President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad: Violently Cracking Down on Protesters

President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad

Currently: Syrian government forces are massacring innocent civilians with heavy artillery while the UN Security council is held up by Russia and China;

Recently: Syrian security forces are reported to be using violence to disperse protesters. According to activists and human rights groups with Amnesty International 55 civilian protesters have been killed already;

Bio: Bashar al-Assad (born 11 September 1965) is the President of the Syrian Arab Republic, Regional Secretary of the Ba’ath Party, and the son of former President Hafez al-Assad. [Read more...]

Kim Jong-il Dies, the North Korean Leader Suffered a Heart Attack at the Age of 69

Recently: “The KCNA later reported that [Kim Jong-il] had died of a “severe myocardial infarction along with a heart attack” at 08:30 local time on Saturday (23:30 GMT Friday). He had been on a train at the time, for one of his “field guidance” tours, KCNA said.” [Read more...]

Ali Abdullah Saleh: President of Yemen: Sent Snipers to Kill Protesters

President of the Republic of Yemen: Ali Abdullah Saleh

President of the Republic of Yemen: Ali Abdullah Saleh

Currently: Tens of thousands of Yemenis have demonstrated in the capital Sanaa, calling on Ali Abdullah Saleh, president for 30 years, to step down. Reports and videos are showing a brutal crackdown of protesters in Yemen;

This comes after mass protests in Egypt and a popular uprising in Tunisia that ousted its long-time leader. Read more from the BBC [Read more...]

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Sends Troops to Support Bahrain’s King

King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia

King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia

Currently: The King has sent troops from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain in support of the King of Bahrain who is violently cracking down on protesters against his rule.  Videos have surfaced showing Bahrain forces murdering protesters and using live ammo;

 

Bio: King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, (born August 1, 1923)[2] is the current King of Saudi Arabia. On August 1, 2005, he succeeded to the throne upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd. Previously, as Crown Prince, he governed Saudi Arabia as regent from 1996 to 2005. [Read more...]

Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa: King of Bahrain, Sends Military to Kill Protesters

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa

King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa

Currently: Many videos and reports are emerging of Bahrain Military/Security Forces killing innocent and peaceful protesters. The Saudi’s, fearing the collapse of its their own autocratic regime, sent troops to Bahrain to support the government.  See below for breaking video, news and information about the revolution and violent clashes in Bahrain.

Some reports are saying the police were sent into the crowds with shotguns while the protesters were sleeping. Read more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/17/3141390.htm [Read more...]

Hosni Mubarak: President of the Arab Republic of Egypt

Hosni Mubarak: President of the Arab Republic of Egypt

Hosni Mubarak: President of the Arab Republic of Egypt

Currently: The country has erupted in violent protests over Mubarak’s reign and policies.  ”Police and protesters clashed across Egypt on Friday, and opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei was doused by a water cannon before escaping the swinging batons of riot police and taking cover in a Cairo mosque.” Full story http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-0129-egypt-protests-20110129,0,7791833.story

Bio: While in office, political corruption in the Mubarak administration’s Ministry of Interior has risen dramatically, due to the increased power over the institutional system that is necessary to secure the prolonged presidency. Such corruption has led to the imprisonment of political figures and young activists without trials, illegal undocumented hidden detention facilities, and rejecting universities, mosques, newspapers staff members based on political inclination. On a personnel level, each individual officer can and will violate citizens’ privacy in his area using unconditioned arrests due to the emergency law. Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosni_Mubarak

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David Cameron Becomes British Prime Minister

Currently: David Cameron has entered 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister promising to lead Britain through to “better times ahead.” Read the latest from Gaurdian.co.uk and the BBC’s ongoing coverage.

Bio: David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is the leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition in the United Kingdom. He has occupied both positions since December 2005.  Read the rest of his bio on Wikipedia.   [Read more...]

Gordon Brown Steps Down…

Gordon Brown
Photo Courtesy of didbygraham

Currently: Brown finally stepped down with an emotional speech to the British people, read more from Reuters.

Brown was facing heat to step down as Britain’s political stalemate continues.  ”…a Sunday Times/YouGov poll, taken yesterday and on Friday, showed that the vast majority of the electorate want Gordon Brown to quit No 10 now. Only 28% want him to remain as prime minister.” Read the full story

Recently: Brown was trying to do damage control after he was recorded calling a voter, Gillian Duffy, a “bigot.”  To read more about the incident from the BBC, click here.  See also, How Gordon Brown ‘bigot’ jibe row unfolded via the BBC.

Bio: Born in 1951, Gordon Brown is the second of three sons. He grew up in the town of Kirkcaldy, an industrial centre famed for its linoleum and mining industries. As Mr Brown was growing up, it was a town undergoing major change, with rising unemployment and desperate poverty. [Read more...]

