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BLACK & WHITE
& READ ALL OVER (4#) -

The South Florida Newspapers -

"The Sam Zell era is about to begin at Tribune Co."

The Tribune Co owns the Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, among others.

To some, the glass is half empty; to others, half full. I see no reason for pessimism and would like to give Mr Zell a chance.

Meanwhile, this is an example of a recently initiated project by the company. It has a younger, fresher look and a graphic design which is more web-friendly. It links to the Sentinel at the bottom of the "page."

The SF Sun-Sentinel, in contrast, currently has a clunky, overloaded, and turgidly moving website.

* * * * * * * * * *
"The McClatchy Co. reported Thursday
that its total revenues and advertising
revenue in November both fell 9.2%..."

McClatchy owns the Miami Herald.

Miami just may be in the process of becoming the first American city in which the Spanish-language news media achieves hegemony.

Today's Herald was completely locked out of the Internet without registration, which many people these days are loathe to do.

In making this change, McClatchy may be sending a signal of its abdication to the Spanish-language Press which will be the dominant source to which people will gravitate from the vacuum left by the Net-absconded Herald.

Let's hope McClatchy reconsiders this catastrophic change.

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SIDE-SWIPED ON THE PALMETTO (2#) -

Kudos to The Miami Herald for recognizing that Online Media has assumed an important place in many readers' lives which often supplements or compliments readership of Mainstream Paper Media.

Under the Technology section or category, the Herald ran an article today describing the end of the popular Stuck on the Palmetto blog and some reactions to the plug being pulled.

Online fight ends blog -
A popular South Florida blog shut down this week
after its author's anonymity was compromised.

I believe that many former readers of the blog are experiencing a sense of loss and are going to have to go through the various phases of adjustment to the aftermath.

The South Florida blogging scene is a lively, sometimes almost fractious, mix; the Miami Bloggers are probably the noisiest bunch in it. And South Florida Blogs have even picked up their own gadfly along the way.

The Herald article reprises well the surface facts, but doesn't explore any of the implications of what has happened here.

Although I don't blame Bob Norman personally, it is worth pointing out the underlying dynamics involved: Norman is blogging on the platform of a million-dollar Media Organization, while "Rick" was blogging as an individual; and, thus, there is a notable imbalance in power inherent in any friction between them.

Meanwhile, the comment thread at Critical Miami has grown to almost 100 comments and, with the publication of today's Herald article by Evan S Benn, is still growing.

-- Prev: DEATH OF A BLOG Entry at 12/16 below.

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CARTOON DEATH CHICKEN -

A sing-along DVD aimed at young children which appears to encourage body-bombing has been circulating around Yorkshire, England, and is being investigated by anti-terrorism detectives there.

Photo captures of the material are included in the article.

+ And I have to wonder how many of
these DVD's might be floating around the U.S.

:: This is London ::

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AROUND FLORIDA (4#) -

# "JUDICIAL HELLHOLE" - A legal group engaged in attempts to reform the civil law system has described South Florida as an "area of the country where the scales of justice are radically out of balance."

# THE POSH CAR JEWEL THIEVES - "They travel together in fancy rental cars: Mercedes, BMWs, Infinitis and Chryslers. But they hide their license plate numbers under duct tape."

A string of burglaries hits the St Pete/Tampa
area, believed to be of Caribbean origin.

# VERY GONE - Hollywood: A friend found Oliver Windell Bar, 69, on Saturday inside Bar's home but in a state of advanced decomposition.

The Medical Examiner's Office confirms that according to its tests, Bar had been dead for at least five days, but the cause of death has not been disclosed. His death has been characterized as a homicide.

# Winter Springs: Man arrested on charges involving
an escort service allegedly advertising in Orlando Weekly.

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SoFlo: UNEXPECTED GUESTS -

Welcome to Critical Miami Blog readers!

And thank you to the gracious
Alesh Houdek over there for the surge.

Please take your time to browse around here; maybe
you'll find some interesting entries or links here to read.

We are mourning the loss of a major Hub Blog together which was ostensibly based in Pembroke Pines. Alesh has a comment thread on which you can leave your thoughts or reactions.

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ACCUSED TERRORIST ESCAPES (3#) -

# Rashid Rauf , the alleged mastermind of a plot to blow up 10 transatlantic airplanes, has mysteriously houdini'd from police custody in Pakistan. There is a major manhunt on for him.

# "In my opinion it is not escape, but a case
of mysterious disappearance," his lawyer said.

# The 25-year-old was brought before a judge at a court in Islamabad for an extradition hearing when he slipped away Saturday afternoon.

