We apologize for the length of this edition, but this IS a "big news week" on earth, and in heaven! Let this OCAP serve as your personal guide to prayer, as always, and thank you for taking the extra time to "hover over" the events at the United Nations, as well. Amen.
Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
"Partners in Prayer for the Nation"
P.O. Box 5152
Herndon, VA 20172-1970
On Capitol Hill This Week Volume XIX, Number 24a
September 24 - 28, 2012
And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." (Isaiah 25:9)
We honor Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Hebrew calendar:
Tuesday, September 25th and Wednesday, September 27th. Shalom!
|
Focus on the United Nations
|
|||
 |
||||
INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
Focus on the United Nations
- U.N. MARKS 67TH SESSION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY THIS WEEK
- U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY OPENS WITH MOOD OF TURMOIL
- GERMANY TO PRESIDE OVER THE SECURITY COUNCIL THIS MONTH
- PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU TO ADDRESS THE U.N. ON THURSDAY
- AHMADINEJAD SAYS ISRAEL HAS "NO ROOTS" IN THE MIDDLE EAST
- > > MEANWHILE, IRANIAN COMMANDER THREATENS PREEMPTIVE STRIKE AGAINST ISRAEL AND U.S. BASES
- ABBAS TO SUBMIT UN BID ON SEPTEMBER 27
- EGYPT'S SALAFI URGE U.N. TO CRIMINALIZE CONTEMPT OF ISLAM
- INTRODUCING: THE U.N. PRAYER WATCH
- THE U.N. PRAYER WATCH: HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE
Special note from CHPP:
SCHEDULE OF KEY ADDRESSES AT THE UNITED NATIONS THIS WEEK
Lift up each speaker who will be at the podium of the U.N. General Assembly this week, praying in the Spirit throughout. Join us, too, in this decree:
"Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him." (Psalm 2:10-12)
THE SCHEDULE:
Tuesday, September 25 - Barack Hussein Obama
Wednesday, September 26 - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Thursday, September 27- Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel and PLO President Mahmoud Abbas
1. U.N. MARKS 67TH SESSION OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY THIS WEEK
This week was the opening of the 67th session of the UN-General Assembly, with the General Debate September 25th-October 1st 2012. One Hundred Ninety-Three Heads of States will be coming to the UN headquarters in New York City. A main focus this year will be on Iran and the situation in the Middle East, once again. After failing to gain full-membership status with the UN in 2011, this years attempt of the Palestinians is to receive an upgrade of their membership status directly through the General Assembly. (Ha'aretz) Read more.
- Pray and declare that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob rules and reigns. The Lord wants to release His good plans for the Middle East.
- "You shall also decree a thing, and it shall be established for you: and the light shall shine upon your ways.". (Job 22:28)
2. U.N. GENERAL ASSEMBLY OPENS WITH MOOD OF FRUSTRATION, TURMOIL
UNITED NATIONS - Democratic uprisings across the Arab world and the Palestinians' bid for U.N. membership sparked excitement and hope at last year's meeting of world leaders. But with war raging in Syria, the Palestinian application sidelined, and deadly protests generated by an anti-Islamic video, the mood as this year's U.N. gathering begins is one of disappointment and frustration.
More than 120 presidents, prime ministers and monarchs meeting this week under heavy security at the U.N. General Assembly and in sideline events will also be preoccupied by rising tension over Iran's nuclear program and the possibility of an Israeli strike against Tehran's nuclear facilities, Al Qaeda's inroads in the Sahel region of west Africa, especially in Mali, and the first decline in years in international aid to help developing countries combat poverty.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon predicted that the ministerial session, which starts Tuesday, will be among the busiest ever, reflecting "the tumultuous time in which we live - a time of turmoil and transition." It is also taking place "against a backdrop of widespread violence linked to intolerance," he said. . .
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will step down next year, makes his final speech to the General Assembly on Wednesday. Netanyahu speaks on Thursday, before a closed-door meeting of senior diplomats, and possibly ministers, from the six countries trying to rein in Iran's nuclear ambitions - the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. (Fox News) Read more.
- As these kings come to the end of themselves trying to solve the problems of mankind, pray that they be humbled and look up to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Jesus IS Lord, and in Him rest the answers for mankind. Amen!
- ### king of thenations
3. GERMANY TO PRESIDE OVER THE SECURITY COUNCIL THIS MONTH
In September 2012, Germany will have the monthly rotating presidency in the Security Council of the United Nations Security Council. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle will preside over the business of the Security Council this month. (Source: U.N. Prayer Watch)
- Pray this presidency to be a time of blessing for Israel and the nations and for wisdom and guidance through this important month at the UN.
- DECREE PROVERBS 21:1 OVER THE MEMBERS OF THE U.N. SECURITY COUNCIL
4. PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU TO ADDRESS THE U.N. ON THURSDAY
Iranian officials have now publicly said that they lied to the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency and to the Western nations so that they could push their nuclear program forward. This confirms what we have believed for many years. Yet the only political leader who has consistently warned the world about Iran is Israeli PM Netanyahu. We prayed for him in general and specifically as he speaks to the UN General Assembly towards the end of this week.
- Abba, we thank You for Bibi Netanyahu.
- We ask You to protect him physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
- "O Lord, how my foes have increased! Many are the ones who rise up against me. Many are saying of my soul, there is no deliverance for him in God. Selah. But You, O LORD, are a shield for me; my glory, the One who lifts up my head." (Psalms 3:1-3)
- Anoint Netanyahu to speak truth at the UN and to not be afraid of man. Bring this scripture to his attention before he goes: "The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever puts his trust in the LORD shall be safe." (Proverbs 29:25)
- Impress upon him to use Your Word when he speaks before world leaders. "So shall My Word be, that goes out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall certainly do what I sent it to do." (Isaiah 55:11)
- Give many at the UN, an ability to hear what Israel's leader says and what You are saying through him. - If Netanyahu meets with US President Obama, give him discernment to know truth from lies.
- We again proclaim Numbers 23:23 over Netanyahu's time both in the UN and at any meeting with Obama. "Surely, there is no enchantment against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel. According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What God has worked!" (Numbers 23:23) (Source: Intercessors for Israel)
5. AHMADINEJAD SAYS ISRAEL HAS "NO ROOTS" IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad didn't need to make it to a UN podium to make news after coming to New York for the world body's General Assembly, telling reporters Israel has "no roots" in the Middle East and that Iran doesn't take the threat of an Israeli attack seriously.
The comments came a day after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with Ahmadinejad to warn him about the potentially harmful consequences of inflammatory rhetoric "from various countries in the Middle East" and "the grave regional implications of the worsening situation in Syria and underlined the devastating humanitarian impact," U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said.
Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the full gathering on Wednesday.
If Ahmadinejad's comments, made to reporters in New York ahead of the 67th meeting of the General Assembly, are any indication, he won't be holding back on Wednesday. Iran finds itself at odds with much of the entire world as it pursues a nuclear weapon and ratchets up its rhetoric against Israel, but Ahmadinejad does not seem to be intent on displaying diplomacy.
Ahmadinejad said Iran has been around for thousands of years, Reuters reports, but Israel has existed for only 60 or 70. "They (Israel) have no roots there in history," Ahmadinejad added. "They do not even enter the equation for Iran. . . Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists."
The White House condemned the Ahmadinejad's comments Monday afternoon. "President Ahmadinejad's comments are characteristically disgusting, offensive, and outrageous," said National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor. "They underscore again why America's commitment to the security of Israel must be unshakeable, and why the world must hold Iran accountable for its utter failure to meet its obligations." (Fox News) Read more.
- Offer praise that, in past years, many delegates to the General Assembly have walked out on the remarks of this raving lunatic. Decree that his dangerous statements will end up like dust on the threshing floor of the Hand of God, and will have NO EFFECT. Pray!
- "Surely, there is no enchantment against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel. According to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What God has worked!" (Numbers 23:23)
6. AS AHMADINEJAD ARRIVES IN NYC, IRANIAN COMMANDER THREATENS PREEMPTIVE STRIKE AGAINST ISRAEL AND U.S. BASES
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 55, has arrived in New York City to speak at the opening session of the U.N. General Assembly saying he does not take seriously the possibility of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Currently serving his second term as president, Ahmadinejad -- a believer that the Twelfth Imam is coming soon to annihilate the U.S. and Israel and to set up a global Islamic caliphate -- is expected to leave office in 2013. This may be, therefore, the Iranian leader's last address to the U.N. in his current role. He has spoken about the imminent arrival of the Twelfth Imam or "Promised One" in every U.N. speech so far. Will he go further this time? He is certainly projecting self-confidence in the face of a possible war with Israel. "Fundamentally we do not take seriously the threats of the Zionists," Ahmadinejad told reporters in New York this morning. "We have all the defensive means at our disposal and we are ready to defend ourselves."
One of Iran's top military leaders went further over the weekend, however. He spoke not of his nation's ability to defend itself from an Israeli attack, but of its potential desire to strike first -- at Israel and at American military personnel and facilities. "Iran could launch a pre-emptive strike on Israel if it was sure the Jewish state were preparing to attack it, a senior commander of its elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted as saying on Sunday," Reuters reports. "Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a brigadier general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, made the comments to Iran's state-run Arabic language Al-Alam television, according to a report on the network's website. "Iran . . .could launch a pre-emptive attack if it was sure that the enemies are . . ." (Joel Rosenberg) Read more.
- This statement, if at all true, can only serve to strengthen the hand of the Israelis, who have said all along that Iran's nuclear capability is at hand. Pray the nations will take heed and wake up; and pray they will now gather around Israel for her protection. Pray for a miracle . . . pray!
- ### james 5:16
7. ABBAS TO SUBMIT UN BID ON SEPTEMBER 27
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday announced his intention to request an upgrade for the PA's United Nations status on September 27th. "When we go to the UN, we will say we are a state under occupation," Ma'an News Agency quoted Abbas as saying.
Speaking at a news conference in Ramallah, Abbas dismissed the United States' opposition to the UN bid: "We have 133 states who recognize a Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital, in addition to dozens of other countries with whom we have good relations and diplomatic representation," he said, according to Ma'an.
Attempts to improve Palestinian standing at the United Nations last year proved fruitless due to political opposition. Abbas also criticized Israel for not ceding to Palestinian preconditions for the renewal of negotiations such as ending settlement activity. In his speech, Abbas also ruled out successful reconciliation with Hamas before elections, saying that "reconciliation is elections."
Abbas also denounced talk of a possible third Intifada, saying that he was against armed uprisings of all kinds. "I am against armed uprisings. I am against opening fire because I know how the consequences of doing so affect our people. I am pro-peaceful popular demonstrations whether they are against the occupation or against the PA," he said. (Jerusalem Post)
- O Heavenly Father, what is being said in this news article is in direct contradiction to actions experienced by the nation of Israel from this group! Help us Lord, as this request to the UN is filled with words that are opposite to Your word and Your covenant with Israel. Abba Father, raise up Your right hand and extend Your arm to protect Your people, Your land and Your covenant with them! In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen and Amen.
- "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil." (Isaiah 5:20a)
- "The violence of the wicked will destroy them, because they refuse to do justice." (Proverbs 21:7)
8. EGYPT'S SALAFI URGE U.N. TO CRIMINALIZE CONTEMPT OF ISLAM
Egypt's president and other Muslim leaders should demand the U.N. criminalize contempt of religion after the release of an anti-Islamic film and cartoons which demonstrate growing racism, said the leader of the biggest ultra-orthodox Islamist party. "We call for legislation or a resolution to criminalize contempt of Islam as a religion and its Prophet," said Ghaffour, one of four permanent assistants to the president, on Saturday.
"A proposal to look into the root causes of the obvious racism against Muslims and Arabs as the recent fierce campaign against their Islamic beliefs shows is much needed," said Ghaffour. Ghaffour blamed interest groups for trying to sow discord between Western countries and newly-elected Islamist governments in the Middle East by defaming Islam.
"A new reality in the Middle East has emerged after the toppling of autocratic regime of Hosni Mubarak and others through democratic elections that brought newly-elected Islamist governments," said Ghaffour. His Nour Party plans to produce a documentary film on the life of the Prophet for global release in an effort to counter the California-made film. (Reuters) Read more.
- Pray that the UN General Assembly politely laughs at this proposal brought forth by the Salafi. Will the Moslems give equal respect to Christians? Obviously not, for the Koran teaches the Moslems to kill the infidels and that God has no Son. The Salafi just don't "get it" and probably cannot, for they are so blinded and deluded by their allah. Pray against any passage of this proposal and that it be forever rejected. Pray for the souls of the Salafis - that they come to know Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven and the only way to be forgiven of their sins.
- "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3: 16)
9. INTRODUCING: THE U.N. PRAYER WATCH FOR ISRAEL AND THE NATIONS
Stand with us during the General Debate, September 23rd-October 1st 2012
Would you consider partnering with us, lifting up Israel, the heads of states and the nations into the presence of God on a daily basis for 10 minutes at 8am EDT right where you are? (Source: UN Prayer Watch)
- Pray for Israel's safety during this time, especially, when Benjamin Nethanjahu is in the US to deliver his speech to the General Assembly on September 27th.
- "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, And their righteousness is from Me," Says the Lord." (Isaiah 54:17)
10. THE U.N. PRAYER WATCH: HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE
Continuous Prayer for Israel and the Nations at a strategic location
The door has opened for us since April 1st to have a continuous prayer representation for Jerusalem, Israel, America and the Nations in New York just across the street from the UN Headquarters. Sanctified and committed teams of intercessors from the States, Germany and other nations will come here to stand like Moses day and night to raise their hands in prayer and intercession on behalf of Israel.
