Solar Wind

Here we arrive at his first major ethical decision. Lying to terrorists may seem like an easy decision, however in this case it puts the life of another individual at risk. If caught he and the man who saved his life will be killed.

The Abu Ghraib torture scandal left a large blemish on the occupation of Iraq and George Bush’s War on terror. As stories of the torture happening in the Abu Ghraib prison began circulating, American citizens had trouble comprehending the acts of evil their soldiers had committed on Iraqis. Some began to see a correlation between Abu Ghraib and the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment. Though the guards in both situations were brutal to their captives, distinct differences lay in the severity of their actions. Abu Ghraib’s guards were much more vicious to their captives, and this can be attributed to the prejudices the guards felt against their captors, the environment, and the lack of training, compounded with a lack of accountability in the leadership.

The United States citizens have been wrestling with the question of, whether their government intelligence agencies should be prohibited from using torture to gather information. According to Michael Ignatieff, this is the hardest case of what he describes as ‘lesser evil ethics’—a political ethics predicated on the idea that in emergencies leaders must choose between different evils Before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, torture was viewed by most American’s as only actions that brutal dictators would employ on their citizens, to keep order within their country. However, this all changed when in May 2004, The New Yorker released photographs from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The disturbing pictures were released on the internet showing bodies of naked Iraqis piled onto each other, others showed Iraqis being tortured and humiliated. There was a huge up roar, which caused the President at the time George W. Bush to publicly apologize, and threaten the job of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Soon after, the CIA Conformed the use of waterboarding on three Al-Qaida suspects in 2002 and 2003, which further annihilated the topic. Since these reports, torture has been in the forefront of national politics, and the public opinion has been struggling to commit on whether torture is right or wrong.

It has become extremely easy to transmit information almost instantly without any possible way to censor it quickly enough to keep it out of the public eye. Edward Snowden is an extreme in many examples of people using technology to civilly disobey. Whistleblowers however have created a serious new issue as to whether or not their actions go beyond civil disobedience into the realm of treason. People like Chelsea Manning, who released hundreds of thousands of sensitive documents illegally, could be seen fairly easily as a traitor rather than someone trying to do the right thing. The real question with whistleblowers is whether or not they have gone beyond disobeying the law to posing a clear and present danger to the American people. In the case of Edward Snowden, most would say no. In the case of Chelsea Manning, the results are fairly

Mistakes are common in everyday circumstances, but when the mistakes happen in the military, it could cost a person’s life. In the movie A Few Good Men, two marines, Lance Corporal Harold Dawson and Private Louden Downey, are on trial for the murder of Private William Santiago because they had followed orders from their commanding officer to give Santiago a Code Red. The trial was not about if they were guilty or not, but about obedience in the military. Kaffee had to prove that Dawson and Downey were just following orders from a commanding officer and they were not guilty because they were performing their duties as marines in the military. At the end, Dawson and Downey’s superior officer, Colonel Jessup, was charged for the crime, but Dawson and Downey were dishonorably discharged from the marines. Even though they were following orders from their commanding officer, they realized that they had a responsibility of protecting and standing up for those who could not. In the article, “My Lai Massacre: A Military Crime of Obedience,” Kelman and Hamilton explain and talk about the My Lai massacre in Vietnam and how authorization, routinization, and dehumanization were used to commit the massacre. The “Stanford Prison Experiment” was used to reveal the effects of being in power and the struggle between the “prisoners” and “prison officers.” The process of obedience, authorization, routinization, and dehumanization, is used to create the perfect scenario for Dawson and Downey for

In 2008 Matt DeHart was considered an honorable man and an excellent member of the National Guard. However, by 2014 the United States and Canadian governments had driven him to attempt suicide twice (Humphreys). The events that happened in those six years speak to a major problem and ongoing historical situation, namely is the treatment, or rather mistreatment, of whistleblowers. People who blow the whistle on the government, such as Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and Matt DeHart, could be considered patriots for exposing villains in our own government. However, the government’s response is to attempt to kill them, to torture them, and to do everything in its power to make their lives miserable. I wish to illustrate this issue in modern day

The National Security Agency or otherwise known as the NSA, had sparked a recent debate of the fundamental amendment rights that American citizens have. To provide some historical context, the NSA in 2013 was exposed by Edward Snowden, a former contractor and employer of the NSA. He was a NSA whistleblower who divulged the surveilling tactics that the government had imposed on its citizens, as well as on many of its international allies. Many senior governmental officials had repeatedly stated the program’s importance in national security; however, many had also questioned its efficiency and validity in due process of one 's security. As a vehement believer of one’s individual rights, I do not think that even in times of war the NSA’s

