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 0 110 8518

Articles from The Impudent Observer - Global Liberal Issues

South Africa Debates Corporal Punishment Bill 2007-10-22 23:14:30 The Global Initiative To End All Corporal Punishment Of Children urged the South African parliament to proceed with a bill which would initiate such a ban in the nation. It appears members of the ruling African National Congress party are against instituting a ban on corporal punishment. If South Africa passes such a law it would become the first African nation to end physical beatings of children. I have been in education for fifty years and taught over 12,000 teachers and 2,000 children. To beat a children in order to improve learning is the most certain way to ensure non-learning. To beat a child to ensure obedience is the surest way to create a disobedient child. To beat a child because teachers are unable to control emotions or frustrations invariably results in poor teaching because the teacher focuses on the child for failure to learn rather than to what is being taught and how it is being taught. Violence begets violence. Isn’t that the story of the 20th century and the o ...

Beijing: 20 Million By 2020 2007-10-22 22:55:18 China’s capital city is experiencing an ongoing population explosion which is expected to witness a rise from its present 15 million to 20 million by the year 2020. It is estimated by 2020, 12% of the population will consist of the elderly and 13% of young people. Although, Beijing records each year more deaths than births its population continues increasing due to an influx from rural areas. Next year’s Olympics will probably have the unintended effect of accelerating the arrival of new immigrants to Beijing. The rapid rise in population of Beijing has immense implications for water, food distribution, crime, etc.. within the city. The increase in elderly means medical facilities must be rapidly expanded and schools are facing the ongoing need to house hundreds of thousands of students. Is China capable of coping with all these problems? ...

Opium Or Jobs, We Prefer Jobs For Afghans Says Danish Leader 2007-10-22 18:14:11 Danish Defense Minister Saren Gade gave a blunt evaluation of military operations in Afghanistan which he claimed focused too much on the negative and ignored positive needs. He is particularly upset at having Danish troops stationed in a poppy growing area where they devote time to eradicating opium. “It doesn’t solve anything to burn poppy fields and blow up factories if there isn’t anything else from which the poor souls can survive.” Gade argues there is need for serious action such as massive economic assistance to Afghanistan and that money “has to come from the UN or the EU.” Gade makes a great deal of sense. The farmers of Afghanistan depend on poppy fields for economic survival. If western powers and the United States want an end to poppy fields there must be alternative economic avenues to offer the farmers. Rhetoric about harm caused by drugs will not fill the stomachs of Afghanistan children. It is fortunate someone like Gade is talking ...

New Polish Prime Minister Wants Troops Home From Iraq 2007-10-22 17:58:36 Donald Tusk won election as the new prime minister of Poland in a smashing victory over Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kacynski. The Civic Platform party headed by Tusk won 40% of the vote which translates into about 194 seats in parliament. Tusk has made clear he wants Polish troops returned from Poland and expects the United States to provide greater incentives to Poland for stationing their missiles in his country. The European Union will heave a sigh of relief getting rid of Prime Minister Kacyskinski who opposed the EU on a range of issues including wanting a death penalty, environment concerns, and his opposition to abortion. The Prime Minister has consistently differed with leadership and decision making processes within the European Union. It is good news that Poland is now more in accord with European Union views on a variety of issues. His insistence on withdrawing Polish troops simply means there is one more member of the “unwilling coalition” in Iraq. ...

US Postpones Middle Eastern Peace Conference to January 2007-10-22 16:57:04 The American sponsored Middle East peace conference has been postponed until January according to an informant at the State Department who spoke on conditions of anonymity. Secretary of State Rice has been telling people in the Middle East the conference would take place in November, but it appears differences between Israel and Palestinian leaders have thrown a road block in the plan. President Abbas, head of Palestinians, have been emphasizing the importance of a concrete agenda while Israeli leaders prefer a document which is vague in detail. Many Arab nations have been critical of the conference’s vagueness. Ironically, on her recent swing through the Middle East, Secretary Rice received encouraging support from most leaders. A snag continues to be Israel’s refusal to deal with “final status” issues and demands on the part of Arab leaders the time has come to address long term solutions. There is no doubt support for the conference has not been overwhelming ...

