UNCOMFORTABLE HISTORY--WATER ON THE MOON--GOLD BARS

“More than half of Russians think bribing officials is the best way to ‘solve problems.’”—REUTERS NEWS SERVICE, RUSSIA.

“A survey showed 17.5 percent of Chinese adults are suffering from mental disorders . . . Women are more likely to suffer from mood disorders and anxiety disorders than men.”—CHINA DAILY, CHINA.

“At least 28% of all traffic crashes in the U.S.—or 1.6 million crashes each year—are caused by drivers using cell phones or sending/reading text messages, according to new estimates by the National Safety Council.”—UC BERKELEY WELLNESS LETTER, U.S.A.

“An Uncomfortable History”

“The Report of the Commission to Inquire Into Child Abuse reveals an uncomfortable history of Ireland,” says The Irish Times. According to the newspaper, this report uncovers a history stained by the systematic abuse of children in Catholic religious institutions, ranging from “beating children whose crime it was that lice had infested their heads” to sustained sexual abuse. The abuse was ignored because of misguided loyalty to “the absolute authority of the Catholic Church,” says the paper. “Shame on You, Government and Church,” said a headline in the Times, quoting the words of one who sympathized with the victims.

Water on the Moon

Scientists who crashed a two-stage rocket into the moon’s surface say that they detected water in the plume of dust created. The cloud was examined by spectrometers—instruments that analyze the composition of materials by isolating the wavelengths of light that they absorb or emit. “We’re unlocking the mysteries of our nearest neighbor and by extension the solar system,” stated Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. More recently, a moon probe revealed that there are millions of tons of water at the moon’s north pole.

Gold Bars From a Vending Machine

In several places around the world, gold bars can now be added to the long list of products available from vending machines. For example, a hotel in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, has installed a machine that dispenses 320 items, including gold bars with a weight of up to 0.322 troy ounce (10 g) and customized gold coins. Gold prices are updated every ten minutes, using a computerized link to international markets. At first, the machine accepted only local currency, but a credit-card option was planned. The location for this initiative was chosen “because of the region’s high demand for gold,” says a Reuters report.

For more informative reading please go to www.jw.org

MULTIPLE LANGUAGES? PLANNING FOR DIVORCE --- STRUGGLING PARENTS

▪ “About one-third of girls in the United States get pregnant before age 20.”—CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, U.S.A.

▪ A U.S. study of 420 men as “victims of domestic violence” found that “nearly three out of 10 have been battered or otherwise abused.”—AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE.

Multiple Languages?

Many parents fear that exposing young children to a second language will jeopardize their ability to speak their mother tongue. Yet, the opposite is true, says a research team led by neuroscientist Laura-Ann Petitto in Toronto, Canada. “Neural tissue that you’re born with . . . is ready and in place to learn language,” says Petitto, “and it can handle multiple languages.” In school, bilingual children often outperform children who speak only one language. However, says the Toronto Star, “parents must take the lead in teaching young children a second language if they want them to have all of the benefits that come along with being bilingual.”

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Planning for Divorce

A record number of Australians are signing prenuptial agreements that require their partner to meet specific lifestyle conditions, reports Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph. Prenuptial agreements are contracts that spell out how couples will divide their assets in the event of divorce. Many agreements now stipulate the lifestyle each partner must maintain for the marriage to last. Clauses can define who cooks, cleans, or drives, as well as whether pets are allowed, how much each partner can weigh, who walks the dog, and who takes out the trash. Lawyer Christine Jeffress notes that people “have less expectation that their relationship is going to last forever.”

Parents Struggling to Show Affection

“An increasing number of parents need an instruction manual on how to treat their little children, since they are apparently incapable of showing them natural affection,” says the Polish magazine Newsweek Polska. Parents need to be taught the basics, such as hugging their children, playing with them, and singing to them. These activities are vital for children’s balanced development. Research shows, however, that “among Polish families, watching television and shopping took first place in the most common ways that parents spend time with their children.” Playing together came in only sixth.

For more informative reading please go to www.jw.org

ABANDONED "TOYS" - PRESCHOOLERS BODY IMAGE - CHILDREN SHOPPING ONLINE

“People who don’t smoke, are physically active, drink alcohol in moderation, and eat at least five servings of fruits or vegetables a day live 14 years longer, on average, than those with none of these attributes.” The conclusion is based on an 11-year study of 20,000 people.—UC BERKELEY WELLNESS LETTER, U.S.A.

