False Flag Operations

False Flag operations are covert operations performed by governments, corporations, or other organizations, which are designed to mislead the public in a way that makes it seem like the operations were made by other people. This began in the wooden ship days where one ship would fly the flag of their enemy and attack their own fleet.

The Nazi's often used False Flag operations to encourage foreign invasions. They would attack their own troops and destroy their own resources, posing as Poland to justify an invasion. Russian KGB also did something similar with Chechnya. They bombed apartment complexes in Moscow and Volgodonsk and blamed in on Chechnya because Vladimir Putin believed they had a corrupt new leader. Even the United States has used these operations with the United Kingdom in 1953. They hired Iranian U.S CIA agents to bomb Iran after they were under new leadership in order to help gain control of more oil. There are some people that believe that 9/11 was a false flag operation as well and theres a lot of information online about that. These operations still happen today and are now seen as terrorism. Many can and have been affected by this and it's sad that governments and corporations perform them.

Are You Being Tracked Online? Not With DuckDuckGo

It's been a popular topic in my class this year about privacy and your digital footprint. I bet anyone with an IPhone has said something out loud and then look at their phone to an ad about that same specific topic, because i have many times. its creepy and somehow almost unavoidable. Whatever you search or click on online is tracked somehow whether its through Google, Cookies, or another software, someone knows about it. Maybe that can stop. If you've never heard of the search engine DuckDuckGo, i advise you look into it. DuckDuckGo is like Google or FireFox except it doesn't track what you search. Created by Gabriel Weinberg in a basement, it's designed to allow a better and safer way to use the internet. DuckDuckGo has finally established a way to use the internet without creepily being watched. On May 1st, 2019, DuckDuckGo announced their federal legislation act "Do Not Track", in effort to add a tab on all web browsers that will not track your internet searches (Hetrick, 2019).

So many people nowadays don't even pay attention to the "Do Not Track?" notifications and let the foreign softwares track everything they do. Most of these programs collect your personal information and you're targeted and marketed. From a business perspective, I can kind of understand why they do it because it's not aimed to harm anyone, but to help their virtual awareness. For my job, I use a good amount of social media, Facebook and Google specifically. I just recently learned about Facebook Pixels which targets the audience you want to reach with your ads and tracks who interacts with it within Facebook. I understand why businesses and corporations use these applications, how it doesn't harm people, and how it benefits them.

I think DuckDuckGo is awesome and I think it will be very beneficial in keeping personal information confidential. If you are online shopping and fill in personal addresses and emails, I would advise you use DuckDuckGo. If you use Dropbox or other applications that normally go through Google, I'd use DuckDuckGo for safety reasons. You never know what they're watching and saving. But if you're just browsing news websites or scrolling through Facebook, I don't think it matters what web browser you use. Advertisements online will always be around, even DuckDuckGo has them. They just don't target specific people and take personal information to you. Whatever advertisement you see, many others are as well, because they have taken many donations (Hetrick, 2019). I recently just changed my default browser to DuckDuckGo to ensure I don't forget to use it when I should.





Hetrick, C. (2019, May 02). No means no, says DuckDuckGo as it pushes to make 'Do not track' the law of the land. Retrieved from https://www.philly.com/business/duckduckgo-online-privacy-legislation-do-not-track-browser-setting-20190501.html

Online Footprint

I love my phone and I'm addicted to social media like the rest of my generation, I can't lie. Though that's true, I'm still very careful as to what I put online for the world to see. All of my accounts are extremely private although I have given some my email address, I've never given my phone number. I've searched myself and I'd like to believe I have a positive online footprint. I currently use the applications Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube. Facebook isn't my favorite because of the privacy issues it's had in the past, so I mainly use it for work reasons. I post pictures of family and friends, share funny videos, and stories I felt were important. My social media shows exactly who I am in person and I have nothing to hide. I've always been careful because of the obvious: future employers and my entire immediate family is very active on all media platforms socially and for business. Proper usage of social media is something parents and educators should teach. I love social media but I like to use it to look at and save memories. Others use it for different reasons and I do believe that social media is linked to depression and loneliness like The Atlantic article stated.

