NSA Articles

Articles about the NSA

“New Snowden Leak Reveals the NSA Planted Agents inside ‘World of Warcraft’,” Paul Tassi, Forbes

The NSA planted agents inside online video games for surveillance in their fight against terrorism. Follows the trend of the NSA doing ridiculous surveillance with no tangible results. Tassi argues that the NSA overextends its resources on ridiculous and ultimately fruitless endeavors.

“Keep Spying on Foreigners, NSA,” Eric Posner, Slate

This article argues in favor of NSA surveillance of other countries, this article argues that the NSA should continue spying on other countries because we have no reason not to. He says that the U.S. has an edge in surveillance and we should try to keep it.

On the first article: When I first saw the title for this article I will admit that I thought I was reading The Onion. The NSA is spying on a bunch of  thirteen-year-olds. I was unaware that demographic was a primary threat to national security. But a few Google searches proved me wrong: many articles across the internet mention this. According to the NSA “Terrorists use online games – but perhaps not for their amusement,” it says. “They are suspected of using them to communicate secretly and to transfer funds.” Oh. Another good reason to keep your kids off the computer, eh? This whole thing seems kind of ridiculous to me. The amount of time and manpower it would require to infiltrate these games, find the terrorists, and stop them seems excessive. The article mentions that the NSA has tried to recruit other players, but lets be honest, a 13 year old boy would not react well if he was asked to assist the NSA in spying on terrorists on his favorite video game. Either he would say "**** off, ******!" or he would think he's a secret agent or something. In any case, this does not seem like a good way to spend taxpayer money. While the released document says “Al-Qaida terrorist target selectors and … have been found associated with Xbox Live, Second Life, World of Warcraft, and other GVEs [Games and Virtual Environments],” the document says. “Other targets include Chinese hackers, an Iranian nuclear scientist, Hizballah, and Hamas members.” I'm not so sure that their activities online are a major threat to our national security. 

Cheating: An American Problem?

There are countless examples of cheating in the United States: The Lehman Brothers, Joe Biden, and more recently Rand Paul. In Wenke's essay "Too Much Pressure" cheating is only discussed as an American problem. Clearly it is not a problem confined to the United States, but is it as bad everywhere else?

 In 2006, Vladimir Putin was accused of having plagiarized 16 of 20 pages that open a key section of his dissertation "The Strategic Planning of Regional Resources Under the Formation of Market Relations" from "Strategic Planning and Policy" published by two academics from the University of Pittsburgh. As one would guess, Putin has denied or ignored the allegations. In the St. Petersburg Times article states "Dubious academic credential-building was common in Eastern Europe..." As we discussed in class, using someone else's words as your own in a paper is considered normal, and even respectful to the professor.  
This leads me to believe that we are not so much worse here than everywhere else, and that we should not worry so much about incorrectly citing a source. But it is important to acknowledge the line between doing your own work with the assistance of others' ideas and molding someone else's work to fit your assignment. It is also important to have strict punishments for crossing that line and cheating in other ways, because if we don't then we will continue to have scandals such as this one.

Complaints

Yes, as Buckley says, a major reason why we don't complain is because we expect others to do it for us. No, neither he nor I mean it in the sense that we are too lazy to do it, but rather we believe that our actions will be fruitless. We think that there are so many other people out there in the same position, one of them is bound to speak up. Unfortunately, one of the issues with this is that if we all think like that, nobody actually complains.

People today also complain less than they used to because of our media. We are constantly bombarded by the most sensational stories in the world.  This gives us two more reasons why we shouldn't complain. When we are always hearing about a crisis of the most dire magnitude, all of our problems seem petty. How can you complain about the quality of your food when there are millions of starving people in the world who would give anything for a scrap? This is not to say that there weren't people starving worldwide one hundred years ago, but people feel closer to these hardships when they see them on TV or read about them online than they did one hundred years ago.

Our desire to complain is also affected from the opposite end of the spectrum by our media. Movies, documentaries, and television shows also showcase people like Jackie Siegel (shown below)

who are excessively rich and complain about money issues (as in questioning whether or not her family can afford a $75,000,000+ customized mansion). Those of us on social media surely (I wouldn't know) see dozens of comments daily about getting the wrong toppings on their pizza, not having time to eat breakfast, etc. Being exposed to all of these unworthy complaints leads us to think less of those that complain about anything less than the death of a family member. So we keep our mouths shut, even when our complaints are valid.

