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Boeing did the exact same thing

Looks like the state of Washington got 14,000 jobs as a result of giving them a $3b tax cut. That's almost a quarter-million per job.

How can you say that a machine will produce the proper count, when you have no idea what it's actually doing?

Testing. Choose a random number of test votes to try out on it. Perform test. Does the machine count match what it was expected to be. Wash, rinse, repeat.

then d) have a representative from each party in a locked room when the elections official cracks open the ballot box, and everybody keeps their own tally as each ballot is pulled out and shown to the room?

You'd think that, but upon recounts they still come out different. Here's one instance The same happened in the 2000 Presidential Election in Florida. These were manual recounts with observers from both parties and they still came out different every time.

I have to agree with you here.

When I try to post at the Seattle Times their Captcha is nigh unreadable. It's dark and frequently I only succeed with maybe one try out of five.

Which really frosts my cookies and has made it so I try not to buy their print edition, choosing instead the more user-friendly system at the much more urban-focussed Seattle Post-Intelligencer instead.

It's a royal pain.

I have to agree with you here.

When I try to post at the Seattle Times their Captcha is nigh unreadable. It's dark and frequently I only succeed with maybe one try out of five.

Which really frosts my cookies and has made it so I try not to buy their print edition, choosing instead the more user-friendly system at the much more urban-focussed Seattle Post-Intelligencer instead.

It's a royal pain.

Even the Entertainment Division posted a profit of $350 million. And profits from operating systems nearly - but not quite - doubled. It's a business problem I'd like to have.

The Gates Foundation, which awards much of its money to help children, has benefited from a $2.1 billion stake in companies cited by the services that analyze corporate conduct because the companies have been accused of violating human rights, including the rights of children.

Since 2005, for example, the foundation held investments totaling $189 million in four large chocolate makers: $146 million in Archer Daniels Midland; $26 million in Nestle; $12 million in Cadbury Schweppes, the world's largest confectionary maker; and $5 million in Kraft Foods.

All four companies publicly support sustainable cocoa farming, responsible pesticide use and nonabusive labor practices. All participate in the International Cocoa Initiative to keep production environmentally safe and free of child labor.

Nonetheless, all four firms buy much of their cocoa from West Africa, where 70 percent of the world's cocoa is grown. A 2002 report by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture at the U.S. Agency for International Development said 284,000 children in West Africa, many younger than 14 years old, worked in the cocoa industry under hazardous conditions. They included 200,000 children in Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer.

"Countless numbers of children have been trafficked to slave on Cote d'Ivoire's many cocoa plantations," according to a U.S. State Department report.

The U.S. Labor Department said: "Children working as forced labor on these farms describe being deceived, coerced and threatened by adult intermediaries and employers; working between 10-20 hours per day with few or no breaks under hazardous conditions; and being confined to locked rooms at night."

In 2005, the International Labor Rights Fund sued Nestle, Archer Daniels Midland and another chocolate producer in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on behalf of three children from Mali who said they were taken from their homes and brought to Ivory Coast as slaves.

The lawsuit, filed for "thousands" of children who allegedly suffered the same fate, said the companies failed to use their power to control suppliers.

The companies denied any liability. The lawsuit is pending.

The article just states: "power and utility industry, a CIA analyst last week said cyberattackers have hacked into the computer systems of utility companies outside the United States and made demands, in at least one case causing a power outage that affected multiple cities." http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004135058_hackers20.html>Seattle Times Article Anyone have any better sources?

Well, this article

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/boe202.shtml

is a bit old, but not so much. Look where it says :

" On conventional planes, the flight-control surfaces are moved by hydraulic devices controlled by cables that run through the airplane.

