This week, the European

Union went to war

against Iran.
I am not here to cheer
you up. The situation
is about as serious
and difcult as Ive
experienced in my career.
The EU has clearly
taken its toughness
to the next level.
India has agreed to buy
Irans oil with gold rather
than the U.S. dollar.
the
TRUMPETWEEKLY
PROPHECY PAGE 2 WAR PAGE3 ASIA PAGE 7 HOMELESS PAGE 7 CLASS PAGE 8
A DIGEST OF SIGNIFICANT WORLD NEWS FROM THE PHILADELPHIA TRUMPET STAFF FOR THE WEEK OF JAN. 22-28, 2012
A
S IF we needed reminding, todays
headlines plainly reveal that man
is simply not qualifed to rule this
Earth. The Associated Press offered this
blunt assessment of President Obamas
State of the Union address on Tues-
day night: Obama pushes plans that
fopped before.
One of his plans is for Congress to
use half the money America saves by
pulling out of Iraq to pay down the
debtas if a slight reduction in defcit spending somehow
creates piles of cash that can solve a debt crisis that has
exploded under Mr. Obamas watch.
During the speech, the president also lashed out at critics
who believe America is headed in the wrong direction. Any-
one who tells you that America is in decline or that our infu-
ence has waned doesnt know what theyre talking about,
he said. To support this assertion, Mr. Obama listed several
international cities that have favorable opinions of America.
None of the cities mentioned, however, are anywhere
near the Middle East, where anti-American fervor has radi-
cally transformed the entire region in a matter of months.
One year ago today, as Caroline Glick wrote earlier this
week, most Middle Eastern states, for the most part, were
strategically aligned with the United States. Today, how-
ever, the Muslim Brotherhood is the ruling party in the
Egyptian parliament, al Qaedas on the march in Yemen,
Islamist forces have the upper hand in Libya, Iran has flled
the power void in Iraq and the general populace in Turkey,
Pakistan and Jordan all view the United States much less
favorably than it did a year ago.
The biggest loser by far in the so-called Arab Spring is
clearly the United States of America. U.S. interests in the
region have been massively crippled over the past year.
For this reason and many others, much of America
seems anxious to replace Mr. Obama with someone else.
But examining the list of possible replacements is like fac-
ing a terminal illness, concludes columnist Bret Stephens.
There may be an apparent range of treatments: convention-
al (Romney), experimental (Gingrich), homeopathic (Paul)
or prayerful (Santorum). But none will avail you in the end
(Wall Street Journal, emphasis added throughout).
There is, to paraphrase the words of the Prophet Jer-
emiah, NO HOPE IN MAN!
Yet, despite the widespread political, social and economic
turmoil man has brought upon himselfand despite his best
attempts to recycle policies that have repeatedly failedthere
is GOOD NEWS ahead for America and the rest of the world.
Jesus Christ will SOON return to rule this Earth! His kingly
reign is much nearer than many believe. And quite unlike
the leaders of this present evil world, Jesus Christ is perfectly
QUALIFIED for the monumental task this world is facing!
At Christs frst coming, many people of Judea and Sa-
maria actually wanted to make Jesus king right then and
there. To set their thinking straight, Jesus gave a parable, re-
corded in Luke 19:11-27, to explain WHEN the Kingdom of God
would be set up on Earth. In the story, a certain nobleman
goes to a far country to receive a kingdom and then RETURNS.
For those who believe their Bibles, the meaning could not
be more clear. Jesus is represented as the nobleman. He as-
cended to heaven after His resurrection in order to receive
the authority from God to rule the nations of this Earth.
His rule will begin the moment He returns to Jerusalema
WORLD-SHAKING event that is thoroughly explained in dozens
of Bible prophecies (read Zechariah 14 and Revelation 19).
Revelation 11:15 says when the seventh trumpet sounds,
the kingdoms of this world WILL BECOME the kingdoms of
our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and
ever. In chapter 14, verse 14, it says Christ will wear a
golden crown when He returns. And in Revelation 19:16,
He is described as KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Yes, the resurrected Jesus Christ is the only world leader
truly QUALIFIED to bring obedience, peace and prosperity to
this sin-laden, war-torn planet. Hes the only ruler capable
of making the long-sought-after utopia a reality.
But this doesnt mean He will rule alone, without assis-
tance from a trained administration ruling underneath His
kingly offce. Notice that verse in Revelation 19 says Jesus
will be King over other kings and Lord over other lords.
The Bible reveals that there will be many other world lead-
ers ruling with and under Jesus Christ when the Kingdom
of God is set up on Earth. These are the saints of the Most
High God! And their reign is also described in numerous
biblical passages.
In the book of Daniel, Jesus Christs coronationwhich
takes place in heaven just before He returnsis described
in chapter 7, verses 13-14. In that same chapter, the prophet
adds that God will give His Kingdom to the saints of the
In what kind of parallel
universe can sharing a
bedroom be classied as
homeless?
see LEADERSHIP page 10
STEPHEN FLURRY
COLUMNIST
America Needs New Leadership
MIDDLE EAST
nFinal results of Egypts election are in: Islamists have won
nearly three quarters of the seats in the lower house of parliament,
according to offcial fgures released last Saturday. The Muslim Broth-
erhoods Freedom and Justice Party won 47 percent of seats, and the
ultraconservative Salafst al-Nour Party took 25 percent. This will give
these parties a dominant role in drafting Egypts new constitution,
which will be written by a body appointed by parliament. No women
were elected to parliament, though the ruling military council, which
has appointed the fnal 10 members of the 508-seat chamber, has
selected three women. When parliament convened for the frst time on
Monday, Muslim Brotherhood member Saad al-Katatni was elected as
speaker of parliament. Islamists also succeeded in adding Islamic re-
ligious references to the oath of offce. A presidential election is sched-
uled to be held before the end of June, when the countrys military
leaders are due to step down.
nAnti-Semitism surges in wake of Arab Spring: Democratic
freedom has led to an explosion of anti-Semitic sentiment in the newly
liberated nations in the Middle East whose dictatorships have been
toppled in the past year. That was the conclusion of a report released on
Sunday by Tel Aviv Universitys Kantor Center for the Study of Con-
temporary European Jewry. [While] the popular uprisings in the Arab
world do not represent a general change in attitude towards Israel, Zi-
onism and the Jews, it seems the anti-Semitic discourse and incitement
have become more extreme and violent, the report said. Charges of an
international Jewish conspiracy have been a central motif in the anti-
Semitic propaganda that has accompanied the Arab Spring uprisings.
