Table of Contents

June 2006

When Terrorism Will End

Terrorism has existed for centuries, but today it affects more lives than ever. When and how will it end?

3 Children Terrorized

4 History Written in Blood

7 Peace on Earth at Last!

20 How Photography Saw the Light

24 Silk​—“The Queen of Fibers”

30 Watching the World

31 How Would You Answer?

32 Millions Will Be Going​—Will You?

How Can I Control My Spending? 10

Overspending is easy. What is the key to budgeting your money?

Heeding the Warnings Made a Difference 14

What is being done to help victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita?

[Picture Credit Line on page 2]

AP Photo/​Ben Sklar

Young People Ask . . .

How Can I Control My Spending?

“I often catch myself making plans to buy something that I really don’t need, and likely can’t afford, simply because it’s on sale.”​—Anna,a Brazil.

“Sometimes my friends invite me to do things socially that are expensive. I want to be with my friends, having fun. Nobody wants to say, ‘Sorry, I can’t afford to go.’”​—Joan, Australia.

DOES it seem that you never have quite enough spending money? If only your allowance were a little larger, you could buy that game you want. If only your wages were higher, you could buy those shoes you “need.” However, rather than fret about the money you don’t have, why not learn to control the money that does pass through your hands?

If you are a young person living with your parents, you could wait until you leave home to learn how to manage money. But that would be like jumping out of an aircraft without first learning to use a parachute. True, a person might be able to figure out what to do while hurtling to the earth. How much better, though, if he learned the basic principles of using the device before jumping!

Similarly, the best time for you to learn to manage money is before the harsh financial realities of life confront you. “Money is for a protection,” wrote King Solomon. (Ecclesiastes 7:12) But it will only protect you if you learn how to control your spending. Doing so will boost your confidence and will increase your parents’ respect for you.

Learn the Basics

Have you ever asked your parents to explain what is involved in maintaining a household? For instance, do you know how much electricity, heat, and water cost each month and how much it costs to run a car, to buy food, and to pay the rent or the mortgage? You might think such details would be boring. Remember, though, that you help incur those bills. Besides, if you leave home, you will have to start paying for these things yourself. So you might as well learn about them. Ask your parents if you can see some of the bills, and listen closely as they explain how they budget for them.

“A wise person will listen and take in more instruction, and a man of understanding is the one who acquires skillful direction,” says a Bible proverb. (Proverbs 1:5) Anna, mentioned earlier, says, “My father taught me how to make a budget, and he showed me how important it is to be organized in managing family funds.” Meanwhile, Anna’s mother taught her other practical lessons. “She showed me the value of comparing prices before buying,” says Anna, adding, “Mom could work wonders with a small amount of money.” What has been the benefit to Anna? “I am now able to care for my own finances,” she says. “I carefully control my spending, so I have the freedom and the peace of mind that come from avoiding unnecessary debt.”

Recognize the Challenges

Admittedly, controlling your spending is easier in theory than in practice, especially if you live at home and receive an allowance or earn money from a job. Why? Because your parents are likely paying most of the bills. So a large percentage of your money may be available for you to spend at will. And spending money can be fun. “Spending is very easy for me, and it is enjoyable,” admits Paresh, a young man in India. Sarah, from Australia, feels similarly. “Buying things gives me a thrill,” she says.

In addition, your peers may pressure you to spend beyond reasonable limits. Ellena, aged 21, says: “Among my peers, shopping has become a major form of entertainment. When I’m out with them, there seems to be an unwritten rule that you must spend money if you’re going to have fun.”

It is natural for you to want to fit in with your friends. But ask yourself, ‘Am I spending money with my friends because I can afford to or because I feel I have to?’ Many people spend money in an attempt to boost their reputation with friends and associates. This tendency can cause real financial problems for you, especially if you have a credit card. Financial adviser Suze Orman warns: “If you feel the need to impress people with what you have rather than with who you are, you are at high risk for credit card abuse.”

Instead of maxing out your credit card or spending your whole paycheck on one night out, why not try Ellena’s solution? “When I go out with friends,” she says, “I plan ahead and calculate a limit to my spending. My pay goes straight into my bank account, and I take out only the amount I need for that outing. I also find it wise to go shopping only with those of my friends who are careful with their money and who will encourage me to shop around and not buy the first thing I see.”​—Proverbs 13:20.

Learn From the Answer No

Even if you do not receive an allowance or money from a job, you can still learn valuable lessons about money while you are living at home. For example, when you ask your parents for money or ask them to buy you some item, they may say no. Why? One reason might be that your wants cost more than the family budget can bear. By saying no to your request​—although they might prefer to say yes—​your parents are setting you a fine example in self-control. And self-control is vital to good money management.

Suppose your parents can afford to say yes to your requests. Even then, they may still say no. You may think that they are just being mean. But consider: They may be trying to teach you the important lesson that your happiness is not dependent on obtaining everything you want. In this regard the Bible says: “A mere lover of silver will not be satisfied with silver, neither any lover of wealth with income.”​—Ecclesiastes 5:10.

The truth of those words is borne out by the experience of many youths whose parents buy them everything they want. Soon youths discover that they are never truly content. No matter how many things they accumulate, they always feel the need to add just one more purchase to the pile. In time, youths who expect to receive their every request may become unappreciative adults. “If one is pampering one’s servant [or child] from youth on, in his later life he will even become a thankless one,” warned Solomon.​—Proverbs 29:21.

Money Is Time

Some cultures have the saying, Time is money. This emphasizes that people must spend time to earn money and wasting time is wasting money. The converse of this saying is also true​—money is time. If you waste money, you are really wasting the time it took to earn that money. Learn how to control your spending and you learn how to control your time. How so?

