Balancing Inflation and Unemployment Rates

                                  

    As seen with the giant economic swings caused by COVID-19 it is very hard for the government to regulate both

inflation and unemployment even having access to complicated macroeconomic models.

    When the entire country shut down due to the spread of COVID-19, the economy took a turn for the worse as people stayed home from work and were not spending money on any non-essential items. This impacted industries from entertainment to restaurants to individuals who were laid off due to these impacted industries. The government stepped in with stimulus checks in order to revitalize the economy by giving consumers the resources to buy the products people needed. This increased the amount of money in circulation which in turn helped industries be able to hire more workers. However the government’s stimulus checks focused on providing macroeconomic stability while now we are dealing with the consequences of high inflation.

    According to Forbes Advisor, “During the Covid-19 economic crisis’s peak, unemployment rates soared 14.7% in April 2020. But as of July 2022, unemployment stands at 3.5%, the lowest level since February 2020.” Unemployment and inflation are inversely related. As unemployment increases, inflation decreases and vice versa. The government tries to balance out these two negatives. In the past, the Federal Reserve has used the Phillips curve as one of its macroeconomic models to set interest rates. The Phillips curve is a model that describes the relationship between inflation and unemployment and is used by the government in order to stabilize pricing while still maintaining high employment rates. Recently with the surge in inflation, many companies are laying off workers in order to deal with inflation. According to Insider, “Silicon Valley slashed some 100,000 jobs in the past six weeks in repentance for its pandemic-era hiring binge.” This is an example of inflation decreasing but unemployment increasing following the Phillips curve model. According to Investopedia, “When more people are working, they have the power to spend, which leads to an increase in demand. And prices (inflation) soon follow. The opposite is true when unemployment rises.” This shows how as inflation rises and labor becomes more expensive, businesses' margins of profit become slim enough that businesses start to lay off people in order to reduce their expenses and this decreases inflation again following the Phillips curve model.

    However, as the economy has changed with income inequality reducing the individual worker’s bargaining power as well as other factors like globalization and the increased efficiency brought by e-commerce, the Phillips curve has become less and less accurate. This has led to it becoming more and more difficult for the government to use fiscal policy to prevent recessions and minimize inflation. This is partly because although businesses now react to future models of inflation predictions, the Phillips curve does not take into account businesses having such advance reactions.

    It is clear that the government will have to take more things into account when creating fiscal policy with the intention of stabilizing prices and the labor market.

Sources:

Forbes Advisor

The Phillips Curve

Insider

NY Times - Tech Layoffs

Phillips Curve Image

UFOs A Threat to National Security?

 

   On February 4, the US military shot down a Chinese “spy balloon” which was claimed by Chinese officials to just be a weather balloon. On February 10 and 11, two more unidentified flying objects were shot down. On February 12, another UFO was shot down over Lake Huron in Michigan. The question is, are these actions by the US military necessary to protect the privacy and safety of its citizens or is the US military being over zealous? 

According to CNN author Peter Burgen, “the number of UFO sightings significantly increased between March 2021 and August 2022, during which time 247 new sightings were reported, mostly by US Navy and Air Force pilots and personnel. That’s almost double the 144 UFO sightings reported in the 17-year period between 2004 to 2021.” Although the amount of UFOs is increasing dramatically, there is still no clear evidence that the increased UFOs sightings are linked to any military operation by another country or any threat to US national security. General Glen VanHerck, commander of US Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command reported the US military had no new information about the three objects downed this weekend as opposed to the clearly identified Chinese balloon shot down on February 4. Despite having no real evidence of a particular reason behind the increased sightings of UFOs, the Pentagon created a new entity called the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office to investigate all credible UFO sightings by both the US military and the intelligence community. 

In addition, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner said on February 12 that he preferred “them to be trigger-happy than to be permissive” when referring to the US military’s use of force without any knowledge of a known threat. And on Thursday February 16, President Joe Biden reported that the three unidentified flying objects shot down were “most likely” balloons owned by private companies, not foreign intelligence agencies.