nPalestinian security forces involved in anti-Israel demon-
strations: Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces have increased
their participation in anti-Israel demonstrations in the West Bank,
senior Israeli military sources said last week. Three Palestinian police-
men, in civilian dress, were recently arrested for throwing rocks at
Israeli security forces during demonstrations. We believe that the PA is
fnancing the protests, but it is new that security offcers are involved,
a senior Israel Defense Forces offcer said.
nIraq becoming a police stateagain: Iraq is becoming a police
state, an international human rights group says, as the Shiite-led gov-
ernment cracks down harshly on dissidents. In its World Report 2012,
Human Rights Watch says that Iraq is slipping back into authoritarian-
ism as security forces abuse protesters, harass journalists, torture pris-
oners and intimidate activists. The report, released Sunday, says the
human rights situation in Iraq is worse than it was a year ago, with the
U.S. failing to leave behind a stable democracy. The group says it has
uncovered a secret prison where detainees are tortured, with those who
control the facility reporting to the military offce of Prime Minister
Nuri al-Maliki. It also says at least 10 protesters and bystanders have
been killed and more than 250 injured in Kurdistan.
ENVOY | January 26
Egypt Bars Americans
From Leaving
S
AM LAHOOD, the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
and the head of the International Republican Institutes (IRI) Cairo
offce, was blocked from departing Egypt earlier this week. He,
along with a dozen other American NGO colleagues, have been placed on
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 28, 2012 2
THIRTY-FOUR MILES. Thats the
width of the Strait of Hor-
muz, the strategic waterway
separating Iran and the
Arabian peninsula through
which 40 percent of global
seaborne oil trade occurs.
Right now, events in this
tiny passageway threaten
to transform the global
economic malaise into full-scale economic ca-
lamity, and quite possibly set off a major war.
On Monday, ALL 27 EU MEMBER
STATES agreed to refuse oil imports from
Iran, including crude oil, petroleum and
petrochemical products. Additionally, the EU
announced a variety of fnancial restrictions
on Tehran, including freezing assets held in
Europe by Irans central bank.
This is signifcant! Europe has imple-
mented sanctions on Iran before, but not like
these. These are by far the toughest Europe
has meted out. The EU has clearly taken its
toughness to the next level and shown that its
willing to confront Iran more directly. Its also
telling that it was the European Union, not
individual member states, that announced
this embargo. The EU, at least in this instance,
appears to have a single, UNITED foreign policy!
Here at the Trumpet we fnd it impossible
to watch events in the Persian Gulf and not see
the prophecy in Daniel 11. In verse 40, God
says via His prophet that at the time of the
end shall the king of the south push at him:
and the king of the north shall come against
him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with
horsemen, and with many ships . Notice frst,
this event is occurring at the time of the end.
Next, consider the participants in this
clash. They are the king of the souththe
armies of radical Islam led by Iranand the
king of the norththe armies of a united
Europe led by Germany and the Vatican. In
Hebrew, the word push means to push at,
or to wage war. Think about Irans nuclear
weapons program, its threat to close down
Hormuz, its support of terrorism in Israel and
around the world. The primary goal of Ira-
nian foreign policy is to push and provoke,
to aggravate and infuriate.
This prophecy was written 2,500 years
agoand it describes the present situation in
the Strait of Hormuz perfectly!
Daniel 11:40 says that the king of the
north will react, and eventually with over-
powering forceand this week we were given
a glimpse of how this will happen.
Bible Prophecy
Comes Alive in the
Strait of Hormuz!
BRAD MACDONALD | Columnist
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 28, 2012 3
an Egyptian no-fy list, offcials with IRI told Yahoo News Thursday.
The younger LaHood was blocked at passport control when he
went to the Cairo airport Saturday, Lorne Craner, the head of the IRI, a
Washington-based pro-democracy non-government organization, told
Yahoo News. The organization is raising awareness of the situation now
because, despite calls from several high-ranking American offcials
to Egyptian leaders to discuss the case, the situation does not appear
closer to being resolved.
President Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Sec-
retary Leon Panetta, Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns, and Senator
John McCain (R-Arizona), the chairman of IRI, have all been calling,
they have all had very honest conversations with Egyptian leaders, Cra-
ner said. And not only is nothing getting better, things are getting worse.
We are all scratching our heads over here, Craner continued. Sev-
eral U.S. citizens have been questioned by judges in connection with
the Egyptian governments investigation of NGOs and are currently
restricted from leaving Egypt, a State Department offcial told Yahoo
News Thursday. We are working with the government of Egypt to lift
the travel restrictions and allow these individuals to come home as
quickly as possible.
Last month, Egyptian police raided the Cairo offces of IRI and sev-
eral other NGOs, including the U.S.-based National Democratic Institute
and Freedom House, confscating records and computers. The raids
were ordered by the Egyptian prosecutors offce, which is purportedly
investigating alleged foreign funding of NGOs operating in the country.
Middle East analysts note the irony of Egyptian prosecutors investi-
gating whether the NGOs receive foreign funding, given the fact the U.S.
government gives billions of dollars in military aid to Egypt.
CAROLINE GLICK, JERUSALEM POST | January 24
America and the Arab
Spring
A
YEAR ago this week, on Jan. 25, 2011, the ground began to crumble
under then-Egyptian president Hosni Mubaraks feet. One year
later, Mubarak and his sons are in prison, and standing trial.
This week, the fnal vote tally from Egypts parliamentary elections
was published. The Islamist parties have won 72 percent of the seats in
the lower house. The photogenic, Western-looking youth from Tahrir
Square the Western media were thrilled to dub the Facebook revolu-
tionaries were disgraced at the polls and exposed as an insignifcant
social and political force.
As for the military junta, it has made its peace with the Muslim
Brotherhood. The generals and the jihadists are negotiating a power-
sharing agreement. According to details of the agreement that have
made their way to the media, the generals will remain the Wests go-to
guys for foreign affairs. The Muslim Brotherhood (and its fellow jihad-
ists in the Salafst al-Nour party) will control Egypts internal affairs.
