Alex Bellah

National: OJ Simpson released

Summary: After being accused of armed robbery in Las Vegas, Nevada, OJ Simpson was released on a bond by the court. He returned to his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida early Thursday morning. It has been said that he paid the court $125,000 and had to give his attorneys his passport before he was allowed to leave the Clark County Detention Center. Witnesses who were on the flight to Fort Lauderdale with Simpson said that he seemed to not be worried but very relaxed. Simpson will be pleading not guilty to his 11 charges set against him for his attempted armed robbery on October 22.

Opinion: OJ got away with murder the last time so I believe this is the last chance to be able to put this man behind bars. He is guilty no matter what he pleads. How can he plead not guilty when they caught him on surveillance cameras? I believe the sports memorabilia did not belong to him and he had no right to do what he did. I believe that he should not have been released with bail or by bonds made by the court. I believe he should have stayed behind bars until his court date on October 22. OJ Simpson should not be relaxed about anything; I don’t think he will get off that easy this time. I hope the court takes his murder case in to consideration when deciding on his punishment this time.


International: Monks protest

Summary: About 1500 monks protested on the streets of Yangon, Myanmar this past Wednesday. They protested outside the locked gates of Myanmar’s most revered temple. This was the most demonstrated wave of protest against the rulers of their country in over a decade. The 1500 monks plus on lookers were protesting against the hardships brought on by the government’s economic policies. Pro-democracy activists who were against the sudden raise in fuel prices first started this protest last month. Now the protests have been taken over by the monks.

Opinion: The monks had a right to do what they did. The government needs to realize what the affects are of them raising their economic policies. It may benefit some but the majority of the people seem to suffer from it. I believe that the government should reconsider what they have been doing.


National: Thousands march in Louisiana

Summary: Thousands of protesters blocked the streets of Jena, Louisiana on Thursday to show disagreement with the unequal punishment against 6 African American kids accused of beating a white classmate in August of 2006. The court has said that they are planning on having a hearing take place within 72 hours concerning the release of the only boy out of the six that is still behind bars. These six teenagers go by the “Jena 6”.

Opinion: I believe that they should be equal punishment for all the people involved in this beating of the classmate. I believe that the town of Jena, Louisiana is doing the right thing by taking a stand for what they believe in. We have a right to a fair trial, and it seems that these boys were not equal in punishment. Yes one may have done more than the rest, but all the boys were involved and not one of them put a stop to what was going on. Anyone who does wrong needs to realize before they do it that most likely there is going to be consequences. I believe that these boys did not consider anyone or anything but themselves when they did what they did.


International: Mourinho leaves Chelsea

Summary: Jose Mourinho and Chelsea had to go separate ways. A Chelsea member has said that Mourinho had to leave because he was affecting the team in a negative way. They believe that Mourinho started to affect they performance of the team. The Football world was stunned when they heard of the split. But everyone seems to think that it is for the best. Both Mourinho and the Chelsea team have split with a mutual consent.

Opinion: In my personal experience, I know hands on that a coach can affect the way a team plays whether it be in a negative or a positive way. The coach of a team is what pulls everything together. If you have bad coaching then it will affect any team no matter the skill level of the players. No matter what, no team can survive without a coach. I believe that Chelsea did the right thing by asking Mourinho to resign. With hopefully better coaching the team can bounce back from such a major blow.