Chinese hackers – Amalia Briggs

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/03/07/china.hackers/index.html?imw=Y&iref=mpstoryemail

Reading this article evokes a couple of very different responses. On one hand, knowing that, what are essentially Chinese Internet-Terrorists have free access to our countries most powerful and privileged secrets makes me very nervous. On the other hand, this article is also very unreliable in the way it presents its information, and this makes me cynical. There were three different instances when CNN said within the article “there is no way to confirm if his claim is true.”
Now, I’d like to believe that our government is taking the necessary precautions to keep our knowledge safe. I’d also like to believe that these cyber-geniuses are completely bluffing. However, if what is presented in this article is becoming a serious issue then both the Chinese government, and our government, need to find a solution…and fast. I’d like to ask the CNN correspondents why the law enforcement was not notified or brought along, in order to make a few arrests, while on this little remote island. If these twenty-something scrawny kids can make on entire news article and major news corporation happen on their terms…what else can they manipulate influential sources to print, or do?
Here is an idea, let’s make these tech-smart kids be “useful idiots” for the United States, instead of the Beijing regime. Pay them. Put them to work. If they are the masterminds they say they are, give them an offer they cannot refuse, and we have an automatic fix. Instead of working against our government, they work for us, and maybe they could even create a security program to block some of the weaknesses that other’s like them currently exploit.

Michigan Sports and Media Turmoil By Eric Kinnaman

Michigan Daily Article

Youtube Video of Coach Borseth 

So this article is from our own Michigan Daily and I thought it made some good points. For those of you who haven’t seen the video of Michigan Women’s Basketball Coach Kevin Borseth, you should check it out. It will give you a better idea about what the columnist is talking about and it’s pretty funny. So basically I’m just disgusted with the current state of sports media right now. I’m just angry that these people like Tony Kornheiser, are making outrageous comments like asking for the Coach Borseth to be fired on national TV. After I watched the video a few times and finally got over how funny he acted, I realized that the guy must be a great coach. His passion and enthusiasm were remarkable. He seemed like he knew what he was talking about and he had nothing bad to say about anyone. Yet somehow this is all overlooked, and instead of talking about how bad Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are with the looming steroid and perjury indictments, they talk about how bad coach Borseth is. It feels like all across the board our values need to put back into perspective. In the spring training game one of our players goes for a bunt and the pitcher for the New York Mets, Billy Wagner, gets angry cause the Michigan player is trying too hard win. We look at it and think “Ok, he (Billy Wagner) is kind of being childish about it but no big deal”. But then Jim Rome, again this is on national television, criticizes Michigan player Kevin Cislo and eventually says “Kevin, exactly what were you thinking?!” This is absurd to me, this kid did nothing wrong. Here’s just a sample of recent articles I found on Yahoo sports under NCAA Football News.
• Penn St. judicial panel clears defensive tackle in campus fight 9:12 pm EST (AP)
• Indiana quarterback suspended indefinitely for violating team rules 8:24 pm EST (AP) • Kellen Lewis suspended indefinitely 6:36 pm EST (Rivals.com)
• Iowa dismiss Cleveland, Nelson after arrests on drug charges 5:33 pm EST (AP
• Police charge 2 Syracuse football players with criminal mischief 3:26 pm EST (AP)

Somehow these off-the-field issues that have seemingly become an epidemic in college athletics, are largely ignored. Instead they target the Michigan player and the Coach. Overall, I’m just disappointed by the way TV sports analysts are adding to this overall problem in sports. Continually athletes think their above the law and it’s the media’s job to admonish these people like Barry Bonds or Marion Jones and try to help restore credibility to sports. By criticizing people like coach Borseth or Kevin Cislo, they are doing a disservice to everyone by attacking the same values like, integrity and sportsmanship, we expect them to protect.