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 58 8751

Articles from The Impudent Observer - Global Liberal Issues

Israel Cabinet Minister Urges Inviting Hamas 2007-10-24 08:23:24 Ami Ayalon, a minister in the Israel cabinet urged his nation’s leaders to invite Hamas to participate in the upcoming Annapolis conference because such “a call would cause Hamas to crumble ” due to the “internal struggles taking place within the group.” On Monday, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, raised Palestinian concerns that internal struggles within the Israel government were also an issue since there apparently wasn’t complete support for how to deal with the conference. “The Palestinian position is clear. We won’t go to the conference unless we reach an agreement with Israel on the final status issues and a clear timetable for the implementation of any agreement between the two parties.” In the meantime, President Shimon Peres told visiting Indonesian reporters “if everything goes well, it is actually possible to solve all the problems in two or three years.” it is clear the conference has yet to identify a pr ...

America’s Trillion Dollar Wars- Just Keep Counting That’s Not The Final Figure 2007-10-24 07:58:55 By the end of this fiscal year President George Bush would have requested $196 Billion for the wars in Iraq and afghanistan pushing total expenditures to about $806 Billion, a figure that is greater than the cost of fighting the Vietnam and Korean wars. However, that figure is not completely correct since interest payments will run another $1 Trillion. Some economists point out if the cost of veteran benefits, including disability costs, is added into the total we might even be envisioning a $3 Trillion final total for the Bush search for ever elusive WMD. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, noted that Bush vetoed a bill to provide medical care for children that would have cost the American government the equivalent of 40 days fighting in Iraq. As an aside, the record keeping of the State Department is so bumbled that it can not even account for the $1.2 Billion it paid DynCorp for its services in Iraq. President Bush had a wounded soldier by his side as he asked Congress for more mone ... America

War Chants Heard In Turkey As Diplomats Try For Peace 2007-10-24 07:43:21 Thousands of Turks marched through the streets of their nation shouting for war with Kurdish rebels even it if means invading Iraq. In the meantime, Turkish leaders were holding meetings in London, Washington, and Baghdad in a last minute effort to avert a new Iraq war. Prime Minister Erdogan told his counterpart, Gordon Brown, in London that an attack might come at “any time” unless the Iraq government was able to control Kurdish rebels of the PKK. Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan in Baghdad informed Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari that war was the last resort of his nation because, “we do not want to sacrifice our cultural and economic relations with Iraq for the sake of a terrorist organization.” Four years ago President Bush in his usual tough talking way persuaded the American Congress to allow an invasion of Iraq in search of WMD because diplomacy had failed. Today, more mature leaders like Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey are trying the ...

Chinese Students Heading To European Union Over USA 2007-10-24 07:25:06 An historic shift has already begun with over a 120,000 Chinese students this past year heading for education in European universities rather than take the more familiar route to the United States. The Patriot Act, and other restrictions caused by America’s fear of terrorism, have made the United States a less desirable destination for young Chinese students seeking higher education. The European Union launched a “Erasmus Mundes” program in 2004 which will have granted $327 million in grants to foreign students by 2009 in order to get them to attend EU institutions. Jan Figel, EU commissioner of Education notes: “When people speak of education,especially higher education, they often think of the US. But actually, universities in the EU are overall, the most attractive because they have a diversity of cultures and teaching methods.” The European Union this week will institute a “fast track” program enabling highly educated immigrants to quickly ...

Three Typical Days In Iraq’s Provinces — Mayhem 2007-10-23 20:58:06 The newspaper, Azzaman, over the past three days reported several stories about fighting and killing in Iraq cities far away from Baghdad. The American press focuses mainly on large cities and tends to ignore the situation in the provinces. In the cities of Diwaniya and Karabala, there has been virtually non-stop fighting between several different factions, none of which are connected to al-Qaeda although Bush insists that group is responsible for violence. Unauthorized gun men belonging to groups associated with the Shiite cleric, al Sadr engaged in fighting with unruly militants connected to the Supreme Islamic Iraq Council. In the midst of their fighting another group appeared on the scene which goes by the name of Kataib al-Hussein and no one is aware of connections between this new faction and any existing group. These fragments of stories continually appear in Iraq newspapers like Azzaman. Men are fighting for power or religious reasons or because they hate America or because i ...

Bush Plays Politics With Wounded Soldier Bill 2007-10-23 18:08:39 Democrats on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee sent a letter to President Bush asking him to cooperate with Congress in order to quickly pass a bill to assist those wounded in the Iraq war. Congress has almost completed work on the Wounded Warriors Act and is in the final stages of ironing out details causing many to be shocked that the president was now submitting a new bill dealing with wounded soldiers. Democrats fear Bush’s plan is complex and will tie up the committee into a new set of arguments and discussions. They are requesting the president to hold off on complex issues so that immediate needs of wounded soldiers can be handled in an expeditious manner. The Democrats agree his plan meets some of the ideas already incorporated into the Wounded Warriors Act, but expressed concern “about provisions of your bill that would provide a basis for drastic changes to VA’s disability compensation system.” Democrats made clear they would not allow the VA to u ...

“Allah Wants War” Shout Angry Turks 2007-10-23 17:17:43 Thousands of angry Turks marched along Istikal Caddesi, Independence Street, shouting for their government to strike hard at Kurdish rebels even if it means crossing the border into Iraq. The forces of jingoism have been unleashed by the latest assault on Turkish troops which left at least 12 dead and several missing. People from all backgrounds, car mechanics to students at Bilgi University, spoke of their frustration at failure of the Erdogan government to take decisive action against Kurdish rebels. Secretary of State Rice urged Prime Minister Erdogan to hold back on a step toward war, but Erdogan informed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, “we cannot wait forever, We have to make our own decisions.” And, if the decision is for war, the overwhelming majority of Turkish people will support the action. In the mean time, Kurdish people are daily encountering examples of hatred and bigotry once people learn of their background. During the past few years, the Islamic govern ...

Hizbullah Leader Nasrallah-Terrorist Or Politician? 2007-10-23 12:55:42 Zaher Mahruqi, writing in the Jerusalem Post, raises the question as to whether or not there has been a fundamental misunderstanding among Israelis about Hizbullah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. He notes Nasrallah’s comments after the Israel invasion of Lebanon which did not lead to recapture of Israeli soldiers and fierce fighting, “We did not think, even one percent, that the capture 9two soldiers) would lead to at this time and of this level. You ask us, if we had known that the operation would have led to such a war, would we have done it? I say no, absolutely not.” His comments shocked many Arab people who initially regarded him as a hero who had stood up to Israel. According to Mahruqi, Nasrallah was attempting to make the Lebanese people aware he did not wish further war or violence and wanted to play a role in creating a viable Lebanon. He understands the Lebanese people are sick and tired of war. Last week, Nasrallah agreed to an exchange of bodies with Is ...

Kurdish Rebels Promise Cease Fire Today 2007-10-23 12:25:50 Iraq’s esident, Jalal Talabani assured the world that Kurdish rebels were ready to end fighting in Turkey. “The PKK has decided to declare a ceasefire from their side tonight.” The United States has been urging the Iraq government to exert pressure on Kurdish rebels in order to end their incursions into Turkey. However, the Iraq government believes the problem of security within Iraq rests upon the shoulders of the U.S. military, not Iraq forces. A leading figure in Iraq’s defense ministry, Abdel Qader al-Obeidi, pointed out Iraq’s military was strained to the utmost and there simply were not enough troops available to handle Kurdish rebels in the north. He argued the United States military must take on that role and responsibility. In the meantime, the United States has been urging restraint on Turkey. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told Vecdi Gonul of Turkey’s defense ministry, “that lacking actionable intelligence for them to send a large ...

Putin System To Control Parliament Unfolds 2007-10-23 12:00:44 Russia will employ a new proportional system of voting which allows regional areas to have greater voice in the new parliament. A Russian province, in some cases, is as large geographically as a European nation so it is difficult for smaller parties to identify candidates who are known throughout the province. Putin’s United Russia party is already off and running with 600 candidates listed to run for positions. Putin controls the media which, in effect, makes for difficulty in opposition candidates gaining access to television and presenting their ideas to a wider audience. Putin has stacked the deck to ensure the United Russia party and candidates will be known to voters. Putin eliminated election of provincial governors which allowed him to name those officials. He is now having provincial governors listed as candidates for election to the Duma. Any governor who Putin doesn’t like is being “blacklisted” so his name will not appear on the list of candidates. R ...

