The Impudent Observer - Global Liberal Issues Analyzes issues of liberal concern and gives readers a digest of what is reported in over forty newspapers throughout the world to engage them in critical thinking issues. Statistics Unique Visitors: Total Unique Visitors: Outgoing: Total Outgoing: 0 0 69 9297

Articles from The Impudent Observer - Global Liberal Issues

New Turkish Program To Curb Domestic Violence Against Women 2007-11-27 09:41:03 Nimet Cubukcu, Turkey’s Minister in charge of women’s affairs, says domestic violence is a key issue in her nation. Since October, half of the 1,244 women who requested safe haven at the Mor Cati Women Shelter Association were fleeing from domestic violence issues. Ms. Cubukcu believes an important problem is the misuse of religion and culture to justify abusing women on grounds of “honor” which invariably means men’s feelings being angered. Besir Atalay, Minister of the Interior and Ms. Cubukcu are initiating a new program to train about 40,000 Turkish police in strategies of dealing with domestic violence. As Ms. Cubukcu correctly points out, domestic violence is not a “Muslim issue,” it is one found in virtually all religions in the world. There are men who will justify violent behavior on religious or cultural grounds in just about any religion. ...

US-Iraq Long Term Agreement Signed By Bush-Maliki 2007-11-27 08:37:10 President Bush signed a deal setting the foundation for a long-term U.S. troop presence with details subsequently to be worked out. Bush and Prime Minister Maliki reached the agreement on Monday which creates an “enduring” relationship in military, economic, and political terms. The hypothesis is that major portions of the American armed forces will be withdrawn over the coming year, but a large force will remain in Iraq, most probably stationed in outlying areas. There are rumors the eventual agreement will provide special advantages for American investments in Iraq– one can assume this would include oil exploration and development. Meanwhile, US troops fired on civilian vehicles which did not halt when demanded and five civilians were killed including children. This agreement is exactly what one would expect from President Bush who still lacks any grasp concerning the complexities of Middle Eastern politics and religion. A continuing American military presence is a ...

Rhetoric Is Loud And Will Increase As Annapolis Fails 2007-11-27 08:18:45 As Arabs and Israelis gathered in Annapolis to discuss issues related to the Palestinian-Israel conflict, tension was raised in the Gaza strip as Israel tanks and troops moved into the edges of the Hamas controlled area. There is talk of an Israel attack on Gaza to wipe out rocket launching sites once the Annapolis conference concludes. A reporter for The Independent spoke with ordinary Gaza citizens who are caught in a confusing middle between Hamas on one side and the Ramallah-based Fatah on the other side. Ami Ayub, who works in a cemetery that is desperate for cement, but can’t get it due to Israel restrictions, asked the question that was most probably on the minds of most of his neighbors, “After 15 years of negotiation, what are they going to do in a single day?” Farmers in the area are more concerned if they can get their strawberry crop across the line so their product can get sold. Mahmoud Zahar, a Hamas militant, roared defiance, “Whoever gives up The ...

Liberal Muslim Scholar Not Wanted In Indonesia 2007-11-27 06:34:14 Liberal Egyptian Koranic scholar, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd, said he was pressured by Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Ministry to cancel a scheduled appearance at an Islamic seminar in East Java. He believes the government was urged by the Indonesian Ulema Council to forbid his talk on grounds that Abu Zayd was preaching doctrines they disliked. Abu Zayd now lives in exile in the Netherlands after the Egyptian government persecuted him because he regards the Koran as a religious, mythical and literary work. He is will known among Indonesian Islamic thinkers for his views on Islamic theology and is regarded as a liberal who holds ideas not necessarily shared by the majority of religious figures. Abu Zayd was also forced to cancel other scheduled talks in Indonesia when the Ulema Religious Council apparently did not want someone with religious views contrary to their own to speak in public. The Council noted in a press release, “In Indonesia, blasphemers of the Koran at state Islami ...

Message Coming From Bin Laden–Will Muslims Care? 2007-11-27 06:21:29 A preliminary notice was furnished concerning a forthcoming message from Osama bin Laden was posted on on a web site that normally is aware of any messages he wishes to convey to the world. “Soon, if God allows, the lion sheik, Osama bin Laden, may God protect him, (will give) a message to the European nations.” His last message was addressed to the people of Iraq and urged them to unite and fight Americans. There is increasing evidence, al-Qaeda is continually encountering rising negative feeling from many places in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq where people are sick and tired of the mindless killings committed by this organization. Exactly, what he wishes to convey to the people of Europe is unclear. He most probably will make another threat, but his organization is being weakened as even former militants now call for an end to violence. In a sense, Osama bin Laden, has been helped for years by the inept Bush policies which antagonize large segments of the Muslim ...

The End Of Russian Democracy- Putin Rules Forever! 2007-11-27 01:01:03 Quiet reigns in Russia after last weekend’s brutal clamp down on Garry Kasporov,a leading dissident and opponent of Vladmir Putin. The European press was shocked at the open brutality displayed by Russian police toward a peaceful demonstration of people who were waving banners saying, “Russia Without Putin.” Apparently, even such a mild form of dissident behavior is cause for a major assault on people. Baton wielding police charged into the demonstration and arrested 200 people including Kasporov and the former vice premier of Russia, Boris Nemzov. As Germany’s Die Tageszeittung noted in a blistering editorial against the Russian leader, “Moscow has now permanently discredited itself in the eyes of the world.” The question bothering many experts is why has Putin taken such a drastic open policy of crushing any form of disagreement with his rule. There is scant doubt his United Russia party will garner about 70% of the vote and no major opposition par ...

Saudi Arabia And Syria Hesitant About Annapolis Conference 2007-11-26 18:39:03 A group of Israel news reporters asked members of the Saudi Arabian delegation if there was any interest on the part of their nation at the upcoming Annapolis meeting to normalize relations with Israel, and they were told, “none.” The Saudi delegation wants no contact with Israel and will even enter the meetings via a separate door. Syria is attending the conference even though they were refused permission to place Israel possession of the Golan Heights as a topic for discussion. However, Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqudad will be permitted to address the meeting. An editorial in the Syrian daily, Teshreen stated bluntly the only reason for attending was to deal with the immediate needs of the Palestinian people, and the Syrian delegation realized nothing would be done about their interests and needs. The Syrians believe Israel is trying to force normalization of relations without sensing a need to deal with Arab concerns. There is no doubt many members of Arab natio ...

Thai School Tests Parents Before Admitting Children 2007-11-26 09:53:19 A school in Thailand, the Mathayom Thanbin Kamphaeng Salen school, now requires parents to pass a written test before the institution would consider admitting their child. Potential students receive a child-raising manual which they take home in order to educate their parents concerning what constitutes being a good parent. According to Nannapas Kamchan, a 14-year old student, “I wasn’t worried that my parents would fail. The test isn’t hard. They only needed to seriously study the materials.” Children are allowed to assist their parents when they take the test which requires at least a 70% grade for passing. Parents are also required to attend a training session every session where they are expected to brush up on parenting techniques. The school has also increased Buddhism classes where students work on merit-making, meditation and social services. One can only wonder if such an effort should be required of potential presidential candidates in the United Sta ... Children

Buy Nothing Day Encourages Just Doing, Not Purchasing! 2007-11-26 09:41:47 Buy Nothing Day in Indonesia’s capital city of Jakarta resulted in hundreds of people sharing, singing, and having a good time without spending a dime. The global even was initiated by the Canadian magazine, Adbusters, which wanted to sponsor a day in which people throughout the world just hung around having fun and sharing and loving without getting caught up in commercial activities of buying goods they really didn’t need. At Sambas Park in Jakarta, there was free food, free clothes, free T-shirt printing, book readings, accupunture and even people who were ready to sing and dance. According to Ika Vantiani, “the spirit of Buy Nothing Day is sharing and charity.” The dream of Buy Nothing Day is admirable, unfortunately, the world has reached a point in its history in which we buy and buy and buy or the wheels of commerce would cease moving. Among the thousands who turned out to celebrate the event in Sambas Park, there were hundreds who simply wanted some fre ...

Russian Government Not Pleased With US Proposals On Missiles 2007-11-26 08:25:41 The Russian government continues to be upset at American plans to establish missile bases in the Czech Republic and Poland. Leonid Slutsky, of the State Duma’s International Affairs Committee, claimed that American proposals fell far short of “real cooperation” and would not lead Russia to abandon its threat of suspending a key provision of a European arms agreement. The Russian government believes the United States has gone back on its word to work out a true cooperative solution to the problem. This entire “problem” was created when the Bush administration decided there was need for missile bases in Poland and the Czech Republic to guard the world against some unknown entity that wanted to fire missiles in that direction. The only two logical nations who might fall into the category of the “enemy” are North Korea and Iran. North Korea has already reached agreements with the United States about its nuclear and missile programs and Iran doesn& ...