I do not have that much to complain about, and when I do, it usually can't be solved by complaining about it. When I do however, I usually have a pretty good reason. Last year, my AP Physics class got off to a rocky start. It was my teacher's first year teaching an AP class. So I went to my counselor, and through my counselor administration, and complained about it. While obviously it was not his fault, there was much more that the students, my teacher, and the rest of the staff could do to make things better. I complained on this occasion because it seemed like that was the only way to get anything accomplished. If nobody had said anything (and some of my classmates did as well), then nothing would have changed. Thankfully, it all worked out in the end.

Mistrust in America: Winners and Losers

Winners: Politicians (I sort of covered this in my last post) As we all know, politicians lie. But as most of us don't know, so do our congressmen, not just everybody else's. Recently there was a poll asking Americans whether they would "fire" every member of congress if they could. Over six in ten people said yes,congressional reelection rates are almost always above 80%. Why is this? Because they can convince their constituents that they are different. They are the honest, well meaning one among all of the politicos. They hand out enough favors and kiss enough babies for us to vote for them, and they get to stay in office.

Winners: Ad Agencies and TV Stations. In an age where we do not trust much of what we see, companies (and politicians) believe that the best way to promote themselves is through repetition. Whether they are lying or not, if they tell Americans often enough and for long enough, they will believe it. They run commercials over and over until it is ingrained in the mind of the American people, and they pay dearly for it. For some reason, this method does not work on me: I have seen "Method Hand Wash" commercials so many times that I want to shove some of their hand wash down the bearded guy's throat.

Winners: The NSA, TSA, and all other surveillance organizations. In a world where nobody trusts anybody, they have more work than ever. They have become of ever increasing importance since 9/11, and have gained a lot of power in America. The only downside: nobody trusts them either.

Winners: Social Media Websites. In a time where everybody wants to appear a certain way, have a certain image, look a certain way, etc. people flock to these websites so they can project themselves how they want to, and see the image of themselves that everyone else tries to project. The ease of lying about what you or your life is really like is very attractive to  Americans today, and social media is perfect for taking advantage of it.

Losers: Everyone else. While it may seem overly broad and unreasonable to say that all Americans are affected by this trend, it's true. We are constantly being bombarded by lies or partial truths from everybody, including each other. This leads us to be less intelligent and less informed. We are manipulated and abused by people in power and because of these tendencies can do nothing about it collectively. It seems we are doomed to live in a society of lies and falsehoods.

"My name is Sarah Palin, you all know me..." - Sorry, Mrs. G. (she's just the picture)

I was told today by a source from inside the classroom that "she talked about the essays and political lies etc." in class today (I am at home sick for all those who didn't notice). I hate to miss a chance to talk about politics. I think politics are fun. You can always tell when a politician is lying: its always. Everything they say is a lie, at least under my definition of the word. It's their job to bend the truth (whatever that is) every which way to make it fit the ideals of the most people. Their game is a difficult one to play, and the nature of it makes blunders all the more entertaining.



 

 Anyways my aim was not to make fun of less fortunate politicians (or was it?), it was to say something intelligent about lying. Deceiving, misleading, inventing, misinforming. I think it also includes not telling the whole truth, for that in it self is a form of misinformation. Under such a broad definition, even the simplest of truths becomes a lie. Obviously all of us have lied, on purpose or not. Now as we have read, one can categorize lies many different ways, but that itself is a lie; defining something as a category. As you may be able to see by now, discussions of lying lead to circles of paradox that we as humans can't understand or talking about without lying, misinforming, mistaking, misleading, etc. once again (at least I can't).

But that leads me to my main point. We do not have the authority or understanding to really discuss the subject, because everything we say about lies is itself a lie. I have really confused myself (which means I lied to myself?) thinking about this. I should not attempt to write while ill. Or late at night. I would say I never will again, but really, how many times have we told ourselves that lie...

"So Easy A Husband Could Do It."

Think back to a few years ago. Do you remember the ads from Geico featuring the caveman? Saving money with Geico is "So Easy a Caveman Can Do It!" It worked pretty well for them. Unfortunately for whoever ran this ad that success may not transfer when the slogan refers to husbands cooking potatoes.


This, obviously, communicates that men cannot cook. They should be the bread winners not bread bakers (or in this case, potato makers). But this wonderful product is so simple and so easy, that even husbands are able to cook it! But it is implied that without this special potato (?) men could not cook. So only women are supposed to be able to cook. Really? Before this potato came to be, men could never cook?

Throughout the past week, we have read essays about and discussed gender stereotypes which are (unfortunately) still prevalent today as clearly displayed in this ad. Women are slaves of the kitchen and men do all of the real work. As the child of parents who both work (and are both very good cooks) I find these gender stereotypes ridiculous. It seems to me that they should no longer exist in this day and age, but I suppose it is difficult to change a nation's way of thinking. Hopefully it will change with time, and men will be able to cook more than one brand of potatoes.

