Dolphins, Seahawks game should be a good one to watch
The Miami Dolphins will try and build on their up and down year when they play the Seahawks this week. The game will be played at Miami’s Sun Life Stadium, and is set to kickoff at 1 PM ET on FOX. Miami is currently 4-6 while the Seahawks come into the game at 6-4. Seattle hopes to earn a playoff appearance, but really need this win to make that dream a reality. The Dolphins certainly will not make it easy on them, but have lately had issues moving the ball.
The Dolphins last game ended in a 19-14 loss to the Bills in Buffalo. One week prior to that, they were destroyed by the Titans at home 37-3. Their last win was all the way back in week 8 against the Jets in New York. Reggie Bush and Ryan Tannehill have both struggled offensively to get wins for their teams. The defense has also had their ups and downs, and the team certainly has many pieces to get into place before they are an NFL talking point.
The Seahawks, on the other hand, continue to find ways to slip into the post-season. They have a very strong defense and a great running game behind running back Marshawn Lynch. Rookie QB Russell Wilson also has impressed the best football minds in the country. His numbers are not jaw-dropping, but he gets wins and is great late in games. This team certainly is a playoff caliber team, but needs to win games like this one Sunday to prove their worth.
Bills travel to Indy to take on the Colts
The Buffalo Bills will travel to Indianapolis to play the Colts this week. The Bills have proven to be one of the NFL’s more mysterious teams this year. They win when you think they will lose and lose when they should win. The Colts, on the other hand, have surprised people in a different way. They have managed to stay competitive despite major roster change and changes to their overall schemes and coaches. They find themselves fighting for a playoff spot while their coach fights for his life.
Buffalo’s latest game ended 19-14 in favor of Buffalo over the Dolphins. They are now 4-6 as they travel to Lucas Oil stadium to take on the 6-4 Colts. They have had a lot of explosive plays offensively, but struggle mightily on the defensive end of things. They have nearly no shot at the playoffs, but do look like a team that will give it their all down the stretch. The Colts will provide a good measuring stick to see exactly where the team is.
The Colts have had every obstacle in their way of getting wins. They are on a totally revamped team and have a head coach that is currently fighting leukemia. Their latest game, week 11, was an embarrassing 59-24 loss to the New England Patriots who decided to bring them back down to earth. They must look past that and put it behind them as they focus on trying and obtaining a playoff spot. The Bills will not make it easy on them, but the Colts have been very tough at home this year.
French President earns ire of gay community for backpedaling
The President of France, Francois Hollande has recently gained quite a bit of criticism regarding his decision to make some amendments to the currently up-in-the-air gay marriage law. The sources of this criticism are gay rights movements who say that he is going against his initial promises to support gay marriage within the country. The provision he wishes to add to the law is one that will allow mayors to refuse to do gay marriages if it goes against what they believe. They can’t just deny the marriage, of course, but are allowed to delegate the responsibility to one of their subordinates.
But how much of this criticism is truly justified and how much of it just reactionary? Hollande has undergone a fair amount of criticism from those who oppose gay marriage laws altogether, including more than 100 mayors who say they will refuse to perform the marriages whether or not the law passes. Perhaps Hollande sees this as the best compromise and thus the best way to ensure that the marriage laws pass?
This also brings to light the question of whether mayors should indeed have the ability to say no if they wish, on religious grounds. Laws in France dictate that those getting married must have a civil ceremony in addition to whatever church one they wish to have, so the mayors play an important part in the process. Should they be completely beholden to their position within government, or is assigning someone else to do the marriages good enough?
I can understand the feelings of betrayal on a personal level, but practically it may be better for gay rights activists to not overreact to this one. The more provisions are allowed, the greater chances there are that the laws are passed in January. And would a couple really wish to get married by someone who is reciting the ceremony disingenuously?
It seems to me that this call of foul play is really a case of hurt pride among gay communities who feel that Hollande is not living up to his promises. If ceremonies are held by someone other than a mayor, that does not make the marriage any less official. The best thing to do in this case is support whatever is needed to get the laws passed and deal with tweaking them later. Once gay marriage is accepted, it will be easier to convince people and there’s no need to jeopardize the whole affair over such a small detail.
Denver plays the 1-9 Chiefs Sunday
Denver will take their 7-3 record to Kansas City this week to face the hapless Chiefs. The Chiefs are just 1-9 to this point of the year and will continue a QB carousel this week as they look to start Brady Quinn. Quinn and Matt Cassel have switched off and on as both have had difficulties staying on the field due to injury. Denver, on the other hand, has had huge success with their QB Peyton Manning. Manning has looked as good as ever with the team and really has developed great chemistry with his new group of wide receivers. The game is set to start at 1 PM at Arrowhead Stadium.
