Case Study: Edward Snowden

 

            The following is a case study of Edward Snowden; who is currently living in exile in Russia. Espionage is the practice of spying or using spies (usually used by governments) to obtain political and military information.  Espionage is a serious offense in many countries, and even though many countries deny any involvement in acts of espionage, we all know it to be an effective for of recon and an ideal way of gather Intel and resources. Edward Snowden has been charged under the Espionage act of 1917 and faces up to 30 years in prison.

Snowden        

            Edward Snowden is a former National Security Agency (NSA) computer programmer. Snowden dropped out of high school but later decided to study computers in Anne Arundel Community College from 1999 to 2001 and again in 2004. Before going back to school in 2004, Snowden received training in special forces, training in the Army Reserves. Snowden suffered 2 broken legs in a training accident, resulting in his discharge and allowing him to attend school. After finishing school, he got himself a job as a security guard at the University of Maryland. The university had connections to the NSA which lead to Snowden landing an information tech. For the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

            In 2009, Snowden left his job at the CIA after he was suspended attempting to break into classified documents. After leaving his job at the CIA, Snowden began working for private contractors and among those private contractors were Dell Hamilton and Booz Allen. He as a subcontractor in an NSA office in Japan while working for at Dell before being transferred to Hawaii. While working as an IT guy for Booz Allen, Snowden began to notice the surveillance reach of the NSA, and began copying and saving classified NSA documents, building a dossier based on the things he found “disturbing” and unacceptable.

            In 2013 after compiling a large enough dossier full of NSA surveillance practices, Snowden took a leave of absence from his job, telling his NSA supervisor that he had been diagnosed with epilepsy and had to go away for treatment. He flew to Hong Kong where he would meet with Laura Portras who is a reporter for “The Guardian”. Snowden gave the documents to Portas and she leaked them to the press. While in Hong Kong, Snowden agreed to star in Portas's now Oscar-winning documentary called “Citzenfour”. The documentary was based on Snowden's with the NSA and how he felt about what he was doing. Snowden claimed that he would give up his old life because he could not “in good consciousness allow the government to destroy privacy”.  After the release of the top secret NSA documents, Snowden became the most wanted man in America. Snowden originally wanted to go to Ecuador and hide there, but he was held in Russia when his Passport was flagged; although the Russian government originally denied the extradition of Snowden, there has been talks that Vladimir Putin (the President of the Russian Federation) was in talks with the Trump administration to turn over Snowden as a sign of good faith. 

Diagnosis 

            Edward Snowden acted on his own from the government platform that the National Security Agency put him on. He acted on his own consciousness and did what he thought was right.    

Snowden was note working with any other international government agencies and should not be tried as if he were. Snowden was doing what he believed was right for the country which is why more than 100,000 people signed a petition asking the United States President Barak Obama to pardon Snowden.

            Snowden has a right to expression and he did it in a way that attention can be brought to a problem so something can be done. One of the NSA documents that were leaked showed how the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court enforced an order to Verizon to release information to the NSA on an ongoing and everyday basis with the American phone customers being the main focal point. That is a grade one level of intrusion of the American people’s privacy.

Plan

            This section shows my opinion on what should be done to prevent any further controversy about this problem.

            One way to end this controversial issue would be to pardon Snowden for his actions and allow him to move back into the states as a freeman. The things he did were not acts of espionage, but those of a concerned citizen who was worried of his rights and the rights of others as well. By pardoning Snowden's actions, the United States looks good in terms of allowing second chances and can indeed look like a free country. By pardoning Snowden, the United States can take the attention of something negative, that makes the United States look bad and reminds the people of what the government has been up to with the tax payer’s money, but it also allows for the government to focus on more important matters and allows the government to not be distracted. 

            Another action the government can take to put this behind them is to allow him to remain in Russia and ban him from entering the United States. By banning him and allowing him to live in Russia, everyone can move on and make Edward Snowden a thing of the past, instead of making him a constant reminder of the corruption of the government.  

Results/Outcome

            The pardoning of Edward Snowden would allow the government can get back to what matters which is keeping our country safe. It might also allow the people to trust the government again, by pardoning someone that so many people view as a hero to the country.

            The President of the United States should pardon or allow him to live in exile in a public platform so the people can see and so Snowden knows where he stands with the government and the country.

Conclusion

            Espionage is a serious offense in many countries, and even though many countries deny any involvement in acts of espionage, we all know it to be an effective for of recon and an ideal way of gather Intel and resources. If there is anyone in this scenario guilty of espionage, it is the American government for attempting such intrusion in our lives and denying any doing so for many years. In a country where we had rights in place to defend ourselves against the over powering of the government, we should feel betrayed and angry with the government for attempting doing something like this. Snowden in the eyes of many was a hero for opening the eyes of many civilians around the world.

