TresSugar

First Interview: Obama Tells Arab World US Wants to Be Friends

LibertySugar — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:00:14 -0800

Granting his first official interview as president to Al-Arabiya, a major Dubai-based Arab network, Barack Obama reached out to the Muslim world telling them "the Americans are not your enemy."

Some highlights from yesterday's interview include:

On the US role in negotiating peace between Palestine and Israel: And so what I told him [Mideast envoy George Mitchell] is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating. . . . Ultimately, we cannot tell either the Israelis or the Palestinians what's best for them. They're going to have to make some decisions. But I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people.
On the notion of a Palestinian state: I think it is possible for us to see a Palestinian state - I'm not going to put a time frame on it - that is contiguous, that allows freedom of movement for its people, that allows for trade with other countries, that allows the creation of businesses and commerce so that people have a better life.
On al-Qaeda: They seem nervous . . . what that tells me is that their ideas are bankrupt. There's no actions that they've taken that say a child in the Muslim world is getting a better education because of them, or has better healthcare because of them.
On US relations with the Muslim world: My job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives. My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy.

Are you surprised that Obama chose an Arab network for his first TV interview?

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Life After 9/11: One Young Arab Gets Thrown in US Jail

LibertySugar — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 03:00:18 -0700

A recent piece in the New York Magazine chronicles the nightmarish journey of a young Arab immigrant. After September 11, Rasha found herself in jail with her family. Rasha's story sheds light on a darker side of national security.

At five-years-old Rasha moved with her family from Syria to the United States on a tourist visa. When she was in the sixth grade, after years of trying to get permanent residency, and failing, Rasha and her family moved back to Syria. Eventually she would get her Brooklyn life back, after her family was finally granted their green-cards. But the joy didn't last forever.

In February 2002, fifteen US officers awoke Rasha and her family in the middle of the night - Rasha's family was being investigated for terrorist connections. Once in a holding cell, officials questioned each family member in a separate room. To find out what happened next, read more.

After a few days of this treatment, Rasha's father begged the FBI agent to deport the family. Instead, INS detained the family until they completed their investigation. After three months of detention, the family was unexpectedly and quickly released, allowed to live their lives as before, but with new fears. Rasha, having missed school, received Fs on her report card, and having missed mortgage payments, the family had to sell their home. The New York Magazine gives a detailed account of the family's stay in prison and the recovery process after their release.

Lucky for Rasha and her family, their lawyer and other family members advocated for their release. But many others, who were arbitrarily detained, stayed longer or were deported following September 11. Without an understanding of what people like Rasha have gone through, can we accurately assess America's national security policy?

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Critic Says Hollywood Abuses Arab Bogeyman

LibertySugar — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:00:37 -0700

One critic is getting very critical of Hollywood's portrayal of Arabs and Muslims in film and television. Jack Shaheen, an American of Lebanese decent, told Reuters that in America, where it is politically incorrect to make derogatory comments about other groups like African Americans or Jews, there is no social taboo against reinforcing damaging Arab or Muslim stereotypes.

In his latest book, Guilty, Shaheen says that the an anti-Arab tendency was present before September 11^th. Disney's Aladdin (1992) and Father of the Bride Part II both fail the test. (Remember the Arab guy trying to buy Steve Martin's house?)

But, since September 11^th, the vilifying has picked up. Shaheen writes that
2006's The Kingdom presented some of the most damaging depictions of Arabs in which "even Arab children cannot be trusted." Movies that make the A-list? Shaheen says Babel (2006) and Rendition (2007) presented a more complex view of Arabs.

Do American movies and television shows rely on the "Arab bogeyman"? Why do you think American society tolerates such indiscriminate demonization?

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Wal-Mart Caters to Arab-American Shoppers

CitizenSugar — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 09:00:07 -0800

Dearborn, Michigan's Arab-American population is getting some special attention from an unlikely place: Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart's smiley-face, price-slashing reputation is definitely polarizing. But whether you love a bargain, or wave signs protesting its Goliath march through Main Street USA, its sheer size guarantees everyone has rolled back prices once or twice. It's everything to everyone.

In Dearborn, Michigan, with the largest concentration of Arabs outside of the Middle East, the big-box retailer is selling them a little bit of home. Stocking olive oil, falafel, and Egyptian mango juice, and Lebanese pop music, the store's 35 Arabic-speaking staff represents a big departure from Wal-Mart's usual one-size-fits-all approach to retail.

This store features one more important difference: an agreement with small, local businesses. To respect the existing businesses that already cater to the Arab-American population, Wal-Mart has agreed for instance, to charge a dime more for a pack of pita - and that one thin dime represents a world of change that shoppers can take to the bank.

Is a unique, neighborhood approach the wave of the retail future? Does it surprise you that Wal-Mart is in tune with the needs of the community?

