Gosh! Almost two weeks since the last entry.
Well, just in case anyone reading here might be bothered by the inconsistency in the entries, be aware that I post here only as God requires - these posts are His.
The last several days the Lord has had me listening, not speaking.
Now, to the lesson.
About 18 months ago my mother-in-law died. She and I had issues, but we worked through them as they arose. Her death was a merciful event as she was suffering in many ways.
Following her death, my father-in-law, began a game wherein he tried to gather my wife and her siblings to him, as if he were trying to be a comfort and a strength, throwing about grandiose promises of "family" and safe harbor - promises of closeness never shown before.
Of course they were merely moves in the game.
Within two weeks he revealed that he had another woman (supposedly suddenly reappearing in his life just at the time of his wife's passing), this woman being an old flame, and that they intended to marry.
Suddenly, all the promises were forgotten, as his "plan" was to sell out, move away and "cut all ties" to be with this woman, the one he should have married 40 years ago.
We have watched as my wife's brother and sister have spiraled deeper and deeper into depression and despondency.
And it has occurred to me that I had just witnessed a sacrifice.
My father-in-law had sacrificed these 2 children by gaming them and then taking away the dangling prize in order to get this woman he thought was what he wanted.
Whether it has turned out like he imagined is another story for another day.
Still, a lesson learned. Even in small-town white-bread America, the games and sacrificing to the world system is a daily requirement for those willing to sell out for the here and now.
Slowly, daily, we are reaching these two with the Gospel and the hope of Christ, but how close it came to a completed sacrifice.
Thank you Jesus for opening our eyes and keeping us in Him - what a mercy that has been and is.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Highbrow Theology
When the theologians of days gone past weren't solving the more important issues like how many angels could dance on the head of a pin or justifying the slaughter of thousands of people in Languedoc towns for the purpose of martyring a few hundred Cathars, they spent idle time in answering questions from readers like this one:
"Does God act as He does because it is right; or are God's acts right because He is God?"
Ooh. No wonder the medieval clergy wanted to restrict access to the written word.
Looking around I found a consensus among those with the appropriate credentials that God does what He does because He can only do what is right.
How handy.
Since God is limited - ?! - to what is right (as defined by ?) - then what is ordained by His spokes folk (as assigned by ?) must be right....right?
Well, so sorry, but saying it is so doesn't make it so.
As useful as it may be to force God (ha ha, as if) into a box of human proportions, they prove their error by their own delimits.
The only truth can be that what God does is right because He is God.
After all, He is the One who set the universe in motion, instituted the laws of physics, and decided the end from the beginning and, as hard as it may be for many to take, created the totality of what exists which means us, them and Lucifer...all with full knowledge of what every creature would do and how it would turn out, i.e., God created evil.
Only when you or I accept without reservation that it is all God's, it is all God, and nothing exists apart from Him, do we have a prayer to move beyond the materialist dimension...but, God knew that.
"Does God act as He does because it is right; or are God's acts right because He is God?"
Ooh. No wonder the medieval clergy wanted to restrict access to the written word.
Looking around I found a consensus among those with the appropriate credentials that God does what He does because He can only do what is right.
How handy.
Since God is limited - ?! - to what is right (as defined by ?) - then what is ordained by His spokes folk (as assigned by ?) must be right....right?
Well, so sorry, but saying it is so doesn't make it so.
As useful as it may be to force God (ha ha, as if) into a box of human proportions, they prove their error by their own delimits.
The only truth can be that what God does is right because He is God.
After all, He is the One who set the universe in motion, instituted the laws of physics, and decided the end from the beginning and, as hard as it may be for many to take, created the totality of what exists which means us, them and Lucifer...all with full knowledge of what every creature would do and how it would turn out, i.e., God created evil.
Only when you or I accept without reservation that it is all God's, it is all God, and nothing exists apart from Him, do we have a prayer to move beyond the materialist dimension...but, God knew that.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Kittens
In our kitchen, there are two small, two- or three-day-old kittens.
They are likely going to die - a third one died this morning.
Don’t misunderstand. We are not watching them suffer with indifference. Quite the contrary.