References

            Harding, L. (2014). How Edward Snowden went from loyal NSA contractor to whistleblower. Retrieved December 07, 2016, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/01/edward-snowden-intelligence-leak-nsa-contractor-extract

            Writing forCollege. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2016, from http://www.tc.umn.edu/~jewel001/CollegeWriting/WRITEWORK/DISCIPLINES/CaseStudySamples.htm

Blog where this was posted and published
https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/obama-should-pardon-edward-snowden-today-were-launching-campaign-make-it-happen?page=7#comment-191610

 

Summary of my project and works cited~Rachel George

Rachel George

Mental illness is prevalent inAmerica today. Toby Allen's artwork sheds light of different types of mental illnesses. I wanted to know what was the science behind mental illness. I learned that mental illness occurs in one of the most important parts in the brain, the synapse. I created a mini game with questions about the mental illness and how we can help yourself and others. In order to play the game you have to sign up and search up "THE SCIENCE BEHIND MENTAL ILLNESS"Neurotransmitters and Neurons.

https://create.kahoot.it/#user/b30d4566-6158-462f-8790-0fa229b6ec61/kahoots/created

"Neuroscience For Kids." Neuroscience For Kids - Neurotransmitters. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

"The Difference Between Neurons And Neurotransmitters." The Difference Between Neurons And Neurotransmitters. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

Kahn, April. "What Causes Tremor? 18 Possible Conditions." Tremor: Types, Causes & Diagnosis. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

National Institutes of Health.US. Department of Health and Human Services,n.d.Web.07.Dec.2016.

For my semester project I am going to inform you on cyberwarfare, cyberterrorism and acts of resistance people have taken using this tool. These key board warriors wage wars digitally in the dark net, people can stay anonymous and leave no trace at all. Now in days computer and advanced technology is so easily accessible to everyone around the world. In particular this technology is more than available for every government also. For example in March 2013 South Korean major banks and broadcast stations were shut down and over 30,000 computers were affected. Also in 2014 when Sony released the movie “The Interview”, a group named “Guardians of Peace” wanted them to pull the film due to the comedy plot about killing the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The group released an enormous amount of Sony files containing employees and their familiesperson emails and information about all salaries.
   The group that I would like to focus on and inform people more about is anonymous and all the acts of resistance they have done against people. Anonymous is a group of so called “hactivists”. They seek mass revolution and awareness against anything they feel is corrupt. They have a very impactful past dating back to almost 2006, and they still are around. They have done stuff in 2007 like tracking down an alleged internet sex predator and got him arrested to now in 2016 anonymous Philippines forced them to add security to vote count machines.

  In conclusion people may not know but hackers are one of the most dangerous form of terrorism and it is to the point now that some countries even have it as a part of their military. Hacking websites and hacking in general is so serious people are using is for fraud and to hack into banks and steal money. Despite the hardness of being traced the prison sentences are also long. Governments and countries also use computer hacking to keep track of citizens and surveillance around the city.


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2KH10qeqhbs

http://time.com/3928086/these-5-facts-explain-the-threat-of-cyber-warfare/
OUTLINE :

http://s000.tinyupload.com/index.php?file_id=46511638385706733373

35 Mujeres: Free Oscar Lopez Rivera!

      When i was a young girl my parents were always political and involved in the community, especially the Latino community. My mother finally decided to go back to college to Finnish her bachelor’s degree after many, many years of being a stay at home mother. She began attending CCNY around 1995/1996. During my mother's amazing self-transformation, she met some wonderful people who were also attending the Education program, who were also very active in the political community as well. 
    These wonderful people were a great influence on my mother, and our family in general. They protested with my mother on campus a few times, which i was brought along to join and rally in with them. I have to say, I don’t remember many exact details, but i do remember feeling completely empowered and important. I remember feeling like I was really making a difference in the world just by being there and standing for something that meant a lot to my mother.
     My mother also began attending meetings for an organization named Pro-Libertad. The Pro-Libertad campaign focused on many political issues surrounding Puerto Rico. At the time the two main issues that were focused on were "freeing" Puerto Rico from the United States, making them their own country again, and freeing the 14 Puerto Rican Political prisoners (at the time there were 14). We attended organization meetings, protests, Rally's until I was about 14 or 15 years old. My parents continued to be affiliated with the organization a bit after I stopped attending meetings, and eventually stopped being politically active all together. 
            I didn’t realize how much I missed being involved and interested in being affiliated with a political organization. Now here we are about 17/18 years later, and I plan on becoming involved with Pro Libertad again, and another organization that they are affiliated with named, 35 mujeres.
     When i began doing research for this project I found one of the light blue shirts that i used to wear to our protests and meetings when i was younger had two phone numbers on the back of the shirt. I decided to call those numbers just to see what happened. The first number directed me to a voicemail, i left a message explaining who i was and the project that i was doing. The second number rang a bit, but a woman picked up. I was super excited and nervous at the same time. She told me that her name is Esperanza Martell, and that she was once a huge part of Pro libertad, and now is focusing on another movement which she helped to organize named 35 mujeres. 35 mujeres is an activist group that is focusing on freeing one of the remaining (of the 14 original) Puerto Rican political prisoners. I spoke with Espreanza briefly and explained to her how i am doing a project about different forms or artistic activism for a class project and that i was interested in doing some field work and getting back into the activist scene. She was very warm and helpful and said that i could come and join the group in advocating for the release of Oscar Lopez Rivera. She told me that 35 Mujeres gets together every last Sunday of each month on 44^th street and Broadway in New York City, Times Square. The chanting begin at 4pm and lasts until 4:35pm. It 35 minutes of chanting, I believe the 35 is derived from the 35 years that Oscar has been in prison. I found a video clip from last year and it said “34 mujeres” and they were chanting stating that he had been imprisoned for 34 years, so I’m assuming that each year that Oscar is in jail, the women add another number to their name. This will be one of my questions when I speak to Esperanza on Sunday November 27, 2016 so that I can be 100% certain. Espreanza also said that when I come to the chant on November 27, 2016, that I can interview  few people and possibly even her, if things aren’t too hectic at the moment. She also said for me and whoever comes with me to wear light blue and pink and to bring noise makers.
            As of right now, I am planning attending each meeting (the last Sunday of every month) and creating a Blog after each meeting. I would begin small, and as I learn more about the cause I would be writing and commenting about other organizations that are affiliated with Pro Libertad and 35 Mujeres. In addition, I would also like to create a twitter account that would bring more attention to the cause, because as of right now the two groups are on a very limited amount of social Media.

