BY HARRY RING
New labor ally? - A study found that 56 percent of U.S. workers were taking 15 minutes or less for lunch last year, down from 29 minutes the year previous. And 63 percent skipped lunch entirely once or twice a week. The study was done for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The gatekeepers - "Slimy looking.. Wears jacket on shoulders." "No way. Poor, very poor." These are among the comments on rejected visa applications at the U.S. consulate in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A manual advises particular scrutiny of applicants of Chinese or Korean descent, as well as people from certain cities "known for fraud." Most of the cited cities have mainly Afro-Brazilian populations.

... to continue - The above filth saw the light of day in a Washington, D.C., lawsuit by Robert Olsen, a Sao Paulo consulate official fired for what the State Dept. called "poor work performance" because he balked at applying the racist criteria. In December, a judge ruled Olsen's firing unjustified and slammed the State Dept.'s racist policies as illegal.

Twinkie, twinkie, little scar -A Chicago-area recall was issued by the makers of Twinkies after it was determined that asbestos from an insulation removal operation may have contaminated some of the cupcakes. Asbestos fibers cause lung cancer. But, Twinkies assured, it's "not generally considered to be an ingestion hazard."

What price profit? - Last year in the United Kingdom, there were 100,000 recorded cases of food poisoning. Scientists estimate the real number could be a million. The Times of London reported a warning by the British Medical Ass'n that all raw meat should be assumed to be "contaminated and treated as a potential source of poisoning."

Tart - We're definitely not partisan to the big-business media, but we did chuckle at one headline on the story about Microsoft mogul Bill Gates getting a pie in the face: "At Least It Wasn't an Apple Pie."

Free-market enthusiasts - In Poland, a group of Catholic priests and monks were charged with illegally importing luxury cars duty-free. Polish law permits cars donated to the church to come in without import tax. The fathers and brothers allegedly forged documents to bring cars in under this proviso and resold them at a tidy profit.

A real antidepressant - Eli Lily profits rose 23 percent in the last quarter of '97, due mainly to a 15 percent increase in the sale of its top drug, the antidepressant Prozac. A business report said the jump in Prozac sales "may help ease investor concerns" about new competition for a heart drug peddled by the company.

Perish the thought - You're not likely to see the movie "Titanic" on an ocean cruise liner. "No ship disasters," one spokesperson said. He added that people know that what happened on the Titanic can't happen today.

"We don't lock everyone else downstairs until the rich people can get off the boat," he declared. As the Titanic was sinking, people in steerage were locked in.  
 
 
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