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• The Daily Jot
• Only In Washington
• White House Update
• Update: DOMA in Senate
• Pentagon News
• Update: Iranian Pastor
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• Are YOU one of the 36%??
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The Daily Brief - Thursday, November 17, 2011
"For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock." (Psalm 27:5)
The Daily Brief
1. Raids in Assyria as Pressure Mounts on Assad Regime - AP
Syrian troops made sweeping arrests Thursday in the restive Hama province as President Bashar Assad faces a growing challenge to his iron rule, activists said.
The raids in Hama came after Syrian army defectors attacked an army checkpoint the previous day, killing eight soldiers in that attack, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Assad is facing severe isolation stemming from his crackdown on an 8-month-old uprising, which appears to be spiraling out his control. Attacks by army defectors are growing, and world leaders are looking at possibilities for a Syrian regime without Assad.
- Lord, we pray that You would keep up the pressure on this evil regime. We ask for Your mercy over the people of Syria, to cleanse them of their false gods and demonic strongholds.
- "for Your servant will henceforth offer neither burnt offering nor sacrifice to other gods, but unto the Lord." (2 Kings 5:17b)
2. Greeks Protest as Spain, France Face Squeeze - Reuters
Greek police clashed with anti-austerity protesters and Italy announced sweeping reforms in response to a European debt crisis that on Thursday pushed borrowing costs for France and Spain sharply higher.
More than 30,000 Greeks took to the streets of Athens in a protest rally that marked the first public test for a new national unity government that must impose painful spending cuts and tax rises if the country is to escape bankruptcy.
- Lord, we praise You for the work You are doing in the earth to bring wisdom back to the economic future of the world and the U.S.
- "I know that all God does will last forever; there is no adding to it or taking from it. God works so that people will fear Him." (Ecclesiastes 3:14)
3. 'Occupy' Plan: Shut Down Wall Street -- AP
Two days after the encampment that sparked the global Occupy movement was cleared by authorities, demonstrators in New York City and around the country were promising mass gatherings Thursday in support of the cause.
The day of action had been planned before the city and park owners cracked down on the encampment in Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan, but took on added importance to the protesters after tents, tarps and sleeping bags were cleared out early Tuesday and the granite plaza was cleaned for the first time since the group arrived more than two months ago.
- Thank You, Lord that the favor for this "movement" is fading amidst the squalor and violence in the "camps." We ask that all plans to gridlock New York be dispelled. We pray that the protestors will fail in all their plans to destroy America's way of life.
- "There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, and yet is not washed from its filth." (Proverbs 30:12)
4. Storms kill at least 6 in Southeast - AP
Search teams combed through rural South Carolina Thursday morning, a day after strong storms swept through the Southeast, killing at least six people and causing injuries in several states.
At least three people died and five others were taken to hospitals after a storm hit York County in South Carolina, according to the sheriff's office.
- Father, we call for Your love, compassion, and mercy over the Southeast. We ask for a mighty move of Your Holy Spirit throughout the region.
- "Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in You." (Psalm 33:22)
5. Suspected WH Shooter Obsessed with Obama - AP
Authorities say a man clad in black who was obsessed with President Barack Obama pulled his car within view of the White House at night and fired shots from an assault rifle, cracking a window of the first family's living quarters while the president was away.
- If ever there was a time to be aware of our own emotions regarding our government leadership, this is it. We must control our anger, release our fears and obsessions, and stand uncompromisingly in the power of God.
- "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control; against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:22-23)
6. UN Nuclear Watchdog to Soften Iran Resolution, as gesture to China and Russia - Haaretz
A new resolution on Iran drafted by the International Atomic Energy Agency only moderately condemns the Islamic Republic's nuclear defiance, softening the body's recent damning report revealing that Tehran was working toward developing atomic weapons.
The new resolution was drafted as a concession to China and Russia, which are balking at international efforts to toughen sanctions against Tehran.
- Lord, this news makes no sense at all given that Iran's nuclear intent has been so clear. We pray that You will intervene by Your power to destroy Iran's nuclear capability and turn their hearts away from the desire for Israel's destruction.
- "He struck down great kings- His love is eternal." (Psalm 136:17)
7. Nuke Agency Says Radiation Persists in Europe - Fox News
The U.N. nuclear agency says that seven European countries are reporting low but unusual levels of radiation for a second week.
An International Atomic Energy Agency statement says "the continued presence of trace levels of iodine-131 in the atmosphere" are being reported by the Czech Republic, Austria, Slovakia, Germany, Sweden, France and Poland.
The statement Wednesday said the agency is trying to determine the cause of the radiation, which it described as "extremely low."
It says that breathing in the isotope for a whole year would have far less effect than that posed by normal radiation that is always present.
