This bold grandmother compares her latest move - a call for a UN World Day of At-One-Ment - to a dandelion seed. 'I keep blowing hopefully in different directions and ask God to bless the thought which he put in my head until it finds fertile soil.'

There seems to be a momentum that drives unsubstantial rumours on the web, through undiscriminating tabloids, all the way to supposedly responsible newspapers. We have not yet learned, any more than those in Congress have, how to build in a pause to consider the likely consequences of actions before they are taken.

In 1999, as its last formal act of the millennium, Liverpool City Council passed unanimously a resolution apologizing for the city's role in the Atlantic slave trade.

The most productive and radical approach is to address what we can deal with and take responsibility for.

This year is the 25th anniversary of the beginning of Lebanon's civil war, and the tenth anniversary of its end. Until now Beirut has had no public memorial for the victims of that war. The competition is organized by a Lebanese company entrusted with the reconstruction and development of the historic core of the city.

There may be some question about how long you are to speak. On such occasions I remember that a certain economics professor had a reputation for long speeches. His wife said, 'After you have heard one of my husband's speeches you may not be any wiser but you're certainly a lot older.'

Veteran American journalist Charles Overby encountered more than he bargained for on a recent trip to West Africa. He met - and was challenged by - America's past.

The Pope believes that the Church's 'culture of remembrance' can save the media culture of transitory news from becoming a forgetfulness which corrodes hope.

Many African Americans will tell you that Portland and Oregon are the most racist communities they have ever been in, and most can cite racist hurdles and language they have encountered.

Nobody said that healing history or treading the path of forgiveness would be easy.