the

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A DIGEST OF SIGNIFICANT WORLD NEWS FROM THE PHILADELPHIA TRUMPET STAFF FOR THE WEEK OF JANUARY 2-8, 2011

Im frankly embarrassed
to be a member of a
community where 41
percent of pregnancies
are terminated.
Their common culture
should give Taiwan and
China the wisdom to nd
satisfactory solutions to
their quarrels.
We thank Brazil
for its support in the
construction of a Palestine
state. This favor we
will never forget.
Chinas economic
prowness is already
allowing Beijing
to challenge American
inuence all over
the world.
Christianity is on the verge
of extinction in the ancient
lands of its birth.
W
ant to see the future? Go to
Prichard, Alabama. It is a
city with a sobering lesson
for America and for millions of people
who think the good times are about to
return.
What draws our attention here?
Nothing. Thats whats startling.
There is hardly anything going on here
anymore. Prichard in 2011 is a rundown,
decaying, derelict collection of over-
grown, boarded-up old buildings. Around them, abandoned
homes litter a landscape crisscrossed with cratered roads
and trash-strewn streets. The only thing making any noise
is the graffti.
Why the silence? Its because 40 percent of the popula-
tion of Prichard isnt there. And the few remaining busi-
nesses operate from behind barred windows and guard
dogs.
Prichard used to be the real-time American dream. It
was a rich manufacturing boomtown replete with movie
theaters, big-box department stores and its own zoo. The
schools were safe. Children played in the streets. During
that heyday, it was hard to even fnd a place to park in this
model city.
But the towns dramatic boom-to-bust isnt why this
Alabama case study is on the front page of the New York
Times. The reason Prichard (population 27,000 and falling)
is making headlines is that its leaders are setting a startling
precedent that might be coming to a city near you.
According to the New York Times, Prichard pulled the
trigger on something that pension experts say theyve never
seen before: It stopped sending out pension checks to its
retired workers.
One month the checks were in the mailbox. The next
monthcold turkeythe box stayed empty.
What do you do when the money is gone? That is a ques-
tion Prichards pensioners are now dealing with. Predict-
ably, the lawsuits have begun. But meanwhile, so have
personal bankruptcies by people no longer able to meet
credit card and other debt obligations. One 66-year-old re-
tired fre captain said he is going back to work as a security
guard so he can make his mortgage payments. Charities are
helping some, but not everyone. The retired fre marshal,
too young to collect social security and unable to fnd work,
was found dead in his home with all the utilities turned off.
It is illegal for Prichard to stop paying its pension obliga-
tions. The state has repeatedly ordered the city to pay up.
It would if it could. The problem is that it is fat, busted
brokethe charred remains of a combusted economy.
Property values are sinking, taxes are soaring, and jobs
and people are feeing. But the debt payments remain. How
can you set up a nice pension-payment plan when all youve
got around you is fnancial rubblethe result of years of
mismanagement?
Every judge in the country can order you to pay until
they are blue in the face, but its like demanding the mayor
of a war zone give everyone a bonus this year.
At frst, it might not seem so startling that a city could go
broke. After all, people go broke, so why cant cities? Thats
a good questionand the trouble is, its one that investors
around the world are beginning to ask themselves.
Up until this point in American history, state and munic-
ipal debt has been among the safest investments available.
Only U.S. treasuries were considered safer. But is Prichard
the proverbial canary in the toxic coal mine? Is there a
devastating chain reaction starting around us?
Prichard is the future, says San Diegos former city at-
torney Michael Aguirre, who is advising the city to declare
bankruptcy to reduce its pension burden. Were all on the
same conveyor belt. Prichard is just a little further down
the road.
Read that again! This is San Diego, Californianot Po-
dunk, Nebraska.
Startlingly, San Diego is just one of thousands of cities
stretching from California to New York whose bloated,
crushing public pension obligations are pushing them
toward bankruptcyor toward contact with a high social
explosive known as pension repudiation.
The most alarming thing about the state issue is the
level of complacency, says Meredith Whitney, a respected
fnancial analyst. It has tentacles as wide as anything Ive
seen. I think next to housing this is the single most im-
portant issue in the United States and certainly the largest
threat to the U.S. economy.
Take Illinois. The state has a total debt of $160 billion.
Of that, $130 billion sits on the books of posh public pen-
sion plans. That equates to a debt of $25,000 per house-
holdjust to pay looming pensions. The plan is so under-
funded that the governor is borrowing billions of dollars
to invest in the stock market in a desperate attempt to
see FUTURE page 10
ROBERT MORLEY
COLUMNIST
americas pensionless Future
Middle east
A
n attack on a Coptic Christian church 30 minutes into 2011 shows
the growing power of Islamists in Egypt. Stratfors George Fried-
man says the attacks could point to a resurgence of radical Islam
in the country (January 4). A radical Egypt, he says, would be danger-
ous for the whole world. The fact that the attack occurred at the same
time churches were attacked in Nigeria and after al Qaeda threatened
Egyptian Copts last month indicates that the Egyptian attacks could
be part of a coordinated campaign. Egypt is especially vulnerable right
now. Mubarak is aging and has left no clear successor. Islamic radicals
could use this time to try to take over. The consequences of this could be
huge. Egypt is changing, and although it may be hard to judge from just
analyzing the news alone exactly how Egypt will change, Bible prophecy
is clear on the matter. A radical Islamic Egypt will soon be here.
The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) reported December 30 that Iran
smuggled about 1,000 mortar shells, hundreds of short-range rockets and
dozens of advanced anti-tank missiles into Gaza during 2010. That is the
estimated number of weapons that made it into the Gaza Strip. A clearer
picture of just how much military support Iran is willing to give its terror-
ist proxy emerges when you include the number of weapons confscated
before they reached Palestinian trigger fngers. Tehran uses smuggling
routes that go through Sudan and the Sinai Peninsula, and its not uncom-
mon for Egyptian security forces to uncover stockpiles of weaponry. Israel
knows from where Hamas is getting its weaponry to solidify its rule in
Gaza and spread its tentacles to the West Bank, yet it lacks the will to deal
with the cause of the problem. Iran continues to exploit this weakness and
liberally gives Hamas the deadly tools to push at Israel.
