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Ghana President Refused Christmas Presents and Gifts

Ghana President, John Atta Mills, this year refused to accept any gifts or presents during Christmas from individuals and businesses. He did this because he was worried that the intentions may be different than just the country's tradition of giving, but instead to corrupt him.

Sources: BBC News: [] Al Jazeera: []

Similarities: Both articles mentioned that John Atta Mills, Ghana President, wouldn't accept the gifts because he worried that they could be intended to corrupt him. This is important because it gives the reason to why. Both articles also mentioned that the president was elected on the promise to fight corruption. I think this is important because it is a big deal in that country. Another similarity is that both articles mentioned that gift-giving was tradition or has become common practice. This is important because it gives detail on the issue/event.

Differences: The last paragraph in the BBC article was not in the Al Jazeera article. It stated that the spokesperson said that the gifts would be better enjoyed by less fortunate children. I think this is important because it shows that the president may feel bad about not accepting some gifts, so some of his workers are trying to make excuses or make the president look like he is being selfless. Another difference is that the Al Jazeera article mentioned the people that didn't like the way he was refusing gifts and the bad side of what was happening, such as one traditional chief that believes that the president is going to far and can ruin the Ghanaian tradition of hospitality, and another authority figure that does't think his actions will make a big difference on other government officials. This is important because it shows two sides of an event instead of just one. One last difference is the pictures of the two articles. The BBC News article's picture was just of John Atta Mills' face. The Al Jazeera article's picture was of a group of people campaigning for Mills.

My Opinion: I think that Mills' cause for refusing the gifts is good because corruption is a big problem in many countries, but I also agree with the traditional chief that said that he could have gone too far, and may ruin the tradition of hospitality.