Blogging

I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything but I plan on fixing that. I should have a post up every other week or so from now on.

NSA

What the National Security Agency is doing is awful. Citizens of the United States and foreigners should not have the NSA spying on their internet use unless there is evidence suggesting they may be a threat to national security. The problem here is the NSA is not only spying on people who may be a threat, they are spying on a large portion of the United States population .

The odd thing is there has been no uproar against private companies using a similar technique, except they are not using the information to protect national security they are using it for marketing. It seems as if people should be more upset that companies such as Microsoft and Google have virtually identical information that they glean using data mining, because they are less accountable than the government.

The reason companies can and should be able to do this is because we agree to their terms and conditions. In the terms and conditions we allow them to sell our information for marketing. If we do not want them to do this, we can simply not use the program but the government has never had us agree to anything saying they can spy on us.

We are protected from the government spying on us in this way in the fourth amendment when it says that "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." This says we are protected against unreasonable searches. What the NSA is doing is searching our internet activity without any warrant or probable cause, which is unreasonable. 


Edward Snowden, the person that released the classified documents that brought this information to light, did the right thing, but what he did was also illegal. He stole classified government property which is a crime and should be punished for it. Despite the fact he did the right thing, criminals must be given a fair trial and punished accordingly or else a precedent is set where not all criminals are punished because they did the "right" thing. 

The United States Government will continue to hunt Snowden regardless of what the American public wants, as they should, but the NSA and all those involved should be punished for what they have done. 

Syria and Russia

It seems as if the current Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on the rebels. Obama said that the use of chemical weapons in Syria would be the "red line". Even though the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons, Obama has not put troops in Syria and for good reason.

Israel, on the other hand, has taken a more direct approach to the use of chemical weapons in Syria with recent airstrikes to weapon caches held by the regime. The main reason they have taken a more direct approach is because they are very close geographically. Israel does not want Islamic extremists to take control of the Syrian government, due to the fact the Islamic extremists would want to take back the territory Israel occupies. 

On a different note about Syria, Russia has said that they will  sell S-300's to Syria even after much pressuring from other countries. S-300's are advanced air defense missile. This will not help help appease the U.S. after the recent Boston Marathon bombing. The assumed culprits had ties to Russia and it appears that Russian security forces may have known that Tamerlan Tsarnaev and his brother were extremists. Which has increased tensions between the U.S. and Russia.  

With the Russians claiming to have caught a CIA agent not long after the Boston Marathon bombing, tensions between the U.S. and Russia are becoming worse and worse. In the next few months, both the U.S. and Russia will try and help ease the tensions, though Russia may be more reluctant now. The U.S. and Russia must approach this delicately, otherwise tensions will only heighten. 

North Korea again

Well it seems North Korea is at it again, they once again have threatened the U.S. and South Korea. Not only that, there was a cyber attack on South Korea which is assumed to be from North Korea.

While it sounds obvious that North Korea is the one doing these cyber attacks it is not certain. Another possibility is that someone is trying to frame North Korea for the attacks. There are many people that may want to do this.  Though if I were to put money on it I would say North Korea was responsible.

North Korea recently warned that they could not insure the protection of the diplomats from other nations in North Korea in the event of a war. Along with the fact they withdrew workers from Kaesong and the fact they warned visitors to South Korea to be careful shows that they believe that scare tactics will work. Whether or not they will has yet to be seen.

While it is less likely it is always possible that a terrorist group may have been the ones responsible for the cyber attack.

Extremists in the Middle East may be the ones behind it, but because it has not been their style in the past to remain anonymous after an attack, I highly doubt they are the responsible party.The reason they would target South Korea is to make the U.S. retaliate against North Korea and have a war start between the U.S, her allies, and North Korea.

It could very well be a different terrorist group not originating in the Middle East. It may also be that it is a terrorist group that wants to hurt South Korea specifically and has no quarrel with the U.S. If I were to place money on  who was responsible I would say North Korea. With the continued threats coming almost daily, it is obvious they wish to at the very least make us afraid that they will attack the world.

North Korea

North Korea once again has made a move against the rest of the world, specifically the U.S. and South Korea. While technically still at war, North and South Korea have not had open conflict in many years due to an agreement that was titled the Non Aggression Act. Just recently, North Korea said that they were canceling the Non Aggression Act, which could mean war in the Korean Peninsula. But because North Korea does not have the strength to pose a major threat to the rest of the world, this is likely just a bluff.

Not only have they torn up the non-aggression act with South Korea, they have also threatened preemptive nuclear attack on the U.S. They made this claim right before the U.N. placed further restrictions on them. What the further restrictions will do to change North Korea's attitude is unknown; it could either make them change their policies to embrace more of a western ideal, or become more aggressive. However, the odds are that the restrictions won't change North Korea's attitude toward the rest of the world.

North Korea is still has quite a while to go before it will actually be a threat to the U.S. but the fact that some time in the future they may have the capabilities of shooting a nuclear missile at the U.S. is still something to be worried about.

It is unknown exactly what China will do, but they have made it quite clear that they want peace on the Korean Peninsula. China being North Korea's main ally will play a crucial role in deciding the fate of the Korean Peninsula.

It is unclear what North Korea is attempting to do here. Why North Korea would tell everyone they were canceling the Non Aggression Act is rather mysterious. If they were to go to war with South Korea it makes more sense for it to come completely out of nowhere. That way, they would have the element of surprise on their side. It may be that Kim Jong-Un is trying to show the world that he is a man to be feared, but he still knows he does not have the capability to face off against the Western World and her allies.
 

Pope resignation

This could be a very good thing for the Catholic religion, and not because Pope Benedict had his flaws, but because it sets a precedent for a pope to resign if they are unfit for duty for the church.

The reason that a pope has not resigned more recently is due to a combination of reasons. One major reason is the idea of tradition. Traditionally, popes have held office until they die. Another reason is because people become addicted to power, and because they are addicted to this power they will try to rule for as long as they can even if they are not fit for the job.

Before people start yelling at me saying the Pope is infallible, we have to see the fact that he is still human. Whether you believe that the pope directly communicates with God, or if you believe in something else, or nothing at all, we all have to admit that past popes have not always been the best people. So even if they do communicate with God, it does not make them perfect. If you want an example, look at Pope Alexander VI. 

What Pope Benedict does is set a precedent for future popes to resign if they are unfit for their service to the church, which is a great step forward for the Catholic church in general. Whether or not you agree with the Vatican, it is good for the entire world if future popes begin resigning after they are unfit for service to the Catholic church.What this will actually mean for future popes and the world as a whole is unclear, but it certainly looks like a step in the right direction. 

Women in the military

Very recently women were allowed to fight in some combat military positions. This is a step for true equality among the sexes in the U.S. The fact that women were not allowed to serve in combat roles shows just how sexist our country still is.

The idea that there is equality among the sexes in the U.S. is ridiculous. While women should be equal to men, they are not in the U.S. and it will take a while longer until they are. Women are often times not as paid as much as men simply because they are not men and only recently this has gotten media attention.

It is not just how women are paid or how they are not able to do certain jobs, it is also how they are treated on a more individual level. Many people find women to be delicate and think they are not up to the tasks that men are up to. It is true that some women can't do things men can, but there are also men who cannot do the tasks that the stereotypical man can. Going off that point there are things some men can't do that women can.

While it is not official government policy to have sexist laws, the fact that just now women are able to serve in combat positions in the military show just how sexist the U.S. still is.

The truth is that there are many differences between men and women, but neither men nor women should be treated differently just because they are a certain gender. People should be judged by the skills that they have and the skills that they lack, and not by if they are a certain gender or come from a different ethnic background.