The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.63/No.20           May 24, 1999 
 
 
The Great Society  

BY HARRY RING
A society rotted to the core - "A national study links many health problem in young children to the shortage of affordable housing and the skyrocketing number of homeless families. Colorado plays heavily in the report." - Denver Rocky Mountain News, April 8.

On bended knee? - In Chicago, a man was charged with kidnapping and murdering a girl, 11. Meanwhile, charges were dropped against two boys, 7 and 8, earlier accused of the crime. Cops had said that after six hours grilling, the boys "confessed" they did it. A $100-million suit as been filed. Mayor Richard Daley says he intends to apologize to the boys.

You don't hate capitalism? - A California appeals court upheld the 25-year-to-life sentence meted out to Gregory Taylor, a homeless ex-convict. It was his third conviction and the sentence was imposed under the state's "three-strikes- and-you're-out" law. Taylor was prosecuted for trying to pry open the door of a church kitchen for some food.

Maybe it just seems that way? - According to a population research team, people who attend church regularly live 10 percent longer than nonchurchgoers.

Great photo op - The state of Delaware has provided one of its three counties with a $700,00 decontamination trailer equipped to respond to biological, chemical, and radiological emergencies. The other two are on order. Officials in New Castle County, which has the first trailer, were reluctant to commit medical response people to the project, but volunteers have stepped forward.

Dicey getting up in the morning - "GENEVA - More than one million people die every year worldwide from work accents, reported the United Nations Int'l Labor Organization.... Several hundreds of millions of workers are injured or exposed to hazardous products." - News item.

Rub it in - "The massage is a health thing, not a pleasure thing," says the co-owner of the New York Dog Spa and Hotel, which offer a day of revitalization. Includes pedicure, hot oil treatment, and full massage. $150.

No comment - War contractor General Dynamics said its first-quarter earnings rose 20 percent, boosted in part by increased federal spending.

One less killer on the loose -Sydney Gottlieb, a ranking figure in the CIA's "technical services," checked out in March. But, perhaps for security reasons, news of his demise was delayed. Gottlieb, it's warmly noted, personally delivered to the Congo a deadly bacteria used to kill Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba.

 
 
 
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