the

TRUMPETweekly

uranium PAGE 2 crisis PAGE 4 greece PAGE 5 councils PAGE 6 thinking PAGE 8

A DIGEST OF SIGNIFICANT WORLD NEWS FROM THE PHILADELPHIA TRUMPET STAFF FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 15-21, 2010

Things are starting to

simmer here and at some
point theyre going
to explode.
Refusing to offer
him this service would
be a violation of his
human rights.
When was the last time an
article you read actually
changed your life?
It may start European
nations cooperating
in minor areas,
but a common European
Army is coming.
Iran has announced that it
is to build 10 new uranium
enrichment plants.
I
f reports are accurate, this weekend
the Islamic Republic of Iran will
begin feeding uranium into its frst
and only nuclear power plant.
The moment this irreversible step is
taken, stated Sergei Novikov, a spokes-
man for the Russian nuclear agency as-
sisting Tehran, the Bushehr plant will
be offcially considered a nuclear energy
installation. If all goes well, Iran will be
producing fssile material by October.
Across the world, news of Bushehrs activation has been
met with emotions ranging from apathy to alarm. The indif-
ferent argue that Bushehrs activation was merely a matter
of time, and that the facility will not pose a signifcant threat
because it will be used for the production of nuclear energy
for civilian consumption. Many others, such as Michael An-
ton in the Weekly Standard, are deeply concerned because
Bushehr, once fueled and operating, will produce pluto-
nium 239, which can be used to make nuclear weapons.
While there is dissension over the tangible contributions
a fully operational Bushehr will provide to Irans nuclear
weapons program, any thinking person can see that Sat-
urdays activation is a milestone in Irans quest for nukes.
Speaking to the Jerusalem Post this week, John Bolton, the
former U.S. ambassador to the UN, warned that this is a
very, very big victory for Iran. this is a huge threshold.
Many agree that inside Iran the opening of Bushehr will
provide a moral and psychological boost to supporters of
both the conservative regime and the nuclear program. On
the global playing feld, Bushehrs activation will be seen as
a symbolic victory for Iran in its confrontation with America
and the West over its quest for nuclear weapons. But it also
comes with ramifcations beyond politics.
Ultimately, the advancement of the Iranian nuclear
program thrusts Mahmoud Ahmadinejad one step closer to
achieving his goal of setting off nuclear Armageddon!
Under the circumstances, its worth considering Iranian
president Mahmoud Ahmadinejads primary motivation
for the acquirement of a nuclear payload. Inside Iran, the
belief of a returning Mahdi, or Twelfth Imam, is a defning
doctrine within the most populous group of Shiites (known
as Ithna Ashari, or Twelvers), the Iranian president in-
cluded. Moreover, as a staunch adherent to the mahdaviat,
Ahmadinejad doesnt merely believe the Mahdi is about to
returnhe considers it his responsibility to bring about the
apocalyptic conditions that will surround his return!
As Joel Rosenburg, former aide to Benjamin Netanyahu,
put it last year: [I]n order to bring about this Islamic mes-
siah, the Mahdi, the Twelfth Imam, Islamic leaders need
to hasten his coming by destroying little Satan, Israel, and
the great Satan, the United States. [T]he leaders actually
believe they need to create bloody carnage, the death of
millions of people in order to create the conditions for the
Mahdi to bring peace (emphasis mine throughout).
Notice that: The state-sponsored goal of the Iranian
republic is to bring about global carnage!
When Bushehr is activated Saturday, Iran will take a
signifcant step toward producing the nuclear material
required to bring about this chaos!
In 2005, Scott Peterson wrote about the centrality of the
Mahdis return to Iranian foreign policy: From redress-
ing the gulf between rich and poor in Iran, to challenging
the United States and Israel and enhancing Irans power
with nuclear programs, every issue is designed to lay the
foundation for the mahdis return. Many in America and
the West often fall into the trap of thinking Iran is pursuing
nukes for strictly political and strategic reasons. This mis-
conception leads them to believe they can negotiate some
sort of agreement with Tehran about its nuclear program.
Reality is, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pursues nukes as a
means of laying the foundation for the Mahdis return.
He considers the acquisition of nuclear weapons a reli-
gious mandateone he must not comprise!
Amir Mohebian, political editor of the Islamic Resalat
newspaper, discussed the infuence of Ahmadinejads
religion on his leadership: This kind of mentality makes
you very strong. If you think these are the last days of
the world, and [the Mahdi] will come [again], this idea will
change all your relations. Putting himself in Ahmadine-
jads shoes, Mohebian stated, If I think the Mahdi will
come in two, three or four years, why should I be soft? Now
is the time to stand strong, to be hard.
Ahmadinejads spiritual conviction is so frm that in
2004, when he was mayor of Tehran, he instructed the city
council to build a grand avenue in preparation for the
Mahdis return. When he became president in 2005, he
allocated $17 million for a blue-tiled mosque in Jamkaran
(south of the capital) closely associated with mahdaviat.
Inside Iran, hes quite literally preparing the ground on
which he believes the Mahdi will return. In an address
stepping toward nuclear armageddon
see ARMAGEDDON page 10
BRAD MACDONALD
COLUMNIST
Middle east
A
prominent Shiite militant leader has returned to Iraq from Iran,
under Iranian protection. Ismail al-Lami, who uses the name
Abu Deraa, has been wanted by the United States since 2004
for his Iranian-sponsored attacks against Iraqi Sunnis as a leader in
Muqtada al Sadrs Shiite Mahdi Army. He escaped to Iran in 2008. Abu
Deraas return to Iraq at this timeright when the U.S. is cutting its
numbers in Iraq down to 50,000 as its operations move from combat to
assistwas likely carefully deliberated by Iran, according to Stratfor. It
is a reminder to the U.S.at a time when an Iraqi government has yet
to be formedthat Iran still has powerful levers to infuence events in
Iraq. If Tehran perceives politics in Iraq are not going its way enough, it
could ratchet up the level of violence in the country.
