Most have heard on the case being made against Wikileaks since new leaks just came out a couple days ago. Well, it looks like North Korean Wikileaks were a significant part of them. The New York Times has realized leaked cables in which diplomats talk about China and the downfall of North Korea. They discuss many hot topics like the probable collapse of North Korea after Kim Jung Il dies, the reasons why China does not want them to fall completely and a probable plan of U.S involvement IF it were to happen. These diplomats (both Chinese and American) were discussing that China does not think that North Korea is going anywhere anytime soon since Jung Il is still "sharp". China may not want complete collapse since that would mean a lot of North Korean refugees into China. Finally, if it were to collapse, they were discussing U.S (though Chinese would want to avoid U.S more involvement) and Chinese military involvement to keep the country in order. The makeshift government would be based in Seoul.
Even with all these leaks, it does not necessarily mean that it is going to happen. People predicted the same thing to happen when Kim Il Sung died in 1994.
Okay so.... the FCC is thinking about about being able to text for help to emergency services. According to the article, government agencies had been thinking about expanding 911 service to the next generation. This is definitely a good use of technology expansion and trying to reach the new generation. The "Next Gen 911" project would allow people to not only text for help, but also upload images and videos. The department of transportation would put in experts to prioritize data and make the system more efficient. I am both thrilled and somewhat skeptical of the idea. I love the fact that texting would be available for emergency services. However, I don't know just how efficient that would be at first. People already call 911 for the dumbest reason and I can't even imagine what a joke some people are going to treat it as. What if someone does not reply in a timely manner and someone dies in the process? On the other hand, it can help someone who needs serious help and cannot make a phone call. I just think that texting makes the whole "asking for help" thing kind of informal. I mean it is still in the planning stages, but I just do not see it happening anytime soon. What do you guys think?
Music! Music touches almost every aspect of human life. Politics are certainly not excluded from the list. Dr. DeWitt assigned to choose two political songs of our choice and I think this assignment is a great idea. My two choices were from the band Muse. I love them for their deep meaning songs. I chose them for both my choices because I couldn't think of any other artists, but them at the time.
My first choice is the song Uprising from the album The Resistance:
The lyrics are the following:
The paranoia is in bloom, the PR
The transmissions will resume They'll try to push drugs Keep us all dumbed down and hope that We will never see the truth around (So come on!)
Another promise, another scene, another packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed With all the green belts wrapped around our minds And endless red tape to keep the truth confined (So come on!)
[Chorus] They will not force us They will stop degrading us They will not control us We will be victorious
Interchanging mind control Come let the revolution take its toll if you could Flick the switch and open your third eye, you'd see that We should never be afraid to die (So come on!)
Rise up and take the power back, it's time that The fat cats had a heart attack, you know that Their time is coming to an end We have to unify and watch our flag ascend
[Chorus] They will not force us They will stop degrading us They will not control us We will be victorious
Hey .. hey ... hey .. hey! (repeat)
[Chorus] They will not force us They will stop degrading us They will not control us We will be victorious
Hey .. hey ... hey .. hey! (repeat)
The lead singer and writer of the song told MTV that, “The lead single, ‘Uprising’, was kind of inspired by the G20 protests which took place last year. I was in London at the time and I saw it all going on outside where I live.”
He added: “I sort of found that whole protest quite inspiring really; just the idea that people just having a good time, putting together a peaceful protest but the police still do their best to make it become violent and I find that quite aggravating. So, that’s what the song’s about.”
The Muse front-man went on to explain further: “There was a whole economic crisis and the MP scandal which took place last year where everyone felt like they were being ripped off by the powers that be.”
“I sort of wanted to write a song that summed up that feeling like you’ve been done over by people you’re supposed to trust. That’s kind of where the song’s coming from really.”
I think it is also about government corruption and the lies that are hidden from people.
My second choice is United States of Eurasia/Collateral Damage, also from the same album as the above. The video is not the original music video because they don't have one. However, this fan made one pretty much sums up what I think the song is about.
The lyrics are the following:
You and me are the same We don't know or care who's to blame But we know that whoever holds the reins Nothing will change Our cause has gone insane And these wars, they can't be won And these wars, they can't be won And do you want them to go on And on and on Why split these states When there can be only one? And must we do as we're told? Must we do as we're told? You and me fall in line To be punished for unproven crimes! And we know that there is no one we can trust; Our ancient heroes, they are turning to dust! And these wars, they can't be won Does anyone know or care how they begun? They just promise to go on And on and on But soon we will see There can be only one United States! United States! Of... Eurasia! ... sia! ... sia! ... sia! Eurasia! ... sia! ... sia! ... sia! Eurasia! ... sia! ... sia! ... sia!
