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Bombing Continues - NATO bombs continued to fall on Yugoslavia after generals representing the Belgrade government balked at the US-led alliance's stringent terms for withdrawing their troops from the breakaway province Kosovo. Talks between the two sides in Macedonia were recessed so that the Yugoslav officers could confer with their government. Their chief objections: the alliance's insistence on placing NATO troops in Kosovo, the rapid timetable for Yugoslav withdrawal, and the potential threat posed by Kosovar guerrillas. [Wired News]
Breaking Ranks - Two moderate Republican senators -- Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Vermont's James Jeffords -- have heard and seen enough. They said Wednesday that they'll vote to acquit President Clinton, basically because the evidence doesn't support a conviction. Actually, the Republicans just seem anxious to get it over with. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott is calling for a vote by 5 p.m. EST Thursday. Meanwhile, hopes for a censure appear to be fading as well. Jeffords, who says he'll vote against both articles of impeachment and expects at least 12 other Republicans to join him, doubts that the prosecution will get a simple majority for either article, let alone the two-thirds needed to convict. [Wired News]
Bringing Up Baby - According to a national study, Japanese fathers spend an average of 17 minutes a day with their kids, the International Herald Tribune reports. The findings, which prompted the Japanese government to begin urging men to get more involved with child rearing, have touched off a tempest in old Nippon. A lot of Japanese women think it's high time the old man spent more time at home and less time working and carousing with his cronies. A lot of men in this fiercely patriarchal society would just as soon the government mind its own business. But the times they are a changin': More women are in the workplace than ever before and equality issues have moved to the front burner. [Wired News]
Buck(ingham) Naked - Five men were arrested Tuesday after staging a nude demonstration outside Buckingham Palace. Authorities said the five were members of a group called The Right to Be Naked, about 20 of whom took turns disrobing. Four of the men were later released, but a police spokesman said a fifth -- who climbed naked onto a statue of Queen Victoria -- remained in custody. It was not clear whether Queen Elizabeth witnessed the demonstration. [Wired News]
Bull's Eye? - If a respected English literature professor has it right, Robin Hood and his "band of merrie men" really were, well, merry. According to Stephen Knight, a professor at England's Cardiff University, the legendary folk hero -- who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor -- was gay. Knight reached his conclusion, which has touched off a tempest in Old Blighty, after studying 14th century ballads that are the earliest known records of Robin's deeds. Because the 14th century was more circumspect than the 20th, there's no overt reference to Robin's sexuality. But, says Knight, the ballads "do contain a great deal of erotic imagery. The green wood [of Sherwood Forest] itself is a symbol of virility and the references to arrows, quivers, and swords make it clear, too." And what of Maid Marian, Robin's reputed love? A fabrication, asserts Knight, who maintains she was a 16th century invention to make the man in tights a bit more manly. [Wired News]
Bummer - Peace and love only go so far in the '90s, it seems. During the '60s, they managed to milk a whole summer out of the concept but now, at the century's close, they couldn't even sustain it for four days. The riot-and-arson spree that marred the close of the four-day "return to Woodstock" festival over the weekend was the handiwork of around 500 morons who let their Lord of the Flies mentality get the better of them. A few defended their action, calling it a reaction to the price gouging by food and souvenir vendors. You can bet some of them are home today, swilling their $3 lattes without batting an eye. The '90s ain't the '60s, honey, so don't bother trying. [Wired News]
Bummer, Man - It's a great local story: A rehabilitation house for addicted mothers is opening next month in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, hallowed hippie ground during the Summer of Love. The San Francisco Chronicle gleefully reported Thursday that the rehab center would be housed in the same Victorian once occupied by Janis Joplin, who by then was downing a quart of Southern Comfort a day to give her singing voice that nice, raspy edge. Great human interest, Scoop. Except the Chronicle, and the other media that latched onto it, got it wrong. Joplin actually lived in the house next door, where she hung out regularly with her neighbors: Jimi Hendrix, Country Joe McDonald, and the Jefferson Airplane. The newspaper made a playful retreat on Friday, blaming the error on the vagaries of hippie history. Sort of a "Purple Haze defense." [Wired News]
Business as Usual - A White House spokesman says President Clinton will go ahead with his State of the Union address, despite calls that he postpone it because of his impeachment trial. With the trial set to resume later this week, Clinton faces the daunting challenge of addressing Congress on 19 January in the midst of Senate proceedings that will determine whether he is removed from office. [Wired News]
Business is Booming - What's the business angle on a war? The Dow Jones service led a story on the Kosovo conflict this way: "A large-scale troop deployment in Yugoslavia might be a NATO foot soldier's worst nightmare. But to Brad Spahr, it doesn't sound so bad." Spahr, it turns out, runs a California company that manufactures rotary blades for the US Army's Apache helicopter, which figures to see plenty of action if ground troops are forced to go in after Big Bad Milosevic. Assuming some of the choppers go down, or at least foul some blades, a protracted war in the Balkans could mean a nice flow of black ink for Spahr's ledger. As for the flow of red blood, well, that's just an unfortunate byproduct in this line of work. [Wired News]
Campaign Trial - In a local TV interview, a Republican mayoral candidate in Baltimore had plenty to say about crime and discourteous cops. The cops had a few things to say about her, it turned out. A police officer watching the show recognized Dorothy Joyner as the woman he'd issued a warrant to last year for misdemeanor burglary. During her segment on Newsmaker Ms. Joyner described herself as a churchgoer with 30 years experience in education. Afterward, she made a second appearance for cameras as officers waiting outside the studios of WBFF-TV led her from the station in handcuffs. [Wired News]