It seems like there is no conclusive evidence that the UFOs can be dismissed as non-threatening, but are they worth the attention and the money spent on $400K missiles to shoot them down?

Sources:

CNN Opinion Piece

CNN

USA Today

NY Times

Nikki Haley for President 2024?

Nikki Haley

 

    Former South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley said in a video on Tuesday that she will run for president in 2024, becoming the first significant challenger to former President Donald Trump for the Republican nomination. "The Washington elite has failed us again and again. "It's time for a new generation of leadership to rediscover fiscal responsibility, protect our border, and build our nation, our pride, and our purpose," Haley said in the video, speaking at a campaign launch event in Charleston on Wednesday. Under Trump, Haley served as the United States' ambassador to the United Nations.

    The former president, who launched his candidacy last year, recently appeared to endorse her entry into the race, telling reporters that she had called to inform him she was thinking about launching a campaign, and he had told her, "You should do it."

If she wins the primary, Haley will be the Republican Party's first female and Asian American presidential nominee. During her video announcement, Haley emphasized her record as a twice-elected South Carolina governor and her leadership in the state following the deadly shooting of nine people at a historically Black church in Charleston in 2015. Following the incident, Haley demanded that the Confederate flag be removed from the grounds of the Statehouse. In her announcement, she also drew on her foreign policy expertise, mentioning her stint as UN ambassador and claiming to have "seen evil."

As the second major candidate she looks to be Trump's biggest competitor. Not only is she the first candidate to openly challenge Trump, she is the first woman of color to run for Republic nomination. So that means Haley’s candidacy will be a high-profile test of how a woman of color is received by Republican primary voters.

Other prospective GOP contenders in this lane include Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who are all believed to be considering 2024 campaigns and may similarly appeal to conservative Republicans wanting to turn the page on Trump. According to some Republican strategists, a large Republican primary field would benefit Trump, who still has enormous support among the party's base, and may fragment the vote, allowing the former president to win the nomination.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/14/politics/nikki-haley-2024-announcement/index.html

https://nikkihaley.com/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/nikki-haley-enters-gop-presidential-race-as-first-major-trump-challenger-4f88d0da

Not Another Pandemic...

Something new, something blue. Something floating, something flu. Currently, one of the largest bird flu outbreaks is occurring. Bad enough as it is, here's the kicker: it appears that the virus has managed to infect mammals (including us!!!). Rare as they may be, it only takes a bit o' mutating in order to get widespread infections among our populations. Will this flu be the next pandemic? Hopefully not. Though if it does happen, and is handled the same way COVID was, then uh oh, spaghettio. 

Bird flu, at least the current strain, H5N1, first came about in 2020, spreading to Africa, Asia, and Europe, then crossing over to NA in 2021. Bird flu is very, very contagious among avian populations, including chickens, eagles, hawks, ducks, geese, etc. From there, skunks, foxes, dolphins, bears, and others have also been detected to have the virus, though most of these cases appear to be from eating an infected bird. 

Though there are cases that demonstrate mammal to mammal transmission, which is a big red flag. A mink farm in Spain, and dead seals in Maine. On the farm, minks that exhibited symptoms usually died within a few days. However, the real problem begins here: autopsies revealed pneumonia in their lungs; lungs closer to those of a human's than a bird's. Ferrets are our best model for human influenza infection, and happen to be close relatives to minks, meaning if the minks got it, then we might have a problem. Sequencing the strain, researchers discovered a mutation that does not exist in the bird version: "T271A in the PB2 gene" - which was also seen in the 2009 swine flu H1N1, which was responsible for more than 12,000 deaths in the US according to the CDC. Scientists worry that this may be the prelude to a human epidemic.

