On November 9, Georgetown University celebrates the remarkable accomplishments of Aicha Ech-Channa, a Muslim Moroccan woman who has earned wide respect for her advocacy of human and civil rights for single mothers and their children. She is a finalist for the Opus Prize, a one-million dollar faith-based humanitarian award, the winner to be announced November 4. Having witnessed, as a social worker in Casablanca, sexual violence and the terrible suffering of young, unwed mothers, Mrs. Ech-Channa founded the Association Solidarite Feminine in 1985. Beginning in a basement, the Association helped Moroccan women gain the necessary skills to care for themselves and their children. Today, this ambitious civil society organization provides psychological counseling, job training, daily child care, workshops, and medical treatment for unmarried mothers. Mrs. Ech-Channa has worked for more than five decades to advance women’s rights, pushing for changes to traditional gender roles within Moroccan society.
On Sunday, October 25th, representatives of over three dozen Arab American and American Jewish community organizations met in Washington to make clear their shared commitment to a comprehensive Middle East peace. Hosted by J Street, which calls itself the US's "pro-peace, pro-Israel lobby" and the Arab American Institute, "the research and policy arm of the Arab American community", the event was joined by Tina Tchen, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. The message that the leaders and activists who gathered hoped to send, via this summit, was that despite their different starting points, both agree on the goal of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and are supportive of President Obama's peace making efforts, to date. This is not the first time Arab Americans and American Jews have joined forces.
After a few hours, I got tired of sitting down as shoe shiners, beggars, men, women and children walked by in search of an illusive stroke of good luck, or in avoidance of that inevitable sense of mortification pressed on them by reality. My oneirism as I ogled the swinging supple derrieres of pulchritudinous women dissipated. My glass of Moroccan coffee had been empty and cold for quite some time now. I paid and left the Atlanta café and walked toward the post office on boulevard Panoramique. I stood on the curb for ten minutes trying to hail a taxicab before one stopped. It bluntly peeled off the traffic and came to a halt inches away from me; so close in fact that if I hadn’t curled my toes in, it would have rolled over them. I opened the door and jumped in the back.
Mariano Rajoy, leader of the rightwing People's party, said his party
was the victim of a network of corruption. Photograph: Susana
Vera/Reuters
Baltimore MD, Oct.09-- Politicians as well as the average citizen in Morocco should be following the latest political scandal to hit Spain. The entertaining details of this full blown disgrace involving high ranking officials in Spain’s conservative opposition party, the Partido Popular (PP), include bribes, kickbacks, illegal campaign donations, abuse of power, sex, lies and tapes. The most damaging allegations center around bribes given by construction companies to senior members of the PP in the regions of Galicia and Castilla-and-Leon in exchange for contracts. Several Spanish newspapers published reports detailing a scheme of hidden financing given to the PP officials in Valencia from construction companies awarded public contracts in the region. Among the PP politicians tainted by this scandal are Alejandro Agag, the son-in-law of former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, and a former Minister in the Aznar government. Also accused of bribes are several high ranking PP members in the regions of Madrid and Valencia.
One of the questions I ask myself whenever I watch a disappointing match of our national soccer team is why some players, though they are among the best players across Europe, seem as if it’s the first time they played football, and sometimes you doubt if they are playing for or against Morocco!
“…Let me recall that it was a success with Homane and Bamous in 70 ; Baba et Faras en 1976 , Bouderbala , Krimau , Khairi in 1986 ; Bassir ,Camacho and Tahar in 98 and there is no reason why the 2009 generation will not succeed,” Said Hassan Moumen, coach of the Atlas Lions, when asked why the results remain negative despite the involvement of many high-calibre international players, including Marouane Chamakh, Mounir El Hamdaoui, and Youssef Hajji.
