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Emily Jenkins, whose book A Fine Dessert has drawn criticism for ‘misleading depiction of slavery’, now plans to donate her fee to diversity campaign The author of a glowingly reviewed picture book says that she has “come to understand that my book, while intended to be inclusive and truthful and hopeful, is racially insensitive”, following criticism over its images of smiling slaves. A Fine Dessert, published in January, tells how “four families, in four different cities, over four centuries”, make blackberry fool. Starting in Lyme, England, in 1710, Emily Jenkins’s story, and Sophie Blackall’s pictures, go on to depict a...

Erecting an Islamic center in New York, at Ground Zero, would be as offensive as erecting a Shinto shrine dedicated to Japanese war dead in Pearl Harbor, at the USS Arizona memorial. Memorials to sneak attacks should honor the heroes and the victims, not the perpetrators and their apologists. To extremist Muslims, the mosque would represent planting their flag at the place where they inflicted a conspicuous defeat on their enemies. The strong punish aggression to deter aggressors. The weak reward aggression in an attempt to appease aggressors. History shows which approach is more effective.

The Obama White House, where fantasy and reality intersect... "Here's a major shout out to Injun Joe!"  yelled President Obama, getting the gathering of Native Americans on its feet. "Pashtoonipakiganistan can wait, I've got political favors to hand out!" "Did he say "injun?" "No," clarified Propaganda Minister Gibbs, "with the roar of the crowd I can see how someone would hear 'injun' when he really said 'Native American.'"   The crowd's enthusiasm dampened when a grinning Vice President Biden, doing his best rain dance and tomahawk chops, chimed in with a politically-incorrect "Hi Howara, Hi Howara!" But he quickly recovered, roaring...

Obama didn't wait long after Tuesday's devastating elections to give critics another reason to question his leadership, but this time the subject matter was more grim than a pair of governorships. After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed. The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that the president would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance. At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation called for...

(SNIP) But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and, inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a "shout-out" to "Dr. Joe Medicine Crow -- that Congressional Medal of Honor winner." Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?

President Obama has declared the U.S. territory of American Samoa a major disaster after an undersea earthquake caused a tsunami and massive flooding that has reportedly killed more than 80 people in the South Pacific Samoan Islands. The declaration makes federal funding available to people in American Samoa, which has a population of about 65,000 people.

Arab princesses kicked off British Airways plane to jeers and whistles after refusing to sit next to male strangers Three Arab princesses were thrown off a packed British Airways flight after refusing to sit next to male passengers they didn't know. The dispute - in which the three princesses from the ultra-conservative Qatar royal family demanded segregated seating - left the London-bound plane delayed on a baking Italian runway for nearly three hours. Furious passengers whistled and clapped as the row intensified before the captain eventually ordered the women to be escorted off the plane. The princesses, wearing traditional Arab...

Some first-year law students at the University of Texas are drawing criticism over a ``Ghetto Fabulous''-themed costume party. Dean Larry Sager met with about 18 students who attended last month's party. Sager also e-mailed the law school student body, calling the party: ``heedless and odious.'' No disciplinary action is planned. Nick Transier of Houston attended and posted pictures on his Web site, but later removed them. Transier says nobody meant to offend anyone of any race. The photos outraged members of the Thurgood Marshall Legal Society, a group of black law students. Some partygoers carried bottles of malt liquor and...

After the Chicago White Sox were eliminated from participating in post season play, many fans were asking "why?" Why did the team with the most talent in the game play mediocre baseball for the second half of the season? How did a team that was 27 games over the .500 mark in July reverse course so quickly and end up being one of the greatest disappointments in baseball history? Who was responsible for this monumental collapse of a team that was supposed to repeat as World Series Champions? I think I have the answer to these questions, but it has...

SAN DIEGO ---- A state appeals court Wednesday overturned three second-degree murder convictions and the life prison sentence a suspected immigrant smuggler received in connection with a June 2003 crash near Borrego Springs that killed three illegal immigrants in the back seat of his car. Jurors convicted Antonio D. Sanchez, 26, of three counts of second-degree murder based on a determination that another crime ---- fleeing police with a willful disregard for the safety of others ---- is "an inherently dangerous felony," an appeals court opinion stated. The court and attorneys on both sides of the appeal agreed, however, that...