The most important support, however, are your prayers and your standing with us. If you would like us to add you to our contact and mailing list to keep you up to date with what is happening at the UN Prayer Watch you may fill out the form on this website. Prayer is the greatest power on earth. (Offerings are welcome, too!)
With sincere blessings and greetings!
Jobst Bittner
Senior Pastor
TOS Ministries
- Offer praise to the LORD that He has granted this marvelous team of intercessors such a strategic site for prayer for the United Nations! Come into alignment with them, and ask our Lord to bless the work of their hands and to prosper them in all that they do. Amen!
- "The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands." (Deuteronomy 28:12)
|
News From Israel
|
|||
|
||||
News From Israel
- PREPARED FOR ALL SCENARIOS
- YOU WANT FANATICS TO HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS?
- OBAMA'S IRAN WAR GAME VS. REAL PREPARATIONS
- THOUSANDS OF ISRAELI TROOPS IN SURPRISE DRILL
- TOP IRANIAN: "WAR WITH ISRAEL IS . . . INEVITABLE"
- IRAN READY TO TARGET ISRAEL FROM SYRIA, LEBANON
- IDF STRIKES GAZA TERRORISTS PLANNING ATTACK
- NETANYAHU CONSIDERING APOLOGY TO TURKEY
1. PREPARED FOR ALL SCENARIOS
There is no question that Israel is closely monitoring the activities across its northern borders. It is quite clear that Israel could be drawn into a serious confrontation with Hezbollah in the event of some military action against Iran. Even if military action was initiated by a country other than Israel, it is certain that Hezbollah would unleash rockets into northern and central Israel. No doubt Hamas in Gaza would also feel empowered to take similar action from Gaza. Both these scenarios are fully recognized by the Israeli government and the Israel Defense Forces [IDF]. The object of the Israeli military would be to remove these threats in the north and the south with an iron fist.
It is no accident that the IDF spokesmen are keeping both the Israeli public and potential enemies aware of the strength and preparedness of both air and land forces in the eventuality that Israel is drawn into another war. The IDF spokesmen have been issuing the latest images of well organized and sophisticated exercises that have been carried out in border regions that in part are intended to be a serious warning to any potential aggressor. The next war will not be a war of proportionality; it will in fact be a heavy response to any aggressor.
Currently, the latest released IDF pictures highlight future IDF infantry commanders practicing the kind of maneuvers that might be required in the southern Lebanese landscape. Here the soldiers would have to operate in a landscape of thickets, many trees, plants and shrubbery. It would not be sufficient for the Israel Air Force just to bomb southern Lebanon, ground forces would be essential to mop-up areas of resistance. The pictures should put fear into Israel's enemies and confidence into the heart of all Israelis. [Bridges for Peace]
- Pray that God will strengthen and guide Israel's military as they prepare to defend the nation.
- "Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have purposed to make my steps stumble." (Psalm 140:4)
2. NETANYAHU: YOU WANT FANATICS TO HAVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS?
WASHINGTON-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized certain American columnists saying that they "set a new standard for human stupidity" for writing that a nuclear Iran may "stabilize the Middle East". In interviews with CNN's State of the Nation and NBC's Meet the Press, both scheduled to be aired on Sunday [September 16], Netanyahu tried to rein in the flood of criticism expressed in American newspapers. In a segment from the interview which was published Saturday night, ahead of the NBC interview, the prime minister was asked whether he believed a "containment strategy" would work on Iran, as was done with the Soviet Union in its time. Netanyahu responded: "I think Iran is very different, they put their zealotry above survival, they have suicide bombers all over the place, I wouldn't rely on their rationality."
According to Netanyahu: "Since the advent of nuclear weapons you've had countries that have had access to nuclear weapons who always made a careful calculation of cost and benefit but Iran is guided by a leadership with an unbelievable fanaticism. "It's the same fanaticism that you see storming your embassies today. You want these fanatics to have nuclear weapons?" Netanyahu then responded to the slew of recent criticism expressed in US newspapers towards his plans for a military strike on Iran: "I heard some people suggest -- I actually read this in the American press, they said 'well you know if you take action that's a lot worse than having Iran with nuclear weapons.' Some have even said that Iran with nuclear weapons would stabilize the Middle East. Stabilize the Middle East! I think that the people who say this set a new standard for human stupidity."
On Friday [US] Defense Secretary Leon Panetta dismissed this week's public debate between US and Israeli leaders over whether the allies should set "red lines" that could trigger military action against Iran's nuclear program. "The fact is, look, presidents of the United States, prime ministers of Israel or any other country-leaders of these countries don't have, you know, a bunch of little red lines that determine their decisions," Paneta told Foreign Policy Magazine "What they have are facts that are presented to them about what a country is up to, and then they weigh what kind of action is needed to be taken in order to deal with that situation. I mean, that's the real world. Red lines are kind of political arguments that are used to try to put people in a corner," he added.
The New York Times reported on Friday that President Barack Obama has rejected an appeal by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to define a specific "red line" that Iran could not cross in its nuclear program. Netanyahu reportedly asked Obama in a phone call earlier this week to set the size of Iran's stockpile of close-to-bomb-grade uranium as the threshold that, if passed, would trigger a US military strike on the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities. The report cited an unnamed senior US official as saying that the Obama administration's "red line" is a nuclear weapon. [Bridges for Peace]
- Pray for godly wisdom and counsel for Netanyahu as he guides Israel and works out their peace through the politics of other nations.
- "Trouble and anguish have overtaken me, yet Your commandments are my delights. The righteousness of Your testimonies is everlasting; give me understanding, and I shall live." (Psalm 119:143-144)
3. WASHINGTON'S IRAN WAR GAME VS. REAL IRANIAN, ISRAELI WAR PREPARATIONS
Ill-assorted figures this week cited 2013 as the year in which the United States was expected to go to war on Iran. Among them was Iran's atomic commission director Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, former US ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, and players in the US-Iranian war game staged at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy in Washington, whose heads are close to US President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This apparent US-Iranian concord was unusual but not fortuitous, say debkafile analysts.
On the part of Washington, it had a distinct purpose, which was to demonstrate to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that an Israeli attack before the US presidential election would be superfluous. The Washington think tank's war game fails to take into account that Iranian and Syrian steps are so closely synchronized that Syrian already looms large as the most likely venue for the approaching core event of a conflict pitting the US and Israel against Iran. Syria and Iran have become almost interchangeable against their shared foes.
Elite units of Iran's al Qods, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) external arm, are being airlifted into Syria and Lebanon, as the IRGC chief Gen. Ali Jafari, disclosed Sunday, Sept. 16. Iranian troops are now deployed on Israel's northern and eastern borders.
Israel responded Wednesday, Sept. 19, with a snap military exercise, the largest the IDF has staged in many years, on its borders with Syria and Lebanon. Not all the Israeli units taking part in the drill returned to home base when the drill was over. Substantial military strength, estimated at two divisions, is therefore building up and facing the Iranian troops across the border in Syria and Lebanon.
Shortly after the Israeli drill, US intelligence officials accused Iran of "secretly transporting large quantities of weapons and military personnel, almost daily, under the cover of civilian aircraft - via Iraqi airspace - to aid embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad." The accent on "almost daily" confirmed that a major buildup of Iranian military strength is in progress in Syria. Typically, Iran is disguising its actions by using civilian aircraft. (Debka) Read more:
- O Abba Father, it appears the US is playing war games and more concerned with the coming US elections, rather than the reality of what is happening in the Middle East. Syria's growing chaos, along with the Iranian and Israeli concerns, are close to an explosive mixture that may not wait until a 'convenient' time for the US. We fall before You, Abba, and plead that You be in the midst of this growing mixture, rising up with Your timing and will, not theirs. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen and Amen.
- For the Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Lawgiver, the Lord is our King; He will save us.(Isaiah 33:22)
4. TENS OF THOUSANDS OF ISRAELI TROOPS IN SURPRISE GOLAN DRILL
KHAMENEI: NO BENDING TO THE WEST
Reservists drafted at no notice, Air Force, Central Command and other IDF units were flown to Israel's northern Golan border early Wednesday, Sept. 19, for a surprise exercise called by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz under the codename "National Asset." The official IDF announcement tried to downplay its importance, describing it as a "planned, routine event." However, debkafile's military sources say the war game is the biggest the IDF has conducted in the six years since the second Lebanon war on Hizballah in 2006, with tens of thousands of soldiers and senior officers, including the artillery and the air force taking part.
Over the last weekend, witnesses reported heavy traffic of convoys of tank and APC carriers and military vehicles with emergency store markings heading north, just days after the IDF completed a large-scale war game on Israel's Syrian and Lebanese borders simulating a Hizballah attack. Since early September, therefore, the Israeli Defense Forces have been in the midst of preparations which have the appearance of readiness for a real war rather than an exercise. Those preparations peaked Wednesday under a codename which signified its goal: the defense of national assets.
Another sign of an impending conflict was provided by US diplomats who Monday began destroying classified documents and sensitive equipment at the Beirut embassy. As Islamist anti-US violence raged across Arab and Muslim countries, the State Department said this was a precautionary measure, without naming any specific threat. The trashing of embassy documents usually signifies preparations to evacuate a US embassy at short notice. It would be imperative in a war situation to keep these documents out of Hizballah hands.(Debka) Read more:
- Heavenly Father, we see that Israel is keenly aware of what is brewing all around them, and are taking steps to prepare. The military exercise in the Golan drill reflects war preparation. We ask You, Father, to guide their soldiers in all that is being prepared and done, in Jesus' Name, Amen and Amen.
- You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in Yah, the Lord, is everlasting strength. (Isaiah 26:3-4)
5. TOP IRANIAN: 'WAR WITH ISRAEL IS PRACTICALLY INEVITABLE'
A war with Israel is practically inevitable, Iranian General Mohammad Ali Jafari said Saturday. At a meeting of the top echelon of the Revolutionary Guards, which Jafari commands, the general said that "the shameful and cancerous tumour that is Israel is seeking war against us, but it is not known when that war will happen. They now consider war as the only way to confront us, but they are so stupid that their (US) masters should stop them."
Jafari was quite emphatic that a war was nearly inevitable. "This (war) will eventually happen as the (Islamic) revolution is moving rapidly towards its goals, and they cannot tolerate this," Jafari was quoted as saying by Iranian media. "And finally, they will impose a war situation. Even if they (the Israelis) act rationally, this incident will happen."
The comments were the first time Iran has acknowledged the probability of open armed conflict with Israel. Previously, it has dismissed such a scenario as bluff on the part of Israel's leaders.
"Everyone knows that they cannot confront the power of the Islamic republic," he added. "But there is no guarantee of rationality, and it is possible that they will go crazy" and attack, he said. (Ynet News) Read more:
- Abba Father, we come before You, and ask You to have mercy and be fully in Israel's midst when this war starts. The Iranian general speaks with such arrogance, stating the issues are not coming from Iran but instead from Israel alone. They mock and ridicule, Lord! It is You and Your people they are mocking. We plead for You to rise up and confront this arrogance with Your power, putting the full fear of You in all of them. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen and Amen.
- Now therefore, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord, You alone. (Isaiah 37:20)
6. IRAN POURS MORE TROOPS INTO SYRIA, READY TO TARGET ISRAEL FROM SYRIA AND LEBANON
Iran continues to fly military personnel and quantities of weapons into Syria by civilian aircraft which cut through Iraqi airspace, American intelligence sources disclosed early Thursday, Sept. 20. UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon also said that, "Unfortunately, both [Syrian] sides, government and opposition forces, seem to be determined to see the end by military means." Clearly, Iran is augmenting its military involvement in the constantly escalating Syrian civil war, broadening it into a multinational conflict which threatens to drag Lebanon in, by means of the Iranian-Syrian ally, Hizballah. The UN Secretary General's statement implying that the two Syrian sides are determined to fight to the bitter end is echoed in Iran's resolve to fight to the bitter end for Assad, on Syrian soil.
Still, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have chosen silence in the face of what any other nation would regard as a casus belli: the open deployment of enemy forces on its northern and eastern borders. This must have been the catalyst for the IDF's surprise two-division strength drill Wednesday on Israel's Golan border with Syria. But the IDF spokesman sounded almost apologetic when he explained that the exercise had nothing to do with the events in Syria or with Hizballah, and that it was no more than a routine drill for testing preparedness.
The IDF is evidently keeping the army on the move and in a constant state of readiness to fight a real war without delay on terrain made familiar by repeated war games.IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Benny Gantz has a penchant for expressing himself through symbols, his method of overcoming the restrictions placed on his tongue by military and other constraints. On New Year's Eve last week, the general handed military correspondents a small gift: The Hebrew edition of the American writer Richard David Bach's "There's No Such Place as Far Away." The book was a clear message to Tehran and doubting Thomases at home that the IDF is fully capable of an operation against Iran's nuclear program and of successfully accomplishing any mission far from its shores. (Debka) Read more:
- O Heavenly Father, You know the hearts of mankind and all their plots and schemes. Iranian leaders are obviously preparing for a pre-emptive attack on Israel so that they can continue with both their nuclear program and encourage the return of their 'mahdi'. Give the Israeli leaders special discernment and wisdom as to how to handle this threat. In Jesus' Name we pray, Amen and Amen.
- Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am Your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)
7. ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCE STRIKES GAZA TERRORISTS PLANNING ATTACK
The Israel Air Force hit a pair of operatives involved in past terror activities in Egypt-at least one of whom was planning a new attack-late Wednesday [September 19] night in Gaza. According to an announcement on the Israel Defense Forces [IDF] website, one of the terrorists was part of the "Defenders of al-Aqsa" group and was "in the final stages of preparing to carry out a terror attack against Israeli civilians." The incident follows a minor escalation earlier this month in Gaza rocket attacks on Israel, one of which damaged a house.
Anis Abu Mahmoud el-Anin, whom the IDF linked to efforts to smuggle explosives into Israel across the Egyptian border as part of "Defenders of al-Aqsa," also directed "certain terror activity" in the West Bank [Judea and Samaria]. "Defenders of al-Aqsa" is a terrorist group "sponsored by Hamas," noted the IDF. Hamas is the ruling political force in the Gaza Strip and a long-time terrorist organization.
The IDF said the other operative targeted on Wednesday, Ashraf Mahmoud Salah, acknowledged in a previous investigation to "transferring two terrorists into Egypt in order to carry out a suicide attack in Israel."
The IDF highlighted the importance of their counterterrorism activities, saying in the statement that they "will not tolerate any attempt by terrorist groups to harm Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers, and will continue to operate with strength and determination against those who use terror against the State of Israel." [Bridges for Peace]
- Thank God that the Israel Defense Forces were able to stop the terror attack before it happened. Pray that God will protect Israel from any possible plans of terror attacks in the future.
- "Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." (Psalm 62:8)
8. ISRAEL'S NETANYAHU CONSIDERING FORM OF APOLOGY TO END RIFT WITH TURKEY
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed that his government is considering using one of the formulas for an apology that have been speculated on in the media as part of Israel's efforts to end its rift with Turkey. Israel has recently signaled a willingness to adopt the same diplomatic language that was used to smooth US-Pakistani relations in order to end its more than two-year-old rift with Turkey.
The alliance between Israel and the Muslim NATO power, a mainstay of Washington's influence in an unstable region, fell apart after Israel's navy killed nine pro-Palestinian Turkish and Turkish American activists who tried to breach its blockade of Gaza in May 2010. Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth said last Wednesday the United States was trying to mediate an end to the dispute, for which Turkey has set several demands including that Israel apologize for the deaths. Denying wrongdoing, Israel has offered statements of regret, rather than contrition.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said last Tuesday he was open to taking a page from US diplomacy in crafting a statement to try to end an impasse with Ankara. Lieberman said Clinton's statement could not be called an apology, "but an expression of regret on the killing of innocents." "I say to you if this is the wording -- if the Turks accept the American wording -- I will certainly go with it. This is what I am willing to accept," he told his party in a speech. The signal from Lieberman, a powerful partner in Netanyahu's conservative coalition government, was significant because he had been among the Israeli leaders most vocally opposed to accommodating the Turks' rapprochement demands.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoAYan said on Thursday that anyone wishing to mediate an end to the two-year rift between Turkey and Israel should not waste their time unless they could guarantee all of Ankara's demands would be met. Turkey says for ties to be normalized Israel must apologize, pay compensation to the families of the dead and lift the Gaza blockade. Israel, which denies wrongdoing, has offered statements of regret, rather than contrition.
Netanyahu reached out to Turkey and said both Turkey and Israel have a border with Syria, adding, "I am sure we both want to see a stable and peaceful Syria." He described this as "a common interest" and noted that there are other common interests as well that would help mend ties with Ankara. "I think it is in our common interest to find a way to be able to stop - to arrest - the slide in our relationship and resume a fruitful dialogue," the Israeli prime minister told the daily. (Today's Zaman) Read more:
- Heavenly Father, it appears that PM Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is attempting to end the rift with Turkey by appealing to Turkey concerning the mutual threat arising from the Syrian chaos and conflict. We ask, Lord, that if this rift being resolved is within Your will, that You will rise up and enable this breach to be removed, in Jesus' Name, Amen and Amen.
- When a man's ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. (Proverbs 16:7)
|
More International News
|
|||
|
||||
More International News
- LIBYA SACKS BENGHAZI SECURITY CHIEFS AFTER U.S. ATTACKS
- LIBYA: ISLAMIST MILITIA BASES STORMED IN BENGHAZI
- DEADLY ATTACK IN LIBYA WAS MAJOR BLOW TO C.I.A. EFFORTS
- GIBBS DEFENDS ADMINISTRATION'S REPLY TO CONSULATE ATTACK
- HILLARY'S "WORTHLESS" BRIEFING
- IRANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS WAR WITH ISRAEL MEANS TWELFTH IMAM IS COMING
- TURKEY MOBILIZES MORE TROOPS FOLLOWING CROSS-BORDER BOMBARDMENT
- HOW CLOSE ARE CHINA AND JAPAN TO WAR?
- IS CHINA INTENTIONALLY TRYING TO PROVOKE CONFRONTATION?
1. LIBYA SACKS BENGHAZI SECURITY CHIEFS AFTER U.S. ATTACKS
Libya has sacked its security chiefs for Benghazi after a deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in the eastern city last week, Interior Minister Fawzi Abdel A'al told Reuters. Colonel Salahadeen Doghman will replace the deputy interior minister for the east, Wanis Sharif, as well as the head of national security for Benghazi, Hassan Bou Hmida. "The decision to replace Mr Sharif and the security chief was made last week," Abdel A'al said. "We will do what we think is right if there is a weakness within the security leadership that has affected the security work in the city."
The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, and three other Americans died when gunmen attacked the consulate and a "safe house" in the eastern city last Tuesday night. (Reuters) Read more.
- We are encouraged by this report, and we see this as an answer to prayer. However, great wisdom and discernment must now be applied by the American authorities in dealing with any nation that is under Moslem authority. The Koran states that one may lie to "the infidel" if it helps to advance the cause of Islam. How difficult it must be to develop solid relationships built on a principle of trust and honor, when dealing with a mindset like this.
- Offer praise to the LORD that - in the end - only He is our security; we place our trust in Him only. Amen and Amen!
- The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him. (Psalm 28:7)
2. LIBYA: ISLAMIST MILITIA BASES STORMED IN BENGHAZI
The militia suspected of killing the US ambassador to Libya nearly two weeks ago has been driven out of its base in the eastern city of Benghazi. Police and protesters stormed the HQ of the Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia. The HQ of the Sahaty Brigade, said to have official backing, was also stormed. At least nine people were killed there, another died elsewhere.
Witnesses say supporters of Ansar al-Sharia gathered outside its Benghazi headquarters, in front of the crowd, waving black and white banners. They fired into the air to try to disperse the protesters, but fled with their weapons after the base was surrounded by waves of people shouting "No to militias." Buildings and a car were set alight and fighters evicted.
In a statement later, a spokesman for the group said militiamen had evacuated the premises after their commander had ordered to "hand them over to the people of Benghazi" to preserve security. (BBC)
Read more.
- It is comforting to know there are citizens in Libya who still walk with a sound mind, and who have found the courage to depose the wicked from holding the gates to do their evil deeds. We praise the LORD that the breath of His spirit still hovers over the ancient nation of Libya, and we cry out that citizens in our own nation would also find the courage to confront evil, when needed. Praise the Lord! Amen.
- "the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the unfaithful will be torn from it." (Proverbs 2:22)
3. DEADLY ATTACK IN LIBYA WAS MAJOR BLOW TO C.I.A. EFFORTS
The attack in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans has dealt the Central Intelligence Agency a major setback in its intelligence-gathering efforts at a time of increasing instability in the North African nation. Among the more than two dozen American personnel evacuated from the city after the assault on the American mission and a nearby annex were about a dozen C.I.A. operatives and contractors, who played a crucial role in conducting surveillance and collecting information on an array of armed militant groups in and around the city.
"It's a catastrophic intelligence loss," said one American official who has served in Libya and who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the F.B.I. is still investigating the attack. "We got our eyes poked out."
The C.I.A.'s surveillance targets in Benghazi and eastern Libya include Ansar al-Sharia, a militia that some have blamed for the attack, as well as suspected members of Al Qaeda's affiliate in North Africa, known as Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Representative Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican who heads the House Intelligence Committee, said on CNN's "State of the Union" program on Sunday that there was "a high degree of probability that it is an Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda-affiliated group that had a very specific target in mind, and that was to attack the consulate and cause as much harm, chaos and death as possible."
Foreign diplomats say that under security circumstances like those now in Libya, it is generally standard procedure to have a "safe house" in the vicinity of a main diplomatic facility that can be easily defended and evacuated.
"Normally, you try to keep the location of such a safe house secret, but in Benghazi right now, I think this was next to impossible," Col. Wolfgang Pusztai, who until early August was Austria's defense attaché to Libya and visited the country every month, wrote in an e-mail. "There are not too many foreigners hanging around, and it is quite easy to track them." (New York Times)
Read more.
- First, "Fast and Furious" - now this! The hidden work of our government is not the work of a team that walks in Godly wisdom and prudent discretion! Now this is all coming back to bite us. Pray that those who are being humbled inside our government will cause this entire sorry - and now dangerous episode - to be one of major "lessons learned." MAY THIS NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!
- Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-11)
4. GIBBS DEFENDS ADMINISTRATION'S RESPONSE TO CONSULATE ATTACK
A top adviser to President Obama on Sunday defended the administration for saying in the aftermath of a deadly assault on a U.S. outpost that it was not a pre-planned terrorist attack. Campaign adviser Robert Gibbs said the answers given Sept. 16 by Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, were based on "the best information she had" and not intended to mislead the public. "No one either intentionally or unintentionally misled anyone involved in this," Gibbs said on "Fox News Sunday." "No one wants to get to the bottom of this more than we do."
Rice gave her responses on five Sunday morning TV talks shows, days after at least 20 attacks on U.S. outposts in the Middle East and North Africa, including one on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in which U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed. She said that attack was "spontaneous" and started with an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, over an anti-Islamic film.
Gibbs, a former White House spokesman for Obama, also said he expects more information will emerge. "As we have learned more and as this investigation continues, I would anticipate we will continue to learn more facts about the awful assassination murder of our ambassador," he told Fox. (Fox News)
Read more:
- Stand in the gap for an administration that is desperately trying to rescue itself from what has clearly been a disaster in Libya - and beyond. Many hidden bits of information will need to surface, so that American policy in the future will be based upon sound wisdom, rather than fanciful wishes. Please continue to pray for the safety of all of our ambassadors who are serving our country in that part of the world; they will need angelic protection in order to truly secure each one from harm.
- "In the shelter of your presence you hide them from the intrigues of men; in your dwelling you keep them safe from accusing tongues." (Psalm 31:20)
5. HILLARY'S "WORTHLESS" BRIEFING
The White House is in full damage control mode after its disastrous handling of the Libyan terrorist attacks. Yesterday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was dispatched to Capitol Hill, along with top defense and intelligence officials, to provide a classified briefing to members of key Senate committees. What did they learn? Absolutely nothing.
Several senators were furious that the Obama White House had wasted their time while this crisis continues to roil the Middle East. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said, "I learned nothing in that briefing that I hadn't seen or read in the media. They still are blaming the video and they have a fundamental misunderstanding. It's not the video; it's the Islamists. " Senator Marco Rubio (F-FL) added, "We heard on Sunday that this was all the result of a YouTube video; now it's clear that's not the case. [The administration is] not accurately assessing what happened in Libya, and that's not helping anyone."
Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) held nothing back and opened up with both barrels, saying: "That was the most useless, worthless briefing that I have attended in a long time. It was like a one-hour filibuster with absolutely not one single bit of new information being brought forth - very disappointing. "[The briefing], if anything, built far greater distrust about what's happening than just answering questions. It was pretty unbelievable. In every event, when a serious question was asked, the answer was, 'It's under investigation.' If I were them I would not have come to the Hill" (Gary Bauer)
- Father, we pray for sound wisdom in handling this catastrophe. May all hidden aspects of this situation be revealed, so that we can prevent these events in the future.
- "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. (John 16:13)
6. IRANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS WAR WITH ISRAEL MEANS TWELFTH IMAM IS COMING
An apocalyptic, genocidal death cult is in power in Iran. The mullahs in Tehran believe we are living in the end of days and that the way to hasten the coming of their so-called Islamic messiah known as the Twelfth Imam is to annihilate Judeo-Christian civilization as we know it. I've been writing and speaking about this for years, trying to help the West understand how a fanatical version of Shia End Times theology is driving Iranian foreign policy. Now we have fresh evidence that this is not fiction; it is all too true. Shi'ites believe that at the end of time great wars will take place, and Imam Mahdi, the Shi'ites' 12th imam, will reappear and kill all the infidels, raising the flag of Islam in all corners of the world."
Kahliliis, now an American citizen, is the author of a book about his life in the CIA. Last year, in an article Reza published on his blog and sent out around the world, he renounced Islam and explained that he had become a follower of Jesus Christ. Reza's latest article is important and I encourage you to read the full version which you'll find linked on my blog. You should also watch the video at the end of the article that is an excerpt from an Iranian documentary called "The Coming." It explains how recent geopolitical events are, in the view of Shia eschatology experts, signs that we are living in the last days and that the Twelfth Imam or "Mahdi" is coming to earth at any moment to establish a global Islamic kingdom or "caliphate" to rule the world.
Read more
- Please pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). Please also pray for peace for everyone in the epicenter. After all, the Lord Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers." (Matthew 5:9). We don't want the mullahs in Tehran to acquire nuclear weapons, but we would be so grateful if the Lord neutralized the Iranian nuclear threat in any way other than war. Please be praying faithfully for all the followers of Jesus in the region to be bold and courageous in such hard times.
