November 18, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Despite urging from the Russian prosecutors and the potential national-security implications of a case involving at least one former FSB (successor to KGB) agent, the trial of those accused of conspiring in the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya will be held in open court. The first trial hearings began “behind closed doors”, and Karina Moskalenko —a human rights lawyer working with Politkovskaya’s family— was allegedly poisoned while in France.
More on page 776
November 14, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
President-elect Barack Obama’s healthcare proposal, as laid out, aims to expand availability of safe generic prescriptions drugs, in order to bring down costs across the system and help secure full treatment for all Americans. High prescription-drug costs inflate insurance premiums and often determine whether patients will receive adequate treatment for sometimes serious health conditions. A prescription-drug plan, passed by George W. Bush, in concert with a bipartisan coalition in the then Republican-controlled Congress, aimed to help increase availability, but was not aggressive in reducing costs.
More on page 739
November 5, 2008 :: staff :: One Comment
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen; by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the very first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different; that their voice could be that difference.
More on page 712
November 5, 2008 :: staff :: 3 Comments
They said this day would never come. They said our sights were set too high. They said this country was too divided; too disillusioned to ever come together around a common purpose. But on this January night – at this defining moment in history – you have done what the cynics said we couldn’t do; what the state of New Hampshire can do in five days; what America can do in this New Year. In schools and churches; small towns and big cities; you came together as Democrats, Republicans and Independents to stand up and say that we are one nation; we are one people; and our time for change has come.
More on page 711
November 4, 2008 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
This paper presents a fully independent security study of a Diebold AccuVote-TS voting machine, including its hardware and software. We obtained the machine from a private party. Analysis of the machine, in light of real election procedures, shows that it is vulnerable to extremely serious attacks. For example, an attacker who gets physical access to a machine or its removable memory card for as little as one minute could install malicious code; malicious code on a machine could steal votes undetectably, modifying all records, logs, and counters to be consistent with the fraudulent vote count it creates.
More on page 707
November 4, 2008 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
Madelyn Payne Dunham, nicknamed “Toot” —grandmother, in Hawaian— by grandson Barack Obama, has passed away, one day before the election which may make him president of the United States. Dunham died after a long struggle with cancer, and the candidate said she passed peacefully in her sleep. He told a rally in Charlotte, NC, that “She’s gone home”, and that it was a difficult joy amid the tragedy that his sister was able to be with her when she passed.
More on page 705
November 3, 2008 :: Denver Lessing :: No Comment Yet
2008 has already seen a heated contest for the integrity of the vote, with Republicans smearing groups like ACORN that work to register low-income and minority voters, and Democratic supporters accusing the GOP of trumping up claims about voter-fraud. We have seen repeatedly over the last 8 years, reports of major state-run operations, designed to reduce the number of registered voters able to cast ballots on election day, usingspurious claims of widespread voter fraud as a justification.
More on page 701
November 3, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: 4 Comments
An electronic voting machine made by Premier Election Solutions (Diebold) has been found to flip votes repeatedly to Republican candidate John McCain. A local election official in Adams County responded to the complaint by halting the machine’s use and sequestering it, so it could be examined for evidence of tampering and/or persistent malfunction.
More on page 700
October 19, 2008 :: staff :: One Comment
In an interview with Meet the Press, former Sec. of State Colin Powell said he knows both John McCain and Barack Obama to be “distinguished Americans, who are patriotic, who are dedicated to the welfare of our country”, criticized his friend Sen. McCain for “a little unsure” what to do about the economic crisis, suggesting he “didn’t have a complete grasp of the economic problems”. Powell also questioned a number of McCain’s judgments on policy and campaign tactics, and praised Sen. Obama’s “intellectual vigor” and “steadiness” in dealing with serious challenges.
