tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post2510093581243538187..comments2023-10-22T09:18:16.885-04:00Comments on Far and Wide: AgendasSteve Vhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04871113039374739208noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20358187.post-52606082301091863532012-03-18T10:20:49.975-04:002012-03-18T10:20:49.975-04:00RoboCon Time Capsule
http://creekside1.blogspot.ca...RoboCon Time Capsule<br />http://creekside1.blogspot.ca/2012/03/robocon-time-capsule.html<br />Seen from today, one of the more startling aspects of the RoboCon live and automated calls story is just how much we already knew about how widespread it was nine months ago.How did we come to forget/accept all this? The depressing election results appear to have swept it all away. <br />May1, 2011 CBC : "....voters are being told to go to the wrong polling stations — some up to an hour away from their homes" in Winnipeg-South Centre and Kitchener-Waterloo.<br />May 2, 2011 Media Co-op : <br />"Residents from Prince George, BC, to St. John's, NL, are reporting receiving calls informing them that their local polling stations have been closed or have been moved.According to the CBC, Elections Canada was first contacted about the issue on Saturday. Since then, people from across the country have been reporting such calls, many saying they are receiving automated "robo-calls." <br />... Guelph, Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton & Prince George." <br />May 2, 2011 CBC : <br />"Elections Canada has reports from at least 3 provinces (Ontario, Manitoba, and BC) of misleading phone calls, claiming to be from Elections Canada. They tell voters to go to other polling stations than the ones listed on their voter information cards, "due to high turnout." <br />CBC News has done some digging and when they called the 1-800 number left on the message, they got a recording saying the number was out of service. But CBC News traced a caller ID to an unlisted Montreal area code. It rang through to a pre-recorded message that said, <br />"Pierre?? (Inaudible) Uh oh. There's no room to record messages. Please hang up and try your call again later. Bye." <br />May 2, 2011 The Star "Elections Canada receptionist Adele McAlpina said she had received about 100 complaints by mid-morning." From one district. May 6, 2011 London Free PressLondon Lib MP reports calls from people saying the polls had been moved.<br />"His campaign office received complaints about the calls that "call display" features showed originated in Florida and the Dakotas, he said"<br />May 11 2011 CBC posted a recording of robocall purporting to be from Elections Canada about a bogus polling station change in Guelph. They also reported live harassment calls made in the middle of the night targeting "Oakville, St. Catharines, Haldimand-Norfolk, Simcoe Grey, Guelph, Eglinton-Lawrence, St. Paul's and Mississauga East-Cooksville. The calls were also made in Egmont, P.E.I., and St. Boniface, Man".<br /> <br />May 22, 2011 G&M :<br />Bogus phone messages that mislead voters about their polling stations have caused widespread disruptions in at least two provinces: Ontario and B.C. The false messages appear to be clustered primarily in ridings where close races are anticipated, meaning a small swing in voting preferences could mean the margin between victory and defeat. <br /> Elections Canada returning officer said he received hundreds of complaints about it.<br /> <br />There are scads more of these news stories from the time of the last election. Note they contain peoples' names and statements and the many ridings they live in - thus making the Con strategy of calling it "a few mistakes" and trying to contain it to just Guelph more than a little ridiculous. <br /> <br /> <br />Bonus : Yesterday, an anonymous commenter linked to what MP Garth Turner had to say about the Cons' CIMS voter database back in October 2007 : Someone is watching you<br />"Conservatives were required to use the system to not only track a constituent's allegiance to the party, but also to collect personal information about constituents that might come to light when the constituent contacted the parliamentarian."Any time a constituent is engaged with a member of Parliament, they get zapped into the database," Turner said. "It's unethical and it's a shocking misuse of data."Jerry Pragerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09054428435443042500noreply@blogger.com