URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS:
NEWS FLASH: "Syrian Rebels Execute Christian Villagers," - CBNNews.com, September 12, 2013; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/September/Syrian-Rebels-Execute-Christian-Villagers/ - Syrian rebel fighters apparently executed three Christians fleeing the fighting in Maaloula this week, Britain's Sky News reported. Hundreds of Christians held a funeral in Damascus for the men, who were cousins. Sky News reports the men were trying to escape the Christian town of Maaloula, which has been under attack by rebel troops. The men reportedly were killed by forces with the al Qaeda linked Jabha al-Nour. Mourners say two of the victims had their throats cut and another was shot. Most of the mourners are also refugees from Maaloula, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. [PRAY for the Christians throughout Syria who face greater persecution should rebels, particularly Islamists along the line of the Muslim Brotherhood, end up in charge of the country.]
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: "Syrian Christians Brace for Strike, Ask for Prayer," - by Gary Lane, August 31, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/Syrian-Christians-Brace-for-Strike-Ask-for-Prayer/"As Syrians brace themselves for a possible U.S. military attack, many of the county's Christians are praying for divine intervention. They say military action against the Assad regime will only bring them greater hardship and suffering and they're asking Christians worldwide to pray that God intervenes to bring peace to their nation. They believe the collective prayers of Christians around the world could reverse an escalating conflict..."
[EGYPT - Continue to pray for the tense situation in Egypt and especially for the Christian believers who are being targeted with violence by Muslim Brotherhood members.]
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST- Update on Kenneth Bae: "US Ready to Bargain with N. Korea for Bae's Release,"- CBNNews.com, Aug 14, 2013 http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/S-Ready-to-Bargain-with-N-Korea-for-Baes-Release/ - The United States is willing to engage North Korea to secure the release of imprisoned American Christian Kenneth Bae. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the United States is "willing to consider a number of different options" to bring him home.In a video recently released by a North Korean newspaper, Bae requested the United States send a high-ranking official to North Korea to seek his pardon. It is unclear if he spoke of his own volition in the video. Bae, 45, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for sharing his faith. He suffers health problems such as diabetes and is currently hospitalized.[PRAY for 1) God's healing of and presence with Pastor Bae, 2) His earliest release by the North Korean government, and 3) God's comfort for his family and friends.]
Vigils Mark One Year Imprisonment of Pastor Saeed - CBNNews.com, Thursday, September 26, 2013 - Today marks one-year that American pastor Saeed Abedini has been held in an Iranian prison. He is serving an eight-year sentence because of his Christian faith. It has been a year of torment as he has suffered beatings, physical pain from untreated medical conditions, and separation from his wife and two children... The suffering has not dampened his passion for Jesus. Pastor Abedini has led more than 30 prisoners to Christ during his time in prison. This afternoon, thousands of Americans from coast to coast will pray for his release. Events will be held in 40 states at capitols, city halls, parks and churches. Thousands more will join from 15 nations around the world
NEWS FLASH: "Syrian Rebels Execute Christian Villagers," - CBNNews.com, September 12, 2013; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/September/Syrian-Rebels-Execute-Christian-Villagers/ - Syrian rebel fighters apparently executed three Christians fleeing the fighting in Maaloula this week, Britain's Sky News reported. Hundreds of Christians held a funeral in Damascus for the men, who were cousins. Sky News reports the men were trying to escape the Christian town of Maaloula, which has been under attack by rebel troops. The men reportedly were killed by forces with the al Qaeda linked Jabha al-Nour. Mourners say two of the victims had their throats cut and another was shot. Most of the mourners are also refugees from Maaloula, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. [PRAY for the Christians throughout Syria who face greater persecution should rebels, particularly Islamists along the line of the Muslim Brotherhood, end up in charge of the country.]
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST: "Syrian Christians Brace for Strike, Ask for Prayer," - by Gary Lane, August 31, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/August/Syrian-Christians-Brace-for-Strike-Ask-for-Prayer/"As Syrians brace themselves for a possible U.S. military attack, many of the county's Christians are praying for divine intervention. They say military action against the Assad regime will only bring them greater hardship and suffering and they're asking Christians worldwide to pray that God intervenes to bring peace to their nation. They believe the collective prayers of Christians around the world could reverse an escalating conflict..."
