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

Russian Government Ends Terrorism Against Humanitarian Group 2007-11-04 22:16:30 The Prague based humanitarian organization -Clovek v tisni-People In Need, reclaimed the right to operate on Russian soil following a controversial two year ban. The NGO was prohibited from working in Russia two years ago when the Russian government charged it with aiding terrorism. Prior to the ban, People in Need worked on charitable projects including education and funding for small business operations in area close to where fighting was going on in Chechnya. They assisted many children who had been traumatized by the fighting and played an important role in helping people to return to their normal life style after many years coping with fighting and violence. The Russian government has been particularly upset at NGOs because they can not be controlled and function, in a sense, out of the scope of the increasingly authoritarian style of President Putin. An NGO must register and spend considerable time filling out paper work and abiding with provisions of Russian law. Vojtech Raiek o ...

Ugandan Version Of Guantanamo Bay Violation Of Human Rights! 2007-11-04 21:54:08 There was an interesting story in the East African Standard about the operation of justice in the country of Uganda that probably had George Bush happy. In 2004, sixteen people were arrested and charged with treason. Last November, the High Court of Uganda ordered their release, but within an hour, armed security agents surrounded the High Court and seized the sixteen men in order to prevent their release. In a move straight out of the Bush concept of justice, the men were taken before a General Court Martial and charged with unlawful possession of firearms and treason, tried and convicted. Fortunately, East Africa has an East African Court of Justice to which the men appealed. The Court ruled this week the men must be freed and paid compensation for their mistreatment. The Court was furious at the actions of the security personnel in entering court premises in order to arrest people and the concept that civilians can simultaneously be tried in civilian and military courts. It is welco ...

Hamas And Allies Will Hold Meeting In Damascus 2007-11-04 20:56:03 The Palestinian government of Mahmoud Abbas is attempting to persuade Syria’s president to cancel a proposed conference in Damascus of Arab groups. The so-called “national conference” is a Palestinian alternative to the upcoming Annapolis conference that Secretary of Rice has organized. Abbas fears such a conference would weaken his hand since it gives the image of a divided Palestinian leadership and others attending the Annapolis conference might question his right to negotiate for Palestinians. Participants will include Hamas and a number of other insurgent groups which believe the right of return can never be negotiated away. They fear Abbas will abandon the right of refugees to return in exchange for borders based on 1967 lines. It is expected that over 700 Arab intellectuals will be at Damascus. The proposed Damascus conference would never occur if Hamas had been included with the Palestinian membership attending the Annapolis meeting. By excluding Hamas it only ...

Michael Goodwin Defends Torture As American 2007-11-04 16:33:36 Political analyst Michael Goodwin attacked opponents of the Muskasey nomination for attorney general as taking positions that invariably assist the ideas of terrorists. “The demand is nonsense of the highest order, one that can only undermine the national effort in a time of war. Why should we spell out for our enemies, on TV no less, exactly how far interrogators can go?” Mr. Goodwin believes attacks on Mukasey about the waterboard technique of interrogation “reveals an utter lack of seriousness about the reality of the war.” He believes the real issue is not whether we should use waterboarding but should we be debating and explaining “every jot and title of our interrogation techniques” since we may be dealing with a “ticking bomb” scenario which requires getting tough with terrorists. Michael Goodwin trots out just about every argument in support of brutalizing those who become prisoners of America. Of course, neither he nor anyone su ...

Bill Richardson Calls For $15 Billion Plan To Aid Veterans 2007-11-04 08:13:50 Presidential candidate Bill Richardson proposed a $15.5 billion plan for military veterans that would cut their income taxes, provide health care and expand education benefits. The New Mexico governor would pay for the plan by expanding capital gains taxes. He noted the miserable conditions that were exposed in February at the Walter Reed Medical Center as an example of Bush administration failures to deal with needs of veterans. “Not every wound can be treated with bandages,” he said, “we have to have a national strategy and we don’t. We need to make mental health care a priority for veterans.” His plan includes a health care card entitling veterans to their choice of care when they cannot conveniently access Veterans Administration care. It also allows one year of comprehensive disability insurance for family members who have to leave work to care for a wounded veteran. Many decry the failure of the current Democratic controlled Congress to do anythin ...

