This time of year, I find myself frantically making books for the new semester of students in Romania. Frantic, because I get the corrected material later than I want, can't find the materials that I need and I have to deal with a printer that always seems to go on the fritz when making these books! Then, there's the coordination of schedules to work it all out with everyone's vacations in the office (including mine!)

Binding INSTE books

Each time, we make the necessary corrections or additions to the books. I have great people helping with me in Romania on this! I couldn't do any of it myself! Then I take the book and make sure it's formatted properly. Then print one copy. Then print the number we need for the students this semester. Then, we bind the books ourselves. It includes putting it into one of these metal forms we had made for us, drilling 3 holes into it and sewing it together. Then we glue the edge and put it under a press (well, a box of paper!) The next day we take duct tape and bind it and then cut off the edges to make it straight!

It's a labor-intensive project, but we get the books done and for a better price than to have someone else do it. I printed the books out last night until midnight, after an unproductive day fighting with the printer and toner cartridges! This next week, we'll get them bound, print off the tests and then they're ready for me when I start off on my trip to Romania and Hungary --- a week from tomorrow! Whew! Just in time!

Pray with us for new students and leadership in Romania for INSTE!

Some weeks at theoffice are more interesting than others... Most of the time, it’s a lot of boringthings that aren’t worth writing about. I mean, can you really keep commentingon things like losing the key to the postal box, the rising price of paper (andjust about everything else!) or how you’re getting a bit tired of eating cucumbersand tomatoes for lunch?

But this week...I love this week so far – and it’s only Tuesday! I got email from N, a groupleader who is making corrections in our Romanian books! Just in time! I need tohave the books made by the end of next week! So I am busy working through thecorrections, formatting and (soon, I hope) printing the books for this semester’sstart!

Secondly, I gotan email from an undisclosed country where we are hoping to work. R has justgiven us the corrections for this book, too. Olga, in my office, is going tomake some formatting changes for this book and groups can start! I can’t giveyou details, but there are other possibilities for working with thispeople-group! The church in their country isn’t free, so we’re unable to reallytalk about it... but it’s an exciting new opportunity to make disciples of thenations!

Thirdly, there is the follow-up call to Russia we're making this week. There appears to be a door there opening up for us! 

Praying for us?? We're counting on it!  You and I may not see their faces - but lives are being impacted by the Word of God through INSTE!

Ukraine is a country that loves her garlic. Looking at our dinner table tonight, only the (fresh) tomatoes didn't have garlic in it! But still, it surprises me each year to see how much we harvest and then eat throughout the year in our family!

Here's a picture of this year's garlic. There are 7 braids. All but one of the braids will be eaten/ used for canning in the next calendar year. Actually, we usually end up having to buy a bit from the market, too.

That's a LOT of garlic!

"There are 3.2 million untrained or under-trained pastors throughout
the world. Pray for missionary mentors and trainers to assist these
needy pastors [www.topic.us]."

The need is out there for programs like INSTE. May God bring us those pastors and churches that we can help fulfill their call to discipleship and leadership is our prayer! Won't you pray with us?!

Bin Laden Death Triggered More Pakistan Violence, Red Cross Says

A senior official of the International Committee of the Red Cross reports a significant increase in violence throughout Pakistan since former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was killed on May 2 by U.S. special forces.  The outgoing head of the ICRC delegation in Pakistan says tensions are spreading throughout the country.

Pascal Cuttat is wrapping up a three-year term as head of the ICRC delegation in Pakistan.  He assumed his posting in 2008, shortly after two million people had fled their homes because of fighting in the northern Federally Administered Tribal Areas.  Many have since gone home.

Cuttat notes about one million people currently are displaced in Pakistan due to fighting in the tribal areas, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

He said the ethnic, political and religious divisions in Pakistan have become more complicated and instability has increased since Osama Bin Laden was killed.

“The situation in Pakistan and throughout Pakistan since Osama bin Laden’s death has seen an intensification of fighting and an intensification of violence," Cuttat said. "Not the least also because violence is increasingly reaching the big towns. Peshawar and Karachi both have seen a sharp increase of violence in the aftermath of this event.”

Red Cross humanitarian operations focus primarily on fighting-affected communities.  But it has expanded its humanitarian operations to help tens of thousands of victims of natural disasters, especially victims of last year’s devastating monsoon floods.  Many of the estimated 20 million people affected by the floods still have not recovered.

The Red Cross supports more than 200,000 people displaced by fighting.  It works with the Pakistani Red Crescent Societies to help more than two million flood victims.

ICRC spokesman Christian Cardon said the biggest challenge facing his organization’s operation is access to many victims of the fighting.  He says it is not possible to help people in need if they cannot be reached.

