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POTTER TERROR PLOT FOILED (4#) -

# Pakistani police said today they had defused a 10 kg bomb the previous night outside a shopping center packed with several hundred people where the latest Harry Potter book was scheduled to be launched.

:: [afp-au] - [reut] ::

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# HP7 Party Comes to Pakistan:
:: PK Blogger Owais Mughal ::

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# Muslim youth cautioned against 'fake jihad'

KABUL: The top Saudi cleric Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Shaikh has cautioned Muslims, especially youth, to keep themselves aloof from 'fake jihad' (holy war).

In an interview, the Grand Mufti urged Muslim youth to be aware of elements who were launching 'fake jihad' while they had their own agendas.

Sheikh Aziz said jihad, in present time, is
to shun evil and follow the teachings of Islam.

:: The Frontier Post ::

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Bookish: HP7 and more (7#) -

# So Long, Harry: A charming literary envoi to Harry Potter & Co from the Editorial Page of The Times of India.

# Potter Magic and Madness: The last third of this article addresses the controversial topic of the "Potter Price Wars."

# Robert Fox at The First Post echos this concern.

# HP7 debut in UAE scheduled for 3am !

# Looks like an interesting Books Page over at TFP this week; a couple which caught my eye: The Snake Stone by Jason Goodwin (a bit like Eric Ambler with an Istanbul setting) and The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox (described as a Victorian pastiche). Also, they say that JG Ballard's Kingdom Come is in pb now.

# Also at TFP: A peek inside a new comic book version of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express from writer Francois Riviere and artist Solidor.

# Bonus Viral Video: The Shoplifting Seagull has made it to American TV; I watched it at noon here today. And it's gone around the world already. [dmail]

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FAKE EMIR OF IRAQ (3#) -
A Cyberspace Myth -

Would you buy a used car from this man?
Perhaps you have . . .

# *The mysterious Abu Omar al-Baghdadi - the so-called "emir" of the so-called "Islamic State of Iraq" - apparently avoided capture so elusively through a very clever ruse: He didn’t exist...

Mashhadani’s interrogation has opened "insights" into the workings of al-Qa'ida operations in Iraq, US military and intel officials have said.* [slog]

# *The ruse, Bergner said, was devised by Abu Ayub al-Masri, the Egyptian-born leader of Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, who was trying to mask the dominant role that foreigners play in that insurgent organization.* [iht]

# *fictional character - nonexistant leader: Mashhadani served as a propaganda chief in the organization... [and] helped create Islamic State of Iraq as a "virtual organization" that is essentially a pseudonym for al-Qaida in Iraq.* [chron]

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LYNCHED BY NEWSPAPER -

Rep Bob Allen & Due Process -

I have been generally appalled at the treatment Allen has been subjected to in at least some of the Florida newspapers I've read online since his case broke.

By chance, I happened upon an editorial in one of the state's newspapers the other day which really aggravated me; while paying scant lip service to Due Process, they, nevertheless, were already giving Allen the bum's rush out the door, encouraging him to resign.

Finally, though, one columnist at a Florida newspaper who's been browsing the buzz around this case has written something decent about it for a change. Some excerpts follow:

*But there was an ugly level of vitriol in online postings to the comment section of the Allen story, on the Web sites of this paper and Florida Today...

Some readers posting comments at the newspaper sites demanded that Allen be booted out of the Legislature, denied bail and sent to state prison immediately...

Like it or not, defendants in even the most lurid cases have a right to make the government prove it - and so do you and I, should we find ourselves on that side of the bar.*

Thank you, Bill Cotterell !
CAPITAL CURMUDGEON.

:: Presumed guilty ::

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IN OTHER MEDIA (3#) -

In a scene straight out of a Cold War spy story, someone - unidentified so far - snapped digital pictures of every page of what appears to be the final Potter book and uploaded them on to the Internet.

Deathly Hallows, the last book in the series, due in bookstores Friday at midnight, is leaking all over cyberspace. [usat]

* * * * * * * * * *

MUZZLE THE GASBAGS?
A debate about Talk Radio
and whether to bring back
The Fairness Doctrine. [usat]

* * * * * * * * *

Al Jazeera is reporting that RCTV in Venezuela is back on the air, but this time it's on pay-TV via cable and satellite.

