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diebold-voting-machine.jpeg Via Salon:

"Diebold Election Systems" are three words synonymous with the aggressive pursuit of failure. Not only did the company badly implement a dubious concept -- unverifiable electronic touch-screen voting machines -- but it did so with determined flourish, letting its code and internal communication leak out onto the Web; employing as a chief executive a man who declared he was "committed to helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the president next year"; abusing copyright law in an attempt to quell its critics; and, among many other caught-red-handed indiscretions, deleting criticism of itself from Wikipedia.

No wonder, then, that Diebold Election Systems has decided to steal a page from the playbook of that paragon of corporate responsibility Philip Morris (aka the Altria Group): Diebold will erase its sorry history with a simple name change!

Henceforth, when reaching for an example of mind-boggling incompetence, please say "Premier" rather than "Diebold," because Diebold Election Systems is now Premier Election Systems.

The name change, the company says in a press release, "signals a new beginning" and a "fresh identity" -- though in the same release the firm concedes that it will still be making and pushing the same sorry voting machines (machines that, as Princeton computer scientist Edward Felten and his colleagues showed last year, are actually vulnerable to a virus-based attack). Read more...

It seems Diebold has teamed up with FOXNews in an attempt to re-write history. We have to stay on top of this sort of trickery, especially with the crucial 2008 presidential election on the horizon. Let's review - Diebold Election Systems is now PREMIER Election Systems.

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71 Comments
Johnny2Bad's picture

Scrub-O-Frist

bob kasprzak's picture

OUR WHOLE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT RESTS ON A FAIR ELECTION IN '08!!!!!!!!!!

Eric's picture

CIA, FBI computers used for Wikipedia edits:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070816/ts_nm/security_wikipedia_dc

Paul in LA's picture

They change their name now, before the LAWSUITS kick in.

Otherwise, the blowback onto their ATM business will be huge.

But the name is already branded, and Premier (Diebold) will be just as damning as Diebold, and the name change just looks FURTIVE.

Diebold -- Stealing Elections for Republicans Since 1999, or until we get caught.

(What's that? We've been caught? OK, let's change our name and pretend we don't speak English. Our big accounts are in Brazil, so let's call ourselves something in Portuguese).

Note that the new name is not Premiere, as in "debut," but Premier, as in prime minister or, perhaps, dictator.

Detox from Fox: Starve The Beast

Don Davis's picture
Dale's picture

"I'd like you to meet Mr. Apolf Hilter."

Joe Klein's conscience's picture

Don Davis @ 6:

Meanwhile, the Bushies Scrub the Constitution.

I thought they just crumpled up the damn piece of paper and threw it in the trash.

Paul's picture

I'm sure that Premier Election Theft Systems will blaze new trails in their quest to destroy democracy in this country.

That's a pretty contemptful and cynical move on Diebold's part. Don't they know that a dog turd by any other name is still a dog turd?

Dale's picture

Joe Klein's conscience @ 8:

Don Davis @ 6:

Meanwhile, the Bushies Scrub the Constitution.

I thought they just crumpled up the damn piece of paper and threw it in the trash.

Actually, the facts are there. Just the wrong order. The Bush scrubbed his bottom with the Constitution.

moty's picture

Shouldn't it be Delacroy System ?

Simon White-Thatch Potentloins's picture

New name. Same great deception!

screech's picture

With these machines to gum up the voting works it means that to vote out a republican the numbers of voters have to be enormously huge. Anything close and the rethug wins.

Dale's picture

Iraq is to be called Lushitopia.

Roket's picture

Ah, but what’s in a name? A touch-screen voting machine by any other name would still be as corrupt. Same goes for the smell of roses and all that. These people need to get out more.

►Runs-With-Dog◄'s picture

America is no longer a Country with Government of and by the people.
It has become a Corporation with the goal of raising the per-share capita
by War and the support of its Military-Industrial-Complex. Every-goes, Killings
or any other method. The Laws have been loosened so that single wealthy individuals
can own all the Media, or supply all the energy.
If it can't be rescued in 2008, then that will probably be the end of it.

wijg's picture

"Diebold Election Systems is now PREMIER Election Systems."

Thanks... Let us not forget!

Diebold= Premier= Deception (among other things)

another-mouse's picture

you're sadly, probably correct, >Runs with Dog

anonymous's picture

Mark @ News Corpse @ 5:

Note that the new name is not Premiere, as in "debut," but Premier, as in prime minister or, perhaps, dictator.

