Friday, November 19, 2004

Questions about U.S. election

I can't help but wonder three things:

1) Why is no one questioning voting integrity and accuracy in the recent U.S. election?

2) Is confusion and apathy so widespread among people, both in the U.S. and worldwide?

3) Are there any independent media outlets left in the world?


Further questions to consider:


a) What kind of voting process requires one to disclose one's ethnicity and religion, among other things?

- How is this information gathered?

- Aren't people concerned about accuracy, methodology, and most of all, anonymity?


b) Has this kind of 'demographic' information ever been used or broadcasted in past elections?


c) Don't people realize electronic polls are made by large corporations who of course have vested interests (and often make sizable campaign donations)?


*PLEASE* read this wise article: 'To European Friends: Explaining the 2004 Election Disaster.'


Wake up, people. The whole world has been waiting to see the future direction of America and the world, based upon whom U.S. citizens elect for president. To subsequently track voting trends based on biological data is questionable and disturbing. (Key statistics I saw on TV focused on race, religion, gender.)

This kind of analysis divides people and creates a blame-game. Sounds like subtle scapegoating to me. This can also create perceptions of certain groups as being more progressive, sane, or saintly than others.

What we who live in supposedly free, democratic countries need is holistic change - NOT more pigeonholing.


Other things that stand out about the recent U.S. election:

People around the world know George W. Bush and the U.S. Republicans did not win by popular majority in the 2000 election. Suspicious tactics were used to help advance his cause in Florida - the deciding state. Bush's brother John 'Jeb' Bush is governor of Florida, and is known to have created unnecessary ballot hitches.

'Even the US Supreme Court, which awarded the presidency to George W. Bush, acknowledges [voters' rights were] violated [under] the Constitution,' reports The Nation in 'Another Florida Fiasco.' Examples: 'ATM-style voting machines couldn't be activated'; only Republican votes scanned properly in one county; hundreds of voters were turned away, and so on. A good percentage of people blocked from voting were African-Americans.

CBC News similarly points out:

[The Long Shadow of Jim Crow: Voter Intimidation and Suppression in America Today] report suggests 'subtle, cynical and creative tactics' to keep minorities – especially African-Americans – from voting have occurred in every election since the [Voting Rights Act] law was passed [in 1964].

'CBC News Indepth: US Election 2004', October 22, 2004.

All of this was accomplished when Bush hadn't even been elected president yet. Who's to say there wasn't ballot-fixing nation-wide now that Bush has been in power for four years, during which time, he's managed to launch two major [and profitable] wars and solidify the right-wing?

Is this too big for people to imagine? Considering the Florida case, there should be real doubts in people's minds about the accuracy of these recent U.S. election results.

Greg Palast, 'contributing editor to Harper's magazine, investigated the manipulation of the vote for BBC Television's Newsnight,' and talks about spoiled votes in 'Kerry Won' (November 4, 2004).

Without doing any research, I posted thoughts about internet voting here. Admittedly, my knowledge of U.S. elections is pretty sparse. Good thing recent searches confirm that my concerns about electronic voting are both valid and real.

To be clear, I'm not for or against anybody. I'm simply pro-democracy, pro-accountability, pro-integrity, and pro-freedom. So are a lot of other folks, yet somehow we have almost no say in government functioning or decisions. (Do I sound ridiculously naive here?)

Found this highly readable article, containing important information about manipulating ballots: 'Did Bush fix the elections?'

I can't resist quoting this:


The appearance of Osama bin Laden bang on cue was suspicious, to say the least.... Did Bush fix it?

I said the exact same thing about a rape and beating case of a woman coming out of (or walking near?) a gay bar in Toronto on the eve of Canada's federal election (June 30, 2004).

Sent a bunch of emails to people questioning U.S.-Canada relations, media, democracy, etc, and highlighted the lack of investigative journalism in this particular rape case. I suggested this event could have been either staged or deliberately perpetrated to sway both women and queer voters.

I just found this Globe and Mail article link about that incident. Strangely, the author's name is 'GAY ABBATE'.

What's also odd is that one cannot find any direct links to this news story via a Google search. Yet this was *Big News* on TV, the evening before the federal election.

I had similar concerns about the totally lopsided media coverage between the respective murders of Holly Jones and Cecilia Zhang. The lack of news in Holly Jones' case is unusual. And, sure enough, this disparity became a selling point for the New Conservatives appealing to voters outside of urban centres.

And WHY has there been so little news coverage about Holly Jones supposed murderer? Do you even remember his name?

Having reflected on my surveillance and harassment a great deal, I sense a larger agenda is at stake.

(Thoughts on Canada's federal election - June 2004.)

Monday, November 15, 2004

Threats to health

I've been spending more time with my mother over the past year. It's not a picture-perfect relationship, believe me. But I'm trying. And after nearly five years of running from therapist to therapist (enough to make one crazy and drive one's mother into destitution), I'm finally making some progress.

My gawd, the ego's one tough cookie.

I mention this because as I blog about the increasing harassment and threats, it may seem like I'm constantly with my mother. While it's true I'm hanging out with her more, it's also true that the anomalies she's experiencing are definitely on the rise.

(I've had the sense that my mother's becoming more of a target for awhile - August 22.)

It's ironic that people often assume I'm paranoid or that I don't believe in coincidences. I'm actually a big believer in serendipity, synchronicity, astrology, intuition, miracles, and a Divine Creator. In fact, I think my surveillers have benefitted from my interest in these areas, and from observing people's innate belief in, and acceptance of, 'chance' happenings. I think it's enhanced their ability to manipulate social situations, and and emboldened their efforts.

Anyway, here's another strange incident:

Saturday, October 30 - I had two bouts of really bad runs. The suddenness and severity made me think of food poisoning (in fact, I bagged, taped, and froze my dinner leftovers the next day). But what's strange is I noticed I had no pain, gas, or cramping. Believe me, I'm very familiar with my own digestion and elimination processes.

I didn't mention anything to my mother - neither the sickness, nor the lack of typical symptoms.

November 6 - A week later, both my mother and I end up having severe diarrhea. I again did not say anything to her. But towards evening, as we were talking about something or other, my mother says, 'I'm not feeling very well. I had diarrhea five times today.' Then she adds, 'It's strange - I didn't have any gas or cramps - just the diarrhea.'

(All these little moments are so important; unfortunately, I dropped my 17-year old Walkman a few months ago, trying to transfer phone recordings onto my computer.)

Now also consider the fact that I had frantically emailed a bunch of people in August (or September?) out of concern for my life, and I specifically mentioned Mozilla's new 'BioBar' as having potential for nasty uses. (Too long to explain what led me to this concern.)

Let's backtrack a bit further. Not only have I had constant problems in my apartment, but in February 2003, I had bought a used test tube from a second-hand store for making shooters. Two weeks after I got it, it somehow developed a gaping hole. Hadn't even used it. No glass shards or cracks - just a perfectly cut hole.

(The cut test tube now looks like a phallus, and when I showed somebody, they actually laughed and made a comment. It's also worth noting that I'm bisexual and androgynous, a tomboy as a child, and I've been extremely vocal about queer rights, plus having trans friends, etc.)


That summer, I had my trans friend over a couple of times to try out my drinks. One day, I was putting away my freshly cleaned glasses and noticed a thick layer of clear crystallized substance at the bottom of a shot glass. I should've kept a sample, but didn't.

You can see my concerns about personal safety (for self and others) began quite awhile ago.