“In terms of the needs, I would say that what we can see today is that you still have many people affected by the floods of last year and also many people who continue to be affected by armed violence in different parts of the country, more precisely in the northwestern part of the country," Cardon said. "As far as we know and to the region where we have access, we consider there are still lots of people affected and lots of people who have to just flee their homes because of the fighting.”

Since bin Laden’s death, the ICRC notes Pakistan has become more suspicious of foreigners working in the country. This is making it more difficult for them and other aid agencies to operate. 

It says it is far more complicated now than before to obtain the necessary permits and visas that would allow them to enter the country. The ones who are suffering most from this changing policy it says are the many victims of  war and natural disaster who may be deprived of the aid they need.
writen by : http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Bin-Laden-Death-Triggered-More-Pakistan-Violence-Red-Cross-Says-125357783.html

Experts warn of phone-tapping scandal's ripple effect

(CNN) -- The phone-tapping allegations that forced the closure of embattled British tabloid News of the World may have a damaging ripple effect across Rupert Murdoch's vast media empire, according to some analysts.
Thursday's dramatic announcement that the 168-year-old tabloid would now be shut down followed accusations the paper had illegally eavesdropped on the phone messages of murder and terror victims, politicians and celebrities.
There is no evidence -- or claims -- that the same methods have been employed by other titles within Murdoch's News Corporation group -- which includes the New York Post and Wall Street Journal in the U.S. and The Australian and The Daily Telegraph in Australia.
British PM vows reform of UK press
However it is not beyond the realms of possibility, according to David McKnight, Senior Research Fellow at the Journalism and Media Research Centre at the University of New South Wales, who has written extensively about News Corporation.
"News of the World is not an island," he said. "News Corp has a very distinctive internal culture. They see themselves as an isolated band of crusaders putting the world right."
This pursuit of a goal at all costs, said McKnight, reflects the personality of Murdoch himself. "He sees himself as a rebel and a contrarian, someone who stands up for the little people against the liberal elite.
"So when senior editors and journalists circulate within corporations such as News Corp, it is feasible that these practices go with them, popping up elsewhere."
But this scenario was quickly dismissed by John Hartigan, CEO of News Limited -- the Australian arm of News Corporation which owns 70% of the country's newspapers. He issued a statement Friday saying events at News of the World "do not reflect what News International is about," and that the phone-tapping revelations are a "terrible slur on our craft."
He then referred to the News Limited code of professional conduct, which "is the guiding principle to everything we do."
On Wednesday, Rupert Murdoch himself called the allegations against the paper "deplorable and unacceptable" and his son, News International Chairman James Murdoch, in announcing the shutdown of News of the World on Thursday said that the scandal "sullied" the newspaper and has "no place in our company."
Whether any of Murdoch's titles have ever indulged in the darker journalistic arts or not, Margaret Simons, a prominent commentator on Australia's media, says the News of the World revelations will give News Corporation some unwanted publicity at a time when Sky News, which it part-owns, is bidding for the Australia Network -- a free-to-air international broadcasting service serving 44 countries -- from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
"Politically the dominant Murdoch press has an extraordinary amount of influence which is largely uncontested," she said.
She said one of the country's two main daily broadsheets, The Australian, has been accused of waging a campaign against the current minority government. This led Communications Minister Stephen Conroy to adopt a policy of publically releasing both question and answer whenever he is interviewed by a member of the Murdoch press.
"He's on the record as saying he does that to make it impossible for the information to be distorted," she said.
According to Simons, this negative publicity may embolden other Australian politicians -- who feel they've received unfair coverage -- to challenge the power of News Limited.
"In Australia this has always been a brave political act," she said.
What about the lasting damage to News Corp's reputation in Australia and around the world? "It's too early to tell," said McKnight.
Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson is facing police questioning over whether he had any knowledge of the alleged hacking practices during his tenure.
In a 2007 court case, Clive Goodman, the royal correspondent for News of the World, and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator, were jailed for hacking into the messages of members of the royal household and others. Coulson denied any wrongdoing but resigned saying, as editor, he took "ultimate responsibility."
This is hugely embarrassing for Prime Minister David Cameron who hired Coulson as his communications chief, only to see him resign over the allegations earlier this year. Opposition leader Ed Miliband called on Cameron to admit the "appalling error of judgment" he made in hiring Coulson.

For his part, the Prime Minister has said he had decided to give Coulson a "second chance" when he made him as his communications head, "but the second chance didn't work."

writen by : http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/08/australia.uk.phonehacking/index.html

Pakistan Says US Aid With Conditions Unacceptable

Photo: AP

Pakistani army soldiers patrol during a military operation against militants in Pakistan's Khurram tribal region, July 10, 2011

Pakistan’s military is criticizing a U.S. decision to suspend hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance to Pakistan. Relations between the United States and Pakistan have been frayed since the covert U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden. Some analysts say the decision to suspend aid to Pakistan will only further hurt bilateral ties.
The White House confirmed Sunday that $800 million, roughly one-third of the annual U.S. security assistance to Pakistan, would be suspended.

