News In Brief

KITTY HAS FEELINGS TOO

When the Swiss parliament refused to discuss amendments to the legal status of animals, four activist groups took action. They amassed some 125,000 signatures - enough to force a referendum on the issue - calling for a new clause in the Constitution: "Animals are not things but living beings capable of feelings." The signatures were collected in five months - less than a third of the time it took for an initiative calling for Swiss membership in the UN.

LET'S ROTATE THE PARLOR

If you're tired of no morning light in the kitchen, or maybe too much sun in your sitting room, engineer Don Dunick could have a solution. The New Zealander, reports the Dominion newspaper, has built a house that can rotate to suit the weather. Dunick spent seven years designing the house, which is based on a computer-controlled revolving pedestal, and a further eight years constructing it.

The thrill of victory, the agony of Olympic TV prices

NBC could be known as "Not Broadcasting Cheaply." It has bought premium broadcast rights for the Olympic Summer Games from 1988 through 2008 - totaling some $3.55 billion. The year, location, network, and cost (in millions) for each of the summer Olympics since 1960:

1960 Rome, CBS $0.4

1964 Tokyo, NBC $1.5

1968 Mexico City, ABC $4.5

1972 Munich, West Germany, ABC $7.5

1976 Montreal, ABC $25

1980 Moscow, NBC $87

(was not broadcast because of US boycott)

1984 Los Angeles, ABC $225

1988 Seoul, South Korea, NBC $300

1992 Barcelona, Spain, NBC $401

1996 Atlanta, NBC $456

2000 Sydney, Australia, NBC $705

2004 Athens, NBC $793

2008 To be announced, NBC $894

- Associated Press

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