Detox from Fox: Starve The Beast

Sorry to be so nitpicky, but why can't you guys proofread your posts? Every single day, I see (usually numerous) stupid mistakes. This is a well-regarded, and dare I say, influential blog...so PLEASE get your act together. Sometimes I'm embarrassed for you.

[Well, thanks for the effort. This is vacation time, and Nicole usually proofreads. I'll pass your embarrassment along to John. Lucky for you, your name is 'anonymous'-Sitemonitor]

Richard Ray Harris's picture

It is bait to "make happen" an interdiction..any kind...to smear otherwise perfectly peaceful groups from the political center and brand the lot of us as if we were the terrorists..the final altering of Constitutional rights. Be wise and don't even be tempted, kids. Have a nice day.

Weaseldog's picture

That pig shore has purty lipstick....

Anjoe's picture

They've finally got it right! The problem is not stealing elections, it's always been the name fer cryin out loud!

anonymous's picture

anonymous @ 19:

Mark @ News Corpse @ 5:

Note that the new name is not Premiere, as in "debut," but Premier, as in prime minister or, perhaps, dictator.

Detox from Fox: Starve The Beast

Sorry to be so nitpicky, but why can't you guys proofread your posts? Every single day, I see (usually numerous) stupid mistakes. This is a well-regarded, and dare I say, influential blog...so PLEASE get your act together. Sometimes I'm embarrassed for you.

Sorry again. Apparently the new name IS "Premier". I went to Diebold's site to check.

anonymous's picture

anonymous @ 23:

anonymous @ 19:

Mark @ News Corpse @ 5:

Note that the new name is not Premiere, as in "debut," but Premier, as in prime minister or, perhaps, dictator.

Detox from Fox: Starve The Beast

Sorry to be so nitpicky, but why can't you guys proofread your posts? Every single day, I see (usually numerous) stupid mistakes. This is a well-regarded, and dare I say, influential blog...so PLEASE get your act together. Sometimes I'm embarrassed for you.

Sorry again. Apparently the new name IS "Premier". I went to Diebold's site to check.

I'm an idiot. The original poster wasn't even saying what I thought he was saying. Now I'm embarrassed for ME. Sometimes I wish we could retract our posts...*walks off red-faced and mumbling*

yeranalyst's picture

Isn't it compounding a crime using an alias to commit it.

jr's picture

Diebold needs to be delisted from the stock market. Props to Brad Friedman

sully18's picture

Hasn`t Florida certified these machines for their 2008 election?

Samson-'s picture

the senior editor from wired was on KO and he was discussing the incredibly long list of companies that altered information on wiki, and the fact that, within a couple of hours, information can go back and forth--to extremes, etc., etc.

yet, in the end, he said they--as in wired mag--still use wikipedia as a reference source...

*bangs head against wall* ARGHHH!

just b/c wikipedia's intention was noble and for the 'betterment of info', does NOT mean that its users share this goal. in fact, call me crazy, there are those (such as faux news, CIA, NSA [hi guys!!], DOW, ADM, exxon, and diebold) that have every reason in the world to alter people's perception of their company/agency (why? b/c they function on keeping the general public ignorant and misinformed) and there is no better way to do that than be able to edit and alter, supposedly, independent sources anonymously.

and, let me remind our viewers what the founder of wikipedia, jimmy wales, said about using wiki as an academic source (Samson re-run, sorry):

Mr. Wales said that he gets about 10 e-mail messages a week from students who complain that Wikipedia has gotten them into academic hot water. “They say, ‘Please help me. I got an F on my paper because I cited Wikipedia’” and the information turned out to be wrong, he says. But he said he has no sympathy for their plight, noting that he thinks to himself: “For God sake, you’re in college; don’t cite the encyclopedia.”

http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/1328/wikipedia-founder-discoura...

Gotham's picture

Allow us to help you scrape away that awful democratic grunge from THOSE people.

When you absolutely, positively, HAVE TO elect a Soviet Premier, get:

PREMIER ELECTION SYSTEMS!

Helping the cause of class warfare in banana republics worldwide for, oh, eons now!

BlueKnuckle's picture

anonymous @ 19:

Mark @ News Corpse @ 5:

Note that the new name is not Premiere, as in "debut," but Premier, as in prime minister or, perhaps, dictator.

Detox from Fox: Starve The Beast

Sorry to be so nitpicky, but why can't you guys proofread your posts? Every single day, I see (usually numerous) stupid mistakes. This is a well-regarded, and dare I say, influential blog...so PLEASE get your act together. Sometimes I'm embarrassed for you.

