The Bulletin Board:(Please SCROLL DOWN this page to find the article titled on this post in LARGE CAPITAL LETTERS. Thank you.)
LATEST NEWS ALERT - US Pastor Saeed Remains in Iranian Hospital, Instead of Prison - By Jordan Sekulow, Filed in IRAN, Mar. 31;http://aclj.org/iran/us-pastor-saeed-remains-in-iranian-hospital-instead-of-prison We need to continue to pray for Pastor Saeed - that his health will improve and that he will be re-united with his wife and two young children who live in the United States. We also remain hopeful that in addition to getting the medical care he so desperately needs, that Iranian officials display the kind of humanitarian treatment that often accompanies the start of the Iranian New Year which began on March 21st. This is the time of year when the Iranian government frequently offers clemency to prisoners of conscience. [If you have not yet, please sign the petition for his clemency- http://beheardproject.com/saeed#sign]
PRAY ALSO : - 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
- 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
The U.S. State Department believes the Russian army is now prepared to launch an invasion of eastern Ukraine if President Vladimir Putin decides to pull the trigger, according to a senior Administration official."At this point, they are amassed and they could go at a moment’s notice if Putin gave the go ahead," the official said...Top Ukrainian security officials said Thursday that Russia now has 100,000 troops on its side of the Russia-Ukraine border.(Sources: CBS News, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Daily Beast)
As the Lord leads, please pray:
*For God to suppress President Putin’s ambitions to "restore" the Soviet empire.
*For the people of Ukrainen [esp. for the church 'to be THE church'] as they wait to see if the Russian troops will advance.
*About President Obama and to use wisdom in crafting our foreign policy, and wisdom for his advisers.
SIGN A PETITION TO THE UN FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHRISTIANS :" The church in Syria has shone brightly for 2,000 years. But today violence and persecution threatens its survival. Thanks to an incredible response, Open Doors is helping 8,000 families in Syria survive each month. We believe the signatures and prayers of 500,000 people will encourage the UN to act and protect the rights and lives of all Syrians, especially the vulnerable Christian community." Go to: http://lp.opendoorsusa.org/emails/nov-13-action/save-syria.html?utm_source=action&utm_medium=email&utm_content=button&utm_campaign=november
WORLD-WDE PRAYER REQUESTS:
NEWS /PRAYER ALERT! - Ukraine Accuses Russia of 'Invasion, Occupation'- By George Thomas, Friday, February 28, 2014; http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/February/Ukraine-Accuses-Russia-of-Invasion-Occupation-/ - SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine -- Russian troops now control an airport near their naval base in Sevastopol, Ukraine. Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov is calling the siege a "military invasion and occupation." "It is in violation of all international treaties and norms," he charged. "This is a direct provocation to armed bloodshed on the territory of a sovereign state."... [Let's be in prayer as the Ukraine is facing an ever increasing threat of civil war. 1) Pray esp. for beievers to be submitted to and guided by the Holy Spirit in how to BE JESUS during these turbulent times. 2) Also keep in prayer Oleksandr Turchynov, a prominent evangelical Christia who continues to be the newly-appointed President of theUkraine, and 3) Pray that many who are and will encounter great suffering as a result of this continuing conflict find their hope and strength in Jesus by coming to faith in Him. - Stan]
NEWS ALERT/PRAISE! "Iran Allows Surgery on Ailing, Imprisoned Pastor" - CBNNews.com,March 07, 2014;http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2014/March/Iran-Allows-Dire-Surgery-on-Ailing-Imprisoned-Pastor-/ The Iranian government has finally allowed doctors to perform surgery on imprisoned Pastor Benham Irani.Irani suffered from a herniated disc and bleeding intestines and urgently needed medical care. PRAY for the final release of Pastor Irani and others imprisoned for their faith.
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/ 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]
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.]
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/ - 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.]
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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.]
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/ - 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.]
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The East African country of Tanzania suffers from many challenges, but overpopulation is not one of them. The subtropical country has a land area larger than California, Michigan, Arizona, and Virginia combined, and a population only about the size of California’s and Virginia’s combined.
But if you look at the website of USAID, the United States federal agency responsible for foreign aid, you might think that Tanzania was dangerously overpopulated. That’s how it justifies ignoring real health needs in favor of funding mostly drugs and devices to stop people from having children.
