Still more on immigration to Canada

I have written a lot about American's who wish to head north to Canada in light of the November 2nd elections in which President George W. Bush won reelection. The Seattle Times printed their own article on the issue called, "Turning left, going north? Americans consider relocating to Canada."

If for no other reason, I suggest checking out the article for the photo of anti-Bush protestors outside a U.S. consulate in Vancouver, B.C., who restaged a scene from the Iraq War when U.S. soldiers pulled down a statue of Saddam Hussein.

My previous posts:

More on immigration to Canada, November 20, 2004

American's immigrate to Canada; Seattle seminar looms, November 11, 2004

Judge awards record fine against spammers

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Wolle awarded more than $1 billion to an eastern Iowa internet service provider who successfully sued 300 spammers.

The default judgments were filed Friday against three of the defendants under the Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and the Iowa Ongoing Criminal Conduct Act.

AMP Dollar Savings Inc. of Mesa, AZ, was ordered to pay $720 million; Cash Link Systems Inc. of Miami, FL, was ordered to pay $360 million; and TEI Marketing Group of FL, was ordered to pay $140,000.

In 2000, the internet service provider, which serves approximetly 5,000 subscribers, recieved up to 10 million spam e-mails a day, according to court papers.

Judge side with Republicans over disputed King County ballots

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Arend approved the Republican Party's request to keep more than 700 disputed ballots from being included in the manual recount currently underway. King County election officials had discovered the ballots had been mistakenly rejected.

"It's clear to me it is not appropriate to revisit the decision whether the ballots should or should not be considered," she said refering to an earlier state Supreme Court decision.

The decision will likely give the governor seat to Republican Dino Rossi who won two ballot counts by slim margins. The Democrats vow to appeal the decision to the State Supreme Court.

FluMist anyone? The flu shot alternative

Public Health - Seattle & King County has established a website for those interested in getting the nasal-spray version of the flu vaccine known as FluMist. Healthy persons 5-49 can receive FluMist, click here for full details.

Tax dollors support 71 dead people says state auditor's office

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversee's our state's Medicaid system, is disputing charges made against it by the state Auditor's Office. Among their findings, as reported in the Seattle Times:

• Drugs, including Vicodin and Percocet, were mishandled at four institutions for people with developmental disabilities. In all, the institutions could not account for 1.4 million pills worth $529,333, the report found.

• Medicaid paid more than $180,000 for elective surgery in 2003, including money for sex-change procedures such as penile implants, breast enlargements and reductions, and ear piercing, auditors said.

• Mental hospitals Western State and Eastern State do not have the required system to report allegations of patient abuse — including neglect and financial exploitation — to either Aging and Disability Services or a Medicaid fraud unit, the report says.

• As many as 45,000 people in the Medicaid database lack Social Security numbers, normally a requirement for treatment, according to the auditor. A sample indicated about two-thirds were valid patients. But Medicaid paid about $22 million in questionable claims to the remaining patients, the auditor estimated.

• In a six-month period, Medicaid paid $73,654 to medical providers for services to 71 dead people, according to the auditor. Medicaid largely is dependent on health-care providers to report a client's death, the report found.

Additional charges can be found by clicking here!

SEABlogger health update

A medical exam has revealed my liver is "struggling." Additional blood work has ruled out Hepatitis A, B, or C. The doctor's office drew more blood to check for diseases were the body attacks its own liver. I am also going for an ultrasound of my liver.

In the meantime, the doctor says "No alcohol or meds of any kind." It will be particularly hard during the holidays when wine is abundant. I will have to forego the Pepto-Bismol after the Christmas meal as well. Basically, I can't have anything the liver would have to filter.

I am sticking with the fatty liver scenario. It sounds much better than a disease in which the body attacks the liver! I need to lose a few pounds (okay, a lot) anyway.

Will keep you updated.

King County identifies previously uncounted ballots

King County Press Release
Dec.13, 2004


King County Elections Director Dean Logan will ask the Canvass Board on Wednesday to amend the certified results of the November 2, 2004 General Election to include a series of absentee ballots wrongly rejected during the original canvas.

Approximately 561 absentee ballots were mistakenly rejected because the signature on the ballot did not match the original voter registration records. In fact, these were signed ballots where a signature was not on file in the county's voter registration system. Original registration records should have been retrieved to verify the ballot signatures.

"From the very first ballot counted, I have maintained that every ballot of every valid voter should be counted. In the case of these ballots, the mistake was on our part in not finding signatures of what appear to be eligible voters. We take full responsibility," said Logan. "An error has been made that has prevented valid ballots from being counted. We need to correct the error and count those votes."

Election officials became aware of the situation Sunday evening and have worked since to identify the ballots and ensure they are secured and available for canvass board review.

Logan said staff will retrieve the ballots, review past registration records for signature comparisons and present all valid ballots to the canvassing board on Wednesday, December 15. Logan said state law specifically authorizes the canvass board to amend the certification of an election when a discrepancy or inconsistency is identified in the original canvas.

Until the canvass board takes formal action on the ballots and the votes are counted, it is unclear the impact these ballots may have on the pending manual recount "What is clear," said Logan "is our obligation to ensure these voters that their votes are counted."

