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 57 8575

Articles from The Impudent Observer - Global Liberal Issues

What’s Wrong With George Bush Asks EU Environmental Leader? 2007-10-30 19:07:51 The European Union’s Commissioner for the Environment, Stavros Dimas was enthusiastic about the EU’s move to confront issues of emissions, but disappointed in the failure of George Bush and the United States to adopt a serious program on global warming. “We are placing out best bets on renewable energy,” said Dimas, “and we have committed to a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020,” As far as the United States is concerned, Dimas commented: “The United States is now the country with the world’s highest emissions of carbon dioxide and energy use continues to grow. The effects are devastating..And I don’t understand why the Bush administration still refuses to take the steps that are obvious to everyone. A more climate-neutral economy holds great promise, not just for the environment, . This is now clear to many US politicians.” Mr. Dimas is obviously unaware that President Bush has received information concerning gl ...

The Tangled Mess Of Sudan And Darfur 2007-10-30 11:35:42 The tangled mess of Darfur and Sudan continues with factions battling one another and themselves. UN - African Union, efforts to bring together various factions continue running into one obstacle after another as thousands die. The joint AU-UN team is trying to get people talking rather than fighting. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Army(SLA) are not only opposing one another but within their own ranks several factions have broken away to create independent power groups. JEM Chief Ahmed Tugod Lissan said if they want us to come to peace negotiations, they have to remove the other rebel factions. He also accused the UN and AU of siding with the Sudan government. Meanwhile, the SLA head Abdallah Yehya said he needed time to get things straightened out among the various factions within his own group before there could be meaningful dialogue. Some factions also object to having Libya be the site of meetings since they don’t trust its leader, Gadaffi. ...

Pakistan Suicide Bomber Misses Musharraf 2007-10-30 11:11:45 Pakistan police halted a suicide bomber less than a quarter of a mile from where President Musharraf was staying. As they approached the man, he panicked and tried running away, but when police got closer, he blew himself up. At least 8 were killed and 40 wounded, including police, women and children. Last week, Pakistan troops attacked a stronghold of a radical cleric in the northwestern district o Swat that resulted in at least a hundred being killed. President Musharraf is now living with the results of Pakistan policies for over a decade to support the Taliban in Afghanistan and encourage radical Islamic elements all over Asia. No doubt it is much easier initiating violence than turning off the spigot of bombing and death. Benazir Bhutto vowed to continue her campaign to regain the position of prime minister despite suicide attacks upon her by Islamic radicals. Sh insists a “democratic government is better equipped” to fight extremism than a semi-dictatorship such as th ...

We Need Peace Now Says Palestinian Leader 2007-10-30 09:11:49 President Mahmoud Abbas reiterated the need for achieving resolution of key issues at the upcoming Annapolis meeting if violence is to be averted in the Middle East. He identified a serious difference between his position and that of Israeli Prime Minister Olmert — he wants a detailed agenda working toward specific goals while Olmert prefers a vaguer document without a definite timetable. Abbas fears the outbreak of further violence in the region unless issues dividing the two groups are addressed and resolved. Veteran Palestinian lawmaker, Hanan Ashrawi gave a guest lecture at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in which she pleaded for dialogue between the opposing groups. She stated bluntly the need by Palestinians for achieving peace with Israel. ‘Violence and extreme ideology of Israel feeds violence and extremism on the other side. And that’s what led to the election of Hamas.” She said you can’t wait until “every single Palestinian becomes p ...

Iraq Warns Turkey About Invading Their Nation 2007-10-30 08:56:21 In an interview on BBC, Iraq Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari, said his nation would not accept a major Turkish invasion of its territory. He noted about 100,000 Turkish troops are massed on the border backed by planes and tanks and prepared to invade Iraq. He admitted the situation was serious, and was upset because the Turkish government had shown no concern about working with the Iraqi government to reduce tension. Zebari warned of “serious consequences” of a Turkish incursion onto the soil of Iraq. “That’s why the whole government of Iraq and the whole people of Iraq are united really not to see their sovereignty, their territorial integrity undermined by a friendly neighboring country.” One can only wonder if there is underlying fear on the part of Iraq that Turkey might use the excuse of terrorist attacks by the PKK as an excuse to gain control of large areas of Kurdistan, a nation whose existence offers hope to Kurds in the region for having their o ...

Saudi King Abdullah Lectures West On Terroism 2007-10-30 08:37:54 Robert Fist, writing in the British newspaper, The Independent, ripped into visiting King Abdullah as a hypocrite whose claims to fight terrorism can only be described as laughable. Saudi Arabia has been funding madrasas schools all over the world which preach hatred toward the west and modernism and educate children to be willing to die by becoming suicide bombers. The Saudi government funded and aided the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, and most of the 9/11 bombers came from Saudi Arabia, not Iraq. Yet the King claims his country is fighting terrorism. During the 1980, notes Fisk, it was Saudi Arabia which helped fund and provide equipment for Saddam when he invaded Iran and launched gas attacks– using components from America for the gas equipment– that killed thousands of Iranians. There were no protests either by Saudi Arabia or the Reagan administration in Washington D.C. It was Saudi Arabian religious scholars who backed the Taliban when they destroyed ancient Buddhist s ...

New Katrina Scandal Emerging In California Fire Fighting Fiasco 2007-10-30 08:11:40 In the midst of recent fires that swept California, President Bush pointed proudly to Republican Governor Arnold Schwarezenegger as an example of how tragedies could be avoided with proper leadership, a dig obviously directed toward the Democratic governor of Louisiana’s performance during the Hurricane Katrina fiasco. It now appears the Republican governor made numerous mistakes, as did the military, in providing assistance to those fighting fires. After 2003 fires, a commission set up by Governor Schwarzenegger urged purchasing more planes and working in close coordination with military air borne capabilities. The Associated Press reported that Marine, Navy and National Guard air planes and helicopters were not all available due to lack of personnel needed for use in getting the planes into the air. Two National Guard cargo planes lacked the right equipment to make them effective in fighting fires. After insisting for four days that winds were responsible for failure to get th ...

Campigan Has Begun–Smearing Hillary Clinton 2007-10-30 07:49:09 The 2008 presidential campaign has gotten off to the course most political experts expected would be taken– a smear campaign on YouTube directed against Hillary Clinton. Peter Paul, former supporter of Clinton, launched a vicious YouTube piece (produced with assistance of two men who created anti-Kerry smears in 2004) which depicts the senator as a power mad individual. According to Paul, “Her abuse of power as reflected in my case should make everybody pause about entrusting hr with the reins of power.” Mr. Paul is a convicted felon who is now awaiting sentencing on stock fraud about a company that Clinton refused to have anything to do with. The Paul video will be followed by many more such pieces in an effort to destroy the reputation of Hillary Clinton. Republicans will stoop to every and any form of smear campaigns in order to win because they lack a coherent program about Iraq, the economy, health care or how to aid our veterans. ...

VA Hospitals Forced To Turn Away Patients!! 2007-10-29 19:38:58 Two Tampa Bay veterans hospitals were forced to turn away ill patients because an overloaded system of care for our veterans prevented them from meeting the needs of those who have fought for their country. The James Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa and the Bay Pines VA medical Center in St. Petersburg are two of the busiest VA installations. Since 2000, Bay Pines has turned away patients about 13% of the time. Dr. George Van Buskkirk, chief of staff at Bay Pines, commented: “We’d rather send them out to a place that can take care of them than have them languish on a gurney in the hallway.” A veteran, Dick Shockey, 77, who was turned away expressed the view, “it doesn’t seem right that a veterans hospital can ever be filled up. But veterans end up with a big surprise.” There is no doubt a crisis exists in America about treatment of veterans and as those who served in Vietnam grow older the crisis will increase. President Bush frequently has charge ...

Kurds And Turks Battle– In Berlin, That Is! 2007-10-29 19:05:50 The simmering conflict between Turkey and Kurdistan erupted not in the mountainous areas of the Turkish-Kurdistan border, but on the streets of Berlin where factions representing each group came to blows. An anti-PKK(Kurdish Workers Party) demonstration degenerated into violence between young Turks and Kurds. By evening, a threatening mass of nationalist Turks had gathered around a Kurdish cultural center. Turkish marchers were waving banners attacking the PKK when they encountered Kurds who expressed their displeasure. “Soon bottles and stones were flying everywhere,” said a policeman resulting in injury to 18 police officers and the arrest of a dozen demonstrators. It appears the conflict on the border of Turkey-Kurdistan is now spilling over to the streets of Europe since thousands of immigrants from those areas are now living in Germany. The police, in particular, blame the “Gray Wolves,” the unofficial arm of what used to be the National Movement Party whic ...

