Watching the World
Hollow Pleas
◆ Pope John Paul II has made widely publicized appeals against violence, particularly in Central America where the Catholic Church had attempted to mediate the blood-shedding dispute in one country. This prompted a stinging editorial in Brazil’s O Estado de São Paulo. It said: “In reality, the facts show the grave consequences of the Church’s involvement in secular affairs, with the loss not only of the sacred character of its mission, but even of its impartiality. How can the bishops and priests offer to mediate two groups . . . after having shown themselves openly in sympathy with one of them, or even, in some cases, having taken a position on their side?”
On the pope’s reference to hostages held in different parts of the world—“I pray to God for them all, with tears in my eyes”—the editorial asked, “Will the prayers be heard, when the Pope’s words have echoed, recently, like a voice clamoring in the desert even in the heart of his own church, secularized and frequently engaged in movements that prefer violence to the peace of Christ?”
Quakes on Increase?
◆ Earth may be in a period of growing earthquake and volcanic activity, according to Robert I. Tilling, chief of the U.S. Geological Survey’s office of Geochemistry and Geophysics. “There are some suggestions that both volcanoes and earthquakes worldwide are on the increase,” he told a scientific gathering. Tilling said that this could reflect a basic change in movements of the giant rock plates that form earth’s crust.
“Question of Craftsmanship”
◆ In an issue devoted primarily to surgery without blood on Jehovah’s Witnesses, the medical magazine Contemporary Orthopaedics began with an editorial entitled “A Question of Craftsmanship.” Editor J. Paul Harvey, Jr., M.D., commented: “One belief that has been a particular problem for me . . . is the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ conviction that no blood should enter their bodies through any system.” But after noting that “there is danger of serious liver damage from transfusion in a significant number of people,” he said:
“The realization that some physicians are making a concerted effort to perform major surgery without blood transfusion has prompted us to devote a portion of this edition of Contemporary Orthopaedics to the topic. Perhaps we too easily forget that surgery is a craft dependent upon the personal techniques of individuals. Technique can be improved. As the authors contributing to this edition grapple with the thorny problems attending surgical treatment of patients whose religious tenets prohibit blood transfusion, they also remind us of one of the basic tenets of surgery—good craftsmanship.”—December 1980, p. 629.
Life from Space?
◆ Some scientists try to explain how life got started on earth by saying it was “seeded” from organic matter found in interstellar dust. Noted astronomer Fred Hoyle and an associate push this idea in their book Lifecloud. However, the British magazine New Scientist observes: “A closer scrutiny shows that they have not only been overenthusiastic in analysing the data available,” but also “they do not seem to have taken into account indirect lines of evidence that cast severe doubts on their idea.” After discussing the flaws in the authors’ analyses, New Scientist declares: “The authors of Lifecloud need to produce far stronger evidence . . . if they expect to convert astronomers to a belief in huge amounts of organic matter in space waiting to build up the cells of life.”
Solvent for “Saint”
◆ According to “Saint” Marina Karanikoli of Heraklion on the Greek isle of Crete, a picture of the virgin Mary miraculously appeared on a door in her house. Athens News says that she and her husband “reportedly made a hefty fortune by accepting gold and silver gifts from the faithful in return for the ‘saint’s’ putting in a good word for them with the Authorities Up There.” When Heraklion police investigated, “application of a chemical solvent then made half the picture disappear,” reports Athens News, “suggesting it was inexpensive paint, rather than Divine Intervention, that was responsible for it in the first place.” The article remarks that “it will take a real miracle to get them out of” the fraud charges they now face.
All the Money
◆ How much money is there in the world? According to Bank of America executive Robert Heller, there is $2,130,000,000,000. He said that this helps one to understand why there is so much inflation. There is twice as much money in the world today as there was six years ago, but not twice as many products to spend it on. “This [money] growth rate greatly exceeds the potential for world production increases, and causes unabated inflationary pressures,” he explained.
Antibiotic 1,600 Years Ago?
◆ When a researcher recently saw an ancient bone sample glowing yellow-green in her fluorescing microscope, she was taken aback. Colleagues identified the glow as characteristic of the antibiotic tetracycline. But why on bones from mummified remains dug up in a 1,600-year-old Nubian cemetery in the Sudan, Africa? It seems that Nubian desert soil contains streptomyces bacteria, which produce tetracycline. The researchers speculate that during recurrent famines, the Nubians were forced to use bacteria-contaminated grain for bread and beer, though it tasted bitter. Studies of the bone samples indicated little evidence of infectious diseases that normally would occur under famine conditions—perhaps a result of the ancient antibiotic the Nubians unknowingly were consuming.