A Gaza-bound ship carrying women activists and aid will depart Leba-
non on Sunday, according to an organizer. Israel has warned that it will
not allow vessels to reach the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The fact that
so-called aid ships are still heading for Gaza even as aid is fowing more-
or-less unrestricted into Gaza via land crossings, makes it patently obvious
that the purpose for such endeavors is purely political. The ship, which
is sailing via Cyprus, will reportedly carry medical equipment and sup-
pliesironically, items of a nature that Israel has never denied the Gazans.
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE | August 20
lebanon refuses to Bow
to israeli Warning on
gaza Boat
L
ebanon refuses to bow to Israels warning against granting clear-
ance to an all-women aid boat which plans to sail to blockaded
Gaza this weekend, the transport minister said on Friday. We
will not respond to the wishes or requests of (Israeli Defence Minister
Ehud) Barak, and what he says is of little relevance to us, Ghazi Aridi
told afp in a telephone interview.
We will continue to exercise our sovereignty and make the decisions we
fnd appropriate. The Mariam, a Bolivian-fagged cargo ship originally
named Junia Star, plans to leave from northern Lebanon for Cyprus on
Sunday at 10 pm on the frst leg of a planned voyage to Gaza, organizer
Samar al-Hajj said Thursday.
TELEGRAPH | August 16
iran to Build 10 uranium
enrichments Plants
I
ran has announced that it is to build 10 new uranium enrichment
plants within protected mountain strongholds as part of its nuclear
program and will start work on the frst site in March.
The move is a response to sanctions imposed on Iran in an attempt
to stop it from producing enriched uranium, which can be used as fuel
for nuclear power plants but for weapons if produced in higher levels.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also issued an edict ordering the government
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY August 21, 2010 2

STRATFOR, GEORGE FRIEDMAN | AUGUST 17
Now that Iraq has been taken out of the picture,
Iran is even closer to becoming the reigning
king of the Middle East. It may seem shocking,
given the U.S. presence in the region right now,
but prophecy indicates that, in pursuit of its
goal, Iran will probably take over Iraq. At least,
it will have a heavy inuence over the Iraqi
people.
Gerald Flurry, Trumpet, June 2003
it is August 2010, which is the month when
the last U.S. combat troops are scheduled to
leave Iraq. It is therefore time to take stock of
the situation in Iraq, which has changed plac-
es with Afghanistan as the forgotten war.
The United States invaded Iraq in 2003
with three goals: The frst was the destruction
of the Iraqi army, the second was the destruc-
tion of the Baathist regime and the third was
the replacement of that regime with a stable,
pro-American government in Baghdad. The
frst two goals were achieved within weeks.
Seven years later, however, Iraq still does not
yet have a stable government, let alone a pro-
American government.
The geopolitical problem the Americans
face is that, with the United States gone, Iran
would be the most powerful conventional
power in the Persian Gulf. The historical
balance of power had been between Iraq and
Iran. The American invasion destroyed the
Iraqi army and government, and the United
States was unable to re-create either.
For Iran, a strong Iraq is the geopolitical
nightmare. Iran once fought a war with Iraq
that cost Iran a million casualties , and
the foundation of Iranian national strategy
is to prevent a repeat of that war by making
certain that Iraq becomes a puppet to Iran
or, failing that, that it remains weak and
divided.
[Although the Iranians lack the power to
install a government in Iraq], they do have
the ability to prevent the formation of a gov-
ernment or to destabilize one that is formed.
Iranian intelligence has suffcient allies and
resources in Iraq to guarantee the failure of
any stabilization attempt that doesnt please
Tehran.
There are many who are baffed by Iranian
confdence and defance in the face of Ameri-
can pressure on the nuclear issue. This is the
reason for that confdence: Should the United
States attack Irans nuclear facilities, or even
if the United States does not attack, Iran
holds the key to the success of the American
strategy in Iraq.
is iraq Being left
to iran?
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY August 21, 2010 3
to offer only minimum levels of cooperation with the International
Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog.
Ali Akbar Salehi, Irans atomic chief and one of the countrys 12 vice
presidents, said: Finding the location for the construction of 10 more
uranium enrichment plants in Iran is over now. The construction of one
of these sites will start by the end of this [Iranian] year or the begin-
ning of the next year [March]. He said, The new enrichment facilities
will be built inside mountains.
Yesterday, the government also ordered the Iranian Navy to retaliate
against any other countries attempting to search its ships or airplanes
for materials that could be used for creating nuclear weapons under UN
sanctions. The order suggested that the navy should respond by seizing
cargo ships from other countries.
europe
W
hile many countries are facing fnancial ruin, Germany has
experienced its best quarter of growth since East and West
Germany unifed in 1990. During the second quarter of this year,
the German economy grew by 2.2 percent, according to data released by
Germanys statistics offce on August 13. [T]he recovery of the German
economy, which lost momentum at the turn of 2009/2010, is really back
on track, wrote the statistics offce. According to Germanys Economy
Minister Rainer Bruederle, the recovery of the German economy has
shown itself to be much stronger than people have recently predicted.
He said German economic growth for 2010 could be over 2 percent of
gross domestic product. Were currently living through an extra-large
upswing, he said. These strong results will probably cement Germanys
role as Europes, and even the worlds, economic leader. Germany wanted
to deal with the fnancial crisis in a different way to other countries.
Rather than throwing as much money as it could at the problem, Berlin
preferred a prudent, cautious approach. German leaders were opposed
within and without Europe, but they held frm. Now, the numbers seem
to show that Germany got it right. Something has changed in Germany.
Its economy is stronger while most of the world is economically weak.
But more importantly, the Germans are growing more self-confdent and
assertive. Expect this attitude to spread beyond just economic policy.
