The Arab American News
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Film producers seeking Arab American actors for ‘Detroit Unleaded’
February 21st, 20100 A film production company is seeking Arab American actors for the upcoming full-length film "Detroit Unleaded." Local filmmaker Rola Nashef premiered the original short-film version of Detroit Unleaded in 2007. The film garnered international attention and was screened at 23 festivals, winning three awards for "Best Short Film"...U.S. starts normalization processwith Damascus in earnest
WASHINGTON (IPS) — After months of delay, the administration of President Barack Obama is taking major steps to engage the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as part of a broader regional strategy designed in major part to isolate Iran, escalate the fight against al Qaeda and other radical Sunni groups, and encourage peace...Young Western Muslims fight misperceptions
NEW YORK (IPS) — Islamophobia is rising in the West, and sectarian clashes have undermined unity in the Muslim world, but there is hope from within, says a group of young Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLTs) working to address the problems. MLTs speak at the 2006 Copenhagen forum. "There is a lot of misinformation out...Nasrallah throws down the gauntlet
(UPI) — Amid growing fears of another Middle East war, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah has thrown down the gauntlet for Israel by vowing to hammer Ben-Gurion Airport if Beirut's Rafiq Hariri International is hit, as it was in their last conflict in 2006. Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters listen to their leader Sayyed Hassan...Hariri rally ‘marks March 14’s end’
A rally on Sunday marking the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Rafiq al-Hariri, a former Lebanese prime minister, was partly staged to revitalize the waning Lebanese anti-Syrian front, but its conflicting political speeches all but officially declared the end of the March 14 coalition. Lebanese supporters of...
Frail boy-king Tut died from malaria, broken leg
February 20th, 20100 CAIRO — Egypt's famed King Tutankhamun suffered from a cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane, and died from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria, according to the most extensive study ever of his more than 3,300-year-old mummy. The findings were from two years of DNA testing and CT...Scandals, assassination plan rock Palestinian Authority
RAMALLAH (IPS) - The Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah is fighting a tidal wave of fresh allegations, including sexual harassment, an internal power struggle and embezzlement. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) speaks to the media after a cabinet meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah February 15, 2010. Abbas...
Europeans press Israel over Dubai killing row
February 20th, 20100 Interpol, the international police agency, has placed 11 members of an alleged hit squad suspected of assassinating Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas commander, at a luxury Dubai hotel last month, on its most-wanted list. The suspects: (From left to right, top row): Evan Dennings (Irish), Gail Folliard (Irish), James Leonard...
Scholars protest full-body scanners
February 20th, 20100 A national group of Muslim scholars last week issued a statement declaring the use of new airport security full-body scanners in violation of religious virtues. A computer screen shows a scan of a security official in a RapiScan full-body scanner being trialed at Manchester Airport in Manchester, northern England January 7,...
U.S. wins six medals, three gold in one day
February 20th, 20100 VANCOUVER — Lindsey Vonn struck gold for the United States this week, surviving a crash course in downhill skiing to beat compatriot Julia Mancuso to give the USA a 1-2 finish in an opening women's Alpine race on an icy course that contributed to a string of wipe-outs. Lindsey Vonn of the U.S. reacts after crossing the finish...
Sayed headed for the Big House
February 20th, 20100 DEARBORN — As one of the most successful sports programs in the state's history, Fordson High School has sent players from many positions to play in college. Sayed (with football) capped off one of the best receiving careers in Fordson history this past week as he agreed to become a preferred walk-on for the University...
Boxing their way to the top
February 20th, 20100 A poster being spread around town by promoters DEARBORN — Knockout Fight Promotions will continue its tour of Dearborn on Saturday, Feb. 27 at Fordson High School in an event designed to showcase the famous Kronk Gym's best young Arab American boxing talent. Tickets for the event are just ten dollars and VIP tickets are also...Breathing life into the moribund peace process
Peace prospects in the Middle East are bleak. Deeply troubling is Israel's gradual transformation in attitude toward the occupation of Palestinian territories seized after the 1967 war. The incremental change has been from discomfort of being an occupier to perfect ease of being the legitimate proprietor of territory that had been...
