SAN DIEGO (AP) — John Lindsey has finally reached the big leagues after 15 years in the minors.
The Los Angeles Dodgers purchased Lindsey's contract from Triple-A Albuquerque on Monday. The 33-year-old first baseman spent time in the minors with four …
Andy Murray brushed past Igor Andreev 6-1, 6-0 as Britain beat Russia 2-1 on Friday to claim a spot in the final of the Hopman Cup mixed teams tennis event.
Elena Dementieva squared it at 1-1 when she beat 15-year-old Laura Robson 6-4, 6-0 but Murray teamed with Robson to beat Andreev and Dementieva 6-4, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (6) in an exciting mixed doubles climax.
Britain comfortably took the first set of the decisive doubles and led by a break in the second but the tie pivoted on a knife edge before Murray's consistency and Robson's tenacity saw Britian to the narrowest of victories.
The British pair had to win to earn the right to face Spain, which …
Sara Lee Corp. agreed to buy Quaker Oats Co.'s Continental Coffeeunit, as it seeks to sell more coffee and tea to U.S. restaurants,cafeterias, shopping club stores and other food-service accounts.
Financial terms weren't disclosed. Continental Coffee, with aroasting factory in Houston, has about $149 million in sales underthe Continental, Cafe Continental, World's Best, Snowman, MarylandClub, Churchill, Butternut and Gold Coast brands. The purchase isexpected to be completed in September.
Chicago-based Sara Lee said it would merge Continental Coffeeinto its U.S.-based Superior Coffee unit, which had about $500million in annual revenue, which represents almost all …
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Defense Department says it has agreed with North Korea to resume — after a six-year break — the search for remains of U.S. servicemen unaccounted for from the Korean War.
The deal was made Thursday after three days of negotiations in Bangkok.
The U.S. and North Korea began working together on the recovery of U.S. war remains in 1996. But in 2005 the …
French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday named a special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan charged with strengthening France's role in supporting both countries in their fight against the Taliban and al-Qaida.
Pierre Lellouche, the new envoy, is a specialist in international strategic affairs and a lawmaker from Sarkozy's ruling UMP party. Sarkozy's move follows the United States, Great Britain and Germany, which named special envoys to Afghanistan and Pakistan earlier this year.
"We have decided to engage more firmly with the allies in the fight against terrorism," French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told a news conference with …
AMERICAN LEAGUE
East Division
W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
Boston 31 22 .585 - - 6-4 W-3 17-6 14-16
New York 31 22 .585 - - 6-4 L-1 15-10 16-12
Toronto 30 25 .545 2 2 3-7 L-1 19-8 11-17
Tampa Bay 27 28 .491 5 5 4-6 W-2 15-11 12-17
Baltimore 24 29 .453 7 7 6-4 L-1 16-13 8-16
Central Division
W L Pct GB WCGB L10 Str Home Away
Detroit 28 23 .549 - - 4-6 L-2 15-9 13-14
Minnesota 26 28 .481 31/2 51/2 5-5 L-1 20-12 6-16
Chicago 25 27 .481 31/2 51/2 6-4 L-2 13-12 12-15
Kansas City 23 29 .442 51/2 71/2 2-8 L-6 15-15 8-14
Cleveland 23 32 .418 7 9 6-4 W-1 12-14 11-18
West Division
W …
WASHINGTON - Air quality regulators in at least 22 states have concluded that the Bush administration's approach to cutting mercury pollution from coal-burning power plants is too weak and are pursuing tougher measures of their own.
Mercury is a powerful neurotoxin that accumulates in fish and poses the greatest risk of nerve and brain damage to pregnant women, women of childbearing age and young children. Emissions of mercury total about 48 tons a year, most of it in the form of air pollution that winds up in waterways.
The trend of states bucking the Bush administration became apparent Friday, the deadline for states to submit their plans for reducing toxic mercury …
Greek authorities said Wednesday a previously unknown group has claimed responsibility for a gunfire and grenade attack on an Athens police station.
The attack took place during a surge of violence targeting the force after the fatal police shooting of a teenager.
A police statement said a group calling itself Sect of Revolutionaries had claimed that it carried out Tuesday's pre-dawn attack, which caused no injuries.
Police said the claim was found on a computer disk that officers found after an anonymous call to an Athens newspaper. No further information was immediately available.
Three unknown assailants in hoods and helmets opened …
NEW ORLEANS A Republican platform subcommittee ignored the Bushcampaign's wishes on a key defense issue as backstage tensionsbetween platform drafters and agents of the party's prospectivepresidential nominee peaked Tuesday.
As the platform writers went through the party statement line byline, lieutenants of Vice President George Bush failed to avoidquarrels with conservatives.
((ERROR: SEE CORRECTION FIELD))One senior Bush political aide blamed a new Gallup Poll, whichshows the Democratic presidential nominee, Michael S. Dukakis, nowholding only a 5 percentage point lead over Bush. "When they (theconservatives) thought we were 17 or 18 points behind, they were …
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - All-Star Scott Kazmir pitched a two-hitter for his first career complete game and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Boston Red Sox 3-0 on Monday night.
Kazmir (10-5) limited the Red Sox to a third-inning single by Alex Gonzalez until Manny Ramirez led off the ninth with a double to deep center field to give Boston only its third baserunner over the last six innings.
The 22-year-old left-hander, who's 3-1 in four starts against Boston this season, walked two and struck out 10, including Jason Varitek four times and Ramirez once to escape a bases loaded jam in the third.
Kazmir improved to 5-2 in 11 career starts against the Red Sox, who …
The euro slipped against the dollar on Thursday as markets awaited the release of jobs data in the United States.
The 16-nation euro bought $1.4115 in early European trading, down from $1.4148 in New York late Wednesday. The British pound also declined, sliding to $1.6434 from $1.6474.
The dollar edged up to 96.62 Japanese yen from 96.52 yen.
The U.S. non-farm payrolls report _ being released later Thursday ahead of the Independence Day holiday _ was expected to offer new …
Mayor Daley welcomed the nation's newspaper publishers to hiscity Tuesday afternoon, but everybody in the audience missed thefinish of his speech.
Speaking before the American Newspaper Publishers Association atthe Hyatt Regency Chicago, Daley offered these final words:
"It could not be more fitting than to speak today before theANPA, using your own great motto - to advance the cause of a freepress. . . ."
He completed the sentence a few moments later, after acceptingapplause and heading into the hotel hallway.
". . . as I walk out and run," he whispered, smiling.
Daley, earlier in his speech, gave the publishers a briefreprise of the …
Combining a little transcendental meditation and somehigh-quality ingredients, Fred Gratzon created Great Midwestern IceCream, another entry into the superpremium (translate to high-fat)ice cream category.
In 1979, Gratzon, a liberal arts major who spent most of hiscollege years working on a certificate to teach transcendentalmeditation, headed for Fairfield, Iowa, home of MaharishiInternational University.
Unable to find a lucrative job as a TM teacher, he noted theneed in rural Iowa for good ice cream.
Fairfield was a rural community, Gratzon discovered. "Theremust be about a thousand teachers of TM and very few people to teach,so I had to look for another career," he said.
As he looked around, Gratzon was struck by another feature ofIowa farm life.
"There were all of those great cows, but no great ice cream," hesaid.
Gratzon set out to correct that inequity armed with used icecream-making equipment (bought with a $10,000 loan from family andfriends), plenty of free advice from old-timers he had met at aChicago convention of the International Association of Ice CreamManufacturers, and "this ideal to make the best possible ice cream."
