NSA Scandal Articles

Huffington Post 
Title: Drawing the Line on Government Surveillance
The article speaks about both sides of the controversy. 

Here is an article from a liberal perspective published by The Week.
Title: The liberal case for high-tech NSA surveillance


This liberal post took me by surprise because prior to reading it I had expected it to criticize the government. However, the libertarians didn't rage against the Patriot Act. Though it may seem hypocritical, but when it comes down to it, liberals are interested in "the proper use of government to maximize common good." What makes the article a stronger case than the ones that we read in class is that this article actually revealed a time in which the government was actually able to uncover an attack before many people were injured or even killed.
Lastly, in comparison here is an article from The American Conservative.
Title: NSA blowback

Cheating

It has become plain truth that students in school are cheating. It could be little things such as asking a fellow student about they wrote for a small homework assignment to something large like cheating on an exam at school, or even worse an AP or SAT test. But if it is so obvious that these scandals are happening....why aren't school teachers and staff doing something about it? Just like Wenke, I too am worried about our generation's morality stardards plummeting even further.

As Wenke discussed in her essay, students are cracking under pressure. All that is important is getting that top grade; it doesn't matter how it is attained. The non-cheaters then worry that the top colleges in the nation that are producing our future leaders of the country, are becoming corrupt as they aren't truly accepting the real "good students". The real "good students" are often the ones with the lower grade because they're not the ones who cheated to get ahead. Instead they actually learn the information and become far more knowledgable. Shouldn't these intelligent students be the ones to be accepted into the prestigious universities?

To my surprise, after a bit of research, I realize that the cheating corruptions don't only take place in the student body at top ranked colleges. We all know about the Harvard cheating scandal, but we seem to all blame the students. Of course much of the fault falls on the students for cheating, but the school board must take some of the blame as well for admitting these "good students" who are actually just good cheaters who thought they could also cheat their way through Harvard.

Thankfully people have began investigating these top schools by looking more closely at the admissions office. Emory University in Atlanta has been submitting false data to ranking magazines in hope that they could raise their prestige and attract more top students. This reveals that not only has it become a rat race for students in high school to get ahead to be accepted in college, but it means that top universities feel pressured to compete with the other top tier schools in their league. Now knowing that even the administration of top schools are also cheating, it is no wonder that cheating scandals are being discovered within their student body. The worst thing is that if the student who cheats isn't kicked out of the university, they could just get a zero on a midterm. The disturbing part is that the lowest grade from a midterm could be dropped and it doesn't even hurt their gpa at all! If schools and universities don't take cheating seriously and actually join in on cheating scandals, the students will graduate will low moralities and continue their habits when they are leading some large corporation. I hope that one day this rat race could come to an end. But just as Wenke discussed, it will only come to a halt when pressre is taken off both students and the universities to be the very best. Sadly, the way society is headed, this future does not appear to be coming any time soon.

Speak up dammit!

Personally, I agree with Buckley. The amount of people that choose to not speak up is much larger than the population that likes to speak their mind. In a way it is probably better that more people on this planet actually possess a filter, or else we would probably be undergoing our fifth world war by now.

Just like Buckley, I am not accustomed to speaking up by "taking an initiative". I also figure that these small annoyances will eventually be resolved and it isn't necessary to storm over and make something into a bigger deal than it should be. For example if the temperature on an airplane is terribly cold I will miserably put on more layers of clothing, rather than be THAT PERSON who rudely complains. I will then sit and hope that either another passenger or a flight attendant will finally notice that the cabin has reached the temperature equivalent to Alaska and actually do something about it. Though this seems to be a common occurrence on my international flights to visit family in Asia, each time it happens I never regret being the one to stay quiet.

However there have been multiple occasions when I wished I had the nerve to speak up when there are people standing directly next to me talking about me in Chinese, not realizing that I actually understand every last word they are saying. I can only imagine the shock and embarrassment that would soon follow if I ever spoke up. But yet each time I pay no attention and pretend that I actually am the oblivious white girl they think I am. Yet I still think that nothing positive would have come out of revealing my true identity to these people. Times that call for people to complain are when something helpful could actually result from it. Sometimes people just need to speak up dammit!

Mistrust

There is no doubt that the concept "trust" dates all the way back to the beginnings of human kind. A sense of unity and trust must be established prior to the grouping of people. Usually there is a lack of trust between people when they are not familiar with each other. This can be dated back all the way to segregated indigenous tribes that fought with the clans surrounding them. Mistrust can be viewed as a survival strategy. Would you be comfortable being surrounded by convicts? I think it's safe to say that most sane people would be quite uneasy. To avoid this sense of danger, society has come up with ways to keep the general public "safe" by locking up and keeping a watchful eye on the dangerous individuals.

 

However society feels that locking up those who are known criminals isn't enough. The general paranoia has grown resulting in undercover spies and everyone that surrounds you can't be fully trusted. It has grown so out of hand that even married couples often have a prenuptial agreement. People can't even trust the person they've married! Though mistrust may seem as if it has spiraled out of hand, people have a solid reason for it.
Although nobody is truly gaining an upper hand in the situation, at least it helps the public feel as if they are "safe". Rules and regulations are made not just to catch those who commit crimes, but also to prevent some who are tempted to. In the society that we live in, mistrust is unavoidable. With the media that we have, crimes are revealed to the public in a dramatic enough way to scare the masses. Every time something dangerous happens, mistrust rises and people storm out to avoid it from happening again. Once 9/11 occurred there was suddenly a massive rush install better airport security. The same frantic rebuttal happens after every school or public shooting. People simply don't feel safe. Though sometimes mistrust gets out of hand and the measures carried out seem a bit ridiculous, there is always an underlying reason that roots back to survival strategy.