More on page 669
October 14, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Sen. John McCain may be scrambling to save his political life. Of course, until the American people vote, it remains true he might win and become the next president of the United States. But the Branchflower report has just found his vice-presidential candidate guilty of abusing her office as Alaska governor, and he has just had to scold his own supporters for espousing racist and paranoid views which his campaign had at least implicitly sought to smear Obama with. His standing in the polls has fallen dramatically —as of today, RCP’s daily tracking poll average projects 313 Electoral College votes going to Obama, 158 to McCain, with 67 “toss up”—, and conservative luminaries are weighing in on his weakness as a candidate.
More on page 651
October 11, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Arizona Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign has become mired in a controversy over its aggressive personal attacks on Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, which has put the Republican candidate in a supremely awkward position. During a week in which rallies held for his candidacy have featured allegations that Sen. Obama is somehow linked to domestic terrorists or has suspicious overseas supporters, more than once audience members have shouted out threats to Sen. Obama’s life.
More on page 648
September 5, 2008 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
My heartfelt thanks to all of you who helped me win this nomination and stood by me when the odds were long. I won’t let you down. To Americans who have yet to decide who to vote for, thank you for your consideration and the opportunity to win your trust. I intend to earn it.
Finally, a word to Sen. Obama and his supporters. We’ll go at it over the next two months. That’s the nature of these contests, and there are big differences between us. But you have my respect and admiration. Despite our differences, much more unites us than divides us. We are fellow Americans, an association that means more to me than any other. We’re dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights. No country ever had a greater cause than that. And I wouldn’t be an American worthy of the name if I didn’t honor Sen. Obama and his supporters for their achievement.
More on page 616
September 4, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska accepted the Republican party’s nomination for vice president in at their convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. She said she was looking forward to the “challenge of a tough fight against competent opponents”, but wasted no time getting to the red meat. She said she was joining a ticket that would “serve and defend America”, and that John McCain put the “security of the country that he loves” ahead of his own political fate, reminding the audience that McCain said he “would rather lose an election than lose a war”.
More on page 615
September 3, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT), Al Gore’s choice for VP in the 2000 election, and still a self-proclaimed Democrat —though he was voted out in his party’s primary, before winning back his Senate seat as an independent— addressed the Republican National Convention last night, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lieberman enthusiastically endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and said his goal is to work as hard as possible to make him the next president of the United States.
More on page 613
September 3, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Eight years after the debacle of the 2000 presidential election, the state of Florida still has not secured its balloting system against errors, missed votes, flawed counts and tampering. In the wake of the flawed electronic counts from the 2006 Buchanan-Jennings race, Sarasota opted for paper ballots, which are counted by optical scanners. The glitch encountered in a recent primary occurred when absentee ballots entering the system would not transfer to the main tally on a central server.
More on page 612
September 2, 2008 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
The Republican party kicked off its nominating convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, last night, with a heavy focus on the plight of those displaced by Hurricane Gustav. Fortunately, the storm did not turn out to be “the storm of the century”, but it did leave over 1 million homes and businesses without electricity along the Gulf coast. So in an effort to avoid anything resembling the perceived indifference with which the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was met, the GOP has devoted significant time to voicing its support for efforts to send aid to the Gulf coast.
More on page 610
August 31, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
The company now known as Premier Election Solutions —formerly Diebold, long criticized by election integrity activists for unverifiable, unreliable touchscreen machines (achieving maximum notoriety when its chief executive said he would “do anything” in his power to win Ohio for Bush in 2004)—, has acknowledged that its machines have been “losing votes”, malfunctioning, and providing erroneous counts for more than a decade, affecting elections in 34 states.
More on page 607
August 29, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: One Comment
Last night, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) told the Democratic National Convention that “at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn’t come from Washington. Change comes to Washington.” John McCain has chosen a vice-presidential running mate from as far away from Washington as you can get: first-term Alaska governor Sarah Palin, a strong backer of new drilling and a young female conservative with a reputation for reform. The pick appears in many ways designed to inoculate the McCain campaign against a number of the advantages the Obama-Biden ticket has accumulated.
