Tampering with Elections

The Dutch interior ministry has banned  one type of electronic voting machine in 35 districts in The Netherlands for use in November general elections because they considered the machines insecure and easy to manipulate.

"This website shows how we found out how it works, how we wrote software for it and how, when given brief access to the devices at any time before the election, we can gain complete and virtually undetectable control over election results. It also shows how we discovered that radio emanations from an unmodified ES3B can be received at several meters distance and be used to tell who votes what."
Source: http://www.wijvertrouwenstemcomputersniet.nl/English   

("We don't trust voting computers" is a non-profit, non-partisan foundation seated in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The foundation aims to advance, defend, and research verifiable and transparent elections, with specific focus to the obstacles imposed by electronic voting.)

Here an overview of TV-programmes, radio-shows and newspaper articles in which the Dutch campaign "Wij vertrouwen stemcomputers niet" has been mentioned (in English).

"The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., the same one that raised the alarm over Dubai investing in American ports, is investigating alleged ties of voting software firm Smartmatic to the Venezuelan government.
True or not, the bigger question is, if one board member on a start-up software company merits a federal investigation, what about the company that dominates US voting – Diebold -- whose CEO is a major contributor to the Republican party, and whose machines are already suspected of widespread electoral tampering?" Source: Venezuela tampering with US elections -- oh really? | Wake Up From Your Slumber

Free Hugs Campaign.

This makes me Happy! It's not just Crofty-bombs and Happy Slapping on YouTube.
(music by Sick Puppies)

However in the country of the next Olympic games: "In China, a crusade aimed at cheering up strangers received a less than friendly response when it hit the streets of Beijing, Changsha and Xian this weekend. The Free Hugs campaign is aimed at cheering up strangers by hugging them on the street. But, according to Beijing News, when people in the Chinese cities tried to embrace passers-by, some huggers were even hauled away by police for questioning." Metro.co.uk

Link to YouTube - Free Hugs Campaign.

Do they know it's hallowe'en?

"BOO! This fall’s sweetest – and scariest – benefit song is DO THEY KNOW IT’S HALLOWE’EN. This single features a star-studded ensemble (Beck, Sum 41, The Arcade Fire) known as the NORTH AMERICAN HALLOWEEN PREVENTION INITIATIVE. Both a trick and a treat, this song is a satire - as well as a charity-benefit song with all proceeds being donated to UNICEF."

Better quality link

Shut Up and Sing

The Dixie Chicks were criticized by the American Media and American Public for voicing their Opinions. What are our views on freedom of expression in the U.S.? Is there a price to be paid for free speech? Have your say on their MySpace site; www.myspace.com/shutupandsing

It gets violent reactions like this: "STFU Dear stupid whores, If you talk shit about the president of the United States of America and you sing country music, count on a lot of people being pissed off at you. Notice whos making all of the new songs about the USA. The majority of them are COUNTRY MUSIC SINGERS! I mean how stupid can you possibly be?"

See the official Dixie Chicks site

OUTFOXED : Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism

"Outfoxed examines how media empires, led by Rupert Murdoch's Fox News, have been running a "race to the bottom" in television news. This film provides an in-depth look at Fox News and the dangers of ever-enlarging corporations taking control of the public's right to know." MORE ABOUTE THIS RIGHT-WING 'NEWS' ORGANIZATION ON THE OUTFOXED WEBSITE

Source: OUTFOXED : Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism - Google Video

Climate change fight 'can't wait' because it will shrink the Economy

The world cannot afford to wait before tackling climate change, the UK prime minister has warned.

A report by economist Sir Nicholas Stern suggests that global warming could shrink the global economy by 20%. But taking action now would cost just 1% of global gross domestic product, the 700-page study says. Tony Blair said the Stern Review showed the scientific evidence of global warming was "overwhelming" and its consequences "disastrous. This disaster is not set to happen in some science fiction future many years ahead, but in our lifetime." Source: BBC NEWS | Business | Climate change fight 'can't wait'

So the environmental problems of our planet is reduced to an economic problem, that without action, up to 200 million people could become refugees as their homes are hit by drought or flood is a secondary problem. That wildlife will be harmed and at worst up to 40% of species could become extinct is a lesser problem.

