North Korea Denies Responsibility for Sony Hacking

"North Korea Says It Isn't Responsible For 'Righteous' Sony Hacking"
By: Foster Klug
Source: Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/07/north-korea-sony-hacking_n_6282780.html

North Korea released a statement that clearly savored a cyber attack on Sony Pictures, which is creating a forthcoming film that portrays an assassination plot against the supreme leader. North Korea continues to deny responsibility for the hacking and leaking of confidential information. A spokesman for North Korea admitted that it “‘might be a righteous deed of the supporters and sympathizers’ of the North’s call for the world to turn out in a ‘just struggle’ against U.S imperialism” (Klug, 1). The statement continued by claiming that they have no knowledge of where Sony Pictures is located and for what reason they were attacked nor do they feel the need to know about it. They later state that what they do know is that Sony Pictures is the one that is producing a film encouraging a terrorist attack while wounding the nobility of the supreme leadership of North Korea. North Korea sees any outside criticism or ridicule of its leader as an attack on its supremacy. The statement also said that the Unites States and South Korea, enemies of North Korea, had “groundlessly linked the hacking with” (Klug, 1) Pyongyang, but their denial of association with the hacking also came with a threat. The statement said that the United States should know that there are numerous sympathizers and supporters with North Korea all over the world; any one of those people could have attacked the Sony Pictures. Cyber security experts have found remarkable similarities between the code used in the hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment and attacks blamed on North Korea that targeted South Korean companies and government agencies last year. However, experts are split over the prospect that North Korea or independent hackers are to blame.

Because North Korea takes any form of mockery of its leader as a threat or an attack on its dominion, the United States should have been more circumspect in their decision to make this movie.

FARC Rebels Have Yet To Release Colombian Hostages

"Colombia's President Hopes FARC Rebels Will Release Hostages Next Week"
By: Helen Murphy
Source: Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/22/colombia-farc-hostages_n_6204124.html?utm_hp_ref=world

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos hopes to secure the release of five captives held by Marxist FARC (Fuerzas Armadas Revolcionarias de Colombia) rebels. President Santos stated through a message on his Twitter account that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has issued the coordinates to the pick up zone to free the hostages and he would accelerate the procedure in the next few days. The captives were not named and no information was presented on whether they would be freed all at once or one at a time. The day after Santos’s statement on Twitter, General Rubio Dario Alzate and two others were snatched by the FARC. After an anxious couple of days, the FARC assured they would return all five hostages in an offer to resume peace talks that were unexpectedly suspended by Santos succeeding the seizures. Santos’s Tweet read, “The coordinates have been received. I am giving instructions to facilitate the liberation for next week” (Murphy, 1). Although there have been substantial enhancements in security, the conversation on the continued conflict as attacks on civilian and military targets continue. Santos instantaneously halted negotiations after the sequester of General Alzate and the lawyer and solder that were travelling with him. He is said to resume the negations once the rebels have freed them. General Alzate is the highest-ranking military captive ever taken by the FARC. The rebels have claimed that they have stopped kidnapping for ransom, but they believe military personnel are fair targets when there is no cease-fire.

The FARC are a terrorist organization involved in the continuation of the Colombian armed conflict since 1964. The procedures of the FARC-EP are funded by kidnap to ransom, illegal mining, and the production and distribution of illegal drugs. Occurrences by rebel groups like this one often go unrecognized by many because nothing is said of them on the news, therefore, articles like this provide one with otherwise unknown information.

The Simplicity of Nature

As I sit here comfortably on the surprisingly soft patch of grass on the end of the park, all I can hear are the sounds of cars rushing by, the annoying persistent buzz of the streetlight, and the sound of this pencil scratching across the notepad, forming letters and words. It is almost entirely dark out, yet it still feels early. The streetlights help me see what I am jotting down. I cannot help but admire the most deformed trees I have ever seen. I decide to stand up and walk along the periphery of the park. I see another disfigured tree that immediately sparks up childhood memories. When I was young, my brother and I would walk to the park and climb this very tree any chance we would get. Every time I look up from this notepad, I see another runner jogging by and waving hello under the streetlight. The leftover smell of charcoal reminds me of all the times we have had Sunday afternoon barbeques with friends. It continues to get colder and colder as time passes by while I stand here leaning on a tree. The tree must be several decades old; the bark feels rough against my back, but for some odd reason I do not mind. Taste is the only sense I am unable to use here at the park. If I were to imagine what the environment would taste like on this evening at this precise moment, it would be something calm and soothing, like a warm cup of lightly sweetened simple earl grey tea. Because the park is so empty and lacks commotion, an ordinary cup of tea is the perfect taste for this setting.

