side note: i find it funny when I step in front of an ATM machine. The reason is is b/c a lot of the ATM’s out there, at least in the Chicagoland area are made by Diebold. This is the same company that can’t add a paper receipt to their electronic voting machines. But hey…look at that, I can withdrawl 20 bucks, get a paper receipt of how much I took out and what my balance is………but i can’t get a piece of paper of who i voted for…..WTF?!!?

By Matthew Cardinale
The Atlanta Progressive News

Atlanta – Top Diebold corporation officials ordered workers to install secret files to Georgia’s electronic voting machines shortly before the 2002 Elections, at least two whistleblowers are now asserting, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

Former Diebold official Chris Hood told his story concerning the secret “patch” to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., for Kennedy’s second article on electronic voting in this week’s Rolling Stone Magazine.

Hood’s claims corroborate a second whistleblower who spoke with Black Box Voting and Wired News in 2003.

Whistleblower Accounts

“With the primaries looming, [Chief of Diebold's Election Division] Urosevich was personally distributing a ‘patch,’ a little piece of software designed to correct glitches in the computer program,” Rolling Stone Magazine reported.

“We were told that it was intended to fix the clock in the system, which it didn’t do,” Hood told Rolling Stone. “The curious thing is the very swift, covert way this was done.”

“It was an unauthorized patch, and they were trying to keep it secret from the state,” Hood told Rolling Stone.

“We were told not to talk to county personnel about it. I received instructions directly from Urosevich. It was very unusual that a president of the company would give an order like that and be involved at that level,” Hood told Rolling Stone.

The “patch” was applied to about 5,000 polling places in Fulton and DeKalb Counties in 2002, Rolling Stone reported. (more…)

side note: Keith Olbermann reported last night that the full lockdown was b/c there was evidence that the Iraqi military was planning on overthrowing the government. As conditions worsen in Iraq, we may continue to hear reports just like this one…..

By DAVID RISING
AP News
NW Indiana News

BAGHDAD, Iraq – U.S. troops detained a bodyguard for the leader of Iraq’s biggest Sunni Arab political group on suspicion the guard was preparing suicide bombings, and fearful officials on Saturday enforced a total ban on movement in this city of about seven million people.

The U.S. command said the man was believed to be a member of al-Qaida in Iraq and was preparing a series of suicide attacks inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the Iraqi government, parliament and the U.S. and other western embassies.

Khudhir Farhan was taken into custody Friday at the home of Adnan al-Dulaimi, the head of the largest Sunni Arab bloc in parliament, al-Dulaimi told The Associated Press.

“Credible intelligence indicates the individual, a member of Dr. Dulaimi’s personal security detachment, and seven members of the detained individual’s cell were in the final stages of launching a series of (car bomb) attacks inside the International Zone, possibly involving suicide vests,” the U.S. military said in a statement without identifying the man by name. (more…)

side note: I’ve included a link to my buddies blog who posted about waterboarding…..check out the pics. Here’s a bit of historical info to help NT readers understand where this came from and why this is horribly wrong!

LINK TO SEE PICS

Medieval waterboarding

In the medieval form of waterboarding, a victim was strapped to a board and tipped back or lowered into a body of water until he or she believed that drowning was imminent. The subject was then removed from the water and revived. If necessary the process was repeated.

Although in a technical sense there are actually several other forms of water-based interrogation, all variants have in common that the victim reliably almost drowns but is rescued or re-animated by his captor just before death occurs. The technique is designed to be both psychological and physical. The psychological effect is inherent in the fact that the victim is given to understand that he or she shall be killed outright by dint of enforced drowning unless their cooperation as demanded is indeed produced promptly. This perception reinforces the interrogator’s control and gives the victim sound cause to experience mortal fear.

The physical effects are extreme pain and damage to the lungs, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation and sometimes broken bones because of the restraints applied to the struggling victim. The psychological effects are lifelong

Modern waterboarding

The modern practice of waterboarding involves tying the victim to a board with the head lower than the feet so that he or she is unable to move. A piece of cloth is held tightly over the face, and water is poured onto the cloth. Breathing is extremely difficult and the victim will be in fear of imminent death by asphyxiation. However, it is relatively difficult to aspirate a large amount of water since the lungs are higher than the mouth, and the victim is unlikely to actually die if this is done by skilled practitioners. Waterboarding may be used by captors who wish to impose anguish without leaving marks on their victims as evidence.

In the United States, military personnel are subjected to this technique, evidently to demonstrate how to resist enemy interrogations in the event of capture.

