A new Government Accountability Office report on voting system testing finds that the Election Assistance Commission has not notified election officials across the country about electronic voting machine failures. And a new study by Common Cause and the Century Foundation finds that 10 very vital swing states have significant voting problems that have not been addressed since the last election. Those 10 states, according to Common Cause, are Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin. In Colorado, 20,000 left polling places without voting in 2006 because of crashed computer registration machines and long lines. And this election day, Colorado will have another new registration system. ‘You know, Colorado is two years behind many states in implementing a statewide voter database. … This is a new system, and there’s just a lot of unknowns as to whether or not voters will be successful,’ said Jenny Flanagan of Common Cause. The problems listed in the report range from not enough voting machines to glitches with electronic registration poll books. Read the report ‘We’re seeing a lot of problems where people are being kicked off the data base rolls if their name […]
DETROIT — Tuesday’s unveiling of the Chevrolet Volt electric hybrid car was supposed to be a celebration of new technology, the birth of a new class of automobile. Instead, the crowd at General Motors Corp.’s Renaissance Center was buzzing over who was going to pay for it: GM or American taxpayers? GM revealed the much-hyped vehicle at an event celebrating the automaker’s centennial. Immediately afterward, company executives faced a barrage of questions about whether some of the $25 billion in low-interest loans the industry is urging Congress to fund would be used to subsidize the Volt’s development and production. At the same time, GM executives called for federal and local incentives to boost the Volt program. The loans ‘certainly would help us finance the vehicle,’ said Frederick Henderson, president of GM. ‘This is exactly the kind of vehicle that was contemplated when the money was put into the bill,’ he added, referring to last year’s Energy Security and Independence Act. That law called for higher fuel economy standards and federally guaranteed loans to help offset the cost of complying with the mandate. The loan guarantees were never appropriated, however, and gained attention this summer only when […]
The future of the automobile is being fought on the two stages of politics and raw capitalism. No surprise, given that cars are at the epicenter of not only oil demand and manufacturing might, but also technology deployment. Both presidential aspirants (cars seem to bring out the inner dweeb in the candidates) have tech-centric future-car plans. Not coincidentally, the world’s two largest automakers have started a Kabuki dance over who will lead the next secular shift in automotive technology from whence 21st century market dominance will emerge. Regardless of who wins either battle, the transformation of the car, over time, alters energy markets in far-reaching ways. Both Obama and McCain propose to accelerate the idea of a ‘plug-in hybrid,’ a vehicle directly derived from the digital silicon economy. So do automakers. In mid-August, General Motors announced it had ‘essentially finished’ the design of its Volt, a radical new hybrid car first unveiled just a year ago in January, with planned production in 2010. Not to be outdone, Toyota quickly announced, contemporaneous with the Democratic Convention, an acceleration of its own similar plan and release schedule. Nissan, Ford, Mitsubishi, Chrysler and Mercedes all have plans too. What’s the big […]
In the past few days, as the economic crisis has deepened, Senator John McCain has been decrying the excesses of Wall Street. At a campaign rally in Tampa on Tuesday, he vowed that he and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, if elected, ‘are going to put an end to the reckless conduct, corruption, and unbridled greed that have caused a crisis on Wall Street.’ He noted that the ‘foundation of our economy…has been put at risk by the greed and mismanagement of Wall Street and Washington.’ He blasted CEOs who ‘seem to escape the consequences.’ He denounced Wall Streeters who ‘dreamed up investment schemes that they themselves don’t even understand’ and who used ‘derivatives, credit default swaps, and mortgage-backed securities’ to try ‘to make their own rules.’ He excoriated Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for gaming the system. And he slammed financial industry lobbyists for misguiding members of Congress. ‘I can promise you the days of dealing and special favors will soon be over in Washington.’ On Wednesday morning, after the federal government committed $85 billion to prevent the collapse of the American International Group (AIG) insurance conglomerate, McCain again assailed irresponsible corporate executives. ‘We need to change the way […]
A large study is to examine near-death experiences in heart attack patients. Doctors at 25 UK and US hospitals will study 1,500 survivors to see if people with no heartbeat or brain activity can have ‘out of body’ experiences. Some people report seeing a tunnel or bright light, others recall looking down from the ceiling at medical staff. The study, due to take three years and co-ordinated by Southampton University, will include placing on shelves images that could only be seen from above. To test this, the researchers have set up special shelving in resuscitation areas. The shelves hold pictures – but they’re visible only from the ceiling. Dr Sam Parnia, who is heading the study, said: ‘If you can demonstrate that consciousness continues after the brain switches off, it allows for the possibility that the consciousness is a separate entity. ‘It is unlikely that we will find many cases where this happens, but we have to be open-minded. ‘And if no one sees the pictures, it shows these experiences are illusions or false memories. ‘This is a mystery that we can now subject to scientific study.’ Dr Parnia works as […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
