South Africa's President Kgalema Motlanthe has announced that general elections will take place on April 22nd. African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma is the favorite to become president, but he is currently facing corruption charges. A group of disappointed ANC members left and formed a rival party in 2008. The party was deeply divided between supporters of Zuma and former President Thabo Mbeki. Mbeki was forced from power in September 2008 after a judge accused his government of interfering in the prosecution of Zuma for political reasons. However, an appeal court in January 2009 ruled that the first judge had been wrong to reach this conclusion. The election will take place on April 22nd. Zuma's corruption trial has been set for August. He has said he would only step down if convicted.
I think that this is a very important event for South Africa. It hasa also been covered a lot by the media, more than other things that have happened in South Africa. It is said that this election is supposed to be the most interesting since Nelson Mandela became president in 1994, ending white minority rule.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Letter to the Editor...
This article was printed in the online op-ed section of USA Today. The article is about whether or not Obama's housing plan can stabilize plunging values. I did not agree with the writer of the article, so i decided to send a letter to the letter. If you want to do the same, the email us letters@usatoday.com.
To the Editor:
“Our view on the economy: Can Obama’s housing plan stabilize plunging values?” (editorial USA Today, 2/20/09), states that everyone can gain something by Obama’s new housing plan. The article argues that helping up to 5 million people who are current in their mortgage payments but who cannot refinance at lower interest rates because their debt is near or over the value of the house will actually be for the greater good. I feel that this is false. There are other credit markets in the U.S. that can operate without changing the rules. For example, the auto industry has operated successfully despite that fact that many people are in debt when they sign the contracts. If the government is giving money and changing the rules for people who default on mortgage payments, then why shouldn’t they now help the many people that are beginning to default on car loans?
Sincerely,
Nico Scerbo
Ramapo College of New Jersey Student
To the Editor:
“Our view on the economy: Can Obama’s housing plan stabilize plunging values?” (editorial USA Today, 2/20/09), states that everyone can gain something by Obama’s new housing plan. The article argues that helping up to 5 million people who are current in their mortgage payments but who cannot refinance at lower interest rates because their debt is near or over the value of the house will actually be for the greater good. I feel that this is false. There are other credit markets in the U.S. that can operate without changing the rules. For example, the auto industry has operated successfully despite that fact that many people are in debt when they sign the contracts. If the government is giving money and changing the rules for people who default on mortgage payments, then why shouldn’t they now help the many people that are beginning to default on car loans?
Sincerely,
Nico Scerbo
Ramapo College of New Jersey Student
Faking Own Death and Counterfeiting Money Only Results in a Year of Jail
A South Carolina man who was tracked to Indiana after faking his death has been sentenced to a year in federal prison for counterfeiting more than $65,000 to finance his life on the run. Julius Nesbitt spent more than six weeks on the run before he was arrested at a friend's home. Federal prosecutors say he and another man made the bogus bills that were passed in several states. Nesbitt had faced drug charges in South Carolina when he cast his boat into the ocean about 30 miles south of Myrtle Beach. His disappearance prompted a search over several days. He pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to a year in jail.
I feel that the sentencing for this man was too lenient. He evaded being arrested for drug charges by faking his own death, then proceeded to counterfeit money. So drug charges, counterfeiting money, and avoiding arrest only resulted in a year of jail time.
I feel that the sentencing for this man was too lenient. He evaded being arrested for drug charges by faking his own death, then proceeded to counterfeit money. So drug charges, counterfeiting money, and avoiding arrest only resulted in a year of jail time.
Life Sentence for Stealing Tire Secrets?
Two men were charged with conspiring to steal trade secrets from the Goodyear Tire Company and scheming to defraud Goodyear of confidential and proprietary information. The 2 men traveled to a Goodyear tire manufacturing facility. After allegedly making material misrepresentations to Goodyear employees concerning the purpose of their visit, the men used a cell phone to secretly photograph tire manufacturing equipment. According to the indictment, the men later emailed the unauthorized photographs, which contained valuable trade secret information, to employees at a Wyko (a competitor tire company).
If convicted of all charges, the defendants each face a maximum of 150 years in prison and $2.75 million in fines. It was interesting to see the extreme penalty that these two men could face. Committing murder can result in life in prison, and these men could get 150 years each, which is also a life sentence. Not only can they face ‘life’ in prison, but they also could each owe about 3 million dollars in fines.
If convicted of all charges, the defendants each face a maximum of 150 years in prison and $2.75 million in fines. It was interesting to see the extreme penalty that these two men could face. Committing murder can result in life in prison, and these men could get 150 years each, which is also a life sentence. Not only can they face ‘life’ in prison, but they also could each owe about 3 million dollars in fines.
T.I. Sentence Too Easy??
Recently, rapper T.I. was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, with $100,000 in fines and an additional 470 hours of community service (he as already served 1000 hours). He had faced a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, until he cut a deal and pleaded guilty last March to the federal weapons charge.
The reason I found this article interesting was because it shows how celebrities are able to, in a way, cheat the U.S. legal system. T.I. was caught trying to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers. Weapons like this would enable someone to gun down an entire room without anyone even hearing a gunshot. He only received a year in prison and about 1500 hours of community service. T.I. agreed to community service to avoid a lengthy sentence. He has already made 262 public appearances as part of that deal. I find there to be a problem with this. He avoided time in prison because he agreed to perform many community service hours. A normal person would not have as much freedom to make this decision. Being as he is a celebrity, simply making a public appearance counts as community service. He even had his own MTV show where the cameras followed him as he did the community service. Normal people would not have the opportunity to do this and would therefore probably get more prison time.
The reason I found this article interesting was because it shows how celebrities are able to, in a way, cheat the U.S. legal system. T.I. was caught trying to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers. Weapons like this would enable someone to gun down an entire room without anyone even hearing a gunshot. He only received a year in prison and about 1500 hours of community service. T.I. agreed to community service to avoid a lengthy sentence. He has already made 262 public appearances as part of that deal. I find there to be a problem with this. He avoided time in prison because he agreed to perform many community service hours. A normal person would not have as much freedom to make this decision. Being as he is a celebrity, simply making a public appearance counts as community service. He even had his own MTV show where the cameras followed him as he did the community service. Normal people would not have the opportunity to do this and would therefore probably get more prison time.
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