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 0 468 7488

Articles from The Impudent Observer - Global Liberal Issues

Neo-Nazi Groups More Violent In Sweden 2008-02-11 01:49:24 The Swedish neo-Nazi movement gained ground in 2007 due to increased activities. The three largest neo-Nazi groups were active in 19 out of Sweden’s 21 counties including extensive activity in Stockholm. Sweden’s Security Service estimates there were 1,142 incidents in 2007 which was much more than in previous years. Of these, 60% involved propaganda, 30% related to acts of vandalism, 4.5% dealt with meetings and concerts, and 3.5% was highlighted by public demonstrations. Figures like the above can reveal evidence of the growth of neo-Nazism or it can simply be indicative that in any society there are always fringe groups which preach hatred and violence. Except for one manslaughter incident none of the assaults resulted in death to anyone. Most probably the neo-Nazi groups of today are directing their anger toward immigrants to Sweden from Muslim areas of the world. In that respect, they are symbolic of widespread feelings in Europe toward Muslim immigrants. ...

Religious Freedom Victories In Egypt! 2008-02-11 01:29:30 Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court issued two decisions which strengthen the right to freedom of religion in their nation. In one ruling, the Court upheld the right of Coptic Chrisitians who had converted to the Muslim religion to change their mind and have their Christian identify listed on identify cards which are extremely important in Egypt for virtually any official document. Mamdouh Nakhla, a human rights activist said: “This opens the door of hope to hundreds of Copts.” In another decision, the Court ruled that members of the Bahai faith had the right to leave blank the indication of one’s religious faith which is required on official documents. At present, the only religions officially recognized in Egtypt are Christians, Jews, and Muslims. The only current way Bashais can got to school is to lie and say they are Christian or Muslim. At first, these decisions appear to benefit Bahais and Christians, but there is a darker side to the problem. A Christia ...

A Funny Thing Happened On Road To Burma Election…. 2008-02-11 01:23:01 The militay junta of Myamar which enjoys complete control of the nation has announced there will be a general election in 2010 as well as an oppourtunity to vote for a new constitution. Ordinarily, on the road to an election, there are competing parties which offer their ideas and candidates, but that is not exactly what will happen in Burma. As Australia’s Foreign Minister, Stephen Smith, noted about the election: “We’re frankly very skeptical, we’re not persuaded this is anything more than a cynical sham.” Japan has tried hard to engage leaders of the military junta which runs the country, and it also expressed concerns about the announcement saying while they praised the desire for an election, “however, the process does not allow participation by Aung San Suu Kyi and other (opposition) parties.” Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party merely commented the “announcement is vague, incomplete and strange.” The junta slipped into ...

Scientology Faces World Wide Protests 2008-02-11 01:17:51 A few hundred protestors will descend on Toronto and a few dozen other cities in order to express their anger at the Church of Scientology. the movement is either an adolescent Internet prank or the real feelings of thousands of young people against a church which has come under fire from many sectors due to its religious beliefs. The cyber activists are being told, “Bring your warm clothes..Do not bring your weapons, or your stupid rowdy troublemaking ass.”Anons, a network of peaceful opponents of the Chruch of Scientology has arranged these protests to occur in several cities. Many were sparked by the Tom Cruise video in which the movie star goes on about how Scientology represents “the authoritities on getting people off drugs” and rehabilitating criminals. Mark Bunker, a TV journalist who was critical of the Scientology movement, urged peaceful protest. He was subject to Scientology demonstrators picketing his home and holding up signs, “Mark Bunker is ...

Let Them Speak Turkish-Then German, Says Erdogan! 2008-02-11 01:16:09 Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan during a trip to Germany urged the nation’s Chancellor, to create Turkish medium high schools and universities which would deal with education issues related to the 2.7 Turkish immigrants in Germany. Erdogan argued if an individual was first fluent in the Turkish language it would be easier for that person to learn German. “The German government should have no problem with that, whatever needs to be done for integration, should be done.” He also wants German high schools to hire more Turkish teachers who he believes will do better with German-Turkish students. Chancellor Merkel’s initial reaction was one of surprise and she noted that a good teacher should be able to interact with any child. Prime Minister Erdogan was visiting Germany in connection with a recent fire in Ludwigshaven which some Turkish immigrants claim was caused by neo-Nazi elements. So far, no evidence of arson has been uncovered. It is interesting that Prime Mi ...