Despite the success of Germanys economy, Chancellor Angela Merkel
is doing less well. A poll by Forsa last week said that only 34 percent of
Germans intended on voting for a party in the ruling collation. The
Germans see no link between the good performance of the economy
and Merkels government, said political scientist Gerd Langguth. Voters
instead focus on the squabbling of Merkels coalition and her hesitation in
handling the Greek crisis. For most people, there is no recovery. They are
not earning more, but the costs of life are rising, said another political
scientist, Barbara Riedmueller. Frau Merkel is going to have a very tough
year, said Langguth. Watch for a new leader to emerge in Germany.
NEW YORK TIMES | August 18
a mission to modernize
germanys armed Forces
O
n friday, the German defense minister, Karl-Theodor zu Gut-
tenberg, is set to present to Chancellor Angela Merkel his plans
to modernize the Bundeswehr, the countrys armed forces. From
clash of the titans
germany and China are this
worlds two greatest export
economies, by far. After
heading the chart as the
leading global exporter in
recent years, suddenly, a
few months ago, Germany
was eclipsed by its chief
rival in international trade,
China. Now China has taken its trade battle
right on to German soil near the ancient
city of Cologne.
Sany, one of Chinas fagship machinery
groups, is set to become the frst engineer-
ing company from the Middle Kingdom to
launch production in Germany, a move that
presages an attack by Chinas rapidly ad-
vancing industrial companies on Europes
engineering market (Financial Times,
August 11).
This is the latest in a concerted effort by
China to challenge its major competitor on
its home groundand its being aided and
abetted by the powers-that-be in Berlin.
This is the power of the merchants in ac-
tion (Revelation 18).
Germany and China have become increas-
ingly interdependent economies. The recent
presence of China in the Mediterranean and
Europe, and increasingly in Europes leading
nation, Germany, is part of a tit-for-tat deal
between the two. Even as Sanys Cologne
facility reaches its commissioning date, Ger-
man industrialists are working to establish a
strong foothold on Chinese soil.
Recently, the New York Times highlight-
ed this phenomenon: While the Moscow-
Berlin political relationship gets a lot of
attention, German companies have come to
realize that the money to be made in Rus-
sia is overshadowed by the prospects even
farther afeld in China.
Germany is Chinas biggest trading
partner by far in Europe, and the trade is
increasing by leaps and bounds, especially
for high-value electrical and electronic
goods. Germanys car industry, which suf-
fered greatly during the global fnancial
meltdown, has recovered thanks in large
part to a surge in Chinese demand for the
top range of German cars . Even the big
German retailing chains, like Metro, are
setting up shop there.
Even as the events in Germany and Chi-
na accelerate toward their current competi-
tive trade war becoming hotterand soon
other events involving the U.S., Britain and
its dominions (Canada, Australia and New
Zealand) are accelerating them toward sub-
servience to one of these great powers.

RON FRASER | COLUMNIST
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY August 21, 2010 4
all accounts, it could be one of the most radical and long overdue shake-
ups undertaken in decades by a defense minister.
The Bundeswehrs leadership structure, which has changed little since
the Cold War, will be streamlined. Defying his own conservative Chris-
tian Social Union party, which wants to maintain conscription, Mr. Gut-
tenberg has spent the past 10 months questioning the value of calling up
young men to do six months service. He has also said it is time to trans-
form the Bundeswehr into a modern, professional and effcient army.
Leading discussions of those challenges are the soldiers who have re-
turned from duty in Afghanistan and who write blog posts about their
experiences. Some of them say they were not adequately prepared for
such ferce combat, which they openly refer to as war, a word that until
recently was taboo in Germany.
Some bloggers have complained about inadequate equipment. There
are, for example, far too few helicopters and not enough robust ar-
mored personnel carriers, they say. Training has also fallen short, both
physically and mentally, especially over the past 18 months, soldiers say.
German troops have come under increasing attack from insurgents and
have themselves caused civilian deaths and injuries. Instructions from
Berlin are often too slow. Soldiers and security analysts also complain
about heavy bureaucracy in organizing the missions.
Lt. Col. Detlef Buch, a mil-
itary analyst at the German
Institute for International
and Security Affairs, says the
Bundeswehr has cautiously
tried to adapt to the end of
the Cold War while being
careful not to revive fears
that Germany seeks to be-
come a strong military power
in the heart of Europe.
If Mr. Guttenberg suc-
ceeds in pushing through
his changes, they will take
several years to implement.
The abolition of conscrip-
tion could be the easiest. Besides saving billions of euros, it would be a
catalyst for change. The Bundeswehr will have to offer its soldiers more
money and more career prospects, opening the way to a more modern,
fexible and educated army.
And if Germany does end up with an army that is more ft and more
fexible, then it is likely that expectations by nato allies will increase
and Germany will be asked to contribute more to missions, Colonel
Buch said.
BLOOMBERG, MATTHEW LYNN | August 16
Debt Virus spreads During
make-Believe recovery
T
he euro area is growing again. The banking system has survived
its stress tests. The Greeks have implemented their frst austerity
measures with some success. The fevered predictions of the early
summer that the euro was doomed, and that Europes sovereign-debt
crisis would rip through countries such as Spain and Portugal like a
virus, have been forgotten. The crisis appears to be over.
Dont believe it. Under the surface, the cracks in the euro are getting
worse. The imbalances in the euro area are growing all the time. The
You may be sure the West European leaders
are conferring hurriedly and secretly about
how and how soon they may UNITE and
provide a united EUROPEAN MILITARY FORCE
so they can DEFEND THEMSELVES! And
when they are strong enough to assert
themselves, Bible prophecy reveals a man
will rise to take the helm in Europe and will
rst attack Britain for standing rm with the
United States, and then they will return a lot
of hydrogen bombs the U.S. has stored now
in Europe! Herbert W. Armstrong,
Plain Truth, April 1980
Finance crisis may
Force armies to
Work together
how do you save billions of dollars on the
defense budget while not sacrifcing crucial
military capabilities? Defense ministers
around the world are faced with this ques-
tion. In Europe, some experts are discussing
one possible answer.
Financial stability is increasingly being
regarded as a key security issue in a global-
ized world, said Elke Hoff, the defense policy
spokeswoman for Germanys Free Democrats
(fdp), last month. Budgetary and security
considerations will raise pressure to fnd a
joint defense and security policy, she said.
