Kenya PM denounces killing of human rights activists; Sudan says aid groups “messing up everything”; GOP blocks spending bill over earmarks, despite requesting 4,000…
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Related subjects: Africa, Darfur crisis, East Africa, Executive Orders, Legislation, Obama administration, Obama's 1st 100 days, The Global Intercept, Transparency Yield, U.S. Politics Comments Off
Kenyan PM Raila Odinga denounces murder of two leading human rights activists, saying his nation is “hurtling toward failure”. The two activists had given evidence to a UN probe into police corruption and extrajudicial killings. They had accused police of ties to a criminal gang that the BBC says uses “extreme violence” to intimidate population.
Sudan’s ambassador to the UN says the aid groups his government expelled were “messing up everything,” decrying them for “spoiling” the situation and “destabilizing” the country. The aid groups were preventing mass death from famine, disease and massacre, and the remarks seem to be an admission from the Sudanese government that it viewed the aid organizations as an obstacle to its program of ethnic cleansing in Darfur, still ongoing.
Republican party blocks omnibus spending bill needed to keep government running past midnight tonight, complaining about over 8,000 earmarks. In fact, GOP has placed more than 4,000 earmarks in this spending bill, a higher proportion than their representation in Congress. Republicans had also sought to derail the ARRA (stimulus), which contained zero earmarks, on grounds it was full of earmarks.
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Republican leaders also began pushing for an across-the-board “spending freeze” for all of 2009. The idea, which was tried by Pres. Herbert Hoover and resulted in accelerating the arrival of the Great Depression, would necessitate the abandoning of economic stimulus, aid to financial institutions, money for the war in Afghanistan, infrastructure reinvestment and for Pres. Obama’s plans for a bipartisan healthcare reform program.
Pres. Barack Obama will on Monday reverse a Bush executive order banning government funding of research involving embryonic stem cells. The research was eligible for funding before Pres. Bush’s unilateral ban, and could help produce therapies or cures for severe neurological diseases, spinal cord injuries and paralysis.
Italy to build one of the world’s longest bridges, linking Sicily to mainland Italy. The 3 km bridge would be the longest dual-arch suspension bridge in the world, and would account for up to one-third of Italy’s planned economic stimulus spending. The project is a favorite of controversial PM Silvio Berlusconi, and some critics say the structure would not be safe.
Radio host Rush Limbaugh longs for Kennedy demise: remarks gleefully that Sen. Ted Kennedy’s involvement in healthcare reform might soon make for a “Ted Kennedy memorial health care bill”, apparently anticipating the senator will not long survive in his struggle against brain cancer. Limbaugh also stated his unequivocal opposition to any government actions that involve “caring”.
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