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2 july 2012 will our world ever change what would you change what must change what will change?

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2 average printing 41,042,000 published in 84 languages will our world ever change 3 what would you change 4 what must change 9 what will change unger h verty po 10 sea bugs for your dining pleasure 13 help for children who grieve 16 young people ask are we just friends or more part 2 20 watching the world 21 from our readers 22 the bible a book of accurate prophecy part 3 25 was it designed the newt s regenerating lens 26 the bible s viewpoint who can change our world 28 remember to say thank you 30 for family review 32 a changed world will you ever see it ease dis rime c injustice

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war ution poll what would you change which factor about our world disturbs you the most which of the following would you most like to see peace between nations prejudice affordable and better health care end of discrimination plenty of food and drinking water safe neighborhoods a clean environment justice for everyone will your vision of a changed world ever be achieved some would say that the answer rests with government can world rulers change our world for the better what do the facts reveal 3

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m what must change government is not the solution to our problem government is the problem ronald w reagan in his inaugural address as 40th president of the united states ore than three decades have passed since ronald reagan made that statement at that time the united states faced a colossal challenge an economic affliction of great proportions reagan called it we suffer from the longest and one of the worst sustained inflations in our national history he explained for decades we have piled deficit upon deficit mortgaging our future and our children s future for the temporary convenience of the present to continue this long trend is to guarantee tremendous social cultural political and economic upheavals as bleak as his outlook may have seemed reagan was not entirely pessimistic he stated the economic ills we suffer have come upon us over several decades they will not go away in days weeks or months but they will go away italics ours how does the situation appear today a 2009 report of the u.s department of housing and urban development stated increasing numbers of people are vulnerable to overburdened infrastructure inadequate housing and outmoded health systems in fact [the united nations agency un-habitat projects that within three decades one of three people will live in near total despair lacking sanitation and clean water exposed to the imminent effects of climate change fueling the spread of disease and possible pandemics a global concern regardless of where you live consider the following questions do you feel more secure financially than you did a decade ago 4 this journal is published for the enlightenment of the entire family it shows how to cope with today s problems it reports the news tells about people in many lands examines religion and science but it does more it probes beneath the surface and points to the real meaning behind current events yet it always stays politically neutral and does not exalt one race above another most important this magazine builds confidence in the creator s promise of a peaceful and secure new world that is about to replace the present wicked lawless system of things this publication is not for sale it is provided as part of a worldwide bible educational work supported by voluntary donations unless otherwise indicated scripture quotations are from the modern-language new world translation of the holy scriptures with references awake issn 0005-237x is published monthly by watchtower bible and tract society of new york inc l weaver jr president g f simonis secretarytreasurer 25 columbia heights brooklyn ny 11201-2483 and by watch tower bible and tract society of canada po box 4100 georgetown on l7g 4y4 periodicals postage paid at brooklyn n.y and at additional mailing offices postmaster send address changes to awake 1000 red mills road wallkill ny 12589-3299 5 2012 watch tower bible and tract society of pennsylvania all rights reserved printed in canada vol 93 no 7 monthly english

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what do young people say they would change about the world according to the web site 4children.org a survey in britain of some 2,000 children between the ages of 4 and 14 revealed that they would do the following 100 a 2009 survey conducted by the bertelsmann foundation in germany revealed the greatest concerns of some 500 young people between the ages of 14 and 18 among the issues that young people considered to be of less importance were terrorism and the growing population even the financial crisis registered low on their list of priorities according to the bertelsmann foundation s interpretation this may be because the young respondents have not yet been affected by these problems in real life 75 50 global epidemics and illnesses climate change and destruction of the environment cause all people to be treated equally eliminate poverty lack of food and drinking water stop hunger stop global warming 25 end war 0 do you believe that your health care is more than adequate for you and your family do you see cleaner surroundings and an improved environment as you look to the future can you see things improving over the next 10 20 or 30 years ment between rulers and citizens that specifies the rights and duties of both sides generally for example citizens are expected to abide by the laws of a country to pay taxes and to contribute toward a safe environment rulers in turn usually promise such things as adequate health care equality and economic security a social contract how have governments performed in many governments have what is called a those three areas consider the evidence on social contract a written or implied agree the following three pages languages afrikaans albanian amharic arabic armenian bislama bulgarian cebuano chichewa chinese simplified chinese traditional7 audio mandarin only chitonga cibemba croatian czech,7 danish,7 dutch,67 english,67 estonian ewe fijian finnish,7 french,687 georgian german,67 greek gujarati hebrew hiligaynon hindi hungarian icelandic igbo iloko indonesian italian,67 japanese,67 kannada kinyarwanda kirghiz kirundi korean,67 latvian lingala lithuanian macedonian malagasy malayalam maltese myanmar norwegian,7 polish,67 portuguese,687 punjabi rarotongan romanian russian,67 samoan sepedi serbian sesotho shona silozi sinhala slovak slovenian spanish,67 swahili swedish,7 tagalog,7 tamil thai tok pisin tongan tsonga tswana turkish twi ukrainian urdu vietnamese xhosa yoruba zulu 6 cd also available 8 mp3 cd-rom also available 7 audio recordings also available at www.jw.org would you welcome more information or a free home bible study please send your request to jehovah s witnesses using one of the addresses below for a complete list of addresses see www.watchtower.org/address america united states of 25 columbia heights brooklyn ny 11201-2483 australia po box 280 ingleburn nsw 1890 britain the ridgeway london nw7 1rn canada po box 4100 georgetown on l7g 4y4 germany 65617 selters guam 143 jehovah st barrigada gu 96913 jamaica po box 103 old harbour st catherine japan 4-7-1 nakashinden ebina city kanagawapref 243-0496 puerto rico po box 3980 guaynabo pr 00970 south africa private bag x2067 krugersdorp 1740 trinidad and tobago lower rapsey street laxmi lane curepe poverty awake july 2012 5

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adequate health care what people would like to see affordable treatment and effective cures the reality a report on sanitation and hygiene released by the world bank states that every day 6,000 children die from diseases associated with inadequate sanitation poor hygiene and unsafe water diarrhea alone kills one child every 20 seconds a major investigation in 2008 by the world health organization who into the way health care is handled in rich and poor countries concluded that it is dangerously out of balance and is failing to respond to rising social expectations for health care that is people-centred fair affordable and efficient two years later who found that governments worldwide are struggling to pay for health care as populations get older as more people suffer chronic diseases and as new and more expensive treatments appear health costs soar a deadly twist to health care has emerged socalled miracle drugs may no longer work infections that used to kill millions of people years ago such as leprosy and tuberculosis were tamed by antibiotics the first of which were introduced in the 1940 s but now according to who s report world health day 2011 the emergence and spread of drugresistant pathogens has accelerated more and more essential medicines are failing the therapeutic arsenal is shrinking what must change we need to see the fulfillment of the bible prophecy that foretells a time when no resident will say `i am sick isaiah 33:24 6 awake july 2012

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justice and equality what people would like to see an end to prejudice against minority groups and mistreatment of women a balance between the extremes of wealth and poverty the reality a report by the leadership conference on civil rights education fund stated violence directed at individuals houses of worship and community institutions because of prejudice based on race religion sexual orientation or national origin remains unacceptably high and continues to be a serious problem in america millions of women worldwide continue to experience injustice violence and inequality in their homes the workplace and public life says a united nations press release based on the report progress of the world s women in pursuit of justice for example in afghanistan some 85 percent of women have no medical assistance when they give birth in yemen there are no laws against domestic violence in the democratic republic of the congo on average more than a thousand women are raped each day in october 2011 u.n secretary-general ban ki-moon stated our world is one of terrible contradictions plenty of food but one billion people go hungry lavish lifestyles for a few but poverty for too many others huge advances in medicine while mothers die everyday in childbirth billions spent on weapons to kill people instead of keeping them safe what must change we need to see fair treatment of minority groups and women and an end to those who wrest away justice from the afflicted ones isaiah 10:1 2 7

