Blog Title: The Impudent Observer - Global Liberal Issues

Canadian Union Leader Apologizes-Sort Of

Sid Ryan head of CUPE which is the largest union in Ontario apologized for comparing Israel bombing of academic institutions in Gaza to the actions of Nazism but did not back down from his outrageous demand that any Jewish or Israeli member of an academic institution must publicly condemn actions in Gaza by the Israel read more..

School Prayer Issue Arises In Denmark

Since the end of World War II, Europe has undergone a dramatic revolution in terms of religion and multi-cultural groups within society. It has also witnessed a dramatic decline in church attendance as a higher percent of the population, although Christian, do not wish religion to be part of public institutions. A public school in read more..

South Africa Confronts Xenophobic Hatred

The people of South Africa fought for creation of a society in which discrimination and inequality ended in order to establish a multi-racial nation in which equity for all individuals was respected. However, during the past several months there have been numerous attacks by South Africans against refugees from Zimbabwe and other African nations who read more..

Ways Of Death–Iraqi Suicide Bomber

This writer is not a devout religious person and therefore admits to a lack of understanding how individuals can kill others on the basis of religious differences, particularly, when the object of death is someone of your basic religious faith and nationality. A female suicide bomber was thwarted in her attempt in Iraq to blow read more..

Israel And Hamas “Welcome” A Cease Fire

Israel and Hamas both “welcomed”–but did not accept– an Egyptian-French plan for a cease fire agreement. The United States finally placed some pressure on Israel to agree to a cease fire as Secretary of State Condi Rice telephoned Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and urged an end to the fighting. However, Rice also added: “Our goal read more..

Sri Lanka Outlaws Tamil Rebels

Sri Lankan troops just won a major victory by seizing the Tamil rebel capital and being in a position to completely end the civil war which has raged for over two decades. Instead of using its position of power to offer conciliation to the Tamil, the Sri Lankan government decided on hard policy and officially read more..

Surprise! Pakistan Admits Mumbai Terrorist Pakistanis

After weeks of refusing to admit the attackers at Mumbai were from Pakistan, the Pakistani Minister of Information, Sherry Rehman, admitted the sole remaining survivor, Ajmal Kasab really came from their nation and not from Mars. The admittance followed public release of the dossier given Pakistan by the government of India. The 69 page report read more..

Ethiopian Troops Begin Leaving Somalia

Two years ago, George Bush exerted pressure on the government of Ethiopia to invade Somalia and crush an Islamic government which had obtained power in the dissolving nation of Somalia. The American media did not inform the public that US planes and warships played an active role assisting the invasion of a Muslim nation by read more..

Al-Qaeda Blames Obama For Gaza-What’s New?

Ayman al-Zawwahiri, the number two man in al-Qaeda blasted president elect Barack Obama for causing the current crisis in Gaza. He described Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “crusade against Islam and Muslims” and termed it “Obama’s gift to Israel.” He denounced Obama for pretending to offer new ideas concerning the Middle East when all read more..

Russia’s Gas Tanks Out For Europe

President Medvedev made clear that Russia would impose its will on the gas front by cutting supplies to Europe in order to force the Ukraine to pay market prices for the gas from his nation. He told Ukrainian leader Yushchenko that he was prepared to negotiate at any time, but insisted, “the price for the read more..

Canadian Union Leader Proposes Boycott Of Jews!

The president of the largest union in the province of Ontario is proposing boycotting Jews and Israelis who refuse to condemn the actions of Israel in bombing schools and other institutions in Gaza. According to Sid Ryan, “academic freedom goes both ways. What we are saying is if they want to remain silent and be read more..

CEASE FIRE NOW!

The Israel armed forces began its current offense with some justification for dealing with Hamas and the rocket attacks from Gaza, but recent events in which innocent men, women and children have been killed strips any form of legitimacy from Israel actions. The UN clearly identified a school as a site where civilians and children read more..

Australian Student Work Receives Millions From US

Student assignments from the University of Wollongong were used as part of scheme to deceive the United States government into believing it was funding futurist thinking. Dr. Masoud Samandi says he went to work for a high-tech company in Arizona– Materials and Electrochemical Research Corporation, and had false claims submitted to win research grants read more..

ACLU Wants Equal School Access

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing a North Carolina school district which refuses to allow their representatives to speak with students about alternatives to serving in the armed forces. In a sense, they want the right to offer counter-recruiting arguments that would persuade students not to accept ideas given them by recruiters for the read more..

Sudan Warns Of Bloodshed If Leader Indicted

Sudan’s government warned there would be violence if their president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir is indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court. Bashir has been accused of planning genocide in Darfur which he denies although the evidence is overwhelming that janjaweed forces have killed and raped their way through Darfur. The Sudan government said read more..

