Describing The New York Post’s monkey cartoon as an “invitation to assassination,” the NAACP Saturday called the newspaper’s apology weak and promised a boycott unless Editor in Chief Col Allan and cartoonist Sean Delonas are fired. Following a swarm of protest, including barbs from such notable figures as singer John Legend and filmmaker Spike Lee, the Post wrote in an editorial on its Web site that the cartoon was slamming the economic stimulus bill passed by Congress, … but “to those who were offended by the image, we apologize.” That was actually “a half of an apology, without elaboration,” countered NAACP President Benjamin Jealous. The drawing “picks off the scabs of all the racial wounds,” he added. The cartoon depicted two White police officers, one with a smoking gun in his hand; a chimpanzee lay on the ground in a pool of blood with two bullet holes in its stomach. One officer says to the other, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” The cartoon is an example of “thoughtlessness taken to the extreme, NAACP Chairman Julian Bond. Anyone who is not offended by it does not have any sensitivity.” In an open letter to the Post’s editor, Legend wrote, “I’ve read your lame statement in response to the outrage you provoked. Shame on you …offensive.

Apology Not Accepted
The New York Post decided to offer an apology to those who may have been offended by its cartoon depicting the president as a monkey.  But the paper didn’t go far enough to say its sorry for the editorial decision to publish the cartoon in the first place.

 In case you were wondering, there will not be an apology from The New York Post for its controversial cartoon in Wednesday’s paper. The Rev. Al Sharpton and other angry readers say the ad is virulently racist. The editor-in-chief of the paper called the cartoon “a clear parody of the current news event” and placed the blame for the outrage on Sharpton. But even if there were no racial overtones, as the Post editor claims, it sure looks like the cartoonist is advocating the assassination of a U.S. president.  What do you think? Do you agree with boycott of The New York Post? Read the rest on Pamela on Politics.

Andre 3000 stole cartoon idea, claims Boston man. The music, film and fashion endeavors of Andre 3000 may be his own concepts, but his Emmy-winning cartoon isn’t, claims a lawsuit. Boston’s Timothy McGee wants $2 million from the rapper and actor whose Cartoon Network show is a hit. Along with the Network and Andre, whose real name is Andre Benjamin, Turner Broadcasting is named in the lawsuit. McGee alleges that he came up with the original idea for Class of 3000. He says he submitted the show’s idea to a Cartoon Network exec in 1997 when he was an art student and that the “characters, artwork, storylines and concepts” are his. McGee, however, proposed singer Babyface as the series’ mentor for young artist characters who are trying to make it in the ATL music industry.  McGee wants compensation for profits from “Class of 3000,” which aired from November 2006 to May 2008. His complaint alleges copyright infringement, breach of contract and misappropriating of trade secrets.

World Lens: Flooding continues to devastate the Caribbean, African immigrants protest killing in Europe and Japanese get crazy on the runway. See these pics and more here.

Rape cartoon featuring African leader causes outrage

 South African officials are not too happy about a cartoon depicting African leader Jacob Zuma unzipping his pants to rape “justice.” Both the cartoonist and the paper where it ran are refusing to apologize, reports Agence France-Presse. The cartoon, which appeared in The Sunday Times, features Zuma, the leader of the African National Congress who is currently facing a corruption case. It shows him opening his pants while men representing the ANC, the South African Communist Party, the ANC Youth League and COSATU hold down a blindfolded woman labeled “justice.” One of them tells Zuma, “Go for it, boss.” The groups immediately slammed the paper. “The cartoon rubbishes the collective integrity of the alliance and constitutes yet another continued violation of the rights and dignity of the ANC president,” they said in a joint statement. In 2006, Zuma was found not guilty of rape and some thought the cartoon was trying to insinuate he was a rapist. The paper denies the claim, though, saying the cartoon was only referring to his corruption case. And the cartoonist, Zapiro, stands strongly behind his work. “I am angry at them, I am outraged … at what Jacob Zuma is trying to do to the justice system and constitutional principles along with his team of lawyers and his political allies,” he said in an interview with a South African radio station. “The central message is that Zuma is about to, poised to, trying to rape [the] justice system. …”

Nine die in Somalia fighting. At least nine people died Wednesday when Ethiopia-backed government troops clashed with rebel forces in the Somali capital of Mogadishu The Associated Press reports. The two sides have fought fiercely throughout the year, but the insurgents, who are Muslim, promised to increase attacks during the holy month of Ramadan. About 100 of them shouted “God is great” as they fired at a military base for both Ethiopian and Somali-government troops. They exchanged fire in a heated battle, leaving at least four civilians killed, the news service reports. Ethiopian troops are in the country to help stabilize the nation’s government; political violence has existed there for more than 15 years. The government succeeded in driving rebels out of the capital in 2006, but attacks in the area have spiked this year.

But some say that angry activists don’t get the cultural importance of Memin.

Black activists are up in arms over a popular Mexican comic book Memin Pinguin recently sold in WalMart. It features a dark-skinned Cuban boy (named Memin) with large ears and big pink lips, who’s always being made fun of because of his color. “This is poking fun at the physical features of an entire people. Making them look buffoonish (and) portraying the young [Black] kid as stupid,” Quanell X, an activist, told The Dallas Morning News. “Whenever they are beating him, they are referring to him as Negro. Even here, when he is being punched, slapped [he is called] Negro. This is a disgrace.” The comic received such a backlash that WalMart decided to remove it from their shelves, saying in a statement: “…[W]e understand that Memin is a popular figure in Mexico. However, given the sensitivity to the negative image Memin can portray to some, we felt that it was best to no longer carry the item in our stores. We apologize to those customers who many have been offended….” The comic, originally published in the 1960s, has been very popular in Mexico for years, so much so that the government decided to issue a stamp commemorating Memin in 2005 – a decision didn’t sit well then with U.S. activists and politicians who said the character was racist. But the Mexican government thinks it’s a misunderstanding and that Americans just don’t understand the character’s cultural importance in their country. Do you think this Memin character is racist?