Airbus also eliminated the wheel-and-control column, or yoke, that is used on all Boeing jets. Instead, Airbus pilots control the plane by moving a small, hand-held joystick off to the side. "

Even more nefarious: the shadow army unleashed on the power grid: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004113550_webcat08m.html http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/NEWS/711070017 Try getting those terrorists/profiteers to confess at Guantanamo! ;-) SD

Don't take my word - go read the annual report :-)

If you want to see what an Amazon FC looks like, try this: http://www.gottadeal.com/media/TIME_com%20Welcome%20to%20Black%20Monday%20--%20Page%201.htm

Here's a Seattle Times report on Amazon's FC strategy: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2002125730_amazon21.html

The problem with vouchers is that they will ultimately increase the costs for everyone, because good private schools can reject students. Private schools that must accept everyone perform no better (and sometimes worse) than public schools. See Charter-school study sparks debate. My wife currently works in special education. They have one teacher and two aids for six kids in her classroom. Those are situations that are only provided in public schools - private schools will not touch those kids. Obviously, their education costs more than the other kids that are in classes of twenty-two or twenty-five kids per teacher. So if those kids go to private schools, taking their share (and of course their share is computed based on the average across all the kids), the cost of special ed as a proportion of the total budget goes up, and everyone's tax dollars go up to pay for it.

Hell, we don't even need teenagers to crash our Monorails

Plus, then it might no longer be true that top software engineers "could probably smoke crack" and still find work. And that would be the greatest tragedy of all.

so what, are you too good for beer? because if you are, Microsoft might not be the best choice...

What takes years of hard training with older generations is now less hard thanks to years in front of a computer at home when young.
The average young person off the street can use Windows and has great game reflexes.
The DoD would want to see this "positive" trend to continue.

The "dehumanization" aspect of killing a lump of pixels is also a great plus.

Link the brands, army cash and ppl.
The brands may change hands but the cash flow and ppl do not. Try http://www.zombie.com/about.htm [zombie.com] or

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002472860_convoysim05m.html [nwsource.com] ct.

Yesterday games are todays "Convoy Skills Engagement Trainer"

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/108829.asp (2006)
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/05/28/100033867/ (2007)

You know, that google thing...

Monopolies should be regulated before their damage is done. We arrived too late on the scene to stop the damage Microsoft had done to the marketplace. Perhaps we should start thinking ahead a little.

Ok, the merits. Is Google a monopoly. No, there are a lot of search engines. There are also a number of other ad agencies. Microsoft is one itself. Viacom, which used to be a DoubleClick customer, recently signed an ad deal with MS for $500 million. Yahoo! sales ads, as do other search engines.

I know that we all despise our Monopolizing Micro$oft overlords and such, but that does not invalidate [wikipedia.org] their argument. Imagine that the complaint was coming from a small company with a solid innovation that was getting pulverized by Google, would you at least hear out the small company?

However MS is a convicted monopolist and has been found guilty of using it's market dominance in a noncompetitive way. With the exception maybe of China Google hasn't been accused of anything criminal. Google even refused to turn over records to the government when they went fishing for what users searched for. People should keep a watch on Google, as they should for many businesses, but Google hasn't been accused of being anything other than a monopoly. And there's 2 problems with this, one there's no law against being a monopoly only for using the monopoly in a noncompetitive manner. And two many would disagree there is a monopoly in online advertising. Heck, I find it ironic that Micorsoft has the balls to call Google a monopoly when Viacom signed a $500 million advertising deal with Microsoft.

I'd like to note that personally, although MS has a bad reputation here, I'm inclined to agree with them. And MS' bad reputation here shouldn't justify Google's actions. It's a bit frightening how big in the online ad market Google is becoming. It's also easy to draw conclusions of how cool Microsoft was early on, and how evil they are now. I'm already starting to see it happen with Google... They've already got the private information networking done, and now they're going after dominance and purchasing market via company mergers.

AH, but I bet MS didn't say Viacom picked MS over Google for it's online ad campaign. That doesn't sound like Google has a monopoly.

McDermott's legal troubles began roughly a decade ago, when a Florida couple using a police radio scanner taped the cell phone conference call of Republican leaders after recognizing Gingrich's voice.

The couple, John and Alice Martin, ultimately delivered the tape to McDermott while on a trip to the nation's capital in January 1997. They later pleaded guilty to violating a federal anti-wiretapping law and were fined $500 each.

