The Week in Review
Middle East
Egyptians protest against military rule: Protests have erupted once again in Egypt. Demonstrators are protesting against the ruling military council and the Interior Ministry for failing to provide security at a February 1 soccer match in the city of Port Said. Fans clashed after the match, which resulted in hundreds of injuries and 74 deaths. The event has become a flashpoint for the Egyptians’ ongoing outrage against the ruling military government. The soccer riot and resulting protests have intensified a continuing debate: How and when should the military relinquish control? The military is expected to transfer power to a civilian government by the end of June. That is when a new president will be voted in. The Muslim Brotherhood stands to gain the most from a democratic government. It has decided to wait out the process to avoid angering the military. Watch to see if the Muslim Brotherhood decides to put pressure on the military council for a speedier transfer of power.
More violence erupts in Syria: Syrian government forces barraged the city of Homs this week with heavy artillery, striking a hospital and other buildings. Homs is at the heart of the country’s anti-government uprising, and so far neither the protesters nor Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has backed down. The violence in Homs comes after Russia and China vetoed a United Nations resolution last weekend that would have condemned the Syrian government for its violent repression and called for a peaceful transition of power. Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said that Germany and its allies will continue to pressure President Assad. Western countries have been working to push the Syrian president out of office after a decade of autocratic rule, but Assad has received support from Iran, which views Syria as a key ally. The Trumpet has forecast that the unrest in Syria will eventually lead to a break in Iranian-Syrian relations. Also, watch for Germany to take on a more forceful role in Syria, and for U.S. influence to continue declining in the region.
Iran says new sanctions only strengthen its resolve: Iran dismissed new U.S. sanctions directed at it on Tuesday, insisting they would not only fail to halt the country’s nuclear program, but would make the Islamic Republic more determined than ever to attain its nuclear goals. “The actual results of these measures will be a stronger and more serious determination from our nation to achieve its great objectives,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast at a news conference. Washington ordered the new penalties on Monday, which give U.S. banks additional powers to freeze assets linked to the Iranian government and close loopholes that officials say Iran has used to move money despite earlier restrictions imposed by the U.S. and Europe. The U.S. and Europe want to deprive Iran of the oil income it needs to run its government and pay for its nuclear program. Mehmanparast’s comments indicate that Iran is becoming steadily more defiant toward the U.S. and Europe. Bible prophecy makes plain that this defiance will intensify until a German-led Europe takes decisive military action against Iran.
Europe
Merkel campaigns for Sarkozy presidential election: German Chancellor Angela Merkel is campaigning for French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the run-up to the French presidential elections, which start on April 22. “The sober chancellor and the peripatetic president have established a pact, the likes of which has never before been seen in the Franco-German relationship,” writes the Spiegel. Sarkozy is trying to portray himself as the man who can turn France into Germany. The first step in the joint campaign came February 6, when the two gave a tv interview where Mrs. Merkel said, “I support Nicolas Sarkozy on all levels.” The campaign is driving the two most powerful nations in mainland Europe closer together. EU President Herman Van Rompuy said the debt crisis is now causing a “Europeanization of national political life.” Mr. Sarkozy’s competitor, Socialist François Hollande, would oppose everything that Chancellor Merkel is trying to do in Europe—which is pushing her to forcefully support Sarkozy. The German-led EU has overturned governments in Greece and Italy. Now Chancellor Merkel is trying to keep a friendly one in power in France. Germany’s dominance of Europe is made clearer every day.
Merkel: I do not want Greece to leave euro: German Chancellor Angela Merkel made it clear, February 7 that she does not want Greece forced out of the eurozone. In her address to students in Berlin, Merkel said she doesn’t want Greece to leave the euro and will “not take part in forcing Greece out.” Merkel’s words come as the Greek government is considering yet another round of cuts to secure a new bailout and avoid going bankrupt next month. Greeks have two unpleasant choices: Taking more money and more austerity orders from Europe, or going bankrupt and keeping some of their national sovereignty. But unfortunately for the Greeks, it’s not up to them, as Chancellor Merkel has made clear. Expect Germany to continue to force its will on Greece to ensure Europe’s economic and political union. The Trumpet stands by its forecast that the present euro crisis will accelerate the establishment of a European political union dominated by Germany.
