After concerns and criticism that electronic voting systems are unreliable, untrustworthy, and too secretive with their source code, the federal government is stepping in to put those concerns to bed — or at least to put the average American to sleep on the issue.

Wired reports that a software library for electronic voting machine software is being developed as a part of an initiative of the brand-new U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

The library would be maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, yet another agency in the ever-growing-in-size federal government.

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission was developed after the created 2000 election crisis, "to improve the integrity and efficiency of elections".

"The EAC will eventually ask all voting companies, even those that produce counting software for punch card machines, to submit their software.

"Soaries called the library a major step and praised the vendors for their willingness to increase the transparency of elections."

This does nothing to "increase the transparency of elections". The only thing this will accomplish is to ease the concerns of the few Americans who actually were rightfully worried about the wisdom of utilizing computerized voting. The library will be used by counties only to verify that their systems are an actual certified copy of the software from the vendor.

It doesn't address, at all, the many problems with the software that is certified by the companies. Problems which, last year, led a study by John Hopkins and Rice Universities to conclude that the biggest of those companies had produced software that was so riddled with security holes that it couldn't be fixed; the software would have to be rewritten, starting from scratch.

In addition to that study, an analysis was done by Bev Harris of blackboxvoting.com, in which she demonstrated how Diebold's Gems system could be easily hacked and the ledger from which the voting results were taken could be changed, without the attacker leaving a hint of evidence.

These serious problems with electronic voting software took on an even more ominous tone with the comments of one of the companies CEOs.

In August 2003, the Cleveland Plain Dealer quoted Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell as saying that he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year".

In an attempt to calm fears about the companies software, the state of Maryland hired a software security firm to prove the efficiency and security of the system their state intended to certify. The independent analysis led to William Arbaugh, a University of Maryland assistant professor of computer science who participated in the test, grading the system an "F". He added that he was "really surprised with the totality of the problems we found. Just about everywhere we looked we found them".

Now that the question has been raised in the minds of the public about the integrity of such systems, the "fix" is in. Widespread media exposure will be given to the fact that we have a new system in place to ensure "transparent" elections. Copies of the software will be stored in a special library that will be used for comparison to ensure that county election system certifiers will have a "certified", authentic copy of the same flawed software.

As has been pointed out by Philip O'Halloran, there are countless ways malicious code can be hidden in election software.

For example, software can be written in such a way as to cause election equipment to cast extra votes for a certain candidate, and only during the busiest hours of the day.

In addition, software can be written to react to certain behavioral factors, such as a voter casting a ballot for both candidates in a contest. These behavioral factors could act as a triggering mechanism for built-in, election-stealing sub-routines. Finding such anomalies can mount to looking for a needle in a haystack, given the thousands of lines of computer code in these systems. With computers and their software, the possibilities for fraud are virtually endless.

Further exacerbating the problem, are the manufacturers' policies of secrecy. The Hopkins/Rice study was of a version of the software that had been posted on the Internet by mistake — not a copy supplied by the vendor; the state of Maryland hired a research team to perform their study — without the blessing of Diebold.

There are also questions about the transference of the sensitive data through insecure phone lines, i.e. Diebold's GEMS system, we understand, connects via telephone to "receive software updates". What kind of "updates"? How can we know that it isn't receiving a modification of the ledgers?

In light of all of the evidence that casts doubt upon the abilty of computerized voting systems to guarantee secure elections, the statements of governmental leaders that the software will be stored in a new NIST library, appears to be nothing more than window-dressing. And the chilling words of EAC chairman DeForest Soaries suggest that the ruling elite are selling their fraudulent computerized voting systems to the American public.

"'(The companies') acceptance of our request to submit their software begins the process that assures the country that we will have (a) higher level of security and therefore confidence in e-voting than we have ever had before,' Soaries said in a press conference."

There is no way to guarantee the integrity of an election system when the source code of the software is written in secret and remains a secret during its use.

It is this observer's belief that such systems are designed for the purpose of hijacking the elections, as the U.S. moves further toward becoming a socialist democracy.

Recent efforts to get the state of Florida to adopt such miniscule safeguards as a paper trail verification system so that a recount would be possible, have failed. On Monday, a federal judged tossed out a lawsuit by Florida Rep. Robert Wexler, saying that the state has "no legal obligation" to provide voter-verifiable paper trails for electronic voting machines.

