December 11, 2003

Reuters is at it again, headlining a release from Palestinian reporter Nidal al-Mughrabi: Israeli Army Kills Five Palestinians in Gaza Strip. RAFAH, Gaza Strip (Reuters) - Israeli soldiers killed five Palestinians on Thursday during gun battles that erupted after an armored push into Rafah refugee camp in the Gaza Strip to detain an Islamic Jihad militant, witnesses said. Palestinian officials identified the dead as four civilians, including a medic, and a gunman. You know, one of those civilian gunmen? Note to Reuters: the other word for “civilian gunman” is “terrorist.” [ Little Green Footballs ] 11:15:46 AM

Copyright body may slap levy on digital music players Toronto Star, Canada - That 20-gigabyte MP3 player going under the Christmas tree this season could soon cost 20 per cent more if the Copyright Board approves a proposed levy tomorrow on the sale of digital music devices. It could also mean new levies on recordable DVDs, removable flash memory and micro hard drives, as well as increased tariff rates on blank cassettes and recordable CDs, assuming a music-industry group called the Canadian Private Copying Collective, or CPCC, gets its way. So far, the organization has distributed $11 million back to Canadian artists since it began collecting the levy in 2000. It is expected to issue another $17 million to $18 million between next week and the end of January. 8:39:19 AM