Israel Warns Palestinians To End Rocket Attacks 2008-02-11 01:14:43 Israel warned the Palestinian Authority there would be no independent Palestinian nation unless the rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip come to an end. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, said, “There is no hope for any kind of peace or the vision of the Palestinian state which includes the Gaza Strip without real change on the ground.” Prime Minister Olmert, refused to respond to angry calls for action against the Kassam rockets and urged calm. “We need to act in a methodical and organized fashion” rather than allow emotions to take over. It is pleasantly surprising that Olmert is remaining calm in the face of those seeking revenge. Interior Minister Meier Sheetrit, said an entire Gaza neighborhood should be wiped out so “those in Gaza will understand that we are serious.” The rhetoric of violence plays to powerful emotions but leads nowhere. A mistake was made by the Bush administration in not having Hamas at the Annapolis conference where they would have ...

Scientology Faces World Wide Protests 2008-02-11 01:12:25 A few hundred protestors will descend on Toronto and a few dozen other cities in order to express their anger at the Church of Scientology. the movement is either an adolescent Internet prank or the real feelings of thousands of young people against a church which has come under fire from many sectors due to its religious beliefs. the cybe activists are being told, “Bring your warm clothes..Do not bring your weapons, or your stupid rowdy troublemaqking ass.”Anons, a network of peaceful opponents of the Chruch of Scientology has arranged these protests to occur in several cities. Many were sparked by the Tom Cruise video in which the movie star goes on about how Scientology represents “the authorities on getting people off drugs” and rehabilitating criminals. Mark Bunker, a TV journalist who was critical of the Scientology movement, urged peaceful protest. He was subject to Scientology demonstrators picketing his home and holding up sighs, “Mark Bunker is a ...

Euro Soars In Value-Dollar Goes Down! 2008-02-11 01:10:38 OPEC’s Secretary-General, Abdullah al-Badri, told the Middle East Economic Digest, there is a strong possibility the price of oil will switch from being pegged with dollars to the euro being the hallmark of how oil prices are determined. “Maybe we can price the oil in the euro. It can be done, but it will take time.” He admitted OPEC was under great pressure from nations like Venezuela to make the switch since the decline of the dollar is impacting their wealth. “In oil exchanges in New York, Singapore or Dubai, you can see the currency is the euro or the yen,” he said. It took two world wars and about fifty years to enshrine the dollar as the method of pricing the price of oil. The value of the dollar has declined 44% against the euro within a decade, and this concerns oil producers. They hesitate at this point to make switch due to fear a drop in the price of the dollar would impact their trillions invested in the United States. George Bush ran his cam ...

Obama Sweeps Ahead -Also In Delegate Count 2008-02-11 01:10:17 The ever chugging train of Barack Obama continued puffing along as the Illinois Senator swept through three more states on his road to the Democratic convention. He gained an easy victory over Clinton in Nebraska by 68% to 32% and in Washington by 68% to 31% while his margin of victory in Louisiana was 57% to 37%. It is expected he will do well in Maine and should easily gain victory in Tuesday’s eelction in Washington D.C. was well as in Maryland and Viginia. An interesting facet of his victories is the manner in which his name brings out more voters, there were twice as many voting in Nebraska this year as in 2004. The latest AP count indicates Obama may be slightly ahead in delegate support. Some Democratic analysts worry the Clinton-Obama struggle will undermine their chances for victory in November. They express concern over expenditue of money, time, and energy while John McCain can sit calmly by and work at raising funds. We beg to differ with this view. Obama and Clinton ...

Muslim Arranged Marriage Questioned In UK 2008-02-11 01:09:07 A few days after the Archbishop of Canterbury urged the people of Great Britain to allow sharia law to serve as a legal process for Muslims in the nation, the nation was shocked by revelation of a sharia decision that validated a forced marriage. Three senior judges will be asked to support or reject a lower court decision which invalidated a sharia marriage. A 26 year-old man with learning disabilities was married to a woman in Bangladesh over the telephone. His family asked the Appeals Court to set aside a lower court decision which demed the marriage illegal since it is ’so offensive to the conscience of the English” legal system. Perhaps, the Archlbishop of Canterbury might dismiss this example of a forced marriage as the exception to the rule, but this is a blatant example of two people being forced into a marriage against their will. The Archbishop forgets that sharia law was made by men to support the rights of men, not women. In too many cases decided by sharia cou ...