McDermott gave the contents of the tape-recording to reporters with The New York Times and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Boehner sued McDermott a year later, claiming that the lawmaker had violated his right to privacy by turning over the tape recording to the news media. Boehner asked for damages of $10,000.

You can't eavesdrop on digital cellphones with a scanner, so bored Commun^WDemocrats will have to find something else with which to occupy their time.

Depends on the power of the laser.

Laser illuminators on tanks have caused serious eye damage and blindness, and US aircrew have been lased during the Cold War.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IAV/is_3_90/ai_82009542

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/194147_laser07.html

At Microsoft, it is the CEO who threatens to murder people. Possibly his claim that he has done so before is true... there was an odd death by ingestion of antifreeze which has not been satisfactorily investigated.

I'd never heard of this before, but in case anyone cares, here's a short mention of the death in the Seattle P-I.

Professor Teaches Windows Vista Individual Software

www.individualsoftware.com

$19.95

If you or your loved ones are running Windows Vista on that shiny new PC, you'll have an easier time of it with an interactive tutorial. The built-in help system in Vista is quite good, but for sheer information, step-by-step instructions and lots of handholding, you might consider Professor Teaches Windows Vista. It will show you how to do basic stuff such as creating short cuts and searching for files and folders to advanced step-by-step troubleshooting.

Here's my first problem.....the way you're stating this, the majority of cops are cruising around with a trunk full of cocaine just waiting to frame the innocent. Yes, there are cases where evidence has been planted, but in the ones I've heard of there's usually a stonger motive than "I want to confiscate your car". Unless you cite a good source, there's no way I believe it's that rampant.

Blumenson, Eric and Eva Nilsen. " Policing for Profit: The Drug War' s Hidden Economic Agenda." The University of Chicago Law Review 65 (1998): 35-114.

In what jurisdiction does the cop get the proceeds of auctioned property? I've never heard of this being practiced in the United States. The state gets the proceeds, and depending on where, it could go either directly to the police budget, or the general budget. Again, unless you can cite this, I'm having a hard time believing it.

It took 2 1/2 years after concerns were first raised internally for the King County Sheriff's Office to stop allowing employees to use vehicles seized in drug cases. At one point, 21 detectives and officials -- including the budget and accounting director, the legal adviser, a volunteer chaplain and the Asian community liaison -- were driving the cars.

I would suspect that corruption on that level would attract both federal investigations, and media attention.

I get the feeling that what you've got is some half-remembered anecdotes about evidence auctions, and a general dislike for the police.......

It's dangerous mixing nerds, hookers, and alcohol. Things explode.

Well, sadly, they did recently ... as this story about a pig farmer shows ...

There are almost no reasons, apart from ideological ones, to move away from MS products

What about western washington? We suffered little better. This is a picture of I-5: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/zoom/html/2004054526.html

It's very clear what they wanted. They demanded an open standard in order to even enter the bidding. The government caved, and so Google doesn't need to win the bidding in order to win. See http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/342160_googleauction04.html This way they get to play, and they don't need to build and manage a network. Best of all, the consumer wins, too.

Apparently that text was changed. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003652011_brier05.html

Well I have been following this story from the beginning and I have to tell you that those bolded passages that you have in your post were edited by Microsoft to say that after the suit was filed.
(This is the first thing I found about it in a Google Search)
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9016178
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2003652011_brier05.html

Additionally, I believe the suit alleges that because Aero was highly marketed as one of the new features of the Vista Operating System in the commercials so it can only be reasonably assumed that the new interface was a "core" experience. (I tend to believe her because unlike an IT professional who would care about a new file system or whatever, all a "Regular Joe" sees or cares about is the new interface)

Yes, Vista can be "run" on any "capable" machine, but thats like saying that a high-end sportscar can run on basic unleaded gas.

"The people who run Facebook aren't stupid - there's so much money involved here..."

The Facebook people are smart on technological issues but not when it comes to copyright and trademark issues. Facebook's latest idea of using member's photos when the user writes a review of a product and creating an implicit ad, if the user doesn't opt out, is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen.

