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Signs of the Times Australia / NZ edition — lifestyle, health, relationships, culture, spirituality, people — published since 1886 |
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Signs of the Times Australia / NZ edition — lifestyle, health, relationships, culture, spirituality, people — published since 1886 |
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worrying trend
A Swinburne University study has found unsafe sex is still a widespread practice among young people 17 to 24—and they’re not concerned by their risky behaviour. Less than one-third were consistent in practising safe sex. The survey, which was conducted by two Melbourne psychologists, revealed a number of worrying trends: 35 per cent had had sex with one partner, 44 with two to five partners, and 21 per cent with five or more. In contrast to other widely accepted statistics, 94.5 per cent said they were heterosexual, 3.7 per cent bi-sexual and 1.8 per cent were unsure of their orientation.
bombs impact
In the wake of the suicide bombings afflicting Israel, tourism to the Middle Eastern destination has plummeted and tour operators are going out of business. Tourism fell by 45 per cent, from 2.2 million visitors annually in 2000, to 1.2 in 2001. Israeli tourism officials blame the foreign news media for casting a view of Israel as unsafe and plan stronger marketing toward Christians who, for many years, have been the main tourists.
shock art
Mahesh Yadav is making a name for himself drawing portraits of world leaders with his own blood. He has drawn the Dalai Lama, Bill Clinton, Osama bin Laden and Sadam Hussain. Thirty-year-old Yadav says he requires about five millilitres of blood to complete a 36 x 56 cm (14 x 22 inch) portrait. As a campaigner for peace, he says he uses the technique because “blood gets attention,” and he feels that protest marches and hunger strikes have lost their meaning.
bad, bad Brits
There appears to be a driving-skills crisis developing in Britain: the majority of drivers regularly break speed limits, travelling at speeds of up to 140 km/h and fail to observe the most basic road rules. A House of Commons committee has proposed reductions in speed limits, but drivers have indicated that they would simply ignore new speed restrictions. A survey revealed that many drivers take their eyes off the road, with only a few of them saying they actually concentrate on the road ahead. A large proportion eat, chat on mobile phones and disregard safe stopping distances.
mobile perfume
Dr George Dodd and his team at the Inverness-based company Electronic Aromas are working on technology to deliver perfumes and other smells from mobile phones. The team is working on a range of smells for different situations. The system uses a molecule-packed compartment inserted into the back of a handset. A smell is activated each time there’s an incoming call. The perfumes are unable to be transmitted, however, unlike photos or messages.
bearing up
Yogi, Cindy, Bubu, Chris and Balu are the names of bear quintuplets born at the Kosice Zoo in Slovakia last year. They’ve made their way into the Guinness Book of Records as the largest recorded litter of bears. Zoo director Karel Seman is delighted, as the zoo has recorded its highest ever number of visitors in a year because of the quins.
a Bible story
A Chinese Publishing house is to print some 28 million copies of the Bible to be sold through ordinary bookstores throughout China. The printing is in modern Chinese.
bovine ball
One of several cows dressed in the colours of the Netherlands grazes in a field along the A2 highway near the Dutch town of Baambrugge. The scene caused a traffic jam as holiday drivers stopped to watch and take photographs, forcing the farmer to make an end to the cow game.—AP/AAP
The following appeared in the Signs 100 years ago.
(Signs was then known as the Bible Echo and Signs of the Times.)
The gigantic proportions of the rising war-cloud is now demanding the attention of both men and nations. The world’s prospective history never seemed to be so deeply involved, and national rulers were never so greatly perplexed to keep up with the demands of the situation.
What it all means the world does not know, but there are many thoughtful minds who read in the outlines of the present unrest indications of the coming struggle prophetically designated “The Battle of Armageddon.” . . . The most important aspect of the world’s history today for the child of God is the prophetic significance that lies in the waking up of its “mighty men” and the crowding events that register our day as the “time of the end.”
Extract from Signs of the Times, January / February 2003.
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