[SOC] SOC news

[f5pbl]

Funny planet --by Mark Annouchi--

Resting...

NEW YORK (AP) - The ways of the "audimat" (audience rating) are
impenetrable. For Christmas, the broadcast that has truly put the fire
to the audience rating was the �Yule Log� from New-York. During this
broadcast, that comes back on air after 13 years of absence, the viewer
profits during two hours of a show for the less resting : logs
burning in a fireplace...

Broadcasted Wednesday, on Christmas day, from 9h to 11h, it has
attracted 284.012 people, which is a rise of 26% as compared to
Christmas 2001, according to WPIX Channel-11. This rather bizarre
tradition had begun in 1966 and had stopped in 1989. But since, this
chain was regularly bombarded of mails sent by viewers calling for its return.
AP

On the Net: http://www.wb11.com

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For the love of Dusseldorf

SINGAPORE (AP) - An inhabitant of Singapore of Chinese origin has
legally obtained to change his name for a German word of two letters,
making it the man holding the shortest name of the city-state.

This bachelor of 52 years has changed his name to "Du" ("you" in
German) to tell his love for Goethe's language and for Dusseldorf, a
city that he has visited once and that he does not despair to visit
again.

"When they carry mutually a toast, they use "du" to show a certain
intimacy", has he declared to the "Straits Times" journalist to explain
the meaning of his new name.

But Du is not a beginner in this kind of "jokes". In fact, it is the
third time that he changes his name, but he has refused to give the
two previous ones, underlines the daily paper.

In the course of the last two years some 4.800 residents of Singapore
have obtained the right to change their name and about three-quarters
of them have made it for religious reasons.

AP

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Christmas Gift...

JAYAPURA, Indonesia (AP) - The Indonesian president Megawati
Sukarnoputi has offered to the agitated province of Irian Jaya (W.
New-Guinea) what she has presented as a present from Christmas.
Thursday in the course of a fete organized for the circumstance, the
girl of the president Sukarno has sung her interpretation of the
classic �My Way�. [French song !! NDT]

Usually timid, the Indonesian president has started singing after a
brief speech and after having asserted that it was her preferred song.
She has therefore asked the pianist to accompany her in a rather
mediocre version but that it has nevertheless brought polished applause.

Megawati undertook her first visits in this distant province inhabited
by a Christian majority and regularly affected for 30 years by
sporadic violences fomented by separatists. In her speech, Megawati
Sukarnoputi has carefully avoided the question as well as problems to
which is confronted this poor region.

AP

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The senses of the division 

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (AP) - A businessman of Charlotte in North
Carolina has decided to share a few of his chance with others on the
basis of one dollar each time.

Mike Jeffcoat, 42 years old, consultant in office furnitures, has
pasted with adhesive ribbon 300 banknotes of one dollar on the window
of his office with this small note : �Please, take what you need. And
have a thought for other people�.

�Many of them have not taken anything, some have taken just enough to
pay a coffee, a small gift for Christmas or a bus ticket. All
banknotes have gone within 35 minutes�, has said Jeffcoat.

This original gesture has allowed him to test the generosity of
others. Thus while he was in the process to stick his banknotes, a
foreigner has come to see him and has given him it a $20 banknote. The
man had no banknote of one dollar and wanted simply to help. Others
have equally given some dollars.

After this distribution, Sharmel Shirley, 23 years, and Sadaka Kimble,
24 years, have shared the 41 dollars that remained. Shirley needed to
pay her electricity invoice and Kimble neede to buy layers for her
girl. The two women have declared to be unemployed for four month.
�The money hung on the window. That was great�, had confided Shirley.

AP

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And now, the SOC news of the day :

A small Californian city sold by auctions on internet
[2002-12-27 21:24]


SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A small city of California of 670 residents
has been sold Friday on eBay for 1,78 million of dollars (1,71 million
of euros), well beyond the 5.000 dollars proposed by the first bidder
at the end of November.

The share encloses lands of Bridgeville, ancient forest city located
at 400 kilometers north of San Francisco, several buildings and a
tractor but the bridge and school are not included.

The offer of purchase still has to be confirmed by salesmen, the
Lapple family, that had bought the terrain for 150.000 dollars in 1972.

Auctions were at their top by Christmas time, with offers coming from
the world over, making the price shooting up. The buyer remains
unknown for the moment.

A few weeks ago, the rumor had spread on internet that the city in
which the singer Eminem had grown in the Michigan was on sale but the
offer, several millions of dollars, has proven to be false.

==

That's all Folks !

72!
Claude