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Google

Belgian Newspapers Delisted On Google 385

D H NG writes "After being ordered by the Belgian courts to 'remove from its Google.be and Google.com sites, and in particular, cached links visible on Google Web and the Google News service, all articles, photographs and graphics of daily newspapers published in French and German by Belgian publishers,' Google had removed all traces of the newspapers in question from all its search services. The newspapers, however, are crying foul, and alleged that it was done in retaliation for being sued for copyright violations."
The Military

Chinese Stealth Fighter Jet May Use US Technology 339

Ponca City writes "In 1999, a US F-117 Nighthawk was downed by a Serbian anti-aircraft missile during a bombing raid. It was the first time one of the fighters had been hit, and the Pentagon blamed clever tactics and sheer luck. The pilot ejected and was rescued. Now, the Guardian reports that pieces of the wrecked F-117 stealth fighter ended up in the hands of foreign military attaches. 'At the time, our intelligence reports told of Chinese agents crisscrossing the region where the F-117 disintegrated, buying up parts of the plane from local farmers,' says Admiral Davor Domazet-Loso, Croatia's military chief of staff during the Kosovo war. 'We believe the Chinese used those materials to gain an insight into secret stealth technologies... and to reverse-engineer them.' Zoran Kusovac says the Serbian regime routinely shared captured western equipment with its Chinese and Russian allies. 'The destroyed F-117 topped that wish-list for both the Russians and Chinese,' says Kusovac."
Businesses

Battle Escalates Between Airlines and Online Agents 279

Ponca City writes "The Epoch Times reports that online travel booking giant Expedia has removed American Airlines from its travel website over disagreements with American's fee structure in the latest incident in an escalating battle between airlines and online travel agents. Although American gets roughly two-thirds of its revenues from third-party travel agents like Expedia, American has been looking for online agents to cut their fees as one way to lower fares — something that Expedia was not prepared to do. Expedia released a statement that American's action 'will result in higher costs and reduced transparency for consumers, making it difficult to compare ticket prices and options with offerings by other airlines,' while American urged customers to book directly on American's website for the lowest prices. Meanwhile Google is waiting in the wings with its recent proposal to purchase ITA Software, the developer of the Internet's leading technology to compare flights fares. 'Though 49 percent of travelers purchase travel online, it is still time consuming and slow to search for travel options online,' says a statement from Google, defending the ITA acquisition which is being opposed by Microsoft on anti-trust grounds. 'We plan to work with ITA to create a new, easier way for users to find better flight information online.'"
Math

Submission + - Abel Prize Awarded to Univ. of Texas Professor (abelprisen.no)

DenaliPrime writes: The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has decided to award the Abel Prize for 2010 to John Torrence Tate, University of Texas at Austin, for his vast and lasting impact on the theory of numbers. The President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Nils Christian Stenseth, announced the name of the 2010 Abel Laureate at the Academy in Oslo today, 24. March. John Tate will receive the Abel Prize from His Majesty King Harald at an award ceremony in Oslo, Norway, May 25.

The Abel Prize recognizes contributions of extraordinary depth and influence to the mathematical sciences and has been awarded annually since 2003. It carries a cash award of NOK 6,000,000 (close to € 730,000 or US$ 1 mill.)

Submission + - Mathematician refuses $1M Millennium prize (guardian.co.uk) 2

neutralino writes: Grigory Perelman, the Russian mathematician whose proof of the Poincaré conjecture was recently awarded a Millennium Prize worth $1M has rejected the award. Previously he refused to accept the Fields medal in 2006 and "quit the world of mathematics in disgust four years ago" (he published the proof in a paper in 2002). He refuses to talk to the media and told a journalist who contacted him "You are disturbing me. I am picking mushrooms."

Submission + - Andrew Koenig is missing. (walterkoenigsite.com)

DenaliPrime writes: Andrew Koenig, son of Walter Koenig (Chekov from Star Trek), has been missing since February 14, 2010. He was last seen at a bakery in the Stanley Park area of Vancouver, BC. Anyone who has seen Andrew since February 14th, has been asked to contact Detective Raymond Payette of the Vancouver PD at (604) 717-2534.
Botnet

Submission + - Chuck Norris attacks Linux-based routers, modems (idg.com.au)

angry tapir writes: "Discovered by Czech researchers, the Chuck Norris botnet has been spreading by taking advantage of poorly configured routers and DSL modems. The malware got the Chuck Norris moniker from a programmer's Italian comment in its source code: "in nome di Chuck Norris," which means "in the name of Chuck Norris." Chuck Norris is unusual in that it infects DSL modems and routers rather than PCs. It installs itself on routers and modems by guessing default administrative passwords and taking advantage of the fact that many devices are configured to allow remote access."
Games

Games Workshop Goes After Fan Site 174

mark.leaman writes "BoingBoing has a recent post regarding Games Workshop's aggressive posturing against fan sites featuring derivative work of their game products. 'Game publisher and miniature manufacturer Games Workshop just sent a cease and desist letter to boardgamegeek.com, telling them to remove all fan-made players' aids. This includes scenarios, rules summaries, inventory manifests, scans to help replace worn pieces — many of these created for long out of print, well-loved games...' As a lifelong hobby gamer of table, board, card and miniature games, I view this as pure heresy. It made me reject the idea of buying any Games Workshop (read Warhammer) products for my son this Christmas. Their fate was sealed, in terms of my wallet, after I Googled their shenanigans. In 2007 they forbid Warhammer fan films, this year they shut down Vassal Modules, and a while back they went after retailers as well. What ever happened to fair use?"

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