I originally was going to focus on the Prolibertad Movement. I wanted to do this because I of my past experiences with the group, but after speaking with Esperanza and doing research about Oscar Lopez Rivera, I finally decided to focus on the 35 mujeres movement. The 35 in the name is for the amount of years Oscar has been in jail, each year that passes another year is added to the name.  35 Mujeres NYC are women from New York City who have dedicated themselves to making sure Oscar Lopes Rivera is a free man one day. They meet every last Sunday of the month at 4pm and chant for 35 minutes. Each minute of chanting stands for 1 yea that Oscar Lopez has been incarcerated.
We pray it will end by this year before the Trump Administration takes office. When Trump was elected, it was not only sad and scary for many of us, but it was a huge blow for Oscar Lopez, because at that moment his chances became super limited. The group has been working very hard and has organizations in Chicago, Puerto Rico, New York city and many other large cities throughout the country.

I attended the rally for Oscar on November 27, 2016. I met many new people and encountered a few people that I haven’t seen in many, many years. I interviewed a few of the main women from 35 mujeres and spoke with a few people off camera. Everyone was so happy and proud that after so many years I was coming back into the community. I have kept in contact with Esperanza and with Angel. We are going to be working together on future projects.

This experience has moderated me to want to do more for our community and society. I posted a live

video, so far it has about 100 views, not many shares or likes, but that is not the point. The point is to

get the word out about Oscar Lopez’s situation and try to get as much awareness ass possible. Oscar

Lopez Rivera will be free before Trump takes office, he has to be! I am currently working on a few

projects for Esperanza and will be posting those on Facebook and other areas of social media soon.

Please join me in helping getting the word out about Oscar Lopez Rivera and this very important

cause.


35 mujeres rally for Oscar Lopez!

Petition: "president-obama-free-oscar-lopez-rivera"!! Please sign!!

Facebook live nov 27

Kathe:35 Mujeres

100,000 signatures and counting. The more, the better. Please sign the petition!

http://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/08/us/12-imprisoned-puerto-ricans-accept-clemency-conditions.html

http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/43/003.html

http://digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=yjll

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/10/puerto-rico-last-political-prisoner-oscar-lopez-rivera

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOcDFeeuPdQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqyohPHPhfQ

Although the practice of controlling the masses using one unified and strong message has been commonplace ever since civilizations began branching out the word itself only came into common knowledge as of World War 2. The second World War also serves as possibly the greatest triumph of propaganda and the rawest example of it at work. Both the Axis powers and the Allied powers were using them to control and rally their citizens into supporting their war efforts and other pursuits. Germany used propaganda to justify the imprisonment of people; whether they be Russian, Jewish or any other status they viewed as immoral. The German people were exposed to films such as Der Ewige Jude which roughly translates to “The Eternal Jew”. The film gave disparaging statements about the Jewish people and their effect on the world. Although the German people were aware that these people were being put in “work camps” they were largely unaware of the horrible conditions and murders that the German military carried out.

America primarily used propaganda to push its strengths in the war. America’s strength was that it hadn’t been in the war early on. This gave them extra resources and since America’s consumerism was in full swing we also had a large number of factories which we put to use for making war supplies. Our propaganda was primarily about using as little resources such as oil, metal and food as possible to allow them to be used in the war. This allowed for American troops to be well supplied while they fought the war and allowed us to provide aid which our allies desperately needed.