Washington Oct 16, 09- The two co-founders of the Movement for defense of individual liberties (MALI), Ms. Ibtissame Lachgar and Ms. Zineb El Rhazoui, were barred from leaving Morocco. While attempting to board a plane at the Casablanca International Airport on their way to Paris, France, they have learned that they were prohibited from leaving the country. Ms. Lachgar, a PhD student, who is a resident of France and Ms. El Rhazoui were on their way to attend a conference on freedom, organized by the French association “Manifesto of Liberties”. The Moroccan border police told Ms. Ibtissame Lachgar, that she is on a “wanted” list, and that there is a ruling prohibiting her from leaving the country.
Washington, Oct. 15-- The arrest of seven Moroccan citizens after their visit to the Polisario militia’s headquarters in the Algerian city of Tindouf has given the Algerian government an opening to further its anti-Morocco campaign. While Moroccan Sahrawi and civilians living in the Algerian controlled camps regularly exchange humanitarian visits under the auspices of the United Nations, the visit of the seven Moroccan “activists” was different in nature and purpose. Raising suspicion, the Moroccan visitors met with the Western Sahara Separatist Group Polisario leader as well as high ranking members of Algeria's Military Intelligence Agency.
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During a workshop at the Moroccan American Convention in Washington, by Mr. Kassimi, the Minister in Charge of Consular affairs at the Moroccan Embassy in Washington, spoke on consular services benefiting the Moroccan American community members and listed case studies relating to marriage, civilian marriage vs. religious marriage and the laws regulating them, cases of divorce, isuues relating to birth and death certificates and the possibility of constituents doing most of the application paperwork on line, possibilty of moroccan mothers married to other nationals is able now to transfer her citizenship to her children...
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Internationally renowned Moroccan Diva Karima Skalli and the 50 piece Mesto orchetra performed at the Detroit Max Fisher Music center for the Arab American National Museum 6th annual Gala.
Ms. Skali, a native of fes, Morocco gave a stellar performance of mostly classical Arabic music titles from artists such as smahan, farid al attrach, oum khaltoum, fairouz and others.
Rekia Ennaboulssi With my experience around television production crews, actors and actresses, directors and producers, I was overwhelmed by how much work goes into packaging the final product for audiences.
Work starts long before a production site is chosen and lasts much longer…
The first big step was casting. Allied Media Corp. & Engine Production utilized several sources to get ethnic groups to audition for the Census TV/Radio/Photo commercials. Moroccoboard was a great source to reach out to the Moroccan American community. Being from Morocco and as one of the main Arabic language editors for Census materials, communication with the cast was hardly an issue, we auditioned some talented actors and actresses.
Reuters / Protesters gather during clashes with riot police at Diar Echams district in Algiers, the Algerian capital.
Washington, Oct.09-- As Morocco and Algeria keep playing checkers over the Western Sahara conflict, the social tension in Algeria is on the verge of explosion while Morocco’s poor keeps sinking deeper into poverty. As more than 100 protesters descended on the streets of the Diar Echams district of Algiers this week, the popular discontent of the Algerian people that started last summer continues. Along the same lines, Moroccan citizens have been holding frequent protests to condemn the “expensiveness of life” in Morocco.
More and more cities are in the process of recreating their image to show case their abilities in competing for investors dollars and sometimes for more; cities such as Beijing, Dubai and Mumbai or even New York. Casablanca, Morocco never got that chance, it never received the local and international focus it deserves, it is a major “Megapole” and an urban center worthy of many perks of modern times. Casablanca was the scene of a major Hollywood production 70 years ago before Nass Elghiwan, Wydad, Raja even before Marcel Cerdan but it never took off, it never imposed itself, it quietly grew bigger and bigger without muscling out the other cities or forcing its status.
Holocaust denial is considered as a crime in many countries in Europe, although it is not criminalized in the United States because of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It is also not an offence in the United Kingdom, but the laws against libel or inciting racial hatred may apply. Many people are put in jail for publicly expressing doubts that such atrocities actually happened. The president of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is one of the most vocal at dismissing the holocaust, he perhaps uses it for local consumption but it sure ignites a lot of attention throughout the world, Israel uses his words to claim that all Muslims and Arabs around it are anti-Semitic.
