1. "This is all basically a replaying out of the Roman successor states. The idea was, we were looking for a geopolitical situation that would give rise to feudalism because the only thing cooler than driving one of these big Mechs and walking around blowing things up and stepping on houses is being noble at the same time."

Jordan Weisman, designer of video game "Mech Commander", reviewed in "As a Civilization Crumbles, Mechanical Goliaths Battle," in the New York Times, May 14, 1998.

2. "Indeed, only about 37% of the 1,359 official Superfund [toxic waste] sites have been cleaned up after 18 years.

"When asked, executives say they have nothing to hide. It’s just that quantifying these costs is next to impossible and often irrelevant, they say.

... In its annual financial report, for instance, Viacom, the entertainment giant, regales shareholders with news of its hit movie ‘Titanic.’ ‘Winner of 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture,’ it takes pains to note. Buts its yearly disclosure documents contain next to nothing about the mess in Palmerton, Pa., [one of 18 Superfund cites owned by Viacom], that Federal regulators trace at least in part to Viacom’s door.

"There, smoke from a zinc smelter has scattered huge quantities of heavy metals throughout the rural town.... Toxic smoke from the smelter killed all plants and trees on a mountain overlooking Palmerton and the grass in residents’ yards. Government tests have shown that children who live in Palmerton have higher than normal levels of lead in the blood. The metals have found their way into the area and even garden vegetables. Because the soil is sterile in places, fallen trees do not decompose but lie as stark reminders of the decades long assault."

--- From "Cleaning Up in the Dark," in The New York Times, May 14, 1998

3. "Viacom received three bids for Simon and Schuster, the publishing giant. One offer was from a team lead by Knowledge Universe, a company owned by Oracle’s Lawrence J. Ellison, and Michael Milken, who pioneered the use of junk bonds. [Who previously paid $1.1 billion in fines and served two years in prison for securities fraud.]"

--- From "Three Bids for Simon and Schuster," in The New York Times, May 14, 1998