Hey, a cop boycott!—The Chicago reader who sent us the news on Lucy Parsons Park added her own update: “The park is in the heart of one of the city’s most notorious police districts. A couple of uniformed ‘gang crime’ specialists just got federal prison terms for drug trafficking. It’s fitting.”

Maybe inmate dinner menus—The Pentagon furnished a U.S. Senate committee with a copy of a report on the abuse and torture of Iraqi prisoners. Of the 6,000-page report, 2,000 pages were missing. The Pentagon and the senators agreed it was of no great consequence.

Seize the time—In Kuwait, the cabinet approved a bill to grant women the right to vote and to run for parliament. The Times of London observed that women in Kuwait have been pressing for the vote for decades.

Cleaning the evidence room?—In Fairfield, Iowa, Cameron Cooksey, now an ex-cop and son of the police chief, pleaded guilty to lifting some $1,500 from the station house evidence room. A judge put him on probation and sentenced him to 100 hours of community service.

They also think like cops—“Kent, Washington—A review panel said Kent school guards should stop using metal handcuffs to restrain unruly students. The panel also said the guards should stop carrying guns, batons and pepper spray. The guards aren’t police officers. The review was ordered after the NAACP filed $500 million in claims against the district on behalf of 15 Black students who say guards abused them.”—USA Today.

Tension? In a jail?— In the St. Joseph, Indiana, county jail, dress rules have been posted for women visiting inmates. Guards bar visitors deemed to be scantily clad. Said an official: “A lot of people have gotten away with inappropriate dress.…That’s not a good thing. It can cause tension.”

Why buy 1 when you can buy 2?—In Beverly Hills, USA, there’s a home originally the dwelling of early film idols Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. Once a 16-acre estate, most of the land has been parceled off. Yours for $27 million. But be patient. The initial asking price was more.

In England, Lord Hescott, a former Conservative whip in Parliament, is offering his Northamptonshire estate for $91.5 million. The estate sits on 3,300 acres. His lordship says he’d rather sell it than open it to the public.

Brrr—“Scientists have discovered more than 100 species of bacteria living in the toxic sediment beneath underground tanks that have leaked radioactive waste at the Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington [state], home to some of the most contaminated soil in the world.”—Los Angeles Times.  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home