New! Submit a site
whatUseek Directory Site Listings:
Baseball Diplomacy - More than 50,000 Cuban fans, including baseball-lover President Fidel Castro, packed a Havana stadium Sunday to watch a US major league team take the field against a Cuban team for the first time in 40 years. The Baltimore Orioles defeated their hosts 3-2 in an 11-inning game that lasted four hours. But the home team was at a disadvantage, having never before played a game with wooden bats. In defiance of the longstanding trade embargo, wooden bats were brought in through a third country for the American exhibition game. [Wired News]
Battle of the Bimbos - Granted, it's not like being the queen of England or anything, but inquiring minds want to know: Just who is "Queen of the Internet" anyway? A story in The Wall Street Journal (of all places) says it's Pamela Lee. This drew instant fire from Cindy Margolis who, like her rival, is blonde and built. Cindy, whose prior claim to fame was working as the "prize pointer" on The Price Is Right, was royally peeved and the webmistress of her site made no bones about which babe is top dog online: "I don't know where Pamela Lee gets off," she fumed with righteous Hollywood indignation. "There's no question who rules the Internet." [Wired News]
Bayer's Big Headache - A federal lawsuit filed by a Holocaust survivor claims the German pharmaceutical giant paid Nazi doctors to perform experiments on Jews at Auschwitz. A lawsuit filed in US District Court in Indianapolis says Bayer supervised experiments in which prisoners were injected with germs to test the effectiveness of the company's drugs. Eva Kor of Terre Haute, Indiana, says her twin sister died from experiments she was subjected to as a child. Bayer has denied any involvement in the tests. [Wired News]
Beatles Reunion - The four lads from Liverpool will be reunited one last time -- if not in person (which would be a bit difficult) then at least in song. The three surviving Beatles plan to release a previously unpublished single later this summer. Recorded during the Yellow Submarine sessions in 1968, the song, with John Lennon singing lead, is described by a Beatles spokesman as "a real rocker." Unlike the 1995 single, "Free As a Bird," it will not be remixed and will be released in its original form. And once it's out, that's it, vow Messrs. McCartney, Harrison, and Starr. There will be nothing more from the most famous rock and roll band in history. [Wired News]
Beatles Reunion - The four lads from Liverpool will be reunited one last time -- if not in person (which would be a bit difficult) then at least in song. The three surviving Beatles plan to release a previously unpublished single later this summer. Recorded during the Yellow Submarine sessions in 1968, the song, with John Lennon singing lead, is described by a Beatles spokesman as "a real rocker." Unlike the 1995 single, "Free As a Bird," it will not be remixed and will be released in its original form. And once it's out, that's it, vow Messrs. McCartney, Harrison, and Starr. There will be nothing more from the most famous rock and roll band in history. [Wired News]
Beauty Scandal - It's not exactly the Dreyfus Affair, but sometimes you take what you can get. When Mareva Galanter won the title of Miss France, some French TV viewers smelled a rat. It turns out that Galanter, who hails from Tahiti, is related to popular French singer Sacha Distel, chairman of the jury that crowned her last December. On top of that, her grandmother was hatmaker to the pageant's chief organizer. And not only that, but a side jury of television viewers decided that the runner-up, Amelie Rudler, was prettier than Galanter anyway. Now, Galanter's detractors have retained an attorney and gone to court to have the poor girl stripped of her title. A ruling is expected next week. [Wired News]
Beavers Busted - They're busy, all right. A family of buck-toothed rodents has been gnawing Washington's famous blossoming cherry trees. Authorities have arrested two, and a third has been spotted between the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument. The National Park Service called in a trapping company to catch the beavers, who have destroyed or damaged 14 trees since their attack began 1 April. They've brought down four cherries, five white cedars, and one holly. Four more cherry trees have been damaged and officials say two others might not survive. [Wired News]
Bedroom Eyes - Americans are lousy in the sack. Or a lot of them are, anyway. A study in the current Journal of the American Medical Association concludes that nearly one third of men and 43 percent of women suffer from some sort of sexual dysfunction -- either they don't like it, don't want it, or aren't any good at it. The study, billed as the most significant survey of American sexual behavior since the landmark Kinsey report in 1948, details a smorgasbord of hang-ups and physical problems: lack of desire, difficulty in becoming aroused, premature orgasms (or no orgasm at all), pain during sex, fear of failure, and sex without pleasure. So that's why Viagra's sales are skyrocketing. [Wired News]
Big Boost for Big Al - He hasn't announced his candidacy yet, but Al Gore is already running for president. If there were any lingering doubts, the vice president drooling in the background on Monday while House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt endorsed his candidacy should remove them. Gephardt, who loomed as Gore's most formidable rival for the Democratic nomination, decided to remain in Congress and work to secure a Democratic majority in the House, a goal that looks very obtainable come 2000. That leaves New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley as Gore's only declared obstacle, although you can't rule out Jesse Jackson, who seems bent on becoming the Harold Stassen of the '90s. [Wired News]
Big Bucks Breakup - One of those messy little divorce cases involving a scandalously wealthy couple -- the kind that makes good tabloid reading -- won't be going to court after all. When Paloma Picasso and her Argentine husband called it quits, he sued for half her fortune, estimated at around 500 million pounds ($815 million, give or take). Rafael Lopez-Cambil claimed that he helped his wife, daughter of Pablo, build her cosmetics business and was therefore entitled to half of everything. Now comes word that the couple, married since 1978, has agreed to settle matters outside the courtroom. No terms were disclosed. [Wired News]
