Watching the World
Killer Volcano
The Nevado del Ruiz volcano eruption of last November left a trail of death and destruction throughout parts of the coffee-farming country of Colombia, about 85 miles (140 km) west of Bogota. The volcano’s eruption melted the mountain’s ice cap and unleashed a deadly torrent of mud and water that killed more than 22,000 people and left some 8,000 homeless. Armero, a town of 25,000, has since become one of the world’s largest mass graves, with 21,000 people buried in up to 30 feet (9 m) of the gray mud. A town closer to the volcano, Chinchiná (population 70,000), had a death count of 1,000. Some of Jehovah’s Witnesses and their associates were among the volcano’s victims. At the time of writing, the Armero Congregation reports 16 survivors, one known dead, and 42 missing; the Chinchiná Congregation reports 38 survivors and 3 dead. Scientists say that this eruption is the deadliest anywhere since 1902.
Crime Against Elderly
Intimidation of the elderly is the fastest-growing crime in Brisbane, Australia, according to the city’s newspaper The Courier Mail. Offenses include theft, physical violence, vandalism, and fraud by con men who prey on the lonely by posing as door-to-door salesmen. Many older ones find it hard to cope with the possibility of being robbed. “If people have been leaving doors and windows open in a home they have lived in for 60 years,” says a Brisbane constable, “it’s hard to tell them they can’t do that anymore.”
Stand Up to Swallow
Standing, or at least sitting up, and swallowing a pill with at least a mouthful of water will help to clear the pill from your gullet in ten seconds. That is much less time than if you are on your back, reports The Drugs and Therapeutic Bulletin of Britain. The danger in doing otherwise is that certain drugs may dissolve before reaching your stomach, and that can cause the tender lining of the esophagus to become inflamed and swollen, bringing on pain that resembles severe angina. Even the onset of the medicine’s beneficial effects may be delayed up to half an hour by the slower absorption from the gullet. Among the worst irritants are iron and potassium tablets and the nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drugs.
Drug Wave of the Future?
Crack, a new form of cocaine hitting the streets of New York City, “is the wave of the future” for drug abusers, warns William Hopkins, director of New York State Division of Substance Abuse Services. Crack is cocaine processed into a purified form. Thus, when inhaled or injected the effect of its use is both qualitatively and quantitatively more powerful than that of cocaine. Free-basing, or smoking crack, provides the most immediate high. “Unlike normal cocaine [use], people who free-base can’t stop,” said Hopkins in The New York Times. “They free-base until all their money is used up.”
Bishops Defend Polygamy
The Anglican Church in Africa is under criticism for excluding polygamists from the church community. Surprisingly, the critic is Anglican bishop Dr. David Gitari from Kenya, who “has constituted himself a defender of local polygamy,” says Kruispunt (Crossroads), a Dutch Roman Catholic magazine. “It’s incredible,” says the bishop, “that the church assumes a much more broad-minded attitude toward divorced people than toward polygamists.” He claims that “the African moral of polygamy is a lesser evil than the European moral of divorce” because “with polygamy the African husband obliges himself to continue to care for all women to whom he is or was married.”
At a Kampala meeting of Ugandan Anglicans, Christopher Senyonjo, bishop of West Buganda, similarly urged his church “to see how polygamy can be accommodated,” reports The Church Times of London, England. Citing census figures revealing over a quarter of a million more females than males in Uganda in 1980, the bishop suggested polygamy as a means of preventing unwanted celibacy. Though asserting that “monogamy is the true marriage according to God,” he believes polygamy to be advantageous, especially in avoiding divorce when a woman is barren.
“Addicted to Violence”
“Video nasties blamed for children’s violence and distorted view of sex,” headlined an article in The Times of London. A three-year study of the effect of video films on youngsters led inquiry chairman Lord Nugent to comment: “Our worst fears were confirmed.” Dr. Clifford Hill, director of the inquiry, added: “Some children and young people are addicted to violence in much the same way as they are becoming hooked on drugs, only this is even worse. There is strong evidence that children copy what they see on the screen.” This, he said, was also true when children watched violence on television newscasts. So far, banning certain video films has not solved the problem. Of 73 teenagers picked at random in one school survey, 63 had seen at least one banned video.
