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Swarthmore Students Keep Diebold Memos Online
An anonymous reader submits "Two student groups based out of Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania announced today that they are rejecting Diebold Elections Systems' cease-and-desist orders and are initiating an electronic civil disobedience campaign that will ensure permanent public access to the controversial leaked memos. You can read the memos, search the memos, or download the memos."
Or host them in another country, and you'll always have access to them.
As far as I can tell, it's only sleezy Diebold who is telling people not to post the memos. Unless these kids are standing up against a court order to take down the information, they are hardly participating in civil disobedience just because they are pointing out serious flaws in Diebold's buggy system and not listening to Diebold when they say to stop, flaws that Diebold would apparently like to hide.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
Just another example of how America's colleges promote liberalism
Okay. That's a good thing.
and anti-americanism
How is it anti-American to expose flaws in voting machines which could threaten the very heart of our society; the fair democratic election of our leaders?
and promote the acceptance of lawbreaking
We should accept lawbreaking when the laws being broken. Did you ever learn about the Boston Tea Party? Ever hear of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a bus? Civil disobedience has a long, proud history in America.
If you like conservatism and patriotism, and you dislike civil disobedience, then move to Communist China. They are very conservative, very patriotic, and don't tolerate civil disobedience. Your kind of people...
The aptly-named "liberal arts college" should be banned if you ask me.
No one did, but you'd have really appreciated Mao's Cultural Revolution where intellectuals were rounded up and sent to brutal labor camps.
being a patriot is equated to being a nazi.
I've voted green in the last election, and will in the next, but I love my country and I'm sure the grand parent poster does too. Does that make us 'nazis' in your eyes, junior?
From the link...
War? believes that what we are doing is legal; though we see it as an issue of electronic civil disobedience we believe it is Diebold which is abusing copyright law in an attempt to shut down free speech and the democratic process.
Okay, now it's either legal OR it's civil disobedience (i.e., intentionally breaking a law, and accepting an unjust punishment, to draw attention to an issue). As someone who supports this effort -- someone who's done a little political action and gets steaming mad at scatterbrained hippies who drag down liberal progressive movements -- I'd prefer that they straighten out the claims of their action.
I think it would be preferable to claim that Diebold's cease-and-desist order is illegal and unenforceable. Then, keeping the memos online is even better than civil disobedience (noble in its own right), it's actually civil obedience for a just cause.
We know where leadership by an anti-intellectual "strongman" who scapegoats minorities and likes boisterous rallies goes
It's not like this is going to favor Republicans just because the guy running Diebold is a Republican - with security this bad it's open season for everyone. I think the more worrying thing would be if these machines weren't hackable but were iron-clad, then the only backdoors would belong to the guys who wrote the code; instead, the backdoors are wide open to any idiot who wishes to wander in.
If these machines really are hackable then they'll be hacked, and going by the intelligence of your average script kiddie they'll be hacked to such a ridiculous degree that the results will clearly be fake and the judiciary will declare all of these elections invalid. I mean, really, when Kevin Mitnick is mysteriously elected governor of Minnesota in a write-in vote and NORML supporters sweep the legislative elections in nine states, somebody's going to start asking questions...
Thankfully, the EFF is more enlightened than you are.
Dear God. What these people consider a 'release" version should count as criminal negligence on an ordinary project. This is about an election, nothing - with the possible exception of the judicial system that may have to step in over this - is more important in our system of government.
I mean... My God ! They don't know what they're sending to the client ! "Is this a "testing" release or not? (Ashamed to ask). I think the hallucinations ought to be resurfacing with Steve already. Ken"
Where are the US Marshall's ? Ashamed to ask ? How's he gonna feel under interrogation ? Or on the witness stand. Draft 'em and send 'em to Leavenworth.
Veteran, Bermuda Triangle Expeditionary Force, 1992-1951
Currently, a leading manufacturer of electronic voting systems named Diebold Systems is attempting to squelch critics and critical discussion of their products and business methods. Some of these critics are your students, as you are probably well aware. Such Cease and Desist orders are the first step in a campaign to control those who would dissent, and to intimidate those who would research.
I believe this discussion rightly should include the publication of confidential business memoranda that have been acquired from Diebold Systems. These memoranda may show certain antipathy to the proper methodology and design for a secure voting infrastructure. It is only through such exposition that a frank discussion of security and responsibility can be pursued.
Lastly, I am very concerned at corporate influence in government function. I have long held the position that "a corporation has no vested interest in the rights of the individual." I am not anti- business or anti-profit, but companies which perform vital government functions such as producing voting equipment must be adherent to the principles of a free and informed electorate, both in products and in deeds.
I recommend you support your students, and support their cause to inform the public where possible on these issues.
Please show your students that Democracy and Research are more important than corporate greed, and that transparency is critical when building a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
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