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Fold Till You Drop
There's an origami convention convention underway in Japan this weekend, with some truly impressive pieces on display. There's an AP story, but words don't do it justice. See the personal site of one of the professional paper-folders, or photos taken at a previous convention, or just discover the essence of origami.
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/224449p-192 807c.html
Exposed: Scandal of double voters
With debate over the 2000 election still raging, thousands of people illegally register in both New York City and Florida, which could swing an election.
Daily News Exclusive
By RUSS BUETTNER
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
August 21, 2004
With debate over the 2000 election still raging, thousands of people illegally register in both New York City and Florida, which could swing an election.
Some 46,000 New Yorkers are registered to vote in both the city and Florida, a shocking finding that exposes both states to potential abuses that could alter the outcome of elections, a Daily News investigation shows.
Registering in two places is illegal in both states, but the massive snowbird scandal goes undetected because election officials don't check rolls across state lines.
The finding is even more stunning given the pivotal role Florida played in the 2000 presidential election, when a margin there of 537 votes tipped a victory to George W. Bush.
Computer records analyzed by The News don't allow for an exact count of how many people vote in both places, because millions of names are regularly purged between elections.
But The News found that between 400 and 1,000 registered voters have voted twice in at least one election, a federal offense punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
One was Norman Siegel, 84, who is registered as a Republican in both Pinellas Park, Fla., and Briarwood, Queens. Siegel has voted twice in seven elections, including the last four presidential races, records show.
Officials in both states acknowledge that voting in multiple states is something of a perfect crime, one officials don't have the means to catch.
"I can't imagine how the supervisors would have access to that information," said Jenny Nash, spokeswoman for the Florida secretary of state. "As far as I know, cross-state registry has not been discussed."
The News' investigation also found:
# Of the 46,000 registered in both states, 68% are Democrats, 12% are Republicans and 16% didn't claim a party.
# Nearly 1,700 of those registered in both states requested that absentee ballots be mailed to their home in the other state, where they are also registered. But that doesn't raise red flags with officials in either place.
Efforts to prevent people from registering and voting in more than one state rely mostly on the honor system.
New registrants are required to supply a prior address, which kicks in a notification process to election officials in the other jurisdiction. Officials also cross-check change-of-address records from the U.S. Postal Service.
Both procedures largely count on the honesty of the person registering. And neither would catch people who have homes in both places - including the thousands of snowbirds, the term for Northerners who winter in southern climes.
"There's no extensive investigation normally on a voter registration form," said Steven Richman, general counsel for the city Board of Elections. "We accept it at its face value."
Eliminating the potential to vote in multiple states would require creating a national voter registration system with federally assigned voter ID numbers, said Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University in Washington and a voting rights expert.
"I don't think the country is ready for that," Lichtman said. "It may well be that a few hundred people spilling over and voting twice may be an inevitable friction within the system."
Florida election officials were widely criticized after the 2000 election for instituting policies that resulted in thousands of African-Americans, who tend to vote Democratic, being turned away at the polls.
Republican officials are battling similar charges in this year's election.
Glenda Hood, the Florida secretary of state appointed by Gov
I, for one, welcome our Origami fetishist overlords!
Kami Kaze!! Folks!!
Origami prevails!!
Banzai!!
>Of the 46,000 registered in both states, 68% are Democrats, 12% are Republicans and 16% didn't claim a party.
And they say Bush won by less than 1000 votes.
I've already wagered too much and, besides, I have a good hand.
Oh wait, that's not what you meant.
I mean I can't because I'm out of Spice.
No? Just forget it. I need to go check on my laundry.
here
Ever have those days where you just want to look at some pics on a site linked-to from slashdot, without waiting fucking forever for them to load? Today is one of those days.
Democratic presidential nominee Senator John Kerry (news - web sites) bikes along the Espalanade in Boston, Massachusetts, August 22, 2004. A veteran who has disputed Kerry's Vietnam war record admitted he did not have 'a single document' to prove Kerry fabricated reports of enemy fire that won him two medals. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)
This is horribly off-topic. But I just have to wonder, what's up with the unrelated bit of info at the end of the picture caption? It's Kerry riding a bike. "Here's Kerry riding a bike. Oh, the Swift Boat Veterans are wrong." Blech to liberal bias.
crapintrash?
I think you just gave me a new word to call the moron at work who spells sodas all over the place.
My god bless your testicles, and bring you many offspring.
GNAA trolls STAY AWAY!
NO greasing the Yoda Origami!
When my son was born last year, he looked the same. 25th week of pregnancy, 720gramm weight at birth, soon dropped down to 540gramm (had lots of water in his body). He really looked like that little baby in the picture. I literally could cover him with my hand.
After 5 month of beeing in the hospital we were allowed to take him home. He now is 7.5kilos and is completely fine besides one eye on which he has -8 dioptrin.
You've got no idea what a difference it is when you can pray to god! We have more than once seen our son be more dead than alive and the only thing that helped him as praying.
Greetings
Gunnar
not centuries of scientific development that led to modern medicine
No, definitely not. More than once the doctors told us that they didn't know what to do anymore. Scientific development shure had it's place. But nevertheless it wasn't enough. The doctors themselve told us afterwards, that they didn't belive our son would make it. They themselve called it a miracle.
And doubtless, some of those parents whose babies have died were more religious than you and prayed more often.
Might be true and I don't question it. My parents had a 4 year old doughter which died at leukemia. And they definitely prayed a lot. So what shall I say? My wife and I saw a couple of children die during that time. Again, what shall I say? The only thing I can say is about my experiences with what happened to my son.