“Arab Attitudes”: U.S. standing plunges across Arab world
July 16th, 20110 WASHINGTON - The United States' popularity in the Arab world has plummeted to levels lower than the last year of the George W. Bush administration, according to a new survey of public opinion in six Arab countries released here last Wednesday.The "Arab Attitudes" survey found that favorable ratings of the United States have fallen by...Michigan deaths in Afghanistan, Iraq: 204
A total of 204 Michigan servicemen have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan combined according to data released by CNN.com. More than 6,000 on the U.S. side have been killed altogether in both wars. The numbers from Michigan break down as 159 killed in Iraq and 45 in Afghanistan, according to the statistics. ...Zogby Poll: 67% say U.S. headed in wrong direction
UTICA, NY — Two-thirds of likely voters say the nation is headed in the wrong direction, the highest it has been since December of last year. Only 23% say the nation is headed in the right direction, while 67% say it is on the wrong track. The wrong track total is the highest since the 68% total found on December 14,...Michigan cancels Tuesday, Wednesday prison visits
JACKSON – Prisoner visitations for Tuesdays and Wednesdays will be cut in a move that is expected to save the Michigan Department of Corrections millions. The new schedule went into effect on June 13 according to officials and will eliminate the need for extra staffing. Some have questioned the move saying it further isolates...MPAC honors voices of courage and conscience at 20th Media Awards Gala
LOS ANGELES — Before a full house last weekend, the Muslim Public Affairs Council honored acclaimed actress Hiam Abbass for her portrayal of Hind al-Husseini in the film "Miral," the thought-provoking legal drama "The Good Wife," and the poignant documentary "Fordson." In a night filled with celebration and emotional moments, the...Immigrant rights advocates applaud decision to delay vote on E-Verify bills
LANSING — Recently Michigan State Rep. Wayne Schmidt, Chairman of the House Commerce Committee, reversed his plan to put both House Bills 4024 and 4026 to a vote and placed them on hold until the fall. Both bills require state contractors and temporary staffing companies to use the federal E-Verify system when hiring workers...Muslim woman fired by Air France for wearing headscarf
Herndon, VA. — Nineteen-year-old Riham Osman, a Muslim from Herndon, Virginia, was reportedly fired on the job at Dulles International Airport by Air France in early June, after a supervisor had told her that her head scarf violated the company's uniform policy.Osman, who was hired to be a passenger service agent for Air France by an...95-year-old woman forced to remove adult diaper for pat-down
A 95-year-old woman at the Northwest (Fla.) Regional Airport was reportedly forced to take off her adult diaper according to her daughter Jean Weber of Florida while heading to Michigan to visit family.The wheelchair-bound woman is battling leukemia and may not have much time to live according to reports. She was expecting to go to...
CAIR applauds weightlifting rule change to allow Islamic attire
July 1st, 20110 WASHINGTON — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) this week applauded a decision by the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to modify its policy on competitor apparel to allow modest Islamic attire. Kilsoom AbdullahThe IWF policy change, which now allows a full-body unitard under the compulsory weightlifting...ICE releases 2010 immigration enforcement report
WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection apprehended 517,000 foreign nationals in 2010 and removed approximately 387,000 from the U.S. according to a report released this month by the Office of Immigration Statistics.A total of 73 percent of those...“Covering Islam in the Bible Belt” conference seeking participants
NASHVILLE, TN – The Middle Tennessee State University School of Journalism is hosting a conference and workshop through a grant from the McCormick Foundation titled "Covering Islam in the Bible Belt" from Aug. 21-23. Participation will be limited to a maximum of 24 attendees, whose travel, lodging and tuition will be fully...EPIC lawsuit vs. DHS claims TSA employees had “cancer clusters” from scanners
WASHINGTON — Documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest research organization, raise new questions into the safety of TSA airport body scanners.The documents were obtained in the lawsuit "EPIC v. Department of Homeland Security."According to EPIC, one set reveals that TSA employees identified...Senate panel investigating CIA spying claims made by Michigan professor, Middle East writer Cole
ANN ARBOR – The Senate Intelligence Committee is now reviewing claims by a former official that the White House asked the CIA to dig up negative information about him according to the Detroit Free Press. University of Michigan history Professor Juan Cole, who authors the popular blog on Middle...Kerry, McCain come to Obama’s rescue over Libya
WASHINGTON (IPS) - Hoping to head off growing insurgencies in both major parties over Washington's participation in NATO's military campaign against Libya, two key senators Tuesday unveiled a resolution that would give President Barack Obama the authority to continue operations there for up to one...
