Cyber Security

CYBER SECURITY

          

 

        We talked about the major concerns for our society and the three that were most prevalent to us were: Natural resources, climate changes and cyber security.  These were all very good presentations and really opened my eyes to the things going on around us.  Cyber security was what really caught my attention and what my presentation was on.  The world today is so plugged in and there are so many people that have taught themselves or been taught how to hack into things and get information.  It really is scary to think that the world leaders are preparing for a cyber war.  Where things are so controlled by computers makes it easy it also creates other problems that we need to be aware of.  The ordinary hacker could be able to access personal info or something huge like arming a nuclear bomb.  All very scary thoughts.  We took a lot of different examples of how our national security is affected.  I wish there was a way to go back to secrets where military needed to memorize everything and not be dependent on a zip drive or a password that can grant them all access.  I know that computers are so helpful and they can do so much for us but they are also a huge key to everything in our lives.  Our water power and computers as well as money is all in electronics that can be hacked that can be so vulnerable.  I think we really need to make cyber security a priority EVERYWHERE!

The end of Suburbia

The End of Suburbia

            The movie that we watched today in class is titled “The end of Suburbia” It is a documentary film about the end of all suburbia as we know it.  It starts out with simple life and then shows us how we have increasingly gotten bigger and bigger and more dependent on oil and natural gas and all the resources we get from other places.  Peak oil is one of the main focuses of the film peak oil is the point at which we reach and we will reach it where we run out of oil where we have “peaked” our maximum amount.

            This movie really opened my eyes to really how much energy I use in my own life and how much energy I burn.  We have so many freeways that go from one area to the next without even seeing any farm land.  There is no end to how much we grow and how much we use in our daily lives.  We are buying and consuming like there is no tomorrow.  I don’t think I know any different though I was born into this way of life and I am guilty of taking advantage of it.  We have this amazing place to live and so many things at our fingertips but what will we do when it is all gone when we have used so much that there is no more left?  That is very scary for me to think about to really step back and look at the car that I drive and the places I go.  Would I be able to do the things I like to do if I did not have my car or the gas to put into my car?  I loved the point that they made in the film that we need to be shocked into awareness; we need to start being careful now, now is the time to be aware.  I know that the way I live may or may not be the same forever but if I choose to live the same way that I do right now I realize that, that will cost a lot to live that way.    

            Another major point that was made in the film is how peak oil is going to be the reverse of globalization.  We have sent so many things over to China to be made for cheaper in order for us to buy them cheaper.  But what will happen when it is too expensive to get them back and forth when we can longer get goods from over there?  That is how the government has helped develop our way of life the life that we have right now is that we can get work for cheap over there and get goods for cheaper here.  There will be a time when the work needs to come back to us when we will need to be the workers and the farmers.  It will be a very interesting change is so many of our lives.  Will we be able to give up our suburbia? 

            I really enjoyed this movie because it helped me become more aware of what I use.  I am very excited to talk to my family members about it and see what their thoughts are and really if they have ever thought about it and the situation that we are heading for.  “We have backed ourselves into to corner” and we will need to figure out a way to function.  We will need to help create the new normal of society.   

Can we get rid of jail time?

No more Jail Time?

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/19/opinion/steinberg-juvenile-crime/index.html

            What are some changes that society could bring to pass that would create little or no jail time?  Can costs be cut to make jail cheaper? This is a question that I am not really sure I have the answer too.  I understand the concept that one must “pay” for the crimes that they have committed and that in order to do so we feel that they should stay in a cell and get free meals as well as an education or even health care.  To me something seems a little off.  There is the argument that we are hoping that they will learn something while they are in jail and hopefully get the criminal to realize that what he/she did was wrong and help them understand that they no longer want to be in that environment. 

