Orlando Sentinel Editor Gets Cozy With Hugo Chavez In Caracas:

President Hugo Chávez says Venezuela's beef with the United States is all about George Bush, and the government will reach out quickly to the new American president.

In a wide-ranging interview Thursday with a group of visiting American newspaper editors, Chávez said he respected the American people and wished to "beg for forgiveness if in my speech I have hurt any feelings back in the States."

He said his criticism is aimed at "the elite that is governing the United States, and not even all the elite."

Of the American presidential candidates, Chávez said, "It would be a lie to say I have no preference." But "I shouldn't say anything that would be used against someone."

I'm not one to start a war with a newspaper editor but what follows must be said. Charlotte Hall is a useful fool, at best. At worst she is a willing participant in a propaganda-laced puff piece on a Venezuelan ne'er do well who stomps out free speech and starves his country. I'm referring, of course, to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. The long-winded egotist welcomed a large group of newspaper editors embarking on a 'fact finding' trip to the region.

Hall was in management for some time before being passed over for an open editor position at Newsday. This lead to her move to Orlando and appointment as editor of the Sentinel back in 2004. She's been responsible for such classy moves as splashing photos of former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer's call girl nude on it's pages. All of this has led to a slight increase in circulation at the Orlando Sentinel. In 2005, suffering a major year to year drop in subscribers, circulation of the Sentinel was around 220,000. In 2008 under the tutelage of Sam 'F*#k You' Zell and with Hall firmly installed as editor the average circulation has slowly climbed back to 227,000. During this period the Orlando Sentinel was one of the few newspapers in the country to see an increase in its subscriber base. Hall is trying to parlay her newfound power into a tool to push her political viewpoints.

Why does all of this matter? Because Charlotte Hall is the ASNE (American Society of Newspaper Editors) President. The ASNE bragged about the trip on it's website and the group snapped a photo with Chavez after a 90 minute meeting. While a majority of the editors present at the meeting wrote of the horrors of life under Hugo Chavez, Hall chose to paint a dreamy, romantic picture of life in Venezuela under a misunderstood leader.

'Chavez blames Bush, not U.S.,' the headline reads. What a relief! He doesn't hate us, he just hates our President. Oh yeah, and freedom of speech and dissension in general - he hates those too. Also, he's not a big fan of television or newspaper outlets that don't parrot the Chavez line. Way to look out for your brethren abroad Mrs. Hall.

Hugo Chavez is a dictator with a child-like mind. The man talks for hours on end while hosting his own television and radio show 'Halo Presidente' in Venezuela. Seriously, the show sometimes runs for as long as five hours. During 'Halo Presidente' Hugo Chavez routinely calls United States leaders including George Bush, Condoleezza Rice and everyone else who gets a paycheck in Washington by the foulest of names. In front of the United Nations Assembly Chavez called President Bush 'the devil' and joked of a sulfuric smell.

The man is beyond disrespectful, he's downright dangerous. He's been know to order his supporters, sometimes armed, to disrupt Chavez protests. I haven't spoken with a single Venezuelan living in the United States that respects, much less agrees with, this vile man. While Hugo Chavez and his freedom-hating friends in Latin America position themselves for a lifetime in leadership and lead the way to the destruction of both life and culture in the region, Charlotte Hall and the Orlando Sentinel rush to defend on principal.

This report does the Venezuelan people, some waiting in line for food that will never arrive, some resisting the urge to speak out for fear of repercussion, such harm and injustice that it must be said - both here and elsewhere that Charlotte Hall, in association with the Orlando Sentinel and the ASNE, is a useful tool of the worst kind. Both she and the paper should be ashamed of this piece.

New York Times Magazine Profile On Chris Matthews Leaks:

# A number of people I spoke with at NBC said that Russert can be disdainful of Matthews, whose act he often sees as clownish. They also told me that Russert believes Matthews is something of a loose cannon who brings him undue headaches in his capacity as NBC's Washing-ton bureau chief.

