Oil and Water

Mark Veverka of the San Francisco Chronicle proposes that Congress could bolster the ol' federal coffers by charging for access to the Ken Starr report -- "given that sports, sex and financial news are the few things capable of making money on the Web."

That's fine with Bob Metcalfe, founder of 3Com (COMS). The Washington Post reports that Metcalfe will soon be associated with the idea of "pay as you go" Internet use.

The Los Angeles Times peeks into RDL Space's latest project, launching the first "commercial satellite that uses radar to see the planet's surface through clouds, bushes and even darkness."

It must not be too hot in Hong Kong for Starwood (HOT). The company plans to open two luxury hotels in HK despite oversupply and the region's economic woes. In the South China Morning Post.

Shaw Communications (SJR) is going digital in a deal struck with CHUM. The Canadian Learning Television and Star - the Entertainment Information Station will go digital beginning in 1999, reports the Financial Post News.

The government of Switzerland is counting on its neutrality to bring its flotation of the state-owned telecommunications company Swisscom through the negative waters of global stock markets. The Telegraph reports that the Swisscom floatation will be Europe's biggest this year.

There's no luck of the Irish for Fruit of the Loom (FTL). The Irish Times reports that "the future of up to 700 jobs in Donegal and Derry broke up without conclusion last night, as the Tanaiste, Ms. Harney and the chairman of Fruit of the Loom, Mr. Bill Farley, failed to agree on a way forward."

Technological research is flourishing in the incubator known as Israel thanks to the government's involvement, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Political Passings

The Dallas Morning News has the full story on the passing of George Wallace, the former Alabama governor.

Jessica Ledgerwood, a 69-year old housewife from the town of Norman, Okla., has overcome a number of obstacles to get to the Democratic primary runoff -- death being the biggest. The senatorial candidate died of a heart attack on July 15, but was able to get enough votes in the Aug. 25 election to advance to the primary. Also in the South China Morning Post.

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