English 1 Assignment:

Mario Rivas

Professor Rowley

English 1

28 May 2015

Concern over Citizen Privacy

Because of the recent Edward Snowden leaks detailing how the government spies on the US using the NSA, citizens have concerns about wether or not a citizens information is private or not anymore. Our smartphones have developed the capabilities to track all and record all of our data, wether it’s location data, or who we have recently contacted over the phone. Citizen privacy is becoming more and more transparent due to government agencies illegally spying on US citizens without their consent. Laura Poitras’ documentary “Citizen Four” offers actual footage of Edward Snowden confirming the fact that the NSA uses wiretapping techniques to illegally spy on US citizens. Major telecommunication carriers, like AT&T and Verizon, allow the NSA to intercept their customers phone calls and their internet communications. Admittedly, these spying practices do not negatively affect the common citizen, but allowing the government to use the NSA to spy on American citizens gives the government access to too much power.

Online Gambling Counter Argument

English 1 Assignment:

Online Gambling

Over the past decade, the internet has created dozens of businesses, making thousands of people wealthy. Among these successful businesses lies Online Gambling. Because of online gambling, people now don't have to even leave their home to spend away all their savings, they can do it in the comfort of their own home. Online gambling has become a problem; so much of a problem that institutions have been created in order to treat problem gamblers that need to recover from their negative gambling addiction. Some people however, can argue that casinos shouldn't spend their profit on institutions that treat problem gamblers since its the persons own fault for gambling away their own money.

Because it is a persons own fault that they gambled away their own money, the argument presented in the upper paragraph may seem like a valid one, however, gambling shouldn't be seen as a hobby, but like an addiction. Gambling is common among adults of all ages, but it’s when an adult starts losing all their money that gambling can be considered addictive. Even though it may not be considered an addiction by many, some online institutions, like the Mayo Clinic, have this addiction listed under “compulsive gambling” or “gambling disorder”. The website for the Mayo Clinic lists specific causes, symptoms, complications, and treatments a person can take in order to get rid of these gambling habits. It’s because of this, that casinos should be the ones to treat these gambling habits since they are the ones that initiated the problem in the first place. 

http://online.lbcc.edu/pluginfile.php/364576/mod_resource/content/1/Online%20Gambling.pdf

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/compulsive-gambling/basics/definition/con-20023242

Problem Gambling

English 1 Assignment:

Wether a person is gambling through the use of cards, dice, or chips, gambling has become a problem among adults of all ages in the United States. Gambling is addictive and can lead to broken families, relationships, and an empty bank account. Sadhbh Walshe’s article “Online Gambling is Anything but Pretty” informs people about the dangers of online gambling and how this problem can be better treatable. With Gambling already being addictive as it is, a new problem arose when companies started using the internet as a way to let their customers gamble and throw their money away. Problem gamblers, people who are addicted to gambling, now have a way to gamble away their money without leaving the comfort of their own homes. According to Walshe’s article, there’s already around 350,000 problem gamblers in the state of New Jersey alone, and that number is expected to rise with online gambling in play. The treatment available should be able to help adults that have been plagued by gambling, but a mere $58.4 million was used to treat the people affected by gambling out of the $95 billion in profit generated by gambling.

The amount of money used for the treatment of problem gamblers is not enough in my opinion. The treatment plans for these people need to go up and a certain percentage of gambling revenue of each casino that promotes not just online gambling, but casino gambling should go directly to treatment homes for problem gamblers.

The Snitch in Your Pocket

The Snitch in Your Pocket Response

Cell phones, without a doubt, contain data on every part of our lives. With our cellphone, one can determine what kind of person we are, what we search for, what food we like, where we have been, who we keep in contact with, and more. Although the government is only limited to tracking what we do on our tech devices, these devices are a portal to our personal lives, and leaves us vulnerable if it were ever in the wrong hands. 

