Watching the World
Virtues Wanted by Young People
◆ High school principals in Hokkaido, Japan, were surprised by the answers in a poll regarding the most desirable attributes of the opposite sex. Before the survey, virtues of manliness were considered to be: “strong in will power,” “sincere” and “positive in action.” These have been highly valued in Japanese society. But the most common answer from the girls in the recent survey was: “kind and tender,” next was “compassionate” and “cheerful.” Interestingly, the boys selected “kind and tender,” “loveable” and “compassionate” as the ideal virtues for girls. A mere 8.5 percent picked physical features as being important. It is significant that in a world stressing “me-ism” and keen competition these young people recognize there are better attributes to seek and to cultivate.
Traffic in Blood
◆ In Naples, Italy, the Mafia is said to have a monopoly on blood. According to Dr. Ruggiero Pilla, public prosecutor of Naples, a mobster known as “Vincenzo the Vampire” has been buying up vials of blood plasma. He pays $20 (U.S.) per vial and then resells the blood for what the traffic will bear, often $200 (U.S.) a vial. As the police of Naples put it: “The gangsters control the blood donors in this area, and the families of patients who need blood have to pay through the nose. It is a vicious, growing racket. We are trying our best to stamp it out, but it is difficult. The men who sell their blood are afraid of selling it to anyone but the gangsters, because the gangsters have threatened them with death.”
Therapy for Loneliness
◆ When James J. Lynch, author of The Broken Heart: The Medical Consequences of Loneliness, was interviewed recently, he commented on some solutions for loneliness: “My solutions are very elementary. We’ve known them for thousands of years, and they are part of every major religion. Basically, if you want to find love, you’ve got to give love. That sounds trite, but it’s true. . . . Sometimes the solution is as simple as getting a pet, believe it or not. The animal business is not a multibillion-dollar industry because people are kooky. It’s satisfying profound biological needs. Studies on coronary-care patients who leave the hospital and live alone found that those who had a pet survived at a higher rate than those without such companionship. I also think we ought to attack this myth of the ‘independent person.’ There’s healthy dependency and there’s unhealthy dependency, but nobody is biologically independent. It’s really too bad that so many people attack anybody who admits that he or she needs another person.”—U.S. News & World Report, June 30, 1980.
Avoidable Deaths
◆ According to a recent investigation made by a Brazilian governmental agency, and published by Veja magazine, 40 percent of the deaths that occurred in the State of São Paulo (population about 30 million) could have been avoided. The research, covering the period from 1960 to 1975, classified as avoidable deaths “those that would not have occurred if in all cases of disease in São Paulo the medical and sanitary technology already available in the country had been used.” The crucial point seems to be in the first year of life, when, according to the study, half the avoidable deaths occur. If all avoidable causes of death had been eliminated, life expectancy in the State of São Paulo would have increased from 63.3 to 70.7 years in 1975, the investigation revealed.
End of the Line for Disco?
◆ “After the booming years, discos are now closing down,” writes the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. “The phonograph industry is moaning. Suddenly the bottom has fallen out of record sales. Unexpectedly the growth industry par excellence is going downhill.” What has happened? “With the simple sound of the seventies, the soul of the disco-universe, sound mixers believed they had found the recipe for all-time: the non-sound, the non-rhythm, the ultimate everlasting merit of monotony. . . . In reality, disco is the torment of isolation. Fanatics dressed in spotty robes, after seeking blaring solitude for years, have now discovered that it has eaten a gaping hole in their soul. Disco was a marvel: a rhythm with the emphasis placed on zero.”
Alive—Despite Decapitation
◆ A report from China claims that a man is now in better health as a result of an operation that removed his head—that is, one of them. Zhang Ziping, said the Peking Evening News, was born with two heads. Finally, at the age of 36, he had one head removed surgically. The head removed reportedly rested on a neck and had two eyes and a mouth.
“Nothing More Happens”
◆ In the Federal Republic of Germany, “we have 140,000 smoker-deaths a year, but nothing more happens . . . than that this horrible figure is mentioned,” commented Die Zeit regarding the gruesome statistics from the Ministry of Health in Bonn. In comparison: 14,000 persons are killed in Western Germany every year in traffic accidents, and several hundred die as victims of drug abuse. But in both these cases the authorities put forth great efforts to instruct and protect the people. Yet the 140,000 smoker deaths, equal to the population of Bremerhaven or Darmstadt, produce comparatively little reaction from officials.
