Watching the World
Targets of “Third World”
◆ “One of the more unfortunate aspects of life in the so-called Third World,” says an Omaha, Nebraska, World-Herald editorial, “is that when The Regime starts throwing its weight around, one of the first groups to get stepped on frequently is one that deserves it least, the Jehovah’s Witnesses. . . . They interpret the Bible as forbidding them to partake of political life. In Malawi they are persecuted for refusing to buy and carry the political identification cards required by the regime. In Argentina they are being persecuted for following tenets of their belief . . .
“It takes a bigoted and paranoid imagination to believe that the Jehovah’s Witnesses pose any kind of threat to any political regime; they are as non-subversive and peace-loving as a religious body can be, and ask only to be left alone to pursue their faith in their own way. . . . they hesitate to ask for help from agencies and institutions which might be able to lift some of the burden from them. Instead they quietly and courageously shoulder the burden, and hope that an enlightened and compassionate public opinion will be of some assistance.”
Back to Earth
◆ How long did it take the two Soviet astronauts to readjust to earth gravity after spending a record 140 days in space? The medical director for the Russian space program asserted that it was only on the first day back to earth that they were seriously affected by gravity. In fact, on the second day back, they took a walk in the park. This was four days earlier than the medical schedule called for. However, medical experts said that it took about 10 days for them to adjust completely to gravity again.
Japan’s Bloodless Surgery
◆ Japan’s Asahi Shimbun newspaper reports that the Tokyo University Hospital now routinely does open-heart surgery without blood transfusions. “As of September this year 135 bloodless operations have been successfully performed,” says the paper: “According to Dr. [Daijun] Go, blood transfusions are not as safe as generally thought.” But he notes that doctors keep using them because they “have a vague fear if transfusions are not used there will be the possibility of anemia symptoms appearing. . . . ‘A majority feel uncertain, so in most cases continue to use blood,’ added Dr. Go.”
Assistant Professor Akira Mizuno of Tokyo University Hospital also noted that, though bloodless surgery is common in America, only a few Japanese universities are pioneering it. “It can not be done in one day,” Mizuno said, “but for the patients’ sake the doctors can put forth more effort to reduce blood transfusions.”—October 23, 1978, p. 11.
Disaster Aid Misguided?
◆ The London-based International Disaster Institute is challenging traditional views of disaster aid. According to a report by Leslie Plommer of the Times of London, “the Western reflex is to fly in tons of food, blankets, vaccines and prefabricated housing—yet food supplies are not generally destroyed in a disaster, clothing is usually adequate, epidemics are uncommon and vaccines not always effective, and, according to United Nations figures, the small minority made homeless is rehoused or taken in within a day or two.” Institute research indicates that disaster survivors “react quickly and usefully to help themselves” instead of waiting resignedly for foreign aid.
Sometimes misguided aid can even be harmful. Thousands of tons of food were sent in after the Guatemalan earthquake, notes Plommer, “causing the local price of corn to crash, heaping new hardship on Guatemalan farmers.” Apparently a more rational approach would be to supply what is actually needed in each disaster, rather than automatically to dump tons of possibly unnecessary material into the area.
Embarrassing Questions
◆ Two American researchers recently received the Nobel physics prize for their discovery of universal background radiation, which scientists claim proves that the universe came into existence as a “cosmic fireball.” Robert Jastrow, director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, writes: “It is the final scientific proof for the act of creation.” He says that “astronomers are curiously upset. They did not expect to find evidence for an abrupt beginning of the world.” This, Jastrow declares, “poses enormous problems for scientists. . . . They ask, What cause produced this effect? Who or what put the matter and energy into the universe?”
Dogs for Direction
◆ When Japanese explorer Naomi Uemura went to the North Pole alone by dogsled, he was resupplied by airplane drops. (See Awake! 7/8/78, p. 29.) But how could the pilot find Uemura on the endless white below? Smithsonian magazine recently reported that the aviator “had a radio direction-finding needle to follow most of the way, then when he got relatively close, Uemura’s dogs would turn their heads toward the plane, although it was still too far off for the man to hear. Once the dogs turned in one direction and made it obvious that they were getting a ‘reading,’ Uemura would call [the pilot] on his portable radio and say, ‘Turn to your left,’ or whatever. Pretty soon Uemura would hear the plane, too.”
Death Sentence Before Birth
◆ A Danish heart specialist concerned with the deaths of people in their early 20’s from heart disease investigated a possible cause. She found that infants born to smoking mothers already have in their blood vessels signs of the lesions and clogging associated with heart disease, while those born to nonsmoking mothers do not. In her studies at the University of Copenhagen, she also found the damage to be the worst among the babies of women who smoked the most. “Current research indicates that even if a smoker stops smoking during her pregnancy,” says the report from the Chicago Tribune, “her child will still be born with some vessel damage that can develop as the youngster grows.”