Our children, they of the compassionate and ever-hopeful hearts, are making heroic efforts to preserve the little lives. The kittens are housed in soft bedding, constantly stroked and encouraged and generously fed, with a dropper, cream (which is as close as we can get to mother’s milk at the moment).
If human effort and belief alone could save these kits, our kids will make it so. We’ve seen them love an animal back to health from the precipice before.
Still, the odds are not good.
As I watch this unfold, it occurs to me how much we lambs, those whom God has set aside and marked as His, begin like the kittens.
We come into this dimension wholly incapable of preserving our lives, blindly searching in the darkness for the milk we require to sustain us.
God has to provide everything.
We are wholly helpless and at the mercy of the world. God must do it all. He must not only provide the food but also bring the food to us. He must groom us, make us walk or rest, even clean up our messes.
Left alone we would die, even in the hands of some who may have compassion, because we need more than the material world can provide.
But God does not abandon us. He cares for our needs, no matter how ornery we are. He keeps us in His den, nurturing, training, toughening.
Then one day, if we make it to adulthood, spiritually mature, He has a cat - indifferent to the world, true to its nature, tough and strong as needed, soft and warm and cozy in the cold.
Watch your cat, as aloof as it seems, it still knows where it is fed.
Are we just as dependent on God for all - even our next breath?
They are likely going to die - a third one died this morning.
Don’t misunderstand. We are not watching them suffer with indifference. Quite the contrary.
Our children, they of the compassionate and ever-hopeful hearts, are making heroic efforts to preserve the little lives. The kittens are housed in soft bedding, constantly stroked and encouraged and generously fed, with a dropper, cream (which is as close as we can get to mother’s milk at the moment).
If human effort and belief alone could save these kits, our kids will make it so. We’ve seen them love an animal back to health from the precipice before.
Still, the odds are not good.
As I watch this unfold, it occurs to me how much we lambs, those whom God has set aside and marked as His, begin like the kittens.
We come into this dimension wholly incapable of preserving our lives, blindly searching in the darkness for the milk we require to sustain us.
God has to provide everything.
We are wholly helpless and at the mercy of the world. God must do it all. He must not only provide the food but also bring the food to us. He must groom us, make us walk or rest, even clean up our messes.
Left alone we would die, even in the hands of some who may have compassion, because we need more than the material world can provide.
But God does not abandon us. He cares for our needs, no matter how ornery we are. He keeps us in His den, nurturing, training, toughening.
Then one day, if we make it to adulthood, spiritually mature, He has a cat - indifferent to the world, true to its nature, tough and strong as needed, soft and warm and cozy in the cold.
Watch your cat, as aloof as it seems, it still knows where it is fed.
Are we just as dependent on God for all - even our next breath?
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Is There a Monty Python Movie In Here?
From The Times
August 4, 2007
China tells living Buddhas to obtain permission before they reincarnate
Jane Macartney in Beijing
Tibet’s living Buddhas have been banned from reincarnation without permission from China’s atheist leaders. The ban is included in new rules intended to assert Beijing’s authority over Tibet’s restive and deeply Buddhist people.
“The so-called reincarnated living Buddha without government approval is illegal and invalid,” according to the order, which comes into effect on September 1.
The 14-part regulation issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs is aimed at limiting the influence of Tibet’s exiled god-king, the Dalai Lama, and at preventing the re-incarnation of the 72-year-old monk without approval from Beijing.
It is the latest in a series of measures by the Communist authorities to tighten their grip over Tibet. Reincarnate lamas, known as tulkus, often lead religious communities and oversee the training of monks, giving them enormous influence over religious life in the Himalayan region. Anyone outside China is banned from taking part in the process of seeking and recognising a living Buddha, effectively excluding the Dalai Lama, who traditionally can play an important role in giving recognition to candidate reincarnates.
For the first time China has given the Government the power to ensure that no new living Buddha can be identified, sounding a possible death knell to a mystical system that dates back at least as far as the 12th century.
