President Obama and the Offensive Barnes & Noble Book Display

This book display is confirmed by snopes.com and the resulting apology by Mary Ellen Keating, Barnes & Noble spokesperson. She claims the book display was more than likely the result of a customer prank.

From snopes.com, here is the apology:

Barnes & Noble would like to publicly apologize for an incident in our Coral Gables, Florida store. We believe that a customer played a cruel joke and placed an inappropriate title ("Monkeys") in the front window of our store, where we were featuring books written by or about President Obama. We want to assure our customers that the book placed by someone other than any of our booksellers was never intended to be included in our display and was removed as soon as we became aware of the situation. We are looking into it and taking the steps necessary so that it does not happen again. From time to time customers will move titles from one area of the store to another. In this particular case, we don not condone whatever message may have been intended with the placement of this title in our Presidential display. It certainly was not part of our merchandising and we regret that we didn't see the placement of this title immediately.

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plezWorld received an e-mail with the above photo and a plea to boycott Barnes & Noble.

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plez sez: there are some sick people out there and even as a prank, this sinks to a level of depravity that is simply appalling.

boycott the store?!? hmmm, that may be a bit extreme. they did correct the display and they did issue an apology. i'm not aware of a pattern of this behavior and it appears that this was an isolated incident. it is my hope that barnes & noble puts the proper controls in place to reduce the likelihood of this type of "merchandising" making its way into the public eye in the future.

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The blogosphere is abuzz with this story:

Read the Urban Legends article about Barnes & Noble and the "Monkey" book.

Read the CNN iReport article about the offensive book display at Barnes & Noble.

Read the SandraRose article about the Barnes & Noble display.

Read the Hip Hop Blips article about the apology for the offensive display.

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Bigot on Motorcycle in Florida

This picture was forwarded to plezWorld on Wednesday evening by the brother of the woman who took this pic on her camera phone this past weekend. You read the caption correctly, it reads "Nigger Please! It's a White House".

If you look alittle closer at the fender, he's a McCain/Palin supporter! The McCain campaign has made racism and racist comments toward Obama by his supporters acceptable... read this and this and this.

Nothing would please plezWorld more than to have this dude (and thousands like him) wake up on November 5th with Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.

After the second debate in Nashville, McCain took his road show to visit the good people of Strongsville, Ohio. read more...

Hurricane Gustav - Get Outta Dodge!

Hurricanes are ranked 1 to 5 in intensity on the Saffir-Simpson scale. A Category 4 has winds of 131 to 155 mph and can cause extreme damage. Hurricane Gustav rumbled through Cuba as a Category 4. Gustav has now set its sights on the Gulf Coast of the United States, with hauniting Katrina-like sights on the New Orleans area.

CNN.com reports that a hurricane watch was issued Saturday afternoon for southeastern Texas to the Alabama-Florida border as Hurricane Gustav's sustained winds reached 150 mph on its expected path to the U.S. Gulf Coast. The watch means hurricane conditions are possible within about 36 hours. It was announced Saturday as thousands were in the process of fleeing parts of Mississippi and Louisiana, three years after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina ravaged the area.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is quoted as saying, ""We could see tidal surges of as much as 15 to 20 feet. We could see flooding even worse than what we saw in Hurricane Katrina."

More than a dozen parishes in Louisiana have declared states of emergency, and St. Bernard Parish began a mandatory evacuation Saturday afternoon, with authorities calling it "a matter of survival." The evacuation began at 4 p.m. in the parish, which sits just east of New Orleans and was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina.

In New Orleans, Louisiana, still recovering from Katrina, anxiety was high Saturday as residents fled, leaving behind a virtual ghost town of boarded-up homes and empty streets. "I am strongly, strongly encouraging everyone in this city to evacuate," Mayor Ray Nagin said Saturday. "Start the process now."

At the Union Passenger Terminal in downtown New Orleans, people began arriving as early as 5:30 a.m., forming a line that snaked behind the main Amtrak terminal. Armed patrols and Humvees circled the crowds of people, many who waited as long as 2 hours, enduring the heat and relentless sun, unsure of their destination.

New Orleans officials had designated 17 sites for people without transportation to board buses to take them to the terminal, where they will be moved to shelters outside New Orleans. However, scores of residents went directly to the terminal, carrying one bag, as the city had instructed. The snafu prompted confusion, as did a glitch in the computer system that was being used to register people.