# In an interview with Playboy a few years ago, he volunteered that he had made the list of the Top 50 journalists in D.C. in The Washingtonian magazine. "I'm like 36th, and Tim Russert is No. 1," Matthews told Playboy. "I would argue for a higher position for myself."

# Friends say Matthews is wary of another up-and-comer, David Gregory, who last month was given a show at 6 o'clock, between airings of "Hardball." It is a common view around NBC that Gregory is trying out as a possible replacement for Matthews.

# According to people at NBC, Matthews has not been shy in voicing his resentment of Olbermann. Nor, according to network sources, has Olbermann bothered to hide his low regard for Matthews, although when I spoke to him, Olbermann denied any personal animosity toward Matthews and told me that he appreciates his "John Madden-like enthusiasm for politics."

Lots of inside info to read when this article is released Sunday.

Eight Florida Girls Have Been Arrested After Posting This Video:

ORLANDO, Fla., April 8 (UPI) -- Florida authorities say they arrested a group of teenagers who had planned to post a video of a beating on YouTube.

A gang of six girls allegedly pummeled another teenager while one of them recorded the incident on a video camera, apparently with plans to place it on YouTube for all to see.

The family of the victim told WFTV-TV, Orlando, the ambush was part of an alleged scheme to humiliate their daughter and cause her physical harm.

This video is everywhere right now. From coast to coast and around the world, news outlets are running the video or posting it on their websites. Why is everyone posting a teen fight video? The visuals are good for both ratings and web hits and the entire world is competing for eyeballs. Fight videos and 'fight clubs' have been increasing in number and popularity over the past several years but is it really international news when a few teenage girls get in a fight?

The UK Daily 'The Independent' Jumps The Shark Once Again:



The Great Depression? We're not even officially in a recession yet.

What's With The Onslaught Of High-Profile Gore Pieces?:



If you're trying to get the American people's attention, 60 Minutes is the place to be. If you're not, and you have no interest in running for President, why would you grant an interview to the most popular news program on television? It's no coincidence that Time Magazine is pushing an article today titled 'Is Al Gore The Answer?'. There is a full court press out there aimed at either forcing or tricking Al Gore into running for President.

A quick wire search pulls up 6,508 articles in the past 72 hours that mention Al Gore by name. There are dozens of websites, like DraftGore.com, aimed at pulling Gore into the race. On top of all of this, he's scheduled to appear on 60 Minutes this Sunday where he will call those who disagree with him on global warming (see: Me) 'fringe groups' and compare them to people who think the moon landing was staged or the world is flat.

The man is everywhere. Al Gore is either contemplating a run as an Independent or he's sucking up all the attention to expand his already impressive bank account. Either way, Democrats can't be happy with this. Gore's posturing makes the party look even more fragile than the never ending back and forth between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He's more of a problem than Ralph Nader. The question is, will he stay on the sidelines or throw his hat in the ring?

And The Award For Most Misleading Headline Goes To...:



The story, from the MSNBC blog 'First Read,' tells a different tale.

AFP Photog Running With The Mahdi Army In Basra, Iraq:





How close is too close? Essam Al-Sudani is walking the line.

Fox Has A Live Stream Of The Berkeley Army Recruiting Center:



According to a new report, attacks on military recruiting centers across the country are on the rise. Just weeks ago, a center located in Times Square was bombed by an hooded man on a bicycle. The man was never apprehended. Protesters from the anti-war group CODEPINK have been parked outside of the Berkeley, California military recruitment center for some time now and have been the cause of many problems there. Recruiters claim they are being harrassed and the police, in an attempt to remain 'politically correct,' refuse to help. Fox News has decided to keep and eye on the protesters, and the recruiters, by adding a live video feed of the center to their website. The feed is streaming online via this link.

Ding! Round One Is On. Matthews Fumes Over Mika Question:



Finally some excitement on MSNBC and once again Mika Brzezinski is involved. You may remember her for burning the Paris Hilton script live on television last year. In doing that she dropped the curtain and made it clear that newscasters do nothing more than read cue-cards much like the fictional Ron Burgundy. Matthews is upset by her line of questions and sparks fly. Will we see a round two any time soon?