Italy and Germany prevail. Ukraine and Argentina pack their bags.

For tomorrow, I think Brazil and Portugal will remain standing, and England and France will be done.

Argentina lost a tough one in a shoot-out, and the Ukraine-Italy game was actually closer than the 3-0 score indicated.

After the game was over, Italian fans went relatively wild in the streets.

I went to buy a barbecued chicken from a Portuguese churrasqueria up the street.

"So I guess you'll be cheering for England tomorrow," I innocently asked the counterman.

"Whad're you talking about?" he asked sharply.

When he calmed down a few seconds later, he expressed surprise that College was still the street for Italians to show their colours, given that way more Portuguese people live in the area now.

They might get their chance to party tomorrow.

This is a breaking story, folks. Here's the Washington Post's story.

On Tuesday, the Council of Europe issued its report on the CIA rendition flights in Europe.

Here's the BBC news story, an FAQ and some analysis by Beeb European Editor Mark Mardell.

This June 27 BBC story says that The Netherlands' Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk has found a loophole in the Ayaan Hirsi Ali case. Thus, the ex-MP won't be stripped of her Dutch citizenship.

This Beeb piece is a competent overview of the decision by some U.S. newspapers to publish stories about the existence of a program to track the finances of suspected terrorists.

A good starter if you're new to this story.

An NYT editorial on the Bush administration's heated reaction to the revealing of its program for monitoring the financial transactions of suspected terrorists:

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This has got to rank as the most bizarre case ever: An ex-judge in Oklahoma is on trial for indecent exposure -- He allegedly used a penis pump on himself while court was in session!

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From the Salon blurb: The success of the documentary Loose Change spotlights the thousands of online sleuths who believe the U.S. government was behind the terror attacks -- to get gold, justify war, or serve Satan.

Update: Brett Lamb has a post that breaks out the part about the dueling conspiracy theorists! :)

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From the BBC:

Reports in the Swedish media identified the journalist as Palestinian-born Rachid Alhajeh, 61.

They say he is being questioned over a 10-year-old interview with an asylum-seeking Syrian on Swedish TV.

A spokeswoman for Sweden's foreign ministry told AFP news agency it had not yet been informed of the nature of the charges against the journalist.

From the BBC:

Al-Dustour chief editor Ibrahim Issa and reporter Sahar Zaki were found guilty of insulting and harming the president and the Egyptian people.

In April the paper reported on a legal case against the president accusing him of misusing public money during the privatisation of state-owned companies.

The man who filed the lawsuit, Said Abdullah, was also given a year's jail.

The three were also fined 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($1,743, £956), and were freed on bail pending a review by an appeal court.

Two years ago the president promised to abolish prison sentences for publishing offences but the new legislation has not yet been adopted.

Al-Dustour is an independent weekly paper which returned to newspaper stands last year after a seven-year ban for criticising the government.

Mr Issa, who did not attend the hearing, said the sentences showed the Egyptian government was not serious about recent promises of democratic reform in the 75m-population state.

"This is a severe slap in the face to all those who advocate democracy and freedom of expression in Egypt," Mr Issa told the Associated Press news agency.

Two Nigerian journalists face jail sentences of up to two years if they are convicted of "sedition" over writing and talking about the new plane of the country's president.

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The Beeb has come up with a new way to consume the time of their senior editors as the British public broadcasters strives to become "the most open and accountable news organisation in the world."

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A disquieting trend for traditional U.S. broadcasters: Advance ad sales are down for the second year in a row, and that dastardly new media is to blame.

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Dubya, Dick "Duck!" Cheney and Treasury Secretary John Snow all came out with guns blazing on Monday against the decision by some U.S. newspapers, most notably the NYT, to report on a secret program to monitor ...   more »

Given the furor over spying on financial transaction information (see above and this), Democracy Now! asks some disquieting questions about whether the Total Information Awareness program ever went away.

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From the Democracy Now! blurb: The Buffalo News has revealed that a former spokesman for President Bush has been encouraging U.S. newspapers to run news stories from Iraq written by two combat veterans who are now embedded reporters in Iraq. The veterans are from a pro-war group called Vets for Freedom that has ties to the Republican Party.

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Last September, Yahoo News' Kevin Sites interviewed Sheik Hassan Dahir Aweys. As fate would have it, he's been named leader of the Islamic council that's taken control of Mogadishu, capital of the essentially ungoverned country of Somalia.

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Deb Jones was in a posting frenzy today! :)

Media's money source:

 Richard Siklos of the New York Times tackles the big business question for media: "Who do you think has got this Internet thing figured out?"

Owning our own journalism:

As the print media ponder the possibilities presented by blogs, some journalists are raising money to turn their own independent blogs into businesses, reports the Wall Street Journal (free content).
Hat tip to Romenesko

RSF condemns Chinese censorship laws:

 RSF.org reports that China's new legislation would censor media coverage of natural catastrophes, public health crises and industrial accidents. Journalists convicted of publishing unauthorised information on such subjects would be fined 50,000 to 100,000 yuan (5,000 to 10,000 euros).

Is Slate cool, or frigid?

On Slate's 10th birthday as an online publication.

Canadian publication ban challenged:

Four media organizations have banded together to fight the publication ban issued in the case of the Toronto 17.

Of all the ways to lose a World Cup game, to be victimized by a dive in the final moments of injury time, followed by a successful penalty kick, has got to be the worst.

From my vantage point, that's what happened to Australia today in its game against Italy.

Fabio Grosso should be known, henceforth, as Fabio Louganis.

Italy's fans may well be happy, but that's not a proud or honourable way to win.