Consider Ellena’s comments. “When I control how much I spend, I control how much I have to earn,” she says. “By creating a workable budget and then sticking to it, I don’t have to work long hours to pay off large debts. I am more in control of my time and my life.” Wouldn’t you like to have that kind of control over your life?

[Footnote]

TO THINK ABOUT

◼ Do you find it difficult to control your spending? Why?

◼ Why should you avoid the love of money?​—1 Timothy 6:9, 10.

[Box/​Picture on page 12]

IS MORE MONEY THE ANSWER?

Would just having more money be the solution to your spending problems? “We all think that a bigger paycheck would be the answer to our financial woes, but that is rarely the case,” says financial adviser Suze Orman.

To illustrate: If you were driving and did not have control of your car or were in the habit of steering with your eyes closed, would putting more fuel in your tank make you more comfortable? Would you be more likely to reach your destination safely? Likewise, if you do not learn how to control your spending, earning more money will not improve your situation.

[Box/​Chart on page 13]

TAKE CONTROL

How much money have you spent over the past month? What did you spend it on? You don’t know? Here’s how to take control of your spending before your spending takes control of you.

◼ Keep a record. For at least one month, record the amount of money you receive and the date you receive it. Describe each item you buy and the amount it costs. At the end of the month, add up the amount received and the amount spent.

◼ Make a budget. On a blank page, draw three columns. In the first column, list all income you expect to receive in a month. In the second column, list how you plan to spend your money; use the entries in your record as a guide. As the month progresses, write in the third column the amount you actually spend on each of the planned expenses. Also, record all unplanned spending.

◼ Adjust your plan. If you are spending more than you anticipated on some items and are accumulating debt, adjust your plan. Pay your debts. Stay in control.

[Chart]

Clip this and use it!

My Monthly Budget

Income Budget for expenses Actual amount spent

allowance food

part-time job clothes

other phone

entertainment

donations

savings

other

Total Total Total

$ $ $

[Picture]

Remember, if you waste money, you are also wasting the time it took to earn that money

[Picture on page 11]

Why not ask your parents to show you how to make a budget?

Heeding the Warnings Made a Difference

IT WAS Wednesday, August 24, 2005​—a typical hot, humid day in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. Alan and his family left home to spend a few days in Beaumont, Texas, over 200 miles [300 km] to the west. They took enough clothes for a five-day absence. Alan explains: “We were unaware of Hurricane Katrina, which at that time was taking shape to the east of Florida. However, by Friday night it was clear that New Orleans was going to be struck by a Category 4 or 5 hurricane.”

On Sunday, August 28, it was evident that the storm named Katrina was going to be a maximum-strength hurricane. The mayor of New Orleans gave orders for a mandatory evacuation of the city. As a result, thousands of vehicles slowly moved to the north and the west, and the highways became blocked. Thousands of people who did not have cars fled to shelters or to the large stadium named the Superdome. Some decided not to evacuate their homes but to sit it out.

‘The Next Time, I Will Be the First One out of There!’

Joe, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, was one who stayed. He was convinced that he could ride out the storm at home. He reasoned that the damage from previous hurricanes had not been as bad as authorities had predicted. “I reckoned I could survive,” he says. “How quickly my opinion changed! The winds and the rain came with a fury. In next to no time, the roof was ripped off my house. Then the water started to rise at a terrifying rate​—ten feet [3 m] in three hours! It was coming in so fast that I had to go up to the second floor. I really got scared because the wind was howling and the walls seemed about to implode. The ceilings were falling down. Now I was trying to figure out how to escape.

“I thought I might have to jump into the raging waters. But there were violent waves outside. The wind was blowing up whitecaps on nearby streets. I knew that if I jumped, I would probably drown.”

Eventually, a boat rescued Joe and left him on a bridge. There were dead bodies floating in the water below and feces everywhere. He slept one night on the trunk of a car. Then he went by helicopter and bus to the New Orleans Civic Center. “People there treated me well,” he says. “I was almost incoherent at one point. My overwhelming thought was, ‘Where will I get my next bottle of water?’”

In retrospect, Joe realizes that his ordeal could have been avoided. “I have learned my lesson,” he says. “The next time they say ‘Evacuate,’ I will be the first one out of there!”

She Ignored Warnings, Sought Refuge in a Tree

The cities of Biloxi and Gulfport, on the Mississippi coast, suffered catastrophic damage and loss of life. According to The New York Times of August 31, 2005, Vincent Creel, the public affairs manager for Biloxi, said: “Many people had ignored evacuation orders because they, or their homes, had survived Hurricane Camille [in 1969].” Camille was considered stronger than Katrina, but, as Creel noted, Katrina ‘drove an unstoppable wall of water that was comparable to a tsunami.’

One local citizen who chose to ignore the warnings was Inell, who had lived in Biloxi most of her life. She says: “We had survived many storms over the years. So I was not overly concerned about Katrina.” After Inell gathered her 88-year-old mother-in-law, her son, her daughter, and her son-in-law​—plus two dogs and three cats—​they decided not to evacuate their house, which was well built. Then the storm hit Biloxi about 10:00 a.m. on August 29. Inell recalls: “I noticed water seeping into one of the bedrooms toward the rear of the house. Then it began to come in everywhere. We decided to climb to the attic for safety. But the water did not stop. We had to get out of the attic for fear of being trapped. But where could we go?

