The European Union does not exist on the American political landscape. At a time when many foreign-policy experts are looking toward a multipolar world with the EU and China as two of the important poles, when foreign-policy issues are more important in the U.S. presidential election than at any time in recent memory, George W. Bush has not even mentioned the EU in any speech given in 2004. Not once. (http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/10/18/news/edslaughter.html)
The EU surpasses the United States in a number of key areas, and has the potential to overtake it in many other issues. The wikipedia, using the CIA as its source, states that EU GDP is 13,92 trillion dollars, whereas US GDP is "only" 12,438 trillion.
EU companies and firms are rapidly buying up their US counterparts (Cadbury-Schweppes buying 7Up and Dr Pepper for example). European companies such as Nokia, Vodaphone, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, Ikea, and Nestlé are doing coniderably better than their US counterparts. Airbus has recently had a string of sucesses over Boeing.
Europeans have overcome their differences to form a borderless Union, European citizenship, single currency, a rotating EU president, (and they almost got round to having a constitution). The Euro is far stronger than the almighty Dollar.
It then follows, that the EU should feature strongly in a King of the North/South debate in one of the Society's future publications.
The EU and WTS prophecy
by dorayakii 22 Replies latest watchtower bible
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dorayakii
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dorayakii
What does anyone else think about this?
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stillajwexelder
Too historically tied to the US - most US citizens are Anglo-German-Irsih-Italian - there is no way that the US and the EU will be in opposition to each othe rin the King of the North-South scenario - it will not happen - not in my lifetime anyway
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greendawn
Do the events in Daniel really have a fulfillment in our days or is it just the JWs that believe this type antitype interpretation?
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EvilForce
I think they will use China instead.....because of those Godless, slanty eyed, yellow, Buddhist, Commies!
How China has a one child policy which causes many to abort babies. How Godless. How inhumane.
How stupid that analogy will be as well ! -
dorayakii
My main question was more to do with how the WTS will interpret this growing EU threat to their doctrine of the "7th Anglo-American World Power", and less to do with how accurate their interpretation is. I suppose the two headed wild beast could be shifted to symbolise the Euro-American power as opposed to the Anglo-American one.
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Pole
If I may chip in with my favourite personal resentment :-)
With Jacques Chirac and other key figures of the EU politics who are so miserably out of keeping with reality I can't see how the EU may play an important role in the near future.
Let's see:
Jacques first arranged a EU constitution referendum although it wasn't technically necessary. Fine - let the people decide.
He then lost the referendum because he seemed not to realize the more he advocated for the constitution the less his compatriots felt like supporting it. (Poor Jacques thought actually people looked up to him).
When the French said 'Non', he announced Europe was now in "an unexpected crisis" (what?) and that France would now strengthen its ties with Germany. He thus returned to the idea of a two-speed Europe on the excuse of his own failure. The Dutchies rejected constitution as a strawman representing their own meilny domestic issues. Fear of immigrants, currency change speculations - what do those things have to do with the constitution? Meanwhile Ukraine announced they would strengthen their ties with Russia as the prospects of joining the EU have now completely faded - even in 25 year's time.
Now, to divert attention from his failures, Jacques started a mayhem of a fight with the Brits over the UK rebate. He risks even more EU disintegration, but blaming everybody else for his failure is still better than admitting a series of mistakes.
This is just one (although a very prominent) example of how strong Europe seems to be at the moment.
As for the Euro, Italy is considering having a referendum over whether they should get back to the Lire.
In my opinion Europe is on the verge of political Balkanization. (not in terms of wars breaking out but in terms of turning into a continent of hostile countries cherishing their own petty interests, while the rest of the world are leaving them behind). As an Eastern-European I tend to agree with one journalist who wrote: "Historians may come to say that Europeans never knew they had it so good, but then they threw it away".
So the WTS may as well start looking for another King of the North/South (I forgot which one it was).
Pole -
Nathan Natas
If the EU had any significance in world affairs, Judge Rutherford would have told us about it. Certainly the Prophet Freddy would have seen the EU coming if it was important. Let the reader use discernment.
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dorayakii
Interesting point, although i do believe that the proposed Italian referendum is being proposed by Labour Minister Roberto Maroni, and involves not an abolition of the strong euro, but a return to double-circulation of the euro and the lira.
He argues that "when the euro came into circulation, many retailers steeply raised their prices, by dropping off the zeros from the old prices in lira. The changeover rate from lira to euro was a little under 2,000 lira for every euro. With the adoption of the euro, Italian consumers found themselves paying much more for goods and services ranging from fruit and vegetables to plumbing repairs and dining out."
It would be foolhardy for the Italians to pull completely out of the euro at this stage and would irrevocably damage their economy as well as place them further outside the Union. Complete withdrawal would harm their future ability to buy oil at a reasonable price, because many Middle-eastern oil companies as well as the Russians are considering a change from pricing their oil in dollars to doing so in euros. In 1999 Iraq started trading oil in Euros, some even believe this was the reason the Bush administration invaded Iraq. Since the war though this discrepancy has now been put "right".
This is an interesting although slightly biased exert from a book "Europe vs. America"
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17726 -
Pole
dorayakii,
Good clarification - though you shouldn't forget Maroni (what a name btw :) doesn't represent all political forces and their views on getting rid of the Euro in Italy. The double-currency idea you've mentioned could have only originated in Italy, I guess. LOL.
Pole