Motoral Password Pills

Josef Reuther

811

The article "A Password Pill?" found in Upfront Magazine's issue from January 13, 2014 talks about a new pill created by Motorola. This edible password vitamin, which is actually a tiny chip reacts to the acids in a persons body, which activate the chip. The chip sends signals to your computer and phone that let you in without one having to provide a password. I believe these pills can prove to be beneficial, however also could be harmful if gotten into the wrong hands.

One piece of evidence that corroborates my claim about these password pills is that having these pills is most likely very efficient and practical. According to the article "the average person logs in a password about 39 times a day, and it takes about 3.2 seconds each time." The password pill can save the average person so much time if they are able to avoid having to login a password so often. Other biometric authentication those that then your body into a password are already on the market for instance Apple's new IPhone the 5s uses ones fingerprint to log in. Other apps such as FaceCrypt use ones face to sign in. Personally I believe that password pills are very efficient forms of technology, and that when they do officially hit the market that they will be used by consumers.

Although these password pills do seem to be very efficient if they are gotten into the wrong hands it could turn such a pill into a threat. These pills have the potential to revolutionize cyber bullying if someone by accident takes the pill of another person for instance they then have the ability to log into that other persons phone, computer, all social networks, and more this ultimately gives them the power to ruin the other persons life. Personally I think that for this reason these password pills can also have negative effects on society especially amongst teenagers and younger people.

As can be seen these very practical and efficient pills, which undoubtedly would make our lives easier will most likely also lead to certain negative effect. Personally I believe these pills would be better if they would work specifically for only one person.

Iran Nuclear Agreement

Josef Reuther   

The article "What's The Deal With Iran" by upfront author Patricia Smith talks about the nuclear agreement made between the U.S. and Iran. The deal forces Iran to pause it's nuclear program for 6 months in order to allow international inspections of the nuclear facilities that are suspected of being used to build atomic weapons. In return the U.S. has agreed to ease the sanctions that have crushed Iran's economy. Although this deal is a success for the United States, Iranian commitment is questionable.

One piece of evidence that supports this claim is that although the government officials of Iran "claim the nuclear program is for peaceful purposes" critics believe that Iran "can't be trusted to follow through on their promises," as the article stated. Iran has threatened Israel on numerous occasions and Israel considers Iran an "existential threat" even more considers the deal a "historic mistake," as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. In 1979 during the Iranian revolution radical Shiite Muslims, Iranian students overthrew the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. Since then there have always been tensions between the United States and Iran. Due to these past events the United States Government is hesitant to trust the Iranian government to follow through on it's promises.

Another piece of evidence that corroborates this claim about the trustworthiness of the Iranian Government when it comes to the agreement is that the "hard line Islamic clerics" who run Iran still detest the U.S. There are two very different forms of Iranians, one which "loves everything American and the freedom that America represents," which consists mainly of young Iranians. However the radical leaders of Iran are against the ideas of the U.S. in fact on the contrary they despise everything American. For Iran to suddenly allow the international inspection of it’s nuclear facilities almost seems too good to be true and seems unlikely.

As can be seen although Iran has agreed to allow for international inspection the commitment to this promise on the Iranian side seems questionable. Many events in the past between the United States and Iran reflect Iran as a country rather poorly. Personally I believe that if Iran is to be trusted, international inspection should only occur under great safety precautions.

Iwo Jima

Josef Reuther

811

The book Flags of Our Fathers takes place during World War II at the battle of Iwo Jima, a small island in the west Pacific Ocean. The book is written from the perspectives of the American soldiers attacking the Japanese defenders on the island. The American soldiers are depicted as very heroic and praised for their great deeds and sacrifices by individuals, however the perspective and views of the Japanese defenders is not shown and are depicted as the cowardly antagonists of the American soldiers that hide in a mountain and in caves.

