The Arab American News
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Torture ‘routine’ in Jordanian prisons
WASHINGTON (IPS) — A new report released Wednesday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) accuses the Jordanian authorities of routine and widespread torture of prisoners throughout the country, and calls for an end to the abuses. According to the 95-page report, based on interviews with 110 random prisoners in several locations in 2007 and...Palestine: Where water leaves a bitter taste
BARCELONA (IPS) — Palestinian villagers drink unsafe agricultural water rather than trusting water provided by an Israeli company, says Buthaina Mizyed, who has worked in Arraneh village near the conflict-laden West Bank city of Jenin. A Palestinian villager of the Nawajah clan draws water from a well close to the West Bank...U.S. urged to share more of refugee burden
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Despite a marked increase in the number of Iraqi refugees admitted into the United States, experts on Iraq and human rights and refugee organizations are calling on Washington to open the door wider amid fears that returning home remains dangerous for many displaced Iraqis. The U.S. government has met its target...Breaking the silence
RAMALLAH (IPS) — An Israeli police commander has called them "provocateurs," "militants," and, "lawbreakers." Earlier in the year the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) decided that their presence in the city of Hebron, 30km south of Jerusalem in the Palestinian West Bank, constituted a security threat and banned them from the city,...Workshop seeks to dispel Arab stereotypes and promote Arab culture
DEARBORN — Arab Detroit hosts the sixth annual educational workshop, "Images and Perceptions of Arab Americans: Arabphobia in America, Myth or Realty, " Thursday, October 23rd, from 8:30am-2:00pm, at the University of Michigan-Dearborn Fairlane Center, 1900 Hubbard Drive, Dearborn, Michigan. Arabophobia has been prevalent in...America’s right-wing zealots will not fade away
In 1964, Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona ran for president as a rock-ribbed conservative who yearned to roll back both the Soviet Empire and FDR's New Deal. He carried only six states with 52 electoral votes, and Lyndon Johnson remained the commander-in-chief that an entire generation loved to hate. Yet, even after suffering a stunning...Hummus war looms between Lebanon and Israel
BEIRUT — The latest conflict cooking between Lebanon and Israel is all about food: Lebanese businessmen are accusing Israel of stealing traditionally Middle Eastern dishes like hummus. Fadi Abboud, president of the Lebanese Industrialists Association, said Tuesday his group was planning to raise a lawsuit to stop Israel from...
Christian peace group concludes conference
October 4th, 20080 BIRMINGHAM — Under the title "Peace, Palestine and US Policy - 1948-2008," Friends of Sabeel-North America held a three-day informative conference about the Israeli occupation of Palestine at the First Presbyterian Church from Sept. 25-27. Over 500 attendees were treated to presentations that featured world-renowned authors and...Brief talks with Syria spur speculation
WASHINGTON (IPS) — A series of meetings between U.S. and Syrian diplomats, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her counterpart, Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, at the United Nations over the past week is stirring speculation that Washington may at last be moving toward engaging Damascus. Instead of focusing on specific...Bush had no plan to catch Bin Laden after 9/11
U.S. President George W. Bush and the Commander for NATO International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan U.S. Army General David McKiernan meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, October 1, 2008. REUTERS/Larry DowningWashington (IPS) — New evidence from former U.S. officials reveals that the George W....Russia eyes new Mideast role
Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is heading to Russia for a two-day visit. He was invited by President Dmitry Medvedev. They will discuss Russia's support for a peace process and Russian-Israeli relations, which were strained by Israel's close relations to Georgia. This visit signifies Russia's growing...
