Newspaper Page Text
Monday, March 30, 1998
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 6
:
WORLD AND LOCAL
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Damn You, Al Nino
NIPOMO, California — El Nino's been taking the blame for
a lot of ugly weather. So has Al Nino.
Alfonso Nino - listed in the phone book as Al Nino - has
fielded a few irate calls from people who for some reason
think a weather phenomenon would have a phone.
"It's always something like, 'Why are you doing this?"' Nino
says. "And I say, 'Well, I didn't really have nothing else to
do. I thought maybe it would be kind of fun.' I usually joke
around with them a bit."
You Don't Bring Me Flowers Anymore
CHICAGO, Illinois — Forget flowers and fancy chocolates.
What really turns women on are the scents from candy-
coated licorice, cucumbers and baby powder, according to
a study released this month.
Following up on a previous study he did on the odors that
most arouse men — pumpkin pie produced the strongest
penile response - Alan Hirsch of the Smell & Taste Treatment
and Research Foundation in Chicago said he exposed
women to odors and then measured their vaginal blood flow.
For women, he found the candied licorice smell produced
by "Good and Plenty" candy, the odor of cucumber, and the
aura of baby powder increased blood flow by 13 percent
above the average blood flow. Other arousing odors were
produced by pumpkin pie and lavender.
Smells that inhibited blood flow in women were cherries,
charcoal-barbequed meat, and — perhaps disturbing to scent
manufacturers -- men's colognes.
For those interested in the topic, Hirsch has a book coming
out in April entitled "Scentsational Sex." One of his previous
work has been research on smells that encourage gamblers
to bet in casinos.
Every Dog Has His Day Everyday
SAN FRANCISCO, California — So much for the phrase "it's
a dog's life."
At San Francisco SPCA's new $7 million animal shelter, cages
have been replaced with spacious "apartments" complete
with comfortable furniture, TVs, skylights, and artworks on
the walls.
The dogs even have their own personal trainers, and their
own "social group" of two other dogs with which to romp.
Says SPCA President Richard Avanzino: "No one wants to
adopt an animal that can't adapt to home life. Here our
animals are socialized to be good pets."
The 21-dog apartment complex (and 67 "kitty lofts") has
sound-proof walls so that visitors aren't overwhelmed by
noise; and cute dogs are placed in back, so the public is forced
to consider "the ugly ones, too," says Avanzino.
— Saeed Ahmed
Ex-Detroit Cop Convicted in Retrial
By Burt Herman
Associated Press Writer
DETROIT — In a case
that highlighted the racial
split in this largely black city,
a white former police officer
was convicted of involuntary
manslaughter this month in
his retrial in the beating death
of black motorist Malice
Green.
The jury of eight whites,
three blacks and an Asian
deliberated 221/2 hours over
five days before convicting
Walter Budzyn of the count,
which carries a maximum
sentence of 15 years. A
previous jury had convicted
him of the more severe charge
of second-degree murder,
which carries a maximum
sentence of life in prison.
Budzyn, 52, showed no
expression as the verdict was
read. His daughter, Andy
Budzyn-Moleski, broke into
tears and mouthed "why?"
Budzyn had served 4 1/2
years of an eight-to-18-year
sentence on his 1993 murder
conviction before the state
Supreme Court threw it out
last summer.
The court dismissed the
first verdict partly because the
mostly black jury was shown
the film "Malcolm X" during
a break in its deliberations.
The film opens by showing the
videotaped beating of Rodney
King with a voice-over from
Malcolm X charging the white
man is "the greatest murderer
on Earth."
Green, a 35-year-old
unemployed steelworker, died
Nov. 5, 1992, after a
confrontation that left him
with severe head injuries from
at least one police flashlight.
Budzyn testified that he
didn't hit Green. He said he
saw his partner, Larry Nevers,
holding Green and the
flashlight coming down
toward Green's head.
"It came down and it
stopped," he said. "I don't
know if you'd call that a hit,
but it did make contact with
the head."
But eyewitnesses who
were acquaintances of Green
said they saw Budzyn beat
Green.
According to testimony,
race was not a factor in Green's
death. Still, in the aftermath of
the 1991 King beating in Los
Angeles and the riots there the
following year, the death
heightened racial tensions in
Detroit.
The initial jury, made up
of 11 blacks and one white,
was chosen only from within
Detroit. Because of a
subsequent reorganization
that combined city and Wayne
County courts, the second trial
drew jurors from the suburbs
as well as the city.
Nevers was convicted by
a separate jury in the same
1993 trial. He was released in
December after a federal judge
overturned the verdict.
No retrial has been
scheduled for him while
prosecutors appeal.