Less than 10 years after creating Great Midwestern Ice Cream,Gratzon projects sales will be more than $5 million this year. GreatMidwestern not only is profitable, but it's good ice cream as well.
In one of the few national taste-offs, sponsored by Peoplemagazine in 1984, Great Midwestern's blueberry ice cream was namedthe nation's best regular ice cream (the category included vanilla,but not chocolate) in a contest of 246 companies making superpremiumice cream.
Blueberry leads a lineup of such flavors as coffee chip, cherryvanilla and gianduia, an Italian flavor blending hazelnut andchocolate.
Great Midwestern ice creams carry a high 16 percent butterfatcontent; they also have a low 15 percent air content. What theydon't have are eggs, on orders from Gratzon.
"All of the really rich ice creams use egg yolk stabilizer," hesays. "But egg imparts a very strong taste and it doesn't agree withme. I feel it gets in the way of the subtlety of flavorings."
Gratzon uses a vegetable stabilizer. "The dairy taste is cleanerand truer," he says.
People can try Gratzon's ice cream at a Great Midwestern icecream parlor in Sears Tower and in the Water Tower Pumping Station.
In Chicago, his ice cream is stocked in Marshall Field's gourmetstores, and served in store restaurants. It's also the scoop du jourin local Hyatt hotels, and at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Because of intense competition in the grocery freezers, however,it's a bit tougher to find Great Midwestern's brightly colored pints.
When Gratzon first tried to break into this market, storefreezers already were crowded by Haagen-Dazs, Ben & Jerry's andSteve's. He still hasn't slid into the freezers of major Chicagochains, but Great Midwestern can be found in Foodworks and most SuperPlus stores in the city, as well as in Cub Food Stores and severalWhite Hen Pantries in the suburbs.
Gratzon always has had firm ideas on what he likes in ice cream,but he didn't always know how to make it.
When we asked for a recipe for do-it-yourselfers, Gratzonblanched. "I've never made ice cream at home," he confessed.However, his staff came up with a creamy, eggless strawberry, andGratzon added one of his secrets for fruit-full ice cream.
"Slice the berries, and mash them with the sugar," he advises,adding, "Something magical happens when the sugar sits with the fruitlike that at room temperature." FRED GRATZON'S STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM
1 cup strawberries
1 cup sugar 3 cups whipping cream
1 cup half-and-half
Extra sliced strawberries for decoration
Slice berries and mash into sugar so juice permeates sugar.
Let stand 2 hours at room temperature or overnight inrefrigerator. Mix chilled berry-sugar mixture with cream andhalf-and-half and freeze in ice cream maker according tomanufacturer's directions. Mixture can be frozen in freezer for 1 to 2 hours to reach firmerconsistency, but long-term freezing will add ice crystals. Top withextra strawberry slices before serving. Makes about 1 quart.
David Hernandez, who went on the lam and attempted suicide when his purported schemes were made public, has been living in his Downers Grove home under house arrest since September.
Hernandez faces "substantial" time in prison, and under his plea, he's required to make restitution to victims, some of whom are suing him civilly, Hernandez's lawyer told the Chicago Sun-Times on Monday.
Hernandez was indicted on charges that he ran a Ponzi scheme through his Chicago-based Next Step Financial Services, duping nearly 300 people out of about $12 million.
However: "To what extent investors will receive restitution is something we can't predict with any certainty," said Hernandez's lawyer, John A. Meyer.
Hernandez has been under house arrest, wearing an electronic bracelet, since he was charged this summer.
Just after Hernandez and North launched ChicagoSportsWebio.com the FBI delivered a letter to Hernandez's home, notifying him he was under investigation, according to court records.
Hernandez went on the lam, checking in and out of hotels in central Illinois.
He was eventually caught in a hotel in Downstate Normal. He was immediately hospitalized because he had attempted to take his own life.
U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman released Hernandez months later as he sought medical attention: He suffered ill effects from his suicide attempt, which included ingesting rat poison and other drugs, his lawyer said.
"It was a potent combination," Meyer said. "The long-term effects from that necessitated some comprehensive medical treatment."
A civil case in federal court remains against Hernandez, where investors are trying to achieve class-action status, said the attorney for the investors, Mark Belongia.
"He should negotiate a deal," Belongia said. "He's guilty as hell. The evidence gathered shows that clearly people were defrauded of lots of money and given false contracts to sign to get them to invest."
Negotiations continue between Meyer and the government over the dollar amount that Hernandez will admit to swindling, Meyer said. The range of prison time Hernandez will face at sentencing will depend on that amount, Meyer said. He already faces a stiffer sentence because of a previous fraud conviction in 1998.
Photo: David Hernandez, who attempted suicide when his alleged schemes were made public, has been under house arrest since September. Photo: Mike North
TOP STORIES:
AFGHAN PROBE-PHOTOGRAPHS
SEATTLE — Those who have seen the photos say they are grisly: soldiers beside newly killed bodies, decaying corpses and severed fingers. The dozens of photos, described in interviews and in e-mails and military documents obtained by The Associated Press, were seized by Army investigators and are a crucial part of the case against five soldiers accused of killing three Afghan civilians earlier this year. By Gene Johnson.
WHITE HOUSE-EMANUEL
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's feisty chief of staff leaves the administration just weeks before critical congressional elections, a move that could presage an even greater White House turnover should Democrats do as poorly as predicted in the coming vote. By Steven R. Hurst.
AP Photos, video.
MISSING BALLOONISTS
BARI, Italy — Two missing American balloonists plunged toward the Adriatic Sea at 50 mph (80 kph) and likely didn't survive, race organizers say. By Paolo Lucariello and Nicole Winfield.
AP Photos.
SYPHILIS EXPERIMENT
WASHINGTON — American scientists deliberately infected prisoners and patients in a mental hospital in Guatemala with syphilis 60 years ago, a recently unearthed experiment that prompted U.S. officials to apologize Friday and declare outrage over "such reprehensible research." By Lauran Neergaard.
AMUSEMENT RIDE-ACCIDENT
MILWAUKEE — The lawyer for a 13-year-old Florida girl who was seriously injured when she fell about 100 feet (30 meters) to the ground from an amusement park ride Says they have reached a settlement with the park. By Carrie Antlfinger.
ECUADOR PROTEST
QUITO, Ecuador — It was the biggest test of Rafael Correa's nearly 4-year-old presidency, a bloody trial by fire for a popular politician whose government had brought relative calm to a chronically unstable country. Ecuador's leader called the police uprising a coup attempt. But skeptical analysts said the tumult appeared instead to be a revolt over benefit cuts by hundreds of modestly paid police that spiraled out of control. By Gonzalo Solano and Frank Bajak.
CUBA-REFINERY
HAVANA — Cuba will build three additional loading docks and a terminal large enough to accommodate modern supertankers by 2014 at its port in Cienfuegos, part of the communist government's effort with Venezuela to rehabilitate and modernize the area's oil refinery. By Andrea Rodriguez.
SURINAME-MILITARY DRAFT
PARAMARIBO, Suriname — The former military ruler of Suriname who has come back to power as the elected president says he wants to bring back compulsory service in the armed forces of the South American country.
CANADA-HUNTING DEATH
GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR, Newfoundland — An American woman is found not guilty Friday of criminal negligence causing death in the fatal shooting of her husband while hunting four years ago in central Newfoundland.
BUSINESS:
HEWLETT-PACKARD-NEW DIRECTION
NEW YORK — The appointment of former SAP head Leo Apotheker as its next CEO signals strongly that the board of Hewlett-Packard, a Silicon Valley icon and the world's largest technology company, is prepared to gamble big on an aggressive push into the software business. In doing so it will go head to head with former ally Oracle, which has hired HP's former chief, and other tech heavyweights such as IBM. Analysts say that if HP doesn't act now, it will be left behind in a personal computer industry that no longer offers much room for growth or big profits. By Business Writer Andrew Vanacore.
