The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.63/No.2           January 18, 1999 
 
 
The Great Society  

BY HARRY RING
Law `n order - In Detroit, Timothy Boomer fell from a canoe into the Rifle River and hollered to his friends for help. A County prosecutor asserted that Boomer uttered an obscenity, in violation of a 101-year-old law. If convicted, he faces 90 days in jail and a $100 fine.

Fed up? - Toulouse, France: Rioting youth smashed a police station and threw stones and petrol bombs at the police to avenge the death of a friend that morning. Six policemen were injured in the clashes. No youths were reported injured. At least 150 police faced up to at least 200 youth on a rampage in Remeric, a working-class district. "The rampage was triggered by the shooting of a youth by a stray police bullet, police said." - AP. Dec. 4, '98.

But please, no virtual plastic - A new web site (Jesus 2000. com) calls itself "The Holy Land's Largest Shopping Mall on the Internet." Xmas Eve it featured a cyber-midnight mass live from Bethlehem. Virtual pilgrims can purchase olive wood crosses. mother of pearl rosaries, and other religious trinkets from the Holy City.

Is that my computer shaking? -"The famous 1980 film, `The China Syndrome,' depicts Jack Lemmon as nuclear power engineer. His memorable line: `I can feel it.' referred to the rumbling of an incipient Chernobyl-style nuclear accident. A contemporary version would have referred to trembles in the world financial market." - Investment banker Roger Altman.

Equality for all - Convicted swindler Redman has begun serving his term. A real estate shark he sold several million dollars worth of homes on virtually useless high desert land, mainly to low-income Latinos. He was given a year of "alternate confinement" at home, and fined $10,000.

No place like home - In a three-month period, California Realtors sold a record 1,555 $1-million homes. Top sale was a Los Angeles pad with seven bathrooms and five bedrooms. $10 million.

Oh, and by the way - Waiting tables, cashiering, and retail sales are among California's top job opportunities. Some pay almost $16,000 a year.

Thought for the week - "The bad news is the uncertainty in the streets. Every day you wake up not knowing if there's going to be a demonstration in the streets and if the demonstration is going to get out of control." - An unidentified "senior U.S. official responsible for Indonesia."

 
 
 
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