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Open thread
- By Phillip Brownlee
- Posted Oct. 24, 2006 at 1:05 a.m.
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“It’s time to put Snoop Dog on a leash.”
Dr. Tiller’s ProKanDo PAC Behind Hit Piece by “Kansans for Consumer Privacy”? Sneaky Political Money Methods from 2002 Return to Kansas?
http://www.kansasmeadowlark.com/2006/10-23/index.htm
Quote of the Day:
“…We aspire to corrupt in order to govern… We have taken from the people all the gods of heaven and earth, which had their homage. We have torn from them their religious faith, their faith in monarchy, their honesty and their family virtues…” (Giuseppe Mazzini, 1805-1872, Revolutionary, Founder of Italian Freemasonry and the Mafia)
Viva La Raza Blanco!!
In two weeks in the November general election: VOTE NO INCUMBENTS.
Specifically, I’m thinking of the governor’s race, the attorney general’s race and the three Sedgwick county commissioners, of five, who are up for election.
Some exceptions are in the state legislative races but INFORMED voters will know these honest, effective, financially conservative office holders.
Great editorial on Bush’s sudden changes on Iraq:
“The way the Bush team is stage-managing the president’s supposed change of heart about “staying the course” is unfair to the Americans who have taken him at his word that real progress is being made in Iraq — a dwindling but still significant number of people, some of whom have sons and daughters serving in the conflict. It is a disservice to the troops, who were never sent to Iraq in sufficient numbers to protect themselves or the Iraqi people. And it is a disservice to all Americans, who have waited so long for Mr. Bush to act that all that is left are a series of unpleasant choices.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/opinion/22sun1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Great editorial on Bush’s sudden changes on Iraq:
“The way the Bush team is stage-managing the president’s supposed change of heart about “staying the course” is unfair to the Americans who have taken him at his word that real progress is being made in Iraq — a dwindling but still significant number of people, some of whom have sons and daughters serving in the conflict. It is a disservice to the troops, who were never sent to Iraq in sufficient numbers to protect themselves or the Iraqi people. And it is a disservice to all Americans, who have waited so long for Mr. Bush to act that all that is left are a series of unpleasant choices.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/opinion/22sun1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Do General Casey’s remarks made today concerning turning over more responsibility to the Iraqis over the next 12 to 18 months remind anyone else of “Vietnamization”?
Jwink, could you tell us how Gov. Sebelius has been as bad for Kansas financially as the republican congresscritters? Or any other republican for that matter?
Absolutely VT. And I suspect the ARI are going to remind us more and more of the ARVN.
The great liberal hope, compare everything to Viet Nam then use it as an excuse to cut and run.
KS MedowLark,Please spare us your extreme paranoia. Yesterday you spoke about CREW, which if you new anything about them would know they also prosecute Democrats as well as Republicans. Your fascination with George Soros confuses me. You worry about a non tax payer supported group being funded by a liberal, yet you don’t mind your tax dollars being used so that Exxon Mobile can write the Nations energy policy. You also obsess about Dr. Tiller, yet I’m sure you love Operation Rescue. Well, Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue is not such a good man. However, I am sure we do not write about things like that According to the February 12, 2000, Washington Post report, Terry was censured by his church, the Landmark Church of Binghamton, New York, for a “pattern of repeated and sinful relationships and conversations with both single and married women.” Or According to a June 14, 2003, report by the conservative World Magazine (no longer available online, but reprinted on the right-wing bulletin board Free Republic), Terry solicited donations by declaring on his website that “The purveyors of abortion on demand have stripped Randall Terry of everything he owned,” but failed to disclose that the money would be used to pay for his new $432,000 house. The report noted Terry’s defense: “Terry told World that he wanted a home where his family will be safe and where ‘we could entertain people of stature, people of importance. I have a lot of important people that come through my home. And I will have more important people come through my home.’ ” World noted that the same month he paid the deposit on his new home, a court ruled that Terry, who divorced his first wife and has remarried, “was not paying a fair share of child support.” Learn about the organizations you write about before spouting off bias. For all of you tired of reading Conservative rants and name-calling. Read the following article. It explains everything.http://politicalheartland.blogspot.com/2006/10/how-to-spot-baby-conserative.html
Dakote – bet we will never THAT covered in the Salina Journal! Ain’t that right Meadowlark?