Lebanon Enslavement Of Foreign Workers 2007-10-22 16:40:45 The Middle East is now home to hundreds of thousands of foreign workers who have been brought in to handle the dirty jobs of modern life. Of the four million people in Lebanon, over 150,000 are foreign workers, many domestic servants brought in from places like the Philippines or Sri Lanka. Siriani, a Sri Lankan girl arrived nine years ago at the age of 20 and since that time has worked without pay or being able to leave the house while always under control of her employers. “I put up with it praying things to get better, but then I had enough. I had to run away or die.” Fortunately, the teenage son of her employers took pity and gave her some money so she could flee. The Catholic organization, Cavitas Lebanon offered her refuge. Cavitas estimates thousands of young girls like Siriani are physically and mentally abused by employers and many are sexually molested. This year four committed suicide. At present, there are no laws in Lebanon that protect the rights of foreign wo ...

Benazir Bhutto Demands Blast Investigation–But Blasted By Niece 2007-10-22 15:07:56 Benazir Bhutto lashed into the Pakistan government insisting there was need for an international body of experts to investigate the bombing which greeted her arrival back home after several years in exile. Her request reflected lack of trust in the integrity of the Musharraf government to conduct an unbiased study of the suicide bombings. Bhutto emphasized the bombings were really an attack against “the moderate majority of Pakistan.” There originally were many doubts regarding the feasibility of a Musharraf/Bhutto alliance, but the Bush administration made it an important goal for the future of Pakistan. One can only wonder if this incident dooms the alliance. Poet Fatima Bhutto, niece of Benazir, blamed her aunt for death and carnage because “she insisted on this grand show, she bears responsibility for these deaths and injuries… they died for this personal theater… Ms. Fatima Bhutto was not the only one who urged Mrs. Bhutto to avoid a grand parade si ...

Putin Tells Russian Spies To Help Russian Business 2007-10-22 14:26:22 President Vladmir Putin, who spent his early life as a member of the Russian secret policy, the KGB, told the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) among their priorities is ensuring the agency protects the interests of Russian business corporations abroad. Although, one of their goals is thwarting terrorism, Putin also noted the agency “must be able to swiftly and adequately evaluate changes in the international economic situation, understand the consequences for the economy, and, of course, it’s necessary to more actively protect the economic interests of companies abroad.” In plain English, the president of Russia is unleashing his spies to engage in some spying in other countries. This could entail stealing information from other companies, bribery, and other endeavors that wind up benefiting Russian businessmen. American and British intelligence sources are already uncovering evidence of Russian spy activities. Are we headed toward a new cold war only this time it w ...

“Mr. Hezbollah” Arranged Body Transfer Between Israel and Hezbollah 2007-10-22 09:27:10 Last week Israel completed secret negotiations with Hezbollah by arranging for the exchange of the body of a dead Israeli for the bodies of two Hezbollah militants and a prisoner. Prime Minister Olmert, who thus far has failed to retrieve two Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah, can now claim his first success in getting an exchange while Nasrallah, the Hezbollar leader, can now boast to the world he is willing to negotiate and compromise. The entire operation was the work of a secret German intelligence officer known simply as “Mr. Hezbollah,” who is a leading expert on the Middle East. He was asked by the UN and former Israel Shinn Beit operator, Ofer Dekel, to draw upon his contacts in Hezbollah to effectuate a transfer of bodies. Although, the incident involves a rather minor issue, it opens the door for potential negotiation between Israel and Hezbollah regarding more important issues. Once again, there is an example of negotiation instead of war as ways to handle ...

Does Anyone Know What Is Going On In Afghanistan? 2007-10-22 08:38:59 Olivia Ward, writing in the Toronto Star reports growing dissatisfaction with what is happening to Canadian soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. They constitute about 2,500 of the 41,000 troops who represent 37 nations that have sent troops to the nation. “The bad news,” she says, “is that it’s mostly a coalition of the unwilling.” Many countries have dispatched troops, but they are far from sufficient in numbers to really accomplish the goals of establishing stability and peace in the region. those on the front lines “call in vain for reinforcements” that will never arrived. According to University of Oxford strategist, Sibylle Schelpers, “bumping up troop levels won’t work. A coherent strategy is what is needed, and so far that is lacking.” As of this point in time, there is no long term plan for Afghanistan, no overall planning and coordination of troops, no common training programs, and no direction other than do the best yo ...

