Arab Americans make November ballots in Detroit, Hamtramck
August 7th, 20090 DETROIT — City council candidate Mohamed Okdie, who is Arab American, placed 16th out of 169 in Detroit's primary election Tuesday, garnering 9,374 votes and winning a spot on the November ballot. Detroit city council candidate Mohamed Okdie received 9,374 votes in Tuesday's primary election, placing him 16th and winning him a...Man hit by falling airplane part
DEARBORN — A Dearborn man was hit by a 7x8 inch piece of jagged metal from an aircraft Monday while standing outside of his home. Forty-year-old Wissam Beydoun was walking up the steps when the aluminum object fell from the sky and hit him on the head. At first, he thought it might have been a bird, but he eventually realized...Soccer reunites friends from Yemen
Soccer is the most popular sport on Earth in large part because of its breathtaking individual displays of skill. But when it comes to winning championships, Unis AlHidary knows that nothing beats teamwork. Unis AlHidary AlHidary and fellow Michigan Yemen Sports Association player Ismail Nasser would know, as they both won...
DEARBORN ELECTION RESULTS: Five Arab Americans move on to November election
August 5th, 20090 DEARBORN – The field of 25 City Council candidates was cut to 14 after Tuesday primary elections. The 14 survivors will move on to the November general election, where they'll fight for seven seats. Five Arab Americans, including three incumbents and two newcomers, made the cut. Incumbents George Darany, Suzanne Sareini and...The old Bibi is back
JERUSALEM — "Reckless", "cavalier", "unscrupulous", "petty politician, not statesman"…these and such epithets applied to Benjamin Netanyahu by friends and foes alike — not that he ended up with many friends — when he was first Israel's Prime Minister back in the late 1990s. Benjamin Netanyahu Re-elected in...When did making a profit become the only reason to do anything?
It used to be that there were some services and institutions so vital to our nation that they were exempt from market pressures. Not anymore. How about this for a New Rule: Not everything in America has to make a profit. It used to be that there were some services and institutions so vital to our nation that they were exempt from...House approves bill to pump $2 billion more into ‘Cash for Clunkers’
The U.S. House on Friday voted to rush an additional $2 billion into the popular "cash for clunkers" car purchase program. The government was forced to suspend the program Thursday due a quick draining of funds. Nearly $1 billion set aside for the program, initially expected to last until November, had been used up after only four...
Crowded field in Detroit City Council race
July 31st, 20090 An Arab American couple walks along the Detroit riverfront. PHOTO: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN DETROIT — A field of 168 candidates running to serve on the nine-member Detroit City Council will be cut to 18 after August 4 primary elections. Voters will make their final choices in the Nov. 3 general election. In a city...Dearborn primary could come down to a few votes
DEARBORN — When it comes to city council elections, many analysts and politicians agree: they have a bigger impact on peoples' lives than the presidential election. But despite that viewpoint, voter turnout for city council primary elections in Dearborn is usually low, especially compared to presidential races, and it's expected to...Tips to catch a homebuyer’s eye
The housing market's financial slip is making it hard to get homes off the selling block. To help speed up the selling process, homeowners and agents may want to consider hiring a stager. Stagers are hired to rearrange a home's contents and furniture to better catch the eyes of buyers. Realtors and sellers who have used staging...
Former wrestling coach sues Dearborn Schools, Fordson principal
July 31st, 20090 A longtime Fordson High School wrestling coach whose contract was not renewed last year filed a federal lawsuit against Dearborn Public Schools and Fordson Principal Imad Fadlallah on Monday, claiming he was terminated because of his Christian religious beliefs. The suit was filed in Detroit by a Livonia law firm and the Ann...Passion for life, not for boxing
"Hey it is you! You photographed my wedding," yelled Tarick Salmaci from inside his white Caddy, where I was meeting him at Starbucks in West Dearborn. Tarick Salmaci "Can you believe it has been twelve years since I got married?" he added as he walked toward me. He stopped and chatted with a friend passing in his car,...Netanyahu plays “Deal or No Deal” with Israeli settlements
An Israeli settlement in the West Bank When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argues unjustifiably for the need to continue the construction of West Bank settlements to allow for "natural growth" of settler families, he reminds me of the risk-driven guest player on the popular TV show "Deal or No Deal." In this show, the...
Community stunned after freak car accident in Beirut claims local father and daughter
July 25th, 20090 The deaths of a Dearborn Heights man and his young daughter, killed in a freak car accident in Beirut on July 19, have left many stunned in the local community and abroad. Family members have memorialized them in the following essay. Mohamad A. Habhab of Dearborn Heights, beloved husband and father of three, and his three-year-old...How the Israel lobby took control of U.S. foreign policy
In the early 1960s, Senator William J. Fulbright fought to force the American Zionist Council to register as agents of a foreign government. The Council eluded registration by reorganizing as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. AIPAC has since become what Fulbright most feared: a foreign agent dominating American......
Local Arabs and Jews meet, address political differences
DEARBORN — A group of pro-Israeli American Jews and pro-Palestinian Arab Americans came together at the Lebanese American Heritage Club on Tuesday in a rare meeting aimed at sparking long-term dialogue acknowledging the two communities' general views on the Middle East conflict. Brenda Rosenberg, L, and Imad Hamad introduced...Pre-election forum to present Hamtramck candidates
HAMTRAMCK — A candidates' forum is be held on Thursday, July 30, 7 p.m. at the BHA Hall, 2320 Caniff Street. The forum will allow the five mayoral and 12 city council candidates to speak to citizens and answer questions. "We have to get the views of the candidates," said Michael Prentiss, organizer of the event. Each candidate...City looks at anti-profiling measure
KALAMAZOO — Public safety officials may soon implement a city-wide anti-profiling policy in an effort to increase cooperation between police and the community. The policy would ban discrimination or profiling based on appearance, ethnicity, gender, dress, origin, physical characteristics, race, religion or sexual orientation....Census takers looking for partners
The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking partnerships in Arab American communities ahead of the 2010 Census. In a news release from the Census Bureau and the Arab American Institute, officials said the bureau is seeking over 100,000 partnerships with organizations, religious institutions, businesses and schools in preparation for the......
A Michigan staycation awaits
Between the allure of the new "Pure Michigan" ad campaign and the importance of saving money, it seems like more and more families are opting for Michigan vacations this summer. And when it comes to vacation spots in Michigan, they don't get much more popular than Mackinaw City and Mackinac Island at the top of the Lower...Behind detainee release, a U.S.-Iraqi conflict on Iran
WASHINGTON (IPS) — The release Friday of five Iranians held by the U.S. military in Iraq for two and a half years highlights the long-simmering conflict between the U.S. and Iraqi views of Iranian policy in Iraq and of the role of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) there. Iranian officials, detained by the U.S.......
Fire breaks out at Dearborn’s Golden Bakery
July 18th, 20090 Fire fighters wrap up a call at a Middle Eastern bakery in Dearborn Friday. PHOTO: Khalil AlHajal/TAAN Fire fighters put out a small blaze at Dearborn's Golden Bakery, 14526 Warren Avenue, Friday afternoon. Several fire trucks responded. Police on the scene said no one was injured in the fire on the roof of the building...Twenty-five seek Dearborn City Council seats, low turnout expected
DEARBORN — On August 4, from 7 a.m. - 8 p.m., candidacies for seven City Council seats up for grabs in November will be at stake in Dearborn's primary elections. The combination of a voter turnout that is expected to be low and the importance of the City Council in making crucial decisions makes the primary a key opportunity for......
