Clear enough? - In Quebec, the union officialdom proposed, timidly enough, that companies create enough jobs to reduce the current 12 percent jobless rate to 8 percent by 2002. Responded the head of the Chamber of Commerce: "Businesses are born to make profits, not to create jobs."
That's capitalism - Harper Collins is publishing two Muhammed Ali books. Healing, a $9.95 paperback co-authored by the former boxing champ, is aimed against racism. To get the contract for it, Ali had to agree to a photo book about him ($50 hardback, $25 paper.). Harper Collins is heavily promoting Healing, but printing only a relative handful of copies. Why? The old bait-and-switch hustle. People come in for the lower priced one and you sell them the expensive one.
Makes ya proud - The California Youth Soccer Association- North no longer accepts birth certificates from other countries as proof of age for cup competitions. It's suspected that this intended to thwart applications by undocumented young soccer players.
Prejudice? Nonsense - Kentucky police dropped drug charges against Fadel Salem, 21, and Mohammed Khalid, 18, after a crime lab verified their contention that the white substance found in their car was dried yogurt, a staple in their Palestinian homeland. They were fined $50 and court costs on a speeding charge.
No pride in education system? - "School districts around the country are practically begging for qualified bus drivers who will work odd hours for low pay and few benefits." - News item.
Hey, it's good for business - A survey of 57 teaching hospitals found only one in 14 that made a practice of serving health-oriented food. The rest apparently load on the fat, cholesterol and salt.
Fifty-fifty - Hammacher-Schlemmer is offering a king-size model railway for $34,000. The reader who sent the item comments, "$34,000 is just about as much as I made last year working for an actual railroad."
McDonald's a hog? - The day after it opened its first outlet in India, McDonald's was found to be scarfing up too much electricity. Use of scarce power is controlled in India and a check at McDonald's found it was using nearly three times its allotted amount.
The level playing field - "Women earn 5,000 a year less than men and do twice as much housework." - UK government figures cited in the London Evening Standard.
Wipe that smile off your face - Psychologists at a Norway business college say a study showed that unhappy people are better workers than cheerful ones. Glum folks, they say, are less confident, so they work harder.