Monday Matter #4

No D-Will, no way for Brooklyn Nets

Columnist for ESPN New York, Stephen A. Smith, voices his incredibly biased opinion on the Brooklyn Nets and all the attention surrounding their point guard, Deron Williams. Smith believes that the Nets have absolutely no chance of being a championship-contender if Deron Williams does not "show up," which is greatly stressed by Smith. In Stephen A. Smith's opinion, Deron Williams is not playing as he should. Among the last two All-Star Game point guards in the NBA, Deron Williams has not been included and yet he is still getting paid as much if not more than all of them. Also, Williams has been suffering from ankle problems lately, making him less valuable. 

The only reason, in Stephen A. Smith's opinion, for Brooklyn's success is the players that Deron Williams has to back him up, such as Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. If Williams does not bring to the team what he should, the Nets will not even make it past the first round in the playoffs of the 2015 season, in Stephen A. Smith's opinion.

Monday Matters #3

The One Thing ISIS Could Do That Would FORCE Obama To Act

This political cartoon, illustrated by Steven Straub, is directed mainly towards Barack Obama and how he has handled the ISIS situation. In recent news, Barack Obama has spent more time playing golf than any other president of the United States in history. Also in the news, the ISIS militant group has been beheading American citizens in an attempt to gain the US's attention. This cartoon is showing that it is, obviously, not working. The cartoon was illustrated as a direct blow to Obama, saying that he cares more about golf than the problems in Syria. Steven Straub is questioning, what more ISIS must do to get Obama's attention.

Monday Matters #2

The Unlikeliest of Coalitions

Can Adversaries Become Allies to Fight ISIS?

This editorial written by The Editorial Board of the New York Times gives their opinion on what needs to be done in order to stop ISIS from expanding and possibly taking of the nation. It also gives information on the obstacles that are preventing further progress in stopping the ISIS threat.

The articles quotes,"The Obama administration needs to bring together a reliable international coalition as the backbone of its campaign to defeat the Islamic State, the Sunni extremist group that controls large parts of Iraq and Syria." This means that the countries need to unite in order to go up against the extremist militant group. It also states that over 40 countries have agreed to work together to stop this threat, however there are a few countries that are preventing this from happening. The first of these being Turkey. Turkey has one of the groups largest armies, which would be a valuable asset. However, the country refuses to fight on the front lines because of the ISIS hostage kidnapping of Turkish diplomats. Also,  Turkey refuses to take aggressive measures by stopping border crossing flow that is benefiting ISIS. 

The second and third of these obstacles are Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states and Iran and Syria. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States have agreed to join the fight in stopping ISIS, however they also have been provided Islamic militant groups with financial aid and weapons. Iran and Syria have been considering ISIS a threat for decades now. However, the nations will not involve themselves in direct cooperation with American forces, because they fear it could affect Mr. Assad's hold on power.

It is uncertain if the Obama Administration can bring together these allies to join up against ISIS. So far, the sole focus is on what each country's military can provide in the war efforts. These are not guaranteed resolutions for the ISIS problem, but strong advancements in the process.

Monday Matters #1

U.S. Launches New Airstrikes on ISIS to Protect Dam in Iraq

       Over the past few weeks, ISIS militants have been making progress in seizing an important dam on the Euphrates River. As a result the US military has launch airstrikes in an attempt to stop this action. The objective was to prevent ISIS from unleashing floodwaters into Baghdad. The strikes were fired 175 miles from the capital, near the Haditha Dam.
       In other news, the US military has been working with the Iraqi military as the Syria, Iraq border has been disappearing as the Syrian military has been launching airstrikes. These actions were directed towards ISIS, due to ISIS's recent seize of Syrian military outposts. However, the recent raids killed at least 25 people, most of which being civilians.