- "Through the tender mercy of our God with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." (Luke 1: 78,79)
7. TURKEY MOBILIZES MORE TROOPS FOLLOWING CROSS-BORDER BOMBARDMENT
Free Syrian Army moves command center to Syria for first time in bid to unite opposition
Ankara deployed artillery and anti-aircraft units to the Syria border following clashes between the Syrian army and rebels that left Turkish citizens injured, Turkish media reported on Saturday.
The deployment follows Syrian army shelling that wounded two Turkish citizens on Thursday near the border city of Sanliurfa. President Bashar Assad's forces fired artillery rounds at rebels in an attempt to retake control of the Tel Abyad border crossing.
The rebels captured the border crossing from government forces on Wednesday. Since late July, opposition forces have seized at least three key border crossings with Turkey and others on Syria's eastern border with Iraq.
Turkey's mobilization was the most recent fortification of its southern border with Syria. Ankara has transferred numerous armored and artillery units and missile batteries to the border provinces of Hatay and Sanliurfa since the June 22 downing of a Turkish reconnaissance aircraft by the Syrian military.
The Free Syrian Army announced on Saturday that it has relocated its headquarters to Syria from Turkey. Brig. Gen. Mustafa al-Sheikh, who heads the FSA's Military Council, told The Associated Press that the move aims to unite all rebel groups. The move was made the week before, without specifying its new location.
The FSA has been the most prominent of the rebel groups trying to remove President Bashar Assad from power. But its commanders have come under criticism in the past for leading from Turkey, and its authority over numerous locally-based networks of fighters is limited. (AP)
Read more
- We can understand that Turkey does not want Syrian troops supporting Bashar Assad shooting into Turkey's land. That is an act of war, so it seems that Turkey is exhibiting much restraint. What does Syria want - more land? Greater military might? Respect from other countries? Pray that the Lord intervenes so that the regime backing Assad is exposed. Of course, the Moslem Brotherhood may be maneuvering to gain control of Syria. Some of the rebels truly want liberty and freedom, but who is who? Ask the Lord to deal with those who are bloodthirsty, and will kill anyone so that they can get at Israel.
- "Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men; preserve me from violent men who plan evil things in their hearts. They continually gather together for war." (Psalm 140: 1,2)
8. HOW CLOSE ARE CHINA AND JAPAN TO WAR?
What should have been a fairly traditional, if uncomfortable, round of protests and counter-demonstrations in China and Japan over ownership of the Senkaku Islands is in danger of spiraling out of control. The islands sit off the northeast tip of Taiwan and are close to massive undersea oil and gas deposits. They have been administered by Tokyo since 1972 (as part of the reversion of Okinawa to Japanese control), but Japan, China, and Taiwan all claim ownership. Activists from both China and Japan have landed on the islands in recent weeks, sparked by Tokyo's decision to purchase the islands from their private Japanese owners. This has led to massive protests across China and the targeting of Japanese diplomatic missions and businesses. Now, a number of Japan's largest companies that do business in China are temporarily suspending operations, including Mazda, Uniqlo, and Aeon department stores. Others are the target of a coordinated boycott campaign.
That is not enough to bring about conflict, but actions in the waters off the Senkakus just might be. Last week, China sent six maritime patrol ships to the islands, where they were confronted by Japan's Coast Guard. Most withdrew quickly, and those that remained left a day later. Now, China is sending eleven patrol ships back to the disputed waters. On top of that, a massive flotilla of up to 1,000 Chinese fishing boats is supposedly on its way to the islands as well. In fact, Chinese fishing boats are the cause of most of the tensions between China and its maritime neighbors in Asia. They enter contested waters to fish, and are invariably backed up by maritime patrol boats, triggering a month-long standoff between the Philippines and China earlier this year in the South China Sea, and causing a diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Tokyo over the Senkakus back in 2010.
If the 1,000 fishing ships actually do attempt to enter the Senkakus, there is no way the Japanese Coast Guard can intercept them all, and another Chinese captain may decide to ram a Japanese vessel, as happened in 2010, precipitating the previous crisis. This time, though, the Japanese will be under intense pressure to take stronger action to avoid being seen as impotent. But, with nearly a dozen Chinese patrol vessels, some of which may be armed, on the scene, any attempt to assert Japanese authority in the Senkakus could wind up with shots being fired across the bows - or worse - of either Chinese or Japanese ships.
- We call on the demonic spirits of strife and violence to desist, and send them to the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. China probably assumes that it has nothing to lose in the gamble to gain ownership of these islands. China also has had an ongoing desire to own Taiwan. If China cannot have its way now, the dragon can always return to its lair, waiting for the next appropriate moment. Pray for peace to envelop this conflict, causing this conflict to dissipate. Pray that the USA will show strength and might to cause China and Japan to back down, and commit to a peaceful settlement.
- "Rejoice not against me, O my enemy. When I fall, I shall arise ; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me."(Micah 7:8)
9. IS CHINA INTENTIONALLY TRYING TO PROVOKE CONFRONTATION?
China and the United States are engaged in a competition to sway regional security in the Pacific Far East, as the U.S. begins to put more assets into the region at the same time that China shows a greater assertiveness to extend its influence, according to a report from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.
Part of China's assertiveness has been displayed recently in restating historical claims over maritime interests in the East and South China Sea, pitting it against such neighbors as Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, among others. As a result, these countries have appealed to the U.S. and its military presence to counter China's dominance in the region. For its part, the U.S. wants to turn the East Asia Summit into a U.S.-led regional security group. The EAS is expected to meet in November in Bali and will be the first indication of the U.S. commitment to these countries' security concerns. More immediately, however, the U.S. is in the process of rushing two anti-missile systems to Japan as that country has its own dispute with Beijing over disputed islands that China claims for itself.
In turn, the Chinese are concerned that the anti-missile systems would defeat China's ballistic missile deterrent. The confrontation between China and Japan has prompted massive demonstrations in China against Japan, forcing Japanese companies to shut down operations due to the potential for attacks against them.
Part of China's assertiveness also is due to its economic and military expansion of a "blue-water" policy. It wants to project military power and economic infrastructure development in many countries of Africa and Latin America.
- Although we can understand the bitter memories of China for Japan, because of the Japanese occupation of China during WW2, we need to pray this spirit of strife and violence will flee from the two countries. How interesting that these spirits are being loosed over China and Japan at the very moment that such violence is arising in the Moslem world. There is no coincidence here. Pray that the millions of Christians in China will begin to intercede for their country's reactions to this conflict over a group of small islands. Pray that neither country will seek vengeance, for the Lord says that vengeance is His. Pray against any anti-American feelings in Beijing.
- "O Lord of Hosts who is mighty like You, O Lord? Your faithfulness also surrounds You. You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them." (Psalm 89: 8,9)
|
Honoring Yom Kippur
|
|||
|
||||
Honoring Yom Kippur:
Wednesday, September 26th
Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement/Sabbath of Sabbaths, is Wednesday, September 26th
Yom Kippur is the day when Jews ask God to forgive them for their sins so that He will seal their names in His Book of Life. It is the most solemn feast of Judaism. Synagogues are filled to capacity for its four prayer services . . .
Saharit-- Morning,
Musaf--Additional,
Minchah--Afternoon, 3 p.m.,
and Neilah "The Closing of the Gates"
Late Afternoon service that remembers the sealing of the names of the forgiven in the Book of Life.
The Day of Atonement is observed by practicing and non-practicing Jews and is a full day of fasting, 25-hours, to atone for their sins. The solemn day of services ends with a blast of the shofar and the cry:
"Next Year In Jerusalem!"
On Capitol Hill This Week Volume XIX, Number 24b
DOMESTIC ISSUES
And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." (Isa. 25:9)
URGENT!
40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS OF PRAYER TO BEGIN THIS WEEK:
(Friday, September 28 to Tuesday, November 6)
A Message from Dave Butts, Chairman, National Prayer Committee:
40 Days of Prayer is a call to fervent prayer for our elections. We are in desperate days as a nation as the spiritual, moral and financial fabric of our nation is disintegrating around us. Believers need to pray as never before.
America's National Prayer Committee and its member organizations are putting out a call to pray 40 days prior to the elections (September 28 - November 6). Here you will find information and links to other prayer initiatives that are focusing on this election.
We are not endorsing these initiatives, but making you aware of them. Our intent is to stay far away from anything that looks like an endorsement or movement for any particular candidate or party. What we are asking for is the intervention of God on behalf of our nation.
Here are the three major focal points of our prayers:
1) The Elections-asking for the Lord's intervention.
2) A righteous standard to be raised over the nation.
3) Revival in the Church.
To learn more about the 40 DAYS AND NIGHTS of prayer initiative, leading up to the Election, go here.
> > > Please view Dave Butts' video, calling the nation to 40 days of DAY AND NIGHT prayer, by going here.
Be led by the Spirit of the Lord how you can orchestrate even one day and one night of prayer for our land, creating a 24/7 prayer chain right where you are by contacting those in your own circle of influence. Then, as you quiet your hearts before Him, watch the LORD move in your midst!
To open your own phone line for a free conference call during your time of 24/7 prayer, we suggest two resources:
Greater Calling Ministries
OR:
Free Conference Call.com
Focus on the Executive Branch
1. OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PAYING TO SAY SORRY RE: LIBYA VIDEO
Obama is buying TV ads in Pakistan with our tax dollars to tell Muslims he is ashamed of the fact that we have free speech. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are featured in TV ads paid for by the State Department and now running in Pakistan. They are actually apologizing because someone in the United States used their freedom of speech to be critical of Mohammed. It doesn't get any worse than this. Read more in a UK newspaper. Although some media outlets continue to blame rioting on the non-existent movie about Mohammed, evidence is overwhelming that this was not the case.
White House admits video did not cause attacks - After ten days of media supported lies by the Obama Administration claiming that a YouTube video was to blame for the murders of Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans, the White House took a sharp turn and said "terrorism" was to blame. The fictional story blaming the video collapsed when CBS News interviewed people living near the consulate and found out there was no demonstration. Armed Islamists with RPG's attacked the consulate in three waves on the anniversary of 9-11. For days the Obama Administration had been blaming free speech in the US as the problem.
A great new one-minute commercial is now running, asking Barack Hussein Obama why he is inviting the Moslem Brotherhood to the White House. The commercial exposes the Moslem Brotherhood that Obama seems to so love. (Religious Freedom Coalition) Read more.
- Almighty God, we ask that all the evil stirred up by this administration be squelched by the hand of our God. Bring forth a band of angels from heaven who will stand against them wasting our tax dollars and being a hypocritical voice that America is ashamed for the rights of free speech. Stop these evil words from being spread out of the White House over the world. Break the power of his words and blow them away like a vapor. In the Name of Jesus we pray.
- "Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. But now you rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil." (James 4:14-17)
2. OBAMA OFFICIAL ADMITS BENGHAZI ATTACK WAS "A TERRORIST ATTACK"
The Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was in fact "a terrorist attack" and the U.S. government has indications that members of al Qaeda were directly involved, a top Obama administration official said Wednesday morning. "I would say yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy," Matt Olsen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, in response to questioning from Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-CT) about the attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
As for who was responsible, Olsen said it appears there were attackers from a number of different militant groups that operate in and around Benghazi, and said there are already signs of al Qaeda involvement. "We are looking at indications that individuals involved in the attack may have had connections to al Qaeda or al Qaeda's affiliates; in particular, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb," he said.
The U.S. government just isn't sure yet whether the terrorist attack was pre-planned or whether it was an example of terrorists taking advantage of protests against an anti-Islam film, Olsen said. (Family Security Matters) Read more.
- Father God, the blood of these men call out from the ground for justice to be initiated and the guilty brought down. These men were serving their country - the United States of America - and the trust they put in our government for protection while on duty failed them. May those responsible for this hit be sealed off by the hand of the Lord from repeating such a heinous act in the future. Be with their families in their time of sorrow. In Jesus' Name.
- "Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work and plan evil upon their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. Therefore thus says the Lord; Behold against these do I devise an evil, from which you shall not remove your necks; neither shall you go haughtily; for this time is evil." (Micah 2:1,3)
3. OBAMA, MOSLEM BROTHERHOOD -- BIRDS OF A FEATHER?
What caused Obama to turn against the late Libyan dictator, Muammar Gadhafi? What is clear is that the moment Gadhafi became inconvenient to the Moslem Brotherhood, Gadhafi became inconvenient to Obama.
In April 2011, during the height of the Arab Spring, Christopher Stevens arrived in Benghazi, Libya, aboard a Greek cargo ship carrying a dozen American diplomats with enough guards, vehicles and equipment "to set up a diplomatic beachhead in the middle of an armed rebellion," as the New York Times reported. Stevens' goal in landing in Benghazi in 2011 was to represent the Obama administration in support of the rebels who were trying at that time to oust Gadhafi from power. (World Net Daily) Read more.
- Oh Lord God, deliver our government from the hands of these evil groups and bring them to a definite end. When truth prevails, it reveals the underlings and their set intentions of destroying American, and sending Americans to Libya on a suicide mission. Reach down from heaven, mighty God, and pull these groups off their seats of power and replace them with God-fearing men and women who will fight for the good and cast out the evil. In Jesus' Name.
"That you may walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it." (Proverbs 2:20-22)
4. OBAMA CALLS FOR AMENDMENT LIMITING FREE SPEECH
Obama endorsed a constitutional amendment that would restrict the free-speech rights of political activist groups by overturning the Supreme Court decision in the landmark Citizens United v FEC case that granted First Amendment rights to corporations.
"Over the longer term, I think we need to seriously consider mobilizing a constitutional amendment process to overturn Citizens United," Obama wrote during a question and answer session on the website Reddit on Wednesday. "Even if the amendment process falls short, it can shine a spotlight of the super-PAC phenomenon and help apply pressure for change."