            One example of is that the American soldiers are portrayed as the vengeful, brave, courageous and heroic liberators of Japan, but it is rather unclear exactly what the fighting cause is for the Japanese soldiers. There is clear background history on the causes for the American invasion of Japan, which is the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The book is also is written according to American events and follows the movements and advances of the U.S. troops rather than the actions of the Japanese soldiers. What is what like to be a Japanese soldier who were sometimes as young as 14 is not described and how month prior to the battle they had hallowed out Mount Surbachi turning it into a vast complex of catacombs is not mentioned in much detail.

           

            Another example of this is that I think it would be interesting to see and understand how the Japanese soldiers were brought to the island and how they must have been threatened if they were a mere 14 years of age at times to bring them to the island. The Japanese knew that they were greatly outnumbered against the great American forces and each Japanese soldier was instructed to kill at least 10 American soldiers before he too died in the battle. I think it would be interesting to hear and read accounts from people who knew inevitably that they would die in the few weeks to come. All this would contribute to the overall intensity and desperate fight that the Japanese would be fighting and would make them seem less like the cowards that they are portrayed as.

            The voice and perspective of the Japanese who fought on the island is absent in the books description of the battle of Iwo Jima even though it would contribute so greatly to the understanding of the Japanese initiative. I also believe that if an account from a Japanese soldier was included to here the voice of a Japanese combatant and his view it would change how little modern people tend to think of the Japanese who fought at Iwo Jima the last stand of the Japanese troops. 

The Lorax

Josef Reuther

811

  The book "The Lorax" written by Dr. Suess personifies the danger of large industries on the environment using the "old Once-ler" to represent the industries and the "Lorax" to represent the environment. Unlike many recent stories and pieces that focus on criticizing large industries for what they are doing is wrong, however the story of the Lorax is told from the perceptive of the large industries who seem not to be able to defend themselves in recent pieces.

  The "Once-ler" finds the "Truffula Trees" and sees an economical opportunity that he quickly takes. He chops down the Truffula Trees and knits the soft tufts of material that grows on the top into "thneeds" which become the main product of his future industry. The Once-ler's industry grows quickly and he comes up with new technology to cut down the Truffula Trees quicker and more efficiently. The Lorax stands up for the trees and the animals being effected by the Once-ler's deforestation and warns him about the potential consequences that cutting down the trees could have. The Once-ler, however seems not to care about the well being of the animals who may be affected by the cutting down of the trees and is driven sheerly by financial reasons as many large industries today are too.

  The Once-ler and large corporations and industries often tend to lack foresight on how their actions may have affects on the environment and other people. The Once-ler was unable to see how cutting down the Truffula Trees would effect the animals and didn't know until he had done irreversible damage to the nature there turning the once colorful environment there into nothing but gray soil. I think that by telling the story out of the perspective of the Once-ler the book shows how he recognized that he made a mistake. 

  As can be seen the Lorax gives the large companies a voice this is achieved by having the old Once-ler represent the large industries that cause the environment to deteriorate. Large industries are not given much of a voice and seem to be incapable of defending themselves in the Lorax, however "big industries" have their voice and it shows them acknowledging that they have made mistakes and would like to reverse them.

The Sneetches

Josef Reuther
811

  The book "The Sneetches" by Dr Suess deals with two different groups of creatures, on the one hand the star bellied sneetches and on the other hand the sneetches with no stars on their bellies known as plain belly sneetches. The star bellied sneetches think that they are superior to the plain belly sneetches and so they prohibit the plain bellied sneetches from socially associating themselves with them.

 Sylvester a seperate creature comes into play with his "Star On" "Star Off" machines allowing the plain bellied sneetches to become like their more elite counter parts. Once all of the sneetches seem to be equal and all of them have stars, the original star bellied sneetches claim that having no stars is better than having stars on their bellies and so they all passed through the "Star Off" machine removing the stars off their bellies. The now plain belly sneetches are fixated with being superior over the other sneetches and want to be different from them and better. However the now newly star bellied sneetches want to be exactly like their opposites. From here on the two competing groups go through the machines again and again the original star bellied sneetches always wanting to be different and the other sneetches following to become just like them. In the end the sneetches are unable to remember who started of as a star bellied sneetch and who didn't. The sneetches are all at once struck by an epiphany that the sneetches are not very different from one another that really they are basically the same and that they can coexist in harmony.