Mission Impossible For Mission Accomplished Man! 2007-11-26 08:12:19 Today marks the beginning of the Annapolis conference which supposedly will deal with issues related to resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict. After seven years of doing very little about this issue, President Bush is now claiming a great interest in resolving a complex problem. His failure to push hard on the Israel government in order to obtain an agreement regarding establishing key issues on the agenda or to clarify a timetable to attain goals has placed a damper on the meeting. The Saudi foreign minister has already indicated he won’t even shake the hands of Israel representatives. Part of the problem in accomplishing anything is the president’s lack of knowledge regarding historical developments in the region or understanding the desires and needs of Palestinian leaders. According to Flynt Everett, who was a key advisor to Condi Rice, he was at a 2002 meeting at which Bush stated that once Palestine had a democratic government its leaders would cease making a fuss ...

Japan’s Schools Falling Behind The Modern World 2007-11-26 07:53:41 In the world of globalization, businessmen must compete with their rivals on a world scale, and this attitude has even spread to universities in the United States and the European Union. However, Japan’s schools, particularly their universities, are falling behind and are in need of serious reform. The World University Rankings of major institutions that is issued by The Times Education Supplement only lists three Japanese universities among the world’s top 100. American universities constitute 11 of the top 20 and 33 of the entire 100. The TES rankings are based on the number of foreign teaching staff and students, the faculty-student ration, and citations of works published in academic journals. It is evident Japan’s universities make scant effort to recruit foreign faculty or students and their government places too many restrictions in the way of foreigners obtaining work permits in their nation. The historic Japanese quest to be self sufficient is now endangering ...

Pakistan Leader Returns Amidst Confusing Rumors 2007-11-26 07:41:40 Nawaz Sharif, the exiled Pakistan political leader, returned from his exile in Saudi Arabia where he has been living since forced to leave the nation in 2001. On his arrival, he discovered police had detained over 1,000 of his supporters on grounds they were merely trying to prevent problems from arising. Sharif has been telling the press that he intended to have his political party boycott the upcoming January elections due to the dictatorial behavior of President Musharraf who has declared martial law. During the past few years, Sharif has been living very comfortably in Saudi Arabia and rumors indicate some type of deal was made between Saudi officials and Musharraf. Pakistan is very dependent on Saudi oil as well as financial support, and experts suggest the Saudi government persuaded Sharif to take no part in the January election while making Musharraf allow him to return. Pakistan’s Chief Justice Abdul Hammeed Dogar has already stated Sharif is not able to stand for office ...

American Muslim Views Differ From European Muslim Views 2007-11-26 01:29:53 A recent study by the authoritative Pew Forum discovered Europe’s Muslims tend to be “markedly less well off thatn the general population” while most American Muslims, say “their communities are excellent or good places” to live; About 71% believe they can succeed in the United States by working hard and their income levels and number of college graduates match those of the general population. Sixty-three percent of American Muslims report no conflict between religious devotion and living in a modern society. An interesting facet of the study is that 53% of US Muslims think life is more difficult since 9/11, but they place fault in the Bush administration rather than neighbors. In fact, 71% say they have never experienced any discrimination and 85% believe suicide bombing is never justified. Unlike poor European Muslims who frequently become alienated, poor American Muslims rarely express alienation with living in the United States. America’s long hi ...

Al-Qaeda Leader Denounces Violence 2007-11-26 01:01:48 Sayed Eman,(also known as Dr. Fadl) the man who authored the blueprint for the armed struggle adopted by Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, this week renounced the use of violence and asked his comrades to “put an end to the bloodbath around the world.” Eman;’s Jihad, was among the most feared terrorist groups in Egypt and carried out the massacre of 58 tourists in 1997. Islamic lawyer, Montasser El Zayat, says “his revisions are the outcome of long years of reflection and debate.” it appears that even among those caught in a terrorist mode of behavior, some are beginning to examine the consequences for the Muslim people of strategies that invariably result in the death of innocent Muslim women, men, and children. Al-Qaeda, undoubtedly, will reject the ideas of men like Sayed Eman, but at least it offers the Muslim world alternative jurisprudence which regards violence as antithetical to the Muslim religion. Hopefully, others will commence the long road towards ...