Nobody Asked Me But, 2008-02-09 11:47:05 Each week, this blog reviews the world through the lens of some personal observations on life and people. There is nothing factual in these comments, only my own musings. Why is it if a police car is behind me, I immediately believe they will stop me? Do you ever wonder if there were no Jews in the world, who would conspiracy theorists blame for this planet’s problems? I love Farmer Markets. The fruits and vegetables are fresh and they are inexpensive. Mitt Romney reminds me of the cheerleader attempting to arouse the crowd in the fourth quarter when his team is losing 35-0. There is an old saying about the evil men do lives on after them. It’s not the evil they do that bothers me so much as being around when they do it. I am most bothered in life meeting children in whom empathy is a stranger. John McCain reminds me of a warm and friendly doctor. But, I sure as heck don’t want him operating on my body. I find ironic the venomous anger by some people towards Hillary C ...

Kenya Moves Towards Peace Settlement 2008-02-09 11:29:22 Former UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, apparently has been able to get both political parties engaged in a dispute over the recent presidential elections, to come togther in a spirit of problem solving. President Kibaki and the opposition Orange Democratic Movement, have agreed there must be a negotiated settlement. Annan said: “We all agreed that a political settlement is neceessary.” There is some talk, Raila Odinga of the ODM, will be given a role in the government, but these details have yet to be completely resolved. As Annan noted: “These things always begin with intransigence. They will have to shift.” The obvious major issue is how much power will President Kibaki agree to share. He already has backed down from telling the ODM to take their complaints to a court. There is increasing evidence Kibaki’s blatant vote stealing was used as a pretext by tribal groups to deal with old grievances that date back to colonial and post colonial events. Over ...

Indonesian Magazine Accused Of Blasphemy 2008-02-09 10:58:50 The Indonesian magazine, Tempo, is in hot water with some Christian youth for its latest cover. The Alliance of Christian Students claims Tempo is guilty of blasphemy and wants the government to prosecute it under Article 156 of the Criminal Code which makes criminal public defamation, hostility and hatred toward religions. The cover draws upon Leonardo de Vinci’s “The Last Supper” only it now depicts the former Indonesian ruler Soeharto eating supper with his four children. This is another of those examples of people getting hot under te collar over nothing. There is no visual or written evidence of anything anti-Christian, but, apparently, the students believe using a famous portrait for your own satirical purposes somehow constitutes being blasphemous. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church accepted the magazine’s apology and considers the entire matter much ado about nothing. I would imagine the only person who has a complaint in the matter is Leonardo da Vinc ...

Iran Government Worries About Animated Film 2008-02-09 10:39:31 Iran is suffering difficult economic times with high unemployment and falure to meet energy requirements, but a major concern of the government is what to do about a new animated film named “Persepolis.” An official of the IRID and a prominent film critic will offer a public showing of the film in order to determine if it is suitable for national distribution. The film won a prize at the Cannes film festival and depicts the story of an Iranian girl growing up during the last days of the Shah’s regime and the opening years of the Islamic official. The government fears the film offers an “unrealistically bleak image of Iran.” Actually, the real bleakness of Iran stems from the need of government officials to review animated films in search of evidence someone doesn’t actually believe everything is wonderful under the rule of Muslim clerics. ... Film

Palestinians Say Israel Not Serious About Peace 2008-02-09 09:03:12 A senior official in the Palestinian Authority told the Arab newspaper, Al Quds, that “final status talks between the Israel and Palestinian negotiating teams have reached a standstill due to Israel stubborness.” He feared Israel was not demonstrating sufficient flexibility and blamed it partially on the weak bargaining position of Israel Foreign Minister Livni. He noted: “Livni appears like someone who is incapable of taking any stance since she is worried about facing a backlash from government ministers who oppose the negotiations.” The Palestinian Authority Minister for Prisoner Affairs chimed in with complaints about blockades, checkpoints, and continuing settlements on the West Bank as factors hindering reaching any type of peace settlement. Ironically, in Gaza, Hamas is now issuing warnings to Egypt and threatening to kidnap Egyptian soldiers unless their prisoners are relased by Egyptian authorities. Kassam rockets continue landing in Israel and it is me ...