BY HARRY RING
For sure - The California Supreme Court let stand a lower court decision that firing older workers to save money does not constitute age discrimination. The ruling declared, "Decision- making by costs - reliance on relative prices if you will -goes to the very heart of a market economy."

Atheism a genetic defect? -"No one knows why humanity felt its first religious stirrings, but researchers at UC San Diego reported that the human brain may be hard-wired to hear the voice of heaven, in what researchers said was the first effort to directly address the neural basis of religious expression." - Los Angeles Times.

Brown menace - Yoshiaki Nishura, a young Tokyo truck driver, is suing his boss who fired him for coming to work with his hair dyed brown, which is currently popular among Japanese youth. Nishura, rinsed out the dye and apologized, but was fired anyway. The company chief reportedly feels the fad "undermines company discipline, corrupts morale and implies a casual approach to life."

`Me? My country?' - With less than 1 percent of its ranks nonwhite, the British Army has decided to become an equal- opportunity outfit. A recruiting poster features a photo of a Black officer and the timeworn slogan: "Your Country Needs You."

Also equal opportunity? - In England and Wales 57 prisoners died in police custody during 1996-7, a 14 percent jump over the previous year.

Everything's fine - According to University of Arizona professor John Schwarz, 7 million people were jobless last year and 4 million others wanted full-time jobs but had to settle for part-time. Also, 13 million people held full-time, year- around jobs that paid less than the poverty level.

You get what you pay for? -Rolls Royce has recalled 1,621 cars in which hydraulic brake pipes can scrape on steering column bolts, causing brake fluid leaks.

Grad studies - RSP, a software firm known for its educational products, has gone big time with a new game, Postal. Featuring a gun-toting character who goes berserk, it invites players "to spray protesters, mow down marching bands and char-broil whole towns."

The lead character must finally put a gun in his mouth and pull the trigger. $50.

Plain talk - For the well-heeled, a number of New York hospitals are offering luxury rooms. (At Mt. Sinai, an extra $500 to $1,000 a night gets you a room with a view of Central Park plus gourmet cuisine).

Class-biased medical care? Responds one hospital administrator: "If you want to question the whole underpinnings of capitalist society, it was an argument that seems to have been settled a long time ago."  
 
 
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