:
R U BOVVERED YET? (2#) -
# Christopher Hitchens spent part of his youth in the London neighborhood of Finsbury Park which has become associated with jihadism. Hitchens writes about what has happened there and ends his column with their sinister threat that the English no longer own Britain.
+ Don't miss this piece! Recommended.
:: Londonistan Calling ::
************************************
# The column is supplemented by
a Q&A which is also a must-read:
*It begins Valentine's Day,1989, the day that the fatwa was issued against my friend Salman [Rushdie] for the crime of publishing a novel in London... I must have been one of the least surprised people on earth on September 11. I knew something like that was going to come...
Their demand is that the world be like them, or live under
their rule.*
+ Spot on, Hitch!
:: By Walter Owen, VF ::
...
Wednesday, May 23
:
PLAGERISM,
CYBERSTALKING & LIBEL -
Crime writer Patricia Cornwell alleged
in a Virginia courtroom this week that
she has been cyberstalked by a man
named Leslie Sachs during the
proceedings of a libel suit which
she has brought against him.
:: UK Guardian ::
...
PLAGERISM,
CYBERSTALKING & LIBEL -
Crime writer Patricia Cornwell alleged
in a Virginia courtroom this week that
she has been cyberstalked by a man
named Leslie Sachs during the
proceedings of a libel suit which
she has brought against him.
:: UK Guardian ::
...
:
CURRENTLY ON THE RUN -
Three terror suspects in the UK have
just cut loose from their monitors and
gone fugitive, making a total of six
active BOLOs of this kind.
:: This is London ::
...
CURRENTLY ON THE RUN -
Three terror suspects in the UK have
just cut loose from their monitors and
gone fugitive, making a total of six
active BOLOs of this kind.
:: This is London ::
...
Tuesday, May 22
:
WORLD NEWS BRIEFS (3#) -
# The famous Chelsea Flower Show
opens in London today, [sky]
# Fighting in Lebanon Continues:
*Fatah al-Islam... vowed on Tuesday
to fight until "the last drop of blood" if
the army continues its attacks.* [fr24]
# Cannes Film Festival:
Early critical reaction to
A Mighty Heart has been positive... [fr24]
...
WORLD NEWS BRIEFS (3#) -
# The famous Chelsea Flower Show
opens in London today, [sky]
# Fighting in Lebanon Continues:
*Fatah al-Islam... vowed on Tuesday
to fight until "the last drop of blood" if
the army continues its attacks.* [fr24]
# Cannes Film Festival:
Early critical reaction to
A Mighty Heart has been positive... [fr24]
...
Monday, May 21
:
MEDIA (5#) -
# Henry Chu at the LA Times reports
spectacular growth of newspapers in India.
# Who reads the UK Daily Mail? Comment
thread here is also interesting. [greenslade]
# "A wanted man on campus"
The Guardian's Jew-baiting article for
the day. Must be irresistible impulse. [grdn]
# The panel investigating the shootings at
Virginia Tech last month began Monday with
a closed briefing at which the Press was barred.
# Murder Most Foul: Ali Khalil, 22, reporter
for Azzaman has been assassinated in Baghdad.
...
MEDIA (5#) -
# Henry Chu at the LA Times reports
spectacular growth of newspapers in India.
# Who reads the UK Daily Mail? Comment
thread here is also interesting. [greenslade]
# "A wanted man on campus"
The Guardian's Jew-baiting article for
the day. Must be irresistible impulse. [grdn]
# The panel investigating the shootings at
Virginia Tech last month began Monday with
a closed briefing at which the Press was barred.
# Murder Most Foul: Ali Khalil, 22, reporter
for Azzaman has been assassinated in Baghdad.
...
:
LOOSE LINKS (3#) -
# The $100 laptop:
One Laptop per Child (OLPC)
vs the Classmate. [bbc]
# Before and After: How GIs'
tattoos have changed. [usat]
# Check: Open Lebanon
for the latest news over there.
...
LOOSE LINKS (3#) -
# The $100 laptop:
One Laptop per Child (OLPC)
vs the Classmate. [bbc]
# Before and After: How GIs'
tattoos have changed. [usat]
# Check: Open Lebanon
for the latest news over there.
...
:
WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT
in London... a breakfast show blog -
The Cutty Sark, a famous historical ship, went up in flames... and Members of Parliament want to exempt themselves from the scrutiny of their Freedom of Information Act... a taste of London's morning radio talk shows.
And meet Carlos and Fernando, a pair of gay flamingos, who are in the news across the pond now that they've become foster parents.
...
WHAT THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT
in London... a breakfast show blog -
The Cutty Sark, a famous historical ship, went up in flames... and Members of Parliament want to exempt themselves from the scrutiny of their Freedom of Information Act... a taste of London's morning radio talk shows.
And meet Carlos and Fernando, a pair of gay flamingos, who are in the news across the pond now that they've become foster parents.
...
Sunday, May 20
:
KEEPIN' IT FRESH IN CLAREMONT -
Taking a cue from Pasadena Now in the outsourcing of some local reportage to India, The Claremont Insider (also in California) is trying out the idea with their own Desi Correspondent, Anand Gupta, who gives it a spin in this special dispatch:
Greetings from Bangalore to all of our new readers. The Insider has contracted with Bangalore Poom Puhar News Source PLC to having us provide news of the luscious City of Claremont to its readership and to the World by means of the World Wide Web... Without further consternation, Here is today’s news of Claremont...
+ You'll laugh, you'll plotz, you'll tear your hair out! But: very entertaining, Anand! And gamely counteracts the dreaded MEGO Factor.
Yes, there's an amusing aspect to this, but there's a more serious aspect to it, also: much of this kind of news is strictly Snoozeville. And it wouldn't hurt for some publications to take another look at how they are covering this realm. Is it a Snooze? And, if so, could it be fresher?
...
KEEPIN' IT FRESH IN CLAREMONT -
Taking a cue from Pasadena Now in the outsourcing of some local reportage to India, The Claremont Insider (also in California) is trying out the idea with their own Desi Correspondent, Anand Gupta, who gives it a spin in this special dispatch:
Greetings from Bangalore to all of our new readers. The Insider has contracted with Bangalore Poom Puhar News Source PLC to having us provide news of the luscious City of Claremont to its readership and to the World by means of the World Wide Web... Without further consternation, Here is today’s news of Claremont...
+ You'll laugh, you'll plotz, you'll tear your hair out! But: very entertaining, Anand! And gamely counteracts the dreaded MEGO Factor.
Yes, there's an amusing aspect to this, but there's a more serious aspect to it, also: much of this kind of news is strictly Snoozeville. And it wouldn't hurt for some publications to take another look at how they are covering this realm. Is it a Snooze? And, if so, could it be fresher?
...
Saturday, May 19
:
Bookish: SATURDAY EYE ON (5#) -
# Ooh, a rare treat: Karen Russell's book, new over there, is reviewed by Catherine Taylor. Karen is from Miami or Coral Gables. Says Taylor: "strongly reminiscent of Angela Carter but wonderfully confident and refreshing in its own right." She liked it! [grkr]
# Linguistics: David Crystal travelled around England in 2005 to research if and how accents and dialects of the UK have been changing. [grdc]
# Natasha Walter reviews Khaled Hosseini's new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, follow-up to his novel The Kite Runner. [grkh]
# The End of Innocence: In an extended and contemplative essay Pankaj Mishra explores how 9/11 impacted writers. Have they succeeded in capturing the new world order? [grpm]
# More: in the Guardian Review.
...
Bookish: SATURDAY EYE ON (5#) -
# Ooh, a rare treat: Karen Russell's book, new over there, is reviewed by Catherine Taylor. Karen is from Miami or Coral Gables. Says Taylor: "strongly reminiscent of Angela Carter but wonderfully confident and refreshing in its own right." She liked it! [grkr]
# Linguistics: David Crystal travelled around England in 2005 to research if and how accents and dialects of the UK have been changing. [grdc]
# Natasha Walter reviews Khaled Hosseini's new book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, follow-up to his novel The Kite Runner. [grkh]
# The End of Innocence: In an extended and contemplative essay Pankaj Mishra explores how 9/11 impacted writers. Have they succeeded in capturing the new world order? [grpm]
# More: in the Guardian Review.
...
:
PASADENA VIA CURRY WIRE -
The outsourcing of some local
reportage at Pasadena Now is
getting a lot of buzz on the net.
One blogger has posted a page
of Compiled Links about it. [elp]
I predict the issue is going to end up
as a skit on Saturday Night Live. It's
only a matter of time. And the skit
will have, no doubt, a zany touch.
...
PASADENA VIA CURRY WIRE -
The outsourcing of some local
reportage at Pasadena Now is
getting a lot of buzz on the net.
One blogger has posted a page
of Compiled Links about it. [elp]
I predict the issue is going to end up
as a skit on Saturday Night Live. It's
only a matter of time. And the skit
will have, no doubt, a zany touch.
...
Friday, May 18
:
Bookish: LITERARY LISTS (#2) -
Do Literary Lists have any value?
If you have the time and opportunity to wander around a book store, you may not need them very much. I love to browse, but sometimes it isn't possible. The lists can be helpful in giving you an awareness of new writers you might not come across otherwise. These are the 2 latest lists. You may even want to save them for your own personal future reference:
# "To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its first shop, Waterstone's has predicted the next generation of superstars. Jonathan Brown reads between the lines." [indep]
# Granta List: Best Young American Novelists. Christopher Tayler reviews the list and he's been keeping score. [tgraph]
...
Bookish: LITERARY LISTS (#2) -
Do Literary Lists have any value?
If you have the time and opportunity to wander around a book store, you may not need them very much. I love to browse, but sometimes it isn't possible. The lists can be helpful in giving you an awareness of new writers you might not come across otherwise. These are the 2 latest lists. You may even want to save them for your own personal future reference:
# "To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its first shop, Waterstone's has predicted the next generation of superstars. Jonathan Brown reads between the lines." [indep]
# Granta List: Best Young American Novelists. Christopher Tayler reviews the list and he's been keeping score. [tgraph]
...
:
SoFlo: NINJA ATTACK update -
RPG Discovered: Did a Bad Guy
Come Out of Cyberspace?
The Hollywood FL woman, Mrs McReynolds,
who was murdered by a guy dressed in an
all-black ninja-type outfit, was active with
her husband in an Internet Role Playing Game
called EVE Online. Her handle: Beachie88.
:: Miami Herald ::
...
SoFlo: NINJA ATTACK update -
RPG Discovered: Did a Bad Guy
Come Out of Cyberspace?
The Hollywood FL woman, Mrs McReynolds,
who was murdered by a guy dressed in an
all-black ninja-type outfit, was active with
her husband in an Internet Role Playing Game
called EVE Online. Her handle: Beachie88.
:: Miami Herald ::
...
Thursday, May 17
:
SoFlo: SINISTER SAFARI PARTY -
*Broward's public defender says the city of Fort Lauderdale is throwing homeless people in jail on flimsy charges, and he wants it to stop...
"If you are following the rules you have nothing to worry about from the prosecutor or the police,'' Mayor Jim Naugle said.*
The Mayor is lying by omission; his town has become notorious for a sinister form of entertainment there: hunting down, beating up and murdering homeless people. He conveniently didn't mention vigilantes. The facts speak for themselves.
A good article by Diana Moskovitz which
provides lots of contextual facts. [mherald]
...
SoFlo: SINISTER SAFARI PARTY -
*Broward's public defender says the city of Fort Lauderdale is throwing homeless people in jail on flimsy charges, and he wants it to stop...
"If you are following the rules you have nothing to worry about from the prosecutor or the police,'' Mayor Jim Naugle said.*
The Mayor is lying by omission; his town has become notorious for a sinister form of entertainment there: hunting down, beating up and murdering homeless people. He conveniently didn't mention vigilantes. The facts speak for themselves.
A good article by Diana Moskovitz which
provides lots of contextual facts. [mherald]
...
:
Florida: A BAGMAN'S LAW -
Three consumer and community groups have urged the Governor to veto Bill HB 1277 permitting "property managers" to require tenants to pay fees equal to two months rent if they move out early, asserting that it would enable landlords to collect rents from two tenants for the same space.