Kurmanbek Saliyevich Bakiyev: Ousted President of Kyrgyzstan

Kurmanbek Saliyevich Bakiyev (born 1 August 1949) has been President of Kyrgyzstan since 2005, but was apparently removed from power on 7 April 2010. Large opposition protests in April 2010 led to the takeover of government offices amid reports that Bakiyev had fled.

[Read more...]

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: President of Iran

 

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: President of Iran

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: President of Iran

 

Recently: Bursts of gunfire were reported as Tehranis took to their rooftops to shout protests under cover of darkness, but for the first time in a week there were no big demonstrations. That was partly because Tehran’s streets were flooded with police and Basiji militiamen, and partly because the protesters were still reeling from the previous day’s brutality.  Read the rest of this story…

Hundreds of thousands of Iranian protesters defied authorities Monday and marched to Tehran’s Freedom Square, as the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader ordered an investigation into allegations of voter fraud, a move the opposition described as little more than an attempt to dampen anger over the reelection of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Read the rest of the story… [Read more...]

Stephen Harper

Stephen Harper, who as leader of the National Citizens Coalition challenged limits on campaign spending in Harper v. Canada, and as leader of the Conservative Party of Canada opposed prisoners' voting rights after Sauvé v. Canada.

Image via Wikipedia

The Canadian economy will get a solid boost from Tuesday’s Bank of Canada rate cut of three-quarters of a percentage point, but fiscal stimulus will also be needed, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said.

“First of all, I think the move by the Bank of Canada is very significant, and the monetary policy stimulus, the economic stimulus they’ll get out of today’s announcement, is significant. We’ve already seen some action by our chartered banks,” Harper told CBC television.  Read more…

Stephen Joseph Harper PC MP (born April 30, 1959) is the twenty-second and current Prime Minister of Canada, and leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Harper became Prime Minister after his party won a minority government in the January 2006 federal election. He is the first ever Prime Minister from his current political party, and the first since 1993 from any “Conservative” party, following twelve years of government by the Liberal Party. Read the rest of his bio from Wikipedia

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Ehud Olmert

Ehud OlmertImage via Wikipedia

Ehud Olmert (born 30 September 1945) is the 12th and current Prime Minister of Israel. Olmert became the interim Prime Minister on 14 April 2006 but had been exercising the powers of the office as Acting Prime Minister since they were transferred to him on 4 January 2006 after Ariel Sharon suffered a severe hemorrhagic stroke. His position as head of government was confirmed upon the formation of the 31st government on 4 May 2006. He is a member of the Kadima political party.

Olmert has previously been the Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Finance Minister, Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, and Minister responsible for the Israel Lands Administration, as well as Mayor of Jerusalem. Read the rest of his bio from Wikipedia

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Robert Mugabe

Robert Gabriel Mugabe KCB (born on February 21, 1924) has served as the head of government in Zimbabwe since 1980, as Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987 and as the first executive President since 1987. He rose to prominence in the 1960s as the Secretary general of the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU). For many years in the 60s and 70s Mugabe was a political prisoner in Rhodesia.  Read the rest of his bio from Wikipedia

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Dmitry Medvedev

Russian politician Dmitry Medvedev on SeligerImage via Wikipedia

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is the President of Russia, inaugurated on May 7, 2008. He won the presidential election held on March 2, 2008 with about 70% of the vote.

Medvedev was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian government on November 14, 2005. Formerly Vladimir Putin‘s chief of staff, he was also the Chairman of Gazprom‘s board of directors, a post he had held, for the second time, since 2000.

On December 10, 2007, he was informally endorsed as a candidate for the forthcoming presidential elections by the largest Russian political party, United Russia, and officially endorsed on December 17, 2007.

Read the rest about him from Wikipedia, The BBC, The Economist and the NY Times.

Hugo Chávez: President of Venezuela

Chávez’s policies have evoked controversy in Venezuela and abroad, receiving anything from vehement criticism to enthusiastic support. The government of the United States claims that Chávez is a threat to democracy in Latin America.[3] Many other governments sympathize with his ideology[4] and/or welcome his bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements.[5] In 2005 and 2006 he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.[6][7]

Bio from Wikipedia

Nicolas Sarkozy

Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin, the second President of Russia.Image via Wikipedia

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is the current President of the Russian Federation. He became acting President on December 31, 1999, succeeding Boris Yeltsin, and then won the 2000 presidential election. In 2004, he was re-elected for a second term, which expires on May 7, 2008. Read the rest of his bio from Wikipedia

Read about his Presidency

Fidel Castro

Saddam Hussein