Hot-Tub Dangers
Hot-tub users run the risk of getting bacterial infections, reports American Health magazine. Earaches, headaches, and skin rashes are among the ailments reported by persons using hot tubs, or “Jacuzzis,” as they are sometimes called. Fast-growing bacteria that can thrive at the tub’s water temperature attach themselves to the sides of the tub and prey on its users. Rashes on the buttocks, armpits, trunk, and hips are the most frequent causes of complaint. Some women have complained of pain and swelling in their breasts. The same bacteria have also been found in whirlpool tubs. Symptoms usually subside without medical treatment in one to two weeks. Keeping the water slightly alkaline and chlorinated is said to help lessen the chance of infection.
“Human Sacrifices”
During a 15-year period, 12,000 more Australians were killed by road accidents than were killed in the Australian armed forces during three wars: World War II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. A survey published by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons shows that during the 15 years between 1969 and 1983, a total of 52,243 people were killed on Australian roads, and another 1.5 million were injured. The survey refers to this “appalling and inexcusable waste of human lives . . . as human sacrifices [offered up] by an easy-going and prosperous society.”
“Two-Edged Swords”
Auto air conditioners may not be as safe for asthma or hay-fever sufferers as these would like to believe. The American Medical News reports that a Louisiana State University Medical Center research team identified microorganisms living within the air-conditioning units that may cause breathing problems. The researchers found eight varieties of mold harbored inside 22 out of 25 car air conditioners. “The findings suggest,” says the article, “that car air conditioners are two-edged swords: While they may worsen some conditions, they also tend to filter pollen and dust from the air.”
Church’s Sales Pitch
Churches in the United States are now turning to large advertising agencies to pitch their particular brand of religion, reports The Wall Street Journal. They hope to hook more converts with splashier and slicker ads. “You have to take risks and be provocative to get the customer’s attention today,” says the clergyman George Martin, executive director of the Episcopal Ad Project in Minneapolis, Minnesota. One of the church’s ads spotlights Henry VIII of England with these words: “In the church started by a man who had six wives, forgiveness goes without saying.”
“Cry of Alarm”
“Church’s Cry of Alarm Against the Jehovah’s Witnesses,” rang the headline of the newspaper La Repubblica of Rome, Italy. The newspaper was reporting on a Catholic Church convention held in Bologna last November. Its theme was: “Christ Our God and Our Hope: Christians in the face of the Jehovah’s Witnesses.” The article explains: “With the approval of Pope Wojtyla [John Paul II], preparations are being made to mobilize dioceses, parishes, and believers against” the Witnesses. Why such concern by the Catholic Church? “The worries exist primarily,” the report continues, “because every year they ‘rob’ at least 10,000 faithful from the Catholic Church, a record.”
The present growth of the Witnesses in Italy—up 10 percent from 1984 to more than 127,000—surely is a reflection of the Italian people’s hunger for understanding of God’s written Word the Bible. Note what the Catholic monthly, Piccolo Missionario of November 1984 said about Catholic interest in the Witnesses: “Their sternness regarding morality is praiseworthy. They preach the refusal of adultery, abortion, divorce, premarital relations . . . We as Christians should feel ashamed: what little interest we show for the Word of God!”
Tiger Fever
Have you ever heard of Tiger Fever? Look though you may, you will not find it listed in a medical book, yet it is raging in Japan and will add an estimated 40 billion yen ($200 million, U.S.) to the country’s economy. Its symptom: extreme enthusiasm. Its victims: fans of the Hanshin Tigers, a professional baseball team in Japan. Its cause: winning the Japan series for the very first time. The beneficiaries: the train companies whose packed cars carry spectators to ballparks, merchants who hawk megaphones, and just about any other business that has rubbed shoulders with the team. A cure has yet to be found.