The sane society - We agree with New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani that it's "very sensible" for the city to spend $40,000 for an Index of Mental Health survey. For openers, they could put the good mayor on a couch in front of a shuttered mental health clinic.
Racist? Philadelphia cops?- During the big Philadelphia de-monstration for Mumia Abu-Jamal, bystanders heard a white cop say to a perspiring Black cop: "You're sweating like a nigger," adding, "I should take you home to my wife and tell her you're my daughter's boyfriend." A complaint was filed and Capt. Thomas Thompson was removed as head of a "race relations" unit.
The `developing' countries- In 1970, Africa's share of world exports totaled 4 percent. By 1990 it was a hair above 1 percent.
Just their `secret'?- Journalist Patricia Axelrod recently spent eight weeks in Iraq researching the Gulf War. In a report to the San Francisco Chronicle, she cites the ridiculously low casualty figures offered by the Iraq and U.S. governments. (Iraq: 8,243; U.S.: about 13,000) Axelrod says the actual toll may be as high as 300,000. The Chronicle headlined the story, "Baghdad's terrible secret."
Quick learner - A Russian Orthodox priest set up a mock church on a road, along with a sign offering to bless drivers and cars for 150,000 rubles, about $32, although he will take less.
`Enjoy your flight' - Since April, there have been 21 air traffic control system failures, with controllers turning to even less reliable backup systems, or simply losing contact with hundreds of planes. Failures are attributed to aging computers. Said a controller: "It's like going down the highway knowing your steering wheel could come off at any time."
`Don't ask, don't tell' - New guidelines adopted by Wall Street brokers stipulate that investors don't have to be told the risks involved in gambling on derivatives unless they specify, in writing, that the dealer is acting as an investment adviser. Officials of bankrupt Orange county are suing Merrill Lynch for sticking them with derivatives that were dicier than they realized.
Hard choice- We never heard of Bob and Carole McNeil, and the San Francisco Chronicle society column saw no need to identify them. They report the McNeil family will be staying three weeks at the Ritz in Paris at $1,200 a night. Declares Bob, "What can you do? It's that or sleep in the street."
Meanwhile, enjoy - In England, supermarkets are featuring "mechanically recovered" burger meat. (After the carcass is cut up, remaining meat is retrieved from the bones in high-powered washing machines.) Apparently concerned about the bacteria count, the label on one chain's "No Frills Burgers," warns, "Ensure no trace of red remains."