Anti-immigrant state laws could multiply, Obama warns
July 2nd, 20100 WASHINGTON (IPS) - U.S. President Barack Obama criticized "ill conceived" immigration laws in Arizona and called on Republicans to end their opposition to immigration reform and pass bipartisan immigration reform in a speech delivered Thursday morning. Immigration reform has become a pressing issue in Washington as individual states,...
USSF: Love, commitment and anger in Detroit
July 2nd, 20100 DETROIT (IPS) — The 2010 U.S. Social Forum ended Saturday in Detroit, a city viewed by many as a metaphor for the excesses of U.S. capitalism, with strong parting words from Pablo Solon, Bolivia's permanent representative to the United Nations. On Saturday evening, to the thunderous applause of the thousands of civil society...Peace groups slam high court ruling on “terror support”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said the court's ruling "thwarts the efforts of human rights organizations to persuade violent actors to renounce violence or cease their human rights abuses and jeopardizes the provision of aid and disaster relief in conflict zones controlled by designated groups."NEW YORK ...Israeli ship blocked from unloading in U.S. port
Oakland, CA — Longshoremen were prevented from unloading an Israeli ship by hundreds of protestors who formed a picket line blocking gates operated by Stevedore Services of America at the Port of Oakland in California. No Israeli ship has been blocked in the U.S. before. The protest was a response...Timing of leak of Afghan mineral wealth evokes skepticism
WASHINGTON (IPS) — The timing of the publication of a major New York Times story on the vast untapped mineral wealth that lies beneath Afghanistan's soil is raising major questions about the intent of the Pentagon, which released the information.Given the increasingly negative news that has come out of Afghanistan — and of U.S....
The Nation Publisher: Isn’t there some room for Helen Thomas?
June 8th, 20100 White House correspondent Helen Thomas (2nd L) takes notes as former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson faces reporters during a news conference in the White House Oval Office, in this handout photograph taken on April 25, 1968 and obtained on June 7, 2010. Thomas announced her retirement on June 7, 2010 according to media...Guantanamo deaths in 2006 won’t go away
NEW YORK (IPS) — A leading good-government group is asking the U.S. Justice Department to disclose details of its investigation into the deaths of three Guantanamo prisoners in 2006. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) Wednesday sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Justice Department...
Controversy rages in NYC over planned mosque near Ground Zero
May 23rd, 20100 NEW YORK— The project to build a mosque and Islamic cultural center close to Ground Zero in New York City has raised a sense of hope in a city whose Muslim population wants to move on from the 9/11 attacks.Construction is yet to begin at the site where the mosque and Islamic center are set to be located, which is the former...Renowned scholar Michael Suleiman dies
Renowned Arab American professor of political science and author Dr. Michael W. Suleiman died this week at the age of 76 after a long battle with cancer. Professor Michael W. SuleimanSuleiman was in the process of finishing an annotated bibliography on the Arab American community and working on a book-length manuscript on...BDS Movement grows despite UC-Berkeley divestment veto
After a 16-4 original vote by student senators for divestment from two companies (General Electric and United Technologies) that are allegedly providing military technologies to Israel that were used in alleged war crimes, the University of California-Berkeley’s student senate seemed on its way to passing a historic bill. But a March...Groups challenge U.S. airport body scanners
NEW YORK (IPS) — More than 30 privacy and civil liberties organizations have filed a formal petition with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), urging the federal agency to shut down the use of "full body scanners" (FBS) at the nation's airports. At a press conference, Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy...U.S. image brightens overseas
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Global perceptions of the U.S. have improved over the past year but ratings of many other countries, including Britain, Japan, Canada and the European Union, have declined over the same period, according to a poll released Sunday. The BBC survey, conducted by GlobeScan/PIPA across 28 countries, found that the U.S. is...
Army disinvites Graham to Pentagon Prayer Day, cites anti-Muslim rhetoric
April 25th, 20100 WASHINGTON — Evangelist Franklin Graham's invitation to speak at a Pentagon prayer service has been rescinded because his comments about Islam were inappropriate, the Army said Thursday. Franklin GrahamGraham, the son of famed evangelist Billy Graham, in 2001 described Islam as evil. More recently, he has said he finds Islam...
Arizona at epicenter of divisive U.S. immigration debate
April 25th, 20100 PHOENIX, Arizona (IPS) — Protests and acts of civil disobedience are taking place in Arizona as it becomes the main battleground in a divisive struggle over illegal immigration. Protesters march in front of the Arizona House building where legislators were meeting Tuesday. Photo: APNew legislation, which was sent to the governor on...Cal-Berkeley rallies around divestment vote; other colleges continue BDS movement against Israeli companies
The struggle to help the besieged Palestinian territory of Gaza has been challenging to say the least, but many have become encouraged by the growing Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement that is gaining steam on college campuses across the country. ASUC Senator Minji Kim abstained from the April 15 vote to override the......
Troika knew Gitmo detainees innocent
George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld covered up that hundreds of innocent men were sent to the Guantánamo Bay prison camp because they feared that releasing them would harm the push for war in Iraq and the broader war on terror, according to a new document obtained by The Times (of London). Lawrence WilkersonThe...ASUC Senate tables vote on vetoed divestment bill
Following a nearly nine-hour discussion that began at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday evening and lasted into Thursday morning, Associated Students University of California (ASUC) senators at Berkeley have yet to reach a decision on whether to uphold or override President Will Smelko's March 24 veto of a controversial bill urging the student...Hate group using Qur’an as toilet paper
WASHINGTON — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) this week called on American Muslims and other people of conscience to urge Republican leaders to insist that Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC) withdraw her support for an anti-Islam hate group after one of its Florida representatives was exposed bragging in a YouTube video that...Racism, hate activity linked to mental health problems in victims
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — For the first time, researchers have connected mental health issues in Arab Americans and American Muslims with reported bias and discrimination following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The researchers say their study is the first representative, population-based investigation of the health and psychological impacts......
New strategy removes terrorism lens on Muslims
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama's advisers plan to remove terms such as "Islamic radicalism" from a document outlining national security strategy and will use the new version to emphasize that the U.S. does not view Muslim nations through the lens of terrorism, counterterrorism officials say.The change would be a significant...U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to keynote Civil Rights Luncheon at ADC’s convention
WASHINGTON — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has announced that US Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr., will deliver the keynote remarks at the Annual Civil Rights Luncheon during ADC's 30th Anniversary National Convention. The Luncheon will take place on Friday June 4, 2010, from 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM......
ADC cautiously welcomes revised TSA policy
WASHINGTON — The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) has cautiously welcomed the decision by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reverse a prior security policy based on national origin or racial profiling. Prior directives targeted individuals, including U.S. citizens, traveling from Muslim majority or...
Gas station owner gets $50 million jury verdict in epic battle against Shell Oil
April 4th, 20100 It's not too often an attorney from a tiny firm battles a company like Shell Oil on behalf of a single plaintiff and walks away with a $50 million jury verdict. This looks like a gas station, but note no pumps. Atallah had to rent his defunct station to Smog Busters, which tests to ensure cars meet California emission control......