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs
Catherine Ashton was in Israel Wednesday to
reiterate the need for Israel to open up Gazas
borders for reconstruction and economic
recovery, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reports.
In response, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor
Lieberman stated, If you want to bring about
an end to the siege of the Gaza Strip, you have
to take responsibility and set a strong, genuine
and effective force to stop weapons smuggling.
Although Ashton denied today that the EU is
seriously considering sending such a European
force into Gaza, this trend for Israel to reach out
for European assistance is being watched closely by the Trumpet.
Wednesdays Haaretz reported that a recent visit by Jewish leader
Malcolm Hoenlein to Damascus has ignited speculation that Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might be looking for a new way to
keep the U.S. happy and his own coalition together: through mediation
with Syria. Ynetnews.com reports that the United States is also reaching
out to Syria, with President Obama recently appointing the frst ambas-
sador to Syria since 2005. Haaretz.com reports that the chief of staff
of the Israel Defense Forces, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, believes that the
solution to the growing threats Israel faces is a diplomatic initiative for a
peace agreement with Syria. The price of this deal is known: withdrawal
from the Golan Heights in return for security arrangements and normal-
ized relations (Dec. 31, 2010). In other words, more land for peace.
According to a WikiLeaks cable published in Norways Aftenposten
newspaper Sunday, Hezbollah can now hit Israel with up to 600 rockets
per day. The Jerusalem Post reports: Hezbollah has 40,000 missiles
as well as a number of Iranian-made Ababil unmanned aerial vehicles
that have a range of 150 kilometers and can be loaded with explosives
to bomb strategic targets in Israel. Judging by the size of Hezbollahs
arsenal at present, the next clash with the Israelis could be absolutely
debilitating for northern Israel.
CATHERINE ASHTON
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 8, 2011 2
JOHN THYS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
First palestinian
embassy in the
americas
Palestinian authority (PA) President Mah-
moud Abbas visited Brazil last Friday to
participate in the groundbreaking ceremony
of the frst Palestinian Embassy in the Ameri-
cas. This is the latest development in the PAs
agenda to obtain international recognition of
a Palestinian stateeven though it refuses to
forge a peace settlement with Israel.
We thank Brazil for its support in the con-
struction of a Palestine state. This favor we will
never forget, Abbas said. We see several coun-
tries following the example of Brazil in recog-
nizing the Palestinian state. Over the past year,
three other South American countriesBolivia,
Argentina and Ecuadorhave recognized a
Palestinian sovereign state, bringing the total
number of states that recognize the Palestin-
ian Authoritywhich is led by corrupt leaders
and maintains a relationship with Hamasas a
sovereign state to a staggering 106.
For context, only 72 countries currently
recognize Kosovo.
Since 1988, when the Palestinians declared
independence under the leadership of Yasser
Arafat and the Palestinian Liberation Organi-
zation, country after country has recognized
a sovereign Palestinian nation. Of the worlds
20 most populous nations, 15 recognize Pal-
estinian statehood. The fve dissenters are the
United States, Japan, Mexico, Germany and
Thailand.
Following the constitutive method of state
creation, if other nations are willing to say that
you are a state, you are a state. This is exactly
the precedent set in the case of Kosovo, of
which Palestinians have taken note.
Last Wednesday, Palestinian negotia-
tor Nabil Shaath stated, In addition to the
Latin American countries recognition of a
Palestinian state, we expect that European
countries would carry out similar actions
beginning with promoting the diplomatic Pal-
estinian representations in those countries to
the level of embassies. This is exactly what has
happened. France, Spain and Portugal have
already upgraded Palestinian delegations in
their respective countries, putting them on par
with delegations of sovereign states. And there
are rumors that Britain may follow suit.
Although more than 100 countries have rec-
ognized Palestinian statehood, the formation
of a Palestinian state is impossible without U.S.
backing. If Europe and other countries con-
tinue to give legitimacy to the idea of Palestin-
ian statehood without the PA having to settle on
a formal agreement with Israel, pressure will
build on Washington to follow suit.

THETRUMPET.COM | January 3
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 8, 2011 3
CATHOLIC CULTURE | January 6
70 christians
arrested in iran
I
ranian authorities have arrested 70 evangelical Christians in recent
weeks. The leaders of this movement have been arrested in Tehran
province and more will be arrested in the near future, said provincial
governor Morteza Tamaddon. Just like the Taliban who have inserted
themselves into Islam like a parasite, they have crafted a movement with
Britains backing in the name of Christianity, he said. But their conspir-
acy was unveiled quickly and the frst blows were delivered to them.
Tamaddon denounced the Christians as missionaries engaged in
a cultural onslaught against the Islamic state. Christian Solidarity
Worldwide, an organization that combats the persecution of Christians,
notes: The government puts severe pressure on such individuals, inter-
rogating them brutally and
holding them in solitary con-
fnement in order to obtain
the names of other church
members, to deter them from
continuing to practice their
faith and to threaten them
with further ramifcations
for Christian activities.
europe
G
ermany sought American help to construct a spy satellite capable of
detecting objects 1.5 feet in diameter, working at night using infra-
red and processing information far quicker than current satellites,
according to a WikiLeaks cable published by the Norwegian newspaper
Aftenposten. Germany is taking concrete steps to achieve a full-spectrum,
overhead reconnaissance capability by adding a space-based High Resolu-
tion Optical System (HiROS) to their already impressive suite of space-
based radar and multi-spectral systems, the cable, dated Feb. 15, 2009,
states. The German government believes that full spectrum overhead
reconnaissance is an effective force multiplier, provides an instrument of
national power, and politically frees Germany from dependence on for-
eign sources of imagery. The German government denies that HiROS is
a military project, saying that it is designed for public use. That response
might have sounded more convincing had the leaked cable not stated that
To minimize possible political backlash from developing HiROS as an
intelligence satellite, the program will be managed by a civil agency, possi-
bly the Ministry of Economics and Technology (bmwi). For political optics,
the satellites themselves would be operated by a commercial entity cre-
ated specifcally for this purpose, but with tasking managed/controlled/
coordinated by bnd [German Federal Intelligence Agency].