Lies at Fukushima

Often times during a time of disaster, the government will cover up a horrible situation with lies. These lies are used with the intent to create a perception that the disaster isn't as serious and will calm the public and media down. A perfect example of this is the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan as a result from the 2011 Tohuku earthquake and tsunami. There were only minor injuries caused by the earthquake but when the tsunami hit about 50 minutes later, the water flooded the low-lying rooms which contained the emergency generators. When the flooded diesel generators failed soon after, the power to the pumps that circulated coolant water to keep the fuel rods from melting was cut off. Therefore the next day, the rods overheated causing the nuclear plants to begin exploding and leaking massive amounts of radiation.

This is when the lying started. The TEPCO executives came in and said they had the situation under control and said that the level of radiation released was a manageable amount. The lying soon became obvious when scientists all around the world and the independent press began to investigate. Released readings weren't matching up and the Japanese government's cover ups were beginning to be exposed as false.

So why didn't the Japanese government and TEPCO just tell the truth? They didn't want to be embarrassed and didn't want to deal with all the troubles that are a result of the disaster.
Quite simply they lied because executives will be punished, stock prices will fall, it is bad for business, they receive horrible publicity, and they wanted to avoid legal troubles. All of these reasons were self centered and didn't take into account the lives that were being affected due to the radioactive substances released into the air, soil, and water which people depend on to live. Sadly, even two years later the problem still isn't solved nor does there seem to be any end in sight.

Gender Roles

Whether people want to face it or not, gender roles are still very prominent in todays society. Women are supposed to carry out the household duties, cook, clean, care for the children, and adhere to her husband. Husbands are "supposed to" work all day and just come home to their loving wife. As a result stereotypes and generalizations are made. Women may be seen as weaker and less competent. However men may be viewed as the stronger and more competent one, but yet they are shown as pathetic characters who can't cook. (as shown in the botton right picture)



Though the three images are portrayed from a more western point of view, the stereotypes occur worldwide. Girls and boys are raised a certain way to fit the criteria a culture sets out for them and it is very unusual for a girl to assume a boy's job and vice versa. The story of Mulan especially stands out because she crossed the border of the perfect young lady she was supposed to become. Some women from strict cultures, such as the Chinese, don't fit the glove. Even though customs demand it, not all Chinese girls want to be that perfect daughter who acts, dresses, and serves to the men like a lady. Thankfully, the stereotypes have subsided a bit. They are still very prominent in today's society all over the world, but at least the situation has improved. At least it is acceptable for women to join the army now. But unfortunately stereotypes still remain. To this day women are still seen as less competent and weaker than the men out on the field beside them.



Gender stereotypes are difficult to fight out. It's plain fact that women are built differently than men and were made to serve different roles. However I believe that not all these roles should be set in stone and women should be able to make their decision of the type of life they personally want to live without society looking down upon them for crossing the line. I do realize that this is a lofty wish as cultures are not easily mended, but maybe one day women can stand closer to equal ground by men.

Living Hell

I don't have a distinct faith that I believe in. The only religion I somewhat understand is Buddhism because it is the dominating religion my Taiwanese family practices. Back in America, religion isn't a part of my life. However just like anyone, I have those days where I think "gee, this is what hell must feel like".

Typically six days a week I endure living hell. Fall seems like the worst season to have cross country. The heat and dust make running dirt trails seem horrible. Speed workouts on the track aren't any better. Cross country puts a whole new name on "track workout". Twenty 400s in three minute intervals, leaving less than a minute and a half of rest between each of them is quite simply, TERRIBLE. I've ran three seasons of track, and yet when the coach announces a track workout during cross country season I'm ready to go pick out what type of marble I want my tombstone to be made out of. The other terrible type of speed workout are timed miles on a hilly terrain such as on Thompson in Browns Valley. After about the third mile repeat, each mile seems to feel like the length of California and it is always when you start to slow down out of exhaustion, that our coach comes out of nowhere on his bike and yells at you to pick up the pace.




The only thing worse than exhausting speed workouts are the races. It truly sucks when you have to hike a mile uphill just to get to the starting line and you're already tired before actually racing. What makes cross country an extremely hard sport is that it's not only physical strength but also mental. Without being mentally motivated to run, the task becomes impossible. Getting on the start line with over a hundred girls at big invitations such as the Stanford Invitational (picture below), is beyond intimidating. At races like this, it becomes apparent that cross country can actually be classified as a contact sport. The start is full of tripping and elbowing, often causing false starts when whole groups of runners fall down within the first 100 meters.



So...why do people actually participate in this painful sport? Answer: WE'RE CRAZY.
Through the pain and sweat, somehow it feels so rewarding that we keep doing it over and over again. Now as the girls captain of cross country, I still look back on my years and wonder why I run cross country if it's living hell, but I have no better answer than there's something wrong with me.