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

Families Suffer Aiding Wounded Soldiers 2007-09-19 09:12:52 Sarah Wade told a congressional committee that she was fired from her restaurant job because she continually had to take time off to get her wounded husband to Walter Reed hospital for needed medical treatment. He lost an arm and suffered multiple injuries due to a road mine explosion and now must get ongoing assistance at Walter Reed hospital. Mrs. Wade was fired by her employer because she continually had to take time off for hospital visits. “The long term financial challenges,” she told members of Congress, “faced by the care providers of our severely injured service members are daunting.” The current Family and Medical Leave Act provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave for those facing medical emergencies. This story illustrates some of the aftermath effects of the Bush war in Iraq. Mrs. Wade is entitled to more than 12 or 24 weeks of unpaid family leave, she is entitled to financial assistance so she can help her injured husband without having to work. President ...

Condi Rice Promises No Photo-Op Approach To Palestinian Issues 2007-09-19 08:59:52 Israel’s security cabinet declared Gaza an “enemy entity” as Secretary of State Condi Rice flew to the Middle East for a 24 hour engagement with serious issues. Hamas responded to the Israel statement with “It is a declaration of war and continues the criminal terrorist Zionist actions against our people.” Rice in conversations with reporters on the plane carrying her to the Middle East assured them there would not be a photo-op approach to her efforts to reconcile issues between Israel and the Palestinians. Each day rockets fly from Gaza into Israel and now the Israeli government is considering cutting off fuel and water in order to halt these attacks. Hamas is responding with brave words of defiance while the Palestinian government is demanding some concrete action in order to show all Palestinians that peace is possible. For some reason, the American Secretary of State actually believes she can do something significant in a 24 hour time period to deal w ...

Does Iraq Require A National Union Dictatorship? 2007-09-19 08:46:00 Georges Malbrunot, writing in Le Figaro, argues the Iraq situation has become so completely disorganized that it might require the emergence of a national union dictatorship in order to extract the situation from the current mess. He praises the American military for shifting its emphasis to working with tribal groups and engaging in projects that focus on meeting local needs. “However, these praiseworthy intentions could prove insufficient unless the state leadership sets an example of coexistence.” Unfortunately, there is scant evidence the Mailiki government seeks to reach out to Sunnis in a spirit of conciliation and cooperation. A diplomat noted, “The Maliki cabinet is a government without troops.” According to the World Bank, about 70% of government employees never show up for work and the other 30% come in for a few days a week. Alexandra de Hoop Scheffer, an expert on Iraq, puts it this way, “The Americans are the prisoners of their own original si ...

Lawyer Shortage Plagues Japan 2007-09-19 08:22:47 Japan is facing a severe shortage of lawyers which increasingly makes for difficulty in providing poor people access to qualified legal assistance when charged with crimes. At present, the entire nation of Japan only has 23,100 lawyers and half of them reside in the city of Tokyo. Many areas of the nation have a single lawyer to handle cases for thousands of people. The Japanese Federation of Bar Associations is introducing a new project to train lawyers and get them to live in areas outside of Tokyo. One might suspect there are more lawyers in Washington D.C. than in the entire nation of Japan. The real question is whether this is good or bad for society. However, there is no doubt thousands of innocent people in Japan lack access to basic legal advice when charged with crimes. ...

Honor Killing Sends Grandma To Jail 2007-09-19 08:11:30 A 70 year old grandmother in England was sentenced to a 20 year term in jail for ordering the murder of her daughter-in-law who she claimed had been guilty of adultery. Bachan Athwai arranged for her brother to strangle Surjit Athwai and then dump her body in a river. Ms. Athwai was on a trip [...] ...

Honor Killing Sends Grandma To Jail 2007-09-19 08:10:59 A 70 year old grandmother in England was sentenced to a 20 year term in jail for ordering the murder of her daughter-in-law who she claimed had been guilty of adultery. Bachan Athwai arranged for her brother to strangle Surjit Athwai and then dump her body in a river. Ms. Athwai was on a trip back to India with her mother-in-law when she mysteriously disappeared. Her children were told she had run away with a man and all traces of her existence whether pictures of writing were destroyed. The judge told the murderers, “The pair of you decided that the so-called honour of your family members was worth more than the life of this young woman.” The judge is correct, it is “so-called honour” which impels people to brutalize or murder someone who they claim has violated some aspect of family or religious traditions. In this case, Ms. Athwai was murdered because she apparently had a mind of her own and was attempting to stand up for her rights. Her mother-in-law believe ...

Norwegian Foreign Minister Urges Anti-Nuclear Activism 2007-09-18 19:48:07 Jonas Store, Foreign Minister of Norway, urged people to resume ant-nuclear activism in order to counter the ever increasing threat of nuclear proliferation. He warned against allowing developing nations to acquire nuclear weapons and he also raise questions about nuclear activities within the United States and Great Britain. There are reports both nations are modernizing their nuclear capacities. The summer issue of Atlantic carried a powerful article describing how American military strategists have developed plans for nuclear attacks upon China that would result in almost 95% of China’s nuclear capacity being rendered useless within 24 hours. Iran is not the only nation that should raise concerns about atomic bombs. ...

Russia Denounces Threat Of War Against Iran 2007-09-18 19:28:15 Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Losyukov in an interview with Vremya Novostei warned that “bombing of Iran would be a bad move that would end with catastrophic consequences.” He stressed the use of force would only “worsen the situation in the Middle east” and “bring a very negative reaction from the Muslim world.” The deputy Foreign Minister also indicated Russia is preparing contingency plans in case of war to evacuate Russian personnel currently in Iran who are working at nuclear facilities. The “catastrophic consequences” mentioned by Losyukov are rarely discussed by those urging bombing of Iran. Exactly what do they believe Iran will do after being bombed? Obviously, riots and demonstrations would break out all over the Muslim world and another 30,000 terrorist recruits would flock to give their lives in the name of defending the Muslim world against western aggression. ...