As of December, the WHO reported 6 infected from circulating bird flu strains. The 4 cases in the US and Europe were asymptomatic/mild, while the patient in Vietnam developed severe symptoms but lived, while the patient in China unfortunately died. At the moment, it's difficult for the virus to do human to human, and the overwhelming majority of cases are caused by close contact with birds. The flu targets the lower respiratory tract, showing preference in the lungs. This is both a good and bad thing; it means there are less viral particles concentrated in the nose and mouth, meaning less infectivity, but also means it is more capable of causing severe disease. 

Given the viral nature, bird flu is unpredictable. It currently doesn't appear to support widespread mammalian transmission, but that obviously isn't a guarantee. Therefore, there is a nonzero chance that bird flu does in fact become a pandemic. Basically, scientists don't know when and how likely bird flu will become a pandemic, or if it will at all. Thus, be safe.

Assuming it does happen, the US may have some issues just like they did COVID. One critical issue was a decentralized response. Because of how our government is structured, a lot of the pandemic response was left up to state and local leaders, which led to a rinky-dink patchwork of policies that did not synergize at all, leading to spikes of infection, domino-ing into a huge burden on the healthcare system as hospitals filled up. Obviously, that was a disaster, especially when compared to how other nations handled it. They say history repeats itself, and we always hope it doesn't. But they say that for a reason.

 

Sources:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2023/02/10/bird-flu-next-pandemic-preparation/11218600002/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-u-s-pandemic-response-went-wrong-and-what-went-right-during-a-year-of-covid/

True or False: George Santos

 The saga of Geroge Santos continues 

We have all heard about the “resume embellishment” and the contradicting stories around his mother’s death as well as about his volleyball prowess, but despite catching Congressman George Santos in so many lies, he is still in office. 

What does this say about the state of our government?  And more importantly, what does it say about how people are voting? It is interesting to see that the North Shore Leader, the local newspaper in New York’s third district, wrote articles calling into doubt some of what Mr. Santos said on the campaign trail. The Leader even went as far as endorsing the “Democratic candidate, saying it wanted to support a Republican but that Mr. Santos ‘is so bizarre, unprincipled and sketchy that we cannot.’”  

So why did Santos win with a 54% of the vote? It's due to more party-line voting, especially for those still believing the debunked lies regarding election fraud in the recent presidential election. This is a key point of why George Santos isn’t funny. Not only was Santos able to run while telling lies, but he was also able to win elections by targeting a select audience. Unfortunately, even the speaker of the house hesitating on the decision for him to be removed highlights the fact that someone who lies their way into political roles can secure and maintain their position. 

The amazing part is that Santos continues to lie and seems to ignore the fact that he keeps getting caught.  Following his run-in with Senator Mitt Romney at the State of the Union address, he claimed that “Kyrsten Sinema told him to 'hang in there.'” but CNN reports that her office says that’s a 'lie.' At this point, Santos is starting to lie about things with zero relevance to anything and people are starting to take notice. Now his own party is pointing out lies. According to a survey from Newsday and Siena College “A total of 78% of voters in the Nassau County and Queens district want the 34-year-old GOP lawmaker to resign, including 89% of Democrats, 72% of independents and 71% of Republicans.”  In fact, his office in Washington DC is regularly protested by people from his district. Despite the recognition of these lies and since there is no call for his resignation from Republican congressional leadership, it looks like at least the people within his district have had enough.  

How can he represent the people of his district if they don’t trust him or want him in office by a vast majority? This is a big question for him, especially since he must now declare if he is running in the next election.  This decision is important as it impacts if he can raise money and how he spends it.  The financing of his last election has already been called into question and there is an ethics committee investigation.

Sources:

Picture: https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meetthepressblog/poll-78-santos-voters-want-resign-rcna68349

Articles: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/01/17/george-santos-is-the-congressman-america-deserves

-https://nypost.com/2023/01/31/poll-78-of-george-santos-constituents-say-he-should-resign/

-https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64587233

-https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/3852008-gop-senators-sympathetic-to-romneys-call-for-santos-to-resign/

-https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/10/politics/fec-george-santos-campaign-fundraising/index.html

U.S. Sends Aid After Earthquake in Turkey and Syria

On February 6, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, destroying homes and buildings, leaving more than 21,000 dead so far, with more than 17,000 deaths in Turkey and more than 3,000 in Syria. In addition to this there are more than 78,000 injured people across both of the countries. It is one of the deadliest earthquakes in the past 20 years, and the strongest earthquake in Turkey since the 1930s. 

