Corruption cases

1. Middle East- Ehud Olmert, the former Israeli prime minister, has been indicted on corruption charges in the so-called Holyland case. Olmert was accused on Thursday of taking bribes to promote construction of housing projects while he was the mayor of Jerusalem, a position he held before becoming prime minister in 2006. In one of the largest corruption scandals in Israel's history, the prosecution announced indictments against 18 people, including the former prime minister, and a former Jerusalem mayor, Uri Lupolianski. The case, which first erupted two years ago, investigates millions of dollars in bribes paid between 1999 and 2008 by the Holyland developing company, through intermediaries, to senior officials in Jerusalem. Olmert has repeatedly denied that he intervened in anway to expedite the project, despite publicly supporting it. Recently, he lashed out against the state witness, whose testimony is central to the case, calling him a liar, Haaretz reported. "The state witness in the Holyland case is an abominable liar, but instead of putting him in jail, you're paying him and bribing him," Olmert told investigators during interrogation. "The only one paying bribes in this project is the atate of Israel." Olmert has also pleaded not guilty in separate proceedings that began in 2009 over allegations he took cash for favours and double-billed charities for airfare to attend overseas fund-raisers while serving as a cabinet minister and mayor. 2. Singapore- Bribery of Enforcement Officer to Falsify Reason to Prolong Stay In one case in 2006, an investigation officer accepted bribes from foreigners who wanted to prolong their stay in Singapore. He would fraudulently inform immigration authorities, that the said foreigners were prosecution witnesses required for police investigation. They would then be issued special passes to prolong their stay in Singapore. Investigations revealed that the investigation officer had issued 21 falsified official minutes to immigration authorities and helped a total of 53 female foreigners to illegally extend their stay in Singapore. He was charged with 53 counts of corruption and forgery offences and sentenced to four years' imprisonment as well as a S$26,500 fine.

Power
Power is the ability, regarded as put forth or exerted; strength, force, or energy in action; as, the power of steam in moving an engine; the power of truth, or of argument, in producing conviction; the power of enthusiasm. However, I strongly feel that it is frequently defined by political scientists as "the ability to influence the behaviour of others" with or without resistance. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social

beings. In the corporate environment, power is often expressed as upward or downward. With downward power, a company's superior influences subordinates. When a company exerts upward power, it is the subordinates who influence the decisions of the leader (Greiner & Schein, 1988). Often, the study of power in a society is referred to as politics. The use of power need not involve coercion (force or the threat of force). At one extreme, it more closely resembles what everyday English-speakers call "influence", although some authors make a distinction between power and influence the means by which power is used (Handy, C. 1993 Understanding Organisations). Much of the recent sociological debate on power revolves around the issue of the enabling nature of power. A comprehensive account of power can be found in Steven Lukes Power: A Radical View where he discusses the three dimensions of power. Thus, power can be seen as various forms of constraint on human action, but also as that which makes action possible, although in a limited scope. Much of this debate is related to the works of the French philosopher Michel Foucault (19261984), who, following the Italian political philosopher Niccol Machiavelli (14691527), sees power as "a complex strategic situation in a given society social setting". Being deeply structural, his concept involves both constraint and enablement. For a purely enabling (and voluntaristic) concept of power see the works of Anthony Giddens.