This is bad news for women and for non-Muslims. Egypts Coptic
Christians have been under continuous attack by Muslim Brotherhood
and Salafst supporters since Mubarak was deposed. Their churches,
homes and businesses have been burned, looted and destroyed. Their
wives and daughters have been raped. The military massacred them
when they dared to protest their persecution.
As for women, their main claim to fame since Mubaraks overthrow
has been their sexual victimization at the hands of soldiers who stripped
female protesters and performed virginity tests on them. Out of nearly
fve hundred seats in parliament, only 10 will be flled by women.
THIS WEEK, the European Union went to war
against Iran. There was no formal declara-
tion, of course, nor even any undeclared
use of military force. But the EU decision
to place an embargo on Iranian oil imports,
ban new contracts and freeze Iranian
Central Bank assets is effectively an act of
war and may very well result in the mili-
tary hostilities that sanctions are meant to
forestall.
Oil exports account for over 50 percent
of Iranian government revenue and about
80 percent of its hard currency earnings.
And the EU, as a bloc, is Irans second-
largest customer, taking about a quarter of
Iranian exports. Consequently, unless other
customers neutralize EU actions by step-
ping up their own purchases from Iran
and indications from China, Japan and
South Korea suggest that this is unlikely to
be the casethe EU decision, coupled with
existing American measures, will come
close to imposing the crippling sanctions
that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham
Clinton threatened but could not deliver
without European cooperation.
If that turns out to be the case, then the
Iranian regime will feel constrained to re-
act. One possibility is that it will capitulate
and essentially dismantle its nuclear weap-
ons program. But it is at least as likely
that Iran, feeling trapped, will lash out in a
desperate attempt to frighten the Europeans
into backing down or at least introduce so
much hysteria into the oil market that price
spikes will allow it to earn the same revenue
from a reduced volume of exports.
One form this might take would be an
attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz Far
less complicated would be sabotage or rock-
et attacks on refneries, pipelines and other
facilities in places like Saudi Arabia.
In this scenario, the military confrontation
that many Europeans have sought to avoid
will become unavoidable.
It is diffcult to imagine that the EU
members who adopted the decision on
sanctions are unaware of this possible
dynamic. Indeed, the very fact that British
and French warships accompanied the U.S.
aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln on its pas-
sage through the Straits and back into the
Gulfin brazen defance of Iranian warn-
ingsimply the opposite .
And that suggests that the European
Union, notwithstanding its economic tra-
vails, is experiencing its own spring in for-
eign and defense policy and that those who
tended in the past to dismiss it now need
to carry out a fundamental reassessment.
A Europe-Iran War
NEW YORK TIMES | January 25
The Western media are centering their attention on what the next
Egyptian constitution will look like and whether it will guarantee
rights for women and minorities. What they fail to recognize is that the
Islamic fundamentalists now in charge of Egypt dont need a constitu-
tion to implement their tyranny. All they require is what they already
havea public awareness of their political power and their partnership
with the military.
The same literalist approach that has prevented Western observers
from reading the writing on the walls in terms of the Islamists domes-
tic empowerment has blinded them to the impact of Egypts political
transformation on the countrys foreign policy posture. U.S. offcials
forcefully proclaim that they will not abide by an Egyptian move to
formally abrogate its peace treaty with Israel. What they fail to recog-
nize is that whether or not the treaty is formally abrogated is irrelevant.
The situation on the ground in which the new regime allows Sinai to be
used as a launching ground for attacks against Israel, and as a highway
for weapons and terror personnel to fow freely into Gaza, are clear
signs that the peace with Israel is already deadtreaty or no treaty.
To understand the depth and breadth of Americas losses, consider
that on Jan. 25, 2011, most Arab states were U.S. allies to a greater or
lesser degree. Mubarak was a strategic ally. Saleh was willing to col-
laborate with the U.S. in combating al Qaeda and other jihadist forces
in his country. Qadhaf was a neutered former enemy who had posed
no threat to the U.S. since 2004. Iraq was a protectorate. Jordan and
Morocco were stable U.S. clients.
One year later, the elements of the U.S.s alliance structure have ei-
ther been destroyed or seriously weakened. U.S. allies like Saudi Arabia,
which have yet to be seriously threatened by the revolutionary violence,
no longer trust the U.S.
Obamas behavior since last January 25 has made clear to U.S. friend
and foe alike that under Obama, the U.S. is more likely to attack you
if you display weakness towards it than if you adopt a confrontational
posture against it. As Assad survives to kill another day; as Iran ex-
pands its spheres of infuence and gallops towards the nuclear bomb; as
al Qaeda and its allies rise from the Gulf of Aden to the Suez Canal; and
as Mubarak continues to be wheeled into the courtroom on a stretcher,
the U.S.s rapid fall from regional power is everywhere in evidence.
EUROPE
nGermany and France plan EU tax harmonization: Germany
and France are planning to give the European Union new powers to
coordinate taxation, Agence France-Presse reported January 18, cit-
ing a confdential Franco-German paper seen by several media outlets.
European institutions and member states should accelerate the process
of tax coordination, the document says. In particular, the negotiation
of the European Commission proposals on energy tax directive, common
consolidated corporate tax base and common system of fnancial transac-
tion tax should be accelerated. The EUs push for a common corporate
tax rate is just the beginningFrance and Germany want it to go further.
The Telegraphs Bruno Waterfeld reports: EU offcials have said that the
Franco-German push will give a new lease of life to Brussels for new ener-
gy taxes that will set higher minimum road and heating fuel duties based
on carbon emissions. Britain is opposed to giving the EU more power
over taxation. The new proposal is yet more evidence of Europe moving
toward closer integration while Britain tries to go in the other direction.
nEurope needs a political union, might not save Greece, says
Merkel: The EU eventually needs to create a political union with many
more powers handed over to a central government, German Chancellor
Angela Merkel said in an interview with several newspapers, published
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 28, 2012 4
DURING HIS current personal-
ly-enforced exile from Ger-
many and its political scene,
Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg
is proving that he is becom-
ing a consummate politician.