+ 16% of children under five in Tanzania are underweight[1] yet USAID only spends 20 cents on nutrition for every dollar they spend on contraception.[2]
+ One in nine Tanzanian children will die before their fifth birthday[3] and Tanzanian women have a one out of 23 lifetime risk of maternal death.[4] Yet USAID only spend 36 cents on maternal and child health for every dollar they spend on contraception.[5]
+ Only 12% of the entire country has use of improved sanitation facilities (a flushable toilet or a ventilated improved pit latrine)[6] and fewer than half of children with diarrhea receive rehydration salts.[7] Yet USAID only spends 23 cents on water and sanitation for every dollar it spends on contraception.[8]
USAID might justify their statistics if the Tanzanian people were desperately pleading for more contraception. But they are not. Maybe the United States government could justify spending more on contraception than it spends on maternal health, child health, water, sanitation, nutrition, and tuberculosis combined in one of the poorest countries in the world (GDP per capita is $1,700 per year[9]) Yes, maybe it could justify its funding discrepancies if Tanzanian women wanted, more than anything, to stop having children. But they don’t.
Those who say that the women of Tanzania want boatloads of U.S. contraceptives point to the fact that the average Tanzanian woman has 5.4 children.[10] They are shocked that, despite this reproductive profligacy, the contraceptive prevalence rate is only 34%.[11]
But what do the women of Tanzania (as opposed to the women who work in the Obama administration) want? It turns out that they want children. According to surveys, ⅔ of Tanzanian women who have four living children don’t desire to stop childbearing.[12] Half of Tanzanian women who have five children don’t want to limit childbearing, and ⅓ of women with six or more living children don’t want to limit childbearing.[13] These desires accurately reflect the 5.4 fertility rate observed in the country.
The *low* contraceptive prevalence rate of 34% is misleading as well. Over 60% of unmarried women and over 50% of married women in their twenties have used modern contraceptives at some point.[14] But they stopped using them. Can you guess why? Population control advocates would have you believe that women only stop using contraception because of issues of cost or access. Wrong. In fact, fewer than 1% of Tanzanian women stopped using contraception because of cost. And more Tanzanian women stop using contraception because of “infrequent sex” than issues of access.[15]
The primary reason that the women of Tanzania discontinue the use of contraception is to become pregnant. The second most common reason is that they dislike the way that contraceptive drugs and devices affect their bodies and their health. The third most common reason for discontinuing is that they are currently pregnant. Together, these three reasons total 70% of the reasons that Tanzanian women give for discontinuing the contraceptives provided by unwitting U.S. taxpayers.[16]
And the population controllers at USAID don’t like it one bit! How dare these women make their own reproductive choices, they seem to say. Why can’t they all be like Sandra Fluke, swallowing their free contraceptives without a qualm and demanding more?
Well, perhaps it’s because they value all family sizes, large and small alike. Perhaps they also understand that Tanzania is not overpopulated. Perhaps they understand that their children are not dying from lack of contraception, but from water-borne diseases and lack of medical care.
The inability of USAID to shed its outdated notions of overpopulation would almost be funny if so many Tanzanian children weren’t dying in consequence. You would think that Obama, who styles himself an anti-imperialist, would be more sympathetic to the desires of the African people. Instead he has doubled down on reproductive imperialism, spending more money to abort, sterilize and contracept the African (and Asian and Latin American) people than ever before.
The next time he goes on an “apology tour” overseas, we suggest that he apologize for pushing abortion, sterilization and contraception on people who are crying out for clean drinking water, food, and basic health care.
[bold and italics emphasis mine]
USAID funding, spending contraception Tanzania family planning
(Image is a screen shot from the USAID website)
LifeNews Note: Steven Mosher and Ann Morse write for the Population Research Institute.
[1] “Central Intelligence Agency.” The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 9, April, 2014.
[2] “Health in Tanzania.” Dollars to Results. USAID, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
[3] “Trends.” Tanzania. World Health Organization, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
[4] “Lifetime Risk of Maternal Death.” Data Finder. Population Reference Bureau, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014. [5] “Health in Tanzania.” Dollars to Results. USAID.
[6] “Central Intelligence Agency.” The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 9, April, 2014.
[7] “Tanzania, United Republic of.” UNICEF. UNICEF, 31 Dec. 2013. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
[8] “Health in Tanzania.” Dollars to Results. USAID.
[9] “Central Intelligence Agency.” The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 9, April, 2014.
[10] “Tanzania.” Data Finder. Population Reference Bureau, n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2014.
[11] Ibid.
[12] “STATcompiler.” STATcompiler. Demographic and Health Surveys, 09 Apr. 2014.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Ibid.
[16] Ibid.
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