The Arab American News
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All Arab names in food stamp fraud ring
DEARBORN Twenty seven people arrested by state police in February for alleged food card fraud all seem to be of Arab descent, judging by their namesall recognizable Arab family names. But a spokesperson for Attorney General Mike Cox's office said that doesn't necessarily mean there is a problem specific to the Arab American...Event honors Arab American judges
DETROIT The Lebanese American Chamber of Commerce (LACC) held its second annual Salute to Justice dinner banquet honoring distinguished Judges of Lebanese origin on Thursday, March 6, 2008 in Michigan. More than 200 guests attended the event from Washington, Ohio, Lansing, Ann Arbor and Windsor, Canada in addition to the...Arab American inventor showcases radar device
Arab American inventor showcases radar device Troy A Lebanese-owned company in Troy introduced a collision alert radar system Tuesday to be used in commercial trucks for detecting the danger of a possible crash. Radar Safety Technologies (RST) intends for the FrontAlert system to be used on commercial trucks...Revered surgeon dies of cancer
Dr. Farouck Obeid, a well-known surgeon, author and professor, died March 7 after a yearlong battle with cancer. He was 58. Obeid was known as an energetic community leader and someone who went to great lengths to help medical students and others. A past president of the American Syrian Arab Cultural Association, those who...El-Astal sentenced after manslaughter plea
Dearborn Dearborn police played a critical role in the investigation of Mohammed El-Astal, 69, of Dearborn, who was sentenced to 11-15 years in prison on March 12 for his part in the killing of his son-in-law, Walid Alyoussef. El-Astal, originally charged with first degree murder, felony firearm, and disinterment...Missing the context on the yeshiva shooting spree
In this week's look at media coverage, one story really brought to light the lack of crucial context in American media coverage of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. How columnists and editorialists can write about events in Israel-Palestine as if they took place in a vacuum is a mystery. Though many people use the term "cycle...Daze of reckoning in Gaza
It took the Palestinian Authority investigative committee, headed by Tayeb Abdel Rahim, 49 sessions, 29 days and 128 hours to investigate the capture of Gaza by Hamas in June 2007. An original name was found for the committee: "The Investigative Committee on the Matter of the Failure of the Confrontation with the Illegal Armed...Stop the false religious slurs against Obama
The religious slurs against Sen. Barack Obama must stop. So, too, the insinuation that to be Muslim, which Obama is not, is somehow a disqualification for president. Voters chose John F. Kennedy to be the first-ever Catholic president. We accepted Sen. Joseph Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, as a viable Democratic Party vice...A Middle East regime needing change
If the Middle East is to be spared another disastrous explosion of violence, one might argue, the one regime that urgently needs changing is that of Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak. Bernard Lewis, 93, historian, scourge of Islamic radicalism and spiritual god-father of America's neocons, gave a word of advice to Israel's Prime...Canadian cultural planners big in Abu Dhabi
Canadians Gail Lord and her husband Barry, well known around the world in museum circles, are especially big news in Abu Dhabi. She is president of Lord Cultural Resources, Inc. and he works with her. Gail studied history at the University of Toronto, but her career has been in the arts, as a critic and academic. She...Support ebbs for West’s nuclear hard line
WASHINGTON (IPS) Public support for stronger measures, including possible military strikes, to curb or destroy Iran's nuclear program has declined significantly in most countries around the world compared to 18 months ago, according to a new survey of public opinion released Tuesday by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)....Kidnapped Iraqi archbishop dead
Paulos Faraj Rahho, the Chaldean Catholic archbishop in Iraq who was kidnapped last month, has been found dead near the northern city of Mosul. An Iraqi police officer and morgue official confirmed reports that the archbishop's body had been found buried near Mosul, where he had been abducted. The Vatican said Pope Benedict XVI...
How long can we stay in Iraq?