Riot police move in Oaxaca

"AXACA, Mexico, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Riot police backed by armored trucks started to move into the center of Mexico's popular tourist city of Oaxaca on Sunday, firing water cannons at protesters who want the state governor removed.

On one road into the city, hundreds of protestors fled as the trucks, with V-shaped plows and flanked by police, edged forward at walking speed. Rocks were thrown at the trucks, according to a Reuters reporter.

Mexico sent the forces to the picturesque colonial city, where striking teachers and activists have occupied streets and buildings since May, after gunmen thought to be local police shot dead a U.S. journalist and two other people on Friday. Source: Reuters AlertNet - Riot police move in on Mexico's violent Oaxaca " More disinformation here.

BBC: Mexican riot police have seized control of the southern city of Oaxaca, ending a five-month occupation by striking teachers and leftist activists.

Read here on Indymedia why Oaxaca exploded: "Only a little more than a month after the brutality of Atenco, the Mexican government has once again revealed its tendency to violently repress political activity. This is what Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortíz means by “doing away with the social problems” of Oaxaca." More on Indymedia, which had a cameraman killed in the uprising.

Here is the website of the Asamblea Popular de los Pueblos de Oaxaca and see this Scenes from the Oaxaca Rebellion

"After five months of struggle, the Popular Assembly movement in Oaxaca has reached an impasse. Many fear the solution will come through violence, many still hope that the governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (known as “URO”) will end the confrontation by resigning his office when confronted with even fiercer ungovernability. He says he won’t. However Oaxaca comes through this moment of struggle, in my own opinion as an observer, the Popular Assembly movement – born out of a teachers’ strike that evolved far beyond the teachers’ demands and now involves countless other groups and individuals – has now surged beyond the point where it can be obliterated by government actions or a collapse of the teachers’ resolve." MORE on NarcoNews

It is all because the North American Union is to Replace the USA and the ruling class can't use uprisings against their leadership.

"Secretly, the Bush administration is pursuing a policy to expand NAFTA politically, setting the stage for a North American Union designed to encompass the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. What the Bush administration truly wants is the free, unimpeded movement of people across open borders with Mexico and Canada." More on this conservative site. The American Union is Already Here, says Infowars.com

Wikipedia about Oaxaca

Rockefeller Predicted "Event" To Trigger War Eleven Months Before 9/11

This on Prisonplanet.com: "Hollywood director and documentary film maker Aaron Russo, currently receiving a wave of plaudits for his latest release, America: From Freedom to Fascism, told The Alex Jones Show that Nicholas Rockefeller (Council on Foreign Relations Member, more about him here) personally assured him there was going to be an "event" that would trigger the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq eleven months before 9/11 took place.

"He just said there's gonna be an event and out of that event we're gonna invade Afghanistan so we can run pipelines through the Caspian sea, we can go into Iraq to take the oil and establish bases in the middle east and to make the middle east part of the new world order and we're going to go after Venezuela - that's what's going to come out of this event."

"Eleven months to a year later that's what happened....he certainly knew that something was going to happen." More: Rockefeller Predicted "Event" To Trigger War Eleven Months Before 9/11

So Venezuela is next....  

Henry Rollins - "Freedom is under Attack"

My God, he said the "F"-word!

Source: YouTube - Henry Rollins-"freedom is under attack"

Africa’s World of Forced Labor, in a 6-Year-Old’s Eyes

"Oh, we don't care, they are used to this...", but we should, they are the children who are the future of Africa.

" Just before 5 a.m., with the sky still dark over Lake Volta, Mark Kwadwo was rousted from his spot on the damp dirt floor. It was time for work.