kumbaya yall
WSU has a good idea here.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/15833834.htm
One problem with the plan, though, is that the first year of college is probably the least valuable to entering students. Many classes are large and are taught by forgeign students whose English is difficult to understand (this is true regardless of any standardized test scores).
But, I like it that WSU is thinking about the resources that Wichita has — like many smart kids.
But is it best for Wichita long-term? I would think that we would want our best and brightest to go out and get the best education available wherever that might be. Also, seeing other places is an education in and of itself. The question then becomes: is there any reason for them to return to Wichita to live?
Steven, a good idea; but still quite a bit short of what other schools will do for students like those referenced in the article. First of all, there needs to be a 4 year scholarship commitment (assuming the student meets all grade, etc. criteria to remain a student), not just one; second, there needs to be an upgrade of the general educational reputation of the University. I know the U.S. News & World Report rankings are subjected to much justified criticism, but if I, as a student, had the opportunity to attend a so-called “first tier” university, and WSU, a “fourth tier” university, all other things being equal, which would I attend?
By the way, if anyone cares, any scholarship aid received that is in excess of “qualified educational costs” (the costs of tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment required for courses, IIRC), the surplus is taxable income to the recipient.
Which Republican is the liar?
“House GOP officials likely to be at odds in ethics testimonyLARRY MARGASAKAssociated PressWASHINGTON – The House Republican campaign chairman and the speaker of the House are likely to be at odds this week as they testify about the handling of ex-Rep. Mark Foley’s come-ons to male pages.
Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-N.Y., who entered the House ethics committee chambers Tuesday morning, has said he warned Speaker Dennis Hastert about Foley last spring.
Hastert, who returned to Washington for testimony sometime later this week, has said he doesn’t remember that conversation. Hastert’s office took the unusual step of closing the hallways near his office in an apparent attempt to keep him away from reporters.
more …
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/breaking_news/15837036.htm
College Hill Neighborhood Assoc. takes on Wal-Mart’s proposed store at Kellogg and Rock tonight at its meeting.
Victory in the Valley on Douglas (across from Blessed Sacrament Church), 6 pm.
Walmart will have a spokesperson there.
A link to part one of a two part article concerning interrogation of detainees at Gitmo; link to part two is in part one. Please read it and draw your own conclusions.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15361458/
Capn, don’t you mean Kellogg and Oliver?
Republicans soft on crime:
“Abramoff associate argues for no jailMATT APUZZOAssociated PressWASHINGTON – A congressman and a former House aide have written letters in support of former Bush administration official David Safavian, who is trying to avoid jail time in the Jack Abramoff investigation.
Safavian, former chief of staff of the General Services Administration, was convicted in June of lying to investigators about his dealings with Abramoff.
Prosecutors are seeking a three-year prison sentence in Safavian’s case, which was the first guilty verdict by a jury in the corruption probe surrounding Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist who pleaded guilty in January in a conspiracy to corrupt public officials.
In seeking a sentence of probation or house arrest, Safavian’s attorneys submitted letters from supporters including a church leader, a former congressional aide and Safavian’s former boss, Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah.
more …
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/news/breaking_news/15837172.htm
Capn must have meant Kellogg and Oliver. Either way I thank him for the notice. The Kellog and Oliver location is less than 3 blocks from my brothers house and less than a mile from mine. I might have to go to that meeting and tell the Wal Mart rep what I think of him and his store.
Perhaps the most crucial quote from Vaughn’s link, from investigator Mark Fallon:
“Many of the detainees wanted also to be released. And our goal was to obtain accurate information. A good investigator works hard to prove guilt or innocence.”
