Ten ways to manage your finances and avoid post-holiday regrets
Indianapolis —The holidays are upon us, bringing all those images and sensations we cherish — the glow of the menorah, the fragrance of home-cooked meals and sugar cookies, and the sounds of the season in holiday songs, laughter, and shrieks of joy from kids discovering Santa's generosity. But for many of us there are a few not-so-joyous...Gravel only Democrat to campaign in Michigan
DEARBORN — Progressive U.S. presidential candidate Mike Gravel spoke to students at the University of Michigan–Dearborn Thursday, as the only Democratic candidate willing to campaign in Michigan. The former senator from Alaska later had lunch at the New Yasmeen Bakery with members of the Arab Student Union. "I think it's very stupid what...Shadid appointed first ‘writer-in-residence’ fellow at AUB’s Issam Fares Institute
BEIRUT — The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) announced today that award-winning Washington Post correspondent Anthony Shadid has been appointed as its first resident fellow for the 2007-08 academic year. He is also the first "writer-in-residence" at IFI, a...Ex-principal of Arabic Khalil Gibran school loses round in court
According to a report in the New York Daily News, a federal judge this week shot down a last-minute attempt by the former principal of a Brooklyn Arabic-language school to keep the city from selecting her successor. Debbie Almontaser wanted the judge to delay the selection of a new principal for the Khalil Gibran International...Arab American faces deportation after Afghanistan service
A highly decorated Arab American sergeant in the U.S. army, who is currently serving as a paratrooper in Afghanistan, faces deportation on his return to the United States because of an irregularity in his immigration papers. Sgt Hicham Benkabbou has been served with an order to stand trial for deportation as soon as he arrives...Civic, political integration of American Muslims
America is known as a "melting pot," with many cultures, religions, ethnicities and races integrating into the mainstream American culture. Muslims have been a relatively new addition to the immigrant population. Their integration had just begun to progress when it came to an abrupt standstill with the events of September 11, 2001....
Community reacts to ‘Our Arab American Story’
December 8th, 20070 Documentary premieres at gala event; gets mixed reviews Since the premiere of the documentary "Our Arab American Story," shown in Novi last week, producer Keith Famie said he's gotten mostly positive feedback from those who watched it. The film was shown at the Rock Financial Showplace during "Flavors of the Arab World," a...Panel discusses needs of Iraqi refugees
ANN ARBOR — Refugees, or people who flee from their homes in times of crisis, are often treated as political pawns. Political leaders debate who caused the refugees, what should be done with them, and what their status means politically. Meanwhile, the refugees are ignored, victimized or treated as a burden. ...Rights group needed now more than ever
ADC struggling for funds as anniversary approaches DEARBORN — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) in Michigan will hold its Annual Fundraising Gala on Friday, December 7, at the Hyatt Regency in Dearborn. ADC Michigan will host the Gala for the eighth year, as it celebrates another year of promoting the civil...Ann Arbor peace groups discuss support for Annapolis conference
ANN ARBOR — A group of peace organizations against the occupation in Palestine gathered in Ann Arbor on Tuesday to show support for the Annapolis Mideast peace conference, despite being generally skeptical of its chances for ultimate success. "We feel we should support whatever can happen there," said Odile Hugonot-Haber, of the Women's...Fight dedicated to slain uncle
DEARBORN — One of two local Arab American boxers initially scheduled to perform at an upcoming nationally televised event in Dearborn has pulled out of the show. Undefeated middleweight Brian "The Lion" Mihtar and promoters of the event said they could not agree on the amount of money Mihtar was to be paid and the opponent he was to...Students donate to Locks of Love
DEARBORN — A group of Dearborn girls had their long hair lopped off last Monday at McDonald Elementary School, offering their thick locks to a charity that provides hairpieces for disadvantaged children who suffer from illness-related hair loss. Fifth-grade teacher Reem Bathish organized an assembly at the school where students with...Niqab farce continues
When my partner Adèle, unable to get around because of knee replacement surgery, filled out her ballot at home, no one came around to see if she was wearing a niqab or other face covering. Perhaps the matter was overlooked. The bill forbidding voting while wearing a face covering is now moving through Canada's House of...Liberal leader attacks Khadr’s Gitmo ordeal
Stéphane Dion, leader of Canada's opposition Liberal Party, has called upon Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper to "demand that Omar Khadr be removed from Guantanamo Bay detention facility to be transferred to the United States to be tried in a legitimate court." Khadr, a Canadian citizen whose family has had close ties to Osama...Almrei denied bail from Gitmo North
Hassan Almrei is the last inmate of Guantanamo North, the detention facility for people with suspected terrorist affiliations seeking to avoid deportation from Canada. The facility is on the grounds of the Kingston Penitentiary. Justice François Lemieux refused to give him bail. Judge Lemieux listed several factors......
Abu Dhabi spending billions in Alberta
Because of their province's substantial oil wealth, Albertans have been called Canada's blue-eyed Arabs. Now some dark-eyed Arabs are moving in. Abu Dhabi National Energy Co. (TAQA), majority-owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, has put down $5 billion to purchase Prime West Energy Trust, through its Canadian subsidiary TAQA...Muslim groups support rape victims
Recently, a Muslim student was sexually assaulted on an Ottawa campus. At first, the media described the assault as rape, a description which was later corrected. The woman made a point of having the correction noted because of the shame associated in some Muslim traditions with being the victim of rape. In response to...Canadian Islamic Congress stubs its toe
With Maclean's, the simplest description would be that it is more or less the Canadian Time, though, while over the decades Time has become somewhat less right wing, Maclean's has moved in the other direction. On October 20, Maclean's carried an excerpt from a book by Mark Steyn in which he argues that, as the title puts it, "The...
Palestinian mural finally inaugurated
December 2nd, 20070 SAN FRANCISCO – After a two and a half year battle with campus administration, San Francisco State University became the first school to showcase a Palestinian cultural mural honoring Dr. Edward Said. But the General Union of Palestine Students (GUPS), the group that spearheaded the mural, says achieving it was no easy task. "Let's......
U.S. senators, panel seek closure of Saudi Islamic school
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia — Twelve U.S. senators and a federal commission want to shut it down, and its most virulent critics have dubbed it "Terror High." The teachers, administrators and about 900 students at the Islamic Saudi Academy in Fairfax County have heard the allegations for years — after the Sept. 11 attacks and then a few years...Activists remember day of Palestinian solidarity
The e-mail notice from the group in Boston began, "the photo-op which was the Annapolis peace conference is over." Pro-Palestine activists did not forget the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Held on November 29th of every year, the day commemorates the 1947 partition of Palestine by the United......
‘Our Arab American Story’ profiles in a good way
December 2nd, 20070 DEARBORN — OK Arab Americans, get your hankies ready. After centuries of cultural isolation, decades of political ostracization and six years of post-9/11 social hysteria, our real story is about to be told. And when you watch Visionalist Entertainment Productions' documentary, "Our Arab American Story," the tears are gonna...Religious leaders join battle against domestic violence
DEARBORN — Women's activists have marked November 25 as a day against violence since 1981. On December 17, 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated November 25 as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (Resolution 54/134). The date comes from the brutal assassination in 1960 of the three......