Both sides used propaganda in World War 2 however America used it to capitalize on their strength which allowed them to win the war whereas Germany used it defensively and only tried to cover up their weakness in public support. Due to their superior use of propaganda America and its Allies were largely able to steamroll their Axis opponents. Propaganda not only played a huge part in war and the minds of the people during WWII but also shaped the world that we exist in today.

Today we are still manipulated and convinced by propaganda. It can be seen everywhere, from our elections to our lunch. Influencing our decisions and our lifestyles.

#BlackLivesMatter - An Act of Resistance

 WWW.MORETHANAHASHTAG.WIXSITE.COM/BLACKLIVESMATTER

    For hundreds of years, the African-Americans in the United States have been the subject of discriminatory actions and racism. The systematic racism and discrimination led to a call for change. Throughout American history, citizens fought for equal rights and treatment for Blacks, with prime examples being the Civil Rights movement and the #BlackLivesMatter movement.. For this reason, this blog works as an educational interface for those who are unaware of the issue. The news articles and media posts featured on this blog will focus on the real issues of racial discrimination against black people and the act of resistance known as the Black Lives Matter movement. This blog was created as a support system for the Black Lives Matter movement. Instead of promoting violence and action that can cause harm, this site uses education as its reinforcer.

    The website is currently divided into five posts. Each of these posts overlap by covering racial issues. The first post on the blog briefly gives the reader what #BlackLivesMAtter is by proving its origin and founders. The second post titled “A Mirrored Movement: The Civil Rights Movement”, shows the reader how the #BlackLivesMatter movement resembles the Civil Rights movement from the 60s. The following post covers a recent event. It talks about the mixed emotions that were seen after Trumps win, by showing a video of the reaction of news analyst Van Jones. The two last posts are examples of how artists use performance to educate others about racial issues. Overall, all of these posts focus on the struggle black people face.

     Considering that it is said that the movement began through social media by the use of a hashtag, I wanted to keep this element alive. On the website/blog’s main page, there are three icons under the heading “Follow The Hashtag” that are linked to the hashtag on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. After completing the website and creating a domain URL, I decided to spread the message. I printed multiple flyers that had the website’s URL and a code and posted them around my town near bus stops and memorials. I thought that spreading the website’s message online wasn’t enough, I had to go out and make sure it was out in the public eye.

WEBSITE LINK: www.morethanahashtag.wixsite.com/blacklivesmatter

Video posting flyers: https://vimeo.com/194606145

Resources/Bibliography:

• http://blacklivesmatter.com/%20about/
• http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/civil-rights-movement-overview
• https://youtu.be/QQly01LLe-I
• http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/9/van-jones-on-donald-trump-win-this-was-a-whitelash/
• http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/09/politics/van-jones-results-disappointment-cnntv/
• https://youtu.be/anRg-aAK2hg
• http://www.dreadscott.net/works/impossibility-of-freedom/
• https://youtu.be/Ulvj_B0UbsU
• http://www.sociopath.online/the-white-ambassador.html

Final Project- Melissa Malia

My final project is about human trafficking.  Slavery ended 150 years ago, as what we thought. Human trafficking is just that... Slavery.  It is the act where women and children are being forced to be with older men for money. I do not see how these men do not see that some girls are so little. Human trafficking is the most hidden crime in the US. 56% of the trafficked is children in the US. 800,000 people in the US are being trafficked in the US each year. 46% of the world is being forced into prostitution.
        

One main reason as to why young girls and children are part of the human trafficking business is because the men behind them, known as their pimps, will seriously hurt them. Even if they try to get out. Many of these young girls are not even close to 16, let alone being close to 18.
One of the movies that i loved, but when it came out, i didnt think much of it, was Taken. In 2008, the movie Taken came out, it is about human trafficking. It is about a young woman who travels to another country with her best friend. When in the country, they find a young man who helps them get to their hotel. The girls friend thinks hes cute, so when he invites them to a party she goes. But the daughter of the man stays at the hotel. After a while, she sees three man in the room next to hers. She calls her father to tell her about the men, he then tells her, four words that no parent wants to tell their child. They will take you. He listens to them take his daughter, and he promises them that he will find her. The whole movie is about him trying to find his trafficked daughter. He finally finds her.

Rachel Lloyd, a survior, author, and founder of GEMS tells her story through her meminor. She says is winter of 1989 she tried a few attempts to end her life, one of the times she downed a bottle of wine, and a various of her mothers pills. Her mother found her in the bathroom, after she came home from a trip from France.Lloyd said that her attempts meant nothing. She went on with her life, and she went on to meet an adult male that she thought was good for her. She stated that she would rather use shoplifting and dodgy credit credits then stand and be a waitress for 18 hours a day. After long days of Rachel doing what she thought was right, she was being raped by the adult men that she hung out with. Her doctor told her that before she could turn 16, she could be dead, pregnant, or in jail. Or all three.

She moved to New York City in august of 1997 from Germany. She was scared driving around as what she called “Serial killers paradise.”  Dumpsters, the absence of the streetlights, no one around for miles to hear you scream”, I know im scared too hearing those words!

