Uday Hattem is like any New Yorker. He rides the subway, loves a good slice of pizza and sometimes meets friends for a late-night dinner. Just a few years ago, Hattem lived with his family in Baghdad, where he worked for the U.S. Army as a translator. He was shot in the face and arm by terrorists for cooperating with the Americans. Now, he lives in Staten Island, one of thousands of Iraqis who worked for the U.S. military hoping to make a new life here. "It's a really special city," said the 49-year-old former factory supervisor. "You can live as you like. You can live free. New York is my home now." Hattem has had about two dozen surgeries since he was shot. He is waiting for a prosthetic eye and will soon start looking for a job. He hopes his family can follow him. It wasn't easy to get here. Several New York-based organizations are working to help the thousands of Iraqi translators seeking asylum in the United States. The Staten Island-based Global Medical Relief … [Read more...] about Groups open doors for Iraqis who helped United States
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‘I never thought I’d be talking to the President of the United States’
Big Town Big Dreams Stories about immigrant New Yorkers who make this town the great place it is "My last name in Arabic," explained Fouzia Bouanane, "is the word for 'artist.' My father would laugh about how nobody in our family is an artist. So I was always telling my daddy, 'Yes, I'm going to be a makeup artist.'" She was right - although the 43-year-old Queens resident wasn't pursuing career plans when she came to America in 1990. The native of Morocco arrived in Connecticut as part of an arranged marriage - "It didn't work," she says. Bouanane then moved on to New York City, where she found some unexpected opportunity. "I took a job with the Fox News Channel," she says, "working in housekeeping. Thank God for that. I used to go to the green rooms and put coffee and soda in there, and I would still sigh and say, 'One day, I'm going to be a makeup artist.' And suddenly I was able to go to school and work with great makeup artists there." That opportunity began … [Read more...] about ‘I never thought I’d be talking to the President of the United States’
Letters for May 5: Protesters disgrace United States
Disrespect for U.S.Recently, I observed a photograph in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel of an immigration policy protester flying a Mexican flag.Having spent years in Mexico working with the poor, in that time I experienced corruption in the Mexican government and the local police and the federal police. It seems many are paid off by the drug cartels. The Mexican poor are completely ignored by government policies.I cannot understand why the Mexican people will not stand up against this corruption. Instead of attempting to make their living standards better and fighting against such corrupt government policies, they just pack their bags and head to the United States border to escape the conditions.Then for me to observe the photograph of the protester flying the Mexican flag of the country they just rejected because of such terrible working conditions, I am completely perplexed. If they truly love and respect their country that much, why did they leave it?Then to come to my country and … [Read more...] about Letters for May 5: Protesters disgrace United States
Trump: Syrian strike is in ‘vital national security interest’ of United States
PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump said he ordered targeted airstrikes against a Syrian airfield Thursday in retaliation for the regime's chemical weapons attack against civilians this week."It is in the vital national security interest of the United states to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons," Trump said Thursday night. "Tonight I call on all civilized nations to join us in seeking to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria."Speaking to reporters from Mar-a-Lago, the resort he owns in Palm Beach, Trump condemned Syrian President Bashar Assad, saying he "choked out the lives of helpless men, women and children.""Numerous previous attempts at changing Assad’s behavior have all found and failed very dramatically. As a result, the refugee crisis continues to deepen and the region continues to destabilize, threatening the United States and its allies," he said.Trump delivered the three-minute statement with the help of two teleprompters and … [Read more...] about Trump: Syrian strike is in ‘vital national security interest’ of United States
RYDER CUP SCORECARD: EUROPE 5, UNITED STATES 3
Fourball: Europe 2, United States 1 Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk (U. S.) def. Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington, 1-up. Stewart Cink and J. J. Henry (U. S.) halved with Paul Casey and Robert Karlsson. Jose Maria Olazabal and Sergio Garcia (Europe) def. David Toms and Brett Wetterich, 3 and 2. Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood (Europe) def. Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco, 1-up. Foursomes: Europe 2 , United States 1 Chad Campbell and Zach Johnson (U. S.) halved with Harrington and Paul McGinely. Cink and Toms (U. S.) halved with David Howell and Henrik Stenson. Mickelson and DiMarco (U. S.) halved with Westwood and Montgomerie. Luke Donald and Garcia (Europe) def. Woods and Furyk, 2-up. Match of the Day Afternoon foursomes Chris DiMarco & Phil Mickelson halve with Colin Montgomerie & Lee Westwood With both teams ringing the 18th green, Montgomerie drains an eight-foot putt in the final match of the day to steal a half-point and give … [Read more...] about RYDER CUP SCORECARD: EUROPE 5, UNITED STATES 3