Read up on the Taster's Choice lawsuit and how it cost Nestle $15.6 million USD for using the photo of a person, who did sign a contract with Nestle.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2002168937_coffeemug03.html

Copyright and trademark lawyers must be foaming at the mouth like rapid dogs at Facebook's new advertising idea.

Sprint. They were the first to lose the class-action lawsuit.

I think your numbers are misleading. The Zune quickly got 9% of its market segment, which gave it second place after the iPod. A week later, it dropped to #5 or so again.

I think the Zune currently holds 10% of the HD based MP3 players ; unfortunately, most MP3 players sold are not HD based, so the number is pretty much meaningless.

I think your numbers are misleading. The Zune quickly got 9% of its market segment, which gave it second place after the iPod. A week later, it dropped to #5 or so again.

I think the Zune currently holds 10% of the HD based MP3 players ; unfortunately, most MP3 players sold are not HD based, so the number is pretty much meaningless.

Your wish has been granted. Well, as far as public funding goes. Stopped long ago. Google "SETI funding" or just look here. Arecibo no longer looks for little green men. SETI has moved to Hat Creek, California, mostly thanks to Paul Allen's private contributions. If that bothers you, just observe how close the name "Allen" is to the term "Alien".

I've been to Arecibo. It's just like it looks in the movies (don't forget "Contact"). But aside from looking like you'd expect it to look, I also got a feeling of grandeur standing there and imagining all the work that went into the construction. Not exactly the pyramids, but still impressive.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/saturdayspin/254057_sorbos31.html

Be careful of what you email her... you might stress her out. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/saturdayspin/211730_sorbo12.html

"Bergstein said the device offered a false hope that consumed his wife and robbed the family of precious remaining time with her. A retired Microsoft manager, Bergstein looked at the source code in the EPFX's software. It appeared to generate results randomly." quoted from the article

multi thousand dollar EPFX machines that run off random number generators. Apparently this William Nelson fraud character lives in a multimillion dollar house in budapest because of it.

Actually there was talk/action about turning Cookie Monster into Vegetable Monster or something.

For those living near Seattle, Microsoft and Dell are taking back old PCs, monitors, printers, keyboards, mice, laptops, etc. this Saturday at Safeco Field.

Clean out the closet and basement. Microsoft, Dell and Intechra are offering free computer recycling from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at Safeco Field's Safeco Parking Plaza at Edgar Martinez Way near Occidental Avenue South. To mark America Recycles Day, the collections event will accept any make or model of computers and related equipment, including computers, monitors, printers, scanners, keyboards, mice and laptops. Gaming consoles and mobile entertainment devices also will be accepted. Electronic items not accepted include televisions, stereo equipment, cellphones and appliances.

Participants are asked to remove all data from their computer's hard drive and any removable media such as disks, PC cards, flash drives and CD-ROM's. Drop-off is free, and all equipment will be refurbished or recycled. The first 500 participants will receive free energy-saving, compact fluorescent light bulbs.

This doesn't count as a statistical study, but discusses how accurate
the count would have to have been in Florida to have a determinate result in
Bush v. Gore:

http://web.jhu.edu/president/articles/2000/wpnov00.html

Here is a claim by Washington State electoral officials that studies had shown
their elections to be 99.99 % accurate. Even if true, that represents
an error of 10,000 votes in a 100million voter federal election.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002185379_accuracy20m.html

http://www.secstate.wa.gov/office/osos_news.aspx?i=U4SQ5nub4drPOpM60107aQ%3D%3D

Note that the claimed accuracy is not enough to have determined the
Florida presidential vote in 2000.

Here's a typical Mexican election:

http://americas.irc-online.org/am/3344

More anecdotes:

http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=MISCOUNT-ELECT-12-20-04&cat=AN

I mean, I hate when bikes ride the roads when they don't need to

Bikes almost always need to. It is unsafe to ride on sidewalks at the speed most bike commuters move at.

because it impeeds cars

Cars don't own the road. Bikes are traffic too. Also keep in mind the speed limit is the maximum permissible speed according to the law. That means if it is wet or dark or sunny or anything that impedes your driving ability the law says you MUST go slower, and in fact you may NEVER go faster regardless of the circumstances. I don't feel bad riding my bike on the roads, cars have to share even if they don't want to.