Can I Get a Witness? - Congressional prosecutors said Thursday that President Clinton repeatedly put himself above the law and betrayed his oath of office in trying to hide his affair with Monica Lewinsky. During the first day of the impeachment trial, the House managers urged the Senate to call half a dozen witnesses. Democrats and the White House do not want witnesses called, saying there is already a mountain of evidence on record. White House lawyers will present their defense case beginning Tuesday, the same day the president is scheduled to deliver the State of the Union address. [Wired News]
Can I Get a Witness? - Congressional prosecutors said Thursday that President Clinton repeatedly put himself above the law and betrayed his oath of office in trying to hide his affair with Monica Lewinsky. During the first day of the impeachment trial, the House managers urged the Senate to call half a dozen witnesses. Democrats and the White House do not want witnesses called, saying there is already a mountain of evidence on record. White House lawyers will present their defense case beginning Tuesday, the same day the president is scheduled to deliver the State of the Union address. [Wired News]
Capital Idea - Germany, as of Tuesday, is being governed from Berlin for the first time since the reign of Adolf Hitler. Rather than dwelling upon those unpleasant echoes lawmakers are looking to the future, and the move eastward says a lot about where the future of Europe is headed. With the former Communist-bloc nations chomping at the bit for admission into the European Union, Germany is well-placed -- and very inclined -- to help them. But the government's return to Berlin is also heavily symbolic, representing as it does the final restoration of Germany as a political -- and not just economic -- leader in Europe. [Wired News]
Cartman Goin' South? - Apparently there's a limit to the amount of bad taste people will tolerate, even young males. Ratings for Comedy Central's South Park series, which enjoys a strong following among that demographic, have dropped a whopping 46 percent since last season, from a 7 to a meager 3.8 percent share. Can the end be far off? Don't bet on it. "We never expected the show to sustain 6, 7, and 8 ratings," said a Comedy Central veep in charge of programming for Comedy Central. The numbers may be way down, but South Park remains the highest-rated "scripted entertainment series on cable television," she assured us. Whatever that means. [Wired News]
Castro Courts US - Fidel Castro has again beseeched the United States to ally itself with Cuba in a war against drug trafficking that El Jefe says imperils hundreds of thousands of young Americans. Castro, who has been rebuffed in previous attempts by the powerful anti-Castro lobby in Washington, told an audience in Havana that these people -- many of them Cuban exiles -- are "sabotaging an agreement that would objectively become one of the greatest alliances against drug trafficking." Cuba has stepped up its war against traffickers recently, even imposing the death penalty on Communist Party officials found guilty of the crime. [Wired News]
Century's Top Story - What was the top news story of the 20th century? If you said the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, then you're in agreement with the panel of US journalists and historians who convened to select the top 100 news stories of this action-packed century. Second on the list was landing a man on the moon (1969); the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (1941) came in third. That last one is a bit surprising, since it can be reasonably argued that Pearl Harbor wasn't even the biggest event of the Second World War. And the advent of the World Wide Web? That finished 32nd. [Wired News]
Change in Israel? - Monday is election day in Israel and if the latest poll is accurate, Benjamin Netanyahu's reign as prime minister may be about over. The latest figures show Labor candidate Ehud Barak holding a commanding 49.9 to 35.1 percent lead over the beleaguered Likud PM. Two other candidates -- including Arab Azmi Bishara -- complicate matters, but if Bishara drops out of the race as expected, that may sink Netanyahu's boat altogether. Should Barak finish with more than 50 percent of the vote, he'll avert a runoff and win the race outright. And since Bishara will almost certainly throw his weight behind Barak, the good ship Netanyahu has taken on a heavy list. To starboard, naturally. [Wired News]
Character Reference? - Unless something happens, 22 major-league umpires will be unemployed after the conclusion of Wednesday's games. In a last-ditch attempt to save those jobs -- lost when the umps resigned in protest then tried unsuccessfully to rescind their resignations -- the umpires' union filed suit, seeking an injunction to keep the blues employed. As part of its plea, the union used this quote: "The leagues should recognize that umpires have a special relationship to the game, which is different from that of players. Umpires should not be treated as employees but as judges who are independent of both players and owners, whose primary responsibility is to maintain the integrity of the game." Words to gladden any ump's heart, until you consider the source: Richard Nixon, who arbitrated a dispute between umpires and baseball in 1985. On the other hand, Tricky Dick knew a thing or two about resigning, didn't he? [Wired News]
Charlie Hustler - Ten years after being banned for life on gambling charges, Pete Rose is back in professional baseball. Rose, the all-time major league hit leader, accepted a job as batting instructor with the Sacramento Steelheads of the Western Baseball League, which has no affiliation with Major League Baseball. Interviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle, Rose, as usual, was unrepentant. He said he told his young players: "If you gamble, baseball really frowns on it, but if you take drugs, they just pat you on the back and say, 'We'll take care of it' and get you some rehab, and turn you back loose again. I don't want you to do either one, but if you're going to do one of the two in baseball, you better do drugs, because even if you have a bad night, you might forget what happened." A .330 hitter with a .130 brain, ol' Pete is. [Wired News]
Cheese, No Crackers - Chasing wheels of cheese down a steep slope can be a dangerous sport. Dozens of injuries in 1997 forced last year's cancellation of a centuries-old tradition in Brockworth, England. There were crash barriers and a rescue team at this year's race on Monday. And moving the race to noon kept contestants from drinking too much before race time. The result? A few bumps and bruises to rollers and fans, but nothing serious. The winner, 30-year-old Stephen Brain, went home with an eight-pound wheel of double Gloucester cheese. [Wired News]
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