The Arab American News
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Select Michigan and Associated Food & Petroleum Dealers launch “Buy Local, Eat Fresh”
July 11th, 20080 Farmington Hills — The Associated Food & Petroleum Dealers (AFPD) and the Michigan Department of Agriculture's "Select Michigan" program wants to make fresh, local produce more readily available to Metro Detroit urban residents. To this end, they are launching a program called "Buy Local, Eat Fresh." "We have found that...“State Secrets” privilege derails rendition suit
NEW YORK (IPS) — Maher Arar, whose "rendition" to Syria is widely viewed as an egregious example of mistaken identity, has again been denied the right to appear in court, and congressional efforts to rein in the George W. Bush administration's widespread use of national security as a defence appear to be foundering. Late last...A wave of Islamic insurers gears up to woo Syrians
Damascus — Every morning, as Ibrahim al-Mohammed opens the shutters of his Damascus store, he invokes the name of God. For Mr. al-Mohammed, who sports a trim white beard and a portly belly, divine protection is key to safeguarding his array of soaps and cleaning products. The thought of insurance has never crossed his mind. "I...
Business mentoring initiative launched
July 11th, 20080 DETROIT — Wayne State University's Executive and Professional Development Division and The Downriver Community Conference announce the launch of a new program aimed at increasing the competitiveness and capacities of emerging businesses in Michigan, particularly in Wayne County. Through the "360° Mentoring Project," the university's...Iraqi Shi’a party rises as Sadr falls
NAJAF — At a teeming rally in this holy city last Thursday, thousands of Iraqi Shi'a made an election pledge. "We are at your beck and call, Hakim," they shouted in unison to Abdul-Aziz al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), arguably now the country's most influential and best organized Shi'a religious...
A peace package for the Iran crisis
July 11th, 20080 Reckless hawks in Israel and the United States continue to talk up the possibility — even the unavoidability — of a strike against Iran to destroy its nuclear facilities. Moreover, according to Seymour M. Hersh in the July 7 issue of The New Yorker, U. S. Special Forces are already engaged in extensive clandestine operations...Israel launches all-out war on Islamic institutions in the West Bank
Palestinian Muslim leaders have called on Arab and Muslim states as well as "all human beings who believe in justice" to strongly condemn an ongoing Israeli campaign against Muslim civilian institutions throughout the occupied West Bank. The Israeli army on Tuesday, July 8, rampaged through the northern town of Nablus,...Saudi king to lead interfaith talks in Spain
RIYADH — In a first for a Saudi Arabian leader, King Abdullah will convene a conference in Madrid as part of a Saudi outreach to defuse interfaith tensions, improve Islam's image, and restore respect for religious values. King Abdullah's initiative — a three-day meeting starting July 16 that will include Muslim, Christian, and...Gaza under siege despite truce
CAIRO (IPS) — Despite a torrent of mutual recriminations, the fragile truce between Israel and Palestinian resistance faction Hamas survived into its third week. Israel, however, has been slow to fulfill its pledge — as laid down in an Egypt-brokered ceasefire agreement — to allow desperately-needed humanitarian supplies into the...
Ellis leaves legacy of love for children, sports
July 11th, 20080 Sam Ellis, a Dearborn resident well known as a fiery high school principal and wrestling coach in various area school districts, died of a heart attack Wednesday morning on the way to Garden City Hospital. He was 57. Family members said Ellis' limitless, high-energy spirit made memories that will last generations. The large,...
Repair shop offers tips for saving gas
July 11th, 20080 WESTLAND — Of all the places in the Metro Detroit area to run an auto shop, the spot on Marquette and Wayne Roads in Westland is one of the worst. At least 30 shops line Wayne Road in the city, and pricing competitions are constant. But the Westland Auto Lube shop has managed to stay afloat because of the hard work of its...
Ramallah Convention returns to Detroit for 50th
July 11th, 20080 Thousands of Palestinian Americans from Ramallah traveled from across the country to Dearborn last week, where they invaded the Hyatt Regency Hotel for the 50th annual convention of the American Federation of Ramallah, Palestine. About 4,000 people gathered who, according to tradition, are all descended from the same seven men who...Snoop Dogg asked to skip Israel
A wide coalition of solidarity groups are asking a hip-hop star not to perform in Israel because of its on-going apartheid-like rule over the Palestinian territories. American rapper Snoop Dogg, Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr., is scheduled to perform in Ramat Gan, Israel on September 18th, 2008. Progressive Israelis and...
