ADC challenges tax benefits to groups supporting Israeli settlers
WASHINGTON — The largest Arab American civil rights organization is petitioning the government concerning the tax benefits going to organizations actively aiding the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. This came after an influential Washington Post columnist observed the irony that tax breaks to these groups...What young workers should know about Social Security
Retirement is probably the last thing on your mind if you're a young worker. But there are some basics you should know about Social Security and savings to plan for your retirement. Social Security is the foundation for a secure retirement, but was never intended to be your only source of income when you retire. While Social Security...
Detroit plots green future as its bailout plan
March 28th, 20090 WASHINGTON — Emergency federal loans to the U.S. auto industry are just the beginning of an emerging partnership between Detroit carmakers and the US government — a partnership that could shape the industry's future. Specifically, in seeking financial help General Motors and Chrysler have outlined a vision of greener product...
Veils of secrecy lifting in Washington
March 28th, 20090 NEW YORK (IPS) — As President Barack Obama's Justice Department issued sweeping new guidelines to reverse the secrecy policies of former president George W. Bush, a federal judge ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to produce unedited summaries of some 3,000 documents related to its admitted destruction of 92 videotapes of...U.S. Jews open to Palestinian unity government
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Contrary to the views of the likely incoming right-wing government of Israel, most U.S. Jews favor peace negotiations with a Palestinian unity government that would include Hamas, according to a new poll released here Tuesday by the year-old, pro-peace Jewish lobby group, J Street. The poll of 800 self-identified...Moroccan born soccer coach realizes dreams in the United States
When Abdelali Alaoui left Casablanca, Morocco aboard a Royal Air Maroc flight headed to New York in the spring of 1995, he was a young man full of big dreams and solid ambition. He set his sights on becoming a Major League Soccer player in the United States. Abdelali Alaoui With a few dollars in his pocket and a smattering...Freeman affair puts Israel lobby in spotlight
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Although the successful campaign to keep Amb. Charles "Chas" Freeman out of a top intelligence post marked a surface victory for the pro-Israel hardliners who opposed him, the long-term political implications of the Freeman affair appear far more ambiguous. Charles "Chas" Freeman Freeman's withdrawal...
Immigrants face detentions, few rights
March 21st, 20090 America's detention system for immigrants has mushroomed in the last decade, a costly building boom that was supposed to sweep up criminals and ensure that undocumented immigrants were quickly shown the door. Instead, an Associated Press computer analysis of every person being held on a recent Sunday night shows that most did not...Economic recovery payments coming for people who receive Social Security and SSI benefits
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which the President signed into law in February, provides for a one-time payment of $250 to people receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. President Obama signs The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 this past February. The...
Obama pick quits over Israel lobby
March 14th, 20090 The candidate for a leading U.S. intelligence post has withdrawn his nomination after accusing the country's Israel lobby of plumbing "the depths of dishonor and indecency" to assassinate his character. Charles "Chas" Freeman Charles "Chas" Freeman, a former U.S. ambassador who is now president of the Middle East Policy...Profiling still plagues Muslim communities
NEW YORK — On the heels of a recent poll that found that American Muslims experience emotional turbulence due to the stereotypes and suspicion of Islam since the Sep. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, two major Muslim-American organizations issued scathing indictments of the tactics of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department...Islamist governments not the enemy, say Mideast experts
WASHINGTON — Scores of Middle East and democracy experts released an open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday asking him to focus more of his foreign policy efforts at making reforms in the region, including boosting human rights. Signed by over 120 academics, scholars, experts and others, the letter said that previous...Activists oppose state-funded Israeli dance company tour
An image of dancing shoes imposed over a photo of destruction in Gaza used on flyers publicizing a protest of Israel's touring Batsheva Dance Company. Palestine solidarity activists are in the midst of protesting an Israeli dance company's tour. They are urging people to boycott their shows and protest them since the...
Video: Largest ever Arab arts festival in U.S. opens
March 3rd, 20090 The largest ever Arab arts festival in the U.S., "Arabesque: Arts of the Arab World," opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington last week. The first in a series of PBS reports on the three-week festival, which aired on Feb. 23, sets the scene with interviews of the aritists, Kennedy Center President Michael Kaiser and Alicia Adams,...
Video: Former President Carter weighs in Israel-Palestine conflict on Tavis Smiley
February 24th, 20090 Former President Jimmy Carter outlined obstacles for a peace deal in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a guest on PBS' "Tavis Smiley" on Feb. 16, addressing illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the separation barrier that cuts deep into Palestinian land and the Hamas resistance. In this segment, Carter said many of the......
Video: Students allowed to wear kuffiyehs after protests
February 24th, 20090 Two students at a Monroeville, Pa. high school were asked to remove, then allowed to wear their kufiyyehs – traditional Arab scarves worn increasingly in the U.S. as cultural, political or fashion statements – last week after fellow students complained the garments signified support for terrorism. Pittsburgh's CBS news affiliate...
YOUR MONEY: Why NOT to buy a foreclosed property
February 21st, 20090 The more depressed the real estate market gets, the more the promoters come out from under the woodwork, under their rocks, or wherever they have been hiding, to pitch their expensive—and unrealistic—plans and programs about how to get rich in real estate through foreclosures. Right now, the residential real estate market is......
YOUR MONEY: Enabling first time home buyers
DEARBORN— Among the most effective economic stimulus policies proposed by President Obama and passed by Democrats in Congress this week is a refundable, $8,000 tax credit payable to first time homebuyers and those who have not owned a home for three years. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the bill provides for...
Will the stimulus bill boost public confidence?
February 14th, 20090 Leaders from the Senate and House Appropriations Committees meet to negotiate the stimulus package in Washington, DC, February 11, 2009. U.S. lawmakers reached a compromise deal on Wednesday on a $789 billion package of tax cuts and spending to rescue the ailing economy and votes could begin as early as Thursday. REUTERS/Joshua...
Hampshire College to divest from companies supporting Israeli occupation
February 14th, 20090 Students for Justice in Palestine at Hampshire College launched a campaign to convince the college's board of trustees to withdraw the college's investments in six companies that support the Israeli occupation through their business activities. The board moved to pull its investments in over 200 companies, including the six listed in the...Digital delay gives unprepared communities more time to get ready, obtain coupons
WASHINGTON – Calling the delay in the conversion to digital TV broadcasting "a call to action" for communities across the country, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund (LCCREF) and New America Media (NAM) have stepped up their joint campaign to assist minority and low-income households with preparing for the......
Obama urged to review position on landmines and cluster bombs
A U.S. Air Force bomber unleashes cluster munitions WASHINGTON — This week, leaders from 67 national organizations, including the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, representing a wide cross-section of American values and constituencies, issued a strong call for President Barack Obama to reconsider U.S....Muslim and Arab American leaders meet with New York mayor
NEW YORK — The Muslim Public Affairs Council - New York City (MPAC-NYC), together with other community groups, met with Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday to express their concerns about the mayor's "uncritical" support of Israel's recent attacks on Gaza. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg "In the interest of representing all......
U.S. academics boycott Israel
An increasing number of American university professors have joined a U.S. Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel. Earlier in January, a group of American university professors launched a national campaign calling for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel, as the regime began its deadly military campaign in the...
Generals seek to reverse Obama withdrawal decision
February 7th, 20090 WASHINGTON (IPS) — CENTCOM commander Gen. David Petraeus, supported by Defense Secretary Robert Gates, tried to convince President Barack Obama that he had to back down from his campaign pledge to withdraw all U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months at an Oval Office meeting Jan. 21. A man walks past a U.S. soldier......