Because of the type of government we live under, the information in our cellphone is not private, it can be accessed by someone in position of power so long as the person knows how to access the data. Michael Isikoff’s article, “The Snitch in Your Pocket” gives reader’s insight on what kind of information the government can access, more important, location data tracking. In the article, Isikoff provides various scenarios in which cell phones companies, such as Sprint, gave the government location data on it’s customers without a legitimate warrant being presented. The information provided by Isikoff brings up a very important question: What can the government do with the data collected, and are we giving the US government too much power over us?

It’s scary, to think that the government keeps records of where we have been and where we currently are. In my opinion, it’s ok that the government has the ability to track where we have been, but only when a proper warrant is provided. Such information might prove useful when used with a criminal investigation. This information however, must only be provided when a proper warrant is filed, if not, we are giving the government too much power. As of now, the information that a government can access it limited, but there is a concern that if this routine continues, the citizens of the United States may face a bigger issue later on when the government starts tracking every single thing that a person does without the need for a cellphone or some sort of tech device being present.

Citizen Four

Citizen Four Response 

On May 14, 2015 my classmates and I had the opportunity to watch the Academy award winning documentary, Citizen Four. The documentary, directed by Laura Poitras, follows famed whistleblower Edward Snowden, and the steps he and his interviewees took in order to expose the NSA’s illegal activities. 

The documentary starts with Laura Poitras receiving an encrypted e-mail from Edward Snowden which contained information about illegal wiretapping practices which were being conducted by the NSA. The film then continues with Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill interviewing Edward Snowden about the different types of illegal practices that the NSA conducts on United States Citizens.

It’s quite interesting the way the US government chooses to illegally spy on it’s own citizens without their knowledge. They deny ever conducting such practices, and yet, there is direct proof that show otherwise. Edward Snowden, an ex-NSA employee saw these illegal activities being done on US citizens and chose to act upon them. Because of the decisions he made, he now lives in Russia and is not allowed to return to American soil. Snowden, in my opinion, made a great decision in exposing the spying practices conducted by the NSA. Because of his sacrifice, Americans now know what kind of government they live under, and the lack of privacy they now have. 

Because of Snowden, US citizens are able to realize that the term privacy is no longer a common thing that Americans get to enjoy on a daily bases. The documentary provides information about how the NSA collects data on American citizens and how they use it to record every habit about that person. The US government now has the ability to see everything we watch on our smartphone, every phone call we make, any google search we do, and see all the places we travel because of the data collected. Because of this, it is now safe to assume that true privacy is now dead.

Step Away from the Tech

Technology is seen everywhere. You walk into a cafe, and not one person can be found not looking at a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Walk outside into the streets, and you will see the same problem occurring with both pedestrians and motorists waiting for the street light to turn green. We just can’t get enough of technology; we love it; we’re addicted to it.

“Technology is powerful, it can be seen as the answer to any problem we as humans face, but lately, it has been seen as almost too powerful, even addictive,” writes Matt Richtel, an author for the New York Times. His article, “Silicon Valley Says Step Away From the Device” explains how bad technological addiction has gotten and how it has even progressed to the point where big Silicon Valley companies are paying attention to the issue. “But hearing it from leaders at many of Silicon Valley’s most influential companies, who profit from people spending more time online, can sound [a bit odd]” (Richtel). The issue sounds a bit unproductive. Why would Silicon Valley companies, who make a profit on people who are constantly online, now be worried about the fact that we as humans now spend too much time in front of the screens of our handhelds? Productivity. Companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Cisco are worried that technology is making us unproductive and hurting our personal interactions. 

Do I agree with these accusations? In short, yes, I have to agree with the fact that we are more lazy, and my procrastination levels have skyrocketed due to my laptop and smartphone. But in the long run, it helps us more than hurt us. Yes, we as humans have an obsession with technology, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some people love technology and use it for the right reasons, others choose to waste time with it. In the end, even though technology can be addictive, it is necessary to build a better future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/24/technology/silicon-valley-worries-about-addiction-to-devices.html?_r=0