Big Mac Attack - For McDonald's to prosper, cows must die. Be that as it may, the hamburger-slinger has been in discussions with an animal-rights group -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- to see how the fast-food monolith might help promote animal-rights issues within the industry. Those talks have gotten nowhere, apparently, and now the folks at PETA have lost patience. They're planning to launch a billboard and bumper-sticker campaign, chiding McDonald's for its foot-dragging. This doesn't sit well with CEO Jack Greenberg, who said he was "disappointed ... because we at McDonald's are sincere in our desire to provide leadership in the area of animal welfare." Yeah. Kill 'em with kindess. [Wired News]
Big Macs Under Attack - Those golden arches don't fall easily. Three McDonald's fast food restaurants in Belgrade, vandalized after NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia began 24 March, handed out 3,000 free burgers to celebrate their reopening over the weekend. Anti-war protesters had painted big bull's eyes on the buildings, identified with the NATO allies. A sign posted Saturday at one location said, "This restaurant is a target, as we all are. If it has to be destroyed, let it be done by NATO." [Wired News]
Birds Brained - Migrating songbirds are being killed at the rate of about 4 million each year, not by hunters or cats or other predators, but by radio transmission towers. According to a story in USA Today, the birds, which tend to fly after sundown, are attracted by the flashing beacons sitting atop the towers, which transmit TV, radio, and cell-phone signals. As a result, many soar headlong into the towers themselves, or into the guy wires, or into each other. The greatest toll is taken among the warblers, vireos, and thrushes, all champion flyers who migrate thousands of miles a year. Scientists have counted more than 42,000 dead birds at one tower alone -- a 1,000-foot structure in Florida -- over a 25-year span. [Wired News]
Bit o' the Grape - The wine industry -- armed with a few supporting studies -- has been singing the praises of its product as an aid to health. The US government is apparently convinced, since it's given the green light for vintners to put labels on their bottles touting the health-giving properties of wine. Studies do indicate that moderate amounts of red wine appear to reduce the risk of heart disease in some people. Of course, the key is moderation. If you don't believe it, ask a wino. [Wired News]
Biting Back - Hundreds of anglers armed with rod, reel, and raw steak flocked to the Brazilian town of Aracatuba in S o Paulo on Sunday for a one-day piranha fishing tournament. The townspeople have declared open season on the flesh-eating fish, which have decimated other species in the local river. The prize for Sunday's tournament was an outboard motor. But most fishermen were content to go home with plenty of piranha, reputed to be a powerful aphrodisiac. [Wired News]
Bitter Chocolate - Maybe they really do mean it as a compliment, but this being the '90s and all, feathers are easily ruffled. In any case, the Philippines is officially protesting a chocolate-covered cookie made in Spain and sold in Europe under the name "Filipinos." The former Spanish colony says the name is racist, but Nabisco Iberia SL, which makes the cookie, denies the charge. "It's a product of very high quality," said Nabisco, "along the lines of Colombian coffee, Swiss cheese, or Belgian waffles." Filipinos must have been doing a long, slow burn over this, seeing as how the cookies have been sold under that name in Europe for more than 10 years. [Wired News]
Black Farmers Win Suit - The US government will pay up to black farmers who say the Agriculture Department discriminated against them for decades in awarding loans and other aid. A deal reached Tuesday will give as many as 4,000 farmers a tax-free cash payment of US$50,000 and erase their USDA debts. The farmers have long complained they were denied government loans, disaster relief, and other aid because of their race, and did not get fair hearings from the USDA when they appealed. [Wired News]
Black Magic - Burkittsville, Maryland, a small town sandwiched between two Civil War battlefields, is the setting for The Blair Witch Project, the pseudo-documentary/horror film that goes into general release this week. But get this through your heads, people: While Burkittsville is real enough, the movie is a hoax. A fabrication. A FAKE. Law enforcement officials in Frederick County, where Burkittsville is situated, have been inundated by calls from moviegoers wanting to learn more about the evil, child-stealing witch who inhabits the area. Once again, folks, there is NO child-stealing witch. It's just a freakin' movie. [Wired News]
Blanket Coverage - What's good for the gander, in this case, is apparently good for the goose as well. Influenced by the fact that insurance companies are covering Viagra prescriptions, several state legislatures have passed measures requiring carriers to cover women's contraceptives, too. Eight states have already passed so-called "contraceptive equity" bills and a number of others, including California and New York, have them in the pipeline. The basic issue is fairness: Thinking legislators were struck by the fact that Viagra received coverage as soon as it became available while the birth-control pill has been ignored by insurance companies for 40 years. [Wired News]
Bodies Found - The bodies of John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife Carolyn, and her sister Lauren Bessette were found Wednesday off the coast of Martha's Vineyard, along with a large portion of the plane's fuselage. The bodies, along with the wreckage of the Piper Saratoga, will be retrieved by divers and brought aboard the USS Grasp, a Navy salvage vessel. A private mass for Kennedy and his wife will be held Friday morning in the New York City church that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis attended. A service for Lauren Bessette will be held Saturday in Greenwich, Connecticut. [Wired News]
|