On the 18 November 2005, Brian Ross and Richard Esposito described the CIA’s “waterboarding” technique as follows in an article posted on the ABC News web site:

“The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner’s face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt. According to the sources, CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in. They said al Qaeda’s toughest prisoner, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, won the admiration of interrogators when he was able to last over two minutes before begging to confess. ‘The person believes they are being killed, and as such, it really amounts to a mock execution, which is illegal under international law,’ said John Sifton of Human Rights Watch.” [1]

Dr. Allen Keller, the director of the Bellevue/N.Y.U. Program for Survivors of Torture, has treated “a number of people” who had been subjected to forms of near-asphyxiation, including water-boarding. An interview for the New Yorker states:

He argued that it was indeed torture. Some victims were still traumatized years later, he said. One patient couldn’t take showers, and panicked when it rained. “The fear of being killed is a terrifying experience,” he said.[2][3]

Waterboarding is due to become a banned practice by U.S. personnel (including CIA officials) pending the release of a revised manual on interrogation procedures. (side note: NOT ANYMORE!)

side note: even though Woodward’s previous two books on the Bush Administration were rah-rah books…….I read Plan of Attack and pretty much Woodward made Bushie look like a natural leader…which we all know is a load of crap! This one is a bit more on the negative side….looks like Woodward sways with public opinion…..better late then never though!

CBS News
Veteran Washington reporter Bob Woodward tells Mike Wallace that the Bush administration has not told the truth regarding the level of violence, especially against U.S. troops, in Iraq. He also reveals key intelligence that predicts the insurgency will grow worse next year.

In Wallace’s interview with Woodward, to be broadcast on 60 Minutes this Sunday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. ET/PT, the reporter also claims that Henry Kissinger is among those advising Mr. Bush.

According to Woodward, insurgent attacks against coalition troops occur, on average, every 15 minutes, a shocking fact the administration has kept secret. “It’s getting to the point now where there are eight-, nine-hundred attacks a week. That’s more than 100 a day. That is four an hour attacking our forces,” says Woodward. (more…)

yesterday i wrote a friend of mine who is a devout Christian and a republican, and asked him what his thoughts were regarding Torture, below is his reponse, in full, no editing:

On a conceptual, theological, principle level – I’m totally opposed to it. As a citizen of a Kingdom that is not of this world – my Lord said to turn the other check, to reply evil with good, pray for your enemies …

And yet – he said to obey the laws of the land, that government was for the protection and peaceful lives of its citizens – so there is balance. There is that divide between what I should do and what government should do. I see the Bible teaching that government is necessary to keep restraint on people, because there are enough bad people who would, without restraint, destroy the peace of all the people.

On a real world level – there are times when I think that some measure of “pressure” is right and good – if it saves lives, but knowing where, how far, what is torture and what is just pressure – it takes more wisdom than I have and that is what makes is scary – who is to decide? (more…)

side note: this sort of sums up repubs who still back our president (there’s got to be a few who don’t) This is from ThinkProgress.org, and after reading it, i was checking out the comments, and saw a great one, it said:
Gee, funny how people in CIVIL WARS always look similar.

Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), who famously suggested the U.S. wouldn’t have “all these problems” had Strom Thurmond been elected President, said today that the religious differences among Iraqis makes the conflict very difficult for him to understand:

“It’s hard for Americans, all of us, including me, to understand what’s wrong with these people,” he said. “Why do they kill people of other religions because of religion? Why do they hate the Israeli’s and despise their right to exist? Why do they hate each other? Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me.“ (more…)

side note: sounds more like a dysfunctional family! this is a must read below!

By DAVID E. SANGER
NY TIMES

The White House ignored an urgent warning in September 2003 from a top Iraq adviser who said that thousands of additional American troops were desperately needed to quell the insurgency there, according to a new book by Bob Woodward, the Washington Post reporter and author. The book describes a White House riven by dysfunction and division over the war.

The warning is described in “State of Denial,” scheduled for publication on Monday by Simon & Schuster. The book says President Bush’s top advisers were often at odds among themselves, and sometimes were barely on speaking terms, but shared a tendency to dismiss as too pessimistic assessments from American commanders and others about the situation in Iraq.

As late as November 2003, Mr. Bush is quoted as saying of the situation in Iraq: “I don’t want anyone in the cabinet to say it is an insurgency. I don’t think we are there yet.” (more…)

This is a remarkable work of Art:
This picture is made from faces of 670 soldiers who died in the Iraq War

CNN) —

Nearly two-thirds of Americans surveyed consider Iraq to be in a civil war, a CNN poll said Thursday, and more people view the three major architects of the U.S.-led operation there unfavorably than favorably.

Iraq, particularly its capital, Baghdad, has endured months of Sunni-Shiite sectarian killings, and debate has simmered over whether the country has or has not entered into a full-blown or low-grade civil war.