More on page 598
August 29, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Over the 4 days of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, media analysts have repeatedly asked where the real ‘red meat’ was? Who would throw the red meat to the delegates hungry for an affirmation of the party’s cause and will to fight? Who will blitz John McCain with attacks and insults. There was, apparently, a resistance to believing that Barack Obama’s message might be real, that he could defend his ideas and take the fight to his opponent without demeaning or smearing him. The speech Obama delivered last night demonstrated with astonishing clarity that the red meat he’s throwing to his audience is not insults or attacks, but a vision of possibility and a call to action in common values.
More on page 596
August 29, 2008 :: staff :: One Comment
We meet at one of those defining moments - a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more. Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can’t afford to drive, credit card bills you can’t afford to pay, and tuition that’s beyond your reach.
More on page 597
August 28, 2008 :: staff :: 2 Comments
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
More on page 599
August 28, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Last night, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton interrupted the roll-call vote, asking her New York delegation to support her call for nomination by acclamation; the delegates supported the motion, and Sen. Barack Obama, far ahead in the delegate count, was officially nominated to be the candidate of his party for the presidency. Clinton had spoken the night before, giving her full support to Obama’s candidacy, saying the future of our children and of the nation “hang in the balance”, at risk should McCain win the November election.
More on page 591
August 26, 2008 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) tonight called on her supporters to give the full support to Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), who defeated her in the Democratic primary process. Clinton’s rousing speech sparked numerous ovations, and moved many in the audience of Democratic party devotees to tears, including her husband, former president Bill Clinton. The catch phrase that may be most widely quoted by the press was her “No way, no how, no McCain” quip.
More on page 592
August 24, 2008 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has chosen Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) to be his running mate. Biden brings a wealth of experience from nearly 36 years in the US senate, including work on military and foreign policy, as well as Constitutional issues and the Senate judiciary committee. The two appeared for the first time as running mates in front of the old Illinois Statehouse, in Springfield, where Abraham Lincoln launched his candidacy, as did Obama fully 18 months ago.
More on page 583
July 25, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) today gave a major address on foreign policy and international security and cooperation at the foot of the Victory Column, in the heart of Berlin, Germany. German authorities estimate the crowd exceeded 200,000 individuals. Reports from Berlin indicate the crowd included people of all races, and from many countries, eager to hear the Democratic nominee deliver what the US media have treated as an historic address and an attempt to demonstrate the ability to achieve renewed unity.
More on page 554
July 24, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Radovan Karadzic, considered one of the three “most-wanted” men in Europe, has been captured in the Serbian capital, Belgrade. He is accused of war crimes for his role in allegedly planning the murder of 8,000 men and boys at Srebrenica and of 12,000 during the siege of Sarajevo, during the Balkan wars of the 1990s. His alleged crimes have been officially classed as genocide by the war crimes court at the Hague, and the accusations are the worst allegations of mass murder in Europe since World War II.
More on page 495
July 10, 2008 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
T. Boone Pickens has started what USA Today reports will be “the biggest public policy ad campaign ever” to promote a national economic shift from oil to renewable fuels, primarily wind. The campaign is centered on the PickensPlan website, which shows the oil tycoon explaining how and why the US can and must break its dependence on foreign oil —for which American consumers pay $700 billion per year— by transitioning to an energy economy founded on exploiting the massive wind resources of the Great Plains.
More on page 476
June 8, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Top aides to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign began telling the press that she intended to officially concede defeat, withdraw from the campaign and endorse Sen. Barack Obama, of Illinois, as the Democratic party’s nominee, as early as the morning after the final primary votes. She scheduled a farewell gathering for campaign staffers and supporters on Friday, the date pushed back to allow more people to attend. And on Saturday, she followed through and gave a rousing speech to supporters, officially endorsing Obama and calling on her supporters to follow suit.