“My son had to rip a hole in a screen so that we could swim through it and reach the surface of the water outside. Then we stayed afloat by holding on to the edge of the roof. Three of us went to the right side of the house, and my daughter went to the left. I noticed a large tree nearby. My son, my mother-in-law, and I swam to the tree and held on tight. Then I heard my daughter screaming, “Mama! Mama!” My son-in-law, who was the last to exit the attic, swam to her to save her. The two of them managed to get into a boat that had been parked in the driveway and was floating loose near the house. They urged me to get into the boat. I did not want to take my chances in the swirling water. I felt secure in the tree, and I was not going to move.

“From my vantage point, I could see the water flowing down the street and all around the house. I began to meditate on my situation, and I felt stupid for not obeying the warnings to evacuate.

“Eventually, the water began to recede, and at last we were all in the boat together! A fire truck turned up and took us to the hospital. We were surely grateful to be alive!”

Witnesses’ Evacuation Plans

Katrina’s effects were felt along the Gulf Coast, where thousands of homes were destroyed from Louisiana east to Alabama. But hurricanes are nothing new to that region of the United States. Therefore, Jehovah’s Witnesses have had evacuation plans in readiness for some years. Each year, usually in June, before the storm season starts, the 21 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the greater New Orleans area review an emergency evacuation plan. Thus, most of the local Witnesses knew what steps to take in case of an emergency. How did the plan work with Hurricane Katrina?

As soon as city officials announced the need to evacuate, the elders in each congregation contacted the other members of their congregation to encourage them to leave the city. Many were able to make their own arrangements to leave with family or friends. Special transportation and assistance were provided for the elderly and the infirm. John, a member of a Witness disaster relief committee, said, “I really believe that by following this plan, we saved many lives.” Hence, most of Jehovah’s Witnesses were able to get out of the city before the storm struck. To give immediate practical relief to the affected regions, the U.S. branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses established emergency relief committees.

Tracking Down Witnesses in the Astrodome

Some 16,000 refugees, mainly from Louisiana, were receiving food, water, and shelter in the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The Witness relief committee in Houston learned that some Witnesses were part of that huge crowd. But how would they locate them?

Early Friday morning, September 2, a group of Witness elders arrived at the Astrodome to search out their displaced brothers. They were astonished by the sight of the thousands of men, women, teenagers, children, and infants, scattered throughout the vast stadium. The football field was covered with thousands of cots, as well as refugees patiently waiting for solutions to their problems. There were long lines for medical attention, and medical personnel were running to take patients to ambulances.

“I felt as if I were in the midst of a refugee camp,” exclaimed Samuel, one of the elders looking for fellow Witnesses. How were they going to find a few Witnesses in this vast crowd? The elders started out by walking up and down the aisles with large poster boards inviting Witnesses to identify themselves. After searching without success for three hours, they realized that they needed a more practical system. They asked the Red Cross to make an announcement over the public address system: “All who are baptized Jehovah’s Witnesses, please go to the east ramp on the ground floor level.”

Finally, Witnesses began to trickle in with big smiles on their faces. Samuel explains: “They were tearful and filled with joy. They hugged us tightly and held our hands. They were afraid to let go for fear of being lost in the crowd.” On Friday and Saturday, 24 Witnesses were found and were taken to the Witness relief center.

Most of them had almost no material possessions except for the soiled clothes on their backs. One Witness was carrying a small box, the size of a shoe box. It contained some valuable papers​—all that she had been able to save from the destructive storm.

At the Astrodome, many people recognized the visiting elders as ministers of Jehovah’s Witnesses and approached them, asking for Bibles and Bible literature. Over 220 Bibles were requested. The Witnesses also offered the public the July 22, 2005, issue of Awake! featuring the very opportune cover series “Natural Disasters​—Are They Getting Worse?”

Some Return to Their Homes

One survivor of the storm is a seasoned reporter and the general manager of a New Orleans TV station. As such, he has seen a lot of destruction in the past. He returned to his home in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, to retrieve some possessions. “I was shocked,” he says. “The destruction was utter and complete. On TV we had seen the floodwaters when the levees broke and the water poured in from the canals. But the powerful winds also did tremendous damage. My apartment complex was completely devastated. There is mold, rot, and stench. I can’t believe how it smells. It’s awful, just awful. But at least we are still alive.”

Alan, mentioned at the outset, eventually got back to his home in Metairie, a western suburb of New Orleans. The storm had wreaked havoc. “It was traumatizing to see, shocking,” he says. “It was as if an atomic bomb had been dropped on the city. It is one thing to hear about this on the news or watch it on TV. It is a very different thing to walk or drive through your neighborhood and actually see the damage and destruction​—so extensive and widespread. It is hard to absorb it.

“For example, the smell​—it smelled like rotten flesh, the smell of death. Many businesses were completely destroyed or flooded. There were police and soldiers at every corner. It looked like a war zone.”

Some Relief Efforts

The city, state, and federal authorities set up relief arrangements. The principal federal agent for help was FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). Other organizations mobilized to render help to the thousands of victims. Huge amounts of food, clothing, and water were trucked into the storm-drenched areas. FEMA was soon making out checks and dispensing other financial aid to help people survive the first few days or weeks. In the meantime, how were Jehovah’s Witnesses faring?

Assessing the Damage and Making Repairs

As soon as the storm struck, the Witnesses organized assessment teams to go into the ravaged areas and determine how many Witness homes and Kingdom Halls had been damaged or destroyed. How could they tackle such a massive task? The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, in Brooklyn, New York, gave approval for relief committees to be set up under the direction of the United States Branch Committee. In turn, Regional Building Committees from many parts of the States were invited in to start rebuilding.a What have they been able to accomplish?

As of February 17, 2006, the Long Beach, Mississippi, relief group reported that in their area, of the 632 homes of Witnesses that were damaged, 531 had been completely renovated, leaving 101 still needing work. The Witnesses also rendered help to non-Witness neighbors. Seventeen Kingdom Halls had suffered severe roof damage, and by the middle of February, new roofs had been installed on 16 of them. What about the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, committee?