After carefully adding, by
his actions and guarded pub-
lic statements, to the hype
surrounding a possible po-
litical comeback by the 2013 German elections,
Guttenberg has suddenly conveyed an impres-
sion of humbly withdrawing from contention.
Just two weeks ago, the media was an-
ticipating Guttenbergs return to active party
politics in Germany, with indications that a
ministerial portfolio could be in the offng. Yet
last Thursday, in a carefully choreographed
performance, no doubt designed to wrong-foot
the establishment in Germany, Guttenberg
declared that he was not yet ready to return.
This is brilliant political psychology.
By his latest actions, Guttenberg has left the
German electorate with a feeling of unrequited
anticipation within an atmosphere where the
public are increasingly showing marked disaf-
fection for their current political leadership.
This will obviously heighten political tensions
in Germany and further add to the frustration
of not only his political backers but that of the
long-suffering German public.
By playing hard to get while he enjoys the
freedom to express his opinions unfettered
by political constraints, Guttenberg currently
enjoys respected status as a key adviser on the
staff of the EU Commission vice president for
the digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, a non-sala-
ried position.
This task gives Guttenberg an international
profle while enabling him to steer clear of EU
politics for the moment, allowing him also to
continue to be involved in high-status meet-
ings and conventions such as that which he
attended in Canada last year.
If Guttenberg is to return to an active, high-
profle role in German or EU politics, we have
always thought that would be by invitation, not
by election to offce. By his latest actions, the
bright and politically astute young baron has
placed himself in a position to encourage such
an invitation as the political situation in Ger-
many and the EU continues to fracture.
Given the current volatility of the ongoing
euro crisis, the time may become ripe for just
such an invitation to be issued to Karl-Theodor
zu Guttenberg, baron of the Holy Roman Em-
pire, much sooner rather than later.
Karl-Theodor
zu Guttenberg Plays
Hard to Get
RON FRASER | Columnist
January 26. This union would have a stronger parliament, with an up-
per and lower chamber, and with the European Court of Justice as its
supreme court. One of the papers conducting the interview, the Guard-
ian, summarized the new treaty Germany is pushing, saying it would
enshrine the German model of fscal and monetarist rigor as binding
on the eurozone, in a move that would, in effect, outlaw Keynesian
economics. Chancellor Merkel said, We will only be able to strengthen
our common currency if we coordinate our policies more closely and
are prepared to gradually give up more powers to the EU. My vision
is one of political union because Europe needs to forge its own unique
path. We need to become incrementally closer and closer, in all policy
areas. Europe is moving toward becoming a single German-led super-
state, just as the Trumpet has long predicted.
nCroatia votes to join EU: Croatia voted to join the EU in a ref-
erendum held on January 22. Of the 48 percent of the population that
turned out to vote, 68 percent voted to join the EU. Germany deliber-
ately broke apart Yugoslavia to gain power over the Balkans, and now
Croatia is joining Germanys club. For more information, read our free
booklet Germanys Conquest of the Balkans.
THE LOCAL | January 24
German Sent to Bring
Mideast Peace
T
HE EUROPEAN Union named a veteran German diplomat as the
new EU envoy to the Middle East peace process on Monday, amid
tensions with Israel over Jewish settlements. Andreas Reinicke,
Germanys ambassador to Syria, will take over from Belgian diplomat
Marc Otte on February 1 for a term ending June 30, 2013, with the goal
of helping to revive stalled peace talks.
Reinicke is an experienced diplomat with huge knowledge of the
Middle East. He will play a key role in our efforts to bring the parties
back to the negotiating table, said EU foreign policy chief Catherine
Ashton. An EU statement said his task will be to contribute to achiev-
ing the EUs policy objectives in the region, including a comprehensive
peace, a two-state solution and a settlement of the Israeli-Syrian and
Israeli-Lebanese conficts.
The EU has angered Israel over leaked EU reports criticizing the
continuing construction of settlements in Palestinian territories.
DER SPIEGEL | January 26
Revenge for EU Sanctions
I
TS A move which has tit-for-tat written all over it, but one which could
nonetheless have a serious impact: The Iranian government wants to
present a bill to parliament this weekend calling for an immediate halt
to oil deliveries to Europe. The move, with most reports citing the Iranian
news agency Mehr, has come about in response to the EU agreement to
impose sanctions against Iran, which were announced earlier this week.
The sanctions banned any new contracts for buying oil from Iran,
but allowed existing deals to continue until July in order to give coun-
tries time to fnd other sources. But that process is now at risk after the
latest move from Tehran, a step the Iranian government had already
threatened.
If this bill is passed, the government will be forced to stop selling
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 28, 2012 5
And I beheld another beast coming up out of
the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb,
and he spake as a dragon.
Revelation 13:11
PERHAPS YOU have seen the commercials.
These commercials have been played during
December and January on several na-
tional television networks. They are entitled
Catholics Come Home.
Beautifully prepared, they point out facts
about our Catholic Church: Our family is
made up of every race. We are young and
old, rich and poor, men and women, sin-
ners and saints. Our family has spanned the
centuries and the globe. With Gods help, we
have established hospitals and orphanages.
We are the largest charitable organization on
the planet bringing help to those in need. We
educate more children than any other schol-
arly or religious institution. We developed
the scientifc method and laws of evidence.
We founded the college system. We defend
the dignity of all human life and uphold
marriage and family. Guided by the Holy
Spirit, we compiled the Bible. We are over
1 billion in number and for over 2,000 years
we have had an unbroken line of shepherds
guiding the Catholic Church with love and
truth in a confused and hurting world.
In this world flled with chaos, hardship,
and pain it is comforting to know that some
things remain consistent, true, and strong
our Catholic faith. The commercials end with
an invitation: If you have been away from
the Catholic Church we invite you to take
another look.
How blessed we are to belong to the family
of God, the Catholic Church, which Jesus
Himself founded. It is for us to invite others
to be active members of the Church. Perhaps
we know people who have been away from the
Church or perhaps we know people who are
not members that we could invite to join.
Sadly, there is an increasing tendency in
modern society for people not to be active
members of Gods family. We increasingly
have become a society where many are a
church of one. We seek to live our faith as
an individual and not as a member of the
family of God.
Commercials can be very effective, but
even more effective are individual invita-
tions. Please invite others to come back or
to become part of the Catholic Church. God
wishes to use us as His instruments of grace
and faith. Please reach out and invite.