Oil and other energy prices sank Tuesday after job worries sent a monthly measurement of consumer confidence sharply lower.
The Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index for February fell much more than expected. Stocks and energy commodities dropped following the report.
Benchmark crude for April delivery lost $1.58 at $78.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude fell $1.32 at $77.29 on the ICE futures exchange.
Oil prices had been rising for more than two weeks as a steady drumbeat of reports suggested that manufacturing, home building and other pillars of the American economy were improving. But the U.S. continues to struggle with high unemployment, and a slump in consumer confidence may lead to another summer in which Americans cut back on travel.
The Board's survey of U.S. households showed that consumers are even more discouraged about job opportunities than expected. It's confidence index fell almost 11 points to 46 for the month of February, down from a revised 56.5 in January.
Meanwhile, investors already were looking past a French refinery strike that had helped push global energy prices higher. That country may suffer some gasoline shortages now, but the situation won't last long enough to seriously affect supplies, analyst Phil Flynn said.
"The world really isn't in want of oil products right now," he said. "The U.S. has enough of a surplus to make up for any shortages in France."
The dollar also moved higher against the euro on a report that showed that Germany, Europe's biggest economy, continues to struggle to overcome the recession.
Because crude is traded in dollars, it becomes less expensive when the dollar rises and forces investors holding other currencies like the euro to pay more for the same amount of oil.
In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil fell 4.79 cents at $2.0309 a gallon, while gasoline lost 3.8 cents at $2.0778 a gallon. Natural gas fell 5.4 cents to $4.841 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Passengers on a Virgin Atlantic Airways flight say they were kept on a hot plane without food or water for more than four hours at Connecticut's Bradley International Airport.
Passengers told CNN that Tuesday night's ordeal began when they were diverted to Bradley because of bad weather during a flight from London to Newark, N.J. They said they landed at about 8:20 p.m. and were kept on the plane until about 1 a.m. Wednesday.
Passengers told the news network that people were yelling and screaming. At least three people fainted and were taken away in ambulances, passengers said. The aircraft was carrying 300 passengers and 14 crew.
"It was like four hours on the ground without any air conditioning. It was crazy. Just crazy," passenger Beth Willan told CNN. "There were babies on the plane. And we are in dark and hot. You try to be patient but people were yelling and screaming."
Virgin Atlantic's London office confirmed to The Associated Press that Flight VS001 on the A340-600 jet was diverted because of bad weather in the Newark area. Airline officials said the passengers were being bused to Newark on Wednesday morning.
"Virgin Atlantic would like to thank passengers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience cause," the statement said.
A Virgin spokeswoman in London told the AP on Wednesday that Bradley Airport "isn't used to dealing with international flights" and had to call customs and immigration officials back to the airport Tuesday night to process the passengers. She said the airline was forced to keep people on the plane.
"It was a situation that was beyond our control," said the spokeswoman, who refused to give her name. "There were weather conditions. ... Bradley had to get customs and immigration to the airport."
The spokeswoman said she believed passengers were kept on the flight for about three hours. She said the planes have water fountains aboard, but she wasn't sure if any food was left over after the in-flight meals had been served.
Ken Cast, an airport operations specialist, said Virgin is not one of the airport's carriers and the airline had to call in personnel to handle the passengers.
"Being an international flight, it's not like you can let people wander aimlessly," Cast told the AP. "They need to be processed, and they need to be kept safe. Everyone has to clear customs.
"The rules still need to be followed," Cast said. "Everyone was safe. They may have been uncomfortable, but they were safe. It's better to be on the ground wishing you were somewhere else than to be in the air wishing you were on the ground."
Cast confirmed that a few passengers who weren't feeling well were treated by paramedics. Details on the sick passengers weren't immediately available.
A new federal rule on flights stuck on runways that went into effect in April bans U.S. carriers from making passengers wait on planes for longer than three hours. International airlines are not subject to the 3-hour delay rule, even if they land or takeoff from U.S. airports.
The Obama administration has proposed extending the requirement to international flights and making sure international carriers have contingency plans to handle passengers who've been kept waiting for long periods.
The association between acute appendicitis and colonic carcinoma in the elderly is well known, but this is a rare entity in patients younger than 40 years of age. Colon cancer is found in only 3% of patients between the ages of 20 and 40 years. They tend to present with laterstage disease and higher-grade lesions but without differences in 5-year stagespecific survival when compared with the general population.1,2 The association between carcinoma of the colon and appendicitis is well known,3-6 but it is rare in patients younger than 40 years, having been described to date in only 11 cases.3,4 Colonic carcinoma in the context of an appendiceal abscess can be suspected in patients older than age 40 years with an atypical history of appendicitis, weight loss, anemia, prolonged symptoms and postoperative fecal fistulas,7 but in a young patient the possibility of a colonic carcinoma is less suggestive.
We describe a case in which a young man having no significant medical history presented with an apparent appendiceal abscess. Initially the abscess was drained and an appendectomy performed, but a postoperative complication of fecal fistula necessitated a cecal resection. The resected specimen contained a polypoid lesion that infiltrated the wall and occupied the appendiceal lumen, causing the appendiceal abscess. The polypoid lesion was found to be an enteroid adenocarcinoma of the cecum (T3N0).
Case report
A 27-year-old man, with no significant medical history, was seen in the emergency department with abdominal pain in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen of 9 days' duration. He also had a fever and leukocytosis. Abdominal ultrasonography demonstrated an appendiceal abscess with free fluid. On urgent laparotomy, an abscess was found in the right lower quadrant. This was drained, and the inflamed appendix was removed. A drainage tube was placed. In the immediate postoperative period, the patient complained of intense pain and had continuing fever and leukocytosis. Drainage indicated the presence of a fecal fistula, and further surgical intervention was carried out, at which abundant purulent liquid was found. There were adhesions between the small bowel and cecum with perforation at the base of the appendix. An ileocecal resection was carried out, allowing a 15-cm margin of normal tissue at each end. On gross pathological examination of the specimen at the site of perforation, a polypoid lesion was found in the cecum with transmural infiltration. The lesion measured 3 cm in dimension. The patient's postoperative course was smooth. On histopathological examination of the specimen, the polypoid lesion was found to be an enteroid adenocarcinoma of the cecum (T3N0). CT of the thorax, abdomen and pelvis gave normal findings. The serum carcinoembryonic antigen level was normal. Colonoscopy up to the anastomosis showed normal bowel, and examination of a biopsy specimen taken from the area was negative for malignancy. At follow-up 6 months later, there were no signs of recurrent disease.
Discussion
The most common mechanism causing appendicitis is luminal obstruction by a fecalith or lymphoid hyperplasia, but obstruction by a tumour in the cecum was the suspected mechanism in our case. Perforation of the cecal wall increases the stage of the tumour to T4. The fecal fistula that was detected postoperatively can be a symptom of an unrecognized carcinoma of the colon.7 In our case, the lack of suspicion of a carcinoma of the colon led to the ileocecal resection (with free margins) rather than complete right hemicolectomy,5 and pathological study and subsequent monitoring of our patient did not demonstrate residual disease. Acute appendicitis with its complications is frequent in young patients, but its association with cancer of the colon is extremely unusual. Recognizing this entity in young patients is difficult because malignant disease is not suspected; nevertheless, its recognition is important because carcinomas in this age group are frequently advanced.
Competing interests: None declared.
