DEA Agent Becomes A Woman on Facebook

According to CBSnews, a Drug Enforcement Agency agent named Timothy Sinnigen was sued because he created a fake Facebook page based on the photographs and personal information contained on a woman's phone who had been arrested in a drug case. The page was created to trick the woman's friends into telling the DEA drug secrets. Initially, the act was protected in court, but the Justice Department later stated that it is going to look into the practice to determine whether or not it went too far. The Facebook account looked extremely real, containing photos of the woman posing on the hood of a BMW and her holding her son and niece. There were even posts about how she missed her boyfriend, who had also been arrested. After learning about these events, Sondra Arquiett, the woman who was arrested, had filed a complaint and sued the federal government and the DEA for the false Facebook page. In the trial, both the Drug Enforcement Agency and the DEA agent himself, Timothy Sinnigen, would be named as defendants. Ms. Arquiett had demanded 250,000 dollars to repay for the damages done. Many people seem to have sided with the criminal who had been arrested for drug dealing. But at least one criminal had been captured through this one case none-the-less. The DEA had claimed to have the ability to use the woman's cell phone for whatever purpose they felt necessary, due to Ms. Arquiett handing her phone over to police. I personally believe that the agent did nothing wrong. In my opinion, once someone has committed a major illegal act, such as murder or drug dealing, then that person's rights should become void. No matter what is truly morally right or wrong, there is no denying the truth that the fake Facebook page had managed to aid in the arrest of at least one criminal involved with drugs.

School Security: A Necessary Evil

According to Al Jazeera America, ever since the shooting of Sandy Hook, schools have cracked down extremely hard on security measures. In the Cerritos Elementary School in California, people can only enter the school through one door. Inside, there is a counter that has a glass shield in front of it. People must then be buzzed into the school, but if the person poses a threat, a silent alarm can be pressed, calling the police. Some schools have even been installing bullet-proof boards and some have armed licensed teachers with firearms. I personally agree with the latter of the two, as I would feel much safer in a school where I knew that, if necessary, a teacher could neutralize the threat. Drills have become a massive part of security as well. Tennessee now requires "intruder drills" to sharpen the skills of those who could possibly be harmed by someone involved in an intruder situation. A school in Cincinnati now has a system called the "Bearicade." Basically, the device blocks the door from being opened by a pin holding it in place. It is very simple to use and all that is needed is a door and the device. One sheriff has even created a "posse" system of 3,500 well armed and well trained people who will patrol and scan the outer perimeters of different schools to aid in eliminating threats, whether through deterrence or by force. Some of the states in which schools that have implemented this "posse" system have been Utah, Texas, and Arizona, just to name a few. I believe that this system should be implemented into every school system, along with armed teachers who have the mindset to protect those they teach and the training to follow through. Security in school, however annoying it may seem, is absolutely necessary, as has been demonstrated in the past few years.

Legendary Gunsmith Passes Away

According to USAtoday, Mikhail Kalashnikov, creator of the legendary AK-47 and its many variants, had passed away in 2013 at the age of 94. The gunsmith had once wished to create farming tools, but decided instead to create a firearm that would go down in history. Kalashnikov was a tank commander during WWII and saw how poorly the Russian weapons held up against the German weapons, so when he returned home, he set a goal to create a firearm to protect Russia, his homeland. The "AK" stands for "Avtomat Kalashnikov" and the "47" stands for the year of production for the firearm. It is estimated that over 100 million copies of the Kalashnikov rifle are circulating worldwide. The AK platform rifle tends to be associated with guerrilla forces, terrorists, and criminals due to the cheap price of one, leading to the stereotype of the rifle as a "murderer's gun." However, Mikhail Kalashnikov has said, "I sleep well. It's the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence," in reference to the amount of people who have been killed by someone using an AK platform rifle. The AK-47 rifle, along with its variants are so widely praised in Russia that Kalashnikov received the "Hero of Russia" award when he was 90 years old. Kalashnikov himself hated being asked if he regretted building a weapon that has killed so many people. He responded by saying, "I've designed my weapon to defend the borders of our Fatherland, and let it continue to serve this purpose." Mikhail Kalashnikov had created a firearm that has gone down in history and will continue to be used throughout time due to its reliability, affordability, and simplicity.

AK-47 Prototype

Georgia Passes the "Guns Everywhere" Law. Sounds Good to Me.

According the Al Jazeera, Georgia passed a law that allowed people to carry a firearm into almost any public building. Some of the places firearms are allowed are churches, night clubs, bars, and select government offices, along with schools, and airports. This law has met considerable opposition. Some anti-gun activists called it a "dangerous kill bill" and the "guns everywhere" law. Over 70 percent of Georgians opposed the bill, but it still was passed. Many complained that Georgia should follow the example of many other states and create much harder gun control, but Georgia went against the grain and chose to loosen the ropes on gun laws in an attempt to cut down on gun related crime. I personally believe this to be the better route to go when it comes to gun laws; more guns in right minded people's hands equals a lot less crime. The pro gun advocates say that this law is necessary to protect their lives and the Second Amendment. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal says that "The Second Amendment should never be an afterthought." The governor was actually asked to veto the bill by the Georgia Municipal Association, but as it can easily be seen, he did not. Georgia is just one of the states that has opted to strengthen the individual by loosening gun restrictions. Remember, "gun control is using both hands."

