not clear to me whether they ever did anything about it. Robert Gates stepped away from VoteHere shortly before he showed up in Chapter 8 of my book, Black Box Voting, in a short bit about the VoteHere company history. You can read that here:http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf I don't know about you, but I'd rather use a paper, pencil, and count by hand at the polling place than have former CIA director Robert Gates fooling around with my vote. But that's just me. -- Bev Harris Founder, Black Box Voting
P.S. Since the HBO special, I have plenty of moral support, but even after the Secret Service interviews and all the rest of the nonsense my husband and I have had to put up with, there are others who have had it rougher. I'd like you to take a moment to visit this Web site -- not affililiated with Black Box Voting -- to meet one of the heroic citizens in this movement who has faced the most brutal retaliation of all:Stephen Heller. If you saw the HBO film "Hacking Democracy" you may remember a scene where I am chastising Diebold for lying about correcting problems with its product. I refer to "ReleaseNotes." Those notes came from a source. Stephen Heller is being threatened with up to five years in prison for allegedly leaking me those documents. Kevin Shelley then decertified Diebold, and recommended criminal prosecution of Diebold. Diebold was never prosecuted, but Stephen Heller is being prosecuted RIGHT NOW. I hope you will donate to his defense. If not for citizens like him, where would your vote be now?
To contribute to Stephen Heller's defense fund: http://www.hellerlegaldefensefund.com/ * * * * *Black Box Voting is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501c(3) elections watchdog group supported entirely by citizen donations. We refuse funds from any vendor or vested interest.
To support Black Box Voting: click tohttp://www.blackboxvoting.org/donate.html or send to:Black Box Voting330 SW 43rd St Suite KPMB 547 Renton WA 98055
* * * * * Citizens Tool Kit: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/toolkit.html
Posted on Thu, Nov. 09, 2006
Successful framing led No on 87 campaign to election victory
By Rick Jurgens
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
Prop 89 We've Opened a Door for Reform That Will Never Be Closed
Nov 9,2006
By Rose Ann Demoro
Executive Director
California Nurses Association
Do you know anybody that voted against the oil companies actually having to pay taxes on the oil they suck out of the ground in California?
Well, maybe Debra Bowen can clean up the voting machine debacle.
And here's some interesting information on Robert Gates, Rummy's replacement:
Permission to excerpt or reprint granted, with link tohttp://www.blackboxvoting.org
Rumsfield replacement (Robert Gates) was director of voting company
by Bev Harris
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfield will resign, reportedly to be replaced by former CIA director Robert Gates. Gates was on the board of directors of VoteHere, a strange little company that was the biggest elections industry lobbyist for the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). VoteHere spent more money than ES&S, Diebold, and Sequoia combined to help ram HAVA through. And HAVA, of course, was a bill sponsored by by convicted Abramoff pal Bob Ney and K-street lobbyist buddy Steny Hoyer. HAVA put electronic voting on steroids. You can find copies of the VoteHere lobbying forms here:http://sopr.senate.gov/cgi-win/m_opr_viewer.exe?DoFn=0 I can't get them to save to pdf, perhaps you can. Enter search terms in both "registrant" and "client" fields and put in terms"Rhoads" "Livingston" and "Votehere" (one at a time.). Then look at the gravy train while it was in the process of derailing American democracy. I first became acquainted with VoteHere when I met a source, Dan Spillane, who is the wonderful guy that identified the Diebold source code modules for me after I found the Diebold files. Heis the person who introduced me, and subsequently everyone else,to the odd role of The Election Center and R. Doug Lewis in the elections industry. Spillane also filled me in on The Livingston Group, VoteHere lobbyists, run by Bob Livingston -- the fellow that Hustler publisher Larry Flynt outed during the Bill Clinton blow job days. Larry Flynt offered a million dollars to anyone who could locate a Republican congressman committing adultery, and out popped peccadilloes by Livingston. Livingston couldn't live that one down, so he resigned his postas House Speaker-Elect and became a lobbyist -- but that's not all! He also launched a group called "Center for Democracy"which was going to "monitor elections." This group also featured several good old boys from the tobacco industry and some mining companies. Former VoteHere test engineer Dan Spillane was looking into all this because he had been fired after he questioned the certification process on a touch-screen system in which he had identified 250 flaws. It was way back in November 2002 that Spillane told me, "The voting machine industry is a house of cards. And the certification and testing process is the bottom card in the house of