Blog Topic #11

The above map shows the distribution of NFL team fans who are the majority of the population in the given geographcial areas. For the most part, the corresponding teams are at or near the state boundaries where the team originates. I absolutely love professional football, namely the Denver Broncos which is my home team and I have bled orange and blue nearly my whole life. As you can see, my Broncos cover more land mass area than other teams but if you were to look at the population distribution of those states, they are far less than California or other states on the East Coast. The Raiders, our rivals, cover two seperate places having been originally located in LA but is now in Oakland. The Jets don't even make an appearance on the map, which is funny, at least to me. Another thing I wish to mention, if you check out Nebraska it is divided between the Broncos and Chiefs; unfortunately for me, Seward lies on the eastern edge which means I get the Chiefs game here more often than the Broncos. Next year, unless they resolve the all these issues, the NFL may not even have a season which means I'd be watching nothing but the Huskers all year long. Again, football is one of those things I am really passionate about and here is a map that gives a little insight to our nation's favorite teams.

Blog Topic #10

I am under the impression that we, as the U.S. and Christians, can be idle, sitting by while so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ are living in poverty and famine on a daily basis. I do not believe that the solution will come from throwing money up into the air but by placing and properly trained individuals into these countries who need our assistance in order to help its citizens learn to grow economically. This is not the first class or time I have been exposed to this topic. A year or two ago, a representative from Living Water International came to my home church and told us of the ministry they have going on in Africa by proving villages with wells which serve as a clean water source, and they are also spreading the Gospel. It is their mission to provide these wells and show them how to make them by themselves so they can become self sufficient. By providing them with clean water, it lessens the chance of the people from dying of dieseases, such as malaria, and giving them the hope of life. From water, education, health care, and other areas of life will soon follow merely by getting started with a clean water source.

If the money spent to do things like the ministry of Living Water were given directly to the government, I don't believe you could expect much if anything to occur. Another sollution that has been discussed is micro-loans. Instead of giving money to the government, give it directly to the people so they can start up a business of their own so that they can have a viable income. Education programs and other avenues are far better solutions in my mind. Again, you cannot simply cut them off entirely from financial support, but make sure the money is getting to the people in need the greedy politicians.

Blog Topic #9

The revolution that occured in Egypt began on January 25 of this year with the primary aims to overthrow the corrupt former president, Hosni Mobarak. The other goals that were hoped to be met, after getting rid of Mobarak's regime, were to resolve politcal and social issues including, but not limited to, low minimum wage, food price inflation, and freedom of speech. The revolutionarees who participated came from a variety of ethnic, socioeconomic, and religious backgrounds who were all united by the common goal of revolting against their political leader and establishing a just government. Although peaceful in nature, there were events of violence when riots broke out and military forces killed 840 people and another 6000 were injured. It got to the point where even Cairo, the capitol city, was labeled as a war zone. On February 11, the wish of the Egyptian citizens was met as President Mobarak resigned from his office and is now on trial for his crimes. However, Egypt is still far from reolving its politcal and social issues, but having Mobarak out of the picture will make things much easier for the people of Egypt.