  The story of the sneetches is very similar to the persecution of Jews during World War II and how Jews and Nazis were very similar they lived in the same towns and ate the same foods and were virtually indistinguishable people. Like the sneetches it presents us with a lesson that race and ethnicity should not be the markers dividing our societies. The original star bellied sneetches were initially competing with the plain bellied sneetches and believed that they were better than the others, however by the end of the book they realized that they should instead live in harmony with the other sneetches.

  As can be seen the sneetches who are initially competing with another and the star bellied sneetches who won't let the the other sneetches associate themselves with them because they feel superior learn realize that they almost exactly the same kind and should be able to peacefully coexist.

"And Tango Makes Three"

Josef Reuther

811

  The story "And Tango Makes Three" by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson talks about a pair of penguins in the Central Park Zoo and how their sexualities are different from the other penguins. It mirrors the gay rights struggle occurring currently in the United States. The story also portrays the idea of cooperation between two groups in this case homosexuals and non-homosexuals.

         One piece of evidence that corroborates this idea about the book is that unlike the other penguins in the Central Park Zoo who find mates of the opposite gender Roy and Silo find each other. Although they are both male penguins they act as if they were not and like all the other penguins they built a nest, however when the time came for the penguins to raise offspring Roy and Silo found themselves at a loss. Their zoo keeper who had been observing them noticed that they seemed to be "in love" and eventually brought them a penguin egg. The other penguins also didn't treat Roy and Silo differently they accepted them for who they were. Roy and Silo treated the egg as their own and ultimately raised a penguin chick called Tango. 

         Another aspect of the story is that despite the fact that Roy and Silo are different from the other penguins they are treated as equals and respected just as the other penguins are by both the zoo keeper and the other penguins. I think that the book is showing that instead of treating homosexuals differently and depriving them of certain rights they should be treated as equals to non-homosexuals. The zoo keeper treated Roy and Silo as equals to the other penguins and even went out of his way to get them an egg to make them feel like equals to the other penguins. Homosexuality is believed to be wrong by some people and that it can be fixed by religion others even believe that homosexuality is a sickness that can be cured by certain healing options. This book gives you an example that homosexuality occurs in nature and that it can't simply be cured by religion.

         The story "And Tango Makes Three” deals with two different groups specifically homosexuals and non-homosexuals.  I think that Roy and Silo's story should influence others to treat gays like anybody else and not deprive them of certain rights like marriage especially in such a diverse city as New York. As can be seen homosexuality is not simply a illness of sorts that can be cured it occurs all throughout nature, and I strongly believe that Gays in our modern society should be treated as equals. 

"Justice Denied"

Josef Reuther

811 ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

“Justice Denied”

            The article “Justice Denied” by Upfront Magazine authors Dan Barry, Campbell Robertson, and Robbie Brown talks about a series of racially motivated murders. It focuses on several killings that primarily targeted African Americans during the 1960s in the South of the United States. The great majority of these homicides were never solved up to this day. Frank Morris for instance a black merchant in Ferriday, Mississippi who owned a shoe repair shop was in it when two white men burned it down. Morris died 4 days later from his wounds without ever naming or describing the men who burnt the shop. He most likely feared that if he

named the men to the authorities they would seek retribution on his family. His family was never able to figure out who killed Morris as much as they might have sought revenge. Morris’ case was one of many unsolved cases that were racially motivated.

Many families also were too scared or reluctant to come forward with charges many lacked faith in the judicial system even more they feared retaliation from groups like the Klu Klux Klan. However even when the F.B.I recently decided to investigate some of these cases more closely, they often came up with nothing. The main factor leading to this was simply the passage of time between the murder and when it was being investigated. The families of the people who were killed received  no justice. Personally, I think that they should have received the justice that they deserved and should not have been muted out of fear for retaliation. Racism has scarred this country for so long and even does today. Although people don’t kill each other over their race anymore, I do hear the N-word so often it’s unbelievable. Before saying it people barely think about where and under which circumstances the word came about. I think the fact that people use it all over is not fair and just to the African Americans who believe the word is offensive.