Potter Robber

UNIVERSAL REMOTE

Here is a funny story for a couple of reasons. A couple of days ago, there was a shooting in England. It turns out two guys were trying to sell a stolen copy of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to a reporter from The Sun. If you don't know The Sun, it is one of Rupert Murdoch's totally trashy but completely readable tabloids. (Basically it's the British version of the New York Post. When B and I were last in London, it was a must-read every day, especially its infamous "Page 3" where they have a woman pose topless and give her opinions on current events.)

The funny part is not the shooting (in which no one was hurt), but rather the press release after. Details are sketchy, but somewhere in the middle of the transaction shots were fired and the police were called. The reporter and photographer from the paper immediately said they were simply trying had the "intention of obtaining the book so it could be returned to the publisher and the police could be informed."

Yeah, right. They had no intention to read the stolen book and publish an early review just to sell more newsapapers. I really hope the P.R. guy was winking at the end of that statement.