The Week in Brief

ACLU prez talks child porn, Internet rights

JULIA TIERNAN/YH CHAT ROOM: ACLU President Nadine Strossen discussed Internet civil liberties at a Calhoun Master's Tea.

Strossen explained that while the ACLU does not approve of child pornography, the organization is opposed to a new national law which would prosecute those who appear to be involved with child pornography. "The ACLU disagrees with [the new law], because it just means that Congress doesn't want adults to think or fantasize about minors in this way," she said. "That is creating a thought crime, and the ACLU won't support that."

Strossen also detailed the ACLU's unique mission. "Other human rights organizations defend particular rights or rights of particular people," she said. "We are the watchdogs who see that the government lives up to its commitment not to prefer one right over the other, but to give equal preference to all rights."

--Alan Schoenfeld

Flight may link Elm City to Big Apple

The 90-mile trip would take less than half an hour and cost about $100 round trip. Currently, travel between Tweed and JFK via Connecticut Limousine ground transportation takes nearly two and a half hours and costs $72 round trip.

K. Scott Hannan, PC '01, thought the idea was ridiculous. "You're only beating the train by about 20 minutes, and it costs around $40 more each way," he said.

--Melissa DePetris

Local developer buys Palace

Michael Kuczkowski, spokesperson for Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., noted that New Haven was forced to turn to other pot-ential owners. "The city keyed in Bob Matthews and a few others--there are not many people who could take on such a project."

Matthews is convinced he can turn the property into a moneymaker. "When we close on the deal, we hope to make this non-profit venture profitable," he said prior to completing his purchase. "We aim for a surplus of $150,000 to $200,000 a year to give away to charity."

--Kate Feather

New statistics show city population increase

DeStefano's Livable City Initiative, launched in 1995, argued that a smaller city was good news because New Haven would be able to maintain a higher standard of living. However, a shrinking population "had advanced the perception that people did not want to live here," DeStefano spokesperson Michael Kuczkowski said. "This was a perception we felt was contrary to some of the other indicators during this time--the quality of life was up, crime was on the decline."

A population increase will likely help alter people's general impressions of New Haven, Kuczkowski said. He also pointed out that a larger population would give the city an opportunity to expand.

--Marissa Leung

Slifka Center hosts bioethics debates

Cedars, who serves on the Committee for Continuing Medical Education for the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, also called for the formation of a
national committee to examine the ethical and political issues surrounding reproductive medicine.

--Kris Siriratsivawong

Around the Globe

A roundup of how idiots around the globe celebrated the new year:

The Hague: A firework blew apart the toilet in one Dutch family's home on New Year's Eve after someone threw it into the nearby sewer drain.

Moscow: Witches and wizards gathered at Red Square on New Year's Eve to generate snow in the unseasonably warm capital. Among other rituals, they whacked barrels of water with broomsticks.

Rio de Janeiro: Festive fireworks and crowds distracted police from two separate jailbreaks that freed over 100 prisoners. Authorities recaptured only five fugitives.

Poor and loving it

Future investment bankers take note: perhaps money can't buy you happiness. Toronto's National Post conducted a survey last month that revealed a greater frequency of sex in Canada's poorer provinces than in the affluent ones.

The Atlantic Provinces, which have the nation's highest unemployment and least economic growth, reported an average of 8.28 encounters per month. Wealthier Ontario had a monthly average of 7.18 rendezvous, while British Columbia couldn't get it up past 6.57 times a month. The survey's results paralleled those of an earlier study that found Atlantic Canadians to be more satisfied with sex than their countrymen.

Just plain gross

Doctors removed an 83-pound tumor from the abdomen of a Honduran woman last month, which may be one of the largest tumors ever recorded. Reina Alvarado was believed to be pregnant for a year in a rural clinic until someone realized that she should have already given birth. She was transferred to the city of Tegucigalpa, where the operation occurred.

The gynecologist who "birthed" the lump reported that the tumor weighed three pounds more than the woman from whom it was removed. "It was a benign tumor but because of its size caused severe problems for this woman," the doctor said.

--Compiled by Andrew Swan from Reuters News Service.

Yale Index

JULIA TIERNAN/YH The Black Student Alliance at Yale (BSAY) led a candlelight vigil from Old Campus to Amistad memorial in honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Mon., Jan 18.

Bartholomew, SY '01, this week 2

2. Estimated number of inane questions Ahmad Rashad has asked

Michael Jordan 2,300

3. Estimated revenue increase in NBA products from 1984-1997, in

billions of dollars 3.1

4. Number of companies Jordan endorses 10

5. Jordan's 1997 salary from endorsements, in millions

of dollars 47

6. Jordan's 1997-98 salary from the Chicago Bulls, in

millions of dollars 31.3

7. Number of NBA games played by Jordan 930

8. Number of Jordan videos sold, in millions 4

9. Gross domestic product of Jordan, the country, in billions of dollars 118

10. Estimated economic impact of Jordan as of June 1998, in

billions of dollars 10

11. Estimated revenue generated for Nike by Michael Jordan as of June

1998, in billions of dollars 5.2

12. Size of 1997 Yale endowment, in billions of dollars 5.8

--Compiled by Sharon Lin and Anne Kinderman

Sources: 1) Herald calendar, 1/15/98; 2, 4) Superfan Number Crunchers; 3, 10, 11) Forbes, 6/22/98; 5, 6, and 8) Forbes, 12/15/97; 7) CBS; 9) CIA World Factbook 1997; 12) Yale Factsheet

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