World Opinion Turns Against Israel

There are many people in Israel who still believe that George Bush was the best friend their nation ever had, and, most probably, this is among the problems facing Israel. Sometimes, one wonders if Israel leaders are in a competition to see who could do the best job of turning the world against their nation. read more..

Indonesian Government Turns Down Radicals

Calmer voices in the Indonesian government have rejected calls from Islamic militants for the dispatch of Indonesian troops to Gaza. The Foreign Ministry argued the last thing needed in the Middle East was for outside nations to become involved by sending troops to fight in a war that is rapidly getting out of hand. A read more..

Pakistan Is To Blame Says India Prime Minister!

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented some blunt comments to the government of Pakistan by refusing to mince words when he said its government must have had a role in the Mumbai terrorist attack by training those who carried out the operation. Although he stopped short of saying the prime minister of Pakistan either planned read more..

Does Government Require Religious Oaths?

Europe has an ancient heritage of Christianity being involved in government so it is not surprising that many nations still use religious centered oaths in order to swear in officials. Archbishop leronymos, head of the Church of Greece made an unusual suggestion by arguing that the taking of religious oaths by politicians should be abolished. read more..

British Fight In Afghanistan Is Bloody And Muddy

British troops were engaged for two weeks in a massive campaign in Afghanistan that ended on Christmas Day with four dead British soldiers and over a hundred members of the Taliban. About 1,500 troops were engaged in what was among the longest and most intense battles in Afghanistan in years. According to Captain David Glendenning, read more..

Indonesian Educators Fear New Law On Universities

A recent law passed by the Indonesian legislature has aroused considerable controversy among educators who fear the unstated implication would be to allow commercialization of higher education in the country. The law passed by the House of Representatives upheld the principles of autonomous campus management and allowed six state universities to raise and manage public read more..

Israel Doubts EU Can Solve Gaza Crisis

Israel officials expressed doubt the EU had any concrete proposal that would lead to an end of the bombing in Gaza. An official in the office of Prime Minister Olmert said his nation was not interested in EU monitors, but wanted an immediate end to rocket attacks and guarantees that smuggling of weapons into Gaza read more..

Turkish Rhetoric And Turkish Reality About Gaza

Turkey more than any nation in the Middle East plays an unusual role because it has friendly relations both with Israel and Palestinian organizations such as Fatah and Hamas. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the first time sharply criticized Israel actions in Gaza by stating it was creating a humanitarian crisis and urged a read more..

New CIA Head Has No Spy Experience-Good News?

Leon Paneta, former Clinton White House chief of staff, has been selected by Barack Obama to be the new head of the CIA. Paneta has no experience in the area of secret intelligence and many critics undoubtedly will denounce selecting such an individual to head America’s main spy agency. However, as one reviews the history read more..

Take Guantanamo Inmates Says UN

Manfred Nowak, the UN’s torture investigator, insisted on Monday that many being held in Guantanamo were there simply because they happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and had never been guilty of any crime other than being entrapped in the Bush mania to up figures on capturing “terrorists.” Nowak urged read more..

India To Pakistan-Here Is The Evidence-Act!

The Indian government for weeks has been engaging in rhetoric concerning terrorists who carried out the attacks on Mumbai, but it has finally decided to bring forth evidence to support its allegations. Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon turned over to Pakistani high commissioner, Shahid Malik evidence that Mumbai terrorists were trained in Pakistan and had connections read more..

Zimbabwe Enters Dangerous Season For Cholera Spread

The rainy season in Zimbabwe is just about to peak and there is extensive fear weather will play a vital role in the spread of cholera in the nation which now has infected over 30,000 people and killed about 1,600. The World Health Organization said infection is growing at an ever faster rate since the read more..

Pictures and Terrorism In The UK

He was a well known photographer in London who spent many hours taking pictures of the area around Elephant & Castle. He was regularly seen photographing an sketching scenes from the neighborhood, but to authorities, one can never be too careful when it comes to dealing with terrorism. As Reuben Powell describes the scene: “the read more..

Sarkozy Pushes For Cease Fire In Gaza

President Nicolas Sarkozy is leading international efforts to implement a cease fire in Gaza even as Israel soldiers move deeper into the Strip and Hamas rhetoric ever grows louder. While George Bush and Secretary of State Condi Rice remain secluded in Washington D.C.,. the French leader has spoken with Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak about how read more..

An Obama Elected Mayor Of Rotterdam

The spirit of Obama touched down in Rotterdam where a Moroccan immigrant was installed as mayor of the city marking the first time in the history of the Netherlands that an immigrant has been elected mayor of an important city in the nation. Mr. Ahmed Aboutalelb, who holds dual Moroccan-Dutch citizenship, was elected which marks read more..