Time Running Out In Burma 2007-10-23 08:57:10 As the days and weeks pass without any significant change in Burma prospects disappear for aiding the oppressed people of that nation. Michael Vatikotis, of the Asian Centre For Humanitarian Dialogue, says the recent announcement by the military junta of a constitutional committee which fails to include representatives of opposition parties indicates an attitude of proceeding as usual. Burma’s military leaders talk with UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari, shake their heads as though there is interest in what he urges, and after Gambari leaves, they go right back to the old ways of ignoring the world. ASEAN, the Association of Southeastern Nations, has been unable to come up with a joint approach that might combine a carrot-stick proposal to the junta. China and India which can exert pressure refuse to take any action that threatens their economic interests in Myanmar. According to Vtaikotis, if nothing concrete is proposed, “the generals in Burma will correctly conclude that they hav ...

Pedophiles Tend To Be Short Men-Huh? 2007-10-23 08:39:17 A new study by Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health reports that men who crave sex with pubescent teenagers are shorter and this might be linked to conditions in the womb. The study found men were 2 cm shorter than the average Canadian man who stands about five feet ten inches. Psychologist James Cantor claims being a pedophile is linked to biological conditions. “What’s important about the entire branch of research is that it demonstrates pretty conclusively that it is indeed about how the body grows and how the brain develops.” He admitted there are still people who actually believe feelings toward young children is a learned behavior. Cantor said the study at the Centre dealt with 250-300 men who are “suspected” of being pedophiles. By the way, pedophile are more likely to be left handed. In ancient Greece older men frequently had sexual interactions with younger boys, but Greek psychologists never made studies about short and tall men ...

All Unquiet Tuesday On The Baghdad Front 2007-10-23 08:09:18 It was another typical day in Iraq, the sun was shining and Apache attack helicopters were making their rounds checking on suspicious activities in the countryside. They spotted some men who they thought were planting roadside bombs, but before they could fire on them in the open fields, the men fled to nearby houses. The Apache helicopters opened fire blasting away at the houses. After the firing ceased, five of the men they thought were the roadside bombers lay dead along with six civilians while another five civilians were wounded. A spokesperson for the military said it was unclear exactly who the roadside bombers were, but it is believed they were among the dead. She expressed regret for the death of innocent civilians, but blamed their demise on the roadside bombers. As far as the story goes, the bombers never exploded their bombs so it is clear they were not responsible for the deaths of civilians. If five men ran into houses containing other men it is unclear how the military ...

Radical Health Proposal In England-Libertarian Paternalism! 2007-10-23 07:53:42 Is it time for radical new ideas about health? Is it time for government to take a more active role ensuring the health of its citizens? Professor Julian Le Grand, chair of Health England, told an audience about his new ideas to take a dramatic attack in dealing with health problems in England. His nation currently leads European Union nations with a 24.2% obesity rate. He came out for a vigorous program ensuing people exercised and a strategy to reduce smoking which still remains among the leading killers of people. Under his proposal, companies would be required to offer an “exercise hour” during working hours that enables people to engage in physical exercise programs. He also proposes requiring individuals who wish to smoke to purchase a “smoking license” each year -perhaps even requiring a doctor’s signature -that would be produced when purchasing cigarettes. Le Grand argues for a form of “libertarian paternalism” in which government tak ... Health

President Abbas Accepts Two State Solution 2007-10-23 07:33:49 President Mahmoud Abbas told Indonesian journalists during his visit to their nation of his willingness to accept the idea of Israel and to work toward creation of two states. In effect, he agreed Israel exists and that Palestinians can live in peace with an independent Israel. “We are committed to this vision, and we want the two states solution. We have two Jerusalems –the west and the east. We recognize that the west is Israel, but they should accept that east Jerusalem is an occupied territory and should be free as our capital.” Abbas believes this solution can be negotiated at the upcoming Annapolis conference with or without the presence and cooperation of Hamas. For years, Israeli leaders have been claiming no Arab leader accepts their existence so how is it possible to negotiate for peace. President Abbas has openly stated Palestinian acceptance of the existence of an independent Israel. Undoubtedly, some Israel leaders will argue that Arafat made such stateme ... President