I was asked to reflect on my observations today at the park, but initially, I am not sure how to react. I feel so much more serene and tranquil. I am unstressed after this experience. This has made me realize that at times, being isolated is not a punishment at all. Sitting and observing alone at the park was an enjoyable experience, and I feel that this will not be my last time doing it. I feel as though I have had a minor change, but only in the way that I thought of isolated punishment. If one spends more time alone or does this more often, I believe it has the potential to change much more than just one opinion.

The Twenty-Fifth Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall

“Germany Marks 25 Years Since Berlin Wall’s Fall”

By: Geir Moulson

Source: Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/08/germany-25-years-berlin-wall_n_6126190.html

Today Germany commemorates the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall along with the fall of communism. The opening of the Wall on November 9, 1989 brought an end to the months of upheaval that had spread into Poland and Hungary. Alex Klausmeier, the director of the city’s main Wall memorial, claims that the downfall of the Wall that divided East and West Germany for twenty eight years was “a point of no return… from there, things headed toward a whole new world order” (Moulson, 1).  Chancellor Angela Merkel grew up in East Germany stuck behind the border. She entered politics as communism came to an end. Every time she walks through the Brandenburg Gate, Merkel senses the lingering feeling that this was not possible for most of the years of her life, and that she had to wait thirty-five years to have this feeling of freedom. The crumbling of the Berlin Wall was a transformation in peoples’ lives, which they desperately needed. The original plan when the borders were opened was to have the citizens line up properly and receive exit visas. By this time, the leadership over the border was completely lost. Less than a year later, Germany was on the road to unification. Cultural differences and inequalities still exist between the east and the west, although recognition has improved conditions. The progression toward genuine unity is displayed in Germany’s leader. The nation’s president, Joachim Gauck, comes from the east; he is a pro-democracy activist. Gauck believes that “Germans today can be grateful to have lives and opportunities that endless numbers of people in the world can only dream and desire of” (Moulson, 1).

            The rise and fall of the Berlin Wall is undeniably one of the most significant and symbolic moments in history. It is not only the tearing down of a wall that separated East Germany from West Germany; the fall of the Berlin Wall represented the collapse of communism and the beginning of a new era of unity.

School in 2035

The school year of 2035 has begun. Students arrive at their school in an ordinary building similar to the ones that exist today, except they are filled with digitalized classrooms with 3D printers lying in the corner of every room. Studios and virtual teaching modes begin to replace certain classrooms. This is starting to undo the traditional teacher-student model. Students are able to collaborate with peers around the world. Classrooms are all paperless. Some schools are beginning to be shut down due to the implementation and experimentation of telepresence. Holography and neuro-informatics are being developed; they are commencing to implement them in classrooms. When it comes to reading, some teachers will prefer the old method of the early 2000s. They will occasionally require their students to buy an actual paper book. Most of the time, students will receive it on a paper screen or retinal screen. Reading has always been a foundation of education; it will never be discarded. High school students read a variety of texts. Over the four years a student will spend in high school, they will have read texts as old as Shakespeare and as contemporary as a script released in 2032. One half of every year will be dedicated to older books, while the other half will deal with newer ones. Students have different teachers for each semester. Many classic books have not been removed from the curriculum, but the unnecessary ones are no longer read in classrooms. More challenging and thought provoking texts are presented to a student. I could imagine myself as an English teacher of the semester that deals with older books. I would enjoy teaching students a few of my favorite books such as Lord of the Flies by William Golding and Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury. If the education curriculum did not involve books like these, I would not associate myself with the schooling field.