Below are several noteworthy news items that were posted on Gwen Shaw's 10/29/04 weekly newsletter. Think about item number 3 concerning "weapons of mass destruction." There is a tendency to have a specific thought as to what these are - I pray God will open our eyes and ears to see and hear what HE considers weapons of mass destruction.
Blessings,
Dana on behalf of
The Watchman Network
1. CLINTON WANTS TO RUN U.N. – Former President Clinton wants to be the first American to serve as United Nations secretary-general, but first he'll need to convince the United States to support him, WorldNetDaily.com reported. "He definitely wants to do it," a Clinton insider told United Press International. Despite rumors that Clinton has garnered support from Germany, France, England, Ireland, New Zealand, Morocco, Egypt and a handful of African states, it remains to be seen as to whether his own country will back his candidacy. U.N. headquarters is located on American soil and the United States is a major financial contributor. Despite those two significant factors, though, the U.N. has always been headed by leaders from other nations. But many see a needed change in U.N. presence ― and that could help the former president's chances. "Critics of the U.N. complain that it's an organization without the muscle and will to put its decisions into effect," a U.N. source said. "There's a good chance that Clinton could significantly change the situation, and then we'll see if the critics mean what they say." Pray in the spirit over this report. It is the LORD GOD who lifts up kings and dethrones others. (Eph. 6:18)
2. HOW DOES YOUR LAWMAKER RATE? - With Congress almost finished for the year, it is time for Family Research Council to present our Vote Scorecard for the second session of the 108th Congress. This Scorecard contains a compilation of significant votes representing a cross section of issues affecting the family. It shows how your elected officials voted on some of the critical issues involving the family. This year, in reaction to outrageous actions by activist judges and bureaucrats with agendas, Congress introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. To signify how important this issue is to families, FRC took the unusual step of not only scoring votes on the amendment in the House and the Senate, but also scoring sponsorship of the amendment. Among the 87 True Blue winners (those who scored 100 percent) in the House is Republican Majority Leader Tom DeLay (his Democratic counterpart, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, scored 8 percent.) Also, 19 senators will be awarded the True Blue award, including Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle scored a low 17 percent, but he still did better than another senator in the news quite a bit, presidential candidate John Kerry, who scored 0 percent on the issues most important to families. Click on the link below to download or order your free Scorecard. www.frc.org/index.cfm?i=VR04H01&f=WU04J13&t=e" (Source: FRC) Give thanks to the Lord for these men and women in Congress whose votes are being cast along biblical guidelines. May they be strengthened in the days ahead to continue to stand for righteousness! (Prov. 14:34)
3. SADDAM'S MASS GRAVES - While the naysayers and the liberal media obsess over the "failures of intelligence" and all the reasons why we were "misled" into liberating Iraq, they conveniently gloss over the humanitarian side of the equation. In fact, after listening to the nightly news lately, one could easily come away with the impression that we have done a great injustice to Saddam Hussein! But last week brought more horrifying news that further bolsters the justification for removing this brutal tyrant. British media outlets are reporting on the discovery of yet another of Saddam's mass graves. This one, however, includes primarily women and children and "thighbones the size of matchsticks" from the skeletons of unborn babies. Also found were the bodies of "toddlers clutching toys" and in one case, "A baby had been shot in the back of its head and was found still being clutched by its mother, who had been shot in the face." The report states that Iraq's human rights ministry has identified as many as 40 potential mass graves – each with its own horrors waiting to be revealed. At times like this, I think it is instructive to remember that there were some in our own country who opposed America's entry into World War II. For years we debated while England fought alone. And in that time, Hitler strengthened his Atlantic wall and we paid the price for our delay on D-Day. Yet, when the film reels of allied soldiers liberating places like Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and Dachau returned home, the voices of reluctance fell silent in shame. Let me repeat this one more time: Saddam Hussein was a weapon of mass destruction! The bodies of "toddlers clutching toys" are silently testifying to that fact. Should we have given this madman more time to scheme against us, more time to rebuild his defenses, more time to murder additional thousands? No! Liberating Iraq was the right thing to do. It was the right war, at the right time, for the right reasons. This is another unfortunate answer to prayer: the truth IS being told! Offer praise, and ask that EVERY HIDDEN THING BE REVEALED about evil of Saddam Hussein's regime. (Matthew 10:26)