In its decision, the Supreme Court said that the government could not restrict the free-speech rights of organizations during elections, striking down key provisions of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. "The First Amendment protects more than just the individual on a soapbox and the lonely pamphleteer," he said. (CNS News) Read more.
- Father, we earnestly appeal to You to intervene in the plans to remove yet another freedom our Founding Fathers died to establish. We call this action defeated now, in the name of Jesus. Lord, we ask that wicked plans would not even have a chance to get started. Thank You, Father!
- "For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are peaceful in the land." (Psalms 35:20)
5. TAX PENALTY TO HIT NEARLY 6 MILLION UNINSURED UNDER OBAMACARE
Nearly 6 million Americans -- most of them in the middle class -- will face a tax penalty for not carrying medical coverage once President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law is fully in place, congressional budget analysts said Wednesday.
The new estimate amounts to an inconvenient fact for the administration, a reminder of what critics see as broken promises.
The numbers from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office are significantly higher than a previous projection by the same office in 2010, shortly after the law passed. The earlier estimate found 4 million people would be affected. The difference -- 2 million people-- represents a 50 percent increase.
That's still only a sliver of the population, given that more than 150 million people currently are covered by employer plans. Nonetheless, in his first campaign for the White House, Obama pledged not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 a year and couples making less than $250,000.
And the budget office analysis found that nearly 80 percent of those who'll face the penalty would be making up to or less than five times the federal poverty level. Currently that would work out to $55,850 or less for an individual and $115,250 or less for a family of four. (Fox News) Read more.
- Heavenly Father, there are many citizens of this country who are in need of health care support. We ask that You show our national leaders how best to address the needs of our citizenry without jeopardizing the already established system that has served our nation with good health care for decades. Father we ask that You will expose corruption or ill intent especially in the area of population control that is intended by abortion and early end of life efforts locked into the Obamacare legislation.
- "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Timothy 5:4)
6. IT'S OFFICIAL: OBAMA IS RAISING TAXES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS
On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office confirmed what we've been saying for years now: President Obama has broken his pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class. During his 2008 campaign, Obama promised Americans that he wouldn't raise taxes on anybody making less than $250,000 a year. Technically, he broke that pledge weeks after taking office, when he signed an increase in cigarette taxes, which fall disproportionately on those with lower incomes. Now, the CBO has released updated estimates showing that Obamacare's insurance mandate -- which the Supreme Court ruled to be a tax -- will hit millions of middle-class Americans.
In its report, the CBO determined the mandate tax would cost 6 million Americans a total of $7 billion in 2016, with a minimum payment of $695 apiece. The annual cost will then average about $8 billion from 2017 through 2022. The health care law requires Americans either to purchase government-approved insurance or to pay a penalty. The CBO estimates 30 million will be uninsured by that year, but most will be exempted from the mandate because they are unauthorized immigrants, members of Indian tribes or don't earn enough income to file taxes, among other reasons.
Among those who will have to pay a mandate penalty, 4.7 million will have incomes below 500 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the CBO, which is projected to be $60,000 for individuals and $123,000 for families of four by 2016.
Lest some of his defenders argue that Obama's campaign pledge merely pertained to income tax rates, here's what he actually said as a candidate in Dover, N.H., on Sept. 12, 2008: "I can make a firm pledge: Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase -- not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes." (Washington Examiner) Read more.
- Our Most Holy and Sovereign Heavenly Father, we ask that You expose these financial tax deceptions. We ask that the unfair tax burdens be removed by responsible leadership elected in the upcoming elections. We ask that You restore ethical leadership to our national institutions and that money appropriations be fair and without deceptive gain for any unrighteous institution.
- "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out." (Proverbs 10:9)
7. UNEMPLOYMENT RATES RISE IN 26 STATES IN AUGUST
Unemployment rates in August rose in 26 states from July, but most states showed lower rates than a year ago, the federal government reported Friday. Nevada continued to lead the country with the highest unemployment rate, 12.1% in August. North Dakota had the lowest at 3%. Twelve states and the District of Columbia posted rate decreases last month vs. July. Jobless rates were unchanged in 12 states.
Friday's report will be closely analyzed for its potential impact on the presidential campaign, especially in 12 swing states that are expected to be key battlegrounds. Some of those states have jobless rates above the national average, which was 8.1% in August. The 12 swing states are Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Forty-two states and the District of Columbia had lower unemployment rates in August than a year ago, seven had higher rates and one had no change. (USA Today) Read more.
- Heavenly Father, we know You hear the groans of Your people when the wicked bear rule and we ask that You would bring about the major changes that are needed for people to be able to earn a living. We pray that as this election comes around, that people will take notice of this situation and the positions of the candidates and then vote for those who will allow businesses freedom to operate.
- "When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, the people groan." (Proverbs 29:2)
8. U.S. SUFFERS WORST AIRPOWER LOSS SINCE VIETNAM DURING TALIBAN ATTACK
The Taliban attack on an air base in southern Afghanistan on Friday drew coverage for the way the insurgents cloaked themselves in U.S. army uniforms to gain a tactical advantage, but few have taken note of the historical proportions of the damage inflicted. John Gresham, at the Defense Media Network, has published a detailed account of the attack on Camp Bastion, in which two Marines were killed, six U.S. Marine Corps jet fighters were destroyed, and two more "significantly" damaged.
Those facts were all carried in most reports, but if that just sounds like a typical damage report from a decade-long war, you're wrong. Gresham explains the devastating damage done to VMA-211, the name of the Marine Corps attack squadron that was most affected last week, noting that it is "arguably the worst day in [U.S. Marine Corps] aviation history since the Tet Offensive of 1968." Or you could go back even further. "The last time VMA-211 was combat ineffective was in December 1941, when the squadron was wiped out during the 13-day defense of Wake Island against the Japanese.
Eight irreplaceable aircraft have been destroyed or put out of action - approximately 7 percent of the total flying USMC Harrier fleet. Worse yet, the aircraft involved were the AV-B+ variant equipped with the APG-65 radar and AAQ-28 Litening II targeting pods - the most capable in the force. Given the current funding situation, it's likely that the two damaged AV-8Bs will become spare parts "hangar queens" and never fly again. A Harrier squadron commander is dead, along with another Marine. Another nine personnel have been wounded, and the nearby Marines at Camp Freedom are now without effective fixed-wing air support. The USMC's response to this disaster will be a telling report card on its leadership and organizational agility. (Fox News) Read more.
(The Atlantic Wire) Read more. [Caution - my computer crashed twice when trying to access this article.]
- What a devastating blow to our fighting capabilities . . . and just when we may be about to go to war, too. Ask our Lord to comfort those who grieve the loss of their loved ones in this attack at Camp Bastion. Pray, too, that the media would highlight the TRUE impact of this attack, and that Congress would fund our military to the fullest extent possible. Pray!
- "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven." (Matthew 18:19)
9. ISLAMIST CULT NEUTERS PENTAGON WAR-FIGHTING PLANS
Lawyers defending a military officer who was punished for teaching about the dangers of radical Islam are accusing the Pentagon of selling out to political correctness.
"In order to appease Moslems and the White House, Gen. Dempsey and the Department of Defense rushed to punish Lt. Col. Matt Dooley," said Richard Thompson, chief counsel for the Thomas More Law Center.
Dooley and the longstanding course he taught at the Joint Forces Staff College, "Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism," were targeted when Moslem groups demanded that material they viewed as offensive to Islam be "purged" from the coursework and that the teacher be "effectively disciplined."
Dooley administratively was removed from his teaching assignment and an Officer Evaluation Report, marking him as outstanding, was withdrawn.
Thompson charged that Dooley's commanders "violated not only our nation's core principles of free speech and academic freedom guaranteed by our Constitution, but also, a number of the military's own regulations dealing with academic freedom and non-attribution policies of the National Defense University." (World Net Daily) Read more.
- Lord God, this appears to be a case of treason against the Pentagon, White House, Department of Defense, by appeasing Moslems and side-stepping our nation's core principles of free speech and academic freedom guaranteed by our Constitution, as well as the military's own regulations dealing with academic freedom. We pray for the mighty power of our God to intervene in this matter and bring divine justice for Lt. Col. Matt Dooley and those supporting him, and that the Lord will reinstate him to his position at the Joint Forces Staff College. By the miraculous act of God, move amongst all the players here, and establish a solid standard for God and country and righteousness. In Jesus' Name.
"The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works. The Lord is near unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserves all them that love Him: but all the wicked shall He destroy." (Psalm 145:17-20)
10. OBAMA LISTS HIS FIVE CRITERIA FOR "DEATH BY DRONE"
Obama is tearing the shroud of secrecy off his once hush-hush death-by-drone program.
From his interview with Ben Swann, host of Fox 19's Reality Check, to his sit-down with CNN's chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin, the kill-list compiler-in-chief is gradually exposing details of the principles he purportedly follows before targeting someone for assassination.
Obama listed five criteria:
First: "It has to be a target that is authorized by our laws."
Second: "It has to be a threat that is serious and not speculative."
Third: "It has to be a situation in which we can't capture the individual before they move forward on some sort of operational plot against the United States."
Fourth: "We've got to make sure that in whatever operations we conduct, we are very careful about avoiding civilian casualties."
Fifth: "That while there is a legal justification for us to try and stop [American citizens] from carrying out plots . . . they are subject to the protections of the Constitution and due process."
Examining this list reveals that in none of the deaths authorized by Obama has any one of these criteria been met. (The New American Standard) Read more.
- In the light of this unprecedented power to destroy, we ask You Heavenly Father to give Your wisdom and understanding to those who hold the earthly authority to administer the wrath of these new weapons upon mankind with the press of a button. Thwart any attempts at unrighteous attempts to use these weapons to harm innocent lives. Please give godly wisdom to those using these weapons as an instrument to protect innocent lives in a state of war.
- "Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle; My lovingkindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliverer; My shield and He in whom I take refuge; Who subdues my people under me." (Psalm 144:1-2)
Focus on the Legislative Branch
1. CONGRESS PASSES BUDGEST - FUNDS OBAMACARE AND PLANNED PARENTHOOD
The Republican-majority House of Representatives on Thursday passed a $1.047 trillion bill funding the federal government through March 2013 that will permit funding for Planned Parenthood and ObamaCare-including the regulation that took effect on Aug. 1 that will require virtually all health plans in the United States to cover, without fees or co-pay, sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives, including those that induce abortions.
The vote was 329-91 Over the weekend, the Senate followed suit.
The bill funds the government for six months into the new fiscal year and for almost five months after the November elections. Congress turned to the stop-gap measure after failing to pass any of the 12 appropriation bills necessary to fund day-to-day government operations.
The Catholic bishops of the United States have unanimously declared the Obamacare sterilization-contraception-abortifacient regulation an "unjust and illegal mandate" that violates the right to free exercise of religion not only of Catholic institutions but also of Catholic business owners and workers.
The bill, a continuing resolution (CR), does not prohibit funding for either ObamaCare programs or Planned Parenthood. Nor does it stop the government from enforcing regulations, such as the mandate from the Health and Human Services Department that nearly all health insurance plans provide contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs free of charge. (Restoring Liberty) Read more.
- We have now hit bottom. First the Supreme Court, and now Congress, upholding this wicked law that will fund the murder of countless numbers of unborn babies in our land. There is nothing left, but God. Cry out to Him for mercy . . . may He yet find grace to forgive.
- "O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." (2 Chronicles 20:12)
2. "FAST AND FURIOUS" REPORT SLAMS DISREGARD FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
DOJ officials quit after report is released
A bombshell report released Wednesday on Operation Fast and Furious faulted a range of federal agencies for the failed anti-gunrunning program and accused officials in charge of a "disregard" for public safety. In the wake of the report, one Justice Department official resigned and another retired. The sprawling report by the department's inspector general is the most comprehensive account yet on the deadly operation which allowed weapons to "walk" across the U.S.-Mexico border and resulted in hundreds of firearms turning up at crime scenes in both countries.
The report says Attorney General Eric Holder was not made aware of potential flaws in the program until February of last year. But the report cites 14 other department employees -- including Criminal Division head Lanny Breuer -- for potential wrongdoing, recommending the department consider disciplinary action against them. One congressional source told Fox News the report was "more brutal than was expected."
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who along with Sen. Charles Grassley led the charge on Capitol Hill to investigate the operation, said Wednesday that the report "confirms" congressional findings "of a near total disregard for public safety" in the program. "Contrary to the denials of the Attorney General and his political defenders in Congress, the investigation found that information in wiretap applications approved by senior Justice Department officials in Washington did contain red flags showing reckless tactics and faults Attorney General Eric Holder's inner circle for their conduct," he said. (Fox News) Read more.
- Father, we are dismayed that the head of our federal law enforcement was not held accountable for the "Fast and Furious" scheme, but we thank You there will likely be disciplinary action against those who were directly involved.
- "Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate." [Amos 5:15a]
3. DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT TO BE APPEALED
Both sides gear up for a fight
The Defense of Marriage Act is set for a showdown in a federal appeals court later this month between those who say it is right for the government to speak of marriage only in heterosexual terms and those who say doing so discriminates against same-sex unions. The law was passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton after the Hawaii Supreme Court issued a ruling in 1993 making it appear Hawaii might legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have banned gay marriage, while eight states and the District of Columbia have approved it, led by Massachusetts in 2004 and continuing with Connecticut, New York, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland and Washington state. Maryland and Washington's laws aren't yet in effect and might be subject to referendums.
