Information Related to "World News and Trends - May/June 2007"
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Hatred of America: A global disease
Americans don't like not knowing why they are hated around the world. Of course, the United States still has some nations as friends-chiefly among the English-speaking world, Israel and in parts of Northern and Eastern Europe. But the numbers are becoming fewer.
Harvard historian Niall Ferguson analyzes the subject well: "The best explanation is in fact the simplest. Being hated is what happens to dominant empires. It comes-sometimes literally-with the territory" (The Sunday Telegraph, Feb. 25, 2007).
Hatred sometimes doesn't make much sense. Professor Ferguson also writes: "Who hates America the most? You might assume it's people in countries that the United States has recently attacked-but it's not. It's the people in countries that are supposed to be America's friends, if not allies" (ibid.).
For example, according to the Pew Global Attitudes Project, Britons view former foes Germany and Japan far more favorably than America, in spite of the transatlantic partnership that has been of so much benefit to the modern world. A third of Britons even welcomed the success of Hamas in last year's Palestinian elections.
It also seems that those European nations who received the most help from the U.S. Marshall Plan following World War II are in the forefront of anti-Americanism. The current excuse is the war and insurgencies in Iraq. Both Germany and France lined up against America and Britain in opposing the war.
Indeed, "forty-eight percent of Germans think the United States is more dangerous than Iran, a new survey shows, with only 31 percent believing the opposite" (Der Spiegel, March 29, 2007).
London Times columnist Rosemary Righter gave Europe a gentle rebuke: "It's open season on the US, even in Britain . . . [But] at the age of 50, the EU should at last be able to shed its childishly defensive attitude to the US. So, even, should France. For only by pooling the skills and talents of Europe and America, will the European Union achieve its true international potential" (March 21, 2007).
Those interested in the role and future of the United States should also request and read our free booklet . This publication explains the important origins and the prophetic significance of the major English-speaking nations. (Sources: The Sunday Telegraph, The Times [both London], American Thinker, Der Spiegel.)
Germany debates the American missile shield
A proposed American missile shield to be built in Poland and the Czech Republic is designed as a radar system and missile battery to counter projectiles from rogue countries like North Korea and Iran.
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in a Dresden speech: "The missile defence system which is to be installed in Eastern Europe is politically extremely dangerous. It is viewed, rightly in Russia, and not only there, as an attempt to establish an absurd encirclement policy, a policy which is everything but in the interest of Europe" (International Herald Tribune, March 12, 2007).
Of course, Schroeder is on the Russian-owned Gazprom's payroll, acting as an advocate of Russian policy.
Current German Chancellor Angela Merkel walks a fine line on the issue. Publicly she has adopted a different view from Schroeder's, previously calling it a European and NATO matter. "Merkel's private position on the shield, as it is described within the party, is that it's a good idea that would protect Germany against Iran."
But politically Merkel cannot afford to altogether ignore the rampant anti-Americanism now afflicting Germany, of which the former chancellor is the main spokesman. (Source: International Herald Tribune.)
Strategic threats facing Israel: An update
Former Israeli general Uri Dromi sums up the current threats against the Jewish state. They mainly consist of Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah. Realistically, an Iran armed with nuclear weapons will pose a serious threat to the Arab world itself and potentially even to Europe. Yet the state of Israel is somehow viewed as the sole target of Iranian aggression.
General Dromi wrote: "The Syrian threat is closer to home, with a massive arsenal of SCUD missiles targeting most of Israel's territory . . . [Yet] the Syrian regime is extremely cautious and would not initiate an attack . . . [Of course] the Syrians are actively helping Hizbollah to rearm" (The Jewish Chronicle, March 2, 2007).
Israeli security warns that the Palestinians are preparing for yet another armed intifada by smuggling weapons into Gaza by way of Egypt. (Source: The Jewish Chronicle [London].)
Americans and Britons bored with monogamy
These days adultery is becoming big business in both America and Britain. According to the London Times, "Thousands of Britons have joined a [Web] site for the married but looking" (March 13, 2007).
"When Monogamy Becomes Monotony" (the popular label) began in early 2003 in North America and then jumped the Atlantic last year. The American site has more than a million members, and so far 13,000 Britons have signed up for the British counterpart. One man, a wealthy American, described his requirements this way: "I don't want a hooker. I want a nice girl who loves her husband." It's hard to believe anyone could actually say that.
Although 84 percent of Britons apparently believe that adultery is either always or mostly wrong, some seem to practice something different. Recent UK statistics show that nearly 25 percent of men and 15 percent of women have indulged in at least one full-blown extramarital affair. Some 61 percent of adulterous husbands and 45 percent of cheating wives claim that their affairs are unknown to their spouses.
Clearly those who indulge in such practices are breaking God's spiritual law governing marriage, as expressed by the Seventh and Tenth Commandments. The wrong use of technology has made it easier for these marital lawbreakers. What cheaters don't realize, however, is that God's law is self-enforcing. Eventually they will pay the penalty in unhappy marriages that often end in divorce.
Married readers who may be tempted to cross the line should request or download our free booklets and . (Source: The Times [London].)
Anglicans and Catholics united under the Pope?
According to the London Times: "Radical proposals to reunite Anglicans with the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of the Pope are to be published this year . . . The proposals have been agreed by senior bishops of both churches. In a 42-page statement prepared by an international commission of both churches, Anglicans and Roman Catholics are urged to explore how they might reunite under the Pope" (Feb. 19, 2007, emphasis added throughout).
Anglicans number about 78 million adherents worldwide-dwarfed, of course, by a billion Roman Catholics. Previously the Catholic Church was flexible on celibacy when it received married Anglican priests, who had left the Anglican fold over the issue of women priests. Open tolerance to homosexuality in the priesthood residing in a part of the American Anglican communion remains repugnant to Roman Catholics.
This news of potential unity breaks at the same time that "Roman Catholicism is set to become the dominant religion in Britain for the first time since the Reformation because of massive migration from Catholic countries," especially from Eastern Europe (The Times, Feb. 15, 2007).
Watch what happens in the mainstream Christian churches. For useful background information that will help you understand their history, request or download our free booklet . (Source: The Times [London].)
HPV infections on the rise among American women
"More than a quarter of U.S. girls and women ages 14 to 59 are infected with the sexually transmitted human wart virus, which causes most cases of cervical cancer," according to researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "That means human papillomavirus or HPV infection is more common than previously thought, particularly among younger age groups . . . Its prevalence was highest among those 20 to 24, with 44.8 percent infected, and nearly a quarter of teenagers aged 14 to 19" (Reuters, Feb. 27, 2007).
Some types of the virus can cause cervical, anal, penile or other forms of cancer; others cause genital warts; others bring little or no harm and clear up within a few years. However, it's a dangerous form of sexual Russian roulette.
What you will not find in this report or most others is any recommendation to sexually active adults or teens that they should enjoy sex only within the marriage relationship as commanded in the Bible. Keeping sex exclusively within marriage is one sure way to avoid sexually transmitted diseases and the many complications that arise from them. (Source: Reuters news report.)
America and Europe hit by loss of bees
"Hundreds of millions of honeybees have vanished in 22 US states, leaving keepers financially crippled and jeopardising £8 billion [or $16 billion] of crops that needed insects for pollination" (The Times, Feb. 19, 2007). This disappearance is attributed to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), which causes swarms of bees to abandon their hives and die.
A later update appearing in the Feb. 27, 2007, International Herald Tribune expanded the figure to 24 American states-nearly half the country. And America is not alone. "Bee-keepers in Poland, Greece, Croatia, Switzerland, Italy and Portugal have also reported heavy losses" (The Daily Telegraph, March 31, 2007). And the list keeps growing.
This is sobering news affecting agricultural production. According to Zac Browning, vice president of the American Beekeeping Federation, "Every third bite we consume in our diet is dependent on a honey bee to pollinate that food." Bees do far more for us human beings than just produce honey. (Sources: The Times, The Daily Telegraph [both London], International Herald Tribune.)
Goals and problems of the next generation
"The views of young people today on politics, social attitudes and life goals are far different from their baby boomer parents," says the Jan. 9, 2007, USA Today regarding a national survey of 18- to 25-year-olds.
"More than two-thirds (67%) believe immigrants strengthen American society; a quarter favor increasing legal immigration," the article continues. In contrast, less than half (47 percent) of those ages 41 to 60 believe immigrants help society and only 16 percent say it should increase.
Younger people are evenly split over gay marriage (47 percent in favor, 46 percent opposed). Yet among those 25 and older, 64 percent are opposed and only 30 percent are in favor of gay marriage.
More than a third of today's 18-to 25-year-olds (36 percent) have a tattoo; almost a third (30 percent) have a nontraditional body piercing (other than in an ear lobe) and a quarter have dyed their hair an unnatural color. Only 32 percent of this younger group attends church once a week, while 20 percent is religiously unaffiliated, atheist or agnostic. Still, 84 percent say their life is really good.
What are their goals compared to earlier generations? Today's 18-to 25-year-olds aspire to be rich (81 percent) and famous (51 percent) contrasted against a 1967 group of college freshmen who thought it essential to develop a meaningful philosophy of life (86 percent).
In short, the younger age group has well absorbed the primary message directed to them in a lifetime of absorbing thousands of hours of popular media-it's all about me. Young people who would like to aim higher in their goals and standards are invited to request a free subscription to , from the publishers of The Good News, at www.verticalthought.org. (Source: USA Today.)
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Keywords: anti-Americanism Germany and the U.S. adultery Anglicans human wart virus bees generations
Ecumenism: