Fast Company, in partnership with the Women Presidents' Organization, is looking for the top 25 women business owners in the U.S. and Canada who are changing the rules in the world of business. Who would you nominate?

~~~

email eavesdrop:

-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 9:54 AM
To: Karen
Subject: Re:

I spoke to Cathy for like an hour last night. Poor thing is just having the hardest time. I won't go into the details cuz it's just way too much but the gist is....... she is taking her Dad home today. She will stay with him until her brother comes Wed. night. She is hoping that in that time her father will realize that he can no longer live alone. At that point they want to move him into a assisted care place in Colorado. She really wants him to make this decision for himself and allow the man a little respect. If he just won't do that, they will have to do it for him. He is ok with a walker but not good. He is still quite dillusional (sic) and they have no idea if he will improve. Poor, poor man.

Anyway, she, of course, is not up for going anywhere. I guess I should say no for Friday night since Alisa won't drive down with me either. I would probably hurt my foot badly anyway. Plus I have to be with June for most of the day. Geez. Getting old is already sucking. I would like to say Arnett would come with me Friday or maybe even to the boat parade on Saturday but he is suppose to fish on Saturday and that means he has to rest Friday. Geez.

More bad news, Juley's Ray now has a tumor on his brain. They are going to radiate it and expect him to do very well but Juley is bonkers with worry. And, apparently Ray will not really talk about his feelings or concerns so she feels very alone. Lordy, lordy. We better stay healthy!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry to bum you out. I'm going shopping at lunch and after work so hopefully that will cheer me up.

I asked Joe what little thing I could get his sisters for Christmas. (Even tho I swore they were only getting one of my bracelets, I have of course changed my mind and think I should get them a little something. ) Anyway, I told him I was thinking of earrings and asked him if they had pierced ears. He says, oh that's a good idea, take them to the mall and get them a second piercing. They really want a second hole. So I say, well, we probably won't have time for that Joe, I'll just get them a pair of earrings and he says, oh, you can go the day after Christmas and have a "bonding day with them!" Geez. He is so pushy! I guess he wants everyone to love them just like he does. It's all fine......he's just so pushy! I'm probably the only person in the world who will have her to be husband's ex-wife's kids at her wedding! :)

Have a good one,
b

-----Original Message-----
From: Karen
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 10:13 AM
To: Barbara
Subject: Re:

I was just thinking last night that I needed to ask you about Ray...I just don't even know what to say in response to this email. It's all just very sad. I feel so bad for Cathy. I hope her dad comes to his senses and realizes he needs to sell his house and move to an assisted care facility. Otherwise, this is just going to kill her.

Well, I'm bummed that you're probably not going to go Friday. I assumed Arnie would come with you, actually. :( I mean, I understand, but I am still bummed. I think it will be fun. I was thinking of having you all over maybe a little early and have some wine and cheese or whatnot. :( D doesn't drink, so that part's a bust. :)

On the flip side, having a friend who doesn't drink can be quite advantageous when you have a holiday party to go to...

But if you change your mind, just let me know cuz D & I are going, regardless.

I bought Amy "Sequence" from drugstore.com! :) I can't believe they even had it there. They sell all kinds of stuff on that page. Anyway, I've gotten her some other fun stuff, too, but I need to get something for Mike, as well. I have lots of ideas, but since I have no idea what he already has it makes life a bit difficult. I'll probably just end up getting him/them a gift certificate or something boring.

I finished decorating my apartment last night, which was fun...but not having a tree really makes things anti-climactic. It's just...no big whoop. The cleaning-up part come late-December will sure be easy, though! :) I didn't even put up lights. I was going to, but there's really no easy way to hang them on my windows and I just figured why bother? I'm such a Grinch these days.

I am finally starting to get in the Christmas mood, though. Next week will be better, because I'll be finishing up my shopping once I get paid again. I need to finish with Amy's gift and I need to by John's and I want to get something for Jenn. I bought D some really cute flannel PJs at the Gap and was thinking of buying Jenn a different style of the same thing, but I'm not sure yet.

I am getting a facial at Glen Ivy Day Spa Thursday evening. They have some really cute gift packages available if you buy a gift certificate...of course, you have to buy a gift cert for at least $75. I was going to get Cathy a $50 one for her birthday next month, since we talked about going out there.

Anyway...talk to ya later.

Regards,
Karen

-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 10:36 AM
To: Karen
Subject: Re:

Why don't you get one of those little trees like mine that just sits on a table and comes with all the lights and stuff? They are very cute. I'm going to decorate this Saturday. I'm in the holiday spirit. Especially if the bad news would just stop already! I guess I'm just feeling thankful that our family is basically healthy. At least compared to the rest of our friends anyway! Arnett is still having quite a problem but that's gonna be forever. Because of his kidney disease, his bp is very difficult to control AT ALL. So, while he is on prednisone (steriod) he is all hyped up and has to take tranquilizers just to calm down a little so that his bp doesn't skyrocket. He has always been either hyper or asleep and all this just makes it that much more so. I have to remind myself all the time to be patient with him. It's not always easy.

Sorry about Friday but I will let you know if I change my mind or if I can get someone to come with me.

-----Original Message-----
From: Karen
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 11:05 AM
To: Barbara
Subject: Re:

I was thinking of getting a little tree like that, but I probably won't this year. Maybe next year.

I just found out that John's BMV cover (which I'm buying him for Christmas) isn't anywhere near as much money as I thought. It's under $70 - I thought it was gonna be like $150-$200. Woo-Hoo! :)

-----Original Message-----
From: Karen
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 11:05 AM
To: Barbara
Subject: Re:

Oh...There is a better motorcycle cover which IS $189. Dammit. That must be the one he wants, because he told me that's how much it would be.

Damn.

