The Arab American News
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MPAC applauds those who helped prevent attack
On Jan. 9 a Tampa, Fla., man was arrested on charges that he was planning an attack using guns and bombs on multiple locations. As in numerous previous cases, the suspect, Sami Osmakac, was apprehended following a tip from local Muslims.The Muslim Public Affairs Council commends the vigilance of citizens and public officials in their...Deportation of Detroit mom stopped by Feds after rally
DETROIT — A local woman who was scheduled to be deported was released by immigration officials after a rally urging the government to stop their plans.Leslie Hernandez was expected to be deported to Mexico before the decision was changed. She came to the U.S. as a child, has a clean record and three kids, and has lived in America...Activists hold “Free Syria” flash mob at local mall
PHOTO: Nafeh AbuNab/American Elite StudiosNOVI — About 50 Syrian American activists joined at Twelve Oaks Mall in Troy on Sunday, Jan. 7 for a flash mob-style demonstration for freedom for Syrians from the country's current regime.Demonstrators against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad held signs showing victims of the violence...
Detroit protesters join worldwide movement to close Guantanamo
January 12th, 20120 Hundreds imprisoned, likely tortured since 2002, facility still open despite only six convictions Protesters gathered on January 11, 2012 outside the McNamara Federal Building in downtown Detroit. DETROIT – Braving freezing temperatures and blustery winds, protesters joined a worldwide movement as part of the Wednesday, Jan. 11...
‘Marines urinating on Taliban’ video scandal sparks outrage
January 12th, 20120 WASHINGTON — The U.S. military on Thursday was investigating a "disgusting" online video purportedly showing Marines urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, a Pentagon spokesman said. The video shows what appears to be four servicemen, dressed in U.S. military uniform, relieving themselves onto three bloodied...Rally planned in solidarity with Egyptian Revolution
DETROIT - As part of the Occupy Detroit movement, a rally is scheduled to be held at Grand Circus Park in Detroit in solidarity with the Egyptian Revolution on January 25, the movement's one-year anniversary. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m. at Grand Circus Park in Detroit and will be followed by a march to the McNamara Federal...
Russian warships dock at Syria port as Arab observers stay put
January 12th, 20120 Russian warships led by the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov docked in the Syrian port of Tartous on Sunday, in what Syria's official news agency, SANA, considered a "show of solidarity" with the regime. Syrian Defense Minister Dawood Rajiha boarded the aircraft carrier, and lauded Russia's stance on the Syrian crisis that has largely...
Republican Snyder woos immigrants to refill depopulated Michigan
January 12th, 20120 LANSING (Bloomberg) — Michigan Governor Rick Snyder calls himself the most pro-immigration governor in the country, and he's out to prove it. The governor says immigrants should get green cards if they can pay $500,000 to start a business and create five jobs. The current requirement is $1 million and 10 jobs, or $500,000 in depressed...Iraq on the verge of plunging into a sectarian conflict
ISTANBUL — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on political and religious leaders in Iraq on Tuesday to stem sectarian tensions in the country."The last thing we want to see in Iraq is a fight between brothers," Erdogan said in televised remarks in a weekly address to his lawmakers in parliament. Iraqi policemen search...Mossad at it again? 4th Iranian nuclear scientist bombed
TEHRAN - Iran has accused Israel and the USA of assassinating an Iranian nuclear professor, pointing to a string of attacks against such scientists in the country.Both countries have denied the accusations, according to the AP.Iran's vice-president reacted to the attack by saying it would not stop "progress" in the country's nuclear...Report: Israeli warplane drops object near south Lebanon town
BEIRUT - Israeli warplanes dropped an unidentified object in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, Lebanon's official news agency reported, adding that Lebanese security forces were yet unable to ascertain the nature of the item.According to the Lebanese report, the Israeli Air Force jets dropped the object in a ravine running between the towns...