Germany signs deal to access Kazakhstan’s rare earth minerals: German firms gained the right to search for and mine rare earth metals and other minerals in Kazakhstan when the two nations’ ministers of industry and technology signed a strategic partnership on February 8. In return, Kazakhstan will receive German technology and money. Germany signed a similar agreement with Mongolia last October. “The moves are a clear effort on the part of Germany to challenge China’s dominant position in production of the metals,” writes the New York Times. Rare earth elements are used in all kinds of modern technology, which makes them strategically significant. China currently has a near monopoly on their production and used that to force Japan to tow its line in 2010. For more information on the need for these minerals, see our December 2010 article “Why Chinese Miners Are Smiling.”
Asia
India upgrades military in response to China’s rise: In recent weeks, India obtained a nuclear-powered submarine, moved to acquire its first aircraft carrier, and announced plans to buy 126 French fighter jets in a spate of military upgrades Delhi hopes will help India to counter China’s rise. China and India share a long history of frictions, and in recent years Delhi has watched with worry as Beijing has expanded its influence in the Indian Ocean. “Of late, there has been a realization (in India) that China is the real danger of the future,” said Gurmeet Kanwal, the director of New Delhi’s Center for Land Warfare Studies. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said India accounted for 9 percent of global weapons imports in 2010, the latest year for which figures were available, making India the world’s largest importer of arms. But while India ramps up its defense abilities, China is upgrading its own forces even more rapidly, making it difficult for India to catch up. Bible prophecy indicates that China, India and other Asian powers will soon pool their expanding military might to counter a unified Europe.
New fighter jets for Russia: At the end of January, Russian aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi tested its Serial Three Su-35S Flanker-E fighter jet for the first time. The Su-35S can fly more than 2,200 miles without refueling, its maximum speed is around 1,400 mph, and its ceiling is 59,000 feet. The jets can also detect aircraft to a range of almost 250 miles, farther than that of any other combat aircraft. The Su-35S has two central digital computers, advanced avionics and a new radar system with phased array antennas. Weaponry carried by the Su-35 includes laser-guided and unguided bombs, anti-radar missiles, a 30mm cannon, and anti-aircraft missiles. Sukhoi expects to sell the new fighters not only to Russia, but also China, India, Malaysia, Brazil and Indonesia, which would represent a significant boost to the military capability of these Eastern powers.
Latin America
Argentina’s president criticizes Prince William’s clothes: Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner criticized Prince William’s deployment to the Falkland Islands on Tuesday. The British heir to the throne is accompanying one of the Royal Navy’s most modern warships and will serve for three months as a military search and rescue pilot. Kirchner accused Britain of “militarizing” the long-standing dispute over the South Atlantic islands. She said she “would have loved” to see Prince William in “civilian clothes.” Argentina continues to demand that Britain return the Falklands to its control after it lost dominion over them in 1833. Argentine troops invaded the Falklands in 1982, but were defeated by the British. Britain continues to say that as long as the Falklands inhabitants desire to remain British, it will defend its possession. Continue to watch events in the South Atlantic. The Trumpet has predicted that Britain will eventually lose control of these islands, as extreme military cutbacks and a troubled economy has left the United Kingdom a shadow of its former empire.
Anglo-America
Britain leads Europe on “persons living in households with very low work intensity”: Thirteen percent of Britons live in “households with very low work intensity,” the highest proportion anywhere in the EU, according to Eurostat. The EU’s statistics collector defines “people living in households with a very low work intensity” as those ages 0 to 59 who live in a household where adults “worked less than 20 percent of their total potential during the previous 12 months.” Figures like these confirm Britain has a chronic welfare and unemployment problem. For an overview of the societal problems Britain is facing, see our April 2009 Trumpet article “Want to Know What a Former Superpower Looks Like?”
