Fight or Flight

Occupy Wall Street has spread from New York to California and all across the globe. In the San Francisco Bay area two cities are having a hard time dealing with it and it has lead to political unrest. The cities of San Francisco and Oakland are having problems dealing with a massive amount of protesters that are refusing to leave the area around the City Hall. Last week, police conducted a raid that lead to tear gas being fired. This is not the first time that Oakland has had this problem. Both in the 1960's and in 2009 Oakland has been a location of great civil unrest. People are claiming that the mayor is not doing enough to combat the rising crime numbers of that city. And may of the protesters that were arrested are claiming civil rights violations against the police. Across the bay in San Francisco, the Mayor has issued a warning saying that the protesters are breaking the law and may be arrested at anytime. Nothing however has happened in that city yet.

I believe in free speech as much as anyone, however, these people are starting to push it to far. When you fight with police who have been ordered to make sure that you are not breaking the law, you are going to get arrested. Just because the city has a history of civil rights violations does not mean that you can automatically claim that it happened to you. If you are breaking the law they CAN arrest you. Peaceful protest is one thing but unruly and bloody fights called "protest" need to be dealt with for the protection of a city, in a state that does not have the best reputation. I advise that if you are protesting, please refrain from breaking the law. Make it a peaceful protest not a bloodbath.

I react this way because the first amendment is crucial in out nations History. People are however taking it to far. You do have the freedom of speech and freedom of lawful assembly, but if your are not being a peaceful assembly or did not assemble lawfully you could be breaking the law. Be smart with what you say and do, because if you are not careful your actions could backfire on your cause.

Read the article linked here and let me know what you think about it.
As always this is just my Opinion.

Coldplay releases its new album.

This past week Coldplay released it newest album. The British Band has been releasing albums since 1999. With prominent songs such as Yellow, Fix You, Clocks, Talk, and Viva la Vida, this album will have a lot to live up to. This album also has a song that features Rihanna. Since being released Tuesday, I have listened to a few songs of the album and I have to say to date this is my favorite album. Coldplay has imaginative songs that are relaxing as well as have a catchy beat. 

I have to say that since 2008 when Coldplay became well known to the United States music they have become one of my favorite bands. If you have iTunes I would suggest you listen to the new album Mylo Xyloto.

I hope my musical suggestion helps you.

Did this man take it to far?

In Texas, a man advertising on his local radio station for a concealed to carry class added a disclaimer that someone might find offensive.

The disclaimer stated the following ""If you are a socialist liberal and/or voted for the current campaigner in chief, please do not take this class. You have already proven that you cannot make a knowledgeable and prudent decision under the law."  (copied word for word from yahoo.com) He also went on to say that Muslim American's were not allowed to attend the course either.


The video spoke with the owner of the store that is doing the training. He stated that he was exercising his right to choose who to teach.  In the video he states that if you are Muslim, you cannot be a true American.


So do you think that this is right? Some people think that he is doing right but other are think that he has gone to far. While I agree he can have his personal opinions, I think he needs to keep them just that, personal. I do not believe that he can discriminate by race, sex, religion, or ethnicity (does not say voting party) if he wants to teach he needs to keep his preferences to himself or they may revoke his CCW Instructor ship. 


So go read and listen to the report and let me know what you think! 

WWII Technology still found.

On yahoo they have notified us that just off the coast of Papua New Guinea they located a WWII era "midget submarine." The Royal Australian Navy located the wreckage when they were looking for old munitions in a bay that used to be a Japanese base. They stated that this submarine is the size able to hold of about 1-2 people. This is a massively small submarine and in the era of WWII could have been used to create massive destruction or insert special ops teams. This base is close to the counties of New Zealand and Australia.

It is amazing that after all these years they are still locating unknown inventions all the time. It is sad to say but WWII was a great time for inventors, yes these inventors may have created horrible weapons, but they were brilliant none the less. For a wreckage that is over 70 years old to have not been hit or washed away yet is also amazing. I wonder what they will still find from this era in the future.

I react this way because out of that horrible time came so many inventions that could be used for personal use or good. I also find it funny that they are finding things that they did not know that these types of craft were used. I am glad that the Australian government has agreed to work with the Japanese government on trying to identify the craft and the crew.   

Could you run a marathon... at 100 years old?

A 100 year old man ran and finished a marathon in Toronto this past week. That is an amazing accomplishment not only for a 20 year old man but for a 100 year old man. He started running when he was only 89 years old and finished it with a time just over 8 hours. He had a lot of support behind him.

I wish that I could run a marathon as I am now, I do not even know how a 100 year old man could do it. Running a marathon is larger than my best goal at this time. I do not see how a man or a woman over 100 could do it but I guess it can be done. To him I say good luck and job well done!.

What do you think about that...Let me know....