Working together could allow European
nations to cut costs without cutting their mili-
tary power. Nations could get rid of overlap-
ping areas and focus on building a mutually
dependent military.
If the fnancial crisis means that Europes
army works together, they could emerge much
stronger when taken as a whole. Nick Witney,
a senior policy fellow at the European Council
on Foreign Relations and former head of the
European Defense Agency, said, I hope that
once the dust has settled from this fnan-
cial collapse people will look around and say,
We will have very little defense capability left
if we continue to duplicate it all on a national
basis, so the logic of pooling efforts and re-
sources will, I hope, reassert itself.
This already seems to be the case. British
Defense Minister Liam Fox, who is trying to cut
his departments budget by around 10 percent,
said in May that Britain should step up bilateral
cooperation on defense particularly with na-
tions who share our interests and are prepared
to both pay and fght, such as France.
Robert Hochbaum, a Christian Democrat
and member of the German lower house
of parliaments defense committee, also
suggests that certain European countries
streamline their armed forces. Its high time
for this. Were not talking about creating new
structures, its about supplementing each
other, he said.
In July, French defense minister Herve Mo-
rin met with [German defense minister Karl] zu
Guttenberg where they established a working
group to examine areas where resource shar-
ing and pooling could be initiated with a view
to budget reductions and economies of scale.
Of course this does not mean a common
European army will appear overnight. Eu-
ropes way is to begin slowlyto start with the
thin end of the wedge. It may start European
nations cooperating in minor areas, but a
common European Army is coming.

THETRUMPET.COM | AUGUST 19
resistance to the bailout package will rise as the terms turn out to be
immoral and absurd. And the big-defcit nations are locked in a down-
ward economic spiral.
The euro has bought itself some time, at a huge cost. And yet little
has been done to fx the causes of the crisis. Heres why we should be
skeptical. First, the euro area remains as dangerously imbalanced as
always. Take a look at those growth fgures. In the second quarter, Ger-
man gross domestic product grew 2.2 percent. Other countries didnt
do nearly so well. Greeces economy shrank 1.5 percent, while Spain
registered just 0.2 percent growth.
The debt crisis has even helped Germany by weakening the euro,
thereby strengthening its exports. It has hardly helped nations like
Greece because they dont export much. Instead, the euro area is more
lopsided. Germans are getting wealthier, yet they are being forced to sub-
sidize Greeks who are getting poorer. That wont be sustainable for long.
Second, opposition to the bailouts may grow. The responsible
nations are going to want out at some point. Slovakia will no doubt be
ignored. The EU doesnt pay much attention to protests from its smaller
members, particularly from Eastern Europe. But Portugal and Ireland,
which will also have to help Greece, may join the protest soon.
Third, the Greek economy is in a terrible state. It may have delivered
on the frst round of the austerity package demanded as part of the res-
cue. That was always going to happen. But the economy is still shrink-
ing. With the government cutting spending and with strikes hitting the
tourist industry, it is impossible to see it recovering any time soon.
Europes sovereign-debt crisis was always going to be a drawn-out
affair. Lulls in the storm are to be expected. Crisis fnished? Its only
just getting started.
DER SPIEGEL | August 18
tensions rise in greece
T
he austerity measures that were supposed to fx Greeces problems
are dragging down the countrys economy. Stores are closing, tax rev-
enues are falling and unemployment has hit an unbelievable 70 per-
cent in some places. Frustrated workers are threatening to strike back.
The governments draconian austerity measures have managed
to reduce the countrys budget defcit by an almost unbelievable 39.7
percent, after previous governments had squandered tax money and
falsifed statistics for years. The measures have reduced government
spending by a total of 10 percent, 4.5 percent more than the EU and
International Monetary Fund (imf) had required.
The problem is that the austerity measures have in the meantime
affected every aspect of the countrys economy. Purchasing power is
dropping, consumption is taking a nosedive and the number of bank-
ruptcies and unemployed are on the rise. The countrys gross domes-
tic product shrank by 1.5 percent in the second quarter of this year.
Tax revenue, desperately needed in order to consolidate the national
fnances, has dropped off. A mixture of fear, hopelessness and anger is
brewing in Greek society.
The entire country is in the grip of a depression. Everything seems
to be going downhill. The spiral is continuing unabated, and there is no
clear way out. The worse part, however, is the fact that hardly anyone
still hopes that things will improve one day.
The countrys unemployment rate makes this trend particularly
clear. In 2009, it was 9.5 percent. This year it may rise to 12.1 percent
and economists expect it to reach 14.3 percent in 2011. Those, though,
are only the offcial numbers. The Greek trade union association
considers 20 percent to be a more likely fgure for 2011.
Everything is getting more expensive, Im hardly earning any money,
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY August 21, 2010 5
china turns
to euros
china just cut its reserves of U.S. debt by
the largest amount ever.
The move raised speculation that a
plunge in U.S. yields has made govern-
ment securities unattractive. Beijing,
whose $2.45 trillion worth of foreign
exchange holdings is the worlds largest
stockpile of cash, is also increasing its re-
serves of Euro-bonds and Japanese bonds
as it trims its dollar holdings.
From June 2009 to June 2010, China
hacked its holdings of U.S. debt by $100
billion, or 11 percent, according to Trea-
sury Department data released on Monday.
From its May 2009 highpoint of $939.9
billion in U.S. holdings, by June 2010,
China had fallen to $839.7 billion.
And China is not alone. Asias central
banks hold around 60 percent of the
worlds foreign-exchange reserves and, in
recent months, nations such as Malay-
sia, India and South Korea have followed
Chinas lead in reducing their holdings of
U.S. debt. In June, the International Mon-
etary Fund said that global reserves of
dollar-denominated debt have fallen from
62.2 percent of total currency holdings to
61.5 percent.
To compensate for its decrease in U.S.
holdings, China has been turning bullish
on Europe and Japan. On Tuesday, Bloom-
berg reported: The nation has been buy-
ing quite a lot of European bonds, said Yu
Yongding, a former adviser to the Peoples
Bank of China who was part of a foreign-
policy advisory committee that visited
France, Spain and Germany from June 20
to July 2.
Japans Ministry of Finance said Au-
gust 9 that China bought 1.73 trillion yen
($20.3 billion) more Japanese debt than
it sold in the frst half of 2010, the fastest
pace of purchases in at least fve years.
Diversifcation should be a basic prin-
ciple, Yu, president of the China Society of
World Economy, said in an interview last
week, adding a top-level Chinese central
banker told him to convey to European
policy makers Chinas confdence in the
regions economy and currency. We didnt
sell any European bonds or assets. Instead
we bought quite a lot.
The U.S. is piling up debt at record lev-
els, and has operated under the assump-
tion that China would reliably buy that
debt up. After all, Washington calculated,
who else would Beijing go to?
Now China has revealed the sobering
answer to that question.

THETRUMPET.COM | AUGUST 18
and then Im supposed to pay more taxes to help save the country? How
is that supposed to work? asks Nikos Meletis, the shipbuilder. They
only organize strikes to serve their own interests! shouts one man,
whose name is Panayiotis Peretridis. The only thing that interests me
anymore is my daily wage. A loaf of bread is my political party. I want
to help my countrygive me work and Ill pay taxes! But our honor
as frst-class skilled workers, as heads of families, as Greeks, is being
dragged through the dirt!
If you take away my familys bread, Ill take you downthe govern-
ment needs to know that, Meletis says. And dont call us anarchists if
that happens! Were heads of our families and were desperate.
He predicts the situation will only become more heated. Things are
starting to simmer here, he says. And at some point theyre going to
explode.
asia
I
n the latest evidence of Russias menacing ascension, Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev conveyed to Tajik President Emomali
Rakhmon that if Tajikstan discontinues the Russian militarys free
use of Tajik airfelds, then Dushanbe could suffer the same fate as the
recently overthrown government in nearby Kyrgyzstan. Since Tajiki-
stan borders both confict-ridden Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, it is a
strategic region for Moscow, prompting the Russia military to maintain
a signifcant military presence there. Although Moscow and Dushanbe
have an accord granting Russian military aircraft free use of Tajiki-
stans military airfelds, Dushanbe has recently hesitated to allow Rus-
sia free use of the Gissar airfeld. Instead, Tajikistan, the poorest of the
former Soviet Union countries, would like to be paid for Russian access.
In the meeting held in Sochi, Russia, on Wednesday, Medvedev remind-
ed Rakhmon of neighboring Kyrgyzstans former president, Kurmanbek
Bakiyev, who tried to use a U.S. military base it hosted as leverage to
squeeze money from both Moscow and Washington. Bishkeks strategy
led to a Russian-backed uprising in Kyrgyzstan, and to Bakiyevs over-
throw. Medvedevs message to Rakhomon was that Moscow will not tol-
erate Tajikistans attempts at extracting Russian money any more than
it tolerated Kyrgyzstans. Expect Russias drive for control in Tajikistan
and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union region to continue as Moscow
works to resurrect an empire in its former sphere of infuence.
NEW YORK TIMES | August 15
china Passes Japan as
second-largest economy
A
fter three decades of spectacular growth, China passed Japan in
the second quarter to become the worlds second-largest economy
behind the United States, according to government fgures re-
leased early Monday.
The milestone, though anticipated for some time, is the most striking
evidence yet that Chinas ascendance is for real and that the rest of the
world will have to reckon with a new economic superpower. Experts
say unseating Japanand in recent years passing Germany, France
and Great Britainunderscores Chinas growing clout and bolsters
forecasts that China will pass the United States as the worlds biggest
economy as early as 2030.
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY August 21, 2010 6
councils Pay for
Disabled to Visit
Prostitutes
a man of 21 with learning disabilities has
been granted taxpayers money to fy to
Amsterdam and have sex with a prosti-
tute. His social worker says sex is a hu-
man right for the unnamed individual
described as a frustrated virgin.
His trip to a brothel in the Dutch capi-
tals red light district next month is being
funded through a 520 million scheme
introduced by the last government to
empower those with disabilities.
They are given a personal budget and
can choose what services this is spent on.
The mans social worker, who spoke on
the condition of anonymity, said his client
was an angry, frustrated and anxious
young man who had a need for sex.
Hes planning to do more than just
have his end awayhes having a holiday,
he said. He has been to two sexual health
and sexual awareness courses and basi-
cally wants to try it. Let him have some
funId want to.
Wouldnt you prefer that we can con-
trol this, guide him, educate him, sup-
port him to understand the process and
ultimately end up satisfying his needs in a
secure, licensed place where his happi-
ness and growth as a person is the most
important thing?
Refusing to offer him this service
would be a violation of his human rights.
The social worker added: Who says he
cant do what he wants? We cant place
restrictions on a young man who wants to
experience the world.
The trip emerged in data from Free-
dom of Information requests which
revealed that many councils are using the
money from the governments Putting
People First scheme to pay for prostitutes,
visits to lap dancing clubs and exotic
holidays.
Another man who has a brain injury
has even had sex work built into his coun-
cil care package. This is designed to teach
him to become sexually self-reliant after
his wife left him and took all their money.
In one year, a man from Norwich who
suffers mental health problems received
a holiday to Tunisia, a subscription to an
Internet dating site, driving lessons and
expensive art materials.
This was on top of state benefts. He
claimed he needed some time out, some
rest and a change of scenery after a men-
tal breakdown.
DAILY MAIL | AUGUST 16
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY August 21, 2010 7
YASSERAL-ZAYYAT/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
This has enormous signifcance, said Nicholas R. Lardy, an econo-
mist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. It recon-
frms whats been happening for the better part of a decade: China has
been eclipsing Japan economically. For everyone in Chinas region,
theyre now the biggest trading partner rather than the U.S. or Japan.
