Apparently the New York Times stringer covering the Conrad Black Trial maynot actually be covering the Conrad Black Trial. ... he may not even be in Chicago...he may not even be animate:

Theree is much speculation about the whereabouts of the New York Times stringer who has been filing dispatches on the trial. His report the other day seemed (to some) to suggest he was in the courtroom, and yet nobody seems to have laid an eye on him. Nobody is suggesting anything untoward of course. Certainly not. This is the finest newspaper in the world we’re talking about. And, to be fair, nobody among the assembled scribes knows exactly what this fellow looks like, so it’s possible he was among us at some point over the past few days, disguised as a lawyer perhaps. Or an empty chair.

UPDATE: NYT guy is in the building: