No amount of marching in the streets is more important than just witnessing the information in this video.
A democratic legislator recently received discs in the mail anonymously that could be used to hack into a Diebold machine. Suddenly ABC was reporting that the elections might be skewed. That's all it took for this article... one politician receiving a disc. (this is important to remember)
A week ago i was reading Harper's Index and I came across this statistic: "Minutes it took a Princeton researcher to hack into a Diebold voting machine in September: 1"
Now, what occured to me was that the reason voting box hacking has been successful is that only the people doing the hacking have the combination. In other words, a thief never wants his methods to be discovered, as then they can be blocked. This administration doesn't want people to have the combination to the safe --not because people would use it to do "bad" things-- but because it will render their system of corruption useless.
Solution: Give everyone the combination.
If everyone has access to the combination, whether or not it is ever used to hack anything, it renders the system obsolete. I repeat, no hacking will ever have to be done. Case in point: the attention given to just one ex democratic legislator who received the discs with the combination.
Let's say EVERY politician, on both sides of the line was sent discs with the combination... and then every voter... stacks available at polling stations. Imagine the possibilities -- imagine the outcome. How could any result from any machine ever be considered accurate? How could a government in their right mind continue to use this system? And how could a people support said government?
FAQs (well not yet, but im assuming...):
•Isn't that information already on the internet?
Yes, in different locations you can see videos of people doing it. And there are what looks like several techniques. However, there are direct ways... codes/blackberrys/even a flashdrive... that can be used as well. It must also be noted that even though it is on the internet, people are still brutally unaware. It is our job to distribute the information.
Our only technique in fighting voting machines has been to point at the problem and scream about it. Letters to politicians, protests, etc. To no virtually no effect. We need to take a page out of Karl's playbook: to solve a problem, just create a bigger problem.
Imagine this information being spread around like Paris Hilton's sex video, and there you have it.
•So how do you plan on getting the information?
How does anyone get a CD before it is released... it's out there. With a simple google search i found the researcher at Princeton who hacked the machines in September. His name is Edward Felten. I encourage you to watch this demo, and read his paper and perhaps even write him an email. Again, it's out there.
•Is spreading this information illegal?
Honestly I have no idea. But i can't imagine getting arrested for more noble a cause. We are not trying to subvert democracy, we are trying to save it. And as we know, lives are on the line here. Not allowing people the information on voter box hacking is like the government withholding the evidence of how cigarettes can kill you. They still want you to smoke... They still want you to vote... they know full well that both are bad for your health, but they make money so...
To keep in mind: The reason there is hardly any talk, and even less action, against voting machines is that they continue to work just fine for half the population. We can kick and scream all we like, but until it could possibly effect everyone, nothing will be done.... When you are on the freeway, and an accident happens blocking traffic in the left two lanes, the right two lanes continue to flow --usually with the thought, "sucks to be them".
But if there is a chance that one of the cars in that accident might explode... no one tries to pass. So get out of your cushy cars and spread the word: Democracy is burning, and the flame is about to reach the fuel tank. Sharing this information will save lives.
11.03.2006
How to Hack/Stop voting machines...
It's gonna be a fun week in the US
Orwell, eat your heart out...
This video is old. Nearly two years old. But have you seen it on TV?
American computer programmer Clinton Eugene Curtis is seen in this video testifying under oath in front of the U.S. House Judiciary Members in Ohio.
10.30.2006
10.25.2006
Coming Home in a Box
What... oh yes, blogging. Well then here i am and here we are and there it all is. I don't know why, but sometimes i just have to take a breather from this whole blog thing.
So, without going into a big ol' story about it all. The fence project, this project, was taken down last month.
Two men on an unnamed crew came and snipped all the names down. A few community members came and gathered it all up, delivering it to the local paper. The local paper dropped it back on my doorstep.
All of the notes and signs and flags and 2500+ tags, in this box seen above. They came just like this. And so, with a nod to Edward Keinholz, I entered it into the 2007 Juried Carlsbad Biennial. I'll keep everyone posted as to whether or not it gets accepted. (my other entries included the Color By Numbers painting below and the Kneeler...)
Now, the tearing down of the "memorial" became quite an ordeal, and again much was learned. People criticized the owner of the lot thinking he was responsible. His name is Hassan, so people wrote in to the paper that he ought to go back to Tehran. And suddenly all of these other new critiques came along saying the fence was an eyesore and good riddance. (i thought it at least a little prettier than most of the streets in Falluja right about now, but what do i know...)
I wrote this letter to the paper in an effort to settle something... but it was too long and they wouldn't print it. I guess searching through all of those letters and putting them one by one into the press is a bit tedious... Anyway, what's a blog for if you can't publish thoughts people won't read. Here you go... My "good night and good luck" moment that never was...
We are the couple responsible for hanging the tags which began the "makeshift war memorial" on the fence outlining the abandoned gas station at the corner of PCH and Cassidy in South Oceanside. We feel it is important to write this in an attempt to assuage the negativity we have been reading in response to recent articles about the site's removal, and return the focus where it belongs.
It was never our intention to make "a war memorial" nor to protest the current war. Our purpose in writing and hanging the tags onto the fence was to demarcate a public space where a community's thoughts and emotions could live and breathe, and to create some reminder other than the practice shells of Camp Pendleton rattling our windows from time to time.
Not sure the tags would remain three hours let alone three years, we were amazed to see the community embrace the fence. People hung flowers, flags, and notes to their loved ones, creating their own experience. All of which remained and grew until recently.
We ask there be no ill will toward owner Hassan Sadeghi as to the removal of the site. We spoke with Hassan after the first year the fence was up. He was very willing to help in any way, and would never have purposely taken the names down.
People have written comments to this paper saying this "was not a real memorial", but merely an "eyesore" that "destructed private property". Yes, the tags crumbled and the flowers shrivelled and the flags were in tatters. It seems gas stations and memorials, like soldiers, will pass. But be sure we make no apologies for how this space may have served to interrupt your days with a moment of grief, anger, or warm heart. These old tags, flowers and flags, were neither an eyesore nor an act of destruction. War, on the other hand, is both. We pointed to the war, yet some continue to stare at our finger.
We now know it is imperative the city has a space to honor the memory of the fallen soldiers, most of whom passed through Oceanside during their training. The fence has taught us even the simplest of acts can serve. We have also seen the importance of having a site that values the lives of real people like the Vietnam Memorial in D.C., as opposed to one that celebrates war like a forgotten obelisk. And we must keep in mind the difference between a place that honors people, and one built for a city's PR and marketing. The difference between a space that has come from the hearts of the community, and one built and labeled " war memorial".
We took a step to create the community we want to live in because it was the responsible thing to do. The community responded and took the next steps to keep it going. Left to the city council to make our city for us, the focus will be on what can bring revenue, and Oceanside could become a mall indistinguishable from any other city in America. As a community, we are responsible for envisioning and shaping the meaning and beauty we want in our world. To us, this is the true sense of "freedom" American's have fought so hard for, and ultimately this will bring the greatest revenue.
10.05.2006
A small post that could just change your life
A new friend introduced this to me a couple days ago, and i am in absolute awe. Finally, a reason for the internet...
This project is going to change music listening as we know it. Imagine being able to shape radio to exactly the kind of mood you are in, but without being tied to your same old boring collection... this is it... welcome to "God's iPod". (Say goodbye to the next 3 hours of your life)
www.pandora.com
Oh yeah... the best part... it's free. I have my laptop connected to my stereo running all day long... i am in love.
