Information Related to "World News and Trends - March/April 2007"
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British Royal Navy could be cut by half
Although the decision is not yet final, the British government apparently plans to mothball up to half of the royal fleet. Also plans to build two new giant aircraft carriers may be scuttled. Recently retired First Sea Lord Sir Alan West "told The Daily Telegraph that the government was turning the armed forces into a 'tin-pot' gendarmerie, good only for scuffling with terrorists" (Jan. 5, 2007).
The overall problem runs throughout the armed forces. Noted author and defense commentator Max Hastings stated: "Like eruptions from an overstrained water main, revelations about the problems of Britain's armed forces burst forth daily. The word 'crisis' is often abused, but it is justified here. Programmes are being slashed, training curtailed and capabilities cut as the Ministry of Defence struggles to control runaway spending" (The Guardian, Jan. 8, 2007).
The article goes on to show that the size of the defense forces is becoming so small that they are losing critical mass and the military's credibility as a British institution is now at stake. One point to note is that "the army is facing a recruitment crisis as frontline troops quit" (Daily Mail, Jan. 5, 2007).
Columnist Gerald Warner of Scotland on Sunday probably had the most biting reactive remarks in the media. He wrote: "'When a strong man armed keepeth his house, his goods are in peace' (Luke 11:21). This axiom does not seem to have penetrated the minds of our rulers, Labour and Tory [the British political parties], over the past 15 years. This period has seen the progressive dismantling of the United Kingdom 's armed services on a scale it would be inadequate to describe as reckless."
He further stated: "Anyone who thinks this is a time for Britain to disarm is several kilotons short of a fission." This veteran journalist concluded his article with the warning words: "Pax Britannica? Be very afraid . . ." (Jan. 28, 2007).
Meanwhile the International Herald Tribune reported that "President Hu Jintao has called on China's military commanders to build a powerful navy, the state media reported Thursday as the country continues to spend heavily on a modern blue-water fleet" (Dec. 29, 2006).
The Chinese president is effectively commander-in-chief of the armed forces. China wants to counter the growing naval fleets of Japan , India and other Asian nations. Also, "Vladimir Putin claimed Russia was developing a new breed of nuclear missiles, superior to any existing" (Scotland on Sunday, Jan. 28, 2007).
Britannia once ruled the waves of the entire world! It is all too easy to forget that "at the summit of its extraordinary dominance of the world's oceans, the Royal Navy has been bigger than the next seven national fleets combined" (Daily Telegraph, Jan. 5, 2007). The New York Post talked about "a 400-year epoch of world history" drawing to a close (Jan. 14, 2007).
The Post interpreted the present crisis in the overall context of what it terms "Britain's decades-long decline as a world power." This American newspaper also asked two crucial questions: "Is Britain part of an English-speaking, Atlantic-based strategic alliance that includes the United States and Canada? Or is it part of Europe as envisioned by technocrats in Paris, Brussels and Berlin?"
One cannot comprehend the current difficulties besetting the major powers of the English-speaking world today without the basic knowledge and understanding of its prophetic origins. To understand more, request or download our free booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy. (Sources: The New York Post, International Herald Tribune, Scotland on Sunday, Daily Mail [London], The Daily Telegraph [London].)
Israel to nuke Iran?
The Sunday Times occasionally publishes material that few other newspapers dare to print. Its latest controversial article is headlined, "Revealed: Israel Plans Nuclear Strike on Iran" (Jan. 7, 2007). The first paragraph reads: "Israel has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran 's uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons."
Such an attack, if it happens, does have historical precedent. In 1981 Israel destroyed Iraq's nuclear reactor.
However, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev formally denied the Sunday Times report (The Jewish Chronicle, Jan. 12, 2007). Yet the same article quoted Professor Uzi Arad, founding director of the Institute for Policy and Strategy, as saying that Iranian nuclear ambitions were "the single most vital item on Israel 's agenda." He further stated that Israel had to "think the unthinkable and take all the necessary measures so that if Iran did have nuclear weapons, it would not think
of using them."
The Spectator weekly magazine actually preceded The Sunday Times with a cover article titled "The Nuclear Option: Israel Can Stop Iran" (Jan. 6, 2007). It predicted a probable nuclear attack, possibly fairly early this year.
The author, Douglas Davis, stated that he received information from a senior Israeli source who said: "We are the product of the Holocaust in Europe and we will do everything—and I mean everything—to prevent another holocaust recurring in Israel . If the Americans do not act, then we will act. And that moment might be closer than people dare to imagine." (Sources: The Sunday Times, The Jewish Chronicle, The Spectator [all London].)
Doomsday clock ticks closer
For some 60 years the "doomsday clock" has been ticking in Chicago, sponsored by the directors of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. They set it at seven minutes to midnight—midnight being a nuclear holocaust—back in 1947. Since then its hands have been moved forward and backward according to world tensions. According to The Bulletin Online, on Jan. 18 the clock was moved two minutes forward. It is now set at five minutes to midnight.
According to Max Hastings, editor of the Daily Mail, "The clock's hand is being advanced for the first time in four years" (Jan. 17, 2007). Many atomic scientists think that the world is now entering a very dangerous nuclear phase. Once that nuclear line is crossed and someone again uses an atomic device, it will make repetition almost inevitable.
In the wake of Iran 's feverish determination to achieve nuclear weapons, six Arab states have indicated a desire or intention to go nuclear. They are Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates. Nuclear proliferation could be on the verge of getting out of control, especially in the already dangerous Middle East.
