Google CEO Eric Schmidt addressed the U.S. newspaper industry's top executives, and sparks didn't fly.

From CP via CTV.ca:

Some of Canada's leading news organizations are betting that avid BlackBerry users are also news junkies and have introduced a mobile service specifically for RIM smartphones.

From The Globe and Mail:

The restructuring is part of a plan that has seen CP get federal permission to suspend its pension contributions for 2009 through 2011, to alleviate financial pressure on the operations. ... The job cuts are equal to eight per cent of CP's work force. Staff will be offered buyouts, which will be followed by layoffs if required, according to an internal memo.

The brief cites the pullout of CanWest Global and Quebecor from the co-operative as hurting revenues.

The work of undercover reporters in Burma is the object of a new documentary.

A new magazine in Italy is attempting to bridge some mutual culture gaps.

BlogTO recently did a round-up of souvlaki and gyros opportunities in t-dot.

I can vouch for Astoria, Asteria, Alexandros and Yiannis's in St. Lawrence Market.

A joint at College/Ossington offers up a solid Nova Scotia-style donair.

I wonder if BlogTO will do a similar meta-review review of falafel and sharwarma (it has reviewed individual shawarma joints here and there)?

My vote: Laila at Bloor/Bathurst.

From the NYT:

Taking aim at the way news is spread across the Internet, The Associated Press said on Monday that Web sites that used the work of news organizations must obtain permission and share revenue with them, and that it would take legal action against those that did not.

The BBC looks at 73-year-old Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard, who has a price on his head after drawing a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb in his turban for the Jyllands-Posten newspaper in the fall of 2005.

Caught It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks (C'est dur d'etre aime par des cons) at Cinefranco on Sunday night.

Democracy Now! host and executive producer Amy Goodman and Salon's Glenn Greenwald are the inugural recipients of the Izzy Award for special achievement in independent media.

The awards are named after U.S. independent journalism legend I.F. Stone.

Bill Moyers of PBS's Bill Moyers Journal interviewed the duo on Friday.

(Seen first on Twitter)

The New York Times Co. is threatening to shutter the Boston Globe unless unionized staff agree to concessions on wages and pensions.

From the April 2 Globe and Mail:

Ontario will relax a rigid clamp of secrecy over cases ranging from sexual offences and extortion to criminal matters involving young offenders, Ontario Attorney-General Chris Bentley said yesterday.

Mr. Bentley said that allowing the media access to files in these cases will enhance public awareness of information that was routinely sealed in courthouses throughout the province.

"An essential part of strengthening the administration of justice is to make sure that it can be as open and transparent as possible," the Attorney-General said in an interview.

He said that in criminal cases involving young offenders, the media will be able to easily learn when and where specific cases are being heard - basic information that has stood as a major impediment to reporting the cases.

Mr. Bentley also said that he will look into relaxing a ministry policy that prevents prosecutors and ministry staff from responding to questions from the media.

While it is imperative that Crowns not be seen as partisan, Mr. Bentley said, loosening the absolute gag they are under could help public understanding of individual cases and the justice system as a whole.

I'm hoping to God this is an April fool's story, but if not, enjoy anyway!

From the April 1 BBC:

Miss Universe 2008, Dayana Mendoza, says the camp was "soooo beautiful"

Life may be tough for its full-time residents, but for Miss Universe a day out at the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay was simply "a loooot of fun!"

Venezuelan beauty queen Dayana Mendoza visited the centre and wrote about it on the Miss Universe blog on 27 March.

Her remarks that she "didn't want to leave" the "calm and beautiful" place attracted some scathing reactions.

Her blog entry has now been removed, while a statement has been uploaded explaining the motives of her trip.

Former detainees and human rights groups have alleged that torture - including "waterboarding" (simulated drowning) - took place at the camp.

The blurb for Thomas L. Friedman's NYT column of April 1: "It’s obvious that the reason we’re experiencing meltdowns in both the financial system and the climate system is because we have been mispricing risk in both arenas."

From the NYT:

Chinese leaders have adopted a plan aimed at turning the country into one of the leading producers of hybrid and all-electric vehicles within three years, and making it the world leader ...   more »

With manufacturing and construction taking disproportionate hits so far this recession, men are bearing the brunt of the job layoffs. Besides the obvious economic pain, those who have lost their jobs are also paying a price in terms of their emotional health.

The United Nations Human Rights Council has endorsed the idea of proscribing the "defamation of religion." A Globe and Mail editorial rightly puts the boots to this notion.

The Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai has signed off on a law that would legalize rape within marriage and severely limit the legal rights of women.