Final Blog Post Reflection

If it was my 1^st year of college some specific elements of high school that I might miss is, my teacher letting me slide with turning in late homework. Also, having the teacher care about you to let you make up any work you missed, giving you weekly progress reports to let you know how you are doing. My best critical analysis blog post was President Obamas’ Anti-Bullying Campaign. It was my best because it was well written, thought out, and fully explained. This topic will stick with me because bullying happens everywhere and it is a major topic in our country. Bullying needs to stop and I will continue to talk about it until it all ends. Yes, I might continue to blog when this class is over, but I doubt if it is for a long time. Blogging is fun but when I get in college I will not have enough time to do it anymore. I really do not know how I will be an ambassador for social, professional and academic digital life because I doubt if I can live up to the expectations of an ambassador. I might try to make a change through social life but as far as being an ambassador I distrust that it is for me. The basic factors that make the digital divide are that, wired broadband companies are being greedy and selfish. Also, rural areas in our country cannot get internet access because they live where they live, but it is under questioned whether the government should have wired broadband available everywhere or just in urban areas. I can speak up and talk about why everybody should all have internet access because every voice counts even the little ones. Online social media literacy means being able to read or understand information online and on social media websites.  It is necessary because if you would like a well-paying job or make it in life you need to be literate.

Digital Divide*

In class we read an article inside The New York Times “Upfront” magazine called “the Digital Divide”. In our country, it is an invisible divider that divides the western rural areas and the urban eastern areas. Urban areas on the east have wired broadband available whereas rural western areas do not have that available to them. The people who live in the western part of country are at a disadvantage because they have no internet access. The students who are in the college application process and the students who want to apply on line for a job are really backed up in the corner because they cannot do what they have to do.  They need the internet so they do the things they need to do. The government is being questioned about whether they should keep the country like it is meaning the way it is divided. Or should they make the country all equal by having available wired broadband in the areas who do not have it. I contemplate that the government should make a change to our country. They need to have internet that is accessible to each and everybody in our country. It will better please a lot of people who do not have internet access, that they now will have it.

Cyber Warfare.."

Recently Cyber Warfare has been a topic that everybody is talking about. Cyber Warfare is defined as “the use of computers and the Internet in conducting warfare in cyberspace.” I think if we have any more real and serious war it will be on the through computers. Yes, it is less dangerous and if it came down it deciding which war you would want (i. e. cyber or physical), a number of people would say cyber. But little do they know yes, the plus side of cyber warfare is that is less people dying but our whole country is based on the internet. By saying that, it something happens to the internet people would go crazy. The results of cyber warfare will affect a lot of people and affect the country as well. It will mainly affect the people who use the internet on a regular basis. Those people are not the only ones affected; the ones outside that circle will be affected also. Other countries or people within our own country can hack into our top secret databases and get information or secret codes, so they can possibly ruin our country/world.  I hope there are not any more wars of any type anytime soon, anywhere especially in the United States.

File Sharing**

In class we had a discussing the ongoing issue about file-sharing. LimeWire was our main focus; they recently shut down because of illegally allowing people to obtain songs online without paying for them. LimeWire now could end up paying damages of over $1 billion. Before LimeWire closed down, I was probably one of their biggest customers because I always would download the music from their site. I would do it because the CDs were not out yet and I heard there was a website that lets you download the song for free. My grandmother always told me nothing in life is free, but when I saw “download your favorite songs for free” it caught my eye.  Whenever I see free, I am going to go for it. I think if it was not free I would not download them, I would just wait until the CD comes so I could buy it. It is a shame how much LimeWire has to pay, just because of their customers downloading, even though I was one of them. Ever since LimeWire shut down I have not illegally downloading music from one of a similar website to LimeWire. The reason I do not do that anymore is that; I do not want the police come to my house and take my computer, make me pay a fine, or arrest me for something so little.

Technology in the News!

