Watching the World
Scientists ‘Believe in Miracles’
● The noted British astronomer Professor Sir Fred Hoyle recently wrote in the magazine New Scientist on the impossibility of life arising spontaneously on earth. “I don’t know how long it is going to be before astronomers generally recognise that the combinatorial arrangement of not even one among the many thousands of biopolymers on which life depends could have been arrived at by natural processes here on the Earth.” The professor points out that, contrary to this, biologists have assured astronomers and, in turn, have themselves been assured by “others” that it could happen. “The ‘others’ are a group of persons who believe, quite openly, in mathematical miracles,” says Hoyle. “They advocate the belief that tucked away in nature, outside of normal physics, there is a law which performs miracles (provided the miracles are in the aid of biology) . . . The notion that not only the biopolymers but the operating programme of a living cell could be arrived at by chance in a primordial organic soup here on the Earth is evidently nonsense of a high order.”
New Swedish Bible
● Sweden’s government has published a new translation of the Christian Scriptures at a reported cost to taxpayers of about $1,250,000 (U.S.). The printing of 500,000 is said to be the largest order ever handled by one Swedish plant. Reportedly, the subsidized volume will cost Swedes about $10 (U.S.). Sweden, in supporting over eight years of work by 80 translators, is unique among governments as a publisher of Bible translations. The last such volume appeared in 1709.
Becoming “Known”
● Lisbon’s influential daily newspaper Diário de Notícias recently published results of a survey on the subject of religion in Portuguese life. The article was subtitled “Jehovah’s Witnesses: the Second Most Known Religion.” It pointed out that, although Catholicism is professed by the majority of Portuguese by far, Jehovah’s Witnesses make up the next largest group of worshipers, as compared to Judaism or Protestants as a whole.
“Disco Rickshaws”
● The picturesque ricksha-type vehicles found in many parts of Asia are drawing mounting complaints from the public, according to a report by Manila’s Depthnews feature agency. The Philippine agency notes that “they produce too much noise, snarl traffic, cause accidents, and contribute to an increase in crime.” The offending noise is said to come from small motors attached to the vehicles and portable radios carried to make them into “disco rickshaws.”
“Public-spirited Neighbors”
● Under the headline “Work Appreciated,” a letter to the editor appeared in the Citizen Herald newspaper published for the area of Pine Bush, near the Watchtower Society’s New York farms. “As a resident who lives on Red Mill Rd. and as a citizen of the Town of Shawangunk, I want to say how much I appreciate the magnificent job The Watchtower Society has done improving the road this summer,” wrote a neighbor of the Society. In her letter the writer goes on to describe the great amount of work done to improve the road, and concludes:
“During the months of activity the young men engaged in this task could not have been more courteous and obliging. Passing cars were given priority when possible over Watchtower vehicles. Delay was minimal. I feel grateful to have such energetic and public-spirited neighbors, who voluntarily took on the burden of improving Red Mill Rd. Those of us who live on it and the Town as a whole have benefitted from a fine piece of work.”
Tiny Traffic
● France’s Transport Ministry estimates that there are now about 30,000 plastic microcars, called “voiturettes,” on French roads. The tiny two-seat autos, about four feet (1.2 m) wide and seven feet (2.1 m) long, are powered by an economical motor scooter engine, with a top speed of about 25 miles per hour (40 km/h). One can drive a voiturette legally without a driver’s license, registration plates or fees, and insurance is remarkably low priced. These features and the ability to slip into the smallest parking spaces make the little vehicles especially popular with Parisians. But a French consumer magazine says not all is right with the midgets. Lack of safety features, low power and almost no accident resistance are said to make them no bargain for their price of about $3,750 (U.S.).
To Be a Bishop
● According to a mainland Chinese newspaper, newly elected Catholic bishop Zhang Xin of Taiyuan city was required to swear allegiance to the governing party in a church ceremony. The report said that, kneeling before the altar with his hand on a Bible, he swore “firmly to uphold the leadership of the Chinese Communist party and the people’s government, to follow the Socialist road, to respect the constitution . . . and all laws and decrees issued by the government.”
