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30 Nov 2010 10:07

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U.S.: How Marinette, Wisconsin’s local paper played the hostage situation

  • Because we admit to having a tinge of morning-after guilt about the way we ripped the online coverage of the high school hostage situation in Marinette, Wisconsin last night, here’s the cover of today’s Marinette EagleHerald. This is probably the biggest story of the year for them. And in case you’re curious, you can read the full stories over here. (Green Bay also had some good play in print, even if early online coverage was lacking.) source

30 Nov 2010 09:42

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Biz, Tech: European Union targets its frickin’ laser beam at Google’s head

  • Is Google acting anti-competitively? Does it use its search-engine prowess to favor its own services over those of competitors? Does the company’s market share (66 percent in the U.S., 80 percent in Europe) constitute a monopoly? Do sites like Foundem, eJustice.fr and Ciao (the latter owned by Microsoft) have bad luck with Google because of crappy information-thin design that completely wastes your time and has little relevance (which we’d argue with the first two) or because there are competitive issues afoot (which seems realistic with the last one)? The European Union is asking these questions themselves as part of an antitrust trial. Seems Google’s getting too big for its britches. source

30 Nov 2010 00:34

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30 Nov 2010 00:22

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Offbeat, U.S.: If you keep rubber bands in your car, you might get searched

  • standard Cops in Pennsylvania pulled a guy over because a GPS unit was blocking the driver’s view. No big deal, right?
  • unusual Upon searching his car, the officers found 26 pounds of cocaine (!), worth $1.2 million, hiding in a secret compartment.
  • dubious The probable cause for the search was…the presence of rubber bands (often used to stack money). source

30 Nov 2010 00:05

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Culture, World: Tons of new Picasso artwork found in some guy’s trunk

  • 271 previously unknown Picasso works unearthed in France source
  • » Picasso’s electrician just tore the art world a new one. Pierre Le Guennec used to install burglar alarms for Pablo Picasso. Last September, he approached the Picasso estate with an astonishing revelation: for the past several decades, he’d had been keeping 271 previously unreleased Picasso originals in a trunk in his house. He wanted Picasso’s relatives to authenticate the work; instead, the filed suit against him for illegal possession. Le Guennec claims they were a gift from the late artist; Picasso’s family thinks he stole them. No matter who prevails in court, art lovers are the real winners here. This is a huge find.