1. President Bush Honors Fallen Firefighters During Ceremony At National Memorial - AP
President Bush on Sunday honored fallen firefighters for their dedication and service to the nation during a ceremony at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial. From the Sept. 11 attacks to Hurricane Katrina, "there were firefighters from around the country there to help,'" Bush said at a ceremony where he and others paid tribute to firefighters killed on the job. "The bond between firefighters is obviously unique. It is definitely a source of strength and it's a reminder that the work here is a calling, not a job." Speaking in praise of the commitment by first responders, the president said Sunday: "And to all Americans: Across our great country, homes still stand and families can go about their lives because firefighters put themselves in harm's way to protect us. So when you walk by a firehouse, or see an ambulance on the street corner, take a moment to go up and say, 'Thank you.'"
· We join President Bush in honoring all those firefighters who have given their lives in the line of duty. Thank you!
· "Render to all men their dues. [Pay] . . . respect to whom respect is due, and honor to whom honor is due." (Romans 13:7 AMP)
2. ADF: Keep Foreign Law Out of U.S. Courts - CitizenLink
The Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) Web site features a new video about the dangers of using foreign law to interpret the U.S. Constitution. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has said liberals on the court are changing the Constitution and developing a new one for a country he doesn't recognize. "I expect, and fear, that the Court's use of foreign law in the interpretation of our Constitution will continue at an accelerating pace," Scalia is quoted as saying in the video. Examples of foreign law that could lead to problems in the U.S.: In France, it's illegal to criticize homosexual behavior; in the Netherlands, euthanasia is legal; and in Germany, Christian home-schoolers have been sentenced to jail.
· Dear Lord, protect us from ourselves! We have become a nation that follows after foreign gods and we are receiving the just punishment for not having trained our children and citizens about the dangers of not serving You!
· "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth . . . For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me." (Deuteronomy 5:8, 9)
3. Air America Launches Nationwide Atheism Program - CNSNews.com
The liberal talk radio network Air America announced this week it will launch a nationwide show focusing on atheism. The first national show will feature Christopher Hitchens, author of "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."
· Lord, we pray for those who are bound by atheistic teachings. We bind the deceiver, and release them to come to know You! We pray that You will quickly raise up strong Christian leaders in this nation that will not stumble but follow You with faithfulness, fervency, and obedience to lead this nation in Your precepts!! Amen .
· "Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork say, 'He has no hands'? (Isaiah 45:9)
4. U.S. jobs report allays recession fears - Int'l Herald Tribune
Employment growth bounced back last month and figures were adjusted upward for August, the Labor Department said this morning. The modest growth should ease fears of a recession but may also dampen the hopes of investors looking for additional rate cuts soon from the Federal Reserve.
· We thank You, Lord, for bringing back employment growth for our nation. We pray that people will remember that it is You who is responsible for our wealth, health, and protection! · "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God." (Deuteronomy 28:1, 2)
5. Britain to Cut Military Force in Iraq by Half - CNSNews.com
Britain plans to reduce by half its military force in Iraq down to 2,500 by spring 2008 after it hands over responsibility of Basra to Iraqi security forces, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Monday.
· We pray that You will raise up Iraqi military forces that will be able to quickly and thoroughly take care of their nation. We pray that the Iraqis will be loyal to the U.S., the troops, leadership; and for salvation for the people of Iraq.
· "I am the Lord, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me." (Isaiah 45:5)
6. General Petraeus Accuses Iran of Fueling Iraq Violence - Fox News
Gen. David Petraeus laid further blame on Iran for violence in Iraq on Sunday, charging that Tehran's ambassador to Baghdad was once a member of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards force.
· Lord, we pray You will continue to give General Petraeus favor with all he speaks to about the war. We pray that Iran will be exposed to the nations and that there will be great sanctions put on Iran so they will stop fueling violence in Iraq.
· "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5, 6)
7. Reformers Revolt in Iran - Washington Times
Iranian students protested President Mahmoud Ahmadenijad yesterday, calling for "death to the dictator" when he arrived at Teheran University to make a speech.
· Praise God for the boldness of these young people, who are daring to defy the tyrant that rules them! This is a direct answer to our prayers, that God would stir and strengthen those who would oppose the Iranian President from within that nation. Pray for the protection of all who were involved in yesterday's demonstration; and ask our Lord to energize this movement . . . leading to the true freedom of the Iranian people.
· "Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize together, make a symphony together) about whatever [anything and everything] they may ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven." (Matthew 18:19 AMP)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"'I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed - I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,' declares the LORD, 'that I am God.'" (Isaiah 43:11-12)
1. Israel May Approve a Divided Jerusalem - Fox News
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told parliament on Monday that he would devote the coming year to pursuing peace with the Palestinians, saying the current Palestinian leadership is serious about reaching a deal.
2. PM Olmert: Jordan won't control Temple Mount - Jerusalem Post
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office on Monday morning denied the report in Al-Quds al-Arabi that he and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had agreed to transfer the Temple Mount's holy sites to Jordanian custody.
3. Poll: 37% of Israelis willing to cede sovereignty in Jerusalem's holy sites - Ynet News
Despite the ongoing political discussion over the creation of fringe neighborhoods in Jerusalem, most Israelis are in no hurry to back the changes suggested by Vice Premier Haim Ramon and Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman in the capital's status-quo.
4. Longer Range Katyusha Strikes Israel - Jerusalem Post
A Grad-type Katyusha rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip landed several hundred meters from a residential area in Netivot on Sunday morning. The rocket, one of four to land in the western Negev, was the first to land in the Netivot area since Palestinian terrorists started firing rockets at Israel.
5. IAF attacks mortar-launching cell near Gaza security fence - Jerusalem Post
IAF aircraft attacked overnight Sunday a Palestinian terror cell whose members were firing mortar shells over the Gaza security fence into the western Negev. All six mortars landed in open territory, and no wounded or damage were reported.
6. Palestinian Christian activist stabbed to death in Gaza - Ha'aretz
A Palestinian Christian activist who had received repeated death threats was found stabbed to death in a street in Gaza City early Sunday. Rami Khader Ayyad, 32, was director of the Teacher's Bookshop, Gaza's only Christian bookstore, which is run by the Bible Society of Gaza Baptist church.
BOOK BURNING STILL EXISTS
BRITISH PUBLISHER CAPITULATES TO SAUDI PRESSURE
Two American authors have learned that censorship of books by publishers still operates, especially if the Islamic world can exert influence. "Alms for Jihad: Charity and Terrorism in the Islamic World" by J. Millard Burr reveals how money is funneled to Islamic terrorists through charitable foundations. A few weeks ago, the British publisher, Cambridge University Press, agreed to burn all unsold copies of the book after receiving a threatening letter from Saudi billionaire Khalid bin Mahfouz. "Funding Evil:How Terrorism Is Financed - And How To Stop It" by Rachel Ehrenfeld can no longer be published in England because of Saudi pressure there, although it is available in the USA. Ms. Ehrenfeld was sued by Mahfouz but has refused to pay for any libel damages.
In the United Kingdom, the onus is on the writer to refute allegations of libel; in the USA, plaintiffs who are public figures must prove malice or reckless disregard to win, and they are less likely to prevail. "Maybe American authors shouldn't publish with Cambridge University Press," states Ms. Ehrenfeld. "The ramifications go beyond the issue of freedom of speech and the press. I know of other authors whose book proposals have been rejected by publishers because they dealt with Saudi Arabia and Saudis. This is part of the jihad against us, silencing us so we don't know what's going on," she adds. But the battle is not over. Although Cambridge sent out a letter to more than 300 libraries worldwide to remove "Alms for Jihad," the libraries are very angry and putting up displays of the book.
Perhaps there's a reason why big papers like the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post haven't mentioned the "Alms For Jihad" case: All three have settled lawsuits with Mahfouz in the past. (Washington Times)
· Too long has the world followed the lead of Mammon/ money and power in its activities. Praise the Lord for the exposure of the Saudi pressure on books that reveal truth about the "charitable" funds of the Saudi foundations. As Christians, we know that the Biblical word "charity" means love - love for neighbor and family, and we do not sanction charity monies being used to terrorize and murder. Pray for British publishers to be free from Islamic monies as well as any American publishers. Pray for more authors to come forward who write truth.
· "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him." (Colossians 3:17)
CHINA WAGING CYBERWAR ON WORLD
When suspected Chinese hackers penetrated the Pentagon this summer, reports downplayed the cyberattack. The hackers hit a secure Pentagon system known as NIPRNet - but it only carries unclassified information and general e-mail, Department of Defense officials said. Yet a central aim of the Chinese hackers may not have been top secrets, but a probe of the Pentagon network structure itself, some analysts argue. The NIPRNet (Non- classified Internet Protocol Router Network) is crucial in the quick deployment of US forces should China attack Taiwan. By crippling a Pentagon Net used to call US forces, China gains crucial hours and minutes in a lightning attack designed to force a Taiwan surrender, experts say.
