Watching the World
Argentina Sees ‘the Light’
◆ “The lights of civilised society are being switched on again, one by one,” says an editorial in Argentina’s Buenos Aires Herald. The editorial calls attention to three recent Argentine Supreme Court rulings that reaffirm certain rights of its citizens. One ruling ordered that “two small children who were expelled from a primary school for not saluting the flag (in accordance with their parents’ religious beliefs) be readmitted.” The Herald reports that this ruling could lead to resumed schooling for about a thousand children of Jehovah’s Witnesses. These “were expelled from schools throughout the country by local teachers who [wrongly] interpreted a general resolution of the National Council of Education obliging children to show reverence to the patriotic symbols, founding fathers and national days.”
The Supreme Court overturned an Appeals Court decision, saying that the authorities had ‘gone beyond, in an arbitrary manner, the council ruling.’ Remarks the editorial: “Is it too much to hope that the Supreme Court’s example will be followed by a similar recognition, on the part of the government, of the need for a similarly sensible, eminently tolerant and undoubtedly constitutional approach to the Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves?”
Disco Drawbacks
◆ After a public testing campaign by audiologists from Sonar Laboratories in Brisbane, Australia, hearing specialist Douglas Kuss asserts that ‘teen-agers are becoming permanently and irreversibly deaf due to over-loud pop music’ such as that heard at rock concerts and disco establishments. “These young people often don’t even know they are going deaf,” he said. “They can hear all right in a one-to-one speaking situation, but in crowds and noise they can’t hear properly. They lose the harmonics of resonance. This nerve-ending deafness continues to get worse and worse and in nearly every case it is irreversible.”
Similarly, in Brazil, medical specialists from the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul found in a two-month study that discotheque music can cause the ear “irreversible damage.” They also concluded that disco lighting can ‘provoke lesions on the cornea, lens and retina of the eye,’ and that the light, noise and “confused atmosphere” of such establishments ‘can have harmful effects on the memory and concentration of young people.’ The state security bureau reportedly plans to limit the amount of noise and light permitted in discotheques.
Mother’s Voice Is Tops
◆ How soon do infants recognize their mothers’ voices? A University of North Carolina psychologist devised a method of determining this in the case of infants less than three days old. He has put over 150 newborns in bassinets with little earphone sets covering their ears. These reproduced a recorded female voice reading a children’s book. If the baby sucked on a nipple at a certain rate, the voice would be its own mother’s. If not, it would be that of someone else. “The great majority of infants—at least 85 percent—not only preferred their mothers’ voices, but they were able to retain the sucking pattern [at intervals] for the entire day,” said the researcher. He suggested that it may be possible that the babies learn the sound of mother’s voice even “while still in the womb.”
“Prophet” Profits
◆ About 150 members of Kenya’s Sabina religious sect believed its “prophet” when he told them that the world would end on a certain day last December. On the preceding day, they came together for a last meal, and awaited the end. In the meantime, the “prophet” had them hand over their money to his son, who was to dispose of it, since they would have no use for money in “paradise.” “Not only did the sect members not see the end of the world,” reports To the Point International, “they have also not seen the prophet’s son since handing over their money.”
Lawyer’s Dilemma
◆ What should lawyers do about clients who they know are testifying falsely? At their annual midwinter convention in Atlanta, Georgia, the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association considered the problem. They decided to let stand “a guideline that says lawyers should make every effort to dissuade their clients from testifying falsely,” reports the New York Times, “and, if they fail, try to withdraw from the case.” However, the Times points out that “last year, a Federal appeals court ruled that a lawyer who withdrew under just such circumstances had deprived his client of a fair trial.”
Appearance Counts
◆ The U.S. Supreme Court recently let stand a District Court ruling that a supermarket chain has the right to maintain its “no beards” rule for some employees. A man who was fired for refusal to shave had brought suit. He said he has a skin disease common among black men that can result in irritation or infection when short hairs curl back into the skin. The District Court had ruled that “the grocery chain had a business purpose for the rule which overrode its slight impact on employees,” according to American Medical News.
The California State Senate has ruled that, in the Senate chambers, men must wear “appropriate attire,” including coats and ties. The senator who proposed the resolution declared that “appearances are important,” and that a certain amount of dignity was expected by the public. Certainly this is also true of those who profess to represent the highest Lawmaker in the universe, Jehovah God.
Unknown Indians in the Amazon
◆ Brazil’s Caripuna Indians have reported the existence of yet another unknown Indian tribe, the Capivari. According to O Estado de S. Paulo, these Indians had never been in touch with white men. Five wide rivers and Amazon jungle separate their territory from civilization. The National Foundation of the Indian planned to contact them in March, after the torrential winter rains. An official of the Foundation said that more than 3,000 Indians are still in very loose contact or are known only through reports from other Indians.
