The EU and the messed up muddled up political situation

Over 18’s all over the country will have the opportunity to vote in this years EU referendum. Many may choose not to participate at all or will rush into making an uninformed decision. This debate is unusual as it is one which, rarely, is unpredictable in its result. I cannot simply make a table of pros and cons and weigh them up as no one really knows what they will be. I can however make my own decision by making my own prediction about what each outcome will bring. It is important for all young people to do this as this decision is one which will affect them in the decades to come. 

Disregarding the rather right-wing pompous argument that leaving will restore our sovereignty, are there any other reasons why we should leave the EU? And if so, why now? Many would argue that it’s time for a change; let’s face it the EU does need to be reformed but what if that never happens? Do we stay in a position we are not happy with? Would a child stay with an abusive mother? Or do we give up and leave straight away without really trying? The truth is that we don’t really know when or how things will change and this is the issue. Maybe we end up voting to stay for now. But we may well need another referendum years down the line if things don’t improve. But that is not a problem. That’s politics. People change, countries change and opinions change. Having another referendum, and another one after that and even another one after that is the natural process. It could even be argued that leaving the EU is inevitable. We may keep having referendums until we finally leave. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We may vote to leave this year and that would be that.

Remaining in the EU gives us safety, security and overall strength as a country. It allows European countries to come together in times of crisis and help those less fortunate countries in need. It allows us to regulate trade in a fair and equal manner; democratic even, the word banded about British government more than the word money. And therefore surely that’s what our country should be focused on. Terrorism is a major current issue for everyone. The EU is a way that we can all come together to counter this terrorism and share knowledge to help protect us. By leaving, we would become a much more vulnerable target, contrasting to the strong, independent nation imagined by Nigel Farage. 

This decision is stretching the scale of politics, turning the line of left to right into a full circle, where those on the left are pushed along so far that they end up on the extreme end of the right. I hope you have managed to inform yourself from this article. No matter what we as a country decide, no matter what our politicians say, we have to stick together. We cannot be weakened by this decision. 

Think with your feet.

How many times have we complained about big, profit-making companies like facebook or saatchi or google? But how many times have we actively made the step to restrain ourselves from using them? "But what would we do without google?!" I hear you cry.

If you're not happy with profit-guzzling right-wing corporations start acting and stop wishing.

Are some infinities bigger than others?

A picture painted in the medieval time depicting a scientist leaving
the world and entering another one.

Are some infinities bigger than others? 

This  was just one of the mind-boggling questions that was answered for me when I attended a taster day for philosophy and physics at Oxford on the 13th January. The day started off with an early start as we had to be in Oxford by 10am and the event mostly took place at the Mathematical Institute in the centre of Oxford. As soon as we arrived we were taken to the literature table where we were given stacks of prospectuses and information bout getting into University there. This was followed by a series of lectures and talks, all focusing on the course of philosophy and physics at oxford.                                                                                                           When people ask me what I want to do at University, most of them are pretty surprised when I say philosophy and physics. “What?” They say, “Philosophy and physics? Together?” But really,if we really think about it, this combination is not surprising at all. Philosophers fill in the gaps in the universe, they think and consider the missing pieces, the questions we cannot answer. Physicists do the exact same but with science behind them. Physics needs philosophy. Physics isn't just numbers and calculations, we need to have conceptual clarity about key concepts and philosophy gives us that. One example of this is shown in the film Interstellar, where a man goes off on a space journey and ages less slowly than his daughter therefore he is still relatively young and returns looking like he did when he left. This links to the twin paradox, a problem of both physics and motion but at the same time thought and the philosophy of space and time. Are space and time the same thing? Or is time an illusion of the human mind? How can time pass quicker for one person but slower for another? There are both philosophical and mathematical ways of answering these questions which I won’t go into now but that’s what makes this course really interesting. Overall, I really enjoyed my day in Oxford, it definitely opened my eyes to the fascinating world of physics and philosophy.

REAL ways to lose weight:

If your new years resolution was the same old 'lose ten pounds by February' but somehow you've managed to spend at least £10 on chocolate digestives before the end of the first week, you're not alone. To lose weight or to get healthy is the most popular new years resolution, coming before improving your finances and spending more time with the family. Is this really what we've become? A culture where we eat our socks off and spend more time on the couch than should be humanly possible all through December only to say: "Oh, it's fine I'll lose it all again in January?" To be so completely infatuated with ourselves that every year we vow to make ourselves superficially "better/fitter/hotter?"