         Recently, Apple came out with the new white iPhone 4. Which is thicker than the black iPhone 4. Also, apple has put some information out regarding the use your location link on their iPhones. On some smart phones when you are on the internet or on one of your many apps, it may say "do you want to use your location?" I, myself usually presses no, but can they still see where you are or not. If you do press yes, then that information is stored in the phone towers for up to a year. That can either be a good or bad thing. It can be a bad thing because the smart phone uses have no clue what the phone companie sare going to do with the information. Wither they are going to release it or keep it for their own records. My question is what why be the use of keeping those types of records just for the phone company? Why would they need or want them? What use would it do for them? It can be a good thing because if the police may want to use it to catch the criminals they are looking for. But what if the cell phone is in someone else's name but they are looking for you? Will they arrest your family member or friend for something you did? Lastly, if the information in the towers gets piled up what will happen? Will they transfer the left overs to another tower or erase it? When I looked this topic up they said it was a glitch in the software. But how is that posssible? Starting at keeping the information for only 5 minutes to up to a year, that is a very big difference. So I doubt if that was really a glitch or was it on purpose?

Osama Bin Laden!!

        

Recently on the news all I have been seeing is that Osama is dead. The U.S military has been looking for him since the attack on September 11, 2001. It has been 10 long years that they have not found him, and they found and killed him today. I found this story interesting because Osama has got to be the best player in the game hide and go seek. Ever since the United States military went to where he is from that is who they were looking for, but had no success until now. On twitter there has been rumors that he is not dead, but you should not always believe what you hear on social networking cites. Yes, sometimes they are true, but other times people put things up there just for entertainment. I do believe that is finally dead, but I also believe that since now he is dead his people will try to come back and kill the people in America. I hope nothing like that happens, because 9/11 was horrifying and very sad. I was only in the 1st grade when it happened and i still remember it like it was yesterday. I believe nothing like that will happen again but you never really know what will happen you have to hope it does not happen. Lastly, it is possible because they US military went to war to find Osama and to stop them from further attacks on the United States. But since it’s been 10 years since an attack and their leader is dead, most troops probably will come home. And that will give Osama's people a lot of space and opportunity to come attack again under a new leader. All on the news all you hear is things about Osama. In the last couple of days, there has been arguments to if the White House should release the photos of Osama Bin Laden’s' killing. Some people say no, the photos should not be released and others say yes because we watched all of those people on 9-11 die, so why can't we see the photos of the man behind that die. Me personally, I would not care if the White House releases the photos it would not make me another mind.

STOP Bullying!

President Obama’s Anti-Bullying Campaign is a nationwide campaign to put a stop to bullying. The Obama’s take bullying very seriously; it is no small matter for them. The campaign title speaks directly for the purpose of it. Their campaign is not just about putting a stop to bullying, but it is also about educating parents, teachers and children on how best to combat it. President Obama’s campaign is a world issue because bullying and cyber-bullying happens everywhere. It does not just happen in the DMV area; it is a worldwide issue that needs to become immobile.  President Obama is a good example to represent the campaign because if you have been the victim of bullying you know, how the kids who are bullied feel. He has been the victim of bullying so he understands and is taking a stand to avoid it from happening to anyone else anymore.

  The result of bullying can cause somebody or people getting hurt or can possibly lead to death. Today, bullying is a big problem and it is getting out of hand. This article is about another anti-bullying campaign and it explains some of the outcomes of it as well. According to the government, around one-third of school children in the United States are bullied by fellow students, or about 13 million children.

Most of the time, kids who bully other kids were bullied themselves or grew up seeing others (i.e. parents, siblings, and other family) get bullied. Bullying needs to be taking very seriously and the parents need to have a sharp eye out for that type of stuff. It is kind of the parents fault because when their child comes home and tells that they are being picked on, most of the time the response is “he is just being a kid, and kids will be kids.” Yes, kids will be kids but it depends on how long the picking on someone goes on and also how far they take it. Parents get so caught up on the saying “kids are just being kids” in reality they are blinded to the truth.

Some parents do not want to hear or say their own child is the bully. If that is the case they need to step in and be the role model to show their child that bullying is wrong and can be harmful. There have been many cases where people have been bullied and they turned around and killed their self. In order to prevent more people from killing their self because of bullying you can talk to a teacher, a counselor, your parent, and etc.

Lastly, if you are a bully in school it is a high chance that might have a criminal record when you get older, because you carried your bullying habits from the school to the real world. You do not get suspended in the real world like you probably would in school. If you bully someone in the real world and it leads to them killing them self you can possibly get sent to jail.

