He is famous for a lot of positive things, like his beautiful songs and his charity especially for children and people of Africa . But we know him also for his ‘child abuse trial’ and his luxurious life that also led to a gigantic burden of debt. Everybody knows that we are talking about Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson had a lot of success with many songs like “Yesterday” and “Let it Be” that has brought in a lot of money. His ownership of the bulk of The Beatles’ music was also a big source of income but nobody knows the exact extent of his fortune.
It was his child abuse trial that showed us that he was deeply in the red. His spending was more than his income and he almost lost his beloved ranch ‘Neverland’ where many sick children were welcome. There are now co-workers like his manager and his spokesperson during the criminal trial that are suing the singer for million of dollars.
There are a lot of people with financial problems but when you are a famous singer you always have a chance that your life is world-wide spread in the media. When you do something good it is of course nice but when something goes wrong in your life it is not so nice anymore.
I once saw a video of Michael Jackson where he was buying the one thing after the other. You could see that he was buying just for buying and I think that he really did not know what he was buying. These famous artists earn so much money that they can buy anything but do not know the value of money anymore. People just want more and more and when you have something there will be an other desire. People cannot live without desire.
Source: Persinko, T.(2009). Rumours of more than one will left by Jackson add to the confusion. Retrieved from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/rumours-of-more-than-one-will-left-by-jackson-add-to-the-confusion-1722616.html.
zondag 4 oktober 2009
Making the most of mortgage overpayments (by Ben Van Laere)
For the first time in history British families are repaying more debt than they’re borrowing . British people were European leaders in taking mortgages but now there has been a reversal.
The Bank of England has announced that for the first time, house owners are paying back more on their mortgages than house owners are borrowing. The reason why debtors are paying their mortgages is the low interest rate. And that’s not the only reason, the number of overpayments has also clearly risen. Overpaying can save thousands of pounds in interest, and can so diminish years off the mortgage.
It is important for people to read the small letters in a mortgage contract. In some mortgages you can overpay as much as you like. In others there are strict rules. The great danger of overpaying is that people are overpaying too much. Once you have made an overpayment, you can’t get that money back.
I found this article very interesting because it contains information about how you can save a lot of money. I never thought of overpaying before, but after reading this article, I think it can be very useful.
Nearly all young families have to borrow from the bank to pay their dream house. Every pound or euro counts for those families, so saving money by overpaying can really be a financial help.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/sep/05/overpay-mortgage
The Bank of England has announced that for the first time, house owners are paying back more on their mortgages than house owners are borrowing. The reason why debtors are paying their mortgages is the low interest rate. And that’s not the only reason, the number of overpayments has also clearly risen. Overpaying can save thousands of pounds in interest, and can so diminish years off the mortgage.
It is important for people to read the small letters in a mortgage contract. In some mortgages you can overpay as much as you like. In others there are strict rules. The great danger of overpaying is that people are overpaying too much. Once you have made an overpayment, you can’t get that money back.
I found this article very interesting because it contains information about how you can save a lot of money. I never thought of overpaying before, but after reading this article, I think it can be very useful.
Nearly all young families have to borrow from the bank to pay their dream house. Every pound or euro counts for those families, so saving money by overpaying can really be a financial help.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009/sep/05/overpay-mortgage
Unscrupulous debt management schemes could face closure under Government proposals (By Bieke Demeester)
I read an article in the Telegraph about very high rates of interest in the United Kingdom. As everyone know, more and more people have problems to pay their debts. A debtor often makes a ‘debt management scheme’, which is an informal payment schedule between him and his creditors. This prevents a new loan or a formal insolvency procedure.
The British government will introduce soon a legislation which lays down rules for these schemes and for the companies which apply high rates of interest and charges, and really hassle the debtors for payment. Such companies can be fined or even shut down! The basic assumption is that debtors end up in a vicious circle of developing more and more debts, especially because the interest rates and charges are very high. With this intended legislation, the government wants to protect the debtors.
I think this regulation is necessary because if there aren’t any rules, people just can’t stand up against unscrupulous practices of certain companies. But I think the main problem is the possibility to buy on credit in certain companies. In that way, people buy expensive goods, which they sometimes can’t pay back.
In the public social assistance centre where I worked, I faced the same problem as described in the newspaper: debtors came to me with more debts, coming from high rates of interest, notices to pay, summons etc.
