Watching the World
Carrying Guns to Work
◆ A New York City schoolteacher, while not willing to be identified, admitted to carrying an illegal gun to class every day. Why? She stated: “The things that go on in the streets don’t stop at the school door. We have the same drug pushers, sex abusers and emotionally unstable people in here. Teachers are robbed, beaten and threatened every day. I pray to God never to use the gun. But if I’m attacked and my life is in danger I am going to survive. I will worry about the consequences later.” Why does she put up with the dangers? “I am a good teacher and have to work to live,” she answered.
Also, it was reported that at least 10 New York City judges carry guns to court, concealed under judicial robes. When one was asked why, he replied: “Wherever you look there’s violence.”
Huge “Leak” Plugged
◆ The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland body of water. Located in the southern part of the Soviet Union, and bordering northern Iran, it has been losing water. Over the past 50 years, the water level has dropped seven feet (2 m), adversely affecting fishing and transportation. Part of the loss has come from a “leak” on the east side. There, water from the Caspian had been pouring through a narrow strait into a lower natural gulf of about 7,000 square miles (18,000 km2). The water entering this gulf, which was shallower, then evaporated faster in the heat. Soviet engineers recently plugged the strait by completing an 1,800-foot (550-m)-long dike, 250 feet (75 m) wide at its base and 20 feet (6 m) high. Now the flow of Caspian water into the gulf can be regulated by a series of locks.
Nonsmokers’ View Verified
◆ The New England Journal of Medicine says that new research has verified the fears of nonsmokers who are forced to inhale smoke from other people’s cigarettes. The journal declares that the nonsmokers can suffer significant lung damage. It was found that people who worked in smoky areas had the same reduction in lung capacity as those who smoked up to 10 cigarettes a day. The journal stated that the evidence was the first solid proof that “passive smoking” can damage the respiratory system. The new results also confirm a previous study that showed reduced lung capacity in children whose parents smoked at home.
Less Educated?
◆ Are students in American school systems more poorly educated than in the past? Recently, there was a measure of evidence that they may be. Tests given to incoming freshmen at the University of Minnesota in 1928 and identical tests given in 1978 showed clearly that in defining words, in reading speed and in comprehension, the 1978 students scored significantly lower in each category. Also striking was the relatively poor showing by the more “gifted” students, the top one percent. Dr. Alvin C. Eurich of the Academy for Educational Development asks: “Can it be that we are placing less and less emphasis on the importance of reading and other more traditional modes of learning? Can it be that through our technological means of communication, we are becoming ‘headline’ learners, giving less and less attention to substance?” Many educators would answer, “Yes.”
Soccer in the News
◆ In Italy 27 soccer players were recently charged with accepting money to lose certain games. This shocked soccer fans, and at a game in Rome fans hurled insults and threats at two players. Declared one fan: “We have known about corrupt bankers and politicians, but this is really the bottom.”
Soccer often inspires deep emotions, sometimes leading to violence. During a game in Rome some months ago, several teen-age fans fired a rocket into the stands reserved for fans of the other team. The rocket killed a man who was watching the game.
A riot erupted at the National soccer championship games in Verapaz stadium in Guatemala. Said the Guatemala News: “The crowd became unruly, throwing bottles, cans and stones at both players and referees.” After the referee ended the game, “the hostile crowd then broke into full-scale riot, entering the playing field, forcing the referees and several . . . players to literally run for their lives into a concrete tunnel. The crowd, now totally out of control, spilled into the area surrounding the stadium. The press reported women and children running and screaming in every direction.” Four persons died from beatings and gunshot wounds. Police who tried to control the situation were themselves attacked by the crowd.
New Marijuana Report
◆ A new report released by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the United States declared that marijuana poses even greater health risks than previously thought. It showed that daily marijuana smoking can lead to lung damage similar to that resulting from cigarette smoking, adding: “Extended use of marijuana over a period of years may eventually be shown to cause cancer in humans.” Yet, regular use by high school students has almost doubled in four years, and a survey showed that at least 43 million Americans of all ages had tried marijuana.
Who Lives Longer?
