World News and Trends: The Iranian dilemma
Iran wishes to destroy Israel. Will 2009 bring hope or doom for this country?
A September 2008 article in Standpoint, a new conservative news commentary magazine published in Britain, sheds light on the situation in Iran under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "Iran has tested Western resolve in other blunter ways. It has breached its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and made a mockery of inspections. It supplied weapons to Shia militias in Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan . . . It routinely announces that Israel should be 'wiped off the map.'"
Michael Ledeen, Freedom Scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a National Review Online contributing editor, says: "If the Iranians do have a weapon, it is impossible to imagine that, at a moment of crisis, they will not use it. The point is we have an implacable enemy which has no intention of negotiating a settlement with us. They want us dead or dominated . . . There is no painless way out, and the longer we wait the greater the pain is going to be" (Imprimis, October 2008).
The Sunday Times stated that "in the baking heat of the Negev desert [in southern Israel], the Israeli air force's top guns are training for a secret mission . . . In a further indication that this squadron is preparing for conflict, 80 US technicians based at the nearby Nevatim air base in the Negev have installed the world's most advanced X-brand radar system with a range of 1,250 miles, that it will hugely enhance Israel's tactical capacity in the air." One of the pilots said, "We feel the future of Israel isn't safe and we want to do what we can to defend it" (Nov. 23, 2008).
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: January - February 2009
Course Content
Jerold Aust
Jerold Aust has served in the ministry for 52 years, as a public speaker for 58 years, a published writer for 38 years, and is employed by UCG’s Media and Communications Services. He is a Senior Writer, interviewer, and editor for Beyond Today Magazine and has taught Speech Communication for UCG’s ministerial online program and the Book of Revelation for ABC.
Jerold holds a BA in theology from Ambassador College, Pasadena (1968), an MA in Communication from California State University, Fullerton (1995), a distance-learning Ph.D (2006), and a Famous Writers School diploma in non-fiction writing (1973). Additionally, he studied post-grad communication at University of Southern California (1995), radio, TV, voice-overs, and Public Relations at Fullerton College (1995-1996), and graduate communication at Wichita State University (1978). Jerold has taught communication at the University of South Alabama (7 years) and ABC (17 years). His published works include, Ronald Reagan’s Rhetoric: Metaphor as Persuasion and EZSpeakers: Public Speaking Made Easy in 7 Steps. Jerold's overarching goal is to share with humankind its incredible destiny!
John Ross Schroeder
John died on March 8, 2014, in Oxford, England, four days after suffering cardiac arrest while returning home from a press event in London. John was 77 and still going strong.
Some of John's work for The Good News appeared under his byline, but much didn't. He wrote more than a thousand articles over the years, but also wrote the Questions and Answers section of the magazine, compiled our Letters From Our Readers, and wrote many of the items in the Current Events and Trends section. He also contributed greatly to a number of our study guides and Bible Study Course lessons. His writing has touched the lives of literally millions of people over the years.
John traveled widely over the years as an accredited journalist, especially in Europe. His knowledge of European and Middle East history added a great deal to his articles on history and Bible prophecy.
In his later years he also pastored congregations in Northern Ireland and East Sussex, and that experience added another dimension to his writing. He and his wife Jan were an effective team in our British Isles office near their home.
John was a humble servant who dedicated his life to sharing the gospel—the good news—of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God to all the world, and his work was known to readers in nearly every country of the world.