Sources:
Butterworth, M. (2009). Unscrupulous debt management schemes could face closure under Government proposals. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/6206152/Unscrupulous-debt-management-schemes-could-face-closure-under-Government-proposals.html
Dept management scheme. Retrieved from http://www.personaldebtsolutions.co.uk/solutions-debt-management.htm
The British government will introduce soon a legislation which lays down rules for these schemes and for the companies which apply high rates of interest and charges, and really hassle the debtors for payment. Such companies can be fined or even shut down! The basic assumption is that debtors end up in a vicious circle of developing more and more debts, especially because the interest rates and charges are very high. With this intended legislation, the government wants to protect the debtors.
I think this regulation is necessary because if there aren’t any rules, people just can’t stand up against unscrupulous practices of certain companies. But I think the main problem is the possibility to buy on credit in certain companies. In that way, people buy expensive goods, which they sometimes can’t pay back.
In the public social assistance centre where I worked, I faced the same problem as described in the newspaper: debtors came to me with more debts, coming from high rates of interest, notices to pay, summons etc.
Sources:
Butterworth, M. (2009). Unscrupulous debt management schemes could face closure under Government proposals. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/6206152/Unscrupulous-debt-management-schemes-could-face-closure-under-Government-proposals.html
Dept management scheme. Retrieved from http://www.personaldebtsolutions.co.uk/solutions-debt-management.htm
zondag 23 november 2008
Teacher killed son-in-law with cricket bat. (By Hanne Snoeck)
‘It was an accident. We all loved each other and it is not fair what’s happend to us’ said Celosia Mendes to the judges. Her husband (Sergio Mendes) has been killed by her father( Kenneth Bassarath) during violation at home. Kenneth Bassarath is acquitted of murder but is still found guilty of manslaugther. He was granted bail but faces a likely custodial term when he returns for sentence on 16 december.
Celosia called her father and also 999 for the police telling that her husband was trying to beat her up. The man was very angry and violated. She managed to lock her self up in the room where her 2 sons where sleeping and then called her father and 999.
Her father came and saw that his son-in-law was armed with a knife. He took a cricket bat and he took a swing with it to fend him off. Kenneth said that he really had not the intention to kill his son-in-law. According to the father, he was acting in self-defence. Celosia’s husband died three days later from brain injuries. She had just booked a family holiday to Florida, hoping that they could solve their marital problems.
After written 5 blogs, it must be clear that murder someone is not aloud. But like I already said we can’t judge a person in general, we have to ‘judge’ by looking to the unique situation of each person.
It’s a bit logical that Kenneth Bassarath, as a father, would defend his daughter and that his acting was impulsive. If it was a acting of self defend I don’t really know. I found it very hard to judge because we don’t know the whole situation. I believe that the father is not a ‘real killer’ and that he not had the intention to kill but the facts are that he did. There will have to be a punishment, taking into account the circumstances.
Source: The Independent, 18 November 2008, By John-Paul Ford Rojas
(http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/teacher-killed-soninlaw-with-cricket-bat-1024060.html)
Celosia called her father and also 999 for the police telling that her husband was trying to beat her up. The man was very angry and violated. She managed to lock her self up in the room where her 2 sons where sleeping and then called her father and 999.
Her father came and saw that his son-in-law was armed with a knife. He took a cricket bat and he took a swing with it to fend him off. Kenneth said that he really had not the intention to kill his son-in-law. According to the father, he was acting in self-defence. Celosia’s husband died three days later from brain injuries. She had just booked a family holiday to Florida, hoping that they could solve their marital problems.
After written 5 blogs, it must be clear that murder someone is not aloud. But like I already said we can’t judge a person in general, we have to ‘judge’ by looking to the unique situation of each person.
It’s a bit logical that Kenneth Bassarath, as a father, would defend his daughter and that his acting was impulsive. If it was a acting of self defend I don’t really know. I found it very hard to judge because we don’t know the whole situation. I believe that the father is not a ‘real killer’ and that he not had the intention to kill but the facts are that he did. There will have to be a punishment, taking into account the circumstances.