Drug cartels become more bold.

In Texas, Mexican drug cartels are becoming more bold. They have started recruiting younger children to do simple tasks for them for monetary incentives. These younger kids are making it harder for Law Enforcement to determine drug activity, not impossible though. More teens are getting arrested with drug offences in Texas. The reason they are using kids is because of the supposed innocence of the kid, also the law hands out not as harsh sentences to teens and minors. Teens have been arrested for moving  vehicles from one point to another point with minor to massive amounts of drugs.

This just irritates the crud out of me. For a drug cartel to go so low as to recruit younger teens to do this just makes me mad. These kids could have a life, but this is ruing it. These cartels need to get out of the country and stop doing services in this country. I know that SW Missouri is a long way from southern Texas but it still makes me upset. I know that law enforcement is doing what they can but I believe that the education system and parents need to step up to the plate and make a difference.

Warrants for cell phones.

In a ruling earlier this week, a federal judge stated that officers no longer need a warrant to get a cellular phones location from a provider, but do still need a judges permission. The judge must first know why the officers need the information and what it does for their investigation, but they no longer need to obtain a warrant from the judge. This means that the time needed to get the information decreases drastically, but it will also keep officers from abusing this power. With the officer still having to get a judges permission to obtain cell phones location from a cell provider, people do not have to worry about gross misuse of the rule. That is why we have judges.

I think that this was a smart move. Not only will it decrease the time needed to obtain information during an emergency, but it also makes sure that the officer notifies a judge. This means that the officer cannot just ask for the location of a cell phone because he wants to see where his kid goes. This makes sure that the reason for using the tracking is legitimate and approved by a judge.  It will also confirm to the wireless carrier that the person asking for the information is truly an officer and not an impostor. The judges permission carries weight in the law enforcement field and I believe that this was a smart move on the courts behalf.

As I have said before, I work with a law enforcement agency. I know how important it is to get information during an emergency. I believe that this ruling will speed up that transaction but will prevent the officer, or anyone from misusing this power. The judge will be responsible on when this gets to be used, and judges are well trained individuals. As always this is just my opinion. I suggest you read the story and then let me know your opinion.

Do you approve of this slogan?

Image located on: GMA/yahoo.com

"Feel for lumps, save your bumps" is a slogan that has been banned from being allowed on a football field for a Cheer leading fundraiser to bring awareness to breast cancer. The schools administration allowed for the idea of shirts to be bought and worn during a football game to raise funds for breast cancer awareness by the cheer squad. Now however the administration has forbade them from wearing them. They believe that the slogan is to risky for young people. As the story reads, breast cancer awareness ideas have been pushing the line when it comes to young people and awareness.  On the other side of the country, a group in Pennsylvania was not allowed to wear a bracelet that was meant for BCA, however a federal judge upheld their right to wear it. So is it pushing the limit? Read the story and let me hear what you think.

I think that this shows how little trust that school administrations have in their students. They are always afraid that something this trivial is going to lead to lawsuits of sexual harassment. If you do not have the faith that your HIGH SCHOOL students know how to handle themselves when it comes to this, then you have a bigger problem and are not doing your job to your fullest extent. The way that teens think now a days you have to speak in their "language." If this involves putting a the above slogan on it, you need to trust that your students know that this is for BAC. If you don't trust them, hold a school wide assembly where you explain what your are going to do and what it means.

Schools need to be able to trust their students. I know that this is not always possible, but you at least need to try. If you ban a shirt that has the slogan of an awareness group, how to you expect to make people aware. I personally do not believe that this slogan went over the line. I would understand the administrations point if it was a worse slogan with an inappropriate picture, but take a look at the picture above.

As always, I would like to hear what you have to say!

Original or Copy?

As we all know one of the most brilliant minds in America has passed away this month. Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple and a brilliant designer of technology sadly lost battle with sickness. A 19 year old graphic designer from Hong Kong designed a version of the Apple logo with Steve Job's face inlaid in the design. He posted it on his website after checking the web to make sure he did not copy another person's design. When he posted it he asked that anyone who saw that it may look like someone else's notify him. Less than 24 hours after Mr. Jobs passed away, the comments of him copping another image began to surface on his website. The other was designed by a man from Britain and did have some differences compared to this logo. He says that this incident has caused him negative publicity and that he will learn from this.

So why is this such a big deal? With the internet almost anything is easy to leak. Images get posted to facebook, twitter, and other social media sights on a regular basis and it is easy for someone to come in and claim as their own. If owners of these sights are not careful they will end up getting ripped off. So what can you do about it? Well you can always not post the photo on your website or social media page, but that is not really going to help you publicize it.  If you are good with technology I would suggest looking for a html code to lock the image so that it can not be taken without your permission.

