BY HARRY RING
Pushers, Inc. (I) - "Cigarette manufacturers increase advertising in January and February when millions of smokers are trying to stick to New Year's resolutions and kick the habit, according to a university study....Withdrawal symptoms tend to peak about one month after quitting, studies show." - Reuters.
Pushers, Inc (II) - "School children who read the Weekly Reader between 1989 and 1994 were treated to an unhealthy dose of tobacco industry views on smoking in articles that were often illustrated with Joe Camel, researchers say. At the time the articles appeared, the Weekly Reader was owned by the largest shareholder in RJR Nabisco, Joe Camel's creator." - Associated Press.
A truly great society - A Wellington, New Zealand, hospital has a creative approach to the shortage of psychiatric care. Suicidal people are released after signing a contract not to kill themselves. Complaining this makes more work for them, the cops point to at least two cases where people committed suicide soon after signing the agreement.
Bended knee is better? - Prior to the recent AFL-CIO convention, the Wall Street Journal reported, the AFL-CIO's Labor Institute of Public Affairs issued a guideline memo on the preparation of a convention hall mural: "The viewer should feel a sense of solidarity and determination in the figures without resorting to militancy....Raised fists or angry expressions are...too militant."
Rumors dep't - According to the Toronto Globe & Mail, Washington, D.C., criminals make their dogs meaner by feeding them gunpowder, which induces stomach aches. But the way we heard it, members of Congress sprinkle the stuff on their breakfast cereal.
Like `national security' - Looking for savings, Virginia Berger, a Florida retiree, was jotting down prices at her local Wal-Mart, but was told this isn't permitted. Initially, when the media picked it up, a spokesperson explained it's hard to distinguish a shopper from a competitor. On reconsideration, Wal-Mart said it was all a mistake.
Does Wal-Mart tell K-mart? - Meanwhile, in North Carolina, K-mart was fined $25,000 after surprise inspections turned up 117 instances of overcharging at five stores.
Educational process - In Norwood, New York, Christopher Ashley, 23, spent three days in jail for failing to return four library books, assertedly worth $77.85, which he checked out more than three years ago. To us, his alibi was persuasive. He would have returned the books if he knew where they were, or paid the library if he had the money.
Thought for the week - "The story wouldn't be that different if it was set in Baltimore. The LAPD has a lot of problems. But the whole idea of police has a lot of problems. My research was simple. It was based on genuine knowledge and my own feelings in dealing with the police."
- Walter Mosely, author of "Devil in a Blue Dress," in which the central character is worked over by members of the LAPD.