The Cabin Project

     I have spent my last few weekends working with my father to erect a man cave of fabulous proportions.  He bought a large lot of land about 20 miles south of Joplin three years ago.  Two years ago he put in a pond and stocked it with fish.  After spending the last year planning, designing, and purchasing materials for a two story cabin, we have finally started putting the plan into motion.  I do not have much experience with these kinds of things, so this experience has been very educational for me.  The best thing is we have only just begun.  We started off by running the plumbing lines and laying the foundation.  We had some help from some pros who stamped and stained the concrete for us.  The finished slab was absolutely gorgeous.  The interior floor looks like tile and the exterior porches were stamped with a design that looks like rustic wooden boards.  It really is amazing.  After we let the stain completely dry, we started with the framing.  We had to work through some design miscalculations along with some other minor complications, but after two full days of work, we have all four walls completed.  This weekend we will be finishing up the framework by completing the roof, after that we will be installing the windows and doors, and also adding the stone siding to the walls.  We haven't gone into much detail on the interior just yet, but based on what I've seen so far, my dad is planning on taking this thing all the way.  I am very excited about this project because we should have it finished by the end of June.  The pond is only 20 feet from the front porch of the cabin so we can expect to get a lot of fishing done this summer.  This cabin will be a great home away from home for both of us and we will be able to take my kids out there on a regular basis as well.  I'm taking the summer off from classes so I will have even more time to enjoy, what I hope to be a real masterpiece.

Will Kony 2012 Help Anyone?

     What is being called the most viral video of all time, the short film "Kony 2012", produced by the nonprofit group Invisible Children, calls to bring justice to Ugandan militant Joseph Kony.  Kony is known for leading the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda and is notorious for abducting and brainwashing young children and turning them into murderous soldiers for his rebel army.  He is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths, but has never been held accountable for these actions.  The campaign proposed by Invisible Children encourages groups like these found in Massachusetts in this article on telegram.com to flood the world with knowledge of Kony and the crimes he has committed by "covering the night in red" with flyers, posters, and any other means to spread the word of their mission.  Although their cause is intended to bring a homicidal abuser of children to justice, it is receiving very much criticism globally.  Many believe that the issues in Northern Uganda have been completely oversimplified.  The conflict has been going on there for nearly 30 years.  Another criticism that Invisible Children has received is that they have offered very little help to victims of this conflict and have only misrepresented these victims through their videos and speeches.  The most substantial argument against this movement is that they are asking for military action against the LRA which would bring even more violence to the region and would result in many deaths of kidnapped victims.  In this article on The Guardian's website, Victor Ochen, the founder and director of the African Youth Initiative Network, claims that "the people who have suffered at the hands of Kony don't want to promote him or make him famous.  They want to rebuild their lives."  He points out Invisible Children's ignorance to the conflict by asking "Why April 20th?  Don't they know or care that this is the anniversary of one of the worst LRA massacres, when over 300 people were killed at Atiak in 2005?"  One of the biggest eye-opening statements made by Ochen, whose brother was kidnapped in 2003 by the LRA, is "many of the LRA are our abducted family members-a military offensive will kill lots of innocent people."  Many other Ugandans agree with Ochen.  The website, ugandaspeaks.com, a site designed by local journalists, goes on to say that Kony's power has greatly declined and giving him this kind of global fame has only motivated him to do more harm.  The site has many testimonials that continue with the theme that Invisible Children has done nothing to help the Ugandan people and that Kony is the least of their problems.  The children of Northern Uganda face more serious issues like the nodding disease, poverty, and starvation.  When "Cover the Night" is over, will this trendy video have helped anyone in Uganda?  I seriously doubt it.  I enjoy seeing the vast technological improvements we have made in global communication, but this issue will not, and cannot be resolved by hanging up flyers in Worcester, MA.  This country has been war torn for far too long and is in desperate need of a complete overhaul.  This will not come overnight by talking about it, it will take many, many years of hard work.

U.S. Threatens Sanctions on European Union

Earlier this week I read about a new threat of sanctions issued by the United States to the World Trade Organization that could potentially eliminate between $7 billion to $10 billion worth of trade.  The issue arose after the U.S. learned that illegal funding of airline manufacturer Airbus was being granted by European nations.  The block of funding to Airbus was the result of a 2004 ruling by the WTO due to the conflicting production of Boeing aircraft in the U.S.  Since this block went into effect, it is claimed that the EU has provided Airbus with over $18 billion in funding.  I respect the fight that the U.S. government is putting up to help create more manufacturing in our country, but I also think that it is unfair to prevent competition in the free, global market.  Our capitalist economy is founded on this type of competition so I find it odd that our government is taking this case so far.  Even though there will not be any decision made on this issue for at least a year, this move by the U.S. must definitely have EU nations questioning their relationship with the U.S.  When the WTO places these kinds of rules in place, it is understandable that they should be enforced, but my concern is that our government is risking the relationships of many of its strongest allies over a battle that even if won, might not justify the risks.

UK Tries to Gain Access to all Private Conversations

In next month's Queen's Speech, the British will announce plans to permit authorities the ability to monitor every phone call, email, social network comment, or any other form of electronic communication made within their country.  Currently this information is only attainable through a court order and can be used to help convict criminals if there is just cause.  If this new policy were to be approved, then everybody's privacy will be jeopardized, not just criminals.  According to this article on foxnews.com, Prime Minister David Cameron claims that with the modern technological changes in communication, the country must develop new strategies and methods of tracking down criminals and bringing them to justice.  This proposal would only target those known to have been involved in criminal activity.  Only general information will be traceable, such as phone numbers used in a conversation, who sent who an email, or how long phone calls were carried on.  According to the government, no content of calls or messages would be monitored without a court order.  The thing about this is as soon as they have the power and ability to track this information, what will stop them from doing so?  How easy is it to deem someone to be a criminal or to be affiliated with some sort of criminal activity.  This makes it nearly impossible for any citizen to feel comfortable when using these forms of communication.  In this article I read on google, UK Home Secretary Theresa May said that "ordinary people" had nothing to fear when it comes to this potential legislation, but critics have been quick to point out that anyone can be accused of having some kind of connection to criminal activity and their personal lives will then be easily scrutinized by the authorities.  In another article on abcnews.com, a Home Office spokesman claims that "It's not about the content.  It's vital that police and intelligence services are able to obtain communications data in certain circumstances to investigate serious crime and terrorism and to protect the public".  But along with so many other British lawmakers, conservative David Davis states that "this is not focusing on terrorists or criminals, it is absolutely everybody".  The thought of our government getting handed the right to eavesdrop on every single conversation we have is frightening.  If this legislation goes through in the U.K. then I would not be surprised to see people in Washington trying to push for the same kind of control.  It will be interesting to see how this unfolds over the next couple of months, but based on the quick opposition, I do not expect this law will be placed into effect any time soon.