Are you ready for war with Syria?
War drums are beating again in Washington. This time Syria is in the crosshairs after a massacre there (recently) left more than 100 dead. As might be expected from an administration with an announced policy of “regime change” in Syria, the reaction was to blame only the Syrian government for the tragedy, expel Syrian diplomats...Spare us the western morality on Syria
As news of yet another massacre in Syria surfaces – this time in the farm village of Al-Kubeir near Hama – we can only imagine the moral outrage expressed by Western governments that will soon inundate media outlets.Much of Western identity centers on a pillar of high civility, and by extension, high morality. It is a lingering...Dearborn Heights budget: Don’t candy coat it — act on it
For those following the 2012 – 2013 budget deliberation in Dearborn Heights you know I am in disagreement with the approach the administration is taking toward our budgetary issues. The budget is heavily dependent upon revenues generated from tickets written by police, early retirements and a four day work week. In my...Romney: Going negative, subtly
Republican presidential challenger, Mitt Romney was given credit last week for refusing to endorse a proposed ad campaign that sought to link President Barack Obama with the controversial sermons delivered by his former pastor Jeremiah Wright. In doing so, Romney appeared to be demonstrating the same streak of decency that wouldn't allow...Starving and broke: Yemen’s renewed ‘War on Terror’
Yemeni forces continue to push against fighters affiliated with al-Qaeda. Their major victories come on the heels of the inauguration of Abd Rabbuh Mansur al-Hadi, who is now entrusted with the task of leading the country through a peaceful transition. A new constitution and presidential elections are expected by 2014. Faced with the...
Houla Massacre: Crocodile tears by West an obvious pretense
June 1st, 20120 Last Friday a massacre was committed against Syrian civilians in the village of Houla in the governance of Homs. More than a hundred were killed including 49 children and 39 women. UN Security Council meeting.It was an awful, heinous crime against the Syrian people, and exactly the kind of event this newspaper has been warning would...
Lebanon Liberation Day: Time to celebrate and reflect
May 25th, 20120 May 25 is an exceptional day on the Lebanese calendar. In fact, and under normal circumstances it should be a day to celebrate across the Arab World. It is the Liberation Day of Lebanon. A Lebanese woman celebrating Liberation Day in a village in south Lebanon. PHOTO: Al-AkhbarOn that day 12 years ago, a few committed...
Redefining the Arab Spring: Is chaos overtaking revolution?
May 25th, 20120 The age of revolutionary romance is over. Various Arab countries are now facing hard truths. Millions of Arabs merely want to live with a semblance of dignity, free from tyranny and continuous anxiety over the future. This unromantic reality also includes outside "players," whose presence is of no positive value to genuine revolutionary...Obama will need more than rhetoric to get re-elected
Every time I talk to a Democrat or see one on TV talking, I hear time and time again..."Obama has it in the bag." Democratic fundraisers, activists, supporters, and even politicians alike have somehow collectively lapsed into the sentiment that the president is going to be re-elected in a landslide victory.I'm sorry to break the news to...
NDAA is authorization to go to war with Iran
May 18th, 20120 Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is urging Members of Congress to reject H.R. 4310, the National Defense Authorization Act, FY 2013 because it prepares the way for a disastrous war with Iran. He is right. Even if the House accepts a proposed amendment by John Conyers (D-MI) to state that the authorization is not a specific declaration...Abbas-Fayyad feud imperils PA
A brewing feud between Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas and his Western-backed prime minister, Salam Fayyad, is further confounding the Palestinian situation, already plagued with a host of chronic political and financial problems, in addition to the decades-old Israeli occupation.Unlike Abbas, who is head of the...Global intifada demands change in war on terrorism
This week's been a game-changer in the fight against terrorism.The five men arrested for plotting to blow up a bridge over the Cuyahoga River in Ohio were not Arab, Sikh, Indian or Muslim. They were white, American-born and raised, self-declared anarchists, no doubt pumped by the world-wide protests going on against government corruption...Palestinian Christians — A current exodus
A recent CBS '60 Minutes' segment by Bob Simon exposed an important aspect of Israel’s occupation: the exodus of Christian Palestinians. The timing of this provocative story could not be worse for Israel. In recent years, the focus of tension in the Middle East has shifted from Palestine to Iran. But the television report...Symptoms of a war that must end
“You can bomb the world to pieces, but you can’t bomb the world to peace.” This memorable quote from Michael Franti is fitting for the now decade-long war in Afghanistan. The façade of "progress" in Afghanistan is falling apart. A few days ago, The Los Angeles Times published pictures of U.S. soldiers posing with the...Vietnam, Afghanistan, and The Pentagon’s memory failure
Wars of Attrition: Green zones of the mind, guerrillas, and a technical knockout in AfghanistanRecently, after insurgents unleashed sophisticated, synchronized attacks across Afghanistan involving dozens of fighters armed with suicide vests, rocket-propelled grenades, and small arms, as well as car bombs, the Pentagon was quick to......
Chances of Assad falling highly exaggerated
April 27th, 20120 For the past year, I've been intrigued listening to expert after expert tells us that Bashar Assad is going down and his ouster is just a matter of time. He has been called a "dead man walking" by the U.S. State Department. Israel's defense minister has insisted that Assad will fall in a matter of weeks. Just last month, President...Jones, BAMN mirror images of each other
On April 7, Terry Jones, the Qur'an-burning pastor from Florida, stood in front of the Islamic Center of America to condemn Islamic religious law (shari'a) and the alleged Muslim effort to sabotage the Constitution. He renounced the Christian churches for criticizing him. As a professor who teaches about Religion and Politics, I was...
It’s official: There is a Muslim exemption to the First Amendment
April 20th, 20120 David Stone and members of his Hutaree anti-government militia amassed a huge arsenal of weapons, including the ingredients for explosives, and allegedly plotted to kill a police officer and bomb his funeral. A federal judge in Michigan said they were just venting and exercising their First Amendment rights.Tarek Mehanna, a 29-year-old...What’s really happening in Syria?
The Holy Triumvirate — the United States, NATO, and the European Union — or an approved segment thereof, can usually get what they want. A woman wearing a Syrian national flag bearing images of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad around her neck, takes part in a rally to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the foundation of the Baath......
We must demand boycott, divestment and sanctions at the University of Michigan
As we write this piece, more than 5,300 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israeli jails. Zero Israelis are imprisoned in Palestinian jails. A total of 24,813 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel since 1967. Zero Israeli homes have been demolished by Palestinians since then. Some 172 Jewish-only settlements and 101 “outposts”...Israel-Iran matters get worse in verse
A lyrical attack by Germany’s acclaimed novelist and essayist Günter Grass in which he labeled Israel’s alleged atomic arsenal and looming preemptive strike on Iran’s nuclear installations a threat to world peace has triggered fury and controversy amongst Israelis. In his 66-line poem entitled ‘What Must Be Said’ and......
Helen Thomas deserves more than a seat at White House correspondents’ dinner
April 5th, 20120 It was 50 years ago this year that veteran journalist Helen Thomas convinced President John F. Kennedy to boycott the White House Correspondents' Association's annual dinner. If women weren't invited to attend, the president announced, he wouldn't be going, either. ThomasMs. Thomas, who had been assigned to cover the president — making...Hana Shalabi: The bravest form of nonviolence
No sooner had Khader Adnan ended his 66-day life-threatening hunger strike than new urgent concerns are being voiced for Hana Shalabi, another West Bank hunger striker now without food for more than 24 days. Both strikes were directed by Palestinian activists against the abusive use of administrative detention by Israeli West Bank......