Technology: Curse or a Blessing?

     After reading this article, I defiantly think that the police should need a warrant in order to search your phone. Of course there can be exceptions where your phone could save a life or bring justice to a criminal, but in everyday cases, the police should need a warrant. Having an authority figure take away your phone will always cause chaos. Just look at high school situations, whenever one hears about a teacher taking a students phone away from them, it usually ends with the student in the office and the teacher acting like nothing happened.

     The Fourth Amemdment states that there shall be no unreasonable searches and or seizures. Today though, people will say that the Fourth Amendment states something about their privacy and how in ANY case they don't have to give up their phone. That's true in some way, but when it comes down to saving a life or bringing justice to a criminal, that's pretty reasonable.

     In the case of Riley v. California, I would have to agree with the supreme courts ruling. What David Riley did was of course terrible and he should no doubt be punished, but one can not just simply go back in the past to do things differently. "The Justices ruled that police need a warrant from a judge to search someone's phone-just as the police need permission to search inside someone's home." Phone and home are totally different (obviously) but there are people who are not for having their personal items being searched with no permission. 

     "...This is the latest example of how the courts are trying to apply the basic rights enshrined in the Constitution to life in the 21st century." Back in the 1700's, the four fathers didn't expect the "...smartphones, Facebook, and Google-or how much of the worlds interactions today, from socializing to conducting business, would take place digitally." The world is constantly changing everyday and every second, there's no stopping it. 

     "...the police hadn't obtained a warrant (permission granted by a judge) or Riley's permission before searching his phone, they have violated his Fourth Amendment right to privacy." This statement explains pretty much mine and many others stance on this topic. Police need a warrant to search someones private things-they need one for searching a house, why not searching a phone? 

Current Event

     Today it was announced that President Barack Obama will no longer be meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the visit of March 3 to Washington. The White House announced, a meeting could be in discussion as an attempt by the administration to influence Israel's March 17th elections. 
     
     "The president will not be meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu because of the proximity to the Israeli election, which is two weeks after his planned address to the U.S. Congress," National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement.

     

     “As a matter of long-standing principle, we do not see heads of state or candidates in close proximity to their elections, to avoid the appearance of influencing a democratic election in a foreign country," said Meehan. 

     Netanyahu's visit has already sparked difficult relations between the Israeli leader and Obama. Republican House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu to address a combined meeting of Congress for the purpose of challenging the president's approach to Islamist extremism and negotiations with Iran over that country's nuclear program. The White House, which only found out about the visit from Boehner's office, accused Israel of breaching the diplomatic protocol.

     It is no secret on how Netanyahu feels about the opposition with ongoing talks with Iran, saying that Tehran cannot be trusted to abandon it's ability to build a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel.

     "The president has been clear about his opposition to Congress passing new legislation on Iran that could undermine our negotiations and divide the international community," said Meehan. "The president has had many conversations with the Prime Minister on this matter, and I am sure they will continue to be in contact on this and other important matters.” Only time will tell if they keep I'm contact to discuss certain issues.