The Arab American News
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‘The Band’s Visit’ serves no useful purpose
Arab culture is notorious for its hospitality and emphasis on good manners, among other things. Israeli culture is equally known for its rudeness and bad manners, among other things. These two phenomena collide in "The Band's Visit," a film about the Alexandria Police Orchestra getting lost in Israel on its way to a concert. The...A bid to enroll Arabs in U.S. colleges
MIT students help dispel their fears and doubts about applying to American schools, where they remain a relative minority after 9/11. Cambridge Like any good high school student, Lana Awad dreamed of an Ivy League education. But when the Syrian teen started applying to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton...Asylum cases hinge more on luck than law
NEW YORK (IPS) - In January 2006, on the heels of reports of widespread incompetence, injustice, and political cronyism among the judges who decide the fate of thousands of immigrants seeking asylum in the United States, then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced a sweeping review of the entire asylum process. Six months later,...BBC Arabic television news channel launches next week
LONDON BBC Arabic television the BBC's news and information channel in the Arabic language launches on Tuesday 11 March 2008 at 10.00 GMT, it was announced this week. Initially broadcast for 12 hours a day, the television channel is part of the BBC's integrated multimedia news service for the Arab world. It will move to 24/7 in...HOOKED ON HOOKAH: Latest Trend Hurting Youth
DEARBORN Three Metro Detroit elected officials are introducing bills that create a public awareness campaign about the dangers of smoking hookah or the water pipe. State Representative Gino H. Polidori (D-Dearborn), State Senator Irma Clark-Coleman (D-Detroit) and State Senator Buzz Thomas (D-Detroit) are the bill sponsors....U of M to host conference on Shiism and Musa al-Sadr
ANN ARBOR The Center for Middle Eastern & North African Studies (CMENAS) at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor will host a two-day conference on "The Shi'a, Modernity, and the Legacy of Musa al-Sadr," Friday and Saturday, March 14-15. From the activities of Hizbullah in southern Lebanon to the Sadr militias in Baghdad...Michigan ranked one of best-managed states
LANSING Governor Jennifer M. Granholm this week expressed appreciation to the Pew Center on the States and "Governing" magazine for recognizing Michigan as an outstanding leader in the Government Performance Project (GPP) report entitled, "Grading the States 2008." Granholm is one of just two governors who participated in the...Local demonstrations protest Israeli atrocities in Gaza
After holding several meetings over the last week to find a way to respond to ongoing violence and humanitarian crises in the Gaza Strip, peace and human rights activists staged two large demonstrations in Dearborn and Detroit on Tuesday and Thursday. Israeli air strikes and ground incursions over the past eight days have left...
U.S. conspired to cause civil war in Palestine
March 8th, 20080 Journalist David Rose outlines Iran-Contra-style plot in April issue of Vanity Fair United States officials including President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice participated in a conspiracy to arm and train Contra-style Palestinian militias nominally loyal to the Fatah party to overthrow the...
New Wal-Mart caters to Arabs
March 8th, 20080 Arabic-speaking employees, ethnic food and products highlight innovative store; local businesses concerned DEARBORN Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has opened an innovative new supercenter here. The 200,000 square foot store will offer a special line of products geared toward the Arab American and American Muslim...Canada’s response to Israel’s actions in Gaza biased, ignorant and ineffective
Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier issued a news release expressing his concern about the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip. It does nothing to help resolve the situation and only demonstrates that the Canadian government is only putting out more face-saving rhetoric for the international community and to...Massacres continue in Gaza
Israel killed 116 Palestinians in Gaza last week in an orgy of air strikes and ground incursions, turning the besieged and starved Strip into an unbearable inferno. Hundreds more Palestinians were wounded. At least half the dead and wounded were civilians, including many young children. So great was the catastrophe that Egypt,...Iran sanctions vote signals a global rift
Some developing nations may be starting to sour on push by world powers to control lucrative nuclear technology. United Nations The passage this week by the United Nations Security Council of a third set of sanctions against Iran places a spotlight on two trends in the international community's dispute with Tehran's...U.S. warship worries Lebanese
Regional crisis likely, given Saudi Arabia's threat to boycott Arab summit Beirut Washington's decision to deploy the USS Cole off Lebanon's coast is kindling grim memories of a past conflict here and fresh concerns over another war. While the U.S. State Department says the Cole and other warships are being sent to...Iraqi Christians cling to last refuges
BARTELLA The bullets lay on the desk amid Bibles and rosaries. They're for two pistols owned by Father Ayman Danna. "The only solution left for our people is to bear arms. We either live or die. We must be strong," says the Syriac Catholic priest at the Church of Saint George in Bartella, a northern Iraqi town in a swath of......
