Watching the World

Bad Music

◆ Playwright and lyricist Alan Jay Lerner, creator of such shows as “My Fair Lady,” said recently of rock music: “There is precious little good rock music around, considering the variety and amount of it. It is an insult to my intelligence to have a bunch of idiots jump around and pound drums and . . . then have the lights shine all around the room. I get an inner revulsion when I see people on the stage with a microphone close to their lips. They look like they would swallow it if they moved forward a little. I’m used to entertainers . . . who entranced you​—not entertainers who assault you with electronics coming from all directions. That kind of music hurts my ears and makes me very nervous. It has been proven that it is bad for your nervous system. . . . There are whole songs that say things like ‘I love you, baby,’ over and over and over. It is a real loss to musical culture.”

Underwater Childbirth

◆ A new technique for giving birth has been developed by Soviet doctors. It reportedly allows a relaxed delivery and less pain, without drugs or surgery. Photographs taken at a Moscow hospital show a mother and a midwife, both in a tank of warm water shallow enough to allow them to raise their heads to breathe. The baby is born submerged in the water before being brought to the surface for its first breath of air. The experiments are the results of a 20-year study, and the idea is to imitate the conditions of the womb, to soften the jolt of the baby entering the hard, dry world.

Unnecessary Surgery

◆ At a medical conference in New York, the sharply rising use of Cesarean sections for delivering babies came under heavy attack. It was felt that many of these operations were unnecessary. The number of births using this form of surgery, and which are often requested by the patients, has tripled in the United States in 11 years. It is being used in an “undocumented, unclarified and uncontrolled manner,” claimed public health specialist Dr. Helen Marieskind of Seattle. In some hospitals, about 30 percent of births are by Cesarean operations, which cost about three times the average fees for normal births and are riskier for the mother, said Dr. Marieskind.

Anti-TV Club

◆ About 160 families in and around Munich, in the Federal Republic of Germany, have formed an anti-TV club. While admitting that it was hard to “kick the habit” of watching television, they sold their sets or locked them away in cellars and attics to protest what they called the “tripe” shown on television. The club’s 50-year-old founder, Paul Holler, said: “When we have about 1000 families in the movement we shall be strong enough to confront the networks and ask them what they are going to do about their lousy output.” He also observed: “Meanwhile, we are playing sports again, reading books once more​—and even talking to each other.”

A Medical First

◆ Cape Town, South Africa, doctors performed a unique operation to remove a growing seed from a 10-year-old child’s eye. In 1976 the boy had been playing in grass and later complained to his mother that something had gotten into his eye. It remained painful and swollen periodically, despite various treatments. But recently specialists examined his eye under a microscope and found a small green seedling that had started to grow. A botanist confirmed this. Doctors then performed the delicate operation and removed the grass seed, with no permanent damage resulting to the boy’s eye.

Children Divorce Parents?

◆ Last year a blue-ribbon Swedish government committee on children’s rights recommended that spanking be outlawed. This recommendation was put into law. Now this same committee has proposed a law to give children the right to divorce from their parents. The chairman of the committee said: “It is not our intention that a 6-year-old who has a row with his parents should be able to just go out and divorce from them,” he said. “But a 3-year-old child in a foster home could divorce from his natural parents if they no longer showed any interest in him. Similarly, a 16-year-old who went to live with her boyfriend would have the opportunity to divorce from her parents if they objected to the relationship.”

Happier Persons Live Longer

◆ A 40-year study reported by the New England Journal of Medicine seems to confirm the Bible proverb: “A calm heart is the life of the fleshly organism.” (Prov. 14:30) Researchers measured the mental and physical health of 188 men for 40 years and said that those who were of good humor and who were happier enjoyed longer, healthier lives than those who were not.

Traffic Deaths Up Again

◆ Final figures for the year 1978 have pushed the number of traffic deaths in the United States to over 53,600. It is the first time in five years that the nation’s traffic death toll passed the 50,000 mark. Among the reasons given for this upsurge: fewer people heeding the 55 mile-per-hour (89 km/​hr) speed limit; the decreasing use of seat belts; the deterioration of roadways; the growing use of light trucks and vans, which result in deadlier collisions; the weakening or repealing of motorcycle helmet laws; and the increased popularity of mopeds (motorized bicycles).

