The Arab American News
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Learn from the fall of Rome, U.S. warned
The U.S. government is on a "burning platform" of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, chronic healthcare underfunding, immigration and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon, the country's top government inspector has warned. David Walker, comptroller general of the U.S.,...Iran ties weaken Iraqi government further
BAGHDAD (IPS) � Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's increasing ties with Iran have triggered a splintering of his government. Several groups, both Sunni and Shi'a, have followed the Sunni al-Tawafuq bloc (Iraqi Accord Front) in quitting the U.S.-backed government. But Maliki refuses to make the concessions necessary to bring his...Terror label for Revolutionary Guards entrenches U.S.-Iran enmity
WASHINGTON (IPS) � The White House's decision to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization could deal a double blow to efforts to utilize diplomacy with Iran to stabilize Iraq. Not only does the designation risk undermining the important yet limited talks between the United States and Iran in Baghdad,...The closed door meetings of Mahmoud Abbas
When Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestine Authority in Ramallah, holds three-hour meetings in Jericho with Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, and when these meetings are restricted to the two men only for half the time, the agenda must include issues of a very grave nature that require prior agreement. Mahmoud...Hamas optimism vs. Fatah despair
PALESTINE � Even in the face of possible economic collapse, Hamas leaders want to figure out a better way to collect garbage in Gaza. The Islamist movement, which now controls the coastal strip, is working out ways to create new jobs and reduce petty crime. A new enthusiasm has swept through this territory in the aftermath of the...Taking care of hunger in the D
TROY � In the current Michigan economy, it may not startle you to learn that 45% of the population in Detroit is classified as what the international community now calls "food insecure." According to Monica Luoma of Forgotten Harvest, that means people who are hungry now, or who may be one paycheck away from hunger or who don't know...
Ahmed named to head DHS for Michigan
August 18th, 20070 DEARBORN � Governor Jennifer M. Granholm this week announced the appointment of Ismael Ahmed to director of the Michigan Department of Human Services. Ahmed is a 1975 graduate of the University of Michigan with a bachelor of arts degree in secondary education and a minor in sociology. Ahmed, co-founder of the Arab Community Center for...Prospects of Armageddon: A strike against Iran
The logic that defends past nuclear atrocities is now used to support a strike against Iran It is appalling, if unsurprising, to read the neoconservative cheerleader Oliver Kamm arguing in these pages that the atomic bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki 62 years ago saved lives and ended suffering. The subtext is plain. The...Nation’s soul is at stake in NSA case
Today (Aug. 15, 2007) the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco is hearing arguments on two of the most important cases in decades dealing with the rule of law and personal privacy. The cases are Hepting v. AT&T and Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation v. Bush. At stake is whether the government can immunize itself from...
Hizbullah marks Lebanon war anniversary with pomp and piety
August 14th, 20070 Last summer, the sky above Beirut's southern suburbs was filled with Israeli warplanes; Tuesday night, it exploded with color as Hizbullah supporters came out in force to commemorate "the day of victory" that marked the end of the 2006 war with Israel. Packing an empty-lot-turned-outdoor-auditorium and spilling into crowded streets...
Fear of Arabs and Muslims on the rise in America
August 14th, 20070 Anti-Muslim and anti-Arab acts in the streets, schools and homes of America have shocked many in recent weeks. In the span of a few short days, a fire devastated a mosque in California and a political controversy set back an Arabic school set to open this fall in New York. The mosque fire, if intentional, was violent and illegal. Such...
ACC continues upgrade of Detroit neighborhood
July 29th, 20070 The Seven Mile Project - Phase III DETROIT � The neighborhood of 7 Mile and Woodward is one filled with a deep, prideful history. It is a place with great diversity, where black and white residents have lived side by side for decades. It is also the original settlement for the largest population of Iraqi Chaldeans outside of the...Workplace discrimination subject of annual EEOC meet
DETROIT � The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held a candid panel discussion on workplace discrimination during its Annual Detroit Seminar on Thursday, July 19, at the Wayne State University School of Law. The panel, entitled "Diversity in the Workplace," focused on issues of race discrimination, stereotyping and...ADC hosts DHS officials at reception
Washington � This week the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) hosted a dinner reception for speakers and participants in the "Roundtable on Security and Liberty: Perspectives of Young Leaders Post 9-11." The two-day roundtable was hosted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office for Civil Rights and Civil...All thing Lebanese at Birmingham festival
Birmingham - The first annual Lebanese Festival � dubbed Leb Fest - took place Wednesday in downtown Birmingham, attracting hundreds of Arabs and non-Arabs alike. The event had specialty food booths that offered visitors a taste of genuine Lebanese cuisine, as well as a variety of musical and dance shows that included Detroit......
Arab ambassadors attend Michigan conference
WASHINGTON - A delegation of Arab ambassadors attended the annual meeting of the National Governors Association (NGA) last week in Traverse City, Michigan. The trip was organized by the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC), whose President & CEO, David Hamod, described the visit as a "unique opportunity for Arab...
Poll shows most Muslims reject extremism
July 29th, 20070 WASHINGTON (IPS) � Growing numbers of Muslims in the Middle East and in predominantly Muslim countries in Asia and Africa are rejecting "Islamic extremism" and the use of suicide bombing, according to a new 47-nation global attitudes survey released by the Pew Research Center on Tuesday. The percentage of Muslims who say that suicide......
Refugees cause worry about state economy
DETROIT � The area in southeast Michigan where 2,000 Iraqi refugees are expected to resettle already has 169,000 people out of work. Some fear the influx will push the state's unemployment rate even higher. Imad Hamad, regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, is concerned that the area cannot support...Raids on charities made all look guilty
Dearborn�s Arab American and American Muslim communities were shocked by the serious allegations made by federal authorities this week against two Dearborn-based charities. The FBI raided the offices of Al-Mabbarat Charitable Organization, U.S.A and Goodwill Charitable Organization. The U.S. Treasury Department also froze the assets and...Current peace process not what it seems
As opposed to the forecast, energetic diplomatic activity � which in the distant past was called the "peace process" � began during the July-August vacation, of all times. Summit meetings, a prisoner release, economic gestures, optimistic declarations and diplomatic plans are all making us feel that something serious is really happening....Bush line distorts Iran’s real interest in Iraq
WASHINGTON (IPS) � As U.S. and Iranian diplomats met in Baghdad thisweek for a second round of talks on Iraq, the domestic U.S. political climate appears decidedly more supportive of an aggressive U.S. posture toward Iran than just a few months ago, reflecting the apparent triumph the George W. Bush administration's narrative on Iran's......
U.S. evangelicals meet Muslim envoys
OAKLAND (IPS) � That it happened at all was a major feat. That not much was resolved was not surprising. That those involved are determined to meet again is fascinating. That it was organized by a controversial faith healer has made it that much more noteworthy. In early July, a historic meeting took place "behind closed doors" at the...A South African in Palestine
The first vice-president of the South African Municipal Workers' Union (SAMWU) received first-class Israeli treatment as he attempted to fly from South Africa to Israel-Palestine. Mr. Xolile Nxu went through a process all too familiar to many Palestinians. He was �detained, interrogated and strip searched by Israeli security� in the......
E.U. support of U.S. Mideast policy challenged
BRUSSELS (IPS) � The European Union's foreign policy supremo Javier Solana this week declared himself "fully behind" the call for an international conference on the Middle East made recently by U.S. President George W. Bush. But is it time for the E.U. to cease being guided on the Israeli-Palestinian question by the United States, which...Report details Israeli war crimes in Lebanon
One year after the month-long bombardment and invasion of Lebanon, a new report highlights Israel�s many violations of international law. For 34 days from July to August, 2006, Israel carried �out a massive military offensive against Hizbullah military targets, Lebanon�s public infrastructure, and Lebanese civilians and their......