At just 23 years old, in 1998, Rachel Llyod found the girls educational and mentoring services. Also know as GEMS. One of the stories she tells in the beginning of her memoir, Girls like us. Is about when she gets a call from a foster care agency. All she knows is that a fourteen year old and her name was Danielle,was picked up from the streets. She goes to the foster care agency to talk to this young girl. At first the girl doesn’t want to talk to Rachel, till Rachel opens up about her past. At that point the two have something in common, Rachel then finds out that the girl that she thought was only fourteen years old, was only 11. The young girl goes on to tell Rachel that she has a boyfriend who is twenty-nine years old. He gives her all types of presents and such as her heart necklace that was around her neck. Danielle told Rachel about all the hotels that she visited with all the men that she was with. Just reading about this story hurt, because this happened in June of 2007, she was born in 1995. We are the same age.  To think none of the men that this girl was with, noticed. Its hard-breaking. 

We may not know when it is happening, or where. But we need to have some awareness of this crime. Women and children are not a profit. They are a a human-being that deserves the world. If you know of anyone that you think is being trafficked call the toll-free number of National Human Trafficking Resource center at 1-888-3737-888! 

 "Flight Attendants Are First Line of Defense Against Human Trafficking." VOA. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.

"Join Innocents at Risk for Holiday Cheer At Burberry in City Center!" Innocents at Risk. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.

Lloyd, Rachel. Girls like Us: Fighting for a World Where Girls Are Not for Sale, an Activist Finds Her Calling and Heals Herself. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. Print.

Liam.MCLAUGHLIN. "United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime." What Is Human Trafficking? N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2016. 

Here is the video i did on youtube :

https://youtu.be/zp7GMSWc1Ok 

FEMINISM AND EDUCATION

For many hundreds of years, women have strived for gaining equality with men. They have been held back and their opportunities taken away from them because of the fact that they were women. Feminism is the belief in social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. And it is the feminist movement that has been trying to give these rights to women who have been deprived of their equality and privileges that men have never given them. I believe that women have every right to be equal with men and feminism is what is slowly accomplishing this. Feminism is beneficial to men, women, and their families because it is allowing mothers, daughters, and sisters to have an equal opportunity in life to achieve all they can without any discrimination based on their sex. It is a human right to be equal to others around you and it does not matter if you are male or female. They should both receive the same opportunities and privileges given in life and feminism helps women accomplish this task of equality. Everyone views the world with his or her own sense of gender and equality. Feminists view the world as being unequal. They wish to see the gender gap and the idea that men are superior to women decreased or even abolished. Carol Gilligan is one woman who has contributed much time and effort to the feminist theory. Her beliefs and ideas are based upon difference feminism.Carol Gilligan is an American feminist, ethicist, and psychologist best known for her work on ethical community and ethical relationships, and certain subject-object problems in ethics.Please visit my blog for more information http://ourworld2017.blogspot.com/?m=1

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e8xgF0JtVgAlso I did a video on Feminism and education .Click on the link https://youtu.be/91ZudQwEuOY
RESOURCES"
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/sociology/education-and-sociology/feminism-and-education/

http://www.worlded.org/WEIInternet/international/expertise/display.cfm?tid=1004&id=756

Homelessness

     In today's society everywhere we look we see growing crime, prejudice and social and political injustice. One thing we see everyday walking around in our city especially is homelessness. In recent statistic studies there are totalled over 564,708 homeless people in which 50% of them have been over the age of 50. Due to being homeless for long people tend to grow mental illness and diseases while being alone on the streets, it can drive someone to be crazy.

Over years people Just learn to make them part of society and just walk over them as if they are not there, straight up ignore the existences of a human being. As we are noticed in our everyday lives of people  in society I feel as if homeless people  do not get this same "privilege" as us "normal" citizens do. All they want to feel is cared for, some of us look at homeless people as if they are scary as if they are not humans like us. There has been many artist in which have made impact touching on topics including homelessness, one of the main is Krzysztof Wodickzo. Although known for many of his projects the one I would like to focus on is the Homless vehicle he made.

    This vehicle was something to help homeless people survive on the streets. The wagon type silhouette served as many different things to these homless people, first off it extended into a bed for the people to sleep on at night, second off the bottom of the cart had a section for someone to store cans and other things they needed to build up.

Also the vehicle had a compartment which came out and give you a platform to wash ur head and hair in. Nevertheless the reason this was so impactful and so important is because this  project did for homeless people something they never had before, people turning and looking at them, drawing them attention, making it so that they are seen as people just like everyone else. Wodickzo addressed this issue of homeless people being unseen by making something that is very easy to the eye. Another person who made something similar to help homeless people recently is a young woman, 15 years old, by the name Emily Duffy, a student at Desmond college in Limerick. She developed a fireproof and rainproof sleeping bag with Velcro straps just incase the person had to get out of the sleeping bag quickly. She recently showed this project off at the BT Young scientist and technology exhibition in Dublin.

