Watching the World
Live ‘Prehistoric’ Fish Caught
◆ A fish that scientists had found in fossil form and thought to be millions of years old is not extinct as they imagined. It is the coelacanth. A live one was recently caught in the Indian Ocean, where it was found at a great depth. Contradicting the theory of evolution, this live fish is the same as the fossilized ones. It did not undergo the imaginary changes that evolutionists claim the passing of millions of years are supposed to have brought upon living things.
Iran Earthquake
◆ Fifty-eight villages were leveled by an earthquake in Iran on April 10. By the next day 1,000 tremors had been felt over a radius of 250 miles. The total number of persons who died in the ruins is still not definitely known.
New German Bible
◆ The German newspaper Lokal-Anzeiger Winterhude of March 16, 1972, reported the long-awaited release of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures in German. Regarding the translation it observed: “When it comes to the New World Translation, its faithful adherence to the text of the original languages and its consistent renderings alone will deeply impress the reader.” More than half a million copies of the New World Translation in German have been produced and are ready for distribution. During the month of June a special effort will be made by Jehovah’s witnesses to bring it to the people of the German Federal Republic and West Berlin.
Approving of Immorality
◆ At a conference of Quakers in Oxford, England, Quaker delegates voted in favor of allowing children of 14 to experience sex relations, including homosexual acts. One delegate observed, according to the London Sunday Mirror of April 16, 1972, “The law is out of touch with reality on the age of consent—certainly in regard to homosexuality.” How different this religious view is from the high moral standard found in the Bible!
Radical Italian Priests
◆ The Vatican is disturbed over a new radical group of Italian priests. The group has 53 pastors, 32 curates and 6 theologians as well as some former priests and some laymen. The group called for “priestly involvement in all the struggles of the people against the dominant classes.” It accused the Roman Catholic Church of acting only to defend the status quo and of being the ally of “the oppressive forces of capitalism.”
No Shortage of Money
◆ People all over the United States regularly receive appeals for contributions to the Catholic-operated “Boys Town.” According to Newsweek magazine of April 10, 1972, “Boys Town has more money than it knows what to do with.” Its investments alone yield $8.1 million annually. Its annual fund-raising letters bring in an additional $17.7 million. It also obtains from State and Federal sources $200,000 yearly. There are only 700 boys in “Boys Town,” and the peak was only 900. According to Time magazine, “Boys Town” has a portfolio of stocks and bonds “worth at least $200 million.”
Too Many Dogs
◆ It has been estimated that there are more than 15 million homeless dogs in the United States. The rate at which they are multiplying is presenting a serious population problem. Regarding it Science Digest of May 1972 observed: “We can assume that half the abandoned dogs are female and that each female, under normal circumstances, is capable of whelping two litters of pups a year. We can also expect an average of five puppies per litter to be raised to the independent state. Now we arrive at a staggering figure: just one [female dog] can be responsible for 5,290 additional dogs over a five year period. . . . The Hindu is criticized for allowing his sacred cow to roam and breed at will in a protein-starved country, where its controlled use could save millions of lives. We suffer an embarrassment of pets without using religion as an excuse.”
Delinquent Girls
◆ Girls in the age bracket of 10 to 17 have been involved in delinquency at an increasing rate since 1969. According to a government crime report, delinquency among these girls rose twice as fast from 1969 to 1970 as crime involving boys. Court cases involving girls showed an increase of 7 percent in suburbs, 11 percent in the cities and 20 percent in the rural areas.
Youth Suicides
◆ A growing number of young people, fascinated with the thought of death or simply disillusioned with life, are committing suicide. Doctors estimate that 15,000 college students attempt suicide every year. During the past 10 years the suicide rate among young men under 20 in the Los Angeles area has risen from 3 to 10 per 100,000. The suicide rate of girls between the ages of 20 and 29, in that area, went from 6 to 26 per 100,000. The executive director of the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center observed that he had “never known a generation as interested in death as an experience . . . to them it’s a new phenomenon.”
Vitamin E Experiment
◆ The Soviet Academy of Medical Sciences’ nutrition institute performed an experiment for three weeks on 34 cyclists and 37 skiers, ages 18 to 25. They found that the level of vitamin E fell during the training period, but among those receiving supplementary vitamin E the level remained normal. Among such ones performance capacity was improved in comparison with the control group that did not receive supplementary vitamin E.