Robber Robbed
◆ One of the participants in Britain’s famous multimillion-dollar “Great Train Robbery” was himself robbed recently. The ex-thief reportedly lost items valued at about $7,500 from his London apartment. His insurance company is said to be the same one that covered losses on the postal train he helped to rob.
Kenya Bans Public Smoking
◆ Kenya’s minister for health, Mr. Arthur Magugu, has announced a ban on smoking in public places such as movie theaters, public transport, conference halls and similar areas. He said that he hoped the move would protect the nonsmoking members of the public from harmful tobacco smoke. He also appealed to tobacco manufacturers to ensure voluntarily that their advertisements and packages carry the warning: “Cigarette smoking is injurious to health.”
Rebuilding Wrecks Costly
◆ Trying to rebuild a totally wrecked automobile can be much more expensive than buying a new one. The Alliance of American Insurers reports that it now costs four times more to repair such a car than to buy a new one. One study by an auto-repair appraiser revealed that an American compact car that costs $6,018 new would cost $25,458 to rebuild.
Walking Off with U.N.-City
◆ During construction of the new U.N.-City in Vienna, it seemed that everything not “nailed down” was carried away, despite strict controls. Pieces the size of car mats suddenly showed up missing from already laid carpets, reports Austria’s Die Presse. Toilet fixtures disappeared, as did expensive microphones from the conference halls, light switches and even a large generator. One estimate of losses was 15,000,000 schillings (about $1,200,000 [U.S.]). Employees of the various contractors, able to move practically uncontrolled through some of the U.N.-City’s buildings, were the chief suspects.
Obscene Phone Calls
◆ A girl recently wrote to an advice columnist, claiming that the advice given on the subject of obscene phone calls was not very helpful. The girl felt that something can be done, and wrote: “I got 17 calls in one week not long ago. (We changed our number, but it didn’t help.) So I went out and bought a whistle for $1.98. When the guy called again I was ready. I waited until he was into his act and then blew the whistle as hard as I could. Dead silence. . . . there haven’t been any more calls.”
Juvenile Prostitutes
◆ Concern is being expressed about the growing number of child prostitutes in certain areas of large cities in North America. It has been estimated that between 200 and 300 girls and boys between the ages of 11 and 17 are active in this way on the streets of one section of Vancouver, British Columbia. What is making things more difficult is that authorities seem to have little control over the matter. A judge in that city, angered by the situation, called for something to be done. He explained that it was “indefensible” that “there is not a real full-scale interdepartmental attack on the problem.” It appears that within a short period of time after these juvenile prostitutes are rounded up by police and turned over to the local child welfare office they are back on the streets again.
Reducing the Risk
◆ One of the foremost authorities on blood pressure reports that men with loving wives and few anxieties are much less likely to have a stroke or a heart attack. According to Professor Peter Sleight, head of cardiology at Oxford University, a recent study revealed that, compared to others, men who viewed themselves as anxious and whose wives showed them little affection had four times the risk of a heart attack. Professor Sleight says that stress is a significant cause of high blood pressure. Referring to several studies made on the subject, he said: “These studies show that if people can be induced to take life slower, and learn to relax, it can lower their blood pressure and the risks of heart disease and stroke.”
Ego Trips
◆ The National Transportation Safety Board has reported that a light plane is nearly 20 times as likely to be involved in a fatal accident as a commercial airliner. Last year in the U.S. there were almost four times as many people who died in light-plane crashes—1,311. Why the higher accident rate? Pilot error is said to be the cause of 89 percent of the fatal accidents. Identifying an important factor in pilot error, an investigator for the Safety Board said: “I’m getting tired of going out and seeing people thrown against the rocks because some pilot had ‘I’ve got to goitis.’ I’m tired of pilots’ egos taking people’s lives.” Some pilots licensed to fly only under “visual” rules take off in weather that is likely to deteriorate and are then caught in clouds and cannot find an opening. Pilots naturally do not like to tell passengers that their flying skills are not up to the challenge of the weather. Says flight safety researcher Rudd Sackett: “Their personal image is very important to many pilots. If they have to admit they can’t handle a situation, it’s a blow to their ego and they’ll try anyway, ignoring the risk.”
Drunk on the Slopes
◆ “We are faced not only with the problem of drunken drivers but also with an increasing number of drunken skiers,” says Italy’s Il Giorno. Werner Binder, director of the Alpine rescue service at Saalbach, Austria, complains that “at least four of the fifteen accidents on the snow registered each day are caused by taking one drink too many.” And Il Giorno adds: “It is thought that at least a quarter of the approximately 80,000 such accidents which take place every year in Austria are caused by an abuse of alcohol.”