            The article that I was reading talks about two boys that are in jail without the chance of parole. Kuntrell Jackson was caught being a lookout for some of his friends that went into a convince store and robbed it and killed the clerk.  The other case is involving Evan Miller who performed a brutal murder and went back to the scene to try and cover it up.  These 2 boys may not have the chance for parole they are to live their life in a jail cell.  “There are more than 2,500 people serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed when they were juveniles. Some were as young as 13 when they were sent to prison”.  These cases to me are very different one young man was in a since caught in the middle but did not perform a murder the other however was there and intentionally planned out the action of murder.  So who decides, who decides if Kuntrell can get out and live his life or will he need to be in jail for the rest of his life is there no other way for him to “do his time?”  This is a topic that is discussed a lot maybe there is a way for him to perform a service project of keep him under probation.  This article mentions that “In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that life without parole for juveniles convicted of crimes other than homicide violated the Constitution's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment, a ruling that extended the court's logic in its 2005 decision to abolish the juvenile death penalty. In both of these cases, the court held that because adolescents are not as responsible for their actions as adults, they should not be punished as harshly, even for the same crimes.”  I can argue back that Evan knew what he was doing he had planned to go to his neighbors house and he intentionally went back to the house to cover up what he knew was bad. That was a very adult decision. 

            I do not think that jail time can be fully done away with I believe that there are some crimes that cannot and should not be forgiven and that in some cases have caused a lot of agony and grief and if the person did get out of jail there are some that would be frightened for their lives.  But then who decides what is a crime that you can get out for and what one must stay in jail for.  I can only imagine what money we would be able to save.  I only wish there was a way to change the system to in some way help individuals know and understand that they can be good that they do not need to be a part of a gang or fall into peer pressure.  That kind of education can only be done in the home but in some cases so many homes are broken.  As you can see I have not been able to fully wrap my mind around how to really change it but I can imagine that it would be a wonderful time if and when we could be able to stop crime and be without incarceration. 

Changing dynamics in Society

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/us/politics/obamas-victory-presents-gop-with-demographic-test.html?hp

Dynamics of American Society

            During the election there were many different ways to try and gain peoples votes or to gain trust.  We as a society used to only think one way.  During the election you could see what politicians were trying to do and who they were trying to reach out to; or in a since where could the most votes come from? 

In this article that was posted in the New York Times it brings up the question who had the most “pull” in this election?  Has society changed, how and in what ways?  This article does a great job of explaining how the minorities that were never really looked at to have the most votes actually had the most pull in this election and made all the difference. The article reports; “The demographic changes in the American electorate have come with striking speed and have left many Republicans, who have not won as many electoral votes as Mr. Obama did on Tuesday in 24 years, concerned about their future. The Republicans’ Southern strategy, of appealing mostly to white voters, appears to have run into a demographic wall.”  President Obama had a total of 25% of white men, his focus on minorities made the difference.  The old way was to only try to appeal to the rich white man.  During the election President Obama looked to the minorities for support he looked at the single women in society that have a voice and that want to be able to tell their opinions when in the “olden days” women were in a since seen and not heard but the President knew they were ready to have their voice heard.  He also looked to the Hispanics and the younger adults throughout society. The article states; “this year, Mr. Obama managed to win a second term despite winning only 39 percent of white voters and 44 percent of voters older than 65, according to exit polls not yet finalized conducted by Edison Research. White men made up only about one-quarter of Mr. Obama’s voters. In the House of Representatives next year, for the first time, white men will make up less than half of the Democratic caucus.” 

The republicans as well as the democrats had a long fight, but President Obama had the right idea by looking at the minorities of society.  The Republicans only looked to the older white voters for their votes.  For me this provides a lot of insight into how society is changing and adapting.  I have always been the girl that wants to get an education and to make a name for myself and if I have a man at my side that’s great but if not I will survive either way.  I know that is not the typical view of most women but it is comforting to know that the view is changing. I think that is a great realization that the Hispanics as well as Asian Americans have stood up and are getting their opinions heard.  All of the media that was used in this last election was directed towards the minority and how they could help make a change and how they are the new way of society.  It is great to know and see that America is evolving to a new and more acceptable part of society and culture.   

This last election really showed me how the melting pot of society has adapted; the melting pot is no longer as pertinent as it once was.  The idea of society has changed into a great salad bowl, a mixture of different cultures races and most importantly views and opinions.  You no longer need to be the quiet one in the corner you can step up and step out and be heard.  The minorities can now stand up and be heard.  What a wonderful time it is to be heard and be a change.