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economic security what people would like to see employment for all financial security the reality worldwatch institute reports that there are more potential workers to drive economic expansion but the number of available jobs may not keep pace given the current economic downturn the international labor organization ilo estimates that the ranks of the unemployed reached 205 million people in 2010 the global economy is on the verge of a new and deeper jobs recession that may ignite social unrest the international labour organization ilo has warned states a bbc news report the recent slowdown in growth suggested that only half the jobs needed would be created the group [ilo also measured levels of discontent over the lack of jobs and anger over perceptions that the burden of the crisis was not being fairly shared it said scores of countries faced the possibility of social unrest particularly those in the eu and the arab region in the united states average credit card debt now exceeds $11,000 triple what it was in 1990 says the book the narcissism epidemic published in 2009 many people go into debt the authors assert simply to project an image of wealth americans see people with fancy cars and clothes and assume they must be rich the book says in reality it is often safer to assume that they are in debt what must change there should be employment for all along with a balanced view of spending the bible acknowledges that money is for a protection but also warns that the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things ecclesiastes 7:12 1 timothy 6:10 from the information on pages 4 through 8 it may seem that there is little basis for confidence in the future however the situation is not hopeless our world will change for the better but not through the efforts of human governments 8 awake july 2012

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what will change nation will not lift up sword against nation no resident will say `i am sick death will be no more t he statements above might seem too good to be true but we can be sure that they are more than wishful thinking why because those are not the empty pledges of politicians who are powerless to change our world rather the promises quoted above are found in the bible.1 many people feel that the bible is an ancient book that has no relevance to our day is that what you believe if so why not take a closer look at what the bible contains the fact is the bible is the only sacred book that traces mankind s history to the very beginning it explains the following how the human race fell into despair romans 5:12 how god purposes to remedy the situation john 3:16 why governments cannot change our world jeremiah 10:23 why we can trust god s promise to do so joshua 23:14 will god really eliminate starvation war sickness and death from the human experience such a prospect is not difficult to believe once you accept the following 1 god created us 2 he cares about us 3 he has the power to change the world 4 he purposes to do so are there good reasons to accept those four points jehovah s witnesses who publish this magazine invite you to find out for yourself through a study of the bible perhaps you own a bible but seldom read it or do not read it at all even many people who read the bible say that they find it difficult to understand if that is true of you we invite you to contact jehovah s witnesses for a free home bible study millions of people worldwide are benefiting from that arrangement how does it work each week without charge one or two of jehovah s witnesses can come to your home or another convenient location to discuss the bible with you these bible study sessions will help you to answer such questions as why do we suffer why are man s governments powerless to change the world what is god s kingdom and how will it accomplish what human governments cannot?1 for more information on how you can benefit from a home bible study contact jehovah s witnesses locally or visit our web site www.jw.org you may also write to the appropriate address found on page 5 of this magazine 1 see also the article the bible s viewpoint who can change our world on pages 26 and 27 of this magazine 1 the quotations at the top of this page are from isaiah 2:4 isaiah 33:24 and revelation 21:4 awake july 2012 9

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sea bugs for your dining pleasure a group of famished patrons are seated inside a new york city restaurant using metal tools they deftly break open the body armor of the huge insectlike creatures before them ignoring the retractable tube-mounted eyes that seem to stare up at them from their plates the eager diners bite into the tender sweet meat what are they eating sea bugs more commonly known as lobsters 1

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hy are lobsters called sea bugs fishermen could not help but note the resemblance to insects when these hard-shelled sea creatures crawled along the decks of their boats but there is another similarity during the 1700 s lobsters covered the northeast coastline of the united states like swarms of insects these crustaceans were caught and spread on fields as fertilizer they were used as fishing bait they were fed to prison inmates in those days lobsters were so commonplace that a group of upset indentured servants in that region won a legal judgment decreeing that they would not be fed lobster more than three times a week in contrast for distant city dwellers lobster was a rare treat why because after its death a lobster decays rapidly and cannot be preserved by salting or drying by the mid1800 s however producers started canning lobsters and thus more people were able to enjoy their delicious flavor in addition the arrival of railroads made it possible to ship live lobsters across the united states as a result demand for lobster spiked still transporting fresh lobster was expensive and thus it was a luxury to be enjoyed only by the wealthy today fishermen catch varieties of lobster along coastlines throughout the world the w american lobster can be found in the atlantic ocean from newfoundland to north carolina a major international source of lobsters is maine in the northeastern united states from there cooked and live lobsters are exported around the world suppliers may transport as much as 80,000 pounds 36,287 kg of lobster in a single aircraft corporations often mass-produce profitable global food products but this is not so with lobster for the most part lobster fishermen are self-employed local residents they do not artificially farm the lobsters in hatcheries but travel to the lobsters habitat in this case the atlantic ocean how to catch a lobster how do lobster fishermen catch their prey to answer that question awake spoke with jack a fourth-generation lobster fisherman in bar harbor maine jack began fishing at the age of 17 and he works in the same bay as did his great-grandfather jack s wife annette is also in the business i married 1 jack hauls up the lobster trap 2 annette and jack remove the lobsters through a small opening in the metal cage 3 each lobster is measured with a lobster gauge 2 3 awake july 2012 11

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the hazards of lobster fishing lobster fishing might seem to be a safe profession but it is not for example the national institute for occupational safety and health niosh says that from 1993 to 1997 the occupational fatality rate for lobstermen in maine was 14 per 100,000 licensed lobstermen more than 2.5 times the national average 4.8 per 100,000 workers for all industries according to niosh a u.s coast guard investigation found that lobstermen often become entangled in loose line on deck are pulled overboard by the traps and drown when they cannot free themselves from the line or are unable to reboard the vessel in a survey of 103 lobster fishermen conducted from 1999 to 2000 nearly 3 out of 4 reported that at some point they had become entangled by trap line although not all were pulled overboard safety measures have been recommended so that lobster fishermen could either have the tools to cut themselves free or prevent entanglement in the first place into fishing she says for two years i was an apprentice on jack s boat and later i bought my own how do jack and annette trap lobsters we take a lobster pot a rectangular metal cage with a small opening annette explains and inside it we put a mesh bag full of bait typically herring the fishermen attach each trap to a buoy the fishermen each paint their buoys a different color so that later they can be identified annette says once the trap is thrown overboard it sinks to the bottom of the ocean and the colorcoded buoy floats above it so that the fishermen can readily locate their traps we let the traps soak in the water for a few days says annette and then we go back and haul them aboard when a lobster is inside we take it out and measure it conscientious fishermen like jack and annette return small lobsters to the ocean some female lobsters are also set free to produce more young next the fishermen head for nearby docks to sell their live harvest aside from some groups working collectively there are no signed contracts just local fishermen selling to local handlers as mentioned earlier lobster fishing has largely escaped the practice of artificial farming some lobstermen have been given permission to bring in egg-bearing females jack says they hatch the eggs and raise them for a short time and then release them into the water this practice increases the lobsters survival rate lobster fishing may not be the easiest way to make a living or the best way to become rich but if you ask these fishermen they will speak of other rewards the freedom of owning their own small business or of continuing a community and family tradition or of having the pleasure that comes from living and working on the coastline best of all it brings deep satisfaction to these fishermen to know that their precious catch of sea bugs will be enjoyed by hungry diners all over the world 12 awake july 2012