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The Republican National Convention begins this week in St. Paul, Minnesota. Officials with the McCain campaign and the Republican National convention are considering changing the event's agenda as Hurricane Gustav bears down on the Gulf Coast.

Sen. John McCain's campaign manager, Rick Davis, plans to meet with officials in charge of the party's convention planning in Minneapolis-St. Paul on Sunday to review the latest news on Hurricane Gustav and what their options might be and then consult with the presumptive presidential nominee to determine what changes may need to be made.

McCain had suggested to a Fox News interviewer that the convention could be suspended if it seemed that a festive gathering was inappropriate in light of the destruction the storm may bring.

Republican Govs. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Charlie Crist of Florida, Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Rick Perry of Texas -- whose states that lie in the path of Gustav, named a Category 4 hurricane Saturday afternoon -- will skip the GOP convention because of the storm.

The storm has forced last-minute changes in the convention's announced schedule: If the convention -- originally scheduled to start Monday -- commences by Tuesday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's speech will probably move to that night from Wednesday.

Read CNN.com articles about Hurricane Gustav here and here and here.

Read New York Times article about Hurricane Gustav here.


plez sez: in light of what happened three years ago in new orleans, a force evacuation of the city is in order. especially, in those areas that were hardest hit by katrina, the governor should mobilize the national guard to clear the city out! it would be a public relations nightmare, with the republican national convention going on up the mississippi river from new orleans, to have a repeat of what occurred when the bush administration dropped the ball after katrina.

if i was governor of louisiana, i'd have the national guard going door-to-door requiring folk to pack a bag, registering them on a database, and requiring them to leave the city. for those who do not have transportation (or were handicapped or elderly), load them on anything with wheels that is leaving the city.

as bad as it seems, hurricane gustav presents a bold opportunity for the party of george w. bush to redeem itself during the week of their convention. they could cancel the party altogether and move en masse to the gulf coast and assist in the cleanup effort, or they could shorten the convention and handle only essential business (in stark contrast to last week's weeklong coronation of Barack Obama in denver).

last, and definitely, not least... if you are a resident of the gulf coast, you shouldn't be sitting at home and reading plezWorld, you should be getting the HELL outta Dodge!

BLOG UPDATE (08/30/2008 10:30 PM EST): The AJC reports that New Orleans has ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city... read the article here.

Debra LaFave is Still a Child Molester

CNN reports that Debra Lafave, the former Florida middle school teacher convicted of committing numerous sex acts with a student, was arrested Tuesday for "inappropriate but non-sexual contact" with a teenage coworker.

Debra Lafave was arrested after talking with a female teenager. The association violated the terms of Lafave's probation, which forbade her to have contact with anyone under 18, the sheriff's office said.

Read the entire CNN story here.


plez sez: i opined on this whole sordid mess with this woman last year (read it). her behavior and her subsequent release with a slap on the wrist turned my stomach back then... and this violation of the terms of her probation only goes to reinforce my thoughts that her "pretty" ass should been sent to jail for molesting that middle school student.

i have no doubt had she been "ugly" or Black, they would've found a jail cell for at least a couple of months. since ms. lafave is above the law, she feels no enmity about breaking the terms of her probation... and of course, this violation will not send her to jail, either.

don't you just love america's justice system?!?

Blogging for Justice - Against the Rape of Black Women

The Case of The Torture & Rape of Megan Williams

Megan Williams thought she was going to a party with some friends. For more than a week, authorities say, the 20-year-old mentally disabled black woman was kept captive in a shed, tortured, beaten, forced to eat rat, dog and human feces, and raped by six white men and women who taunted her with racial slurs. "They just kept saying 'This is what we do to niggers down here,'" Williams told The Associated Press in one of her most extensive interviews since the shocking case made national headlines last month.

According to evidence gathered, Megan was sodomized with a stick and a noose was tied around her neck for lengthy periods during this week long ordeal that is verified by confessions from several of the co-defendants. At one point, she was sexually assaulted while scalding water and melting hot wax from a candle was poured on her body. At another point she was forced to lick the toes of the sadistic defendants. She was stabbed in the leg at least four times and both of her ankles were cut by a female suspect who allegedly taunted her, saying, "This one is for Kunta Kinte, and that's what we do to niggers around here."

West Virginia does not have a death penalty, but the six suspects could spend the rest of their lives in prison if convicted of rape and kidnapping charges. Still, Williams and her family want more. They want the case prosecuted as a hate crime as well, something authorities have so far stopped short of doing.

