More in-depth reporting on air pollution in Michigan’s Wayne County could save lives
Southend resident Marya Aladwar has asthma and attends Salina Elementary School in Dearborn. Aladwar is holding up the inhaler she uses to treat her asthma. Air pollution from industrial sources can trigger asthma attacks.DETROIT — Air pollution from industrial sources in Wayne County— especially in the low income ZIP...Dearborn’s most dangerous intersection is flashing again
The intersection at Warren Avenue and Chase Road in Dearborn is less thrilling than a roller coaster but more dangerous than having dinner with wild bears. And it's flashing again. Starting at 10 p.m. the traffic light at Dearborn's most dangerous intersection starts flashing yellow on Warren and red on Chase. It basically turns...Israel’s thug at the UN
The appointment by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu of one of his most hawkish and outspoken rivals as Israel’s new ambassador to the United Nations has prompted widespread consternation. As one Israeli analyst noted last week, Danny Danon’s appointment amounts to a “cruel joke” on the international community. The new...
Opposing mosques is un-American
August 28th, 20150 The Chaldean resident who said all Muslims are killersIt was a parade of bigotry. Resident after resident piled insults on Islam and Muslims to voice opposition to the building of a mosque in Sterling Heights. And the one speaker who reminded the crowd at the city council meeting last week of the First and 14th Amendments was booed by...Immigration relief “DACA” is good for everybody
The third anniversary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is bittersweet. On the one hand, DACA improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of undocumented people brought into the U.S. by their parents by protecting them from deportation. On the other hand, it is only a temporary measure that is deeply resented by a...On voting … And not
The campaigning for next year’s elections is starting to draw more attention and with it comes a focus on voters and their mood. Which is all well and good, but it leaves out of the equation one large bloc of citizens: people who are eligible to vote, but don’t. Over the years, a fair number of people I’ve encountered have...We should be better neighbors
Children playing at night in a Dearborn street.Dearborn has a rich, diverse culture— a hybrid of the Middle East and the Midwest that can manifest itself in tasty food, welcoming faces and exuberant atmospheres. But not all is great. Our enthusiasm and liveliness are turning into chaos. Our tendency to be loud and stay up late...Rise and fall of Arab revolutionary discourse
A protest at Tahrir Square during the Jan. 25 Egyptian Revolution in 2011.Strange how intellectual discussion concerning the so-called “Arab Spring” has almost entirely shifted in recent years - from one concerning freedom, justice, democracy and rights in general, into a political wrangle between various antagonist camps. The...Crestwood superintendent owes Arabs explanation on discrimination findings
More than two years have passed since the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made findings that the Crestwood School District (CSD) discriminated against Arab Americans in hiring and recruitment. Last year, the CSD reached a settlement agreement with the civil rights division of the Department of Justice to improve...Politics sometimes shred the facts of immigration
Political rhetoric implies that unauthorized immigration, especially across the U.S. border with Mexico, is wildly out of control.Is that true?According to a July 24 immigration report by the Pew Research Center, the number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States is not up. It’s down.The peak, 12.2 million, was eight...The GOP: Reaping what it sowed
The 2016 Republican presidential contest has barely begun and it has already grown alternately tiresome and old or just downright scary. As a Democrat, I might be pleased, but as an American, I am deeply troubled. I just want it to end. A part of the GOP problem is the plague of too many candidates, 17 at last count, with many of them...
There is nothing to surveil in Dearborn
August 7th, 20150 Reports about an FBI-owned plane that was surveilling Dearborn over the weekend are alarming. The bureau has denied that it was targeting the Arab community and added that it is not aware of any threats in Metro Detroit. However, there is a growing irrational and unfounded fear of Dearborn being a hub for extremism. The city of 95,000...Wealth and income gaps in America continue to grow
In October of last year, a 30-year-old Wells Fargo employee in Portland, Oregon made national headlines after sending a provocative email to Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf. In his email, which was also copied to approximately 200,000 of the company's employees, Tyrel Oates addresses the increasing income inequality in America...Local Arab Americans failed Palestinians, again
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets to protest the frightening racism that is turning deadly in the occupied Palestinian territories. The demonstrations came after militant Zionists burned down a Palestinian home in the West Bank, killing 18-month-old Ali Dawabsha and injuring his parents and 4-year-old brother. Israelis,...Greater cooperation needed between police and businesses in Detroit
Excessive ticketing of gas stations and liquor stores owners continues to be a problem in Detroit. Once again, business owners are receiving multiple tickets for not having the proper licenses, missing invoices and other suspected violations. Sometimes the owners get several tickets for the same offense while in the processes of......
Anti-Gulf bigotry is inexcusable
Intra-Arab bigotry is a known matter. The Lebanese don't like Iraqis. The Iraqis think they are better than Yemenis. Yemenis think all Lebanese are condescending bigots. The clash of national identities is a tragedy in our community, especially since anti-Arab xenophobia does not differentiate in its hatred for us. Moreover, because...
I was barred from entering my homeland
July 29th, 20150 I waited more than seven hours and endured six different interrogations; and this is the conversation (from memory) that barred me from entering my homeland on the grounds that I was uncooperative. It was with an extremely unpleasant woman in uniform, red hair and massive amounts of makeup (for some reason, that's relevant). Keep......
Where the presidency is headed
Before the ins and outs of the 2016 presidential contest become a preoccupation for many of us, it seems a good time to step back and look at the office of the presidency for which so many candidates are vying. The presidency inherited by whoever wins next November will be substantially changed from the position his or her predecessors...Camps for Arabs and Muslims?
Bigotry in America is reaching dangerous levels. There has always been a fear in our community that the growing xenophobia would lead to World War II-style interment camps for Arab and Muslim Americans. While the idea seemed far-fetched, a national figure recently suggested putting people who are "likely to be radicalized" in...The economic upshot of the Iran deal
For all the hot air in Washington this week from Republicans denouncing the historic deal the United States and five world powers reached with Iran, keep in mind that gasoline may soon fall back to $2 a gallon. That is just one of many economic benefits to America, Europe and the Middle East we can anticipate because the smart use of...Mass surveillance is all about money and power
“We are under pressure from the Treasury to justify our budget; and commercial espionage is one way of making a direct contribution to the nation’s balance of payments” -Sir Colin McColl, former MI6 Chief. For years, public figures have condemned cyber espionage committed against the United States by intruders launching their......
Thank you, Aimee
Schoelles.This week, the Dearborn Board of Education bid farewell to its president, Aimee Schoelles (formerly Aimee Blackburn). She resigned her position after nearly 15 years of service on the Board of Education and local community organizations, especially as an active member of the Arab American Political Action Committee...The Iran deal is a good one
A historic deal has been reached with Iran over its nuclear program. The Obama administration has succeeded in convincing the Islamic Republic to considerably reduce its nuclear activities to a point that makes it impossible to produce a nuclear weapon. The agreement, which lifts economic sanctions on Iran, is sensible. It......
Arabs and baseball; an interesting relationship
Justin Verlander, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth and Willie Mays. Most of these names that belong to baseball legends are unfamiliar to many Arab Americans— because many Arabs just don’t like baseball. The reasons why many Arabs have no connection to the game once called “America’s pastime” are often due to their upbringing...Trump: A joker in the GOP presidential deck
"Some people," as Barry Switzer famously declared (rather oddly for a football coach), "are born on third base and go through life thinking they hit a triple." And then there's Donald Trump.Inheriting a $250 million fortune built by his father on government loans and housing contracts, Trump fell close to the family's corporate......