"Sometimes people have to leave an apartment because the landlord just won't make repairs, the complex isn't safe any more or they may even have to move for a job or military service..."
They don't even know who owns some of these apartment complexes, which can be used to cache illicit funds for foreign criminals, Drug Lords or even Triangle terrorists.
It is already common practice to pay 3x the rent up front in order to rent the apartment: one month security deposit plus the first and last month's rent.
The housing situation in
Broward County is horrible.
:: Tampa TBO ::
...
Florida: A BAGMAN'S LAW -
Three consumer and community groups have urged the Governor to veto Bill HB 1277 permitting "property managers" to require tenants to pay fees equal to two months rent if they move out early, asserting that it would enable landlords to collect rents from two tenants for the same space.
"Sometimes people have to leave an apartment because the landlord just won't make repairs, the complex isn't safe any more or they may even have to move for a job or military service..."
They don't even know who owns some of these apartment complexes, which can be used to cache illicit funds for foreign criminals, Drug Lords or even Triangle terrorists.
It is already common practice to pay 3x the rent up front in order to rent the apartment: one month security deposit plus the first and last month's rent.
The housing situation in
Broward County is horrible.
:: Tampa TBO ::
...
:
BRIT THINK TANK:
IRAQI DOOMSDAY AT HAND -
A Chatham House report called Accepting Realities in Iraq says that Iraq faces the prospect of collapse.
As a society, I'd say that Iraq has already collapsed and needs to reconstitute itself.
But the modern nation state is a corporation. And this corporation still exists; it's just having problems functioning. Nations have emerged from colonialization and from occupation and from the Iron Curtain. Iraq is in the process of transitioning from dictatorship.
When you read this report, you should do so with some perspective. No doubt it will be much discussed. [bbc]
...
BRIT THINK TANK:
IRAQI DOOMSDAY AT HAND -
A Chatham House report called Accepting Realities in Iraq says that Iraq faces the prospect of collapse.
As a society, I'd say that Iraq has already collapsed and needs to reconstitute itself.
But the modern nation state is a corporation. And this corporation still exists; it's just having problems functioning. Nations have emerged from colonialization and from occupation and from the Iron Curtain. Iraq is in the process of transitioning from dictatorship.
When you read this report, you should do so with some perspective. No doubt it will be much discussed. [bbc]
...
:
MORE DOPE UP AMERICA -
*Buying prescription drugs illegally
over the Internet is on the rise in the
United States, according to witnesses
testifying before a Senate panel yesterday.*
The article mentions OxyContin, Vicodin
and Ritalin but doesn't mention steroids.
:: By Gregory Lopes ::
-- WashTimes --
...
MORE DOPE UP AMERICA -
*Buying prescription drugs illegally
over the Internet is on the rise in the
United States, according to witnesses
testifying before a Senate panel yesterday.*
The article mentions OxyContin, Vicodin
and Ritalin but doesn't mention steroids.
:: By Gregory Lopes ::
-- WashTimes --
...
Wednesday, May 16
:
SoFlo: LOOSE LINKS (4#) -
# "Broward County's population is
expected to grow by almost 400,000
in the next 13 years, county planners
say." If they don't destroy it first. [sent]
# Eric Deggans reports the redesign
of local news publications. [feed]
# "There ought to be a website for
reviews and discussion of Florida books."
There is now! [bookrev]
But their blog is just getting started.
...
SoFlo: LOOSE LINKS (4#) -
# "Broward County's population is
expected to grow by almost 400,000
in the next 13 years, county planners
say." If they don't destroy it first. [sent]
# Eric Deggans reports the redesign
of local news publications. [feed]
# "There ought to be a website for
reviews and discussion of Florida books."
There is now! [bookrev]
But their blog is just getting started.
...
Tuesday, May 15
:
CYBER CONNECTS (2#) -
# Conference announced for this Friday
on internet censorship and filtering,
according to Richard Sambrook's Blog.
# Cyberstalker: Fan of music group
goes way overboard; researched and
written up by David Kushner. Some
readers may find this article fascinating,
while others may get bogged down. [wired]
...
CYBER CONNECTS (2#) -
# Conference announced for this Friday
on internet censorship and filtering,
according to Richard Sambrook's Blog.
# Cyberstalker: Fan of music group
goes way overboard; researched and
written up by David Kushner. Some
readers may find this article fascinating,
while others may get bogged down. [wired]
...
:
Bookish: HIS WAR -
Colby Buzzell was awarded
the £5,000 Lulu Blooker prize for
My War: Killing Time in Iraq, which
was voted the best book of the year
based on a blog. It triumphed over
110 entries from 15 countries.
His listed "literary idols" are:
Kurt Vonnegut and Hunter S Thompson
Ed Pilkington provides a brief
sample of Buzzell's writing.
:: Guardian Books ::
...
Bookish: HIS WAR -
Colby Buzzell was awarded
the £5,000 Lulu Blooker prize for
My War: Killing Time in Iraq, which
was voted the best book of the year
based on a blog. It triumphed over
110 entries from 15 countries.
His listed "literary idols" are:
Kurt Vonnegut and Hunter S Thompson
Ed Pilkington provides a brief
sample of Buzzell's writing.
:: Guardian Books ::
...
:
DADULLAH'S ZOMBIES -
During an interview conducted only
24 hours before Dadullah was killed,
he "stated that American and British
Al-Qaida recruits are in the midst of
planning and training for new terrorist
strikes in their home countries,"
Evan Kohlmann reports. [conterror]
...
DADULLAH'S ZOMBIES -
During an interview conducted only
24 hours before Dadullah was killed,
he "stated that American and British
Al-Qaida recruits are in the midst of
planning and training for new terrorist
strikes in their home countries,"
Evan Kohlmann reports. [conterror]
...
Monday, May 14
:
OUTSOURCING -
Smoke and Mirrors -
News coverage of Pasadena California's
Municipal Council meetings and related
matters will be outsourced to Bangalore,
India, for Pasadena Now.
I can only hope it will be written
in that wonderful Hinglish dialect
vernacular which will keep it fresh!
:: EditorsWeblog ::
...
OUTSOURCING -
Smoke and Mirrors -
News coverage of Pasadena California's
Municipal Council meetings and related
matters will be outsourced to Bangalore,
India, for Pasadena Now.
I can only hope it will be written
in that wonderful Hinglish dialect
vernacular which will keep it fresh!
:: EditorsWeblog ::
...
:
BY THEIR HANDS
& THRU THEIR EYES -
Often one of the first things Iraqi readers
turn to in newspapers is their political
cartoons which deal with a wide range of
subjects: corruption, kidnappings,
government inaction and the U.S. military.
Short feature from:
:: USAToday ::
...
BY THEIR HANDS
& THRU THEIR EYES -
Often one of the first things Iraqi readers
turn to in newspapers is their political
cartoons which deal with a wide range of
subjects: corruption, kidnappings,
government inaction and the U.S. military.
Short feature from:
:: USAToday ::
...
:
TROG NOTES -
Josh Gitlin is calling for a
truce between Book Reviewers
(on paper) and LitBloggers.
But maybe Vinnie in the basement
isn't interested in making nice...
Only Time will tell...
:: LATimes ::
...
TROG NOTES -
Josh Gitlin is calling for a
truce between Book Reviewers
(on paper) and LitBloggers.
But maybe Vinnie in the basement
isn't interested in making nice...
Only Time will tell...
:: LATimes ::
...
:
IT WAS A DARK & STORMY NIGHT...
Guy Dammann recently asked
readers of the Guardian Books Blog:
"What's your favourite first line?
Don't judge a book by its cover. First
sentences are fair game, though."
The first response in the comment thread was predictable; it was the opening line of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Yes, I agree, it's a classic.
But once past that standard, there are a number of other familiar picks people often come up with like the beginning of Camus' The Stranger, and so forth.
It seemed to me the occasion called for something more. And so I'll share with you one of my own personal favorites:
*It is a curious thing that at my age-- fifty-five last birthday-- I should find myself taking up a pen to try to write a history. I wonder what sort of a history it will be when I have finished it, if ever I come to the end of the trip! ...
Because I am going to tell the strangest story that I remember... At any rate, I can safely say that there is not a petticoat in the whole history.*
This is the beginning of
King Solomon's Mines
by H Rider Haggard.
And, for the benefit of some of my readers who drop in to my blog via satellite from back of the beyond, somewhere near the Khyber Pass or even more remote, as you are wont to do, I shall provide you with a link to the online text of the book on Project Gutenberg :-)
Just in case the evenings where you are seem to drag on with only the sporadic call of a hyena or the yipping of jackals running past your window to punctuate the time, now you can plug into the Victorian Era, a hundred years ago, to read a great, old-fashioned, rip-roaring yarn. Enjoy!
:: Gutenberg E-text #2166 ::
...
IT WAS A DARK & STORMY NIGHT...
Guy Dammann recently asked
readers of the Guardian Books Blog:
"What's your favourite first line?
Don't judge a book by its cover. First
sentences are fair game, though."
The first response in the comment thread was predictable; it was the opening line of Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. Yes, I agree, it's a classic.
But once past that standard, there are a number of other familiar picks people often come up with like the beginning of Camus' The Stranger, and so forth.
It seemed to me the occasion called for something more. And so I'll share with you one of my own personal favorites:
*It is a curious thing that at my age-- fifty-five last birthday-- I should find myself taking up a pen to try to write a history. I wonder what sort of a history it will be when I have finished it, if ever I come to the end of the trip! ...
Because I am going to tell the strangest story that I remember... At any rate, I can safely say that there is not a petticoat in the whole history.*
This is the beginning of
King Solomon's Mines
by H Rider Haggard.
And, for the benefit of some of my readers who drop in to my blog via satellite from back of the beyond, somewhere near the Khyber Pass or even more remote, as you are wont to do, I shall provide you with a link to the online text of the book on Project Gutenberg :-)
Just in case the evenings where you are seem to drag on with only the sporadic call of a hyena or the yipping of jackals running past your window to punctuate the time, now you can plug into the Victorian Era, a hundred years ago, to read a great, old-fashioned, rip-roaring yarn. Enjoy!
:: Gutenberg E-text #2166 ::
...
:
CONSPIRACY THEORIES (4#) -
in the news today . . .
# Eurovision 2007:
Everything Eurovision [bbc]
Eurovision Cold War [tdm]
Song contest spawns controversies.
============================
# Fatima: 90th anniversary [times]
The Three "Secrets of Fatima"
*The Vatican tried yesterday to
draw a line under a conspiracy
theory... that it was harbouring
details of the predicted apocalypse.*
============================
# Freemasonry and
Glasgow's Necropolis [herald]
...
CONSPIRACY THEORIES (4#) -
in the news today . . .
# Eurovision 2007:
Everything Eurovision [bbc]
Eurovision Cold War [tdm]
Song contest spawns controversies.
============================
# Fatima: 90th anniversary [times]
The Three "Secrets of Fatima"
*The Vatican tried yesterday to
draw a line under a conspiracy
theory... that it was harbouring
details of the predicted apocalypse.*
============================
# Freemasonry and
Glasgow's Necropolis [herald]
...
Sunday, May 13
:
EGYPT'S INSULTING BLOGGERS -
On May 10th, Judge Abdel Fattah Murad
added another 29 new blogs and websites
to his earlier list of 21 websites for allegedly:
"defaming Egypt, insulting President Mubarak
and himself," making a total of 50 - for the moment.
:: Nora Younis perma ::
...
EGYPT'S INSULTING BLOGGERS -
On May 10th, Judge Abdel Fattah Murad
added another 29 new blogs and websites
to his earlier list of 21 websites for allegedly:
"defaming Egypt, insulting President Mubarak
and himself," making a total of 50 - for the moment.
:: Nora Younis perma ::
...
:
LOOSE LINKS (3#) -
ISLAMIST INSULT PATROL
SLAMS DOWN ON TUFTS:
Eugene Volokh explores the case.
============================
CONRAD BLACK TRIAL update:
"This week Black took more blows, these delivered by David Radler, his partner of 38 years, an admitted liar and now the prosecution's star witness."