How to Help: Sign the online petition in support of Megan Williams

Hat Tip: Electronic Village for background information


The Case of the Dunbar Village Assault & Rape

Four Black teenage boys — ages 14, 15, 16, and 18 — have been charged as adults in a 14-count indictment that could send all of them to prison for life.

Hoping to steal money and jewelry, Avion Lawson, 14, said he and someone else wore masks when they entered a 35-year-old woman's apartment on the evening of June 18, 2007 in West Palm Beach, Florida, according to court documents. Once inside, Lawson said, he and his accomplice, whose name is blacked out on the report, encountered the woman in bed with three other masked males around her. Lawson told police he sexually assaulted her and stole two video games and the victim's truck.

The victim returned home from her job delivering phone books about 9 p.m. the night of the attack, according to her statement to police. While fixing her son something to eat, a young male with braids knocked on her door to tell her the tires on her truck were flat. Once outside, she said, she saw a male with a large gun and two others armed with guns. They wore black clothing over their faces, she said, and ordered her back into the apartment, where they demanded money.

After being told there was no money, the attackers tore off the woman's clothes and raped her until five others arrived, according to the documents. The new arrivals took turns having sex with her and then sodomized her. The mother was then ordered into a tub filled with vinegar and water where they used hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, nail polish remover and ammonia on her. At gunpoint, the assailants forced the mother and son to have sex.

Throughout the attack, the victims suffered beatings, including having a bowl and light bulbs smashed over their heads. The encounter was recorded on a cell phone camera, according to the mother.

Before leaving, the males looked for a lighter to set the two on fire but couldn't find one, she told police. They ordered the pair to stay in the tub and took off. About 30 minutes later one of the males returned to sexually assault the mother one last time. Before leaving, he scribbled a man's name and 6-CO, the name of a local gang, on a piece of paper and told the woman he hangs out on Sixth Street and that's where he could be found. He grabbed a Sony PlayStation 2 before fleeing the scene.

Police believe at least ten teens/men were involved, but only four have been charged.

Read the Sun-Sentinel article here.

How to Help: St. Ann's Catholic Church will accept donations on behalf of the family. Checks can be made payable to the Dunbar Village Victim Assistance Fund - St. Ann's. The address is: St. Ann's Catholic Church 310 N. Olive Avenue West Palm Beach, FL 33401

Hat Tip: What About Our Daughters for background information


plez sez: in these two incidents, over 13 lives have been destroyed by hate, bigotry, and inhumanity. the west virginia case is horrific and beguiles me with the depths of human depravity. the case in florida is horrific and beguiles me with the depths of human depravity.

i cannot think of a person or thing that could evoke such a desire to destroy, humiliate, and violate... the behavior in both cases goes beyond negligent indifference to barbarism and the inhumane. a jail cell for any of these perpetrators is luxury; surely this country has a few gallows and nooses capable of hastily ushering these individuals to the depths of Hell where they belong as companions for their hellish acts.

some have a desire that the west virginia six be subject to hate crime statutes, but wasn't what happened in florida just as hateful? to my way of thinking, any crime of terror, horror, and inhumane treatment is a crime of hate... why the need for additional laws and statutes? the criminals in florida are no less hateful just because they share the same race as the victims of their rampage. don't all of those Black boys have Black mothers? what drove them to brutalize another Black mother in such a depraved manner?

both cases are sickening and worrisome to plezWorld because my mother, my wife, and my sister are Black women and Black mothers. i shudder to think that either of them would be subject to such inhumanity. my blood boils with the desire to "reach out and touch and dismantle" all of the perpetrators of these crimes.... i only pray for the mental and physical recovery of the victims. AND i pray that the criminals and rapists get the worst punishment available.


National March Against Hate Crimes: Black Lawyers for Justice (BLFJ), the Williams family, and the usual cast of characters have called for a march on the state capitol of West Virginia on November 3, 2007. plezWorld does not support this march because another march will do little to shed light on an isolated case of mayhem by a bunch of slack jawed hillbillies in West Virginia. i don't see what a lost day of work or classes for students will solve or fix or illuminate for those who don't see that anything is broke. and as i stated earlier, the black-on-black crime in the dunbar village rape case won't be addressed by this march... so who is marching and pontificating against Black people who ravage and destroy Black communities turning them into ghettos that attract the lowest dregs of society?

i hate to get biblical on you, but "stop looking for the speck in another's eye when you got a friggin' log poking out of yours!"