Personally, I think our resolutions should mean more to us than just a number on the scales. We should all make a general resolution to ourselves to eat right and treat our body with the respect it deserves: that means being healthy and happy all year round, not just the dreaded January. By last Christmas day, I was the slimmest I'd ever been! Not because I'd starved myself and deprived myself of christmas treats, but because I'd woken up every single morning of December (yes, even christmas day) and gone for a run. In fact, it was almost easier at christmas being surrounded by temptations as they were everywhere all the time. If I wanted something I could have it, which makes it less desirable.

I have no objection to self-confidence, in fact I am an advocate of it, however shouldn't we be increasing our confidence in ways that change us as people? Shouldn't we be focusing on ourselves or others internally more than externally? Now I'm not saying that we all need to go and become Buddhist monks or start meditating instead of turning up to work! Even something as small as changing our new years resolution to something a little bit more positive, a little bit less self-focused and a bit more creative would be a leap in the right direction.

Getting in shape for skiing!

During the past week I've been warming up for my new fitness and diet regime to prepare for my annual ski trip in just three weeks! This year my boyfriend will be coming along which is really exciting!

I'm exercising everyday:
I either go for a 30 minute run to the lake near my house,
Head to the gym for some muscle training,
Or if I'm really not feeling it, do a home workout.

In terms of what I'm eating, for the next five days I will be on an apple diet, excluding breakfast where I will have my usual coffee, fruit and yoghurt combo. This diet consists of mainly salad, nuts and LOTS of apples. Let's hope it works.

Cyber privacy and warfare

Sorry I haven't been writing on here for a while... I've been very busy with moving house and a new school. Speaking of school, next week I have to do a resolution for MUN and I have decided to base it on cyber privacy and how we can stop cyber warfare. I am arguing for a more secure cyber network across the United States (as I am representing them) whilst keeping in mind the privacy rights of the people. I am also arguing that the military can only have control over cyber warfare tactics with the permission of government as currently they have most of the control.

Cyber security involves protecting information and systems from major cyber threats, such as cyber terrorism, cyber warfare, and cyber espionage. In their most disruptive form, cyber threats take aim at secret, political, military, or infrastructural assets of a nation, or its people. Cyber security is therefore a critical part of any governments’ security strategy. The U.S. federal government for example, has allotted over $13 billion annually to cyber security since late 2010.

Cyber Terrorism

Cyber terrorism is the disruptive use of information technology by terrorist groups to further their ideological or political agenda. For example, in response to the removal of a Russian WWII memorial in 2007, Estonia was hit with a massive distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack that knocked almost all ministry networks and two major bank networks offline. cyber attacks on facilities classified as critical infrastructure in the United States have increased 17-fold since 2009.

Cyber Warfare

Cyber warfare involves nation-states using information technology to penetrate another nation’s networks to cause damage or disruption. Rather than “shutting down” a target’s key networks, a cyber warfare attack may intrude networks for the purpose of compromising valuable data, degrading communications, impairing infrastructural services such as transportation and medical services, or interrupting commerce. For example, in the 2008 South Ossetia war, Russia’s initial attacks on Georgian soil were preceded by a synchronized cyber attack that crippled Georgian government websites.

Cyber Espionage

Cyber espionage is the practice of using information technology to obtain secret information without permission from its owners or holders.  Cyber espionage is most often used to gain strategic, economic, political, or military advantage. In the US, the Office of the National CounterIntellegence Executive released a report in 2011 officially acknowledging the legitimate threat of cyber espionage and its potential to damage the United States’ strategic economic advantage. In a subsequent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, former Director of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff elaborated on the economic impact of China’s cyber espionage of intellectual property, which he likens to the “source code” of today’s advanced economies. Through the utilization of its massive and inexpensive workforce, China has cheaply and efficiently driven a number of these ideas directly into production. As the fruits of costly investments in research and development from the hosting nation-states, the theft of these innovations is an immense strategic and economic loss to the targets.

With cyber threats in a state of rapid and continuous evolution, keeping pace in cyber security strategy and operations is a major challenge to governments. Cyber security is a serious concern to private enterprise as well, given the threat to intellectual property and privately-held critical infrastructure.

The US military today has the largest concentration of expertise and legal authority with respect to cyberspace.

Outfit of the day!

Hi guys,

I used this outfit out and about in London today. One of my favourite outfits of the year so far <3.
Do you guys like it?
Top is from new look, jeans are H&M, shoes are clarks, no idea where my bag is from and scarf from new look.

I love this look because it's simple but not simple at the same time. I have worn this outfit in loads of different places and I love the way my socks just peep out from under my brogues! I love the blue of my jeans and the fur on my hood.