March 14th, 20080 The week Central Command Commander Admiral William Fallon resigned under pressure from the Bush Administration. Fallon, who was in charge of the entire Middle East region, has held critical views on the surge and on Bush's Iran war-option policy. Other war politicians believe in the magical effects of the surge. Violence in...War on Iran may be near
Every horror movie has that "Oh shit!" moment, when the hero or heroes are huddled in some creepy hideout, and suddenly something happens that tells you that the monster is just around the corner, or just about to attack. In "Jurassic Park" it was the pulsing ripples in a cup of water, heralding the arrival of a T-Rex. In "Jaws" it...Dissenting views made Fallon’s fall inevitable
WASHINGTON (IPS) Admiral William Fallon's request to quit his position as head of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and to retire from the military was apparently the result of a George W. Bush administration decision to pressure him to resign. Announcing the resignation, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said he believed it......
U.S. sends mixed signals over rights
CAIRO (IPS) While in Egypt last week, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced the release of 100 million dollars in suspended financial assistance to Egypt. The monies part of an annual U.S. foreign aid package were frozen in December following Israeli claims that Cairo had failed to secure its border with the Gaza...Israel defies freeze on illegal settlements
JERUSALEM Israel approved plans this week to build 330 new homes in a suburban West Bank settlement north of Jerusalem. The move was denounced by the Palestinian Authority as "a slap in the face of the peace process" and called on the Quartet of the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia to "act to get Israel to......
Time to step back from the brink
WASHINGTON (IPS) Describing the current Lebanese political impasse as a moment "pregnant with incredible danger," a U.S. expert this week urged rival factions and their international patrons to adopt of a formula of "no victim, no vanquished" in order to mitigate a possible descent into civil war. "When I think back to...
Is a third intifada brewing?
March 14th, 20080 Bethlehem Fadi al-Amour and his friends high school seniors spent more time last week on the street than in class. Every day, they marched on Rachel's Tomb, guarded by Israeli soldiers, and, along with hundreds of other young Palestinians, pelted the nearest symbol of Israeli power with rocks and Molotov cocktails. "We were...Current lull provides opportunity
BEIRUT Out of crisis comes opportunity, which describes the current brief lull in the war between Israel and the Palestinian resistance movements in Gaza. Rather than just trying to calm things down, this is the moment to push hard diplomatically towards more serious negotiations, on the basis of a new, more credible, balance of...Heads to the right
It is still unclear whether the terrorist who entered the Mercaz Harav yeshiva on Thursday night and killed eight of its students knew exactly what place he was entering. But the thousands of people who walked behind the coffins on Friday knew very well. "The flagship of religious Zionism" was the common expression used, the "holy of......
MPAC honors Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus
Announces launch of MPAC-NYC chapter at 2nd annual awards dinner in NYC New York In front of a packed New York City audience last week, the Muslim Public Affairs Council honored Dr. Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, with the MPAC Foundation's 2nd Annual Human Security Award....
Second Muslim elected to Congress from Indiana
March 14th, 20080 INDIANAPOLIS The grandson of the late U.S. Rep. Julia Carson won a special election Tuesday to succeed her, keeping the seat in Democratic hands and becoming the second Muslim ever elected to Congress. Democrat Andre Carson had a 5,000-vote lead over Republican Jon Elrod out of nearly 59,000 votes counted. With 88 percent of 445......
Behind the McCain lobbyist scandal
I don't know whether Senator John McCain had sex with lobbyist Vickie Iseman, but I do know, first hand, that he broke the rules while doing the bidding of media mogul Lowell "Bud" Paxson, a major contributor to McCain's 2000 presidential campaign. McCain's staff lied it about it then and they are inventing new lies even now. I...Gaza, Obama’s religion and Al-Arian’s nightmare continues
In this new regular feature, I will break down media reporting about issues of interest to Arab Americans. The U.S. media have a responsibility to tell our stories accurately and to include our perspectives. This is unfortunately not the case, though there has been some improvement over the years. This......