The only sure way to guarantee a truly transparent election, is to utilize old-fashioned paper ballots, placed in transparent boxes to avoid false bottoms. Then, the whole process must be opened to monitoring by trusted members of the community.

Until this is done, Americans can assume that their elections have been entirely hijacked by a small number of people at the highest levels of power. The most significant holes in election systems, are not the ones that were found in the punch card ballots of the 2000 election.

— What's the way to keep your child "safe" from predators? Of course, make sure that you have them fingerprinted by law-enforcement officers, so they can be tracked like a criminal for the rest of their natural lives!

What greater gift of "love" and "compassion" could a history-ignorant, uneducated, misdirected, simple-minded excuse for a parent give to their soon-to-be-global-citizen-slave child?

You well-meaning, but foolish parents who seek to do right by your children by willingly adding their prints to the government's database of potential future "terrorists": What happens when the "protector" becomes the aggressor?

Massive hysteria is being given in the controlled media, concerning the alleged shortage of the Influenza vaccine.

According to media reports, a British company which produced the vaccine has had its license revoked, supposedly cutting in half the supply of vaccines to the United States.

As you can imagine, this is a crisis of hideous proportions! Not since September 11th have we witnessed a peril so great in America. If every American is not able to get his/her flu shot, then the apocalyptic catastrophe that will ensue will surely dwarf all of the Biblical plagues combined. Indeed, life will not be worth living. We might as well end it now! Right?

Before you take that leap from a 20-story window ledge, maybe we need a little perspective on the issue. It will surely be perspective that you'll not get from the mainstream media.

First, how do we know that this isn't yet another created crisis for the purpose of creating a run on vaccines? I wouldn't be surprised to hear them announce that they've "found" more vaccines in some warehouse somewhere, or some other company came to the rescue and everyone can have their annual shot in the arm. The likelihood is great that there isn't really a shortage. Their may be plenty of vaccinations, if you really want them.

The real question is, Why would you want them?

In an age where we're lied to about everything by the major press, we have to assume that we are being lied to at all times. We have to question everything that they tell us, as we know that they routinely propagandize us.

I will remind all who read: Once upon a time, Americans had never heard of vaccines. It certainly wasn't something that was an essential part of maintaining a person's health, or preventing illness. Americans trusted their God-given immune systems to ward off colds and other forms of sickness. Whenever a health problem occurred, people either called the doctor who came to their house, or it was treated by Mom with natural home remedies.

What we have today are manufactured vaccines that — according to the British Anti-Vivisection Association — contain everything from mucus and fecal matter from infected people, to formaldehyde, aluminum and mercury. They say that some vaccines even contain the blood of infected human beings.

Vaccines, given to children, are blamed for 10,000 cases of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome(SIDS) per year, according to Dr. Robert Mendelsohn. It is also noted that "the degree of AIDS incidence in Brazil, Haiti, Burundi, Ruanda, Tanzania, Zaire Zambia, Uganda and Malawi coincides with the degree of smallpox vaccination intensity."

The BAVA also states: "Known and suspected effects of vaccines include, asthma, eczema, increased allergies, encephalitis, cancer, leukaemia [sic], cot death, meningitis, lower motor neuron disease, juvenile diabetes, violent behaviour, and so on."

It is ironic that many people who are skittish about going to restaurants because they don't trust people to prepare their food in a sanitary manner, think nothing getting flu shots. They worry whether the cook washes his hands after using the restroom. Yet, few of these same people ever question the contents of the vaccines they allow health officials to inject into their blood.

The bottom line is this: When you get a vaccination, you are permitting complete strangers to inject a mysterious foreign substance into your bloodstream. You are allowing this to happen because of a governmental promise that it will help your body fight ailments. The ailments that they say the vaccine will help you fight are, in most cases, illnesses that your body would fight naturally — without the need for questionable injections.

People, you don't know what these vaccines contain! You don't know what the short and long term effects will be upon your health. All you have is the word of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control, and of course, the World Health Organization all telling you that vaccines are good for you.

Knowing all of the atrocities that the U.S. government and the United Nations have committed against the American people over the years, is it wise to trust them with something so important as our health?

