Fidel might mention Cuba's free education?--England's Commons has been advised that many youth from poor families are reluctant to go to college because they fear the debt incurred.

Crisis? What crisis?--"There's no energy crisis in the energy industry where soaring prices for oil and natural gas sent profits through the roof in the fourth quarter. ExxonMobil Corp.'s earnings set a record for any company anywhere. ExxonMobil said its earnings surged to $5.2 billion, a quarterly record for a U.S. company. Its full year's net profit hit $16.9 billion, also a record."--Los Angeles Times.

...meanwhile--Major power distributors like California's Pacific Gas & Electric get their energy supplies from bigger pirates, like ExxonMobil. PG&E has a workforce of 17,000. An estimated 80 percent have sunk their savings in company shares as a retirement plan. Currently the stocks have lost two-thirds of their value.

A 'soft landing'?--Some headlines from a day in the L.A. Times business section: "Chrysler to cut 26,000 and close 6 plants"; "Xerox posts another quarterly loss, will cut 4,000 jobs"; "AT&T closes book on tough year as profit plunges in 4th quarter"; "Gateway CEO quits abruptly amid PC slump."

P.S. There was a "bright spot" among those headlines: "Natural gas firm, El Paso Energy, reports 57 percent rise in profits."

Apparently, not everyone's worried--We chuckled a while back on the building of a giant cruise ship with megasuite living and office quarters for those who desired a permanent floating residence and workplace. Floor to ceiling windows, private porches, etc. $2 million to $5 million. Now we learn that 80 to 110 units have already been sold. A perhaps claustrophobic chap bought two of them.

Ever hear of prevention?--The feds and the American Medical Association warned the health industry to be more alert to the dangers of the illnesses caused by contaminated food. They estimate 76 million people are made ill each year by food-borne microbes. Of these 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die. Doctors can call the AMA for a free information kit to keep them posted.

L.A., where the taking is easy--Recent disclosures of beatings, killings, and frame-ups by members of the Los Angeles Police Dept. have not impaired the earning power of Chief Bernard Parks. Ranking city officials, including Parks, were given 5 percent wage hikes by Mayor Richard Riordan. Already the highest paid city official, Parks now has a yearly take of $257,116.  
 
 
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