[Reference]
References
1. O'Connell JB, Maggard MA, Liu JH, et al. Do young colon cancer patients have worse outcomes? World J Surg 2004;28: 558-62.
2. Lee PY, Fletcher WS, Sullivan ES, et al. Colorectal cancer in young patients: characteristics and outcome. Am Surg 1994; 60:607-12.
3. Ramsay JA, Rose TH, Ross T. Colonic carcinoma presenting as an appendiceal abscess in a young woman. Can J Surg 1996;39:53-6.
4. Adebamowo AC, Ezeome ER. Acute appendicitis and colonic carcinoma in the young: report of two cases. East Afr Med J 1996;73:563-4.
5. Peck JJ. Management of carcinoma discovered unexpectedly at operation for acute appendicitis. Am J Surg 1988;155: 683-5.
6. Fabri PJ, Carey LC. Cecal carcinoma presenting as acute appendicitis: a reappraisal. J Clin Gastroenterol 1980;2:173-4.
7. Nitschke J, Richter H, Herguth D, et al. Acute appendicitis and postoperative fistula: symptoms of an unrecognised carcinoma of the colon. Dis Colon Rectum 1976;19:605-10.
[Author Affiliation]
Alvaro Arjona S�nchez, MD; Eva M. Tordera Torres, MD; David Cecilia Mart�nez, MD; Sebasti�n Rufi�n Pe�a, MD
Department of Surgery, H.U. Reina Sof�a, Cordoba, Spain
Accepted for publication Sept. 28, 2006
Correspondence to: Dr. Alvaro Arjona S�nchez, Department of Surgery, Hospital U. Reina Sof�a,, C�rdoba, Spain; alvaroarjona@hotmail.com
Hyper young Santa waiters, spinning dreidels and the special sounds of Kwanzaa await parents looking to freshen the holidays with new books for their kids this year.
Among them are noteworthy takes on classic scrooges, prancing reindeer and magical nutcrackers. There's also straight-up accounts of the birth of Jesus and the magnified science of snow.
Consider these:
_ "Christmas with Rita and Whatsit" (Chronicle Books, $14.99, ages 4-8) by Jean-Philippe Arrou-Vignod and illustrated by Olivier Tallec.
Whatsit, a little dog with a big personality, is getting ready for Santa. So is his feisty little girl, Rita. Dog has a tree adorned with sausage, salami and bologna. Girl goes beyond the traditional Christmas stocking and hauls all her footwear out for treats. Pencil drawings on white with just a splash of holiday red.
_ "A Season of Gifts" (Penguin, $16.99, ages 9-12) by Richard Peck.
Eccentric Mrs. Dowdel is back in a companion to "A Year Down Under" and "A Long Way from Chicago." In small-town, 1958 Illinois, a preacher and his family move in next door. "She was no church woman, and she didn't neighbor, and Christmas was just another day to her." But the Barnharts reap priceless gifts from the old lady who swats the Fuller Brush man off her sagging porch with a broom.
_ "I Love Christmas" (Simon & Schuster, $9.99, ages 2-6) written and illustrated by Anna Walker.
Zebra child Ollie (think stuffed animal come alive) and his dog Fred trim the tree and play Santa and reindeer in the bathtub. Among the things Ollie loves most about Christmas: making glitter stars and doing the dance of a joyful angel. A wonderful low-stress Christmas Eve. One in a series of simple "I Love" books from Walker.
_ "The Secret of Santa's Island" (Penguin, $16.99, ages 4-8) written and illustrated by Steve Breen.
Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of the syndicated comic strip "Grand Avenue" shows Santa kicking back in straw hat and flower shirt on his top-secret vacation island. Little boy Sam stows away to see it for himself. Santa hangs 10 and the reindeer take oceanside spa treatments.
_ "A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas" (Chronicle Books, $18.99, ages 4-8) by Ralph Covert and G. Riley Mills, illustrated by Wilson Swain.
Based on the musical by Mills and Covert of Ralph's World fame. Fritz loses video game privileges for breaking his sister's nutcracker, then defies parental punishment and unlocks a magical world where a stinky cheese-spraying Mouse King is put in his place in a showdown over Toy Town. Nutcracker warrior is a girl!
_ "Happy Hanukkah, Corduroy" (Penguin, $5.99, 0-3) boardbook based on a character created by Don Freeman and illustrated by Lisa McCue.
The beloved _ and universalist _ little bear Corduroy in yarmulke, hosting a Hanukkah party for his friends. He lights the candles and serves latkes in a dreidel-pattern apron. This bear gets around. Books of years past have him celebrating Easter and Christmas.
_ "A Chanukah Present for: ME!" (Scholastic, $6.99, ages 0-3) boardbook by Lily Karr and illustrated by Jill McDonald.
Packaged in its own attached gift box for added fun and portability. Chanukah from applesauce and latkes to glowing menorahs and presents represented in simple question text. Christmas version also available.
_ "The Sound of Kwanzaa" (Scholastic, $16.99, ages 4-8) by Dimitrea Tokunbo and illustrated by Lisa Cohen.
"Come close, gather 'round. Listen to the sound of Kwanzaa," accompanies the turn of every page as the seven guiding principles of the seven-day celebration are explained. The colors of the candles lit each night and Swahili terminology included, along with Tokunbo's favorite karamu (feast) recipe for brownies to give away with a surprise for each recipient.
_ "The Christmas Magic" (Scholastic, $16.99, ages 4-8) by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Jon J Muth.
Deep in the snowy woods, in a cabin with a bright red door, lives Santa (seemingly single) and his reindeer. He's not the usual roly-poly Santa in red suit. He has serious eyes but wears bunny slippers as he prepares toys and polishes his sleigh for the magic of a holiday that sets his white whiskers tingling. Dreamy illustrations from Muth.
_ "The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter's Wonder" (Chronicle Books, $16.99, ages 4-8) by Mark Cassino with Jon Nelson.
A nature photographer (Cassino) and a snow scientist (Nelson) team up to satisfy any young science geek's curiosity about ice crystals. The two begin at the beginning, explaining in text accompanied by fascinating magnified photography exactly how tiny particles of dirt, ash or salt form a speck that starts a snow crystal growing. Not for the uninterested.
_ "Suzy Goose and the Christmas Star" (Candlewick Press, $15.99, ages 4-8) written and illustrated by Petr Horacek.
The determined but not so bright Suzy sets out to capture a bright star in the sky for the top of the barnyard Christmas tree. Flying for it lands her splash in water and jumping from a log pile to grab it doesn't work, either. But nature takes over to great honks, hee-haws, moos and oinks of glee.
_ "The Christmas Baby" (Simon & Schuster, $15.99, ages 2-5) by Marion Dane Bauer and illustrated by Richard Cowdrey.
Traditionally told Christmas complete with God and mean innkeepers who have no room for the pregnant, donkey-riding Mary. There are shepherds and kings and singing, haloed angels _ and a huge party in the stable with talking animals to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and babies everywhere.
More retellings of Christmas classics:
_ "The Night Before Christmas" (Penguin, $16.99, ages 4-8) retold and illustrated by Rachel Isadora.
Santa's got brown skin and snow white dreadlocks in this Africa-set version of the classic Clement C. Moore poem. Cut-paper work that pops.
_ "The Nutcracker" (Sterling, $17.95, ages 5-12) retold by John Cech and illustrated by Eric Puybaret.
Lovely, sophisticated story and pictures with text true to E.T.A. Hoffmann's original. Toddler warning: The mice are very realistic looking.
_ "Disney's A Christmas Carol: The Movie Storybook" (Disney Book Group, $8.99, ages 10-up) adapted by T.T. Sutherland.