4. WHAT? IRAQ HAD WMD'S AFTER ALL? - The mainstream media and the Bush Administration's loyal opposition have used every word ever written about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program to convince the world that Iraq did not have a weapons of mass destruction program after the first gulf war in 1991; in fact, they cherry-picked every report for the juiciest verbiage justifying this position. Now, in a letter to the United Nations Security Council, the head of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency says there appears to be "widespread and apparently systematic dismantlement" at sites related to Iraq's nuclear program. This begs the question: If Iraq had no nuclear program after 1991, then how could there be a dismantling of something the country did not have? Indeed, the U.N. is expressing some angst over where the nuclear materials it knew existed have landed. And you can bet that opponents of the war will blame the United States for allowing these materials to slip out of the country. In his final report about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, the Chief U.S. Arms Inspector admitted, "We cannot yet definitively say whether or not WMD materials were transferred out of Iraq before the war." In July 2003, the news media took the President to task for saying in his State of the Union Address that, "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." The media browbeat the President into backing off that statement, but it was later proven to be true. At that time the United Nations insisted that documented biological weapons materials sufficient to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax and over 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin, enough to kill several million people, remained missing. To this day, like the nuclear weapons materials, there is still no accounting for these biological weapons materials. Something is amiss. Reports conclude there were no WMDs in Iraq, but the U.N. insists that known WMD materials are missing. The truth is entangled somewhere deep in the corruption of the Oil for Food program, in under the table bribes and in illegal deals between Iraq and America's so-called allies. The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:6 "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience." In 2 Timothy 3:13 Paul also wrote, "But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." Do not be deceived, seek the truth of Christ. (Bill Wilson; The Daily Jot)
5. GOOD NEWS FROM IRAQ - Editor's Note: Shannon Arnwine of Sonora, Texas, is a Marine Captain serving as a supply officer in Fallujah. Following is an e-mail he wrote to his parents, Tommy and Beverly Arnwine, on Sunday, October 10, 2004.
Hey Mom and Dad,
I am doing well. It was good to hear your voices yesterday. Thank God for technology. Ya'll had said that you might have a letter of mine printed in the paper or read at church. I would like at least the people in Sonora to understand what is really going on over here, not what they hear on the news. If you watch the news, especially CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, or CBS ― they all show you the death and destruction that is happening over here, soldiers and Marines dying daily ― one would think that we were losing this war. Just like the Vietnam War, the public thinks we are losing. But just like the Vietnam War, we in truth are winning. We have won every conflict, every skirmish, every firefight, but the media wants the great American people to believe this is a losing cause. It isn't. This is why we are here. These people are good people; they are our brothers and sisters. They were so brutalized by Saddam Hussein's regime that, when I walk by them, they cower from me. Yes, some are thieves, but they try to steal out of necessity. These people need us and want us here; they have told me this themselves. Because we are here, they have jobs again, they get paid, they put food on their tables, their schools are open and children are learning, their hospitals are open and working, their infrastructure is up and running. Do you see this on the news? We are helping our neighbors. These young Marines, soldiers, sailors, and airmen are doing wonders over here. I am in complete awe of them. This cause that we are fighting and dying for is a worthy cause; what we are doing over here is the right thing to do. You have paid with your own flesh and blood. Shane Folmar (a soldier from Sonora, Texas) died a hero, on his feet, facing the enemy. He gave his life so that this battle would be fought here, not at home. God bless you all, and God bless America. Pray for us. Semper Fi. Shannon. (San Angelo Standard-Times; October 16, 2004) (Excerpted)
6. PRESIDENT BUSH SIGNS NEW GLOBAL ANTI-SEMITISM BILL INTO LAW - The US State Department pledged to carry out faithfully the requirements of a new law mandating that it monitor global anti-Semitism and rate countries annually on their treatment of Jews despite its initial opposition to the legislation. Department officials would not say that their original stance against the bill had changed, but stressed they would comply with its provisions since US President George W. Bush signed it into law over the weekend. "Now that the bill is law, we look forward to carrying out the legislation," spokesman Richard Boucher told AFP, noting that the department already had a long record in leading global efforts against anti-Semitism. The law requires the State Department to produce an annual report on anti-Semitism around the world and to form a specific office headed by a special envoy to document anti-Semitic abuses and design strategies to combat them. It also requires the department to document acts of physical violence against Jews, their property, cemeteries and places of worship abroad, as well as local governments' responses to them and take note of instances of anti-Jewish propaganda. Bush signed the law on Saturday over the objections of the department which had been concerned that singling out one religion for special treatment might leave Washington open to charges of bias, particularly in the Arab and Muslim world. Jewish groups had criticized the State Department's stance and in September, more than 100 prominent Americans signed a letter to US Secretary of State Colin Powell saying the position was flawed. The bill, known as the Global Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, was introduced by California Democratic Representative Tom Lantos, the only Holocaust survivor in the US Congress, in response to recent acts of anti-Semitism in Europe and the Middle East. This is another reason to offer praise to the Lord. Praise the Lord!!! (Ps. 150:6)