This group cares for the Louisiana area, which took the brunt of Hurricane Katrina. Of the 2,700 homes of Witnesses needing repair there, work on 1,119 had been completed by the middle of February, so a huge task was still facing that relief committee. Again, neighbors and families with dire need were also helped. Fifty Kingdom Halls sustained extensive damage. By February, 25 of these had been repaired. In Texas the Houston group needed to repair 871 homes damaged by Hurricane Rita in September. By February 20, 830 had been completed.

Lessons From Katrina

Thousands who were caught in Katrina’s path have learned the sobering lesson that it is vital to pay attention to warnings. Indeed, many would echo the sentiments of Joe, quoted earlier, who stated: “The next time they say ‘Evacuate,’ I will be the first one out of there!”

Jehovah’s Witnesses continue to provide relief to victims in the Gulf region. (Galatians 6:10) Yet, their ministry is not just one of rendering humanitarian aid. On the contrary, the primary work of Jehovah’s Witnesses​—which is carried out in 235 lands around the world—​is to sound a warning that is far more significant than that of an impending storm. The Bible foretells that God will soon bring an end to this ungodly system of things, cleansing our earth and restoring it to the condition he purposed for it. If you would like to know what the Bible teaches about this time of judgment, contact Jehovah’s Witnesses in your area or write to the appropriate address on page 5 of this journal.​—Mark 13:10; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Revelation 14:6, 7; 16:14-16.

[Footnote]

[Picture on page 14, 15]

Satellite view of the eye of Hurricane Katrina

[Credit Line]

NOAA

[Picture on page 15]

Flooded New Orleans

[Credit Line]

AP Photo/​David J. Phillip

[Pictures on page 15]

Hurricane Katrina destroyed buildings and took many lives

[Credit Line]

AP Photo/​Ben Sklar

[Picture on page 16, 17]

The Astrodome in Houston, Texas, sheltered some 16,000 evacuees

[Pictures on page 17]

Christian elders sought out the Witnesses among the evacuees

[Picture on page 18]

Witnesses were very grateful to have their houses repaired

[Picture on page 18]

Volunteers repair a badly damaged roof

[Picture on page 18]

Volunteers provided food

[Picture on page 19]

Alan

How Photography Saw the Light

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN SWEDEN

The story goes that the visitors of Italian physicist Giambattista Della Porta (1535?-1615) were shocked. On the wall in front of them, images of small upside-down people were moving around. Panic-stricken, the onlookers scurried out of the room. Della Porta was put on trial for sorcery!

SO MUCH for trying to amuse his guests by introducing them to a camera obscura​—literally, in Latin, “dark chamber.” The principle on which the camera works is simple, but the results can be spectacular. How does it work?

When light enters a dark box or room through a tiny hole, an inverted picture of the outside is projected on the far wall. What Della Porta’s guests saw was nothing but actors performing outside. The camera obscura was a forerunner of the modern camera. Today you may be one of the millions of people who own a camera or at least have used the ubiquitous, inexpensive disposable camera.

The camera obscura was not even new in Della Porta’s day. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.E.) observed the principle on which the camera would later work. The 10th-century Arabic scholar Alhazen vividly described it, and the 15th-century painter Leonardo da Vinci wrote about it in his notebooks. The 16th-century introduction of the lens enhanced the accuracy of the camera, and many artists used it for accurate renderings of perspective and scale. But in spite of many attempts, making the resulting images permanent remained elusive until the 19th century.

The World’s First Photographer

French physicist Joseph-Nicéphore Niepce possibly started his quest to make permanent photos as early as 1816. But his real breakthrough came when he was experimenting with lithography and came across a light-sensitive substance called bitumen of Judaea. Sometime in the mid-1820’s, he put a bitumen-coated pewter plate in a camera obscura facing a window of his estate and exposed it for eight hours. Not even the most inexperienced of today’s amateur photographers would be proud of the blurry picture of a building, a tree, and a barn that resulted, but Niepce had reason to be. His picture was most likely the first permanent photograph ever taken!

To develop his method further, in 1829, Niepce entered a partnership with a dynamic entrepreneur named Louis Daguerre. In the years following Niepce’s death in 1833, Daguerre made some important progress. He used silver iodide as a coating on copper plates. This proved to be more light sensitive than bitumen. By accident he found that when he treated the plate with mercury fumes after exposure, a latent picture appeared clearly. This reduced the exposure time dramatically. When Daguerre later discovered that washing the plate with a salt solution prevented the picture from darkening over time, photography was ready to take the world by storm.

Presented to the World

When Daguerre’s invention, called daguerreotype, was presented to the public in 1839, the reaction was overwhelming. Scholar Helmut Gernsheim writes in his book The History of Photography: “Perhaps no other invention ever captured the imagination of the public to such a degree and conquered the world with such lightning rapidity as the daguerreotype.” An eyewitness to the public release wrote: “An hour later, all the opticians’ shops were besieged, but could not rake together enough instruments to satisfy the onrushing army of would-be daguerreotypists; a few days later you could see in all the squares of Paris three-legged dark-boxes planted in front of churches and palaces. All the physicists, chemists, and learned men of the capital were polishing silvered plates, and even the better-class grocers found it impossible to deny themselves the pleasure of sacrificing some of their means on the altar of progress, evaporating it in iodine and consuming it in mercury vapour.” The Paris press quickly named the craze daguerréotypomanie.

The outstanding quality of the daguerreotypes moved British scientist John Herschel to write: “It is hardly too much to call them miraculous.” Some even ascribed magical powers to the invention.

