[The Squatter of Amon Rûdh]

Nobody should be shot. Pilloried and lampooned maybe, but not shot.

This sort of idle gossip and speculation is always rife when somebody remains out of the public eye. In fact, a certain type of journalism feeds it in vengeance when someone refuses to give interviews. C.T. likes his privacy, and unfortunately that means that a lot of foolish ideas about him aren't countered as often or as authoritatively as they ought to be. Add to that the amateurish reportage of the average weblog and you have a recipe for this sort of wild misinformation.

Perhaps we should even be thankful that someone's comments have provoked a definitive statement from those in the know. I've heard each and every one of those rumours before, and they always sounded rather fishy. It's nice to have both sides of the story.