Bike Revolution Sweeps Paris And Sweeps Away Pollution! 2007-11-04 08:02:20 A revolution in urban transportation is bringing joy to the thousands of Parisian commuters and tourists due to an innovative idea in using bikes as the mode of getting around France’s major city. It began on July 15 of this year due to an innovative idea by JCDecaux, the world’s second largest outdoor advertising company which came up with the idea of establishing 750 computer-aided bike sites(soon to be doubled to 1,460) all over Paris which allow people to rent a bike in order to go from one place to another. At present there are about 20,000 bikes which, on the average, are each used about 10 times a day. Tourists now have an inexpensive mode of travel to wander around Paris and enjoy fresh air as they zoom from place to place. Commuters can get to business appointments without spending sums on taxis. Each bike rents for $1.45 a day or $7.50 a week or $44 a year. There are reports London, Chicago, Moscow and other major cities throughout the world are investigating the ...

Turkish Soldiers Freed In Kurdistan 2007-11-04 07:44:33 In a bid to demonstrate cooperation with nations attending the International Conference in Ankara, the outlawed Kurdish group, the PKK, announced today there were freeing the eight Turkish soldiers who had been captured and held hostage. “At 7:30 a.m., the eight Turkish prisoners were delivered to a delegation from the Kurdish region, which also included members of the Democratic Security Party,” said PKK spokesperson Abdul Chudahi. Th freeing of the prisoners came as Iraq began to crack down on Kurdish groups which have been assisting the PKK in its militancy against Turkey. It is ironic that American Secretary of State Rice played a role in working with regional nations, including Iran, in this effort to ease tensions as 100,000 Turkish troops were massed on the border of Kurdistan. Instead of the normal Bush rhetoric about evil doers, Rice worked with evil doers in in order to lessen tension and achieve a compromise solution. There were no demands for “preconditio ...

Arrests Sweep Across Pakistan! 2007-11-04 01:29:33 The Pakistan daily, Dawn, termed President’s action of imposing a state of emergency “Musharraf’s Second Coup,” while the Daily Times said “It Is Martial Law.” Police and military fanned out across Pakistan to arrest opposition leaders and set up barriers to prevent entry into the Supreme Court or parliament. Hsma Jehagir, chair of Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission was arrested as were several key political opponents. Twelve of Pakistan’s Supreme Court members were sacked when they refused to go along with the state of emergency which they claim was unconstitutional. Benazir Bhutto returned to Karachi from her campaign and claimed Musharraf’s actions were “the blackest day in Pakistan’s history,” and that “the extremists need dictatorship and dictators need extremists.” ...

Musharraf Declares Martial Law! 2007-11-04 01:13:40 President Pervezz Musharraf decided on Saturday to impose a state of emergency on Pakistan. “I fear that if timely action is not taken then God forbid there is a threat to Pakistan’s sovereignty.” He immediately purged the Supreme Court which had been challenging his illegal actions and took action against lawyers who have been leading the opposition to his increasing authoritarian regime. Musharraf had been waiting for the Supreme Court to decide if his latest presidential victory was legal, but apparently he decided that was too risky so martial law, in effect, made the courts powerless to act. White House National Security Council spokesperson, Gordon Johnson, said the action was “very disappointing” and urged Musharraf to hold parliamentary elections in January. However, the Pentagon announced “the declaration does not impact our military support of Pakistan’s efforts in the war on terror.” Musharraf is using the Bush ploy of always ...

Bush Gives Green Light For Israel Attack On Gaza 2007-11-03 11:27:34 The United States has apparently given the green light for Israel forces to launch an attack on Gaza i order to wipe out smuggling efforts by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad. Defense Minister Ehud Barak discussed the plan with President Bush and key American officials. He has been meeting the past several days with Israel army leaders to review the scope and scale of the proposed operation. A major concern is the impact on the upcoming Annapolis meetings to discuss Middle Eastern issues and deal with ways to resolve the conflict between Israel and Palestinians. Israel forces recently uncovered several tunnels that were being used to transport war materials or serve as a way for people to be smuggled into Gaza. There is no doubt Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are obtaining rockets and other weapons through smuggling. At this point in time, Hamas is not being invited to the Annapolis meeting. Perhaps, Israel might consider the possibility of inviting Hamas to the meeting and having the smuggli ...

