I deleted my google site, and am working on rossjsabasteanski.com.
It should be up and running soon!
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Are we safe?
With North Korea gearing up to launch a rocket into space, America and governments around the world are preparing to respond. Or, at least they should be. According to a NYT article, the Obama’s administration has decided not to try and stop the launch. While this may seem okay, consider that Secretary Gates said, “I don’t know anyone at a senior level in the American government who does not believe this technology is intended as a mask for the development of an intercontinental ballistic missile.” That, along with North Korea’s nuclear program, should put fear into Americans.
Instead, the President chose to focus his efforts on Pakistan and Afghanistan. While this is noble and generally seen as an okay thing to do, this is not the time. North Korea is not considered a stable country, as it is under a communist regime, and steps should be taken to stop inroads that cannot be reversed. If they do launch this rocket, then it spells danger for democratic people across the world. What is probably not going to happen will be a direct launch from North Korea to, say, Japan. No one is a winner in that situation. What worries me is that they could give the technology to groups that intend to do harm, such as Al Qaeda.
This is a serious test for the President. It does not only have an implication in terms of his negotiation skills, but it also concerns the validity of his “diplomacy first” international relations scheme and overall judgment. He appears to be ignoring the advice of his Defense Secretary, which could cost the lives of innocents. This could signal his disregard of the opinions of those with another opinion.
It is also worth considering that the only legitimate threat from another foreign government is from an atomic warhead or other missile. Why should we not protect ourselves anyway? There are always things that are unpredicatable, and this would be a good investment. After all, we spend as much as the rest of the world combined on defense. Who is going to invade us? This would also fit in with President Obama’s non-interventionist policy.
There is, however, undoubtedly more behind the decision that what I have described here. Regardless of any ignorance the public is afflicted with, the resolution of this international situation will forebode partially our nation’s fate for the next four years.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/washington/30military.html?ref=todayspaper
Instead, the President chose to focus his efforts on Pakistan and Afghanistan. While this is noble and generally seen as an okay thing to do, this is not the time. North Korea is not considered a stable country, as it is under a communist regime, and steps should be taken to stop inroads that cannot be reversed. If they do launch this rocket, then it spells danger for democratic people across the world. What is probably not going to happen will be a direct launch from North Korea to, say, Japan. No one is a winner in that situation. What worries me is that they could give the technology to groups that intend to do harm, such as Al Qaeda.
This is a serious test for the President. It does not only have an implication in terms of his negotiation skills, but it also concerns the validity of his “diplomacy first” international relations scheme and overall judgment. He appears to be ignoring the advice of his Defense Secretary, which could cost the lives of innocents. This could signal his disregard of the opinions of those with another opinion.
It is also worth considering that the only legitimate threat from another foreign government is from an atomic warhead or other missile. Why should we not protect ourselves anyway? There are always things that are unpredicatable, and this would be a good investment. After all, we spend as much as the rest of the world combined on defense. Who is going to invade us? This would also fit in with President Obama’s non-interventionist policy.
There is, however, undoubtedly more behind the decision that what I have described here. Regardless of any ignorance the public is afflicted with, the resolution of this international situation will forebode partially our nation’s fate for the next four years.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/30/washington/30military.html?ref=todayspaper
Monday, March 30, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Assignment 5
I just completed a project with four other people (Jean-Paul, Joaquin, Michelle, and Gerardo) in which we took a long look at a Web 2.0 company. The presentaion was done in class, and posted to YouTube. Check it out!
I demoed the Web 2.0 site StumbleUpon and found it cool. The first thing I came accross is this video that actually relates to IT class. I think it is awesome that there is so much information that the web can direct you to. It can open up my eyes to new things and information that I did not know about or never would have found otherwise. The only downside is that it allows people to enter "information cocoons" where they only see items relevant to their interests. This, I think, is a problem because then they are not exposed to anything that they might not agree with. This limits their perspectives and provides them with only a one-sided picture. But, all-in-all, this website it a cool and effective tool.
I demoed the Web 2.0 site StumbleUpon and found it cool. The first thing I came accross is this video that actually relates to IT class. I think it is awesome that there is so much information that the web can direct you to. It can open up my eyes to new things and information that I did not know about or never would have found otherwise. The only downside is that it allows people to enter "information cocoons" where they only see items relevant to their interests. This, I think, is a problem because then they are not exposed to anything that they might not agree with. This limits their perspectives and provides them with only a one-sided picture. But, all-in-all, this website it a cool and effective tool.
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