:: Summary written by:
Ann Woolner for Bloomberg.
============================
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER: David Cameron, the Tory leader, left his £1 million home in Notting Hill to spend two days living with a British Asian family in Birmingham.
"Pictures of Mr Cameron sipping tea with the family resembled a scene from the Kumars at No42, the hit BBC comedy series about a British Indian family who take in famous guests for the night."
...
LOOSE LINKS (3#) -
ISLAMIST INSULT PATROL
SLAMS DOWN ON TUFTS:
Eugene Volokh explores the case.
============================
CONRAD BLACK TRIAL update:
"This week Black took more blows, these delivered by David Radler, his partner of 38 years, an admitted liar and now the prosecution's star witness."
:: Summary written by:
Ann Woolner for Bloomberg.
============================
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER: David Cameron, the Tory leader, left his £1 million home in Notting Hill to spend two days living with a British Asian family in Birmingham.
"Pictures of Mr Cameron sipping tea with the family resembled a scene from the Kumars at No42, the hit BBC comedy series about a British Indian family who take in famous guests for the night."
...
Saturday, May 12
:
MIND SHRINK GOES POSTAL -
*In July, thousands of small magazines
will see 20% hikes in their mailing costs.
Increases for larger magazines will be
much lower, and critics say that’s because
Time Warner created the new rate scheme.
U.S. Postal Regulatory Commissioner
Ruth Goldway insists it’s a fair plan, but
Free Press President Bob McChesney says it
undercuts a basic tenet of American democracy.*
:: On The Media ::
...
MIND SHRINK GOES POSTAL -
*In July, thousands of small magazines
will see 20% hikes in their mailing costs.
Increases for larger magazines will be
much lower, and critics say that’s because
Time Warner created the new rate scheme.
U.S. Postal Regulatory Commissioner
Ruth Goldway insists it’s a fair plan, but
Free Press President Bob McChesney says it
undercuts a basic tenet of American democracy.*
:: On The Media ::
...
:
SoFlo's ISLAMIC WEEKEND (2#) -
# Have you noticed your
weekends getting more Islamic lately?
In this South Florida Sun-Sentinel article by Ken Kaye, the report about the smokey blanket covering us is interpolated with the prayers of Muslims "throughout the state," according to Altaf Ali, South Florida executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for no apparent reason. [sentinel]
Other religions are not praying for rain, too?
8:06pm front page update:
Smoke from distant wildifres
grew thicker in the skies above
South Florida on Saturday...
# West Boca Raton doctor testifies
he believes in holy war. [sentinel]
...
SoFlo's ISLAMIC WEEKEND (2#) -
# Have you noticed your
weekends getting more Islamic lately?
In this South Florida Sun-Sentinel article by Ken Kaye, the report about the smokey blanket covering us is interpolated with the prayers of Muslims "throughout the state," according to Altaf Ali, South Florida executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for no apparent reason. [sentinel]
Other religions are not praying for rain, too?
8:06pm front page update:
Smoke from distant wildifres
grew thicker in the skies above
South Florida on Saturday...
# West Boca Raton doctor testifies
he believes in holy war. [sentinel]
...
Friday, May 11
:
Bookish: NOIR IN THE 'HOOD -
Coming up in the Akashic Noir Series:
> Bronx Noir due to debut this August
(edited by SJ Rozan) and
> Havana Noir scheduled for October
(edited by Achy Obejas). [akashic]
...
Bookish: NOIR IN THE 'HOOD -
Coming up in the Akashic Noir Series:
> Bronx Noir due to debut this August
(edited by SJ Rozan) and
> Havana Noir scheduled for October
(edited by Achy Obejas). [akashic]
...
:
SoFlo: NEWSPAPER CHANGES -
Palm Beach Columnist
Howard Goodman is "shifting."
Via Romenesko we learn that he is departing
the print sector to become BlogMeister
for the SF Sun-Sentinel. [sent]
...
SoFlo: NEWSPAPER CHANGES -
Palm Beach Columnist
Howard Goodman is "shifting."
Via Romenesko we learn that he is departing
the print sector to become BlogMeister
for the SF Sun-Sentinel. [sent]
...
Thursday, May 10
:
SoFlo: NINJA VICTIM DEAD -
The woman who was the target of
an assassination attempt Monday has
been officially declared dead by the ME.
The police have not yet determined
who hired the hitman. [sent]
...
SoFlo: NINJA VICTIM DEAD -
The woman who was the target of
an assassination attempt Monday has
been officially declared dead by the ME.
The police have not yet determined
who hired the hitman. [sent]
...
:
SoFlo: AM I
BLOCKING YR SUNSHINE? -
Cooper City's newly-elected Commissioner John Sims still has his Blog, but the link to it has been removed from the city's website. Because it wasn't written in Hungarian?
Reporter Georgia East discloses other Blogs which maybe you shouldn't discover too easily either. And it looks like the comment thread already contains a correction. [sent]
...
SoFlo: AM I
BLOCKING YR SUNSHINE? -
Cooper City's newly-elected Commissioner John Sims still has his Blog, but the link to it has been removed from the city's website. Because it wasn't written in Hungarian?
Reporter Georgia East discloses other Blogs which maybe you shouldn't discover too easily either. And it looks like the comment thread already contains a correction. [sent]
...
:
SoFlo: MISSING PRIVATE EYE -
Broward County's missing Private Eye, Robert Levinson, was supposedly investigating a cigarette-smuggling operation, according to a fugitive suspected assassin who claims he was with the Floridian on the day he disappeared.
But perhaps that is just someone's cover story... and perhaps there is another box inside that box which is yet to be opened...
:: By Pat Milton AP/TBO ::
...
SoFlo: MISSING PRIVATE EYE -
Broward County's missing Private Eye, Robert Levinson, was supposedly investigating a cigarette-smuggling operation, according to a fugitive suspected assassin who claims he was with the Floridian on the day he disappeared.
But perhaps that is just someone's cover story... and perhaps there is another box inside that box which is yet to be opened...
:: By Pat Milton AP/TBO ::
...
:
DOPE UP AMERICA -
Perdue Pharma and three of its current
and former executives, pleaded guilty
Thursday to misleading the public about
OxyContin's risk of addiction, a federal
prosecutor and the company said. [cbs/ap]
...
DOPE UP AMERICA -
Perdue Pharma and three of its current
and former executives, pleaded guilty
Thursday to misleading the public about
OxyContin's risk of addiction, a federal
prosecutor and the company said. [cbs/ap]
...
:
ARE WE THERE YET? -
The Death of Literacy in SoFlo -
Nathan Englander was scheduled to make an appearance at Books & Books in Coral Gables last evening. If there is anyone left in South Florida who is English-language literate and who attended the occasion, please share at least a few paragraphs with us about your experience there.
I am rather doubtful that anyone in South Florida can produce even one paragraph about the event last night. Sadly, there is no longer anyone in South Florida who is English-language literate with only rare exceptions.
My next-door neighbor is a nice young Russian gal who speaks only minimal English. Most of the newspapers sold in South Broward County are in French from November through April. There is no one else in my neighborhood who is English-language literate. That's why there are so few English-language Blogs from Broward County. And that's only the visible tip of a much larger iceberg.
...
ARE WE THERE YET? -
The Death of Literacy in SoFlo -
Nathan Englander was scheduled to make an appearance at Books & Books in Coral Gables last evening. If there is anyone left in South Florida who is English-language literate and who attended the occasion, please share at least a few paragraphs with us about your experience there.
I am rather doubtful that anyone in South Florida can produce even one paragraph about the event last night. Sadly, there is no longer anyone in South Florida who is English-language literate with only rare exceptions.
My next-door neighbor is a nice young Russian gal who speaks only minimal English. Most of the newspapers sold in South Broward County are in French from November through April. There is no one else in my neighborhood who is English-language literate. That's why there are so few English-language Blogs from Broward County. And that's only the visible tip of a much larger iceberg.
...
Wednesday, May 9
:
CRIMES OF OUR TIMES (2#) -
# CYBERSPHERE: Steve Huff, a topnotch True Crime writer, calls our attention to an under-reported murder investigation involving some notable hi-tech Cybersphere denizens in California which he has been scrutinizing. [huff]
# WEREWOLVES OF LONDON: The 18-year-old son of a music industry tycoon worth millions allegedly kicked to death a middle-aged telecom executive in the streets of an uppercrust suburban neighborhood last December. Now the young man and his alleged accomplice are on trial for it. [tilondon]
...
CRIMES OF OUR TIMES (2#) -
# CYBERSPHERE: Steve Huff, a topnotch True Crime writer, calls our attention to an under-reported murder investigation involving some notable hi-tech Cybersphere denizens in California which he has been scrutinizing. [huff]
# WEREWOLVES OF LONDON: The 18-year-old son of a music industry tycoon worth millions allegedly kicked to death a middle-aged telecom executive in the streets of an uppercrust suburban neighborhood last December. Now the young man and his alleged accomplice are on trial for it. [tilondon]
...
:
VIENNA LIBRARY
TURNS UP THE HEAT -
Birdie at LIS News reports that Vienna's
Public Library is fundraising by means of
erotic readings from their collection of
Victorian Era Literature via pay phone calls.
The catch? It's in German. But don't worry;
Birdie's got you covered. [lisnews]
...
VIENNA LIBRARY
TURNS UP THE HEAT -
Birdie at LIS News reports that Vienna's
Public Library is fundraising by means of
erotic readings from their collection of
Victorian Era Literature via pay phone calls.
The catch? It's in German. But don't worry;
Birdie's got you covered. [lisnews]
...
Tuesday, May 8
:
ALEX: BEST INTERESTS -
Dog gets guardian ad litem -
Alex, a 13-year-old Golden Retriever,
became the subject of a custody disarray
after his owner died. As a result,
Paul Royal became his attorney.
And therein lies this tail/tale...
:: From CNN ::
...
ALEX: BEST INTERESTS -
Dog gets guardian ad litem -
Alex, a 13-year-old Golden Retriever,
became the subject of a custody disarray
after his owner died. As a result,
Paul Royal became his attorney.
And therein lies this tail/tale...
:: From CNN ::
...
:
NEWSPAPER DYNASTIES -
"As dull as a dashboard"
*Families with voting stock in a company several generations down from their founders are often problematic. In the case of newspaper dynasties facing potential takeovers, where kudos as well as profits have diminished over the years, conflict of opinion is common.*
:: By Edward Helmore ::
-- The First Post --
...
NEWSPAPER DYNASTIES -
"As dull as a dashboard"
*Families with voting stock in a company several generations down from their founders are often problematic. In the case of newspaper dynasties facing potential takeovers, where kudos as well as profits have diminished over the years, conflict of opinion is common.*
:: By Edward Helmore ::
-- The First Post --
...
:
BAGHDAD: CHRISTIANS FLEEING -
An exodus of Christians is under way
in the southern district of Dora [in Baghdad]
after groups affiliated to al-Qa'eda issued
a threat of "convert or be killed."
:: By Damien McElroy ::
-- UK Telegraph --
...
BAGHDAD: CHRISTIANS FLEEING -
An exodus of Christians is under way
in the southern district of Dora [in Baghdad]
after groups affiliated to al-Qa'eda issued
a threat of "convert or be killed."
:: By Damien McElroy ::
-- UK Telegraph --
...
Monday, May 7
:
SoFlo: APOCRYPHAL TANGO -
This must be Nathan Englander's week in SoFlo; he's scheduled to appear at Books & Books in Coral Gables on Wed evening.
Miami-based Ellen Kanner wrote up a nice article about him and his new book for the Sunday Edition of The Miami Herald.
In contrast, the SF Sun-Sentinel, which costs twice as much, used an AP wire service story on him.
...
SoFlo: APOCRYPHAL TANGO -
This must be Nathan Englander's week in SoFlo; he's scheduled to appear at Books & Books in Coral Gables on Wed evening.
Miami-based Ellen Kanner wrote up a nice article about him and his new book for the Sunday Edition of The Miami Herald.
In contrast, the SF Sun-Sentinel, which costs twice as much, used an AP wire service story on him.
...
