BY HARRY RING
What can we say? - "I confess. I'm tired of Asia. It has turned into one long, boring disaster movie with no heroes - just a lot of dazed, pathetic characters milling among exploding markets and empty skyscrapers." - Tom Petruno, Los Angeles Times stock market analyst.

How boring - "Financial desperation is blamed for an increase of nearly 36 percent in suicides in the first quarter of this year." - Los Angeles Times dispatch from South Korea.

Firm stand - President Clinton responded to the Southern Baptist Convention declaration that wives must "submit graciously" to the leadership of their husbands. A member of the church, the prez threw up his hands in exasperation and declared: "What can I do about it?" An aide assured that Clinton often has views that are "not identical" to that of the church.

Managed-sex care - California Blue Cross agreed to cover part of the cost of Viagra, the $10 impotence pill. It will pay for six pills a month for men with ailments related to impotence, like diabetes and prostate cancer. How did it decide on six a month? It consulted big-time researchers and, natch, its accountant.

Warehouse them - With rooms to spare, a home for the elderly in Santa Barbara, California, proposed to take in more roomers. The city agreed to six day-care seniors. Some residents on the block of one-family homes objected that it would mean more traffic and lower property values. Declared one resident: "My problem is that this is an institutional use in a residential neighborhood."

Seems rational, no? - In a letter to the New York Times, David Stein, a professor of surgery, is critical of a survey which found that more than half of New York surgical residents work more than 95 hours per week. The real problem, he says, is not lack of sleep but mistakes resulting from lack of familiarity with patients. Cutting their hours would mean students would be familiar with fewer patients.

More seriously than profits? -Tests by the Consumer Association found that a third of small, family-sized cars in England posed an unacceptably high risk of serious injuries in accidents. A spokesperson hoped the tests "will force manufacturers to take safety more seriously."

`A cop in every corridor' -With an apparent majority on the New York board of education, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is expected to realize his goal of turning school security over to the police department.

Federal crackdown - U.S. Filter Corp. makes a water- purification system for people whose kidneys no longer filter away toxins. In a February visit, Food and Drug inspectors found there were no consistent quality and safety procedures in place. A warning letter was sent to the company May 27 and made public June 10. Company stock rose 56 cents a share.  
 
 
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