Hacking into NASA and the Pentagon

Gary McKinnon is a British citizen who committed the greatest military computer hacking job in the U.S. of all time. Wow. When I first saw this article from CNN, I found myself astounded that McKinnon had not been already sentenced to jail. McKinnon admitted to hacking into U.S. government files in search for information about UFOs, by which he accessed 97 computers and ultimately cost the U.S. government $1 million. But I found out that because he is a British citizen, he must be extradited in order to face a trial within the United States.

Extradition is "the surrender of an alleged criminal usually under the provisions of a treaty or statute by one authority (as a state) to another having jurisdiction to try the charge" (Merriam Webster).

McKinnon was almost extradited in August 2008, however a complication arose when he was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome. People with this disorder have difficulties in social situations and often stick to rigid routines. Mckinnon's family as well as his lawyer are arguing that his extradition would violate his human rights as a sufferer of the disease.

This situation presents a difficult question to consider. Does a person with a mental disorder have different "human rights"? As I see it, one must evaluate the extent to which daily life is impaired. Certain diseases affect people to certain degrees. In McKinnon's circumstance, I feel that he can be extradited, but the fact that he has Asperger's should be taken into account during his trial. He was diagnosed after he hacked into the U.S. computer system, so the disorder should not affect the way he is charged.

Thoughts?

93.9 Holiday Music Is Back on the Radio

It's already that time of year again. Yesterday my sister, who loves holiday music, was browsing through radio stations when she stopped on 93.9 FM, only to yell in excitement. The radio station made its annual transformation to only playing holiday songs. Despite it only being mid-November, the Lite radio station is now the Holiday Lite, already putting people in the holiday spirit. It seems like this station starts playing holiday music earlier and earlier each year, and I'm wondering why.

As another example, Walgreens has also stocked their stores with holiday decorations, weeks before people even begin to think about the holidays. One logical explanation might be that because people have very busy schedules, these pre-holiday changes serve as reminders. They are informing the population about the holidays so they will be able to start fitting things like decorations, gifts, and holiday family cards into their schedules. Still, it's just a little ridiculous that it hasn't even been Thanksgiving yet and the radio is already playing holiday music! Now I really want the holidays to arrive!

What do you think about the early preparation for the holidays? Is it too early or not?

This Poetry is Slammin'

At the Lit Fest, I personally found the poetry of Regie Gibson (the man who came to our class) very intriguing. Gibson is a master of slam poetry, a type of poetry that is meant to be read aloud. When someone reads a "slam" poem it is meant to be a performance. By reading the Literary Fest pamphlet I found out that Gibson actually won the National Slam Competition in 1998. Obviously, the man has talent. When he spoke in class he used feeling and emphasis which made his poems more interesting and much more exciting. For me, performed poetry seems to take away some of the boredom that I normally experience when I simply read a poem. This spoken poetry adds an enormous element to poems by bringing them to life. In addition it always helps to know how an author intended the audience to feel.

This is a relatively new type of poetry, but its popularity has certainly increased in recent years. Slam poetry is just one example of how writing can develop. Even in our class so far this year we have experimented with different types of writing and expression. Blogging, for instance, or even using "MyPlick" are new ways to write. As writing develops, there are bound to be even newer ways for expression in addition to slam poetry and blogging. Do you have any other examples of contemporary expression? How do new types of writing differ from old ones? Do you think these new ways of writing are better than the old?