Church of England refuses to cater to traditionalists over women bishops: A compromise that would have allowed Anglicans opposed to women bishops to live under an alternative male bishop was rejected by the Church of England’s General Synod on February 8, a move that could push traditionalist Anglicans toward the Roman Catholic Church. Legislation allowing female bishops in Britain will probably be passed by in 2014. They’ve already been ordained in the Anglican Church around the world. Simon Killwick, leader of the Catholic group in the General Synod, told the bbc: “If nothing is changed between now and July then it will be a train crash, whichever way the vote goes.” The Trumpet has pointed to these “cracks in the Anglican cathedral” for years. The Church of England seems to be about to tear itself to pieces over women bishops, as well as over other divisive issues such as homosexuality. As these divisions widen, the Catholic Church is ready to absorb disaffected Anglicans through its personal ordinariate, a structure that allows converting Anglicans to keep many of their old practices. The Catholic Church will use this division to absorb more Anglicans.
Many British parents aren’t potty training their children: Sixty-two percent of teachers said that more young children are having more toilet accidents during the school day than in previous years, according to an online survey of members of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers. The association reports that teachers said the main reason for this was that parents were not potty training their children before they start school. The survey included nursery school, which children can attend as young as 3 years old. “Parents do not spend the time training their children—they feel it is the school’s job,” said one teacher of young children. British parents are forcing schools to teach more and more things that should be taught at home. This dereliction of duty is hurting whole generations of British children.
Anniversary of Dickens highlights British childhood illiteracy: Many British children lack the attention span to read Charles Dickens, said biographer Claire Tomali in the run-up to celebrations of the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’s birth on February 7. “Children have very short attention spans because they are being reared on dreadful television programs which are flickering away in the corner,” she said. “Children are not being educated to have prolonged attention spans, and you have to be prepared to read steadily for a Dickens novel, and I think that’s a pity.” Meanwhile, in a speech February 7, Schools Minister Nick Gibb warned that “there are still shadows of Dickens’s world in our own—with literacy problems remaining asymmetric and heavily orientated towards the poorest in our communities.” He warned that “it is gravely concerning to see this country’s young people falling out of love with reading, especially when literature still has such a unique and irreplaceable part to play in our lives.” New technology requires that schools and parents redouble their effort to encourage children to become experts in habits such as reading, which will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
Britain had to plead to join U.S. in Iran flotilla: America wanted to send its flotilla challenging Iranian power through the Strait of Hormuz without Britain or France, the Daily Telegraph reports, citing anonymous Navy sources. America “saw no military advantage in having European ships taking part,” its source said. After France insisted that one of its frigates must go, the British government “was basically forced to plead with Washington for the Navy to be allowed to tag along,” said the source, calling the event “humiliating” for Britain. This is yet another incident that shows the special relationship between Britain and America is over.
Federal appeals court rejects California ban on homosexual marriage: A federal appeals court struck down California’s voter-mandated ban on homosexual marriage as “unconstitutional” last Tuesday, setting the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on homosexual marriage as soon as next year. In a 2-1 vote, a panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said California’s 2008 law, popularly known as Proposition 8, violated the 14th Amendment’s equal-protection clause. Such reasoning stretches the Constitution’s prohibition against sexual discrimination to include sexual orientation. This is legally unprecedented, and, left unchallenged, opens the door for a great deal more litigation by homosexuals and other sexual deviants. The authors of the Constitution understood that God is the Author of morality and law. These God-fearing men understood that without the moral restrictions of a higher spiritual law, the many liberties afforded Americans in the Constitution would lead to anarchy—and end in destruction. Modern America has forgotten this vital truth and stands to pay a dreadful price.
Labor force participation rate tumbles to 30-year low: New data released this week by the U.S. government reveals that the percentage of Americans participating in the labor force has dropped to a 30-year low. Only 63.5 percent of Americans are now employed or actively searching for employment. The other 36.5 percent of Americans are counted as “not in the labor force.” This new figure is almost 3 percent lower than the pre-recession labor force participation rate reported for 2007. The Chicago Fed has attributed about half of the decline to retiring baby boomers and half of the decline to those who have given up looking for work. Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul stated this week that one of the reasons the government-reported unemployment rate recently fell from 8.5 percent to 8.3 percent is that the Department of Labor has stopped counting “discouraged workers” in its calculations. Despite what the mainstream media is currently reporting, America’s unemployment woes are far from over.