 

Jordan Matson, A Warrior for Good

According to USAtoday, three American men went to fight along side the Kurdish forces against the terrorist group named ISIS. One of them was named Jordan Matson. Jordan Matson was outraged by the destructive and murderous nature of ISIS. Matson told USAtoday that "[he] couldn't just sit and watch Christians being slaughtered anymore...". Matson had lost patience with the United States and decided to fight along side the Kurds in an attempt to defeat the murderers called ISIS. Matson has truly adopted a Kurdish life and wears only a camouflage military uniform, a tactical vest to hold rifle magazines, and a black and white shemagh (Middle Eastern "scarf"). It is said that Jordan Matson had joined a private military and that is how he had the ability to go to Syria to fight. Recently, Matson had been wounded by a piece of shrapnel from a mortar round. He is alive, but needs to recover before returning to the fight. The Kurdish forces had recently fought against ISIS in the city of Kobane. Matson has been heard saying that he will not return home to America until ISIS has been eliminated from the Middle East. Jordan Matson is a very courageous man who should be an example for all.


Ross, Monica, Joey, Chandler, Rachel, and Phoebe - True "Friends"

 According to BBC, the classic sitcom "Friends" had its 20th anniversary. Airing its first episode in the year 1994, it became one of the most popular comedies of all time. The plot of "Friends" is that of the lives of six New Yorkers who are, you guessed it, friends. Originally, "Friends" had a few hoops to jump through. The writers had issues casting the roles. They knew they wanted David Schwimmer as Ross, but the question was the other five members. Then, Lisa Kudrow became Phoebe, but then there were more hang ups. Matthew Perry, later becoming Chandler, and Jennifer Anniston, who became Rachel, were already assigned to other shows, but those shows never took off, so it just happened to work out for the writers of "Friends." Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc were just put on the show by the network. And thus, the cast was together at last. The show had such an influence in pop culture, that lines are still being quoted from it today. Joey's classic "How you doin'?" or Ross and Rachel's "We were on a break!" are just some of the truly memorable quotes from the truly great show. The friends of "Friends" did not just forget each other after the final call of "cut." Around the time of the 20th anniversary of their cherished show, the three girls of the show dined out at the Sunset Tower Bar. Kudrow tweeted "20 years ago..." in reference to the fact that show was having its 20th anniversary. The stars do not just go to restaurants together, however. They have all had successful careers since "Friends," even if it may not have been as successful. Jennifer Aniston went on to star in more movies, Courteney Cox moved on into acting in the "Scream" series of movies and another comedy called "Cougar Town," Matt LeBlanc is now staring in a show called "Episodes," Lisa went on to act in multiple movies and a few series on HBO and Showtime, Matthew Perry also acted in a variety of television shows that were short-lived, and last, but not least, David Schwimmer has done voice acting for "Madagascar," acted in a few shows, and even played roles in a variety of serious films, including "Band of Brothers," "The Iceman," and "Apt Pupil." No matter what the six stars may find themselves doing in their lives, they will never be forgotten as the six friends that everyone watched growing up.

"Friends" stars when they were young.

"It Ain't Real Music Without Guitar"

According to USAtoday, rock stars are losing popularity to the much younger and, for whatever reason, more popular pop and rap artists. Shakira had over 100 million likes on Facebook, while the great band the Rolling Stones only has 19.4 million likes. Facebook is not the only social media site that rock stars are just "too cool" for. Twitter has become very popular with pop artists, but rock stars just do not seem to accept it. Bob Dylan had created his Twitter account in 2009.  Since then, Mr. Dylan and his band has only posted 389 times to date, while Katy Perry, who had also joined the same year as the legendary Bob Dylan, posted around 6,000 times to date. I do not blame rockers for trying to stay off of social media as much as possible. As Revolver magazine writes, "You can't be a rock god if you're going to take photos of your cup of coffee." Even the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has failed to introduce only rock related icons, the title for which it is named, and has actually added in Beyoncé's leotards.  That's right, a pop artist's piece of clothing was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! The only redeemable factor of that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as of recent days has been the addition of Nirvana, Kiss, and the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein. Rock and Roll was one of the most popular kinds of music in the '60s through the '90s, but for whatever reason, it has lost popularity for younger artists that lip-sync at concerts or, in recent days, songs that do not even have words in them, such as dubstep or Electronic Dance Music, known as EDM. But for a rocker like me, my motto will always be just as the band Hinder sang, "It ain't real music without guitar."