:
SoFlo: WANNABE NINJA STRIKES -
There was a home invasion this morning in which a mother and daughter were both shot. Often in Florida, no BOLO descriptions whatsoever are made available, but this time a few attributes have dribbled out:
# *The armed suspect, who was wearing a black bandanna and gloves, entered the home Monday, around 8am.* [wsvn]
# *A man "dressed totally in black, wearing a black hoodie and also a black bandana covering his face," broke into the home about 8am.* [local10]
# *The police officers who arrived on the scene said they found a 19-year-old woman shot in the leg. The woman told police that her 40-year-old mother had been shot various times, including once to her head.* [nbc6]
...
SoFlo: WANNABE NINJA STRIKES -
There was a home invasion this morning in which a mother and daughter were both shot. Often in Florida, no BOLO descriptions whatsoever are made available, but this time a few attributes have dribbled out:
# *The armed suspect, who was wearing a black bandanna and gloves, entered the home Monday, around 8am.* [wsvn]
# *A man "dressed totally in black, wearing a black hoodie and also a black bandana covering his face," broke into the home about 8am.* [local10]
# *The police officers who arrived on the scene said they found a 19-year-old woman shot in the leg. The woman told police that her 40-year-old mother had been shot various times, including once to her head.* [nbc6]
...
Sunday, May 6
:
A TALE OF SUCCESS -
The UK Mail on Sunday
celebrates its 25th birthday.
Its motto is:
A newspaper, not a snoozepaper.
This article by William Rees-Mogg is
recommended to everyone who is interested
in newspapers and journalism. [mail]
+ Typo corrected: 5/9.
...
A TALE OF SUCCESS -
The UK Mail on Sunday
celebrates its 25th birthday.
Its motto is:
A newspaper, not a snoozepaper.
This article by William Rees-Mogg is
recommended to everyone who is interested
in newspapers and journalism. [mail]
+ Typo corrected: 5/9.
...
:
FRANCE: SARCOZY WINS ! -
Front Page on France 24:
*Nicolas Sarkozy elected President: Conservative favourite Nicolas Sarkozy has won France's presidential election run-off on Sunday with 53 % votes according to projections from TNS-Sofres Logica CMG for TF1, RTL and FRANCE 24. His opponent, Ségolène Royal trailed behind with 47% votes.*
:: France 24 ::
...
FRANCE: SARCOZY WINS ! -
Front Page on France 24:
*Nicolas Sarkozy elected President: Conservative favourite Nicolas Sarkozy has won France's presidential election run-off on Sunday with 53 % votes according to projections from TNS-Sofres Logica CMG for TF1, RTL and FRANCE 24. His opponent, Ségolène Royal trailed behind with 47% votes.*
:: France 24 ::
...
Saturday, May 5
:
SAT BOOK NOTES (5#) -
# ECHOES OF ROTH: Sarah Weinman reviews Nathan Englander's new book, The Ministry of Special Cases. [philly]
# DANCING INTO DANGER: An exotic dancer in an adult entertainment nightclub has a one-night stand with a man she assumes is a drug dealer only to subsequently discover that he is being depicted in a TV newscast as a fugitive terrorist and that she has been captured on a surveillance camera tape with him. The Unknown Terrorist by Richard Flanagan. Reviewed by Toby Clements. [tgraph]
# 'Hard-Boiled on Ice': C Max Magee writes a thoughtful review of The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon and gives it mixed points, some positive and some negative.
# An earlier, preliminary essay by Chabon.
# A Chabon review by
Benjamin Lytal. He liked it.
...
SAT BOOK NOTES (5#) -
# ECHOES OF ROTH: Sarah Weinman reviews Nathan Englander's new book, The Ministry of Special Cases. [philly]
# DANCING INTO DANGER: An exotic dancer in an adult entertainment nightclub has a one-night stand with a man she assumes is a drug dealer only to subsequently discover that he is being depicted in a TV newscast as a fugitive terrorist and that she has been captured on a surveillance camera tape with him. The Unknown Terrorist by Richard Flanagan. Reviewed by Toby Clements. [tgraph]
# 'Hard-Boiled on Ice': C Max Magee writes a thoughtful review of The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon and gives it mixed points, some positive and some negative.
# An earlier, preliminary essay by Chabon.
# A Chabon review by
Benjamin Lytal. He liked it.
...
Friday, May 4
:
BRIEFLY NOTED (3#) -
# Iraqi Editorial Cartoonist Wins International Competition: Cartoon by Mohammed Al-Adwani shows an Iraqi newspaper delivery boy who has to work with four bodyguards by his side. Has link to cartoon. (But he is identified as Iranian there.) [E&P]
# A BBC Roundup of some Iraqi Blogs [bbc]
# Al Neuharth, USA TODAY Founder: "When Murdoch completes his deal for Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, the mood about newspaper-oriented media companies across the USA will shift from survive to thrive." [usat]
...
BRIEFLY NOTED (3#) -
# Iraqi Editorial Cartoonist Wins International Competition: Cartoon by Mohammed Al-Adwani shows an Iraqi newspaper delivery boy who has to work with four bodyguards by his side. Has link to cartoon. (But he is identified as Iranian there.) [E&P]
# A BBC Roundup of some Iraqi Blogs [bbc]
# Al Neuharth, USA TODAY Founder: "When Murdoch completes his deal for Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal, the mood about newspaper-oriented media companies across the USA will shift from survive to thrive." [usat]
...
Thursday, May 3
:
SoFlo: MOSQUE NIMBY FILED (2#) -
Rodney Wright has filed a NIMBY action to halt the establishment of a mosque in his Pompano Beach neighborhood which includes allegations that the mosque leader, Hassan Sabri, has associated with terrorist groups. [ap/spt]
Altaf Ali, executive director of the South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations [aka CAIR], which is also named as a defendant in the suit said:
"I look at this as an act of religious intimidation."
Altaf Ali told the FBI on Wednesday that he
has received a death threat in the mail. [sent]
...
SoFlo: MOSQUE NIMBY FILED (2#) -
Rodney Wright has filed a NIMBY action to halt the establishment of a mosque in his Pompano Beach neighborhood which includes allegations that the mosque leader, Hassan Sabri, has associated with terrorist groups. [ap/spt]
Altaf Ali, executive director of the South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations [aka CAIR], which is also named as a defendant in the suit said:
"I look at this as an act of religious intimidation."
Altaf Ali told the FBI on Wednesday that he
has received a death threat in the mail. [sent]
...
:
READINGS (3#) -
# Bill Peschel reviews a graphic novel
about Harry Houdini and provides
lotsa links related to it. [perma]
=============================
# Guest-Blogger Nathan Englander writes
about The Possibilities of Blogging for Powell's:
"I know this is an unsophisticated thing to admit, but it's nice and meaningful the first time you hear your book is spotted outside a store being read."
=============================
# Interview with Mark Ames, author
of Going Postal at Abe Books Blog:
"The mass media sees its role as
something like a giant Hallmark card."
...
READINGS (3#) -
# Bill Peschel reviews a graphic novel
about Harry Houdini and provides
lotsa links related to it. [perma]
=============================
# Guest-Blogger Nathan Englander writes
about The Possibilities of Blogging for Powell's:
"I know this is an unsophisticated thing to admit, but it's nice and meaningful the first time you hear your book is spotted outside a store being read."
=============================
# Interview with Mark Ames, author
of Going Postal at Abe Books Blog:
"The mass media sees its role as
something like a giant Hallmark card."
...
Tuesday, May 1
:
FCC'S TAMPA MEET (4#) -
# At an FCC hearing, both supporters
and critics of convergence have their say:
"I don't think the people sitting
in this hall represent the average
news consumer in Tampa Bay."
--From an Eric Deggans column
# Deggans: Media Ownership
in Tampa Bay: Who Owns What
# Pat Walters on Poynter:
Big Media: Good, Bad or Both?
(original link not recording here)
# Florida newspaper
readers dwindle [spt]
+Typo fixed May 3rd.
...
FCC'S TAMPA MEET (4#) -
# At an FCC hearing, both supporters
and critics of convergence have their say:
"I don't think the people sitting
in this hall represent the average
news consumer in Tampa Bay."
--From an Eric Deggans column
# Deggans: Media Ownership
in Tampa Bay: Who Owns What
# Pat Walters on Poynter:
Big Media: Good, Bad or Both?
(original link not recording here)
# Florida newspaper
readers dwindle [spt]
+Typo fixed May 3rd.
...
:
MORE ON CHO
AND VIRGINIA TECH (2#) -
# Why NBC Was Right
to Air Cho Package by Kevin Sites:
The public was able to gain "a visual understanding of what someone who is capable of this kind of violence is like, may be in a better position than law enforcement to spot the early warning signs and prevent another massacre." [cjr]
# Virginia Tech J-School Class
Writing First Book on Massacre
By Joe Strupp [E&P]
+ For those who are interested, but late to the topic, I blogged numerous entries on both Seung-Hui Cho and the Virginia Tech massacre, which you can find below.
...
MORE ON CHO
AND VIRGINIA TECH (2#) -
# Why NBC Was Right
to Air Cho Package by Kevin Sites:
The public was able to gain "a visual understanding of what someone who is capable of this kind of violence is like, may be in a better position than law enforcement to spot the early warning signs and prevent another massacre." [cjr]
# Virginia Tech J-School Class
Writing First Book on Massacre
By Joe Strupp [E&P]
+ For those who are interested, but late to the topic, I blogged numerous entries on both Seung-Hui Cho and the Virginia Tech massacre, which you can find below.
...
:
OIL SLICKS (4#) -
Talk about Bad Hair days!
British Petroleum (BP) had one today.
Money, Sex, Power; it's all there:
# Orinoco: *British Petroleum... and others... remain locked in a struggle with the Chavez government over the terms and conditions under which they will be allowed to stay on as minority partners. President Hugo Chavez's government took over Venezuela's last privately run oil fields Tuesday, intensifying a power struggle with international companies over the world's largest known petroleum deposit.* [bostglobe]
# BP chief resigns after lying over affair with gay lover: *He lied to the court about how he met 27-year-old Mr Chevalier - they split up last year after four years together - and falsely accused the young Canadian of having drink and drug problems... Mr Chevalier, a computer operator from Toronto, shared Browne's millionaire lifestyle for four years.* [dmail]
# *Lord Browne told the court that he had met Mr Chevalier in Battersea Park in London. In fact they had met on a male escort website.* [bbc]
# Lord Browne's former lover, Jeff Chavalier, has been recording his personal thoughts in an Internet diary on Facebook. [dmail]
...
OIL SLICKS (4#) -
Talk about Bad Hair days!
British Petroleum (BP) had one today.
Money, Sex, Power; it's all there:
# Orinoco: *British Petroleum... and others... remain locked in a struggle with the Chavez government over the terms and conditions under which they will be allowed to stay on as minority partners. President Hugo Chavez's government took over Venezuela's last privately run oil fields Tuesday, intensifying a power struggle with international companies over the world's largest known petroleum deposit.* [bostglobe]
# BP chief resigns after lying over affair with gay lover: *He lied to the court about how he met 27-year-old Mr Chevalier - they split up last year after four years together - and falsely accused the young Canadian of having drink and drug problems... Mr Chevalier, a computer operator from Toronto, shared Browne's millionaire lifestyle for four years.* [dmail]
# *Lord Browne told the court that he had met Mr Chevalier in Battersea Park in London. In fact they had met on a male escort website.* [bbc]
# Lord Browne's former lover, Jeff Chavalier, has been recording his personal thoughts in an Internet diary on Facebook. [dmail]
...
:
SoFlo: FCC HEARD AN EARFUL -
No doubt we'll be hearing a lot more about this meeting held Monday evening, but what follows is from a preliminary report by Richard Mullins at the Tampa Tribune which is owned by Media General:
*About 300 people attended the hearing at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, the fourth of six the FCC plans to hold across the country... Many people said media outlets already are too consolidated among a few companies.*
"We have to be very concerned about increasing consolidation to where we have too few voices in a market while also taking into context adjustments in technology... do we want to make sure Internet sites are not just mining the same sources that are used by the existing content providers and media companies."
--FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin
spoke backstage during a break.
+ Well, if he was referring to Fair Use, there already are established rules for it. And I try to follow them.
...
SoFlo: FCC HEARD AN EARFUL -
No doubt we'll be hearing a lot more about this meeting held Monday evening, but what follows is from a preliminary report by Richard Mullins at the Tampa Tribune which is owned by Media General:
*About 300 people attended the hearing at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, the fourth of six the FCC plans to hold across the country... Many people said media outlets already are too consolidated among a few companies.*
"We have to be very concerned about increasing consolidation to where we have too few voices in a market while also taking into context adjustments in technology... do we want to make sure Internet sites are not just mining the same sources that are used by the existing content providers and media companies."
--FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin
spoke backstage during a break.
+ Well, if he was referring to Fair Use, there already are established rules for it. And I try to follow them.
...
Monday, April 30
:
SPOOKS WHO WRITE -
Richard Willing reports that the resources of the CIA's review board which has to blue-pencil classified or sensitive material out of all the books that its employees write are being strained by an upsurge in authoring.
The Central Intelligence Agency says it hears from about 100 would-be authors each month seeking the permission-- a requirement for all former spy agency workers... The agency even had its own in-house writer's support group called Invisible Ink.
:: USAToday ::
...
SPOOKS WHO WRITE -
Richard Willing reports that the resources of the CIA's review board which has to blue-pencil classified or sensitive material out of all the books that its employees write are being strained by an upsurge in authoring.
The Central Intelligence Agency says it hears from about 100 would-be authors each month seeking the permission-- a requirement for all former spy agency workers... The agency even had its own in-house writer's support group called Invisible Ink.
:: USAToday ::
...
:
CAPUS CAMEO -
Howie Kurtz interviews NBC News Chief Steve Capus who had to make two tough decisions recently: Don Imus and the airing of the Cho Manifesto material. [wapo-rr]
Incidentally, the BBC extracted the text of Seung Hui Cho's discourse. They're good at that sort of thing. I don't know why, but I can't get the link to work; it won't post here. If you want the text, you'll find it in the American Section over there.
...
CAPUS CAMEO -
Howie Kurtz interviews NBC News Chief Steve Capus who had to make two tough decisions recently: Don Imus and the airing of the Cho Manifesto material. [wapo-rr]
Incidentally, the BBC extracted the text of Seung Hui Cho's discourse. They're good at that sort of thing. I don't know why, but I can't get the link to work; it won't post here. If you want the text, you'll find it in the American Section over there.
...
:
KC MALL SHOOTER ID'd:
Disgruntled Former Employee -
*David W. Logsdon, 51, a former Target employee who was turned down for a private security license and planned to "cause havoc" was identified Monday as the man suspected of killing two people in a crowded mall parking lot before he was shot by police.* [usat]
...
KC MALL SHOOTER ID'd:
Disgruntled Former Employee -
*David W. Logsdon, 51, a former Target employee who was turned down for a private security license and planned to "cause havoc" was identified Monday as the man suspected of killing two people in a crowded mall parking lot before he was shot by police.* [usat]
...
:
BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD -
Plans to build a huge mosque complex outside London at Abbey Mills which was designed to look like a tented city with a capacity of 40,000 have been aborted when the architects were sacked. The project is going to be scaled down, officials said. [t-i-london]
...
BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD -
Plans to build a huge mosque complex outside London at Abbey Mills which was designed to look like a tented city with a capacity of 40,000 have been aborted when the architects were sacked. The project is going to be scaled down, officials said. [t-i-london]
...
:
SoFlo: CYBER-STALKER AT LARGE -
Sarasota: Kathleen Cooper, a single mother who blogged about being a mom has been threatened by a cyber-stalker who claims that he has her "under surveillance."
"He said that he could not be responsible for what 'his minions' might do to her."
So far, she says, Law Enforcement officials have laughed it off.
:: WaPo - RegRqd ::
...
SoFlo: CYBER-STALKER AT LARGE -
Sarasota: Kathleen Cooper, a single mother who blogged about being a mom has been threatened by a cyber-stalker who claims that he has her "under surveillance."
"He said that he could not be responsible for what 'his minions' might do to her."
So far, she says, Law Enforcement officials have laughed it off.
:: WaPo - RegRqd ::
...
:
BINNED NAUGHTY PARTS -
Fatal Pickup Perp Sentenced -
Tampa: Prosecutors said Scott Paul Schweickert and Steven Lorenzo drugged, tortured and raped men they lured home from bars in 2003. Two of them died...
Schweickert admitted helping Lorenzo cut off the limbs of one of the victims, put the parts in trash bags and dump them in trash bins across the city. [tb10]
...
BINNED NAUGHTY PARTS -
Fatal Pickup Perp Sentenced -
Tampa: Prosecutors said Scott Paul Schweickert and Steven Lorenzo drugged, tortured and raped men they lured home from bars in 2003. Two of them died...
Schweickert admitted helping Lorenzo cut off the limbs of one of the victims, put the parts in trash bags and dump them in trash bins across the city. [tb10]
...
:
SOME FOREIGN BRIEFS -
# Trouble in Turkey and Op Silicon: Hundreds of thousands of secularist Turks demonstrated in Istanbul yesterday against an Islamist prez candidate, Abdullah Gul, demanding his withdrawal.
And a large Nato offensive against the Taliban is currently in process in Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan. [tfp]
# Manchester UK: A major fire on Dale Street has destroyed one office building so far and has spread to a second building in the Northern Quarter of the city's center. Early reports suggested that it may have been started by homeless people who were sleeping rough in the first building. [sky] [man]
...
SOME FOREIGN BRIEFS -
# Trouble in Turkey and Op Silicon: Hundreds of thousands of secularist Turks demonstrated in Istanbul yesterday against an Islamist prez candidate, Abdullah Gul, demanding his withdrawal.
And a large Nato offensive against the Taliban is currently in process in Helmand Province in Southern Afghanistan. [tfp]
# Manchester UK: A major fire on Dale Street has destroyed one office building so far and has spread to a second building in the Northern Quarter of the city's center. Early reports suggested that it may have been started by homeless people who were sleeping rough in the first building. [sky] [man]
...
:
READINGS (4#) -
# Feel like you have nuthin to read on Saturdays? Feel like you're in limbo til the Sunday papers come out? The Guardian Review is posted on Saturdays ahead of most American weekend material. And there's usually something over there that's at least readable.
I found this feature article about a young English writer I hadn't heard of before: Nicola Barker. Now that I've read something about her, I think I'd like to know more. [guard]
# Simon Jenkins reviews (auto-biog)
THE ISLAMIST by Ed Husain. [uktimes]
# Richard Littlejohn at The Mail on
the UK Government Nanny Squads:
*Any excuse to ban something will do... No aspect of human activity is considered safe unless it has been subjected to rigorous risk assessment, regulation and enforcement... There's an entire puritanical, purselipped industry dedicated to finding out what people like to do and stopping them.*
# CAIRO SPRING ECLIPSED: Egyptian Blogger "Sandmonkey" is hanging up his keyboard. He has growing concerns about his safety. We understand and sympathize, but it's a sad day. ["done"]
Happy Trails to you,
Sandmonkey! And stay safe!
...
READINGS (4#) -
# Feel like you have nuthin to read on Saturdays? Feel like you're in limbo til the Sunday papers come out? The Guardian Review is posted on Saturdays ahead of most American weekend material. And there's usually something over there that's at least readable.
I found this feature article about a young English writer I hadn't heard of before: Nicola Barker. Now that I've read something about her, I think I'd like to know more. [guard]
# Simon Jenkins reviews (auto-biog)
THE ISLAMIST by Ed Husain. [uktimes]
# Richard Littlejohn at The Mail on
the UK Government Nanny Squads:
*Any excuse to ban something will do... No aspect of human activity is considered safe unless it has been subjected to rigorous risk assessment, regulation and enforcement... There's an entire puritanical, purselipped industry dedicated to finding out what people like to do and stopping them.*
# CAIRO SPRING ECLIPSED: Egyptian Blogger "Sandmonkey" is hanging up his keyboard. He has growing concerns about his safety. We understand and sympathize, but it's a sad day. ["done"]
Happy Trails to you,
Sandmonkey! And stay safe!
...
:
FUGITIVE OPENED FIRE IN
CROWDED SHOPPING CENTER -
Kansas City Mo: An elderly woman was found dead in her home yesterday under suspicious circumstances, and her car was missing. The car was later spotted by a police officer who tried to pull it over, but the driver fled to a busy shopping center where he shot two people in the parking lot and then ran inside the mall where he was shot dead by police.
Obviously, there's going to be a lot more of this story to come, especially to fill in the backstory that led up to this chain of events. This must have been a bonanza for the cable news TV stations; they're addicted to chase-in-progress stories. [ap/fox] [cnn]
...
FUGITIVE OPENED FIRE IN
CROWDED SHOPPING CENTER -
Kansas City Mo: An elderly woman was found dead in her home yesterday under suspicious circumstances, and her car was missing. The car was later spotted by a police officer who tried to pull it over, but the driver fled to a busy shopping center where he shot two people in the parking lot and then ran inside the mall where he was shot dead by police.
Obviously, there's going to be a lot more of this story to come, especially to fill in the backstory that led up to this chain of events. This must have been a bonanza for the cable news TV stations; they're addicted to chase-in-progress stories. [ap/fox] [cnn]
...
Friday, April 27
:
CHO: BOXERS OR BRIEFS? -
*Blacksburg... Investigators are trying to figure out what led to Seung-Hui Cho's rampage last week. The FBI is asking hundreds of students to complete questionnaires that authorities hope will fill in some of the blanks in their investigation of last week's shootings at Virginia Tech.*
+ I think they should get a copy of the complete syllabus of his Contemporary Horror Class, too. [See Entries Below.]
:: By Reed Williams ::
-- The Roanoke Times --
...
CHO: BOXERS OR BRIEFS? -
*Blacksburg... Investigators are trying to figure out what led to Seung-Hui Cho's rampage last week. The FBI is asking hundreds of students to complete questionnaires that authorities hope will fill in some of the blanks in their investigation of last week's shootings at Virginia Tech.*
+ I think they should get a copy of the complete syllabus of his Contemporary Horror Class, too. [See Entries Below.]
:: By Reed Williams ::
-- The Roanoke Times --
...
:
CLOSELY HELD (3#) -
and some book schmooze -
# The BBC has won a high court battle to prevent the publication of The Balen Report, an internal report into allegations of bias in its news coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
============================
# William Palmer reviews Insomnia by Aamer Hussein, a book of short stories which seem like magical realism from the descriptions given. Author may be Pakistani. [ind]
# Two of the paperbacks
which are briefly noted here:
St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves written by Karen Russell; may have some connection to Florida.
And Occupational Hazards by Rory Stewart which is a memoir of his term trying to govern two provinces in southern Iraq.
...
CLOSELY HELD (3#) -
and some book schmooze -
# The BBC has won a high court battle to prevent the publication of The Balen Report, an internal report into allegations of bias in its news coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
============================
# William Palmer reviews Insomnia by Aamer Hussein, a book of short stories which seem like magical realism from the descriptions given. Author may be Pakistani. [ind]
# Two of the paperbacks
which are briefly noted here:
St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves written by Karen Russell; may have some connection to Florida.
And Occupational Hazards by Rory Stewart which is a memoir of his term trying to govern two provinces in southern Iraq.
...
:
FREESHEET ISSUES (2#) -
London, Broward,
and the Hidden Sleuths -
Prof Greenslade points to this lively article
about London's Freesheet War by Philip M Stone.
"When The British Have a
Real Newspaper War It’s a Beaut!"
Do we have a freesheet problem
here in Broward County FL?
We sure do! We have 2 free AltWeeklies which are Entertainment and Leisure-oriented, but one is sleezy and the other is feeble-minded.
Last weekend the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America held a get-together down here. It was called SleuthFest. Stacy has a report about it on her Blog.
Looks like the AltWeeklies were too busy dressing up in their rubber ducky costumes and whipping one another with fetishes to cover it.
...