‘Really Christians’
● Jack Cady, columnist for the Port Angeles, Washington, Daily News, recently used his column to relate a conversation with guests after a visit from Jehovah’s Witnesses. Since he could not invite them in at the time, he said: “I did the next best thing, and that was to make an appointment for a week later.” When the Witnesses left, Cady wrote, the following ensued:
“‘Why,’ asked my friends, ‘do you, a man who has studied pretty much every religion, defend these people ahead of others?’ ‘Christ,’ I said. ‘These really are fundamental Christians.’ ‘The others are not?’ ‘Nope,’ I said, ‘most of the others are not.’ Then I pointed out to my friends that Christ told the soldiers, ‘Do not kill.’ Christ was not just talking to civilians, he was talking to soldiers. The Witnesses take this seriously, but virtually no other religion cares. Nearly every other religion speaks of ‘necessity’ or ‘Holy Wars.’
“Jehovah’s Witnesses have walked into prisons, time and time again, rather than join any governmental or military plan that asked them to kill. Their men have taken more abuse, more violence, than have many other men who rushed to volunteer for an Army. . . . If this nation were really Christian, we would never have had an arms race. . . . ‘Thus,’ I concluded to my friends, ‘Many so-called Christians are a bunch of two-bit phonies.’ They agreed with that. . . . I look forward to the visit of those Witnesses. Maybe I can learn something.”
‘Cornerstone of Freedom’
● Commenting on Jehovah’s Witnesses’ refusal to accept blood transfusions on religious grounds, a recent editorial in the Wanganui Chronicle of Auckland, New Zealand, observed: “In the final analysis, any religious group must be allowed to interpret holy writ as it wishes. That is what freedom of religion means. . . . [Jehovah’s Witnesses] do not accept the possibility of death on the operating table, for themselves or for their children, with any less anguish than other people. They do, however, accept the risk secure in the knowledge that they live their lives according to the will of God as they understand it. And that is not only their privilege. It is the cornerstone of religious freedom in a Democracy.”
Airport Revenues
● At major airports, there is usually a fee for parking an automobile in the parking lots. The revenue from parking charges makes up a considerable part of the airports’ total income. For instance, the Dallas–Fort Worth Regional Airport in one year took in about $17 million from parking cars, nearly a quarter of the airport’s total revenue. That is close to the $19 million paid by the airlines for landing fees there. At Los Angeles International, parking fees came to almost 18 percent of total revenue. At O’Hare International in Chicago it was about 17 percent. And at New York’s “big three”—Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark—parking income is about 12 percent of total revenue.
Duck Warning
● Because of contamination by chemical PCB’s (polychlorinated biphenyls), hunters in the state of New York were warned by the Health Department not to eat many of the ducks they shoot. The concentration of the chemical pollutant, which has caused cancer in laboratory animals, was higher in the ducks than the maximum permissible federal limit. The Health Department suggested not eating more than two meals of these ducks in a month. Also, if the bird was stuffed for baking to add flavor to the flesh, the stuffing should be discarded since it absorbs the pollutants and cooking does not destroy them. The contaminants enter the water systems as a result of industrial pollution. A similar warning was issued by officials in Montana regarding ducks contaminated with endrin, another chlorinated hydrocarbon pollutant.
Inventor’s Lament
● Vladimir Zworykin, the Russian-born American engineer sometimes referred to as the ‘Father of Television,’ says he never watches TV. Zworykin patented the first TV in 1923 when he was 34. On his 92nd birthday he remarked on the technical advances of the medium: “The technique is wonderful. The color is beyond my expectations.” But what about the contents? “I would never let my children to even come close to this thing,” he said. “It’s awful what they’re doing.”
VDT’s Reported Harmless
● With word processors and home computers becoming more and more common, the inevitable question is whether working long hours with such devices would expose the operator to harmful radiation. Recently the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported that a 10-year study indicates that X rays produced in video display terminals (VDT) are absorbed by the tube and not emitted. Thus, working with VDT’s is no more dangerous, asserts the report, than watching black-and-white television, and should pose no radiation hazard to the operator. As for eye and muscle strain, the report says it should be no more stressful than working with any machine “requiring a fixed position and visual concentration.”
Indoor Air Pollution
● “Fumes, particles and radioactive gases from combustion” and “tobacco smoke” are listed among the most harmful pollutants of indoor air by a conference on indoor air pollution held at the University of Massachusetts, says New York Times. One report at the conference says children in homes that use gas for cooking show “significantly higher frequency of cough and phlegm” than those in homes using electric stoves. Other reports say that children in such homes show lower levels of breathing efficiency and lung health. Similarly, the British Education Council announced that children whose parents smoke are more likely to develop bronchitis and other respiratory ailments. The matter is of concern especially in winter months when houses are usually made air-tight to conserve energy.