Not the Best Eternity...

Hell. It is not flames engulfing me for an eternity. It is not some fallen angel prodding me with a trident. It is not some special ring of torture god would prescribe for me. It is everything and nothing. It is endless pain and the lack of feeling. It is the antithesis of experience, yet the worst of them all.

As I first descend into Hell I am blasted by burning, unrelenting light. It burns every part of my being, searing me to my very core. Hotter and brighter than the largest forge, I am melted into a body of pain. At the same time, my eardrums seem to shatter as a sound wave louder and deeper than any heard on earth reaches my ears. My whole body shakes violently as it overpowers me. My skin is being torn off; slowly, brutally, down to the bone. The worst imaginable combination of stench and taste causes me to vomit up acid from my stomach, constantly replenished as necessary.


True sensory overload slowly destroys me. Just as I feel like I am numbing to the pain, it renews its vigor. I cannot take it. I beg and beg for it to stop, and just as I think I can take it no longer, it stops. I thank God, Satan, anybody who I think would listen. I relax and wonder what comes next, is that all? My body does not seem to be functioning, I cannot feel, see, smell, taste or hear anything. After days of patient waiting  for my senses to come back, I come to a horrifying conclusion: they are not coming back. There is no change, there is nothing. My mind is left to wander. Days turn to weeks, weeks to months, but before years I begin to lose my sense of time completely. The darkness, the nothingness itself begins to burn. I realize my thoughts are no longer normal, my consciousness is dying. Not only are my senses dead, by my sanity is dying quickly.

I long for anything, even that overpowering blast of ultimate pain, even just for a moment I wish for my body to be affected in some way by something. Thoughts descend into desires or impulses, both animalistic and vague, that cannot be acted upon, because I cannot do anything. I can no longer think and only know an unending lack of everything until the blasts of pain decide to return.

Caring for America

Today we read an article titled "What, Me Care?" It stated that our nation's current college students are much less empathetic then they were thirty years ago. People have been saying things like that forever: nostalgia. They miss the "good old days" from when they were younger and think that people are just getting worse. Usually there is no statistical evidence to prove their point, but this article contains some legitimate studies. While it seems like some of the studies they cite may be flawed, as a high school student, I see their point.

Both "Today's College Students Lack Empathy" and "Generation Me: Study Finds College Students Lack Empathy" say that social media is to blame. That theory is proven daily at my school. Communicating, and in some sense living, online is putting distance between people. They are willing to say more offensive things when they are not face to face. They don't connect with other people in the same way when they have discussions with people via Facebook rather than in person. And, what I believe is primarily leading to the decline of empathy, they are constantly bombarded with stories, pictures and emotional moments. They see both terrible and beautiful things constantly over both social media and on the news, which now focuses primarily on "sob stories" or the most extreme news they can find. Constantly seeing things that would have moved the previous generation to tears has made those things normal. They see them so often that they no longer have meaning.

This phenomenon has become increasingly obvious in our society. People don't care about each other like they used to; they have a tendency to personalize everything. Their feelings towards others do not compare to their own. It has gone so far that movies have been made on the subject of the decrease in empathy and kindness in American society. Social media and the internet in general and a large part of this problem, and "What, Me Care?" brings up issues that we must be wary of as a society, or it will only get worse.

*Insert Clever Title Here*

Both of the essays we read yesterday (or today) both present a problem that we as a society have no solution to right now. Kozol asks in "Human Cost" if "we possess the character and the courage to address a problem which so many nations, poorer than our own, have found it natural to correct?" Can we solve our country's illiteracy problem? We have yet to find a solution. The excerpt is both moving and disturbing. The dream Kozol relates to the reader in the beginning of the excerpt about being stuck in Russia without a translator helps them understand better what it would be like to be illiterate, because it is difficult for most people to imagine not being able to read. The reader must pity the people who have grown to adulthood without learning to read because the examples he provides are terrible to comprehend. Humans without the ability to read are almost as inhibited in their everyday lives as those without smartphones.