French Prime Minister Contradicts President Sarkozy On Iran 2007-09-18 16:27:22 During the past forty eight hours, statements by President Sarkozy of France and its Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner have suggested the possibility of engaging in war with Iran. Today, France’s Prime Minister, Francois Fillon, argued against even thinking about war with Iran. “Everything must be done to avoid wars.. France’s role is to lead towards a peaceful solution of a situation that could be extremely dangerous for the rest of the world.” His words were echoed by Mohamed El Baradel, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who said “we need to be cool and not hype the Iranian issue.” It becomes increasingly clear President Sarkozy of France is a European version of George Bush. He runs around saying wild things in order to come across as tough. Sarkozy reportedly offered to provide Germany with atomic weapons only to be firmly rebuffed by Chancellor Merkel. Today, Martin Jaeger, speaking for Germany’s Foreign Ministry said diplom ... French  President

Mexican Oil Pipelines Blown Up 2007-09-18 13:20:49 For the second time in a month, saboteurs blew up sections of the Premex oil pipeline resulting in many factories forced to suspend operations. The explosions took place in the provinces of Veracruz and Tlaxcala where members of the People’s Revolutionary Army (EPR) carried out the raids. They announced the destruction of pipelines was part of their “national campaign of harassment” against the federal government. America continues debating issues related to Mexican immigrants while failing to address more important needs –how to stimulate the Mexican economy in order to produce jobs and meaningful living standards for its inhabitants. ...

Mubarak Cracks Down On Muslim Brotherhood 2007-09-18 13:10:53 The Egyptian government has banned the annual social gathering of members of the Muslim Brotherhood as part of an escalating effort to destroy opposing voices. Hundreds of members of the organization have been arrested in the past few months as Mubarak demonstrated his authority. In 2005, the Muslim Brotherhood won 25% of the vote for Parliament, but Mubarak doesn’t agree with their ideas. Last week, four editors were sentenced to one year prison terms for defaming President Mubarak. One had the nerve to write that 79 year-old Mubarak might be in poor health. Unemployment is rampant in Egypt, particularly for college graduates. In an effort to deal with the problem, the Mubarak government announced a new employment initiative. College graduates will be hired to push around carts and distribute bread to the poor. ...

Hamas Appoints Female Police Officers In Gaza 2007-09-18 12:52:45 In a sharp break with such conservative Islamic nations like Saudi Arabia, women have been appointed to the police force in the Gaza Strip. According to Susan Aqal, who has legal training, “We’re treated very well within our brotherhood. I work here in the compound and deal with criminals directly. I interrogate men as well as women.” Armin Nawfal, head of the police points out “Females can’t be touched by a man, therefore we need women police. That’s proof we are a lawful country and not an Islamic state. It doesn’t violate Sharia law either.” Ironically, American allies like Saudi Arabia treat women as second class citizens, but the supposed “radical” Hamas offers them equal opportunities with men. Hamas is not the fundamentalist Islamic group the Bush administration has been attempting to sell. ...

Israel Prime Minister Popularity Rises After Syrian Raids 2007-09-18 08:30:03 Prime Minister Olmert’s rating in Israel jumped from 25% to 35% after he ordered an attack on certain targets in Syria. There is a news blackout on anything to do with the raid and reports range from its target being a “nuclear facility’ in Syria to Iranian arms headed toward Hizbullah forces in Lebanon. Yesterday, Prime Minister Olmert said Israel was always ready to engage in peace negotiations with Syria if the conditions were so as to ensure success in such discussions. It is difficult to imagine if a nation seeks peace negotiations that its prelude is launching an air strike at the nation which it seeks to negotiate important issues. I suspect Olmert was using the air strike for his own political purposes. The prime minister has yet to demonstrate a commitment to peace in the region. ...

Japan Parliament Urged To Support Afghanistan Mission 2007-09-18 08:19:49 Ambassadors from ten nations will conduct a joint briefing session for the Japanese parliament in an effort to persuade the Diet to continue Japan’s support for the war in Afghanistan. They will emphasize the important role Japan is playing in fighting terrorism and the need for Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force to continue its operations in the Indian Ocean. The Japanese government supports this effort but the opposition Democratic Party, which now controls the upper house of the Diet, is firmly opposed to such anti-terrorism activities and wants Japan out of the fighting in Afghanistan. The Japanese people are still living with the legacy of World War II which caused tremendous death and destruction to the nation. Some Japanese regard being involved in fighting in Afghanistan as a violation of the constitution written in post World War II years which forbid military action. ...

North Korea Denies Being In Syria 2007-09-18 08:09:17 The Foreign Ministry of North Korea issued a strong denial of having engaged in any nuclear discussions or providing nuclear materials to Syria. It said North Korea had promised to be a “responsible nuclear weapons state” and is carrying out that pledge. It said the Syria stories were “nothing but a clumsy plot” fabricated by “dishonest forces” which seek to undermine the nuclear agreements North Korea has made with the United States and other nations. Is there a possibility that for one time North Korea is telling the truth? We have grown accustomed to repeated lies from the North Korean government so if they actually tell the truth it becomes difficult to accept that version of reality. Are there “dishonest forces” which seek to create problems, and, if so, who are those forces? ...