From the NYT story:

Though product placement in movies and on television shows is a fairly standard practice, it is generally accepted that magazine and newspaper articles, and television and radio news programs, do not accept payment for naming products.

A recent survey, however, challenges that understanding. An annual poll conducted by PR Week magazine and Manning Selvage & Lee, a public relations firm, asked 266 marketing executives if they had ever paid for broadcast or editorial placement. Nearly half said yes. And nearly 46 percent of those who had not paid for placement replied that they would consider doing so in the future.

"I don't think it's as blatant as putting cash in an editor's hand. The issue is much more subtle than that and more nefarious as a result," said Mark Hass, chief executive of Manning Selvage & Lee and a former journalist. "The results show that there is an ethical issue that needs to be discussed, that there needs to be education around, so that the marketing industry develops more respect for the separation between editorial and advertising."

Mr. Hass cited the financial pressure on marketing executives to get their products broader exposure as one reason this practice had taken root. Another, he said, is the increasing number of specialty consumer and business-to-business magazines.

This story talks about an explosion in content sites as advertisers frantically look to spend money on online ads.

If it's that frantic, do I have to start worrying about the bottom falling out again?

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CNN president Jonathan Klein promised last year that his network would redouble its efforts on good, old-fashioned reporting. But that lasted until he realized his ranters and emoters were the people bringing in the ratings, argues the NYT's David Carr.

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Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, has written an open letter to critics assailing his paper for publishing a story that the U.S. government has been scouring the records of "terrorism suspects."

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The Beeb's Ben Sutherland looks at the World Urban Forum in Vancouver and, among the cries for "more power!", finds some workable ideas.

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From the BBC:

The Islamist militia now controlling the Somali capital says it will protect foreign media following the murder of Swedish journalist Martin Adler.

Mr Adler, 47, was shot dead as he filmed a rally in Mogadishu on Friday.

The chairman of Somalia's Union of Islamic Courts, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, sent condolences to Mr Adler's family and promised to track down the killer.

The rally was in support of Thursday's peace deal between the Islamists and the interim government.

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said an office would be established to guarantee that international journalists could operate safely and effectively in Mogadishu.

He blamed forces that wanted to destabilise the capital and said: "The Islamic courts are very sorry for the killing and we send our condolences to the family and colleagues."  

Sharif Sheikh Ahmed was speaking hours being replaced at the head of the militia by a more radical figure, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys - who is wanted by the US as a terror suspect.

It's interesting how unequally the soccer audience pie is divided on College St. for Saturday morning games.

The Diplomatico is clearly the place to be, with both patio and restaurant filled to capacity.

The Riveria bakery is also packed (a much smaller venue).

Right next door to the Riviera, the College St. Bar has abundant seating (alas, no breakfast menu except for a heartsmart sausage sandwich).

Langolino, right across Clinton St. from the Dip, had about five people watching -- two of which work there.

Bar Azzurri has its usual crowd of older Italian men and younger parolees, Vecchio Frek has a handful of people, Il Gato Nero has a sprinkling, as does the Sicilian Ice Cream joint.

Of the potential audience on College Street, the Dip draws an overwhelmingly disproportionate share (people love potato puffs with their soccer, I guess. :) ) It's built some brand-name recognition for hosting these types of events.

And once you have that recognition, your competition is screwed. They'll get leftovers and that's it.

For anything other than a World Cup glamour match (eg. Brazil, Italy), that crowd isn't going to be large enough to give your place an 'event' feel. And without an event feel, people are left to watch soccer, which even at the current high level of play, isn't enough to hold the average Torontonian's attention.

In that regard, it's kinda like watching an Argos game at the Rogers Centre. :)

The Toronto Star has a big blow-out today on immigrants. It's worth checking out.

Including in that package is Forgotten in media's culture gap, about ethnic media in T.O.

Zerby has a post about an interview Prime Minister Stephen Harper conducted with The Western Standard.

Here's some excerpts from the article: (reg. req'd)

"When we first started doing this and were doing this, the majority of journalists loved it," (Harper) says. "But of course, the problem was that we were getting our message out and a small number of ideologues didn't like that. So they've now basically forbidden all of their colleagues to ask questions, which I think is a fascinating use of press freedom when a small number of journalists can tell others they can't ask questions at a press conference. But that's the position of the left-wing ideologues who are apparently running the show." ...

Actually, what the gallery opposes is the Prime Minister's Office deciding who gets to ask questions, fearing those who might be seen as critical won't be called upon. And given the way the Bush White House operates (Helen Thomas, Bush's bete noir on Iraq, went for years without being called upon to ask a question) and its obvious influence on the Harper government's thinking, one has to see that fear as valid.

Harper laughs when he talks of how much easier the gallery has made his life. "I'm free to pick my interviews when and where I want to have them," he says. "The great irony is, the result is precisely the opposite of what these doing it claim to be seeking. They say if I don't do it their way, I'll somehow gain more control over my media relations. Well, I've got more control now." ...

Call me crazy, but politicians have always been able to "pick and choose" when they give interviews with specific journalists and news organizations. This is about asking questions in an open news conference.

... While he believes most journalists are "left of centre," Harper says they're also largely free thinkers. The gallery, he believes, has become too institutionalized, and too convinced that it can control the news. "I think if we can break that up in any way," he says. "That is helpful for democracy."

The Salon blurb: In his devastating new book, Ron Suskind shows how 9/11 allowed George W. Bush and his shadowy courtier, Dick Cheney, to "create whatever reality was convenient."

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U.S. Veep Dick Cheney blasted the news media Friday for revealing a program by which security officials conducted possibly hundreds of thousands of searches at the financial transaction records of Americans.

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