Yet, according to Fallon and many others, that was not what they were doing at Gitmo.
That is not what they will be doing with the American citizens they capture, either.
Oh, hell, yes, Kellogg and Oliver–my bad.
This will make the 12th Wal-Mart in Wichita if it goes in . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZE20lzZZF0
Photographic proof of yet another Bush lie:
“It’s never been about ’stay the course,’ George.”
Oh, really?
Capn, JR,
I am going to be at the Morrison reception tonight. My wife mailed in our protest about the WalMart Kellogg and Oliver location.
We have enough WalMarts already. That location will adversely effect surrounding property values.
Please let them know that all who are opposed couldn’t be there tonight.
Do you think for a moment that the city council or county commission give a rats ass about property values south of Kellogg in the are under discussion? To them there are jobs and tax revenue in them thar hills — hell if they could they would level the area between kellogg and McConnell and create their new aircraft technology business district for the composites industry. Gee I hope I didn’t give them any ideas!!
I believe that the WalMart at Kellogg and Oliver could effect the property values of homes to the north of Kellogg — where there is greater damage possible.
During the bull housing market, College Hill and Crown Heights properties consistently and nicely appreciated.
We have enough WalMarts. Period.
I don’t know about that Steve. As long as the traffic pattern focuses on the Kellogg off-ramps it shouldn’t have much impact to the north. Isn’t the VA on the north side of the freeway there?
VA is at Kellogg and Edgemoor, about 1/2 mile East of the area in question. I agree with Ben on the potential effect of a Wal Mart at Southeast corner, Kellogg and Oliver, on College Hill/Crown Heights.
12 Wal-Marts in Wichita? I count 5 and Derby’s 1. Have I missed something? Either way, I agree we have enough.
JR, there’s a WM about 2 blocks from my house. In fact, if I could jump a few fences, it would be a straight shot to the back of the store. Then again, this wouldn’t be counted as an upscale neighborhood, although it isn’t a bad neighborhood either.
RD–
I counted 10 existing Wal-Marts (in the AT & T Phone Book) in Wichita or the Wichita Area–Derby, Maize, etc.
Another one has been approved for Northwest Wichita. That makes 11.
Kellogg and Oliver would be 12.
If it is one of those Super Walmarts, I imagine Dillons isn’t too happy about it.
Of course, I would like to see something there. Ever since that tornado blew that mini mall in pieces, it’s been an eyesore.
Maybe we could convince Walmart to contribute to Cowtown?
They have been known to contribute to the community. We are working on them to help the South Central Revitalization efforts.
Ben & Vaughn,I hope you guys are correct on the north of Kellog property. I have an investment in the question.
I still think the store will mean an increase in traffic on Oliver, which is plenty busy enough now, if you ask me.
Plus, we do not need any more WalMarts.
Steven, I agree we don’t necessarily need more Wal-Marts. That, however, is not the crux of my objection to siting a Wal-Mart at that intersection. My objection, as quaint as it may sound, is that such is not good urban planning.
It is my firmly held belief that a big box retailer isn’t appropriate along a freeway adjacent to residential areas. While one may reasonably argue that the horse is out of the barn in that area, given the plethora of car dealers, etc., and the strip mall on the Southwest corner, the siting of a big box retailer will: a)increase traffic along Oliver, to be sure; b) bring additional noise and light pollution to the residential area on the South side of Kellogg. My preference for that side of the intersection would be a multi-family residential development, or an “office park” development, to serve as a buffer for the traffic noise, etc. from Kellogg. My two cents.
Urban Planning? In WICHITA?????
It’ll never happen.
Check out Limbaugh’s shocking desperation.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/24/AR2006102400691.html
Ben, I said it was quaint.
Yeah, Steve, saw that earlier today; was so nauseated, couldn’t summon the strength to post the link.