Neoconservatives losing hold over Republican foreign policy
June 24th, 20110 WASHINGTON (IPS) — Nearly ten years after seizing control of Republican foreign policy, neo-conservatives and other hawks appear to be losing it. That is at least the tentative conclusion of a number of political analysts following last week's first nationally televised debate of the party's......
Alabama’s immigration bill “turns back clock” on civil liberties
June 19th, 20110 WASHINGTON (IPS) — On Dec. 1, 1955, at the height of racial segregation in the United States, a little-known middle-aged seamstress named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery City bus in the southern state of Alabama. Governor Rober Bentley signs House...U.S. activists prepare to break Israel’s blockade on Gaza
Recent weeks have seen renewed attention on the blockade of Gaza as international activists' efforts to break Israel's blockade with a flotilla come to a head. The Israeli government has begun to ramp up its propaganda efforts, claiming the flotilla has ties to terrorism. The United......
CIA building Mideast base for post-Saleh Yemen drone strikes
WASHINGTON — The United States is building a secret CIA air base in the Persian Gulf region to target terrorists in Yemen, preparing for the possibility that an anti-American faction may take over Yemen and ban U.S. forces from hunting a lethal al-Qaeda faction there, The Associated Press...
Will Huma Abedin remain Weiner’s good South Asian wife?
June 11th, 20110 Huma Abedin, an aide to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, heads to a meeting at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi June 9, 2011. Abedin is the wife of U.S. Representative Anthony Weiner. REUTERS/Susan WalshAs his enemies on both sides of the aisle of American politics continue to revel in New York Congressman Anthony...
Minority-owned businesses double
June 11th, 20110 WASHINGTON — The number of minority-owned businesses in the U.S. jumped 45.5 percent from 2002 to 2007, more than double the 17.9 percent increase for U.S. businesses as a whole, according to Census data released this week. Revenues of minority-owned firms increased 55 percent to $1.0 trillion...U.S. home prices at lowest levels since 2006 according to report
DETROIT – Home prices in the United States' major metro areas including Detroit have dropped to their lowest levels since 2006 according to a new report. Foreclosures have continued at record numbers forcing home prices down, a trend that is expected to continue this year. Prices in the......
Embassy returns passport to U.S. Muslim stuck in Kuwait
WASHINGTON — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced this week that an American Muslim citizen stuck in Kuwait had his passport returned by U.S. embassy officials who had seized it in February. Aziz Nouhaili, a naturalized American citizen, received his passport...More than immigration at stake in historic effort to recall AZ’s Pearce
Pearce, who took over as president of the state Senate this year, has been in office for 10 years. Like many of his constituents, he is a member of the Mormon church.PHOENIX — A bipartisan effort to recall conservative Arizona state Senator Russell Pearce, known for his tough stance on illegal immigration, could signal a shift in......
Obama to Israel: Take whatever you want
May 28th, 20110 President Barack Obama delivers remarks at AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, DC.In 2008, Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, pandered to pro-Israeli voters and Israel by promising in a speech addressed to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), that Jerusalem would...
U.S. launches global diaspora initiative
May 28th, 20110 WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton last week announced that the State Department was adding a fourth "D" to its toolbox of Diplomacy, Development and Defense: Diaspora. Marking an historic shift in the agency's view of global migrants, Clinton spoke at the opening of a......