Mark Kwadwo, 6, in the small dark room, where he sleeps on the dirt floor and rises before dawn to work on Lake Volta, a two-day trek from his family home. “I don’t like it here,” he whispered to a visitor, out of earshot of his employer.

Shivering in the predawn chill, he helped paddle a canoe a mile out from shore. For five more hours, as his coworkers yanked up a fishing net, inch by inch, Mark bailed water to keep the canoe from swamping.

He last ate the day before. His broken wooden paddle was so heavy he could barely lift it. But he raptly followed each command from Kwadwo Takyi, the powerfully built 31-year-old in the back of the canoe who freely deals out beatings." Joao Silva for The New York Times.

Link to Africa’s World of Forced Labor, in a 6-Year-Old’s Eyes - New York Times

Multimedia presentation about child Labor in Zambia and Ghana, Africa

Climate change 'hitting Africa'

Droughts are becoming more frequent, says the BBC. We think Africa is doomed.

"Climate change is already affecting people across Africa and will wipe out efforts to tackle poverty there unless urgent action is taken, a report says.

Droughts are getting worse and climate uncertainty is growing, the research from a coalition of UK aid agencies and environmental groups says. Climate change is an "unprecedented" threat to food security, it says. It calls for a "climate-proof" model of development and massive emissions cuts to avoid "possibly cataclysmic change". Source: BBC NEWS | Africa | Climate change 'hitting Africa'

Weapons of Mass Destruction

 

This from 2001. Powell and Rice say that Iraq does not have Weapons of mass destruction!
Just to let you know...

Google Video

America Freedom to Fascism Authorized version

This is the "Director's Final Cut" authorized version of Aaron Russo's documentary, America: Freedom To Fascism (AFTF).
"Aaron has listened to everyone's feedback - volunteers, students, lovers of freedom & liberty, young and old alike - and, true to his word, he is putting this up "for free" on Google Video knowing that the hour has come for Americans to either be awakened to restore the Republic or be swept aside by the dark global forces of fascism that seeks to enslave mankind."

Its all about the income-tax as a tool to redistribute wealth to the capialists.

Source: America Freedom to Fascism Authorized version - Google Video

Fingerprint before you drink

"A biometric project that scans drinkers' thumbprints before they enter a pub has helped cut alcohol-related crime in the South Somerset town of Yeovil, England.

The South Somerset District Council said it has seen a 23.5 percent drop in alcohol-related violent crime inside licensed premises in Yeovil since the system was introduced, compared with figures from the same period last year.
Under the pilot project, every drinker must supply a thumbprint, name, address and date of birth before being allowed to enter any of the seven licensed premises in the town center using the technology.

A drinker barred from one pub is then automatically barred from all pubs using the system. A spokesman from the South Somerset District Council said the thumbprint technology is considered to be a contributing factor to the decline in alcohol-related crime."

So the decline in crimenumbers is enough to convince the public that this is a good idea.....?

Source: In U.K. town, it's fingerprint before you drink | CNET News.com

"Call to Bloggers" to stand up for freedom ahead of world meeting on future of Internet - Amnesty International

"Call to Bloggers" to stand up for freedom ahead of world meeting on future of Internet

Amnesty International today issued a ‘Call to Bloggers’, asking them to get online and stand up for freedom of expression on the internet. The organization says this is a critical time when fundamental rights – particularly freedom of expression and privacy – are under threat from governments that want to control what their citizens say, and what information they can access."

Source: "Call to Bloggers" to stand up for freedom ahead of world meeting on future of Internet - Amnesty International

Also see irrepressible.info for banned and censored news

"Chat rooms monitored. Blogs deleted. Website's blocked. Search engines restricted. People imprisoned for simply posting and sharing information.

The Internet is a new frontier in the struggle for human rights. Governments – with the help of some of the biggest IT companies in the world – are cracking down on freedom of expression.

Amnesty International, with the support of The Observer UK newspaper, is launching a campaign to show that online or offline the human voice and human rights are impossible to repress."

