The Arab American News
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Fairlane Ford committed to community
Local dealership to host FREE Child Safety Program on Saturday, June 7. Parents encouraged to bring their children. DEARBORN � As a service to the community, Fairlane Ford at 14585 Michigan Avenue in Dearborn is offering a free DNA LifePrint Child Safety Event on Saturday, June 7th, 2008 from 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m. The program will...Film documents refugee experience
A new documentary on the Palestinian refugee experience since 1948 is showing in Livonia next week. It is being celebrated as the first of its kind, a must-see for those interested in the Palestinian experience. The Arab American News had a chance to talk with Adam Shapiro, one of its creators. ...Palestinian youth express themselves through hip-hop
SAN FRANCISCO � May 2008 marked the sixtieth anniversary of the Nakba � Arabic for catastrophe, the expulsion of the Palestinian people and creation of the state of Israel. However, the Palestinian diaspora decided to commemorate it with a different image: sharing and performing hip-hop. A commemoration concert was recently held here...Kill ’em with comedy
Arab American comedian Meena Dimian DEARBORN — "That is a lot of peach fuzz mustaches," said New York comedian Meena Dimian when someone told him that 90 percent of Fordson High School students are Arab. Dimian performed at the school's auditorium on May 16 with three other Middle Eastern comics. He's part of a...When it comes to Israel, Europe is hypocritical, submissive and obsequious
RAMALLAH � In comparison to the madman in the White House, Europe may look less bellicose, less confrontational and less unreasonable in its overall approach to contentious international issues. However, when the issue is the Palestinian plight, the U..S and Europe look very much like tweedledee and tweedledum. In...Coexistence, not apartheid
For the last 60 years, all those who have sought a genuinely peaceful and fair solution for Israel and Palestine have faced the same obstacle � Israel's sense of invincibility and military arrogance, abetted by the U.S. and other Western governments' unwavering support. Despite recent setbacks on the military front, the Israeli...Palestine: 60 Years of resilience
DEARBORN � On May 24, more than 500 people attended "Palestine: 60 Years of Resilience" to commemorate 60 years of Nakba. Held at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in Dearborn, the event was sponsored by American Muslims of Palestine, Michigan Citizens for Palestinian Rights (Michigan), GlobalLink Group and Drs....Israeli prize winner gives to Bir Zeit
The American mathematician David Mumford, co-winner of the 2008 Israeli Wolf Foundation Prize in Mathematics, announced upon receiving the award that he will donate the money to Bir Zeit University, near Ramallah, and to Gisha, an Israeli organization that advocates for Palestinian freedom of movement. "I decided to donate my...McCain’s “agents of inconvenience”
WASHINGTON (IPS) � As John McCain launched his presidential bid in 2007, he faced a considerable challenge to mobilize support among social conservatives within the Republican Party. While the Arizona senator voted correctly on moral issues of concern to the Christian Right, such as abortion and gay marriage, perhaps McCain did...Obstacles to an Israeli-Syrian deal
One would need to be an incurable optimist to expect real progress from the indirect talks that Syria and Israel have begun in Ankara under Turkish mediation. The obstacles to peace between the two long-time adversaries are so formidable as to rule out any realistic possibility of a deal in the near or medium-term future....The fight for freedom at Fordson
When word got out last week that Fordson High School Principal Imad Fadlallah was accused of slapping a student, parents and students got angry. Fadlallah has raised the morale, the standards of behavior and the academic performance at Fordson over the past few years and no one believed he would have hit a student. Sure enough, it...Saudi death sentence being appealed
Mohamed KohailTwenty-three-year-old Mohamed Kohail, a Canadian citizen, is appealing his death sentence for killing Munzer Haraki in a schoolyard brawl in Saudi Arabia in January last year. The appeal is due to be heard by June 7. Kohail�s parents have nine witnesses who say that during the melee a stone fence collapsed,...British PM warns of global oil “shock” as fuel price protests spread
London - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned this week that the world faced an era-defining oil "shock" that required urgent action, as European leaders argued how best to contain protests over soaring fuel prices. "It is now understood that a global shock on this scale requires global solutions," Brown wrote in The...Iraqis questioning U.S.-Iraq deals
WASHINGTON (IPS) � Iraqi parliamentarians are increasingly concerned that they are being left out of talks between Iraqi and U.S. officials over a strategic deal to determine the future relationship between the two countries, at a time when the U.S. Congress failed to include a provision in a bill to fund the Iraq and Afghan wars...Bush’s Islamist enemies list
President George W. Bush was rightly condemned when he implied that Democrats want to "negotiate with terrorists" because they are driven by "the false comfort of appeasement," while Republicans are committed to fighting terrorism. But in his speech before Israel's Knesset, Bush made another dangerous statement that got far less......