“Reading is the best way to relax. . . . Even six minutes is enough to cut stress by more than two-thirds.”—INDIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL, INDIA.

Abandoned “Toys”

“The bad economy is creating a flotilla of forsaken boats,” says The New York Times of the situation in the United States. Owners are sandpapering the names off their boats, removing registry numbers, and then abandoning their vessels or sinking them, sometimes with a view to making claims on their insurance. What is behind this? “Some . . . are in the same bind as overstretched homeowners: they face steep payments on an asset that is diminishing in value and decide not to continue,” notes the Times, which calls the boats “expensive-to-maintain toys that have lost their appeal.” The newspaper explains: “The owners cannot sell them, because the secondhand market is overwhelmed. They cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars a month mooring and maintaining them. And they do not have the thousands of dollars required to properly dispose of them.”

Preschoolers’ Body Image

Children as young as four are “attempting to alter their appearance to conform to the body ideal endorsed by society,” reports Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph. A study of preschoolers’ eating and exercise habits found that both boys and girls were concerned about their body size—girls about losing weight and boys about building muscles. “Children seemed to be reflecting the body focus of their mothers [who] were generally dissatisfied with their own bodies,” stated the authors of the study.

Children Shopping Online

“A fifth of children [in the United Kingdom] are shopping online without parental permission and half of those who make a purchase are using their parents’ credit cards,” reports The Daily Telegraph of London. Many children know the sites and passwords their parents use for online shopping—which may also give them easy access to their parents’ credit card number. Few parents think their children could shop online without their consent. There is “an alarming difference” between what parents think their children know and what their children actually do know, notes the report. Among other things, this behavior exposes parents to the risk of fraud. Advice to parents who shop on the Internet is: “Avoid storing credit or debit card details online,” use only reputable Web sites, and “log out of sites when finished.”

For more informative reading please go to www.jw.org

  MODERATION                                    

“People who don’t smoke, are physically active, drink alcohol in moderation, and eat at least five servings of fruits or vegetables a day live 14 years longer, on average, than those with none of these attributes.” The conclusion is based on an 11-year study of 20,000 people.—UC BERKELEY WELLNESS LETTER, U.S.A.

“Reading is the best way to relax. . . . Even six minutes is enough to cut stress by more than two-thirds.”—INDIA TODAY INTERNATIONAL, INDIA.

Abandoned “Toys”

“The bad economy is creating a flotilla of forsaken boats,” says The New York Times of the situation in the United States. Owners are sandpapering the names off their boats, removing registry numbers, and then abandoning their vessels or sinking them, sometimes with a view to making claims on their insurance. What is behind this? “Some . . . are in the same bind as overstretched homeowners: they face steep payments on an asset that is diminishing in value and decide not to continue,” notes the Times, which calls the boats “expensive-to-maintain toys that have lost their appeal.” The newspaper explains: “The owners cannot sell them, because the secondhand market is overwhelmed. They cannot afford to spend hundreds of dollars a month mooring and maintaining them. And they do not have the thousands of dollars required to properly dispose of them.”

Preschoolers’ Body Image

Children as young as four are “attempting to alter their appearance to conform to the body ideal endorsed by society,” reports Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph. A study of preschoolers’ eating and exercise habits found that both boys and girls were concerned about their body size—girls about losing weight and boys about building muscles. “Children seemed to be reflecting the body focus of their mothers [who] were generally dissatisfied with their own bodies,” stated the authors of the study.

Children Shopping Online

“A fifth of children [in the United Kingdom] are shopping online without parental permission and half of those who make a purchase are using their parents’ credit cards,” reports The Daily Telegraph of London. Many children know the sites and passwords their parents use for online shopping—which may also give them easy access to their parents’ credit card number. Few parents think their children could shop online without their consent. There is “an alarming difference” between what parents think their children know and what their children actually do know, notes the report. Among other things, this behavior exposes parents to the risk of fraud. Advice to parents who shop on the Internet is: “Avoid storing credit or debit card details online,” use only reputable Web sites, and “log out of sites when finished.”

For more informative reading please go to www.jw.org