Sketchy Monday: An Art Heist in France, a Gambling Scam in Tennis and a New Way to Ration Toilet Paper
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"Morning Meeting" is a recap of our daily editorial meeting. If we had a show today, these are some of the stories you would probably hear.
This Monet masterpiece was stolen from a museum in France in broad daylight.
With Luke back from Chicago the BPP is in full effect, and we're ready to crank things up this week. Today alone we'll bring you an awesome "behind-the-scenes of the BPP" video by our own Win Rosenfeld and a recap of Lollapalooza from my friend Mike, who was there all weekend. In some countries this quantity and quality of content would cost you a fortune. In others, it would be illegal. Here, we call it Monday.
The Morning Meeting went a little something like this...
NEWSCAST: Republican and Democratic presidential candidates debate (separately), 190,000 AK-47's that the US gave to Iraqi security forces are missing, a shooting in Newark baffles locals, Bonds, A-Rod and Glavine reach their milestones, and "The Bourne Ultimatum" wins the box office.
WHILE YOU WERE OUT, POSSIBLY DRINKING: Our Monday roundup of news you may have missed over the weekend would focus on the passage of a bill that will expand the power of spy agencies to use wiretaps in the US without court warrants, essentially legitimizing many aspects of the Bush administration's controversial domestic surveillance program. President Bush signed the bill into law yesterday, just before Congress headed off on a monthlong vacation. We were all surprised by how quickly this bill went through, considering the Democratic majority and the contentiousness of the issue. We'd like to talk to someone who can explain the bill in a nutshell and lay out the political calculations that were involved.
THE MALTESE PAINTING: We were already geared up to talk about the issue of stolen art after last week's story about the Getty returning some art to Italy. Then a group of masked gunmen stormed into a museum on the French Riviera, in broad daylight, and made off with four masterpieces valued at $1.4 million, including a Monet. This is either a pretty audacious crime, or the preparations for the sequel to the "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" movie. Perhaps the juiciest tidbit from the France theft is that two of the four paintings stolen were also stolen (and recovered) in 1998, in a heist orchestrated by the museum's then-curator, who was sentenced to five years in jail for the crime. This whole world of art collection and theft, which is about as old as art itself, seems fascinating and current. We're going to get into it more on the show this Wednesday.
ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO PRI: The New York Times shrinks to a width of 12 inches starting today. The BPP's own Matt Martinez took the new paper for a test read this morning and found that it was easier to read on the subway, and fit into his bag more readily. Of course, the decision to shrink probably had more to do with the fact that the new size will save the Times $7-10 million a year, and that it brings the paper's size in line with competitors like The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The LA Times. Also today, the Journal was offering free copies thanks to an ad deal with Chrysler. (The complimentary papers come with a big Chrysler sticker on the front, and a big Chrysler ad inside. But they are free.) Sponsored free papers like this are an increasing trend which, together with the new Times size, shows just how far newspapers are going to make their business models work again.
CONFESSION IN OAKLAND EDITOR MURDER: Friday saw the arrest of seven suspects in the murder of Oakland Post editor Chauncey Bailey, and the weekend reportedly got a confession. Bailey was allegedly killed because of an investigation he was doing into the finances of Your Black Muslim Bakery in Oakland, and his death has shocked a community that's not unaccustomed to violence. He was the first reporter assassinated in the US since 1993, according to the advocacy group Committee to Protect Journalists.
THE RAMBLE: People are still talking about the death-defying fall of skateboarder Jake Brown at the X-Games last week. Interestingly, these "Big Air" skateboarders get tips from skydivers on how to fall in order to reduce the chance of serious injury. The tips may have saved Brown's life, or at least his legs...An eight-year-old Israeli boy spent six hours alone in the Dead Sea, overnight, after his father mistakenly left him there. Fortunately the kid is fine, although he now looks like this...Officials are investigating betting irregularities in a tennis match that took place Friday. Top-seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia was leading a match against a much weaker opponent when a bunch of bets against him were suddenly placed, mid-match. Moments later, Davydenko pulled out of the match with an injury. (Insert mysterious sound effects here.)...French president Nikolas Sarkozy berated some American photographers who were taking pictures of him during his vacation in the US, actually boarding the photographers' boat himself and yelling at them in French. Sounds like someone needs a vacation from his vacation...A new device meant to ration toilet paper may soon make its way into many public restrooms. The dispenser unrolls only four to six pieces of toilet paper at a time, thus preventing waste in the disposal of waste.
10:39 AM ET | 08- 6-2007 | permalink
