President-elect Obama’s Cell Phone Records Breached

This may be added incentive for President-elect Obama to give up his Blackberry, laptop and any other civilian communication devices which he may have used. Security is simply not adequate. Not only are there external threats but security breaches can come from within:

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Number of Children Sick from Tainted Milk Exceeds 6,000

In China, the number of children who are ill from contaminated milk powder continues to increase:

“A third infant has died in China after drinking contaminated baby milk powder and more than 6,200 are ill, the country’s health minister said today.

The number of children suffering after being fed products tainted with melamine, a chemical used in plastics that can help to disguise the fact that milk has been diluted, is five times higher than authorities anticipated and is expected to continue rising.”

link: Chinese tainted milk powder leaves 6,200 children ill

As the election cycle draws to a close, both Senator McCain and Senator Obama are advocating fiscal responsibility and controlled government spending. One agency that requires additional funding and additional staffing is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A report filed in December of 2007 gave the FDA a failing grade. “The report uncovered failures at every turn. The most glaring is that the FDA lost 600 inspectors in the past four years, making the agency unable to protect the country’s food supply. And the FDA’s responsibilities have grown, rendering the agency ineffective.” It is not inconceivable that such a diaster can happen to the American food supply. Last year, thousands of households lost pets because of the contamination in the pet food supply. Presently, the FDA cannot fulfill its mandate of protecting the American food supply. It is a harsh reality that the next administration will have to address - hopefully not as a consequence of tragedy.

Catherine Forsythe

Voting Machine Error Admitted

With the presidential campaign heading into the final months, one point of agreement between Senator McCain and Senator Obama is that both candidates want their supporters to vote. Both presidential candidates have spent months and millions of dollars on the campaign trail to earn those votes. However, there is one significant problem:

“COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A major voting machine maker has notified its customers in 34 states that a programming error discovered during testing may cause votes to be dropped when they are uploaded to a computer server from the machines’ vote-holding memory cards.”

link: Company admits voting machine error

The voting count may not be valid nor reliable. The admission, at this late juncture, that the reported results may be inaccurate should initiate major reviews of electronic voting and tabulation. This speaks to the need of a ‘paper trail’ to verify the electronic tabulations.

The American people had a sampling of what consequences of vote counting chaos in one election, involving one state. Imaging the turmoil if that voting disorder resulted in disputes in more than half the states in the nation. It would be pandemonium of epic proportions.

Catherine Forsythe

Senator Obama Brings Neil Kinnock into the Discussion

The general American voter may not know the name, Neil Kinnock. American voters will learn soon. Senator McCain and his political machine will make sure of that. A present search of “Neil Kinnock” brings 34,500 hits on Google. That number will be increasing.

One folk indicator of politics is the reaction of the British gambling establishment. At the moment, it is possible to wager on how many days it will be before Senator Joe Biden says something “controversial”. It may be a casual comment but some of the British gaming firms believe that some people believe that this is an “inevitable” and wish to wager on it. It would not be surprising if somehow the name “Neil Kinnock” is involved.

Catherine Forsythe

Note to Senator Obama and Senator McCain: One Laptop Per Child Continues Rollout

The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project has the goal of providing cost efficient computing for children of developing countries. It is an educational mission and a recent success was in Niue:

“The One Laptop Per Child programme has lived up to its name in the tiny South Pacific nation of Niue, where 100% of children now have one.

500 of the programme’s XO laptops were distributed this week to primary and high school students.”

link: One laptop for every Niuean child

In light of Craig Barrett’s educational concerns for the United States, American educators should be lobbying vigorously to be placed on an equal footing as the children of developing nations. There are American school districts, perhaps in your city, that would benefit significantly from each child having a laptop. Perhaps Senator Obama and Senator McCain, in the tradition of “a-chicken-in-every-pot”, could make it a campaign commitment to put a OLPC machine into the hands of every inner city school-age child within twelve months - and into the hands every school-age child of every state by the mid-point of the term of office.

Senator McCain / Senator Obama, make that a campaign commitment - a personal promise to the children and parents of the nation - and watch the poll numbers climb. That would be a promise that would be respected across all demographic boundaries, regardless of gender, sex, religion or whatever. It simply would give so many American children a fighting chance.

Catherine Forsythe

Media Services: Giving What the People Want

The news services creep ever so close to tabloid journalism. As one of the most critical elections in decades approaches, the present focus is not on war, the economy or health care. Instead, the news media think that the interest of the public rests in marital infidelity, paternity tests and clandestine late night hotel meetings.

Perhaps that attracts more viewers than inquiring of the McCain camp about the disappearance of the ’straight talk express’ or inquiring of the Obama camp about the Illinois Senator’s latest shift in policy.

At one time, the news was a social obligation to keep the public safe and informed. With the emergence of the continual news services, it is a matter of holding public attention and having the proper demographics. It is just business. It is advertising. And it has become Paris Hilton, in a bikini, commenting on future energy policies.

That is sad commentary about what the media thinks the public wants.

Catherine Forsythe

Google Ads - A Disparity

Within days of each other, there were two political articles posted to this DogReader space. One was critical of Senator Obama. The other was critical of Senator McCain. Both of these articles have Google ads, as this is how Chris Pirillo pays the bills. What is striking is the disparity of the Google advertising on those two articles.

As I look at these articles on a Sunday morning to archive them, every Google ad space on the Obama article has an Obama-related advertising. It ranges from things like polls to show Senator Obama’s lead to a soda drink which features Senator Obama’s photo.

By stark contrast, the Senator McCain article has one Google ad related to the Arizona senator. Oh course, the Google ads will change and the disparity may change. However, it is clear that the advertising advantage goes to Senator Obama, as far as a limited sample on an internet site.

This may illustrate the ‘coca-cola phenomena’. Everyone on the planet knows what Coca Cola is. It is synonymous with what is a soft drink or a soda pop. Nevertheless, Coca Cola continues to advertise. There are continual Coca Cola advertising campaigns. And the reason for this is that Coca Cola wants its name presented to you continually. It is emphasizing name recognition. It wants to be first and foremost on your subconscious. Think soft drink and then think ‘Coca Cola’. Coca Cola wants to be the first name that comes to mind. And Senator Obama wants exactly the same thing.

Senator McCain supposedly has people telling him what is happening on the internet. Perhaps he might be interested in seeing this for himself. As Anna Quindlen noted in a recent article, there are “tens of millions of voters” out here on the internet.

Catherine Forsythe

Senator McCain’s Poor Press Coverage

There can be little doubt about the media coverage in favour of Senator Obama. It has come to the point where the press coverage is mocking. While the national and international press focus on Senator Obama’s high profile appearances in Berlin and his meetings with foreign leaders, the contrasting headlines are about Senator McCain’s visit to a German restaurant:

“COLUMBUS, Ohio - Republican presidential candidate John McCain had his own German experience Thursday — at a restaurant in Ohio. He asserted that he was happy to devote his time this week to touring the nation’s heartland.”

link: McCain visits German restaurant in Ohio

While Senator McCain’s media specialists should have anticipated such coverage, the some in the media seem to have abandoned the role of objective observers. Unfortunately, the bias is an affront to the public, no matter what one’s political persuasion is.

Catherine Forsythe