Catholics Come
Home
ARCHBISHOP THOMAS J. RODI,
CATHOLIC NEWS AGENCY | January 26
oil to Europe before the actual implementation of their sanctions, said
Emad Hosseini, spokesman for the Iranian parliaments energy com-
mission, reportedly said. The bill is set to become law on Sunday.
The EU sanctions allow for oil deliveries from Iran until July 1. Any
preempting of this timescale by Tehran could prove problematic for
countries like Italy, Greece and Spain, who would need to urgently fnd
new suppliers.
Many members of the EU are now heavily dependent on Iranian
oil. Some 500,000 barrels arrive in Europe every day from Iran, with
southern European countries consuming most of it. Greece is the most
exposed, receiving a third of all its oil imports from Iran, but Italy too
depends on Iran for 13 percent of its oil needs. If this source were to dry
up abruptly, the economic conditions in the two struggling countries
could become even worse.
Already on Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
warned of the economic consequences of the EUs planned embargo.
Stopping deliveries from the worlds ffth-largest producer could drive
up the price of oil by 20 to 30 percent.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE | January 25
One in Five Young
Germans Unaware of
Auschwitz
O
NE IN fve young Germans has no idea that Auschwitz was a Nazi
death camp, a poll released Wednesday showed, two days ahead
of Holocaust memorial day.
Although 90 percent of those asked did know it was a concentration
camp, the poll for Thursdays edition of Stern newsmagazine revealed
that Auschwitz meant nothing to 21 percent of 18-29 year olds. And
nearly a third of the 1,002 people questioned last Thursday and Friday
for the poll were unaware that Auschwitz was in todays Poland.
According to a report by independent experts commissioned by the
German parliament and published earlier this week, about one in fve
Germans is latently anti-Semitic.
EU OBSERVER | January 23
EU Becoming
Less Tolerant
R
ACIST MOBS in Greece and Hungary, mistreatment of Roma, Arab
migrants and Muslim terrorist suspects and a feeble reaction by
EU institutions point to a worrying right-wing shift inside the
European Union, according to U.S.-based NGO Human Rights Watch.
The most shocking racist attack in Europe last year saw Norwegian
Anders Breivik kill 77 people in what he called a campaign to stop the
continent being taken over by Islam. In less-well documented incidents,
a far-right mob in Greece in May stormed a Pakistani suburb hospital-
izing 25 people, some with stab wounds. In April in Hungary, the Red
Cross evacuated 277 Roma because right-wing vigilantes held military-
type drills beside their homes.
The Human Rights Watch report pulls no punches in linking the
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 28, 2012 6
ONCE A nation has reached the capacity
to feed, clothe, shelter and guard the
welfare of its citizenry within a balanced
budget, it is in a prime position to use re-
sources that are excess to meeting these
needs to then make and sell things to
other nations and proft from their sale.
There was a time when America did
this in a big way. So big that it became
the worlds largest exporter of food and
many manufactured goods. Something
changed in this equation about 30 years
prior to the end of the 20th century. A
prime culprit for the failure of the sys-
tem is greed.
America simply got too used to a
comfortable ride home on the pigs back
and has become fat and lazy as a result,
rapidly sliding down the slippery slope to
national penury. On balance, the nation
has simply exported its ability to produce
for itself. Such a state of affairs would
be economically concerning in times
of peace. It is downright dangerous in
todays climate of global disorder such as
that we are presently experiencing.
When one considers the state of the
American economy today, having been
the prime victor in a world war fought
on two massive fronts just 70 years ago,
and compares it with todays economic
condition of the nation vanquished in
the North Atlantic campaign of World
War IIGermanythe difference is stark.
Germany today has the strongest
manufacturing economy on the globe.
It is Europes prime exporting nation
the leading nation by far in a European
Union which is the largest trading bloc
on the planet. Its national exports rank
second only to China in scope. How has
Germany achieved this?
Its simple. As a nation the German
people have simply adhered to those
same principles which made America
now dropped from top to fourth on the
list of exporting countries directly under
Germanya once great nation. Don Lee
reported recently in the Los Angeles
Times: Germany, with its manufac-
turing base and export prowess, is the
America of yesteryear, an economic pow-
er unlike any of its European neighbors.
As the worlds fourth-largest economy, it
has thrived on principles that the United
States seems to have gradually lost.
Germany vs.
America: A Contrast
in Economies
RON FRASER, THETRUMPET.COM | January 26
extreme cases to bad leadership by EU governments. It said the Breivik
attack [echoed] what has increasingly become mainstream debate
in Europe and highlighted the dangers of unchecked intolerance in
countries such as France, which banned the Muslim veil, and the Neth-
erlands, whose courts gave far-right politician Geert Wilders special
latitude to voice anti-Islamic ideas.
The report named and shamed nine EU member statesFrance, Ger-
many, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the
UKas displaying a swing toward right-wing politics on issues ranging
from asylum seekers to gay rights. [The report stated:] The net result
of human rights developments in Europe causes great concern . With-
out concerted government action, the next generation of Europeans may
see human rights as an optional extra rather than a core value.
ASIA
nIndia bypasses dollar for Iranian oil purchases: India has
agreed to buy Irans oil with gold rather than the U.S. dollar, DEBKAfle
reported Monday. This agreement means India has joined China and
Russia in ignoring the U.S.-led European sanctions on Tehrans fnancial
business and oil exports. China is expected to soon switch to gold for
Iranian oil purchases. Both India and China are superpowers in terms
of gold holdings. Together, Beijing and New Delhi buy around 1 million
barrels of Iranian oil each day, which is 40 percent of Irans total exports.
By making the purchases in gold, India and China allow Tehran to by-
pass the scheduled freeze on its central banks assets and to work around
the oil embargo that the EU agreed to implement on Monday. Analysts
also expect the colossal amounts involved in these transactions to boost
the price of gold and diminish the utility of the dollar on global markets.
nChina overtakes Japan as worlds top coal importer: China
surpassed Japan in 2011 to become the worlds top coal importer, ac-
cording to data published Thursday. The switch was driven by a Japa-
nese reduction of imports after the March 2011 earthquake damaged
many of Japans coal-fred power plants, in addition to robust Chinese
demand. Japan had maintained the number one position from 1975
until 2010, the International Energy Agencys Coal Information showed.