Court House Experience!

          On Thursday, March 24, 2010 my introduction to law class and the other classes went to the Supreme Courthouse. We went there because in class we are studying different types of crimes, laws, and etc. So, my teacher Mr. Hendricks decided to take all of his Introduction to Law classes to a real court with real crimes, real cases and real people. He wanted us to see what actually happens inside of the court room, because not everything you see on television is true. What you see on t.v. is most of the time, exaggerated to almost false. When we got to the court house, we had assigned court rooms for our group to go to. My group was in the court room where their was four men on trial for attempted murder/assault. I have been inside of a court room before, but I never seen a real case happen. I always wanted to see what really goes on inside of the court room, so that experience was exciting for me. Since I want to be a lawyer when I get older, sitting in the audience section of the court room watching the lawyers do their job, is exactly what I want to do. I can not wait until its my time to be the one defending the defendant inside the court room.

Homework**

       If I was addicted to Facebook or Twitter, which I think I may be, by me prioritizing my time would be the best solution for me. If I get on Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media website before I finish my work (school or home chores), I get distracted easily. When I get on one time, I would stay on for a very long time and almost never get my work done on time. I am always logged in on my cell phone because of the applications that come with it, so it is just a click away from getting away from my school work. When, I wake up every morning I go on Facebook and Twitter, and also right before I go to sleep I have to go back on those tools. I think Im addicted because I feel like I need either one or the other. If both Facebook and Twitter or the whole internet in general was blocked from me, I do not know what I would do with myself. The solution that I think would not work is to stop procrastinating. I feel that way because I have always been a procrastinator about any and everything. Sometimes, I can get easily distracted by something as little as people talking outside my house or a TV in another room. Other than the solutions listed in the article, to me there are no other solutions that may be helpful somebody who is struggling with spending so much time on Facebook and Twitter.

Result of the Facebook Challenge*

After the Facebook Challenge was over today. I could not wait to get on Facebook. As I said before it was going to be very hard to not be on Facebook. I have not been on it for a WHOLE week. After the challenge, I got on very quickly but I feel like if we have another Facebook Challenge I can do and complete it with no worries. Facebook is a place for friends but the immature people on it cause alot of trouble. I have a Twitter account, so I was not totally away from social media websites. If we had to be away from all social media website then, it definently would bea challenge for me. But if it comes down to it, I would try it out to see how far I would go with out Facebook, Twitter, and etc. I got some things out of this challenge, one thing was I do not need to be on Facebook everyday. I am on Facebook everyday, every chance I get. But after thyat little break, I will do a couple of breaks away from Facebook now.

Facebook Challenge!

            In class on Monday, we started our "Facebook Challenge". This challenge was about not getting on Facebook for a WHOLE week. It started on Monday and it will end on Sunday. Since, most of my time on the computer, I am usually on Facebook it will be very hard for me not to get on Facebook at all. I would say about 70% of my time, no matter where I am, I am on Facebook. Either I am on the Facebook app on my phone, on Facebook mobile or on the regular Facebook full site. When Mr. Morean told us about the assignment I was shocked. I was shocked because some of my friends do not have a cell phone, so we communicate through Facebook. Not just random friends, but people I talk to on a everyday basics. I am willing to make a change by not getting on Facebook, but I will say it will be very hard to do so. We will see what my results are after the week is over.

Animal Abuse!

          Thurgood Marshall Academt students launched a campaign to stop the abuse of animals. Our campaign was held on the social netwoork "Twitter." Our goal by the end of Thursday March 10, 2011 was to make "unFURgvble" a trend. Most of the students in our school were twitting about our cause animal abuse and trying to get others to do the same. All they had to do, was either retweet a post somebody else said anout animal abuse or post a new one. But they had to include (at the end or the beginning) of their post #unFURgvble #ed4good #wdc. It was a national competition, in which other states other than just Washington, DC were included. We only had 48 hours to win the competition, so we had to hurry if we really wanted to win. As I was posting things about animal abuse, it opened my eyes to some things. I have never abused animals or I do not know anybody who has. But after, I read the facts about the statitics about animal abuse, I was shocked. I feel that animal have feelings to, but they do not express them because they can not talk like us human can. Animals are just like humans to me, except they do not talk. If you abuse animals please look at it as, if you were the one being abused. How would you feel? Wouldn't you want it stop? I bet the animal who are abused feel the exact same way. Animal abuse is just wrong, and people everywhere need to end it NOW! Because if we do not speak for the animals, then who will?
**Read this article and look at facts and statitics about animal abuse!**

Teen Pregnancy!!