President Joe Biden said that his "administration has been working closely with our NATO Ally Turkey". Since then, the U.S. has transported first responders and multiple urban search and rescue teams to provide aid to it's ally. However, according to spokesperson for the United States Department of State, Ned Price, the U.S. will aid Syria through non governmental organizations without engaging with the Syrian government. 

Syrian officials condemned the United State's refusal to engage with their country's government even following a deadly earthquake, but Price says that "It would be quite ironic — if not even counterproductive — for us to reach out to a government that has brutalised its people over the course of a dozen years now" He asserts that while aid will be provided, no U.S. funded humanitarian aid will be provided through the Syrian regime.

I think that while it may seem cruel to be refusing to send direct aid, it's a perfectly reasonable action. The Syrian government has no diplomatic relations with the U.S. and aid is still being sent, albeit through groups not affiliated with the government. Politics are an important consideration in every situation, and emergencies are no exception.

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3293241/us-aids-turkey-after-devastating-quakes/
https://www.newsweek.com/syria-says-us-politicizes-earthquake-after-refusal-send-aid-assad-1779637 
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/6/us-pledges-post-earthquake-aid-but-no-contact-with-syrias-assad 
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/06/u-s-response-blinken-turkey-syria-earthquake-00081307 
https://www.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/turkey-syria-earthquake-updates-2-9-23-intl/index.html 

ChatGPT's Potential Future in Education and Government

We've all heard of ChatGPT. Some of us might have used it once or twice, perhaps just to dip your toes in the water and see it for yourself, or maybe write up a little text based narrative, maybe for homework help, or even important life decisions. Or even, used it to do a little cheaty-cheat here and there. However, it is capable of so much more. It can do a wide array of things among those listed above, but some of the more useful features are explaining complex topics simply, guessing and/or diagnosing medical issues, writing accurate code, writing emails, ads, blog posts(not this one though), up to entire essays. With a myriad of potential, the sky's the limit. But before the current potential issue with it, a little bit on how it works. 

Created by OpenAI, ChatGPT is, at its heart, an AI based chatbot. From my own, limited understanding of AI, ChatGPT mimics human behavior by studying and analyzing an unimaginable amount of data, and then generates a response to a question asked of it using that data and its own kind of learning. But here is a more professional explanation: "The program uses a deep learning technique called "transformer architecture" to sift through several terabytes of data that contain billions of words to create answers to prompts or questions. ChatGPT's predecessors include GPT-3, which also generates text, but has been trained on a much larger set of data. While this makes GPT-3 more powerful, ChatGPT is faster, more capable of generating human-like answers, and is available to the public. The bot works in the same way that AI generator tools like DALL-E 2, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion do - but much like how those programs can create unrealistic images, ChatGPT is not always accurate." As it states, the AI is not an omnipotent being, and is wrong on occasion, as I have seen before. However, there is no denying its infinite usefulness, especially when it comes to the schoolzone battleground.

Many students around the world have differing opinions on the uses and applications of ChatGPT. However, common consensus is that it's a fun toy to experiment with, it can provide decent help and writing, and, of course, is a tool that can be used for cheating. However, the differing opinions were present, too, boiling down to these 2 main contenders: AI is the future, and is only beginning, and AI is some kind of crutch that will destroy our motivation and ability to do things. Both of these have merit, and really the only way to know is the passage of time. Here are some of those student sentiments: "In almost all classes in school, ChatGPT should not be used. As it continues to get better and better, ChatGPT will be doing work that the student should do for them." and "I’ve had experience using ChatGPT before and it’s been really helpful for me: When using it for personal questions, joke questions, or help on school assignments, it helps me gather research or understand the topic a lot better and faster …"