Although its economy is still only one third the size of the Ameri-
can economy, China passed the United States last year to become the
worlds largest market for passenger vehicles. China also passed Ger-
many last year to become the worlds biggest exporter.
latin aMerica/africa
C
olombias constitutional court suspended a 2009 treaty with the U.S.
that gives American forces access to Colombian military bases, say-
ing that the treaty had to be approved by the Colombian congress.
The treaty has helped Colombia make a lot of progress against drug smug-
gling and the terrorist group farc. Colombian President Juan Manuel San-
tos supports the agreement, and it will probably be reinstated by congress
with minimal disruption to American access to bases. But other countries,
especially Venezuela, are strongly against having U.S. forces next door.
Expect them to try and twist Colombias arm into kicking the U.S. out.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame was reelected on August 9, winning
93 percent of the vote. Five days later, Americas National Security Coun-
cil issued a statement expressing concern about the election. We remain
concerned, however, about a series of disturbing events prior to the
election, including the suspension of two newspapers, the expulsion of a
human rights researcher, the barring of two opposition parties from tak-
ing part in the election, and the arrest of journalists, said the statement.
Democracy is about more than holding elections. A democracy refects
the will of the people, where minority voices are heard and respected,
where opposition candidates run on the issues without threat or intimida-
tion, where freedom of expression and freedom of the press are protected.
anglo-aMerica
T
he last United
States combat
brigade left Iraq
Thursday morning.
The last soldiers of the
4th Stryker Brigade
Combat Team crossed
into Kuwait by night,
executing President
Barack Obamas order
to remove combat
troops by Septem-
ber 1. About 50,000
other American troops
remain in Iraq, which
is still unstable and
struggling to form a government. However, those troops are scheduled
to withdraw next year.
This weeks economic data points to a darker outlook, Reuters
reported on Thursday. Rather than falling 24,000 as expected, initial
claims for unemployment benefts rose 12,000 to hit the half million
mark last week, after seasonal adjustment. It was the highest fgure
ground Zero
mosque: a shameful
Double standard
last week, President Obama
inserted himself into the
middle of the Ground Zero
mosque controversy. Obama
defended the planned
Islamic center, saying, they
had the right to build a
place of worship and a com-
munity center on private
property in Lower Manhattan. The next day,
after igniting a frestorm of criticism, Presi-
dent Obama backpedaled slightly, saying
he would not comment on the wisdom of
where to put the mosque.
Most Americans oppose the project, not
because they see it as illegal, but because they
view its location as being inappropriate and
insensitive. Many have also raised legitimate
concerns about the true intentions of the man
behind the proposed Islamic center, Imam
Faisal Abdul Rauf, who believes the United
States was an accessory to the 9/11 attacks,
who wont reveal the nations responsible for
funding the $100 million mosque and who
insists on building his mosque near Ground
Zero, where the Muslim population happens
to be around zero. And yet the president of
the United States, after offering enthusiastic
support for Raufs plan, only clarifed his
remarks by saying he would not comment on
the wisdom of building a mosque so close to
what many Americans deem to be hallowed
ground?
What a contrast this line of thinking is
compared to the intimidating pressure
President Obama has applied on Israel to
discourage Jewish construction in the West
Bank and East Jerusalem, even though its
entirely legal. The legal right for Israel to
build has never stopped President Obama or
his administration from commenting on the
wisdom of various building projects.
Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, envisions a
future Palestinian state that has been ethni-
cally cleansed of Jews. Last week, he said, I
will not agree that there will be Jews among
nato forces and I will not allow even one Is-
raeli to live amongst us on the Palestinian soil.
Yet these are the kinds of partners the
United States assiduously courts, even as it
tramples on the civil rights of Israeli citizens
and utterly disregards the valid concerns of
two thirds of Americans. It reveals a shame-
ful double standard that favors Muslim rights
over the values of most Americans and turns
a blind eye to Palestinian racism while deny-
ing Jews their civil rights.

STEPHEN FLURRY | COLUMNIST
A U.S. convoy of the 1st sustainment brigade
prepares to enter Iraq after the last combat
brigade left.
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY August 21, 2010 8
since mid-November and the third straight week of increasing claims.
The offcial unemployment rate is now 9.5 percent.
On Wednesday, the New York Times asked, What Is It About
20-Somethings?, quipping, Why are so many people in their 20s tak-
ing so long to grow up? More and more, the phenomenon of the 40 per-
cent of 20-year-olds who move back to live with their parents at least
once is becoming a topic of discussion, and even the subject of televi-
sion shows. The Times, which rationalized the trend as neither good nor
bad, reported that fewer than half of women and one third of men have
completed the fve traditional milestones of reaching adulthood. Now,
young people are not fnishing school, leaving home, gaining fnancial
independence, marrying and having a child until their 30s.
The latest lawsuit fled against the Catholic Church for protect-
ing offcials who sexually abused children has hit home in the U.S.
Six women and one man accuse the church in Oakland of negligence
for hiring a reverend who already had multiple accusations of abuse
against him and then proceeded to sexually abuse them as well. Then
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger urged Oakland offcials to take more time
before deciding to defrock the man.
TELEGRAPH | August 17
Julia gillard Wants
australia to Become a
republic
J
ulia gillard, the Australian prime minister, has said Australia
should cut its ties with Britain and become a republic when the
Queen dies or abdicates. Ms. Gillard, who was born in Wales and
moved to Australia with her parents at age 5, acknowledged that many
Australians had deep affection for the Queen, but said that the status
quo could not remain.
What I would like to see as prime minister is that we work our way
through to an agreement on a model for the republic, she said during an
election campaign stop in Queensland. I think the appropriate time for
this nation to move to be a republic is when we see the monarch change.
While it has its own fag and national anthem, Australia currently
operates as a constitutional monarchy, which means that the Queen, as
head of state, has the same formal role as she does in Britain. Her rep-
resentative, the governor-general, is in charge of the army, must give
assent to all laws passed by Parliament and has the power to dissolve
both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
ASSOCIATED PRESS | August 19
Jobless claims rise to
highest level in 9 months
E
mployers appear to be laying off workers again as the economic
recovery weakens. The number of people applying for unemploy-
ment benefts reached the half-million mark last week for the frst
time since November.
