It is possible that the final Iowa caucus results will be determined in a back room with no way of anyone checking the results.  It is up to us to ensure transparency.  

The main loophole in the Iowa Dem. caucus procedures is the absence of verified records at every precinct before transmission of results to a central server.  Collectively we can close this loophole.

It is CRUCIAL to get a record of EACH PRECINCT RESULT immediately, before the results are transmitted to the central counting area.  Ideally, get a video or photographic record of each precinct result.  This is legal in Iowa.

And it's not just about Iowa:

This affects every one of you in the 49 states that are "not Iowa" because what happens in Iowa will play a major role in which presidential candidates you get to vote for.

Please distribute this to every single person you know in Iowa.

The explanation of why this is a serious concern, and of what Iowa caucus-goers can do to ensure an accurate overall result, is below the fold--

BBC and Nepalese news reports that the Nepalese King's allowance has been "unceremoniously scrapped":

Nepal's government has stopped paying an allowance to King Gyanendra and other members of the Royal Family.

Nepal's government is determined to further reduce King Gyanendra's influence and status, and has made him pay tax for the first time.

There was simply no mention in this year's budget to his family's annual allowance. It has been unceremoniously scrapped.

It's encouraging to see a legislative body making bold moves.  Could such a thing occur in Great Britain as well?

According to a breaking story on UPI, weapons experts in Italy have demonstrated that John F. Kennedy had more than one killer.  

UPI lead:

Italian weapons experts say tests on the type of rifle used to kill U.S. President John F. Kennedy show assassin Lee Harvey Oswald could not have acted alone.

This was proven by demonstrating that:

1. The model of rifle used by Lee Harvey Oswald could not have been reloaded and fired 3 times in 7 seconds, so more than one shooter (and weapon) had to be involved

2. It is not possible that a bullet would have remained intact after passing through Kennedy (and then hitting Connally), therefore more than one shooter was involved

More below--

It gives me no pleasure to report this.  Sen. Clinton has some serious questions to answer.

Investigative journalist Greg Palast has posted a deeply disturbing article here.  He documents Hillary Clinton's apparent long-term links with energy company Entergy.

Palast is known for meticulous research and letting the chips fall where they may.  He ends his article with the question whether Entergy's "investment in Hillary's jail-bird partner" [Hubbell] is continuing to pay dividends:

Code Pink and New York environmentalists have been pulling out their hair over Senator Clinton’s backing of the operation of the creaky old Indian Point nuclear plant just above - and within irradiating distance of - New York City. The owner of the Indian Point nuke? Hillary’s old buck buddies, Entergy.

Am I saying Hillary would arrange for a payoff to keep witnesses silent, to poison US foreign policy for the profit of corporate cronies, to vote in Washington loaded down with conflicts of interest? I would never say so. Even if the evidence will.

Join me for more below.

Joe Lieberman were selected as VP?

I got thinking about this as a result of Sara's diary at The Last Hurrah:

Frankly, I am not interested in pre 2009 impeachment.  I would like to see this country go through the legitimate process and elect a President by a reasonable margin, and have it held as legit.  If Cheney has to go,(and I think he should resign given this verdict)  the Democrats should insist on a time-server who is not running in the future.  (and the Democrats can determine a replacement VP).  Bob Dole maybe, someone like that.  No one with political future.  Another candidate would be John Warner -- which would add a Dem to the Senate.  Warner is really of retirement age and minus two years as VP would be a nice swan song.  Forcing Cheney out is the first matter, and it may require congress, lots of advocacy, of course the press -- but it has to be our sole and first priority --please no list of 60 things we need to do -- let's begin with the most obvious, and the one where Fitz may well have the goods.

According to a Dutch grassroots group called "We don't trust voting computers", the head of the voting maching consortium Nedap/Groenendaal tried to blackmail the Dutch government in order to continue to cooperate in running its elections.  Like many election offices in the US, the Dutch government needed the help of the voting machine company in order to hold an election.  

The company owner even tried to force the Dutch government to buy its stock in order to cooperate, as documented by both the original Dutch email and its English translation.

Check out the full article HERE and prepare to be shocked.

Follow me below the jump for the sordid details and some choice quotes.

A recent diary by DemFromCT focused on seasonal patterns in the H5N1 virus, including links to the CDC Flu Wiki.

I have long sensed that pandemic planning advice was mostly flying beneath the radar—i.e., it is deliberately not being highlighted by the government.  There are clues that can be spotted.  This article by Sandy Bergo (Center for Public Integrity) on an unrelated subject is typical--there's pandemic information there if you read between the lines:

His firm does better financially as a government contractor. For example, it won a $1.5 million job handling the logistics for 55 pandemic flu summits around the country from January through August 2006.

   

Steven Clemons has posted some post-election advice for Dems.  He points out that, if the Dems take the House they need to be prepared for handling post-election defections:

If the House becomes the primary driver of investigations into the abuses, corruption, and duplicity that took this nation into a war that has undermined American status and security in the world, then the spotlight on the many scandals to roll forward will actually bring over Republicans.

Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid need to make sure that they have space in their plans for Republican defections away from the White House -- and the Dems need to force Republicans to vote over and over again on legislation and resolutions and investigation authorizations related to the Iraq War and America's currently self-defeating foreign policy.

Then, more importantly, he has advice regarding Cheney and his minions:

Diebold has another lawsuit to contend with.  BlackBoxVoting.org has quietly mentioned that they have initiated libel actions against Diebold and Diebold employee Rob Pelletier:

This post, referring to BBV's separate bank account to support litigation, said,

It has so far supported the following actions: Public interest litigation defense for Stephen Heller, Bruce Funk, a public records lawsuit for ballot images, and libel actions against Diebold and Diebold employee Rob Pelletier.

Asked about this on another thread, Bev Harris responded,