More on page 335
June 4, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Illinois senator Barack Obama has won the race for the Democratic party’s nomination for the US presidency. He is the first African-American to become a major-party candidate for president in the US. Obama spoke to 18,000 supporters in St. Paul, Minnesota, and dedicated the celebration of his achievement to his grandmother, telling supporters, “Tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another.”
More on page 334
March 19, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
‘WE THE PEOPLE, IN ORDER TO FORM A MORE PERFECT UNION’ SPEECH TACKLES RACIAL DIVIDE IN U.S., DISTANCES CANDIDATE FROM PASTOR’S REMARKS
Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, by the slimmest of margins the frontrunner for the Democratic party’s nomination for president, yesterday delivered a major policy speech on race and tolerance in America. Major mainstream media […]
More on page 91
March 17, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
A revolutionary web-based social networking project, Witness.org has created a platform for delivering evidentiary video documenting human rights abuses for the collective conscience of the online world. ‘The Hub’, as the video sharing platform is called, is designed to ensure that individuals who have documented potential human rights abuses, or who are able to give […]
More on page 234
February 4, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
The ‘Davos Conversation’ is a multimedia effort to bring online public together with major policy-makers, activists and economists, to broaden the scope of debate at the World Economic Forum. The question which was used as a platform for the online forum was “what one thing would make the world a better place?”
Individual citizens, government officials, […]
More on page 280
February 4, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
At the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, a range of ideas from international disease relief, healthcare, security, climate change, extreme poverty, and the responsibility of market incentives, took the discussions in a new direction. Fmr. US vice-president Al Gore spoke of the need for a “marriage” of policy regarding extreme poverty and the climate […]
More on page 279
November 18, 2007 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Due to the science we already have, the laws we have to govern our own activity and to force government to act for the public health, we face the real possibility of being forced, in American courts, in the future, to pay for damage done to the most affected populations in other parts of the world, as a result of inaction by our government. And if not in court, then as a matter of the de facto urgencies of international political stability.
More on page 225
September 26, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
Former US pres. Bill Clinton’s Global Initiative (CGI) holds a major international stakeholders’ and donors’ conference each year in conjunction with the UN’s General Assembly, in New York City. This year’s convention brings together 1,300 delegates from 72 countries. 52 active or former heads of state are participating, in only the 3rd year […]
More on page 219
August 8, 2007 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
Arusha, Tanzania, played host last week to leaders from “more than 10 Darfur rebel groups”, as the groups held talks to work out common ground and a structure for negotiating peace with the Sudan government, in light of the coming deployment of 26,000 UN-mandated peacekeepers for Darfur. The conflict which began as an effort to stamp out regional differences and secure control for Khartoum has become a crisis of global interest and one which the United Nations now seeks to put an end to.
More on page 738
August 6, 2007 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
A California government-sponsored study has “found that virtually all voting machines used in the state are vulnerable to hackers”, creating a whirlwind of complaints from activists and defiance from manufacturers. Secretary of State Debra Bowen, along with voting rights activists have said the problem needs to be solved before next year’s presidential primary elections.
More on page 706
February 10, 2007 :: J.E. Robertson :: 4 Comments
US Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) has announced his plans to run for president in the 2008 elections. He will face a tough field of heavyweight contenders, led by the star-power and financial backing of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), just to win the nomination of his party. The historic announcement, seen by many as the first African-American candidate with nationwide electability, brought thousands of citizens together to hear and witness the event.
More on page 600
February 10, 2007 :: staff :: One Comment
But let me tell you how I came to be here. As most of you know, I’m not a native of this great state. I — I moved to Illinois over two decades ago. I was a young man then, just a year out of college. I knew no one in Chicago when I arrived, was without money or family connections. But a group of churches had offered me a job as a community organizer for the grand sum of 13,000 dollars a year. And I accepted the job, sight unseen, motivated then by a single, simple, powerful idea: that I might play a small part in building a better America.
More on page 278