China already insists that only the Government can approve the appointments of Tibet’s two most important monks, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama’s announcement in May 1995 that a search inside Tibet — and with the co- operation of a prominent abbot — had identified the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, who died in 1989, enraged Beijing. That prompted the Communist authorities to restart the search and to send a senior Politburo member to Lhasa to oversee the final choice. This resulted in top Communist officials presiding over a ceremony at the main Jokhang temple in Lhasa in which names of three boys inscribed on ivory sticks were placed inside a golden urn and a lot was then drawn to find the true reincarnation.
The boy chosen by the Dalai Lama has disappeared. The abbot who worked with the Dalai Lama was jailed and has since vanished. Several sets of rules on seeking out “soul boys” were promulgated in 1995, but were effectively in abeyance and hundreds of living Buddhas are now believed to live inside and outside China.
All Tibetans believe in reincarnation, but only the holiest or most outstanding individuals are believed to be recognisable — a tulku, or apparent body. One Tibetan monk told The Times: “In the past there was no such regulation. The management of living Buddhas is becoming more strict.”
The search for a reincarnation is a mystical process involving clues left by the deceased and visions among leading monks on where to look. The current Dalai Lama, the fourteenth of the line, was identified in 1937 when monks came to his village.
China has long insisted that it must have the final say over the appointment of the most senior lamas. Tibet experts said that the new regulations may also be aimed at limiting the influence of new lamas.
August 4, 2007
China tells living Buddhas to obtain permission before they reincarnate
Jane Macartney in Beijing
Tibet’s living Buddhas have been banned from reincarnation without permission from China’s atheist leaders. The ban is included in new rules intended to assert Beijing’s authority over Tibet’s restive and deeply Buddhist people.
“The so-called reincarnated living Buddha without government approval is illegal and invalid,” according to the order, which comes into effect on September 1.
The 14-part regulation issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs is aimed at limiting the influence of Tibet’s exiled god-king, the Dalai Lama, and at preventing the re-incarnation of the 72-year-old monk without approval from Beijing.
It is the latest in a series of measures by the Communist authorities to tighten their grip over Tibet. Reincarnate lamas, known as tulkus, often lead religious communities and oversee the training of monks, giving them enormous influence over religious life in the Himalayan region. Anyone outside China is banned from taking part in the process of seeking and recognising a living Buddha, effectively excluding the Dalai Lama, who traditionally can play an important role in giving recognition to candidate reincarnates.
For the first time China has given the Government the power to ensure that no new living Buddha can be identified, sounding a possible death knell to a mystical system that dates back at least as far as the 12th century.
China already insists that only the Government can approve the appointments of Tibet’s two most important monks, the Dalai Lama and the Panchen Lama. The Dalai Lama’s announcement in May 1995 that a search inside Tibet — and with the co- operation of a prominent abbot — had identified the 11th reincarnation of the Panchen Lama, who died in 1989, enraged Beijing. That prompted the Communist authorities to restart the search and to send a senior Politburo member to Lhasa to oversee the final choice. This resulted in top Communist officials presiding over a ceremony at the main Jokhang temple in Lhasa in which names of three boys inscribed on ivory sticks were placed inside a golden urn and a lot was then drawn to find the true reincarnation.
The boy chosen by the Dalai Lama has disappeared. The abbot who worked with the Dalai Lama was jailed and has since vanished. Several sets of rules on seeking out “soul boys” were promulgated in 1995, but were effectively in abeyance and hundreds of living Buddhas are now believed to live inside and outside China.
All Tibetans believe in reincarnation, but only the holiest or most outstanding individuals are believed to be recognisable — a tulku, or apparent body. One Tibetan monk told The Times: “In the past there was no such regulation. The management of living Buddhas is becoming more strict.”
The search for a reincarnation is a mystical process involving clues left by the deceased and visions among leading monks on where to look. The current Dalai Lama, the fourteenth of the line, was identified in 1937 when monks came to his village.
China has long insisted that it must have the final say over the appointment of the most senior lamas. Tibet experts said that the new regulations may also be aimed at limiting the influence of new lamas.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
On the Personal Side
This is a night of great sadness and frustration: disappointment, not because of an unexpected betrayal, but due to a treason that was always expected to come.
God forgive me but I so want to unleash a righteous storm upon those who have done such harm to me and my family.
Is it always wrong to ask that the Lord avenge you!
Is there a time when one should assert the right of retribution.
I received this while praying and talking with the Father:
Any gain they receive will be accursed.
For every dollar they get they will need two.
Their meat will not fill their hunger.
Their drink shall not slake their thirst.
They shall know no peace.
That which was believed to save shall, in the end, destroy.
Perhaps this came from my own desire; perhaps I will have a confirmation.
Pray for us.
God forgive me but I so want to unleash a righteous storm upon those who have done such harm to me and my family.
Is it always wrong to ask that the Lord avenge you!
Is there a time when one should assert the right of retribution.
I received this while praying and talking with the Father:
Any gain they receive will be accursed.
For every dollar they get they will need two.
Their meat will not fill their hunger.
Their drink shall not slake their thirst.
They shall know no peace.
That which was believed to save shall, in the end, destroy.
Perhaps this came from my own desire; perhaps I will have a confirmation.
Pray for us.
Friday, July 27, 2007
A Short Detour
Way, way back in the "Jesus Freak" days, I remember how much significance we would place on the words of the famous and of note. Queen did a song that mentioned Jesus. Dylan talks about God.
Well, we see where that went. Whatever their private faith-state, most of the public words were meaningless and hollow.
If you are tempted to do the same with the celebrities of today. check this out first:
Bono gets too close to the edge
Bono's reputation as the Mother Teresa of rock is in jeopardy following a pair of business deals tying him to one of the most conservative businessmen in America and the creators of violent video-games with an anti-socialist bent. He's also been criticised for a plan to avoid U2 paying tax in Ireland.
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=2&subID=809
Well, we see where that went. Whatever their private faith-state, most of the public words were meaningless and hollow.
If you are tempted to do the same with the celebrities of today. check this out first:
Bono gets too close to the edge
Bono's reputation as the Mother Teresa of rock is in jeopardy following a pair of business deals tying him to one of the most conservative businessmen in America and the creators of violent video-games with an anti-socialist bent. He's also been criticised for a plan to avoid U2 paying tax in Ireland.
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/index.php?menuID=2&subID=809
Friday, July 20, 2007
Bushonian Catch-22
This is trouble.
Will it be as obvious to others as it appears to me to be?
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 17, 2007
Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq
Message to the Congress of the United States Regarding International Emergency Economic Powers Act
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)(NEA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,
I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that, due to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by acts of violence threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, it is in the interests of the United States to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004. I hereby order:
Section 1. (a) Except to the extent provided in section 203(b)(1), (3), and (4) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(1), (3), and (4)), or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order, all property and interests in property of the following persons, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,
(i) to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of:
(A) threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq; or
(B) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people;
(ii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or
(iii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.
(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section include, but are not limited to, (i) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order, and (ii) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
Sec. 2. (a) Any transaction by a United States person or within the United States that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
Sec. 3. For purposes of this order:
(a) the term "person" means an individual or entity;
(b) the term "entity" means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization; and
(c) the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.
Sec. 4. I hereby determine that the making of donations of the type specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 1 of this order.
Sec. 5. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that, because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render these measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1(a) of this order.
Sec. 6. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government, consistent with applicable law. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order and, where appropriate, to advise the Secretary of the Treasury in a timely manner of the measures taken.
Sec. 7. Nothing in this order is intended to affect the continued effectiveness of any rules, regulations, orders, licenses, or other forms of administrative action issued, taken, or continued in effect heretofore or hereafter under 31 C.F.R. chapter V, except as expressly terminated, modified, or suspended by or pursuant to this order.
Sec. 8. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right, benefit, or privilege, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
July 17, 2007.
Message to the Congress of the United States Regarding International Emergency Economic Powers Act
White House News
Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq
Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order blocking property of persons determined to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people. I issued this order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004. In these previous Executive Orders, I ordered various measures to address the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in that country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq.
My new order takes additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315 by blocking the property and interests in property of persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people. The order further authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, to designate for blocking those persons determined to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person designated pursuant to this order, or to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.
I delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, the authority to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of my order. I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
GEORGE W. BUSH
The White House,
July 17, 2007.