In "On Compassion," Ascher brings up the problem of homelessness in our country. While discussing homelessness is not the main focus of her essay, the men she describes are homeless and in need of aid. Her two main examples in the essay are two different homeless men. The first is walking on the street when a woman tries to hand him a dollar out of compassion (or fear). At first he does not know how to react, but accepts the money. The second homeless man walks into a restaurant and is handed some coffee and some bread. It is habitual, rather than a one time incident. Ascher also mentions a good-intentioned effort to house the homeless in a hospital during winter that she did not think was workable. She thinks it is wrong to force them to go anywhere; it violates their rights. Good intentions are not always enough, and in this case she believes the governments' efforts were not helpful, as the efforts of the government to have an educated citizenry are shown to have failed in "Human Cost." Both essays bring up an issue that most people don't realize the extent of because it seems impossible to them, but through use of well-chosen examples lead the reader to have a better understanding of the topic.

Tutoring...GAH!

At the moment, I am spending anywhere from 10-16 hours a week tutoring. Its tough. Generally, I enjoy it: it can be lots of fun. But at the moment I am trying to start an after school tutoring program for our school's science department. Our school already has one for Mathematics and one for English. To the best of my knowledge, they are regularly attended by both tutors and students who need help. I, however, have encountered a few problems. My program was not printed on the schedule for tutoring programs and teachers told their students it was in the wrong room. I have had three days for which I have not had enough students to be productive, and two days for which I have had too many students, and needed more tutors.
This is just the beginning.

When I came up with the idea, I wanted it to be more of a study hall. It would be somewhere that people would go if they needed help with homework, or wanted to see what they did wrong on a test. Most importantly, it would have been for science in general (including AP classes?) rather than only college prep chemistry. Right now, it is just kids from two teachers' chemistry classes who come after they fail their tests and want to retake them. Don't get me wrong, it has been a worthwhile experience so far. It is just very far from my expectations, and a LOT more work that I thought it would be.

The other 9-14 hours have been going well and I'm really enjoying them. I am tutoring both AP Calculus and AP Chemistry classes during the day, and have two other students outside of school. Calculus is always interesting and I feel like I actually make a difference in the classroom. All things considered, I think I am doing pretty well and am happy to be spending so much time doing something I enjoy. Despite many frustrations and complications, I think that everything will eventually fall into place.

Helping the Neighbors...

It was the first day of school. A few of my friends were leaving for college soon. The last thing I wanted to do was helping my neighbors set up for their party. I went over to their house right after school to get started. I unpacked some new chairs. It's surprising how difficult it is to remove bubble wrap that's tied around the leg and arm of a chair. I proceeded to wash some tables and chairs and then set them in their places. My neighbor Betty was organizing the party for her husband Bill. She is generally very organized and plans out how everything is going to go months in advance. Since it was the 60th reunion of the 1953 graduating class of the California Maritime Academy, which is a huge event for her and her husband, I would have guessed she would be even more worried about particulars than usual. I was fully prepared for the disappointing "No, I'm sorry honey," that I expected when I asked her if I could go say goodbye to my friends before they left for college. Thankfully, she said I could go as long as I was back in time to help with the party itself.  I breathed a sigh of relief and left .

As soon as I got home I rushed over. Now that everything was set up, it was time to begin preparing food and drink. Thankfully, my mother and a caterer were also there to help. We set up snacks for when the guests arrived fairly quickly. Then -lucky me- I had the privilege of moving about twenty bottles of alcohol to their makeshift bar outside. Unfortunately (for many reasons), my mom got to be the bartender. After we were all set up we had a few minutes of down time before the guests arrive. We sat down and made small talk, but my mind was focused on the soon to arrive guests. Were they going to be bitter and cranky? Would the be fully mobile? Would they be like my neighbors? I didn't know. All I knew about them was that they were going to be old.

When they arrived Betty asked me to take some pictures of them at the event. I awkwardly wandered around, snapping photos of these people  I had never met. I got some action shots of them laughing and talking, and of them passing around a phone talking to a former classmate who couldn't make it. I even got a few pictures of my mom mixing drinks (with at least some success). I talked for a little while with some of the attendees as I passed around appetizers, and they were very pleasant people. I told them about my visit to their former school with my math class in eighth grade (which was very enjoyable). They were excited to hear that I had been there, and wondered if I were planning to apply there this fall. After a while, it was time to start dinner.

Laura, the caterer, began to prepare the  bourbon burgers and hot dogs. Their grill was in quite an unfortunate position. The smoke was blown right into the center of the party, and right into my nostrils and mouth. After a bit of coughing, I placed the condiments, sides, and buns outside. After the food was cooked, the guests accepted plates and food gratefully as my mom and I served them. Once they were all seated, the three helpers finally had time to sit down and eat. I don't know if it was just because I had been working and I was hungry, but the food was amazing. The burger was the most perfectly cooked food I have ever tasted. It was so soft that I could barely tell when I had bitten into it. The whole day would have been worth it just to eat that. When we finished eating, we got back to work serving desserts to the guests, which most of them accepted. That was a good day to indulge in some sugary desserts. As the party began to wind down, we mingled for a little while with the guests. All of them graciously expressed their gratitude, and said that we had done a great job. They all seemed so pleased to be there, and I realized how much this event meant to them. I was happy to have helped put it together for them, and I ended up enjoying it a lot myself.