cards." BUT DON'T RUN OUT OF THE ROOM TO TAKE A SHOWER YET. There's more. VoteHere was a company shilling cryptographic solutions and filled with NSA types (another director was Admiral Bill Owens,another crony of Rummy, Perle and Wolfowitz). For some reason this company claims it was unable to prevent itself from being hacked. In this alleged hack, VoteHere claims that someone stole their source code. Said source code was offered to me in October 2003, an obvious attempt at entrapment which I refused. Nevertheless, VoteHere claimed to the media that its master security experts had supposedly "tracked" the hacker and had identified the hacker as an activist in the election reform community. For some reason, it was decided that I should be investigated in connection with this "hack" of VoteHere -- nevermind that I can't remember how to change the password on my own laptop. Therefore I was interviewed by the Secret Service several times about this. Curiously, they never seemed to ask any questions about VoteHere, only my role in finding the Diebold files and publishing the Diebold memos. This nonsense eventually culminated in a gag order and a letter from the U.S. Attorney to appear in front of a federal grand jury with information on all the visitors to the Black BoxVoting Web site. (As if they couldn't get that in less dramatic ways in post-Patriot Act America). Attorney Lowell Finley (now with http://www.VoterAction.org ) went to bat for me on this. A reporter named George Howland from the Seattle Weekly also got wind of it. When it hit the press, and with Lowell Finley's help, their harassment of me stopped. VoteHere never sold any voting machines that I can find, but apparently did set up some deals to embed its cryptography into some voting systems. We found memos in the Diebold trash about VoteHere's crypto-crap, and Maryland Director of Elections Linda Lamone shows up in VoteHere-related letters. Sequoia Voting Systems signed an agreement with VoteHere, but its not clear to me whether they ever did anything about it. Robert Gates stepped away from VoteHere shortly before he showed up in Chapter 8 of my book, Black Box Voting, in a short bit about the VoteHere company history. You can read that here:http://www.blackboxvoting.org/bbv_chapter-8.pdf I don't know about you, but I'd rather use a paper, pencil, and count by hand at the polling place than have former CIA director Robert Gates fooling around with my vote. But that's just me. -- Bev Harris Founder, Black Box Voting
P.S. Since the HBO special, I have plenty of moral support, but even after the Secret Service interviews and all the rest of the nonsense my husband and I have had to put up with, there are others who have had it rougher. I'd like you to take a moment to visit this Web site -- not affililiated with Black Box Voting -- to meet one of the heroic citizens in this movement who has faced the most brutal retaliation of all:Stephen Heller. If you saw the HBO film "Hacking Democracy" you may remember a scene where I am chastising Diebold for lying about correcting problems with its product. I refer to "ReleaseNotes." Those notes came from a source. Stephen Heller is being threatened with up to five years in prison for allegedly leaking me those documents. Kevin Shelley then decertified Diebold, and recommended criminal prosecution of Diebold. Diebold was never prosecuted, but Stephen Heller is being prosecuted RIGHT NOW. I hope you will donate to his defense. If not for citizens like him, where would your vote be now?
To contribute to Stephen Heller's defense fund: http://www.hellerlegaldefensefund.com/ * * * * *Black Box Voting is a nonprofit, nonpartisan 501c(3) elections watchdog group supported entirely by citizen donations. We refuse funds from any vendor or vested interest.
To support Black Box Voting: click tohttp://www.blackboxvoting.org/donate.html or send to:Black Box Voting330 SW 43rd St Suite KPMB 547 Renton WA 98055
* * * * * Citizens Tool Kit: http://www.blackboxvoting.org/toolkit.html
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Rummy's gone, who's next?
Battterrrrrr uuuuuuppp
Yeesh, wtf is it with these ol leftover Iran/Contra dudes?
Wednesday November 8, 5:00 pm ET
SAIC Acquires AETC Incorporated
Yeesh, wtf is it with these ol leftover Iran/Contra dudes?
Voting Machine Fiasco:
SAIC, VoteHere and Diebold
by Lynn Landes
Dissident Voice
August 19, 2003
Oh, yeah, guys?
Sorry, they want the Sandinista dude in Nicaragua
Update: not hurting local defense contractors, looks like.
Wednesday November 8, 5:00 pm ET
SAIC Acquires AETC Incorporated
The most important race in California
SECRETARY OF STATE: Bowen, McPherson almost even with two-thirds of precincts counted
Jim Doyle, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
Debra Bowen, a Democratic state senator from Southern California, was locked in a tight battle with appointed GOP incumbent Bruce McPherson Tuesday in a hard-fought race for California secretary of state.
Why is BradBlog swamped?
Video the vote has some interesting videos to watch.
As of six am this morning, 200, 000 votes not counted in San Diego.
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