Not for the faint of heart adaptation of the new Robert Zemeckis movie.
_ "A Christmas Carol" (HarperCollins, $17.99, ages 5-up) illustrated by Brett Helquist.
Gorgeous illustrations with lots of big, smiling faces among the snarling pre-reborn Scrooge and his visiting ghosts.
_ "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King" (Scholastic, $18.99, ages 4-8) illustrated by Gail de Marcken.
Richly detailed art that includes two golden dolphins pulling Marie and the Nutcracker to the city of Sweetmeatburgh.
Text of President Barack Obama's speech at Cairo University, as provided by CQ Transcriptions.
Good afternoon. I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has had stood as a beacon of Islamic learning. And for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt's advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress.
I'm grateful for your hospitality and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. And I'm also proud to carry with me the good will of the American people and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: Assalamu-alaikum.
(APPLAUSE)
We meet at a time of great tension between the United States and Muslims around the world, tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate. The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation but also conflict and religious wars.
More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims and a Cold War in which Muslim majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.
Violent extremists have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims. The attacks of September 11, 2001, and the continued efforts of these extremists to engage in violence against civilians has led some in my country to view Islam as inevitably hostile not only to America and western countries but also to human rights.
All this has bred more fear and more mistrust. So long as our relationship is defined by our differences, we will empower those who sow hatred rather than peace, those who promote conflict rather than the cooperation that can help all of our people achieve justice and prosperity. And this cycle of suspicion and discord must end.
I've come here to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap and share common principles, principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.
I do so recognizing that change cannot happen overnight. I know there's been a lot of publicity about this speech, but no single speech can eradicate years of mistrust nor can I answer in the time that I have this afternoon all the complex questions that brought us to this point.
But I am convinced that in order to move forward, we must say openly to each other the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors. There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground.
As the Holy Quran tells us, Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.
(APPLAUSE)
That is what I will try to do today, to speak the truth as best I can. Humbled by the task before us and firm in my belief that the interests we share as human beings are far more powerful than the forces that drive us apart.
Now, part of this conviction is rooted in my own experience. I'm a Christian. But my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and at the fall of dusk.
As a young man, I worked in Chicago communities where many found dignity and peace in their Muslim faith. As a student of history, I also know civilization's debt to Islam. It was Islam at places like Al-Azhar that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe's renaissance and enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities...
(APPLAUSE)
It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra, our magnetic compass and tools of navigation, our mastery of pens and printing, our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires, timeless poetry and cherished music, elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.
(APPLAUSE)
I also know that Islam has always been a part of America's story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second president, John Adams, wrote,
The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims. And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States.
They have fought in our wars. They have served in our government. They have stood for civil rights. They have started businesses. They have taught at our universities. They've excelled in our sports arenas. They've won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building and lit the Olympic torch. And when the first Muslim American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same holy Quran that one of our founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, kept in his personal library.
(APPLAUSE)
So I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as president of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.
(APPLAUSE)
But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as...
(APPLAUSE)
Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire. The United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known. We were born out of revolution against an empire.
We were founded upon the ideal that all are created equal. And we have shed blood and struggled for centuries to give meaning to those words, within our borders and around the world.
We are shaped by every culture. Drawn from every end of the Earth, and dedicated to a simple concept, E pluribus unum: Out of many, one.
Now much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected president.
(APPLAUSE)
But my personal story is not so unique. The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores. And that includes nearly 7 million American Muslims in our country today who, by the way, enjoy incomes and educational levels that are higher than the American average.
Moreover, freedom in America is indivisible from the freedom to practice one's religion. That is why there is a mosque in every state in our union and over 1,200 mosques within our borders. That's why the United States government has gone to court to protect the right of women and girls to wear the hijab, and to punish those who would deny it.
So let there be no doubt...
(APPLAUSE)
... let there be no doubt, Islam is a part of America. And I believe that America holds within her the truth that regardless of race, religion, or station in life, all of us share common aspirations: to live in peace and security, to get an education and to work with dignity, to love our families, our communities, and our God. These things we share. This is the hope of all humanity.
Of course, recognizing our common humanity is only the beginning of our task. Words alone cannot meet the needs of our people. These needs will be met only if we act boldly in the years ahead. And if we understand that the challenges we face are shared and our failure to meet them will hurt us all.
For we have learned from recent experience that when a financial system weakens in one country, prosperity is hurt everywhere. When a new flu infects one human being, all are at risk. When one nation pursues a nuclear weapon, the risk of nuclear attack rises for all nations.
When violent extremists operate in one stretch of mountains, people are endangered across an ocean. When innocents in Bosnia and Darfur are slaughtered, that is a stain on our collective conscience.
(APPLAUSE)
That is what it means to share this world in the 21st Century. That is the responsibility we have to one another as human beings. This is a difficult responsibility to embrace, for human history has often been a record of nations and tribes, and, yes, religions subjugating one another in pursuit of their own interests.
Yet in this new age, such attitudes are self-defeating. Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners to it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership, our progress must be shared.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, that does not mean we should ignore sources of tension. Indeed, it suggests the opposite. We must face these tensions squarely. And so, in that spirit, let me speak as clearly and as plainly as I can about some specific issues that I believe we must finally confront together.
The first issue that we have to confront is violent extremism in all its forms. In Ankara, I made clear that America is not and never will be at war with Islam.
(APPLAUSE)
We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject, the killing of innocent men, women, and children. And it is my first duty as president to protect the American people.
The situation in Afghanistan demonstrates America's goals and our need to work together. Over seven years ago, the United States pursued Al Qaida and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice. We went because of necessity. I'm aware that there's still some who would question or even justify the offense of 9/11. But let us be clear. Al Qaida killed nearly 3,000 people on that day.
The victims were innocent men, women, and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody. And yet Al Qaida chose to ruthlessly murder these people, claimed credit for the attack, and even now states their determination to kill on a massive scale. They have affiliates in many countries and are trying to expand their reach.
These are not opinions to be debated. These are facts to be dealt with. Make no mistake, we do not want to keep our troops in Afghanistan. We see no military -- we seek no military bases there. It is agonizing for America to lose our young men and women. It is costly and politically difficult to continue this conflict.
We would gladly bring every single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were not violent extremists in Afghanistan and now Pakistan determined to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. But that is not yet the case.
And that's why we're partnering with a coalition of 46 countries. And despite the costs involved, America's commitment will not weaken. Indeed, none of us should tolerate these extremists. They have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different faiths but, more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam.
The Holy Quran teaches that whoever kills an innocent is as -- it is as it if has killed all mankind.
(APPLAUSE)
And the Holy Quran also says whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind.
(APPLAUSE)
The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism; it is an important part of promoting peace.
Now, we also know that military power alone is not going solve the problems in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That's why we plan to invest $1.5 billion each year over the next five years to partner with Pakistanis to build schools and hospitals, roads and businesses, and hundreds of millions to help those who've been displaced.
That's why we are providing more than $2.8 billion to help Afghans develop their economy and deliver services that people depend on.
Now, let me also address the issue of Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible.
(APPLAUSE)
Indeed, we can recall the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said, I hope that our wisdom will grow with our power and teach us that the less we use our power, the greater it will be. Today America has a dual responsibility to help Iraq forge a better future and to leave Iraq to Iraqis.
I have made it clear to the Iraqi people...
(APPLAUSE)
I have made it clear to the Iraqi people that we pursue no basis and no claim on their territory or resources. Iraq's sovereignty is its own. And that's why I ordered the removal of our combat brigades by next August. That is why we will honor our agreement with Iraq's democratically-elected government to remove combat troops from Iraqi cities by July and to remove all of our troops from Iraq by 2012.