Stop Whining Arab World, Says Lebanon Daily Star, Move Forward! 2007-10-29 18:45:33 In a biting editorial that pulled no punches, editors of the Lebanon Daily Star, said it’s time for the Arab world to cease complaining and assume responsibility for change. As one reviews the Middle East, the situation is a disaster. Egypt is ruled by an autocrat who throws people into jail for questioning his health or plans to install his son as the next leader of the nation, Algeria is again entering a civil war situation that already engulfs Iraq, Turkey is preparing an invasion of Kurdistan, Syria doesn’t know whether to remain in its state of inertia or join the path of economic development, Palestinians are attempting to have a united front in a nation divided into factions, Jordan is overwhelmed by Iraqi refugees, Somalia is in utter chaos and the world is well aware of the Sudan/Darfur disaster. What can be done? Two recent developments offer signs of moving ahead rather than remaining stuck in the quagmire of anger. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia is creating a b ...

Child Adoption Scandal Rocks France And Chad 2007-10-29 16:08:40 The French government is attempting to extricate itself from a growing fury in Africa over attempts by French citizens to adopt children from the nation of Chad. The French charity, Zoe’s Ark, was trying to fly 100 children out of the poverty of Chad to new homes in France. President Idris Deby Itno reacted with fury to the operation claiming the French were attempt to “kill them and remove their organs.” Nine French nationals including members of the charity organization, three journalists and Spanish flight crew members face charges of kidnapping. President Niclas Sarkozy telephoned the Chad leader to express his dismay over the botched operation, and said all involved would be subject to French law.Chad is an important link in UN troops fighting in Darfur and serves as transit point for supplies. Zoe’s Ark claims it was attempting to rescue children of Darfur refugees trapped in Chad from the horror of what awaits them in Darfur. France’s opposition le ...

Iran And Syria Back Turkey In Dispute With Iraq 2007-10-29 15:48:02 The foreign ministers of Iran and Syria announced their nations were completely behind Turkey in its dispute with Iraq over attacks by Kurdish rebels upon Turkish military forces. “Iran condemns,” said Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki, “use of northern Iraqi territory as a launch pad for terrorist operations against Turkey and is fully prepared to combat terrorism any place.” Mottaki and his Syrian counter part, Walid Moualem, both urged Iraq to cease aiding Kurdish rebels. They also confirmed Iran was building a pipeline to transport oil to both Syria and Turkey. Six years ago, George Bush initiated a war against Iraq that in in his mind would be over in a few weeks and then peace would reign in the Middle East. Little did he realize what a chain of reaction he was setting in place that six years late would witness growing cooperation between Turkey and Iran. Syria, Turkey, and Iran each contain a minority Kurdish population that might be attracted to the ide ...

Myanmar Activists Use Internet To Fight For Freedom 2007-10-29 15:29:53 The new world of Internet activism is being used by Burmese dissidents to fight Burma’s corrupt and oppressive military junta. A Tokyo based group of overseas Burmese belonging to Burma Democratic Union, is drawing upon telephone communication vie cell phones with their comrades in Myanmar to broadcast a true version of conditions in their nation. “This is an editor from ‘Maykha Internet Radio.’ Can I talk to you,?” asked Lay lay, one of the editors who was speaking to a spokesperson for the National League For Democracy in Burma. Each night the program provides interviews inter-mixed with hard news about conditions in their country. Hisao Tanabe, founder of the People’s Forum on Burma operating in Japan, notes how opposition organizations based in Japan are getting out information regarding what really is happening in Myanmar. These groups enable activists still in Burma to communicate reality since the military junta will not allow even the semblan ... Internet

Saudi King Claims Blair Knew About London Bombing! 2007-10-29 15:14:32 King Abdullah, making the first visit to England in twenty years by a Saudi ruler, created a storm of controversy by claiming he sent information to Prime Minister Tony Blair before the tragic July 7, 2007 bombing in London. “We have sent information to Great Britain before the terrorist attacks in Britain, but unfortunately no action was taken. And it may have been able to maybe avert the tragedy.” His rather dramatic comment raises questions as to why two years after the event this information is finally seeing the light of day. Some critics believe it is a pre-emptive strike by the Saudi King in order to divert attention from his own failures in extending human rights within the kingdom. Vince Cable, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, said he would boycott anything to do with King Abdullah due to the human rights failures in Saudi Arabia. We can expect in the coming years other claims that Blair or Bush ignored warnings about potential terrorist attacks. In some cases ...