The Arab American News
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Why we must boycott Starbucks
The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against apartheid Israel is gaining momentum around the world. The boycott of Starbucks is Michigan's modest contribution to the worldwide movement. Here are a few other examples: • South African dock workers refused to unload Israeli ships (Feb. 3rd 2009) • Church of...What Israel must do to save itself
Tantalus is punished by the Gods for reasons that are not entirely clear. He is hungry and thirsty, but the water in which he stands recedes when he bends down to drink from it and the fruit above his head continually evades his hand. Tzipi Livni Tzipi Livni is now undergoing a similar torture. After winning an impressive...
Mayoral candidates address community concerns in AAPAC forum
February 21st, 20090 DETROIT — Five of the 15 candidates running for mayor and facing a Feb. 24 primary addressed a crowd at the Islamic Center of Detroit on Feb. 13 in a forum organized by the Arab American Public Affairs Council (AAPAC). Candidate for Detroit mayor Sharon McPhail speaks to a crowd during an AAPAC election forum at the Islamic...
Mayoral primary Feb. 24, two more candidate profiles
February 21st, 20090 Wayne County Sheriff Evans making headway The special election for Detroit mayor is fast approaching, and so far, almost all of the attention has been on the perceived "big three" candidates. But Warren Evans scored a big victory for his campaign recently that might give the Wayne County Sheriff enough publicity for a chance...
O’Reilly plans department shake up
February 21st, 20090 DEARBORN — Mayor Jack O'Reilly on Wednesday announced a planned shake up of a city department and voiced a message of hope despite harsh economic times in his State of the City Address. Dearborn mayor Jack O'Reilly stands with residents Suehaila Amen, Lucia Gliese and Art Hughes, at the Henry Ford Centennial Library auditorium...
Community news briefs: Dingell becomes longest serving U.S. Representative in history
February 21st, 20090 WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, became the longest-tenured member of the House of Representatives on Feb. 12. U.S. Rep. John Dingell, of Dearborn He was congratulated a day early by President Barack Obama. "Over the past 53 years, Chairman Dingell has been a champion for the health and well-being of...
Bistro 222: Dearborn’s hidden gem
February 21st, 20090 The sautéed perch with lemon caper sauce is one of the most popular dishes at Bistro 222 in Dearborn. One of the joys of living in a big city like New York or Chicago is discovering a new favorite restaurant, one that's just out of the public eye but still features top-notch cuisine. Dearborn doesn't have as many as those...
Breaking News: Dearborn police cordon off neighborhood during possible hostage situation
February 18th, 20090 Dearborn police block off Appoline Street near Warren Avenue in East Dearborn on Tuesday night. PHOTO: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN DEARBORN – A standoff between police and a gunman who held a man hostage in his home for several hours Tuesday night ended Wednesday morning with the victim suffering only minor injuries. Crowds gathered...
Extremism dominates Israeli polls
February 14th, 20090 RAMALLAH (IPS) — "The peace process is based on three false basic assumptions," said Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Israel's extreme right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, which will dictate the formation and political course of the next Israeli government. Avigdor Lieberman, leader of Israel's Yisrael Beiteinu party, attends a...
Will the stimulus bill boost public confidence?
February 14th, 20090 Leaders from the Senate and House Appropriations Committees meet to negotiate the stimulus package in Washington, DC, February 11, 2009. U.S. lawmakers reached a compromise deal on Wednesday on a $789 billion package of tax cuts and spending to rescue the ailing economy and votes could begin as early as Thursday. REUTERS/Joshua...
Video: Barcelona fans go wild for Palestinian rights during basketball game
February 14th, 20090 In a frenzied show of support for human rights in besieged Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Barcelona basketball fans waved banners and shouted pro-Palestinian slogans during a Euroleague Top 16 game on Feb. 5, some of them storming the court before being dragged off by security. The game between FC Barcelona and Maccabi Electra...
UM-D students vote to study unethical investments
February 14th, 20090 The University of Michigan-Dearborn's student government body voted on Tuesday to form an ad hoc committee to study possible unethical investments within the university's endowment fund. University of Michigan-Dearborn philosophy professor David Skrbina addresses student government members during a meeting on Feb. 3. Skrbina...
