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2003 Dec 1
World AIDS Day
over 40 million people infected by
AIDS. Over 3 million will have died by the end of 2003, and another 5
million will be infected.
HOW LONG THEY LIVE--Between 1900 and 2000, life expectancy in the United States increased from 51 to 80 for females and from 48 to 74 for males. Most of the improvements in life expectancy have resulted from reductions in infectious diseases among infants and children. (PRB 02/12/02)
WORRISOME UNEMPLOYMENT--Germany's unemployment level has reached heights not seen in eight decades. January 2005 saw another 177,000 people file for unemployment benefits, bringing the total to over five million, or 13 percent of the working-age German population. (DW 05/03/01)
THE POLAR EXPRESS JOURNEYS TO THE REAL MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
Robert Zemeckis directs Tom Hanks in a holiday classic film that teaches
important values of faith and virtue... read more
From WCN issue #24
GAMBLING IN THE USA--Americans wager about $60 billion per year (up from $1 b in 1980), over half of it in the growing number of casinos. There are only three states that do not have some form of legalized gambling: Utah, Hawaii and Tennessee.
CHINESE TOURISTS–More
than 10 million Chinese went abroad as tourists last year, up from three
million a decade earlier. Following the Chinese government’s further
relaxation of rules for obtaining passports last August, the number is
expected to grow, and millions of Chinese may soon be seen annually in
Europe. There is a lot of room to grow, only about two percent of the
population currently have a passport. More and more well-to-do, not just
the well-connected, will travel abroad.
NEEDING IMMIGRANTS–Canada’s 2001
census confirms that the population is aging rapidly. The median age now
stands at an all-time high of 38. Other figures show that fewer young
people are joining the work force to fill the gap left by increasing
numbers of older workers retiring. To meet this need, which is also
directly related to the need for more taxes shoring up the pension funds,
the country’s leaders are calling for more immigrants.
EXCESSIVE?–Amnesty International has
expressed its grave concern to Thailand following the high death rate
during an intensive anti-drug campaign by Thai police. During the first
half of February 350 people were reportedly killed and 9,000 arrested. The
two-year old government had promised to rid the country of the scourge of
drugs, but had so far been unable to stem the flow of millions of
addicting methamphetamine pills from neighboring Myanmar, which are widely
used by Thais. There are thought to be at least a million methamphetamine
addicts in Thailand, which is known locally as "ya-ba."
ONE CHILD RULE–Officials in Guangdong,
China have increased fines to eight times a family’s annual income if they
violate Beijing’s “one child” policy. Communist authorities want to
restrict the nation’s population to 1.6 billion by 2050, and officials say
that in the last two decades alone, 330 million births have been
“prevented.” Since 97% of all abortions are of girls, there is now a
surplus of 120 million boys.
(Global Chinese Ministries, OMF International, October 2002)
MOVE OVER CHINA–In 2001
it became official: there are now two countries with a billion plus
population. India’s population had reached 1.03 billion, an increase of
180 million from her previous census ten years ago–more than Brazil’s
entire population. The United Nations anticipates that India will overtake
China (now about 1.26 b) by the middle of this century, when both will
reach the 1.5 b mark.
NIGERIAN SPAM–The U.S. government has
urged Nigeria to address the criminal financial scams originating mostly
by email from Nigeria. Tens of millions of dollars are believed to have
been lost by gullible Americans susceptible to get-rich-quick offers.
Substantial rewards are offered for help with the transfer of large sums
into western bank accounts. Many of the fraudulent offers are also geared
intentionally toward Christian ministries. Some schemes purport to fulfill
the last will of a wealthy deceased Nigerian who wished to endow a
trustworthy Christian ministry with his millions. Financial fraud is
reportedly the third largest industry in Nigeria. The successful scams has
inspired people in other African nations.
see: www.treas.gov/usss/alert419.shtml
DISAPPEARING CULTURES–In 1900 there
were 300 viable Indian languages in the USA; today there are 185. In 30
years fewer than 20 are expected to survive, because the majority of
native speakers are over 60.
THE WORLD gains about 79 million
people each year, with half the increase occurring in these six countries
(five of which have the world’s largest Muslim populations) India, China,
Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh Indonesia
THE SYMBOL for the euro is the Greek
letter Epsilon (€),
crossed by two parallel lines to indicate stability. Epsilon, the first
letter in the word Europe, points back to the cradle of European
civilization. According to Greek mythology, Zeus disguised himself as a
bull and kidnapped Europa, the daughter of a mortal king. They landed in
Krete, where Europa bore Zeus three sons. He promised to name the
continent after her. Greece's participation in the common currency added
special symbolism. Greece had the oldest European currency, the drachma,
in use since over 2,600 years. Twelve of the 15 EU member states shed
their national currencies, and adopted the euro a year ago. The exchange
rate to the U.S. Dollar is approximately 1:1. (2003)
Archive:
WCN Socio-Cultural World #23
EARTH DAY: April 22.
Illustrates the relationship between Christians and the
natural world, and explains what ecology has to do with
theology.
To buy this title,
click here
The Global
Soul
Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for
Home
by Pico Iyer
From the
acclaimed author of "Video Night in Kathmandu" comes this intriguing new
book that deciphers the personal impact of globalization and the rising tide
of worldwide displacement. The author presents Los Angeles International
Airport as a "town", Hong Kong, and Japan, pondering what the word "home"
means in the face of rapid change.
To buy this title, click here
Truth
is Stranger Than it Used to Be
Biblical Faith in a Postmodern Age
by Brian Walsh and J. Richard Middleton
InterVarsity Press
Critical yet
evenhanded look at postmodern culture. Demonstrates that the Biblical
metanarrative makes sense in the midst of today's carnivalesque society.
Here is the book for those who wonder what postmodernism is and how biblical
Christians might best respond to its challenges. In this book the authors
survey postmodern culture and philosophy, offering lucid explanations of
such difficult theories as deconstruction.
To buy this title, click here
last update: 2005 June 19