Friendly Manhunt
◆ “The future for fox hunting does not look very bright,” said Peter Boddy, a former master of England’s exclusive Nottinghamshire Grove and Rufford Hunt. Political opposition and new farming methods have driven enthusiasts to “hunt” less objectionable quarry—humans. Volunteers are instructed not to wash their feet for a week before the hunt. They are given an hour head start and then the hounds are turned loose. “The human quarry can run around standing crops and does less damage,” explained Mr. Boddy. “The quarry is quite safe,” he said. “If they know him, the hounds will dash up and lick him and kiss him.” The huntsmen also reward the “quarry” with rounds of drinks at the local pub.
Escalator or Stairs?
◆ Given the choice of walking up stairs or going on an escalator, people overwhelmingly choose to ride the escalator. In fact, in recent studies this was “the most striking finding” made by a research team from the department of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Could anything be done about this strong inclination toward physical inactivity? Since stair-climbing is a physical activity believed to help combat heart disease and overweight, the researchers posted a cartoon-like sign at the bottom of three stairs-escalator combinations. It said: “Your heart needs exercise . . . Here’s your chance.” From 21,091 observations after the sign was up, the researchers found that stair use more than doubled, from 5.3 percent to 13.7 percent. Men were more apt to use the stairs than women.
Christianity in Vietnam?
◆ According to the Vietnam News Agency, a Roman Catholic priest in Ho Chi Minh City claims that the new Vietnamese Communist Constitution is entirely in accord with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Cleric Huynh Cong Minh reportedly declared: “Only under the socialist regime, a regime of love, responsibility and human dignity, can Jesus Christ’s teachings be implemented.” But Thailand’s Bangkok Post notes that the Constitution “stresses its Marxist-Leninist roots.”
Trouble at Babylon
◆ “The revival of Babylon is a national duty,” said Ali Muhammad Mahdi, director of excavations at the ancient archaeological site. His $40-million (U.S.) Iraqi government project has employed 750 workers for more than two years to lay out the city as it existed over 2,500 years ago. However, there have been complications. “Our eternal city, Babylon,” warned Mahdi, “is in danger of decay and destruction due to the serious dangers surrounding it, particularly the high level of underground water . . . and salinity [salt] which cause the decay of the foundations and walls of the structures.” No doubt the problems of such would-be restorers can best be understood in the light of God’s unchangeable declaration: “I will make [Babylon] desolate wastes to time indefinite.”—Jer. 25:12; 50:3, 13.
China Gas
◆ More than five million “digesters” now supply gas for cooking, lighting and powering agricultural equipment in Sichuan province of the People’s Republic of China. “Each digester is an airtight chamber in which the fermentation of a mixture of animal dung, human excrement and crop residue such as straw yields a clean-burning gas that is one-half to three-fourths methane,” reports Scientific American magazine. The province has pursued a massive program to train thousands of “biogas technicians” and to install the simple concrete units, each of which costs the Chinese about $14 (U.S.) in materials. A standard digester yields as much as two cubic meters (70 cu. ft.) of biogas daily, more than enough to cook for a family of five. Relatively hygienic sediment from the digester is removed twice a year at planting time for use as fertilizer.
A French Look at Crime
◆ When asked about France’s spiraling crime rate, Maurice Bouvier, director of the French Criminal Investigation Department, observed: “The upsurge in minor offenses and lesser crimes is directly connected with the evolution of morals. . . . In court, the lawyers no longer speak of stolen cars, but of ‘borrowed cars’; to steal in a big store means to ‘recover capital losses’; vandalizing public or private property is called ‘letting off steam.”’
Push to Populate
◆ In its concern over falling birth rates, the Soviet Union is urging pregnant single girls to have their babies rather than aborting them. “Not all girls can get married,” said the government paper Nedelya. “A girl should not be afraid if she is pregnant and unmarried. Motherhood often brings more joy than marriage. If a single girl has a baby she is not alone. She is two. She is a family.” Urging others to help, the paper said: “It is important to give maximum attention and assistance to these women. They are doing the country a great service. They bring up a citizen.”
Lot of Talk
◆ American Catholics recently were given an insight on where some of their collection money goes. Only the United States Government and General Motors spend more to talk on the telephone than the U.S. Roman Catholic Church. Michael J. Dempsey, who is setting up a multimillion-dollar satellite communications network to link the Church’s 170 American dioceses, reportedly told the nation’s Catholic bishops that the Church now pays $110,000,000 a year for telephone service.
How Acupuncture Relieves Pain?
◆ Acupuncture needles may stimulate the brain’s own painkillers—endorphins and enkephalins—when relieving pain, according to Britain’s medical journal The Lancet. Doctors at London’s St. Bartholomew’s Hospital said that there was a significant rise of endorphin levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients relieved of pain by acupuncture when compared to volunteers who received no treatment. “This is apparently the first time human endorphin levels in CSF have been linked to acupuncture,” notes New Scientist magazine.