Privacy

Privacy is something that we lose more and more each day as technological advancements improve. The government basically has a "portrait of how private citizens interact. It is a disturbing trend that we see all too often.

Facial recognition is one of those applications that have undergone advancements as time has gone on, as displayed in the first Ted Talk. The unsettling thing that is associated with this, is when you open your photos and it displays examples of all the people who you have taken pictures with.

The automatic license plate reader is another one of those applications that is intrusive to people's privacy. License plate readers also known as LPR's convert information on your car into real time information and machine readable texts. They will then cross-check this information on dozens of databases to make sure that your car is not stolen or that you have any outstanding warrants for your arrest. 

While this might seem like a harmless thing, LPRs are not just being used for those reasons and instead, they are utilized to track people's everyday moves and actions. People have recently asked for information based on these allegations and the information that the government has access to far exceeds citizen's comfort level.

This issue is not isolated to only the United States, as mentioned in the 2nd Ted Talk, as the UK also uses these systems. To add to this issue, LPRs are not the only mass tracking system around. A technique known as a cell tower dump, gives law enforcement officers the ability to see who was using their cell phones during a given time. Police departments around the world use this high tech surveillance equipment that often invades people's personal property. 

Telephone companies are to be blamed just as much as other big corporations. I found it interesting when the speaker said that "telephone companies built surveillance features into the very core of their network".

This basically means that when you are talking to people on the phone, anyone who has access to the systems inside your phone will have the ability to access or listen to your conversations. This could be an example of the government spying on your conversation leading to data leaks and confidentiality breaches. These intruders can even be disguised as a hacker or a stalker. 

There are several government officials through the world that think that "government should have unlimited access to emails, texts, phone calls"  .

Revenge porn is the next topic that the Ted Talks talked about, and it is defined as when people post nude or disturbing photos of a person as a means of exhibiting revenge for something that they did in the past. This could be as small as a word that they said or a breakup. According to a study that was explained in the Ted Talk, 1 in 25 women are victims of revenge porn. Incredibly, that number goes to 1 in 10 for people under the-age of 30.

 

When it comes to this topic, internet companies are very non compliant. Cases often fall through the cracks because of the lack of international cooperation. This is where it becomes helpful for the government to have access to this personal information as it helps with solving criminal investigations.

Privacy is something that we have the right to keep private, but more and more, the government continues to push the boundaries of our privacy. More has to be done to set limitations and safeguard against what the government has access to. 

EOTO 1 Post

The history behind the ballpoint pen and paper is extensive and something that is often overlooked in today's society. 

According to the American Forest and Paper Association, paper was invented in the 8th Century.

The place of this discovery was Le Yang China and this is where this invention occurred. Inventors in China “took communication to the next level crafting cloth sheets to record their drawing and writings." The creator and person credited with this creation was TsAi Lun, who worked as a Chinese Court Offical. 

Though we make paper out of tress today, back then they had a much more complex plan to creating paper. This process wasn't easy and was very time consuming. In order to do this, they mixed mulberry bark, hemp and rags with water, mashed it into pulp, pressed out the liquid and hung the thin mat to dry in the sun. 

It wasnt until over 300 years later that this invention had made its way over to other countries, and they were starting to find out about this discovery.

Paper mills would start to be built in Spain and then all over different countries. 

It wasn't until 1690 until the first paper mill was built here in the US. This was in Pennsylvania, and the Americans used a similar way to make the paper. It included shredding old rags and cloths into fibers to make the papers. As time went on, the demand increased, and they changed to how we know it today which is utilizing fibers from trees. 

For two decades, the mill in Pennsylvania would remain the only mill in the colonies, and for the next two centuries the city would remain the center of paper manufacturing and publishing. By 1880, Americas had become the largest producer of paper goods in the world. 

Paper has played a pivotal role in many civilizations, especially by allowing for more private communication and creativity in written culture. 

When we think of Paper we also think of "Pens", Like "Paper and Pen" thats why I also chose to reaserch Ball Point Pens. The name Ball Point comes from the concept of a “ball point” within a writing instrument to write on a paper!

According to the Online Pen Company, the origin of the ballpoint pen was created by John J. Loud.

Loud's goal was to create something that would be able to write on things other than paper, but would soon find out that it wouldn't happen and the process would take much longer than anticipated.

