The start of summer means that many of us are planning far-flung summer vacations. But the excitement of such vacations is always just a little dulled by the insanely long lines at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Stories of three-hour wait times and hundreds of missed flights because of slow security lines have become unfortunately […]
The tension between government surveillance, citizens’ privacy, and national security has been an ongoing issue for years. From concerns over the Patriot Act, Edward Snowden’s leaks and the controversy over NSA surveillance, and more recently the FBI’s case against Apple over encryption, evolving technology is constantly raising new questions about surveillance and privacy.
Editor’s note: This blog post contains descriptions of rape and sexual assault. Reader’s discretion is advised. I lived in Erlangen, Germany for much of 2009, getting around on a bicycle. After the big April beer festival, the “Bergkirchweih,” my lock was cut and my bike was thrown down a hill and set on fire (it […]
In the summer of 2013, Edward Snowden revealed to the newspaper The Guardian that the NSA was monitoring the metadata and content of every American citizen’s electronic communications (metadata is the details of the message – to whom, when, where, etc.) in order to protect America from terrorist threats. Is the NSA going too far? […]
The newest Star Wars movie is smashing box office records. But it’s not just a science-fiction tale of lightsabers and Sith lords. “The Force Awakens” continues the story of a democratic republic that succumbs to ruthless dictatorship when its citizens give up their civil liberties. Promising security, Emperor Palpatine didn’t simply proclaim himself supreme ruler—he […]