One software I think most people overlook, including myself is Cookies. I didn't realize until after my research that it's part of our active digital footprint. Other examples of an active digital footprint are simply posting on social media like Snapchat and Facebook or filling out applications online. If you've never heard of Cookies, it's a data storing software that saves files about what you search and for advertising purposes. One thing most don't know about Cookies is that when you click the "Remember Me" button, a continuous cookie keeps your login information and stays on that browser. That's why I use the password saving software, LastPass. It's free to download and use and it saves all of your usernames and passwords on a vault on your computer, protected by another master password.Another more common, and less risky use is for advertising. When you click on an ad, Cookies will track which website you found that ad on. (J.P, 2019)


J. P. (2019, February 15). Browser Cookies: What Are They & Why Should You Care? Retrieved from https://www.whoishostingthis.com/resources/cookies-guide/

Youtube

Do you love YouTube? Well, you aren't the only one.
It's a giant video-sharing platform that allows every user to share/watch footage of their choosing whether its how-to videos, DIY's, music, comedy and more.  Its been incredibly popular since it first came out in 2005, with over 300 video postings every day in 2019. Currently, YouTube has 1,300,000,000 users (YouTube Statistics, 2019) Though YouTube is growing in popularity by the day, there are still many people that aren't as familiar with it/ don't know how to use it.
There are a ton of pros to YouTube. I could go on and on about how much i love it. In my opinion and i'm sure many others feel the same, its the best because it's FREE. You can advertise your business, use it for activism, learn & laugh. It's very easy to navigate and share videos, i used it in classes back in high school and it was awesome. You can make it private and only share the link with certain people or make it open to the public.

Though i love it, there are some disadvantages to it like spam and negative comments. If someone posts videos on YouTube, they often come across many rude comments which can be hard to read. This is because of the millions of people on YouTube which is why it's important to be careful what you decide to post. YouTube also has a set of rules and regulations that you have to follow like copyright issues or "sensitive" footage. This is easy to avoid if you're careful what you share with the world on the internet. It's really a great app and website to have and it's so easy to use. It's clear to see why it's become to popular.






37 Mind Blowing YouTube Facts, Figures and Statistics – 2019. (2019, February 19). Retrieved from https://merchdope.com/youtube-stats/

The Eighth Value of Free Expression

The eighth value of Free Expression is Protect and Dissent which means every citizen in the United States has the right to criticize the government. This value protects the First Amendment and is a very important part of Free Expression. Without the right to criticize the government how will we see change? If we didn't have the right to dissent the government then how would they enforce that law? Jail time? The USSR and Hitler just killed the people who spoke out against them which is just crazy to think about. To express further on how important this value is I thought I would show some movements and protests in the United States that wouldn't have been possible without it.

March For Our Lives

March For Our Lives is an organization that helps fight against gun violence in the United States. They often protest to politicians about inaction and for strict regulation over the gun industry. These people want universal background checks for anyone who buys or owns a gun, high-capacity magazine bans, limiting firing power on the streets, extreme risk protection orders, and to disarm all domestic abusers. The link to their website is below if interested in learning more: https://marchforourlives.com/


Equal pay for women

On Equal Pay Day women advocates for equality of pay marched to New York City Hall to protest against the wage gap. Did you know that today, black women only receive 63 cents to every dollar a man gets? They wore t-shirt that were red to symbolize being "in the red" economically. These women planned to focus on the wage gap between men and women today. According to NBC news, "City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who spoke at the City Hall rally Tuesday, compared the wage gap to a sluggish elevator: "Women get in the door on entry level salaries, but then they get on the elevator and the elevator slows down."" https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/equal-pay-day-women-rally-against-wage-gap-workplace-discrimination-n742451

These movements are meant to capture the worlds and the governments attention in hopes for change. That is an important part of what this value means and it's our duty as American citizens to criticize the government and demand change.

Supreme Court brief that might get Jamal Knox released

If you don't know who Jamal Knox is, or better known for his rapper name Mayhem Mal, he is a young rapper who recently went to jail because of his lyrics from his song "F*** the Police." In this song, he specifically rapped about threatening two police officers, causing him to be in prison for up to 6 years. Recently, Famous rap artists 21 Savage, Killer Mike, Chance the Rapper, Meek Mill, and more, filed a Supreme Court brief in hopes of getting their friend out. These rappers and Jamal Knox's lawyers believe that his first amendment rights are being violated.

21 Savage (left) Jamal Knox (right)

In this brief, the friends and fellow Hip-hop artists of Knox try to explain that there is a difference between a real and blatant threat and lyrics that are common in rap songs. Many artists use music as a form of expression, allowing them to say what they want about how they're feeling emotionally. Other artists, especially hip-hop artists, use their music as a way to take a stand and speak out about politics, which is what these men were trying to say. The brief also stated that this case is "troubled and problematic" because Knox is being sentenced to prison, while other artist who use the same threatening lyrics are walking free. (Supreme Court Brief)

This case reminds me of when the hip-hop/rap group N.W.A came out with their song titled similarly as Knox's, "F*** tha Police." A very similar thing happened where the group was not allowed to perform that song or they would be arrested...so they sang the song. They were later acquitted. Another similar case that this reminds me of is one that was filed in early 1990's about the hip-hop group 2 Live Crew. They released an album titled "As Nasty As They Wanna Be", the first album to be considered "obscene" and illegal to own or sell. After being taken to the Supreme Court, the group was able to prove that their lyrics were a form of expression, making it hard for the court to disprove.