 One of the most known artist in this genre and notable is Michael Rakowitz. He created a project named the "parasite". This was a tent like structure built from inflatable plastic bags. This structure would attatch to the exterior outtake vents of buildings, these blew hot air into the structure which would then give people an insulated tent to sleep in. Although it broke some laws it still made its impact while people were using it.

Rakowitz gave people a harsh taste of reality of how hard it is for homeless people during the winter. The parasite was only distributed to 30 people ranging from Boston to New York City. All three of these artist are to me examples of activism in art, they make something to show people and reach different artist. Activism in art paints pictures for people and let's threm the audience think what they want about the project, paint their own picture, make their own meaning of it. On the other side activism is politics can lead to worse stuff. For example our recent presidential debate led to more segregation than maybe ever. Also not to mention all the riots and violent protest which followed the outcome of the election. Activism through art is a real way of a peaceful protest, it gives people an opportunity to think for themselves instead of getting consumed into what media spits at them.


Links and resources for project

http://www.socialsolutions.com/blog/2016-homelessness-statistics/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=59DV3k2fVfA

http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/emily-duffy-duffily-bags-released-Desmond-College.jpg

Artists fighting for the homeless

Rachel George
The Guerrilla Girls asks,"What's the difference between a prisoner of war and a homelessness person?" A homeless person sleeps on hard concrete every night. They have to fight to stay warm and safe at night. Also they wear the same outfit for many days until they can get new ones. A homeless person is a prisoner of war in their own city. Many people do not understand why people become homeless; it could be because the person is out of work or their rent is to high to pay. Today, the housing market has increased, but a persons salaries did not. But artists like Krysztof Wodiczko, Michael Rakowitz, N55, and Andres Serano changes poor people and fortunate people lives with their projects.

People who lose their home might use their car for shelter. Wodiczko was able to create the Homeless Vehicle which was "an  instrument of survival for urban nomads"(26). He created this vehicle with a shopping cart as a shelter so the unfortunate do not have to stay so the unfortunate do not have to stay in one place. Similar to Wodiczko project, his former student, Rakowitz created the paraSITE. This project is "Produced from plastic bags and tape and attached to air vents on buildings"(34). Heat is one of the major problems homeless people have to deal with. Rakowitz project kills two birds with one. Instead of the heat coming out the through the vents going out into the air he attaches plastic bags to the open air vent. Both Wodickzo and Rakowitz used simple materials to help many in need.

A studio apartment in Manhattan may cost up to $3,000.  This same $3,000 you pay every month could be used as a down payment to a payment for people who does not have to worry about becoming homeless because you are not able to pay. The Snail Shell System was a mobile home shaped like a wheel "equipped with air intake valves,... a kitchen pan, kettle, alcohol burner and plastic bags, a pump and a toilet"(60). Why pay for a small apartment you probably are struggling to pay. N55 shows us that you can use what you have to create something beneficial to help others.

An English idiom, a "Picture paints a thousand words." Serano went around New York City streets photographing destitute people he saw. The pictures show their struggles when living on the streets. But then he decided to change the way he captured a picture. According to Art about poverty and Homelessness, he wanted to focus "on personal connectivity and interaction directly." Serano wanted to get to know them and gain trust from the less fortunate. People who joined this movement felt "it is a blessing when someone takes time to interact with them and to acknowledge them as not being invisible." Many businessmen and businesswomen walk pass the homeless people as if they are not human beings and decided to become homeless. Serano allows us to think about ways we can help the homeless more rather than into their cup.

Activism in art and political activism has many similarities. Political activism is a large group coming together marching down streets with signs, chanting for change. In "Protest tackles homelessness", by Broke-Ass Stuart, today in San Francisco people protested to save the homeless people after "when Hizzoner Ed Lee said the ''homeless have to leave" for the Super Bowl". San Francisco is ignoring their own people. However, art activism is either a artist or artists using objects to display a message. For example, these Wodickzo, Rakowitz, N55, and Serano used their passion for art to design either a mobile or photographs to display the simple necessities they do not have. The homeless are people too. Many people become homeless due to losing their home, family issues or become mentally ill. These artists are able to share their stories with their creations. It will only grow if we as citizens continue to walk pass them.

Race and Art

Disclaimer: Before presenting my artists I will address why these artists are important in their field of activism and worth taking note of rather than incoherent babblings of a half-baked idea. In my descriptions of these projects I specifically point out those parts which I find useful and leave out parts that I believe have been diluted away from their original intention. The lack of coverage of these aspects comes from me personally not believing it to be useful not lack of research.

