Obama’s Virginia win sweeter than McCain’s
February 16th, 20080 It was hard to know where the good news ended for Barack Obama as results piled in from the Potomac. There was no question that Obama would dominate in DC and Maryland. But his overwhelming romp in Virginia — one of a handful of formerly "red" states that are toss-ups for 2008 — made the best case yet that the Illinois senator just might...
Arab Americans getting close to Obama?
February 9th, 20080 United States' politics have become intimately tied to Arab politics since 9/11 and the start of the ongoing war in Iraq. In a 2007 Zogby poll, sixty one percent of Arab American voters cited Iraq as the top issue in the election. Sixty six percent of Arab American voters also ranked Palestine very high on the list of issues of...
Arab Americans and Obama’s false hope
February 9th, 20080 At what point does an individual stop supporting the lesser of two evils? The question has become particularly important in the Democratic primary race, as one man has ascended to political stardom, ostensibly breaking free from the evils of mainstream politics and creating a platform based on hope and change. This transcendent figure is...Arab bloggers and the Obama phenomenon
With Super Tuesday leaving no clear Democratic nominee, Arab Americans are yet to be sold on either candidate. Arab American views towards Barack Obama, in particular, are a mixed bag. While support for him among chattering classes in the Arab world runs high, according to ABC News, Arab American writers are often ambivalent....U.S. Methodist Church renews drive for divestment from Israel
Tensions are re-emerging between Jewish organizations and some mainline Protestant churches in the wake of a renewed drive for churches to divest from companies doing business with Israel. The United Methodist Church opened discussions last Friday on a resolution calling for divestment from Caterpillar, the tractor manufacturer,...Playing politics with the race card
An interesting article appeared recently in the liberal-lefty news website, Alternet, on the dirty tricks of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, designed by her to undermine her main rival, Barack Obama on racial and gender grounds during the Nevada primary. In it, Steven Rosenfeld wrote about how the Nevada State Education...Fed cuts rates twice in one week
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve delivered powerful new relief to people and businesses squeezed by the ailing economy Wednesday, cutting interest rates ever deeper in an effort to avert or at least soften the blow of a recession. The bold, half-point reduction approved by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and all but one of his...
Obama nixes Palestinian right of return
February 5th, 20080 Rudy Giuliani, the Republican former mayor of New York, and John Edwards, the Democratic former North Carolina senator, both dropped out of the U.S. presidential race this week. Giuliani, who finished third in Florida's Republican primary, endorsed John McCain, Arizona's senator, in his battle for the nomination. "John McCain...
American Muslim voters left out in the cold
January 28th, 20080 The seven million strong constituency could make a significant difference NEW YORK (IPS) — In an electoral campaign system tactically dominated by "niche politics," major candidates for their party's presidential nominations are running as fast as they can from one potentially influential constituency. The constituency is the...America’s finances: A house of cards
America today is not the only empire, but it is one that has consistently formulated itself around the ideologies of corporate business, the military, big government, and religious self-righteousness, mass marketing itself and mass exploiting others with military back-up when needed to make itself the biggest and most powerful ever...Peace groups call for mass tax revolt
WASHINGTON — A coalition of national peace groups honored the legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this week by stepping up a new campaign for a tax revolt to protest the Bush administration's war in Iraq. CODEPINK: Women for Peace, the 2008 War Tax Boycott Campaign, United for Peace and Justice and a host of other...Guantanamo should be shut down, says U.S. military chief
Guantanamo Bay — The notorious prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba should be closed as soon as possible because negative publicity about the treatment of terror suspects has been "pretty damaging" to America's image, the chief of the U.S. military has said. "I'd like to see it shut down," Admiral Mike Mullen said, during his first tour of...New York activists take on Israeli settlement builder
A network of pro-Palestinian organizations in New York is working hard to expose Israeli businessman Lev Leviev's sponsorship of Israeli settlement construction. The groups have engaged in creative protests and organized boycotts and pressured those linked with Leviev. Their boycott campaign is gaining strong momentum. Leviev...