Germany is stronger after Europes economic crisis, Chancellor
Angela Merkel said in her New Years message. Germany, she pointed
out, has its lowest unemployment rate since reunifcation. German
unemployment was under 7 percent in October, according to the Euro-
pean Commission, 3 percent less than the EU average unemployment
rate. In spite of all economic worries, it turned out to be a good year
for Germany, she said. And all of us can be happy about one thing
never have more people had work in reunited Germany than today .
We achieved what we planned to do. We even emerged from the crisis
strengthened. This is above all because of your work, dear citizens.
And 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; and he shall enter into
the countries, and shall overow and pass
over. Daniel 11:40

RON FRASER | COLUMNIST
in PoPe Benedicts ad-
dress to the Roman Curia,
delivered December 20, he
declared, Excita, Domine,
potentiam tuam, et veni.
Repeatedly during the sea-
son of Advent the churchs
liturgy prays in these or similar words.
They are invocations that were probably
formulated as the Roman Empire was
in decline. The disintegration of the key
principles of law and of the fundamental
moral attitudes underpinning them burst
open the dams which until that time had
protected peaceful coexistence among
peoples. The sun was setting over an
entire world. Frequent natural disasters
further increased this sense of insecurity.
There was no power in sight that could
put a stop to this decline.
Benedict thus theorizes that the decline
of the Roman Empire was responsible for
the collapse of the peaceful coexistence
among peoples that ostensibly ensued
through the Roman imperial epoch. He
infers that the decline of Roman hege-
mony led to the collapse of civilization at
the time.
Benedict then compares society today
to the time of the decline and fall of the
Roman Empire.
Today too, we have many reasons
to associate ourselves with this Advent
prayer of the church. For all its new hopes
and possibilities, our world is at the same
time troubled by the sense that moral con-
sensus is collapsing, consensus without
which juridical and political structures
cannot function. Consequently the forces
mobilized for the defense of such struc-
tures seem doomed to failure (ibid.).
Then the pope poses his solution to the
worlds current woes, a solution that sees
the Roman Catholic religion at its very
heart. In a crusading rallying cry to the
Roman Curia he laid down the gauntlet
at the feet of the princes of the church,
asking that they wake from the sleep of
a faith grown tired, and to restore to that
faith the power to move mountainsthat
is, to order justly the affairs of the world.
Here the pope is clearly indicating that
only the religion of Rome offers the solution
to global disorder, by demonstrating its
power to order the affairs of the world!
That simply bespeaks a resurrection of
holy Roman imperial power!
pope benedict:
revive the roman
empire!
Watch for the German economy to continue to grow in the next year.
It is not safe for Jews to walk around the state of Brandenburg in
Germany while wearing a yarmulke or other visible symbol of Judaism,
the states new chief Rabbi Shaul Nekrich said in an interview with the
Berliner Zeitung published January 5. It is very dangerous for a Jew to
wear a kippah, he said, unless someone is versed in martial arts. When
asked if the state had an anti-Semitism problem, he replied, I think so,
even if I havent been here for very long. I hear the stories from the com-
munities. They are wary of being recognized as Jews on the streets. The
only way we announce events now is by e-mail. In [the town of] Bernau,
the synagogue has been defaced with swastikas several times.
Last month, former leader of the Netherlands Peoples Party for Free-
dom and Democracy Frits Bolkestein advised all Orthodox and active
Jews to get out of his country. He did not give this warning because of any
anti-Semitism of his own, but rather because of the Netherlands grow-
ing radical Islamic population. I see no future for them here because of
anti-Semitism, above all among the Moroccan Dutch, whose numbers
continue to grow, he said. Anti-Semitism is growing across Europe.
The Catholic Church needs to convert more Germans to Catholicism,
the archbishop of Munich, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, said in his New Years
sermon. He is disturbed as a bishop by the number of people leaving the
church, he said. A new evangelization is the mission of the coming age, he
said. Watch for the Catholic Church to grow in power across Europe.
Forty-two percent of French and 40 percent of Germans believe
that the presence of a Muslim community is a threat to their national
identity according to a poll of 800 adults in both countries conducted
by marketing frm ifoP. Sixty-eight percent of French and 75 percent of
Germans said that Muslims are not well integrated into their nation.
Sixty percent in both nations said that Muslims refuse to integrate. As
Islam becomes a permanent and increasingly conspicuous fxture of
European societies, public opinion is clearly tensing up, though dispari-
ties do appear between young and old and between left and right wing,
wrote Frances Le Monde on the subject. Its headline for the article was:
Islam and integration: French and Germans admit failure.
BRAD MACDONALD | Columnist
the pope
is Furious
O
n June 18, a mob of villagers snatched Asia
Bibi from her home, stripped and beat her
in the street, and then marched her to the local police station.
Fearing the angry hordes, and without any investigation into the verac-
ity of the claims against her, village offcials arrested and locked Bibi
away. On Nov. 8, 2010after being held in isolation in prison for more
than a yeara local court sentenced Bibi to death.
What heinous crime did Asia Bibi commit? She was picking berries
with other women, her husband explained, when she was sent to get
water. One of the women [a Muslim] refused to drink the water after
my wife dipped her cup in the bucket. This woman said it was con-
taminated because it was touched by a Christian. Before long a group
of Muslim women had descended on Bibi, insulting her mother, chil-
dren and religion. Asia tried to defend herself, her husband says, and
simply responded by repeat[ing] the same insults back to them. Four
days later, Bibi was ripped from her home and family, viciously beaten,
unfairly arrested and thrown in jail on the trumped-up charge that
she blasphemed the prophet Mohammad.
Why such vicious hatred for a 45-year-old mother of fve, whose only
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 8, 2011 4
We dont understand German thoroughness.
Hitler has lost. This round of war, in
Europe, is over.And the Nazis have now
goneUNDERGROUND. In France and
Norway they learned how effectively an
organizedUNDERGROUNDcan hamper
occupation and control of a country. Paris
was liberated by the FrenchUNDERGROUND
and Allied armies. Now a Nazi underground
is methodically planned.They plan toCOME
BACKand to win on the third try.
