The Arab American News
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Miss USA contestant has community backing in Vegas
LAS VEGAS — When the brights lights and cameras turn on for Sunday night's opening dance number at the 2010 Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas, 51 contestants from across the country will be on full display in front of millions of people on NBC at 7 p.m. Rima Fakih being crowned Miss Michigan in Port Huron in 2009.But what many TV viewers...Celebrity visits Dearborn, dines at Habib’s
DEARBORN — The movie company Mandalay Productions was in Dearborn from Monday, May 3 to Wednesday, May 5 filming scenes from the movie “Salvation Boulevard” starring former James Bond title character actor Pierce Brosnan as well as Ed Harris.Brosnan stopped at Habib's Restaurant on Michigan Avenue during a break in the filming...
Blacks, Arab Americans support each other as NAACP observes 101 years of activism
May 13th, 20100 Local Arab American activist Zohair Alawie (far left), AAPAC VP Nabih Ayad, NAACP Detroit Executive Director Heaster Wheeler, The Arab American News Publisher Osama Siblani, NAACP Detroit President Rev. Wendell Anthony, and ADC-MI Regional Director Imad Hamad pose at the NAACP's annual dinner at Cobo...
Groups meet to address youth violence
May 13th, 20100 DETROIT — The American Bar Association Coalition on Racial and Ethnic Justice held a town hall meeting at the Youthville Detroit complex on Monday, May 3 with the goal of bringing together various community and government leaders to discuss ways to curb youth violence, especially from teens. Judge Dennis Archer keynoted the...Unity or annihilation — the real choice for the Palestinians (again)
With Israel seriously considering how best to destroy Hamas (and Hizbullah and possibly Iran) and bolster the stooge leadership of Fatah's Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian friends have been asking me what I think the Palestinians could and should now do to improve their prospects for obtaining an acceptable amount of justice. A Palestinian...Young Lebanese demonstrate for secularism in Beirut
BEIRUT — "Sectarianism kills" and "We are for civil marriage, not civil war" read the colorful banners at a protest in the center of Beirut.Hundreds of young Lebanese gathered to march for secularism in a country that lives under a deeply divisive sectarian system.Being Lebanese in Lebanon comes second to being a Christian or a Muslim,...
Funny or not, South Park writers have rights
May 2nd, 20100 When the network Comedy Central altered an episode of South Park without consulting the writers because the previous night's show had elicited warnings from an alleged Muslim extremist group, we think they made a mistake. We also think it's time for all Muslims to recognize this: The restrictions and prohibitions in Islam are for...
Iran a threat? I mean, really?
May 2nd, 20100 With all the current hype about the "threat" from Iran, it is time to review the record - and especially the significant bits and pieces that find neither ink nor air in our Israel-friendly, Fawning Corporate Media (FCM). First, on the chance you missed it, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said publicly that Iran "doesn't directly...
Arizona is messing with the Constitution
May 2nd, 20100 Last week, the elected Republican members of the State Government of Arizona declared their support for an awful, dangerous and probably unconstitutional bill signed by Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer that would make illegal immigration a state crime and empower local and state law enforcement to ask people (read: Latinos and dark-skinned...Israel’s security lies in regional peace
Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu on March 22 defiantly declared to the world that: "there will be no freeze on construction in Jerusalem. Everyone knows it." An enduring occupation requires a high level of arrogance and a poker face in rationalization of injustice. The international community is well aware that Israel may have...Hookah lounge owners unify, weigh options for May 1 smoking ban
About 50 hookah café, restaurant, and bar owners gathered at Greenfield Manor in Dearborn April 26 to discuss their next course of action in relation to Michigan's May 1 smoking ban, which could have a disastrous affect on their businesses. About 50 hookah business owners attended the meeting, but many of them are still...Detroit panel discussion attacks mortgage fraud crisis
With the problem of mortgage fraud exacerbating the current and ongoing housing crisis in America, the need for immediate solutions has come to the forefront both locally and nationally. On Friday, April 23 at the Theodore Levin U.S. District Federal Courthouse in Detroit, a diverse group of panelists shared their insight on mortgage...Helping the dreams of Palestinian children
Islamic Relief USA hosted a fundraising dinner entitled "A Night for the Love of Palestine" on Friday, April 23, 2009, raising an estimated $170,000 to be used for critical supplies for families. Egyptian actress and humanitarian worker Hanan Turk served as keynote speaker for the event. Photo: Nafeh Abunab Well-known Egyptian...Census to begin door-to-door work
DETROIT - Beginning May 1, the U.S. Census Bureau will launch Non-Response Follow-Up (NRFU) operations in which census takers will go door-to-door to collect information from households that did not return their census forms by mail. Residents from the local community have been hired as census takers to complete this important...ACC chosen for summer program
LATHRUP VILLAGE - The Arab American Chaldean Council's Summer Program recently received a boost thanks to a campaign run by the Detroit Free Press. The ACC's Summer Program was selected for the Free Press' 2010 Summer Dreams Campaign, which will allow donations beginning May 9th to the ACC summer camp program to be matched......
