Current Events & Trends: China - an ominously powerful country
Niall Ferguson is a China watcher.
During a recent interview with Philip Sherwell in The Sunday Telegraph, he "discussed a resurgent Chinese nationalism that 'is almost intimidating in its intensity' as the world undergoes a shift of financial and political power from West to East" ("China's Got the Whole World in Its Hands," March 11, 2012).
A key point from the interview was this: "Why does this matter for the rest of the world? For one thing, Ferguson sees unnerving echoes in that mixture of shrill nationalism and overseas ambition of Germany a century ago."
The piece continued, "China is already devouring two-fifths of the world's coal, zinc, aluminium and copper." It further noted that the country has £2 trillion in reserve and is the West's largest creditor—owning a substantial share of American debt. It also pointed out that China's economic output may surpass the United States by 2016.
Militarily, as various news sources reported in early March, Beijing's plans include an increase in defense funds of 11.2 percent. This comes at the same time that the United States foresees major cuts in manpower and conventional armaments—and also apparently wants to cut its nuclear weaponry substantially.
To understand what truly underlies America's geopolitical preeminence slipping away, read our free Bible study aid booklets The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy and You Can Understand Bible Prophecy. (Sources: The Sunday Telegraph, Associated Press, Reuters.)
An Article from:
Good News Magazine: May - June 2012
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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.