If there really is a vaccine shortage, then we must all thank God that the immune systems of many ignorant Americans might be safer because of it — even if only until next year's flu season begins.

From the Kansas City Star we get the following:

Teen Suspended Over Civil War Weapon
Associated Press

PINE BUSH, N.Y. - A teen-age Civil War buff has been suspended from school and faces serious charges after his replica musket was found in his car trunk at school in the Orange County community of Pine Bush.

Joshua Phelps had been at a re-enactment with his Civil War costume, including a musket last week. He threw the uniform and equipment into his truck and forgot about it. Yesterday a security guard at the Pine Bush High School saw it and called police.

Phelps was sitting in study hall when the security guard told him to go to the assistant principal. When he was told they saw the rifle he wasn't concerned - thinking they would understand it's part of his costume.

But it didn't happen that way. Town of Crawford Police were called and Phelps was cuffed and charged with a misdemeanor charge of criminal possession of a weapon.

His mother, Valerie Michaels, is outraged, saying the school has blown this thing way out of proportion. She says also in the trunk was a costume, shoes, leather belt, powder keg, and a leather cartridge box.

Phelps used the costume when taking part of the re-enactment of the Battle of Chancellorville which was staged by the 124th New York State Volunteers. The re-enactors say they are models of the unit that came from Orange County and fought in the Civil war. High School students were recruited to take part in the re-enactors club. Phelps' mother questions why give the students fake guns and then arrest them.

Pine Bush School Superintendent RoseMarie Stark called the incident a student discipline matter and declined to comment further.

A sign of the proliferation of corruption and depravity in the federal government, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told a stunned audience at Harvard University that sexual orgies "eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged".

The controversial comments were carried by the school's flagship publication, The Harvard Crimson, and subsequently picked up by other media.

"He is the conservative bastion of the US supreme court, a favourite of President Bush, and a hunting partner of the vice-president. He has argued vociferously against abortion rights, and in favour of anti-sodomy laws", writes Oliver Burkeman of The Guardian.

"But it turns out that there is another side to Justice Antonin Scalia: he thinks Americans ought to be having more orgies ... It seems unlikely that this is what President Bush meant when he promised to appoint more judges like Scalia to the court, should the opportunity arise", he wrote.

Following the write up of his speech in media reports, the high court immediately entered spin mode, stating the comments were "out of context" and insisting Scalia didn't say what he had actually said.

Could the need to rewrite the history of public statements be why Scalia refuses to allow reporters to record his speeches, when he appears in public?

Indeed, efforts to obtain a transcript of the speech by this researcher were unfruitful.

Thanks to Chris Gerner of Amerikan Expose for reporting calling my attention to this story.

Fast food giant McDonalds has made the decision to drops its golden arches brand in the U.K.

The move to dump the logo is said to be intended to transform the company from its unhealthy junk food image.

New advertisements will focus on salads, fruits and bagels, and will sport the tagline, "McDonalds. But not as you know it."

In the new promotions, the traditional golden arches logo — which has been a part of the restaurant chain's history for about a half century — has been replaced by a golden question mark.

McDonalds owns 770 restaurants in the U.K., where sales have taken a drastic beating.

In response to activists who finger the restaurant as the blame for Britain's "growing obesity problem", McDonalds introduced a healthier Happy Meal this summer.

The company has been under pressure recently, having been the subject of a film called Super Size Me, in which filmmaker Morgan Spurlock lives on an exclusive, month-long diet of McDonalds food.

Without stating the specific focus of their investigation, the FBI has raided a county government office in Illinois, seizing computers and thousands of files.

Chicago-area media are reporting that dozens of agents invaded the Will County "land use" department in Joliet, bearing a warrant that demanded every building permit the office had issued since 2002. The warrant also specified personnel records of every employee who had worked there during the same period.

The land use office sells and issues permits for new construction and building improvements in Will County, which is one of the state's fastest growing counties.

County officials refused to speculate as to the nature of the FBI scrutiny. They only stated they were launching their own investigation to ensure their staff acted properly in their administrative duties.

The incident is reminiscent of another FBI raid in February, during which agents raided an Internet service provider, seized their web servers, and put them out of business. The company's CEO, Jay Echouafni, is now a fugitive, accused of paying hackers to utilize Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks against business rivals.

From:
http://www.darrenweeks.net/2004/10/mother.html