Six In The Morning

Yes, Republicans Are And Always Have Been Hypocritical

Earmarks Are Pork Barrel Spending So Let Us Pursue Them With Gutso
No one was more critical than Representative Mark Steven Kirk when President Obama and the Democratic majority in the Congress sought passage last year of a $787 billion spending bill intended to stimulate the economy. And during his campaign for the Illinois Senate seat once held by Mr. Obama, Mr. Kirk, a Republican, boasted of his vote against “Speaker Pelosi’s trillion-dollar stimulus plan.”
Though Mr. Kirk and other Republicans thundered against pork-barrel spending and lawmakers’ practice of designating money for special projects through earmarks, they have not shied from using a less-well-known process called lettermarking to try to direct money to projects in their home districts.
Mr. Kirk, for example, sent a letter to the Department of Education dated Sept. 10, 2009, asking it to release money “needed to support students and educational programs” in a local school district. The letter was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the group Citizens Against Government Waste, which shared it with The New York Times.

We Really Don't Want You Using Our drugs To Execute Prisoners

Especially On Those With Mental Health Issues
British diplomats have complained to the US government about a drug imported from the UK being used in the execution of death row prisoners.

Officials from the British embassy in Washington said they were "dismayed" and "very concerned" that UK-sourced sodium thiopental, a barbiturate injected to induce unconsciousness, would be used in future executions. They have also objected to its use in the execution of Jeffrey Landrigan, a death row prisoner who reportedly suffered from mental health problems.

In a letter sent to the Department of State, a copy of which has been obtained by The Independent, the British officials also warn that it would be illegal for the drug to be used again – such as in the planned execution of Edmund Zagorski in Tennessee – because the imported compound has not been officially approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

China Tells The Pope To Shut It

What Is China's Government Afraid Of? People Thinking For Themselves Or Just Jealous
WHILE THERE has been no official response from the communist government to Pope Benedict XVI’s criticism of China in his Christmas message for limiting freedom of religion, a state newspaper came out yesterday with a strongly worded editorial warning the Vatican to stop meddling in Beijing’s business.

“The pontiff sounded more like a western politician than a religious leader . . . before the pope attacks China’s internal affairs, he may want to rethink the Vatican’s so-called role as a protector of religious freedom,” said the Global Times , the English-language edition of the People’s Daily.

Imprisoned Because He Dared To Provide Healthcare to The Poor

Unlike His Government: He Remembered First Do No Harm
HUNDREDS OF human rights activists demonstrated in India’s capital, New Delhi, yesterday protesting against the harsh life sentence handed down to a highly regarded paediatrician and human rights activist on charges of aiding Maoist rebels.

For decades Binayak Sen (60) worked among tribal communities in India’s central Chhattisgarh province to rally depressed, impoverished and neglected locals to fight for their rights.

He was convicted of waging war against the state by a local court in the state capital Raipur on Christmas Eve.

We The People Really Like Our Ex-Communist Dictator

We Want More Authoritarian Rule
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was one of the first to congratulate "the great European leader" Alexander Lukashenko on his re-election, calling the Belarusian leader's country a "bastion of dignity and prosperity in the middle of a Europe agitated by the insatiable greed of transnational capital."

In his congratulatory cable, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad referred to "yet another golden chapter of the brilliant history of the great people of Belarus."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev also offered his congratulations, though with a touch of a guilty conscience. The election in Minsk, he said, was an "internal affair," characterizing Belarus as one of the countries that is "closest to Russia, regardless of its political leadership."

If Not For The Massive Ego Of This Politician There Would Not Be A Crisis

Power Is More Important Than A Stable Country
Fears of renewedfighting in Cote d'Ivoire have grown, following a threat from West African neighbours to force out Laurent Gbagbo, the incumbent leader, if he does not soon heed international calls to step down from power.

West African leaders are giving Gbagbo an ultimatum this week to step aside, though he has shown no interest in doing so since the demand was made on Friday.

While doubts exist about whether the region could carry out such a military operation, Alassane Ouattara's camp remains confident that help is coming soon.

"It's not a bluff," one senior Ouattara adviser said on Monday on condition of anonymity. "The soldiers are coming much faster than anyone thinks."