Gee thanks. You're so reasonable and humane. What a gift you are to rhetoric. Keep up the good work. We are forever in your debt.

QuakerDave's picture

Lying, cheating, dissembling, thieving, criminal sacks o' crap by any other name are still...

rasta's picture

email your displeasure and comments to Wikipedia at

info-en@wikipedia.org

Paul in LA's picture

Samson- @ 28:

the senior editor from wired was on KO and he was discussing the incredibly long list of companies that altered information on wiki, and the fact that, within a couple of hours, information can go back and forth--to extremes, etc., etc.

Regardless, wikipedia is one of the biggest inventions in the history of the human race. And those edits will mostly be reversed by the leetle ants who LIVE inside the wiki. Furthermore, in college you are expected to know how to suspect ALL your sources, and confirm your facts.

Long Live Wikipedia!

another-mouse's picture

sully18 @ 27:

Hasn`t Florida certified these machines for their 2008 election?

*sigh* yes, We Did. *sobs in a corner*

So much non-love for the Wiki.... rather than be a completely spoiled American brat who whines because he didn't double check his sources like a good student should, why don't we stop challenging wikipedia for not meeting up to the standards it never claimed it would hold up to? I mean, we only have ourselves to blame, since it IS an open-edit system... we are so damned goooooood at pointing the finger for our own lack of critical thinking! it makes me want to retch. Businesses shouldn't be editing against the guildelines that Wiki set forward concerning conflict of interest edits, and people shouldn't be so gullible as to believe for an instant that an open-to-public editing system does a truth make.

/me slaps blogosphere around a bit with a large trout

earl's picture

Ladies and Gentlemen, your President:

"My Friends ... after September's um glowing report from General 'Boots on the Ground, 'ah would like to signal a new beginning, so for the final months of 'mah glorious adminstration 'ah will now be known as ... President George W. ummm ... Jones, thank yew, ah 'prec-i-ate yor inturst."

Eric's picture
Paul in LA's picture

Dale @ 7:

"I'd like you to meet Mr. Apolf Hilter."

I guess Schicklgruber Election Systems was already taken.

another-mouse's picture

LOLOL @37

What would Zeus do?'s picture

A Diebold by any other name would still smell as bad.

earl's picture

>I guess Schicklgruber Election Systems was already taken

Blackwater Election Systems seems apt ...

Samson-'s picture

34 another-mouse Says: "Businesses shouldn’t be editing against the guildelines that Wiki set forward concerning conflict of interest edits"

wow, just wow....

this seems to be wishful thinking on your part (struggling to be an inoffensive as possible)

let me know how that works out, businesses following those guidelines, that is. seriously, good luck.

i, for one, do not assume the benevolent intentions of corporations--especially when there is information to suppress. in fact, i assume the direct opposite. but that's just me.

ysbaddaden's picture

Oh if only St Petey was keeping his records on Diebold.

Jack Damage's picture

Premier or Diebold... either way it's still the same.. For the fact that they have destablized our election process thru their questionably motivated endeavor... They are still assholes by any name........................JD

muck's picture

Flash! Washing turds makes them edible! Film at 11!

ysbaddaden's picture

Paul in LA @ 37:

Dale @ 7:

"I'd like you to meet Mr. Apolf Hilter."

I guess Schicklgruber Election Systems was already taken.

So Schwanstucker Election Systems was already taken?

jersey jay's picture

Who thought an online encyclopedia that can be anonymously edited by anyone was a good idea? For christ's sake, that concept would have been a bad joke on SNL before it became a reality.

Now we're worried that concerned parties are editing it in their favor?

My suggestion, look to sources with verifiable sources.

ysbaddaden's picture

Paul in LA @ 37:

Dale @ 7:

"I'd like you to meet Mr. Apolf Hilter."

I guess Schicklgruber Election Systems was already taken.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_D7WtOHZd0

Jenny'O's picture

wow that was a slick move! gotta hand it to diebold er ah premier. now nobody will ever associate them with 'that other company'. we should give up now. these guys are way too smart for us.

aren't you happy that the wiki looki software came out? i'm as happy as a little girl:)
all these big fat cats getting exposed-again.

Larry from C's picture

...and Worldcom changed its name to MCI...but they're still Worldcom, never forget it.

Jenny'O's picture

Dale @ 7:

"I'd like you to meet Mr. Apolf Hilter."