~~~

I�ve kept fairly mum in regard to the wide-spread voter suppression and many cases of suspected fraud (especially in Ohio and Florida) which went on during this last election (well, I�ve kept mum since the election was declared over). Don�t think that means I think Bush won fair and square. I know in my heart that he did not (that�s also why I find it hard to be angry at all of those supposed �red� states). I�m just kind of tired of tilting at windmills right at this moment. Plus, I mean � I TOLD you guys not to vote on touch screens. Did you listen to me? (Man, being right about everything is sometimes a complete drag.) And now...well, I don�t know how they are going to prove anything. Not like they can do a recount of votes which were cast fraudulently in the first place. There may be some way and I am just ignorant to it, though. And tired. So very tired of fighting losing battles, no matter how right I am.

I�ll get my vim and vinegar back in spades, though, never you worry. This is a temporary thing I go through every once in a while. I was thinking this morning about how we, as a society, have no integrity anymore; but that is perhaps an entry for a day in which I have more time to pontificate.

All of that said, I found this next article to be�interesting. And thanks to theyknew for sharing it with us.

In sworn affidavit, programmer says he developed vote-rigging prototype for Florida congressman; Congressman�s office silent

By John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor

In a sworn affidavit (pdf file) Monday, a former programmer for a NASA contractor said that he developed a vote-rigging prototype at the request of a then-Florida state representative who is now a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

RAW STORY acquired the affidavit from The Brad Blog, which has been in contact with the programmer in Washington.

While working for Yang Enterprises in Florida, the 46-year-old programmer says he was instructed by then-Republican state representative Tom Feeney to �develop a prototype of a voting program that could alter the vote tabulation in the election and be undetectable.�

Feeney, a former failed running mate of Gov. Jeb Bush, now represents Florida�s 24th district in the House of Representatives. At the time, he was serving both as general counsel and lobbyist for Yang Enterprises and the Florida state congressman.

Feeney�s office in Orlando told RAW STORY they would check with the congressman and hoped to provide comment later today. A second call was placed this afternoon; the congressman�s press secretary was said to be �unavailable.�

A receptionist at Yang Enterprises said she would pass a message along to a vice president, who she said would return the call.

�They will give you a comment,� she said.

The programmer, Clinton Curtis, said that he was told the program needed to be �touch-screen capable, the user should be able to trigger the program without any additional equipment, [and that] the programming was to remain hidden even if the source code was inspected.�

Curtis asserts that he told Feeney it would be nearly impossible to write a code to change the voting results if anyone were able to view the source code. �However,� he added, �if the code were compiled before anyone was allowed to review it then any vote fraud would remain invisible to detection.�

Nevertheless, he says that he was asked at the meeting by Yang to build the prototype anyway.

Curtis states he initially believed that Feeney�s sought to stop Democrats from using such a program and �wanted to be able to detect and prevent that if it occurred.�

It was not until after the prototype was delivered that he says he got wind of its possible, more nefarious usage.