Herbert W. Armstrong, World Tomorrow
radio broadcast, May 9, 1945
PeoPle living nearby say that Jamel, in Meck-
lenburg-Western Pomerania state, has become
a pilgrimage site for neo-Nazis from across Eu-
rope. Jamel comprises just 10 farmhouses, at
least seven of which are occupied by far-right
extremists. Swastikas have been daubed on the
walls of the houses and a plaque at the entrance
to the village states Village of Jamelfree,
social, national. There is also a sign pointing
to Adolf Hitlers birthplaceBraunau am Inn
855 kilometers.
Beer bottles and car tires litter the streets
and guard dogs strain at their chains in front
yards. Young men with shaved heads practice
shooting in the woods surrounding the village
and children give Nazi salutes to any visitors.
There is an annual party to celebrate Hitlers
birthday.
Now, they see Jamel as a nationally liber-
ated zone, Horst Lohmeyer, who lives nearby,
told Spiegel. Local mayor, Uwe Wandel, says
the authorities have given up on the town. The
police, the authorities, no one dares to inter-
vene. The Nazis are laughing in our faces .
Weve given up on Jamel.
The German neo-Nazi National Democratic
Party (nPd) has made electoral gains in recent
years in east Germany and currently sends
eight representatives to the Saxony state parlia-
ment.
A local demolition contractor and nPd
politician called Sven Krger is allegedly
behind Jamels transformation into a neo-Nazi
enclave, having bought up the properties and
is the alleged local ringleader of the Jamel
neo-Nazis. Mr. Krger, who makes no secret of
his political beliefs, has refused to comment on
the accusations. Mayor Wandel fears that what
has happened in Jamel is the start of a neo-
Nazi surge in Germany. Im afraid of a second,
third, fourth Jamel, he said.
nazi Village in
Germany becomes
no-Go Zone

TELEGRAPH | January 5
crime was defending herself from a gang of Muslim women who became
furious after she drank water from the same bucket? Long story short, Asia
Bibi was a victim of radical islams ever growing hatred for catholicism!
Persecution of Christians is now so pervasive and violent, wrote Jef-
fery Kuhner in the Washington Times recently, that Christianity is
on the verge of extinction in the ancient lands of its birth. Across the
Middle East, Kuhner lamented, a creeping religious genocide is taking
place (emphasis mine throughout). Truth is, there are hundreds, even
thousands, of Bibis, in a host of countries around this world.
On New Years Eve in Alexandria, Egypt, 21 Coptic Christians were
killed and 79 were wounded when a bomb left by al-Qaida terrorists
outside the door of the Two Saints Coptic church exploded. The same
day, a cluster of 10 bombs were placed near the homes of 14 Catholic
families in Baghdad, Iraq. Four of the bombs were defused; the others
exploded, killing two and wounding 20. The victims were all Catholic.
In Russia the next day, radical Islamists set fre to a church using
a grenade in the Muslim-rich North Caucasus region. A week earlier
in the Philippines, six people were wounded on the island of Jolo after
a bomb planted by Islamic terrorists exploded inside a church during
Christmas Day mass. In Nigeria, at least 80 Christians were killed in a
wave of attacks on Christmas Eve.
In Iran, a Christian pastor is slated to be executed for converting to
Christianity. In Pakistan last February, 150 armed Muslims invaded Pa-
har Ganj, a Christian neighborhood north of Karachi, and ransacked two
churches, beat Christians, and torched shops and vehicles. In Somalia,
the Islamic terrorist group Al Shabaab, which controls much of central
Somalia, routinely persecutes, even kills, Christians. Similar atrocities
against Christians are becoming increasingly common in the Ivory Coast,
Sudan, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Lebanonand the list goes on.
Then theres Iraq, which in 2010 experienced the worst attack on
Iraqi Christians on record. Over the past decade, Christian Iraqis have
fed the country at a shocking pace: Before 2003, Iraqs Christian popu-
lation was about 1.5 million; today, barely 400,000 Christians remain!
The exodus of Christians from the Middle East, lamented Robert
Fisk last fall, has reached almost biblical ProPortions.
Although times are tough for many professing Christians, and grow-
ing numbers are being tormented and tortured by radical Islam, both
Bible prophecy and history tell us that the persecution will soon end. As
Christians fee Iraq, as church members wipe the blood of their breth-
ren from the walls of the Coptic church in Alexandria, as Asia Bibi sits
in jail awaiting the noose, the plight of these individuals, and the larger
Catholic community, is not going unnoticed.
History teaches that no one persecutes Catholics like this and gets
away with it. The deep-seated hatred for Christianity that wells inside
radical Islam, and the global campaign of violence and cruelty that it
has engendered, is serving to infuriate the most dangerous and terrify-
ing institution on Earththe roman catholic church!
Be assured, a clash between these two Powerful, bloodthirsty reli-
gions is imminent!
TELEGRAPH | January 2
italy urges strong eu
response to egypt attack
E
u foreign ministers must respond clearly and forcefully at an
upcoming meeting to attacks against and discrimination of Chris-
tians throughout the world, Italys foreign minister said on Sunday.
Speaking after a New Years Eve suicide attack on a church in Egypt
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 8, 2011 5
the chinese comrade, Zapateros best ally,
El Mundo calls Chinese Vice Premier Li Keq-
iang, currently on a visit to Spain that is of
crucial importance to the future of the Span-
ish economy. Jos Luis Zapateros government
are crossing their fngers in hopes that China
will continue breathing life into the Spanish
economy in 2011, says the conservative daily,
adding that Beijing has signed deals with
Madrid worth 5.5 billion. Moreover, China
has already purchased upwards of 43 billion
in Spanish government bonds and seems
prepared to buy morewith an instant im-
pact on the Spanish debt risk premium, which
dropped 9 points on January 4.
El Mundo nonetheless airs criticism of
Zapateros acquiescence, now that he has
found his best allies in these hard times
among the hierarchs of the Communist
dictatorship .
Spain is not an isolated case in Beijings
European strategy, observes Dziennik Gaze-
ta Prawna over in Poland: Every month
China has been buying up EU government
bonds to the tune of 7-8 billion in a bid
to shore up Chinese exports for good. By
helping the Pigs (Portugal, Ireland, Greece,
Spain), adds the Polish paper, China is
getting to know the European market and,
more importantly, indirectly infuencing the
euro exchange rate .
To reassure the latter, as a matter of fact,
the selfsame Li Keqiang has penned an op-ed
piece in the Bavarian paper Sddeutsche Zei-
tung hailing the joint struggle against the
crisis conducted over the past two years by
China and Germany and stressing the huge
scale of trading between the two countries:
$140 billion in 2010, which corresponds to
30 percent of trade between China and the
EU and makes China Germanys foremost
trading partner outside the EU. By reaching
out to the most heavily indebted countries,
Beijing is also hoping to ward off sanctions
from Brussels for dumping explains ana-
lyst Yiyi Lu in Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
beijing, the self-
serving life-saver

PRESS EUROPE | January 5
Isaiah 23 warns of an end-time mart of
nations that acts in economic alliance.
This alliance includes the nations of China
(Chittim) and Tyre (the king of the north).
This chapter, along with other scriptures,
makes it evident that these two powerful
economies are prophesied to work in
confederacy to dominate global trade for a
short period of timeat Americas expense.
Trumpet, December 2010
which killed 21 people and left scores injured, Frattini said it tragically
confrms that religious intolerance, above all against Christians, has
taken on an intensity and dimension that is very serious and alarming
and absolutely unacceptable.
The moment for a powerful and clear political response by all
governments that cherish human rights of which religious freedom is
a basic part has come, he said in a statement. Frattini said the Euro-
pean Union must be at the frontline in this battle. This is what Italy
is asking of the EU, he added. Pope Benedict xvi earlier Sunday
condemned the suicide attack on a church in Alexandria as a cowardly
gesture of death.
UPI | January 6
energy next eu
integration phase
F
inding a common energy policy for EU member states will be the
next phase in integration, the president of the European Commis-
sion said from Brussels. EC President Jose Manuel Barroso told
lawmakers in the European Union, in an address to mark the new year,
that 2011 marks a new phase in European integration.
Barroso told lawmakers that EU members need to move quickly on
implementing an internal energy market by focusing on links in infra-
structure and energy effciency.
He said he was traveling next week to energy-rich Azerbaijan and
Turkmenistan to push for the so-called Southern Corridor of oil and gas
networks, which includes the much-lauded but under-resourced Na-
bucco gas pipeline. Europe aims to advance the projects included in the
Southern Corridor in order to break the Russian grip on the European
energy sector. I see energy policy as the next great European integra-
tion project, Barroso said.
asia
C
ontributing to growing concerns over Chinas rapidly expanding
military might, photographs emerged on Wednesday indicat-
ing that Beijing has completed a prototype of a state-of-the-art
fghter jet, its frst known stealth plane. After years of secretive devel-
opment, the J-20 underwent very public preliminary testing this week.
This is their new policy of deterrence, said Andrei Chang of Kanwa
Defense Weekly. They want to show the U. S., show Mr. Gates, their
muscle. And it is no coincidence that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert
Gates is scheduled to visit Beijing next week. Gates recently estimated
that China would be able to construct stealth jets by 2020, but if the
photographs are legitimate, it would mean that China is a decade ahead
of this forecast. Naval experts have also recently expressed concern
over Chinas new ballistic missile, which is capable of sinking U.S.
aircraft carriers, thereby undermining Americas role as the traditional
military hegemony in the Pacifc.
South Korea and Japan will work toward an accord on military coop-
eration when Japanese Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa visits Seoul
next week, according to a report by a South Korean offcial published
on Wednesday. The deal will allow both nations to assist each other by
sharing military logistics and information during periods of crisis. Ko-
rea and Japan have already been working together with joint military
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 8, 2011 6
You dont need deep biblical understanding
to realize that something is dreadfully wrong
in this country. America is being cursed!
Gerald Flurry, Trumpet, January 2007
FOREIGN POLICY,
GIDEON RACHMAN | January/February 2011
this time its different. Its certainly true
that America has been through cycles of
declinism in the past. So Americans
can be forgiven if they greet talk of a new
challenge from China as just another case
of the boy who cried wolf. But a frequent-
ly overlooked fact about that fable is that
the boy was eventually proved right. The
wolf did arriveand China is the wolf.
The Chinese challenge to the United
States is more serious for both economic
and demographic reasons. The Soviet
Union collapsed because its economic
system was highly ineffcient, a fatal faw
that was disguised for a long time because
the ussr never attempted to compete
on world markets. China, by contrast,
has proved its economic prowess on the
global stage. Its economy has been grow-
ing at 9 to 10 percent a year, on average,
for roughly three decades. It is now the
worlds leading exporter and its biggest
manufacturer, and it is sitting on more
than $2.5 trillion of foreign reserves.
Chinese goods compete all over the world.
This is no Soviet-style economic basket
case.
Japan, of course, also experienced
many years of rapid economic growth and
is still an export powerhouse. But it was
never a plausible candidate to be No. 1.
The Japanese population is less than half
that of the United States .
By contrast, Chinas population is more
than four times that of the United States.
The famous projection by Goldman Sachs
that Chinas economy will be bigger than
that of the United States by 2027 was
made before the 2008 economic crash.
At the current pace, China could be No. 1
well before then.
Chinas economic prowess is already
allowing Beijing to challenge Ameri-
can infuence all over the world. And
China is only the largest part of a bigger
story about the rise of new economic and
political players. Think of how India
and Brazil sided with China at the global
climate-change talks. Or the votes by
Turkey and Brazil against America at the
United Nations on sanctions against Iran.
That is just a taste of things to come.
think again:
american decline
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 8, 2011 7
GETTY IMAGES
drills for humanitarian missions and personnel exchanges, and this ac-
cord marks a signifcant strengthening of those ties. A primary purpose
of the agreement is to bolster mutual cooperation by arranging for both
sides to share intelligence about North Koreas nuclear armaments and
other weapons. Disputes among Asian countries have generated tension
in the region recently, but all of that military might will soon be pooled
together and channeled against a colossal European enemy.
Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang visited Europe this week with an
entourage of over a hundred high-ranking Chinese businessmen in
the latest of Beijings efforts to strengthen Sino-European ties and to
stabilize the euro. On the surface, the visit highlights Beijings deep
interest in stabilizing the European currency: The EU surpassed the
U.S. recently to become Chinas largest trade partner, and China has
been boosting its holdings of euro debt since the global fnancial crisis
erupted in 2008. China has been lending Europe the money it needs,
which, in turn fuels investor confdence and boosts Chinas profts.
Everybody wins. But Beijing also has political motivations. Chinese
Premier Wen Jiabao recently called on European policymakers not to
pressure China about allowing the yuan to ap-
preciate. When several EU nations rely on Chi-
nese assistance to stay afoat, it boosts Beijings
leverage on the currency issue, and China can
effectively drive a wedge between America and
the eu. When China gobbles up more European
debt, the economies of Europe and China be-
come more interdependent, which gives Beijing
an insurance policy against trade protectionism
in Europe. Such a move also takes attention
away from the issue of Chinas currency peg.
The economic ties between China and Europe
will hasten the destabilization of the American
economic framework.
latin aMerica/africa
A
7.1 magnitude earthquake hit southern Chile on January 2,
causing tens of thousands to fee lest a tsunami strike in the
aftermath. No tsunami came, and there have been no reported
deaths.
On January 9, south Sudan will vote on whether or not it will be-
come independent from the north. The elections seem set to go unex-
pectedly peacefully. As we pointed out several weeks ago, though, that
still leaves south Sudan with some major problems. If the south votes
for independence, as it almost certainly will, the new country will be
divided between peoples that identify more with their tribe than their
nation. Twenty-three different political parties attended a conference
in October to agree on a transitional government. The south also faces
huge poverty and food shortages. Its problems will not stop with the
referendum. But there is hope for south Sudan.
anglo-aMerica
T
he first Anglicans offcially joined the Catholic Church at Westmin-
ster Cathedral on January 1. Three former Anglican bishops, two
of their wives and three former Anglican nuns took communion
in a Catholic service. The group was received into the Catholic Church
and then confrmed as Catholics. The former bishops are expected to be
taiwans strides
toward china
accelerate
on december 4, Trumpet editor in chief Ger-
ald Flurry forecast that Taiwan could return
to Chinas control before President Barack
Obamas frst presidential term is over. One
month later, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-
jeou delivered a New Years address that out-
lined Taiwans future as one that will position
it much nearer to China.
Turmoil has thrived between Beijing and
Taipei ever since Taiwans establishment
in 1949, when Chinese Communists fought
Kuomintang soldiers off the mainland and
onto Taiwan, effectively dividing the nation
into two but still claiming rule over the island.
But when Ma came into offce in 2008, he
made conciliatory overtures toward Beijing,
and cross-Strait friction began to diminish.
Mas most recent remarks show that the
relationship is on course to warm drastically.
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait should not
quarrel over political power, independence
versus reunifcation, or Taiwans breathing
room on the international stage, the president
said. We should instead focus on encourag-
ing and helping each other grow in terms of
the core values of freedom, democracy, human
rights and rule of law.
Ma explained that since people on both
sides of the Taiwan Strait share common
ancestry, they should build mutual trust
and dispel their disagreements. Their com-
mon culture, Ma said, should give Taiwan
and China the wisdom to fnd satisfactory
solutions to their quarrels. And the thawing
tensions extend far beyond words. On Janu-
ary 3, Taiwanese media reported that Taipei
has scrapped its plans to deploy its powerful
new Thunder 2000 rocket system on islands
near mainland China. Analysts believe Bei-
jing could respond by reducing its battery of
Taiwan-aimed missiles.
Two weeks earlier, Beijing and Taipei
signed deals regarding drug development and
disease outbreaks, the latest in a long string of
agreements between the two sides. On Janu-
ary 4, China and Taiwan tightened their eco-
nomic ties by implementing a pivotal phase of
the Economic Cooperation Framework Agree-
ment (ecfa) called the early harvest program.
The relationship between Taiwan and Bei-
jing has warmed signifcantly even since Mr.
Flurrys prediction at the beginning of Decem-
ber. Chinas gentle approach will continue. If
Taipei refuses Chinas advances, Beijing will
probably respond with threats of forcebut
under Mas Beijing-friendly rule, such refusals
are becoming less and less likely.

THETRUMPET.COM | January 5
LI KEQIANG
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 8, 2011 8
ordained as Catholic priests on January 15. Between 40 and 50 Anglican
clergymen and another three former bishops are expected to join the
Catholic Church before Easter. The Ordinariatethe special jurisdiction
for defecting Anglicansis expected to come into existence in a matter
of days. This is the small beginning of an organization that will soon
impact the whole world. One thousand Australians will join the Ordi-
nariate by June 12, according to the Traditional Anglican Communions
(tacs) John Hepworth. The rest of the 400,000-strong group could
follow suit. A congregation in Calgary voted overwhelmingly toward the
end of last year to leave for Rome. A congregation in Orlando, Florida,
the Cathedral of the Incarnation, also a member of the tac, has voted to
return to Rome. These are early days for the new Ordinariate, but before
it has even been established, congregations around the world are lining
up to join. Bible prophecy clearly shows that the Vatican will gather all
its Protestant daughters back under its authority.
Britain has more young people in neither education nor training than
all but four EU nations, according to EU statistics offce Eurostat. Even
Bulgaria and Romania are doing better than the UK in this regard. In Brit-
ain, nearly one in fve 18-year-old men and one in six 18-year-old women
are Neets, that is, people not in employment, education or training.
Floods covering an area larger than France and Germany combined
have hit Queensland, Australia, affecting 200,000 people. This is
without a doubt a tragedy on an unprecedented scale, said Queensland
Premier Anna Bligh. In the affected towns, drinking water has been con-
taminated and mosquito-borne disease could run rampant in the foods
aftermath. Some estimate that the total cost to Australias economy
could be $9 billion. The foods are also pushing up the price of metal-
lurgical coal, as Australia accounts for 54 percent of global metallurgical
coal exports. With the rainy season set to continue until late April, the
foods could continue, pushing up commodity prices around the world.