It was the third straight week that frst-time jobless claims rose. The
upward trend suggests the private sector may report a net loss of jobs in
on thinking
when was the last time an
article you read actually
changed your life?
Usually when we read,
particularly online, we
skim. And we forget about
it the moment we look away.
Our world is chock-a-block
with distractionsand our
minds are cluttered with trivialities. The
technology-driven, information-saturated
nature of modern life is too noisy for us to
hear ourselves think. Thus, it is hostile to
serious, life-changing thought.
Yet how we think is critical. Our
thoughts govern everything we do and the
attitude with which we do it. Superfcial,
unfocused thinking produces a superfcial,
unfocused life.
Thinking deeply is a matter of restricting
your mental associations so as to repeatedly
and purposefully mull a particular thing.
This requires a moment-by-moment aware-
ness of and restraint over the images, im-
pressions and ideas that foat through the
mind and then an expunging of anything
unwelcome (2 Corinthians 10:5).
We may want a quick fx, but concentra-
tion is a skill acquired with practice. If
you arent used to focusing your attention,
you cant suddenly summon the knack. It
requires habitual, concerted deliberation.
In The Art of Thinking, Ernest Dimnet
advocated populating your mind with great-
ness. [A]nybody with an average knowl-
edge of the history of nations, literature,
philanthropy or art, not to speak of the
history of great religionists or saints, can
people his imagination with groups of su-
perior men in every realm. [O]ur serious
hours cannot be devoted to a more useful
occupation than studying the lives or ideas
of great men.
When you read, what do you read? What
is the quality of the food you feed your
mind? Andjust as importantwhen you
read, how much do you think? Studying
something to the point where it actually
changes you requires letting it soak into and
saturate the folds of your gray matter.
The Bible is flled with directives to think
about what youre doing, and to regularly
evaluate yourself. Now therefore thus saith
the lord of hosts; Consider your ways
(Haggai 1:5). Analyze your life. Think about
what is working and what isnt. Involve God
in this process and you can save yourself
a lot of problemsand simultaneously
deepen your thinking.
Its the road less traveled. But to change
your life, its the only route to take.

JOEL HILLIKER | COLUMNIST
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY August 21, 2010 9
August for the frst time this year.
Construction frms are letting go of more workers as the housing
sector slumps and federal stimulus spending on public works projects
winds down. State and local governments are also cutting jobs to close
large budget gaps.
The current elevated level of claims is a sign employers are reluctant
to hire until the rebound is well under way. The nationwide increase
suggests the economy is creating even fewer jobs than in the frst half
of this year, when private employers added an average of about 100,000
jobs per month.
The number of people continuing to receive benefts fell by 13,000 to
4.5 million, the department said. The continuing-claims data lags initial
claims by one week.
But that doesnt include millions of people receiving extended unem-
ployment insurance, paid for by the federal government. About 5.6 mil-
lion unemployed workers were on the extended unemployment beneft
rolls, as of the week ending July 31, the latest data available. Thats an
increase of about 300,000 from the previous week.
DAILY MAIL | August 19
computers and tV take
up half our lives
W
e now spend almost half our waking hours either online, on the
phone, or watching television according to a survey. The aver-
age adult is awake for 15 hours and 45 minutes every day and
45 percent of that time is spent using a proliferation of technology.
As a result many of us are increasingly adept at multi-taskingwith
computer users sending e-mails while listening to music or watching
television, or texting and surfng the Internet at the same time.
The information is contained in broadcast regulator Ofcoms annual
Communications Market Report. Spokesman Peter Phillips said: For the
frst time we can see just how central media and communications are to
our lives. On average we use them for nearly half our waking hours.
Adults watch 212 minutes of videoincluding television, online clips,
on demand programming and dvdseach day. On average we spend
91 minutes a day listening to the radio, while around 80 minutes a day
are spent on text messaging, social networking and e-mailing.
Mr. Phillips said: Younger people have shown the biggest changes in
how we use media. But the divide between younger and older peoples use
of technology is starting to narrow. In the past year 24 million high-
defnition tv sets were sold and 5 million homes now watch HD channels.
DAILY MAIL | August 12
the teenage Botox Boom
C
hildren as young as 13 are getting Botox injections in an attempt
to seek out a quick fx for perceived beauty faws. Doctors in the
U.S. carried out more than 12,000 procedures on teenagers last
year, with the number increasing every year.
While many had the injections for medical rather than cosmetic rea-
sons, offcials with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons said teens
were seeking the treatment as a way to quickly correct their looks.
The anti-wrinkle drug is being used on a variety of perceived im-
perfections, such as a too gummy smile or even a square jaw. The
china targets u.s.
a pentagon report suppressed by the admin-
istration describes a massive Chinese military
buildup that has only one purpose: to deny
us access to the Western Pacifc and destroy
American forces that try.
The required annual report to Congress on
Chinas military power was fnally released
Monday amid questions of why the document,
due in March, was delayed fve months. Per-
haps it was to avoid offending the sensibilities
of the country helping to fnance the Obama
administrations unconscionable debt. Maybe
it was delayed to avoid questions as to why,
with this growing threat, we are unilaterally
disarming, shredding our nuclear inventory
and canceling major weapons systems America
needs to defend itself.
The 2010 report, curiously renamed the An-
nual Report on Military and Security Develop-
ments Involving the Peoples Republic of China,
speaks of Chinas program to deny U.S. forces ac-
cess to regions it considers critical to its security.
China is felding an array of convention-
ally armed ballistic missiles, ground- and
air-launched cruise missiles, special opera-
tions forces and cyberwarfare capabilities to
hold targets at risk throughout the region, the
report says. These targets would be American
bases and carrier battle groups that might be
sent to aid Taiwan.