The IAEA first reported the radiation on Friday. Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/11/16/nuke-agency-says-radiation-persists-in-europe/?cmpid=cmty_email_Gigya_Nuke_Agency_Says_Radiation_Persists_in_Europe#ixzz1e0iNgVvS
- Whatever the cause of this threat to public health and safety, we are confident that GOD holds the answer. Thank Him for His end-time provision for protection from inhaling of dangerous chemicals, secured by His Word. Amen.
- "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." (Mark 16:17,18)
8. GOP tax plan targets itemized deductions - AP
A GOP plan to raise taxes by $290 billion over the next decade would limit deductions for mortgage interest, charitable donations and state and local taxes as part of a deficit-reduction deal. Some workers could also see their employer-provided health benefits taxed for the first time, though aides cautioned that the plan is still fluid. (Read more.)
- Wisdom, wisdom, wisdom. Continue to pray for WISDOM as Congress grapples with this thorny issue and its related multitude of facets. God has a plan; He will make a way; let's ask Him to show us the way ahead. Amen.
- "How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!" (Proverbs 16:16)
The Middle East in Focus
This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:
"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Psalm 122:6)
1. Iran training Palestinians to operate anti-tank missiles - Jerusalem Post
A select group of Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip have undergone extensive military training recently in Iran, turning them into expert operators of sophisticated anti-tank missiles, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
2. Military chief: Israel under threat from all sides - CBS News
The Middle East is back on the agenda. Israel's military chief of staff reportedly warned this week that an increase in rocket attacks against Israel might lead to a large-scale military operation in Hamas-controlled Gaza. Additionally, Israel's defense minister warned of a possible Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear program after the international nuclear watchdog agency reported that Iran conducted secret weapons-related tests and may be close to developing a nuclear warhead.
3. Barak under fire over Iran comment - Ynet News
Defense Minister Ehud Barak is under fire over a comment he made during an interview with PBS' Charlie Rose on Wednesday. Asked by Rose whether he would strive for nuclear weapons had he been in Iran's shoes, Barak said, "Probably I don't delude myself that they are doing it just because of Israel ."
The Daily Jot
Of rebellion and obedience--why OWS is wrong
"The police are not honoring any rule of law at all" by barricading off streets in Manhattan to contain the Occupy Wall Street protests on Thursday morning, according to a cameraman who is filming the live webcam of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Shouting "All day all week, Occupy Wall Street", hundreds of anarchists moved into the streets. Some were chanting, "turn over that car," others chanted "We got sold out." Someone said, "its like being in Egypt." Then there were chants, "Occupy is under attack, what do we do? Stand up and fight back." With that, they tried to move the police barricade as they moved toward the New York Stock Exchange. This is the scene early Thursday in New York.
People who were trying to get to work were harassed by the protesters, saying, "C'mon rebel with us" as they moved to block intersections near the stock exchange. This movement, which is distinctly advocating the end of capitalism, called for November 17 to be a global day of action of solidarity. One group within the OWS movement is called "Global Revolution." The OWS website says that this is the first global protest movement in modern history, saying, "People around the world...have opened their eyes together to the decadence and injustice of the common system that exploits us...We will not stop moving forward until bankers and governments are held accountable for their crimes."
Some of what the OWS movement has to say bears heed. Our Founding Fathers in America believed that the system of market and government they developed could only survive with a moral and religious people. The lack of ethics by some corporate leaders, the corruption in government, the exploitation of people have given many a reason to take to the streets. But here is the issue: Socialism, communism, class warfare will not cure the problem, it will only change the faces of corruption and greed. These OWS people, supported by the man who occupies the Oval Office, have a secular humanist agenda. Many a well-intentioned people will fall prey to those who are truly in control of this "rebellion."
There is an old saying that the path to hell is paved with good intentions. As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:1, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come." Then he lists all things that men shall be. Verses 8 and 9 say, "Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. But they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men, as theirs also was." The folly here is that the answer well-intended people seek is found only in Christ. It is in Christ, not in rebellion, that they would know the right thing. Greed and corruption are not stopped by economic and political systems, but only by obedience to God.
Have a Blessed and Powerful Day!
Bill Wilson
www.dailyjot.com
Only In Washington
According to a new survey, government bureaucrats are growing "gloomier" about their jobs. One reason cited for the decline in satisfaction is the two-year pay freeze currently in effect for government workers.
I know no one likes a pay freeze. But there are millions of Americans in the private sector who would have been thrilled to take a pay freeze in exchange for being able to keep their jobs! Instead, they were let go as Obama's policies weakened the economy and unemployment surged.
But there's more. One analyst at the Environmental Protection Agency complained, "We're learning to do more with a lot less." Excuse me?
Thanks to Obama, the EPA's budget ballooned from $7.2 billion in 2008 to $10.3 billion in 2010. House Republicans did force Obama to accept $1.6 billion in cuts as part of the debt ceiling deal, but that still puts the EPA's budget well above 2008 figures. And that does not include any of the money it got from the stimulus bill!
If it seems like Big Government bureaucrats feel entitled to more and more of your hard-earned money that's because too many liberals believe all dollars belong to Washington. The only question is how much of your paycheck will they let you keep.
The sad fact is there is never enough money for Big Government. Look at Greece. The best cure for Washington's spending addiction is to send Barack Obama and his socialist allies to the unemployment line in November 2012! (Gary Bauer)
White House Update
Obama Appoints Another Rationing Advocate
Our friends at The Weekly Standard are sounding the alarm on one of Obama's recent nominees, Henry Aaron. Obama has nominated Aaron to be chairman of the Social Security Advisory Board.
Aaron is a senior fellow at the left-leaning Brookings Institution. And like Donald Berwick, Obama's director for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Aaron is an outspoken advocate of government rationing for healthcare services.
It's been my experience that whenever the Obama Administration accuses conservatives of doing something bad, it's because they are projecting their own hidden agenda onto us. For example, when Rep. Paul Ryan came up with a plan to preserve Medicare, the left produced ads depicting a Ryan-like figure dumping grandma off a cliff.
When Obama accuses Republicans of trying to slash Medicare, it's because he's already done it through ObamaCare's Independent Payment Advisory Board. Not surprisingly, Aaron has praised the board as "Congress's 'Good Deed.'" If he finds any fault with the IPAB, it is that its power is too limited!
Please share this report with your friends, family members and co-workers. Jeffrey Anderson's The Weekly Standard column is a must read for anyone who is on the fence about this next election and what it means for the future of our country. (Gary Bauer)
Update: DOMA in Senate
Senate Democrats Play Games to Repeal DOMA
Summary: Leaders vow to hold up defense authorization bill unless DOMA repeal measure is added to it.
Last week, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee passed S. 598, a bill which would effectively repeal the Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman in the eyes of the federal government, on a 10-8 party-line vote.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) doesn't have the votes to pass in the full Senate -- so now Democrat leaders may hold up a Department of Defense reauthorization bill which will fund the military for the next year unless opponents agree to fold S. 598 into it.
That's exactly how they've tried to push through other pieces of unpopular legislation -- sometimes successfully.
"In the last two years, the Democrats have attempted to use defense authorization bills as a vehicle to pass hate-crimes legislation and a repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' " noted Ashley Horne, CitizenLink's federal issues analyst. "So it wouldn't be surprising for them to try the same with the DOMA repeal."
According to the National Organization for Marriage, the defense reauthorization bill -- a must-pass issue -- could come up for a vote at any time. (CitizenLink)
- Pray that this wicked maneuver to block the vote on this bill would be foiled in the Senate; that this vote would be taken in the full Senate; and finally that that vote would then fail --- thus preserving the Defense of Marriage Act.
- "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16)
Pentagon News
Iranian Attack on U.S. Easy as "EMP?"
Dear friends,
Pentagon estimates show that Iran could have long-range missiles capable of reaching the East Coast of the United States by the year 2015.
Yet if the Iranians continue their rapid path to a nuclear bomb, they might be able to cripple their "Great Satan" even sooner through an electromagnetic pulse--or EMP--attack off America's coastline.
To find out more about EMP and what America is doing-or not doing-to defend against it and Iranian aggression, check out my latest report.
Click on the viewer to watch.
Best,
Erick Stakelbeck
CBN News
(Source: CBN News)
Footnote:
There are reports that Iran plans to establish missiles bases in Venezuela, where it has a vast network. And an Iranian official recently threatened to send military ships to patrol America's Atlantic coast.
Legislation is currently pending in Congress that would harden America's electrical grid against an EMP attack.
Sponsors of the bill, called the SHIELD Act, say it would cost less than $1 billion to do it. But the bill has yet to pass.
Update: Iranian Pastor
Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani Psychologically Tortured
The mistreatment of a pastor in Iran awaiting a decision on his death sentence for refusing to recant his faith amounts to physical and psychological torture, a source close to the pastor's family said. Youcef Nadarkhani, sentenced to death a year ago after a court of appeals in Rasht, Iran, found him guilty of leaving Islam in September 2010, is in deteriorating health, according to a member of Nadarkhani's denomination, the Church of Iran, who requested anonymity.
