The Arab American News
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Excuses keep on coming
The evolution of excuses for blundering into and maintaining the Iraq War is becoming comical. The first excuse was weapons of mass destruction. Do you remember the constant talk about weapons of mass destruction, "the worst weapons in the hands of the worst dictator"? Do you remember how President Bush said the sole reason for the...Bizarre allegations about Toronto 18
Unorthodox decisions are raising questions about Crown's case Ottawa's abrupt decision to cancel a preliminary inquiry into Canada's most spectacular post-9/11 terror allegations and instead move directly to trial raises new and troubling questions. Everything about the case of the so-called Toronto 18 is shrouded in mystery....America’s diplomatic fig leaf
What do diplomats do when they don't know what to do? You guessed it, they propose holding an international conference. The device is useful on several grounds. It covers one's political nakedness with the fig leaf of an impression that something is being done. It creates a crowd to divert attention from one's isolation. And, last but...Oakwood Breast Care Center offers free mammograms
Dearborn – The Center for Women's Health at Oakwood is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness month by offering free digital mammograms at the Oakwood Breast Care Center – Dearborn every Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. throughout the month of October for women who qualify. To qualify for the exam, you must be 40 years of age or older, uninsured...MPAC releases guide for responding to campus events
Los Angeles — The Muslim Public Affairs Council this week released a guide for Muslim student and community groups in response to an upcoming series of highly controversial and provocative events on college campuses organized by extreme right wing activist David Horowitz. Under the banner of "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" (IFAW),...Presidential candidate Ron Paul to address UofM
Ann Arbor — Presidential candidate Ron Paul is scheduled to give an address at a rally on the University of Michigan Diag following the Michigan Republican Presidential Debate on October 9th. Supporters will gather at about 7 p.m. for a 7:30 rally. Additionally, the "Ron Paul House" — an un-official venue for Paul supporters to gather...
Cherishing Traditions: Telling the Arab American story
September 29th, 20070 DEARBORN — Despite worldwide recognition as a video and television producer, one thing Detroiter Keith Famie never did was put a camera on his Italian father before he died. He now realizes what a mistake that was. Documentary will focus on the history and contributions of the community to the growth and development of...12th century Christian-Muslim exchange
The Palace "Al-Aziz" — La Zisa in Italian and English, is an Arab-Muslim monument in the Norman capital of Palermo in Sicily. The Normans were descendants of the Vikings who invaded France and Italy in the tenth and eleventh centuries. This palace is one of many garden pavilions constructed by Arab craftsmen in southeast Palermo and...Hotel St. Regis making a comeback
Hand of Lebanese entrepreneur guides rebirth of historic landmark DETROIT—As the city anticipates the opening of the new MGM Grand Detroit Casino next week (barring a shutdown of state government over the budget chaos), another upscale hotel is working to regain recognition as one of Detroit's premier luxury attractions. The newly...MSU expands global presence with Dubai agreement
EAST LANSING — Michigan State University is moving forward to forge a strong Middle East presence by signing an agreement that will put into action the next steps toward opening not-for-profit MSU programs in Dubai International Academic City (DIAC). Classes there will begin as early as fall 2008. The agreement moves MSU closer to...Religion an issue in Ontario election
Ontario's Conservative Party leader John Tory has created a storm in the election campaign by raising the issue of provincial funding for private faith-based schools. The Conservatives have come out in favor of such funding, while the governing Liberals are strongly opposed. Ontario's third party, the socialist New Democrats, are also...Muslim charity coordinates nationwide effort to serve thousands of homeless
Detroit—Volunteers for a California-based Muslim charity plan to take to the streets in 19 U.S. cities Sept. 29 and 30 to help the homeless during Ramadan. The annual "Humanitarian Day" coordinated by Islamic Relief is expected to reach an estimated 25,000 needy people over the weekend. Last year's volunteers served food and other...Mourning two Palestinian giants
When I began seeing e-mails with the name "Dr. Haidar Abdel Shafi" in the subject line, I figured he must be speaking somewhere. In August 2002, I saw him speak at the Palestine Center in Washington, DC. I remember thinking how sharp his analysis was. It was so sharp, I forgot how old he was (he was born in 1919). Dr. Haidar Abdel...Why we must stop the war against Iran
To bomb or not to bomb Iran, that's the question the Bush administration appears to be debating these days, once again revealing the extraordinary disconnect between the White House and the American people. With a catastrophic occupation of Iraq and polls showing the American public so skeptical about the use of military force that only...Army needs to leave Iraq, not recruit more Arab Americans
The article "Army wants more Arab Americans to serve their country", with Brigadier General Anthony A. (Tony) Cucolo III, Chief of Public Affairs for the U.S. Army, in last week's issue, was not convincing enough as to why more Arab Americans should serve their country by enlisting in the army to serve in Iraq. I don't question the......
The wider dilemma of Iraq
The intense political focus on Iraq in the United States continues to revolve around the theme of how soon the U.S. might be able to substantially withdraw its troops. Democrats who won a majority in the Congress last November have run up against the limits of their slim majority. Their lack of a two-thirds majority to override a...U.S. Senate votes to partition Iraq. Softly.
On 26 September 2007 the United States Senate voted 75–23 in favor of an amendment to the defense spending bill for 2008 that authorizes the U.S. government to "encourage" Iraqis to find a "federal" solution to the internal conflicts in their country. At least two different interpretations of the bill are possible. First, one may......
Visa Lottery registration starts October 3rd
Fifty thousand people from around the world each year receive visas to come to the U.S. through the Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery Program. Created by Congress in 1990, the program is intended to boost racial and ethnic diversity in the United States, according to the State Department. Winners, chosen randomly from a pool of...Congress passes Mideast measures
WASHINGTON — Coinciding with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to New York, the House of Representatives voted 397-16 Tuesday to pass a bill that would expand economic sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. The bill also calls on the State Department to designate Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps...Clinton’s rivals tread carefully in N.H.
Washington — As some of this city's chattering classes had it, the Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire Wednesday night was supposed to be a Hillary Clinton takedown. Senator Clinton had pulled so far ahead in the polls, the theory went, that her rivals would have to go negative to start to narrow the gap. But on the stage...Bush’s fake sheik whacked
Did you see George all choked up? In his surreal TV talk two weeks ago, he got all emotional over the killing by Al Qaeda of Sheik Abu Risha, the leader of the new Sunni alliance with the U.S. against the insurgents in Anbar Province, Iraq. Bush shook Abu Risha’s hand two weeks prior to that for the cameras. Bush can shake his hand......
Making Ahmadinejad public enemy No. 1
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly has become a media circus. But the controversy does not stem from the reasons usually cited. The media has focused on debating whether he should be allowed to speak at Columbia University on Monday, or whether his request to visit...Abizaid: World could abide nuclear Iran
Every effort should be made to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, but failing that, the world could live with a nuclear-armed regime in Tehran, a recently retired commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said this week. John Abizaid, the retired Army general who headed Central Command for nearly four years, said he was......
New naturalization test to debut in October 2008
WASHINGTON - U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) this week announced the 100 questions and answers that comprise the civics component of the new naturalization test. USCIS will administer this new test to citizenship applicants beginning in October 2008. Earlier this year, more than 6,000 citizenship applicants...Islamic banks in Canada?
The Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions is considering two proposals to open sharia-compliant banks. Such institutions would neither give nor charge interest and would not engage in speculative transactions. As well, they would not be involved in transactions having to do with pork products, alcohol,......