The Arab American News
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Tractors, Thunderbirds in playoffs
DEARBORN — It was business as usual for Dearborn Public School teams in 2009 as Edsel Ford, Dearborn, and Fordson all finished with winning records. The Pioneers fell just short of the playoffs after a tough 25-7 loss to Highland Park last weekend and a 5-4 season, but both the Thunderbirds and Tractors have playoff games at home...Cigar bar adds to nightlife in the D
From restaurants to casinos, downtown Detroit offers plenty of entertainment options. But for a long time, the city lacked an upscale cigar bar where some of the its 160,000 or so workers could relax at the end of the day. Hand-rolled cigars are made on-site at La Casa De La Habana, 1502 Randolph Street in downtown Detroit...Another war in the works
Does anyone remember all the lies they were told by President Bush and the "mainstream media" about the grave threat to America from weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? These lies were repeated endlessly in the print and TV media despite the reports from the weapons inspectors, who had been sent to Iraq, that no such weapons existed....Egypt makes cultural clout count
CAIRO (IPS) — Egypt has long been recognized as the cultural trendsetter of the Arabic- speaking world. Despite recent challenges to this role with the advent of satellite television, experts say that contemporary Arab culture remains largely defined by Egyptian literature, music, film and television. Iconic Egyptian...U.S., NATO rely on warlords for security
WASHINGTON (IPS) — The revelation by The New York Times Wednesday that Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, has long been on the payroll of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency is only the tip of a much bigger iceberg of heavy dependence by U.S. and NATO counterinsurgency forces on Afghan warlords for...J Street meet draws foreign policy heavyweights
WASHINGTON (IPS) — J Street, the relatively new "pro-Israel, pro-peace" advocacy group, exceeded expectations for its inaugural conference here in Washington with over 1,500 participants attending the four-day event. Turnout surpassed the organizers' 1,000 expected participants, despite a series of attacks accusing the group of...
AAPAC rallies voters: High turnout will bring surprises
October 30th, 20090 Arab American Political Action Committee activists stand with public officials during AAPAC’s annual dinner on Thursday at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn. PHOTOS: Nafeh AbuNab/American Elite Studios The Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC) rallied activists and voters on Thursday in preparation for...
FBI shootout leads to death of radical leader
October 30th, 20090 The FBI raided a Dearborn warehouse and two Detroit homes on Wednesday, killing one man and arresting several members of what officials call a radical Muslim group after the unsealing of a criminal complaint in which 11 suspects were charged with various felonies. Luqman Ameen Abdullah The suspects were members of a local...VIDEO: TV news commentator bashes Islamophobic lawmakers
MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow took aim on Monday at four Republican members of U.S. Congress who announced they would demand an investigation into the Council of American-Islamic Relations during an Oct. 14 press conference, as they promoted a book entitled "Muslim Mafia." They accused CAIR of attempting to infiltrate Congress – by...U.N. body backs war crimes charges on Israel, Hamas
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) - The 47-member Human Rights Council (HRC) approved a resolution last week endorsing war crimes charges against Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, as spelled out in a report by a four-member international fact-finding mission headed by Justice Richard Goldstone. A Palestinian man walks past a...US-Israeli missile war games begin
The United States and Israel began this week more than two weeks of tests to simulate missile attacks on the only country in the Middle East to possess nuclear weapons. Israeli Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai (R) is briefed by an Israeli army officer during a tour of fortifications near the Israeli-Lebanese border, October...Charity officials press for federal antiterrorism restrictions to be relaxed
After years of raising concerns that the federal government's antiterrorism rules constrain charities from performing humanitarian work overseas and dissuade Americans from giving, nonprofit officials are growing slightly more hopeful that some of those policies might be modified. A group of charity leaders has been gathering with...Celebrating 30 years of success
DETROIT — The Renaissance Center in Detroit was the site of the Arab and Chaldean Council's (ACC) Annual Civic and Humanitarian Awards Gala on Saturday, October 17, as the organization celebrated 30 years of service and accomplishments. ACC President and CEO Dr. Haifa Fakhouri extended her gratitude and appreciation to ACC...Pro-Israel group’s money trail veers hard right
WASHINGTON (IPS) — StandWithUs — an organization that "ensures that Israel's side of the story is told" — has become increasingly aggressive in challenging the "pro-Israel" credentials of moderate Jewish-American groups, going so far as to suggest that receiving money from Arab donors and supporters of Human Rights Watch undermines...Lebanese banks flourish as ailing world looks on
BEIRUT — A healthy suspicion of the subprime market appears to have paid off, as Lebanese banks flourish in the face of the global economic crisis. A recent report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) on the Lebanese banking sector said that Lebanese banks are continuously attracting inflows of deposits, which in current......
Rabbis take on settlers
October 24th, 20090 AWARTA, West Bank (IPS) — Away from the media spotlight that focuses on the widening chasm between Israelis and Palestinians, a group of Israeli humanists is quietly working to break down barriers with their Palestinian neighbors. Rabbi Arik Ascherman, director of Israel’s Rabbis for Human Rights. Rabbi Arik Ascherman,...U.S. diplomatic adviser’s troubling role in oil politics
WASHINGTON (IPS) — In 2003, U.S. diplomatist Peter Galbraith resigned at the end of a distinguished, 24-year government career. Over the years that followed, he worked as a contract-based adviser to leaders in Iraq's Kurdish community, while also arguing passionately in public media that Iraq's Kurds should be given maximum...Time for health insurance reform
Who among us hasn't heard the stories of small businesses struggling to balance their books forced to cut jobs because they can't afford the rising cost of insuring their employees? Perhaps you're the small business owner having to make these tough choices; or the parent deciding whether you can afford to get your children their flu...Democratic discourse needed
This weekend, J Street, a new Jewish "Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace" Washington-based public action committee, is holding its first national conference. The two of us, along with another artist, were scheduled to perform and read poems at several sessions during the conference. Specifically, we were invited to lead a workshop on how culture and......
Part 7: Reflecting on 25 years of The Arab American News
Local and national community leaders and elected officials comment on The Arab American News' silver anniversary: "I extend my heartfelt congratulations to The Arab American News as you celebrate your 25th anniversary. I am honored to recognize a publication that has shared the voice, vision, and views of Arab Americans in the 13th...Lebanon needs both security and freedom
In Lebanon, the rulers are proud of existing freedoms and the reformers are obsessed with national security. All summer the Lebanese have been waiting for a new cabinet of ministers to emerge, with no results yet. For the people it feels like going through a ten-month pregnancy. Lebanon's sectarian formula of power sharing offers a......
Imams settle with U.S. Airways in civil rights case
October 24th, 20090 The Council on American-Islamic Relation (CAIR) today hailed what it called a "victory for justice and civil rights" in the case of six imams who said their rights were violated in 2006 when they were removed from a US Airways flight in Minnesota and arrested. Omar Shahin, one of six imams removed from a US Airways Phoenix-bound...CIA to interview local applicants Nov. 17
CIA recruiters plan to conduct interviews in the Detroit area in mid-November for top applicants seeking analyst positions who turn in resumes by Nov. 2. CIA Program Manager for Middle East Outreach, Zahra Roberts, said part of the goal in the Detroit-area recruitment effort is to gain recruits with Middle Eastern cultural and......