7/28/2019 Kids News

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Top Secret?Secret government

programs, sparking adebate over privacy rights

In order to protect our country, the governmentgathers information about people or countries that

could threaten the United States. But how much

information should the gov-

ernment have access to? That

is a question many people

have been asking in recent weeks, when newspa-pers revealed the U.S. government has been se-

cretly collecting phone records and Internet data.

THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY

Recently, The Guardian, a British newspaper,

revealed that the U.S. government ordered Verizon

to hand over millions of Americans phone recordsto the National Security Agency (NSA). The NSA,

which is part of the Defense Department, looks at

foreign communications in an effort to help pro-

tect the country. In this case, Verizon had to hand

over records of every call made to, from or within

the U.S. The records show when people called one

another and how long their conversations lasted,but not what was said.

The Washington Post reported that the NSA andthe FBI have been tapping into the servers of nine

major U.S. Internet companies to collect emails.

This top-secret program is known as PRISM.

Are these programs legal? The 2001 PatriotAct gives the government the power to demand

records from companies as long as the records

are related to a national security investigation.

But many people are concerned that the NSA

and FBI have gone too far. Some experts say

there has been an invasion of privacy that vio-lates Fourth Amendment rights.

WHISTLE-BLOWER

At first, no one knew who shared the secret

information with newspaper reporters. But The

Guardian revealed the whistle-blower was Ed-ward Snowden. Snowden,29, has worked for the

Central Intelligence

Agency (CIA) and,

more recently,

for the NSA.

Since May 20,Snowden has been liv-

ing in a hotel in Hong Kong.

He chose to hide out there, he said in a video

posted by The Guardian, because the city has a

strong tradition of free speech. However, the U.S.

Justice Department said it is looking into bringing

charges again Snowden.

Snowden said he came forward because hethinks the public needs to decide if these pro-

grams are acceptable. I do not want to live in a

world where everything I do and say is

recorded, he told The Guardian. That is not

something I am willing to support or live under.While some praise Snowden for coming for-

ward with this information, others see him as a

traitor who is putting the United States at risk. Ei-

ther way, he broke a signed oath of confidentiality

when he released classified government materials.

As Snowden waits to learn his fate, the debatecontinues. Must we trade privacy in exchange for

security? According to Wisconsin Congressman

Jim Sensenbrenner, a Patriot Act author, the an-

swer is no. In an article published in The Guardian

recently, he wrote, I [believe] that we can defendour country and our liberty at the same time.

2013 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved.TIME FOR KIDS and Timeforkids.com are registered trademarks of Time Inc.

Double-dipping is allowed this July 4!For a dessert thats dandier thanYankee Doodle himself, dip strawberriesin creamy yogurt and blue decorating

sugar, then sit back and savor thesweetness of our nations birthday.

FamilyFun magazine

DEAR AMERICAN GIRL:My friend can do

everything and well! Ive been on her

athletic teams and she blows me away! I

think Im doing well, but then compared

to her Im just doing OK. Jealous?When you compare yourself to yourfriend and feel like you dont measure up,

youre cutting yourself down. If she

can motivate and inspire you, great.

But if comparing yourself makes you

feel bad, then encourage yourself instead. Dont think,

Wow, she does that better than I ever will. Think, I wantto be as good at that as she is, and if I keep trying, I could

be. Youll feel better if you focus on improving what you

can do, not on what your friend can already do.

DEAR AMERICAN GIRL: Kids make fun of me be-

cause of the way I dress. I like to dress in bright

and colorful clothes, but people think theyre ugly.

How do I make them stop teasing me? Colorful

Kudos to you! It takes confidence to have yourown style, so respond to these kids with confidence,

even humor. Try saying something such as, Wow. It

seems as if you spend a lot of time

thinking about me. Im not sure what

I think about that, or, Seriously?

Who are you, the fashion police? Even saying the per-

sons first name in a surprised tone can be effective. If theteasing continues, dont be afraid to ask an adult for help.

Visit americangirlmagazine.com to get or give advice.

2013 American Girl, LLC. All rights reserved

Shine your own star

MCT KidNews 06/27

Its the law! (but not always enforced) The flag ccannot be used as a covering

for a ceiling. The flag should never be used for advertising

purposes in any manner whatsoever. No part of the flag should ever be used

as a costume or athletic uniform. www.ushistory.org

FLOUR POWER

Give your lawn the star-spangled look this Fourth of July with a

simple stencil and a dusting of flour. Draw a star shape on card-

board and cut it out. Lay this stencil on the lawn and spray the

grass with water from a spray bottle. Leaving the stencil in place,

use a flour sifter to cover the damp star shape with flour. Remove

the stencil and repeat to fill your yard with a galaxy of stars.

REGAL EAGLES

Celebrate Independence Day

with a batch of cookies in-

spired by our nations most fa-

mous bird. For each, spread

white frosting on an oval cookie(we used Pepperidge Farm Mi-

lanos). Fill a plate with shreddedcoconut and press the cookie into it to

coat it. Use more frosting to adhere a

cashew beak, a mini chocolate chip eye,

and almond slice feathers.

CONFETTI

POPPER

This reusable popper lets you launch

paper fireworks during Fourth ofJuly parades and barbecues or

wherever confetti is needed.

1. Cut the top 21/2 to 3 inches from

a clean plastic bottleand discard the rest.

2. Cover the cut

edge with tape.

3. Stretch the mouth of a

party balloon over the

bottles opening. Work the

neck of the balloon over the threadsof the bottleneck, as shown at right.

4. Cut paper into confetti, thenpour the pieces into the popper.

5. Hold onto the bottleneck withone hand, and pull down on

the bottom of the balloon withthe other. Let the balloon snap

to launch a shower of confetti.

FamilyFun magazine

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FAMILYFUN MAGAZINE

MC T