BY HARRY RING
What did he expect, a confession? - The federal judge
presiding in the Microsoft anti-trust trial recessed the
proceeding and demanded that the software giant produce more
financial data. What has been submitted so far, "doesn't make
any sense," he growled, "It's gibberish."
Correction - Last May, we picked up the report that the Dutch government had finally decided to investigate the cargo on an El Al jet that crashed and burned Holland in 1992. The Israeli airline conceded it was using depleted uranium as wing ballast, but denied there was anything dangerous aboard. Now it's revealed that the cargo included components of the deadly nerve gas, sarin.
Just testing - So far, some 1,200 rescue workers and residents of the area of the El Al crash are suffering a range of serious illnesses. There were no clues to the causes of the afflictions until someone slipped copies of the cargo manifest to a Dutch paper. After the disclosure, Tel Aviv said the chemicals were intended to test gas mask filters.
And silk-type tp - Cool, well-heeled folks are currently into high-end jailhouse-type toilets. Like a stainless steel toilet, matching urinal, and stainless steel panels for walls and ceiling. Plus stainless sink, mirror and soap dish. How much? With add-ons like jets, a toilet alone runs $2,000.
Make a nice poster - At Werrington, a prison for youth in England's Yorkshire area, more than 190 inmates, ages 15-17, are stuffed into 96 single cells. A report said they're forced to eat their meals in cells that are "little more than lavatories."
No sense of humor - "Lost Jobs Fuel Gloom on the Economy" - The Times London.
The rational society - In Calgary, Canada, the city's largest hospital was declared obsolete and blasted o the ground. Opponents of destroying the hospital then sought a mandate that land be used only for a new hospital. City officials oppose this.
Sound authentic - On a London call-in show, the interviewer asked: "Do you tell the truth?" Caller: "Usually. But when I'm at work it's part of my job to sort of tell lies." Interviewer: "You're a journalist then?" Caller: "No....I'm a serving police officer." Interviewer: "Do you tell lies on a regular basis?" Caller: "...If you want to get a conviction you have to tell lies. It's part and parcel of the job."
Thought for the week - "The pieces are so beautiful and unusual. When do you get a toilet bowl completely in stainless steel, without a single fastener. They're very handsome." Architect Peter Pawlak.