PRAY: - For comfort and peace for Saeed’s wife and children here in the U.S.
- For a strong witness and testimony from Pastor Abedini in the prison where God has placed him
- For Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ
- BOLDly (Beside Our Leaders Daily) for leadership from the White House and State Department in defending the freedoms of Abedini and other Americans
Go to SaveSaeed.org to sign a petition over 600,000 others asking for his immediate release.
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“Bang, Bang,” You’re Suspended: Second-Grader Sent Home for Carrying Invisible Gun, - By Evan Bernick, on October 3, 2013 [NOTE: I, too, have been the object of people reacting not with common sense caution but with unreasonable paranoia. I refer to it as the "TSA-ing of American culture." A friend call's it "the new reality." I say it's "the new insanity."]--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Design Pics / LJM Photo/LJM Photo/Newscom [1]
Just when you thought gun-fearing “educators” couldn’t get any sillier.
Last week, it was a couple of teenagers [2] suspended for a year for playing with airsoft guns on the front lawn. This week, it’s a second-grader [3] suspended for a day for using his finger as a pretend gun.
Yes, eight-year-old Jordan Bennett was sent home after administrators at Harmony Community School in Harmony, Florida, concluded that the gesture was an act of violence. School district officials have told the press that their code of conduct prohibits students from playing with invisible guns.
An act of violence? Are they really that dumb? Jordan’s mother, Bonnie, is justifiably bewildered by the stupidity of this punishment: “He had nothing in his hand. It was a finger gun, a pretend gun. He didn’t threaten violence. He didn’t utter words that were inappropriate. He made a sound and used his fingers and that was it.”
This is not the first time that school officials have overreacted to second-grade gun play. In March, Josh Welch, a seven-year-old (yes, seven) student at Park Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland, was accused of nibbling a rectangular, strawberry-filled pastry into a gun-like shape, then stating “bang, bang.” [4] School officials were sufficiently disturbed by this event to remove Josh from class and banish him from the premises for two days.
It didn’t stop with the suspension. Assistant principal Myrna Phillips wrote a stern letter to parents explaining that Josh had “used food to make inappropriate gestures that disrupted the class,” encouraging parents to remind their kids about the “importance of making good choices,” and offering counseling to any student who might need it. All this even as Phillips acknowledged that “no physical threats were made and no one was harmed.”
These overreactions would be laughable if they weren’t such serious business. In the wake of the Newtown massacre, a suspension involving an “act of violence” might just doom a child’s future academic and career prospects before they really begin.
Expecting kids not to get creative with food or play “cops and robbers” is tantamount to asking them, well, not to be kids. Certainly, teachers need to be able to prevent kids from disrupting class, but does anyone really believe that these decisions are about disruption rather than politically correct concerns about promoting a “gun-free culture”?
There’s nothing wrong with these kids; it’s the school officials who really need the counseling—and perhaps a stern lecture about the importance of making good choices. In their zeal to cleanse the schoolhouse of anything that might cause (even imaginary) harm, they’re the ones who may end up doing lasting harm to these children.
The Heritage Foundation’s project USA vs. YOU [5] spotlights the flood of criminal laws threatening our liberties. Explore more stories of overcriminalization and find out what you can do to reverse this trend [5].
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
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Article printed from The Foundry: Conservative Policy News Blog from The Heritage Foundation: http://blog.heritage.org; URL to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/10/03/bang-bang-youre-suspended-second-grader-sent-home-for-carrying-invisible-gun/
URLs in this post:
[1] Image: http://blog.heritage.org/wp-content/uploads/Boy_playing_guns131003.jpg
[2] teenagers: http://blog.heritage.org/2013/09/25/zero-tolerance-zombies-seventh-graders-suspended-for-playing-with-toy-gun/
[3] second-grader: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/02/florida-boy-8-suspended-from-school-after-using-finger-as-pretend-gun/
[4] “bang, bang.”: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/03/04/4100284/maryland-second-grader-suspended.html
[5] USA vs. YOU: http://www.heritage.org/usavsyou/
Copyright © 2013 The Heritage Foundation. All rights reserved.
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