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grieve help for children who it is certainly not easy to break the news to an adult about the death of a loved one but imagine having to tell a child f or many children the experience of losing a family member or friend can be confusing even frightening helping a child through this period presents a challenge especially for grief-stricken parents after all they too need emotional support some parents try to soften the blow by telling the child that the deceased one has left them or gone away however such expressions are misleading and deceptive how then can you talk to a child about death renato and isabelle faced such a challenge when their three-and-a-half-year-old daughter nicolle died they had to help their son felipe who was five years old at the time to cope with the loss awake how did you explain nicolle s death to felipe isabelle we sought to be honest and entirely open about it we encouraged him to ask questions and we always tried to answer them in terms a child his age could understand nicolle died from a bacterial infection so we told him that a little bug had got into her body and the doctors had not been able to kill it awake did you share your religious beliefs about death with felipe renato we are jehovah s witnesses and we knew that talking about our bible-based beliefs regarding death would comfort felipe the bible is very clear it teaches that the dead are unconscious ecclesiastes 9:5 we reasoned that if we discussed this with felipe it would dispel any fears he might have for example about being left alone at night isabelle the bible also teaches that those who have died will be resurrected on a paradise earth we believe that and we felt that our belief would help felipe too so we talked to him about what the bible teaches we awake july 2012 13

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the books listed below published by jehovah s witnesses can comfort those who have lost a loved one in death for adults for preteens what does the bible really teach chapter 6 where are the dead chapter 7 real hope for your loved ones who have died great teacher learn from the chapter 34 what will happen if we die chapter 35 we can wake up from death chapter 36 who will be resurrected where will they live for young children my book of bible stories for adolescents story 92 jesus raises the dead questions young people ask answers that work volume 1 talked about the bible account of jesus resurrecting jairus 12-year-old daughter then we explained to felipe that nicolle would also be resurrected this is what the bible teaches mark 5:22-24 35-42 john 5:28 29 awake do you think felipe could grasp all that information renato yes we believe he could children deal best with death when given accurate simple clear honest explanations there is no need to be secretive about it death is a reality unfortunately it is still part of our experience so parents need to teach their children how to deal with death as we also did later with our younger son vinicius.1 awake did you take felipe to the funeral renato after weighing the advantages and disadvantages we decided not to take him along at his age children are highly impressionable of course some parents may decide to take their child and each child is different as far as what he or she can handle if a child is taken to a funeral it would be good to tell him or her exactly what to expect awake nicolle s death must have been a distressing time for you were you concerned about letting your son see you cry isabelle we never tried to hide our feelings from felipe if jesus himself gave way to tears at the death of a loved one why shouldn t we as well john 11:35 36 and why shouldn t felipe see us crying openly showing our grief made it clear to felipe that breaking down in tears is not wrong it s just a way to express emotions we wanted felipe to feel that he could express his feelings too rather than bottle them up renato when tragedy strikes the family children tend to feel insecure so if we as parents are open and honest about our feelings the children will be open too after listening carefully to what s troubling them we are 1 for more information see the article help your child cope with grief on pages 18-20 of the july 1 2008 issue of the watchtower and the brochure when someone you love dies published by jehovah s witnesses chapter 16 is it normal to grieve the way i do?

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in a position to reassure them and ease their fears awake did you get any help from others renato yes we received tremendous support from members of our congregation with all the visits phone calls and cards we received felipe could see how much they loved and cared for us isabelle our family members were also very helpful after nicolle s death my father decided to come over every morning to have breakfast with us it was a gesture of his loving support and having his grandfather beside him gave felipe a lift renato the spiritual encouragement we got at christian meetings was invaluable we made an effort not to miss meetings even though at times we could not hold back the tears you see being at christian meetings brought back many memories of nicolle but we knew we had to be strong especially for felipe s sake clockwise from left felipe renato isabelle and vinicius how to help encourage questions create an atmosphere that will allow your child to talk about death and its meaning avoid using vague abstract phrases for instance saying that the deceased left us or went away explain death in simple literal terms some simply say that the loved one s body stopped working and could not be fixed tell the child what to expect at the funeral explain that the deceased will not be able to see or hear what is happening do not hide your emotions in this way your child will see that it is natural to grieve remember there is no correct way to grieve each child and each circumstance is different source www.kidshealth.org awake july 2012 15

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