Old vs. New

The ages old struggle between tradition and progress has manifested itself in the classroom once again. English teachers at all levels are now debating whether or not to continue assigning essays and term papers, or to start asking students to show their writing skills through blogs. Some advocate for keeping curriculum restricted to more formal types of writing. Others say the opposite. Naturally, it is nearly impossible to say with any certainty exactly what is best, as it is different for each person.

Before this year, much of the writing I have done for my English classes has been more traditional. While I have had to write in the occasional journal, almost everything has been an essay or essay-like, and none of it as been online. To be honest, I have not enjoyed writing that much. Blogging for English class is a new experience for me. From what I have learned in my limited experience, I think it is a positive addition to the variety of ways I have been asked to express my ideas in English classes, at least in some ways. Blogging  seems to be more personal and less formulaic. I can look at my peers' work and ideas to help me better understand my own.

Despite my dislike for the highly structured writings of my past, there are some important benefits of writing in  those forms both for the writer and the grader. The structure of the formal essay makes it (with practice) easier to write. If you are familiar with the structure of an essay, writing one seems natural. Once you have your ideas it is fairly easy to express them on paper, and you almost always know what to put in your next sentence. If you actually stick to the structure, this prevents some of the rambling that seems inevitable when you are not following it. This form also makes it easier for the person grading it, as they know exactly what to look for.

As you can almost certainly tell by now, I do not know too much about the subject. What I do know comes from other peoples opinions and my readings. I feel like I need more experience blogging to understand exactly what I think is best. At the moment, I believe that writing in both forms throughout the class is best for my education. Even though I do not know much, the little that I am aware of leads me to fear the extremes. While I believe it is safe to lean a bit to one side, only writing essays or solely posting in blogs could be harmful.

Being restricted to formal writing throughout my English career has pushed me away from the subject. Especially when I was younger I did not understand the value of formal writing, and did not take it seriously. Additionally, confining students to formulaic writing could stifle their creativity ability while writing. At the same time, blogging without any structured writing could lead to students' writing lacking in concentration or focus. Not only is it more difficult to write coherently without having a specific form to follow, it is also more difficult to formulate ideas and express them in ways that other people can understand. As with almost everything else, straying too far to the extremes is bad, they often don't make much sense...but they do make good memes.

ALIENS!!!!!

About Me

Hello! Before I start writing on this blog, I'm going to tell you all a little bit about myself. The first thing you generally find out about someone is their name, but for me that will not be the case. I am writing this blog, which shall surely be exciting and very readable, for my AP Composition class. I am currently a senior in high school, and am excited to be finishing up high school after three long years. School has been a huge part of my life, especially the last couple years. After being bored with my relatively easy schedule freshman year, I decided to take three honors and two AP classes. Since then I have been doing everything I can to challenge myself in school, trying to take the toughest schedule possible (or at least close to it) including classes at the city college, and hopefully some online this year.

Nothing too interesting has happened so far in my life, unfortunately. When I was four, my parents and I (yes I am an only child) moved to Texas to help advance my father's career. Thankfully, two years later we moved back to Napa (the weather is so much better here.) I haven't traveled much, and have never left the United States, the closest I got being the border with Mexico on a trip with the high school orchestra, which I have the honor of being a part of. I have been playing the violin since fourth grade, but have not put in as much time as I should have.

 My other main extracurricular is tennis. This spring will be my fourth season on the Napa High Tennis team, and I cant wait. We are going to do better this year (hopefully) and I am already excited even though it is months away. I enjoy watching professional tennis, and its stuff like this that keeps me entertained. Agnieszka Radwanska (the player from the video) is currently my favorite player, and is ranked number three in the world. I went to the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford over the summer and not only got to see her play, but got her to sign the back of my shirt!

You can almost read it!

 Besides watching tennis, I also enjoy reading in my spare time. I am currently reading The Travels of Marco Polo. While its legitimacy and accuracy are questionable, I am enjoying it because I love learning about history and other cultures. Saying I do not enjoy writing as much as reading would be quite the understatement. I hope that my blogging this year in AP Language and Composition will change that. So far all I can say is that I like this more than essays. Anyway, I hope to enjoy this year as  much as I have the past few, and will be posting again soon!

-Evan V