Airport “security”—In a flight from Amsterdam, 300 Northwest passengers were stuck over Seattle in a dense fog. They circled the airport for a time and then were diverted to Moses Lake, Washington. But they were held on board. Food and water ran out. The toilets broke down. Finally, pizza and soda were brought in and the toilets repaired. After a total delay of 18 hours they deplaned. What kept them on board? “Security.” The airport had no customs screeners. Finally, a sheriff and his posse came in to pinch hit.

Bad enough, but doesn’t stop with kids—Nationwide, cops tote an arsenal. It includes guns, “batons,” king-size flashlights more deadly than “batons,” pepper spray, rubber bullets and, in spreading use, the high-voltage stun gun peddled by Taser International. Taser argues that the gun can be used safely against humans aged two to 75.

Last month the Miami Herald devoted a page to Taser’s proposition: Is the stun gun safely used against children? This came after Miami/Dade cops used Tasers against a boy six, and a girl 12. The paper interviewed “experts” generally skeptical of using Tasers on children. But no one suggested that cops should be stripped of all weapons—to safeguard all ages!

Simple: ‘For light rumps only’—BMW is recalling about 75,000 of its luxury cars. They plan to repair a high-end feature—heated seat mats. They’ve learned that as the pads get thinner, they become too hot.

Button up your overcoat—“A report by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless estimates the homeless population of Denver is five times bigger now than it was in 1988…. The coalition estimates the homeless population will soon top the 11,000 mark.”—News item.

The Labour gov’t—In England, women from ethnic minorities lack adequate care and are twice as likely as white women to die during child birth or soon after. That’s in the National Health Service hospitals, as reported by research of the Maternity Alliance.

Check out Lenin’s ‘Imperialism’—The Boston Financial Corp. was the seventh largest U.S. bank, until last April when Bank of America, the third largest, gobbled it up. Charles Gifford was chairman of the Boston bank and Bank of America let him hold the title for eight months. He departs with a cushy severance package—a $16.4 million check, $50,000 a year for four-years of “consulting services,” use of a company jet plane, and, perhaps the clincher, guaranteed season tickets for the Boston Red Sox.  
 
 
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