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• The Middle East in Focus
• The Daily Jot
• "Our Worst Nightmare"
• News from California
• State Department Bulletin
• Plot to Attack Quantico Foiled
• Threat from African Islamist Groups
• The Good News Corner
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The Daily Brief - Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011
"Our help is in the Name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth." (Psalm 124:8)
The Daily Brief
1. Goldman Sachs rules the world: UK trader - Business Day
A financial trader in London caused a storm of outrage by suggesting that world leaders cannot do anything to prevent a global market collapse, saying that investment bank Goldman Sachs ruled the world.
- God, we pray that the world leaders, Goldman Sachs and all the world population will be drawn to the eternal fact that the Lord God in heaven reigns over all the kingdoms of the earth with supreme authority. Man can never rise above the truth that it was God who created all things, the world, the heavens, every galaxy, including man himself. We ask that the mighty God will remind man of Your kingdom rulership. In Jesus' great Name.
- "But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they His counsel and guidance." (Micah 4:12)
2. Germany slams 'stupid' US plans to boost EU rescue fund - The Telegraph
Germany and America were on a collision course on Tuesday night over the handling of Europe's debt crisis after Berlin savaged plans to boost the EU rescue fund as a "stupid idea" and told the White House to sort out its own mess before giving gratuitous advice to others.
- God, send angels to be in the next meeting of the G20 nations and guide their thoughts, their plans, their decisions to fulfill Your eternal purposes for this critical hour. God is all knowledgeable and we depend on the prophetic Word of God to be adhered to in all aspects of our world economy. May God's purposes be lived out by all men everywhere for it is God who is over all the earth. In Jesus' Name.
- "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do His commandments: His praise endures forever." (Psalm 111:10)
3. Informant helped smuggle guns to Mexico, investigators say - Los Angeles Times
Holder has said he learned of Fast and Furious after it was shut down, and did not know that ATF agents allowed more than 2,000 weapons to be illegally purchased in the Phoenix area. Many turned up at violent crime scenes in Mexico; two were recovered in December after a U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed in Arizona.
- God, we pray that the Holy Spirit will sweep over our southern border and bring revival to that people, where they will begin to call out to the Lord for help and they be saved from this utter chaos and destruction. Stir up their hearts to desire God and God only. Bind the evil spirits' control over that area under the blood of Jesus and nullify this violence under the mighty hand of our God. In Jesus' Name.
- "For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the Cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." (Philippians 3:18-19)
4. Death Toll Rises to 13 in Listeria Outbreak, the Deadliest in a Decade - Fox News
Health officials say as many as 16 people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the deadliest food outbreak in more than a decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that 72 illnesses, including 13 deaths, are linked to the tainted fruit. State and local officials say they are investigating three additional deaths that may be connected.
- Father, we ask for mercy regarding the people affected by this deadly illness and pray Your presence be upon the people to cry out to the Lord to save their souls and deliver them from this dreadful outbreak. This is an invasion of sudden death and we pray for repentance from sin that they be spared. In Jesus' Name.
- "Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself. So will not we go back from You: quicken us, and we will call upon Your Name. Turn us again, O Lord God of hosts, cause Your face to shine; and we shall be saved." (Psalm 80:17-19)
5. France: Iran risks attack if it continues to develop nuclear program - Haaretz
The French envoy to the UN warned Iran on Tuesday that it risks a military strike if it continues to develop its nuclear program. Ambassador Gerard Araud said in New York that "If we don't succeed today to reach a negotiation with the Iranians, there is a strong risk of military action," AFP reported. The strike, he said, "would be a very complicated operation. It would have disastrous consequences in the region . . all the Arab countries are extremely worried about what is happening."
- God, we ask that Your powerful intervention will shake and tremble Iran's nuclear program and bring it to the ground. They are up front and determined to start an end-time war by converging upon Israel. Dethrone the forces of darkness and the evil intention of those who are deceived thereby. Release angels from heaven to go into the enemy's camp and scatter the works of those who have given themselves over to the spirit of death. Deliver them and stay their hand by the blood of Jesus. In Jesus' Name.
- "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength; indeed, the world is established, firm and secure." (Psalm 93:1)
1. Oldest Bible texts available online - Hurriyet Daily News
Five of the main Dead Sea scrolls, containing some of the oldest-known surviving biblical texts, were on Monday put online as part of a joint project between the Israel Museum and Google.
2. Rosh Hashanah, The Jewish New Year, Begins Wednesday Night - Arutz Sheva
The Jewish People begin the High Holydays on Wednesday evening, ushering in the year 5772 by starting nearly a month of special days: Two days of Rosh Hashanah on Thursday and Friday are this year followed immediately by Shabbat Shuva, the Sabbath of Repentance, and on Sunday by the Fast of Gedaliah. Rosh Hashana is also the start of the Ten Days of Repentance which culminate with the solemn Fast of Yom Kippur on the tenth day of Tishrei.
