Here’s A Global Wake-Up Call

Dear Ann Landers: I was sent this message via e-mail. The original source is unknown, and I’m not sure if the information is still current, but the message is certainly thought-provoking. When one considers our world from a compressed perspective, the need for both tolerance and understanding becomes apparent. Please print it. Curious in Winter Park, Fla.

Dear Fla.: I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment and am sure my readers will too. I have no idea whether the numbers are right, but the message is interesting. Thank you for the global wake-up call.

Summary of the World

If we could shrink the Earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look like this:

There would be 57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere, including North and South America, and eight from Africa.

Fifty-one would be female, and 49 would be male.

Seventy would be non-white, while 30 would be white.

Sixty-six would be non-Christian and 33 Christian.

Eighty would live in substandard housing.

Seventy would be unable to read.

Half would suffer from malnutrition.

One would be near death, and one would be near birth.

Only one would have a college education.

Half of the entire village’s wealth would be in the hands of only six people, and all six would be citizens of the United States.

Dear Readers: Do I have a treat for you? Indeed I do, and it could add years to your life.

Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld, a distinguished professor of clinical medicine at New York Hospital and Cornell Medical Center, has written another fabulous book. He explains in easy-to-understand language the value of alternative medicine.

This book, based on serious, in-depth research, reviews the track records of a multitude of the most frequently used alternative therapies. To name a few - acupuncture, hypnosis, homeopathy, chiropractic, cell therapy, fasting and herbal medicine. Dr. Rosenfeld tells you which alternative treatments may be effective and which should be avoided because they are “futile, fraudulent and fraught with danger.” You will be surprised at some of his assessments. I was.

Dr. Rosenfeld points out that billions of dollars are spent every year on a multitude of alternative therapies and warns that some are hocus-pocus fakes but others do get excellent results. The question is “How does one tell the difference between the legitimate ones and the phonies?”

“There is a middle ground,” says Dr. Rosenfeld, “and scientific and complementary medical practitioners can and should work together to find it.”

This book will tell you which herbal preparations should be added to or should even replace conventional drugs. It explains why you should have acupuncture immediately after a stroke. It tells you how certain aromas can help improve your sex life, help you sleep better and mitigate claustrophobia. He also explains how fasting can be good for religion but bad for your health. He clobbers enzyme therapy and iridology and says they can be a waste of both time and money. He states unequivocally that hypnosis can be successful in treating asthma as well as emotional disorders.