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Watching the World

Cold War Aftermath

Despite the end of the Cold War, global military spending in 1990 still exceeded $900 billion and in real terms was more than 60 percent above the average annual outlays of the 1970’s, according to a new study by World Priorities, a research group in Washington, D.C. The annual report World Military and Social Expenditures 1991 also found that worldwide among the fatalities of war, the proportion of civilian deaths jumped to 74 percent in the 1980’s and to as much as 90 percent in 1990. The author of the report, Ruth Leger Sivard, an economist, attributed this leap in civilian deaths to increasingly lethal weaponry. “Today’s so-called conventional weapons now approach small nuclear weapons in their destructive power,” she said. The study also found that the world’s armed forces are the single largest polluter on earth; in the United States they produce more toxins annually than the five largest chemical companies combined.

Death by Abortion

“Up to 10,000 women die of abortions every year and 200,000 [are] hospitalised for complications in Nigeria,” reported Nigeria’s Sunday Concord. Perhaps as many as 20 percent of these cases involve teenagers. Dr. Uche Azie, a director of Family Planning International Assistance, was reported as stating that “many attempt abortion by themselves.” He pointed out that ignorance about sexual matters is largely responsible for pregnancies leading to abortion.

One Month Without a Car

In response to a request by sociologists, six families in Bremen, Germany, volunteered to do without their cars for one month. Traveling by other means, they recorded their daily experiences. “The car isolates the user from the environment” explained project leader Professor Krämer-Badoni in the Süddeutsche Zeitung. “You just want to get somewhere as quickly as possible.” But when traveling by bus or bicycle or on foot, one becomes more aware of the surroundings, taking note of attractive buildings or starting up conversations. “The journeys become important in themselves,” said the professor. Following the experiment, five of the families disposed of their cars.

Volcano Addiction

When Mount Unzen volcano in southern Japan erupted earlier this year, over 30 people died. Among them were three volcanologists. Colleagues were especially perplexed over the death of American Harry Glicken, since he had been issuing warnings to the media in the days up to his death. With him was a daring husband-and-wife team, Maurice and Katia Krafft of France, who gained fame during the past 25 years for their research, books, and videos on the world’s most active and dangerous volcanoes, warning of their danger. The Asahi Evening News quoted Maurice Krafft as having said earlier: “If one day I have to die, I want it to be at the edge of a volcano.” The couple had likened their passion for volcanoes to “addiction” and stated: “Once you’ve seen an erupting volcano up close, you can’t live without it.”

Blood Transfusion Not “Gift of Life”

Are blood transfusions really lifesaving? An increasing number of medical authorities have doubts. The director of hematology at Australia’s Sydney Royal North Shore Hospital discusses concerns over blood transfusion safety in the Medical Journal of Australia. He believes that links exist between cancer, infection, and blood transfusion. The Brisbane Courier-Mail quotes this leading doctor as saying: “A blood transfusion was previously seen as a gift of life, but the tables have been turned and the general perception now is that bloodless surgery and the avoiding of transfusion may be the gift of life. New data suggesting that blood transfusion at the time of surgery may be a risk factor for cancer recurrence and post-operative infection are a matter of concern.”

Campus Violence in Nigeria

Secret cults are prowling the campuses of universities in Nigeria and “have unleashed crushing fear and horror,” reports The Observer of Nigeria. Cult members are said to be armed with firearms, guns, axes, knives, and acid. They have reportedly attacked even some faculty members and have raped and tortured fellow students. Clashes between rival cult gangs have resulted in the deaths of at least four students. These campus cults consist mainly of students from affluent families, says The Observer. The minister of education has instructed university authorities to expel members of the secret cults and has threatened to close down institutions that fail to do so.

For One Hour’s Labor

A recent study compared the earning power of workers in 159 different professions from 49 various social levels around the world, reports the French newspaper Le Monde. The study, conducted by the International Labor Organization, shows just how disproportionate the workers’ buying power can be from place to place. For example, a weaver in Sudan, a waiter in Sri Lanka, a spinner in Yugoslavia, a bus driver in Bangladesh, and a baker in the Central African Republic must work more than three hours to buy just two pounds [1 kg] of rice. In contrast, an office worker in French Polynesia or a carpenter in Sweden can buy at least 20 pounds [9 kg] of rice with the wages of just one hour’s work.

Teddy-Bear Alarms

Sudden infant death syndrome is a real fear of many parents. Now, by means of hi-tech teddy bears, designed by Dr. Jan Heunis of Aerospace Research Laboratories in South Africa, infants can be monitored 24 hours a day. The cuddly toy monitors the infant’s vital signs. Reporting on the device, The Star, a newspaper published in Johannesburg, South Africa, says that should there be irregularities in the child’s vital signs, such as “temperature abnormalities, slow heart rate or increased pulse rate,” an alarm is sounded to alert the parents to the possible danger. The “Medi-teddy,” as the new product has been called, costs about $350, U.S.

Worth of the Humble Potato

“When the European conquerors arrived in America, they came with the idea that the riches were metals and precious stones. Three centuries had to pass before the economic value of the potato was ‘discovered.’” So states Eduardo H. Rapoport, of the Regional University Center of Bariloche, Argentina, in the Brazilian magazine Ciência Hoje. Potatoes are one of the most important and nutritious foods and contain many vitamins. Hence, they are valued in the billions of dollars annually. Rapoport adds: “The value of the world harvest of potatoes, in a year, is far superior to all the gold and silver that Spain extracted from America.”

Worldwide Illiteracy Drops

“For the first time ever, the number of illiterate people in the world declined slightly in recent years,” states The New York Times. “The report, issued by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, estimated the number of illiterate people in 1990 to be 948 million, a decrease from the 1985 estimate of 950 million.” About 26.6 percent of the world’s population are illiterate, and if current trends continue, that will decrease to 21.8 percent, or 935 million, by the year 2000. Coincidentally, last year was named International Literacy Year. Besides a greater willingness on the part of the poorer nations to improve literacy, there was also an increased awareness of functional illiteracy in the industrialized nations, now estimated at between 10 and 20 percent.

AIDS​—“Rampant for Decades”

“As the AIDS epidemic begins its second decade, researchers and advocates for people with the ailment have each painfully abandoned their once keen hopes of bringing the scourge quickly under control,” states The New York Times. “These hopes evaporated as the search for effective drugs proved far more difficult than had been thought, and efforts to devise a vaccine were continually frustrated by the virus’s subtle defenses. Medical experts now say they think the AIDS virus will be rampant for decades.” It has been calculated that by the year 2000, some 40 million people will be infected with the AIDS virus. Although researchers have isolated the virus, have studied its proteins and cloned its genes, and have devised drugs to relieve some of the suffering of AIDS patients, the disease is as deadly as ever.