Could e-voting machines in the 2012 US election be hacked?
Mark Clayton Security experts say a specific kind of electronic-voting machine is vulnerable to being hacked. Influencing a national election would be difficult, but the advance of malware makes it possible.Since the machines are not connected to the Internet, any hack would not be a matter of someone sneaking through cyberspace to change ballots. Rather, [...]
The Tony Abbott gender gap
John Warhurst The emphasis on the relationship between Tony Abbott and women is fuelled by opinion polls that consistently show that he is less popular with women voters. Newspoll has him trailing Julia Gillard among women as better prime minister by 41–34 per cent. The same poll showed Gillard trailing Abbott among men by 42–36 [...]
Ukraine election tests democracy
Voters in Ukraine headed to the polls on Sunday. But with opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko and other critics of President Viktor Yanukovych still in prison, observers warned that the vote could be undemocratic. At first glance, everything looked to be working as it should in a democracy: There was an election campaign with more than 20 [...]
Bachmann faces strong challenge in Minnesota race
Cameron Joseph Republican Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is facing a surprisingly tough reelection battle. The Tea Party favorite and former presidential candidate has over the years warded off a succession of well-funded challengers with a combination of hard work and huge fundraising hauls. But her challenger this time around, moderate businessman Jim Graves (Democrat), is better suited [...]
How Reagan, Hoover, and the FBI plotted to crush 1960s dissidents
Steve Wasserman The FBI’s greatest secret: its hidden war against Berkeley’s student radicals and the alliance between Reagan and Hoover. Berkeley in the years that I came of age was heady with the scent of night jasmine and tear gas. It whipsawed, sometimes violently, between clichés, from the Age of Aquarius to the Age of [...]
States with stronger unions have stronger middle classes
David Madland and Nick Bunker New Census Bureau data on state incomes released yesterday show just how important unions are to creating a strong middle class. An update to an analysis in our April 2011 report, “How Unions Make the Middle Class,” finds that a 10-percentage-point increase in the unionization rate would boost the average annual income [...]
ASIO still the end of the line for refugees
Adam Brereton An independent review of security assessment of asylum seekers has been established but ASIO retains the final say. Advocates say the process still lacks transparency, writes Adam Brereton. An independent review process for asylum seekers’ adverse security assessments (ASAs) has been shown to be essentially powerless — only one day after its announcement. The [...]
Parity politics and the ripple election
Lou Cannon In the final years of the 20th century and the first 19 months of this one, the United States was, in the words of demographer Michael Barone, politically “divided down the middle.” President Bill Clinton was re-elected in 1996 with 49.2 percent of the vote. George W. Bush and Al Gore each received [...]
What is White Privilege? Mitt Romney Losing two debates but gaining support among white voters
Chauncey DeVega White privilege is the bundle of unearned advantages that come with being categorized as “white” in American society. Those of us who study race and politics often have a hard time convincing white people-and some others overly identified with Whiteness-of how this dynamic impacts our society. On Tuesday, Mitt Romney was embarrassed by Barack [...]
US Politics: Solutions worth debating
Ralph Nader America has some big problems and it needs equally big solutions. In this current media-frenzied presidential race, the American people are looking to the two major party candidates – Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama – for solutions. However, they are coming back empty-handed as the candidates continue to push their party agendas, [...]