Source: The Independent, 18 November 2008, By John-Paul Ford Rojas
(http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/teacher-killed-soninlaw-with-cricket-bat-1024060.html)
woensdag 19 november 2008
THE AMADOU DIALLO SHOOTING (by Greet Heyse)
Amadou diallo was shot on the 4th of February in 1999. His parents stood up for him in a court case. He was shot by four NYPD officers, Sean Carroll, Edward McMellon, Kenneth Boss and Richard Murphy. They shot 41 times at him.Amadou's parents have sued the city of New York for £81 million.
The mother, Kadiatou and father, Saikou, are asking £20 for wrongfull death, £20 million for pain and suffering and £1 million for each of the 41 bullets fired at their son. 19 bullets out of the 41 fired ones struck Diallo, who was unarmed and was just standing in his apartment in the Bronx where he lived.
Eventually they only got £20 million.
The four officers were acquitted of all charges in the shooting. They claimed that their shooting was an accident and not a murder. All four testified that they couldn't see a lot around the hall and they thought Amadou was reaching for a gun. That is why they opened fire.
Beyond Diallo's parents the officers acted in a reckles way and disregarded the rights and safety of their son. After all, they approached Amadou without any lawful justification and still they shot 41 times.
This is a bit twofold, on the one hand the officers really thought that amadou was going to take a gun. Nowadays these acts are not so rarely anymore and perhaps they had a reason because they were clearly watching the neighbourhood for something and in their eyes, Amadou was a bit shady. But on the other hand. How could they be so sure of seeing that gun? Of thinking he was going to take a gun. Ok, we live in a dangerous world where you don't know what you might expect. But it's exaggerated that you should see everybody as perpetrators. If everybody thinks like this, we wouldn't be here right now... Being an officer is a risky job but shooting has serieus consequences and it's not just something you usually do. If I was the jugde I should punish them in a way, perhaps not by imprisonment but by something else, a training or recall their function for a while.All that because for the parents of Amadou this must be hell. 4 officers shoot their sun "for no reason" but they got away without a punishment. They lost their son en the officers lost nothing. It just not right.
Sources: http://www.courttv.com/archive/national/diallo/041800_suit_ctv.html
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/amadou_diallo/index.html
The mother, Kadiatou and father, Saikou, are asking £20 for wrongfull death, £20 million for pain and suffering and £1 million for each of the 41 bullets fired at their son. 19 bullets out of the 41 fired ones struck Diallo, who was unarmed and was just standing in his apartment in the Bronx where he lived.
Eventually they only got £20 million.
The four officers were acquitted of all charges in the shooting. They claimed that their shooting was an accident and not a murder. All four testified that they couldn't see a lot around the hall and they thought Amadou was reaching for a gun. That is why they opened fire.
Beyond Diallo's parents the officers acted in a reckles way and disregarded the rights and safety of their son. After all, they approached Amadou without any lawful justification and still they shot 41 times.
This is a bit twofold, on the one hand the officers really thought that amadou was going to take a gun. Nowadays these acts are not so rarely anymore and perhaps they had a reason because they were clearly watching the neighbourhood for something and in their eyes, Amadou was a bit shady. But on the other hand. How could they be so sure of seeing that gun? Of thinking he was going to take a gun. Ok, we live in a dangerous world where you don't know what you might expect. But it's exaggerated that you should see everybody as perpetrators. If everybody thinks like this, we wouldn't be here right now... Being an officer is a risky job but shooting has serieus consequences and it's not just something you usually do. If I was the jugde I should punish them in a way, perhaps not by imprisonment but by something else, a training or recall their function for a while.All that because for the parents of Amadou this must be hell. 4 officers shoot their sun "for no reason" but they got away without a punishment. They lost their son en the officers lost nothing. It just not right.
Sources: http://www.courttv.com/archive/national/diallo/041800_suit_ctv.html
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/d/amadou_diallo/index.html
dinsdag 18 november 2008
Discovery of a baby corpse (By Bieke Demeester)
Last week, when members of the ‘chiro’ of Kessel-Lo were cleaning their material pen, they did the nasty discovery of a baby corpse. The police investigated the case and on Tuesday November 11, a woman of 21-years old was arrested. She is a member of that youth movement. She confessed that she had been pregnant, but she didn’t tell anyone out of shame and fear. She denied that she was pregnant and at the day of the delivery, she gave birth to a daughter, totally alone in her own room.