Denver’s latest win came against the San Diego Chargers in week 11 in Denver. There, the Broncos won 30-23, which was the second time this year they beat the Chargers. The Broncos currently have the lead in the division, and do not look like they will be caught. They have also had a resounding defense that has given up little to most and continue to come up with huge plays on defense. The combination of their defense and Manning could certainly lead to a Super Bowl birth.
Kansas City is a team that has no chance for the playoffs or Super Bowl. They currently should be playing for the number one pick so they can get a quality QB. Coach Romeo Crennel can also start looking in the classified ads, as he is surely not going to keep his position. Unless the Chiefs go on some crazy run with Brady Quinn, the team will have different people in these two major positions at the end of the year.
Bears will host Vikings this Sunday
The 7-3 Chicago Bears will host the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday at 1 pm at Soldier Field. The Bears are coming off a tough loss while the Vikings have been surprisingly good this season. The Vikings enter the game at 6-4 with playoff aspirations of their own. Both teams represent the same division and a win for the Vikings could get them into the hunt for the division depending on how the Packers do. Currently the Bears are tied with the Packers for the division lead.
The Bears are coming off one of their more embarrassing losses last Monday night to the 49ers. There, they fell 32-7 as the 49ers backup QB, Kaepernick, outperformed the Bears backup Jason Campbell. Campbell was overall awful and the Bears defense looked more like the worst D in the league then one of the best. The Bears do hope to have Jay Cutler back for this game. He was knocked out with a concussion 2 games ago against the Houston Texans, and has not seen the field since. The Bears have not won a game since his departure as well.
The Vikings, meanwhile, are coming off their bye week and should be healthy. Their last game was a 34-24 victory over the Detroit Lions. The Vikings have surprised many as Adrian Peterson looks to be back to form after a late 2011 injury. Their sophomore QB Christian Ponder has also made huge steps at his position to get better. The game surely can go either way and should be a fun one to watch.
Steelers travel to Cleveland for rivalry
The Pittsburgh Steelers will travel down the road to take on the Cleveland Browns this Sunday. The game is to kickoff at 1pm at Cleveland Browns Stadium, and will feature two AFC North rivals. The rivalry is not what it once was, but the hate these two teams have for one another is still strong. The Browns and Steelers have gone in two separate directions to this point in the year, but the Browns have been no pushover for teams. Pittsburgh is also on their third quarterback, which should not help.
The Steelers have a lot riding on Sunday’s game after losing a divisional game one week earlier to the Ravens. The Steelers are 6-4 to this point as they chase the wildcard spot. They will have to beat big odds to find the playoffs as their starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, will be out for at least a couple more weeks. They also had backup Byron Leftwich go down with a rib injury last week. This will leave veteran Charlie Batch to handle the snaps Sunday.
The Browns enter the game with a 2-8 record, but have fought hard in each and every game. They feel it is just a matter of time before they win, and would hope for nothing more then a victory over Pittsburgh to do so. Last week, they fell in overtime to the Cowboys in Dallas. This certainly will be a game many will have their eyes on as Steeler nation hopes the Browns do not end their season.
Muslims and Jews come together during difficult times
Most of the world sees little more than the animosity between the two religions of Islam and Judaism. The conflict in Palestine is evidence of this and it gets plenty more news coverage than anything that would suggest the situation between Muslims and Jews is different than that. Add to that controversies such as the anti-Islamic ads being placed on the sides of buses by pro-Israeli groups and the picture looks bleak. But with the coming of Thanksgiving, some are trying to show the world that conflict is not the natural way of things.
Working out of the University of Pittsburg, a pair of student groups, one Jewish and one Islam, came together to help feed the less fortunate. Together they showed that their religions are not just about the hatred that many religious leaders preach, but in fact the message of their holy books is more about peace, love and brotherhood. They have left politics behind in order to help people, standing side-by-side in their efforts.
In addition to helping people, some are also coming together to speak about their religions in mixed groups. They talk about what makes their faith important to them and explain their cultural traditions for all to hear and, hopefully, understand. And these sorts of events are going on all over the place in the U.S.
These movements of the youth are vitally important to the development of communication and understanding between Muslims and Jews and we move into the future. They are showing that they refuse to listen to the warmongering hate-speech that many use to justify their religious choices. Their dedication is to making the world a better place, not a more violent and polarized one.
In the end, it will be these young people who create the next world of Islamic and Jewish communities, and they appear to have taken a major step in the right direction so far. Someday, people may realize that the militant stereotype attached to Muslims is false and that Jewish people are not necessarily all haters of their brethren simply based on religious ideals. Someday, conflicts such as what is happening in Palestine right now may no longer be the main focus of the world’s news.
