North Korea's Cyberwarfare

According to Jang Se-yul, a person who had formerly worked for the North Korean government before defecting, the nation has an established squad for cyberattacks. This squad, called Bureau 121, conducts cyberattacks on any nation or group that North Korea considers their 'enemy.'  Jang believes that this group was behind the Sony attacks earlier this month, and that they have attacked before. South Korea had reported cyberattacks before, which was supposedly traced back to North Korea. 

People now realize that their views of North Korea are far different from how they really are. People see the country as a dictatorship wracked by poverty, but in fact, they at least have enough money to train these so-called 'cyber warriors.' 

It brings the question: what else is North Korea hiding? Maybe they are truly more advanced than we thought before, and that their threats aren't empty. Their nuclear threats may have no substance to them, but if they have the capability to bring an entertainment empire like Sony to its knees, who knows what they could attack next.

Cuba and US Relations Looking Good

Obama, with the help of Pope Francis, had worked towards peace with the country of Cuba. Since the revolution there almost 50 years ago, the United States had established an embargo with Cuba, restricting trade and travel. This came after government subcontractor Alan Gross's  release from Cuba after five years of being imprisoned there.
This also marks the end of a fifty-year dispute between the two nations, marked by tensions and restrictions since the beginnings of the Cold War. Obama had been speaking with Raul Castro for over an hour on the phone earlier this week, among the first communications the nations had in decades.
This is incredible, considering the long history between the United States and Cuba. Being able to get to the point where these two nations, of all nations, can work out peace agreements is definitely a good sign. Perhaps this will be the beginning of more diplomatic relations between us and Cuba. of course, it won't happen overnight, but any means of improvement is good.

Ex-Marine Murders 6

Bradley William Stone, a man who served in the US Marines until 2011 had murdered his ex-wife and five ex-in-laws in the suburbs of Philadelphia on Monday. He killed his ex-wife and her mother, grandmother and sister, as well as the sister's husband and 14-year-old daughter without a known motive.
He is currently at large, and his location is unknown due to the fact the police recovered his car and cell phone. All that is known that he is armed and dangerous. Schools and other buildings in the town are currently closed due to the fear of Stone still being in the area.
Why someone would do this is beyond me. There has to be some motive or event that sparked this, considering him and his wife divorced in 2009. What made him snap? We won't know until he is found, and even then, we may never truly know.

Sony Hack - North Korea Behind It?

In the past week, Sony Pictures had been hacked, resulting in over 100 terabytes of data being leaked to the public, including unreleased movies such as the Annie remake.
To put it into perspective, 100 terabytes could hold 360 million photos. This information leaked includes movies, private internal documents holding employees' personal info, memos, and information on employees' salaries.
This is a major hack, bringing the company down on its knees. Information exposed gives the company a bad name, such as the gender and race pay gap present within the company. 3800 employees are being protected against identity theft now because of their info being leaked.
Much of the evidence behind the attack suggests North Korea was behind it. For example:

• the malware used is similar to ones North Korea has used before
• the language of it is in Korean
• Sony's planning on releasing a comedy soon about a plot to kill leader Kim Jong Un

However, the North Korean government suggested they may have not been behind it, although this is unclear.

The statement didn't outright say the North Korean government was not responsible. But KCNA called North Korean involvement "a wild rumor" and the government suggested it couldn't be behind a cyberattack on "a country far across the ocean."

When Will It End?

Another day, another case where a police officer gets away with murder.

This time, it was father of six Eric Garner, who was killed by Officer Daniel Pantaleo on July 17th. He was accused of selling illegal cigarettes, and after 'resisting' arrest (verbally, not physically or threatening), Pantaleo placed him in an illegal chokehold until he had died from suffocation. Garner, who had asthma, said eleven times that he couldn't breathe, but the officer wouldn't let go.

The grand jury in this case also chose not to indict, even though the entire altercation was caught on video. Daniel Pantaleo did not receive any charges.

(disturbing content warning)

What is it going to take for justice in this nation? We either need to train our cops better, or reform the grand jury system. The system itself is inherently rigged when dealing with cases against police officers; as the prosecutor has to present evidence against a fellow colleague.

It is completely unfair for a police officer to not be charged when he not only killed someone who was not threatening him, but he also did it illegally, as chokeholds such as this are banned in the NYPD.

Body Cameras on Police Officers - Now Required?

With the recent wake of protests in Ferguson, along with recent callouts on police brutality, Obama responded by suggesting new standards on police uniforms, the main part being adding funding (to the tune of $273 million) to get body cameras on 50000 police officers across the nation.
This would provide video evidence in cases of police brutality, such as those of Michael Brown or Kajieme Powell. In cases like these, police and witness statements are often disputed; by having these cameras on an official there, it would definitely clear up misconceptions or confusion.

While this is a great idea, it won't help combat police brutality, especially in cases where racial profiling is involved. For example, in the case of Kajieme Powell, he was fatally shot by police in a St. Louis street, where a witness had recorded the entire altercation. Even though there was video evidence that the police used excessive force, the video wasn't considered in the case.

Perhaps having the cameras on police officers, without the ability to remove or turn them off would help more than a witness recording an altercation on their phone. Maybe not. We'd just have to wait and find out.