Will it be as obvious to others as it appears to me to be?
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
July 17, 2007
Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq
Message to the Congress of the United States Regarding International Emergency Economic Powers Act
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.)(NEA), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code,
I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, find that, due to the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by acts of violence threatening the peace and stability of Iraq and undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people, it is in the interests of the United States to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004. I hereby order:
Section 1. (a) Except to the extent provided in section 203(b)(1), (3), and (4) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(1), (3), and (4)), or in regulations, orders, directives, or licenses that may be issued pursuant to this order, and notwithstanding any contract entered into or any license or permit granted prior to the date of this order, all property and interests in property of the following persons, that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of United States persons, are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense,
(i) to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of:
(A) threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq; or
(B) undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people;
(ii) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order; or
(iii) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.
(b) The prohibitions in subsection (a) of this section include, but are not limited to, (i) the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order, and (ii) the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.
Sec. 2. (a) Any transaction by a United States person or within the United States that evades or avoids, has the purpose of evading or avoiding, or attempts to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
(b) Any conspiracy formed to violate any of the prohibitions set forth in this order is prohibited.
Sec. 3. For purposes of this order:
(a) the term "person" means an individual or entity;
(b) the term "entity" means a partnership, association, trust, joint venture, corporation, group, subgroup, or other organization; and
(c) the term "United States person" means any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.
Sec. 4. I hereby determine that the making of donations of the type specified in section 203(b)(2) of IEEPA (50 U.S.C. 1702(b)(2)) by, to, or for the benefit of, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order would seriously impair my ability to deal with the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315, and I hereby prohibit such donations as provided by section 1 of this order.
Sec. 5. For those persons whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order who might have a constitutional presence in the United States, I find that, because of the ability to transfer funds or other assets instantaneously, prior notice to such persons of measures to be taken pursuant to this order would render these measures ineffectual. I therefore determine that for these measures to be effective in addressing the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315, there need be no prior notice of a listing or determination made pursuant to section 1(a) of this order.
Sec. 6. The Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, is hereby authorized to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this order. The Secretary of the Treasury may redelegate any of these functions to other officers and agencies of the United States Government, consistent with applicable law. All agencies of the United States Government are hereby directed to take all appropriate measures within their authority to carry out the provisions of this order and, where appropriate, to advise the Secretary of the Treasury in a timely manner of the measures taken.
Sec. 7. Nothing in this order is intended to affect the continued effectiveness of any rules, regulations, orders, licenses, or other forms of administrative action issued, taken, or continued in effect heretofore or hereafter under 31 C.F.R. chapter V, except as expressly terminated, modified, or suspended by or pursuant to this order.
Sec. 8. This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right, benefit, or privilege, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers or employees, or any other person.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
July 17, 2007.
Message to the Congress of the United States Regarding International Emergency Economic Powers Act
White House News
Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq
Pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as amended (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)(IEEPA), I hereby report that I have issued an Executive Order blocking property of persons determined to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people. I issued this order to take additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 of May 22, 2003, and expanded in Executive Order 13315 of August 28, 2003, and relied upon for additional steps taken in Executive Order 13350 of July 29, 2004, and Executive Order 13364 of November 29, 2004. In these previous Executive Orders, I ordered various measures to address the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States posed by obstacles to the orderly reconstruction of Iraq, the restoration and maintenance of peace and security in that country, and the development of political, administrative, and economic institutions in Iraq.
My new order takes additional steps with respect to the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13303 and expanded in Executive Order 13315 by blocking the property and interests in property of persons determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, to have committed, or to pose a significant risk of committing, an act or acts of violence that have the purpose or effect of threatening the peace or stability of Iraq or the Government of Iraq or undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people. The order further authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, to designate for blocking those persons determined to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, logistical, or technical support for, or goods or services in support of, such an act or acts of violence or any person designated pursuant to this order, or to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.
I delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense, the authority to take such actions, including the promulgation of rules and regulations, and to employ all powers granted to the President by IEEPA as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of my order. I am enclosing a copy of the Executive Order I have issued.
GEORGE W. BUSH
The White House,
July 17, 2007.
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