The ongoing persecution of Dr. Sami al-Arian
July 11th, 20080 There are few prospects in the justice system so grimly awful as when the feds decide never to let go. Rebuffed in their persecutions of some target by juries, or by contrary judges, they shift ground, betray solemn agreements, dream up new stratagems to exhaust their victims, drive them into bankruptcy, despair and even to suicide....
ACC offers free service to help prevent auto theft
July 11th, 20080 DETROIT — On Thursday, July 17 the Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC) will be kicking off its new Automobile Theft Prevention Authority (ATPA) Program from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at ACC Detroit Headquarters located at 111 W. 7 Mile in Detroit. The theft prevention program provides free vehicle identification number (VIN)......
Bring lots of resumes to ACCESS job fair
July 11th, 20080 DEARBORN — The ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services) 2008 Summer Job Fair is coming to Dearborn on Wednesday, July 16 and more than 700 people are expected to attend based on last year's numbers. Job seekers can expect to find at least 36 companies on hand searching for new employees, and more...Credit Card Fair Fee Act unfair to consumers
Americans hold nearly $1 trillion in credit-card debt, according to data just released by the Federal Reserve. Now Congress wants to make that burden even heavier. Some misguided lawmakers are pushing legislation that would saddle consumers with fees that retailers don't want to pay. Under the deceptively named "Credit Card Fair Fee......
Vertical ID makes underage drinking harder
Five years ago, Michigan began to approach the problem of underage drinking in a different way — vertically rather than horizontally. A law went into effect on July 1, 2003, requiring the issuance of vertical (portrait) style driver's licenses or personal identification cards to individuals under the age of 21. As a result...
Vertical ID: Straight-up success
July 11th, 20080 LANSING — Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and other safety advocates are applauding the success of Michigan's vertical driver's license and ID card program, now in its fifth year. The Vertical Identification Program, implemented in July 2003, helps to prevent minors from purchasing alcohol, tobacco and other age-restricted...The problem with Iran
This week David De Batto posted an article on rense.com called "An Iran Attack Scenario — A Catastrophe." With his extensive background in intelligence, military service and on the ground service in Iraq, DeBatto makes a compelling case for a colossal global mess. Some might say that he deliberately cobbled together the worst case...The alternative to an Israeli attack on Iran
Is war between Israel and Iran inevitable? To listen to Iran's radical President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, or Israel's Iranian-born transportation minister Shaul Mofaz, or even recent reports that Israel carried out a major military training mission over the Mediterranean to rehearse an attack on Iran, you might be left with that......
Jordan wants to go nuclear
Israel has the bomb. Iran wants nuclear energy for power, allegedly, though it is sitting on a sea of oil. Syria is trying to join the club. Now Jordan wants in. Just for peaceful purposes, for electricity and desalination of water, according to Khalid Touqan, chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission, though...Sewage in water threatens Gazans
GAZA CITY (IPS) — Gaza is being forced to pump 77 tons of untreated or partially treated sewage out to sea daily due to the Israeli blockade of the coastal territory. The fear is that some of this is creeping back into drinking water. "The health of Gaza's 1.5 million people is at risk," Mahmoud Daher, from the U.N. World Health......
Does Iran have Bush over a barrel?
WASHINGTON (IPS) — If U.S. President George W. Bush wants to boost Republican chances of holding on to the White House and keeping Democratic gains in Congress to a minimum in the November elections, he might consider taking an attack on Iran before the end of his administration "off the table." Of course, that's probably the last...Hawks belie Iran’s “existential threat” to Israel
WASHINGTON (IPS) — New arguments by analysts close to Israeli thinking in favor of U.S. strikes against Iran cite evidence of Iranian military weakness in relation to the U.S. and Israel and even raise doubts that Iran is rushing to obtain such weapons at all. The new arguments contradict Israel's official argument that it faces......