2014+PERIOD+2+GOVERNMENT

__**Internet Security**__ By Erik The National Surveillance Agency, or the NSA has been logging our data for years in order to fight terrorism. They have information on every one of us, and can even pinpoint your location to a couple of feet, while this data is used to find and intercept terrorists, it is also a huge invasion of our privacy. Link to video on NSA: [] Link to podcast on the NSA:[] The NSA gets location data from smartphones by logging gps location, triangulating their distance from multiple towers, and even using wifi signals to further pinpoint your location. they do this to track targets and find associates. they first find the target, and track everyone in his general location, and then they narrow it down, by looking at who moves to different areas with him as the target moves from tower to tower, then all they have to do is profile the possible associate. in order to profile their targets the NSA tracks your ip address (your device's internet fingerprint), and logs all the websites you go to, and all the interactions you have with other people online, they know what games you play, who you’re friends with, what kind of music you listen to, and they can even identify what groups you associate with, and your beliefs in government, religion, etc. they then use this data to identify your level of threat to the country, and if you go off and use any kind of encryption then the NSA is more likely to target you. One example of this kind of encryption is called tor, it stands for the onion router, and it works by encrypting your network traffic and sending it around multiple different servers, while the NSA still can’t see where you are on the internet, they will look at you as a bigger threat when using this. also your internet service provider can still see what websites you are visiting. isps and companies like google and apple have given up their data on everyone that uses their services to the nsa on multiple occasions. To Learn more about these topics check out the following links: [|__http://lifehacker.com/what-is-tor-and-should-i-use-it-1527891029__] [|__http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/page/world/how-the-nsa-is-tracking-people-right-now/634/__] [|__http://www.commondreams.org/news/2013/09/28/nsa-collecting-private-data-socially-profile-americans__]
 * __ Protection vs. Freedom: __** ** __Where do we draw the line?__ **

**__Political Censorship by__****__The American Government:__** By Andrew



One very controversial topic now is if governments should be aloud to control the media through censorship. Censorship is the act of suppressing media which is considered inappropriate, harmful and sensitive, by controlling bodies. They're are different types of censorship including Moral censorship, Book censorship, film censorship, music censorship, and political censorship. Today, we are only going to talk about political censorship because this form creates the most controversy. Some people feel that it is wrong for governments to control the media but, some government including Cuba, China, and especially North Korea heavily censor books, magazines, newspapers, television programs, the internet and other types of media.

Currently the U.S. government does not control censorship But, it was not always like this in the United States. We have had censorship on american soil since the beginning and over time time it has gotten either better or worse. One of the first attempts towards freedom of the press in the future United states of america was the trial John Peter Zenger in 1733. Zenger was a german man that printed a newspaper called The New York Weekly Journal and the paper clearly pointed the corruptness of royal governor of New York, William S. Cosby. The article accused him of rigging elections and other assortments of Crimes that made him seem unintelligent. Despite Zenger only printed and did not write the article he sent to jail on Libel charges of opposing the government.

At his trial Andrew Hamilton of Philadelphia, stepped up to defend Zenger and demanded to prove him not guilty because as Andrew Hamilton said at the trial “Truth cannot be Libel". The Judge demanded that the jury convict him guilty if they believed he printed the article but, the jury then convicted him not guilty ten minutes later. This trial then lead to the first amendment of the US constitution containing freedom of the press. Despite, this there have been various examples throughout US history involving censorship. The most common example are The Sedition acts of 1798.

Link To Video On John Peter Zenger: []



The Sedition acts were created by the federalists and signed into law by President Adams. They included the ability to prohibited public opposition to the government. Those who wrote, print, utter, or publish any "false and scandalous” against the government would be finned or imprisoned. Under these terms 20 republican newspaper editors were either finned or arrested and representative Mathew Lyon of Vermont was arrested for criticizing president Adams. These laws obviously went against the first amendment and freedom of the press but the supreme court did not declare it unconstitutional because all the Justices in the supreme court at the time were all federalists. This then caused James Madison and Thomas Jefferson to call apron the state legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky to declare the federal law invalid. This then caused the sedition acts to be appealed but this is far from the end of political censorship.

So, in 1966, The freedom of Information act (or the FOIA) was signed into law. This law states that anyone can have access to federal agency records or information. The FOIA does not allow access to records held by the US Congress, the federal judiciary, state or local government agencies, or those held by private businesses or individuals. This was then challenged in 1971 when a classified government study called the pentagon papers were published in various newspapers. The government then tried to stop the publication but the supreme court ruled in favor of the papers.

Link to Video on FOIA: []

To Learn more about these topics check out the following links: [] [] [] [] []

__**U.S. Airport Security**__ By Jonathan

The TSA (Transportation Security administration) is an organization that formed after the events of September 11th, 2001 when a terrorist organization crashed two planes in the world trade center and the Pentagon. Its job at the time was to monitor any and all security when traveling on an airplane, to make sure that an event like this would never happen again. To do the job, they have enlisted new techniques when one enters the airport, to check for terrorist and stop them from killing innocent lives.