Driss Chahtan holds his daughter while being taken to prison.
NY, Oct. 16, 09—The Committee to Protect Journalists strongly condemns the decision of a Rabat court Thursday to imprison the managing editor of Al-Michaal newspaper for one year. A Rabat, Morocco misdemeanor court sentenced Driss Chahtan to a year in jail and Al-Michaal journalists Mostafa Hiran and Rashid Mahameed to three months in prison and a 5,000 dirham (US$655) fine each for “intentionally publishing false information” in a number of articles about King Mohamed VI’s health, local journalists told CPJ. The paper’s lawyers walked out of the hearing on October 8 to protest procedural violations and the court's failure to abide by basic standards for a fair trial, they said.
Washington -The 4th annual convention of the Moroccan American Coalition (MAC), held over last weekend under the theme "Connect, Inspire, Grow", wrapped up late Sunday in Washington, in an optimistic tone, coupled with a clear will to unite the voice of the Moroccan-American community.
Aware that unity is strength, the organizers of the two-day meeting, as well as participants from different regions of the U.S., underscored the importance of endeavouring to better know one another and to make efforts in a context of alliance.Aziz El Madi, co-director of the Boston-based "Volunteer Morocco" association, thinks the 4th MAC Convention is an "important" initiative, and believes the coalition should include other Moroccan associations.
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation to pay tribute to the Moroccan people.
The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation is a global-reach NGO, with offices in New York, Berlin, Jerusalem, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. Among its members are more than a hundred heads of state and Nobel Prize laureates, as well as distinguished personalities from all faiths. Due to its interfaith nature, the Foundation is strongly supported by both the Catholic and Protestant Churches. In Berlin, it operates from the Vaterunser Evangelical Church. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, following an initiative of the Wallenberg Foundation, the Catholic Cathedral features a mural in memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
On Sunday, October 25th, representatives of over three dozen Arab American and American Jewish community organizations met in Washington to make clear their shared commitment to a comprehensive Middle East peace. Hosted by J Street, which calls itself the US's "pro-peace, pro-Israel lobby" and the Arab American Institute, "the research and policy arm of the Arab American community", the event was joined by Tina Tchen, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.
After a few hours, I got tired of sitting down as shoe shiners, beggars, men, women and children walked by in search of an illusive stroke of good luck, or in avoidance of that inevitable sense of mortification pressed on them by reality. My oneirism as I ogled the swinging supple derrieres of pulchritudinous women dissipated. My glass of Moroccan coffee had been empty and cold for quite some time now. I paid and left the Atlanta café and walked toward the post office on boulevard Panoramique. I stood on the curb for ten minutes trying to hail a taxicab before one stopped. It bluntly peeled off the traffic and came to a halt inches away from me; so close in fact that if I hadn’t curled my toes in, it would have rolled over them. I opened the door and jumped in the back.
One of the questions I ask myself whenever I watch a disappointing match of our national soccer team is why some players, though they are among the best players across Europe, seem as if it’s the first time they played football, and sometimes you doubt if they are playing for or against Morocco!
Washington Oct 16, 09-
With my experience around television production crews, actors and actresses, directors and producers, I was overwhelmed by how much work goes into packaging the final product for audiences.
More and more cities are in the process of recreating their image to show case their abilities in competing for investors dollars and sometimes for more; cities such as Beijing, Dubai and Mumbai or even New York. Casablanca, Morocco never got that chance, it never received the local and international focus it deserves, it is a major “Megapole” and an urban center worthy of many perks of modern times. 
Holocaust denial is considered as a crime in many countries in Europe, although it is not criminalized in the United States because of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. It is also not an offence in the United Kingdom, but the laws against libel or inciting racial hatred may apply. Many people are put in jail for publicly expressing doubts that such atrocities actually happened.
