BY HARRY RING
The civilized society - A prison supply firm is offering "Violent Prisoner, DeLuxe II Safety Model." Molded with space for wrists cuffed behind back, and seat-belt type straps for chest, waist, and legs. Accessories include padding to adjust chair for juveniles.

P.S. The manufacturer of that restraint chair advises: "A couple of hours is not a problem as long as the individual is healthy." Perhaps he had in mind the mentally retarded Utah prisoner who died of a blood clot last March after 16 hours in the chair.

Seize the time - A group of foundations are doing a test program to help the poor buy a house, go to college or start a business. Open a savings account and get matching funds of up to $500 a year, The program will end in four years. The coalition will then spend two years analyzing the results to determine if they should spend more.

Nothin's easy - Robert Friedman, chairperson of the Corporation for Enterprise Development, says that savings program will be a challenge. According to Friedman, half of all U.S. households have less than $1,000 in financial assets. A third of all households - and two thirds of Black households - have nothing in the bank and zero extra cash.

..meanwhile - With a lackluster bottom line, Occidental Oil imposed a takeback contract on its top dog Ray Irani. His base wage was trimmed from $1.9 million to $1.2 million, and he lost benefits, including a payment of $35 million if he drops dead this year. In a gesture of appreciation for accepting the contract, Oxy gave him a one-time payment of $95 million.

Pragmatist - In New Zealand, disclosure that up to five people with criminal records had been recruited as cops in the past year sparked a debate at a Police Association meeting. The association president felt that life experience is important. In a tight situation, he said, he'd rather have "someone with a conviction for assault than a Greek and History graduate beside me."

Them that has want - "Top directors..boosted their remuneration by an average of 16 percent last year. New findings show that the pay of directors..rise by more than five times the rate of inflation..and went up four times faster than average earnings. - Guardian, London.

GE finger caught in wringer - Two years ago, GE unveiled a "new" clothes washers trumpeted as a "Major Laundry Breakthrough." The key part, however, was a knockoff of one that Whirlpool developed nearly 20 years ago. Whirlpool's U.S. patent expired a few years back but GE also sold the machines in Canada where the patent still holds. Whirlpool lawyers are reportedly licking their chops.

Mr. Big Nose - Are you "wasting time" on the job? Are you not following company rules? Are you failing to work fast enough? Are you trying to start or join a union? A recent purvey indicated 63 percent of U.S. companies are spying on their employees for answers to the above questions and many more.  
 
 
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