But not everybody hailed the new invention. In 1856 the king of Naples banned photography, possibly because it was thought to be associated with “the evil eye.” When seeing a daguerreotype, French painter Paul Delaroche exclaimed: “From today painting is dead!” The invention also caused great anxiety among painters who saw it as a threat to their livelihood. One commentator expressed the fears of some when he said: “Photography’s stringent truth to optical reality could nullify the individual’s apprehension of beauty.” In addition, photographic pictures were even criticized for the relentless realism with which they shattered cherished illusions of beauty and youth.

Daguerre Versus Talbot

William Henry Fox Talbot, an English physicist, believed that he had invented photography and was thus taken aback by the announcement of Daguerre’s invention. Talbot had been putting silver-chloride-coated sheets of paper in a camera obscura. He waxed the resulting negative for transparency, placed it over another coated paper, and then exposed it to sunlight, thus producing a positive image.

Although initially a lot less popular and of inferior quality, Talbot’s process proved to have greater potential. It allowed for multiple copies of one single negative, and paper copies were cheaper and easier to handle than the fragile daguerreotypes. Modern photography is still based on Talbot’s process, whereas the daguerreotype, in spite of its initial popularity, proved to be a dead end.

Niepce, Daguerre, and Talbot were, however, not the only contenders for the title of Father of Photography. Following Daguerre’s 1839 announcement, at least 24 men​—from Norway in the north to Brazil in the south—​stepped forward claiming to have invented photography.

Drastic Changes Caused by Photography

One social reformer, Jacob August Riis, early on saw photography as a golden opportunity to bring poverty and suffering to the attention of the public. In 1880 he started taking pictures of New York City slums after dark by using burning magnesium powder in a frying pan as a flash​—a method not entirely without risk. He twice set ablaze the house in which he was working, and once his own clothes caught fire. His pictures are said to have been one of the reasons President Theodore Roosevelt undertook a number of social reforms when he moved into the White House. The persuasive power of a series of scenic photographs by William Henry Jackson also prompted the U.S. Congress in 1872 to make Yellowstone the world’s first national park.

Accessible to All

In the late 1880’s, many potential photographers were still held back because of the cost and complexity of photography. But in 1888 when George Eastman invented the Kodak, a portable easy-to-use box camera containing a roll of flexible film, he paved the way for unlimited amateur photography.

After exposing the roll, the customer would send the entire camera to the factory. There the film was processed and the camera was reloaded and sent back, along with the developed photos​—all this at a fairly low cost. The slogan “You push the button, we do the rest” was no exaggeration.

Photography for the masses had been born, and the billions of exposures taken annually today indicate that its acceptance has never abated. And now, adding to its popularity, there are digital cameras that define an image in megapixels. They use a tiny memory stick that may hold hundreds of photos. High-quality prints can even be made using a home computer and a printer. No doubt about it, photography has come a long way.

[Picture on page 20]

Panoramic daguerreotype of Paris, c. 1845

[Picture on page 20]

A reproduction of possibly the first photograph, c. 1826

[Picture on page 20]

A drawing of a camera obscura, used by many artists

[Picture on page 21]

Niepce

[Pictures on page 23]

An 1844 daguerreotype of Louis Daguerre, and his camera

[Pictures on page 23]

William Talbot’s studio, c. 1845, and his cameras

[Pictures on page 23]

An 1890 photo of George Eastman holding a Kodak No. 2 camera, and his No. 1 camera with film spool

[Picture on page 23]

A scene from what became Yellowstone National Park, by W. H. Jackson, 1871

[Picture on page 23]

Modern digital cameras record pictures with megapixels

[Picture Credit Lines on page 20]

Panoramic of Paris: Photo by Bernard Hoffman/​Time Life Pictures/​Getty Images; Niepce’s photograph: Photo by Joseph Niepce/​Getty Images; camera obscura: Culver Pictures

[Picture Credit Lines on page 22]

Page 23: Talbot’s studio: Photo by William Henry Fox Talbot & Nicholaas Henneman/​Getty Images; Talbot’s camera: Photo by Spencer Arnold/​Getty Images; Kodak photo, Kodak camera, and Daguerre camera: Courtesy George Eastman House; Yellowstone: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-52482

Silk​—“The Queen of Fibers”

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN JAPAN

SOME of the most beautiful garments in the world​—including the Japanese kimono, the Indian sari, and the Korean hanbok—​have something in common. Often, they are made of silk, a lustrous fabric that has been called the queen of fibers. From royalty of the past to commoners of the present, people worldwide have been captivated by the elegance of silk. But it has not always been so widely available.

In ancient times the production of silk was an enterprise exclusive to China. No one else knew how to produce it, and anyone in China who divulged the secret of the silkworm could be executed as a traitor. Not surprisingly, this monopoly on manufacturing made silk quite expensive. Throughout the Roman Empire, for example, silk was worth its weight in gold.

In time, Persia came to control all silk coming out of China. The price was still high, though, and efforts to bypass Persian merchants proved futile. Then, Byzantine Emperor Justinian devised a plan. About 550 C.E., he sent two monks on a covert mission to China. Two years later they returned. Concealed in the hollow of their bamboo canes was the much-awaited treasure​—silkworm eggs. The secret was out. The silk monopoly came to an end.

The Secret of Silk

Silk is produced by silkworms, or caterpillars of the silkworm moth. There are hundreds of types of silkworms, but the scientific name of the one that produces the finest quality silk is Bombyx mori. It takes quite a number of silkworms to make silk fabrics, which has given rise to sericulture, the raising of silkworms. The family of Shoichi Kawaharada, who live in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, is one of approximately 2,000 households in this country still engaging in this labor-intensive work. His two-story house, ideally built for sericulture, is situated on the side of a hill overlooking a mulberry grove (1).