What would Democratic foreign policy look like?
January 19th, 20080 Clinton, Obama and Edwards all reject the Bush/Cheney administration's disastrous foreign policies. But what will they do differently? At the Des Moines Register presidential debate in December, Barack Obama was asked how voters could expect him to provide a "break from the past" when many of his top foreign policy advisers were...Dilemmas of the Republican Party
McCain is the only candidate who could hold his own against a strong Democrat The Republican Party — as recently as two years ago the dominant political force on the planet — is a divided and dysfunctional remnant of its former self. So the party is desperately searching for a man on a white horse who will rally the troops and defend......
U.S. elections: Just like the movies
The advent of Mike Huckabee is a dangerous precedent The U.S. political process bears an uncanny resemblance to mainstream filmmaking. Elections and speeches are scripted to the letter, politicians put on a tirelessly rehearsed act, catering endlessly to the whims of the target audience. A successful Hollywood filmmaker can't...Poll shows McCain with significant lead over Romney in Michigan
ATLANTA — Strategic Vision, LLC, an Atlanta-headquartered public relations and public affairs agency, announced the results of a three-day poll of 700 likely Michigan Republican primary voters. The poll has a margin of error of ±4 percentage points. John McCainWhen Republicans were polled on whom they would support in 2008 for......
Republican presidential candidates on Arab American issues
It has begun in earnest. With the Iowa caucuses out of the way and the New Hampshire primary approaching, the domestic news agenda for 2008 is pretty much set. To start the year off, here is a quick rundown of the Republican and Democratic candidates' positions on various issues.WAR ON IRAQRudy Giuliani: He supported the war on...
The Iowa caucuses: The race is on
January 5th, 20080 Iowans gathered last week to deliberate about who they would like to represent their party in this year's presidential race. In about 3,500 caucuses, or political meetings, roughly 10% of Iowa's partisan voters met throughout the state to kick off this year's primary season. Democratic candidate Barack Obama finished...Democratic presidential candidates on Arab American issues
The DemocratsWAR ON IRAQJoseph Biden: Called his support of the war in 2002 "a mistake." He opposed the surge, and calls for a "phased redeployment with decentralization." He supports a federal Iraq, with the regions having more power than a central government.Hillary Clinton: Voted in support of the 2003 invasion as...
Why American troops can’t come home
December 23rd, 20070 A very week or so, the Department of Defense conducts a video-conference press briefing for reporters in Washington, featuring an on-the-ground officer in Iraq. On November 15th, that briefing was with Col. Jeffrey Bannister, commander of the Second Brigade of the Second Infantry Division. He was chosen because of his unit's successful......
Clergy join ‘Tapegate’ battle
NEW YORK (IPS) — A coalition of more than 130 religious organizations has joined a growing chorus calling for appointment of a special counsel to investigate allegations regarding the Central Intelligence Agency's destruction of videotapes and its use of "harsh" interrogation techniques. In a letter to Attorney-General Michael Mukasey,...
Democrats strip Michigan of delegates
December 15th, 20070 Vienna, VA — Democratic leaders voted last week to strip Michigan of all its delegates to the national convention next year as punishment for scheduling an early presidential primary in violation of party rules. Michigan, with 156 delegates, has scheduled a Jan. 15 primary. Democratic Party rules prohibit states other than Iowa, New......
Granholm names Dan Krichbaum chief operating officer
LANSING — Governor Jennifer M. Granholm has announced that she has named Dan Krichbaum to serve as her chief operating officer. As COO, Krichbaum will oversee the implementation of the governor's economic plan to ensure that all state departments work cohesively and aggressively to grow the state's economy, improve access to health...U.S. citizens question terror watch lists
TOLEDO — Toledo, Ohio native Zak Reed is tired of being stopped and detained at the Canadian border every time he tries to drive home. "I don't feel very welcome in my home at all," Reed tells CBS News. "In fact, I feel like I am not wanted in my country any more." Last month, for the ninth time in the past year, Reed was held in custody......