◆ While heredity plays a major role in determining the life-span of an individual, there are other factors. Dr. Robert Samp notes the results of a University of Wisconsin study that reveals that “there is a definite personality type among people blessed with longer life.” It was found that these were people with a moderate way of living and a positive outlook on life. Included were the following: (1) a willingness to adapt to the challenges and changes in life; (2) continuing to work after retirement, even if it meant taking volunteer jobs; (3) avoiding prolonged periods of stress, physical or mental; (4) eating and drinking moderately; (5) developing broad interests in life.
Unholy Alliance
◆ The National Catholic Reporter has revealed a previously unknown agreement between the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Philadelphia and the fund-raising charity United Way. It told of an unpublicized pact in 1975 between Cardinal John Krol and the then president of United Way in which United Way agreed not to give financial aid to any program or service that contradicted the “moral principles of the Catholic church.” This amounted to Church veto power over publicly collected funds. The agreement came to light when a women’s group was denied aid from United Way because of providing birth-control counseling.
Adverse reactions to the behind-the-scenes agreement came from many quarters. Some canceled United Way money pledges; others requested refunds. Members of the faculties and staffs of Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania, also employees of the city of Philadelphia, withdrew support of the annual United Way fund-raising campaign. And legal counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union said that it may raise constitutional questions about discrimination against women and questions of state support of a religious institution.
Sacrifices for “Immortality”
◆ Reporter Peter Niesewand in New Delhi, India, writes that an elderly swami (a Hindu religious teacher) accused of organizing human sacrifices died of a heart attack in the southern city of Bangalore. The swami was said by police to have made “blood offerings” to appease Kali, the “goddess of destruction.” The investigation centered on the murders of five children, all under six years of age. They had been lured with sweets and biscuits by paid murderers, who then cut the children’s throat. Their blood was collected in bottles and taken to the swami, who used it in religious ceremonies. Police said that the swami believed he would attain immortality by this means.
Red Sea Imperiled
◆ Peril to the Biblically renowned Red Sea from pollution is reaching a critical level, according to a report issued by the Arab League Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ALESCO). Marine life, said the report, may be damaged irreparably, unless immediate action is taken to control oil pollution. Besides oil contamination from tankers, pipelines and refineries, ALESCO identified three other types of pollution: domestic sewage in coastal areas; industrial wastes; and pollution caused by dredging in the waterways.
Disco Violence
◆ “Eight young people have been killed and countless others injured in bloody brawls in London’s estimated 1,000 discos,” reports Parade magazine. Weapons include knives, razors, clubs, bricks and Afro combs with sharpened teeth. City officials, alarmed at the spreading violence, issued new regulations to try to control it. One part of the new code states that those playing the music should “have the ability to read the floor, spot early signs of violence, and tone down the music to cool a potentially violent atmosphere.”
Assaults in the Air
◆ An increasing number of airline flight attendants are being assaulted in various ways, such as being kicked, pawed or shoved. Declared Del R. Mott, safety director of the Association of Flight Attendants: “It used to be verbal abuse. But now it’s broken bones, the attendants being bitten, real horror stories.” Sometimes flight attendants “are punched, grabbed physically, and sexually touched,” says a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration inspector in San Francisco. An FAA attorney in Washington, D.C., observes that an assault is often the result of flight attendants’ serving too much liquor to passengers.
Motor Madness
◆ Increasing numbers of American motorists are attacking one another in arguments over highway accidents, including minor ones. Mere discourtesies have been enough to trigger some assaults. “There’s no question that this kind of thing is increasing,” declares William E. Speir, former president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In some places highway police have begun to wear bulletproof vests because so many of them have been assaulted by motorists. A University of Utah study found that 40 percent of drivers said that they had lost their tempers at other drivers, and 12 percent said that they had actually chased other drivers who had annoyed them. And 18 percent of women drivers and 12 percent of men drivers revealed that at times they felt that they could “gladly kill another driver.” Why the upsurge in assaults? Police and other authorities cite the following: more traffic congestion, alcohol abuse, personality disorders, and the tensions of the times. No doubt, growing drug abuse is also a factor.
Treating Mild Hypertension
◆ Borderline high blood pressure is often regarded as “high normal” and left untreated. But the experience of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in the United States shows that with proper treatment the premature death rate among those with mild hypertension can be reduced by about 17 percent, meaning the prolonging of life for hundreds of thousands of people earth wide. In some cases, it was said that treatment may merely be dieting to reduce excess weight, or cutting salt intake, or getting proper exercise.