The female silkworm moth lays up to 500 eggs, each of them the size of a pinhead (2). After about 20 days, the eggs hatch. The tiny silkworms have an insatiable appetite. Night and day they eat mulberry leaves​—and only mulberry leaves (3, 4). In just 18 days, the silkworms will have grown to 70 times their original size and will have shed their skin four times.

Some 120,000 silkworms are raised on Mr. Kawaharada’s farm. The sound of them feasting creates a noise not unlike the sound of heavy rain falling on leaves. By the time a silkworm is grown, its weight will have multiplied by 10,000! Now it is ready to spin a cocoon.

Silent Spinners

At full growth the body of the silkworm turns translucent, signaling that it is time to start spinning. When the silkworms become fidgety and begin looking for a place to nestle their cocoons, they are ready to be mounted onto a cubicle with many square openings. There, they eject their fine, white thread (5), encasing themselves in silk.

This is the busiest time for Mr. Kawaharada, since all 120,000 silkworms start spinning at approximately the same time. Rows and rows of cubicles are hung in the cool, ventilated loft on the second floor of the house (6).

Meanwhile, an amazing change is taking place inside the silkworm. Digested mulberry leaves have turned into fibroin, a type of protein that is stored in a pair of glands that run the entire length of the caterpillar. As the fibroin is pushed through these glands, it is coated with a gumlike substance called sericin. Before coming out of the spinneret, located at the worm’s mouth, two fibroin fibers are stuck together by the sericin. Upon contact with the air, this liquid silk solidifies to form a single filament.

Once the silkworm starts churning out silk, there is no stopping it. The silkworm spins at a speed of between 10 and 15 inches [30-40 cm] a minute, all the while swinging its head. One source estimates that by the time the cocoon is completed, the silkworm will have swung its head some 150,000 times. After spinning for two days and two nights, the silkworm will have produced a single thread measuring up to 5,000 feet [1,500 m] in length. That is about four times the height of a tall skyscraper!

In just one week, Mr. Kawaharada will have harvested his 120,000 cocoons, which will then be shipped for processing. It takes about 9,000 cocoons to make a kimono and about 140 to make a tie, while a silk scarf may require more than 100.

How Silk Fabric Is Made

The process of unwinding silk from a cocoon onto a reel is called reeling. How did silk reeling get started? Myths and legends abound. One has it that the Chinese Empress Hsi Ling-Shi noticed that a cocoon had fallen from a mulberry tree into her cup of tea. Trying to retrieve it, she saw that it came out on a delicate silk thread. This gave birth to reeling, a process that today is automated.

For the cocoons to have market value, the pupas inside them must be killed before they can hatch. Heat is applied to accomplish this grim task. Defective cocoons are sifted out, and those that remain are ready to be processed. First, cocoons are put in hot water or steam to loosen up the filament. Then, the start of the filament is caught with revolving brushes (7). Depending on the thickness desired, filaments from two or more cocoons may be combined to form a single yarn. The yarn is dried as it is wound on a reel. The raw silk is reeled again, onto a larger reel, to form a skein of desired length and weight (8, 9).

You may have felt silk fabric so smooth and supple that you almost wanted to stroke your cheeks with it. What determines its distinct texture? One factor is the degumming, or removal, of sericin, which coats the fibroin. Silk that has not been degummed feels coarse and is hard to dye. Chiffon fabric has a grainy texture, since some of the sericin remains.

The second factor is how much turn, or twist, the yarn gets. Japanese habutai fabric has a soft, smooth touch. It has little or no twist. In contrast, crepe fabric has a crispy, crinkly texture. It has a strong twist.

Dyeing is another important process. Silk is easy to dye. The structure of fibroin allows dyes to penetrate deep, resulting in excellent colorfastness. In addition, unlike synthetic fibers, silk has both positive and negative ions, meaning that virtually any dye will produce good results. Silk can be dyed as a yarn before it is woven on a loom (10) or as a piece of fabric afterward. With the famous yuzen dyeing of kimonos, beautiful motifs are drawn and dyed by hand after the silk is woven.

While most silk production is now done in countries such as China and India, haute couture of France and fashion designers of Italy still lead the world in silk designs. Today, of course, artificial fibers such as rayon and nylon provide the apparel market with many inexpensive fabrics. However, silk still has no equal. “Even with the present advancement in science, silk cannot be synthesized,” says the curator of the Silk Museum in Yokohama, Japan. “We know everything, from its molecular formula to its structure. But we cannot copy it. That is what I call the mystery of silk.”

[Box/​Picture on page 26]

QUALITIES OF Silk

Tough: Silk is as strong as steel filament of comparable size.

Lustrous: Silk has an elegant luster of pearl. This comes from the multilayered, prismlike structure of fibroin, which diffuses light.

Gentle to skin: The amino acids that make up silk are gentle to the skin. Silk is said to guard against various skin-related ailments. Some cosmetics are made from silk powder.

Moisture absorbent: The amino acids and the tiny voids in silk fiber absorb and let out a considerable amount of perspiration, keeping you dry and cool in the hot season.

Heat resistant: Silk does not burn easily and does not give off toxic gas in the event of fire.

Protective: Silk absorbs ultraviolet rays and thus protects the skin.

Not prone to static-electricity buildup: Since silk contains both positive and negative ions and is moisture absorbent, it does not readily form static electricity, as some other fabrics do.

CARING FOR Silk

Washing: It is usually best to have silk garments dry-cleaned. If washing at home, use neutral detergent in warm water (at about 85 degrees Fahrenheit [30°C]). Be gentle, and do not knead or wring the fabric. Let it air dry.