In 2009, China overtook the U.S. to become the worlds largest energy
consumer, and the speed at which Chinas economy continues to grow is
historically unprecedented. Chinas frenetic drive for resources is inten-
sifying the global scramble for the planets wealth. As Europe and other
powers watch China devour a rapidly increasing proportion of resourc-
es, they will strive to tighten the grip on their own supply channels.
nRussia looks to Aussie bills as U.S. dollar alternative:
Moscow may begin buying the Australian dollar as an international
reserve currency as soon as next month, striking another blow to the
beleaguered U.S. dollar. Since the U.S. Federal Reserve cautioned that
Americas economic recovery was at risk, prompting the Fed to an-
nounce that U.S. interest rates might stay close to zero for three years,
investors around the world, including those in Russia, have been look-
ing for alternatives to the greenback.
LATIN AMERICA
nU.S. reset backfres as Brazil turns to China: Ten months
after U.S. President Barack Obama pledged to help Brazil develop its
potentially massive offshore oil reserves, Brazil has spurned the U.S.
and opted to sell its oil to China. China recently bought a 40 percent
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 28, 2012 7
THINK OF the homeless and an image comes to
mind of people sleeping in shop doorways or
families living in cramped bed-and-breakfast
accommodation. Not so, apparently. The notion
of homelessness as not having a proper roof
over your head is so last century.
The new defnition also includes over-
crowding, such as children having to share a
bedroom or not having a quiet place to do their
homework. It goes to prove that you can never
underestimate the ingenuity of the welfare
industry when it comes to expanding its client
base. In what kind of parallel universe can shar-
ing a bedroom be classifed as homeless?
I had no idea that the concept of homeless-
ness could be so fexible until I heard the
BBCs coverage of the governments plans to
cap benefts. Predictably, the BBC went into
inter-stellar overdrive at the announcement
that no family in future will receive more than
26,000 a year in benefts. A procession of
professional grievance-mongers was paraded
across the airwaves to protest about the cruelty
of this callous measure. Restricting benefts to
the level of the average household income was
plunging people into poverty. Expecting fami-
lies on welfare to move from Mayfair into more
affordable accommodation was tantamount to
social cleansing.
If thats the case then there are millions of
people in Britain, particularly pensioners on
fxed incomes and parents on low wages strug-
gling to feed their families, who would just love
to be plunged into poverty. Mind you, Labor
stretched the elastic defnition of poverty so
far that people earning 50,000-plus were still
entitled to receive benefts.
Twenty-six grand is not a fortune, but it
is the average household income after tax in
Britain. These reforms are long overdue. A
scheme which started with the best of inten-
tions has spiraled out of control, flling the
pockets of spiv landlords and delivering absur-
dities such as the Somali family put up in an
8,000-a-month, six-bedroom house in Lon-
dons upmarket Hampsteadsimply because
they didnt fancy living in Coventry.
It is outrageous that foreign nationals with
no connection to this country, and who have
never made any contribution to this country,
should be able to travel halfway round the
world and expect to live like millionaires at the
expense of hard-working British taxpayers.
Outrageous, that is, except to BBC journal-
ists and the kind of deluded Big State welfare
professional who considers any child without
his or her own bedroom to be homeless.
At This Rate Well
All Soon Want to Be
Homeless
DAILY MAIL | January 24
stake in Repsol-YPFs Brazil unit, which has drilling rights to the Santos
Offshore Basin, according to the Washington Times. The Times also re-
veals that China has bought a 30 percent stake in Galp Energia, a Por-
tuguese company that holds rights to the same basin. As rival powers
snatch up oil in Americas backyard, Washington appears to be asleep.
ANGLO-AMERICA
nBishops defeat UK welfare law: Britains Conservative govern-
ment is attempting to pass a law capping the benefts families can receive
from the government, but were defeated in the House of Lords by an
opposition aided by Church of England bishops. The government wants
to cap welfare payments at 26,000 (US$41,000) per family. To earn that
kind of money, a working family would have to earn around 35,000
(US$55,000) before tax. Rather than heeding the biblical principle that
if any would not work, neither should he eat (2 Thessalonians 3:10), the
bishops are encouraging idleness, as Britains debt grows ever larger.
nObama takes State of the Union message to key states: After
delivering his State of the Union address on Tuesday, U.S. President
Barack Obama began a three-day swing-state tour in a bid to raise sup-
port in election battlegrounds. The presidents main message was a call
for higher taxes on the wealthy, something Republicans strongly oppose.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney called the president
detached from reality, telling supporters: This is a president who talks
about deregulation, even as he regulates. Who talks about lowering
taxes, even as he raises them. With more than 13 million people out of
work and a government debt standing at a record high of $15.2 trillion,
expect this years presidential campaign to be fraught with division.
THE AUSTRALIAN | January 28
Chaos as Monsoon Storm
Blows In
T
HE CENTRAL west of Queensland was bracing for the onslaught of a
monsoonal storm cell from the Gulf of Carpentaria last night, as
more than 1,200 properties remained isolated in northeast NSW as
food warnings were upgraded for the swollen Clarence River.
In low-lying parts of Lawrence, downstream from the NSW town of
Grafton, residents were on alert to fee in another day of weather chaos
across two states. Motorists ignored warning signs to drive into food-
waters, as torrential rain, hail and savage storms battered Queenslands
southeast. Swiftwater rescue teams in southeast Queensland carried out
six retrievals, prompting emergency services to voice frustration that
people were still not heeding warnings against entering fooded roads.
Separately, State Emergency Service crews answered 257 calls,
mainly to help with leaking or fooded homes. Two-thirds of these were
on the Gold Coast, which took the brunt of the heavy rain yesterday.
More than 90mm fell in an
hour on its hinterland.
Parts of Brisbanes DAguilar
National Park have been
closed temporarily for safety
reasons following small
landslides and local fooding.
The Department of
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 28, 2012 8
SO, AS [investor George Soros] and the
worlds movers once again converge
on Davos, Switzerland, for the World
Economic Forum this week, what is one
of the worlds highest-stakes economic
gamblers betting on now?