More than 898,000 King County voters cast ballots in the November 2 General Election. The county is currently hand-counting votes cast for Governor following a mandatory machine recount conducted last month. That recount is still on schedule to be completed by December 22.

Microsoft: Losses staf to Google; unveils beta blog service

Jim Allchin, group vice president of the Microsoft's Windows platform division, admitted that Microsoft had lost a "handful" that the company "didn't want to lose" to Google. The Seattle Times said he made the remarks during a University of Washington forum last week.

In other news...

Here is a link to MSN's new beta blog service, MSN Spaces. Here are some of the features of the blog service (in Microsoft's own words)...

Publish online - Sound off daily, weekly, by event - whenever you want to share. List your recommendations for music, travel or books.

Post photos - Share your photos individually or build a slideshow. You can post directly from Hotmail if you like. Show off your trip, your kids, your car - it's your online photo album.

Make recommendations - Share your list of favorite music, books, and travel, and include links to more information.

Control your Space - Set access level to Private to allow only those you choose to see your Space, or open your Space to the public. All users must first accept a Code of Conduct and have an authenticated .NET Passport to access your Space.

See what others think - Let people post comments to your Space. DOn't worry - you can set your Space so that nothings gets posted unless you say "Okay."

Find new friends - Search other Spaces that allow public access and link up with those Spaces you like.

"Gleam" with Hotmail - Your Messenger Contact Card will Gleam to notify people when you've updated your Space. Plus, friends can preview your Space right from your Contact Card. (You must be using MSN Messenger Beta to see this feature.)

Yours Truly,
SEABlogger

Lesbian sues Microsoft over discrimination based on sexual orientation

Former Microsoft Employee Barbara Campbell filed suit Friday, November 26, against the Redmond-based software giant Microsoft Corp. She claims that a manager discriminated against her after she attended the National Conference on Gay and Lesbian Rights at the request of the company.

Campbell, who worked at Microsoft's Washington D.C. sales office, filed her complaint in Superior Court of Washington D.C. The complaint said that although she had been out about her sexual orientation to many at the company, her immediate supervisor Tiffany Treacy remained unaware. However, she says Treacy’s behavior changed after learning Campbell had been selected to represent the company at the Gay focused conference.

"Following Ms. Campbell's disclosure of her lesbianism, Ms. Treacy's attitude, conduct and responses to Ms. Campbell changed dramatically, and for the worse," the complaint read.

The complaint explained that in April 2003, Campbell quit her job because her boss set unrealistic goals and blocked her from securing other positions within the company. She also said she had sought employment with the company again in 2004, but was turned away.

A Microsoft spokesperson told this reporter that the "allegations are without merit," and that "Microsoft has a zero-tolerance policy toward discrimination and is 100 percent committed to diversity..." The company strives to be a "diversity leader in the technology industry," the spokesperson continued, and "recognizes diversity as a core value, business imperative and an investment in our people."

Biometric passports threaten our security say experts

What does your passport say to thieves? A lot, says privacy experts. The U.S. Government plans to issue the first biometric passport as early as next spring. The passport is imbedded with a a tiny computer chip and antenna that transmits a digital image of the person, name, birth date and birthplace.

The problem is that the data on the chip can be picked up wirelessly using a radio signal that can be read as far away as 30 feet, according to some estimates. The technical standard, radio frequency identification (RFID), doesn’t require a scanning device and can be read by anyone remotely.

The system, designed to prevent forged passports, will use facial recognition software to compare a digital photo taken as travelers enter the U.S. against the photo stored on the passport's chip.

"It is shocking that the American government fought against basic security and privacy protections such as encryption for these wide-open passports," said Laura W. Murphy, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, in a Nov. 24 press release. "The U.S.-backed standard means that all the information on American passports can be read by anyone with an RFID reader, whether they are an identity thief, a terrorist trying to spot the Americans in a room or a government agent looking to vacuum up the identities of everyone at a political rally, gun show or mosque."

The ACLU has prepared several white papers on the issue, click here to go to www.aclu.org/passports.

Blogger sells blogging services on eBay

Fellow blogger Jeremy C. Wright of Ensight.org recently sold his blogging services for three months on eBay. The winning bid for $3,350.00 was won by the screen name “inkspresscom.” SEABlogger contacted the winner for more information about the sale. Here is the eBay link to the auction, which ended December 3.

Wright is masterful self-promoter and excellent businessman. He is one example of the monetization of the blogosphere. Recently, he sold his blog for $15,000, but maintains editorial control and even earns a monthly fee for his continued blog posts to the site.

You can read a previous post of mine about Wright by clicking here!

SEABlogger appology

First, I want to appologize to all of you readers. I have not blogged since the day before Thanksgiving. I had been suffering from "cold-like" systems.

However, recent blood work have turned up alarming results. I will have to undergo a battery of tests to determine what is going on with my heart and/or liver.

I intend to return to blogging tomorrow depending on my health. I will keep you all posted about the latest test results once I get them.

Yours Truly,
SEABlogger