From CBC.ca:

A Vancouver newspaper has fired one of its sports columnists after he admitted that he copied parts of a Sports Illustrated article and used them in his own piece.

The decision came after David Pratt admitted he plagiarized material from a Sept. 12, 2000, article written by Rick Reilly, a basketball commentator, the Province announced Wednesday.

Pratt, a long-time sports journalist, wrote about Canadian Hockey broadcaster Bob Cole in his column on Tuesday.

A reader contacted the newspaper after noticing three separate spots where phrases used in Pratt's piece were almost identical to Reilly's column.

Pratt explained that he wrote the offending column on a Saturday and that he "wanted to get out of (the office) before noon."

Pratt doesn't find himself in completely dire straits. The Team 1040 radio station will be keeping him on as a show host.

From the Associated Press:

Lawyers for a Canadian television journalist being held as an enemy combatant in Afghanistan filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing the Bush administration of holding him illegally and demanding his release.

   more »

From RSF.org:

Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the failure to punish the murder of Zakia Zaki, the director Sada-e-Solh (Peace Radio), exactly one year ago. Her husband tells the organisation there has been no progress in the official investigation, probably because of pressure from those who ordered her murder. Zaki was shot in her home in Jabalussaraj, in the northern province of Parwan, in the early hours of 6 June 2007.

“Today we pay tribute to an outstanding woman who was one of the symbols of the renaissance of independent media in Afghanistan,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We support her family’s efforts to keep her memory alive and to demand justice.”

The organisation added: “The impunity in this case is outrageous and has paved the way for a new wave of violence against women journalists. More than 15 Afghan women journalists have been attacked, threatened or reduced to silence since her murder. We call for an immediate reaction from the Afghan government.”  

From washingtonpost.com:

Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, calmly told a U.S. military court Thursday that he wishes for a death sentence so that he can become "a martyr."

Call me cynical, but last week, the CIA was saying al Qaeda is on the run.

This week, Mohammed is finally going on trial, despite being in custody for five years.

Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain has consistently presented himself as the national security candidate. Dubya's time is winding down. He needs a legacy.

Whatever could it all mean? :^)

   more »

Bora Nikolic, a former globeandmail.com colleague from back when I worked there, has a blog posting up announcing completion of the globeandmail.com e-reader, which allow one to view and browse the newspaper online.

You can see the demo here: http://eedition.globeinvestor.com/demo/

It's part of globeandmail.com's effort to revamp its subscription product offerings.

(Thanks, Mungo)

The Toronto Star has been hacking around with Google Maps since about 2005. You can find more at the Map of the Week blog.

From a discussion between Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and the Washington Post:

What is your outlook for the future of media?

In the next 10 years, the whole world of media, communications and advertising are going to be turned upside down -- my opinion.

Here are the premises I have. Number one, there will be no media consumption left in 10 years that is not delivered over an IP network. There will be no newspapers, no magazines that are delivered in paper form. Everything gets delivered in an electronic form.

   more »

Check this out:

I saw it at the Revue last night (they've been making some good programming picks with respects to vintage films). I got the teensiest bit of motion sickness in the scenes where you get an windshield-eye view as the cars are literally flying down the streets of San Fran (about 3:35 in on the above YouTube video).

I also want to acknowledge the nice little touch where the driver of the bad guy's car buckles up right before the fun really starts. :)

No CGI action sequence compares.

Afterthought

I stand corrected. I saw The Matrix: Reloaded in Imax. The opening scene where Trinity swoops down on her motorcycle almost did me in. :) And of course, the freeway sequence in Reloaded is sublime.

From the BBC:

An Egyptian newspaper has taken the unusual step of publishing what it calls "visual proof" that the president pays his taxes just like everyone else.

Egypt's state-run press often like to show Hosni Mubarak on their front pages and his comments make headline news.

But one daily has found a new angle, reproducing a bill Mr Mubarak paid for E£65 excise duty - or about $10.

The president's office insisted on paying the duty on a box of dates sent by a Saudi royal, the paper said.