The Downfall of Christopher Dorner (1979-2013)

Last week, a nationwide manhunt came to a violent end. Christopher Dorner was killed during a standoff with the police. He was wanted in two states and Mexico on murder charges. Christopher Dorner was born in New York on June 4th, 1979. He had worked as a LAPD police officer and later a U.S. Navy reservist. He was honorably discharged from the Navy on February 1st, but his career as a police officer ended with him getting fired. Excessive force was problably the reason for his termination. Dorner published a manifesto on his facebook page afterwards, a red flag indicated that he get violent. He was charged in connection with a series of shooting attacks on police officers and their families from February 3 to 12 that left four people dead. The victims were all police officers. The police eventually caught up with him and the standoff ended with a single "self-inflicted" gunshot wound to the head on February 12, 2013. The group Anonymous defended Dorner. They recognized that his manifesto was caused by the way he might have been treated in the LAPD. It's okay to feel sorry for the guy, but defending him is a different story. There is no excuse for going on a killing spree. Work places should be careful about how they treat employees. It's unpredictable about what people are capable of.

Free Wi-Fi For All, Good or Bad?

The article "Tech, telecom giants take sides as FCC proposes large public WiFi networks" discusses plans about setting up free WiFi services across the country. Many people are busy and always on the go. They are looking for places that have free WiFi services to help them do things from important assignments for school or work to just goofing off to pass the time away. Having free internet service would be a step forward in internet communication. We live in a time period where we use the internet do many of our day to day tasks. Not every place lets you use WiFi for free. Alot of people don't want to spend the extra money. Having free WiFi service would also help people save money when they do what they have to do on the internet. Having free internet service can also prove to be a bad idea. The article‘Six Strikes’ discusses a plan to stop internet piracy. Internet pirates are known for stealing someone elses WiFi service and the victims are left holding the bag when the consequences come into play. It almost sounds like a someone stealing their neighbors cable. The RIAA cracks down on those kinds of acts. Having free WiFi service may increase the chances of piracy. That would be a step backwards for internet communication. People out in public places should be the lookout for this kind of act and people at home don't have to worry too much.

The Century of the Self.

The first part of The Century of the Self talks about Edward Bernays (1891-1995). He was an early pioneer in the field of public relations and propaganda. He was a one time press agent for "The Worlds Greatest Tenor", Enrico Caruso, and accompanied President Woodrow Wilson to the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War 1 early in his career. When Bernays died at the age of 103, he became known as the "father of the public relations". The interesting thing about this first segment of "The Century of the Self" is how Bernays said that the need for certain products is all part of an unconscious desire within the human mind. Bernays was the American nephew of Sigmund Freud, a legendary psychologist who thought that actions were sexually motivated. Edward Bernays used his uncle's life work of "psychoanalysis" to help explain why people buy certain products. When advertisers sell products like Coca Cola or cigarettes, they want to make their product look appealing to the public. Within the minds of human beings, there is some part of them that wants this product that will make look appealing. Bernays wanted to make smoking look appealing to women, which proved to be his most dramatic experiment. Before his time, smoking was usually a man's thing and women smoking anything was considered to be strictly taboo. Smoking was a sign of masculine power. A woman smoking would show her independence and is up to challenging the power of the man. Bernays had setup an event where the women would smoke their cigarettes in public on que. It caught alot of attention from newspaper reporters and smoking became a sensation for women. There was also a great increase in the sales of cigarettes because women started to smoke in public. Movie stars like Lucille Ball and Lana Turner often smoked on screen to look glamourous to their fans. Bernays knew how to reach that part of the mind that tells people that this product is appealing. It was interesting to see how he made smoking acceptable for women. Bernays' life work was just as incredible as his uncle's. Without Bernays, the term "public relations" may never have been used.

Computers In The Future

Computers are what people all over the world use. There are desktop computers, laptops, and hand held devices that allow the users to surf the internet with. I predict that in the future, computers will stay the way that are today. In science fiction movies, people use computers and machines to do just about everything. Those movies often have robots, teleportation devices, or other things along that nature. That does sound pretty cool if life can be like a science fiction movie. Science fiction movies are great to watch during your spare time. I do see that there will be some changes and upgrades to our computer technology. As far as science fiction computer technology, it will not happen.