Dolce Gift Shop offers pure decadence
October 4th, 20080 DEARBORN — When customers come in and browse the selection of chocolates at Dearborn's Dolce Gift Shop, the first thing they notice is how good they look. With decorations, themes, and colors to match any special event, the chocolates at Dolce are as elegant as it gets. But owner Yasmin Jawad didn't just want them to look good,...Why America should listen to Ahmadinejad
Although our Founding Fathers would have comprehended and endorsed Ahmadinejad's speech to the United Nations, present-day Americans would find it strange should they happen to hear about it. Unlike their forbears, Americans today live a material life, not a spiritual one. Americans are far too likely to dismiss Ahmadinejad's words...Come to the polls Nov. 4 with knowledge — and confidence
While the results of the Nov. 4 election won't be known until the polls close, one thing already is certain: All eligible Michigan voters have the opportunity to cast ballots and can do so with confidence that their votes will count. My assurance is based not only on Michigan's distinguished record of election...Torture by proxy
This is a book that should make you angry, depressed, and ashamed. Ashamed to be Canadian, ashamed to be American. It tells in graphic and gruesome detail of the tortures inflicted on innocent Muslim men. The tortures resulted from faulty information provided by Canadian and/or American governments about Maher Arar, Ahmad......
Dubai company investigated
Dubai's state-owned Nakheel Corporation, now a 20% owner of Canada's Cirque du Soleil, is currently being shaken by allegations of corruption. Such allegations have led to charges being laid against officials of other state-run companies. Observers blame lack of financial transparency and inconsistent enforcement of...Deserter gets reprieve
Jeremy Hinzman was due to be deported back to the United States on September 23, but a last minute court decision has given him more time. Hinzman, who deserted the army and fled to Canada in 2004 to avoid going to Iraq, remains in Canada till the courts can rule on his request to be allowed to stay on humanitarian grounds.......
Youth convicted of terror group participation
A man, now 20 who was 17 at the time of his arrest, was found guilty on September 25 of participating in a terrorist group. Judge John Sproat heard the case without a jury in court held in Brampton, Ontario, just west of Toronto. Because of his age at the time of the offense, the person convicted cannot be named. This...Lebanese-Canadian singer hosts on CBC
The CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) has just gone through a major shift in its focus. Its English language Radio Two has switched away from a classical music format to a more diverse approach, aiming at a wider audience. This is not the first switch I've lived through, as back in the '60s when I was living in Detroit...Final hours find newly conciliatory Olmert
Olmert told the Israeli daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth that Israel would need to end its 41-year occupation of the West Bank and also give up most of its territory in East Jerusalem to the 270,000 Palestinians who live there.WASHINGTON (IPS) — In an interview with a newspaper on the eve of the Jewish holidays, outgoing...Dearborn man gets prison for threats against extremist blogger
The Detroit Free Press reported on Thursday that a federal judge sentenced a Dearborn restaurant cook to 8 months in prison for e-mailing death threats to right-wing blogger Debbie Schlussel. Mohamad Fouad Abdallah, 40, pleaded guilty in June to sending two e-mails to Schlussel in August 2006 threatening to rape and blow her up.......
At the Palestinian camp, bombing is a way of life
BEIRUT (IPS) — A bomb blast at the Ain el-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp as this IPS correspondent was visiting, comes as yet another reminder of the precarious peace in these places. Leading into Ain el-Helweh, on the outskirts of the southern city Sidon, this correspondent saw a large Israeli jeep strategically parked at a...Palestinian economy: From bad to wretched
The numbers are grim, whether in the West Bank or the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian economy is in one of its most wretched states, and the disaster is mostly, if not entirely, manmade, thus reversible. The World Bank made no secret of the fact that Israeli restrictions are largely to blame, as poverty rates in the Gaza Strip and West......
Hathaway aims for state Supreme Court
October 3rd, 20080 Candidate for Michigan Supreme Court Diane Marie HathawayWhen people go in to fill out their ballots on November 4th, most of the attention will be on the presidential election. But a race that some feel is just as important locally is the one for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court, which can be found further down the ballot....
McCain gives up on Michigan in major retreat
October 3rd, 20080 John McCainJohn McCain is pulling out of Michigan, according to two Republicans, a stunning move a month away from Election Day that indicates the difficulty Republicans are having in finding blue states to put in play. McCain will go off TV in Michigan, stop dropping mail there and send most of his staff to more competitive......
