news stuff

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And in the tilting-at-windmills department ...

-- In Spain, a crusading judge who asserted that some crimes are so heinous that they may be prosecuted anywhere has met his own hail of judicial bullets. Some say Baltasar Garzon is a man looking for a self-aggrandizing limelight. Others hail him as hero in his targeting of Spanish Civil War atrocities, the indictment of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, and the investigation of the Guantanamo Bay prison. Whatever the truth, now he faces court charges of his own -- charges that seem likely to end his desire or capacity to poke sticks into quiescent beehives. 


-- As books and reading dwindle, libraries find themselves between a rock and a hard place -- stocking not only their old-time shelves, but trying to keep pace with the demand for the rental of 'electronic' books. Library patrons have gotten used to the instant gratification they can find when buying on the Internet. Standing in line for rental of an 'electronic' book makes them cranky. Publishers want their money. Library budgets are squeezed. It's a tough nut.
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