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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (44583)	5/3/2004 1:28:27 AM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

California Secretary Of State Bans Electronic Voting Yahoo News Friday 30 April 2004 With harsh criticism, California Secretary of State Kevin Shelley ordered the plug pulled on all touch-screen voting machines in the state because of concerns over security. A total of 14 counties and millions of voters were planning to use touch-screens on Election Day in November. The decision goes beyond the recommendations that an advisory panel made earlier this week. It means four California counties that use a specific model of touch-screen machine will definitely have to find another voting system, and 10 other counties that use similar systems will have to do the same, unless the makers of the machines take steps to guarantee every vote gets counted. "I came about this close to banning outright and decertifying outright with no possibility of reprieve in those 10 counties, as well," Shelley said. Shelley was upset because touch-screens, and specifically those made by a company called Diebold, have been accused of being vulnerable to computer hackers, who might change votes. Last month in San Diego, elections officials had trouble just starting the machines and told some voters to come back later. "While we are disappointed that the Secretary of State did not go all the way on this recommendation, he did make a historic step today in the decision he announced," said California Voter Foundation spokeswoman Kim Alexander. To get back their certification by November, the touch-screen makers will have to do one of two things: come up with a way to create a paper trail so that votes can be checked and recounted if necessary, or put in place a list of 23 security rules with which to prevent the machines from being tampered. "I have taken the additional step, and I have the letter here just signed upstairs of asking the Attorney General to pursue criminal and civil actions against Diebold in this matter," Shelley said. ALL STATES MUST HAVE ACCOUNTABLE VOTING... NOT IN THE CONTROL OF TEXAS REPUBLICANS... CC

To: Raymond Duray who wrote (44583)	5/15/2004 5:31:27 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

"How a secret Pentagon program came to Abu Ghraib." newyorker.com <<...The roots of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal lie not in the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but in a decision, approved last year by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to expand a highly secret operation, which had been focussed on the hunt for Al Qaeda, to the interrogation of prisoners in Iraq. Rumsfeld’s decision embittered the American intelligence community, damaged the effectiveness of élite combat units, and hurt America’s prospects in the war on terror...>>