Scholastic Update articles from March 1991

Scholastic Update archives from March 1991

Hard times: with the economy struggling, many Americans are voicing concerns about the future.
March 8, 1991... HARD TIMES WHEN ECONOMISTS TALK about the signs of a recession, they look at statistics. Unemployment is up. Production is down. Inflation is rising. Stocks are falling. But there are other signs of a recession as well--the signs that...

A sick economy. (illustration)
March 8, 1991... A Sick Economy In the last five years, a soaring number of businesses have filed for bankruptcy--meaning they're legally broke. Many economists see these financial failures as the hangover that naturally follows the wild economic times of...

No easy answers. (fundamental questions about the recession, its causes & its course)
March 8, 1991... NO EASY ANSWERS BUSINESS PEOPLE ARE fond of saying that, just once in their lives, they'd like to meet a one-handed economist. The reason is that all economists tend to talk the same way: "On the one hand, the economy could do this . . . but on...

When recession hits home. (7 personal stories)
March 8, 1991... When Recession Hits Home Keith Starrett, 28 was laid off from his construction job last May. He lives with his wife and their twin daughters. I've filled out about 100 job applications and gone through at least 25 interviews since being...

Jobless in the U.S.A. (illustration)
March 8, 1991... JOBLESS IN THE U.S.A. One of the leading indicators of economic health -- and the one that hits closest to home for every American -- is the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate represents the percentage of the population that is...

War and recession: a short war in the Persian Gulf could boost the economy - but a long one could batter it.
March 8, 1991... WAR AND RECESSION DETROIT, MICHIGAN, MAY be 7,500 miles from Baghdad, Iraq, but the effects of the Persian Gulf war are already being felt in the midwestern city. In the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, the Ford Motor Company has laid off workers...

When greed was good: the 1980s will go down in history as a decade of excess.
March 8, 1991... WHEN GREED WAS GOOD "GREED IS GOOD," THE slick Wall Street tycoon tells the crowd, "greed is right." He pauses for emphasis, tightens the knot in his power tie, then continues. "Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of...

Rock bottom. (the Great Depression of the 1930s)
March 8, 1991... ROCK BOTTOM THE RISING RATES OF homelessness and unemployment today are grim reminders of an earlier time when the American economy hit rock bottom: The Great Depression of the 1930s. Two years ago, UPDATE devoted an entire issue to the...

The safety net: a network of government programs is designed to prevent another Great Depression.
March 8, 1991... THE SAFETY NET HATTIE GOULD IS SCARED. "They call this a recession," she says. "But I say this is a depression. And I should know." Indeed, Gould, 77, was 15 years old when the stock market crashed in 1929, leading the U.S. into the...

Global fallout: what impact will the U.S. recession have on the world economy?
March 8, 1991... GLOBAL FALLOUT IT HAS OFTEN BEEN SAID that when the United States catches a cold, the rest of the world sneezes. With that in mind, one might imagine that the recession here has sent everyone in the world to the sick bed. No quite so....

Teens speak out. (how the recession is affecting teenagers)
March 8, 1991... TEENS SPEAK OUT AS THE RECESSION SPREADS across America, stories of people suffering through hard times abound. Some people have ended up on the unemployment line. Others have watched their businesses go under. Still others have seen their...

High-tech warfare: a dazzling array of weapons raises questions about the nature of modern war.
March 22, 1991... HIGH-TECH WARFARE A dazzling array of weapons raises questions about the nature of modern war. ON JANUARY 16, THE United States led multinational forces in an attack on Iraq with weaponry the world had never seen before. Stingray-shaped...

What's your view? How do your opinions on the Gulf War compare to those of other teens across the country?
March 22, 1991... WHAT'S YOUR VIEW? THE OPINIONS OF YOUNG people are rarely heard in public-policy debates, especially in times of war. But we at UPDATE value those opinions. The survey below includes questions Scholastic asked teenagers as part of a new...

Weapons of war. (main weapons in the U.S. and Iraqi arsenals)
March 22, 1991... WEAPONS OF WAR The Persian Gulf war is the most high-tech battle the world has ever seen. Never before have so many complex and costly weapons been assembled for combat. In this special feature, UPDATE looks at several of the major U.S....

Who armed Saddam? (Saddam Hussein)(includes article on the Third World's arms race)
March 22, 1991... WHO ARMED SADDAM? ON FEBRUARY 11, ABC News asked residents of Gettysburg, South Dakota, how they felt about the Persian Gulf war. One middle-aged man, reflecting the prevailing view of his neighbors, said he unquestionably supported...

The rules of war. (history of the Geneva Convention)(includes article on chemical weapons)
March 22, 1991... THE RULES OF WAR LATE IN JANUARY, A week after the bombing of Baghdad, Americans were treated to their first vivid images of brutality in the Persian Gulf. Sullen and bruised, seven allied prisoners of war appeared on Iraqi TV, numbly...

The technology of destruction. (history of modern weaponry)
March 22, 1991... The Technology of DESTRUCTION THE HISTORY OF MODERN WEAPONRY IS A story of stunning technological ingenuity and terrifying destruction. It's a story populated by enlightened scientists like Albert Einstein and cruel dictators like Adolf...

The other war: the press vs. the Pentagon.
March 22, 1991... The Other War: THE PRESS VS. THE PENTAGON FOR THE MILLIONS OF AMERICANS GLUED to their TV sets on the night of January 16, it was a moment they will probably never forget. At 6:35 p.m. EST, Peter Arnett, one of three Cable News Network (CNN)...

Words on modern war. (quotations)
March 22, 1991... WORDS ON MODERN WAR The debate over how to apply scientific knowledge has been with us throughout human history. Should technology be used for private gain or public good? Should it go toward building a better life or destructive weapons?...

Moral questions. (ethical issues dealing with war)(includes results of youth poll on Persian Gulf war)
March 22, 1991... Throughout history, wars have raised tough ethical issues. The Persian Gulf war is no different. LAST NOVEMBER, SCHOlastic conducted its first national survey to gauge readers' thoughts on the crisis in the Persian Gulf. Thousands of...