Lieutenant Lotem’s decision to conscientiously object from what his own military was doing is an interesting case in justice and ethics. One cannot deny that he disobeyed his direct orders and that, from the perspective of the Israeli military, he was essentially a criminal who refused to do his job. However, the reasons that he refused add a significant level of complexity to his case, presenting many questions and aspects for consideration. Lotem recognized that what his own military operatives were doing was unethical—a decision he came to on his own—and refused to participate in the anti-humanitarian efforts that they were ordered to do. Naturally, his refusal to comply with direct orders led to his arrest for twenty-six days (Souryal, 2014). He completely refused to adhere to his regulations, but this was not because he didn’t want to or because he felt it was a poor use of his time; his refusal stemmed from his ethical realization that the treatment

Critics of Edward Snowden label him a traitor and a coward. They condemn him for irreparably harming government security operations and setting of a worldwide chain of events that weakened the American position on the world stage. While America now has blight on its records due to the leaks, the topic that should be addressed is should the whistle-blower, the man who uncovered and exposed the questionable and wrong activities, be blamed or should those who allowed the illegal and immoral activities be held accountable for what they started. Edward Snowden had the justification and conviction to do the correct thing and present the incriminating evidence straight to the public. When one takes in consideration everything that Snowden has lost because of his decision, there was little gain for him to make the immoral activities public. Snowden’s crime is breaching the trust of his government contract to expose egregious monitoring by the government on the American public. In an interview conducted by the Washington Post, Snowden speaks out about his goal in releasing the files: “All I wanted was for the public to be able to have a say in how they are governed,”

As history can attest, government whistleblowers act honorably for the greater good despite threat of prosecution. Government transparency, especially in acts of war, is important to a functioning democracy. J. William Leonard, former US classifications czar, In the documentary We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, illustrates, “To have those types of decisions, those types of deliberations, done in secrecy is a tremendous disservice to the American people – because these are things being done in their name – so, whether you agree with them or not, to have a free back-and-forth airing of these is essential”. In support of these concepts, those behind WikiLeaks and other government leaks have taken great risks. Birgitta Jonsdottir, member of WikiLeaks and Icelandic parliament, stated, “We were working on something that we knew that could get us into serious trouble and we were all willing to take that consequence” (“We Steal Secrets”). In We Steal Secrets, instant messages between Bradley Manning and the man who eventually turned him in, hacker

In this essay I will talk about the torturing of prisoners in Abu Ghraib. I will also write about the Stanley Milgrim Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment. All of these relate to one of the topics we have covered this term.

Privacy has endured throughout human history as the pillar upon which our authentic nature rests. Yet, in an age darkened by the looming shadow of terrorism, another force threatens to dominate the skyline and obscure the light of liberty behind promises of safety and security: government surveillance. As an employee of the NSA, Edward Snowden broke his vow of secrecy to inform the public of our government’s furtive surveillance acts, but does this render him traitorous? To answer this, we must first ask ourselves, traitorous to whom? When the very institution established to protect our fundamental liberties intrudes on our privacy from behind a veil of secrecy, should such informed individuals resign from judicious autonomy and

In early 2013 a man by the name of Edward Joseph Snowden began leaking classified National Security Agency (NSA) documents to media outlets, which in turn ended up in public ears. These documents, mainly involving intelligence Snowden acquired while working as an NSA contractor, are mostly related to global surveillance programs run by the NSA. This has raised multiple ethical issues ranging from national security, information privacy and the ethics behind whistleblowing in general. The reach and impact of these leaks have gone global and have put in question the very government that protects us as well as the extent of the public’s rights on privacy. Various foreign

Have you ever thought about green energy? Well if you have, I am sure that you have heard of solar power and wind power. There are also other forms of green energy, but they are not used as much as solar or wind power, but solar vs, wind power is one the most debated topics in green energy. This topic is controversial because the world is beginning to switch to renewable green energy and people and politicians are debating which energy source they should use. Solar power is a better option than wind power.

Solar energy is the most plentiful and purist renewable energy source available. Because it is completely natural, it is considered to be a clean energy source. It does not disrupt the environment or threaten the Eco-systems the way oil and some other energy sources tend to. Nor does it cause greenhouse gases, air or water pollution. Solar energy is an immensely important aspect of life and has been since the beginning of time. Increasingly, we are learning how to harness this important resource and use it to replace traditional energy sources. Modern technology can utilize this energy in a variety of ways, such as; generating electricity, providing light or a comfortable interior environment, and heating water for domestic, industrial, or commercial use. One day solar energy may well become our primary form of energy. This would lead to a clean environment, less money spent on utilities, and a healthier world. It is highly important because it has the potential to allow technology and nature to co-exist peacefully.