Outgoing Mexican president wants to change the country’s name
The arrival of a new president in the country of Mexico promises the potential for some big changes. The war against the drug cartels wages on and perhaps this new addition to the government can make some sort of difference. But although President Felipe de Jesus Calderon Hinojosa is on the way out and leaving the country in other hands, he seeks to make one last attempt to change things - he wants to change the name of the country.
It’s actually been an ongoing debate, as ridiculous as it sounds. The full name of Mexico is the United Mexican States. This was adopted during a time when the country looked to their northern neighbors as an inspiration, the U.S.’s own revolution an example to follow for Mexico’s breaking away from Spanish control. Nowadays, however, some people think that the name is too close to “United States of America” and that it is giving Mexico an identity crisis.
Calderon tried to do this once before, when he was a congressman in 2003, but it was a no-go on the attempt. Though many critique him about the name change, saying that it’s a superficial act, he has his reasons. He wants to remove association with the U.S., give Mexico a stronger version of its own cultural identity and officialize the fact that the country is, in 99 percent of cases, referred to as “Mexico.” The only time the longer version of the name shows up is in an official capacity.
While the change of name is a relatively small affair, and one that might do more good than harm, the question is whether it will cost the state a huge pile of cash to get it run through the bureaucracy. Most people in the country will probably not even notice the change unless they examine their country’s seal, but given the state of the war against the drug cartels, every bit of money is important. Is Calderon simply being nationalistic? Or does Mexico really need this confirmation of their separateness from the United States?
U.S. finds friends in Syria, Iran and North Korea
The United States is usually known for being the enemy of certain non-democratic states, including such places as Syria, China, Iran and North Korea. But in some cases, we put aside our differences and work with these “evil” powers to get things done. It is unfortunate, however, that what we are seeking to get done as of late is the blocking of a UN resolution that will place an international moratorium on capital punishment.
It’s fairly obvious that many of the states who voted no against the resolution would have done so. China has a massive number of executions each year, numbering around 1000. North Korea, Syria and the others are equally reluctant to give up their right to kill citizens when the situation demands it. But the United States? Well, we really don’t like to be told what it do, apparently, even when it involves something as harsh as killing people to remove them from society.
Currently, the U.S. ranks #5 in the world for number of deaths from capital punishment. That is (at least officially) ahead of even the DPRK. We’ve held this “prestigious” title for three years and only the future will determine whether we change our ways. As for now, we hold onto our right to execute as if it were one of the key purposes our founding fathers intended in forming our democratic state.
Most of the world has already gone beyond this point and the death penalty is widely regarded as a human rights violation. But still we persist in defending it, even to the point of siding with our sworn enemies. This is despite the fact that studies have shown that the majority of those who fall victim to capital punishment are minorities and the poor - those who begin their lives in bad positions within society.
It’s time for a wake-up call to the U.S. Capital punishment is not the standard anymore, no more than slavery was 150 years ago when we tried to defend that practice. In a predominantly Christian nation, you’d think that there would be a greater outcry against killing other human beings, regardless of their crimes. If we don’t move ahead, we will only drag out the inevitable and make ourselves look worse in the process of defending this outdated concept.
Shutting down fishing to save whales…and make way for oil drilling
Some may have heard of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), an initiative passed in the state of California which was touted as being a law that would protect whales and other marine life from the harm that human beings can cause. The goal was to create protected zones so as to maintain sustainable fishing while allowing marine life to have a steady food supply. Fishing is an important economic element of California, so the initiative was seen as helping both people and whales.
But the truth of the matter is much different. The MLPA initiative was in fact sponsored by some of the biggest enemies to marine health that exist in the world today, such as oil companies and coastal real estate developers. If the act was supposed to create zones where human interference was disallowed, why would these sorts of industries be involved in passing it?
As it turns out, the initiative protects these areas, but only from fishing and nothing else. This gives free reign to oil companies, military who wish to do testing, energy companies looking to use the ocean as a source of power and several other industries that don’t involve fishing. In essence, the act preserves regions of the marine environment from fishers so that others can exploit them without competition.
This hardly protects whales and other marine life the way people would like. In fact, in a rare act of coming together, fishermen, tribal members and environmentalists are all on the same side regarding their disapproval of the MLPA. It does no good to save whales from fishermen taking all their food if they simply end up in danger from oil drilling or seismic testing.
It’s another case of people using their power to abuse the system and masking it as an environmental cause. If we don’t begin to implement some system of full-disclosure, these sorts of shady laws will continue and whales and other ocean-dwellers will suffer because of our ignorance. There is no excuse to allow big business to disguise their dealings while labeling it as environmental. In my opinion, it should be illegal and these groups should be prosecuted for legal deception. Until we have honest lawmaking regarding environmental policies, they will not function properly and whale populations will continue to be in danger.