World News and Trends
Beyond Today Magazine
Good News Magazine: November - December 2002
Course Content
"The break-up of Austria's [government] coalition ... was caused by a ruthless purge of moderates from the ranks of Jörg Haider's right-wing Freedom Party and their replacement with hardline ideologues, The Sunday Telegraph has learned."
Our readers may remember the emergence of this Austrian rightist politician just a few years ago. Although he was forced to step down as the leader of the party, Mr. Haider has remained a significant and influential figure both in his country and among the members of the far right in Europe.
Now we read that "Europe's far-right parties have held secret talks at the mountain lair of the Austrian populist politician Jörg Haider to forge a pan-European movement." Prominent among those in attendance were right-wing politicians from Belgium and Italy. Apparently another conference is to occur in Belgium at the end of the year to forge a joint manifesto.
According to The Sunday Telegraph, Mr. Haider "has a clear political agenda to put together a diverse coalition of far-right parties to exert pressure on the European Union."
Unnerving political forces continue to stir on the Continent. This is nothing new; Europe has been restless for 150 years. Twice in the first half of the 20th century extreme movements led to world wars. (Sources: The Sunday Telegraph, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian.)
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.