(APPLAUSE)
We will help Iraq train its security forces and develop its economy. But we will support a secure and united Iraq as a partner and never as a patron.
And finally, just as America can never tolerate violence by extremists, we must never alter or forget our principles. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable. But in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our traditions and our ideals.
We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States. And I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.
(APPLAUSE)
So America will defend itself, respectful of the sovereignty of nations and the rule of law. And we will do so in partnership with Muslim communities, which are also threatened. The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer.
Now, the second major source of tension that we need to discuss is the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world. America's strong bonds with Israel are well-known. This bond is unbreakable. It is based upon cultural and historical ties and the recognition that the aspiration for a Jewish homeland is rooted in a tragic history that cannot be denied.
Around the world the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries. And anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented holocaust. Tomorrow I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich.
Six million Jews were killed, more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless. It is ignorant, and it is hateful.
It's about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that could lead this region and the world down a hugely dangerous path.
Now, I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nations should pick and choose which nation holds nuclear weapons. And that's why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons.
(APPLAUSE)
And any nation, including Iran, should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the treaty. And it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.
The fourth issue that I will address is democracy.
(APPLAUSE)
I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years. And much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear. No system of government can or should be imposed by one nation by any other. That does not lessen my commitment, however, to governments that reflect the will of the people.
Each nation gives life to this principle in its own way, grounded in the traditions of its own people. America does not presume to know what is best for everyone, just as we would not presume to pick the outcome of a peaceful election.
But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed, confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice, government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people, the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas. They are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, there is no straight line to realize this promise. But this much is clear. Governments that protect these rights are ultimately more stable, successful and secure. Suppressing ideas never succeeds in making them go away. America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them. And we will welcome all elected, peaceful governments, provided they govern with respect for all their people.
This last point is important because there are some who advocate for democracy only when they're out of power. Once in power, they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others.
(APPLAUSE)
So no matter where it takes hold, government of the people and by the people sets a single standard for all who would hold power. You must maintain your power through consent, not coercion. You must respect the rights of minorities and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise. You must place the interests of your people and the legitimate workings of the political process above your party.
Without these ingredients, elections alone do not make true democracy.
(AUDIENCE MEMBER SHOUTS)
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
The fifth issue that we must address together is religious freedom. Islam has a proud tradition of tolerance. We see it in the history of Andalusia and Cordoba during the Inquisition. I saw it firsthand as a child in Indonesia where devote Christians worshipped freely in an overwhelmingly Muslim country.
That is the spirit we need today. People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind and the heart and the soul.
This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive. But it's being challenged in many different ways. Among some Muslims, there's a disturbing tendency to measure one's own faith by the rejection of somebody else's faith.
The richness of religious diversity must be upheld, whether it is for Maronites in Lebanon or the Copts in Egypt.
(APPLAUSE)
And if we are being honest, fault lines must be closed among Muslims as well as the divisions between Sunni and Shia have led to tragic violence, particularly in Iraq.
Freedom of religion is central to the ability of peoples to live together. We must always examine the ways in which people protect it. For instance, in the United States, rules on charitable giving have made it harder for Muslims to fulfill their religious obligation.
That's why I'm committed to work with American Muslims to ensure that they can fulfill zakat. Likewise, it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit, for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear.
We can't disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretense of liberalism. In fact, faith should bring us together. And that's why we're forging service projects in America to bring together Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
That's why we welcome efforts like Saudi Arabian King Abdullah's interfaith dialogue and Turkey's leadership in the Alliance of Civilizations.
Around the world, we can turn dialogue into interfaith service so bridges between peoples lead to action, whether it is combating malaria in Africa or providing relief after a natural disaster.
The sixth issue -- the sixth issue that I want to address is women's rights.
(APPLAUSE)
I know...
(APPLAUSE)
I know, and you can tell from this audience, that there is a healthy debate about this issue. I reject the view of some in the West that a woman who chooses to cover her hair is somehow less equal. But I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality.
(APPLAUSE)
And it is no coincidence that countries where women are well- educated are far more likely to be prosperous.
Now let me be clear, issues of women's equality are by no means simply an issue for Islam. In Turkey, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, we've seen Muslim-majority countries elect a woman to lead.
Meanwhile, the struggle for women's equality continues in many aspects of American life and in countries around the world. I am convinced that our daughters can contribute just as much to society as our sons.
(APPLAUSE)
Our common prosperity will be advanced by allowing all humanity, men and women, to reach their full potential. I do not believe that women must make the same choices as men in order to be equal. And I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice.
That is why the United States will partner with any Muslim- majority country to support expanded literacy for girls and to help young women pursue employment through micro-financing that helps people live their dreams.
(APPLAUSE)
Finally, I want to discuss economic development and opportunity. I know that for many, the face of globalization is contradictory. The Internet and television can bring knowledge and information but also offensive sexuality and mindless violence into the home.
Trade can bring new wealth and opportunities but also huge disruptions and change in communities. In all nations, including America, this change can bring fear; fear that, because of modernity, we lose control over our economic choices, our politics, and most importantly, our identities, those things we most cherish about our communities, our families, our traditions, and our faith.
But I also know that human progress cannot be denied. There need not be contradictions between development and tradition. Countries like Japan and South Korea grew their economies enormously while maintaining distinct cultures. The same is true for the astonishing progress within Muslim majority countries from Kuala Lumpur to Dubai.
In ancient times and in our times, Muslim communities have been at the forefront of innovation and education. And this is important because no development strategy can be based only upon what comes out of the ground nor can it be sustained while young people are out of work.
Many Gulf States have enjoyed great wealth as a consequence of oil, and some are beginning to focus it on broader development. But all of us must recognize that education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century. And in too...
(APPLAUSE)
And in too many Muslim communities, there remains underinvestment in these areas. I am emphasizing such investment within my own country. And while America, in the past, has focused on oil and gas when it comes to this part of the world, we new seek a broader engagement.
On education, we will expand change programs and increase scholarships like the one that brought my father to America.
(APPLAUSE)
At the same time, we will encourage more Americans to study in Muslim communities. And we will match promising Muslim students are internships in America, invest in online learning for teachers and children around the world and create a new, online network so a young person in Kansas can communicate instantly with a young person in Cairo.
On economic development, we will create a new core of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim majority countries. And I will host a summit on entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations, and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world.
On science and technology, we will launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim majority country and to help transfer ideas to the marketplace so they can create more jobs. We will open centers of scientific excellence in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia and appoint new science envoys to collaborate on programs that develop new sources of energy, create green jobs, digitize records, clean water, grow new crops.
Today, I'm announcing a new global effort with the organization of the Islamic Conference to eradicate polio. And we will also expand partnerships with Muslim communities to promote child and maternal health.
All these things must be done in partnership. Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments, community organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around the world to help our people pursue a better life.
The issues that I have described will not be easy to address, but we have a responsibility to join together to behalf of the world that we seek, a world where extremists no longer threaten our people and American troops have come home; a world where Israelis and Palestinians are each secure in a state of their own and nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes, a world where governments serve their citizens and the rights of all God's children are respected. Those are mutual interests. That is the world we seek.But we can only achieve it together. I know there are many, Muslim and non-Muslim, who question whether we can forge this new beginning. Some are eager to stoke the flames of division and to stand in the way of progress. Some suggest that it isn't worth the effort, that we are fated to disagree and civilizations are doomed to clash.
Many more are simply skeptical that real change can occur. There is so much fear, so much mistrust that has built up over the years. But if we choose to be bound by the past, we will never move forward. And I want to particularly say this to young people of every faith in every country. You more than anyone have the ability to reimagine the world, the remake this world.
All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart or whether we commit ourselves to an effort, a sustained effort to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children and to respect the dignity of all human beings.
It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is one rule that lies at the heart of every religion, that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.
(APPLAUSE)
This truth transcends nations and peoples, a belief that isn't new, that isn't black or white or brown, that isn't Christian or Muslim or Jew. It's a belief that pulsed in the cradle of civilization and that still beats in the hearts of billions around the world. It's a faith in other people. And it's what brought me here today.
We have the power to make the world we seek, but only if we have the courage to make a new beginning, keeping in mind what has been written. The Holy Quran tells us, Mankind, we have created you male and a female. And we have made you into nations and tribes so that you may know one another.
The Talmud tells us, The whole of the Torah is for the purpose of promoting peace.
The Holy Bible tells us, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
(APPLAUSE)
The people of the world can live together in peace. We know that is God's vision. Now that must be our work here on Earth.
Thank you. And may God's peace be upon you. Thank you very much.
Thank you.
END
A senior American official says North Korea has agreed to intensive U.S. verification of its plutonium production for nuclear weapons.
The U.S. plans to double-check the plutonium figures contained in a long-delayed accounting of North Korea's nuclear past, which the nation handed over Thursday to China.
The paperwork contains detailed data on the amount of plutonium produced during each of several rounds of production at a now-shuttered plutonium reactor.
The official said the United States had not yet seen the roughly 60-page declaration but believes North Korea will say it has produced an amount of plutonium in the low 40-kilogram range, including estimates of waste.
That is enough to construct about a half-dozen nuclear bombs. North Korea stopped making plutonium and has begun disabling its nuclear facilities so they cannot be quickly restarted, but it still has its stockpile of radioactive material for now.
U.S. intelligence agencies have various estimates of the total amount of plutonium the North has produced, ranging from about 30 kilograms to 50 kilograms. The official said the United States believed the figures could be resolved through the verification process.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door agreements with the North Koreans. The official says that the U.S. will check North Korea's math through a combination of documents, interviews and visits to the reactor.
In the meantime, China is expected to distribute the new documentation Friday to the other nations negotiating with North Korea. Also Friday, North Korea plans to blow up the cooling tower at its Yongbyon nuclear facility in a symbolic move to show its commitment to the process.
A meeting of nuclear negotiators could follow on Monday in Beijing, at which talks will begin on the specifics of how the declaration will be verified.
The paperwork handed in on Thursday is in English, the official said. It covers nuclear production dating back to 1986.
It does not contain detailed information about North Korea's separate uranium production program or what North Korea may have done to help Syria build a reactor.
Concerns about those activities are addressed in a separate two-page document that was turned over to the United States in April, the official said. That document, known as a "confidential minute," will likely be attached to the longer declaration as an annex.
In the annex, the U.S. outlines its concerns about uranium enrichment and the nuclear cooperation with Syria. North Korea acknowledges those concerns and says it will cooperate to work out differences to "mutual satisfaction," the official said.
The United States, Japan, South Korea, China and Russia have been negotiating for North Korea to give up its nuclear program since 2005. North Korea missed an end-of-2007 deadline to turn over a full inventory of its programs and a description of its spread of nuclear technology to others.
The declaration is a linchpin for the nuclear disarmament deal the North has worked out over three years. During that time, the talks stopped and started several times, and the North exploded a test nuclear device in 2006.
___
Associated Press writer Matthew Lee contributed to this report from Kyoto, Japan.
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona running back Beanie Wells went through much more of practice on Thursday, increasing the probability that he will play Sunday in the Cardinals' home opener against the Oakland Raiders.
Wells, who led the team in rushing as a rookie last season, sat out the first two games of the season because of a bruised right knee.
Coach Ken Whisenhunt said Wells looked "really good" in practice. The coach said he is "very optimistic" Wells will play.
Wells said he is tremendously improved from last week and is practicing full speed, not even thinking about the injury.
MINNEAPOLIS Minnesota Twins shortstop Greg Gagne is more likelyto think about his offensive shortcomings than his defensiveperfection.
"We've been winning, and that's great. And I've been fielding,and that's great," Gagne said. "But nobody likes to hit .240.
"Hitting is the most fun part of the game. If I was at .270 or.280, maybe I'd be enjoying this season a little more."
His enjoyment has been curtailed even though he hasn't made anerror since May 1, a span of 75 games and 315 chances.
Only the Baltimore Orioles' Cal Ripken, who had 95 consecutiveerrorless games in 1990, and the Mets' Kevin Elster, who had 88consecutive errorless games in 1989, have had longer shortstopstreaks than Gagne's 75.
"I try to block it out," Gagne said. "But I know that when mycareer is over, I'll have something very nice to think about. I'llbe able to appreciate the accomplishment for what it was."
Others appreciate it now.
"When you think of all the plays a shortstop has to make, allthe times the ball can take a bad hop or something, that streak is anunbelievable, awesome thing," said Kirby Puckett, a four-time GoldGlove winner in center field.
"The guy doesn't get the recognition that Cal Ripken or OzzieGuillen gets, but we all know that Gags can do it. When I'm incenter and there's a ball hit to short, I don't even move. I justknow he's going to catch it. I guess I take Gags for granted."
Gagne has made just four errors all season and leads AmericanLeague shortstops with a .990 fielding percentage.
DETROIT (AP) — Nigerian underwear bomber gets life in prison for trying to blow up jetliner on Christmas 2009
Japanese police have searched a sumo training facility, known as a stable, in search of more evidence on a widespread gambling scandal that his hit the country's ancient sport.
Police searched the Onomatsu stable on Wednesday, Kyodo News agency reported. The stable was the training base of a 34-year-old wrestler who admitted to gambling on professional baseball.
The gambling scandal involves dozens of sumo's top wrestlers and coaches who allegedly wagered as much as $50,000 dollars on baseball with gangsters reportedly acting as go-betweens.
The Japan Sumo Association on Sunday banned senior wrestler Kotomitsuki and his coach, Otake, after the two revealed they had gambled on baseball.
Sunday morning arrived, like so many before, with a mix ofsunlight and chirping birds outside my bedroom window and a warmgreeting from my tiny son, lying beside my wife and me. My wife rosequickly, announcing her plan to jump in the shower and get ready forSunday school at the Baptist church, not far from our house insuburban Chicago, that she and our two children attend.
As for me, in what has become my ritual nowadays, I turned overand pulled the covers up around my head. Soon I overheard my 9-year-old daughter's familiar question: "Mommy, is Daddy going to churchwith us?"
"No-o-o-o," my wife replied. After months of my failure toaccompany them, she has abandoned the excuse that "Daddy has a lotof work to do."
Sunday mornings used to mean something special to me. But now Iface them with dread, with a bittersweet sorrow that tugs at myheart and a headache-inducing tension that makes me reach for theAdvil. I am torn between my desire to play hooky from church and myPentecostal indoctrination that Sunday is the Lord's day, a day ofworship when real men are supposed to lead their families into thehouse of God.
Once, that's what I did. I am the grandson of a pastor and am alicensed minister. I love God, and I love the church. I know church-speak and feel as comfortable shouting hallelujahs and amens andlifting my hands in the sanctuary as I do putting on my socks. Ihave danced in the spirit, spoken in tongues and proclaimed JesusChrist as my Lord and savior. I once arrived faithfully at the doorof every prayer meeting and went to nearly every Bible study andmonthlong revival. I attended umpteen services, even the midnightmusicals and my church's annual national meetings, like the one heldtwo weeks ago in Kansas City.