Why Qatar is emerging as Middle East peacemaker
Doha � This tiny Gulf state emerged this week at the forefront of regional diplomacy, successfully shepherding the negotiations between feuding Lebanese factions to end months of political turmoil and violence. With regional powers, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, aligned behind rival players in Lebanon, Qatar is uniquely suited to...
Siniora to head Lebanon government
May 30th, 20080 The U.S.-backed March 14 bloc nominated Fouad Siniora as prime minister Tuesday, although members of the Hizbullah-led opposition signaled they were unhappy with Siniora becoming head of the new cabinet. President Michel Sleiman's office made the announcement on Wednesday, following the president's meeting with legislators and the......
Bush ‘plans Iran air strike by August’
May 30th, 20080 NEW YORK � The George W. Bush administration plans to launch an air strike against Iran within the next two months, an informed source tells Asia Times Online, echoing other reports that have surfaced in the media in the United States recently. Two key U.S. senators briefed on the attack planned to go public with their opposition...Will the U.S. negotiate with Hizbullah?
Editor's note: This is the fifth and final installment of Franklin Lamb's series on Hizbullah, reprinted from counterpunch.org. What the Bush administration wants from Hizbullah � A public announcement of, and adherence to, a Hizbullah policy that separates Islam from terrorism in the minds of the Western public, i.e. between...Carter says Israel has arsenal of 150 nuclear weapons
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has said Israel holds at least 150 nuclear weapons, the first time a U.S. president has publicly acknowledged Israel's atomic arsenal. Asked at a news conference at Wales's Hay literary festival how a future U.S. president should deal with the Iranian nuclear threat, Carter put the risk in...Palestinian scarf takes fashion by storm
Young people in her neighborhood, Harlem, were wearing a checker-patterned cloth with tassels around their necks, like a bandana pulled down off the face. A few even came into her clothing store, Connection One Fashion, which specializes in urban apparel, to ask if she carried them. No one knew their name, and several asked for......
Arab Americans pitch in coast-to-coast
Detroit � At first it looked like it was going to rain. But then things took a turn for the better, and by the end, the 2008 National Arab American Service Day was deemed a huge success. "Today was a beautiful day, we lucked out," said Sue Makki, Project Director of the national AmeriCorps program that helped organize the...Cruise ship discrimination lawsuit settled
HONOLULU � The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on May 15 the settlement of a federal lawsuit against a cruise line company for $485,000 to seven former employees and remedial relief. In its lawsuit, filed in 2006 under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the EEOC alleged that NCL America, Inc. discharged seven......
Comcast opens first Arabic-English customer service center in Dearborn
DEARBORN � On May 19, Comcast, Michigan's leading provider of communications services and products, announced the opening of a new 3,360 sq. ft. state-of-the-art bilingual Arabic-English customer service center in Dearborn. The new center will serve customers from throughout southeast Michigan and is capable of handling requests and...Business leaders discuss opportunities in Muslim country of Malaysia
DETROIT� International businesspeople described Malaysia as one of the most modern Muslim countries in the world during a conference on U.S.-Malaysian business opportunities at the MGM Grand Casino May 15. "Kuala Lumpur looks like any American city, from its stores to its restaurants," said Mark Baker, senior vice president and......