From buddy Sun Jan 21 04:04:35 1996 Date: Sun, 21 Jan 1996 04:04:33 Subject: beyond the beltway The Washington Post January 01, 1996 Beyond the Beltway 1995; You Thought Things Were Strange Here -- by Ken Ringle, Washington Post Staff Writer You say you guessed right on O.J., kept up with Bosnia, figured out the federal budget impasse and even beat the spread on both Redskins-Cowboys games, and yet you still feel you missed a few things that happened in 1995? Here, selected from wire dispatches, is what you've been looking for. Thinning Out the Herd MEDFORD, Ore. -- A 27-year-old jobless man with an MBA said his college degree was to blame for his murdering three people. "There are too many business grads out there," he said. "If I had chosen another field, all this may not have happened." Accountability NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia -- Zoo directors threatened to set two tigers loose on the town unless city officials came up with money to feed them. Rubber Bullet ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York recalled thousands of defective condoms sent to community organizations across the state for distribution in safe-sex programs. Why Mail Is Late DENVER -- A postal clerk was arrested after arriving at work in a pickup truck loaded with guns and hunting knives, wearing a dress, a gorilla mask and what authorities described as "a strap-on sexual device." California Culture (1) LOS ANGELES -- Grand jurors looking into the bankruptcy of Orange County were told that the county's former treasurer consulted an astrologer and a psychic for advice on investing county funds. California Culture (2) LOS ANGELES -- Two men who broke into a mortuary and had sexual contact with two female corpses were charged only with burglary, since necrophilia is not illegal in California. Disneyland Culture (2) ANAHEIM, Calif. -- A former Mouseketeer sued Disneyland, claiming that her grandchildren were traumatized when they were taken to an office and allowed to see Disney characters disrobe. Aesthete EL PASO -- A trucker was convicted of shooting his wife to death and chopping her up into 21 pieces that he painted gold, gray and blue. Al Dente, Please BOSTON -- An insurance executive was charged with tearing out his wife's heart and lungs and impaling them on a stake in a fight about overcooked ziti. The Age of Tolerance WEST DUNDEE, Ill. -- An Algonquin, Ill., man was charged with assaulting a pregnant woman because he was bothered by her cigarette smoke. Animal Rights (1) MIAMI -- A Dade County judge sentenced a man to five years in prison for killing a puppy, saying the case appeared to concern the public more than most murders. Animal Rights (2) CACERES, Spain -- A British animal rights activist making a film to protest bullfighting festivals was seriously gored by one of the bulls she said needed protection. Animal Rights (3) LOS ANGELES -- Authorities launched an investigation of an animal rights group called Mercy Crusade Inc. after discovering the organization had bought or ordered 34 guns in the past year, including rifles, assault pistols and other weapons restricted under federal laws. Police Priorities NEW YORK -- Police in Manhattan fined a woman $50 for permitting her bladder-desperate 4-year-old to relieve himself behind a tree in Central Park. Food Fight LUBBOCK, Tex. -- Officials at Texas Tech officially declared it unsportsmanlike for spectators to sail tortillas onto the field during football games. Noise Pollution STOCKHOLM -- A man has been charged with murdering his wife for running the vacuum cleaner while he watched television. What's My Line? BRASILIA -- Brazil's health ministry discarded the name given to a "talking penis" used in an anti-AIDS ad campaign after angry protests from people with the same name. Fast Food (2) LA GRANDE, Ore. -- A customer at a Denny's restaurant was ordered to perform 20 hours of community service for screaming obscenities, throwing money and refusing to leave when the restaurant charged him extra to substitute hash browns for eggs on his Grand Slam Breakfast. Annals of Journalism (1) KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- A former newspaper lifestyles editor was sentenced to four years in prison for trying to kill the husband of a member of his church's choir -- a woman he had profiled in a Mother's Day article and with whom he was having an affair. Annals of Journalism (2) KENNEWICK, Wash. -- A well-coifed local TV reporter was stung more than 30 times when bees swarmed on his hair gel. Animals Are Human (3) BEIJING -- An owl in the southern Chinese province of Jiangxi built a nest in a farmer's house so it could watch television every night with the farmer's family. Gourmet Cooking (2) RIO DE JANEIRO -- Eight people unwittingly ate the liver of a murder victim served up fried with onions and garlic in a bar in Brazil. "The only difference I noticed was that the meat was a bit tough and I had to let it fry for longer than usual," said the cook, who didn't realize he was sauteing a customer. Your Tax Dollars WASHINGTON -- After five years of pondering the hazards of the common five-gallon bucket, the Consumer Product Safety Commission decided not to require it be redesigned so children can't fall in. The commission agreed instead to let manufacturers spend $500,000 warning the public that children might fall in. Buzz Bomb INDEPENDENCE, Kan. -- A pilot was convicted of littering after buzzing the town at rooftop and bombing Main Street with a four-pack of toilet paper. Annals of Sport TAMARAC, Fla. -- Statuesque caddies from a strip joint called the Booby Trap were ordered to wear more than sun block for the naked golf tournament at the Colony West Country Club after a protesting member moved his daughter's bat mitzvah party from the clubhouse. Nuns Were Right CHICAGO -- An ophthalmology journal says vigorous sex really can make you blind. But only in rare cases and never for long.