HUFFINGTON POST By Rev. Al Sharpton The justice system. We often like to think that in a great democracy like ours, we are all equal under the law no matter what our personal or financial background. The reality is, that while we may have a right to an attorney and a day in court, our judicial system is far from perfect. Too often, those with money and power can avert harsh sentences, while the poor find themselves receiving maximum time and penalties. This aspect of economic inequality — one where a 16-year-old teenager can drive drunk, kill four people and receive no jail time because he allegedly suffered from ‘affluenza’ — is one of our greatest remaining challenges. Financial disparity within our judicial system isn’t a notion of the past; it is ever present today. And perhaps nothing serves as more of a stirring reminder of this grave injustice than the very case of this teen, Ethan Couch, who has forever shattered the lives of many and received nothing but a virtual slap on the wrist. FULL ARTICLE
Tag: Nelson Mandela
President Obama Memorial Speech Today in South Africa
“Beloved poet Maya Angelou salutes Madiba”
“Nelson Mandela death: World mourns South Africa’s first black president”
By Arwa Damon and Faith Karimi, CNN
Johannesburg, South Africa (CNN) — In a symbol befitting a nation in mourning, dark gray clouds swept over Johannesburg on Friday.
Under overcast skies that threatened to rain any minute, South Africans draped in flags and images of Nelson Mandela gathered on the streets to sing and dance.
Children spelled out “we love you Mandela” on the grass using rocks near his home in the suburb of Houghton. Nearby, stuffed animals and flowers sat in a heap.
Others wept as they lit candles.
Mandela, 95, died Thursday. The nation’s first black president battled health issues in recent years, including a recurring lung infection that led to numerous hospitalizations.
President Jacob Zuma announced the loss late Thursday night, long after many South Africans had gone to bed.
They didn’t find out until Friday morning.
Continue reading ““Nelson Mandela death: World mourns South Africa’s first black president””
Nelson Mandela Passes
Nelson Mandela, a revered world statesman who emerged from prison after 27 years to lead South Africa out of its dark days of apartheid, has died, President Jacob Zuma has announced. He was 95.
The former president battled health issues in recent years, including a recurring lung infection that led to numerous hospitalizations.
In a nation healing from the scars of apartheid, Mandela became the moral compass.
His defiance of white-minority rule and his incarceration for fighting against segregation focused the world’s attention on South Africa’s apartheid system, making him a symbol of the struggle for racial equality.
In his lifetime, he was a man of complexities. He went from being considered a terrorist, to an imprisoned freedom fighter, to a unifying figure, to an elder statesman respected worldwide.
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“Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela: First Black President of South Africa”
RE-POST FROM JULY 18, 2012

Republic of South Africa, serving from 1994 to 1999
BIO
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Nelson Mandela’s Life Story

Manela’s Acceptance Speech and Lecture
NELSON MANDELA DAY
Continue reading ““Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela: First Black President of South Africa””
“Nelson Mandela on life support”
CBS NEWS
JOHANNESBURG | Nelson Mandela is on life support.

The former South African president‘s condition has worsened over the last couple of days. Well-wishers and supporters continued Wednesday to gather outside of the Pretoria hospital where the former South African president has been receiving treatment for nearly three weeks and the South African president canceled a Thursday trip amid worry about his health.
On Sunday, President Jacob Zuma said the 94-year-old former leader is “well-looked after and is comfortable” but the South African government has been relatively tight-lipped regarding Mandela’s health status.
The South African president canceled a Thursday trip to Maputo, the Mozambican capital, where he was to attend a meeting on regional investment.
CBS News Debora Patta reports that 500 miles away from Pretoria, in Mandela’s ancestral village of Qunu, there was a lot of activity on Monday.
Family members were observed inspecting a burial site in the area and CBS sources told Patta the meeting was called to resolve a bitter family feud over the removal of graves of other relatives from the site by Mandela’s grandson.
South Africans were torn on Wednesday between the desire not to lose a critically ill Nelson Mandela, who defined the aspirations of so many of his compatriots, and resignation that the beloved former prisoner and president is approaching the end of his life.
The sense of anticipation and foreboding about Mandela’s fate has grown since late Sunday, when the South African government declared that the condition of the statesman, who was rushed to a hospital in Pretoria on June 8, had deteriorated.
Former President Nelson Mandela now critical. Please pray for him.
“Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela: First Black President of South Africa”

Republic of South Africa, serving from 1994 to 1999
BIO
`
`
Nelson Mandela’s Life Story

Manela’s Acceptance Speech and Lecture
NELSON MANDELA DAY
Continue reading ““Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela: First Black President of South Africa””
Nelson Mandela Enters Hospital
Aljazeera English

Nelson Mandela admitted to hospital
Former South African leader said to be suffering from abdominal condition, according to president’s office.
Last Modified: 25 Feb 2012 10:04 GMT
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