Asked whether Iraq is “currently engaged in a civil war,” 65 percent of the poll’s respondents said “yes,” and 29 percent answered “no.” By comparison, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll in April found 56 percent of the respondents believed Iraq was in a civil war, while 33 percent disagreed. (more…)

side note: Emmanuelle Chriqui is on the HBO show Entourage……my favorite show on TV. Thanks “M” for sending this…..much thanks indeed! She’s arriving for the premiere of “The Departed” in New York on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2006.(Fashion Wire Daily/Grant Lamos IV)

side note: Great clip from Obermann’s show linking the lies to the liars…OUTSTANDING!

Steven G. Brant
Huffington Post Blog

see original

Aziz Huq
http://www.tompaine.com

This is a story about what America will look if the Senate approves the legislation it will vote on today.

***

Ten years after the Military Commissions Act of 2006, they came for Bobby Jaffar and his family. Officers from a Joint Terrorism Task Force, clad in Kevlar and wielding assault rifles, didn’t knock: They cracked the door down. Ten-year old Bobby and his 17-year old sister were seized. His father—Brooklyn-born with roots in Djibouti—and his mother—a Yemeni Green Card-holder—were taken away separately. It was the last time Bobby was to see them for many years.

Bobby’s father, he later learned had been declared an “unlawful enemy combatant” under the Military Commission Act, or MCA, of 2006. Under a last-minute amendment to this Act, the President had power to designate any person—citizen or non-citizen—as someone who “purposefully and materially supported hostilities.” (more…)

Bush positions strike group in Gulf prior to midterm elections

Geov Parrish
WorkingForChange.com

It’s an empirical fact that in modern America, two rhetorical devices must be used repeatedly by our president before we can invade another country. First, that country must be conflated with its leader, so that we are bombing one person, not, say, 70 million people. Second, that leader must be demonized. He must be Worse-Than-Hitler, an evildoer, a charter member of the Axis of Evil, a “devil,” if you will. That stench in the streets of whichever country we’ve targeted isn’t the smell of napalm in the morning. It’s sulfur.

Sometimes, our president can meet both propaganda objectives in the same phrase. As when, in the run-up to the Gulf War, Bush Senior would threaten to attack “Sodom” Hussein. (more…)

side note: Thanks “M” for sending this…..I was gonna wait till manana to post this….but it was just too damn funny.

side note: Well said Molly! Is this what we’ve become? People, this door has already been opened, and Bush is pushing hard for congress to legalize this, because they broke Article 3, in the Geneva Convention. We are not this, we strive to fight this. We’re becoming and will continue to become the evil we claim to fight. Where are all the Christian Conservatives now? Where? As they hide their faces and turn their heads, their silence speaks volumes. This reminds me of the pope during WWII, who could have stood up to Hitler, at least in voice, but chose to sit it out, for fear of attacks from Hitler. People say, “well, these are bad people, evil people…..” Well, what does that make us then? They’ve had 100’s of detainees in Gitmo and else where, and only a hand ful have been charged with a crime. What about the rest that we tortured who had nothing to do with this “War on Terror”. They’re only crime was what skin color they were born with, and what their name is. We’re better then this!

Molly Ivins
Creators Syndicate
http://www.workingforchange.com

AUSTIN, Texas — Oh dear. I’m sure he didn’t mean it. In Illinois’ 6th Congressional District, long represented by Henry Hyde, Republican candidate Peter Roskam accused his Democratic opponent Tammy Duckworth of planning to “cut and run” on Iraq.

Duckworth is a former Army major and chopper pilot, who lost both legs in Iraq after her helicopter got hit by an RPG. “I just could not believe he would say that to me,” said Duckworth, who walks on artificial legs and uses a cane. Every election cycle produces some wincers, but how do you apologize for that one?

The legislative equivalent of that remark is the detainee bill, now being passed by Congress. Beloveds, this is so much worse than even that pathetic deal reached last Thursday between the White House and Republican Sens. Warner, McCain and Graham. The White House has since reinserted a number of “technical fixes” that were the point of the putative “compromise.” It leaves the president with the power to decide who is an enemy combatant.

This bill is not a national security issue — this is about torturing helpless human beings without any proof they are our enemies. Perhaps this could be considered if we knew the administration would use the power with enormous care and thoughtfulness. But of the over 700 prisoners sent to Gitmo, only 10 have ever been formally charged with anything. Among other things, this bill is a CYA for torture of the innocent that has already taken place.

The first reported case of death by torture by Americans was in The New York Times in 2003 by Carlotta Gall. The military had announced the prisoner died of a heart attack, but when Gall actually saw the death certificate, written in English and issued by the military, it said the cause of death was homicide. The “heart attack” came after he had been beaten so often on this legs that they had “basically been pulpified,” according to the coroner. (more…)