I think the song is about war and the pointless politics that go into it. The unfairness of war and so called war crimes are questioned. The rights of others are sacrificed during this time, especially the rights of the country where the war is taking place. It reminds me a lot of Iraq and the video we watched in class on it. The song has nothing to do with the U.S, obviously, but I think it can certainly be applied to it. The lyrics are pretty clear and I don't think they need further explanation.
ABC News reports that Obama came back from Asia much more reflective of the midterms elections and how he behaved. He apologized for putting some things on the backburner that is very important to people and for lack of bipartisanship. The tax cuts are going to be a big deal in this session and the article included comments from both sides about possible solutions. I thought it was very good of the President to apologize to the people for these two things. It kinda made a contrast to my last blog about Bush not really apologizing for anything. He is saying to the American public that he is aware of his mistakes. The president will also have to work with the lame duck Congress on the renewed cry to ban earmarks, lifting the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gay service members, and an upcoming vote on the strategic missile deal with Russia. He also stated that he thinks campaigning and governing are two very different things. We will have to see how the new Congress works with the president and how they can get along.
The New York Times did a critique of the interview between former President Bush and Matt Lauer. As a New York Times reader, I will be the first to admit the critique was a lot more critical. Just goes to show the difference stances of the different networks. In it, they discussed the lows and highs of his presidency. Bush is getting a lot more critiques for the saying Kanye calling him a racist as the lowest point of his presidency. Forget all the other mistakes he made and the terrible decisions. Not to mention the Former Chancellor of Germany Gerhard Schroeder, who today said that Bush lied in his memoirs when he said that Schroeder privately offered the president full-fledged support in 2002 should he decide to invade Iraq. He also lied in the interview we saw in class where he said they had no intelligence of the 9/11 attacks. I mean we all know that to be false yet he still said it. In class, we talked about how that could be seen as both good and bad. He could keep his stance to show solidarity or say he made a mistake and show weakness. A lot of things have been said about his interview and his book tour, what do you guys think?
Now that the elections are over, it is time to start thinking about the 2012 election. So far, Sarah Palin has not been clear about whether or not she is going to run for President. According to the New York Times, her endorsements in these races will definitely turn out to be a good investments. While some of her endorsements did have some major losses like Sharron Angle and Christine O'Donnell, there were a lot of wins like Susana Martinez (which may help with the Hispanic vote). If she runs, these candidates can certainly help her growing popularity and MIGHT even snag a nomination. I don't really care much for Palin and quite frankly it scares me a bit that she might run, but there is no doubt that these endorsements were smart moves. Her growing popularity and almost celebrity-like status can definitely go far with the American public. We have been discussing in class that celebrity endorsements were more popular a long time ago and definitely had more impact. Now, not so much, but what about when these celebrity-politicians endorse people? With her new reality show, she will reach even more people if she hasn't already. However, if she is planning on running for President, she will have to be very careful with what she says on that TV show. Already people are discussing the comment she made while canoeing with her family. She said, "I’d rather be doing this than in some dumpy old political office,” Ms. Palin says in the ad. “I’d rather be out here being free.” I can already see this in a negative ad from her opponent one day. Anyways, it will be fun to see how this all plays out.
If you guys have time, check out the sneak peeks from her show on the TLC website. They are quite entertaining.
With only about a week till election day, California Governor candidates, Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown, sat down to an interview with Matt Lauer. Current Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was also there. He has not really endorsed either candidate yet, but is probably going for Meg Whitman since they are both Republicans. They sat down for a little chat about who they were, what they stood for, etc... Towards the end of the interview, Matt Lauer asked if they could stop the negative ads and focus more on the positive ones. Both candidates kinda laughed it off and said they would kind of, sort of stop. However, Matt Lauer asked them to shake on it. That is when Arnold came in and said that there was probably someone freaking out backstage about the issue and they could not commit to something in front of an audience.
This just goes to show what we have been talking about in class. Negative ads is something we are pretty much never going to get rid of in the world of politics. They are the ones candidates rely on to slam the opposite candidate. We have said that positive ads don't really do much good at the end of the race. Voting is just days away and candidates are desperate to get their messages out there. For the uneducated masses, negative ads really can sway people's vote. It's unfortunate, but how can candidates be expected to not do them? What do you guys think?