After Loud's unsuccessful attempts at the ballpoint pen took place and were not sucessful it wasnt until a Hungarian man named Laslo Biro, came up with a new design based on quick drying newspaper ink that the ballpoint pen really started to gain traction and a following. 

Biro was working as a journalist when he noticed a difference between two types of ink. 

Biro needed to combine the qualities of both inks to perfect the design. It consisted of a ball that freely rotated in a socket. Moving the pen across the page made the ball rotate, where it picked up ink from a reservoir and applied it to the page. The Biro pen was the first successful ballpoint writing instrument and what most people use daily as their main writing instrument.

Things did not always work out though, In the mid 19th century the market for ballpoint pens had become more crowded and the demand decreased. This was until Parker released the Jotter in in 1954, selling millions in less than a year that interest and requirement for the ballpoint pen took off again. 

The demands then again increased becuase of the amount of people interested in these products. 

This has changed today's world because it allows for writing to be communicated easier. Just think about what a world without pens would be like?

Even today as a student, I often use ballpoint pens for all of my handwrititng requirments. They have become as essental as my phone/laptop to aid in my productivity.

8 Values

Listed below, are the Eight Values of Freedom.  These values of free expression are among the most important models that help protect us and our government, while also allowing us the opportunity to express ourselves.

1. Marketplace of Ideas

2. Participation in self-government

3. Stable Change 

4. Individual Self-Fulfillment

5 Check on Governmental Power

6. Promote Tolerance

7. Promote Innovation 

8. Promote Dissent 

These Eight Values of Freedom all have various and distinct meanings associated to them.

Starting with the Marketplace of Ideas, the meaning behind this revolves around the notion that truth "will emerge from the competition of ideas in free, transparent public discourse and concludes that ideas and ideologies will be selected according to their superiority or inferiority and widespread acceptance among the population." This concept was created by John Milton, an English poet and philosopher known for his work in Areopagitica in 1644. Areopagitica is among the most influential speeches defending the right to freedom of speech and expression. 

Participation in self-government is one of the most important values, as it translates to the belief that when we participate in elections, we are participating in government. As a participant in an election, it is important to make informed decisions based on information that we have gathered from our candidates. 

Stable change is defined as citizens being allowed to speak their minds without repercussions of being charged or fined for the things that they say. 

Individual Self-Fulfillment gives people the freedom to express themselves and allow for them to promote  their own identity.  

Those are just some of the definitions of the eight, but the one that intrigued me the most was "Promote Tolerance". Lee Bollinger argues that the "institution of free speech, established by the First Amendment, functions principally as a kind of didactic ritual: by requiring us to be tolerant of the most abhorrent speech, the First Amendment teaches us to be tolerant throughout political life.:" 

This is significant because there are no limitations on what can or cannot be said and Bollinger dug deep into this topic to find out what kind of regulations that the government could impose on us if they wished to. 

Due to our rights and certain censorship, there is only so much that can be censored. Most people believe that if some types of speech were censored, that would violate the First Amendment rights. 

While reading through an article written by Bollinger, I was intrigued by a piece that he wrote "This enforced toleration teaches us to understand and control the "impulse toward intolerance" that is present in everyone impulse that has its legitimate claims, Bollinger states, but that, if unchecked, can have devastating consequences for society."

Even though this debate of "Tolerance", the views of free speech reach much further than what we think. Free speech is necessary to enlighten democratic self-government because the suppression of information and ideas thwarts the search for truth and impairs a political system's ability to reach the right decisions in a fair and equitable manner.

U.S. Supreme Court

While watching the two parts from the Supreme Court videos, I was educated on the background of the Supreme Court system. Many of the facts that I learned, I had never heard about previously. The Supreme Court is made up of 9 Supreme Court Justices. 

Of the nine Justices, one is considered the "Chief Justice", and the others are considered the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. As is the same for all federal judges, Justices are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. 

Each one of these justices serves a life term; however, most average about 16-year terms. Each year they receive around 7,000 court cases that have been sent up from the lower courts. Of those 7,000 cases sent up, only about 100 of them are chosen to be looked into further. 

As the highest court in the nation, the Supreme Court plays an extremely important role in our system of government. Those accused of a crime view the Supreme Court as their "final chance". 

