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 59 8752

Articles from The Impudent Observer - Global Liberal Issues

Disappearance Of Israeli Peace Voices Damages Peace Endeavors 2007-11-23 08:10:31 There are several ignored sectors of Israeli society whose voices are now generally ignored when such ventures as the Annapolis conference emerge — the peace movement and Israeli Arab citizens. Left wing groups such as Labor, Meretz or the Arab political parties in Israel apparently are not able to come together and constitute a voice for peace and reconciliation with the Palestinian Authority. Labor MP Ophir Paz-Pines, noted that “instead of being a real step forward for the peace process, Annapolis has become a conference on the status quo.” Ophir-Pez took part in the Clinton Camp David summit which included Arafat and Barak and whose breakdown resulted in institution of the second intifada. One outcome of Arafat’s terrible mistake in walking away from peace and instituting violence has been to take the wind out of the Israel peace movement which has remained dormant these past seven years. MP Zehava Gal-On of Meretz says, “The Left is divided over how t ...

ASEAN– Toothless Tiger Of Asia 2007-11-23 07:53:03 In a biting sarcastic article appearing in the Bangkok Post, Achara Ashayagachat, decried his government’s willingness to go along with the Organization of South Eastern Nation’s decision to ignore human rights violations in Burma. Despite urging from UN leaders, such as special envoy Ibrahim Gambrari, the ASEAN meeting demonstrated “there was no unified voice and the leaders all succumbed to Burmese objection to any form of intervention.” The Philippines was the only government taking a firm stand in support of dissident rights and will refuse to sign the recent agreement until something is done to protect human rights in Myanmar. Unfortunately, the failure of ASEAN to take a stand means Burma’s generals “need not fear any interference from their neighbours should they again deal harshly with any future opposition.” He urges the incoming Thai government to stand up for the Burmese people. It’s encouraging to know there are voices in so ...

Is Nuclear Radiation As Dangerous As Thought? 2007-11-23 01:16:52 A European Union project being carried on by the GSF Research Center for Health and Environment has been examining radiation in several areas of Russia caused by discharge of hazardous wastes. The Southern Urals Radiation Research team is conducting extensive tests and reviewing death and health records of Russian workers exposed to high levels of radiation. They are reaching an unusual conclusion which will create considerable controversy within the scientific community and for those who oppose construction of nuclear plants. For example, in studying health records of Russian workers at a particular plant it was discovered of the 6,293 men in the study, only 301 died of lung cancer and of those only 100 died from exposure to radiation. They also found normal mortality rates among farm families who lived downstream from nuclear plants which discharged hazardous wastes into the rivers. The new study undoubtedly raises questions and issues which will excite or anger people. This writer l ...

Democratic Senate Iraq Plan Has Ambiguous Deadline 2007-11-23 01:15:53 Proposals emerging from Senate Democratic members are somewhat ambiguous regarding the exact nature of what is to be done concerning complete withdrawal of American forces from Iraq. The Democratic proposals ensure thousands of troops will remain for years in Iraq even though there is hope US forces can cease engaging in combat duties by December, 2008. Part of the difficulty in creating firm deadlines is the uncertainty as to how many logistical and intelligence personnel would be required to sustain those involved in combat operations. No one at this point in time knows if the current reduction in terrorist attacks reflects a momentary level or is it a long term end result of the surge? Are insurgents biding their time until American forces are reduced in number in order to resume large scale terrorist attacks. How many US soldiers will be needed in order to complete training of an Iraq army? As one who believed the Iraq war from day one was a mistake and who has opposed the disastr ...

Iraqi Militants Come From US Ally Nations 2007-11-23 01:01:54 Documents uncovered in an American raid on insurgent headquarters reveal that unlike claims by President Bush that Iran and Syria are major sources of militants, they come, for the most part, from countries allied with the United States. The information was obtained after US forces raided an insurgent base in northwest Iraq where written and computer data indicates 41% of insurgents came from Saudi Arabia and 18% from Libya, two nations working with the United States in the anti-terrorism battle. Of the 25,000 names only 11 were from Iran. Following are figures from the documents regarding place of origin of militants: Saudi Arabia—- 41% Libya —– 18% Yemen ——68 individuals Morocco ——64 individuals Tunisia —— 38 individuals Turkey —— 2 individuals During the past several months the Bush administration has attempted to frighten the American people by citing cla ...

Religious Bigotry In Turkey Forces Girls To Leave School 2007-11-22 10:15:58 The Islamic Justice and Development Party of Turkey has worked hard to avoid arousing fears of secular Turks they will impose Sharia law on the population. Unfortunately, at the lower levels of Turkish society that message has not gotten through to those in charge of schools. Four female students at a Turkish vocational school who were living in dormitories were forced to leave the school when teachers and dorm officials tried forcing the girls to adopt formal Muslim attire such as making them pray, and wear a headscarf. Turkish education authorities made clear no one could be forced to pray or fast or wear a headscarf and the incident would be investigated. The party of Prime Minister Erdogan and President Gul is trying very hard to avoid such situations because forcing females to wear a headscarf is as incorrect as forbidding women to wear one. Hopefully, this is a minor incident that will not occur in the future. ...

Former US Military Commander In Iraq Backs Troop Withdrawal 2007-11-22 10:01:36 Retired Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who commanded US forces in Iraq from 2003-2004, came out in support of Democratic congressional proposals for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. “The improvements in security produced by the courage and blood of our troops have not been matched by a willingness on the part of Iraqi leaders to make the hard choices necessary to bring peace to their country,” he told a radio audience. “There is no evidence,” he added, “that the Iraqis will choose to do so in the near future or that we have an ability for force that result.” He supported the House bill calling for a timetable on withdrawal of American forces from Iraq. General Sanchez made mistakes while leading American forces in Iraq which undoubtedly allows his critics to come down hard on these recent statements. But, General Sanchez, is also an example of someone who has learned from past failures and is willing to venture along new roads. Essentially, h ...

Senator Biden: What Does It Take For Bush To Grasp Reality! 2007-11-22 09:50:24 Foreign Relations chairman, Senator Joseph Biden, lashed out against President Bush’s latest statement in support of Musharraf in Pakistan when he said, “And I do believe he is going to end up getting Pakistan back on the road to democracy.” Biden asked: “What exactly would it take for the president to conclude Musharraf has crossed the line? Suspend the constitution? Impose emergency law? Beat up and jail his political opponents and human rights activists?” Of course, these are the very things Musharraf has done in Pakistan. The political opponents cited by Senator Biden are moving toward a boycott of the upcoming elections because it is doubtful that President Musharraf will actually allow a democratic process to unfold, despite Bush’s hopes. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Nawaz Sharif is urging Benazir Bhutto, to go along with her Pakistan People’s Party executive committee which voted for a boycott. Hopefully, the American public has ...

British Think Tank Claims Taliban Rule Half Of Afghanistan 2007-11-22 08:33:46 A new report by the Senlis Council of Great Britain charges that over half of Afghanistan is now essentially under the de facto control of the Taliban which uses sale of opium to fund its operations. The Afghanistan government denies the figure claiming it is widely exaggerated and that the vast majority of their nation is under its control. Senlis argues there are too few NATO troops and the ones in the country are widely dispersed which makes for difficulty in establishing firm control. Senlis claims that while NATO troops can defeat the Taliban in many battles, once their troops withdraw from an area, Taliban forces return. The 40,000 NATO force must at least be doubled in size to become effective. Senlis also noted that while billions of dollars have been spent on Afghanistan reconstruction, “as in Iraq, too much aid is absorbed by profits of companies and subcontractors on non-Afghan resources and on high expatriate salaries and living costs.” The Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld ...

Muslim Insurgency Continues In Thailand 2007-11-22 08:12:21 Four Thai officials were driving home after a typical day at work when their car was suddenly attacked by a band of of men driving on motorcycles. After the firing ceased all four officials lay dead. This was just another example of the type of killing that goes on and on in the three southern provinces of Thailand where 80% of the people are Muslim. Muslims live in a nation where the overwhelming majority of people are of the Buddhist faith and since the current insurgency began by Muslims on January 1 2004 when men raided an army base and got 300 weapons, over 2,500 people have been killed. Muslim insurgents in the area tend to focus on officials, military members and teachers in order to get across their demands. When police arrived on this latest example of murder, a bomb detonated. Muslims living in southern Thailand were once part of the nation of Pattani which was conquered by Buddhists in 1786 and incorporated into Thailand. The Thai government relies mainly on military action ... Thailand

It’s OK, Say China Officials About Three Gorges Dam 2007-11-22 07:55:40 Chinese officials are claiming there are no environmental problems connected with building the Three Gorges Dam even though environmentalists have noted miles of mud slides and considerable erosion around the dam. There is no question, Chinese officials feel very defensive over a project that so far has cost about $23 billion. As they claim no problems, people in the area are daily encountering problems due to building this huge project without adequate thought concerning what its impact will be on the local environment. Perhaps, one day, when China has a truly democratic government issues such as pollution and environment will be discussed in newspapers and on the media. Until then, we can expect nothing more than everything is OK in the Chinese nation. ...

Will Annapolis Be A Great Disappointment? 2007-11-21 16:58:55 The Lebanon Daily Star raises the question as to why did President Bush at this point in time propose the Annapolis conference when to all intensive purposes it is doomed to failure? The editor points out, “all of the principal actors are political weaklings at home, and the very purposes of the gathering” are confusing. The threat of a US-Iranian conflict and continual problems in Gaza hovers over the gathering. “Under these and several other limiting circumstances,” the editor notes, “it is difficult (if not impossible) to see how this effort to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can succeed where others– with better organization, stronger leadership, and more committed mediators– have failed.” Part of the problem that is identified by the newspaper arises from Bush’s miserable standing in the Middle East arising from the Iraq War fiasco. The trust level he has is limited. The newspaper challenges the ability or desire of Pr ...

Length Of Canadian Muslim Woman Skirt Issue On Job 2007-11-21 13:14:16 A Canadian woman of the Muslim faith was working at Pearson International Airport when confronted with an issue regarding the length of her skirt. Her position required wearing a uniform whose skirt reached to about her knees, but the woman refused to wear this garment on grounds it violated her Muslim dress code. She proceeded to wear a skirt that was in accordance with Muslim religious practice and was fired. A Canadian court ruled she should be reinstated and placed in an administrative position until authorities can clarify the nature of dress codes for personnel at Canadian airports. At first glance, this case is of relative minor importance, but it does raises questions regarding the extent to which religious belief can impact the manner in which one conducts a job. I was teaching at an urban college which had many Muslim students. Some of the females(about 40%) covered their faces which made it difficult to ascertain comprehension when either I or another student was talking. I ...

Bush Backs Musharraf As A Supporter Of Democracy! 2007-11-21 09:25:53 In a televised session with ABC news, President George Bush announced his continued support for embattled President Musharraf of Pakistan stating that he “has not crossed the line” and is “truly is somebody who believes in democracy.” Two weeks ago, the US State Department was warning Musharraf about their concerns about his violation of democracy. What exactly does it take before George Bush will take a stand for freedom and democracy in the world. Our president talks the fight but he certainly doesn’t walk the fight. Perhaps, Bush can tell leaders of Pakistan’s main parties who have been detained in their homes, deprived of access to the media, and banned from even participating in peaceful demonstrations why he regards Musharaf as a friend of democracy. Perhaps, Bush can explain away reports the Musharraf government is distributing in each parliamentary constituency about 25,000 ballots his supporters can use to ensure victory for the president. G ...

Student Power Emerging In Pakistan 2007-11-21 09:14:44 The Musharraf power grab continues although 3,416 detainees were finally released from jail. It is estimated at least over 2,000 others are still being detained. The ousted Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudhry’s house is still surrounded by over a 100 police making it difficult for anyone to see him. But, amidst these signs of control by the Musharraf government, a new vigorous student movement is beginning to demonstrate its power. Students at Punjab University are demanding the removal of favored Islamic student groups which are allowed to function while other student organizations are banned. The Islamic Jamaat-e-Islam bully boys have been using physical force to intimidate opposition students, but the entire student body is demanding they be compelled to end their intimidation tactics. The editors of The Lahore Times put it eloquently: “It is time to listen to the growing dissent in civil society. These are not acolytes of the seminaries ordered y their clerical leaders to ...