According to his affidavit, Yang, his employer, later informed him that the software might be used to �control the vote in South Florida.� He says that he would never have developed the software had he known its alleged ultimate purpose.

Curtis details his claims on the fraud program in the affidavit:

In the vote fraud prototype that I created things are not what they seem. Hidden on the screen are invisible buttons. A person with knowledge of the locations of those invisible buttons can then use them to alter the votes of everyone before them. By clicking the correct order of invisible buttons the candidate selected by the user is compared to other candidates within that same race. If the candidate they selected is leading the race nothing happens. If the other candidate is leading the race the vote totals are altered so that the selected candidate is now leading the race with 51% of the vote. The other candidates then share the remaining 49% in exact proportion to the totals they had previously. In the prototype supplied to Feeney the vote totals show on the screen. In an actual application the user would receive no visible clues to the fraud that had just occurred. Since the vote is applied by race, any single race or multiple races can be altered. The supervisors or any other voter would never notice this fraud since no visible sign would appear. Additionally, the procedure could be repeated as many times as was necessary to achieve the desired results. No amount of testing or simulations would expose the fraud as its activation and process is completely invisible to everyone except the person programming the vote fraud routine.

The same procedure could be automated to activate without any user intervention whenever the machine detects a certain pattern of voting. The algorithm could also be altered from hidden keys or triggers that would allow the fraudulent user to manipulate both the margins and percentages of any particular race. In most national elections it is not necessary to win every area.

Yang Enterprises is currently under investigation by the FBI. Curtis has filed a suit with the state alleging that the firm also overbilled the state on another contract, and his report of an illegal alien resulted in the arrest of a Chinese national in March who is accused of sending information on radar guidance chips for the U.S. Hellfire missile to China.

Curtis� affidavit has been turned over to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee for further investigation.

***

UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
http://www.unitedforpeace.org
212-868-5545

TAKE ACTION DEC. 10 - 13, 2004:
Defend the Recounts! Demand Election Reform!

PROTEST ELECTION VIOLATIONS IN STATE CAPITOLS:
THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTES ON 12/13

On Monday, December 13, the members of the Electoral College will meet in every state capitol to cast their votes to elect the President and Vice-President of the United States. We call on local groups to protest and make visible the many voting rights violations and election irregularities which call into question the integrity of the 2004 election and to demand real reforms to protect, extend, and deepen democracy.

HERE�S WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1 - Organize protests in the days leading up to the Dec. 13 meeting of the Electoral College, and on December 13 itself:

* Demand that every vote be verified and counted in all states before the Electors cast their votes!

* Call for the implementation of the Voter Bill of Rights (http://www.Nov3.US/billofrights), which details eleven vital election reforms, including the abolition of the electoral college, a guarantee of a voter-verified paper trail for all voting machines, replacement of partisan oversight of elections with nonpartisan election commissions and prevention of lawless vote suppression and voter intimidation. Deliver the Voter Bill of Rights to your members of Congress and demand their support for these reforms.

2 - Contact your state�s Electors to see if you can convince one or more of them to join you at the protest to express their concerns about the state of our democracy. A list of your state�s Electors should be available on your state�s secretary of state website, or with your state�s election board.

3 - Alert local media, using the Electoral College vote as a news hook. We need to break through the media whitewash of the disenfranchisement, vote suppression and fraud that occurred in this election.

4 - List your protest events under �Directory of Local Actions� at http://www.Nov3.US.

This call to action is an initiative of the No Stolen Elections! Campaign and is endorsed by CODEPINK, United for Peace and Justice, 51 Capital March, and others. We are seeking national co-sponsors. If your national organization is willing to co-sponsor this call, please contact us at [email protected]

MORE INFORMATION:

Voter Bill of Rights

51 Capital March

Jesse Jackson's Something's Fishy in Ohio

Election Day Problems

NO STOLEN ELECTIONS!

===========================================
DON'T MOURN, ORGANIZE
Disgusted by Bush's election? Get active!
* Visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org for links to events and groups

~~~

Word of the Day for Tuesday December 7, 2004

demur dih-MUR, intransitive verb:
1. To object; to take exception.
2. To delay.
noun:
1. The act of demurring.
2. Objection.
3. Delay.

last / next



~~~~~~~~~~~peace, love and smooches~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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