Ironing: Place a cloth between the iron and the silk. Try to iron in the direction of the grain at a temperature of about 260 degrees Fahrenheit [130°C]. Use only a small amount of steam, if any.

Removing soil: As an emergency measure, place the silk fabric facedown on a dry piece of cloth. Beat, not rub, from the back with a moist cloth. Then have the item dry-cleaned.

Storing: Avoid humidity, guard against moths, and avoid exposure to light. Use sponge-padded hangers, or store flat with as few folds as possible.

[Picture on page 25]

Cocoons of silk

[Picture Credit Lines on page 26]

Photos 7-9: Matsuida Machi, Annaka City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan; 10 and close-up pattern: Kiryu City, Gunma Prefecture, Japan

The Bible’s Viewpoint

What Was the Original Sin?

THIS question is far from academic. How so? Because Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God affected all future generations right down to our time. The Bible states: “Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.” (Romans 5:12) But how did the simple act of taking and eating fruit from a tree result in such tragic consequences?

When God created Adam and Eve, he settled them in a beautiful garden that was filled with edible vegetation and fruit-bearing trees. Only one tree was out of bounds​—“the tree of the knowledge of good and bad.” Being free moral agents, Adam and Eve could choose to obey God or disobey him. Adam was warned, however, that “in the day you eat from [the tree of knowledge] you will positively die.”​—Genesis 1:29; 2:17.

A Fitting Restriction

This one restriction caused no hardship; Adam and Eve could eat from all the other trees in the garden. (Genesis 2:16) Moreover, the prohibition attributed nothing improper to the couple, nor did it rob them of dignity. Had God forbidden such vile things as bestiality or murder, some could claim that perfect humans had certain base inclinations that needed to be restrained. Eating, however, was natural and proper.

Was the forbidden fruit sexual relations, as some have held? This view finds no support in Scripture. For one thing, when God made the prohibition, Adam was alone and evidently remained that way for a while. (Genesis 2:23) Second, God told Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) Certainly, he would not command them to break his law and then sentence them to death for doing so! (1 John 4:8) Third, Eve partook of the fruit before Adam and later gave some to her husband. (Genesis 3:6) Clearly, the fruit was not sex.

A Grasp at Moral Independence

The tree of knowledge was a literal tree. However, it represented God’s right as Ruler to decide what is good and bad for his human creation. To eat from the tree, therefore, was not just an act of theft​—taking that which belonged to God—​but also a presumptuous grasp at moral independence, or self-determination. Note that after lyingly telling Eve that if she and her husband ate the fruit, they ‘positively would not die,’ Satan asserted: “For God knows that in the very day of your eating from it your eyes are bound to be opened and you are bound to be like God, knowing good and bad.”​—Genesis 3:4, 5.

When they ate the fruit, however, Adam and Eve did not receive godlike enlightenment on good and bad. In fact, Eve said to God: “The serpent​—it deceived me.” (Genesis 3:13) Still, she knew of God’s command, even restating it to the serpent, Satan’s mouthpiece. (Revelation 12:9) Hence, her act was one of willful disobedience. (Genesis 3:1-3) Adam, though, was not deceived. (1 Timothy 2:14) Instead of loyally obeying his Creator, he listened to his wife and followed her independent course.​—Genesis 3:6, 17.

By asserting their independence, Adam and Eve irreparably damaged their relationship with Jehovah and inflicted sin’s imprint upon their organism, right to its genetic foundations. True, they lived for hundreds of years, but they began to die “in the day” of their sin, as a branch severed from a tree would. (Genesis 5:5) Moreover, for the first time, they sensed an internal disharmony. They felt naked and tried to hide from God. (Genesis 3:7, 8) They also felt guilt, insecurity, and shame. Their sin produced an upheaval within them, their consciences accusing them of wrongdoing.

To be true to himself and to his holy standards, God justly sentenced Adam and Eve to death and expelled them from the garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:19, 23, 24) Thus, Paradise, happiness, and everlasting life were lost, while sin, suffering, and death resulted. What a tragic development for the human race! However, immediately after sentencing the couple, God promised to undo all the harm resulting from their sin without compromising his own righteous standards.

Jehovah purposed to make it possible for the offspring of Adam and Eve to be freed from sin’s deadly grip. He accomplished this through Jesus Christ. (Genesis 3:15; Matthew 20:28; Galatians 3:16) Through him, God will eliminate sin and all its effects and will make the earth into a global paradise, just as he purposed in the beginning.​—Luke 23:43; John 3:16.

HAVE YOU WONDERED?

◼ How do we know that the forbidden fruit was not sexual relations?​—Genesis 1:28.

◼ What did eating the forbidden fruit imply?​—Genesis 3:4, 5.

◼ What arrangement has God made to undo the effects of sin?​—Matthew 20:28.

[Blurb on page 29]

The forbidden fruit was not sexual relations

[Picture on page 28, 29]

Eve wanted to be like God, deciding for herself what is good and bad

Watching the World

◼ Sixty percent of Brazilian children have tooth decay by age three. One of the reasons is that bottle-feeding, often with sweetened drinks at night, is not followed up with essential dental hygiene.​—FOLHA ONLINE, BRAZIL.

◼ A quarter of births in the United States are now by Cesarean section. In New York City, the number is five times the 1980 figure. Ease in scheduling is one reason, yet the risks in performing such surgery unnecessarily are “tremendous.”​—THE NEW YORK TIMES, U.S.A.

◼ Over the past 100 years, Mexico City’s average temperature has risen about 6 degrees Fahrenheit [almost 4°C], compared with 1 degree [0.6°C] worldwide. Experts blame deforestation and urbanization.​—EL UNIVERSAL, MEXICO.