It is also on the Supreme Court to ensure that all branches of government understand the limits of its powers, but most importantly, the Supreme Court "protects civil rights and liberties by striking down laws that violate the Constitution". It sets limits on democratic governments and ensures that these majorities cannot pass laws that harm or in any way take advantage of unpopular minorities. 

In the second episode, I found it extremely fascinating that the judges aren't allowed to say "There is an issue, we need to solve" but instead that they have to wait until the case reaches the judges. 

It is the requirement of the Supreme Court to hear cases in public, which is something interesting that I learned especially because it feels that such a superior court would do things behind closed doors. Both sides get 30 minutes to make their arguments before the court. 

The stage is then set and nine of the most powerful officials in the United States get to do their work in the public eye. As Justice Scalia said in the video, the most powerful and important part of the whole process is the oral argument. "I view the oral argument as an opportunity to ask hard questions, that are raised in my mind" 

Supreme Court Courtroom

Within a few days after the celebration, the justices join forces to vote on the case. This is a private session but the nine justices are in all in the room together. After they come down with a decision one of the justices is
assigned to write an opinion and within the opinion, it is required to explain the legal reasons for the decision that the Justices determined. 

This process of opinion writing is among the most time-consuming for the justices to do. The justice assigned to this does get assistance through this process, as law clerks assist in researching and creating drafts.

It takes about four weeks for this opinion draft to be finished and then it is sent to all of the nine justices. Then the justices are allowed to re-draft. This is a process that could go back and forth several times to persuade an opinion. 

This is also a difficult process for the journalists who are covering these cases as these opinions are more than 70 pages long. In many instances, especially when the court is divided, this means there are a lot of materials that they will have to review. 

We are witnessing some of the most powerful men and women do their work at the highest court level. 

The top forms of news

 The way news is communicated is extremely different than just a few years ago. Growing advancements in technology have changed, meaning there is no more normal "news cycle". News is always being updated, published and changed and that is done due to social media, news apps, and more. There are several different ways that I receive my news.These are a few of the apps that I trust and use daily. 

1. Hometown Favorites 

                 WABC, WCBS, WNBC, WNYW, 

Growing up in a suburb of the number one news market in the world has allowed me access to some of the best reporters and journalists in the entire world. The news market in New York is truly incomparable, one day I truly hope to be reporting right here where I grew up. 

WABC is the ABC New York affiliate and it is the channel that I grew up watching. I always know that when I turn on the TV, I can trust that the information that is going to be given to me will be accurate and up to date while also displaying truth and honesty. I could also say the same for the others (WCBS, WNBC, WNYW)as these stations are all leaders in the news field. While away at school, I always use their mobile apps because as an aspiring journalist, I want to insure I am staying up to date with any information that is happening at home. One important memory that I have specifically with WABC was during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, my family and I were in one of the areas projected to be hit extremely hard by this storm. The night that we lost power the last thing that we were able to see on TV was from WABC. All these years later that's still the channel that we rely on for all of our information. 

2. Social Media 

                                                                  X formally known as Twitter 

Most people have turned away from mainstream cable networks and turned to social media and mobile apps on their phones.  X formerly known as Twitter is one of those mobile apps that allow people to get their news from their mobile devices and online. X has allowed people to get their news faster and find the information online whereever they are. 

                                                                           Instagram

Instagram is another app that I use to get my news. Oftentimes, it will be my family sending me reels, which are short videos about current events. I know that when I open Instagram my feed will update me on the latest news and developments. Most major networks post to these social media platforms as well, which helps entice readers to view their platforms. 

Global News Organzatiosns 

                                                             CNN/ News Nation/ Fox News 

In addition to all of the local media outlets that help spread local news around the world, global media outlets help spread news from a broader perspective. I often turn to these major corporations when trying to find out news on global related topics. These networks are reliable but most of the time one-sided as they only will share information based on the side that they believe in. When finding out my news, I always try to look and picture both sides of the argument before coming to a conclusion              

Family

                          Word of Mouth

Another way that I tend to get my news is from my family. My family updates me on everything from local to national news and even on economics and more. I find my family as a trustworthy source and, also find this to be a unique way because coming from a divided family I get to hear both sides of whatever is being reported and argued through my family. Somethig unique that has changed as time goes on is in the event a breaking story would take place people are more likely to find out via word of mouth as people are always notified on their mobil devices.