FREESHEET ISSUES (2#) -
London, Broward,
and the Hidden Sleuths -
Prof Greenslade points to this lively article
about London's Freesheet War by Philip M Stone.
"When The British Have a
Real Newspaper War It’s a Beaut!"
Do we have a freesheet problem
here in Broward County FL?
We sure do! We have 2 free AltWeeklies which are Entertainment and Leisure-oriented, but one is sleezy and the other is feeble-minded.
Last weekend the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America held a get-together down here. It was called SleuthFest. Stacy has a report about it on her Blog.
Looks like the AltWeeklies were too busy dressing up in their rubber ducky costumes and whipping one another with fetishes to cover it.
...
:
SoFlo: WITCH HUNT STONEWALL -
The Plumbers' Pinup Gal -
Mara Guilianti, the mayor of Hollywood, charged that the SF Sun-Sentinel is conducting a witch hunt on her during a routine examination of her campaign finances in observance of standard Sunshine Laws, but I have not seen any evidence to support her allegation. It looks more like she is just using this as a flimsy pretext to justify her refusal to answer questions.
The examination revealed that plumbers from all over the country have contributed $25,250 to her re-election campaign, thus far. Maybe they have a thing for her pipes. [sent]
...
SoFlo: WITCH HUNT STONEWALL -
The Plumbers' Pinup Gal -
Mara Guilianti, the mayor of Hollywood, charged that the SF Sun-Sentinel is conducting a witch hunt on her during a routine examination of her campaign finances in observance of standard Sunshine Laws, but I have not seen any evidence to support her allegation. It looks more like she is just using this as a flimsy pretext to justify her refusal to answer questions.
The examination revealed that plumbers from all over the country have contributed $25,250 to her re-election campaign, thus far. Maybe they have a thing for her pipes. [sent]
...
:
SoFlo: THREAT ALERT -
Threats to duplicate the Virginia Tech massacre here in South Florida have forced officials to close Broward County Community College and Florida Atlantic University property as of 10:30am today, Friday, according to Capt Tony Rode of the Hollywood PD. [sent]
...
SoFlo: THREAT ALERT -
Threats to duplicate the Virginia Tech massacre here in South Florida have forced officials to close Broward County Community College and Florida Atlantic University property as of 10:30am today, Friday, according to Capt Tony Rode of the Hollywood PD. [sent]
...
Thursday, April 26
:
BOOKISH (3#) -
# GOING GRAPHIC: Birdie reports the popular success of Kuwaiti-based superheroes comic book "The 99" around the Arabic Middle East. Published by Teshkeel Comics, it features "the well-muscled heroes (Jabbar and Darr) and adorable heroines (Mumita and Noora) who fill the pages with their adventures." More at the CSMonitor by Megan A Wong. [csm]
================================
# Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
================================
# Two new novels about Iraq
reviewed by Benjamin Lytal. [nys]
...
BOOKISH (3#) -
# GOING GRAPHIC: Birdie reports the popular success of Kuwaiti-based superheroes comic book "The 99" around the Arabic Middle East. Published by Teshkeel Comics, it features "the well-muscled heroes (Jabbar and Darr) and adorable heroines (Mumita and Noora) who fill the pages with their adventures." More at the CSMonitor by Megan A Wong. [csm]
================================
# Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.
================================
# Two new novels about Iraq
reviewed by Benjamin Lytal. [nys]
...
Wednesday, April 25
:
SoFlo: LOCAL BOOK CHATTER -
As has been mentioned elsewhere, newspapers are shuffling, phasing out, or reorganizing their book sections.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Trib) has folded its Book Section into the Health and Family Section, which was my least favorite section I wouldn't touch with a barge pole. What are the implications of this? This move may mean the appearance of ads from the big pharmaceutical companies among the books. The resulting section looked like a mess to me last Sunday. I didn't like it. Moreover, most of the reviews looked like they were cannibalized from other newspapers at random.
The Miami Herald, last Sunday featured a book review for Nathan Englander's new book by a Florida professor. Overall, it was a nice review, but the first half of the last paragraph should have been excised, because, in closing, the professor injected a crackpot conspiracy theory into it. The review would have been much better off without it. [mherald]
...
SoFlo: LOCAL BOOK CHATTER -
As has been mentioned elsewhere, newspapers are shuffling, phasing out, or reorganizing their book sections.
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Trib) has folded its Book Section into the Health and Family Section, which was my least favorite section I wouldn't touch with a barge pole. What are the implications of this? This move may mean the appearance of ads from the big pharmaceutical companies among the books. The resulting section looked like a mess to me last Sunday. I didn't like it. Moreover, most of the reviews looked like they were cannibalized from other newspapers at random.
The Miami Herald, last Sunday featured a book review for Nathan Englander's new book by a Florida professor. Overall, it was a nice review, but the first half of the last paragraph should have been excised, because, in closing, the professor injected a crackpot conspiracy theory into it. The review would have been much better off without it. [mherald]
...
:
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL (7#) -
# Iran: Hatchet Face and her crew are out there on the street again this spring harassing women. In 3 Photos [tfp]
# A notable case of Eminent Domain abuse.
# Offbeat Book they liked: Clea's Moon
by Edward Wright: A Lone Ranger type actor reduced to collecting debts for his Indian sidekick in 1940s Noir-ish LA.
# MULLAH MOUTH: Mullah Dadullah claims that Osama bin Laden is orchestrating the terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. [reut]
# Virginia state officials have hired TriData Corp to assist the panel which will investigate the Virginia Tech massacre. [WaPo RR] ... Police official Steven Flaherty says he still has no clues as to motives or links involved in this crime. [WaPo RR]
# Is there really Life after you get sacked as the Editor-in-Chief of a newspaper? Lynn Barber reviews Don't You Know Who I Am? by Piers Morgan. And she thought it was very funny. [LT]
...
EARLY BIRD SPECIAL (7#) -
# Iran: Hatchet Face and her crew are out there on the street again this spring harassing women. In 3 Photos [tfp]
# A notable case of Eminent Domain abuse.
# Offbeat Book they liked: Clea's Moon
by Edward Wright: A Lone Ranger type actor reduced to collecting debts for his Indian sidekick in 1940s Noir-ish LA.
# MULLAH MOUTH: Mullah Dadullah claims that Osama bin Laden is orchestrating the terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. [reut]
# Virginia state officials have hired TriData Corp to assist the panel which will investigate the Virginia Tech massacre. [WaPo RR] ... Police official Steven Flaherty says he still has no clues as to motives or links involved in this crime. [WaPo RR]
# Is there really Life after you get sacked as the Editor-in-Chief of a newspaper? Lynn Barber reviews Don't You Know Who I Am? by Piers Morgan. And she thought it was very funny. [LT]
...
:
SoFlo: COLD FORTUNE -
An expensive churn of events . . .
More than 15 years after the death of famous soft ice cream tycoon Tom Carvel, his niece, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, wants his body exhumed on suspicion he met with untoward destiny. And there may be $100 million missing from the sale of his business to a Bahrain-based company.
:: By Patrick Danner ::
-- Miami Herald --
...
SoFlo: COLD FORTUNE -
An expensive churn of events . . .
More than 15 years after the death of famous soft ice cream tycoon Tom Carvel, his niece, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, wants his body exhumed on suspicion he met with untoward destiny. And there may be $100 million missing from the sale of his business to a Bahrain-based company.
:: By Patrick Danner ::
-- Miami Herald --
...
:
Florida:
THE ENGAGEMENT MODEL -
State Sen. Steve Oelrich (R), a former longtime Alachua County sheriff who now chairs the Higher Education Appropriations Committee in Tallahassee, called a meeting of the state university presidents and their police chiefs to find out if they are prepared for an event like the Virginia Tech massacre.
He said he was disturbed by Virginia news images showing all sorts of cops hiding behind automobiles and trees, etc. while the slaughter continued. [pbp]
...
Florida:
THE ENGAGEMENT MODEL -
State Sen. Steve Oelrich (R), a former longtime Alachua County sheriff who now chairs the Higher Education Appropriations Committee in Tallahassee, called a meeting of the state university presidents and their police chiefs to find out if they are prepared for an event like the Virginia Tech massacre.
He said he was disturbed by Virginia news images showing all sorts of cops hiding behind automobiles and trees, etc. while the slaughter continued. [pbp]
...
Tuesday, April 24
:
CHO'S MR AX
AND INSTANT KARMA -
I think many of us are searching for possible clues to the enigma of the Virginia Tech massacre. Surfing the Internet seems to yield some possible links to consider (8#):
# *And yet he [Cho] was weirdly expressive, scrawling on the wall of his dorm room the yearning lyrics of a song called "Shine." ("Give me a word/Give me a sign/Show me where to look ... Tell me what will I find/Oh, heaven, let your light shine down.")* [msnbc]
# Shine Lyrics by Collective Soul.
# *The title of the Stephen King novel The Shining came from the John Lennon song "Instant Karma!". In the song is the line "We all shine on..." King wanted to call the book "The Shine" but changed it when he realized that "shine" was derogatory slang for black people. [wkpda]
# Instant Karma Lyrics.
# Internet Key in Probe... [ap]
# Contemporary Horror course.
# Horror School.
# English 3984: "We are consuming horror on an unprecedented scale. But the rules have changed. Until recent years, lead characters could be counted on to survive the invasion of zombies/ homicidal maniacs/ vampires. But this margin of safety no longer exists; horror has become a masochistic pleasure." [vtech]
...
CHO'S MR AX
AND INSTANT KARMA -
I think many of us are searching for possible clues to the enigma of the Virginia Tech massacre. Surfing the Internet seems to yield some possible links to consider (8#):
# *And yet he [Cho] was weirdly expressive, scrawling on the wall of his dorm room the yearning lyrics of a song called "Shine." ("Give me a word/Give me a sign/Show me where to look ... Tell me what will I find/Oh, heaven, let your light shine down.")* [msnbc]
# Shine Lyrics by Collective Soul.
# *The title of the Stephen King novel The Shining came from the John Lennon song "Instant Karma!". In the song is the line "We all shine on..." King wanted to call the book "The Shine" but changed it when he realized that "shine" was derogatory slang for black people. [wkpda]
# Instant Karma Lyrics.
# Internet Key in Probe... [ap]
# Contemporary Horror course.
# Horror School.
# English 3984: "We are consuming horror on an unprecedented scale. But the rules have changed. Until recent years, lead characters could be counted on to survive the invasion of zombies/ homicidal maniacs/ vampires. But this margin of safety no longer exists; horror has become a masochistic pleasure." [vtech]
...
Sunday, April 22
:
MR AX AND MR CHO -
He liked to repeatedly play "Shine."
-- From the NY Times RegRqd ::
I can remember when I was a little boy. My grandmother and I could hold conversations entirely without ever opening our mouths. She called it "shining."
-- From the movie The Shining.
In which: Shelley Duvall plays
Wendy Torrence, Jack Nicholson's wife.
And Emily Hilcher resembled
Shelley Duvall; especially, their eyes.
...
MR AX AND MR CHO -
He liked to repeatedly play "Shine."
-- From the NY Times RegRqd ::
I can remember when I was a little boy. My grandmother and I could hold conversations entirely without ever opening our mouths. She called it "shining."
-- From the movie The Shining.
In which: Shelley Duvall plays
Wendy Torrence, Jack Nicholson's wife.
And Emily Hilcher resembled
Shelley Duvall; especially, their eyes.
...
Saturday, April 21
:
4/20: A BAD VIBES DAY (6#) -
Before the Columbine school shootings, this date was usually associated with the commemoration of Hitler's birthday and was mostly devoted to desecrations of Jewish cemeteries and the occasional Christian church. Since the Columbine event, the focus seems to have shifted to schools:
# *In a nation shaken to the core by a gunman at Virginia Tech who took the lives of 32 people and then himself, add Hitler's birthday and the anniversary of the Columbine High School killings on Friday.* [RJMiller]
# Some other Florida school bomb threats.
==========================
# *Similar threats were made to schools and universities across the country, and to at least a half dozen in Kansas and Missouri. The threats, coming on the heels of the nation’s worst mass killing, have many nervous.* [LBauer]
# *Lewiston Police have apprehended an 18-year-old college student threatening "Columbine" today at both Lewis Clark State College and Lewiston High School.* [A.Cannata]
# Trench Reynolds has compiled some
of these threats at his TC Chronicles.