In my community, teen pregnancy is growing my the years. This terrible trend is spreading around and around, it looks like it will never end. Now a days you have girls aged 11 and 12 getting pregnant and having a baby. They are not even a teenage yet, not even in high school. Im not saying it is okay to have a baby as a teenager but 11 and 12 year olds are in their pre-teen years. They are babies theirselves, so how can a baby have a baby? I ask that question all the time, when I see girls my age or even younger than me with a baby bump. I also wonder where are the parents when their child is doing all of these things. Do they know, if they do do they even care? In most cases, when you see a teenage girl pregnant, most likey their mother was the same way when they were their childs' age. It is just a reoccuring trend thats happening. It is really getting ridiculous out here with the teenage preganacy rate and also the abortion rate from teen girls. I personally hate abortions, but most of the girls that get pregnant need to have one. And when they do have one all they do is turn right back around and get pregnant again. Then have another abortion. What is the point, if you know that if you have unprotected sex you will possibly end up pregnant and you know you are not ready for a child. Now a days, it seems like most of these girls have not heard of a condom or birth control. Well, they need a reality check because they both are availiable to us girls for a reason. Also, for the girls having unprotected sex, what they are not aware of the aids rate in Washington, DC? We have the number one AIDS rate in the world, we are more than Africa. Africa is way bigger than Washington, DC so for us to higher than them is a huge shock. That alone should open our eyes to better protecting ourselves. Nobody between the ages of 10-17 is fully ready to take care of a child.

Will the Fighting In Libya Lead to a WAR??

           Earlier, I did a critical analysis post about the problems that existed in Egypt. That post was about the troubles uprising in Egypt, and the other major problems that were happening. As I was reading a news article on washingtonpost.com about what is going on right beside Egypt it was shocking. The world has come very far since our last civil war, and for the uprising in Libya to possibly lead to another civil war is devastating. I feel as though the United Nations should step in to stop, or at least calm down what is going on in Libya. The purpose of the creation of the United Nations was to bring all nations of the world to work for peace and development. By saying that, they should go to Libya and spread some peace, so it will not be a civil war in Libya. Libya is a small country, and maybe if the members of the United Nations go there they can talk all their problems out and settle it right then and there. The words of a stranger can sometimes be more powerful than a fist or a gun. This worls cannot afford to have another civil war, so it needs to be prevented as soon as possible.

Childhood Obesity:((

          Childhood obesity in America is increasing with the years. Childhood obesity is a condition where excessive body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing. In my opinion, children that are obese they get it from their parents. It all starts inside of the home. If the parents do not watch or manage what their child or children eats then the child will eat whatever he/she wants. It is not all about just watching what they eat, but also making sure they exercise right. A child should eat like a child not like an adult. If you are a parent, your child should not be eating what you eat. There are some effects to being obese esp. if you are a child. The kid can be emotional depressed, talked about, made fun of, have high blood pressure, sleep problems, heart disease and a number of other things. Having those types of problems as a child, can spill over to when they become an adult. Going through that when you are a child is very depressing because you do not  know any better. The parents are to blame, they fed and fed and fed their child sometimes just to get them out of their face or to shut them up. So, since the parents are not doing anything at home, I feel as though the school should try to do something to prevent childhood obesity from increasing.