More Youths Killed

◆ The World Health Organization in Geneva reports that the number of young people dying in traffic accidents has more than doubled in 15 years. In Portugal the increase was about 300 percent, in the United States nearly double, and in England and Wales 55 percent. More young women were dying on the roads, over three quarters of the 30 countries surveyed reporting an increase of more than 50 percent. The WHO study declares that alcohol abuse was the major cause of this rising death rate. For example, 40 percent of the drivers under the age of 30 killed in England and Wales had higher levels of alcohol in their blood than the law allows. The report said of youthful drivers: “They are inexperienced in driving, inexperienced in drinking, and inexperienced in driving under the influence of drink.”

Nuclear Doubletalk

◆ The National Council of Teachers of English in the United States gave its yearly “Doublespeak Award” to the nation’s nuclear power industry. It noted the “most appalling public use of the language” by industry officials to try to hide the dangers of nuclear power generation. For instance, the teachers said that the industry’s terminology for a nuclear explosion became “energetic disassembly.” A fire was “rapid oxidation.” A nuclear reactor accident was described as an “event” or as a “normal aberration.” And radioactive contamination was called “infiltration” or that “plutonium has taken up residence.”

Gold Snatchers

◆ The soaring price of gold has produced an epidemic of gold stealing. Targets include people wearing gold chains around their necks. Gold bandits have been brazenly tearing off such necklaces as the victims walk the streets. Especially in high-crime cities should caution be used in wearing such jewelry.

Noise Raises Pressure

◆ The Federal Health Agency of West Berlin has conducted tests suggesting that continued exposure to loud noise not only impairs hearing but also raises blood pressure. In a bottling plant, workers were exposed to an average noise decibel level of 95. After several days of wearing ear covers, their blood-pressure levels went down. But when the ear covers were removed, the blood-pressure levels rose again. It was also suggested that eventually the heart itself could be damaged.

Kingdom Hall Honored

◆ The city of Logan, Utah, has cited a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses for commendation as being a credit to the community. A special city committee wrote: “We . . . are very pleased to let you know that we have selected your lovely place of worship, Kingdom Hall, . . . to honor during the month.” Why? The committee said: “We feel your attractive, well-kept building, your carefully planned use of flowers and shrubs around the entire yard and your very unique use of Western items of interest are deserving of special recognition. Your beautification efforts are a fine example to many others in the immediate neighborhood and to our community as a whole.”

Hyenas Have Last Laugh

◆ The Daily Nation of Nairobi, Kenya, reports that hyenas have been creating a nuisance near a “city” set up by a religious sect. The group of 200 to 300 are said to bury their dead in hillside caves. This has attracted scavenging hyenas, who have turned the religious group’s practices to their advantage. Reporter Philip Wangalwa relates: “On the third day, when the holy women go to see if the person has been ‘taken away to heaven’ they find no bones and return to the ‘city’ singing with joy.” He notes that the “hyenas can be heard ‘laughing’” in the hills overlooking the “city” late in the evening after a “burial.”

Inflation Hits China

◆ For over two decades, consumer prices in China remained relatively stable, while prices in other countries rose sharply. But now, as the magazine China Reconstructs notes, the Chinese government has raised retail prices on a number of items. Pork, beef, mutton and fish prices rose 33 percent, and eggs 32 percent. However, the report notes that “prices of daily necessities such as grain, food oils, cotton cloth and coal were kept the same,” and that there was “no increase in rent and the price of water, electricity, transportation and daily-use consumer goods.”

Heavy Drinking’s Toll

◆ The excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages by men under the age of 35 causes more brain damage than damage to the liver, a team of doctors in Denmark concluded. It was found that 60 percent of addictive drinkers between the ages of 21 and 35 showed signs of serious mental damage, compared to 20 percent who suffered liver damage. The tests showed that the brain-damaged alcoholics were forgetful, became mentally fatigued easily, had difficulty in concentrating and reasoning, and failed to learn as quickly as others.

Debts Soar

◆ Debts from the use of credit cards and installment buying reached a new record in the United States. For the first time in history, the $300-billion mark was passed. This includes the use of credit cards issued by banks, retail stores and gasoline companies; and installment purchases including such things as automobiles and mobile homes. However, the statistics do not include the more than $750 billion that the nation’s families owe for their homes. Some economists fear that too many people are taking on more debt than they can handle. In addition to the heightened concern for increasing personal bankruptcies, it is also feared that such heavy borrowing now will force retrenchment later. This means that people deeply in debt would have to purchase less in the near future, resulting in a sag in the economy. This is just the opposite of what economists say would be needed to spur business activity, particularly in a time of recession.