49 Militants Or Civilians Killed In Baghdad -Conflicting Reports 2007-10-22 08:19:29 The United States military claims it killed an estimated 49 militants during a dawn raid to capture an Iranian-linked militia chief in Baghdad’s Sadr City enclave, one of the highest tolls for a single operation since the famous surge began. However, Iraq police reported only 15 deaths and said they all were civilians, including three children. It is reported that Prime Minister Maliki met with the U.S. commander in Iraq in protest against the raid. The Associated Press showed photos of two toddlers lying dead on a morgue floor, their parents said they were killed when helicopter fire hit their house. A local resident said many of the dead were people sleeping on roofs to escape the heat of hot day. The American military insists there were no civilian casualties in a raid to capture a alleged rogue militia chief whose identity was not revealed any more than information if he was captured. American military sources insist “an estimated 49 criminals” were killed in rai ...

Turkey Girds For Action Against Kurdish Rebels In Iraq 2007-10-22 08:00:35 A high level summit was held last night in Turkey as its top leaders and military officials met to discuss a response to the latest Kurdish attack on Turkish forces. At least 12 turkish soldiers are dead and a reported ten have been taken as hostages by PKK rebels. According to Prme Minister Recep Erdogan, “we will make a decision at the end of our discussion about what sort of step we will take.” Although he said Turkey would act in a “cool manner,” the president made it clear whatever action is taken would not be influenced by what others feel regarding an attack across the border into Iraq. President Gul said Turkey “has no eye on Iraq territory but it is Turkey’s right to stop this as long as Iraq harbors terrorists.” The ironic aspect of the current Turkish-Kurdish controversy is that any Middle Eastern expert in 2003 knew an invasion of Iraq would result in establishment of a virtually independent Kurdistan and such a creation invariabl ...

Iran Larijani Resignation Setback For Resolving Nuclear Issues 2007-10-22 07:43:06 The sudden resignation of Ali Larijani as Iran’s front man in dealing with nuclear development has threatened to become a setback in efforts to achieve agreement between the UN and Iran. Larijani was a political opponent of President Ahmadinejad of Iran and more flexible in seeking resolution of the nuclear issues, but his replacement, Ali Jaill is a reputed hard liner. However, in a move to reassure Europeans there will be no changes in Iran’s policies, Ahmadinejad agreed to allow Larijani to meet with European Union representatives today. The European Union is offering Iran economic and technological incentives to suspend its uranium enrichment program. The situation was not helped by Vice President Dick Cheney’s weekend comment claiming Iran was a “growing obstacle to peace in the Middle East” and warned of consequences if it didn’t end its nuclear program. The situation is tense between the European Union and Iran and in the middle of negotiation ...

Abbas Urges Indonesian To Help In Attaining Peace With Hamas 2007-10-22 07:21:36 President Abbas of Palestine is currently on an Asian tour to round up support for the upcoming conference in Annapolis that will attempt to resolve Israel-Palestinian issues. He told the Indonesian government his Fatah organization was willing to resolve its own issues with Hamas and urged the Indonesian President to assist his efforts. “However, the Hamas carried out a coup d’etat against the legitimate government that could divide our unity and dissolve our efforts for peace.” Although, he believes Hamas has been a disruptive force, “we cannot move unless we work together.” There was some discussion in his meetings of having Indonesia, the largest Muslim nation in the world, take a role in peace negotiations. Peace needs the support of all nations of the world, but if Indonesia wants to play an active role in resolving the conflict it must first take the step of recognizing the existence of Israel. Refusing to recognize a country because of differing vi ...

Black Police Chief Urges Restrictions On Blacks 2007-10-21 22:07:03 Keith Jarrettt, President of the National Black Police Association of Britain, called today for an increases in halting and searching urban blacks in order to reduce crime. “From the return I am getting from a lot of black people,” he said, “they want to stop these killings, these knife criminals, and if it means their sons and daughters are going to be inconvenienced by being stopped by the police, so be it. I hope we are going down that road.” He believes there must be a more aggressive policy toward black young people if crime is to be reduced. There are several assumptions in Mr. Jarrett’s statement about reducing crime through means of the process of halting, searching, seizure and arrest. One, is that only potential “criminals” are the ones who are halted and searched. Two, that halting and searching people on the streets leads to lower crime rates. Three, that non-crminals who are halted on the streets and searched will be supportive of ...