7th Edition of Moroccan American Bridges

NEWS

05/17/13

SAN FRANCISCO, -AMPA, the Association of Moroccan Professionals will be organizing the 7th Edition of Moroccan American Bridges (MAB2013). The event will be held in Casablanca, Morocco on June 21, 2013. This year's edition will focus on “Entrepreneurship: Morocco's Engine for Growth”. MAB 2013 will bring together entrepreneurs, investors and executives from the US and Morocco. 

 

Across Time and Space: Discovering Morocco

NEWS

05/15/13

Thomas Max Safley

From 30,000 feet in altitude, the coast of Morocco first showed itself a blue-green landmass under a red sunrise.  I might have been looking at a print by Georgia O’Keefe, so strange and familiar it seemed.  The night had been rough.  The delayed flight from winter-bound JFK and the listless service from the Royal Air Maroc crew drove me to seek refuge in sleep.  I awoke in a very different place.

Has Morocco Made Right Choice In Solar Energy?

NEWS

05/11/13

Gerard Wynn
 (Reuters) - Morocco is set to pay more for its solar power than far richer countries such as Germany and should switch tack to cheaper solar technologies that can compete better with wind, oil and coal. The higher cost can probably be attributed to its choice of concentrated solar power (CSP), the competitiveness of which is being questioned as prices of rival photovoltaic (PV) technology tumble.

Morocco: Outspoken Academic Targeted by Islamists

NEWS

05/08/13

M. Saadouni

Moroccan activist Ahmed Assid has unleashed a torrent of criticism, including a takfir fatwa from a leading salafist preacher, for making controversial comments about Islam. During a three-day seminar at the 10th national congress of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH) in Rabat, which ended on April 21st, Assid suggested that religious school textbooks lured youths to violence. 

Marrakech Caftan Fashion Week

NEWS

05/07/13

Last weekend saw the opening of the 17th edition of Caftan, one of the most prestigious events in the traditional Moroccan haute couture scene. It is all over in only a couple of hours, but the work behind the glitz and glamour has taken months.

 

 

US-Morocco: Spat Threatened to Harm Relationship

NEWS

05/06/13

Craig Considine

The recent development of the Moroccan government opposing the US-led initiative to extend the directive of UN peacekeepers in the Western Sahara to human rights monitoring has caused friction between Moroccans and Americans. This spat threatens to harm a relationship which has been based in mutual respect and cooperation for over 240 years.

Bicycling From Scotland to Morocco's Sahara

NEWS

05/03/13

Armstrong, 27, from Alloway in Scotland, is a pilot with the Royal Navy who is equally passionate about cycling as he is flying. In January his entire fleet was grounded after two aircraft crashes and instead of taking off to Thailand with the rest of his squadron he decided to cycle to Morocco.

Moroccan Artisans and Their Work

NEWS

05/02/13

Photographs by Jake Warga has produced a wonderful series of photographs of Moroccan artisans and the work they produce.  Jake is an award-winning independent journalist currently based in Seattle. He has an M.A. in Visual Anthropology and a unique sensitivity and curiosity about the many cultures he visits around the world.  With a microphone in one hand, a camera in the other, he collects stories for Public Radio and images for various outlets 

Morocco: Atheist On The Run

NEWS

05/02/13

Imad-Iddine Habib, The founder of "Morocco's ex-Muslim Council", is hiding from the police. The security services want to question the Activist who calls for the right of Moroccans to be allowed to officially recant Islam if they wish to.

A Sunday In Rabat, Morocco

NEWS

05/02/13

Colette Apelian
Living not far from the train station in central Rabat means I do not have access to a fresh vegetable market unless I walk five to ten minutes down Avenue Mohammed V into the madina. The old vegetable suq that used to be in an unique plaza under the streets in my area is now a lovely open space lined with an art gallery and restaurants. This kind of gentrification is great for children needing a park of sorts to play under the watchful eyes of parents desperate for coffee and sweets.