3. Report: Iran Threatens to Deploy Navy Off U.S. Coast - The Blaze
Reuters is reporting that Iran has raised the possibility of sending Iranian warships close enough to U.S. shores to ratchet up tensions. According to the official IRNA news agency, Iranian naval chief Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said: "Like the arrogant powers that are present near our marine borders, we will also have a powerful presence close to American marine borders."
The Daily Jot
When suspending elections is no longer conspiracy theory
In the political circles there have been rumors and theories that the current regime in the White House may not recognize elections and try to remain in office without the people's consent. Often there are stories circulating the internet predicting the president will declare martial law and suspend the elections over some national emergency. Judy McLeod, an award winning journalist for the Canadian Free Press, reported September 28, " Seeing Obama golfing, holidaying and seeming not overly concerned about tanking in the polls, freedom lovers have been waiting almost three years now for the other shoe to drop. They know at heart that for a Marxist ideologue like Obama, the strategy of suspending elections fits."
The mere suggestion of such conjures visions of a third world banana republic having a dictator calling himself "president" for life--kind of like Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. The US Constitution would not allow such an act. But McLeod and others point out that the current occupier of the Oval Office has skirted the Constitution on many occasions. Certainly, ignoring the law has become a presidential precedent in this White House--refusing to issue permits for off shore drilling, selling assault weapons to Mexican drug cartel thugs, not enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act, giving taxpayer money to fund solar energy companies that contributed to the president's campaign--just to name a few.
But what gives McLeod's commentary legs is the proclamation by North Carolina Democratic Governor Bev Perdue speaking to the Cary Rotary Club: "You have to have more ability from Congress, I think, to work together and to get over the partisan bickering and focus on fixing things. I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that...You want people who don't worry about the next election." Her office later issued a statement that she was "obviously using hyperbole", but witnesses say Perdue's tone was quite serious.
Beltway Confidential reports September 14, the president told a hispanic group, "There are times where--until Nancy Pelosi is speaker again--I'd like to work my way around Congress...we've got laws on the books that have to be upheld. You know as well as anyone that...how we enforce those laws is also important." You have a president saying that he wants to work around Congress, enforce the laws the way he sees fit, and a prominent Democratic governor floating the trial balloon that elections ought to be suspended. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34, "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." As citizens, we ought to get to the heart of the matter.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
"Our Worst Nightmare"
Months ago, Obama relied on NATO to liberate Libya from Col. Qadhafi. It was a confused effort that resulted in various NATO members dropping out of the Libyan campaign. Then Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said, "This command-and-control business is complicated, and we haven't done something like this kind of 'on-the-fly' before." Now we're learning what Obama's "on-the-fly" foreign policy has gotten us.
We all knew that Qadhafi's Libya was not an oasis of liberty. But conservatives and others warned that while we had no idea who would replace him, we did know that many of the Libyan rebels were sympathetic to Al Qaeda. Now ABC News reports that as many as 20,000 Stinger anti-aircraft missiles are missing in Libya -- a scenario even left-coast liberal Barbara Boxer (D-CA) described as "Our worst nightmare."
Have these missiles fallen into the hands of Al Qaeda terrorists? We don't know. ABC reports that coalition forces are desperately trying to secure Libya's borders as the White House scrambles to get a handle on the situation. The CIA and State Department are blaming each other for failing to secure these weapons. Meanwhile, Sen. Boxer is introducing legislation to equip 500 American passenger jets with anti-missile devices.
So how did that Libyan operation turn out? (Gary Bauer)
- Pray that these missiles are located and secured.
- "For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open." (Mark 4:22)
News from California
Marriage Amendment Trial Videos to Remain Sealed--For Now
Summary: Videos could jeopardize pro-marriage witnesses.
Late Monday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals placed a hold on an order issued earlier this month that would have allowed video of the trial over California's marriage-protection law to be made public by Sept. 30.
Now-retired U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker made the videos while hearing the case in 2010. Though he said at the time they were for his own personal use -- to better review evidence -- he later showed segments to a group of college students during a lecture, which was recorded and broadcast to a national audience on C-SPAN.
On Sept. 19, Chief U.S. District Judge James Ware ruled there was no compelling reason to keep the videos private, and he would release them to the public by Sept. 30 unless a higher court intervened.
Charles Cooper, who is representing ProtectMarriage.com -- the coalition of churches, ministries and pro-family groups that put the proposal on the 2008 ballot -- said during his Sept. 23 appeal to the 9th that unsealing the videos would subject witnesses to "a serious and well-substantiated risk of harassment" from gay activists. And that could keep them from testifying again as the case moves along.