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80 Percent of the Arab World Hates the US - Are They Justified?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 10:00:01 -0700

A new poll just released shows that eight out of 10 people in the Arab world have a negative view of the US. The negative impression perhaps stems from the progress in the war in Iraq as only 6 percent of Arabs believe the US troop surge in Iraq has worked.

A majority of Arabs have their own idea of how the conflict should end and believe that if US troops withdraw from Iraq completely, Iraqis would be able to bridge their differences.

Interestingly, the three leaders seen as the most popular are the only ones standing up against US influence in the region: Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah is the most popular leader, followed by Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, and Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Do these findings surprise you?

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United Arab Emirates Launches Campaign Against Lesbians

CitizenSugar — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 05:50:14 -0700

Excuse me, I'm a girl.

OK, I'm not just telling you that as an FYI. "Excuse me, I'm a girl" is actually the name of a new public campaign launched in the United Arab Emirates to crack down on lesbians.

In the UAE, lesbians are considered "manly" women that harass "normal" women. In order to address this menace, the government will employ educational and psychological experts to teach women about appropriate femininity.

A public service campaign filled with workshops and experts seems like quite a modern way to promote not-so-modern values!

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Want a Vanity Plate? Got a Spare $14 Million?

CitizenSugar — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 12:30:32 -0800

If you were in the United Arab Emirates yesterday with a truckload of cash, you could have scored the most coveted vanity license plate. The plate doesn't read "2FAST4U" or "SPDRCR", it just says, "1". And the price? A cool, hard, $14 million.

The plate was purchased by Saeed Khouri, a member of a wealthy Abu Dhabi family. He declined to say how many cars he owned or which one might carry the super-expensive single-digit plate.

The auction's proceeds from the auctions go to a rehabilitation center for victims of traffic accidents. In this event, 90 license plates were auctioned off, raising a total of $24 million. The previous five such events netted over $50 million. Wow. That's some "BIGBUK$."

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Hidden Stories: Israeli Arab Land Day Protests

CitizenSugar — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:30:16 -0700

Chants of "we are here to stay," rang out as more than 1,000 Israeli Arabs marched through Jaffa today to commemorate the killing of six people during a 1976 protest against land confiscations.
The photo shows a Palestinian demonstrator in a heated argument with an Israeli soldier during the protest against Israel's controversial separation barrier near the West Bank city of Ramallah. To find out more about this hidden story, read more.

Land Day has been observed by Israel's large Arab minority of 1.2 million every year since six Israeli Arabs were killed in clashes with security forces after a government decision to expropriate land in the Galilee 32 years ago. One protester said, "I came to protest because they want to demolish my home," said Laila Anad, in her forties and wearing a traditional Islamic veil. Israeli Arab deputy Jamal Zahalka told the crowd: "The residents of Jaffa have the firm intention to resort to the justice system to defend their homes."

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Saudi Could Be Flogged For Bragging About Sexual Conquests

TresSugar — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 10:05:00 -0700

Do you find it annoying when men brag about the women they've slept with? Well Saudi Arabia finds it more than annoying - it's flog worthy! Abdul Jawad, a Saudi man who boasted about his sexual conquests on Arab TV, is now facing mounting calls for him to be imprisoned or flogged.

Ignoring the fact that premarital sex is a serious crime in Saudi Arabia, Abdul bragged about how he began sleeping with women at the age of 14. He also chronicled how he met women using the Bluetooth function on his cell phone. Gender-segregated singles in the conservative country use the mobile device to communicate with each other in public. For example, a man might see a group of women sitting in a restaurant, search to see if they have an active Bluetooth device, and then ask for permission to send them text messages.

As you might guess, Abdul isn't the only person in Saudi Arabia that breaks the rules - he's just the least discreet person to do so.

Source: Flickr User Lucie's Photography

L'Oreal in Hot Water For Racial Discrimination

TresSugar — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:30:00 -0700

"Because you're worth it" is L'Oreal's brand slogan - but in France, a few bad apples seemed to think only white Garnier hostesses were worth hawking their shampoo to customers.

An executive from Garnier, L'Oreal's beauty division, sent out a fax in 2000 instructing headquarters to find an all-white team of sales staff to promote Fructis Style. The code term? Find Garnier hostesses, the fax instructed, who are "bleu, blanc, rouge" (blue, white, red), the colors on the French flag and code in business recruitment circles, apparently, for white French people born to white French parents. This directive would have ruled out black, Asian, or Arab representatives, in effect excluding around four million ethnic minorities and people of color that make up France.

France's equivalent of the US Supreme Court, La Cour de Cassation, said that the policy was illegal under French employment law. Although the employee who sent out the fax denies discriminatory intent, claiming that she just wanted hostesses who could "express themselves correctly in French," employees claimed that they were given verbal instructions to favor white sales staff.