Professor Colin Gray, in his book Another Bloody Century, wrote that "future warfare will see the use of weapons of mass destruction, including those of a nuclear variety." Many atomic scientists agree. To understand more about the dangerous world in which we are now living, request our free booklet (Sources: The Bulletin Online, Daily Mail [London].)
Jews in Britain under attack
Just over a year ago, in mid-February of 2006, British Chief Rabbi Sir Jonathan Sacks called for calm "in the face of recent, highly disturbing events" indirectly affecting the Jewish community in Britain. To most British Jews an act against the state of Israel is an act against themselves.
Rabbi Sacks wrote in The Jewish Chronicle: "The strength of a people is tested in troubled times. Events have succeeded one another at a breakneck pace. The Iranian threat to wipe Israel off the map; the election by the Palestinians of Hamas, a group committed to the destruction of Israel . . . [and] locally there was the vote of the synod of the Church of England to heed a call to divest from companies associated with Israel" (Feb. 17, 2006, emphasis added throughout).
These negative events against the state of Israel have not ceased to affect the British Jewish community. The latest evidence is the publication of the "Anti-Semitic Incident Reports 2006." It shows that the number of such incidents has nearly quadrupled since 1984, totaling 594 last year, up sharply from 455 in 2005.
According to the Daily Mail, "There were 112 violent assaults, 37 per cent more than in 2005; 70 cases of damage to Jewish communal property; 27 threats, including death threats against individuals and organisations; 365 cases of abusive behaviour; and 20 incidents in which mass-produced anti-Semitic literature was distributed" (Feb. 1, 2007).
The Community Security Trust produces the Incident Report annually. Trust spokesman Mark Gardner stated: "Today's anti-Semitism is a wave of hatred, intimidation and abuse against British Jews, who are stupidly blamed and randomly attacked over international tensions for which they bear no responsibility" (ibid.)
Beyond being irrational, animosity toward Israeli Jews or the Jewish community at large violates the spirit of the Ten Commandments and other biblical commands such as "you shall not hate your brother in your heart" (Leviticus 19:17).
However, considering what the Bible reveals about end-time events, neither growing anti-Semitism nor hatred of Israel is surprising. (Sources: The Jewish Chronicle, Daily Mail.)
France no longer a Catholic country?
A recent poll printed in Le Monde Des Religions revealed that "the number of self-declared French Catholics had dropped from 80 percent in the early 1990s and 67 percent in 2000 to 51 percent today." In contrast, the number of declared atheists rose from 23 percent in 1994 to 31 percent today.
Henry Samuel, in Paris reporting for The Daily Telegraph, stated that "of the 51 per cent who still call themselves Catholics, only half said they believed in God. Many said they were Catholics because it was a family tradition" (Jan. 10, 2007, emphasis added throughout).
"In its institutions, but also in its mentalities, France is no longer a Catholic country," said Frederic Lenoir, Le Monde Des Religions editor in chief. According to what's prophesied in God's Word, religion will yet play a major part in European affairs. An alliance of a great religious power and a secular power will emerge in Europe and dominate the world. For further information, request our free booklet . (Source: The Daily Telegraph [London].)
Why bad news in The Good News?
Speaking of conditions before His return, Jesus Christ said our planet will experience "a time of great distress, such as there has never been before since the beginning of the world, and will never be again" (Matthew 24:21, Revised English Bible).
The United Church of God, whose members and supporters provide the financial backing for The Good News and other publications, proclaims the good news of the imminent return of Jesus of Nazareth. Yet we often report on the negative consequences of human behavior leading to the very conditions Jesus described.
Following Jesus' example, part of our purpose is to highlight the lessons mankind is writing in its self-centered way of living and to warn of where this way is leading. But more than that, our intention is to illustrate the need for an alternative way of life—the godly way of life Jesus revealed and personified. Beyond the bad news, we present this way of living that would eliminate all of man's problems. We also explain from Scripture that under the coming rule of Christ, God's way will become universal—and humanity will at last know true and lasting peace.
The world of today is indeed filled with bad news. Yet the future holds incredible promise—Christ's return to establish the Kingdom of God (Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 11:15), ushering in a wonderful world of peace, prosperity and plenty during which all people will at last learn to live God's way of life. This truly is good news!
Money may not buy happiness, but marriage can
In searching for happiness, marriage is more important than money, according to a December 2006 Gallup poll.
According to a Gallup news release, "Those who are married at any income level are as likely (if not more likely) to report being happy than even the wealthiest people who are not married." Put simply, marriage matters more than money when it comes to happiness.
The poll of more than 1,000 adults found that 84 percent of Americans are satisfied with their personal lives—a stark contrast with the only 30 percent who are satisfied with how things are going in the country.
Not surprisingly, those with higher incomes were more satisfied and happier than those with lower incomes, and those who were married reported greater happiness at all income levels.
The primary ingredient in American adults' personal happiness showed that those who were married were happier than those who were not, regardless of their income. The Supreme Being who created marital and family relationships tells us that it is a good thing for a man to find a wife. "He who finds a wife finds a good thing, and obtains favor [a delight and blessing] from the Lord" (Proverbs 18:22). (Source: Gallup News Service.)
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Keywords: British navy Israel and Iran Iran and Israel nuclear weapons France marriage and happiness happiness and marriage
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