Jewish Voice for Peace condemns Israeli siege of Gaza
Oakland — American peace group Jewish Voice for Peace expressed outrage and sadness this week at the latest escalation of violence and collective punishment in Gaza and Sderot. JVP condemns violations of the five-month-old joint ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, with Israeli incursions into Gaza resulting in the deaths of 15...
The problem with keeping Gates
November 22nd, 20080 Press reports say Barack Obama may retain George W. Bush's Defense Secretary Robert Gates as a gesture to war-time continuity, bipartisanship and respect for the Washington insider community, which has embraced Gates as something of a new Wise Man. However, if Obama does keep Gates on, the new President will be employing someone who...
Emanuel apologizes for father’s anti-Arab comments
November 15th, 20080 Obama's newly appointed Chief of Staff calls ADC to repudiate statements President-elect Barack Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel Just a week after he was announced as President-Elect Barack Obama's White House Chief of Staff, Congressman Rahm Emanuel was back in the media spotlight on Thursday, November 13th after he...Have we been conned again?
If the change President-elect Obama has promised includes a halt to America's wars of aggression and an end to the rip-off of taxpayers by powerful financial interests, what explains Obama's choice of foreign and economic policy advisors? Indeed, Obama's selection of Rahm Israel Emanuel as White House chief of staff is a signal that...You can stop the foreclosures
It was always happening to them, not us. Hurricanes, tornadoes, factory closings and foreclosures. We paid attention but didn't really care. People who had their sights on retirement have seen their life savings disappear right in front of their eyes, and people who worked for the Big Three, and felt secure, are now running in panic....
The Obama revolution
November 8th, 20080 Abraham Lincoln, another president from Illinois, fought a civil war that divided a nation and succeeded in uniting it again. But when he tried to take on the bankers, he got assassinated. John F. Kennedy took on Russia in the Cuban missile crisis, but when he took on the Feds, he got assassinated. They both were trying to finish a...Reading the subtext: Muslims and American politics
…all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities. — The Virginia Statute of Muqtedar Khan Religious Freedom (1786) In this presidential election cycle, American Muslims became a...Pumping up Muslim voter turnout
SAN FRANCISCO — American Muslims are feverishly working for the largest-ever Muslim voter turnout on Nov. 4, with a particular focus on battleground states. Muslim civic organizations have worked in coalition to generate dozens of rallies, town hall meetings and neighborhood get-togethers, all geared toward voter mobilization....War, economic collapse, peak oil and climate change
Is it writers' block, or is it that the world is in such a mess that it has simply short-circuited my mind? So many bad news scenarios present themselves on several fronts that I am somewhat amazed and dumbfounded. Is there any order, any sense to be found in the current insanity of war, economic collapse, peak oil, and climate...Next president will inherit Guantanamo dilemma
NEW YORK (IPS) — Leading human rights groups reacted with outrage Tuesday to media reports that the administration of President George W. Bush has decided not to close the iconic prison at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Quoting anonymous senior Bush Administration officials, The New York Times reported that the issue...Forgive us our debts
Federal Reserve headquarters Four cowboys wanted to play a game of poker, but they didn't have a deck of cards. A banker offered to lend them a deck of cards, on the condition that each bring back 14 cards, and they had to leave their horses as collateral. How many cowboys get their horses back? This oldest trick in the...
Third party and independent presidential candidates
October 26th, 20080 In last week's issue of The Arab American News, we took a fair look at Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain, detailing where they stand on several issues, as the two major presidential candidates that voters have to choose from. This week, we explore other options. In most states, the ballots for the Nov. 4 election will list the names...Powell marks latest Republican defection
WASHINGTON (IPS) - The announcement by former Secretary of State Colin Powell Sunday that he will vote for Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for president Nov. 4 marks the latest and most prominent, if not entirely unexpected, defection of a major Republican figure from his party's election campaign. Former Secretary of State Gen....“We have to share this pain”
PORTLAND, Oregon (IPS) - Veterans from the U.S. occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, along with Iraqis, Afghanis, Vietnam veterans, and family members of U.S. military personnel converged in this west coast city over the weekend to share stories of atrocities being committed daily in Iraq, in a continuation of the "Winter Soldier"...
Weighing the candidates
October 17th, 20080 With only two weeks left before the election, and after the two major US presidential candidates have debated for the third and final tme, The Arab American News takes a fair look at both major candidates.John McCain's campaign has done little to engage Arab Americans, but the Arizona senator still commands respect as a war hero and......
Going out with a whimper, not a bang
WASHINGTON (IPS) — With only three months left in office, U.S. President George W. Bush appears increasingly determined to calm the international waters he so vigorously churned up, especially during his first term. U.S. President George W. Bush makes a statement on the economy in the Rose Garden of the White House, following...Coalition speaks out against anti-Muslim DVD
Los Angeles — Sheriff Lee Baca, actor Mike Farrell and nearly 20 members of the newly formed Coalition for Renewing American Democracy held a press conference last week to voice their unified opposition to an anti-Muslim DVD called "Obsession." Since mid-September, roughly 28 million copies of a DVD called "Obsession: Radical...Two American journalists held in Syria released
Two American journalists who were missing for more than a week were released by Syrian authorities and reportedly on their way home Thursday, after being detained while trying to sneak into the country with smugglers, Syrian and embassy officials said. An undated handout photograph provided by the Jordan Times newspaper Oct. 9...America’s right-wing zealots will not fade away
In 1964, Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona ran for president as a rock-ribbed conservative who yearned to roll back both the Soviet Empire and FDR's New Deal. He carried only six states with 52 electoral votes, and Lyndon Johnson remained the commander-in-chief that an entire generation loved to hate. Yet, even after suffering a stunning......
Come to the polls Nov. 4 with knowledge — and confidence
While the results of the Nov. 4 election won't be known until the polls close, one thing already is certain: All eligible Michigan voters have the opportunity to cast ballots and can do so with confidence that their votes will count. My assurance is based not only on Michigan's distinguished record of election...
Hathaway aims for state Supreme Court
October 3rd, 20080 Candidate for Michigan Supreme Court Diane Marie HathawayWhen people go in to fill out their ballots on November 4th, most of the attention will be on the presidential election. But a race that some feel is just as important locally is the one for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court, which can be found further down the ballot.......
McCain gives up on Michigan in major retreat
October 3rd, 20080 John McCainJohn McCain is pulling out of Michigan, according to two Republicans, a stunning move a month away from Election Day that indicates the difficulty Republicans are having in finding blue states to put in play. McCain will go off TV in Michigan, stop dropping mail there and send most of his staff to more competitive...
November ballots will be loaded
October 3rd, 20080 All the attention right now is on the monumental upcoming presidential race, but when the moment of truth finally comes and voters are presented with the ballots they've been waiting for, they'll be looking at dozens of names to choose from in a whole lot of races. State and national congressional seats, influential county positions......