Something I came accross from IAVA, Iraq and Afghanistan veterans of America (iava.org). They did a survey of votes by both houses of congress for the last 5 years. The complete survey results can be found at: http://iava.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2089&Itemid=221
An interesting graphic has been put together at:http://bobgeiger.blogspot.com/2006/10/iava-support-troops-rankings-for-senate.html
What they found boils down to this: republicans don’t back up their talk when it comes to voting to support the troops and/or veterans while democrats do. Specifically democratic senators when compared to republican senators. Here is the Kansas section, want to guess which one is a democrat?
KansasSenator Sam Brownback DRep. Dennis Moore A-Rep. Jerry Moran CSenator Pat Roberts DRep. Jim R. Ryun C+Rep. Todd Tiahrt C
Who cares about used-up wounded soldiers? They can’t go back to Iraq for us so they don’t matter!
Oy Vay, when da myths come a tumblin on down! Da truth shall set you all free!! :)
Vdare.com, Steve Sailer, Oct. 22, 2006
One of the most popular Web postings of November 2004 was a table purporting to show that John Kerry had swept the 16 states with the highest average IQs (such as Connecticut with its 113 mean). George W. Bush, in contrast, had carried the 26 dumbest states (such as Utah at only 87).
The first person to post these data after the election exulted: “Wow, what can I say, in the first 24 hours over 540,000+ people viewed this page!”
I would guesstimate that total viewership of the IQ table ultimately approached ten million fellow Democrats —all consoling themselves with the thought that what they lacked in quantity of voters, they more than made up for in quality of brainpower.
But it was all a complete hoax. And I had already pointed it out the previous May. Then, The Economist magazine fell for an earlier Bush v. Gore 2000 version, which it later retracted.
Still, the question of average state IQ scores is one that millions find fascinating, so I’m glad that the scientific journal Intelligence has in press an article entitled Estimating state IQ: Measurement challenges and preliminary correlates [PDF file] by Michael A. McDaniel, a widely published professor at the Virginia Commonwealth University school of business. (Thanks to Dienekes’s blog for the tip. We publish this new state IQ table here. The earlier hoax data is in the right hand column.)
How did McDaniel come up with these estimates? He used the federal government’s National Assessment of Educational Progress math and reading test scores. That’s a technique that I introduced in 2004 at the suggestion of Ken Hirsch.
In the second column of the new table are Dr. McDaniel’s reasonable-sounding estimates of IQ, setting the national average on the NAEP tests at 100 and the standard deviation at 15.
McDaniel has added a refinement to my approach. There was this problem: NAEP scores for 4th and 8th graders are just from public school students. But in states with large black or Hispanic populations, there is substantial white flight from the public schools , lowering NAEP scores. For example, 13.7% of South Carolina’s white students and 10.6% of California’s are not in public schools. McDaniel adjusts for this, raising slightly the IQ estimates of states with heavy white flight. (State IQ was defined as “the average of mean reading and mean math scores.”)
The relationship between state average IQ and partisanship turns out to be quite mixed. (In the new table, I’ve marked states that voted Republican in 2004 as red, while Democratic states are blue.) Comparing McDaniel’s estimated IQ scores to Bush’s share of the vote in 2004, I see virtually no correlation: just -0.12.
In other words, if you were told the state IQs, you’d be only a little more than one percent (-0.12 squared) of the way toward fully predicting the state-by-state results of the 2004 election. (In contrast, the correlation coefficient for the hoax IQ data with Bush’s percentages by state was -0.85, or 72% toward a wholly accurate prediction.)
How do McDaniel’s results compare to other good faith state-by-state IQ estimates?
A massively representative national IQ test last happened in 1960, when Sputnik scared the federal government into giving an IQ test to 366,000 high school students as part of Project Talent. Four decades later, McDaniel’s NAEP-based IQ estimate still correlated at the high 0.63 level with Project Talent’s old results.
In a mid-1980s study of Vietnam veterans, 4,321 took an IQ test, with results tabulated by their state of birth. The findings correlate 0.59 with McDaniel’s. (Data from Project Talent and the Vietnam veterans can be found here.)
The Social Quotient website estimated IQs from SAT and ACT college entrance exams scores. The results have a correlation coefficient of 0.71 with McDaniel’s numbers.
Finally, for whatever it’s worth, the free Internet-based Tickle IQ test has published its averages by state. Tickle correlates 0.53 with McDaniel’s numbers.
Examining McDaniel’s data, you should first notice that even the largest difference between states’ mean IQ—the 10.2 points between Massachusetts and Mississippi—is actually not at all enormous. And that’s especially true compared to the differences among countries. There, gaps of 30 points or more are not uncommon (e.g. Austria vs. Congo-Zaire ).
The median Massachusetts student would score at the 61% percentile nationwide, and the median Mississippi student at the 35% percentile. This isn’t a tremendous difference—but it would be noticeable if you moved from one state to another.
McDaniel notes:
“States with higher estimated state IQ have greater gross state product [per capita], citizens with better health, more effective state governments, and less violent crime.”
You’ll also observe from the map below (where the brighter states are indicated by the brighter colors) that the highest IQ states are extremely, shall we say, Northern. Six of the top eight (marked in yellow) border on Canada . Overall, there’s a clear correlation between latitude and NAEP scores.
Why is that? As George Will coyly hinted in his obituary for Daniel Patrick Moynihan:
“The Senate’s Sisyphus, Moynihan was forever pushing uphill a boulder of inconvenient data. A social scientist trained to distinguish correlation from causation , and a wit, Moynihan puckishly said that a crucial determinant of the quality of American schools is proximity to the Canadian border. The barb in his jest was this: High cognitive outputs correlate not with high per-pupil expenditures but with a high percentage of two-parent families. For that, there was the rough geographical correlation that caused Moynihan to suggest that states trying to improve their students’ test scores should move closer to Canada.”
S-u-r-e, Dan and George! It must be proximity to Canada!! Everybody knows that playing hockey makes people monogamous and smart!!!
What else could it be?
McDaniel explicitly lays out what Moynihan and Will only dared joke about:
“IQ at the individual level has strong correlates with race. There are large and intractable mean racial differences in IQ at the person level. The differences are termed intractable because they have been relatively constant across decades and have not been appreciably affected by environmental interventions ( Murray, 2005).Because racial composition of the state is a large magnitude correlate of state IQ, one cannot expect meaningful changes in estimated state IQ as long as state racial composition is relatively stable. While increased education expenditures and smaller class sizes are to be encouraged, the stability of the rank order of NAEP test data suggests that states are not going to alter their standing on estimated state IQ dramatically through such efforts……http://www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2006/10/temp.php
Viva La Raza Blanco!!!
Donald
Would you please go to Iraq?
Ken
I THINK Donald was being sarcastic. That is the way I took it. Perhaps Donald should advise.
Steven,
You did not inform enough. If one didn’t click your link, they would not know that Rush Limbaugh was making light of Michael J. Fox.
Limbaugh did so again today.
For purposes of clarity, Michael J Fox has made an ad appealing for stem cell research. Fox suffers from Parkinsons disease and stem cell research might help him and many others. Rush Limbaugh made light of Fox saying “he is either off his meds or he is acting.”
Despicable. But then most reasonable people already know that Rush Limbaugh is a despicable miscreant.
And a follow-up on the Micheal J. Fox ad. In the ad, you can see him shaking and moving. According to several doctors, this is a side effect of the medication. If he wasn’t on the medication, he would just sit there like a stone, because Parkinson’s makes you ‘freeze up’ and unable to move or communicate with the rest of the world.
You can see the ad at crooks & liars.http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/10/23/rush-limbaugh-attacks-michael-j-fox-he-was-either-off-the-medication-or-he-was-acting-he-is-an-actor-after-all/#more-11256
As a Christian conservative I find Rush Limbaugh to be mean spirited.
The sleuths who showed how to steal your e-vote
Princeton team’s find intensifies concerns
Sunday, October 22, 2006
BY KEVIN COUGHLINStar-Ledger Staff
On a warm Friday afternoon last May, Alex Halderman double-parked his Cadillac STS near a New York hotel, left the motor idling and ducked into an alley for a secret rendezvous.
Moments later, the Princeton University grad student emerged with a black attaché case containing what he feared was a grave threat to the United States:A Diebold AccuVote-TS electronic voting machine.
Working in secrecy bordering on paranoia, Halderman and fellow grad student Ari Feldman and Professor Ed Felten spent the summer meticulously analyzing their prize — and hatching a computer program they refer to simply as The Virus.
Now they have shown — on the Internet, in Congress, and for anyone else who will watch — how easily a popular electronic voting machine, long off-limits to public examination, can be rigged to steal elections without leaving any electronic fingerprints.
Six years after Florida’s hanging chad debacle, nearly 40 percent of the American electorate will cast ballots next month on electronic voting machines, many of them bought with $3 billion provided by Congress for technology upgrades.
In New Jersey, where every voter will cast an electronic ballot Nov. 7, there are no machines manufactured by Texas-based Diebold Election Systems. But state lawmakers were sufficiently concerned about machines produced by Sequoia Voting Systems of Oakland, Calif., and used in 19 of 21 counties, to require paper receipts as a backup by January 2008.
“Any electronic voting machine without a voter-verifiable paper trail has the potential for enormous abuse,” says computer security consultant Bruce Schneier. He served on a New York University task force that in June reported “significant security and reliability vulnerabilities” in electronic voting systems.
Diebold executives downplay the Princeton trio’s feat, saying they hacked an old model that won’t see widespread use this year. But Diebold won’t let the Princeton team peer under the hood of its newer AccuVote-TSx. And Sequoia has thus far resisted such calls from the computing community.
“Our voting technology is proprietary, and that is something the company needs to be protective of. That’s our asset, that’s our business,” said Sequoia spokeswoman Michelle Shafer. In the future, though, Shafer said her company would be “open to reviewing ways” for academic researchers to examine its machines.
Diebold spokesman David Bear said real-world hackers are unlikely to get the unfettered access Princeton enjoyed. “All these folks have made ‘what-if’ scenarios. They never apply them in a true election environment,” he said.
Poll workers in San Diego, however, were allowed to take home Diebold machines prior to an election in June.
Diebold and Sequoia maintain that their machines are certified to federal and state standards.But, replied Princeton’s Felten, “The Diebold machine we tested was certified.”
HOW IT’S DONE
Want to shake confidence in democracy? All you need, according to the Princeton team, is some common programming skills, a key widely available for $2, and a moment alone with an unattended machine.Unlock a lid, briefly insert a memory card infected with The Virus, and the machine is ready to infect other Diebold machines that get programmed by shared cards.
The virus can be designed to fool pre-election testers. It can awaken on some future election day. And it can destroy itself afterward. In mock elections conducted by the Princeton team, no matter how the votes were cast, Benedict Arnold beat George Washington every time on an infected machine, with no evidence of his treachery left behind.
Computer scientists have sounded the loudest warnings about electronic voting machines, which have been dogged by anecdotal reports of vote-switching and other glitches. Because so little is known about the inner workings of these devices, critics say, it’s virtually impossible to detect errors or sabotage.
Manufacturers’ political ties have not inspired trust. Walden O’Dell, for example, raised money for President Bush in 2004 while serving as Diebold’s chief executive.
Rep. Rush Holt (D-12th Dist.) is slowly gaining traction in Congress for a bill to require “voter-verified paper trails” and audits of these machines. Voters could view (but not keep) paper printouts to confirm their electronic ballots were recorded properly. Those printouts could be used to resolve discrepancies, and for random audits of the machines.Election officials have cited concerns about paper jams, accessibility issues for visually impaired voters, and the high cost of retrofitting machines for paper. That price tag could top $21 million in New Jersey, a state judge estimated in a recent court decision.
At least 27 states have laws mandating these paper trails. How many machines will have them for the coming election is unclear, however, says Kimball Brace of Election Data Services, a political consulting firm in Washington, D.C.
New Jersey has not approved any voter-verifiable printout systems for November.
Penny Venetis, a Rutgers University law professor, is pressing the state to find alternatives to electronic voting if Sequoia and other manufacturers cannot meet the 2008 deadline. She favors optical scanners. Voters mark paper ballots, which are scanned electronically and can be counted manually if necessary.Maryland’s September primary was marred by so many administrative and training problems involving Diebold machines that the governor there has urged voters to use absentee ballots in November.
Concerns about electronic voting also have been raised in other countries. In Brazil, computer experts are questioning that country’s decade-long reliance on electronic voting. Dutch researchers say they have found security holes, like those pinpointed by Princeton, in an e-voting machine used in the Netherlands and Germany.
Though well-intentioned, America’s rush to electronic voting proved “a lot harder than a lot of people thought,” said Princeton’s Felten. It’s not as easy as safeguarding ATM machines, where transactions can be tracked and fraud is factored into the cost of doing business, he said.
IVY LEAGUE GUMSHOES
At first glance, Princeton’s sleuths don’t look like clandestine, hotel-alley types.Felten, 43, likes playing Bach on the piano and considers himself more policy wonk than firebrand. About a decade ago, his students found flaws in Sun’s Java programming language. Soon, Netscape was paying his bug-hunters $1,000 bounties.
“Those bounties fixed a lot of grad students’ cars,” said Felten, who heads Princeton’s new Center for Information Technology Policy and writes a blog, “Freedom to Tinker.”Felten gained national prominence in 2001 when he cracked a copy protection system after a public challenge from the music industry.
Halderman, 25, spends his free time attending operas, but he could be a folk hero among pop music fans. The Bucks County, Pa., native has uncovered security flaws in several CD copy protection schemes, including at least one that exposed users’ computers to hacking. His revelations led Sony BMG to give refunds and free downloads to people who bought copy-protected CDs.”There is something romantic about the cloak-and-dagger aspects of security,” Halderman admits.
Feldman, 23, is the child of two physicians. As an undergrad at Brown University he studied philosophy and computer science. He, Halderman and Felten worked in shifts all summer, in a locked room that they won’t show to visitors for proprietary reasons of their own. They swear their virus is in a safe place, too.
The hardest part was going slowly. They spent weeks methodically copying the brains of the Diebold machine onto a backup chip. “We wanted to treat it like a forensic situation,” Halderman says.
When a Diebold machine showed up on eBay, the team feared someone might scoop them. But they stuck to their routine, determined to make their case airtight. They briefed a few security experts before going public last month, just to be certain.
Halderman says their discoveries left them more shocked than angry.
“We were completely floored by the lack of safeguards,” he says.”It was as if there was no security at all,” Feldman says.So what’s next for these guys?Halderman gets that cloak-and-dagger twinkle in his eyes.
“We’d really like to study a more recent model of these machines …”
Kevin Coughlin covers technology. He may be reached at kcoughlin@starledger.com or (973) 392-1763. To see a video demonstrating how the Princeton team’s virus works, go to http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/
http://www.conservative-truths.com/index.php?id=2
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2006 the Average Annual Wages across the United States in 2003 was $37,765. 28 out of 31 Conservative States had a lower than average rate of Annual Wages (90% of Conservative States) versus 8 out of 20 Liberal States that had a lower than average rate of Annual Wages (40% of Liberal States). The highest rate of Annual Wages in the country is found in the District of Columbia with $60,417. The lowest rate of Annual Wages in the country is found in Montana with $26,907.
Sarcasm or not, Donald needs to be aware that we ARE sending those “used up” soldiers back to Iraq.
Hacking Democracy
This cautionary documentary exposes the vulnerability of computers – which count approximately 80% of America’s votes in county, state and federal elections – suggesting that if our votes aren’t safe, then our democracy isn’t safe either. Premieres Thursday, November 2 at 9pm. HBO.