Hes not. For the frst time in his
60-year career, Soros, now 81, admits
he is not sure what to do. Its very hard
to know how you can be right, given the
damage that was done during the boom
years, Soros says.
Sitting in his 33rd-foor corner of-
fce high above Seventh Avenue in New
York, preparing for his trip to Davos, he
is more concerned with surviving than
staying rich. At times like these, sur-
vival is the most important thing, he
says . He doesnt just mean its time to
protect your assets. He means its time
to stave off disaster. As he sees it, the
world faces one of the most dangerous
periods of modern historya period of
evil. Europe is confronting a descent
into chaos and confict. In America he
predicts riots on the streets that will
lead to a brutal clampdown that will
dramatically curtail civil liberties. The
global economic system could even col-
lapse altogether.
I am not here to cheer you up. The
situation is about as serious and dif-
fcult as Ive experienced in my career,
Soros tells Newsweek. We are facing
an extremely diffcult time, compa-
rable in many ways to the 1930s, the
Great Depression. We are facing now a
general retrenchment in the developed
world, which threatens to put us in a
decade of more stagnation, or worse.
The best-case scenario is a defationary
environment. The worst-case scenario
is a collapse of the fnancial system.
It is now more likely than not that
Greece will formally default in 2012,
Soros will tell leaders in Davos this
week. He will castigate European lead-
ers who seem to know only how to do
enough to calm the situation, not to
solve the problem. If Germanys An-
gela Merkel or Frances Nicolas Sarkozy
nurses any lingering hopes of fnding
their salvation outside the Continent,
they are mistaken. I took a recent trip
to China, and China wont come to Eu-
ropes rescue, Soros says. Despite all its
woes, he nevertheless thinks the euro
willjust barelysurvive.
Coming U.S.
Class War
NEWSWEEK | January 23
And also I have withholden the rain from
you, when there were yet three months to the
harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city,
and caused it not to rain upon anothercity:
one piece was rained upon, and the piece
whereupon it rained not withered. Amos 4:7
Education says that so far three schools have closed because of rising
foodwaters on the Sunshine and Gold coasts. Although the rain has
eased, more than 165mm has been recorded on the Sunshine Coast and
146mm [5.7 inches] at Bribie Island since 9 a.m. on Thursday.
VICTOR DAVIS HANSON, NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE | January 25
The Perils of
Obamas Foreign Policy
T
HE MYSTERY remaining about the Obama administrations foreign
policy is not whether it has worked, but whether its failures will
matter all that much. That is no rhetorical question, given that it is
hard to permanently damage, in just three years, the position abroad of
the United States, given its vast military power and enormous economy.
The Obama administrations policy was predicated on three assump-
tions. First, world tensions and widespread dislike of the United States
were due to George Bushs wars and his cowboyish style. Therefore, out-
reach and reset would correct the Bush mistakesgiven that unrest did
not really antedate, and would not postdate, the strutting Bush.
Yet most problems really did transcend Bush, and so reset ac-
complished little. Hugo Chvez is more hostile to America than ever,
whether symbolically by accusing the Obama administration of spread-
ing cancer among Latin American leaders or concretely by entertaining
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. There is no new warmth from Cuba or Nicara-
guaas there never could have been from their Stalinist heads of state.
Putin has as much contempt for Obama as he did for Bush. Our poli-
cies remain the same: trying to encourage Russian reform without caus-
ing a war or neo-Soviet adventurism. The decision to reach out to Assad
with recognition and an embassy failed; Syria became more unhinged
and violent, not less. The verdict is still out on the Arab Spring; the
Obama administration stopped taking credit for it once the illiberal Mus-
lim Brotherhood began its ascendance. The Palestinians are now talking
of a third intifada, and they hope that, when the shooting starts, their new
friend the United States will hector Israel in a way it did not under Bush.
Outreach to Iran was a disaster; the serial face-to-face talks and the
quiet neglect of the Iranian dissidents did not work. Now we are reduced
to the sort of catch-up sanctions that would have earned Bush the charge
of warmongering from the Left. Unoffcial U.S. policy seems to be a silent
hope that tiny Israel does the unthinkable that a huge United States would
not, while Saudi Arabia expands its pipelines to nullify the value of the
Strait of Hormuz in a way we are refusing to do at home with Keystone.
Obama likes [Turkish] Prime Minister Erdoan even more than he
hates Prime Minister Netanyahu. Lecturing China while borrowing
ever more money from it does not work. I dont think Japan and South
Korea feel any safer with Obama in offcedespite claims of a new
focus on Asia at the expense of old Europe. The more Obama talks of
eliminating nuclear weapons, the more both these neighbors of North
Korea will probably consider acquiring them.
There is no need to review the reset fip side of estrangement from
the Czech Republic, Britain, Israel, and now Canadaallies who believe
in staid things like democracy, human rights, and alliances in times of
peril. It is hard to calibrate U.S. policy toward the EU, since the entire
enterprise is unraveling, and the Europeans seem puzzled that we
are emulating the very failure they are learning from. Mexico is more
violent and unstable than ever before, and more emboldened to sue U.S.
states in American courts of law.
The second Obama idea was the dream of reenergizing the Unit-
ed Nations and working to eliminate all nuclear weapons. But the
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 28, 2012 9
MORE SOLDIERS have donated
more money to Ron Pauls
campaign than to that of
Newt Gingrich, Mitt Rom-
ney, Rich Santorum and
Rick Perry combined. As-
tounding? No. It is just the
latestand all-too-predict-
ableoutgrowth of a nation
deeply frustrated with defeat after defeat.
As far back as the end of World War II, Her-
bert Armstrong said that the United States has
won its last war! He saw then that the pride in
our military power had been broken.
Look at what has happened since Japans
surrender. North Korea: stalemate. Vietnam:
tragic defeat. Bay of Pigs invasion: shameful
defeat. Cambodian and Laos civil wars: defeats
again.
Then there was the frst Gulf War. American
troops sailed halfway around the world to de-
feat Iraqand then leave Saddam Hussein and
all his generals in power to oppose America
and kill off the Kurds and others who sided
with America.
A little over a decade later, during the second
Gulf War, America fnally defeated Hussein.
But that too has turned into a humiliating
defeat. On January 15, the New York Times
reported that the Iraqi government has now
started arresting and detaining hundreds of
U.S. contractors still working in the country.
Operation Iraqi Freedom inadvertently became
Operation Empower Iran. With all U.S. troops
now evacuated from Iraq, the country has be-
come an Iranian proxy. America loses again.
Then there is Afghanistan. When power-
ful America stormed into the small country
of 25 million people in 2001, a Taliban victory
seemed impossible. So it is sad to see stories
such as Karzai: Afghanistan, U.S. Negotiating
With Taliban and Washington Ready to Ne-
gotiate With Mullah Omar. America is getting
ready to abandon Afghanistan now. No wonder
Hamid Karzai wants to make peace with the
Taliban. He doesnt want to get butchered like
the Kurds did in Iraq when America left.
How demoralizing to be part of an army so
hamstrung by politicians, political correctness
and people back home that it cant defeat a coun-
try with a GDP a third of that of North Dakota!
Who would want to be a soldier anymore?
The pride of Americas power has been bro-
ken! It is not just a matter of Americas leaders
lacking the will to sustain our war against terror-
ism, but increasingly it is Americas soldiers too.
And following defeat after defeat, it is hard
to blame them.
Why Do Soldiers
Support Ron Paul?
ROBERT MORLEY | Columnist
Most High and they will possess that Kingdom FOREVER (verses 18, 22, 27).
As diffcult as this is for most people to believe, Gods Word says if
true Christians OVERCOME as Jesus Christ did, then they will sit with
Jesus Christ on His THRONE in Jerusalem even as He now sits with God
on Gods heavenly throne (Revelation 3:21).
Notice what God also inspired the Apostle John to write in Revela-
tion 2:26: And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the
end, to him will I give power over the nations. In other words, God
has called true Christians out of this world to be trained as the future
leaders of tomorrows world!
Thats what these often-ignored or grossly misunderstood Bible
passages actually reveal! If we forsake the ways of sin and exercise
self-control in bringing our lives into subjection underneath Gods holy
law of love (1 Corinthians 9:25-27)if we overcome the way of sin and
endure to the end of this present evil ageGod promises us rulership in
the Kingdom of God FOREVER!
likelihood is that the atomic club will be larger, not smaller, when
Obama leaves offce. Third, Obama promised to win the good war in
Afghanistan, and to end the bad war in Iraq, in addition to junking or
amending the supposedly unconstitutional and counterproductive war
on terror. Here there is some confusion. He got out of Iraq, but on the
Bush-Petraeus timetable long ago negotiated with the Iraqi government.
In Afghanistan no one believes the situation is betterfour command-
ers and three years after Bush left offce. Obama tweaked the war on
terror in cynical fashion, mixing euphemism and realpolitik.
[W]e are back to the deceptive quiet of a 1913, 1938, or 2000, con-
sumed by internal problems, suspicious of the world abroad, assuming
that foreigners challenges are worse than ours, and convinced that no
one would be so stupid as to start a stupid war.
Let us hope no one does. But if someone should be so crazy, others
might follow. Then we would learn that our old allies are now neutrals;
our new friends are enemies; and the old deterrence will be as hard to
regain as it was once to acquire.
TELEGRAPH | January 25
Breadwinning Wives Lead
to More Househusbands
T
HE NUMBER of men living as househusbands while their wives go to
work has tripled in 15 years. Last year 62,000 men were classed as
economically inactive and looking after their family or home. In
1996, there were only 21,000 men in this category, according to analysis
by the Offce of National Statistics, compiled for The Spectator magazine.
Anastasia de Waal, head of families policy at the think tank Civi-
tas, said societys attitudes to gender roles had changed, while grow-
ing numbers of women were earning more than their partners. A few
decades ago the idea of the primary carer being a man would have been
emasculating, she said. That has changed. Men feel much more com-
fortable with the idea.
The true number of stay-at-home fathers could be much higher as
the ONS fgure does not take account of men who describe themselves as
artists or writers who are working from home.
A recent survey for the insurance company Aviva suggested that up
to 1.4 million men in Britain were their childrens main carers.
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 28, 2012 10
LEADERSHIP from page 1
Our Galaxy Hosts
Far More Planets
Than Scientists
Thought
UNTIL RECENTLY, scientists
believed there were several
hundred planets orbiting
stars in our galaxy. But a
groundbreaking study pub-
lished in Nature this month
blows previous estimates
out past the stratosphere.
An international team of scientists evaluated
100 million stars 3,000 to 25,000 light-years
away. They analyzed what is called gravitational
microlensing data, which enables them to detect
even relatively small (approximately Earth-sized)
objects, even those that dont emit light. After
calculating the number of planets within that
statistical sample, the scientists extrapolated how
many planets this would mean the galaxy holds.
Buckle your seat belt. We used to think that
the Earth might be unique in our galaxy, said
Daniel Kubas, one of the co-authors of the study,
from the Institute of Astrophysics in Paris. But
now it seems that there are literally BILLIONS of
planets with masses similar to Earth orbit-
ing stars in the Milky Way (emphasis added
throughout). BILLIONS. Just in our galaxy!
This statistical study tells us that planets
around stars are the rule, rather than the ex-
ception, said the lead astronomer on the proj-
ect, Arnaud Cassan. From now on, we should
see our galaxy populated not only with billions
of bright stars, but imagine them surrounded
by as many hidden extrasolar worlds.
The question is, why would God manufacture
so much interstellar real estate? Science does
not and cannot answer that. But the Bible can!
The late Herbert W. Armstrong wrote exten-
sively about the Bibles answer to this question
in his book The Incredible Human Potential.
One passage he examined is in the book of
Hebrews: Thou [God] hast put all things in
subjection under his [mans] feet. For in that he
[God] put all in subjection under him [man], he
[God] left nothing that is not put under him
(Hebrews 2:8). Is it possible God could mean
what He says (all things)? Nothing excluded?
Mr. Armstrong wrote. In the frst chapter, the
Moffatt translation of the Bible renders the Greek
word translated all things as the universe.
In other words, for those willing to believe
what God says, He says that He has decreed the
entire universewith all its galaxies, its count-
less suns and planetseverythingwill be put
under mans subjection. Thats not just Mr.
Armstrong saying that. Your Bible says God has
put mankind over the universe!
JOEL HILLIKER | Columnist