When I found out about the media gag in the Tori Stafford murder case yesterday I thought that with all the other similarities in the case, Dougald McDermid couldn't resist following Francis Kovacs lead in the censorship business.

I can understand specific pieces of information being withheld, but a sweeping ban like this only serves to make small-town Ontario and its residents look like hicksville.   The decision would suggest that either the internet doesn't reach Woodstock, or people there aren't smart enough to know how to use it.   I'm not suggesting the judge should have made his decision based on the ease of violating it, but I think the decision doesn't reflect the aftermath it creates.  Interest in the story has grown exponentially since yesterday because of it.  The 'facts' may have come out, but they would have received nowhere near the attention they will now.

Now as opposed to a shrug, people are combing twitter, Facebook and the blogs looking for details, and anyone wishing to inflate their hit-count only needs to post the key words on their site or feed. It also means that any clown can now post 'the facts', or 'all the facts you aren't supposed to know' which will be treated like gospel.

The details behind the Woodstock news blackout publication ban on Terri-Lynne McClintic in the Tori Stafford murder trial.

There.. With a click-thru ad attached to this post, I could make a couple of bucks today.

In 16 hours it's gone from a sensational story to a full blown feeding frenzy. I don't know the judge, nor the reasons for the decision, but the decision feels like the repercussions of a Cessna pilot being given the keys to an airbus-380 for the day.

The star has published a brilliant column by Rosie Dimano outlining the gag order.

I just read this in the globe. Says it better than I did:

the practical reality is that in the Internet age, trying to stop the dissemination of information revealed in open court is impractical. Indeed, placing limits on traditional, responsible media may be counterproductive, as the only information available to the public will be incomplete and rife with speculation and rumour.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/editorials/this-ban-goes-too-far/article1553384/

You've probably guessed that gold-plated cables for your home theater are entirely unnecessary. Still, there must be some small quality difference for all that price, right? Mint.com's blog lays out the answer: No, not at all.

Read more...

Around The Corner
Charles Hanson Towne (1877-1949)

Around the corner I have a friend
In this great city that has no end;
Yet days go by, and weeks rush on,
And before I know it, a year is gone,

And I never see my old friend?s face,
For life is a swift and terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well
As in the days when I rang his bell

And he rang mine.

Read more...