In another example of the natural environment being cursed,
animals have been dropping dead in huge numbers around the world.
On New Years Eve, around 4,000 red-wing blackbirds and starlings
dropped dead in the city of Beebe, Arkansas. Five hundred were found
dead in southern Louisiana. Millions of dead fsh washed up in the
shores of Chesapeake Bay. One hundred thousand drum fsh were
found dead in the Arkansas River. Thousands of fsh were found dead
in Volusia County, Florida, and in Woolwash Lagoon in Australia. In
England, 40,000 velvet swimming crabs washed up on beaches. Hun-
dreds of fsh were found dead in Wales; Victoria, Australia; the St. Clair
River, Canada; and Coromandel Peninsula beaches, New Zealand.
NEW YORK TIMES | January 6
citys chilling
abortion rate
A
rchbishoP timothy m. Dolan of New York joined other local reli-
gious leaders on Thursday in calling for a new effort to reduce the
number of abortions in the city. The annual fgure has averaged
90,000 in recent years, or about 40 percent of all pregnancies, twice
the national rate.
The archbishop, at a news conference in Manhattan, called the city-
wide statistics downright chilling. Archbishop Dolan said abortion
statistics in New York indicated that it was unlikely that the practice
would soon end. But, he added: We have to tell people what is hap-
pening here. Im frankly embarrassed to be a member of a community
where 41 percent of pregnancies are terminated.
Before the news conference, at the Penn Club at 30 West 44th Street, a

TELEGRAPH | January 2
turning off mobile phones, avoiding the Inter-
net and tuning out of the television and radio
can leave people suffering from symptoms
similar to those seen in drug addicts trying to
go cold turkey, researchers have found.
The scientists asked volunteers to stay away
from all e-mails, text messages, Facebook and
Twitter updates for 24 hours. They found that
the participants began to develop symptoms
typically seen in smokers attempting to give up.
Some of those taking part said they felt
like they were undergoing cold turkey to
break a hard drug habit, while others said it
felt like going on a diet. The condition is now
being described as Information Deprivation
Disorder. Dr. Roman Gerodimos, a lecturer in
communication who led the UK section of the
international study, said: We were not just
seeing psychological symptoms, but also physi-
cal symptoms.
The fndings will fuel concerns raised by
neurologists and psychologists about the
impact that excessive use of the Internet,
computer games and social networking sites
are having on the so-called Net Generation of
teenagers and young adults.
Dr. Gerodimos, of Bournemouth University,
said: The extent to which we are using some
of this modern technology and new media
is changing us. Participants described feel-
ing fdgety and kept reaching for their mobile
phones even when they werent there.
There were also some good effects as
people developed coping mechanisms they
went out for walks and visited friends rather
than sitting in front of a computer.
A lot of them said they found the silence
quite uncomfortable and awkward, he said.
But as they got used to it they began to notice
more things around them like birds singing or
hearing what their neighbors were doing.
If we become a bit more aware how we
are using this technology, it might help us to
control the effect it has on us. Perhaps every-
one should try going without it for a day every
year.
Facebook Generation
suffers information
Withdrawal syndrome
Strong minds and substantive, meaningful,
purpose-driven lives, are built around
certain constants that are based on deeper
thoughtstrong human relationships, law,
contemplation, self-analysis, reading, study,
prayer, meditation. All of these require time
and uninterrupted, original, imaginative
thought!
theTrumpet.com, June 5, 2008
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 8, 2011 9
dozen members of the New York chapter of the National Organization for
Women protested outside, distributing literature. As the archbishop ar-
rived, they shouted Archbishop, were here to say, family planning is [OK!]
DAILY MAIL | January 6
millions are using credit
cards to pay mortgages
A
round 2.6 million Britons used cash taken out on a credit card to
pay their mortgage or rent last year. A report by housing charity
Shelter said many households faced a daily struggle to fnd the
money to keep a roof over their heads. The fndings highlight the fnan-
cial crisis facing families squeezed by a toxic combination of tax rises,
poor pay rises and soaring household bills.
Experts fear the crisis will deepen this year as the Bank of England
is widely expected to start raising the base rate from its historic low of
0.5 percent. For millions of families, who are already struggling to pay
their mortgage, a rate hike could tip them over the edge as mortgage
repayments jump.
The number of homeowners relying on their credit card has in-
creased sharply over the last year, according to Shelter, which has con-
ducted the research for each of the last three years. During the reces-
sion in 2008 and 2009, it found 4 percent of households were affected.
In 2010, it jumped to 6 percent.
Using credit cards to pay the rent or mortgage is simply robbing
Peter to pay Paul. It is the worst possible course of action.
ASSOCIATED PRESS | January 5
census: number of poor
may be millions Higher
T
he number of poor people in the U.S. is millions higher than previ-
ously known, with 1 in 6 Americansmany of them 65 and older
struggling in poverty due to rising costs, according to prelimi-
nary census fgures released Wednesday. At the same time, government
aid programs such as tax credits and food stamps kept many people
out of poverty, helping to ensure the poverty rate did not balloon even
higher during the recession in 2009 .
CBS NEWS | January 3
national debt
tops $14 trillion
T
he u.s. Treasury website today reported that as of last Friday, the
last day of 2010, the national debt stood at $14,025,215,218,708.52.
It took just seven months for the national debt to increase from
$13 trillion on June 1, 2010, to $14 trillion on December 31. It also
means the debt is fast approaching the statutory ceiling $14.294 trillion
the islamifcation
of britain
the number of Britons choosing to be-
come Muslims has nearly doubled in the
past decade, according to one of the most
comprehensive attempts to estimate how
many people have embraced Islam.
Following the global spread of violent
Islamism, British Muslims have faced
more scrutiny, criticism and analysis
than any other religious community. Yet,
despite the often negative portrayal of
Islam, thousands of Britons are adopting
the religion every year.
