BY HARRY RING
How about a mortician's bill? - Memo by the chair of Bear
Stearns, the Wall Street folks, on sick days: "No excuse. We
will no longer accept your doctor's statement or note. It is
clear that if you are well enough to get to the doctor's
office, you are well enough to come to work."
`Socialist' Sweden (con't) -Last week we picked up the disclosure that in the 1940s, the Swedish government permitted a group of severely retarded patients to starve to death. Now it's reported the government is readying compensation for people, mostly women, subjected to sterilization between 1936 and 1976. A Reuters dispatch called it a "Nazi-style program," which targeted many because they were deemed "racially or socially inferior."
A Big Apple a day... - "People who live in New York City - and even those who are just visiting the city - are more likely than other Americans to die of heart attacks, according to researchers...." -News Item.
`A Rusty on rye!' - Canadian food officials have approved iron oxide as an additive for ham. It replaces caramel as a coloring agent because it's cheaper and easier to use. Iron oxide, we learned, is plain old rust. The director of the Institute of Food Science was dubious, observing, "I can't see [that] it would be popular with consumers."
Baubles - If you're souvenir-hunting in London, drop in at D.R. Harris and Co., a drug store that's been serving the royal family and others, since 1730. These days they offer a range of items. Like: A nasal hair clipper, about $150; silver toothpicks, $265; a swizzle stick for removing bubbles (?) from champagne, $265; and a king-size sea sponge, $750.
Thy rod shall comfort me? -In Gray, Kentucky, a new ordinance permits the clergy to pack a gun during services. The law came after one reverend's congregation was taken for $400 in the midst of a sermon.
No federal aid? - A cool million buys less than ever in Southern California. Many homes in pricey seaside locales no longer come with swimming pools or ocean views. Many have only three or four bedrooms.
No consideration - The sale of retirement home units in New Zealand had been reaping a bundle, but a warmer winter slowed down the profit-taking. The milder weather led to fewer deaths. This, in turn, reduced the number of units available for resale.
Thought for the week - "Without the power to enter, to eavesdrop and to search, you can't be an effective modern security service..." - Dame Stella Remington, former head of Britain's MI5, addressing a special committee of New Zealand's parliament.