In February 2011, President Obama and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. instructed the Department of Justice to no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act.
In arguments submitted to the 2nd Circuit last month, former attorneys general Edwin Meese III and John Ashcroft called that decision "unprecedented in our nation's history," because it did not involve separation of powers concerns. "The administration's change of position marks an unprecedented and ill-advised departure from over two centuries of Executive Branch practice," they wrote. "Historically, the president's constitutional obligation to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed' has been understood to include the vigorous defense of acts of Congress when they are challenged in court."
They added that the switch in position "fails to afford due respect to Congress and threatens to undermine the proper functioning of the judicial process." (Washington Times) Read more.
- Thank You for our Founding Father's wisdom to build a balance of power into our laws in order to prevent Dictatorship. In Jesus' name we pray against the unlawful usurping of powers not Constitutionally or traditionally granted to the Executive branch of our government. May these actions be openly called to account, and checked. May the issue of marriage always be defined in our nation as it is in Your Word. We bind every attempt to promote homosexuality as if it is healthy, normal or legal, in Jesus' name.
- "Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways; for the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord." (Proverbs 3:31,32)
4. GOP CHAIRMEN IMPLORES WHITE HOUSE NOT TO RELEASE BLIND SHEIKH
Eight top-ranking House Republicans are pressing the White House not to release "the blind sheikh" from prison, saying that it would be "a sign of weakness" by President Obama.
The administration has repeatedly stressed that it has no intention of freeing Omar Abdel-Rahman from federal prison. But rumors to that effect sprang up last week after a news article said the unrest at the U.S. Embassy in Egypt was initially motivated by calls for "the blind sheikh's" release. Rahman was convicted for his role in planning an attack on New York City in 1993 and is serving a life sentence, but he has remained popular in Egypt, where a group of supporters continue to call for his release.
In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder this week, eight heads of House committees and subpanels pressed the administration not to appease the acts of violence in Egypt by releasing Rahman. (The Hill) Read more.
- Father in heaven, we plead for Your intervention that no release from prison be given Rahman from the U.S. administration. We pray God to block any and all efforts to the contrary by the blood of Jesus. Hold Rahman responsible to live out the full term of his conviction. In Jesus' Name.
- "You are become guilty in your blood that you have shed; and have defiled yourself in your idols which you have made; and you have caused your days to draw near, and are come even unto your years: therefore have I the Lord made you a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries." (Ezekiel 22:4)
5. NO ETHICS CHARGE FOR DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVE MAXINE WATERS
California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters won't be charged with ethics violations following allegations she steered a $12 million federal bailout to a bank where her husband owns stock. House Ethics Committee members said Friday at a hearing their investigation found no violation by Waters, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee.
However, the committee said Waters' chief of staff, Mikael Moore, did take actions in Congress in an attempt to help the bank and violated House standards of conduct. Moore likely will receive a letter admonishing him for his conduct but will not face more severe punishment, such as a reprimand, by the full House.
Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, acting chairman of the panel, announced the tentative findings at the hearing but noted the committee had not issued a final report. (SRN News) Read more.
- Now that the House Ethics Committee has found Rep. Waters innocent of any possible wrongdoing in this matter, this case seems to be closed. However, there remains one more Court of Inquiry: the Court of Heaven. On this eve of Yom Kippur, may all of us be found "not guilty" before that High Court of any charges laid against us, or, if found guilty, may we be quick to repent of our own sins to return to right relationship with our Lord. Praise God for His heart of mercy . . . praise Him.
- "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
6. SENATE REPORT: QUARTER OF SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS IMPROPERLY AWARDED
The Social Security Administration improperly awarded disability benefits in more than 25 percent of cases examined between 2006 and 2010, according to a new Senate report -- potentially costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
The findings conclude an 18-month investigation by the chamber's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and show that roughly a quarter of the 300 randomly selected disability cases were awarded benefits "without properly addressing insufficient, contradictory and incomplete evidence." Each questionable decision can mean a big taxpayer expense. According to one estimate, the average lifetime disability award is $300,000.
The investigation was led by Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, a medical doctor and the subcommittee's top Republican. He said the bipartisan report shows information gathered over the past several years concludes the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs are "teetering on financial bankruptcy." (Fox News) Read more.
- Heavenly Father, we ask that integrity and godly wisdom be applied to the distributions of money to those entitled to benefits established by the Social Security Administration laws. Please give righteous insight to those who are charged with the responsibility of administering these funds in an equitable manner.
- "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight." (Proverbs 12:22)
7. ALERT! HOUSE INTRODUCES PRO-ISRAEL RESOLUTION BEFORE DISMISSAL
URGES OBAMA TO PREVENT AHMADINEJAD U.N. SPEECH ON YOM KIPPUR
A bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a resolution that calls on the Obama administration to pressure the United Nations to prevent Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from addressing the U.N. General Assembly on Yom Kippur. "[I]t would not only be offensive, but insensitive for the United Nations to allow Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address the General Assembly at all, let alone on the holiest of all Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur, after making such vicious statements towards world Jewry and the State of Israel" reads the resolution, which cites numerous examples of the Iranian leader's anti-Semitic rhetoric.
The resolution was introduced by Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 14 House members. They are: Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), Leonard Lance (R-N.J.), Jeff Landry (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), Pat Meehan (R-Pa.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Bill Posey (R-Fla.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.).
It states that Ahmadinejad has "specifically threatened both the United States and Israel publically and politically on a continual basis" and "has often called for the destructions of Israel, demanding for it to be 'wiped off the map.'" It continues to state that the Iranian president "has consistently denied the evidence of the Holocaust, an event that took the lives of more than 6,000,000 Jewish people."
"Ahmadinejad and his regime pose a clear threat to national security interested in the United States, as demonstrated by Tehran's nuclear program and their enduring assistance to terrorist groups in the Middle East and the Western Hemisphere including Hamas, Hezbollah, and other extremists that seek to undermine regional stability and threaten the good order of the United Nations," reads the resolution.
It also says that under the U.N. charter, members must "refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, but Ahmadinejad has specifically failed to do so."
"[A]n outspoken, anti-Semitic Iranian leader should not be given the opportunity to criticize a Jewish person's right to freely practice religion or denounce Israel's right to exist on the largest international stage," it concludes.
According to The Hill, it seems unlikely that the resolution will pass, given that both the House and Senate are not expected to take up any votes between now and the November election.
- Offer praise that, even though specific action may not be taken on this resolution, after all, 14 members have put Congress on record with an opportunity to bless Israel by honoring its High Holy Day and by confronting its arch enemy: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Call forth the blessing due these 14 members, and rejoice that our nation still stands by Israel, at least in our legislative branch. Amen.
- "Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord!" (Psalm 150:6)
8. CONGRESS EXITS WASHINGTON TO HIT CAMPAIGN TRAIL
The most partisan, least productive Congress in memory is bolting Washington for the campaign trail, leaving in its wake a pile of unfinished business on the budget and taxes, farm policy and legislation to save the Postal Service from insolvency.
The GOP-controlled House beat its retreat Friday morning after one last, futile slap at President Barack Obama - passing a bill entitled the "Stop the War on Coal Act." The measure, dead on arrival with Obama and the Senate, would block the government from policing greenhouse gas emissions and give states regulatory control over the disposal of harmful coal byproducts.
Over in the Democratic Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., delayed that chamber's getaway to force a procedural vote on legislation by endangered Democrat Jon Tester of Montana to boost access to public lands for hunting and fishing. Republicans protested that the move was nakedly political and had tried to block it.
The spitting match ensured a post-midnight Senate session before a final vote on the only must-do item on the get-out-of-Dodge agenda - a six-month spending measure to keep the government running after the current budget year ends on Sept. 30. (Associated Press, MY WAY) Read more.
- Although Congress is technically now on a "break," in reality, each member never really is on a "break," as the work of the members of Congress -- both House and Senate -- continues nonstop. Ask our Lord to grace each one with His strength during this campaign season. Please continue to refer to our Election Prayer Guide as you pray for your own congressman and senator tonight.
- "The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord receives my prayer . . ." (Psalm 6:9)
A SPECIAL TREAT!
Three Children Sing the National Anthem . .
Beautiful!!
Dear Friends,
Well, each week the news from our mainstream press seems to be worse and worse, but take heart: JESUS IS COMING BACK SOON!
And while we await His return, let's settle in and listen to this wonderful video of three children singing "The National Anthem!"
We trust you will be blessed by this version of our National Anthem being sung by three young siblings (Erika, Delaney, and Zachry) as performed in their own living room without instruments, microphones or special effects. Their parents, whomever they are, must be proud of them.
To hear this rendition, please click here.
" . . . and a little child will lead them." (Isaiah 11:6)
DOMESTIC ISSUES
And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation." (Isa. 25:9)
|
40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS OF PRAYER BEGINS ON
FRIDAY
|
|||
|
|
||||
URGENT!
40 DAYS AND 40 NIGHTS OF PRAYER TO BEGIN THIS WEEK:
(Friday, September 28 to Tuesday, November 6)
A Message from Dave Butts, Chairman, National Prayer Committee:
40 Days of Prayer is a call to fervent prayer for our elections. We are in desperate days as a nation as the spiritual, moral and financial fabric of our nation is disintegrating around us. Believers need to pray as never before.
America's National Prayer Committee and its member organizations are putting out a call to pray 40 days prior to the elections (September 28 - November 6). Here you will find information and links to other prayer initiatives that are focusing on this election.
We are not endorsing these initiatives, but making you aware of them. Our intent is to stay far away from anything that looks like an endorsement or movement for any particular candidate or party. What we are asking for is the intervention of God on behalf of our nation.
Here are the three major focal points of our prayers:
1) The Elections-asking for the Lord's intervention.
2) A righteous standard to be raised over the nation.
3) Revival in the Church.
To learn more about the 40 DAYS AND NIGHTS of prayer initiative, leading up to the Election, go here.
> > > Please view Dave Butts' video, calling the nation to 40 days of DAY AND NIGHT prayer, by going here.
Be led by the Spirit of the Lord how you can orchestrate even one day and one night of prayer for our land, creating a 24/7 prayer chain right where you are by contacting those in your own circle of influence. Then, as you quiet your hearts before Him, watch the LORD move in your midst!
To open your own phone line for a free conference call during your time of 24/7 prayer, we suggest two resources:
Greater Calling Ministries
OR:
Free Conference Call.com
-- ENTER IN!!
-- PICK UP THE TORCH FOR PRAYER!!
-- BE BLESSED!!
-- PICK UP THE TORCH FOR PRAYER!!
-- BE BLESSED!!
|
Focus on the Executive Branch
|
|||
|
|
||||
Focus on the Executive Branch
- OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PAYING TO SAY SORRY RE: LIBYA VIDEO
- OBAMA OFFICIAL ADMITS BENGHAZI ATTACK WAS "A TERRORIST ATTACK"
- OBAMA, MOSLEM BROTHERHOOD -- BIRDS OF A FEATHER?
- OBAMA CALLS FOR AMENDMENT LIMITING FREE SPEECH
- TAX PENALTY TO HIT NEARLY 6 MILLION UNINSURED UNDER OBAMACARE
- IT'S OFFICIAL: OBAMA IS RAISING TAXES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS
- UNEMPLOYMENT RATES RISE IN 26 STATES IN AUGUST
- U.S. SUFFERS WORST AIRPOWER LOSS SINCE VIETNAM DURING TALIBAN ATTACK
- ISLAMIST CULT NEUTERS PENTAGON WAR-FIGHTING PLANS
- OBAMA LISTS HIS FIVE CRITERIA FOR "DEATH BY DRONE "
1. OBAMA ADMINISTRATION PAYING TO SAY SORRY RE: LIBYA VIDEO
Obama is buying TV ads in Pakistan with our tax dollars to tell Muslims he is ashamed of the fact that we have free speech. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are featured in TV ads paid for by the State Department and now running in Pakistan. They are actually apologizing because someone in the United States used their freedom of speech to be critical of Mohammed. It doesn't get any worse than this. Read more in a UK newspaper. Although some media outlets continue to blame rioting on the non-existent movie about Mohammed, evidence is overwhelming that this was not the case.
White House admits video did not cause attacks - After ten days of media supported lies by the Obama Administration claiming that a YouTube video was to blame for the murders of Ambassador Stevens and three other Americans, the White House took a sharp turn and said "terrorism" was to blame. The fictional story blaming the video collapsed when CBS News interviewed people living near the consulate and found out there was no demonstration. Armed Islamists with RPG's attacked the consulate in three waves on the anniversary of 9-11. For days the Obama Administration had been blaming free speech in the US as the problem.
A great new one-minute commercial is now running, asking Barack Hussein Obama why he is inviting the Moslem Brotherhood to the White House. The commercial exposes the Moslem Brotherhood that Obama seems to so love. (Religious Freedom Coalition) Read more.
- Almighty God, we ask that all the evil stirred up by this administration be squelched by the hand of our God. Bring forth a band of angels from heaven who will stand against them wasting our tax dollars and being a hypocritical voice that America is ashamed for the rights of free speech. Stop these evil words from being spread out of the White House over the world. Break the power of his words and blow them away like a vapor. In the Name of Jesus we pray.
- "Whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. But now you rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil." (James 4:14-17)
2. OBAMA OFFICIAL ADMITS BENGHAZI ATTACK WAS "A TERRORIST ATTACK"
The Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was in fact "a terrorist attack" and the U.S. government has indications that members of al Qaeda were directly involved, a top Obama administration official said Wednesday morning. "I would say yes, they were killed in the course of a terrorist attack on our embassy," Matt Olsen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said Wednesday at a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, in response to questioning from Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-CT) about the attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
As for who was responsible, Olsen said it appears there were attackers from a number of different militant groups that operate in and around Benghazi, and said there are already signs of al Qaeda involvement. "We are looking at indications that individuals involved in the attack may have had connections to al Qaeda or al Qaeda's affiliates; in particular, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb," he said.