Onto how it relates here, though. AI will inevitably find its way into the workforce, and actually do what many fear most: replacing jobs. And from there, will undoubtedly come regulations and such. On the topic of regulations, in the regulatory process, there is a time period for comments and whatnot before said regulations take effect. Supposedly, humans are making these comments. However, interested parties might be able to wield ChatGPT and flood the system. As Washington Post states: "There is no law against using software to aid in the production of public comments, or legal documents for that matter, and if need be a human could always add some modest changes." Hardly the only area AI can use as a playground, another example of the potential plethora is something we're familiar with: grassroots lobbying. No longer will actual people have to compose letters and emails to their local lawperson, a computer can do it for them - and possibly even better, at that. Obviously, that would eventually pose problems due to the astroturfing nature of something like that.  

Though ChatGPT has no opinions and emotions of its own, from its current understanding of itself, this is what it had to say about its educational use and cheating:

O

Here is another example of its "opinion", or more accurately, analysis on government related uses: 

So enough from me, what are your opinions on AI? Is it the future, or our doom?

Sources used: 

https://www.context.news/ai/what-is-chatgpt-and-will-it-steal-our-jobs

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/02/learning/students-chatgpt.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/chatgpt-could-makedemocracy-even-more-messy/2022/12/06/e613edf8-756a-11ed-a199-927b334b939f_story.html

https://chat.openai.com/chat (try it for yourself!)

Ohio train derailment and evacuation

Earlier this month (Feb 3), by the border of Ohio and Pennsylvania, the town of East Palestine reported seeing a large plume of smoke. The cloud of smoke was caused by a train that derailed after a mechanical issue with a few of the wheel axles. The train was carrying vinyl chloride, an extremely toxic and flammable gas that was fatal if inhaled. Governor DeWine said the Ohio Department of Health would have to allow the chemical to safely run into a collecting trench, where it would be safely handled and removed. His statement said that this collection method is the safest removal option as of right now, and the best explosion preventative measure. Seeing as the gas was volatile at the time of the explosion, he ordered an evacuation of anyone living within a two mile radius. Around 5,000 people were displaced but were given refuge at two evacuation centers nearby. 911 emergency centers for that town have had to relocate, with assurances that emergency services wouldn't be affected, and schools within this area have been closed for the coming week. A shelter in place has been enacted, and the town will remain closed until all the chemical run off has been safely handled. As of February 6th, no other news about citizens going home have been released.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/06/us/east-palestine-ohio-train-derailment-fire-monday/index.html

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64540530

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/fearing-explosion-officials-release-toxic-chemical-ohio-train-derailme-rcna69405

The growing debate over the AP African American studies course and its indication of Americans’ divided stance on Educational Freedom

 

Back in mid January, the College Board unveiled their new pilot AP course on African American history. Yet, after facing much backlash and criticism from conservative leaders and some scholars and professors, the College Board published revisions to the course, many which ameliorated the criticism that was widespread from the right. 

The government in Florida banned the course, on the basis that such topics of race. The state legislature recently passes laws that restricted from teacher in the state from speaking about such issues so that “ students are not made to feel guilty for racist acts carried out by others.” As per the terminology of the law, “A person should not be instructed that he or she must feel guilt, anguish, or other forms of psychological distress for actions, in which he or she played no part.” Florida’s republican governor Ron DeSantis has been at the forefront of the criticism of the course, and claimed that it had no place in the state of Florida. 

Yet, the most recent changes to the course remove lessons on Black Lives Matter, and readings from left-leaning authors such as Kimberlé Crenshaw, which talk about critical race theory. Joshua Myers from Howard University targeted liberals and their actions, stating “it shows how  far liberals will go to confront the creeping fascism in this country. And that’s not very far at all”. Myers argued that the liberals are actually not doing enough to fight for the educational freedom, and are not willing to go to far lengths in order to stand up for what they believe in. 

