CNN LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT REACHED

A settlement has been reached between The Eubanks of New York state, parents of Melinda Marie Eubank and CNN/Nancy Grace.

Part of the settlement consists of a trust in the amount of $200,00 to be used to search for Trenton Duckett.

If Trenton Duckett is not found by his 13th birthday, the $200,000 is slated to go to The Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

According to court filings, if Trenton Duckett is found alive before he turns 13,  he would be given the remaining funds

MURT

JUSTICE FOR CAYLEE

I have to admit to having a certain bias when it comes to this forum.

http://www.justice4caylee.org/forum.htm 

I worked with the members and admin closely during the searches for Caylee by Texas Equusearch and then The Blanchard Park search when Lenny decided to Conduct his own search.

At that time Justice For Caylee had a lot of local members (and I believe they still do) many of whom I had the honor of meeting when they worked at the park helping provide food and supplies for those taking part in the search.

The reason I chose this forum to write about is because Justice For Caylee is an example of how a forum, blog, chat or other internet website's members can come together for the good of the community at large.

During the searches by Texas Equusearch and Lenny P, it was the members of Justice For Caylee and other Blog and forum members who gave so generously of their time and funds, by volunteering their time to aid the searchers as best they could while the out of town ( and in town ) members responded by sending food and supplies to the search site, keeping the searchers hydrated and fed during their efforts.

It was an amazing sight to see all of these people come together for the common good.

I know that both Texas Equusearch and Lenny P's team where most thankful for them being there.

I am proud to have known the members of Justice For Caylee and I also give them thanks for coming to the plate when needed.


MURT

THE TEARDOWN EFFECT

I cannot understand why some people need to tear down a fellow blogger or person on the internet rather than just stay away from that person and find another source for whatever one is looking for.

I am going to make this one time warning. This blog is not going to be another source to smear other people on the internet. This goes for blogs, bloggers, webcasters, visitors to these sites and so on.


I have had to reject two comments because they were bringing personal information into their comments and, rather than comment on the content of a blog or other website, the Anons chose to make personal attacks of a person and their RL situation. 

I will reject any comment of that nature.

Be advised accordingly

MURT

MARINADE DAVE

In my second installment I decided to focus on the world of bloggers. In this case Marinade Dave.

http://marinadedave.com/journal/2010/9/1/trial-by-ambush.html 



Now why did I chose Dave? There are certainly more larger and diverse blogs out there, including those edited by nationally respected experts in either reporting or the world of true crime.

The reason is quite simple. Dave is one of us.  A hard working man, carving out a living like the rest of us, writing on his blog, not for fame and glory, but for the simple love of expressing his viewpoint on cases that are of interest to all of us and throwing a few human interest stories as an extra treat for all who read. 

Here is a bit about Dave in his own words:

I live in the Orlando, Florida area. Since November of 2008, I have been writing about the Casey Anthony case. I do my best to attend all of the hearings.
I do try to write human interest stories, too. Some are humorous in nature, others are just life's experiences. Occasionally, I'll take a stab at politics and social issues of importance.

Dave also has a video archive on Youtube.com. He is one of the ever growing number of bloggers who are employing multimedia content into his blog.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uyBwsKqPuQ&feature=player_embedded#!

 This makes a personal experience for all of us who read his blog. Not only do we read about what goes on in the case, but we also get a chance to see an audio/visual presentation, on demand, by someone local, in an extended documentary format.


Dave also attends the status hearings frequently as his schedule allows. As a result, his readers sometimes gets information that the mainstream media does not cover or missed because of their need to cover many other stories that garner more ratings.


Dave does not have to worry about ratings. He serves those who visit his blog and does it well.


I suggest visiting Marinade Frequently. I think you will enjoy his style of writing and in the process gain a unique perspective of The Trial of Casey Anthony and the many other events surrounding the case.


Keep up the good work, Dave, I will be reading.


