Israel ranked world’s most militarized nation
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Israel tops the list of the world’s most militarized nations, according to the latest Global Militarization Index released Tuesday by the Bonn International Centre for Conversion (BICC).At number 34, Israel’s main regional rival, Iran, is far behind. Indeed, every other Near Eastern country, with the exceptions...
Gaza trembles, Arab world simmers as Israel prepares for ground assault
November 17th, 20120 An Israeli ground operation against the beleaguered Gaza Strip seemed imminent on Thursday as forces moved toward the border area according to the Associated Press. Trucks were seen moving tanks and armored personnel carriers according to the report which buses carrying soldiers also arrived. On the social media site Twitter, several...
Who started it? Bloodbath in Gaza
November 17th, 20120 A New York Times article, published November 14th, reports on the death of Hamas military commander Ahmed Jabari, killed by one of Israel’s recent airstrikes. "Gaza truce broken as Israeli raid kills six Hamas gunmen," published in the Guardian and written by Rory McCarthy, in which an Israeli official is quoted bragging about a...Islamophobic candidates are big losers in 2012 election
Several candidates for Congressional elections known for making anti-Islam statements were defeated during this week's election, much to the delight of American Muslims and tolerant U.S. residents in general who have grown tired of the unwelcoming climate. "These encouraging results clearly show that mainstream Americans reject...U.S. voters punish Republicans for “reckless obstruction”
WASHINGTON - Despite a bitterly and closely fought presidential campaign fueled by record financial backing, analysts sifting through Tuesday’s national election results here are forecasting a period of introspection for the opposition Republican Party that could ease the gridlock that has gummed up Washington politics in recent...What will Obama’s second term hold for foreign policy?
After a campaign and election in which, at least as much as in most other election years, foreign policy took a back seat to domestic concerns, we — and the newly re-elected president — should take stock of the foreign policy significance of the electoral decision the American people just made. Possibly the most significant...Our endorsements: Fate of five Wayne County proposals to be decided
The Arab American News has taken a position on five Wayne County ballot proposals only residents of the county will have the opportunity to vote on in the Nov. 6 general election. The proposals could amend sections of the Wayne County Home Rule Charter. One of the proposals is an attempt to get Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano...Ballot proposals crucial, could amend state constitution and change laws
There are six major statewide ballot proposals you will have the opportunity to vote on during the Nov. 6 general election that will impact everything from determining the legitimacy of Michigan’s controversial emergency financial law and the future of collective bargaining in Michigan to whether an additional bridge connecting the...Obama ends term on disappointing note over Mideast
CAIRO — Three years after he promised a rapt Cairo audience a shift in his country's unpopular Middle East policy, U.S. President Barack Obama goes to the polls leaving disappointment in a region swept by the Arab Spring.Obama's critics say he has not honored his pledges, such as settling the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, or improving...
Is the detritus of the Iraq war harming the babies of Fallujah?
November 5th, 20120 Anecdotal tales of inexplicable sickness and deformities have abounded in Iraq for years. In their broad brushstrokes, they seem plausible. The first Gulf War had littered much of Iraq with depleted uranium from the armor-piercing bullets the U.S. used to destroy Saddam Hussein's retreating columns in1991. (The Monitor's Scott Peterson...Blame game sets off amid obvious divorce between Washington, Syrian SNC
The head of the main opposition Syrian National Council on Thursday blamed the international community's failure to react to the country's conflict for fueling Islamic extremist sentiment.The comments came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the opposition should "strongly resist the efforts by the extremists to...
Consider what’s at stake: Re-elect Barack Obama
November 3rd, 20120 Like most other Americans, the top five issues of importance to Arab American voters are jobs and the economy, education, health care policy, Medicare and Social Security, and civil rights. In almost every area, Arab Americans agree more with President Barack Obama's ideas and policies than with those of Governor Mitt...
Eye on elections: Muslim voters disappointed with Obama, wary of GOP
November 3rd, 20120 SAN FRANCISCO — There are an estimated 8 million Muslim Americans living in the United States, with close to 100,000 in the San Francisco Bay Area. Four years ago, an overwhelming majority of them — close to 90 percent — voted for President Obama.But Javed Ali, founder and publisher of Illume Media based the East Bay city of...