See this Google comparison at blog.outer-court.com

Freedom from the Press

Mark Fiore's latest flash-cartoon. Click the image to play this cartoon on his site or click here to go to the animation gallery with a lot of these brilliant cartoons.

 

Link to Freedom from the Press 10/25/06

Reporters without Borders: Worldwide Press Freedom Index 2006

"France, the United States and Japan slip further Mauritania and Haiti gain much ground

New countries have moved ahead of some Western democracies in the fifth annual Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index, issued today, while the most repressive countries are still the same ones."

Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Netherland are the most Press Free countries. The UK at 27 and the US is at 53! The US will drop even more this year with their hysterical policies.

"The United States (53rd) has fallen nine places since last year, after being in 17th position in the first year of the Index, in 2002.

Relations between the media and the Bush administration sharply deteriorated after the president used the pretext of “national security” to regard as suspicious any journalist who questioned his “war on terrorism.” The zeal of federal courts which, unlike those in 33 US states, refuse to recognize the media’s right not to reveal its sources, even threatens journalists whose investigations have no connection at all with terrorism".

See the full list at Reporters sans frontières

Halliburton's 3Q Income Rises 22 Percent

Who still thinks the Iraq War is about freedom and democracy is a fool! It's all about dollars and oil...

 "Halliburton's Iraq-related work contributed nearly $1.2 billion in revenue in the third quarter of 2006 and $45 million of operating income, a performance that pleased analysts.

"Iraq was better than expected," said Jeff Tillery, analyst with Pickering Energy Partners Inc. "Overall, there is nothing really to question or be skeptical about. I think the results are very good."

Source: Halliburton's 3Q Income Rises 22 Percent
See the Capitalists website: halliburton.com but better see halliburtonwatch.org, all about the war profiteers. Also see Wikipedia.

Cheney currently holds 50,000 shares of unexercised stock options in Halliburton with a gross value of $3.76 million - Link to Give It Up, Cheney!

Chinese soldiers shooting at Tibetan pilgrims

But don't care, just enjoy the Olympic Games in 2008. "The vote (for Beijing) followed in line with the recommendation of the IOC Evaluation Commission that "a Beijing Games would leave a unique legacy to China and to sports. The Commission is confident that Beijing could organize an excellent Games". They probably win with shooting!

 

Source: Chinese soldiers shooting at Tibetan pilgrims - Google Video

"Your words are lies, Sir"

You have to see this!

Live on MSNBC, Olbermann has a habit of telling the Americans what is going on in the US these days...

Link to YouTube - Countdown Special Comment: Death of Habeas Corpus

Sudan military declares UN envoy persona non grata

The never ending war in the Sudan is now in a new stage. Jan Pronk, the Dutch UN envoy is not welcome anymore.

"The Sudanese military declared UN special envoy Jan Pronk persona non grata Friday, accusing him of "waging war against the armed forces," in the latest escalation in a war of words between Khartoum and the international community.
The general command accused Pronk, UN secretary general Kofi Annan's special representative (SRSG) in Sudan, of "openly intruding in the armed forces' affair".
It considers the envoy's presence and movements in Sudan "a military threat that adversely affects the performance of the armed forces and (he) has therefore become a persona non grata," a statement said.
It complained that the envoy had traveled around Sudan without government permission and dealt with rebel groups fighting the military in the western region of Darfur.
It also accused Pronk of "waging psychological warfare on the armed forces by propagating erroneous information that casts doubts about the capability of the armed forces in maintaining security and defending the country."
A senior general called for the envoy's swift deportation."

