It’s a strange day indeed when you can’t watch Rachael Ray wearing a scarf, but it seems that Dunkin’ Donuts knows how to make one good publicity stunt.

Does Dunkin’ Donuts really think its customers could mistake Rachael Ray for a terrorist sympathizer? The Canton-based company has abruptly canceled an ad in which the domestic diva wears a scarf that looks like a keffiyeh, a traditional headdress worn by Arab men. Some observers, including ultra-conservative Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin, were so incensed by the ad that there was even talk of a Dunkin’ Donuts boycott. “The keffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,” Malkin yowls in her syndicated column. “Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant and not-so-ignorant fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons.”

The Boston Globe

The keffiyeh is generally worn to protect the head from heat. It is not a particular symbol of any kind of terrorist, but rather an item of clothing worn by people living in hot climates, as it keeps the sun off the head (very important if you haven’t a great deal of hair) and soaks up the sweat. It is also worn by British soldiers, but called a shemaghs, because it keeps the head warm in cooler climates.

It became a symbol of Palestine after Yassar Arafat wore it.

This is more of a cultural garment, and I think Rachael Ray is wearing a scarf as a fashion accessory. The same way she might have worn a kimono, a tartan skirt or kilt, or a mandarin collar, without being a Geisha, Scottish clansman, or Chinese sympathizer.

Michelle Malkin, the columnist who got us all talking, had this to add:

“It’s refreshing to see an American company show sensitivity to the concerns of Americans opposed to Islamic jihad and its apologists.”

I know this is going to cause some controversy, but it might have been nice to show some sensitivity to the people across the globe who wears this garment as a way to protect their heads from the weather, not to keep their hair out of their eyes while committing acts of terrorism.

I will also add that I am not American, but Australian, and the terrorists who attacked Australians in Indonesia, and the ones who committed the London tube bombings, did not wear a keffiyeh, so I don’t associate this headdress with terrorism, but maybe it is different to people living in the USA, following the images of Osama bin Laden after 9/11.

“King of Queens” star Leah Remini and her husband have a four-year-old daughter who is still drinking up to six bottles a night and wearing diapers. Leah asked Rachael Ray - of all people - to visit her home and see what goes on with her daughter, Sofia Bella.

Leah Remini may have been tough as nails on The King of Queens, but when it comes to her nearly 4-year-old daughter Sofia, she’s a total pushover. “I’m very consistent; I give in,” says Leah. “My daughter runs the house.” Although Leah is conflicted about taking a stance that leaves her daughter in hysterics, she’d like to try getting Sofia off the bottle. “The problem I’m having with bottle-feeding is basically that Sofia drinks six or more bottles a night,” she explains, a situation that leaves her and her husband Angelo exhausted from handing over new bottles and changing diapers at all hours. Leah also recognizes there are potential health issues. “We’re hearing that it’s not good for her,” she admits. “In talking to our pediatrician, they almost fell off their chair when we said she’s still on the bottle. So I’m thinking maybe it’s not right.”

[From The Rachael Ray Show Online]

She’s thinking MAYBE it’s not right? What the hell! This kid is a pre-schooler, not a baby. And SIX bottles a night? I can’t help but think about how bad that is for her teeth, not to mention the fact that if she is drinking all that milk instead of eating actual food, she is not getting enough nutrients.

The other part of this equation that has me scratching my head is why Leah thought it was a good idea to go on the Rachael Ray show and let cameras capture her and her husband being completely bulldozed by their kid. Apparently, Rachael Ray, who has never had kids and is now suddenly defining herself as yet another Oprah, put Leah in touch with a pediatrician and a mom of three to give her some advice.

After her meeting with Dr. Ari, Leah and her husband Angelo decide to try and wean their daughter. They get some pointers from one of Rachael’s viewers who is a mother of three. “You’re not going to like a lot of things I’m going to say,” Stacey Lewis tells Leah. “Children need consistency and they need structure. This is going to be tough work but we’re going to get it done.”

For their first night with no bottles, Stacey suggests some tough love and says if Sofia has a tantrum they can offer her water in a bottle with no nipple. They decide to give it a try, but only last a few hours when Sofia has a fit. “We’re definite pushovers and at the end of the day you have to follow your heart,” Leah says. “Sofia was crying again for a bottle of milk and then I started crying I think because I felt so bad,” Leah says, and they give her the bottle. “It just doesn’t feel right for me to have a screaming baby and to say no to a bottle.”

Leah and her husband are Scientologists, and if the rumors are correct about the parenting style involved with that cult/religion, babies are supposedly already born knowing everything, and are treated as little adults. But how does that explain treating a four-year-old like an infant? I think it’s because Leah waited so long to have a child, and this is probably the only one she’ll have, so she is holding on to those “Baby” years for as long as humanly possible–which is not doing the kid any favors.

Note by Celebitchy: Leah Remini and her husband are shown at the “Over Her Dead Body” premiere on 1/28/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

Part of me thinks it’s none of our business if she still lets her kid drink a bottle and wear diapers as long as she’s well cared for. Since she invited cameras into her home, though, I guess it is our business.

I really can’t stand Rachael Ray, so I’m going to be upfront and let you know that this entire article will be tinged with my bias. It’s not like she’s a bad person or anything – in fact she seems genuinely nice. But she takes perky beyond the point of self-control and gets all-out annoying with her peppiness. A friend of mine pointed out what a freakishly large head she has in proportion to her body. And that wouldn’t be so bothersome, except that you see the freakishly large head plastered onto every bus and subway station from New York to San Francisco. I’m surprised they could even fit her it on the side of a bus – I doubt the real thing could fit in there.

Rachael Ray’s marriage has been plagued by rumors of trouble pretty much since day one. Unsettling, no? Well generally you’d think “Oh, The National Enquirer just picks on her.” But it turns out they had some pretty good evidence – Rachael’s husband, John Cusimano, reportedly has a major foot fetish. Just click the link; I don’t want to write about that stuff again. I’m not judging, I swear. Just don’t make me think about it. Apparently Ray freaked out a bit during a taping of her show and started telling the audience that her marriage was fine, and she was sick of people gossiping about it.

During a taping of her talk show Wednesday, the normally bubbly cook said that constant reports about the state of her marriage to John Cusimano are starting to upset her, an observer tells PEOPLE. “Everybody gossips … but this stuff is hurting people’s feelings who are in our families and friends of ours,” Ray told the audience on the show, set to air Friday. “They worry about us… there’s always someone that’s going to be telling stories behind your back, but this is too much… the tabloids won’t stop printing this junk until people stop buying it.”

A spokesperson for Ray confirms to PEOPLE that she spoke about the tabloid rumors, and adds, “Rachael and John have never been happier.” According to another source, during a recent appearance in New York to promote her newly released cookbook Just in Time, Ray was asked multiple times by fans if her marriage was in trouble. “John actually showed up at the book signing and they looked very much in love,” says the source. “I bet she finally decided she needed to let her fans know she was alright and that the lies being written about her were just that, lies.”

[From People]

You know I hate to point this out, but just because John has a foot fetish doesn’t mean there’s trouble in their marriage. Rachael could be totally fine with it. For all we know, she could be into it too. Ew. There’s something about her that’s just so wholesome that it feels really inappropriate to talk about that. But it seems like all of the rumors of trouble are based on the foot love, and if that’s all there is, they could be totally fine. A little disgusting, but fine.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s Rachael and John at City Harvest’s ‘Bid Against Hunger’ in New York on October 23, 2007 Images thanks to PR Photos.