While al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden doesn't mind a hug, he's not big on lip-to-face contact, says an Australian convicted of receiving funds from al Qaeda.

Saw this at David Akin's blog: A new poll of journalists by Compas. Here are some of the key findings:

The State of Press Freedom in Canada

• Very High and Unchanged in a Decade
• Among Journalists as a Whole, the Biggest Threats - Ill-Informed Journalists and Uninterested Audiences
• Among 9% of Journalists with Fear of Firing, the Biggest Threats to Freedom—Advertisers, Senior Editors, and Owners
• Government Secrecy Volunteered as a Threat,
• But Regulatory Reprisal Rarely Seen as Impacting Press Freedom

One can download a .pdf of the entire report from the above link.

CBS wants to send news alerts, including video, to mobile devices like cellphones.

David Lynch's brilliant 1986 film Blue Velvet is getting a two-week, 20th anniversary run in New York. Do you think any of the Toronto rep houses would follow suit? A resounding 'no' is the answer to that question. :(