Source: Relief Web

UN’s Pronk is a danger for Sudan’s national security, says the Sudan Tribune

"In a statement on Thursday, the High Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces condemned that "the flagrant interference of Pronk in the Sudanese army’s affairs which is equivalent to a war against the army".
It stressed that "Pronk’s existence and his movements, including his contacts with the rebels and his visits without the Sudanese government’s approval, constitute a military danger which has negatively affected the army’s work."
The statement also accused the UN top envoy in Sudan of launching a psychological war on the Sudanese army by spreading fabricated false information doubting the army’s capability to maintain the security and stability of the country." But They also ran a story by Jan Pronk called: Sudan’s blindness in Darfur

Read Jan Pronk's Homepage and weblog, also see the UN website about Africa

How to Make Hundreds of Thousands of Dead Iraqis Disappear

"The Lancet study that estimated 655,000 Iraqis killed since the US invasion of 2003 was based on some of the most solid research methods possible, but that didn't stop the American press from trying to say it wasn't so.

According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, George Bush's lies have killed not 30,000 innocent Iraqis, as the president not long ago estimated, but nearly 22 times that amount, or 655,000. Neither the Pentagon, nor much of the mainstream media have made much attempt to make their own counts -- it's just not that important to anyone."

More on AlterNet

A Dangerous New Order - New York Times

It's getting harder for the US-government to fool their citizens.

Editorial, Published: October 19, 2006

"Once President Bush signed the new law on military tribunals, administration officials and Republican leaders in Congress wasted no time giving Americans a taste of the new order created by this unconstitutional act.

Within hours, Justice Department lawyers notified the federal courts that they no longer had the authority to hear pending lawsuits filed by attorneys on behalf of inmates of the penal camp at Guantánamo Bay. They cited passages in the bill that suspend the fundamental principle of habeas corpus, making Mr. Bush the first president since the Civil War to take that undemocratic step.

Not satisfied with having won the vote, Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House, quickly issued a statement accusing Democrats who opposed the Military Commissions Act of 2006 of putting “their liberal agenda ahead of the security of America.” He said the Democrats “would gingerly pamper the terrorists who plan to destroy innocent Americans’ lives” and create “new rights for terrorists.”

This nonsense is part of the Republicans’ scare-America-first strategy for the elections. No Democrat advocated pampering terrorists — gingerly or otherwise — or giving them new rights. Democratic amendments to the bill sought to protect everyone’s right to a fair trial while providing a legal way to convict terrorists."

Source: A Dangerous New Order - New York Times (may need free login)

Israel Tests New Highly Lethal, Cancer-Causing Tungsten Bomb in Gaza

DIME (Dense Inert Metal Explosive), works to horrifying effect:

An investigative report to be aired on Italian television Wednesday raises the possibility that Israel has used an experimental weapon in the Gaza Strip in recent months, causing especially serious physical injuries, such as amputated limbs and severe burns.

The weapon is similar to one developed by the U.S. military, known as DIME, which causes a powerful and lethal blast, but only within a relatively small radius…

The investigation, by Rai24news, follows reports by Gaza-based doctors of inexplicably serious injuries. The doctors reported an exceptionally large number of wounded who lost legs, of completely burned bodies and injuries unaccompanied by metal shrapnel. Some of the doctors also claimed that they removed particles from wounds that could not be seen in an x-ray machine.

Dr. Habas al-Wahid, head of the emergency room at the Shuhada al-Aqsa hospital, in Deir el-Balah, told the reporters that the legs of the injured were sliced from their bodies "as if a saw was used to cut through the bone." There were signs of heat and burns near the point of the amputation, but no signs that the dismemberment was caused by metal fragments.

Dr. Juma Saka, of Shifa Hospital, in Gaza City, said the doctors found small entry wounds on the bodies of the wounded and the dead. According to Saka, a powder was found on the victims' bodies and in their internal organs.

Source: Tikun Olam-תקון עולם: Make the World a Better Place
More: Defence Tech and Global Security and Palestinian Information Centre

Kennedy Warned America of New World Order

April 27, 1961. In a speech that should shock Americans, John F. Kennedy warns the press and America to be on the lookout for the exact circumstances that have manifest themselves under the Bush Administration and the false flag of state sponsored terrorism.
This speech should chill Americans to the bone. Kennedy died trying to warn them. He wanted to abolish the Federal Reserve and the C.I.A.

Link to The President and the Press - Kennedy Warns America of New World Order - Google Video