Racism, especially in policing is an issue that occurs due to a reason such as increased crime rates by certain race or ethnicity for the vast majority of occurrences. Racism is a problem even in America the most equal of diverse nations. My theory behind the lagging back and continuing of racism is that it stems from the wage gap. However we have come forward in strides the past century to make our fellow Americans equal in this field. In fact certain racial groups such as Asian Americans and Indian Americans are reporting higher earnings than Whites. The question is why have Indian Americans and Asian Americans progressed so far from the days of racial inequality that they faced when they were performing the most dangerous job of planting and detonating explosives for half the pay of the Hispanic workers. How and why were these racial groups progressing so far while Hispanic and Black people in the work force remained behind? In order to eliminate racism we should focus on what causes the increased rate of criminal activities in Hispanic and Black communities especially since the victims of these crimes tends to be someone of the perpetrator’s own race and therefore doubly sets that race back. This is the wage gap as someone who has money is less likely to commit a crime, especially violent ones than someone who doesn’t.

As previously stated the reason behind the racism in policing, the disparity between racial groups in regards to crime both stem from wage earnings in my opinion. In my researched opinion the reason behind the wage gap is the understanding and sympathy that the majority of people feel towards the race. I believe that in order to close the wage gap which is the source of these race problems we need to promote inter-racial understanding and break down those things that separate us. We should become the melting pot that America is thought to be in actuality. While allowing people to keep their racial identity and remaining respectful of it we must come to understand and accept it in all its detail. The three artists I have chosen are three that I feel do this in varying capacities.

William Pope L – Black Factory

The Black Factory is a van owned by William Pope L that goes to various art exhibits and displays a blow-up igloo of what he describes as Black-ness. This is meant to show people of other races what being black is like and therefore promote understanding between the races and work to bring us all together. William Pope L uses the igloo as his medium to communicate with his audience and engages the audience by popping up in a place that surprises them.

Ruben Ortiz Torres – Hats

Ruben Ortiz Torres is an innovative artists who employs a huge variety of means to deliver his message. Hats is my favorite example and it addresses not only his problems as a Mexican American by giving social commentary and promoting understanding of his and other races through racially charge hats but also addresses issues faced by Native Americans and other racial groups. Hats is my personal favorite project on race issues due to its creativity and the artistic eye grabbing form that it takes often with a clear message.

The public – Black Lives Matter

This project is one that I am both critical of and support. Due to its mixed motivations. While I condemn statement such as “What do we want? Dead cops! When do we want them? Now!” and other such promotions of violence it is important to address issues such as disparaging amounts of young black men being killed by cops. I believe however that the way to accomplish this is by taking a less direct path by promoting race relations rather than protesting. While protesting when done peacefully is good for gathering public support it also is an escalation of an issue rather than an effort to come to an understanding. If the Black Lives Matter protest called for a specific course of action such as retraining cops or decreasing the rate at which cops respond with lethal force then I could more fully support it however at the moment the movement is too disorganized and supports violence to regularly for me to believe in it’s cause.

Homelessness as a Social Issue

    There are many issues, both social and political, that can be seen today. Although there are many members of our society, it does not mean that everyone takes their time to see the issues that are really going on. When this occurs, we must count on those who use their voice or talents to shine a light on these important issues and find a way that they can show others that there is always possible solution. These people are known to be the activists and artists in our communities that focus on social and political issues. We know that an activist is a person who campaigns for some kind of social change. This could be accomplished by protesting, or by using a different form of expression such as art. There are many artists from the past and present that have used their work to demonstrate and express the issues that they believe are important. One of these social issues that a few artists have decided to focus on is the issue involving homelessness.

    Homelessness refers to the condition of those without a permanent dwelling, such as a house or a valid form of shelter. Those who are in fact homeless have trouble finding a safe place to live due to economic or mental health issues. Homelessness is a very important issue that we are facing today. It is seen all throughout the country, in our major cities and in another areas where one wouldn’t necessarily think there were. Even though most of us know about this, we don’t tend to do our best to support them or provide them with what they really need. Most homeless people tend to hold up signs asking for money or for help, but their messages don’t always seem to reach a lot of people. As mentioned before, there are a few people who do act or have taken action in the form of art in order to support those in need.

      One of these artists is Krzysztof Wodiczko. Wodiczko has done many interesting projects, but the one that focuses and addresses the issue of homelessness is his piece titled “Homeless Vehicle”. This vehicle was created in collaboration with the homeless from NYC in about a year long period, from 1988 to 1989. Wodiczko’s idea was to construct an “instrument” or form of shelter for the homeless in urban settings. This vehicle was designed using a shopping cart that was then modified to provide a form of portable shelter and a way to collect cans and bottles. Not only did Krzysztof provide the homeless with a home on wheels, he was able to get the attention of many and engage an audience who is not homeless. Seeing someone walking down the street with a cool modified shopping cart will most likely create controversy. It would raise questions of what they are seeing, which would then lead to the issue behind the project which is homelessness. This is important because it brings awareness to the issue but at the same time, it helps those who are homeless.