Estimating the number of converts
living in Britain has always been diffcult
because census data does not differenti-
ate between whether a religious person
has adopted a new faith or was born into
it. Previous estimates have placed the
number of Muslim converts in the UK at
between 14,000 and 25,000. But a new
study by the inter-faith think-tank Faith
Matters suggests the real fgure could
be as high as 100,000, with as many as
5,000 new conversions nationwide each
year.
Fiyaz Mughal, director of Faith Mat-
ters, admitted that coming up with a re-
liable estimate of the number of converts
to Islam was notoriously diffcult. This
report is the best intellectual guestimate
using census numbers, local authority
data and polling from mosques, he said.
Either way few people doubt that the
number adopting Islam in the UK has
risen dramatically in the past 10 years.
Asked why people were converting in
such large numbers he replied: I think
there is defnitely a relationship between
conversions being on the increase and
the prominence of Islam in the public
domain.
Inayat Bunglawala, founder of Mus-
lims4UK, which promotes active Muslim
engagement in British society, said the
fgures were not implausible. It would
mean that around one in 600 Britons is
a convert to the faith, he said. Islam is
a missionary religion and many Muslim
organizations and particularly university
students Islamic societies have active
outreach program designed to remove
popular misconceptions about the faith.

INDEPENDENT | January 4
Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the
people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.
Hosea 7:8
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY January 8, 2011 10
FUTURE from page 1
make more money and delay the coming pension implosion. According
to Northwestern Universitys Joshua Rauh, Illinois will be Prichard in
seven years if nothing is done. The budget will implode, and every state
pensioner will lose his or her income.
The City of Pittsburgh faces a pension Armageddon too, as does
Central Falls, Rhode Island. Michigan has several cities that would
probably declare bankruptcy if state law allowed. Detroit is planning on
halting police patrols and garbage collection to 20 percent of the city to
free up funds to pay its debt and entitlement obligations.
Philadelphias public pension plans will be completely drained in
four years. Like Prichard, Philadelphia technically isnt allowed to go
bankrupt either. But that wont make retirees feel any better when the
monthly checks get smaller and smaller or disappear completely. You
just cant get water from a dry rock.
The looming pension crisis may be one of the top stories youll see
in 2011 and beyond. And this is a big deal to more than just former city
employees. Investors want to know who will get paidthe debt holders
or the pensioners. The soon-coming war will have drastic implications,
none of them pretty.
Debt markets notoriously suffer from herd mentality. If a cityor
worse, a statewere to default on its debts, not only would its borrow-
ing costs skyrocket, but a chain reaction affecting all states and cit-
ies could also be set off. A European-style debt frestorm could easily
ignite in American cities. Yet, if cities and states continue to pilfer the
pension plans to pay debts and current levels of spending, they risk
becoming Prichard.
The City of Prichards situation is startling for one other reason.
Prichard was a fnancial bomb that everyone knew was going to explode.
Multiple times the city was in and out of bankruptcy protection. City
offcials were even court ordered to put more money into the pension
fund (money they didnt have). For years, offcials were warned that the
pension was drastically underfunded. One study commissioned for the
city in 2004 even predicted the exact year that the pension time bomb
would click down to zero. It did, right on schedule.
Yet, through it alland despite abundant warningsno one was able
to defuse it.
At this time of year the media is full of experts predicting what the
future will hold. Will it be a year of recovery? Will the jobs come back?
Will house prices stop falling? Will banks stop foreclosing? Will the
stock market go up? In short, will the good times return?
Want to know the future? It is easy: Go to Prichard.
But as gloomy as that scenario may be, there is hope for all Ameri-
cans. America can look forward to a long-term future of stable prosper-
ity once this looming debt collapse has run its course and we learn how
to run an economy.
set by Congress and signed into law by President Obama last February.
The federal government would have to stop borrowing and might
even default on its obligations if Congress fails to increase the debt ceil-
ing before the limit is reached. Some Republicans in the new Congress
have said theyll seek to block an increase in the debt ceiling unless a
plan is in place to signifcantly reduce federal spending and unfunded
government liabilities on entitlement programs such as Social Security
and Medicare.
White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee warned yesterday
that it would be catastrophic if the U.S. government were to default on
its fnancial obligations.
That would be the frst default in history caused purely by insanity,
said Goolsbee of plans to block an increase in the debt ceiling.
u.n. Warns of
possible Food crisis
the food and Agricultural Organization
said Wednesday that the world faces
a food price shock after the agencys
benchmark index of farm commodities
prices shot up last month, exceeding the
levels of the 2007-08 food crisis.
The warning from the U.N. body
comes as infation is becoming an
increasing economic and political chal-
lenge in developing countries, includ-
ing China and India, and is starting
to emerge as a potential problem in
developed nations.
Abdolreza Abbassian, a senior econo-
mist at the fao in Rome, said that the
increase was alarming but that the
situation was not yet a crisis similar to
2007-08, when food riots affected more
than 30 poor countries, including Haiti,
Bangladesh and Egypt.
The world faces a food price shock,
he said, adding that a prolonged spike
could lead to a food crisis.
The fao said that its food price index
a basket tracking the wholesale cost of
commodities such as wheat, corn, rice,
vegetable oils, dairy products, sugar and
meatjumped to 214.7 points, exceeding
the peak of 213.5 set in June 2008.
Abbassian said that agricultural
commodities prices would probably rise
further. It will be foolish to assume this
is the peak, he said. But the fao and
food aid agencies noted the relatively
stable prices for rice, one of the two most
important agricultural commodities for
global food security. But the cost of wheat,
the other critical staple, is rising quickly
after poor harvests last year in Russia,
Ukraine and elsewhere. Corn, meat and
poultry prices are also increasing.
Agricultural offcials and traders are
worried that agricultural commodities
prices could rise further as the weather
phenomenon La Nia intensifes. The
pattern usually brings dryness to key
growing areas of the United States, Ar-
gentina and Brazil.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorol-
ogy said that the current La Nia system
would last at least three more months.
Neil Plummer, a climatologist for the
bureau in Melbourne, said the latest
phenomenon looked set to be the most
powerful since the mid-1970s, when
droughts ravaged crops and pushed the
world into the most extreme food crisis
since World War ii.

WASHINGTON POST | January 6