Link to airport security footage: []

__Airport Security__

Some ways that they increased security are simple, adding massive gates around the terminals and watch all activity at every entry point to make sure no one unauthorized gets through. This leaves anyone who wants to fly to go through all security checkpoints, which starts by people checking out your ID to make sure if you’re aren’t a terrorist. These people also ask you questions like “Have you always had your luggage at all times” or, “has anyone asked you to carry any items for them”. This, while strange, is very important because if someone was a terrorist and you weren’t careful, they could slip in an explosive into your luggage or anything else that could potentially lead to the flight being compromised. The airport also plays an automated message on the loudspeakers many times a day so you don’t lose track of their luggage and unintentionally carry a bomb on your flight.

With your identification out of the way, they put you through the next point of airport security, metal detectors. At this point, you put all of your possessions you have right now and put them on a conveyor belt through an X-ray machine to check for a bomb, a gun, or any kind of object that can be considered harmful. The security also checks for chemicals that could be used to make a bomb by taking a cloth, sweeping it over an object in question, and run that through a machine that tells them whether or not it’s a harmful chemical. You’re also asked you to take off your shoes and to go through a full body scan, and a pat down if necessary. While they check you carry on items, you walk through a metal detector to check for anything harmful, which sometimes causes someone to be pulled aside because some items have metal in them, and they have to check in case that item could be a weapon. While at this point of security, they take your luggage and put them in a building that has a huge array of X-rays and check for any elicit items. When all of that is finished you can get on your flight, however some flights have a person called an air marshal, a person who is disguised as a passenger who is put there to stop a conflict if one arises (check the link below it you want to know more).

__Public Backlash__



While most people can agree that the TSA has stopped some a potential repeat of the September 11th attacks, others think that they’re not doing a good job with their methods. An example of this “incompetence” is talked about in a USA today article called “TSA gives fliers a bad feeling”, about how the new “Pre-Check” option (a program that allows you to go onto a shorter line) is just airport security pre-9-11, and that there were a few red flags not noticed by the staff of the airport. The article also makes the point that security is taking liquids like water at the checkpoint, but it does not dispose of it for whatever reason. Not only that, but on their social media outlets (YouTube, Twitter) they don’t allow any comments on their posts/videos, which gives off the feeling of distrust.

It’s even worse for people who are “watch-listed”, that means that they can be considered a terrorist and must be searched thoroughly when they are going to fly on an airplane. One such man named Peter Young, an animal rights activist, who started a blog some time after being put on the list. The reason he was apparently watch listed was he was found guilty of freeing minks from fur farms in three different states. Even though he wasn’t a terrorist in the traditional sense, the specific crime is called “animal enterprise terrorism”, which was considered a crime ever since George W. Bush passed the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. Now, whenever he gets on a plane, he is forced to go through the full body scanner and go through “special screening”. This involves his luggage being looked through, his computer files are searched, everything is tested for bomb residue, and has a thorough pat down from security. Some people aren’t even allowed to fly on a plane, and the number of people on that list has significantly increased from 16 people in 2001, to about 47,000 people by 2013.

Link to news clip about an Anti-TSA activist:[]

To Learn more about these topics check out the following links: [|www.tsa.gov] [] [|http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2014/01/26/tsa-airport-security/4922563/] [|http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/blog/seat2B/2012/08/a-tsa-report-card-the-good-bad-grounded.html?page=all] [|http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2014/10/22/jetsetting-terrorist-was-watchlisted-for-animal-activism/] [|http://ccrjustice.org/learn-more/faqs/factsheet%3A-animal-enterprise-terrorism-act-(aeta)] [|https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/08/05/watch-commander]/ ** __How__ **__** other countries handle these matters **__

__China __

**__Censorship __**


 * Certain news broadcasts are censored by being blacked out during certain segments.
 * During the Summer Beijing Olympics, all China TV stations were forced to delay live broadcasts by 10 seconds. This was to give time to censor staged political protests.
 * During a tv report on the inauguration of Obama, China Central TV abruptly cut away from the coverage of Obama’s address when he stated how earlier generations faced down fascism and communism.
 * Censorship in China is very difficult due to the hacking of satellite signals that give direct access to channels and programs in the Asian Pacific Region.
 * Here is the news report in China for Obama's inauguration:
 * []

__ISRAEL__ Instead of weird machines to send your luggage through, step through to detect metal, or other scary and intimidating devices, Israel uses trained staff and intelligence gathering to make sure people are ok to fly. Among these strategies is a lengthy, mechanical Question and Answer, finishing with an intense searching of your luggage.

To Learn more about these topics check out the following links: [] [] []