‘Sharknado 3’ casts Mark Cuban as President of the United States and Ann Coulter as his vice president
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the voting booth ... “Shark Tank” judge Mark Cuban will play the President of the United States, with conservative author Ann Coulter as his vice president in “Sharknado 3,” producers announced Monday. Cuban, a self-proclaimed libertarian, waded into political waters in October, hitting CNBC to advise the Republican Party to stay away from social issues. And most Democrats would probably rather take their chances with whirlwinds full of toothy great whites than have Coulter anywhere near the Oval Office. But they may be a winning ticket for the third installment of the Syfy hit television movie series — a franchise that attracts no shortage of D-listers given its surprising popularity. Cuban and Coulter will be joining all-star (sort of) chums in the water that already includes Bo Derek, Jerry Springer, NSYNC singer Chris Kirkpatrick and pro-wrestler Chris … [Read more...] about ‘Sharknado 3’ casts Mark Cuban as President of the United States and Ann Coulter as his vice president
‘The consequences will be catastrophic for the United States’: Top Russian analyst advises blowing up Yellowstone in paranoid editorial
What would happen if the Russians tried to launch nuclear bombs onto American soil, aiming to trigger a giant tsunami or the eruption of a supervolcano? That was precisely the plan one Russian military analyst laid out to combat the West, and it's fit for a Superman comic book or an Eisenhower-era James Bond caper. "The consequences will be catastrophic for the United States — a country just disappears," Konstantin Sivkov, director of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems in Moscow, wrote in the trade newspaper VPK News. His sinister suggestions, dated March 25, were translated and reported by the Sydney Morning Herald. Sivkov reportedly said he believes the multinational military alliance NATO is redoubling its forces against Russia, with America as the main aggressor. His solution: a much colder cold war. Russia's response, he said, should be "complete destruction of the enemy." He's evidently given a monumental amount of thought into how that should … [Read more...] about ‘The consequences will be catastrophic for the United States’: Top Russian analyst advises blowing up Yellowstone in paranoid editorial
France warns citizens touring United States: Be cool around gunslinging Americans
Don’t anger the Americans. The French government has been warning its citizens to be careful in the United States because residents could be packing heat. “Under all circumstances, keep calm and composure,” so as not to upset any of the gunslinging locals, the French foreign ministry advised. The travel warning is one of a string of stereotype-reinforcing tips the ministry posted on its site. French tourists should also take extra care when dealing with police, the ministry advised. “With the police, it is imperative not to make false statements, not to raise your voice and avoid sudden or aggressive gestures,” the ministry said. It’s not clear how long the notices have been on the government site, according to Bloomberg News which first picked up on the warnings. Other advice includes avoiding raunchy jokes lest the uptight Americans take offense and call the cops. “It’s … [Read more...] about France warns citizens touring United States: Be cool around gunslinging Americans
United States ‘abandoned Cambodia and handed it over to the butcher’ during pullout 40 years ago: ex-ambassador
PARIS — Twelve helicopters, bristling with guns and U.S. Marines, breached the morning horizon and began a daring descent toward Cambodia’s besieged capital. Residents believed the Americans were rushing in to save them, but at the U.S. Embassy, in a bleeding city about to die, the ambassador wept. Forty years later, John Gunther Dean recalls one of the most tragic days of his life — April 12, 1975, the day the United States “abandoned Cambodia and handed it over to the butcher.” “We’d accepted responsibility for Cambodia and then walked out without fulfilling our promise. That’s the worst thing a country can do,” he says in an interview in Paris. “And I cried because I knew what was going to happen.” Five days after the dramatic evacuation of Americans, the U.S.-backed government fell to communist Khmer Rouge guerrillas. They drove Phnom Penh’s 2 million inhabitants into the countryside at gunpoint. … [Read more...] about United States ‘abandoned Cambodia and handed it over to the butcher’ during pullout 40 years ago: ex-ambassador
Edward Snowden in talks to return to United States from Russian exile: lawyer
Outlaw whistleblower Edward Snowden wants to come out of the cold to face the heat in the United States — but on his own terms. The former National Security Agency contractor — slammed by critics as a traitor and praised by fans as a civil rights hero — is working back channels with legal teams in America and Germany to come home, his Russian attorney said Tuesday. “Edward Snowden is ready to return to the U.S., but on the condition that he be given guarantees to receive a fair and impartial trial,” attorney Anatoly Kucherena told reporters in Moscow. Kucherena said the only promise Snowden has received from the U.S. attorney general is that he will not face the death penalty if convicted under the World War I-era Espionage Act. “So what we are being guaranteed is not the fair trial, but that Snowden will not be executed,” Kucherena said. “And it’s done by a prosecutor, who according to the law, is not in any way able to … [Read more...] about Edward Snowden in talks to return to United States from Russian exile: lawyer