Noose Tightens Around Throats Of Burmese People 2007-11-03 08:25:44 The Burmese military junta is returning to its old stand by terrorist isolationist behavior by announcing the expulsion of Charles Petrie, the UN’s representative since 2003 in Myanmar. The junta was apparently upset at a recent UN statement denouncing the “deteriorating humanitarian situation” in their country. The government also announced it was cutting off communication by Internet users to international web sites in an effort to control information concerning their brutalization of the people of Burma. Ibrahm Gambari, the special UN representative who has been working with the Burmese military junta in an effort to mitigate their oppressive policies, is expected to arrive for a six day visit. The reality is that Gambari will be unable to exert any pressure on the Burmese military junta without the active support of China and India. These two nations have extensive economic connections with Myanmar and if they decide to exert pressure it will be felt by the milita ...

Anti-Immigrant Hysteria Sweeps Italy! 2007-11-03 08:02:26 Last week, an Italian woman was walking home when she was brutally attacked by a band of criminals who not only robbed her but left her dead body in a gully. The crime has aroused a fury of anger by Italians against their immigrant population which numbers nearly a million. Police swept through Roma immigrant camps, which are nothing more than shanties thrown together out of discarded wood and boxes. They demolished hundreds of these shanties and sent the immigrants to staging areas where they will be deported. A new law just passed by Italy’s parliament allows a local prefect to expel any European Union citizen is their actions constitute threaten “public security.” The law is now being enforced throughout Italy against Roma immigrants who historically have been hounded and persecuted wherever they attempt to live. Recent figures in London reveal that while the foreign immigrant population is 27% of the population, they only commit 20% of the crimes. Since arrival o ...

McCain Blasts Republican Rivals As Draft Dodgers 2007-11-03 07:42:03 Senator John McCain, who served in the military during the Vietnam War, criticized his Republican opponents for their failure to serve in the military. In discussion of issues such as torture, he said, “There’s a clear division between those who have a military background and experience in these issues and people like Giuliani, Romney and Thompson who didn’t–who chose to do other things when this nation was fighting its wars,” Mitt Romney responded that while he never served, he did service in private, public and nonprofit sectors which was “highly relevant to lead the nation at a time when we face such extraordinary challenges.” Rudy Giuliani continued praising himself for knowing more about fighting terrorism than anyone else because “I’ve faced crisis more than the other ones have.” McCain was angry that Rudy G. backed use of waterboarding during interrogations. Senator McCain pointed out that anyone who has served in t ...

China Gants Female College Students Sexual Rights 2007-11-03 07:20:33 The government of China, which has been very restrictive about the rights of pregnant females in college, announced new regulations which will protect them against being abused. Under a recent law, “Married student will be given free advice on reproductive sexual health and contraception, schools will cover part of the cost of antenatal and child care in accordance with relevant school rules, and female students will be entitled to maternity leave.” At present, female college students are frequently expelled if it is discovered they are pregnant. This is an excellent sign of growing maturity on the part of the Communist government regarding the rights of students. Hopefully, it will be followed by extending all aspects of human rights to the population. At least, it is a first step. ...

Patriot Act In Operation-Man Smeared By Angry In-Law! 2007-11-02 18:40:35 The effects of laws such as the Patriot Act were exemplified in a recent case in which an angry father-in-law told American authorities his son-in-law was a member of al-Qaeda. No sooner had the son-in-law arrived in the United States on a trip when he was pulled aside by armed security guards and taken to questioning where he was grilled about his religious and political views. After the interrogation he was thrown into a cell that he claimed was smeared with blood and excrement. About eleven hours after his ordeal, he was placed on a plane and sent back to Sweden. His father-in-law sent an email to the FBI that said: “He has probable connections to the Swedish branch of the Islamic network Al-Qaeda and is wel were exemplified in the case of a Swedish man whose angry father-in-law informed officials that he was a l known for statements encouraging the Muslim world to take revenge for American terror.” He also said his son-in-law’s attendance at the computer confer ...