Dearborn Stars set to open new season
The Dearborn Stars soccer club held a kick-off dinner at the Lebanese American Heritage Club on Wednesday, April 28 with a new season in the Michigan Premier Soccer League's First Division set to begin on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Stars will play the Italian American Cultural Association team at San Marino field in Warren. This year,...BDS Movement grows despite UC-Berkeley divestment veto
After a 16-4 original vote by student senators for divestment from two companies (General Electric and United Technologies) that are allegedly providing military technologies to Israel that were used in alleged war crimes, the University of California-Berkeley’s student senate seemed on its way to passing a historic bill. But a March......
WSU awards diversity in journalism
April 26th, 20100 As a pioneering female reporter who happened to be the daughter of Lebanese immigrants in the white male-dominated realm of White House correspondents, Helen Thomas broke journalistic barriers and advanced diversity in the field. The Arab American News Publisher, Osama Siblani, accepts his award.Thomas became the first woman to...Groups challenge U.S. airport body scanners
NEW YORK (IPS) — More than 30 privacy and civil liberties organizations have filed a formal petition with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), urging the federal agency to shut down the use of "full body scanners" (FBS) at the nation's airports. At a press conference, Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy...U.S. image brightens overseas
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Global perceptions of the U.S. have improved over the past year but ratings of many other countries, including Britain, Japan, Canada and the European Union, have declined over the same period, according to a poll released Sunday. The BBC survey, conducted by GlobeScan/PIPA across 28 countries, found that the U.S. is...
Bad faith in the Holy City
April 25th, 20100 The Israeli government's announcement in March that it would further expand East Jerusalem settlements was just the latest in a decades-old series of calculated slights to the United States. Israeli Arabs and other supporters march during a protest to mark the right of return for refugees who fled their homes during the 1948 war that......
Army disinvites Graham to Pentagon Prayer Day, cites anti-Muslim rhetoric
April 25th, 20100 WASHINGTON — Evangelist Franklin Graham's invitation to speak at a Pentagon prayer service has been rescinded because his comments about Islam were inappropriate, the Army said Thursday. Franklin GrahamGraham, the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, in 2001 described Islam as evil. More recently, he has said he finds Islam...
Arizona at epicenter of divisive U.S. immigration debate
April 25th, 20100 PHOENIX, Arizona (IPS) — Protests and acts of civil disobedience are taking place in Arizona as it becomes the main battleground in a divisive struggle over illegal immigration. Protesters march in front of the Arizona House building where legislators were meeting Tuesday. Photo: APNew legislation, which was sent to the governor on......
France to ban full Islamic veil from public spaces
WASHINGTON - The Lebanese group Hizbullah has most likely acquired Scud missiles and improved its rocket-firing technology, a top U.S. senator warned Tuesday. Senate Intelligence Committee chair Dianne Feinstein"I believe there is a likelihood that there are Scuds that Hizbullah has in Lebanon. A high likelihood," Senate Intelligence...Women make progress but honor killings persist
AMMAN (IPS) — Earlier this month here, a 33-year-old man was charged with hammering his wife to death and dumping her body on the highway leading to the Queen Alia International Airport. The husband confessed to murdering her ''to defend his honor," as she was meeting a male friend.Also this month local newspapers ran a story about a......