In fact, slowly this place is going more "green" such that some people who do ride bikes snub those who don't.

Not if car drivers can do anything about it. Here are some of the news of bicycling around Seattle within the last 2 months.

Bicyclist shot with BB pellets
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/338042_shot04.html

Road rage in Fremont involves SUV driver, bicyclist
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337174_roadrage29.html

Bicyclist dies in truck accident
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003874671_dige08m.html

I mean, I hate when bikes ride the roads when they don't need to

Bikes almost always need to. It is unsafe to ride on sidewalks at the speed most bike commuters move at.

because it impeeds cars

Cars don't own the road. Bikes are traffic too. Also keep in mind the speed limit is the maximum permissible speed according to the law. That means if it is wet or dark or sunny or anything that impedes your driving ability the law says you MUST go slower, and in fact you may NEVER go faster regardless of the circumstances. I don't feel bad riding my bike on the roads, cars have to share even if they don't want to.

In fact, slowly this place is going more "green" such that some people who do ride bikes snub those who don't.

Not if car drivers can do anything about it. Here are some of the news of bicycling around Seattle within the last 2 months.

Bicyclist shot with BB pellets
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/338042_shot04.html

Road rage in Fremont involves SUV driver, bicyclist
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337174_roadrage29.html

Bicyclist dies in truck accident
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003874671_dige08m.html

I mean, I hate when bikes ride the roads when they don't need to

Bikes almost always need to. It is unsafe to ride on sidewalks at the speed most bike commuters move at.

because it impeeds cars

Cars don't own the road. Bikes are traffic too. Also keep in mind the speed limit is the maximum permissible speed according to the law. That means if it is wet or dark or sunny or anything that impedes your driving ability the law says you MUST go slower, and in fact you may NEVER go faster regardless of the circumstances. I don't feel bad riding my bike on the roads, cars have to share even if they don't want to.

In fact, slowly this place is going more "green" such that some people who do ride bikes snub those who don't.

Not if car drivers can do anything about it. Here are some of the news of bicycling around Seattle within the last 2 months.

Bicyclist shot with BB pellets
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/338042_shot04.html

Road rage in Fremont involves SUV driver, bicyclist
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/337174_roadrage29.html

Bicyclist dies in truck accident
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003874671_dige08m.html

AT&T gave feds access to all Web, phone traffic, ex-tech says

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004001159_spying08.html

  he alleged that the NSA set up a system that vacuumed up Internet and phone-call data from ordinary Americans with the help of AT&T and without obtaining a court order.

NSA built a special room in San Francisco to receive data streamed through an AT&T Internet room containing "peering links," or major connections to other telecom providers. Other so-called secret rooms reportedly were constructed at AT&T sites in Seattle, Los Angeles, San Diego and San Jose, Calif

Takes 2 seconds on Google:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/332642_fakevet22.html?source=mypi

Full story, even from 'the other side':
http://mediamatters.org/items/200709280009

Summary for those foaming at the mouth:
Caller says 'what's really funny is, they ([the media]) never talk to real soldiers'
Limbaugh responds with 'The phony soldiers.', caller agrees, then after that call Limbaugh proceeds to talk about a specific example of a phony soldier that the media talked to.

There is no scandal here, except that it's bloody hard to find a retraction for all the stories that believed Jesse MacBeth's lies. That's a crying shame.

"So you had no problem with GW Bush spreading rumors of John McCain's illegitimate black child?

What about that Swift Boat Veterans for Truth garbage? "

I may not like what they are saying. But I believe they have the right to say it. The Washington State Supreme Court recently struck down a law that supports your position. We'll see what the US Supreme Court says if they hear the case.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003926782_scow05m.html

"In Thursday's Supreme Court ruling, Johnson said, "The notion that the government, rather than the people, may be the final arbiter of truth in political debate is fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment."