U.S. exports pilots to the world

An economic analysis by the Wall St. Journal reports that large U.S. companies are adding jobs abroad much faster than in the U.S. According to the report, the number of workers employed by U.S. companies worldwide was up 7.7 percent from two years earlier. The domestic employment for the same period was up only 3.1 percent. Employment abroad increased by more than double that of domestic hiring. The same trend is evident in pilot hiring as well.

The United States has long been the destination of flight students from around the world. Lower taxes, cheaper fuel, and no aviation user fees make it attractive for prospective pilots from other parts of the world to come to the U.S. for training. In many cases, they then return to their home countries to earn their domestic licenses on the basis of training completed in the U.S. or FAA pilot licenses earned here. In other cases, such as those who attend foreign airline training courses at schools in the United States, they can even be issued a foreign license while training in the U.S.

Now the United States is exporting many of its home-grown pilots as well. The recession and stagnant economy have hit domestic aviation hard. Many companies have eliminated their corporate airplanes and flight departments amid criticism by members of the Obama Administration. Nearly all major U.S. airlines have been in bankruptcy since 2001 and most still have pilots on furlough.

Other than Southwest and Spirit, the only U.S. airlines that are currently hiring are regional feeder companies such as Express Jet and Go Jet. These companies operate regional jets under code share for legacy airlines like Delta and United. Regional airline jobs are entry level positions that are typically considered to be the airline equivalent of “burger-flipper” jobs.

Private aviation in the U.S. is similarly depressed. No statistics are available for unemployment numbers for pilots, but Aviation International News reported last week that revised figures for 2011 business jet sales were down 7.9 percent from 2010. This statistic explains the meager number of new pilot jobs at domestic companies.

There are a small number of openings in corporate flight departments and charter companies, but a survey of aviation job search websites such as Climbto350.com and BizJetJobs.com shows that approximately half of the pilot jobs listed are in foreign countries. In addition to the total number of job postings, most jobs listed for American companies are single openings. In contrast, job listings abroad often call for a large number of new hires. This often reflects a continuing need for expatriate pilots to staff growing foreign airlines and flight departments.

Many of the posted jobs are in the emerging market of China, where the government is easing regulations on aircraft ownership and operation. According to the Chinese consulate in Chicago, there are currently only 132 registered private aircraft in the People’s Republic, but that number is projected to grow to between 500 and 1,000 planes in the next five years. Small wonder then that U.S. aircraft manufacturers such as Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft, and Gulfstream are establishing ties to China.

In addition to jobs flying corporate jets, there are also many openings for pilots who are trained to fly airliners. Often these jobs are in China as well, although many are also found in the Middle East, India, and occasionally in Africa and Europe. There are many openings for pilots qualified on heavy airliners like the Airbus A320, the A340, the MD-11, the Boeing 767 and the 737. Frequently, there are also jobs listed for pilots of regional airliners such as the Canadair Regional Jet and the Embraer Regional Jet, as well as turboprop airliners like the Dash 8 and the Beech 1900.

In addition to a shortage of jobs in the United States, a loss of prestige for the pilot profession and concessions granted by unions during bankruptcy may also factor into the decisions of many pilots to look for work abroad. Most airline workers have lost their pensions while taking pay cuts on their current salaries as well. At the same time, many are required to work more hours each month as companies downsize.

The trend may continue. According to USA Today, Boeing forecasts a need for almost 500,000 pilots by 2029, an average of more than 23,000 per year. Only about 20 percent of these new jobs are forecast to be in North America, however. As many as 40 percent will be found in Asia and the Pacific Rim, where many of the openings are today.

There is one bright spot for pilots who are looking for aviation jobs in the United States, however. In 2007, the FAA increased the retirement age for airline pilots from age 60 to 65. Many of the senior airline pilots who benefitted from the extra five years of work are now nearing their mandatory final flights. Beginning this year, pilot retirements at the U.S. legacy airlines are set to dramatically increase in a cycle that may last for decades. This means that as long as the airlines are not downsizing due to a shrinking economy, they should be looking for a lot of pilots.

Read this article on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/article/u-s-exports-pilots-around-the-world

"Epicenter" Book Review

Joel C. Rosenberg is a fiction author who became famous in 2001 when he predicted in a novel that terrorists would attack the United States using a hijacked aircraft with a crew of suicidal jihadists in his novel, The Last Jihad. Shortly afterward, he predicted the death of Yasir Arafat and an attack on a US diplomatic convoy in Gaza in his second novel, The Last Days (2003). In 2005, his novel, The Ezekiel Option, foreshadowed the rise of a dictatorial Russian leader who would form an alliance with Iran.

In three consecutive books, Rosenberg has been eerily prescient in his fictional works. Is this simply a case of life imitating art, or does Rosenberg have some special insights into world politics?

Joel C. Rosenberg has impressive credentials in international politics. He worked on Steve Forbes unsuccessful presidential campaign. He has also worked closely with former Israeli deputy prime minister Natan Sharansky, former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and, last but not least, conservative talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh.

But there are many people with even more impressive credentials who are considerably less successful in predicting the future of the Middle East. What makes Rosenberg's books so "ripped from today's headlines"?

In Epicenter: Why The Current Rumblings in the Middle East Will Change Your Future, Rosenberg reveals that his muse is none other than the Bible. Specifically, Rosenberg bases his novels on chapters 38 and 39 of the book Ezekiel.

Ezekiel was an Old Testament prophet who wrote from six years before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC until about sixteen years later. Chapters 38 and 39 of Ezekiel are prophecies that describe a war led by "Gog, of the land of Magog" and Persia. Rosenberg dissects the passage and shows evidence that Magog is Russia and that Persia is Iran. Many other nations are also identified as being part of the anti-Israeli alliance.
The focus of Gog's war is Israel. Rosenberg points out that Israel is a traditional foe of Iran. This is borne out by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's fiery rhetoric about how Israel will soon be erased from the map.

It has been more recently, however, that Russia became directly antagonistic toward the Jewish state. Even though Arab forces supported by the Soviet Union fought several wars with Israel, Russian forces were never committed. Arab forces used Soviet equipment and, it has been recently revealed, Soviet battle plans.

A major crux of Epicenter is that Russia and Iran have never before in recorded history had a military alliance as they now do. Russia and Iran already have numerous economic ties worth billions of dollars. Russia resists UN sanctions against Iran and is even building Iran's nuclear facility at Bushehr. Russia is even supplying the Iranians with air defense systems that may one day be used to defend that facility.

So what does Rosenberg believe is in store in the Middle East?

One prediction is the discovery of oil reserves in Palestine. Huge amounts of oil might provide the motive for a Russian war against Israel. Iran already has ample religious motivations for war with Israel.

Another is the rise of a dictatorial regime in Russia. Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, has already announced that he will not leave government when his last term expires in 2008. He is prohibited from serving another term as president and will instead step into the office of Prime Minister. Vladimir Zhirinovsky is another possibility. Zhirinovsky is a candidate for president in 2008 and has already written a book, The Last March to the South, advocates a Russian invasion of nations to the south.

And how will Gog's war end? According to Ezekiel's prophecy, in the best tradition of the cavalry riding to rescue when all hope is lost and the destruction of Israel is imminent, Ezekiel writes that Gog and his entire army will be struck down and that fire from Heaven will devastate the nation of Magog.

Epicenter is an easy and quick read, and is packed with well-researched information. It contains a wealth of information that will not be found in the mainstream media, especially relating to the spread of Christianity throughout the modern day fundamentalist Islamic countries. Whether you agree with Rosenberg's assessment or not, Epicenter is definitely worth your time if you are interested in the Middle East.

Islam and Revelation

From the time that John wrote his Revelation of Jesus Christ in the first century AD, there has been much speculation about the identity of the Beast from the Sea (Revelation 13), more commonly referred to in theology and culture as the Antichrist. Recent events may offer some clues as about the background of this future world figure.

There are several reasons to speculate that the Antichrist will lead an army of Muslims against Israel in the latter days. The most obvious of these is that the Antichrist is out to destroy Israel. Israel has been in a constant state of war with its Muslim neighbors since its inception in 1947.

Hostility to Israel

As British forces withdrew from Palestine in 1948 to allow its partition into two states, one Jewish and one Arab, a combined force of the armies of Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia invaded the Jewish state on multiple fronts. Azzam Pasha, Secretary-General of the Arab League, stated, “This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades."

Israel’s War of Independence ended with an armistice in 1949, but the fighting never really stopped. Arab fedayeen guerillas attacked Israeli towns and citizens in terrorist style attacks.

In 1956, Israel invaded the Sinai Peninsula with British and French support in response to an Arab blockade and boycott of Israeli shipping and the Egyptian seizure of the Suez Canal. Prior to the war, Egyptian President Gamal Nasser said, “There will be no peace on Israel's border because we demand vengeance, and vengeance is Israel's death.”

Low intensity guerilla warfare continued until 1967 when Nasser rallied Arab nations to attack Israel once again. Israeli forces launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt on June 5, 1967 to start the Six Day War. When the smoke cleared, Israel had captured the Sinai and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank (of the Jordan River) from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. Following the Arab defeat, Egypt launched the War of Attrition, a limited war against Israel that continued until Nasser’s death in 1970.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) staged terror and guerilla attacks against Israel throughout most of Israel’s history. The PLO was given sanctuary at various times by Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon. This eventually prompted Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and the partial occupation of Lebanon by Israel until 2000.

Terror attacks, as well as artillery and rocket attacks, continue against Israel to this day. The First Intifada started in the West Bank in 1987 and the Second, or al-Aqsa, Intifada began in 2000. The Intifadas were marked by civilian deaths on both sides. Israel unilaterally withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, but fighting and terror attacks continue there. From Lebanon, Hezbollah continues to attack northern areas of Israel. In 2006, these attacks sparked yet another brief war.

Revelation 17:16 states that the armies of the world will gather together at Armageddon. Armageddon is a Hebrew word that literally means “Hill of Megiddo.” Megiddo itself means “to cut off” (Nelson Study Bible, pp. 2190). Today, Megiddo is a town in Israel located approximately 100 miles north of Jerusalem, and is on a traditional invasion route to Jerusalem.

In John’s day, Megiddo was a strategic junction and the site of several battles throughout history. Interestingly, the Battle of Megiddo in the 15th century BC (between Egypt and the Canaanites) was the first battle to be recorded for history. John’s readers would remember Megiddo as the place where King Josiah was defeated by the Egyptians in 609 BC (2 Kings 23:29) and would associate it with slaughter.

When the armies of the world gather at Armageddon, they are presumably on their way to attack Jerusalem. In addition to the traditional enmity between the Arabs and Israelis, the Muslims have another motive to attack Jerusalem. Jerusalem is home to the oldest existing Islamic building in the world.

The Dome of the Rock mosque is located on what is widely believed to be the location of the ancient Jewish temple. The mosque was constructed in AD 630 on the site where Muslims believe that Mohammed, accompanied by Gabriel, ascended to Heaven to receive Islamic prayers from the prophets. Orthodox Jews believe that Abraham was instructed to sacrifice Isaac and Jacob dreamed of angels climbing a ladder on the same spot.

The Dome of the Rock is considered very sacred to Muslims. So sacred, in fact, that when Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon merely visited the Temple Mount in 2000, it set off Muslim riots. The Israeli occupation of Jerusalem is considered an affront to Allah and could easily lead to a war of liberation.

Similarly, Daniel 9:27 refers to a covenant (treaty or agreement) between the Antichrist and Israel. A treaty would only be notable in prophecy if it were highly unusual and notable. A peace agreement between the Arabs and the Israelis has been sought after for longer than Israel has been a nation, yet seems as far away now as ever.

One World Religion

Another similarity between the ideology of radical Islamists and John’s prophecy is the desire of the radicals to promote Islam as the one religion of the world. John wrote in Revelation 13 about a Beast from the Earth who would deceive people and trick them into worshipping the Antichrist. People who refuse are executed.

Today, radical Muslims are already calling for a the establishment of a worldwide caliphate. Al Qaeda’s charter states bluntly that “There Will Be Continuing Enmity Until Everyone Believes In Allah. We Will Not Meet [The Enemy] Halfway And There Will Be No Room For Dialogue With Them.” Similarly, Ayman al-Zawahiri said “The whole world is an open field for us."

Persecution of Christians

The Revelation is full of references to persecution of Christians and those who refuse to worship the Antichrist. Revelation 6:9-11 speaks of martyred Christians asking God when He will take vengeance on their killers. Revelation 13:7 and 17:6 also refer to persecution of Christians.

Muslim persecution of Christians is currently at a very high rate. In some cases, the persecution is the work of mobs and militant groups, such as attacks on Christians and churches in Indonesia that have cost thousands of lives. In other Muslim countries, the persecution is government sponsored. For example, in Saudi Arabia Christians are not allowed to have worship services or attempt to convert Muslims. Those who break these laws face jail time, deportation, or execution. In several countries, Muslims who have converted to Christianity have been executed. One of the first modern attempts at genocide was the Armenian Genocide, in which the Muslim government of the Ottoman Empire, today’s Turkey, killed thousands of Armenian Christians during WW I.

Revelation 20:4 is another verse that foretells persecution of Christians. This verse is unique, however, because it tells specifically how they are executed. According to John, the forces of the Antichrist behead followers of Christ.

In today’s world, beheading is associated with Al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq who murder hostages by cutting their heads off, but other Islamic nations and groups also practice beheading. Abu Sayyaf, an Al-Qaeda affiliated group in the Philippines, practices beheading. Muslim members of the Bosnian army practiced ritual beheadings of Serb prisoners during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. Islamic Chechen soldiers beheaded captured Russian soldiers and hostages during the Chechen Wars. Saudi Arabia is probably the largest current practitioner of beheadings. Amnesty International reports that over 100 Saudi prisoners have been decapitated in 2007.

Babylon

An additional hint of the Muslim involvement in the end times is the location of the Antichrist’s seat of power: Babylon. Jewish readers in John’s day would have recognized Babylon as the power that destroyed the ancient Israelite kingdom and led the Jews in captivity in 586 BC. Babylon itself eventually declined and the prophet Jeremiah wrote that it would never be rebuilt (51:26).

Saddam Hussein did not believe Jeremiah’s prophecy and started rebuilding Babylon in 1985. The United Nations may pick up where Saddam left off. The International Herald Tribune reports that UNESCO is looking for investors to turn Babylon into a tourist attraction (http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/04/13/news/babylon.php).

If John is correct, before Jeremiah’s prophecy becomes complete, Babylon will reemerge the world’s commercial center and the capitol of the Antichrist’s government. The location of Babylon in Iraq implies another Muslim connection. Revelation chapter 18 describes final destruction of Babylon.

Daniel’s Clues

An additional clue to the identity of the Antichrist is found in Daniel 9:26. Daniel says that the “people of the prince who is to come” will destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. The Romans destroyed the Temple in AD 70, so the Antichrist could come be someone of Roman descent. The Roman Empire surrounded the Mediterranean Sea, an area which is largely dominated by Muslims today. Even European countries are becoming increasingly Muslim through immigration. Today Italy, the seat of the Roman Empire has a Muslim population of about 2.4%.

Daniel 9:27 refers to an abomination in the Jewish temple. This will be some sort of desecration of a temple that has yet to be built. Arab armies have desecrated Jewish synagogues, cemeteries, and holy sites in past wars.

Many Orthodox Jews believe that the Temple will be rebuilt soon. The Temple Mount Faithful is a group dedicated to rebuilding the Temple. They already have the cornerstone and many of the sacred temple vessels ready. The only obstacle is the fact that the Dome of the Rock currently sits atop the site of the ancient Temple.

Ezekiel describes a new Temple that has not yet been built in chapters 40 through 48. Interestingly enough, this follows immediately after the prophecy of the War of Gog and Magog in chapters 38-39. (Ezekiel 37 describes the reconstitution of Israel as a nation. This prophecy was fulfilled in 1948.) Joel Rosenberg’s book, Epicenter, describes this prophecy in detail. Rosenberg believes that the War of Gog and Magog will be a war in which Russia, Iran, and their allies, predominantly Muslim nations, attack Israel and are supernaturally destroyed by God. It is possible that the Dome of the Rock will also be destroyed in this war, paving the way for a new Jewish Temple.

There is much circumstantial evidence that points to a Muslim link with the forces of the Antichrist, but the most chilling connection comes from a sect of Shia Islam known as Twelver Islam.

The Mahdi

To understand Twelver Islam, we must first understand the origin of the split between Sunni and Shia Islam. Shortly after the death of Mohammed in AD 632, a disagreement arose over who should take his place at the helm of Islam. The Shia believe that Mohammed ordained Ali, his cousin and son-in-law, and his descendents to succeed him. The Sunnis believe that Abu Bakr, Mohammed’s father-in-law and a Muslim leader, was the rightful head of Islam.
Abu Bakr eventually gained control of the Ummah, the nation of Islam and today approximately 90% of all Muslims are Sunni. Al Qaeda is a Sunni organization. The Shia, which means the “Party of Ali,” predominantly live located in Iraq and Iran.

The Shia believe that there were twelve imams, religious leaders who were directly descended from the prophet Mohammed. The twelfth imam, who is also the current imam, has been absent from the earth for over one thousand years.

The Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, as a five-year-old child, is believed to have led a prayer at the funeral of his deceased father in AD 874. The Mahdi, or “Guided One,” reportedly disappeared into occultation (ghaybat), where he will remain until a time when Allah sends him to bring justice to the world.

The Mahdi is believed to have said, “During the last times, my people will be afflicted with terrible and unprecedented calamities and misfortunes from their rulers, so much so that this vast earth will appear small to them. Persecution and injustice will engulf the earth. The believers will find no shelter to seek refuge from these tortures and injustices. At such a time, God will raise from my progeny a man who will establish peace and justice on this earth in the same way as it had been filled with injustice and distress.”

When this chaos fills the world, Twelvers believe that the Mahdi will usher in an age in which Islam covers the world. Muhammad will reappear with the legendary sword, Zulfiqar, which was given to Ali by Mohammed the prophet. Muslims also believe that Jesus will return with the Mahdi and will replace the Bible with the Koran.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a believer in the Mahdi. Iran produces a main battle tank called the Zulfiqar and, in 2006, held wargames called The Blow of Zolfaghar.
Ahmadinejad is reported to believe that the return of the Mahdi can be hastened by creating chaos in the world. He has said that Israel occupies the Holy city, Jersusalem, and should be “wiped off the map.” He has also written an open letter to the American people that some interpret as a da’awah, a request for submission to Islam that is a necessary step toward a just war in the Islamic view. Together with Iran’s drive to produce a nuclear weapon, Ahmadinejad’s beliefs are especially disturbing. (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/ahmadinejad.htm)

Twelver beliefs are almost a mirror image of John’s prophecy. In the Twelver view, chaos and war will cause the return of the Mahdi who will convert the world to Islam and take Jerusalem from Israel. In John’s view, a demon-possessed leader will institute a single religion, persecute followers of Jesus, and attack the Holy city of Jerusalem. Could the two figures from different religions be the same man?

Mohammed claimed to receive revelations from God approximately six hundred years after Jesus Christ died and rose again. It is within the realm of possibility that the Enemy, seeing the growth of the Christian church throughout the known world, planted a seed that would blossom into a major religion poised for world domination fifteen hundred years later. John could have seen that members of that yet unborn religion would one day be in a position to challenge world superpowers and set the stage for the end of the world as we know it. The animosity between Isaac and Ishmael (Genesis 16), who sired the Jews and Arabs respectively, could be the origin of a nuclear holocaust in the end of days. Only time will tell.
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Source: Wikipedia.org except where noted