Monday Newsbreak: 12/22

--Up to 30,000 more American soldiers may be soon sent to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban (and supposedly Al-Qaeda) there, thereby doubling our presence in this poor, war-torn, and culturally very different land. The government there, you see, is weak, and they need us to stay in power and fight off the bad guys. All I see from this is the tired, age-old scenario whereby our soldiers are placed in situations where they are surrounded by the indigenous people there, most of whom just want to go about living their own lives and minding their own business, but who are automatically regarded by us as suspicious and potential enemies. More shootings of innocents and violations of others’ homes and villages are in the works. And if anyone shoots back at us? Why, they’re terrorists, of course! Sound familiar?

--In the “domestic outrage” department, executives for banks receiving government (and hence taxpayer) bailouts reportedly are receiving $1.6 billion in bonuses and benefits. These people really do consider themselves to be in a class high above everyone else!

--Russia recently crushed an opposition demonstration by a group led by chess champion Garry Kasparov. But they don’t live in an insulated world anymore, one where they could control the inflow and outflow of information. And the relatively benign liberal opposition may seem rather tame in comparison to what may be in the works: widespread unrest due to the worsening economic conditions there.

--There has been a mixed response after Rick Warren was picked to deliver the invocation at Barack Obama’s inauguration. The main opposition is by those pointing out Warren’s depiction of homosexuality as sinful and his opposition to gay marriage. But he’s probably the best that Obama could have gotten from the evangelistic Christian community. Warren recognizes the problem of global warming, believes that Christians should do more to fight poverty, and has done much to fight AIDS. His treatment of liberal Democratic presidential candidate Obama was magnanimous and fair, so it’s understandable that the president-elect would be eager to return the favor. He also probably realizes that Warren is not going to go flying off at the mouth during the invocation. Which is not necessarily a sure thing, considering the range of pastors out there. And Obama is getting a minister (Joseph Lowery) who supports gay rights to deliver the benediction.

--The Miami Dolphins find themselves in the incredible position of being the only team in the AFC East to “control their own destiny”, going into the final week of regular season play. If they beat the New York Jets on Saturday, they’re in the playoffs. If they lose, then they’re out and either New England or the Jets make it. But even if that happens, it’s been quite a run for them. Tony Sparano, the Dolphin head coach, should win Coach of the Year hands down!