◼ More than half the couples who marry in the United States are already living together. Such couples are up to twice as likely to divorce as those who marry before living together.​—PSYCHOLOGY TODAY, U.S.A.

The Most Annoying Work Habits

“Loud phone conversations, [use of] speakerphones and constant complaints about workload top the list of our co-workers’ most annoying work habits,” reports the Washington Post. Among other habits that anger fellow workers are “cliques among co-workers, arriving late to work, talking to oneself, talking to co-workers over cubicle walls, bad hygiene and loud eating.” Such bad habits also damage worker productivity. Most of those who responded to researchers’ questions admitted, however, that they had never confronted those who irritate them. “And for good reason,” says the newspaper. “They can be just as guilty themselves.”

More People Living in Cities

“One-half of the world’s population will live in cities in two years,” states CBC News. According to a United Nations report, the United States has the highest percentage of city dwellers, with nearly 9 out of 10 people living in cities. Just 55 years ago, New York and Tokyo were the only two cities with ten or more million inhabitants. Today, that number has swelled to 20 cities with over 10 million residents, including Jakarta, Mexico City, Mumbai, and São Paulo. Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, says: “Such rapid growth will require far-reaching economic and social adjustments in most countries.”

Conscientious Objection

The National Human Rights Committee of the Republic of Korea says that conscientious objection to military service is an inalienable right. The committee recommended that the right be accommodated by creation of an alternative civilian service. The recommendation, says The Korea Times, “contrasted” with a recent Constitutional Court decision that upheld current military law, which makes no provision for conscientious objection. The Supreme Court has stated that the legislature, not the courts, should establish this right in law. Yearly, between 500 and 700 young men who are Jehovah’s Witnesses go to prison in the Republic of Korea for refusal to perform military service. Over the years some 10,000 Witnesses have been imprisoned for this reason.

How Would You Answer?

DESCRIBE THE ILLUSTRATION

1. Jesus’ illustration at Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23 says that seed fell in what four places?

Draw a line connecting each of your answers to the picture.

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2. What does the seed represent?

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◼ For Discussion: How can you make sure that your heart is like fine soil? Why is that worth the effort?

WHEN IN HISTORY?

Draw a line connecting each event to the year it occurred.

1943 B.C.E. 1919 1770 1728 1473 1066

3. Genesis 46:5-7

4. Genesis 12:4

5. Joshua 2:1-21

WHO AM I?

6. I lived in Elkosh and prophesied against Nineveh.

WHO AM I?

7. My second husband’s name meant “Beloved.” My first husband’s name meant “Stupid.”

FROM THIS ISSUE

Answer these questions, and provide the missing Bible verse(s).

Page 8 How will terrorism be eliminated? (Micah 4:․․․)

Page 9 What does man’s anger fail to do? (James 1:․․․)

Page 10 What can money be? (Ecclesiastes 7:․․․)

Page 28 What was the original sin? (Genesis 3:․․․)

Children’s Picture Search

Can you find these pictures in this issue? In your own words, describe what is happening in each picture.

(Answers on page 27)

ANSWERS TO PAGE 31

1. Alongside the road, on rocky places, among the thorns, and on fine soil.

2. The word of the Kingdom.

3. 1728 B.C.E.

4. 1943 B.C.E.

5. 1473 B.C.E.

6. Nahum.​—Nahum 1:1.

7. Abigail.

Millions Will Be Going​—Will You?

◼ Going where? To the “Deliverance at Hand!” District Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses! Hundreds of these three-day conventions, which began in the United States the last weekend in May, are scheduled to be held for months to come in cities throughout the world. Nearly 11 million people attended the 2,981 district conventions held in a recent year!

In most places the sessions begin at 9:30 a.m. with a musical program. On Friday such subjects as “Be Attentive to Jehovah’s Promises of Deliverance” and “How Jehovah Delivers ‘the Poor One Crying for Help’” will be featured. The keynote address, “Jehovah’s Provisions for Our ‘Everlasting Deliverance,’” concludes the morning session.

Friday afternoon’s session includes the talks “Jehovah Tenderly Cares for Older Ones,” “Deliverance From Painful Distress,” and “The Role of Angels in Rendering ‘Public Service.’” The four-part symposium “Jehovah​—‘Provider of Escape’” precedes the session’s final discourse, “No Opposing Weapon or Tongue Will Succeed.”

The Saturday morning session includes a three-part symposium entitled “Continue in the Ministry ‘Without Letup,’” as well as the talks “Delivered From the Trap of the Birdcatcher” and “Searching Into ‘the Deep Things of God.’” The morning program concludes with a talk followed by baptism in water for those who qualify.

The Saturday afternoon talks include “Keep a Scriptural View of Health Care,” “What Spirit Dominates Your Life?,” “Maintain ‘a Threefold Cord’ in Marriage,” and “Young People, ‘Remember, Now, Your Grand Creator.’” The concluding talk, “Are You Living With Jehovah’s Day in Mind?,” provides practical advice for our day.

Sunday morning’s program will include a symposium entitled “The Kingdom of the Heavens Is Like . . .” Four talks briefly discuss some of Jesus’ parables.

The morning program will continue with a talk that introduces a convention highlight, the full-costume drama based on chapter 13 of the Bible book of First Kings. The convention’s final session Sunday afternoon features the public talk “Deliverance by God’s Kingdom Is at Hand!”

Make plans now to attend. To find the location nearest you, contact the local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses or write to the publishers of this magazine. The March 1 issue of The Watchtower, our companion magazine, has a list of all convention locations in the United States, Canada, Britain, Ireland, and Malta.