War-hawking talking heads: Why do we keep hearing from the bums who got us into this mess in the first place?
August 27th, 20210 — This article by Abdul El-Sayed originally appeared in the newsletter The Incision. It has been edited for style. Subscribe to The Incision here: incision.substack.com Back in June, well before any of us knew the sordid 20-year American adventure in Afghanistan would come to a crashing end just a few months later, I was asked to...
HPS superintendent: Prepare your child for back-to-school success
August 24th, 20210 Waving summer goodbye is bittersweet, but the new school year is right around the corner and your schools are eager to welcome students back. You may find your family is already in back-to-school-mode, or maybe your children are trying to make summer last as long as possible. Either way, preparing for the school year can be simple. As...
The quiet rebellion: Why U.S. Jews turning against Israel is good for Palestinians
August 20th, 20210 A unique but critical conversation on Israel and Palestine is taking place outside the traditional discourse of Israeli colonialism and the Palestinian quest for liberation. It is an awkward and difficult — but overdue — discussion concerning American Jews’ relation to Israel and their commitment to its Zionist ideology. For...
Afghanistan: Contours of a catastrophe
August 17th, 20210 — This article by Abdul El-Sayed originally appeared in the newsletter The Incision. It has been edited for style. Subscribe to The Incision here: incision.substack.com On Sunday, our wayward 20-year war effort in Afghanistan suffered its final death blow. The Taliban rode the U.S.-manufactured Humvees captured from Afghan...
U.S. foreign policy adrift: Why Washington is no longer calling the shots
August 11th, 20210 Jonah Goldberg and Michael Ledeen have much in common. They are both writers and also cheerleaders for military interventions and, often, for frivolous wars. Writing in the conservative rag, The National Review, months before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, Goldberg paraphrased a statement which he attributed to Ledeen with reference...
Detroit voters should vote YES on Proposal P on August 3
August 1st, 20210 - Hayg Oshagan is a professor at Wayne State University, co-chair of the Detroit City Council Immigration Task Force and the director of New Michigan Media On Tuesday, August 3, Detroiters will have the opportunity to vote YES on Proposal P. Prop P is the set of revisions that are being proposed to the Detroit City Charter. The...
“New form” of ice cream “terrorism”: How Ben & Jerry’s has exposed Israel’s anti-BDS strategy
July 29th, 20210 Ben & Jerry’s decision to suspend its operations in the occupied Palestinian West Bank is an event that is proving critical to Palestinian efforts, which ultimately aim at holding Israel accountable for its military occupation, apartheid and war crimes. By responding to the Palestinian call for boycotting apartheid Israel, the...
Dearborn voters should vote YES on Proposal A
July 28th, 20210 – Hassan F. Abdallah is a candidate for the Dearborn City Charter Commission, a Corporate and Regulatory Compliance Officer and community activist. On Tuesday, August 3, Dearborn voters will be faced with making several key decisions that will shape the future of the city for many years to come. Voters will be electing a new City...
The little talked about COVID-19 “variants”: Vaccine mismanagement will have dire repercussions
July 28th, 20210 Do you remember the United Nations Millennium Development Goals? If not, you are not alone. These ambitious goals, which included the eradication of “extreme poverty and hunger”, to “combating lethal diseases” and “reducing child mortality worldwide”, proved to be yet another empty gesture which, unsurprisingly,...
Progress or war: On Islamophobia and Europe’s demographic shifts
July 22nd, 20210 Europe’s identity crisis is not confined to the ceaseless squabbles by Europeans over the EU, Brexit or football. It goes much deeper, reaching sensitive and dangerous territory, including that of culture and religion. Once more, Muslims stand at the heart of the continent's identity debate. Of course, anti-Muslim sentiments are...
Attainable housing critical to growing economic opportunity
July 20th, 20211 — The following article was contributed by Michele Wildman, senior vice president at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). When it comes to economic development, topics around jobs and private investment often dominate the conversation – and there is no doubt they are a crucial driver of growth and talent...
Family separation Law: Israel’s demographic war on Palestine intensifies
July 15th, 20210 When the Israeli Knesset (parliament) failed to renew what is commonly referred to as the Family Reunification Law, news reports and analyses misrepresented the story altogether. The even split of 59 MKs voting in favor of the law and 59 against it gave the erroneous impression that Israeli lawmakers are equally divided over the right of...
First person: Dearborn’s devastating flood exposes mistrust, deep divides
July 9th, 20210 Bilal Baydoun is a Michigan-based policy advisor and writer. He previously served as a lead policy and communications advisor in the Michigan Department of Attorney General. Ali Abazeed is a public health advisor with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services based in Washington D.C. The authors were born and raised in East...
The people vs. Mahmoud Abbas: Are the Palestinian Authority’s days numbered?
July 8th, 20210 “The Palestinian Authority’s days are numbered.” This assertion has been oft repeated recently, especially after the torture to death on June 24 of a popular Palestinian activist, Nizar Banat, 42, at the hands of PA security goons in Hebron (Al-Khalil). The killing — or “assassination” as some Palestinian rights groups...
Farewell to Donald Rumsfeld, dreary war criminal
July 2nd, 20210 At 2:40 p.m. on September 11, 2001, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld issued orders to one of his underlings. Among Rumsfeld’s thoughts: Best info fast. Good enough judge whether good enough hit SH @ same time not only UBL And: Near term target needs – – go massive – sweep it all up – Things related &......
On “conflict”, “peace” and “genocide”: Time for new language on Palestine and Israel
June 20th, 20211 On May 25, famous American actor Mark Ruffalo tweeted an apology for suggesting that Israel is committing “genocide” in Gaza. “I have reflected and wanted to apologize for posts during the recent Israel/Hamas fighting that suggested Israel is committing ‘genocide,’” Ruffalo wrote, adding, “It’s not accurate, it’s...
Don’t send them money
June 18th, 20210 Instead of telling you a ghost story around a summer campfire, we have an all-too familiar tale to share: Myra’s grandson, Jon, is in Mexico for the summer. They video chat every week. One day, Myra gets a call from someone who says he’s Max, a friend of Jon’s: “He was arrested last night and needs $500 for bail.” Max says the...
On Trumpism and Netanyahu-ism: How Benjamin Netanyahu won America and lost Israel
June 18th, 20210 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is as much American as he is Israeli. While other Israeli leaders have made their strong relationship with Washington a cornerstone in their politics, Netanyahu’s political style was essentially American from the start. Netanyahu spent many of his formative years in the U.S. He lived in...
On the politics of victory and defeat: How Gaza dethroned the king of Israel
June 12th, 20210 How did Benjamin Netanyahu manage to serve as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister? With a total of 15 years in office, Netanyahu surpassed the 12-year leadership of Israel's founding father, David Ben Gurion. The answer to this question will become particularly critical for future Israeli leaders who hope to emulate Netanyahu’s......
Fun summer programs at Hamtramck Public Schools combat learning loss
June 9th, 20210 The global pandemic caused significant disruptions in education across the country over the past two years. As a result, Hamtramck Public Schools is offering a robust summer education program to reduce learning loss in advance of the new school year in September. This modern summer program incorporates fun and innovative ways to support...
“Mowing the grass” no more: How Palestinian resistance altered the equation
June 5th, 20210 The ceasefire on May 21 has, for now, brought the Israeli war on Gaza to an end. However, this ceasefire is not permanent and constant Israeli provocations anywhere in Palestine could reignite the bloody cycle all over again. Moreover, the Israeli siege on Gaza remains in place, as well as the Israeli military occupation and the rooted......
The fumbling king of Palestine: Palestinians are defeating the Oslo culture
June 3rd, 20210 The political discourse of Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, is similar to that of an ineffectual king who has been isolated in his palace for far too long. The king speaks of prosperity and peace, and tirelessly counts his innumerable achievements, while his people are dying of starvation outside and...
Redistricting: What is it and why it matters
May 29th, 20210 By Hayg Oshagan What is it? Every 10 years, every state redraws all of its district election maps. For Michigan, that’s 110 House district maps, 38 Senate district maps and 13 U.S. Congressional district maps. Once these are drawn, you elect your Michigan House, Michigan Senate and U.S. Congressional representatives based on......