Israeli minister Lieberman: redraw map to oust Arabs
January 12th, 20120 JERUSALEM — Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman reiterated his call on Monday for some Arabs to be stripped of their Israeli citizenship and moved to a new Palestinian state as part of a final peace deal. A Palestinian protester stands in front of Israeli border police officers as they block the way outside the West Bank city of...Internet gambling could be legalized in Michigan
LANSING — The United States Justice Department recently reversed a prior decision and has legalized placing bets on the Internet. The 1961 Interstate Wire Act was reversed, meaning that online poker could be available at Detroit locations and Lotto tickets could soon be bought on the web. The Gov. Rick Snyder administration...On Jan. 20, take a stand against domestic violence
DEARBORN — Kendall thought she would never be able to survive on her own. Jeannie had to hide her bruises.Cattie's husband told her almost daily that she was "stupid" and "dumb." Those are some of the stories these former victims of domestic violence told The Arab American News for an article last fall.Kendall, Jeannie and Cattie are...
Azzam Elder files lawsuit against Ficano, two county commissioners
January 11th, 20120 DETROIT — Azzam Elder, the former Wayne County Deputy CEO is suing two county commissioners and the county’s executive Robert Ficano. Elder resigned from his position with the county in November following a controversial severance payment the county's chief economic development director Turkia Awada Mullin received after......
Foreign intervention would compromise Syrian opposition uprising
January 11th, 20120 The current presence of the Arab League in Syria is of little value. This regional body has minimum credibility and capacity to manage conflict. As the League proves it is unable to handle Syria, aggressive alternatives of external intervention are getting louder. The truth is that only Syrians can and should reform Syria. Through...Michigan swimmer Bachrouche Olympic-bound after record performances for Team Lebanon
At the conclusion of their college careers, many athletes ride off into the proverbial sunset, content to put their degrees to use and to hang up their cleats, or in the case of Katya Bachrouche, her swim cap. Above: Bachrouche is draped in the Lebanese flag at the Pan-Arab Games this past December. Bachrouche was able to join......
‘London River’ opening in Dearborn
‘London River,’ a film set against the backdrop of the July 7, 2005 attacks of London, opens in select theaters this month across the country. The film will make its way to Dearborn on Friday, January 13th, where audiences can witness a tail of two people coming together from different parts of the world and putting their differences...Listeria concerns lead to Green Cedar Dairy recall
DEARBORN — Two cheese products from the city's Green Cedar Dairy were recalled on Dec. 27 because of possible contamination by listeria bacteria. The affected products are All Natural Ackawi Cheese and All Natural Chives Cheese, with sell dates up to July 1 of this year. Two cases of exposure are currently being...Locally-sold and imported apricot candies from Baraka recalled
DEARBORN — Apricot candies made by the company Baraka and distributed through U.B.C. Food Distributors of Dearborn have been recalled because they have been found to contain undeclared sulfites as preservatives. The Lebanon-imported candies were found to contain high sulfite levels in a routine product sampling by the state of New...Arab League Syria suspension illegal under organization’s charter
Is the Arab League legally justified in suspending Syrian membership within the league in order to resolve this issue? —absolutely not. A clear violation of the Arab League Charter occurred when someone concocted the idea to “suspend” Syria from the League, which resulted, in essence in the quasi-expulsion of the Arab state.......
Civil rights leader Gordon Hirabayashi honored after recent passing
HirabayashiSAN FRANCISCO — Civil Rights hero Gordon Hirabayashi was honored by the Fred T. Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education along with various other Asian American organizations on January 3 after his passing on the previous day in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at the age of 93. Hirabayashi's former wife, Esther,...Military rulers clamp down on civil society
CAIRO (IPS) — Raids on the Cairo offices of civil society organizations accused of receiving unauthorized foreign funds are part of a wider campaign by Egypt’s ruling military council to silence its critics, say rights groups."The goal of this campaign is clear to everyone, which is gagging us from exposing the violations......
Crackpot anti-Islam activists, “Serial Fabricators” and the tale of Iran and 9/11
Behind a mysterious December 22 Associated Press story about "finding of fact" by a District judge in Manhattan Friday that Iran assisted al-Qaeda in the planning of the 9/11 attacks is a tapestry of recycled fabrications and distortions of fact from a bizarre cast of characters.The AP story offers no indication of the nature of the...
Obama signs indefinite detentions bill on New Year’s Eve as rights watchdogs plan counter-actions
January 8th, 20120 Rights advocates decry decision, work to restore liberties WASHINGTON — On December 31, 2011, while most Americans where preparing for dinner with friends or getting ready to celebrate the New Year, President Barack Obama signed the highly controversial National Defense Authorization Act into law despite an earlier White House threat......