Watching the World
Weapons and Human Rights
◆ One of Bolivia’s leading newspapers, El Diario, commented on the claims of various countries that say they champion human rights but at the same time sell weapons to those using them to suppress human rights. It said: “Those countries that provided arms and munitions paradoxically have tried to cover over . . . their capacity as providers, on a world scale, of instruments that are precisely those used in unlawful acts against human rights. They are the very ones who provide the objects to harm, kill, threaten, subject, eliminate with a revolver, a machine gun or a rifle, the human being.” El Diario noted that several leading nations “made it a point of doctrine and principle to preserve the untouchability of man; but, at the same time, they did not forget to make deals for the sale of arms . . . with the buyers who fought against the subjects of the seller. For those governments money sanctifies everything, and later on there is always opportunity to make speeches about human rights.”
Terrorist Toll
◆ Spain’s weekly magazine Cambio 16 reports that Western Europe holds the record for victims of terrorism during the past 12 years, with 1,267 dead. South America holds second place, with 861 deaths. Then comes Africa and the Middle East, with 531; North America, 318; Asia, 197; Black Africa, 124; and in last place, Eastern Europe, with 15.
Father May Share Blame
◆ “Fetal alcohol syndrome” is the term used to describe the pattern of birth defects in children born of alcoholic mothers. Such children can be mentally retarded and physically deformed. One researcher estimates that 43 percent of alcoholic women bear babies with the condition. Yet, what of children born to women who are not alcoholic, but whose husbands are? Dr. Eleanor Reiff-Ross of the University of Maryland school of nursing says: “When the father is an alcoholic, the syndrome symptoms are not as obvious at birth because the weight and length of the fetus tend to be within the normal limits. It’s only subsequently, a number of years later, that it becomes apparent there are emotional and psychological deficits in the child.” The therapist emphasized that fetal alcohol syndrome damage is irreversible, but “the tragedy is that it is preventable.”
Navigating by Satellite
◆ For centuries, the problem of navigating while at sea has challenged mariners. Now, more and more ships are using a computer that receives navigation information from orbiting satellites. One ship captain stated: “It’s the navigator’s dream come true. The sextant is out.” An operations manager for container ships declared: “The degree of improvement is unbelievable.” Ships now can save costly fuel by not having to zigzag at sea because of unnecessary course changes due to faulty navigation. Fishing boats can tell accurately where to return for good fishing. States The Wall Street Journal: “Even the cheapest sets give constantly updated latitude and longitude readings accurate within 200 yards. For sailors using the traditional sextant to determine positions by ‘shooting’ the sun or stars, an error of two miles has generally been acceptable.” And on cloudy days when the sun and the stars were not visible, the “dead reckoning” method often resulted in errors far greater than that. Satellite receiving equipment that cost about $70,000 (U.S.) 10 years ago is now below $5,000, and reliability has been improved vastly.
Inconsistent
◆ Medical World News editor Reginald Rhein, Jr., observed: “Smoking is a clear, present, and proven danger that kills 320,000 Americans every year through heart disease, cancer, and emphysema.” He noted, however, that both the federal government and the American Medical Association loudly proclaim the dangers of smoking while at the same time “quietly supporting the production of cigarettes.” Rhein said that at its annual meeting in Chicago, AMA delegates did come out “against federal subsidies for tobacco growers,” but then they “turned around and refused to order the Board of Trustees to divest the association’s pension fund of $1.4 million in tobacco-company stock.” The editor then asked: “Who is going to take the association—or even individual doctors—seriously now?”
Soviet “Secret Weapon”
◆ Psychologist Harold Hertz says that increasing drug use in the American armed forces has been called “the Soviet Union‘s secret weapon.” He stated: “A tank crew that has been smoking pot, an artillery team that has just sniffed cocaine or a Marine commando with heroin in his system, isn’t going to respond to a surprise attack very well.” An independent study by Burt Associates of Maryland shows that among those ranks below sergeant (or its equivalent) 61 percent of the marines, 59 percent of the navy, 53 percent of the army and 33 percent of the air force use drugs on a regular basis. General William Louisell, deputy assistant secretary of defense for drug and alcohol abuse prevention, told a congressional committee that it is not practical to dismiss all known drug users from military service because “to do so would decimate the force.”
Tomatoes from Waste Heat
◆ A 20-acre glasshouse in Yorkshire, England, produces over 2,000 tons of tomatoes a year using waste heat from a nearby coal-fired power station. The first substantial commercial use of this energy source in England, the project saves about 45,000 gallons of fuel oil per acre each year. The huge glasshouse is heated by the water that is used to cool the power station’s turbine condensers. The heated water is pumped through large pipes into the glasshouse complex and then through heat exchangers, with fans pushing the warm air through the glasshouse.