China's presumed infiltration underscores an ever bolder and more advanced capability by its cybershock troops. Today, of an estimated 120 countries working on cyberwarfare, China, seeking great power status, has emerged as a leader. China is hardly the only state conducting cyberespionage. "Everybody is hacking everybody," says Johannes Ullrich, an expert with the SANS Technology Institute, pointing to Israeli hacks against the US, and French hacks against European Union partners. But aspects of the Chinese approach worry him. "The part I am most afraid of is staging probes inside key industries. It's almost like sleeper cells, having ways to [disrupt] systems when you need to if it ever came to war."
In recent weeks, China stands accused not only of the Pentagon attack, but also of daily striking German federal ministries and British government offices, including Parliament. 60 percent of all cyberattacks on German systems come from China. Most originate in the cities of Lanzhou and Beijing, and in Guangdong Province, centers of high-tech military operations.
But China's cyberstrategy is deemed murkier and more widespread. The tenaciousness of Chinese hackers, whose skills were once derided by US cyberexperts, has begun to sink in to Western states and their intelligence services. Much of the hacking prowess in China is attributed to "gray hat" hackers - techie mercenaries, often younger males, geeks proud of the title - who can be mobilized to attack systems if needed, experts say. In cyberparlance, black hats are hackers whose professional life is spent trying to attack other systems. White hats are those who defend against attacks. But China is regarded as having a substantial number of hackers in the gray middle - cutting-edge technopatriots loosely affiliated with the Chinese government, but who are not formal agents of the state.
Of particular alarm for Washington and other world capitals are so-called "zero-day attacks" - cyberpenetrations that look for software flaws to exploit. This is not an uncommon pastime for hackers. But in China's case, suspicion falls on professional hackers, says Sami Saydjari, a Defense Department computer-security veteran who now heads a firm called Cyber Defense Agency in Wisconsin. Analysts say China constantly probes US military networks. But attributing this conclusively to the People's Liberation Army, fingered by German officials in Der Speigel, is almost impossible. To trace attacks to their source requires the help of those who control each link, or router.
For several years, China has focused most of its military research and production on a high-tech air and missile-attack force - to overwhelm Taiwan. Hence, China's probe of the Pentagon NIPRNet. "They want to be able to attack the Net. They don't need a supersexy penetration program," Mulvenon argues. "They just bomb the Net itself. They disrupt the deployment of our military, simultaneously saturate Taiwan, delay the US arrival, and Taiwan capitulates. It's what they talk about." (The Christian Science Monitor)
· Continue to pray for protection for America in every aspect: add cyberspace to your list. Remember that God is Lord over all the earth, including the internet, and He is able to move information through or to block it. Pray that the Lord covers this problem. This is an urgent prayer request for Muslims everywhere. Islamic tradition has it that the "Night of Power" falls within this period. It is most widely considered it will be the night of the 27th day of Ramadan: Tuesday, October 9th (in 2007). Muslims believe that the angel Gabriel first spoke to Mohammed on that night and that every year on its anniversary the gates of heaven are opened wide, angels come to earth and Allah is especially merciful and attentive to prayers. Millions of Muslims around the world stay awake through the Night of Power, seeking his mercy. So please pray through this week (Ramadan ends October 12th) and especially tonight - the Night of Power - that as Muslims seek God's mercy, the God of the Bible (a God they do not know) will indeed graciously and mercifully answer their prayers. "I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation not called by my name, I said 'Here am I, here am I.'" (Isaiah 65:1) PLEASE PRAY FOR GOD TO: (Source: Iraq Prayer Surge)
· ". . . to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ; In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2:2b, 3)
Please Pray Tonight!!
Tonight (10/9) is the "Night of Power" for the worshippers of Allah. Our united prayers will move the heart of the Father to release His revelation of love & mercy to these without Jesus. Please read the edited/condensed version of an E-mail sent by an intercessor in Maryland and INTERCEDE!
* answer the prayers of all those Muslims earnestly seeking divine mercy and forgiveness of sins; may the one true God reveal himself - through dreams, visions, the Word and Christian witness - as their one and only Savior.
* profoundly bless those ministries that are reaching and seeking to reach Muslims around the world; may resistance be overcome, obstacles removed and finances flood in, so that the gospel of truth, grace and mercy may indeed flood the earth, advancing the knowledge and glory of the Lord. (Habakkuk 2:14)