=========================
remember Mr. Hilter from the Monty Python skit?

sherifffruitfly's picture

I hate Diebold as much as the next guy, but, um, the company REALLY DID change it's name.

How is that "scrubbing" Wikipedia, to reflect a TRUE change in the company name?

another-mouse's picture

Samson- @ 41:

34 another-mouse Says: "Businesses shouldn’t be editing against the guildelines that Wiki set forward concerning conflict of interest edits"

wow, just wow....

this seems to be wishful thinking on your part (struggling to be an inoffensive as possible)

let me know how that works out, businesses following those guidelines, that is. seriously, good luck.

i, for one, do not assume the benevolent intentions of corporations--especially when there is information to suppress. in fact, i assume the direct opposite. but that's just me.

No no, you are quite right. It's like staring Satan in the face and whining that he doesn't play fair, I admit it. doesn't make it right, though. Ignoring the issue because it's been horribly wrong for decades doesn't create a solution, either.

ysbaddaden's picture

Jenny'O @ 50:

Dale @ 7:

"I'd like you to meet Mr. Apolf Hilter."

=========================
remember Mr. Hilter from the Monty Python skit?

Look at the link on comment 47

Quie True's picture

The Diebold traitors are fundamentalist Christian fascists.

Dan's picture

I’m an idiot. The original poster wasn’t even saying what I thought he was saying. Now I’m embarrassed for ME. Sometimes I wish we could retract our posts…*walks off red-faced and mumbling*

Anonymous:

Please come back! All is forgiven. We all make mistakes. At least you are big enough to admit your errors.

And some of us are petty enough to tease you about it! tee hee hee... *smirk*

Milo Blankenstern's picture

Guys.... Guys... GUYS!!!! I have to jump in here and point out that the name of the company is now

Premier Election Solutions

Somebody messed up.

ysbaddaden's picture

I'm begining to think we'd be better off with baked clay tablets, a hammer, and a chisel.

Mmm...baked clay tablets (drool).

Cantor de Mambo's picture

Doesn't diebold mean thief in german?

Logan Murphy's picture

sherifffruitfly @ 51:

I hate Diebold as much as the next guy, but, um, the company REALLY DID change it's name.

How is that "scrubbing" Wikipedia, to reflect a TRUE change in the company name?

Read the post. It specifically says that Diebold changed the name of the voting machine division, that has nothing to do with Wikipedia. There is a link in my post to a story that shows how Diebold scrubbed negative truths about themselves from Wikipedia.

GH's picture

(German) dieb = thief (English)

Limp-Dick Blimpaugh's picture

The diebold crooks can run, but they can't hide from their cheating machines.

Cantor de Mambo's picture

GH @ 60:

(German) dieb = thief (English)

Old thief then. Got it. ;)

grmf's picture

I'm not a fan of electronic voting at all. You can blame Florida for their inability to create a ballot people could read, and Floridians that couldn't read it. Are the machines only rigged for the Presidential race? Why would they let the Democrats win congress?

[...] Crooks and Liars [...]

Cal Damage's picture

Occasionally, I've dropped my ballot, trying to get it into the flip-book we use here for voting.

Once, I even knocked over the flimsy cardboard 'booth' they give us for privacy.

I sure hope these machines can survive those kinds of accidents.

"Sorry, I must have tripped. Could I have a paper ballot, since this machine's not working?..."

Whitehouse's picture

Another link worth reading:

Whitehouse's picture
Whitehouse's picture

GH @ 60:

(German) dieb = thief (English)

Or Die bold.

As is written on that BBC link above, Diebold is trying to split the voter machine division from the main company. Could be that they try to liquidate it after that process is completed, and so Diebold voter machines dies.

Disco Inferno's picture

I would just post this post to Wiki -well, I'm sure someone already has.

Paul in LA's picture

And, TOO FUNNY, check out the new logo:

http://www.BradBlog.com/Images/DieboldPremierLogos.gif

Diebold Premier -- We Blow Bubbles Up Your Voters' Butts.

Ask your dealer for new Diebold 'reamer' Extreme.

Diebold Premier: Your solution to troublesome democracy.
Serving dictators worldwide, since 1999.

NeoCleo's picture

wijg @ 17:

"Diebold Election Systems is now PREMIER Election Systems."

Thanks... Let us not forget!

Diebold= Premier= Deception (among other things)

Premier Illection Systems & Services = PISS. Catchy, no?

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