In a decent world we would have people who would not take a persons work and claim it, just because they can. But we do not live in that type of world. So what do you think? Is his work of art an original, or did he just change the concept. Read the story and let me know.

Are you a Simpsons lover?

If you are a Simpsons lover then you will be pleased to know that Fox has ordered two more seasons of the show. This comes after a week of terse words between Fox and the actors regarding pay. The station was wanting the actors to take a 45% pay decrease per actor. That is a load of money per person. Currently actors are not allowed to profit from the shows merchandising and such. Actors said that they would be willing to take a pay cut if they would receive a part of the "back-end" profits.

I think that if you are going to be part of a show that sells merchandise, the actors and artist, not just the producers and the company need to benefit. I mean, there would be no show with out the actors and artist so this is the least that you could do for them.

I think that the producers and "command staff" get paid way more than they need to, and the "talent" as in actors, tech crews, and artist get paid the least and need to be paid more. (especially the tech crews and artist) If you have some type of promotional item that your are merchandising then you need to allow the other members of your TEAM to benefit out of that. Even in this field I believe that the saying "There is no I in team " is correct.

Has the TSA gone to far?

Earlier this week the TSA was criticized for going to far for requiring a female cancer survivor to go through a breast exam after going through a full body scan. The female had a medical card explaining her condition and what medical instruments where inside her body. She had requested to show the card to the TSA agent and had requested that she not have to go through the exam because she did not feel comfortable. The agent called a supervisor over and the female was denied her request. The supervisor also told her "And if we don't clear you, you don't fly." Later on she blogged about the incident and has received coverage. TSA administration (I know that that is kind of a redundancy) issued a public apology via NBC saying that she should have been allowed to show the medical card and the agent should have offered a privet screening. The administration said that they area also going to try and use this case to further train their agents.

So did the TSA go to far? I think they were doing there job however they picked the wrong person to not be polite to. They need to remember that not every person is going to be the exact same case and there may be special circumstances involved. If an agent gets promoted to supervisor they need to go through some more training on how to deal with cases like this. The administration did a good job by stepping up and releasing a public apology but the recent issues that have made headlines with this administration show that the training is not going far enough and that some people are not using common sense when they have a special circumstance. There was another issue in June where the agents forced a 95 year old to remove their adult diaper before being allowed to fly. This is another common sense issue. Use your brain and think.

This is kind of a lose/lose situation though. Had the TSA not followed through with their protocol, and something had happened, the TSA would have been blamed for not doing its job. There is a fine line that the TSA is walking and if they step over on either side they will be blamed and criticized.

Why do I feel this way? As being a part of a family who has a member that is a breast cancer survivor,  but also a person who wants to go into law enforcement, I feel as if I have a somewhat unique viewpoint. I  can see third person that thin line that the agents have to walk. Yes, they did go about handling those two issues in not the best way, but they are also doing a great job of keeping the air lines safe. Like I stated above, I believe that the supervisors and agents need to go through more training and to use their common sense more.

As always this is just my opinion and this post is for my English course. You have heard what I have to say, not let me hear your opinions on this matter.

1.7 million dollar boat!

If you like fast cars and the American Dream this story is for you. Located on yahoo.com this 48 foot boat is going to be the envy of all American car lovers all over the world. Inspiration for this boat came from the beloved American muscle car the Chevy Corvette, and boy does it look nice. This boat is made from a substance that is just as tough as metal but lighter as the story read. This boat is nice to look at and looks like it would be nice to drive. Seating up to six inside this boat has all the amenities including Apple TV, wifi hot spots, a rocking sound system and of course, the look and feel of driving a corvette on the water.

I just have to ask, is it worth it? For those who have to money to spend I guess you can go ahead. To me it seams like a waste of money to me. For a 48 foot boat you have to pay 1.7 million dollars. Yes I know that you get the bragging rights of saying that you own a corvette style boat but that is about it. I think you could, oh say, buy a house, pay for your kids college, or invest in a small business. I do however have to put it to the creators of this boat. They used what most men love, fast cars, sleek design, and the fact that its a boat. This is truly the story of an American dream in the fact that they had a dream and made it become a reality. So if you have enough money, go ahead and spend it on meaningless stuff that you may not use on a regular basis. But if you just want to show off, go invest in a new company that you believe in. Do your part to reverse the recession.

I feel this way as a lot of people have had their American dream shut down due to financial problems. If someone has the money to buy a 1.7 million dollar speed boat, I think they should buy that after making someone else's dream come true. People all over the nation have ideas on a business that could be the next revolutionary product such as Apple, Bluetooth, Blu-ray and such but they banks may not loan them money to start a business due to the recession. If a millionaire would show that they care about what is happening to this country we would be in a better place. It would not be as if they were just throwing the money away, they would be promoting the American Dream.

As always these are just my opinions and this is for my English course.