# Questions remain in VTech massacre: MSNBC Investigative journalist Bill Dedman invites your unanswered questions.
...
4/20: A BAD VIBES DAY (6#) -
Before the Columbine school shootings, this date was usually associated with the commemoration of Hitler's birthday and was mostly devoted to desecrations of Jewish cemeteries and the occasional Christian church. Since the Columbine event, the focus seems to have shifted to schools:
# *In a nation shaken to the core by a gunman at Virginia Tech who took the lives of 32 people and then himself, add Hitler's birthday and the anniversary of the Columbine High School killings on Friday.* [RJMiller]
# Some other Florida school bomb threats.
==========================
# *Similar threats were made to schools and universities across the country, and to at least a half dozen in Kansas and Missouri. The threats, coming on the heels of the nation’s worst mass killing, have many nervous.* [LBauer]
# *Lewiston Police have apprehended an 18-year-old college student threatening "Columbine" today at both Lewis Clark State College and Lewiston High School.* [A.Cannata]
# Trench Reynolds has compiled some
of these threats at his TC Chronicles.
# Questions remain in VTech massacre: MSNBC Investigative journalist Bill Dedman invites your unanswered questions.
...
Thursday, April 19
:
CHO FLAK (2#) -
Reportedly, NBC is getting flak for airing some of the material that Cho sent them. Howie Kurtz explores the airing and some reactions to it in his WaPo column today:
"Was it a public service to air the words and hate-filled diatribe of Cho Seung Hui last night, after his final mailing showed up at the network, or was NBC giving a mass murderer what he wanted?"
My position is: I am almost certain that I heard Brian issue a clear warning that "disturbing" material was going to be shown. That warning should have been a signal for sensitive viewers to tune away or push the off-button for five minutes. I do feel that Brian acted responsibly and that he doesn't deserve to be harassed about it.
:: H.Kurtz: WaPo RegRqd ::
-- Further discussion on:
:: J.Achenbach's Blog: WaPoRR ::
...
CHO FLAK (2#) -
Reportedly, NBC is getting flak for airing some of the material that Cho sent them. Howie Kurtz explores the airing and some reactions to it in his WaPo column today:
"Was it a public service to air the words and hate-filled diatribe of Cho Seung Hui last night, after his final mailing showed up at the network, or was NBC giving a mass murderer what he wanted?"
My position is: I am almost certain that I heard Brian issue a clear warning that "disturbing" material was going to be shown. That warning should have been a signal for sensitive viewers to tune away or push the off-button for five minutes. I do feel that Brian acted responsibly and that he doesn't deserve to be harassed about it.
:: H.Kurtz: WaPo RegRqd ::
-- Further discussion on:
:: J.Achenbach's Blog: WaPoRR ::
...
Wednesday, April 18
:
MIDDLE EAST RIFFS (3#) -
# Iraqis are talking about: the bombing of the Sarafiyah Bridge and what it meant to them... More at Salam Adil's latest dispatch on the Iraqi Blogodrome. [sa-gv]
# Silver Bahraini reports that the Bahrain ambassador to the U.S. attended some sort of Passover Seder, but he doesn't quite know quite what to make of it. And four of his readers try to sort it out with him. [silb]
# Ahmed at SaudiJeans gives his suggestions for the 10 Must-Read Saudi Blogs along with some honorable mentions. [sjeans]
+ Typo corrected Thurs 10:05pm.
...
MIDDLE EAST RIFFS (3#) -
# Iraqis are talking about: the bombing of the Sarafiyah Bridge and what it meant to them... More at Salam Adil's latest dispatch on the Iraqi Blogodrome. [sa-gv]
# Silver Bahraini reports that the Bahrain ambassador to the U.S. attended some sort of Passover Seder, but he doesn't quite know quite what to make of it. And four of his readers try to sort it out with him. [silb]
# Ahmed at SaudiJeans gives his suggestions for the 10 Must-Read Saudi Blogs along with some honorable mentions. [sjeans]
+ Typo corrected Thurs 10:05pm.
...
:
TERMINAL CHO:
The Cho Manifesto -
Brian Williams received it by mail.
Remember the rumor that he
left a rambling 8-page note?
Well, it's way up from 8 pages now. Someone said it's 23 pages of dense text. And it was accompanied by multi-media.
Due to the wrong zip code being used, its delivery was delayed. I'm just surprised that the suits up at 30 Rock didn't call the bomb squad when it arrived.
I hope Brian will post the text online after the FBI make their copies-- and please do NOT use PDF, Brian! Thank you.
:: The Daily Nightly ::
...
TERMINAL CHO:
The Cho Manifesto -
Brian Williams received it by mail.
Remember the rumor that he
left a rambling 8-page note?
Well, it's way up from 8 pages now. Someone said it's 23 pages of dense text. And it was accompanied by multi-media.
Due to the wrong zip code being used, its delivery was delayed. I'm just surprised that the suits up at 30 Rock didn't call the bomb squad when it arrived.
I hope Brian will post the text online after the FBI make their copies-- and please do NOT use PDF, Brian! Thank you.
:: The Daily Nightly ::
...
Tuesday, April 17
:
SoFlo: QUANGO NOIR (2#) -
Todd Wright reports that Hollywood City Attorney Dan Abbott is expected to resign and then go to work for the law firm which represents the city's developer quango.
"I think it's a good move for Dan. I personally like Dan. We disagreed on some things, but he represented Hollywood well," City Commissioner Cathy Anderson said.
Locals have a nickname for Hollywood;
they refer to it as Chinatown.
Maybe there's something in the water there...
:: MHerald ::
...
SoFlo: QUANGO NOIR (2#) -
Todd Wright reports that Hollywood City Attorney Dan Abbott is expected to resign and then go to work for the law firm which represents the city's developer quango.
"I think it's a good move for Dan. I personally like Dan. We disagreed on some things, but he represented Hollywood well," City Commissioner Cathy Anderson said.
Locals have a nickname for Hollywood;
they refer to it as Chinatown.
Maybe there's something in the water there...
:: MHerald ::
...
:
FROM TRENCH'S WINDOW -
Trench Reynolds says
he hates the month of April . . .
When a mass shooting like Virginia Tech occurs, I usually check in at The Trenchcoat Chronicles blog to see what it looks like from Trench's perspective. If you scroll down his blog, you'll see that there are several other incidents he's been following besides the Virginia case.
The particular aspect of this case which would interest me at this point would be the text of his "disturbing" suicide note, but I have been frustrated, thus far, in finding it online. If I do find a link to it, I'll try to post it.
Meanwhile, here is a link
to the :: VT School Blog ::
...
FROM TRENCH'S WINDOW -
Trench Reynolds says
he hates the month of April . . .
When a mass shooting like Virginia Tech occurs, I usually check in at The Trenchcoat Chronicles blog to see what it looks like from Trench's perspective. If you scroll down his blog, you'll see that there are several other incidents he's been following besides the Virginia case.
The particular aspect of this case which would interest me at this point would be the text of his "disturbing" suicide note, but I have been frustrated, thus far, in finding it online. If I do find a link to it, I'll try to post it.
Meanwhile, here is a link
to the :: VT School Blog ::
...
Monday, April 16
:
BLOGGING A MASSACRE (3#) -
# *The Roanoke Times, the closest daily paper to the Virginia Tech campus, has been covering the shooting of more than 30 students there on its Web site with updates to a blog-style story, with the first posted at 10:17am.* [E&P]
# 7:48pm: "Tech police Chief Wendell Flinchum said police had made a preliminary identification of the shooter but were not releasing the identity at this time." [RTwb]
# *The massacre on the campus of Virginia Tech this morning came so suddenly, along with a constantly updated death count, that many newspapers both local and national responded by basing much of their breaking coverage on brief blog-like entries.* [E&P]
...
BLOGGING A MASSACRE (3#) -
# *The Roanoke Times, the closest daily paper to the Virginia Tech campus, has been covering the shooting of more than 30 students there on its Web site with updates to a blog-style story, with the first posted at 10:17am.* [E&P]
# 7:48pm: "Tech police Chief Wendell Flinchum said police had made a preliminary identification of the shooter but were not releasing the identity at this time." [RTwb]
# *The massacre on the campus of Virginia Tech this morning came so suddenly, along with a constantly updated death count, that many newspapers both local and national responded by basing much of their breaking coverage on brief blog-like entries.* [E&P]
...
:
ANOTHER SCREWY AGENDA
AND IT'S BAD FOR THE JEWS -
Here comes trouble! -
Daniel Pearl's name was added to the already-inscribed 30,000 names etched on the Holocaust Memorial Wall in Miami Beach FL on Sunday...
"The Holocaust didn't finish in 1945," Judea Pearl said.
Adding Pearl's name to a memorial which was supposedly for victims of the Nazi Genocide of the Jews showed very poor judgement, in my opinion, as this decision can only bait anti-Semitic crackpots, fueling their conspiracy theories which claim that the Nazi Genocide of the Jews is a product of Jewish fabrication.
The Nazi Genocide of the Jews has ended, according to historical fact. Those responsible for this decision are simply inviting gratuitous trouble by their apparent falsification of what we were led to believe is a Nazi-era memorial.
Maybe they're getting senile; but couldn't anyone else have told them this was a bad idea?
"Daniel really died for basically one reason... and that was for the crime of being a Jew."
I disagree with that, too.
:: M.Herald ::
:::: And at the Sun-Sentinel ::
...
ANOTHER SCREWY AGENDA
AND IT'S BAD FOR THE JEWS -
Here comes trouble! -
Daniel Pearl's name was added to the already-inscribed 30,000 names etched on the Holocaust Memorial Wall in Miami Beach FL on Sunday...
"The Holocaust didn't finish in 1945," Judea Pearl said.
Adding Pearl's name to a memorial which was supposedly for victims of the Nazi Genocide of the Jews showed very poor judgement, in my opinion, as this decision can only bait anti-Semitic crackpots, fueling their conspiracy theories which claim that the Nazi Genocide of the Jews is a product of Jewish fabrication.
The Nazi Genocide of the Jews has ended, according to historical fact. Those responsible for this decision are simply inviting gratuitous trouble by their apparent falsification of what we were led to believe is a Nazi-era memorial.
Maybe they're getting senile; but couldn't anyone else have told them this was a bad idea?
"Daniel really died for basically one reason... and that was for the crime of being a Jew."
I disagree with that, too.
:: M.Herald ::
:::: And at the Sun-Sentinel ::
...
:
D.C. PAPERS (2#) -
# Imus, Duke & The Media: Howie Kurtz collects chatter and reactions to the I-Man's situation from various former guests and others while trying to put it in some perspective. [wapo-rr]
# Nitric acid in Baghdad: It's a highly corrosive substance with chemical weapons potential which can burn the skin, lungs and esophagus.
Acting on a tip from neighbors, U.S. troops found dozens of barrels of the stuff Saturday in abandoned houses used by Sunni insurgents in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Mansour. Some of the containers were damaged. Read more by Sharon Behn [wat-print].
...
D.C. PAPERS (2#) -
# Imus, Duke & The Media: Howie Kurtz collects chatter and reactions to the I-Man's situation from various former guests and others while trying to put it in some perspective. [wapo-rr]
# Nitric acid in Baghdad: It's a highly corrosive substance with chemical weapons potential which can burn the skin, lungs and esophagus.
Acting on a tip from neighbors, U.S. troops found dozens of barrels of the stuff Saturday in abandoned houses used by Sunni insurgents in the western Baghdad neighborhood of Mansour. Some of the containers were damaged. Read more by Sharon Behn [wat-print].
...
Friday, April 13
:
Media: IMUS MESS (2#) -
I don't listen to Sports Talk Radio. It's not exactly mainstream; it's a niche market. Don Imus made a defamatory remark about the members of a female basketball team which was obnoxious. They deserve an apology. Beyond that, I'm sorry to tell you, I don't have much interest in this controversy.
# Eric Deggans on Don Imus
getting fired by CBS Radio.