Hampshire College to divest from companies supporting Israeli occupation
February 14th, 20090 Students for Justice in Palestine at Hampshire College launched a campaign to convince the college's board of trustees to withdraw the college's investments in six companies that support the Israeli occupation through their business activities. The board moved to pull its investments in over 200 companies, including the six listed in the...Will Obama break the law for Israel’s sake?
U.S. President Barack Obama answers a question from Hearst columnist Helen Thomas (L) during his first news conference as president in the East Room of the White House in Washington, February 9, 2009. REUTERS/Jason Reed Since entering office, President Barack Obama has promised sweeping changes in three aspects of governance:...
The PLO: Why an alternative and why the panic?
February 14th, 20090 Left: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah in June 2008. Right:Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal speaks in Tehran in May 2008. REUTERS When Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal declared before a cheering crowd in Doha, Qatar, on Jan. 28, the need for a new leadership, his words generated panic amongst leaders of the West Bank-based......
Arabs, stay in the street
Commentary I will sum up the transition in U.S. foreign policy as follows: in the Bush era, since September 2001, U.S. foreign policy entailed the orchestration of crisis that played on the twin themes of the "war against terror" and "those who aren't with us are against us." The Barack Obama era opened with the two central chords,...One thing Iraqis hold onto
Among things that have not changed in Iraq is one that I hope never changes. After a four-year-long absence, each of my meetings here with former friends and fresh acquaintances seems to suggest that adversity has taken its toll on everything except Iraqi hospitality and Iraqi generosity. I am awestruck to find the warmth of the Iraqi......
Egypt hinders investigations into Gaza war
Egypt has refused entry into the Gaza Strip to members of an international committee in charge of investigating Israeli war crimes. The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) set up the committee. Four French and Norwegian lawyers comprise the committee. The ICC had earlier started preliminary analysis into alleged...Thousands flee Afghanistan for Iran
It is early morning in the Maimana city bus station, and crowds of young men are waiting to board buses that will take them far away. Yuldash Mohammad, 27, stows his bags under the seat of a bus leaving for Balkh province, but his ultimate destination is Iran. "I am a farmer," he told IWPR. "I sold my bull and my farming equipment,...Kerry to meet Assad in Syria
U.S. Senator John Kerry U.S. Sen. John Kerry will meet with Syrian President Bashar Assad next week in Damascus. Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will be part of a congressional delegation visiting both Israel and Syria, according to media reports. Kerry's spokesman said the Assad meeting would be...Please, no more charades
James AbourezkAbe Foxman, head of the "Anti-Defamation League," claims that George Mitchell is too fair to be a broker between Israel and the Palestinians. I guess that Foxman, in denouncing the choice of Mitchell for Middle East negotiator, shows that he is accustomed to such impartial mediators as Dennis Ross, who, when he......
Israeli elections reveal a shift to the right
Israelis voted with an obsession: the occupation. The results were mixed, but the overall picture is a shift to the right: use of force, not reason. Right wing parties which oppose withdrawal from the West Bank and East Jerusalem won the majority of parliamentary seats. Israel's Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu listens to...Muslim investors profit by adhering to faith
As credit markets have imploded, triggering a global economic crisis, Islamically correct investors have seen a change of fortune: The conservative principles this small group of devout Muslims clung to during the economic heyday has insulated them from the worst of the past year's suffering. Their renunciation of the interest-based......
Digital delay gives unprepared communities more time to get ready, obtain coupons
WASHINGTON – Calling the delay in the conversion to digital TV broadcasting "a call to action" for communities across the country, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF) and New America Media (NAM) have stepped up their joint campaign to assist minority and low-income households with preparing for the...Obama urged to review position on landmines and cluster bombs
A U.S. Air Force bomber unleashes cluster munitions WASHINGTON — This week, leaders from 67 national organizations, including the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, representing a wide cross-section of American values and constituencies, issued a strong call for President Barack Obama to reconsider U.S.......