Terrorist-Hunt By-Product
◆ Police tracking down terrorists in the Federal Republic of Germany “are spreading panic among the country’s Casanovas [adulterers],” reports To the Point International. Dozens of lovenests in the posh Zoo district of Düsseldorf, for example, have been [raided] in the belief they were terrorist hideouts.” It seems that the caution such illicit lovers exercise in maintaining apartments is similar to that exercised by terrorists, causing suspicious building superintendents to contact police.
Seeing Atoms Move
◆ The first “color movies” of atoms are reported to have been filmed by two University of Chicago physicists. Since atoms are too small to be seen with ordinary light, they employ a scanning transmission electron microscope, which uses beams of electrons rather than light to view the image. Because atomic nuclei are smaller than the smallest wavelengths of light, there is no actual color. So with their device the scientists assign the colors to aid in discerning the movement of single atoms among others.
Cults Invade Europe
◆ The Associated Press reports that various “fringe” religious cults have invaded Europe since their earlier growth in America. Several such groups are noted for their street-begging activities. Where does the money go? The news service says that “ten Hare Krishna monks were heavily fined in Frankfurt, West Germany, last April for begging $1.2 million under false pretenses—claiming the money was destined for starving children in India, while it actually went to the sect’s castle commune.” In a warning to German youth, the Federal Republic’s Ministry of Youth, Family and Health declares: “The common aim of these sects in West Germany is the pursuit of power and money. . . . The leaders scarcely believe the ideals they proclaim.”
Celibate ‘Family-Breakers’
◆ What is the Vatican’s position toward Catholic priests who wish to return to the priesthood after they have left it to marry? Monsignor Hilary Franco of Rome’s Sacred Congregation of the Clergy recently stated that many such priests are “being what we call rehabilitated into active ministry.” But what about their wives and families? “If he has a wife, the civil divorce will have to take effect and the children will have to be taken care of. . . . And if he shows signs of penance, so to speak, we will rehabilitate him.” These statements, says the National Catholic Reporter, “shocked many knowledgeable Catholics here. It also concerned some non-Catholics who were given the impression . . . that the church was a family-breaker.”
First Words
◆ Which babies learn language first—girls or boys? A report in the journal Developmental Psychology says that girls get in the first word. Contrary to some recent studies indicating that the sexes are equal on this score, Colombia University investigators found that baby girls were more advanced in what they call “mean length of utterance,” which they contend is a more accurate measure than previous testing techniques.
Educating Greeks
◆ According to the periodical Greece, the ancient Greek verb “to educate” grew to mean “to punish” by Hellenistic times and finally “to harry” in modern Greek. Greece observes: “Some cynics in Greece maintain that there are still good reasons today for these concepts to be confused. The government however is determined to give education its due by boldly reforming” outdated practices. The Greek Ministry of Education is presently said to be pushing legislation to improve educational methods.
‘Kings of the Road’
◆ Brazil’s over 20,000 yearly traffic deaths give it one of the highest rates of auto carnage in the world. For every 10,000 Brazilian vehicles, there are 25.9 deaths annually. The U.S. has only about one eighth as many deaths per 10,000 autos, with 3.3; the Federal Republic of Germany, 7.6; and France, 7.5. Why so many in Brazil? A businessman interviewed by the Brazil Herald says that the car has become a symbol of power for many: “The Brazilian doesn’t view the car as mere transportation. When he gets in his car, he’s king of the road.” Similarly, “when (the Brazilian driver) violates the law,” complained a transit official, “he considers himself a hero, not a villain.” A strong government publicity campaign is attacking the problem by urging respect for life.
Cesarean Birth Record
◆ According to Professor Carlos Antonio Montenegro of Rio de Janeiro Federal University, “Brazil holds the record in Cesarean operations.” In private clinics, more than 50 percent of the women prefer an operation to giving natural birth.
Surgery Caution
◆ When doctors in California’s Los Angeles County went on strike for five weeks in 1976, the county death rate fell an average of 18 percent, from 19.8 to 16.2 per 100,000 population. Two University of California researchers recently presented this information to the American Public Health Association, saying that there is “mounting evidence that people might benefit if less elective surgery [operations not necessary to save life] were performed in the United States.” The death rate jumped back to slightly above its pre-strike average when the doctors went back to work.
Aliens, Please Note
◆ During January all aliens in the United States (with few exceptions) are required to report their addresses to the government. Forms for this purpose are available at offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service as well as all post offices. Upon completing Form 1-53, place a postage stamp on the card’s reverse side and mail it to the pre-printed address appearing there.