I believe that the criticism from both sides only serves to highlight the divided country that the United States is in the role of race, history, and educational freedom. We have those on the far right arguing that black history is not a crucial part of American History, while we have those on the left fighting to make sure that all students are exposed to the truth of black history. I think that what the College board is doing is great in introducing and making the topic of black history more widespread and important throughout the curriculum. I found much value and learning from the topics that we learned about with regards to black history, leaders, and movements last year in the 11th grade and feel that the same knowledge and education should not be restricted to students throughout the country.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/ap-african-american-studies-course-watered-gop-pressure-rcna68454 (includes video) 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/02/02/college-board-ap-african-american-studies-criticism/ 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/afro-latinos-desantis-black-ap-studies-rcna69036 

Sacramento, California born Tyre Nicholas, death in extreme police altercation

    

    Police brutality continues to rise in America even after the 2020 promise of systemic reform. On January 9th, 29-year-old Tyre Nichols was pulled over in Memphis, Tennessee for claims of reckless driving by patrolling officers. Nichols pleaded to officers that he was only trying to get to his home which was two minutes away from where he had been stopped. This led to an extreme altercation where several officers forced Nichols to the ground yelling, “I’m going to beat your a** and I’m going to tase your a**!” shown in body camera footage found during the investigation of Nichols's death. Nichols was continuously beaten on the ground by officers while calling for his nearby mother. He attempted to stop officials due to “feeling shortness of breath”. Four of the seven officers continued to kick, punch, and strike him in the face and torso with their batons despite Nichols's pleas. Only after three minutes of a beating did officers stop and “render him aid”. Three days after being detained by police, Tyre Nicholas was pronounced dead at the Memphis St. Francis Hospital.

    On January 18th, the federal investigation of the beating took place, resulting in five of the officers who were involved being fired and charged with murder by January 20th. “Four of the officers had previously been disciplined, including two who had failed to report the use of force during arrests”. Yesterday, February 3rd, the Memphis PD fired the white officer responsible for pulling Nichols over on account of “violating multiple police guidelines in his encounter with Nichols.” Guidelines violated included “personal conduct, truthfulness, and a violation for not using the taser in compliance with regulations”. Two of the EMTs who first arrived to treat Nichols were suspended for not providing care until “19 minutes after arriving at the scene”. Body camera footage of the beating was released to the Shelby County deputies on January 27th a day before two more police were relieved of their duties during the investigation.

    This is among the thousands of police brutality deaths that have occurred in the U.S. since 2020. After the death of George Floyd in 2020, Cerelyn Davis testified before Congress demanding “police reform”. However, three years later there has still been little reform. Some progress has been made such that states have passed hundreds of bills to improve policing. But even so, “shootings by police have risen each year since 2020, and last year, police shot and killed nearly 1,100 people, according to a Washington Post database tracking such cases”. 

    The constant amount of police brutality that keeps occuring, specifically towards black people demonstrates the lack of progress being made to stop racial injustices. Although the use of weapons such as guns weren’t used in this case nor George Floyd’s, there is still a large amount where police have opened fire onto already wounded and unarmed black individuals. Unless there is a dramatic change made to police training, these injustices will continue.

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-memphis-police-are-not-bystanders-to-the-death-of-tyre-nichols

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/26/us/tyre-nichols-memphis-police.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/30/us/memphis-officer-suspended-tyre-nichols.html

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sixth-officer-relieved-duty-tyre-nichols-death-memphis-police-say-rcna68192

https://abcnews.go.com/US/tyre-nichols-timeline-investigation-death/story?id=96695791

https://apple.news/ADderXx3QSqC8ukUQXyfdfw

Democrats make South Carolina the first state in the presidential primary voting order.

On Saturday, February 4th, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) officially moved South Carolina ahead of Iowa and New Hampshire as the first states in the presidential primary. This was in response to President Biden's recommendation. 