    Another artist who did something similar to Wodidczko is artist Michael Rakowitz. Rakowitz’s piece is titled “paraSITE”. This is an ongoing project that was created back in 1998. This project is also a form of shelter for the homeless. Instead of it being a moving shelter on wheels like the “Homeless Vehicle” by Wodiczko, it focuses more on the shelter aspect of homelessness. The project “paraSITE” is an inflatable shelter for the homeless made out of plastic bags and tape. After being taped, the bags are attached to air vents on the outside of buildings. The air that escapes through these vents is used to fill the bags to create a heated tent-like shelter. One of the benefits of this project is that it is also portable since it is easy to take apart and reattach. This project was also a collaborative project with the homeless considering that Rakowitz consulted with homeless individuals on what their needs were. He was able to find a very cheap way to help provide the homeless with a form of shelter. These large inflatable shelters do tend to block some of the walkways in its surrounding. This does cause a problem with those trying to make their way around them, but that is what catches the attention of the non-homeless.

    Andres Serrano is also an artist that has used his position to shine a light on the homeless population. Serrano’s piece is different compared to the two mentioned before. Andres Serrano is well aware of the issue of homelessness on the streets of NYC. Instead of creating a physical object or a form of shelter for the homeless, Serrano’s project mainly focuses on finding a way to express the identity of the homeless by taking their picture. This project is photography based, and the two pieces he's done are titled “Nomads” and "Residents of New York".  At first, Serrano would go around the city with a portable studio and photograph the homeless people. One of the interesting aspects of this project was that the homeless people being photographed would at times pose in a certain way that resembled a heroic pose. These poses represented the way they felt being photographed, which relates to the attention they seek when asking fir help. A few years later Andres Serrano decided to go back and take new pictures. This time he didn’t use his portable studio in order to focus on a direct personal connectivity and interaction between him and the homeless. These photographs still act as a form of awareness because it does show the raw reality of what is to be homeless. This does in a way engage an audience by them witnessing someone who is homeless getting photographed; they would ask themselves why it’s happening. This would make them think about the fact that they are homeless.
 
    Overall, all of these artists find a way to use their position in the art world to create projects that work as a form of activism. The challenges that these projects face is important because they make the issue seem more important to those who whiteness them. They raise awareness and show support to those who cannot find it anywhere else. I believe that activism in art is the same as political activism outside of the art world because they both challenge an issue in the way that raises questions. If there was a difference it would be by the medium they choose to use.

Article with video of the project "Homeless Vehicle":
 http://artmuseum.pl/en/filmoteka/praca/wodiczko-krzysztof-homeless-vehicle-project

Video of how "paraSITE" is set up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfqi_oql6ms

Article with more pictures from Serrano's photo series "Nomads" and "Residents of New York":
 https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/andres-serrano-wants-new-yorkers-to-stop-ignoring-the-homeless-25969

Post three- Melissa Malia

The one artist in the book the interventionist is Krzysztof Wodiczko. He is internationally renowned large-scale slide and video projections. My favorite project that Wodiczko has done was the cart that was to help the homeless. It was part of the exhibition This Will Have Been: Art, Love & Politics in the 1980s. The homeless community has a lot of people that cannot find jobs and homes. Wodiczko tried to help them out with the sleeping carts. In the exhibition, they stated that it stood fully in the middle of the room, the “sleeping mode”, it surrounded by sketches of early prototypes. I think that this project was very meaningful for him to do because it was showing awareness to the fact that we don’t have seen every day. The sleeping carts are to keep the homeless that warm when it’s very cold.

Another artist that I found very interesting is Ha-ha.  Ha-ha is a group of artist that came out in 1988 that addressed the gap between the artist and the audience. Ha-ha is a group made up of artist that have made them up in fourteen years are Richard House, Wendy Jacob, Laurie Palmer, and finally John Ploof. It has over twenty to thirty people that was helped by Ha-ha to make the exhibition Flood. Flood was a built in hydroponic garden that was in a storefront on the north of Chicago. The garden of Flood, grew vegetables (such as kale, collards, mustard greens, swiss chard) and therapeutic herbs for people who have HIV. The storefront has been closed since 1995. This project helped the people who had a disease that could be life threatening.

Another group that I found very was the god of bless Graffiti. This collation was found in 2000 in Chicago to combat the growing nation.  In 2004, the god of bless graffiti had a project where Morgan Puett produced an installation of art work that portrayed the Mass Moca. It was a reference to the textile that Puett brought to the world. I think showing awareness to the world of a text out of art work is very well.  They placed these art works on so many abandoned chimes, and buildings. This group has so many arts on the walls that they put there because they want to have the people know what they go through.

Artist have ways of putting art out there. Some put their cultures in to their work, others work on their art as a peaceful place to get away from the world. Each artist has their own way of doing their art. A young man who only knows of the streets of his hometown, finds abandoned buildings and does graffiti on them. That one person that drives through and sees the art can make it go world-wide.

http://www.walkerart.org/magazine/2012/krzysztof-wodiczkos-homeless-vehicle-project

http://www.hahahaha.org/projFlood.html

http://www.counterproductiveindustries.com/gbgc/call.html