      

Guest Speaker*

           In class, on Thursday we had a guest speaker named Margie Newman. Ms. Newman came to our class to speak about different types of websites and also how to work them. She also talked about how technology has changed. I really enjoyed listening to her speak because what she was saying was very exciting. She said some things I have not even heard of before like for example the website www.namechk.com . It is amazing how you can type your name into the search box and get all these different types of websites that may be linked to you rname or username. The website also tells you which websites are not linked to your name, which you can create something on that website if you would like to. Ms. Newman brought up another website called www.aboutme.com , this is a website where you can say whatever you want about yourself, upload a picture and others can view it. She also stated some things which opened my eye. They were about online privacy and also putting your personal information on the internet. I always wondered is everything you put on the internet protected? After listening to Ms. Newman, she answered my question. She stated "nothing on the internet is private, whatever you put on the internet you are putting it out there for whoever to see it." That REALLY opened my eyes because I should really watch what type of pictures and also watch the things I say on the internet. Even though I, do not put anything personal on the internet, some of my friends and family do. After, our class on Thursday I should really explain to my friends and family about how putting personal information is not good to put on the internet. Lastly, she talked about how colleges can look on your Facebook, Twitter, and etc. pages if the know you are applying to their college. If they see anything they do not like that could be your chance to not get into that college, just because of one little thing you put on that website. By, saying that watch what you put on the internet, because even though the internet is a safe place, it can also be a very dangerous one as well. I really enjoyed Ms. Newman and wish she would caome back to speak to us again.

VIOLENCE!

       After reading This article  I was very disgusted. This article talks about a cop's raped confession. I hate when people get raped, esp. kids, it turns my stomach. A police officer is suppose to stop crime not make it. So, for a cop to rape somebody is terrible. Really it is terrible for anybody to rape anyone. A cop who rapes someone is an hypocrite because I know he probably arrested somebody before for rape and turns around and does it. I feel that whoever rapes someone else should get seriously punished. Also, get sent to jail for a very long time. I stop reading this article because I got very emotional.

My Familyy

      My family means more to me than the world itself. I do not know what I would do without my family. My family is not that big, we are big but not like huge. My intermediate family is who Im with alomost everyday. My famiily and I have our ups and down just like your family or the next. Most of the time when I am with my family I always ahave a smile on my face and I am happy. But sometimes my family can get on my last nerve. I hate when my family fights or argue, because I feel like I am in the middle. I am the babygirl of my intermediate family, thats why I feel like I feel. When they start arguing I feel it is my place to try to get them to stop, but most of the time whne I try it does not work. Despite all of the bad, the good times out number the bad times. By saying that, I would be lost without my family, I would take three or more bullets for them and laStly kill for each one of them. I JUST LOVE MY FAMILY!

Violence on trains!

     When I finish reading this article on the My Fox Dc website, I was not surprised. This article was about the violent fights between teenagers on the Metro Trains. Since I am, an Metro rider I know exactly what they are talking about. Some teenagers just mess with people, just to do it or to be funny. When they mess with other people, they do it while they are in a group. They never ever do it while they are alone, because most of them are punks. They always want to put on a show in front of their friends, except when nobody is around. The fights on the train is getting out of hand. There needs to be more transit inside of the trains and the stations as well.

Abortions

       I do not understand why females get abortions or why they would even think about it. Abortion is the termination of pregnancy. If you did not want to have a baby you should not have had unprotected sex. There are many ways to not have a baby/ not have an abortion. I personal do not like abortions because I do not like the fact that you are KILLING a harmless baby. That baby did not do anything to you or anyone else. Also, the baby did not plan to come in this world, so therefore its' live should not be taken away like that. By having an abortion, it sometimes hurts your body. Depending on how many you have, a females private area can be damaged and therefore leaving you when you are ready to have a baby you can not produce one. As research shows out of all pregnancies 24% end up in abortions. By looking at that statistic, that is ridiculous because 24% is closer to 50% rather than 0%. I feel that their should be a law banning abortions in every state because the numbers are growing by the year. More and more females under the age 45 are having abortions. The only reason I can understand why someone would have an abortions is if they have been rapped. Other than that, abortions should STOP! Read this article and you will get a better understanding of abortions.

T E C H..nology Has CHANGED Our World!!

          After reading this article about how communication has changed really made me want to research it more. I agree with this article when they said "technology affects almost every aspect of our lives." I agree with that because whenever you look almost everybody has a cell phone, ipod or some other form of today's communication technology. It is amazing how wired our world is today. Not only is people wired at work but also at home. In conclusion, since technology has been invented it has changed with in the years. Before most things had to be done manually but now you can research or do almost anything on the computer. You also don't need to only listen to music on a radio in the car or in your house, it is portable now.