The DNC chairman Jaime Harrison argued that this move promotes more diverse states, and “puts Black voters at the front of the process in South Carolina. It keeps Nevada, where Latinos have been building power... And it adds Michigan, the heartland, where unions built the middle class of this nation. And Georgia, the forefront of the new South."

The new calendar places South Carolina first, on February 3rd, 2024 and New Hampshire and Nevada on February 6th. The calendar is not yet fully finalized as the states need to agree to the rules and change their primary dates. 

This change is impactful because it alters a tradition that has been long standing. The topic connects to the unit we learned about the presidential election process and the role that primaries and caucuses hold in the presidential campaigns. We learned about how winning New Hampshire and Iowa has a large impact on how candidates run their campaigns, as was evident in the movie that we watched where Bill Clinton was campaigning. 

I think this move is beneficial and a positive change put into motion by the democratic party. By giving more importance and power to states that are more representative of minorities, the president election and campaign process is becoming more democratic. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/democrats-make-south-carolina-first-presidential-primary-voting-state-rcna68918 

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/04/dnc-presidential-primary-calendar-00081206

https://www.wsj.com/articles/south-carolina-is-expected-to-get-first-slot-on-democrats-2024-primary-calendar-11675479039

Chinese Spy Balloon over Nuke Silos

Earlier this week, a large white balloon was spotted flying over Central US, flying from Alaska down to Billings, Montana. Officials suspect it to be a surveillance ship sent by the Chinese, hovering around 60,000 feet above the ground, flying over the nuclear missile silos and other restricted areas around Montana. It was observed changing courses but wasn't deemed to be a threat. In a statement from the Pentagon, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said they spoke to Chinese officials, who claimed it was a civilian airship that got turned around. Brig. Gen Ryder disagrees, and while he maintains that its not a threat, shooting it down would cause falling debris that has the potential to harm civilians. He reiterates that anything observed would be useless due to the altitude and there wasn't anything there that existing low orbit satellites wouldn't have already observed.

https://apnews.com/article/politics-antony-blinken-china-314302278a5f05bdc2df146ed5b35ec6

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64515033

https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/suspected-chinese-balloon-us/index.html

An update to the California Senate Bill 2

 

On February 1st, after the increased mass shootings occurring in California, Governor Gavin Newsom along with Attorney General Rob Bonta, and Secretary Anthony Portantino issued Senate Bill 2 to “strengthen California’s public carry laws”. In these shootings, a total of 18 people were killed. The first occurred in Monterey Park on January 21st, where 11 were killed and 9 wounded. The second was on January 23rd in Half Moon Bay, where 7 were killed and 1 was critically injured. 

The Bill was first signed on September 30th, 2021 and outlined the necessary requirements for police officer certification. The newest version of the Bill enhances the existing system by “ensuring those permitted to carry firearms in public are responsible and law-abiding individuals”. It also sets the minimum age requirement to “21 years of age to obtain a CCW license” and “advances the training requirements where proper handling, loading, unloading, and storing are taught” to individuals wanting a gun. This Bill also establishes safe community places where guns are prohibited “in areas people should expect freedom from gun violence”.

Newsom documented a statement on the Office of Gavin Newsom that this was not only a response to the recent shootings but also due to “the U.S. Supreme Court striking down a New York law, where aspects of which mirrored California’s public carry laws”. The high-profile gun-control bill being struck down has left states like California in New York scrambling to rewrite their gun safety laws amidst the decision. 

General Rob Bonta states that “The Second Amendment is not a regulatory straightjacket — we must protect our communities,” as a response to the many people arguing that stricter gun laws are a violation of people's Second Amendment rights. According to the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, since 2021 California has been the number one state for gun safety with the state seeing a 37% lower gun death rate than the national average. 