The stay will remain in place while the justices consider issuing a longer one while the case is under way. (Source: CitizenLink)
State Department Bulletin
Terrorist Designation of HAMAS Operative Muhammad Hisham Muhammad Isma'il Abu Ghazala
The State Department has designated Muhammad Hisham Muhammad Isma'il Abu Ghazala under E.O. 13224, which targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. This action will help stem the flow of finances to Abu Ghazala by prohibiting U.S. persons from engaging in transactions with him and freezing any assets he may have under U.S. jurisdiction. Abu Ghazala is a HAMAS operative. In addition to his involvement with HAMAS, he has links to Iran, the world's leading State Sponsor of Terrorism, and al-Qa'ida. He is an improvised explosive device (IED) facilitator with connections to multiple IED networks throughout northern Iraq and is also responsible for disseminating numerous remote detonation device designs used by former regime elements and terror organizations in Iraq. He has worked with rockets and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). A Central Criminal Court of Iraq arrest warrant for Abu Ghazala was pending as of July 2, 2006, as was a $50,000 award for information leading to his capture. (U.S. State
Department) Read more [Media Note Office of the Spokesperson US State Dep't Washington, DC September 22, 2011]
Plot to Attack Quantico Foiled
Recordings Show Carolina Man Plotting Quantico Attack
A North Carolina man discussed his plan to attack the U.S. Marine Corps base at Quantico, Va. with an FBI informant, audio tapes played in court Wednesday revealed. FBI informant Abdullah Eddarkoui told a New Bern, N.C. jury that Daniel Patrick Boyd spoke every day about "jihad and fighting." "I did some preliminary reconnaissance [at Quantico], and what I saw was amazing," Boyd said in one recording. "I saw the residences of all their commanding officers." Boyd, the ringleader of a North Carolina-based terrorist cell, pleaded guilty Feb. 9 to conspiring to murder, kidnap and maim individuals in a foreign country and to a charge of material support to terrorists. Boyd, along with six others, was arrested in 2009 and charged with conspiring to wage jihad abroad. A superseding indictment charged Boyd, his son Zakariya and Hysen Sherifi with plotting to kill U.S. military personnel at Quantico. (The Investigative Terror Project) Read more.
Threat from African Islamist Groups
African Islamist groups seen as U.S. threat
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Three African Islamist groups threatening to target Westerners have begun to cooperate among themselves, a "very worrying" trend that raises concern of a network stretching from Algeria to Nigeria, the top U.S. general for Africa said. Other U.S. defence officials, speaking separately on condition of anonymity, agreed the African Islamist groups cooperate in sometimes alarming ways but played down the likelihood of an overarching grand alliance. General Carter Ham, the head of U.S. military's Africa Command, said three African Islamist groups posed a threat to U.S. and Western interests: Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, with roots in Algeria; al Shabaab, centred in Somalia; and Boko Haram, in Nigeria . . . (Reuters) Read more.
The Good News Corner
Study: Change Is Possible for Homosexuals
Summary: Peer-reviewed scientific journal contradicts prevailing school of thought.
For the first time in a decade, a study showing sexual orientation change is possible for some homosexuals has been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
The October issue of the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy contains a longitudinal study of Christians seeking help from ministries associated with Exodus International for their unwanted same-sex attractions. Of the 98 subjects, more than half were reported as successful; 23 percent reported a complete change in orientation after six years. Also, 20 percent reported giving up the struggle to change.
Dr. Stanton Jones, a psychologist at Wheaton College in Illinois and the study's lead author, said the opportunity to study sexual orientation change was too intriguing to pass up.
"At the time, the American Psychological Association (APA) prominently on its web page said sexual orientation could not be changed," he said. "Very few people were looking into it."
In 2007, Jones and his colleague, Dr. Mark Yarhouse of Regent University, published their three-year findings of the group in a book (Ex-Gays? A Longitudinal Study of Religiously Mediated Change in Sexual Orientation, InterVarsity Press). It was rejected by peer-reviewed scientific journals for not following subjects long enough or tracking changes as they occurred -- valid concerns the authors addressed in their latest work.
However, the APA also excoriated the authors for not using a laboratory model with a control group -- and said in 2009 that the findings were "unpersuasive."
That, said Jones, is not a valid concern.
"All methodologies have drawbacks," he said. "The more rigorous you get, the further removed you get from real life. We followed more of a real-life model than a hyper-controlled experimental model. We think the results challenge the reigning mindset that change is impossible or is extraordinarily rare.
"It is a bit frustrating to me to see APA saying research shows it is impossible or rarely happens when in my mind, no such research exists," he continued. "When anecdotes that people have changed are treated with cynicism, it's fueled by the anecdotes of people who've had the opposite experience. To say (change is) impossible is an overstatement of the facts, in our opinion."
Jones said the fact that the subjects were all Christians with strong convictions about moral behavior most likely played a pivotal role in helping the successful ones change their orientation.
"We were trying to address the basic question 'Is change possible?' The fact that anyone changed is what came out of this study," he said. (CitizenLink)
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
For more details about Jones' and Yarhouse's study and previous work, go here.
(CitizenLink)
Worship with Us Today!
Rosh Hashana Begins This Evening . . . Shana Tova!
Yerushalayim
"Yerushalayim, I cry for you. My heart is stirred, and I long for you."