Smoking and Amputations
◆ It was reported in the New York Times that the editors of the British Medical Journal observed that, of all the men who go to clinics for the treatment of circulatory ailments, 95 percent are smokers. They told doctors to advise patients with arteriosclerosis to stop smoking. They observed that, of 520 patients treated for arterial occlusion (a form of arteriosclerosis) and who had it for more than 5 years, those who quit smoking did not require any amputations of toes or legs. But 11 percent of those who continued to smoke required an amputation.
Open-Heart Surgery Without Blood
◆ Recently The American Journal of Cardiology contained an article about open-heart surgery on Jehovah’s witnesses who refuse blood transfusions for religious reasons. The doctors writing the article said that by using a bloodless prime technique “we performed during an 8-year period 42 open heart operations for acquired heart disease in a consecutive series of 40 patients who were Jehovah’s Witnesses. Three patients (7 percent) died, and only 1 death was caused by anemia. . . . We believe that our experience demonstrates the feasibility of open heart surgery in Jehovah’s Witnesses and, moreover, indicates that blood transfusion can and should be used sparingly to reduce morbidity and mortality in all patients.” It went on to point out the higher mortality rate when large volumes of blood are used: “At some medical centers where large volumes of blood are used to prime the bypass units, the incidence of hepatitis has been as high as 51 percent. In 1 series of patients who underwent open heart operations requiring blood transfusions, mortality from serum hepatitis alone was 11.2 percent.”
Spare Facial Parts
◆ People whose faces have been deformed by radical surgery, injury or birth defects may find a partial remedy in plastic facial parts. These are molded in a realistic fashion and have a skinlike texture. They can be stained to match the skin coloration of a patient. The parts are held on by an adhesive that permits the patient to swim, take showers and use makeup, and yet they can be removed by the patient when necessary.
Nurses Balking
◆ Since liberal abortion laws have been passed in various American states, many nurses find it very difficult to be involved. Mrs. Cynthia Kinsella, director of nurses at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, said: “Nurses in delivery rooms had been accustomed to every conceivable effort to save babies, even those of one to three pounds, and they found that [now] sometimes they were ‘salting out’ [aborting] bigger babies than those they had worked to save.” Some nurses refused to work in “pregnancy interruption” services.
Transplant Problems
◆ Abnormally high cancer rates and incidences of psychological depression are reported in patients who received organ transplants. Science Digest reveals that the cancer rate for transplant patients was more than 100 times higher than the national average.
Unnecessary Surgery
◆ “There are incredible amounts of unnecessary surgery going on, and that can’t be tolerated,” stated Dr. John H. Knowles, former general director of Massachusetts General Hospital. Independent studies would seem to verify his contention. At five hospitals where observations were made for several years, operations not justified by tissue damage ranged from 12 percent of the total in one hospital to 40 percent in another. Unnecessary surgery on the uterus ranged up to 60 percent in one. In 35 Los Angeles and vicinity hospitals, an estimated 28 percent of the hysterectomies performed were deemed ‘probably not justified,’ and 12 percent were classified as ‘definitely not justified.’ In 19 Michigan hospitals, of all appendectomies performed there was an absence of disease in from 6.4 percent of the cases in one hospital to 52.1 percent in another.
Role of Tonsils and Adenoids
◆ The precise function of tonsils and adenoids has long been a mystery to the medical profession. In times past doctors have considered them unnecessary and have removed them from young children on the slightest excuse. It is estimated that surgeons still remove tonsils from about two million Americans each year. But more light is being shed on the role of these two glands. Researchers find that they contain cells that play important roles in fighting common infections. Now British radiologists say that tonsils and adenoids serve multiple purposes and may play a key role in helping some children and adults to talk and swallow. Removal in some cases can lead to speech impediments, they suggest.
Poor Nutrition Among Youths
◆ Much poor nutrition exists among America’s youths. The reason given by nutritionist Mary Goodwin of the Montgomery County Health Department in suburban Washington, D.C., is the busy life-style that exists in many families and too much reliance on foods that are convenient instead of healthful. She stated that teenagers eat “from vending machines, at ball parks and movies and are offered nothing but junk food with no nutrition. Foods which were considered special treats or celebration foods are displacing the mainstay of our diets. Snacking has become a way of life.” She cited evidence that using drugs affects food intake and appetite, and that the drug user often satisfies his hunger with snack foods instead of foods that are nutritious.
Endangered Species
◆ According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, there are 817 varieties of birds and mammals now facing extinction. Reasons given were indiscriminate killing by man, the rapid growth of industry, spreading cities, the development of once-wild areas, and the use of chemical pesticides. A species is regarded as endangered when more die than are reproduced.