The people fight back in Detroit
June 19th, 20090 DETROIT — As voices of anger and frustration echoed through the air at Grand Circus Park in Detroit on Tuesday, many onlookers couldn't help but stop by to see what all the noise was about. Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, center, and Reverend Edwin Rowe, L, of Central United Methodist Church in Detroit. PHOTO: NIck...Anger, arrogance cause quandary in Iran
Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi (C waving) speaks to supporters at a rally in Tehran June 18, 2009. REUTERS Friday, June 12, 2009 was a dynamic day in the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thirty years after its establishment under the leadership of Imam Khomeini, the Iranian democracy should...
Iranian election riots not homegrown
June 19th, 20090 As this is being written, official announcements in Iran today of a landslide victory by incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are being met with cries of "fraud" by supporters of his principal challenger, former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi. The New York Times is reporting that "at least one person had been shot dead in...Netanyahu’s speech draws sharp criticism
DEARBORN — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech on Sunday, June 14 that some have described as a groundbreaking acceptance of the creation of a Palestinian state, while others call it a debilitating step backwards in the peace process. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on June 17,...Future wide open for ethnic media
Ethnic media voices are critical to the national discourse, according to University of Michigan administrators at a university press conference. The June 12 convening was part of University of Michigan-Dearborn's series on media diversity and social change, and the first ever to include a panel of ethnic media. Journalists of a...Book review: Must-read about the nuclear mess
Stephanie Cooke's "In Mortal Hands"In an era when corporate media, corporate politicians and corporate military men gang up together and denounce and threaten other countries because of their nuclear related activities, they should spend much of that rhetorical energy cross-examining themselves in a mirror. North Korea's latest...CAIR holds civil rights townhall amid concerns
CAIR holds civil rights townhall amid concerns DETROIT — The Council on American Islamic Relations held a meeting on Friday, June 12 to discuss several issues in the Muslim community. These included airport profiling, FBI informants and citizenship processing delays. CAIR-Michigan Director Dawud Walid, L, and CAIR...Long way from ‘Settlerland’ to ‘Palestineland’
JERUSALEM — Has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got the Obama message? To judge by his minimalist response to President Barack Obama's landmark Cairo University address and his continuing reluctance to meet Obama's demand for a total freeze on Israeli settlements, the answer would seem to be, 'No'. It's a mighty...
Goodbye, GM
June 12th, 20090 I write this on the morning of the end of the once-mighty General Motors. By high noon, the President of the United States will have made it official: General Motors, as we know it, has been totaled. As I sit here in GM's birthplace, Flint, Michigan, I am surrounded by friends and family who are filled with anxiety about what will...Good place to start learning about Iran
Robert Baer's "The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower" Iran is obviously a key player in the Middle East. The many references within other texts dealing with other aspects of the Middle East and the several texts dealing specifically with Iran highlight its significance. Part of that significance is that Iran...Mixed local reactions to Lebanon election
A Lebanese family show their ink-stained fingers at a polling station in Beirut's suburbs June 7, 2009. Lebanese voters cast ballots in a tightly contested general election on Sunday pitting March 14th coalition against the March 8th coalition. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi Lebanese Americans from throughout Metro Detroit are expressing...
Clinton to address ADC convention
June 12th, 20090 WASHINGTON — Former President Bill Clinton is to accept the ADC Global Leadership Award and deliver keynote remarks on Saturday, June 13 during the 2009 American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee National Convention in Washington D.C. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton The three-day convention is also to feature...Twin sisters excel at Crestwood
DEARBORN HEIGHTS — For most high school students, the mid-afternoon hours are reserved for hanging out with friends, eating, or perhaps taking a long, refreshing nap. Layal, L, and Zeinab Khocheiche But for Layal and Zeinab Khocheiche of Dearborn Heights Crestwood High School, after school time took on a whole different...Shora appointed to DHS council
WASHINGTON — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) announced on June 5 that at a ceremony held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano swore-in ADC National Executive Director Kareem Shora as a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC). American-Arab...
Arabs praise Obama speech, await actions
June 10th, 20090 Local media flocked to the Lebanese American Heritage Club to hear reaction to President Obama's speech from local Arab American community leaders Osama Siblani, L, Imad Hamad, Hasan Newash and others. PHOTO: Nick Meyer/TAAN DEARBORN — A press conference was held Thursday morning at the Lebanese American Heritage Club in......
Report ties dubious Iran nuclear documents to Israel
WASHINGTON (IPS) — A report on Iran's nuclear program issued by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month generated news stories publicizing an incendiary charge that U.S. intelligence is underestimating Iran's progress in designing a "nuclear warhead" before the halt in nuclear weapons-related research in 2003. That false...Obama ties Palestinian cause with Israel’s security and Arab reform
On June 4, in Cairo, President Obama started a promising dialogue with Islam: President Barack Obama waves to the audience as he leaves the Grand Hall of Cairo University after delivering a speech in Cairo June 4, 2009. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic "So let there be no doubt: Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America......
The end of free speech?
On October 16, 2004, President George W. Bush signed the Israel Lobby's bill, the Global Anti-Semitism Review Act. This legislation requires the U.S. Department of State to monitor anti-Semitism world wide. To monitor anti-Semitism, it has to be defined. What is the definition? Basically, as defined by the Israel Lobby and Abe...State Dept issues booklet on being Muslim in America
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP) released a booklet entitled "Being Muslim in America" in March. The goal of the bureau is to provide foreign civilians and opinion makers information about U.S. policy, society and values, according to the State Department. This...Student becomes fourth valedictorian in her family
With the winners separated by mere percentage points and the competition fierce, it takes a special inner-drive to become a valedictorian Zeinab Saghir is the fourth Fordson valedictorian from her family. Few know that better than the Saghir family, which has produced four valedictorians at Fordson since 2000, including the 2009...CAAO delegation meets with State, Justice officials
CAAO leaders described their meetings with the State and Justice Departments as productive but added that there is much work to be done. PHOTO: TAAN DEARBORN — The Congress of Arab American Organizations (CAAO) sent delegates to Washington D.C. this past week to meet with senior officials from both the U.S. State Department......
BRIDGES meeting discusses border patrol issues, paid informants
DEARBORN — Congress of Arab American Organizations (CAAO) representatives met on Thursday at a BRIDGES meeting to discuss with law enforcement officials new travel requirements and allegations of FBI agents sending informants into community mosques. Arab American community leaders meet with federal law enforcement officials on...Corruption in Lebanon elections?
BEIRUT — When Lebanon heads to the polls Jun. 7 to decide whether the Hizbullah-led opposition alliance will unseat the ruling Western-backed coalition, voter anonymity could be compromised by shortcomings in the 2008 parliamentary election law. A Lebanese woman shows her ink-stained finger after casting her vote at a polling......
Saving Israel from itself
The United States and Israel fundamentally disagree about the need to establish a Palestinian state living side by side with Israel. President Obama is committed to a two-state solution, while Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu is opposed and has been for many years. To avoid a direct confrontation with Washington, Netanyahu will...
Palestinian intern in Detroit to tackle homeland water crisis
May 30th, 20090 Despite a collective outcry from human rights groups, the humanitarian situation in Palestine remains on shaky ground. Manar Sami Shraideh And without adequate outside support, some Palestinians, like Manar Sami Shraideh, have begun to seek help for the problems that plague the country in the face of Israeli checkpoints......