MIAMI, July 27 – Almost all the electronic records from the first widespread use of touch-screen voting in Miami-Dade County have been lost, stoking concerns that the machines are unreliable as the presidential election draws near. Oh, here we go again. And guess what? It wasn’t made public until a citizens’ group requested audit data for the 2002 election. Turns out election officials knew something went wrong in spring 2003, but didn’t publicly acnknowledge a “malfunction” until a year later. Good for the citizens’ group for bringing this to light, and good for everyone that’s been hammering on this issue…

She began participating in discussions on a Web site called “Democracy and Freedom,” which is often at odds with the government. By 2001, she opened her own site, much of it dedicated to literature, but she also published some articles calling for more freedom. As cyberspace became her home, she began to defend what the Chinese call netcitizens. Fellow SF fan and netizen Liu Di and I have a lot in common. We write about our interests in science fiction (she’s more interested in books, I’m currently more interested in television and movies). She writes about politics and dabbles in…

Just don’t do it. Don’t panic, or the air marshals will be forced to smack you silly. And then you’ll end up as an ignominous dupe on the Urban Legends page… even if you are an otherwise smart journalist. The source said the air marshals on the flight were partially concerned Jacobsen’s actions could have been an effort by terrorists or attackers to create a disturbance on the plane to force the agents to identify themselves. Oh, and by the way Ms. Ima Responsible Journalist Scaredypants, way to inject your progeny into the story so we all know you’re a…

MEDFORD, Ore. – A nylon necklace strung with condoms has sparked outrage at the county fair. Strangely enough, the necklace kits were very, very popular with older teens, the target group for a Planned Parenthood promotion aimed at making contraceptive use normal and less embarassing. However, due to the obligatory “numerous complaints” from parents whose kids were not among those making the condom leis, Planned Parenthood agreed after meeting with fair officials to stop the promotion. It wasn’t difficult for them to come to this agreement, because they ran out of supplies for making the condom leis, which consisted of…

Just in time to make the major news organizations “hot” sheets for tomorow… the weekend before the DNC takes over Boston. Timing is everything, and both sides play the game. The Pentagon had said that the payroll records for that time period had been inadvertently destroyed. “Previous attempts to locate the missing records at the Federal Records Center had been unsuccessful due to the incorrect records accession numbers provided,” the Pentagon’s Office of Freedom of Information chief C.Y. Talbott said in a letter Friday to The Associated Press. “The correct numbers were obtained … and the records were found.” Talbott…

Yep, the bounty hunter is claiming to be a somewhat pudgier and un-hot Ethan Hunt than we’re used to seeing. A US citizen arrested in Kabul over an alleged freelance counter-terrorism operation says he was working with the knowledge of the US defence secretary. “Bwah! Rummy! You won’t take my calls, you don’t write… what’s a black ops counter-terrorist to do??”

Elton John has said stars are scared to speak out against war in Iraq because of “bullying tactics” used by the US government to hinder free speech. Expect the anti-Elton backlash to commence immediately. Fortunately, as a British subject he’s relatively immune. Unfortunately, in reality this probably means that future concerts in any “red” states will shortly be cancelled. The story doesn’t mention the recent pink slip Whoopi Goldberg received from Slim-Fast for daring to make an anti-Bush and anti-Dick joke at a recent Democratic fund-rasier. Goldberg accepted the company’s decision but said she had criticised presidents of all persuasions.…

Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart has been sentenced to five months in jail and five months of house arrest over charges of conspiracy and obstruction. Excuse me, you misspelled “convicted felon Martha Stewart”. It’s the criminal version of winning an Oscar and getting to add “Academy Award(TM)winning” to your name in the billing of a new movie, if you’re an actor or actress who has been so honored by the Academy. Hee hee – I wonder if the people she trampled in her rush to fame as America’s Lifestyle Guru are also savoring the piquant, yet satisfying mouthfeel of “convicted felon…

The Banadir hospital in Mogadishu will provide free health care for women and children. It has been mostly financed by Somali businessmen. This is a second hospital in Mogadishu – the SOS hospital was the one that closed temporarily due to death threats against one of the doctors for performing a hysterectomy.

Maybe it’s breaking at last: Boing Boing reports via various blog links that Seymour Hersh is going somewhat more public with the assertion that children were raped at Abu Ghraib, and that the Pentagon has the videos. There’s a lot of discussion out there on the Net – see the comments sections of the blogs linked by BoingBoing. I would still like to know whatever happened to the story of the Titan contractor that was accused of raping a teenage boy that was reported on back in May on :NPR’s Marketplace.