The 74-page Pentagon report also notes
that China is pursuing a variety of air, sea,
undersea, space and counterspace weapons
designed specifcally to attack U.S. forces.
Primary among them is the Dong Feng 21D
carrier-killer ballistic missile that can hit mov-
ing and heavily defended American carriers
with pinpoint accuracy at distances between
900 and 1,000 miles from Chinas coasts.
Chinas midrange missiles are designed to
target forces at sea, combined with overhead
and over-the-horizon targeting systems to lo-
cate and track moving ships. At the same time,
Chinas growing cyberwarfare and anti-satellite
capabilities are designed to blind and hinder
any U.S. military response.
Chinas increasingly blue-water navy includes
Sovremenny-class guided-missile destroyers pur-
chased from the Russians. They come equipped
with supersonic, sea-skimming SS-N-22 Sun-
burn cruise missiles designed for one purpose:
Attack American carrier battle groups.
China has six nuclear-powered attack sub-
marines and 54 quiet, diesel-electric subma-
rines, many of them equipped with advanced,
anti-ship cruise missiles.
China is challenging American power in
the Western Pacifc and globally, and [Defense
Secretary Robert] Gatess replacement and the
rest of the administration need to be grilled on
what they intend to do about it, if anything.

INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY | AUGUST 17
THE TRUMPET WEEKLY August 21, 2010 10
before world leaders at the UN last year, Ahmadinejad prayed publicly
that Allah would supply him with the strength to hasten the return of
the Promised One.
Despite these terrifying ambitions, and Irans systematic march
toward acquiring the means to carry them out, the United States and
much of the West still pursue a policy of negotiation and compromise!
Back in 2005, Charles Krauthammer warned of the ominous result
should Ahmadinejad be allowed to acquire nukes: [A] Holocaust-deny-
ing, virulently anti-Semitic, aspiring genocidist, on the verge of acquir-
ing nuclear weapons of the apocalypse, believes that the end is not only
near but nearer than the next American presidential election. This
kind of man would have, to put it gently, less inhibition about starting
armageddon than a normal person.
When Bushehr is activated Saturday, this holocaust denying, viru-
lently anti-Semitic will be another step closer to that goal.
Where will Irans ambition for global nuclear war end? As the Trum-
pet has often explained, the answer can be found in a biblical prophecy
in Daniel 11:40-44. Here, we learn that instead of conquering Israel
and America, and ushering in the return of the Mahdi, Iranor, as its
termed in Daniel, the king of the southwill be preemptively attacked
by another king in a spectacular clash. This king of the north, as
Daniel terms it, is the now-forming German-led European power.
Most people will not see it this way, but the activation Saturday of
Irans frst nuclear energy facility is further evidence of Mahmoud Ah-
madinejads ambition to thrust the world into chaos.
Bible prophecy, as Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explains
here, shows that he is going to get his wish!
ARMAGEDDON from page 1
growing Botox trend for teens was highlighted after a young actress
admitted her frst stop after landing a part in the tv series Glee was her
cosmetic surgeons offce.
BLOOMBERG | August 17
hearing loss in u.s.
adolescents Jumps
H
earing loss among U.S. adolescents has surged, probably
because of the use of devices such as earbuds for listening to
music, doctors say.
Researchers surveyed a sample of children ages 12 to 19 in 2005 and
2006 and found that 19.5 percent had some hearing loss, compared
with 14.9 percent in a study covering the years 1988 to 1994, accord-
ing to a report published today in the Journal of the American Medi-
cal Association. Hearing loss of 25 decibels or moreenough that the
children were often aware of the defcitincreased to 5.3 percent of the
sample, from 3.5 percent in the earlier group.
Listening to loud sounds through earbudsthe tiny electronic speak-
ers that ft into ears, for use with personal music playersis probably the
main reason that more adolescents are losing some of their hearing, said
William Slattery, director of clinical studies at the House Ear Institute, a
Los Angeles medical practice, who wasnt involved in todays study.
Once you have hearing loss, theres a greater risk of that hearing
loss progressing as you get older, Slattery, a clinical professor in the
Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Southern California
in Los Angeles, said today in a telephone interview.

ROBERT MORLEY | COLUMNIST
states and cities across the
country are on the verge of
failure. In response, they
are furloughing children,
pawning city buses, turn-
ing off street lights, letting
roads revert to gravel,
sending out paper ious as
opposed to money.
Almost without exception, the high cost
of unionsand the corrupt offcials who al-
lowed states to indenture themselves to the
unionsare bankrupting the nation.
Why do states have such huge defcits?
Because of things like this: In Milwaukee, the
teachers union is fghting the school board to
get taxpayer-funded Viagra back into their
health plans. If a judge forces the school
board to pay up, based on historical usage it
will cost the city an astounding $786,000 per
year.
Think about that. Seven hundred and
eighty-six thousand dollarseach and every
yearso teachers can get paid access to the
passion pill. This is how ridiculous unions
have become. With the whole nation mired in
a deep recession, with millions of people los-
ing their jobs, this is the unions priority?
But here is the real kicker. According
to a consultant for the school board, the
$786,000 could be instead used to keep per-
haps a dozen frst-year teachers employed.
In other words, the cost to the city for hir-
ing a unionized rookie teacher straight out of
college is $65,000 per year (when including
benefts). In some school districts, teachers
are paid more than $72,000 per year, not
including benefts. Benefts like family health
care for a family of four can cost around
$22,000 per year.
And when public employees retire, they
are often entitled to a salary plus benefts
equal to their highest wage earned through-
out their career. And employees have learned
to take advantage of this, engaging in retire-
ment spikingby working as much overtime
as possible during the fnal year of employ-
mentand then collecting juiced pension
payments for the rest of their life.
And teachers are among the least ex-
pensive unionized public employees. Police
offcers and frefghters get paid much more
at retirement. Each retired member can cost
taxpayers millions in retirement costs. Re-
peat: millions!
The way of get has pervaded Americas
economic system. Unions are a prime ex-
ample and Americas economic system is no
longer sustainable.
how the unions
Betrayed america