 

Morocco's design revolution

NEWS

04/26/13

NATASHA CULZAC

"People said contemporary design wouldn’t work in Marrakech", the dynamic owner of Morocco’s Sirayane hotel tells me with a glint in his eye. “But now I have to build 12 extra rooms because we are always fully booked."

It was only a matter of time before the intricate and ancient designs of North African architecture gave way to a different take on traditional Arabian aesthetics in the country.

 

US-Morocco: The Blunder & The 200 Year Relationship

NEWS

04/19/13

There are days when reality parodies better what the likes of Mark Burnett in Expedition Impossible can come up with.
Take 1,400 U.S. military personnel, ship tons of heavy military equipment to Agadir and Marrakech, add more than 900 Moroccan RAF staff to the mix and invite 14 partner nations from NATO, but then as they are about to kick-start their pre-planned annual war games, blow the whistle and call the whole thing off because a clumsy US bureaucrat at the United Nations decided to put the kibosh, albeit briefly, on the longest peace and friendship treaty that the US have with a foreign power.

 

Western Sahara: R.F.K Center ‘s Erroneous grounds led to wrong Decision

NEWS

04/18/13

Shoji MatsumotoIn

While NGOs do claim to find “facts,” the claim may be mere “allegations,” as noted by professor Hurst Hunnum. In many situations, however, mere allegations would jump to a conclusion that international human rights had been violated, in disregard for the principles that have been developed in the relevant international human rights organs.
The Center has explored two areas, namely the territory of Western Sahara and the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria from August 24th to 31st 2012. Its objective was basically to assess the human rights situation on the spot. The fact–finding visit and report of the Center were not neutral.

Morocco: Rage, Fury at US State Dept. Betrayal

NEWS

04/17/13

Fury, rage and red mist are genuinely heartfelt by large majority of Moroccans. There is a strong feeling of betrayal, treachery and double-crossing from the new US Secretary of State, John Kerry, against a centuries-old staunch  US ally. Some political movers and shakers are demanding that the government reassesses completely its age-old friendly US policy by inviting the Chinese and Russian navies to engage in joint military exercises in Moroccan territorial waters along the Strait of Gibraltar as soon as possible.

Topless Protesters Against Moralising Islamists

NEWS

04/08/13

A. E. Gouzouli
Casablanca / Morocco News Board -  Topless activists unblushingly staged demonstrations opposite mosques in several countries across Europe to support, the FEMEN campaigner and Tunisian national, Amina Tyler in her battle against Islamist crackdown on Arab women's rights.

 

Morocco Football: The Causes Of Failure

NEWS

03/29/13

Following the recent loss by morocco's Team and its elimination from the next World Cup in Brazil,  let us look at the current Moroccan football situation from a historical point of view. We didn’t get here overnight. I’m mostly writing as a fan of the national team since I was a kid growing up in Casablanca. I have to admit that the last time I watch a live game of the national team was during the 84 LA Olympics at the Coliseum. Yes, many years ago. However, I’ve been following them whenever possible. 

Javier Bardem and Western Sahara

NEWS

03/25/13

Mohamed Daadaoui

Western Sahara was front and center in CNN’s latest edition of Amanpour, marking a rare instance in which the oft-overlooked and stalemated conflict has been treated as more than a peripheral issue in the Western media. Amanpour hosted and plugged a new documentary film on the Western Sahara that claims to shed light on the Moroccan occupation of the territory and abuses of human rights.

Forbes: Kerry Kennedy Unwitting Al Qaeda Ally

NEWS

03/06/13

Forbes has published a stinging report, written by Richard Miniter, on Kerry kennedy, president of the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, campaign for the "Saharan" People.
The article shows how Ms. kennedy was skillfully manipulated by shadowy groups linked to terrorism. The reporter who had visited the camps of the Western Sahara Separatist Polisario Front, describes the abject poverty in the camps and the opulence of the one party president for life M. Abdelaziz, " the man who has ruled the Polisario since 1976.