Monroe, Kim Jong-un, Franco, and Rogen

  While a large majority of people disagree with their government, North Korea is considered a separate sphere of influence from the United States. This fact became irrelevant with the recent hacks on US soil by who is suspected to be North Korea.
 On November 24, 2014, Sony Pictures was hacked in what is being called, "one of the most debilitating hacks ever targeted at US corporate servers." The result was the theft of several unreleased films and employee information. While they are not entirely sure, North Korea is currently the leading suspect. This is due to the already existing anger towards the U.S. about the Sony film, The Interview. In the movie, popular actors James Franco and Seth Rogen are recruited to assassinate North Korea's controversial leader. "If it was North Korea, these attacks against Sony would indicate that foreign powers are going beyond the traditional information-stealing attacks to enforcing their own law against American companies via what we would consider cyber terrorism," former NSA researcher, Dave Aitel told Business Insider. These hacks are being called the first destructive computer network attack against the United States on US soil by the military. North Korea has been developing their hacking abilities on an internet completely cut off from the rest of the world, giving them leverage. The only question left now is how should the United States respond?
 The Monroe Doctrine was an annual address to Congress from President James Monroe, in which he stated his position on European and American affairs. Even though the internet wasn’t invented until over one hundred years after this address, it can still be applied to the hacks of Sony Pictures. The Doctrine states that, “It is only when our rights are invaded or seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make preparation for our defense.” Because of this, the United State should be prepared to defend ourselves against North Korea. The underlying meaning of the Monroe Doctrine is essentially ‘you stay out of our business, and we’ll stay out of yours.’ North Korea failed to mind their own business; therefore it’s likely that the US will not be keeping up their end of the bargain either.
  The Monroe Doctrine was said hundreds of years ago, in a time without the internet and without the ability to hack. Even so, it still applies today in a time where no one can imagine living without smart phones and Wi-Fi.


Rosen, Armin. "The Sony Hack Is A Watershed If North Korea Was Involved." Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 04 Dec. 2014. Web. 04 Dec. 2014.

Racism and Identity: Gran Colombia and Ferguson, Missouri

   No one knew the massive effect Simon Bolivar would have on South America when he was a young officer in Caracas in 1810. After the formal announcement of Venezuelan independence, Spain quickly regained control of the province a year later. Bolivar escaped to Cartagena, Colombia, a city currently in rebel hands. Here, he wrote the Manifesto de Cartagena, a political pamphlet with efforts to inspire a desire for "South American-ness," rather than Spanish control. This effort proved to be successful as he was able to gather an army and win six consecutive battles against Spanish forces in Venezuela. In August 1814, the Spanish retook Caracas, and Bolivar fled to exile in Jamaica and Haiti. By the latter end of 1817, he was back in Venezuela rebuilding an army. With his force of 2,500 men, they attacked their unsuspecting enemy, and came out successful. On December 17, 1817, the Republica de Colombia, which covered modern day Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, was proclaimed. After the liberations of Venezuela in 1821 and Ecuador in 1822, the Republica de Colombia became a free republic. This allowed Simon Bolivar's dream to become a reality. From the start, he had desired a completely South American culture, without the control and influence of Spain. When he created a new republic, he achieved his goal of forming a non-Spanish identity. While they obviously have Spanish routes, the people of South America were likely born and raised in South America. Their ethnicities may be Spanish, but they're South American because that's where they're from.
  At the moment, any news about Ferguson is unescapable. Riots are happening all over the country, it's all over social media, and it's in every headline. Michael Brown was just an average 18 year old kid in Ferguson, Missouri of African-American descent. On August 9. 2014, Brown engaged in an altercation with Darren Wilson, a member of the Ferguson police force. This altercation would lead to Brown's death, as he was shot six times by this police officer. Michael Brown was unarmed when he was killed. This case has been extremely controversial over the past 5 months. Recently, the highly anticipated decision was made, and Darren Wilson will not face trial for the shooting. Many people are outraged because this police officer, who is white, killed a boy, who was African-American, and he got off with no charges against him. It's widely interpreted as a crime of anti-blackness, which, according to an article titled Ferguson Must Force Us To Face Anti-Blackness by Michael P. Jeffries, entails the following; "Our schools, neighborhoods, and criminal-punishment system actively privilege whites at the expense of people of color, even when the rules governing these systems are racially “neutral.” " Race is something that is Omni-present in our society. Unfortunately enough, it's been around forever, and even with the abolition of slavery, it still exists. Anti-black crimes are ones that too often go unpunished, and even credited, as Jeffries points out, "Black humanity is desecrated in plain view, as Mike Brown’s dead body laid uncovered on the street for four and a half hours before being unceremoniously hoisted into an SUV. Brown is described as “it” and “a demon” in his killer’s testimony, and killing black people is all too frequently rewarded, as George Zimmerman and Darren Wilson raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in defense of their actions, and Wilson remains employed." It's about time to stop acknowledging people based on the color of their skin or where they come from. At the end of the day, we're all Americans here. We live in a country that has prided itself on cultural diversity for centuries. Anti-blackness is a major concern in our country, and is not something that can be ignored. If one good thing came out of Michael Brown's death, it would be that we're now forced to face anti-blackness. Racism has always been something that has plagued the world, but I hope to see a time without it in my life.

Jeffries, Michael P. "Ferguson Must Force Us to Face Anti-Blackness." BostonGlobe.com. Boston.com, 28 Nov. 2014. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.