Watching the World
Electronic Church Scandal
Former television evangelist Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy received $4.8 million in salary, bonuses and other payments from their TV ministry between January 1984 and March 1987, reported The Charlotte Observer, a North Carolina newspaper in the United States. Bakker resigned as head of the PTL (Praise the Lord) television ministry in March after admitting to “a sexual encounter” in 1980 with a young church secretary. Just before his confession, his wife revealed that she had become addicted to prescription drugs. Another TV evangelist, Jimmy Swaggart, commenting on the scandal surrounding the Bakkers said: “The Gospel of Jesus Christ has never sunk to such a low level as it has today.” What really though has sunk—the gospel or the TV gospelers?
Aluminum Alert
“A leading group of British scientists is warning against using aluminium saucepans and aluminium-rich foods,” says The Sunday Times of London. ‘Scientists from the Medical Research Council’s neuroendocrinology unit in Newcastle upon Tyne believe aluminium contamination of food and water is a possible cause of Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of senile dementia.’ Although it was previously thought that the amount of aluminum absorbed from cooking pots was negligible, recent research showed a dramatic increase in aluminum release due to a chemical reaction when fluoride was present in cooking water or when cooking acidic foods such as tomatoes or cabbage. The discovery has raised questions over the policy in many areas of adding fluoride to water supplies to strengthen children’s teeth.
Midday Naps
The need to nap is normal, researchers say. Somewhere between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m., most people experience a lull in their alertness, and productivity decreases. The phenomenon is due, not to eating or culture, as had formerly been thought, but to a shift in the human biological clock. At that time, people can fall asleep within a few minutes. While alertness and work performance did not increase for those who stopped for a midday nap, it did put them in a better mood. Children also were better behaved after a rest period, even though they might not have actually slept.
Baby-Food Risk
Infants with kidney problems and babies born prematurely are particularly at risk from traces of aluminum found in some baby foods, concludes a survey by the Trading Standards Department, Warwickshire, England. But it is stressed that the levels found are not a risk to healthy infants. Recent research in England and the United States suggests that aluminum could be dangerous for infants with defective kidneys, or for premature babies with underdeveloped organs. This is because the child is unable to excrete the aluminum, allowing the metal to build up in excessive quantities in the brain.
Death-Dealing Blood
Actor Danny Kaye died this past March. Yet, “the most significant aspect of his death escaped general notice,” writes columnist Ray Kerrison. “The comedian died at the age of 74 in part because he once received transfusions of contaminated blood.” His doctor disclosed that Kaye contracted non-A and non-B hepatitis from transfusions he received four years previously when undergoing quadruple bypass surgery. “Thus the operation designed to save Danny Kaye’s life became instead a sentence of death,” says Kerrison. “Indeed, it is estimated that some 12 people (many of them hemophiliacs) die every day in the U.S. of diseases transmitted by tainted blood.” Why? Because although blood can harbor many ailments, it is tested for only two—hepatitis B and the AIDS antibody—as it is not cost effective to test for more.
At the same time, former porn star Linda Lovelace underwent a liver transplant operation. What damaged her liver? Doctors believe it was also hepatitis, contracted through a blood transfusion given her after an auto accident in 1970.
“Better Off Fat”?
An increasing number of obesity experts are concluding that “many, if not most, people with serious weight problems can be hardly blamed for their rotund shape,” reports The New York Times. “At least half of obese people—those who are more than 30 percent overweight—who try to diet down to ‘desirable’ weights listed in the height-weight tables suffer medically, physically and psychologically as a result, and would be better off fat,” said Dr. George Blackburn, an obesity specialist at Harvard Medical School, according to the article. Still, Dr. Theodore B. Van Itallie, of St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, said: “Body fatness responds to environmental conditions. As members of a sedentary and food-laden society, obesity-prone persons who wish to control their weight must learn to maintain a high level of physical activity and to eat defensively.”
Nonslip Footwear
Every year Britain’s hospitals treat half a million injuries caused by slipping on ice. Medical researchers plan to reduce this by learning a lesson from the polar bear. Its paws have remarkable nonslip properties. What is its secret? According to The Sunday Times of London, microscopic examination reveals a “pitted and pimpled” hard surface covering a “soft and springy inside.” Whereas stiff-soled leather and plastic shoes become harder in cold weather, and thick-soled inflexible boots tend to collect ice on their treads, scientists believe that a two-layer copy of the polar bear’s paws provides the best grip on a slippery surface. “I don’t believe there is any substance that will give total safety on a surface such as ice,” comments Ford Motor Company’s chief medical officer Dr. Derek Manning, “but our shoes can be much safer than they are now.”
Big Eaters
“Italians eat poorly,” notes La Repubblica, a Rome daily, “but it’s not their fault.” Why not? This and other questions pertaining to Italy’s big eaters were discussed at a convention held earlier this year in Rome by the National Institute of Nutrition. Tullio Seppilli, a director at the University of Perugia, claims that the notorious Italian big eater is an unhappy individual whose life is divided “by two hedonisms—one that drives to eating and another that demands a fine physical form.” In support of this, recent statistics show that while 8 million Italian adults make an effort to resolve their weight problems, 22 million remain dissatisfied with their diet and hate themselves but continue to gorge on sausages and chocolates. Lamenting the Italians’ poor choice of diet, La Repubblica says that TV commercials are largely responsible because “they have succeeded in convincing children to devour first-rate rubbish.”
Japanese Labor Crisis
Japan is facing its most serious labor crisis since World War II. Among the causes are the increasing cost of Japanese products due to the rise of the yen, falling demand in the international market, and competition with countries such as South Korea. To cut labor costs and retain a competitive edge, there is a scramble by Japanese companies to shift production overseas—leaving workers at home unemployed. “Japan’s jobless rate has been hovering at 2.8 to 2.9 percent in recent months,” says Mainichi Daily News, “the highest level since the government began compiling statistics in 1953.” While these figures are low compared to other nations, the Japanese method of calculating them is different. Layoffs and people who work more than one hour in any week, for instance, are not included. The rate “would double to over 5 percent if calculated under the U.S. formula,” states the paper.