BY HARRY RING
Clear? - At the international parley on global warming, chief U.S. negotiator Stuart Eizenstat warned that Washington would walk away if there wasn't an economically "sound" agreement. "The bottom line," he declared, is that "we don't simply want to have an agreement at any cost."

Definitely a Leninist - Checking early records, a Swiss bank found a savings account belonging to V.I. Lenin who was in exile there until the first months of the 1917 Russian revolution. Reportedly, he had 12 Swiss francs (nearly US$9 at 1997 exchange rates) in the account and withdrew all but $3.60. According to his niece, the balance was intended to pay his Bolshevik Party dues.

Art for art's sake - In the United Kingdom's Palace of Westminster, the official residence of the Lord Chancellor of House of Lords is being redone. The wallpaper alone will cost 59,211 (about US$98,290). Officials explain it's a landmark site and wallpaper is being custom made according to original Victorian design.

Just be patient - Hospital waiting lists in England are now growing by more than 1,000 patients a week. The new Labour government is suggesting that its preelection promise to quickly cut the waiting list by 100,000 may have been financially unrealistic.

..meanwhile - To accommodate another 20,000 inmates, 30 new jails are slated for England and Wales.

Speck of justice - A San Francisco cop got six years for sexually assaulting his ex-wife. (Maximum term: 11 years, 8 months.) He was also convicted on two other charges of false imprisonment and got two years on each - to be served concurrently with the six.

Cop almost tells truth - In a legal brief, Northern California officials defended the cops who swabbed pepper spray into the eyes of anti-logging protesters and filmed the action for training. A police training expert declared the video illustrates "modern police practices delivered in a calm, calculated manner."

Some things they can count -To let you know that in 2000 the census takers will be coming, the feds signed a contract with Young & Rubicam, the Madison Avenue biggie, to do a radio/TV blitz. The tab? $100 million.

A bit like capitalist democracy - For prisons with chain- gang labor American Handcuff Company offers steel ankle cuffs attached to a 44-inch chain. Why 44 inches? The company prez explains: "You want to give 'em some freedom, but not enough to have 'em run away on you."  
 
 
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