This all happened fairly recently so there is no news on what will happen to Jamal Knox but, considering what happened in the past i believe the end will be positive. It's understandable as to why older folks think these lyrics are "obscene", especially for the youths ears. But there is more to hip-hop than the swear words. Tupac had many against his lyrics as well but if you really read into his poetry and try to comprehend what messages he's relaying, then you have a better appreciation for the music.

If you believe that hip-hop is just swear words and offensive language then you should definitely check out some of Tupac's music and poetry. Heres a link where you can read some of his more popular releases : https://mypoeticside.com/poets/tupac-shakur-poems

Here is the PDF link to the Supreme Court brief for Jamal Knox that was referenced: https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/18/18-949/90947/20190306152355894_11%20AM%20Final%20Knox%20Amicus%20Brief.pdf

The Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is THE topmost court system in the United States of America. On account of this, the United States government trusts this system to lead their Judicial Branch. The Supreme Court defines their mission as, "...ensuring the American people the promise of equal justice under law and, thereby, also functions as guardian and interpreter of the Constitution." (About the Court) The Supreme Court is composed of nine justices that are as follows : The Chief Justice John Roberts and eight other associate justices, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch. (About the Court)

There are many cases that get to the Supreme Court that they have to review, over one hundred a week. Though these justices receive about 7,000 cases a year, not all of them actually get accepted(SupremeCourtvideo). Not many people my age (from personal experience) understand how a case gets as far as the Supreme Court. After watching videos in class and doing further research I put the most prevalent ways these cases get there.

The first popular way a court case gets to the Supreme Court is because it has been appealed on account of the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals is the court system thats in position directly under the Supreme Court. The next common way is when a state court system and the person(s) involved decide that the case should be appealed. Though under these circumstances, these actions are normally dismissed from the Supreme Court except when these cases are in relation to the United States Constitution. The third and more rare way is when a case is associated with conflict between states or other situations involving ambassadors. This would only happen if the Supreme Court believes that this is under its original jurisdiction.

mkoren. "Describe how cases reach the Supreme Court." eNotes, 12 Nov. 2017, https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/describe-three-broad-catagories-law-how-cases-344133. Accessed 5 Mar. 2019.

About the Supreme Court. https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/about.aspx

Thumbtack app

Every time i come home from school my dad always mentions a new, cool app that he found and is trying. (My dad has so many apps on his phone its crazy) While speaking to him earlier this week he told me about this app he found called "Thumbtack". 

This app is awesome. The Thumbtack app connects you with local professionals to help you with anything on your to-do list. what you do is type in your list of things that need done like: music lessons, construction work, repairs, photographer, cleaning services, and so much more. Then, the app finds professionals that have the best ratings and exchange your info. The professionals contact you and gives you an estimate for your requested service. Now you choose your preferred business and book the appointment right through the app! 

This app is awesome if you're busy-bees like my family. My brother has been working on foreclosed houses so finding plumbers, and electricians through this app would be very helpful. Heres the full list of what they offer on their website:

*Home Improvement: Cleaning Crews to Builders to Plumbing Professionals

• Wedding: Officiants to Photographers

• Events: Caterers to Makeup Artists

• Photography: Commercial to Wedding Photographers

• Business: Data Entry to Logo Design Specialists

• Design & Web: Engineering to Animation

• Pets: Dog Walkers to Pet Care

• Lessons: Yoga Instructors to Math Tutors

• Crafts: Custom Jewelry Artists to Songwriters

• Legal: Mediation to Estate Planning

• Personal: Life Coaches to Wardrobe Consultants

• Repair & Tech Support: Equipment Repair to Data Recovery Specialists

• Writing, Translation & Transcription: Editors to Content Copywriters

Shear da Beard & Heyward House

We've all heard of the "good-luck" beard during playoffs but Brett Keisel takes it to another level.

If you've never heard of Brett Kiesel, he's worth the google search. He's a 6 foot 5, 285lb former defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Keisel decided to retire in 2015, but he's still very active in the Pittsburgh community. 

It all started in 2010 when Keisel started growing out his "good-luck" beard to help out his teams superstitions. He also encouraged his teammates to do the same. After the playoffs in 2011, Keisel held a fundraiser event called "Shear Da Beard" where he'd have his teammates, friends, and family each cut off a piece of his beard then have a barber clean it up. This fundraiser raised over $40,000 for the Children's hospital cancer program in Pittsburgh. Keisel has held this event every year following 2011 raising millions, and even visits the children at the hospital frequently to help lift their spirits.

