Flickr user: The U.S. Army

It's not just a movie.

This week, Army Pfc. Michael Metcalf, a 22-year-old soldier from Boynton Beach, was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan. I read the headline in the the Palm Beach Post yesterday morning and, in the evening, met a friend at Cinemark Boynton Beach to watch The Hunger Games.

Now, I realize that some people who drooled over the book trilogy are disappointed in the movie. It's a gory blockbuster, long on blood and short on character development. It sells out to Hollywood while attempting to critique our culture. Fine. But that's not what I noticed. I came to the film ignorant of Suzanne Collins' books and their backstory. Metcalf More >>

Kaufman believes he knows better than the sheriff how to deal with terrorism.

South Florida's favorite anti-Islam nut bag masquerading as a Republican congressional candidate has his knickers in a twist over a recent meeting between Broward sheriff's officials and Muslim leaders.

Joe Kaufman, head of the hate-mongering group Americans Against Hate, is upset because the sheriff's office had the gall to host a meeting two weeks ago between cops and leaders representing South Florida mosques, the local chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), and the American Muslim Association of North America (AMANA).

"I like and respect Sheriff [Al] Lamberti, but I think it is very unwise to allow radicalMore >>

BSO

BSO gave out this Crime Stoppers flier at the meeting.

​The men file in slowly to the meeting room at the Broward Sheriff's Office headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. "As-Salaam-Alaikum," they greet one another, shaking hands, smiling warmly at a Sunrise police officer they recognize from prayer services.

About 25 men are here, some wearing skull caps, others wearing police uniforms. The civilians represent mosques from all over South Florida -- Pompano, Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Pembroke Pines, Cooper City. They gathered last Wednesday evening to meet the police officers from their towns.

It's the first meeting of its kind in Broward, organized by the Florida Muslim Congress, a group that promotes education and cooperation between Muslims and law enforcement officials. The goal is to help ordinary citizens understand terrorism laws and avoid being accidentally linked to extremists. Nezar Hamze, a member of the Florida Muslim Congress and executive director of the South Florida chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, is leading tonight's meeting. "Our community leaders saw a need to deal with some serious issues," he says.

More >>

​We're not usually in the business of passing on meandering, typewritten pro-se lawsuits filed in federal court, but this one contains such impassioned language and has obviously annoyed a judge so much that we're presenting it for your perusal.

George May, who says he owned land in the "East Everglades" underneath which Shell Oil Co. discovered "huge pools of oil" that were "worth over $10 billion dollars in reserves," appears to be pissed that his land was condemned at one point.

Or, as Judge Rosemary Collyer put it, "while the Complaint is garbled and difficult to follow, it seem[s] to hinge on an allegation that the defendants condemned Mr. May's property in Florida without due process or compensation."
More >>

More >>

​A graph contends the more devout a Muslim is, the more likely he is to be violent. An instructional document saying that in Islam, "war is the rule and peace is only temporary." The paperwork sounds like propaganda produced by Joe Kaufman or U.S. Rep. Allen West. But the documents were used to train FBI agents in counterterrorism.

Prompted by an investigation by Wired.com, the FBI this week purged hundreds of pages of similar training documents, saying they contained "factual errors," promoted stereotypes, or were in "poor taste."

And the bureau is continuing to review its training materials, with more questionable documents expected to be revealed.

More >>

​If you've flown recently, you probably have some dim memories of loose change rattling around in a plastic bin at the security checkpoint. If you're careful, you pour all those coins back into your bag or pocket before heading to the gate.

If you don't, the Transportation Security Administration keeps the change. And over a year, that change adds up to a lot of money.

We told you the story of a TSA officer who took home a passenger's $450 pen -- and now faces grand theft charges. In the case of the loose change, though, nobody's pressing charges.More >>

CandaceWest.com

Toussain Puddie

​Our cover story this week deals with a subject on which pretty much everyone has a strong opinion: the Transportation Security Administration, tasked with frisking, scanning, and searching you before you get on a plane.More >>

Hunting and fishing trips are becoming more popular for vets.

​Stalking alligators in a swamp is not the only way veterans can bond and heal during outdoor adventures in Florida. In May, the Legislature passed a bill designating certain portions of state forests hunting areas for injured active-duty military members and veterans. So far, there are six forests slated to host hunts--  Lake Wales Ridge in Polk County, Withlacoochee in the Hernando and Sumter county areas, Welaka near Orlando, Lake Talquin in Leon County, and the Twin Rivers and Big Shoals forests along the Suwannee River.More >>

In honor of Veterans Day and the tenth anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, New Times went alligator hunting with combat-wounded veterans in Melbourne. This video, produced by talented photographer Colby Katz, provides a taste of the action. Narrated by retired Army Sgt. Gary Horn, it shows retired Army Capt. Greg Amira -- who was wounded on 9/11 and in Iraq -- celebrating the first catch of the hunt.

---

Follow The Pulp on Facebook and on Twitter: @ThePulpBPB. Follow Lisa Rab on Facebook and Twitter.