Michigan votes may count after all
March 7th, 20080 WASHINGTON Bringing an abrupt end to Sen. Barack Obama's winning streak in the primary battles for the Democratic U.S. presidential nomination, rival Sen. Hillary Clinton reinvigorated her campaign this week by taking three of four primaries on Tuesday including key delegate-rich states Ohio and Texas, as well as Rhode...Educator of the Year award given
DEARBORN Students of Fordson High School teacher Amira Kassem turn to her for guidance, not only for their writing skills, but for help with their everyday lives. "She's a friend. A lot of teachers are just teachers. She plays a role of parent away from home," said Fordson senior Abbas Alawieh. Kassem, who teaches advanced......
Student group looks to empower Arabs
DEARBORN The Arab Student Union (ASU) at the University of Michigan-Dearborn is looking for businesses and community members to sponsor its third annual "Empowering the Youth" banquet. The dinner will take place on Friday, March 21, 2008 at 6 p.m. at Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn. ASU says it is an...Community News Roundup
ACC announces scholarship awards SOUTHFIELD The Arab American and Chaldean Council (ACC) has announced its 6th Annual Scholarship Awards Program, which provides financial assistance to graduating high school students pursuing a higher education. Applicants must be a high school senior with a GPA of 3.0 or higher, who has...City officals urge residents to stay safe
DEARBORN In a presentation on personal and home safety given by Dearborn Police at the Esper Branch Library on Wednesday, officials implored a group of about 40 people to keep their heads up, their doors locked and the city's new neighborhood watch telephone number on hand. "The city of Dearborn is a safe city but we have to do...Move cars off street during Public Service Days in Dearborn
DEARBORN A change is on the way regarding Dearborns Public Service Days program. Launched in January, Public Service Days promote cleaner neighborhoods in Dearborn. But, in order for city crews to deliver services in the most efficient manner on those Public Service Days, residents need to keep their parked vehicles off the......
Michigan’s sluggish economy not getting in the way of stores’ growth
March 1st, 20080 Johnny Karmo knows his 'Market' Some people seem to have a natural talent for their occupation. They can find success where others have struggled almost as if they have special built-in job-related instincts. Johnny Karmo is a grocer with a natural talent for his industry. His three suburban Detroit...$100 million effort to strengthen Southeast Michigan economy
DETROIT As part of a major regional initiative to foster economic growth, the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan (NEI) is accepting grant applications from nonprofit organizations for projects that will help accelerate the transition of Metro Detroit to an innovation-based economy. The New Economy Initiative, a joint......
Neo-cons fine-tune Iran angle
WASHINGTON (IPS) A new report published by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) think-tank purports to show the reach and scope of Iranian influence across the Middle East, but stops short of drawing conclusions about Tehran's intentions or grand strategy. Co-written by AEI fellows Fred Kagan and Danielle Pletka, and Kagan's...Midamar brings halal meat to Detroit
New source is in one of oldest communities in America DEARBORN Members of one of the oldest and most obscure Arab American communities in the country are connecting with the Detroit-area as they work to put halal meat from Iowa on local dinner tables. Cedar Rapids, Iowa is home to one of the first mosques established in the......