AAPAC elects new officers
February 20th, 20100 The Arab American Political Action Committee on Wednesday elected a new president and shook up other leadership positions in the group that vets, endorses and supports candidates in local and national elections. AAPAC President Mariam Saad Bazzi Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Mariam Saad Bazzi became the group’s new...
The Tea Party movement frightens me
February 20th, 20100 Last weekend, when Washington was being hit by its worst-ever snow storm, the Tea Party Movement was holding its first national meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. With nothing else to do, and unable to travel, I watched parts of their convention on television and became quite concerned by what I saw and heard. After reviewing two sets of......
NY Times’ Ethan Bronner should be reassigned
The fact that the son of The New York Times' Jerusalem bureau chief Ethan Bronner is serving in the Israeli military has highlighted an issue that should have been in the spotlight long ago. Ali Abunimah makes some important points about the NYT’s coverage of the Middle East on the Mondoweiss site. Although the paper has a Palestinian...Top 10 novels set in the Arab world
The Arab literary world and Western publishing don't cross over much. The literature of the Arab world is largely unknown in the West, and even Westerners who write about Arabs are sometimes seen as fringe, cult writers. That comes at a cost to the West, because literature could be such an important bridge between two cultures so much at......
Get back to healthy nutrition basics
(ARA) — Even the healthiest eaters have their weaknesses — those foods that make them "splurge," ignoring calorie counts and fat grams. It's an easy trap to fall into; we're surrounded every day by foods that taste good and inspire cravings. The problem is that when you splurge too much, it can start to affect your health....
Clinton hails Yemen ceasefire, but aid concerns remain
February 20th, 20100 WASHINGTON (IPS) — The ceasefire announced late last week between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels in the northern part of the country is being greeted here as an important initial step toward stabilizing the Arab world's poorest country and reversing advances by al Qaeda's affiliate there. People walk outside the...BDS movement gains at U of M Dearborn
DEARBORN — As more people join the movement to liberate the beseiged Palestinian territory of Gaza, the need for more direction in finding focused, practical solutions has increased. The Arab Student Union lead efforts during Divestment Week at U of M - Dearborn. One of the most encouraging aspects of the campaign for...FBI searches Dearborn home
DEARBORN — FBI agents on Feb. 11 searched an east Dearborn home on the 5700 block of Appoline Street. FBI agents on Feb. 11 searched an east Dearborn home on the 5700 block of Appoline Street. Several home security surveillance cameras are installed on the outside of the home. Neighbors said they watched officials wearing FBI......
Community holds fundraiser for Napoleon
DEARBORN — A largely Arab American crowd of supporters gathered to raise funds for the election campaign of Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon on Tuesday. Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon speaks to an Arab American crowd of supporters. About 300 attended the fundraiser at Byblos Banquet Hall in Dearborn, lead by Maher...
Obama taps young Muslim leader to repair ties with Islamic group
February 20th, 20100 President Barack Obama on Feb. 13 appointed Rashad Hussain, currently working as a legal counsel at the White House, to be the U.S. Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). Rashad Hussain Making the announcement via video conference to the annual gathering of the U.S.-Islamic World Forum, the......
Beware the iron wall, the coming war
The Israeli military may be much less effective in winning wars than it was in the past, thanks to the stiffness of Arab resistance. But its military strategists are as shrewd and unpredictable as ever. The rhetoric from Israel that has escalated recently suggests that a future war in Lebanon will most likely target Syria as well. While...Egypt’s wall of shame
Driving parallel to the borderline between Egypt and Gaza, one can spot the machinery behind the conspicuous wall construction project meant to stop ongoing smuggling through underground tunnels. Some 80 meters away from the borderline, there were two cranes and a spiral driller. Four trucks loaded with sand and two with iron......