However, despite even more restrictions being placed on how people can obtain guns such as the age and training requirements the question remains if this will be enough to stop more mass shootings. While this Bill has was only updated less than 32 hours ago, if it can positively impact the percentage of mass shootings occurring quickly Californias gun death rate will continue to depreciate significantly more. Many people want guns to protect themselves or their families, but at what cost does wanting a gun for safety outweigh the deaths occurring because of those with the guns? These new laws highlight the division of the country in which the line between self-protection with a gun, and the danger of owning guns is indifferent. 

https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/02/01/governor-newsom-takes-action-to-strengthen-californias-gun-safety-laws

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-01/california-concealed-carry-gun-law-supreme-court-ruling

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/30/us/half-moon-bay-repair-bill-monday/index.html

https://abc7.com/911-calls-released-monterey-park-mass-shooting/12762690/

https://post.ca.gov/sb-2

Madison Square Garden uses Facial Recognition Technology to Blacklist Lawyers from Their Venues

 

With the war in Ukraine, the Pandemic and myriad other world events, seemingly little things like advancements in facial recognition technology (FRT) go unnoticed. The ability to to create an adaptive database of people, that with automated surveillance can in very little time point out a specific individual, is unsurprisingly controversial. And, while most companies steer clear of this little man-made-horror-beyond-our-comprehension, a few pioneering corporations have opted to institute it in their facilities.

One of said corporations is Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSG). For this New York City based company (that runs several theaters and other venues), FRT is employed for security purposes. It works to streamline the identification process of entrants and blacklist problematic individuals. These individuals include: thieves, felons, sex offenders and people who speak out against Madison Square Garden Entertainment.

Strikingly, 90 different law firms are currently upholding lawsuits against MSG. Several lawyers from those firms, not working on lawsuits related to MSG, have legally purchased tickets to an MSG Venue and been denied entry. Every single employee of the 90 law firms posing suits against MSG have been blacklisted from attending. 

The New York Attorney General Lelita James requested that MSG hand in information within regards to its use of facial recognition technology over concerns that the company was violating personal freedoms and human rights. Attorney General James warns that this system of retaliation against law firms: “...may dissuade lawyers from taking on legitimate cases against the company, including sexual harassment or employment discrimination claims, in order to avoid the alleged ban…” 

Not being able to watch Mariah Carrey perform live may seem far from an infringement on human rights, but when you consider what it would be like if business practices like this were more commonplace, these applications of technology are much more concerning. 

Another place FRT is being implemented is in airports, a critical piece of infrastructure for long distance travel. If MSG can stop you from attending a concert, could airlines keep you from traveling if you had spoken out against their ethics, or their effects on the climate? At the moment probably not but in a future where corporations punishing their criticizers is normalized that might not be too far off. 

The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) seeks to ensure“technological advancements don’t come at the expense of age-old rights.” STOP is tracking many of the current court cases related to facial recognition technology, and while there has been some progress in New York and Illinois to protect facial privacy, those areas seem to be the bulk of the movement.

STOP is concerned about FRT's potential for discrimination, both intentionally and unintentionally. STOP representative Albert Fox Cahn warns about systematic racism in the misidentification of BIPOC by FRT. STOP is also highly concerned with the prospect of FRT being used in tandem with recordings of protestors to punish anyone critical of police brutality.
A normalization of this technology would mean a loss of privacy. Not just in outdoor places but at home, too. Cameras are everywhere.  If that statement seems overly paranoid, check your pocket, your surroundings or whatever device you're viewing this on. The good thing is, the idea of being tracked and recognized by technology isn’t deemed normal. It’s scary. So, before that fear is replaced by a longing for the days when you could walk out into a crowd and not be under the judgment of every corporate, government or personal camera, let’s secure this privacy for ourselves.

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2023/attorney-general-james-seeks-information-madison-square-garden-regarding-use 

https://www.stopspying.org/ai-protest-surveillance-lawsuit

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/nyregion/madison-square-garden-facial-recognition.html?searchResultPosition=2

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/18/podcasts/the-daily/facial-recognition-madison-square-garden.html?searchResultPosition=1

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/nyregion/madison-square-garden-facial-recognition.html?searchResultPosition=2