She was going to tell her parents after the delivery, but unfortunately, the baby died. For the moment, the police is still investigating the case to find out whether it was murder or not. The examining magistrate suspected her of guilty neglect because she didn’t ask for any help before, meanwhile and after the delivery. On Friday 14 November, the Judges’ Council Chambers didn’t extend her arrest so she is free now. She needs to get professional psychological assistance. The father of the baby died.
This story is so shocking because the woman didn’t ask for any help. She even had no medical assistance at the time of the delivery. I can’t imagine how lonely this woman, this girl must be. Losing a child is always very sad, but when you have nobody who can help you to cope with it, you must feel yourself the loneliest person in the world. I don’t think she killed her baby, I think it was an avoidable accident. How can this happen in times like these? How can someone be pregnant without anyone knows about it? According to me, it’s a disaster where mother and child are the victims.
Source:
- Vader van achtergelaten baby Kessel-Lo is overleden. Internet, De Standaard, November 14 2008. (http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF14112008_043&word=chiro)
- Moeder van babylijkje uit Kessel-Lo vrijdag voor raadkamer. Internet, De Standaard, November 13 2008. (http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF13112008_050)
She was going to tell her parents after the delivery, but unfortunately, the baby died. For the moment, the police is still investigating the case to find out whether it was murder or not. The examining magistrate suspected her of guilty neglect because she didn’t ask for any help before, meanwhile and after the delivery. On Friday 14 November, the Judges’ Council Chambers didn’t extend her arrest so she is free now. She needs to get professional psychological assistance. The father of the baby died.
This story is so shocking because the woman didn’t ask for any help. She even had no medical assistance at the time of the delivery. I can’t imagine how lonely this woman, this girl must be. Losing a child is always very sad, but when you have nobody who can help you to cope with it, you must feel yourself the loneliest person in the world. I don’t think she killed her baby, I think it was an avoidable accident. How can this happen in times like these? How can someone be pregnant without anyone knows about it? According to me, it’s a disaster where mother and child are the victims.
Source:
- Vader van achtergelaten baby Kessel-Lo is overleden. Internet, De Standaard, November 14 2008. (http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF14112008_043&word=chiro)
- Moeder van babylijkje uit Kessel-Lo vrijdag voor raadkamer. Internet, De Standaard, November 13 2008. (http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=DMF13112008_050)
maandag 17 november 2008
Banker appears in court over wife’s murder (by Ben Van Laere)
Neil Ellerbeck, aged 45, is accused of murdering his wife Katerine at their house in north London. Ellerbeck was a city banker. He worked for HSBC Asset Management as a global chief investment officer. The police found the dead body of Katerine on Friday, the 14th of November. The cause of death is strangulation.
The couple had been married for 14 years and they have 2 children. It was a wealthy family with a nice house. Katerine was a housewife and looked after the children when Neil went to work.
The neighbors can’t believe this drama. “It was a happy family, we thought. We never saw them fighting or something. Neil was a bit shy but a very friendly man.”
There were still no cases like this on this blog but I guess cases like this, where a husband kills his wife or vice versa are the most common murder-cases in every country. When you watch the news you often see that a family drama has taken place. I can’t understand such family dramas. How can you murder the person you loved for so long? How can you kill the mother or father of your children? I think such murderers never loved their partner. You can always divorce when you have very serious problems in your relation. But killing your husband and destroying the life of your children is the cruelest action you can make.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/3472386/Banker-appears-in-court-over-wifes-murder.html
The couple had been married for 14 years and they have 2 children. It was a wealthy family with a nice house. Katerine was a housewife and looked after the children when Neil went to work.
The neighbors can’t believe this drama. “It was a happy family, we thought. We never saw them fighting or something. Neil was a bit shy but a very friendly man.”
There were still no cases like this on this blog but I guess cases like this, where a husband kills his wife or vice versa are the most common murder-cases in every country. When you watch the news you often see that a family drama has taken place. I can’t understand such family dramas. How can you murder the person you loved for so long? How can you kill the mother or father of your children? I think such murderers never loved their partner. You can always divorce when you have very serious problems in your relation. But killing your husband and destroying the life of your children is the cruelest action you can make.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/3472386/Banker-appears-in-court-over-wifes-murder.html
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