Budding British Business
◆ The decline of religion in Great Britain is fueling a lively business in church antiques. It is estimated that as many as 790 church buildings may go on the market during 1979, and their furniture and fixtures become fair game for antique hunters. British museums are reported to be anxious about the possibility of losing valuable historic pieces to foreign collectors. Many items are going for bargain rates.
Football Injuries
◆ In the past 20 years there has been an alarming increase in the number of cervical spine (neck) injuries and permanent quadriplegias (paralysis of both arms and legs) in the school ranks. The chief culprit, says Dr. Joseph Torg of the University of Pennsylvania sports medical center, is the modern plastic helmet. The great protectiveness that this helmet offers to the head gives players a false confidence, so they indulge in “spearing,” that is, the deliberate ramming of an opponent with the head when tackling or blocking. But while the skull may be well shielded by the plastic helmet, the neck propelling the head is not. Why is the incidence of such injuries higher among school players? Because school players tend to imitate professional players. However, as Dr. Arthur Pearl of the University of Miami School of Medicine says: “The superbly conditioned, heavily muscled and wide-necked pros can get away with things these kids can’t get away with.”
Civilization Hits Hunzas
◆ The spectacular new Karokoram highway between Sinkiang, China, and Pakistan passes through the once-remote Hunza Valley, whose inhabitants have had an almost legendary reputation for good health and longevity. With the new road and “civilization,” things are changing for the Hunzukuts, according to The Wall Street Journal columnist Ray Vicker. Buoyant health among these mountain people has been attributed to their spare, natural diet and exercise, but “given the opportunity, many Hunzukuts now would live on candy alone,” observes Vicker. To illustrate, Vicker relates this experience:
“At one lunch stop on a hike from Baltit, the Hunza guide lunched on a can of Heinz baked beans . . . He topped this off with a half dozen caramels eaten with one chawing mouthful, then lay on the grass smoking cigarettes until the hike resumed. Told that smoking is bad for the wind on a hike, he shrugged. ‘Now we have bus. Not necessary to walk so much anymore.’”
Keeping Arteries Young
◆ In a South African village of the Tswana tribe, medical researchers have found elderly blacks whose arteries are as youthful as those of white youngsters. Yet in many industrial lands, the young already have old arteries. In their report to the British Medical Journal, the doctors also noted the absence of coronary heart disease among the aged Tswanas. In explanation they said: “Rural South African blacks live on a diet high in fiber and low in animal protein and fat. Children are active and adults remain active even when old.” Very few smoked. Cereals, vegetables, fruits and wild greens compose the major portion of their diet, with very little meat and milk.
Drinking Mothers Warned
◆ The United States Treasury Department, which regulates the sale of alcoholic beverages, warns pregnant women who drink too much that their babies may develop serious birth defects. Such babies are born with a disorder known as “fetal alcohol syndrome.” It combines mental retardation with abnormally shaped eyes and other facial features. No treatment for the disorder is known at present. While there is some disagreement as to any adverse effects of light drinking of alcoholic beverages on the part of expectant mothers, there is overwhelming evidence that the more the pregnant woman drinks, the greater the danger to her offspring.
“Spreading like Wildfire”
◆ Medical Tribune reports that nongonococcal urethritis (NGU), a venereal disease, is “spreading like wildfire.” The disease is caused by a microorganism with characteristics that are “part bacteria, part virus,” according to Dr. Nicholas J. Fiumara, director of the Massachusetts Division of Communicable Diseases. NGU can cause inflammation of the pelvic organs in women, leading to sterility, and eye infections and pneumonia in infants born to women who have the disease. In men the symptoms of NGU resemble those of gonorrhea. In England, NGU cases in men exceed the number of gonorrhea cases found in both sexes. In the United States, where about one million men and women are expected to contract gonorrhea this year, NGU cases are pulling ahead of gonorrhea cases at many venereal disease clinics.
Bloodless Blood Tests
◆ The Max Planck Institute in the Federal Republic of Germany has devised a method for testing the sugar, fat, alcohol or uric acid level of the blood without having to draw blood from the patient. The testing is done by the use of a laser beam. It is said that this technique can determine the concentration of these substances in the blood more accurately than methods now being used, with no loss of blood or unpleasant side effects. And in Cleveland, Ohio, a company is making a device, first developed in Denmark, that can determine the oxygen level in a patient’s blood without taking a blood sample. It measures the level by means of an electrode attached to the skin, and is said to have particular application in testing premature babies.