MURT

RADIONEWZ

 
UPDATE:
THE WEBSITE THAT I REVIEWED NO LONGER EXISTS. IT WAS SHUT DOWN IN NOVEMBER OF 2011 AND TURNED INTO ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC CYBER ABUSE BLOGS THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN.
THERE ARE RUMORS THAT IT CHANGED OWNERS. I DO NOT KNOW THE TRUTH OF THESE RUMORS. I ONLY KNOW THAT THE BLOG I REVIEWED HERE IS GONE AND I DO NOT LIKE NOR WOULD I RECOMMEND THIS SITE.

 I have chosen Radionewz as our first stop because I consider this a "must stop" on any journey to the true crime area of the internet.

I must begin my article by saying that I consider Radionewz the finest example of an internet operation that I have ever come across. Other blog/forum/chat owners would learn a great deal when visiting Radionewz as to how to operate what has to be the best example of an excellently designed, well maintained and most fairly moderated and rich featured websites in the true crime arena today. 


If there was a rating system, I would give Radionewz an excellent and outstanding rating.

I first came across Radionewz through her twitter account:

 http://twitter.com/RadioNewz

RADIO, as the owner is known has mastered the use of Twitter to post links to different locations that have the content that true crime followers may be interested in viewing.

This is the most effective use of Twitter by a Blog/forum owner that I have ever seen. It is also a use that goes against the grain of most fourm/chat/blog owners. She directs her followers to OTHER websites rather than always to  her OWN blog and forum. 

As a result of her generosity and lack of selfishness the followers and visitors to her Twitter site are treated to a wide variety of information and news sources regarding the current true crime cases that people are following. 



The next stop is to the Radionewz forum:
http://forums.radionewz.net/index.php?board=7.0 

 The first thing the visitor will notice is how much content there is on Radionewz's forum. This is a heavily used forum with many active and well informed members.


The one major strength or weakness of a forum is in the moderation of the site.

The one unique policy of Radionewz is the LACK of a strict policy of not allowing members to visit other "competing" forum sites such as Websleuths. She has a vary tolerant viewpoint when it comes to members going to and from other sites and being members of those sites as well.


Radio has a lack of ego and the strength and insight to understand that other websites will have unique resources that will allow for an even fuller and more enjoyable experience of her members and visitors.


Forums with strict topic restrictions and ban criteria suffer from member disdain as they have to battle constantly with administrators or moderator over whatever guidelines the forum owner and staff has put in place.


A forum with little or no moderation can turn into chaos and anarchy if it becomes large enough to allow members to cause the forum to go into disarray.


Moderation is the strong point of Radionewz. Radio and her excellent staff has perfected this extremely difficult chore. Radio allows a wide range of opinions and goes the extra mile to keep any banning to an absolute minimum.

I have found Radio and her administrators to be the best around and her members are fortunate to be able to enjoy the fruits of the creation of Radionewz.


As with any forum of any size, there will be the occasion where a number of members have "issues" with each other that has a history on another forum, blog or chat site. 


I learned through personal experience that Radio is so respected by her followers, that all she has to do is to gently suggest that feuding members need to take their differences to "the cage" so as not to disrupt the the topic being discussed and the feuding members stop in their tracks without protest. 

This deep love and abiding respect of Radio by her members is the core strength that makes Radionewz such a pleasure to visit.


Most forums have a "duke it out" room where the feuding members can go and verbally "duke it out" in a no holds barred ( a few minor rules, however) private room. At Radionewz it is called "the cage."


Since the members are well matched on Radionewz, The Cage is tame compared to most. There are lively arguments there, but the members usually come back out as friends and continue on in the main forums with virtually no indication of the discourse between them. 


In future posts, I am going to comment on the key members of Radionewz and the rich and unique flavor they bring to this excellent forum.


In closing, I again reiterate that you must go and visit ALL of what Radionewz has to offer. I assure you that you will not be disappointed.

MURT

THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Every day, there are people and places on the internet that we all interact with or would be worth the time to interact with. I plan on giving my viewpoint regarding these people and places. 

The writings here will be my opinion. I am not an expert on anything. I have no special qualifications that make my impressions any more valuable than yours.

I am like you, just another traveler on the internet superhighway. I am just giving my opinion of where to stop along the ride.

Ok, fasten your seat belts, time to go.

 

Stay tuned;

Murt