Dearborn School Board candidates discuss state school rankings, promise improvements
October 29th, 20120 DEARBORN - As Dearborn Board of Education members Aimee Blackburn and Mary Lane run for re-election they’re being struck with questions about the state of Michigan ranking some schools in the district as Focus Schools.Both Fordson and Edsel Ford High School among other schools received the title after some students performed below...
Connie Kelley hopes to implement stronger family laws in Supreme Court
October 29th, 20120 LANSING — Michigan Supreme Court candidate Connie Kelley hopes that she can represent hard working middle class families if elected to serve in the highest level of court in the state of Michigan. After serving 27 years as a lawyer, Kelley followed that by holding a position in the Wayne County Circuit Court, where she currently serves......
Obama lead shrinking in Michigan despite improved debate performances
The tightening of the Presidential race nationally has once again seeped into Michigan, and polling statistics show a huge opportunity for the Mitt Romney campaign in the latest Foster McCollum White Baydoun (FMW)B poll for Fox 2 News Detroit of Michigan's most likely voters. President Barack Obama and Romney, the Republican...Damascus agrees to four-day Eid ceasefire
Damascus announced it has agreed to a four-day ceasefire across Syria for the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, the ‘Feast of Sacrifice.’ The truce will begin on Friday. A member of the Free Syrian Army fires at a sniper as he runs for cover during clashes with pro-government forces in Harem town, Idlib Governorate, October, 25, 2012. ......
Israel an apartheid state? A majority of Jews say yes
A majority of Israeli Jews admit they are living in an apartheid state, a recent survey claimed. Many also believed that Palestinians should be denied the right to vote, and suggested that Jewish citizens should be given preferential treatment.Some 500 Jewish adults took part in the survey, answering questions put together by a group of...Israel‘s formula for a starvation diet
Nazareth — Six and a half years go, shortly after Hamas won the Palestinian national elections and took charge of Gaza, a senior Israeli official described Israel’s planned response. “The idea,” he said, “is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger.” A Palestinian woman sells vegetables on a...Bombing leaves Lebanon shaken
BEIRUT (IPS) — The assassination of Lebanon’s top security official on Friday not only ravaged a quiet Beirut neighbourhood but also shattered the precarious sense of security many Lebanese have been desperately clinging to in recent months.Wissam al-Hassan, chief of Lebanon’s internal security services, was killed by a massive car...
U.S. Muslims could be critical voting bloc
October 29th, 20120 WASHINGTON (IPS) — With Barack Obama and Mitt Romney virtually tied with Election Day less than two weeks away, Muslim voters could play an unexpected critical role in deciding the outcome Nov. 6.A poll of 500 registered Muslim voters released here Wednesday found that more than two-thirds (68 percent) currently plan to vote for......
U.S.: Greater Middle East dominates the last debate
October 29th, 20120 WASHINGTON (IPS) — U.S. strategy in the Greater Middle East, which has dominated foreign policy-making since the 9/11 attacks more than 11 years ago, similarly dominated the third and last debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney Monday night.The biggest surprise of the debate, which was supposed to be devoted...Soueidan lays out plans for revamping school district
DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Hamid Soueidan's appointment onto the Crestwood School Board in August gave Arab American parents a new voice to rely on, after months of public outcry demanding that the district show some form of representation for Arab American students. But Soueidan's relationship with Crestwood is nothing new, in fact, it traces......
Hussein says hope in students’ futures sparked interest for position
DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Zaineb Hussein started volunteering her time as a counselor and tutor to students at an after school program here long before she decided to launch a campaign to compete as a candidate for the Crestwood School Board. Hussein says she donates her time because she believes and cares about the futures of students....
Dearborn City Hall accepting absentee ballots; Salamey campaign urges participation
October 19th, 20120 Two women show their absentee ballots at City Hall this week. PHOTO: Samer Hijazi DEARBORN — With the General Elections less than three weeks away, both local campaigns as well as the city of Dearborn have been spreading the word about the option for absentee ballot voting, which can be picked up at the city clerk's office at......
