Five Idiots Tried To Rip Off A Masterpiece; Held Over For Trial

Well, it had to happen. Five men now face trial and jail time in the extortion plot over the DaVinci masterpiece, Madonna with the Yarnwinder. They are formally charged with conspiracy to extort or attempting to extort money from the late Duke of Buccleuch and his son the current Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry in conjunction with the insurers of the painting.

What does all that mean?

They tried to get money for a masterpiece. Not too bright. The four accused are Robert Graham, 56, John Doyle, 59, Calum Jones, 43 and David Boyce, 61, and Marshall Ronald, 52, who has made no plea as of this date. There will be a further preliminary hearing held next month for alleged crimes to extort money between July 18th and October 4th of 2007.

As part of an undercover sting by police officers at Glasgow, the painting was retrieved and these nitwits were charged. Lord Brailsford is judge and has set a trial date for March 30, 2009.

Mamma.com Problems, Insider Trading, Jail?

According to Business Technology, it has to do with insider trading, you know, that thing that sent Martha Steart to jail a while back. Well, it appears that Mark Cuban has similar problems, so Mamma.com may become a great weight around his neck. Here's what Biz Tech had to say about it.

That’s one of the first questions coming up in today’s news, reported by the WSJ’s Kara Scannell, that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban faces insider-trading charges related to the site.

Mamma.com is a Canadian search engine that merged with Copernic Technologies, which also offers search software and online advertising services, in December 2005. It now trades under Copernic’s ticker, CNIC.

Marketed as a “metasearch” engine, Mamma displays results from other sites like Ask and About.com, which it says provides more comprehensive search results. It also sells paid-search listings, which appear above the standard results.

Read more about it here.

Yankees Get Swisher and Lose Betemit

According to Mason Levinson of the Bloomberg News there's been a switch. Nick Swisher is in; Wilson Betemit is out. Here's what he had to say.

Nov. 13 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Yankees acquired switch-hitting first baseman-outfielder Nick Swisher and a minor-league pitcher from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for infielder Wilson Betemit and two prospects.

Right-handed pitchers Jeff Marquez and Jhonny Nunez were sent to Chicago in the trade, while right-hander Kanekoa Texeira joined New York, the Yankees said in a news release.

Swisher, 27, batted .219 with 24 home runs, 69 runs batted in and 86 runs scored last season, making 69 starts in centerfield, 47 at first base, and 11 each in left field and right.

Dylan Lauren Reopens Her Candy Bar

Hot off the press:

The New York Observer said today that Dylan Lauren, daughter of Ralph has reopened her candy shop. Here what they had to say about Dylan's Candy Bar

At Monday evening's party for the relaunch of Dylan Lauren's (daughter of Ralph) popular store, Dylan's Candy Bar, it was not surprising that sugar featured prominently in the celebration. Tables were piled with mini-brownies and cupcakes; there was a marshmallow dipping station and bikini-and-body-paint-clad candy necklace distributors. The candy-garnished cocktails were hit or miss, however. (Cosmopolitan-like drink with rock candy stirrer? Good. Barcardi with orange liqueur and a sunken piece of bubblegum? Less so).

Read more here>>

oDesk: Finding Jobs Online Is Easier With oDesk

With all of the job cuts, layoffs and corporate downsizing going on in the United States these days, plenty of good, hardworking Americans are finding themselves on the wrong end of pink slip and heading for the unemployment office. The technology sector has not been immune to the economic crash and many highly skilled individuals are looking for jobs and trying to get back into the workforce. While the situation is up in the air, many technology driven professionals are finding alternative ways to make enough money to make ends meet.

Introducing oDesk, where freelancers can look at real jobs with guaranteed payment. These jobs are all available for work-at-home professionals and are completed via the Internet. oDesk takes people's skills and abilities and hooks them up with people needing work done. In the recent economic upheaval, oDesk and sites like it have become an extremely valuable resouces where tech professionals can find legitimate jobs to help pay their bills.

Freelance Job Boards Are Not New

Freelance job sites have been around for a while including places like Rentacoder and Elance where people post jobs and professionals who can do the job bid on the job. According to the San Jose Business Journal, what makes oDesk standout is that there are 125,000+ freelance technical professionals around the world. This allows companies to hire skilled talent on a job by job basis, outsourcing in countries like South America and the Far East and even as far away as Australia.

oDesk has jobs globally and freelancers can pick up contract work through the web interface no matter where it is located. oDesk offers certification for each niche so that job providers have more confidence in the workers they're hiring.

Unlike some boards, there is a modest fee involved for professionals to post their skills and abilities; however, companies can post their job offerings for free. The web-based platform brings the two together, reduce the need for excessive invoices and keeps track of hours for each work session.

If you are looking for help, or a freelancer looking for work, oDesk is the newest entrant into the job board arena. Work-at-home jobs are becoming more and more mainstream, and oDesk is just another sign of the coming times.