BY HARRY RING
Talk about gall - The U.S. State Dept. warns Jewish
tourists that Israel's rabbinical courts have extended their
jurisdiction to temporary visitors. Travelers can be held
while the religious courts weigh charges filed by spouses in
other countries on such divorce-related matters as support
and child custody.
The two-party system - Joseph Califano, then attorney for the Democratic Party, admitted he advised a Nixon aide that Watergate tapes should be burned. "It was the only chance they had," he says. "We could not understand why the tapes were not destroyed. It would have been terrible for ten days, but then it would have been over."
Probably psychological -"Dozens of pets have died suddenly after being given an anti-flea treatment that contains chemicals similar to those used in the Gulf War. The manufacturer of Droplix admitted that 23 cats and one dog had died as a result of a 'bad batch' of the drug." - The Times, London.
All in the family - There were some familiar faces in the Greensboro, North Carolina account where the tobacco industry is acting to block the Food and Drug Administration from regulating cigarettes. The lead lawyer for the industry is former chief counsel for the FDA. The presiding judge is a former tobacco lobbyist.
Good ol' boys - A former tax official says that if Newt Gingrich dips into his own pocket to pay the $300,000 penalty for lying to the House ethics committee it may be tax deductible as "an ordinary and necessary business expense." That's because the committee chose to describe his fine as a "reimbursement" toward the expense of the probe.
Take that - A San Francisco cop who harassed, manhandled and stole jewelry from his girl friend pleaded no contest. In a negotiated settlement he got six years probation and will continue on the police force. The settlement specifically exempts him from a federal law taking guns away from people convicted of domestic violence.
They care - Britain's pence-pinching National Health Service cuts some extra corners by discharging elderly hospital patients too soon. Among other things, this has brought an 11 percent jump in readmissions.
'Love the lord and the boss' - A number of companies are hiring "industrial ministers" as chaplains to their work force. The head of the Worklife Ministry says they can befriend employees in a way managers can't.
Oldie but goodie - Joe Hill the legendary IWW song- writer, had a tune that went, roughly, like this: "Long- haired preachers come out every night, tell us what's wrong and what's right. And when you ask for something to eat, they will answer in voices so sweet: 'You will eat by and by in that glorious land above the sky. Work and pray, live on hay. You'll get pie in the sky when you die.' - That's a lie!"