"Cable and satellite television cost roughly US$20 a month in Venezuela, more than many families can afford, and reach only 30 per cent of households."

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BULLETS OVER BROWARD (2#) -

A kind of flash mob converged on Outdoor World just before noon last Sunday to conduct a raid on their stock of AK-47 bullets.

A chilling CCTV video shows about a half-dozen black youths taking boxes of cartridges and then emptying the contents into their pockets.

Their faces are shown rather clearly
and recognizably in the footage. [sent]

Enlarged stills at Local 10 TV, where
they are listed as -- Related to Story:
:: See Images of Teens ::

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MAYOR OF LONDON RACE -

Boris Johnson is going to run for
mayor of London against Red Ken.

Although he has a reputation for gaffes and a complicated personal life, Mr Johnson is one of the Conservatives' most popular and best-known faces, particularly following his appearances on television shows such as Have I Got News For You.

This should be a colorful race!

:: By George Jones, Tgraph ::

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HEARING DATE SET (2#new) -

FL State Rep Bob Allen, 48, will get his first day in court Aug 23 to answer the charges against him; he is currently out on a $500 bond. [loc6]

In the interim, I came across a link to
the arresting officer's statement converted
from pdf to regular text. [poq]

This gives you, the Critical Reader, an opportunity to study the statement more extensively and at your convenience. Then, you can decide for yourself what you think.

If I can, further on, I may explore the
story in this statement in more detail here.

* * * * * * * * *
Previously here:

:: Twenty Dollars, the Hard Way - July 12th;

:: Moonlighting in Vice - July 15th.

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WEEKEND WRAP (3#) -

# It was a pretty quiet weekend hereabouts,
during which, I watched Doctor Who.

We were treated to the episode called The Parting of the Ways. It was a very emotional episode with some striking special effects, though I've been using a small countertop B+W portable TV.

At the end there was a transformation of the main character. I'm going to miss Christopher Eccleston; I thought he did a tremendous job as The Ninth Doctor. But... on to the next Doctor!

# Blogomania: I recently came across an interesting Group Blog which is a combination of a Regional or Metro-based Blog with a Crime Theme focus and some contributing mystery writers:

The Outfit is a collective blog at which "An average of 7,500 readers per month find perspectives on everything from Chicago politics and corruption to education reform, architecture, crime and, of course, the writing life."

# And, finally, an interview with William Gibson whose new novel Spook Country is due for an August release. Warning: very tiny print here! I haven't read it yet; instead, I copied it to floppy and enlarged the typeface. You might want to enlarge it for your own convenience.

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NEWLY RELEASED OBL TAPE -
and other related news briefs (4#) -

# As Sahab has just released an Osama Bin Laden snippet, which is probably not of recent vintage, in which he is reportedly seen encouraging martyrdom. I am using Jeffrey Imm's report on CTB as my reference here.

# Music is now banned in the Tribal Area of Bajaur Agency in Pakistan. Local Taliban recently detained six people on charges of drug-taking and paraded them naked in a bazaar in Inayat Killey... CDs and cassettes were seized from the area and destroyed on this occasion. [satp]

# "The Iraqi port city of Basra, already prey to a nasty turf war between rival militia factions, has now been gripped by a scary rumour: giant badgers are stalking the streets by night, eating humans." [afp/au]

# "Claims by the editor of a hardline Iranian newspaper that Bahrain is part of Iran and should be returned have provoked uproar in the Gulf Arab island which is seeking an explanation from Tehran."

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MOONLIGHTING IN VICE -

A PDF of the Arrest Document for the Florida politician referred to in the preceding entry here has been released by TV Station WFTV Channel 9. It contains a facsimile of the Statement made by the arresting police officer.

I have read the statement and, in my opinion, do not consider this to be a viable case. It looks like rather clear Entrapment to me. And a despicable stunt.

Of course, I am not a lawyer; so, consult
with Ernie your Attorney for further details.

:: PDF Arrest Document ::

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