BY HARRY RING
Tell us about it - According to a study in the Journal of
the American Medical Ass'n, an estimated 180,000 people are
killed each year by medical mistakes that largely go
unreported. "Unfortunately," the Journal concedes, "error in
medicine is real and common."
`Morality' - The Pope praised the U.S. antiabortion movement as "one of the most positive aspects of American life." Meanwhile, he took the initial step toward conferring "sainthood" on Cardinal Alojziie Stepimac. During World War II, Stepimac was closely associated with the fascist Ustasi regime in Croatia. The Ustasi slaughtered Serbs and Jews in massive numbers.
What price racism? - In West Virginia, 1996 state records indicated that the infant mortality rates for Blacks is 22 percent as compared to 7 percent among whites.
The dough flattened - A decade ago, a favored sign of the Russian regime's steps toward capitalist restoration was the sprouting of U.S. fast-food chains. One of the biggies was Pizza Hut, which just recently had ex-prez Gorbachev in a commercial. Now, Pizza Hut has announced it will be shutting down its two Moscow stores.
And the price of pizza will be? -"Russia Expecting Inflation at 300%" - News headline.
March of science - A London court was asked to order a DNA test to determine if a mouse skull was English or Turkish. A woman became ill after spitting the skull out of a hazelnut chocolate bar. She's suing and the prosecution claims the warehouse where hazelnuts were stored is mouse-infested. Mars candy insists the rodent came in with imported Turkish hazelnuts.
Got the dwindles? - Columbia HCA Healthcare concedes that its third-quarter earnings were less than hoped for. Under Medicare investigation, the world's biggest for-profit chain had been unloading its assets. They've sold 17 hospitals and 34 surgery centers, and plan to put some medical office buildings on the block, plus two large groups of hospitals.
They shall beat the plowshares...? - Secretary of war William Cohen was slated to give an October 28 lecture on "The Conditions of Peace in the 21st Century." at UCLA's Anderson School - the university's business school.
Nothing's perfect - "In Glennville, California, a small town in the Sierra hills, the air might be a little bit cleaner, but the water, blecch, it's undrinkable. The two events actually have a common source. A gasoline additive that is used to cut air pollution, called MTBE, is showing up in the town's well water.
"Not only are Glennville residents upset, but so are communities around the country that have seen this potentially toxic chemical seep into their water supplies." - USA Today