On Saturday, February 16th, Keisel held his 9th annual Shear Da Beard at a local Pittsburgh venue, but this year had a little twist. He invited his former teammate Cameron Heyward, a current defensive end for the Steelers, to grow out his beard and participate with him. It meant a lot to Keisel that Heyward grew out his beard, “This year having Cam, who I have just been so proud of, offer to grow his beard and do this weird thing we have going here, it’s something that means a lot not only to me but kids that are fighting cancer and families that have children going through the things they are going through. It gives them hope and that is what this is all about.” (Varley, 2019) 

Its amazing that Heyward and Keisel decided to join forces because they both have so much in common. Cam Heyward has started a foundation with his mother and wife called The Heyward House. This foundation is based on helping children in need whether it's taking them winter clothes shopping, or helping kids with illnesses. Recently, The Heyward House started a program called Craigs Closet where they take donated mens dress clothes and help the local high schools in need. Whether its for a job interview, college interview, or an internship, Craigs Closet has you covered. 

These are wonderful causes that really help the Pittsburgh community. It's comforting to see that these athletes are using their platform to make a change. Hopefully others will see this as their goal as well. 

“Saying Goodbye to the Beards.” Steelers Home, www.steelers.com/news/saying-goodbye-to-the-beards.

Should you track your Macros?

Counting Macros has been a very popular trend nowadays in the health and fitness world. The question is, is it really the right decision for your health? I put together a small pros and cons list of why i think it could/couldn't be helpful.

Pros:

• You have complete control 
• You know whats going into your body and you can track how your body feels on different levels of macronutrients 
• You know what your body will need in its next meal. More protein? More carbs?
• You can use this to help you stay motivated in eating well in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle

Cons:

• Its hard to make counting nutrients a lifestyle. Your body changes and the amount of calories needed can change. 
• You become obsessed with the numbers. 
• Food and eating becomes stressful. What if you eat a meal that you don't know what's exactly in it?
• Food is always on your mind. Whats the next meal?, Can I afford a cheat meal?, etc 
• You eat what you're eating because you have to and dieting becomes a numbers game. 

Back in high school when i was a gym rat I decided one day to start counting calories. At the time, this was an easy diet to maintain because i was either at school or at work so i made my meals ahead of time. I'd weigh out EVERYTHING on a little food scale before preparing and distributing into containers. It eventually became exhausting just simply using the scale and entering all of the numbers into my food tracking app. Even when I'd go out to eat i'd make sure my app had the restaurants menu's nutrient facts, otherwise i wouldn't go. I ended this ridiculous diet because my stomach was constantly rumbling and i never felt fully energized. 

I don't regret this phase though. I ended up learning a lot about health and how my body worked on certain amount of nutrients. This diet didn't work for me but i do know others that loved it! Everyones preferences are different. When i cook a meal i typically think to myself "how can i add this healthy fat into this meal?" I personally think it's important to find a way to add a healthy amount of every macro nutrient into your meals. 

Everyone thrives off of different eating styles so at the end of the day, its really up to you. If you think tracking your macros will help you achieve a goal then do so. But don't push your body to limits it can't go to or feel guilty about eating. Healthy eating should be enjoyable and delicious not something that brings you anxiety. 

The BEST (but spicy) Buffalo sauce

One day my boyfriend and I wanted to make buffalo wings but didn't want to use just your average Franklins RedHot. So, we decided to take a trip the grocery store and make our own and it turned out amazing. We made them for the first time on football Sunday earlier this year for a room full of hungry boys and they were an absolute hit. With that being said, I'm sharing our wonderful concoction to try and I highly encourage you do so...it's so easy!

Here is our twist on a homemade buffalo sauce:

Yield- 10-12 wings

Ingredients:

• Half a bottle of Cholula hot sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon of Tropical Pepper Co. Exxtra hot habanero sauce (you can add a little more for an extra kick)
• 1/4 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons of Olive oil
• 3/4 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
• 1/2 egg yolk
• dash of crushed red pepper
• dash of cayenne powder 

Instructions: 

• On a medium-large sauce pan on medium heat, heat up everything EXCEPT THE EGG YOLK. 
• Once the sauce comes to a simmer, remove from heat and let it cool for about 90 seconds
• Take half of an egg yolk and whisk it in a bowl 
• Slowly pour the yolk into the sauce while stirring the whole time
• Stir until the egg is mixed fully into the sauce 
• Add to wings!

The egg yolk adds such a nice texture to the sauce, that and the Tropical Pepper Co. Exxtra hot habanero sauce is what makes it so tasty. 

This is the sauce in case you've never heard of the brand. (I got mine at food lion)

Enjoy!