Yet I now feel disconnected. I am disconnected. Not necessarilyfrom God, but from the church.
What happened? Probably the same thing that has happened tothousands, if not tens of thousands, of African-American men who nowfile into coffee shops or bowling alleys or baseball stadiums onSundays instead of heading to church, or who lose themselves in thehaze of mowing the lawn or waxing their cars. Somewhere along theway, for us, for me, the church -- the collective of black churchesof the Christian faith, regardless of denomination -- lost itsmeaning, its relevance. It seems to have no discernible message forwhat ails the 21st-century black male soul.
While there are still many black men who do go to church, anypastor will admit that there are far more who don't. JawanzaKunjufu, a Chicago educator and author of Adam! Where are You?: WhyMost Black Men Don't Go to Church, contends that 75 percent of theblack church is female. The church's finger seems farthest from thepulse of those black men who seem to be most lost and drifting in adestructive sea of fatalism and pathology, with no immediate sign ofthe shore or of search and rescue crews. Without the church, most ofthose men are doomed. But it seems clear to me that the church doesnot -- will not -- seek out black men, or perhaps even mourn ourdisappearance from the pews.
Instead, it seems to have turned inward. It seems to exist forthe perpetuation of itself -- for the erecting of grandiose templesof brick and mortar and for the care of pastors and the salariedadministrative staff. Not long ago, a preacher friend confided: "Theblack church is in a struggle for its collective soul -- to finditself in an age when it is consumed by the God of materialism."
This preoccupation with the material world is pervasive, and hasbred a culture that has left a trail of blood and tears in blackneighborhoods across the country with little collective outcry fromthe church. Still, it's one thing for the world to be ensnared bythe trappings of materialism -- but the church?
I am incensed by Mercedes-buying preachers who live in suburbanmeadows far from the inner-city ghettos they pastor, where they bidparishioners to sacrifice in the name of God. I am angered by thepreacher I know, and his wife and co-pastor, who exacted a per diemand drove luxury vehicles, their modest salaries boosted by tithesand offerings from poor folks in a struggling congregation offamilies, a number of them headed by single women. This at a timewhen the church didn't own a single chair and was renting a buildingto hold worship services.
I wonder why, despite billions of dollars taken from collectionplates -- much of it from the poor -- in my own denomination, I seefew homes for the elderly, few recreation centers, little to nochurch-financed housing development and few viable church-operatedbusinesses that might employ members or generate some tangiblemeasure of return on years of investment. I scratch my head at themultimillion-dollar edifice a local church recently erected andwonder if that is the most responsible stewardship for a church in acommunity filled with poor families.
I have come to see the countless annual meetings and churchassemblies, camouflaged as worship services, as little more thanfund-raisers and quasi-fashion shows with a dose of spirituality. Iam disheartened by the territorialism of churches, vying for controland membership, as a deacon at a Baptist church said to me recently,in much the same way as gangs, rather than seeing themselves ascommunal partners in a vineyard with one Lord and a single purpose.
But even in an age of preacher as celebrity, it is not theevolution of a bling- bling Gospel that most disheartens me. It isthe loss of the church's heart and soul: the mission to seek and tosave lost souls through the power of the Gospel and a risen savior.As the homicide toll in black neighborhoods has swelled, I'vewondered why churches or pastors have seldom taken a stand orventured beyond the doors of their sanctuaries to bring healing andhope to the community -- whether to stem the tide of violence anddrugs, or to help cure poverty and homelessness or any number ofissues that envelop ailing black communities.
Once, after a service at my grandfather's church in a smallwestern suburb of Chicago, I mentioned to a visiting pastor thatthere was a drug and gang war going on in his community. "I don'tknow nothing 'bout that," he responded. I wondered why not. Howcould he not know about something that affected a community in whichhe was a "shepherd"?
When I returned to Chicago nearly five years ago, after living inNorthern Virginia, where I worked as a reporter at the Post, I waseager to assist in the ministry at my grandfather's church. Within afew months, however, it became apparent to me that there was littleserious interest among the leadership in connecting to the localcommunity -- aside from the idea that they might potentially fillthe empty pews. And I decided to leave, though not without firsthaving many conversations with my grandfather about the implosion ofchurch ministry.
And further contributing to my disappearing act is that, afterbeing put down and put upon in a society that relegates black menlargely to second-class status, the last place I want to feel thatway is at church. And yet, in the church, where I have at times inmy life felt the most uplifted, I have at other times felt greatlydiminished, most often by insecure leaders. If such leaders feelthreatened by your ability to speak or preach or teach better thanthey, or by the fact that you think differently from them, or by thefact that you possess some other social badge they do not -- like acollege education -- then they perceive you as stealing a little oftheir sheen in the public's eyes. And you become subject to the samekind of shunning and subtle disconnection that I have seen and knownin the professional world.
By the summer of 2002, there had been myriad hurts anddisappointments to accompany my disillusionment. When the then-pastor of my Chicago area mega-church responded to my inquiry aboutnot being able to reach him for weeks, I was already bending in thewind.
"Do you have a cell phone?" he asked during a follow-up telephoneconversation to a letter I had sent to him.
"Yes," I answered.
"Then let me ask you something, John," he continued. "If you hada problem with your cell phone and you called SBC, would you expectto reach the CEO?"
His words blew me away.
Given the state of black men in America, given the number inprison or jail or headed that way; given the thousands of us whofind our way to early graves and the black men on the other side ofthe guns who send us there; given the number of us who seek solacein a bottle of liquor or in illegal drugs; given the number whosilently cry ourselves to sleep at night, it seems that we wouldmake for a plentiful harvest for a church really seeking souls.
I suspect, however, that as long as our wives, our children andour money flow through the church's doors; as long as there arestill a few bodies to fill the seats; as long as the church canclaim a semblance of relevance to the community; as long as some ofus on the outside loom as potential critics of the direction, heartand stewardship of those black men charged with leading the church,very few are likely to ever come looking for us.
I could be wrong. My criticism might be too harsh. But it is noharsher than my pain.
And so I have taken some solace in the words of the Rev. MartinLuther King Jr., who, more than 40 years ago in his "Letter From aBirmingham Jail," wrote that the church was in danger of being"dismissed as an irrelevant social club." "In deep disappointment Ihave wept over the laxity of the church," he lamented. "But beassured that my tears have been tears of love. There can be no deepdisappointment where there is not deep love. Yes, I love thechurch."
So do I.
And come Sunday mornings, especially on Sunday mornings, I missthe rev of the organ. I miss the spiritual song drifting through thesanctuary. I miss the sight of the gray-haired church mothers intheir Sunday regalia and their warm embrace after service. I missthe sound of a spirit-filled choir whose song can be a salve to ahurting soul. I miss the beauty of worship, of lifting my hands inthe awesome wonder of fellowship with my sisters and brothers inChrist gathered in the house of God with my family.
"Imani, have you said bye to Daddy?" my wife called to ourdaughter.
"I already did," she answered.
Actually, we hadn't said goodbye. A few minutes earlier, I hadcalled her upstairs and given her a dollar for Sunday offering andhugged her tight, unable to address her question about why Daddydoesn't go to church anymore.
Perhaps I will explain one day. Or perhaps I won't have to.
John Fountain, a journalism professor at the University ofIllinois at Urbana-Champaign, was a reporter at the Washington Postfrom 1995 to 2000. He is the author of True Vine: A Young BlackMan's Journey of Faith, Hope and Clarity (Public Affairs). E-mail:author@Johnwfountain.com