May 13, 2005 - 07:38 PM Refugee Group Interview: North Korean Neocons! Defectors, Interviews, Politics, Refugeesby OneFreeKorea a/k/a WonsanGhetto Thanks again to reader Brendan Brown and his North Korean refugee students in Seoul, who have agreed to a second group interview to share their opinions about their homeland and give us a rare--albeit unscientific--glimpse into the perspective of ordinary North Koreans. Undoubtedly, it took great courage for them to discuss matters that could put them or their families at risk. For their protection, I have redacted details that could identify them. Brendan is an Australian national who teaches English to...

IT HAS been one of the best-kept secrets of the presidential election campaign. Julia Thorne, the first wife of John Kerry, the Democrat candidate, has been suffering from cancer.After months of treatment out of the public eye, she has now been declared cancer-free and has returned to her home in Montana. Thorne is considering writing a book about her experience of illness, but not until after the November election. “She is somebody who has written books before and has a lot to share with people,” a family friend said. If the past is a guide, she may include some acerbic...

Kerry Told to Speak Up, Shut Up About Religion Compiled by Ted Olsen | posted 06/22/2004 12:00 p.m. Kerry campaign muzzles religion outreach director as New York Times columnist urges religion talk David Brooks is supposedly The New York Times op-ed page's conservative columnist in a sea of more left-leaning writers. But in today's column, he notes, "Bush has had the worst year of any president since Nixon in 1973 or L.B.J. in 1968." So why isn't John Kerry dominating the polls? "One big reason," says Brooks, is that Kerry's campaign is too secular: Clinton seems to understand, as many...

<p>Nellie Plank, 96, was forced out of a nursing home by Medicaid cuts and now lives with her son, James Hosier. "I've called a bunch of politicians and that was really a big help," Hosier said sarcastically. "I've voted my last vote — there's no point to it. You call when you need help and all you get is a bunch of bull, blaming it on somebody else."</p>

Gov. John Baldacci and the state's top education and defense officials moved to allay the concerns of Maine's citizen soldiers Thursday after national media picked up reports that school personnel had been insensitive to guardsmen's children. Baldacci said he was disappointed to learn from the Maine National Guard that it had received a dozen complaints through its family assistance centers about children feeling harassed or upset over the way schools handled the possible U.S. invasion of Iraq and their parents' military service."I am disappointed and disturbed by reports that a few insensitive staff members at Maine schools recently made comments...

AUGUSTA — Chief Barry Dana of the Penobscot Nation says he felt like a fool as he sat behind Gov. John Baldacci during the governor's inaugural speech last week. Dressed in ceremonial regalia, Dana and his uncle, Butch Phillips, had just performed a "smudging" ceremony for the new governor on the Augusta Civic Center stage. The cleansing ceremony is one of the tribe's highest honors. But during his speech that followed the ceremony, Baldacci reiterated his well-known opposition to casino gambling, and Dana could barely contain his anger. "I was in shock. I was in absolute shock," Dana said. "I...

MY HORROR FIND AFTER ORDEAL OF ABORTION Woman left to discover jar containing her baby A WOMAN who had an abortion was stunned to find the foetus left in a jar after a hospital blunder. Nicola McManus made the horrific discovery when she was left in a room to answer a phone call from her husband. The jar was labelled with her name. She said: "I fell apart. I couldn't believe anyone could be careless enough just to leave it lying there. That image will live with me forever." Mum-of-three Nicola, 27, received a a full apology from the...

Bin Laden lookalikes invited to audition on Sept 11 Film producers invited dozens of Osama Bin Laden lookalikes for auditions in Belgium on September 11. They lined up in Brussels to try out for the role in Belgian director Rob Van Eyck's new movie Afterman II. Van Eyck has admitted he chose September 11 for the casting of the film as a marketing ploy. The filming of the £650,000 budget movie, which the director says is a parody full of black humour, is due to begin next year. Van Eyck became known for his controversial movies after making a film...

Bill Would Ban Indian Mascots Sports: Activists meet little resistance in the Legislature in bid to bar the controversial icons in state's public schools. School Mascots May 1, 2002 Bill Would Ban Indian Mascots By MIGUEL BUSTILLO, Times Staff Writer SACRAMENTO -- Fed up from years of battling local school boards over what they consider an issue of basic civil rights, Native American groups are pushing legislation that would make California the first state in the nation to banish all Indian team mascots from public schools. Local crusades to rid schools of the cartoon chiefs and tomahawk chops that many...