Watching the World

China’s Great Wall Crumbling

“Two-thirds of the Great Wall of China has been destroyed by sightseers, developers and erosion,” reports London’s newspaper The Guardian. “The world heritage site is crumbling out of existence. . . . Sections are said to have been vandalised, covered in graffiti and ripped up for use in pigsties and coalmines.” Recently, the World Monuments Fund, which describes the wall as “one of the most extensive cultural landscapes on earth,” placed it on its list of the world’s most endangered architectural sites. Even those entrusted with the task of preservation have added to the wall’s demise. In one instance, “hard-pressed and poorly trained conservation officials” apparently granted a developer permission to tear down a 45-foot [14 m] section that was 600 years old. The wall’s immense length​—originally about 4,000 miles [6,400 km]—​makes it virtually impossible to maintain adequately.

 Alien Stowaways

“Ballast water, carried by ships to provide balance and stability, is loaded with thousands of marine species that can invade new environments when released in ports,” warns the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) environmental group. The alien species, ranging from jellyfish to algae, “could be as damaging as oil spills” and wreck ecosystems, says a Reuters report. “Survivors of voyages can thrive in new habitats, freed from predators and parasites.” Examples are the zebra mussels that came from Europe and infested the waterways of the Great Lakes region in North America, Asian kelp that ended up in Australia, and jellyfish from North America that were transported to the Black Sea. An estimated ten billion tons of ballast water is released around the world each year. “Good economic solutions for treating ballast water don’t yet exist,” said Andreas Tveteraas, a spokesman for the WWF.

Internet Suicides

Divorce, unemployment, and drug and alcohol abuse continue to be cited as the main factors contributing to a “large increase in suicides among young men” in England and Wales, according to an article in The Times of London. But Internet chat rooms where young people meet and arrange suicides are causing increasing concern. “The internet itself attracts those most prone to suicide: young men. Seventy-five per cent of suicides are by men and 80 per cent of those are committed by men aged 15 to 24,” says the paper. There may be thousands of so-called death sites on the Internet. “Most participants in suicide websites feel unloved and already seem to be contemplating suicide, or have attempted it, and there is plenty of advice on how not to be talked out of it,” the article adds. Some sites encourage the potential suicide victim to follow through with his plans rather than change his mind.

Mail for God

Every year, the Israeli postal authority “delivers hundreds of letters addressed to God,” reports The Economist. “Letters come from every corner of the world, at all times of the year, but God’s pen pals are most zealous before religious holidays such as Christmas or Yom Kippur.” The letters voice praise, complaints, or requests​—often for forgiveness or help. What happens to the letters? “Letters with a sender’s address are sent back,” states The Economist. “The rest are delivered to the Western (“Wailing”) Wall in Jerusalem, care of the chief rabbi, to be inserted into the holy wall’s cracks. If a writer appears not to be Jewish, his missive is forwarded to the ministry of religious affairs.” However, “mail to God is delivered only once or twice a year,” says the article. Israel’s telecom firm now “has a dedicated fax line to God and has just opened an e-mail account for those wishing to speed up heavenly connections.”

Piracy Increases

According to the ICC International Maritime Bureau, “pirate attacks worldwide increased in frequency and violence last year, with a total of 445 incidents reported compared with 370 in 2002 . . . The number of attacks using guns rose to 100 from 68 in 2002 and hostages taken nearly doubled to 359 seafarers. Ships were boarded in 311 instances and a total of 19 ships were hijacked.” Seventy-one crew and passengers were listed as missing, while 21 seafarers were killed​—11 more than the previous year. Indonesian waters, with 121 attacks, again proved to be the most prone to piracy, followed by Bangladeshi waters with 58 incidents and Nigerian waters with 39. “All hijackings reported were in two main categories,” notes the bureau. They were “military-style operations by militant groups seeking to hold crew members for ransom to raise funds for their cause and attacks against soft targets such as tugs and barges.”

Studies on Sex Abuse by Priests

“Two long-awaited studies have found that the [U.S.] Roman Catholic Church suffered an epidemic of child sexual abuse that involved at least 4 percent of priests over 52 years and peaked with the ordination class of 1970, in which one of every 10 priests was eventually accused of abuse,” reports The New York Times. “The human toll amounted to 10,667 children allegedly victimized by 4,392 priests from 1950 to 2002, but the studies caution that even these numbers represent an undercount,” as many cases have not been reported. One study, conducted at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, disclosed that “priests were accused of abuse in more than 95 percent of dioceses and about 60 percent of religious orders.” The other study, by a Catholic national review board, pointed to a culture in Catholic seminaries that “tolerated moral laxity.”

Moderate Exercise Recommended

“Moderate amounts of exercise, such as walking 12 miles [20 km] per week, may help prevent weight gain and can promote weight loss in non-dieting individuals,” reports FDA Consumer. An eight-month study involving “182 sedentary overweight men and women, ages 40-65 years,” confirmed “that there was a clear relationship between the amount of physical activity and amount of weight loss.” The participants were divided into four groups and maintained their regular diets. Three of the groups engaged in varying amounts of exercise. The fourth, a control group, did not exercise. “The control group gained weight over the study period,” states the article. “Compared with the control group, all exercise groups significantly decreased their waist and hip circumference measurements.” The findings suggest that weight can often be managed by modest amounts of exercise, such as walking for half an hour each day.