The U.S. government just isn't sure yet whether the terrorist attack was pre-planned or whether it was an example of terrorists taking advantage of protests against an anti-Islam film, Olsen said. (Family Security Matters) Read more.
- Father God, the blood of these men call out from the ground for justice to be initiated and the guilty brought down. These men were serving their country - the United States of America - and the trust they put in our government for protection while on duty failed them. May those responsible for this hit be sealed off by the hand of the Lord from repeating such a heinous act in the future. Be with their families in their time of sorrow. In Jesus' Name.
- "Woe to them that devise iniquity, and work and plan evil upon their beds! When the morning is light, they practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. Therefore thus says the Lord; Behold against these do I devise an evil, from which you shall not remove your necks; neither shall you go haughtily; for this time is evil." (Micah 2:1,3)
3. OBAMA, MOSLEM BROTHERHOOD -- BIRDS OF A FEATHER?
What caused Obama to turn against the late Libyan dictator, Muammar Gadhafi? What is clear is that the moment Gadhafi became inconvenient to the Moslem Brotherhood, Gadhafi became inconvenient to Obama.
In April 2011, during the height of the Arab Spring, Christopher Stevens arrived in Benghazi, Libya, aboard a Greek cargo ship carrying a dozen American diplomats with enough guards, vehicles and equipment "to set up a diplomatic beachhead in the middle of an armed rebellion," as the New York Times reported. Stevens' goal in landing in Benghazi in 2011 was to represent the Obama administration in support of the rebels who were trying at that time to oust Gadhafi from power. (World Net Daily) Read more.
- Oh Lord God, deliver our government from the hands of these evil groups and bring them to a definite end. When truth prevails, it reveals the underlings and their set intentions of destroying American, and sending Americans to Libya on a suicide mission. Reach down from heaven, mighty God, and pull these groups off their seats of power and replace them with God-fearing men and women who will fight for the good and cast out the evil. In Jesus' Name.
"That you may walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it." (Proverbs 2:20-22)
4. OBAMA CALLS FOR AMENDMENT LIMITING FREE SPEECH
Obama endorsed a constitutional amendment that would restrict the free-speech rights of political activist groups by overturning the Supreme Court decision in the landmark Citizens United v FEC case that granted First Amendment rights to corporations.
"Over the longer term, I think we need to seriously consider mobilizing a constitutional amendment process to overturn Citizens United," Obama wrote during a question and answer session on the website Reddit on Wednesday. "Even if the amendment process falls short, it can shine a spotlight of the super-PAC phenomenon and help apply pressure for change."
In its decision, the Supreme Court said that the government could not restrict the free-speech rights of organizations during elections, striking down key provisions of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. "The First Amendment protects more than just the individual on a soapbox and the lonely pamphleteer," he said. (CNS News) Read more.
- Father, we earnestly appeal to You to intervene in the plans to remove yet another freedom our Founding Fathers died to establish. We call this action defeated now, in the name of Jesus. Lord, we ask that wicked plans would not even have a chance to get started. Thank You, Father!
- "For they speak not peace: but they devise deceitful matters against them that are peaceful in the land." (Psalms 35:20)
5. TAX PENALTY TO HIT NEARLY 6 MILLION UNINSURED UNDER OBAMACARE
Nearly 6 million Americans -- most of them in the middle class -- will face a tax penalty for not carrying medical coverage once President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law is fully in place, congressional budget analysts said Wednesday.
The new estimate amounts to an inconvenient fact for the administration, a reminder of what critics see as broken promises.
The numbers from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office are significantly higher than a previous projection by the same office in 2010, shortly after the law passed. The earlier estimate found 4 million people would be affected. The difference -- 2 million people-- represents a 50 percent increase.
That's still only a sliver of the population, given that more than 150 million people currently are covered by employer plans. Nonetheless, in his first campaign for the White House, Obama pledged not to raise taxes on individuals making less than $200,000 a year and couples making less than $250,000.
And the budget office analysis found that nearly 80 percent of those who'll face the penalty would be making up to or less than five times the federal poverty level. Currently that would work out to $55,850 or less for an individual and $115,250 or less for a family of four. (Fox News) Read more.
- Heavenly Father, there are many citizens of this country who are in need of health care support. We ask that You show our national leaders how best to address the needs of our citizenry without jeopardizing the already established system that has served our nation with good health care for decades. Father we ask that You will expose corruption or ill intent especially in the area of population control that is intended by abortion and early end of life efforts locked into the Obamacare legislation.
- "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." (1 Timothy 5:4)
6. IT'S OFFICIAL: OBAMA IS RAISING TAXES ON THE MIDDLE CLASS
On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office confirmed what we've been saying for years now: President Obama has broken his pledge not to raise taxes on the middle class. During his 2008 campaign, Obama promised Americans that he wouldn't raise taxes on anybody making less than $250,000 a year. Technically, he broke that pledge weeks after taking office, when he signed an increase in cigarette taxes, which fall disproportionately on those with lower incomes. Now, the CBO has released updated estimates showing that Obamacare's insurance mandate -- which the Supreme Court ruled to be a tax -- will hit millions of middle-class Americans.
In its report, the CBO determined the mandate tax would cost 6 million Americans a total of $7 billion in 2016, with a minimum payment of $695 apiece. The annual cost will then average about $8 billion from 2017 through 2022. The health care law requires Americans either to purchase government-approved insurance or to pay a penalty. The CBO estimates 30 million will be uninsured by that year, but most will be exempted from the mandate because they are unauthorized immigrants, members of Indian tribes or don't earn enough income to file taxes, among other reasons.
Among those who will have to pay a mandate penalty, 4.7 million will have incomes below 500 percent of the federal poverty level, according to the CBO, which is projected to be $60,000 for individuals and $123,000 for families of four by 2016.
Lest some of his defenders argue that Obama's campaign pledge merely pertained to income tax rates, here's what he actually said as a candidate in Dover, N.H., on Sept. 12, 2008: "I can make a firm pledge: Under my plan, no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase -- not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes." (Washington Examiner) Read more.
- Our Most Holy and Sovereign Heavenly Father, we ask that You expose these financial tax deceptions. We ask that the unfair tax burdens be removed by responsible leadership elected in the upcoming elections. We ask that You restore ethical leadership to our national institutions and that money appropriations be fair and without deceptive gain for any unrighteous institution.
- "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out." (Proverbs 10:9)
7. UNEMPLOYMENT RATES RISE IN 26 STATES IN AUGUST
Unemployment rates in August rose in 26 states from July, but most states showed lower rates than a year ago, the federal government reported Friday. Nevada continued to lead the country with the highest unemployment rate, 12.1% in August. North Dakota had the lowest at 3%. Twelve states and the District of Columbia posted rate decreases last month vs. July. Jobless rates were unchanged in 12 states.
Friday's report will be closely analyzed for its potential impact on the presidential campaign, especially in 12 swing states that are expected to be key battlegrounds. Some of those states have jobless rates above the national average, which was 8.1% in August. The 12 swing states are Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Forty-two states and the District of Columbia had lower unemployment rates in August than a year ago, seven had higher rates and one had no change. (USA Today) Read more.
- Heavenly Father, we know You hear the groans of Your people when the wicked bear rule and we ask that You would bring about the major changes that are needed for people to be able to earn a living. We pray that as this election comes around, that people will take notice of this situation and the positions of the candidates and then vote for those who will allow businesses freedom to operate.
- "When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, the people groan." (Proverbs 29:2)
8. U.S. SUFFERS WORST AIRPOWER LOSS SINCE VIETNAM DURING TALIBAN ATTACK
The Taliban attack on an air base in southern Afghanistan on Friday drew coverage for the way the insurgents cloaked themselves in U.S. army uniforms to gain a tactical advantage, but few have taken note of the historical proportions of the damage inflicted. John Gresham, at the Defense Media Network, has published a detailed account of the attack on Camp Bastion, in which two Marines were killed, six U.S. Marine Corps jet fighters were destroyed, and two more "significantly" damaged.
Those facts were all carried in most reports, but if that just sounds like a typical damage report from a decade-long war, you're wrong. Gresham explains the devastating damage done to VMA-211, the name of the Marine Corps attack squadron that was most affected last week, noting that it is "arguably the worst day in [U.S. Marine Corps] aviation history since the Tet Offensive of 1968." Or you could go back even further. "The last time VMA-211 was combat ineffective was in December 1941, when the squadron was wiped out during the 13-day defense of Wake Island against the Japanese.
Eight irreplaceable aircraft have been destroyed or put out of action - approximately 7 percent of the total flying USMC Harrier fleet. Worse yet, the aircraft involved were the AV-B+ variant equipped with the APG-65 radar and AAQ-28 Litening II targeting pods - the most capable in the force. Given the current funding situation, it's likely that the two damaged AV-8Bs will become spare parts "hangar queens" and never fly again. A Harrier squadron commander is dead, along with another Marine. Another nine personnel have been wounded, and the nearby Marines at Camp Freedom are now without effective fixed-wing air support. The USMC's response to this disaster will be a telling report card on its leadership and organizational agility. (Fox News) Read more.
(The Atlantic Wire) Read more. [Caution - my computer crashed twice when trying to access this article.]
- What a devastating blow to our fighting capabilities . . . and just when we may be about to go to war, too. Ask our Lord to comfort those who grieve the loss of their loved ones in this attack at Camp Bastion. Pray, too, that the media would highlight the TRUE impact of this attack, and that Congress would fund our military to the fullest extent possible. Pray!
- "Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven." (Matthew 18:19)
9. ISLAMIST CULT NEUTERS PENTAGON WAR-FIGHTING PLANS
Lawyers defending a military officer who was punished for teaching about the dangers of radical Islam are accusing the Pentagon of selling out to political correctness.
"In order to appease Moslems and the White House, Gen. Dempsey and the Department of Defense rushed to punish Lt. Col. Matt Dooley," said Richard Thompson, chief counsel for the Thomas More Law Center.
Dooley and the longstanding course he taught at the Joint Forces Staff College, "Perspectives on Islam and Islamic Radicalism," were targeted when Moslem groups demanded that material they viewed as offensive to Islam be "purged" from the coursework and that the teacher be "effectively disciplined."
Dooley administratively was removed from his teaching assignment and an Officer Evaluation Report, marking him as outstanding, was withdrawn.
Thompson charged that Dooley's commanders "violated not only our nation's core principles of free speech and academic freedom guaranteed by our Constitution, but also, a number of the military's own regulations dealing with academic freedom and non-attribution policies of the National Defense University." (World Net Daily) Read more.
- Lord God, this appears to be a case of treason against the Pentagon, White House, Department of Defense, by appeasing Moslems and side-stepping our nation's core principles of free speech and academic freedom guaranteed by our Constitution, as well as the military's own regulations dealing with academic freedom. We pray for the mighty power of our God to intervene in this matter and bring divine justice for Lt. Col. Matt Dooley and those supporting him, and that the Lord will reinstate him to his position at the Joint Forces Staff College. By the miraculous act of God, move amongst all the players here, and establish a solid standard for God and country and righteousness. In Jesus' Name.
"The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works. The Lord is near unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear Him: He also will hear their cry, and will save them. The Lord preserves all them that love Him: but all the wicked shall He destroy." (Psalm 145:17-20)
10. OBAMA LISTS HIS FIVE CRITERIA FOR "DEATH BY DRONE"
Obama is tearing the shroud of secrecy off his once hush-hush death-by-drone program.
From his interview with Ben Swann, host of Fox 19's Reality Check, to his sit-down with CNN's chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin, the kill-list compiler-in-chief is gradually exposing details of the principles he purportedly follows before targeting someone for assassination.
Obama listed five criteria:
First: "It has to be a target that is authorized by our laws."
Second: "It has to be a threat that is serious and not speculative."
Third: "It has to be a situation in which we can't capture the individual before they move forward on some sort of operational plot against the United States."
Fourth: "We've got to make sure that in whatever operations we conduct, we are very careful about avoiding civilian casualties."
Fifth: "That while there is a legal justification for us to try and stop [American citizens] from carrying out plots . . . they are subject to the protections of the Constitution and due process."
Examining this list reveals that in none of the deaths authorized by Obama has any one of these criteria been met. (The New American Standard) Read more.
- In the light of this unprecedented power to destroy, we ask You Heavenly Father to give Your wisdom and understanding to those who hold the earthly authority to administer the wrath of these new weapons upon mankind with the press of a button. Thwart any attempts at unrighteous attempts to use these weapons to harm innocent lives. Please give godly wisdom to those using these weapons as an instrument to protect innocent lives in a state of war.
- "Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle; My lovingkindness and my fortress, My stronghold and my deliverer; My shield and He in whom I take refuge; Who subdues my people under me." (Psalm 144:1-2)
|
Focus on the Legislative Branch
|
|||
|
|
||||
Focus on the Legislative Branch
- CONGRESS PASSES BUDGET - FUNDS OBAMACARE AND PLANNED PARENTHOOD
- "FAST AND FURIOUS" REPORT SLAMS DISREGARD FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
- DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT TO BE APPEALED
- GOP CHAIRMEN IMPLORE WHITE HOUSE NOT TO RELEASE BLIND SHEIKH
- NO ETHICS CHARGE FOR DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVE MAXINE WATERS
- SENATE REPORT: SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS IMPROPERLY AWARDED
- ALERT! HOUSE INTRODUCES PRO-ISRAEL RESOLUTION BEFORE DISMISSAL
- CONGRESS EXITS WASHINGTON TO HIT CAMPAIGN TRAIL
1. CONGRESS PASSES BUDGEST - FUNDS OBAMACARE AND PLANNED PARENTHOOD
The Republican-majority House of Representatives on Thursday passed a $1.047 trillion bill funding the federal government through March 2013 that will permit funding for Planned Parenthood and ObamaCare-including the regulation that took effect on Aug. 1 that will require virtually all health plans in the United States to cover, without fees or co-pay, sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives, including those that induce abortions.