Threat to Amazon
◆ Large areas of the Amazon jungle in Brazil are being cut down for lumber, farming and other uses. It is feared that stripping the land in this manner will eventually turn it into a barren waste, since often the land is not the type that can be put to general use. The Detroit Free Press gives this report from Tucurui, Brazil: “The jungle that has resisted man for centuries now is being chewed up so fast that some predictions have the 1.2-billion-acre rain forest virtually disappearing within 20 years. Most of the jungle is being cleared by corporations, including foreign concerns.” In the state of Pará, “a swath has been cut into the jungle several hundred miles from the eastern and southern boundaries of the state, which is about the size of the Dakotas and Nebraska combined. Much of this area has been turned from jungle to prairie.”
Surgery for Unborn Child
◆ The first-known successful surgery on an unborn child was performed by a University of California medical team. The fetus was a male twin critically ill from urinary blockage. The doctors inserted a plastic tube through the mother’s womb and into the bladder of the fetus to drain its swollen urinary system. The surgery was performed in the last weeks of pregnancy without inducing early labor. The other twin, a girl, was unaffected by the surgery and both had a normal birth.
Mailbox Law Upheld
◆ The Supreme Court of the United States has upheld a federal law prohibiting the placing of unstamped material in private mailboxes. Expressing the majority opinion, Associate Justice William H. Rehnquist stated: “Letter boxes are an essential part of the nationwide system for the delivery and receipt of mail, and since 1934 access to them has been unlawful except under the terms and conditions specified by Congress and the Postal Service.” The law imposes a $300 fine for depositing unstamped matter in mailboxes. The issue came up in court when a civic association claimed that its right of free speech was being violated because it could not distribute leaflets by placing them in homeowners’ mailboxes. The high court disagreed.
Ousted for Morality
◆ An Anglican minister in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, spoke out against Church policy of having separate services for homosexuals. The Church asked for his resignation. “I could not in good conscience continue,” said cleric George Morley. “I have nothing against homosexuals; what I opposed and objected to was giving them a special status—an identity within the church.” According to the Toronto Sun, “Morley said that the Anglican church had been all too liberal in dealing with society’s ills and it was about time it got back to its Christian standards.” “It is what God says that matters,” declared the ousted clergyman.
‘Biggest Construction’
◆ Nigeria is building a new Federal Capital in Abuja to house government offices now in Lagos. According to the New Nigerian newspaper, the operation “is the biggest single construction project in the world.” Director of Engineering Services E. A. Aguele explained that movement of the federal government to the new capital is planned to be done in phases during 1982.
“Sophisticated” Babies
◆ In a chance discovery, two Georgia researchers learned that newborn infants stop crying when they hear their own recorded cries, but cry harder when they hear the wails of other babies. “It was obvious they recognized their own voices,” said Dr. Russell D. Clark 3rd of Armstrong State College in Savannah. “Babies are more sophisticated and complex than we ever imagined.” He noted that many adults cannot recognize their own taped voices, yet the babies did. The researchers voiced the hope that the cry-damping effect of the recordings would continue even after infants left the hospital, possibly bringing relief to many beleaguered mothers.
New York’s Homeless
◆ New York State Office of Mental Health official Sarah Connell stated: “If someone said to me what is the single greatest problem in New York City today, I would say there is no question: the homeless.” While others might say that crime, unemployment or urban decay are greater problems, still, the estimated 36,000 homeless men and women in New York is no small matter. And the number seems to be increasing. These homeless are no longer confined to the Bowery or other poor neighborhoods, but wander about the city with tattered bundles or shopping bags, giving rise to such terms as “bag lady.” Some reasons for the increase: tightening of eligibility for welfare; loss of more than 25,000 rooms when single-room occupancy hotels were closed; and stricter standards of admission to psychiatric hospitals, which means that more of the mentally disturbed are homeless. Another trend is the presence among them of young men in their 20’s and 30’s, whom Mrs. Connell called “a new generation of urban nomads.”
Satan Worship Multiplies
◆ During the past seven years, according to the newspaper Die Vaderland of Johannesburg, membership in the Church of Satan in South Africa has grown from 20,000 to 165,000, an increase of over 700 percent. Quotations from the “Satanic Bible” that appear in an application for membership in the “Church” may explain why certain people are interested in joining. For example, one states: “Satan represents gratification rather than restraint.” And another: “Satan represents all the so-called sins since they all lead to physical, mental or emotional satisfaction.” According to the newspaper, their “services” are marked by animal sacrifices, sex orgies and the drinking of blood.