He said that communication with Nadarkhani is limited, but that sources close to the imprisoned Christian indicated that he has undergone physical and psychological torture. "Certainly he was hit, but his [telephone] conversations are heard [by authorities]," the source said. "We know that he has been in extreme situations, and we consider that torture. When you have spent time in a solitary cell unable to talk to others for a long time, or you are told you will be killed, this is also torture."
The court in Rasht, 243 kilometers (151 miles) northwest of Tehran, was expected to pronounce a verdict on Nadarkhani's appeal last month, and sources said the court's long silence bodes ill. Instead of pronouncing a verdict, the court sent the Christian's case to the nation's Islamic authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, to make a ruling.
Authorities have also continued to pressure Nadarkhani to recant his faith while in prison. Last month they gave him Islamic literature aimed at discrediting the Bible, according to sources, and instructed him to read it.
Some sources indicate a ruling could come the second half of December. One said some Iranian Christians believe that, in the face of international outrage over the case, the government would announce a verdict near the Christmas holidays so that it would receive less notice. On Nov. 10, the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) reported that a verdict on Nadarkhani's case was expected in mid-December, regardless of whether there is a ruling by Khamenei.
Authorities arrested Nadarkhani in his home city of Rasht in Oct. 2009 on charges that he questioned obligatory religion classes in Iranian schools. After finding him guilty of apostasy, the court of appeals in Rasht in November 2010 issued a written confirmation of his charges and death sentence.
At an appeal hearing in June, the Supreme Court of Iran upheld Nadarkhani's sentence but asked the court in Rasht to determine if he was a practicing Muslim before his conversion. The court declared that Nadarkhani was not a practicing Muslim before his conversion, but that he was still guilty of apostasy due to his Muslim ancestry.
The Supreme Court had also determined that his death sentence could be annulled if he recanted his faith. The Rasht court gave Nadarkhani three chances to recant Christianity in accordance with Shariah (Islamic law), but Nadarkhani refused to do so. His final appeal hearings ended on Sept. 28, and the court was expected to make its final decision two weeks from the final hearing.
"For the moment, we are waiting," said the Church of Iran source. "We have no response for now. The only thing his lawyer told me is that the file went to the Supreme Court, but normally we should have had a response by now." (Compass Direct News) Read more.
- Abba, we cry out tonight for the LIFE of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, and we ask that You would intervene on his behalf, even while he is in captivity. We ask for a Holy Ghost buffer to be placed between him and his captors, and for all wounds to be of no effect.
Abba, we continue to cry out for the release of Pastor Nadarkhani, for Your Glory. In Your Name, amen!
- "Since you are precious in My sight, Since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life." (Isaiah 43:4)
The Good News Corner
Pioneering Treatment Cures Liver Disease
British doctors said they had cured a baby boy of a life-threatening liver disease using a pioneering treatment in which cells are injected into the abdomen. The team from London's King's College Hospital treated eight-month old Iyaad Syed by injecting him with a group of cells, which acted as a temporary liver while his real organ recovered from damage caused by a virus, BBC reported.
"This is the first time this treatment has been used to treat a child with acute liver failure," said professor Anil Dhawan, a liver specialist at the hospital. "It's only a few months back when I first saw this child who was so sick requiring support on dialysis and a breathing machine.
"We think we have given him another chance of life and seeing him now six months down the road with nearly normal liver function is remarkable." (AFP) Read more.
- Thank You Lord, for this promising news of a cure for liver disease. We know that doctors alone cannot heal, but with You there is always hope.
- "He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their diseases." (Psalm 107:20)
Worship with Us Today!
"Song To The King"
You came to the world
For Love of one Like Me
And Though I am the worst of sinners
Grace is all I see
Freedom from these chains
My brokenness redeemed
Love and Mercy flowing down
To life eternally
How could I repay such a debt
Except with my life
How could I give anything but sacrifice
Sacrifice of praise
To the King Eternal, immortal
Be all the glory forever Amen
To the King Eternal, immortal
Be all the glory forever Amen
Are YOU one of the 36%??
. . . who stand by Israel???
On November 4, 2011, 'Occupy Boston' protestors stormed the lobby of the Israeli consulate to stage a sit-in.
The activists had two demands: the liberation of Palestine and the departure of Israeli diplomats from the US. The protestors chanted slogans such as, "Not another nickel! Not another dime! No more money for Israel's crimes!" and "Viva, viva, Palestina!" and "Long live the intifada!"
This video is our response to that sit-in. Polls show that over the last several decades 36% of Americans stand in support of Israel. That number has stayed consistent over the years, no matter what administration is in office or which way the political winds are blowing. We all have our day jobs and can't 'Occupy DC', but just so everyone knows, we are the 36%! We've all got our reasons. What's your reason?
To view this lively video, go here. (Source: The JerUSAlem Connection)