The vote was 329-91 Over the weekend, the Senate followed suit.
The bill funds the government for six months into the new fiscal year and for almost five months after the November elections. Congress turned to the stop-gap measure after failing to pass any of the 12 appropriation bills necessary to fund day-to-day government operations.
The Catholic bishops of the United States have unanimously declared the Obamacare sterilization-contraception-abortifacient regulation an "unjust and illegal mandate" that violates the right to free exercise of religion not only of Catholic institutions but also of Catholic business owners and workers.
The bill, a continuing resolution (CR), does not prohibit funding for either ObamaCare programs or Planned Parenthood. Nor does it stop the government from enforcing regulations, such as the mandate from the Health and Human Services Department that nearly all health insurance plans provide contraceptives, sterilizations, and abortion-inducing drugs free of charge. (Restoring Liberty) Read more.
- We have now hit bottom. First the Supreme Court, and now Congress, upholding this wicked law that will fund the murder of countless numbers of unborn babies in our land. There is nothing left, but God. Cry out to Him for mercy . . . may He yet find grace to forgive.
- "O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." (2 Chronicles 20:12)
2. "FAST AND FURIOUS" REPORT SLAMS DISREGARD FOR PUBLIC SAFETY
DOJ officials quit after report is released
A bombshell report released Wednesday on Operation Fast and Furious faulted a range of federal agencies for the failed anti-gunrunning program and accused officials in charge of a "disregard" for public safety. In the wake of the report, one Justice Department official resigned and another retired. The sprawling report by the department's inspector general is the most comprehensive account yet on the deadly operation which allowed weapons to "walk" across the U.S.-Mexico border and resulted in hundreds of firearms turning up at crime scenes in both countries.
The report says Attorney General Eric Holder was not made aware of potential flaws in the program until February of last year. But the report cites 14 other department employees -- including Criminal Division head Lanny Breuer -- for potential wrongdoing, recommending the department consider disciplinary action against them. One congressional source told Fox News the report was "more brutal than was expected."
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who along with Sen. Charles Grassley led the charge on Capitol Hill to investigate the operation, said Wednesday that the report "confirms" congressional findings "of a near total disregard for public safety" in the program. "Contrary to the denials of the Attorney General and his political defenders in Congress, the investigation found that information in wiretap applications approved by senior Justice Department officials in Washington did contain red flags showing reckless tactics and faults Attorney General Eric Holder's inner circle for their conduct," he said. (Fox News) Read more.
- Father, we are dismayed that the head of our federal law enforcement was not held accountable for the "Fast and Furious" scheme, but we thank You there will likely be disciplinary action against those who were directly involved.
- "Hate evil, love good; establish justice in the gate." [Amos 5:15a]
3. DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT TO BE APPEALED
Both sides gear up for a fight
The Defense of Marriage Act is set for a showdown in a federal appeals court later this month between those who say it is right for the government to speak of marriage only in heterosexual terms and those who say doing so discriminates against same-sex unions. The law was passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton after the Hawaii Supreme Court issued a ruling in 1993 making it appear Hawaii might legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have banned gay marriage, while eight states and the District of Columbia have approved it, led by Massachusetts in 2004 and continuing with Connecticut, New York, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland and Washington state. Maryland and Washington's laws aren't yet in effect and might be subject to referendums.
In February 2011, President Obama and Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. instructed the Department of Justice to no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act.
In arguments submitted to the 2nd Circuit last month, former attorneys general Edwin Meese III and John Ashcroft called that decision "unprecedented in our nation's history," because it did not involve separation of powers concerns. "The administration's change of position marks an unprecedented and ill-advised departure from over two centuries of Executive Branch practice," they wrote. "Historically, the president's constitutional obligation to 'take care that the laws be faithfully executed' has been understood to include the vigorous defense of acts of Congress when they are challenged in court."
They added that the switch in position "fails to afford due respect to Congress and threatens to undermine the proper functioning of the judicial process." (Washington Times) Read more.
- Thank You for our Founding Father's wisdom to build a balance of power into our laws in order to prevent Dictatorship. In Jesus' name we pray against the unlawful usurping of powers not Constitutionally or traditionally granted to the Executive branch of our government. May these actions be openly called to account, and checked. May the issue of marriage always be defined in our nation as it is in Your Word. We bind every attempt to promote homosexuality as if it is healthy, normal or legal, in Jesus' name.
- "Do not envy the oppressor, and choose none of his ways; for the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord." (Proverbs 3:31,32)
4. GOP CHAIRMEN IMPLORES WHITE HOUSE NOT TO RELEASE BLIND SHEIKH
Eight top-ranking House Republicans are pressing the White House not to release "the blind sheikh" from prison, saying that it would be "a sign of weakness" by President Obama.
The administration has repeatedly stressed that it has no intention of freeing Omar Abdel-Rahman from federal prison. But rumors to that effect sprang up last week after a news article said the unrest at the U.S. Embassy in Egypt was initially motivated by calls for "the blind sheikh's" release. Rahman was convicted for his role in planning an attack on New York City in 1993 and is serving a life sentence, but he has remained popular in Egypt, where a group of supporters continue to call for his release.
In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder this week, eight heads of House committees and subpanels pressed the administration not to appease the acts of violence in Egypt by releasing Rahman. (The Hill) Read more.
- Father in heaven, we plead for Your intervention that no release from prison be given Rahman from the U.S. administration. We pray God to block any and all efforts to the contrary by the blood of Jesus. Hold Rahman responsible to live out the full term of his conviction. In Jesus' Name.
- "You are become guilty in your blood that you have shed; and have defiled yourself in your idols which you have made; and you have caused your days to draw near, and are come even unto your years: therefore have I the Lord made you a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries." (Ezekiel 22:4)
5. NO ETHICS CHARGE FOR DEMOCRATIC REPRESENTATIVE MAXINE WATERS
California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters won't be charged with ethics violations following allegations she steered a $12 million federal bailout to a bank where her husband owns stock. House Ethics Committee members said Friday at a hearing their investigation found no violation by Waters, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee.
However, the committee said Waters' chief of staff, Mikael Moore, did take actions in Congress in an attempt to help the bank and violated House standards of conduct. Moore likely will receive a letter admonishing him for his conduct but will not face more severe punishment, such as a reprimand, by the full House.
Virginia Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte, acting chairman of the panel, announced the tentative findings at the hearing but noted the committee had not issued a final report. (SRN News) Read more.
- Now that the House Ethics Committee has found Rep. Waters innocent of any possible wrongdoing in this matter, this case seems to be closed. However, there remains one more Court of Inquiry: the Court of Heaven. On this eve of Yom Kippur, may all of us be found "not guilty" before that High Court of any charges laid against us, or, if found guilty, may we be quick to repent of our own sins to return to right relationship with our Lord. Praise God for His heart of mercy . . . praise Him.
- "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18)
6. SENATE REPORT: QUARTER OF SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY BENEFITS IMPROPERLY AWARDED
The Social Security Administration improperly awarded disability benefits in more than 25 percent of cases examined between 2006 and 2010, according to a new Senate report -- potentially costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
The findings conclude an 18-month investigation by the chamber's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and show that roughly a quarter of the 300 randomly selected disability cases were awarded benefits "without properly addressing insufficient, contradictory and incomplete evidence." Each questionable decision can mean a big taxpayer expense. According to one estimate, the average lifetime disability award is $300,000.
The investigation was led by Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn, a medical doctor and the subcommittee's top Republican. He said the bipartisan report shows information gathered over the past several years concludes the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income programs are "teetering on financial bankruptcy." (Fox News) Read more.
- Heavenly Father, we ask that integrity and godly wisdom be applied to the distributions of money to those entitled to benefits established by the Social Security Administration laws. Please give righteous insight to those who are charged with the responsibility of administering these funds in an equitable manner.
- "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight." (Proverbs 12:22)
7. ALERT! HOUSE INTRODUCES PRO-ISRAEL RESOLUTION BEFORE DISMISSAL
URGES OBAMA TO PREVENT AHMADINEJAD U.N. SPEECH ON YOM KIPPUR
A bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a resolution that calls on the Obama administration to pressure the United Nations to prevent Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from addressing the U.N. General Assembly on Yom Kippur. "[I]t would not only be offensive, but insensitive for the United Nations to allow Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to address the General Assembly at all, let alone on the holiest of all Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur, after making such vicious statements towards world Jewry and the State of Israel" reads the resolution, which cites numerous examples of the Iranian leader's anti-Semitic rhetoric.
The resolution was introduced by Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 14 House members. They are: Reps. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), Ted Deutch (D-Fla.), Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), Leonard Lance (R-N.J.), Jeff Landry (R-La.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), Pat Meehan (R-Pa.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Bill Posey (R-Fla.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.).
It states that Ahmadinejad has "specifically threatened both the United States and Israel publically and politically on a continual basis" and "has often called for the destructions of Israel, demanding for it to be 'wiped off the map.'" It continues to state that the Iranian president "has consistently denied the evidence of the Holocaust, an event that took the lives of more than 6,000,000 Jewish people."
"Ahmadinejad and his regime pose a clear threat to national security interested in the United States, as demonstrated by Tehran's nuclear program and their enduring assistance to terrorist groups in the Middle East and the Western Hemisphere including Hamas, Hezbollah, and other extremists that seek to undermine regional stability and threaten the good order of the United Nations," reads the resolution.
It also says that under the U.N. charter, members must "refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, but Ahmadinejad has specifically failed to do so."
"[A]n outspoken, anti-Semitic Iranian leader should not be given the opportunity to criticize a Jewish person's right to freely practice religion or denounce Israel's right to exist on the largest international stage," it concludes.
According to The Hill, it seems unlikely that the resolution will pass, given that both the House and Senate are not expected to take up any votes between now and the November election.
- Offer praise that, even though specific action may not be taken on this resolution, after all, 14 members have put Congress on record with an opportunity to bless Israel by honoring its High Holy Day and by confronting its arch enemy: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Call forth the blessing due these 14 members, and rejoice that our nation still stands by Israel, at least in our legislative branch. Amen.
- "Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord!" (Psalm 150:6)
8. CONGRESS EXITS WASHINGTON TO HIT CAMPAIGN TRAIL
The most partisan, least productive Congress in memory is bolting Washington for the campaign trail, leaving in its wake a pile of unfinished business on the budget and taxes, farm policy and legislation to save the Postal Service from insolvency.
The GOP-controlled House beat its retreat Friday morning after one last, futile slap at President Barack Obama - passing a bill entitled the "Stop the War on Coal Act." The measure, dead on arrival with Obama and the Senate, would block the government from policing greenhouse gas emissions and give states regulatory control over the disposal of harmful coal byproducts.
Over in the Democratic Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., delayed that chamber's getaway to force a procedural vote on legislation by endangered Democrat Jon Tester of Montana to boost access to public lands for hunting and fishing. Republicans protested that the move was nakedly political and had tried to block it.
The spitting match ensured a post-midnight Senate session before a final vote on the only must-do item on the get-out-of-Dodge agenda - a six-month spending measure to keep the government running after the current budget year ends on Sept. 30. (Associated Press, MY WAY) Read more.
- Although Congress is technically now on a "break," in reality, each member never really is on a "break," as the work of the members of Congress -- both House and Senate -- continues nonstop. Ask our Lord to grace each one with His strength during this campaign season. Please continue to refer to our Election Prayer Guide as you pray for your own congressman and senator tonight.
- "The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord receives my prayer . . ." (Psalm 6:9)
|
A SPECIAL TREAT!
|
|||
|
|
||||
A SPECIAL TREAT!
Three Children Sing the National Anthem . .
Beautiful!!
Dear Friends,
Well, each week the news from our mainstream press seems to be worse and worse, but take heart: JESUS IS COMING BACK SOON!
And while we await His return, let's settle in and listen to this wonderful video of three children singing "The National Anthem!"
We trust you will be blessed by this version of our National Anthem being sung by three young siblings (Erika, Delaney, and Zachry) as performed in their own living room without instruments, microphones or special effects. Their parents, whomever they are, must be proud of them.
To hear this rendition, please click here.
" . . . and a little child will lead them." (Isaiah 11:6)
|
This Week, Worship Our Lord As . . .
|
|||
|
||||
This Week, Worship Our Lord As . . .
(Adoni Ehkhad Oo-Sh'mo Ehkhad)
"In that day it shall be . . . 'The LORD is One' and His name one."
(Zech. 14:9 NKJV)
What a mystery! God my Father; God as Yeshua, who came to show me how to live; God as the Spirit -- who empowers me to live the godly life. Three as One -- what a mystery.
The Lord is One, His Name One. Thank You, LORD, that I don't have to understand this with my head to know it in my heart. How marvelous is Your Name!
(Taken from: Intimate Moments with the Hebrew Names of God, by Barri Cae Malin and Shmuel Wolkenfeld; Bridge-Logos Publishers; Gainesville, FL, 32614. ISBN: 0-88270-801-5)