# Todd Schnitt gives his opinion.
...
Media: IMUS MESS (2#) -
I don't listen to Sports Talk Radio. It's not exactly mainstream; it's a niche market. Don Imus made a defamatory remark about the members of a female basketball team which was obnoxious. They deserve an apology. Beyond that, I'm sorry to tell you, I don't have much interest in this controversy.
# Eric Deggans on Don Imus
getting fired by CBS Radio.
# Todd Schnitt gives his opinion.
...
:
SoFlo: DEATH ON TOAST -
A man was fatally shot once in the
stomach and once in the chest while
he was eating breakfast just before
11am Friday morning in a busy diner
in Orlando. The gunman is still at
large. And the motive is unknown.
:: Sun-Sentinel ::
...
SoFlo: DEATH ON TOAST -
A man was fatally shot once in the
stomach and once in the chest while
he was eating breakfast just before
11am Friday morning in a busy diner
in Orlando. The gunman is still at
large. And the motive is unknown.
:: Sun-Sentinel ::
...
:
SoFlo: X-DRESSING BURGLAR -
A young man has been charged
with a series of burglaries while
disguised as a woman. He confessed
to burglarizing at least nine homes over
the Easter weekend in a wig and a dress.
:: Ihosvani Rodriguez ::
-- SF Sun-Sentinel --
...
SoFlo: X-DRESSING BURGLAR -
A young man has been charged
with a series of burglaries while
disguised as a woman. He confessed
to burglarizing at least nine homes over
the Easter weekend in a wig and a dress.
:: Ihosvani Rodriguez ::
-- SF Sun-Sentinel --
...
Thursday, April 12
:
BLOGGED OUT (2#) -
Surprising update to previous entry -
*The Scottish deputy head of Britain's mission in Bangkok has given up his internet blog after three days of insults on the internet, mainly from angry Britons in Thailand... Last night, after a day in which rude comments had continually to be deleted by the web host, Ian Proud, 38, called it a day. His blog entries were removed from the newspaper's website.*
:: Andrew Drummond ::
-- The Scotsman --
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Diplomat blog
pulled after abuse: [BBC]
...
BLOGGED OUT (2#) -
Surprising update to previous entry -
*The Scottish deputy head of Britain's mission in Bangkok has given up his internet blog after three days of insults on the internet, mainly from angry Britons in Thailand... Last night, after a day in which rude comments had continually to be deleted by the web host, Ian Proud, 38, called it a day. His blog entries were removed from the newspaper's website.*
:: Andrew Drummond ::
-- The Scotsman --
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Diplomat blog
pulled after abuse: [BBC]
...
:
EVERYBODY'S A
CELEBRITY SOMETIMES (2#) -
# A behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Kite-Runner which hits the big screens in November. Noor Agha is widely acknowledged as the best kite-maker in Afghanistan. Try to catch this feature story.
# British diplomat Ian Proud is blogging for the Thai English-language newspaper The Nation with unexpected results.
+ I wasn't planning to stay up
this late, but stuff happens.
...
EVERYBODY'S A
CELEBRITY SOMETIMES (2#) -
# A behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Kite-Runner which hits the big screens in November. Noor Agha is widely acknowledged as the best kite-maker in Afghanistan. Try to catch this feature story.
# British diplomat Ian Proud is blogging for the Thai English-language newspaper The Nation with unexpected results.
+ I wasn't planning to stay up
this late, but stuff happens.
...
:
BOMBED:
MAJOR BAGHDAD BRIDGE (3#) -
# A truck bomb was exploded on al-Sarafiya bridge over the Tigris river during the morning rush hour Thursday, which connects two northern Baghdad neighborhoods: Azamiyah, a mostly Sunni enclave, and Bab al-Muazam, a mixed area. The blast partially destroyed the structure and sent several cars tumbling into the water below. Reuters reports that one of its steel girders has collapsed. There's a photo of the bridge at the Gulf News.
:: --FoxNews ::
:: VoA ::
===========================
# Fighting in Fadhil and Sheik Omar neighborhoods in Baghdad Wednesday, two Sunni enclaves, was the most intense since a massive push to pacify the capital began two months ago.
And Amer Mohsen at IraqSlogger translates
the Iraqi and Arabphonic papers on this topic.
===========================
# Basil Adas, a correspondent for Gulf News, says that Taliban-like regs have been imposed on some Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad such as Dora.
Does he know this first-hand because he infiltrated there or is this article based on hearsay at a distance? He doesn't specify.
...
BOMBED:
MAJOR BAGHDAD BRIDGE (3#) -
# A truck bomb was exploded on al-Sarafiya bridge over the Tigris river during the morning rush hour Thursday, which connects two northern Baghdad neighborhoods: Azamiyah, a mostly Sunni enclave, and Bab al-Muazam, a mixed area. The blast partially destroyed the structure and sent several cars tumbling into the water below. Reuters reports that one of its steel girders has collapsed. There's a photo of the bridge at the Gulf News.
:: --FoxNews ::
:: VoA ::
===========================
# Fighting in Fadhil and Sheik Omar neighborhoods in Baghdad Wednesday, two Sunni enclaves, was the most intense since a massive push to pacify the capital began two months ago.
And Amer Mohsen at IraqSlogger translates
the Iraqi and Arabphonic papers on this topic.
===========================
# Basil Adas, a correspondent for Gulf News, says that Taliban-like regs have been imposed on some Sunni neighborhoods in Baghdad such as Dora.
Does he know this first-hand because he infiltrated there or is this article based on hearsay at a distance? He doesn't specify.
...
Wednesday, April 11
:
WHEN TABLOIDS DESCEND (2#) -
# "It normally happens a bit like this. You, the unsuspecting member of the public, do something newsworthy. Or someone in your family does. The media descend on your house. They are rather keen to speak to you. They don't plan to go away until they do." [BBCmag]
# Mosque boils over in Staffordshire. [BBC]
...
WHEN TABLOIDS DESCEND (2#) -
# "It normally happens a bit like this. You, the unsuspecting member of the public, do something newsworthy. Or someone in your family does. The media descend on your house. They are rather keen to speak to you. They don't plan to go away until they do." [BBCmag]
# Mosque boils over in Staffordshire. [BBC]
...
Tuesday, April 10
:
SoFlo: RANDOM SNUFFS -
Lately, there have been a number of mysterious drive-by or stroll-by shootings in Broward County FL which are not obviously gang-related. They could be mistaken identities by trigger-happy hoodies. Or maybe maladroit robberies. This is the latest:
Sheila Nieves, 19, and Jesse Reyes, 20, were in a car about 10:15pm Friday evening in a parking lot in Pembroke Park when a man walked up and shot them both. Nieves died. Her boyfriend remains in critical condition in the hospital. Authorities released no description of the shooter or motive for the slaying.
:: Sun-Sentinel ::
...
SoFlo: RANDOM SNUFFS -
Lately, there have been a number of mysterious drive-by or stroll-by shootings in Broward County FL which are not obviously gang-related. They could be mistaken identities by trigger-happy hoodies. Or maybe maladroit robberies. This is the latest:
Sheila Nieves, 19, and Jesse Reyes, 20, were in a car about 10:15pm Friday evening in a parking lot in Pembroke Park when a man walked up and shot them both. Nieves died. Her boyfriend remains in critical condition in the hospital. Authorities released no description of the shooter or motive for the slaying.
:: Sun-Sentinel ::
...
:
BANNING BUNS (4#) -
and other pop torts -
# Prof Greenslade says that newspaper-generated myths are irking him and mentions one in particular: the hot cross bun ban.
# Whatta surprise then to see that particular "ban" over at the Daily Mail:
"Hospital staff claim they were banned from handing out hot cross buns this Easter in case they upset non-Christians."
# Timothy Noah has been "rubbernecking" the Phil Spector trial at Slate. I haven't noticed any good coverage of it lately; maybe I haven't been looking hard enough.
# Jack Shafer looks at the (pre-daddy announcement) media feeding frenzy for the Anna Nicole Smith Case. Now that the daddy thing has been resolved, there will probably be more coverage, but if it's not in SoFlo, I think I'll mostly pass it up from now on.
...
BANNING BUNS (4#) -
and other pop torts -
# Prof Greenslade says that newspaper-generated myths are irking him and mentions one in particular: the hot cross bun ban.
# Whatta surprise then to see that particular "ban" over at the Daily Mail:
"Hospital staff claim they were banned from handing out hot cross buns this Easter in case they upset non-Christians."
# Timothy Noah has been "rubbernecking" the Phil Spector trial at Slate. I haven't noticed any good coverage of it lately; maybe I haven't been looking hard enough.
# Jack Shafer looks at the (pre-daddy announcement) media feeding frenzy for the Anna Nicole Smith Case. Now that the daddy thing has been resolved, there will probably be more coverage, but if it's not in SoFlo, I think I'll mostly pass it up from now on.
...
Monday, April 9
:
PRANK MONDAY (2#) -
Some folks seem to be taking a long, four-day weekend over this Easter. And some folks may have too much free time on their hands as a result. Some of the mischief seems like harmless fun; but some of the mischief is expensive, aggravating, and criminal:
# FlashMobs: Pranksters dressed as zombies take part in "Fleshmob," an internet-generated flash mob event on Waterloo Bridge in London. [Photo:TFP]
#SoFlo: Dozens of residents in a gated community in Broward County FL woke up Monday morning to find their car tires slashed... Investigators have not found any suspects. [SFSS]
...
PRANK MONDAY (2#) -
Some folks seem to be taking a long, four-day weekend over this Easter. And some folks may have too much free time on their hands as a result. Some of the mischief seems like harmless fun; but some of the mischief is expensive, aggravating, and criminal:
# FlashMobs: Pranksters dressed as zombies take part in "Fleshmob," an internet-generated flash mob event on Waterloo Bridge in London. [Photo:TFP]
#SoFlo: Dozens of residents in a gated community in Broward County FL woke up Monday morning to find their car tires slashed... Investigators have not found any suspects. [SFSS]
...
Sunday, April 8
:
SoFlo: HORMONE
PEDDLERS BUSTED -
*South Florida "anti-aging" clinics have been selling human growth hormones, or HGH, since the 1990s...
Dozens of clinics make millions yearly selling hormones, often venturing into gray areas of medicine and the law, prosecutors and physicians say. Among the sellers are a former cocaine dealer and a former merchant of illegal steroids.*
:: Excepted from Bob LaMendola ::
-- at the SF Sun-Sentinel --
...
SoFlo: HORMONE
PEDDLERS BUSTED -
*South Florida "anti-aging" clinics have been selling human growth hormones, or HGH, since the 1990s...
Dozens of clinics make millions yearly selling hormones, often venturing into gray areas of medicine and the law, prosecutors and physicians say. Among the sellers are a former cocaine dealer and a former merchant of illegal steroids.*
:: Excepted from Bob LaMendola ::
-- at the SF Sun-Sentinel --
...
:
IRAN'S TOP BLOGGER -
President I'm-a-dinner-jacket blogs???
Oh, my, yes... but Comment Moderation
is always a touchy issue.
For example, here is one of the comments posted at Mr A's Blog which had to be rejected by his Comment Moderation Committee:
"While trekking through Persia with my whippet, Giles, in the late 1940s I came across a flute salesman named Ahmadinejad, who I believe was your grandfather. He taught me to whittle a flute in nine minutes flat and I taught him how to play We All Wear A Green Carnation."
Obviously, that committee has a lot of work.
:: Shane Richmond ::
-- UK Telegraph --
...
IRAN'S TOP BLOGGER -
President I'm-a-dinner-jacket blogs???
Oh, my, yes... but Comment Moderation
is always a touchy issue.
For example, here is one of the comments posted at Mr A's Blog which had to be rejected by his Comment Moderation Committee:
"While trekking through Persia with my whippet, Giles, in the late 1940s I came across a flute salesman named Ahmadinejad, who I believe was your grandfather. He taught me to whittle a flute in nine minutes flat and I taught him how to play We All Wear A Green Carnation."
Obviously, that committee has a lot of work.
:: Shane Richmond ::
-- UK Telegraph --
...
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