#701 (11/15) "First Crony Michelle Obama's Big Business Bonanza"

URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS:

"Missionary in Philippines: 'Bodies Laying Everywhere'- By Dale Hurd and Heather Sells, November 12;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/November/Truckloads-of-Bodies-Filipinos-Plead-for-Help/ - The official death toll from the Philippines typhoon stands at nearly 1,800, but authorities expect it to rise considerably. An estimated 11 million people were impacted by Super Typhoon Haiyen, with it's near 200 mile-per-hour winds and 20 foot storm surge.

More than half a million people have been left homeless. In some areas, the survivors are being forced to live among piles of corpses. "It's just really death and devastation everywhere. Bodies laying everywhere. People need help," American missionary and storm survivor John Wynn said.

[PRAY that relief supplies will get to the needed area in time to help the tens of thousands who are in great need. PRAY that security can be established in the midst of looters causing problems in the midst of the devastation. - Stan]

NEWS ALERT: Monday, November 04, 2013 - Saeed's Life in [Greater] Jeopardy After Prison Transfer - CBNNews.com, ; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/November/Saeeds-Life-in-Jeopardy-after-Prison-Transfer/ Saeed Abedini, an American pastor imprisoned in Iran for his faith, is facing life threatening conditions after a recent prison transfer, the America Center for Law and Justice reports. Saeed's family says he has been moved from the brutal Evin Prison to Rajai Shahr Prison, known to be an even more dangerous jail. "Going to Karaj is a severe punishment," Loes Bijnen, a Dutch diplomat from the embassy in Tehran, described the jail in a 2005 report. "Once in there one stops to be a human being," she wrote. "One is put out of sight, even of human rights activists and the press. Murders or unexplained deaths are a regular occurrence." ... "While there is broad bi-partisan support for a Senate resolution calling for Saeed's release, ... it's crucial President Barack Obama step in "directly and forcefully" to save his life. "[Go to  http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign and sign a new petition.][PRAY for President Obama to forcefully speak out against this latest development; for the pastor to be finally released. (See below for more info.)]                

NEWS ALERT: Oct. 23: "Christians Fleeing IRAQ Area Once Considered Safe," - CBNNews.com, http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Christians-Fleeing-Iraq-Area-Once-Considered-Safe/  "Increased violence in northern Iraq is pushing Christians out of that part of the country. The Kurdish north was considered a safe area for Christians fleeing from violent persecution in the central and southern regions. But bombings in recent months are causing panic and many are fleeing the country. Al qaeda has claimed responsibility for several of those attacks. Some Christians have been told by local police that they "should not be in Iraq because it is Muslim territory." The Christian charity Open Doors International is urging people around the world to pray for Christians in Iraq. They say that if the persecution continues, there may be no Christians left in Iraq by 2020.[PRAY that believers in Iraq will know God's protection and provision; that believers will know[ whether they are called to flee or remain and persevere; and that their persecutors  may come to hear the gospel and come to faith in Christ. - Stan] 

"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..."

Continue to Pray for 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.]  

Oct. 14, NORTH KOREA -"Kenneth Bae, Mom Meet; Release Not Guaranteed"  - CBNNews.com,  http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2013/October/Mother-Visits-Missionary-Jailed-in-North-Korea/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.] 

IRAN - 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 

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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"First Crony Michelle Obama's Big Business Bonanza," - by: Michelle Malkin; 11/1/2013 http://www.humanevents.com/2013/11/01/first-crony-michelle-obamas-big-business-bonanza/ [NOTE: I've read the book noted below by this article's author. As is all her writings, it is incredibly researched (around 300 pages, with an additional almost 100 pages just listing her source  material!). The chapter in that book about the First Lady alone is jaw-dropping. Read through that chapter and you'll never regard Mrs. Obama again as she is presented in the mainstream media. - Stan

While her husband’s signature health care law goes up in flames, first lady Michelle Obama is reveling in the success of her East Wing pet project, the “Let’s Move” initiative. But ignore the do-gooder dressing. Mrs. Obama doesn’t care about your children. What we have here is a textbook case of Washington influence peddling, which the Obamas so vigorously condemned a long time ago and far away.

On Wednesday, Mrs. Obama announced an agreement by the Sesame Workshop and the Produce Marketing Association (PMA) to join her nonprofit Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) in a two-year agreement to help promote fresh fruit and vegetable consumption to kids. Among the corporate interests Mrs. Obama has wooed to her cause: Wal-Mart, Nike, Reebok, Nickelodeon, Walt Disney and the administration’s former Public Enemy No. 1, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Politico.com notes that trade groups including the American Beverage Association, the International Bottled Water Association, the Food Marketing Institute, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the National Restaurant Association are all working with the first lady behind closed doors.

Her related initiative “Drink Up” is supported by the American Beverage Association, water filter companies BRITA and SOMA, and bottled water brands Aquafina, BEVERLY HILLS 9OH2O, DASANI, EVIAN Natural Spring Water, Hint, Voss, WAT-AAH!, Nestle Waters North America’s Arrowhead, Deer Park, Ice Mountain, Nestle Pure Life, Ozarka, Poland Spring and Zephyrhills. Joining her for the rollout of that initiative: Hollywood actress Eva Longoria, who gets paid to promote sugary soda pop Pepsi when she’s not standing by Michelle Obama telling the rest of us to drink more healthy water.

Mrs. Obama’s nonprofit reportedly has assets of $4.5 million. It doesn’t have to disclose its donors. So much for the “most transparent administration ever.” Even left-wing watchdogs are irked. “This is a classic case of the game of influence peddling by lobbying associations,” Craig Holman, who works for the liberal watchdog group Public Citizen, told Politico.com. “Lobbyists and corporations with business pending before the federal government invest in such charitable causes as a means to buy access and favor from the White House.”

In 2008, candidate Obama preached: “We need a president who will look out for the interests of hardworking families, not just their big campaign donors and corporate allies.” In 2013, first lady Michelle Obama is busy signing up as many corporate allies as she can.

As I’ve reported previously, Mrs. Obama has profited handsomely from the very same processed food industry she now demonizes. In June 2005, a few months after her husband was elected to the U.S. Senate, Mrs. Obama was named to the corporate Board of Directors of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. Despite zero experience, the food-processing company put her on its audit and nominating and corporate governance committees. For her on-the-job training and the privilege of putting her name and face on their literature, the company forked over $45,000 in 2005 and $51,200 in 2006 to Mrs. Obama — as well as 7,500 TreeHouse stock options worth more than $72,000 for each year. TreeHouse, a leading supplier to Wal-Mart, sells cheese sauces, Cremora non-dairy creamer, instant soup, puddings and powdered soft drink mixes, and pickles for McDonald’s. Eat as she says, not as she deals.

Mrs. Obama has moved on from TreeHouse to much fatter “partnerships.” The alliances between big business and big government, marketed as a public service “for the children,” have been a bonanza for the first crony. They scratch her back, her clout and popularity increase, and she’ll have a cornucopia of board of director slots to choose from after her hubby’s term is up. Make no mistake: Michelle’s fruits and vegetables are served on a heaping platter of progressive hypocrisy.

[bold and italics emphasis mine]

Michelle Malkin is the author of “Culture of Corruption: Obama and his Team of Tax Cheats, Crooks and Cronies” (Regnery 2010).