And whiskers for Mickey?--The Walt Disney theme parks have ended their 43-year ban on park employees having mustaches. Beards are still verboten, but sideburns are OK, providing they don't go below the ears.

Some lives cheaper than others--Denver Mayor Wellington Webb "brokered" a $400,000 settlement between the city and the family of Ismael Mena. Mena was killed by Denver cops who stormed into his home in a no-knock raid and had the wrong address. How did the city get off so cheaply? Struggling to support his family and save their farm in Mexico, Mena worked often in Denver without a legal green card.

Labour gov't program?--"The rich get richer faster than ever"--Headline in the Times. London.

...meanwhile--"Britain heads EU [European Union] for child poverty"--Headline, the Times, London.

A warm welcome--Cape Cod, Mass., now boasts an "affordable" housing complex. Questions applicants must answer include: "If you are a single mother, how often does your significant other stay there?" "Have you ever been in trouble with the police?" "How do you feel about domestic violence?" "Do you own a vacuum cleaner?"

Name was fitting--The feds agreed to pay $508 million to 1,100 qualified women who were systematically excluded from working as broadcasters for Washington's now defunct propaganda machine, the U.S. Information Agency.

Slicing the baloney--The Dept. of Agriculture is planning to trim food processing inspections from regular to "random." (Random visits will keep the companies more on their toes, an official opined.) It will also trim 150 inspectors. Meanwhile, there are the ongoing recalls of contaminated food. And some that escape recall. Like, for instance, the 1998 outbreak at a Michigan frankfurter plant that killed 15 people and sickened at least 100 more.

Thought for the week--"If I lay them off for a week, I don't have to worry about someone else coming and saying, 'Come work for me.'" --Pierre Sleiman, a sweatshop operator who employs California prisoners to make T-shirts at minimum wage.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home