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SoFlo: DEATH OF A BLOG -

We have been undergoing a Blog Crisis
of sorts here in SoFlo this past week.

First, there was the issue of lawyer Sean Conway who may have made arguably indiscreet remarks on JAABlog. I blogged about this matter below.

And then, there was an issue which I have not blogged about heretofore: Rick from Stuck on the Palmetto Blog was experiencing some sort of identity crisis because, he perceived, that another blogger (Bob Norman from the Lacy Media Empire) had threatened to "out" him or disclose his real life identity.

This latter issue has just been resolved with the stunning news this evening that the Blog is gone now - Rick has apparently wiped it all off the Blogspot servers.

It has evaporated into thin air!

I wish Rick well, although I find myself quite baffled now as to what his original agenda was and how it could have gotten pulled so far off its tracks.

This is a sad way to end the week.

Maybe this is the moment to cue up a chorus of You'll Never Walk Alone. Or, if Rick had a theme song... what do you suppose it would be? Well, you can hum a chorus of it to yourself now quietly... because that Blog is now
an Ex-Parrot.

Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news.

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FL TEACHER: MURDER/SUICIDE -

A 36-year-old teacher who grew up in Hallandale snapped on Friday, killing his recently-divorced ex-wife, their 2 young children, and his wife's girlfriend in the
Clearwater area.

Oliver Thomas Bernsdorff then killed himself. [spt]

:: Portrait of a troubled man.

:: His web page ::

:: His CV ::

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SoFlo: SHOPPING MALL MURDER -

What's the worst possible scenario that could
happen to Holiday Shopping besides bad weather?

Boca Raton: "Police have enlisted the help of the FBI's storied Behavioral Science Unit in the search for a killer who bound a woman and her 8-year-old daughter and shot them to death outside the Town Center mall on Wednesday."

+ So far, I don't find the tentative
theory of the crime very persuasive.

:: PB Post ::

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SoFlo: HIGH FEMALE DEATH TOLL -

Broward County: "Twenty-eight women and girls have been killed so far this year, an 87 percent increase over 2006 and a total surpassed only twice in the past decade."

+ Since the beginning of the year at least 3 women have been brutally murdered within a short walking distance of where I currently live. They had nothing in common except that they were female. None of them were killed by ex-boyfriends or husbands.

:: SF Sun-Sentinel ::

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MORE SUNLIGHT (2#) -

"Should an attorney lose
his law license for harshly criticizing a judge?"

Broward County FL lawyer Sean Conway is having
a problem which is now getting much more publicity.

Peter Lattman writes up the situation
at the ::WSJ Law Blog:: ...via... ::JAABlog::

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AROUND FLORIDA (4#) -

# SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING SENTENCE: Marc Benayer, the 81-year-oldster convicted of murdering Jonathan Samuels at a suburban Boca Raton synagogue, was sentenced to life in prison, but the sentence did not seem to provide closure to others impacted by the ripple effects of the case.

# Another USF student arrested in explosives case. He posed with a firearm."FBI agents say they found the gun range photo on the computer of Youssef Megahed."

# PAGING CLARISSE? Police detectives in Volusia County FL are investigating possible links in a series of naked young men found murdered in water there. One of them was dismembered; his body parts found in several garbage bags.

# Vero Beach: For the second time in two years, a 16-foot python has been found in the area - this time killed by a large roadside bush mower on a canal bank... "When I backed up, a head popped up. It was huge." The snake died within minutes.

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FRIDAY GRAB BAG (4#) -

# THE FUTURE OF NEWS PRINT: It had been my thinking that in the face of an ever-shrinking English-literate population base here in Broward County FL, the SF Sun-Sentinel would become a Weekly-on-paper supplemented over the Internet.

But The Tribune Company is already producing a "next-generation" publication in the form of amNY. You can take a look at it here - this may be a preview of what's in store for us in SoFlo.

# Mystery Maestro Otto Penzler
gives his pick of Holiday Reading Treats.

# Sam Anderson's
Best Book Picks for the year.

#Crime Rant's 2007
Trickey Awards (True Crime Blog).
*SoFlo's own Judge Larry Seidlin is included!

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CHAVEZ CHOPS PRINT RUN -

Venezuelan newspaper Correo del Caroni is being obliged to stop printing on paper because officials there have failed to authorize U.S. dollars it needs to buy newsprint.

Publisher and editor David Natera said three
other newspapers are facing a similar situation.

Natera will continue to post news to the website.

:: ED&PUB ::

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OPERATION SNAKEPIT:
The Battle for Musa Qala (6#) -

This operation has been codenamed
Mar Kardad, meaning "snakepit."

It has been described by military commanders as a
defining battle for the stability of Helmand province.

Taliban Stronghold Recaptured
Near Strategic Kajaki Dam Area:

*NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has described the Kajaki Dam as the project with the most strategic and psychological significance. The NATO chief says the dam will provide electricity to more than 2 million people and their businesses in southern Afghanistan once a giant power turbine is installed and power lines to the city of Kandahar are repaired.*

*More than 2,000 British troops, including Scots Guards, Household Cavalry and Royal Marines from 40 Commando, have been involved in the operation. British troops set up a cordon around the town while crack American paratroopers from the so-called Taskforce Fury smashed a route through Taleban trenches, and "dug-in" with defensive positions.*

Fierce fighting reported -
Trenches, mines and snipers greet UK troops -

*A battalion of US airborne infantry, a Danish battlegroup, Estonian and Afghan troops were also taking part, under the command of Scots Brigadier Andrew Mackay... A network of trenches, landmines, machinegun nests and sniper positions has been created in the town, which has been used by al-Qaeda terrorists and other foreign fighters as a base to launch suicide attacks and ambushes on international forces. Dozens of Taleban were reported to have been killed as the American 82nd Airborne Division pushed into the town.*

*Helmand police chief Brig. Gen. Muhammad Hussain Andiwal told Pajhwok Afghan News on Tuesday that the Afghan national flag will be hoisted in Musa Qala at the district headquarters in a big ceremony.*

PAN: The heavy fighting in Musa Qala has left mobile-phone service dysfunctional, adding to the problems of civilians.

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LA: LOOKING FOR STORIES -

"Here in southern California we are in the midst of a strike by film and television writers. Watching their picket lines on TV and reading about their plight nearly everyday in the papers, I have come to realise that, as a group, these screenwriters are Los Angeles' most influential authors."

Where are the LA stories in print?
By Rob Woodard

:: Book Blog :: Guardian

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IRAQ & MIDEAST CHATTER (5#) -

# Salam Adil's latest dispatch on Iraq:
He writes more about the new movement
called Awakening and other matters.

# An American standup comedy group
called Axis of Evil appeared in Kuwait
and got rave reviews.

# A Jordanian youth is excited about attending:

The 2nd Arab Free Press Forum organized by
The World Association of Newspapers and taking place
in Beirut Dec 9th and 10th. ::Scroll down for "Blogs"

# And Ahmed from
Saudi Jeans Blog is attending, too.

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MEDIA MACHINERY (3#) -

# Ron Kuby has an Op-Ed in today's Newsday:

"Unfortunately, the concept of stationality runs counter to the essence of discourse and debate... and retards the development of critical thinking."

I don't feel threatened by Mark Steyn or
Ron Kuby on the radio. Do you? [nday]

* * * * * * * * * *
# Jules Crittenden is keeping tabs on
the peculiar case of AP photog Bilal Hussein.

How much of the Mainstream Media we get is FAKE? How much of it is actually propaganda from our enemies?

Should AP get the Pulitzer or the Wurlitzer? [jcritt]

* * * * * * * * * *
# Todd Schnitt announced this afternoon at the opening of today's radio show that he is going to have a ground-breaking program scheduled for this Thursday at about 4pm East Coast USA time.

It's top secret except that the keyword is: jihad.

You can listen to it streamed online. [schnittshow]

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HOLIDAY TV SHOW (4#) -

Sunday evening we were treated to a
broadcast on the local PBS-WPBT station of...

Where Neon Goes to Die:

"A look at Yiddish culture in Miami Beach."
Directed by David Weintraub.

"For over sixty years, Miami Beach flourished with half a dozen Yiddish theatres, scores of choruses and folksinger groups, literary activity, and more. Then one day it vanished in a fog of disco lights."

+ I enjoyed some of this film, but was very offended by the intensely morbid tone of the theme. Isn't possible to engage in some nostalgia without the morbidity?

This film is an expression of Mr Weintraub's perspective and it is his personal memoir. I don't want to harshly criticize someone else's memories.

::CAJE:: ...and... ::AJFILM::

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Bookish: SORTING IT ALL OUT (2#) -

# "Front-page thrillers: The hyper-reality of
fiction techniques has transformed the way we
consume the news," according to Mark Lawson.

:: Outstanding essay ::

* * * * * * * * * *
# A True Crime book with
a strange Miami connection:

"With the police closing in, Unterweger fled
from Vienna to Miami, with a teenage girl in tow."

The Vienna Woods Killer
by John Leake (Granta)

::Reviewed:: by Chris Petit.

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