News reports quote unnamed American officials who say Pakistan's lack of cooperation and insufficient efforts on counterterrorism led to the suspension.

Islamabad recently expelled more than 90 American military trainers from the country and tightened visa procedures for CIA officials.

Pakistani army spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas dismissed the criticism Monday, and in turn lashed out at the U.S. decision.

“The provision of aid with conditions is not acceptable," said Abbas. "We don’t have to qualify on [a] daily basis and remain in the talk that when we qualify only then it [aid] will be resumed or it will be provided. “

The military spokesman reiterated that terrorism threatens both Pakistan and the United States, and that defeating the common enemy is in the interest of the two countries and the rest of the world. 

General Abbas also noted that the suspension of U.S. military aid will not impact tens of thousands of Pakistani troops currently conducting operations against Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants in the country's volatile tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

“We have always claimed that we are conducting these operations without any external support whatsoever," he said. "We are using our own resources; these are indigenous equipment, ammunition, fuel and other resources. So we will continue with that because we feel very strongly that this is a common enemy, a common threat which are affecting us as well as rest of the world.”

But some analysts say the suspension in aid will have an impact on the already deteriorating relations between the United States and Pakistan.

Former Pakistani ambassador to Washington, Maleeha Lodhi, says such punitive actions by the United States may not be productive in the long run.

“Punitive actions are a blunt instrument of policy and they really also signify the failure of American diplomacy because if that is all the U.S. can do now to elicit Pakistan’s cooperation then I think it is actually giving Pakistan not an incentive to cooperate but a disincentive to cooperate," said Lodhi. "So I think the surprising thing is that the U.S. should take this action at a time when it should really be stepping back from the brink and trying to improve the relationship.”

Ties between the United States and Pakistan have been severely strained since U.S. special forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden on May 2 in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad.
witen by : http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/Pakistan-Says-US-Aid-With-Conditions-Unacceptable-125363893.html

Obama: Lawmakers Need to Do Right Thing on Debt

Photo: REUTERS

U.S. President Barack Obama looks up during a meeting with Congressional leaders in the Cabinet Room to discuss ongoing efforts to find a balanced approach to deficit reduction at the White House, July 11, 2011

President Barack Obama says congressional leaders from both political parties need to do the right thing and work with him to achieve the largest possible compromise to cut deficit spending and raise the national debt limit. Mr. Obama used a news conference to step up pressure on lawmakers before another White House negotiating session.

Saying he will meet with key congressional leaders every single day until the deficit and debt issue is resolved, President Barack Obama said all continue to believe that it would be unacceptable not to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, adding that a lot of work remains.
writen by : http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/President-Obama-Congressional-Leaders-To-Resume-Debt-Reduction-Talks-125350878.html

Washington DC shakes to angklung world record

Angklung for the world: Participants pose with angklung before a record-breaking performance on the National Mall in Washington, DC on Saturday. The Indonesian Festival hosted more than 5,180 people from many nations who shook their traditional Sundanese bamboo instruments and broke the record for largest angklung performance. (Courtesy of the Indonesian Embassy)
The world record for the largest angklung ensemble was set in Washington DC after 5,182 people of various nationalities turned up on Saturday to shake the traditional Indonesian bamboo musical instruments to the tune of We are the World.
The event took place during the Indonesian Festival held in an open field at The Mall a few blocks away from the White House.
Announcing the official entry, the adjudicator from the Guinness Book of Records said, “You’re unbelievable. And to think that you have never played the instrument before.”
Thousands of people responded to an invitation by the Indonesian Embassy in Washington to join in the record-breaking feat. The throng included Indonesians, Washington DC residents, friends of Indonesia and a handful of tourists.
The embassy had initially promised the Guinness Book of World Records a turnout of 5,000. There was a moment of hesitation when only 1,600 people had registered online by Friday. Many turned up on Saturday without registering.
Those who came spent half an hour in the scorching heat, with temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius), to learn and practice the instruments before they got it right and had satisfied the adjudicators that it was worthy of a world record title. Each participant was given an angklung that could emit one note and each of the seven notes was designated with the name of Indonesia’s main islands.
Helping the largely novice but enthusiastic players was angklung maestro Daeng Udjo, who flew in from Indonesia. He guided the players with hand movements indicating when each group should shake its angklungs. The ensemble of amateurs practiced with familiar Western tunes including “Country Road” to help build their confidence (and more importantly Udjo’s confidence) before going for the record.
As their reward, they went home with the angklung, a batik scarf for the women and a batik head band for the men and a certificate from the Guiness Book and the Indonesian Embassy recognizing their part in setting the world record.
“This is what multiculturalism is all about,” ambassador Dino Pati Djalal said regarding the theme of the Indonesia Festival and his decision to set the world record.
The day-long festival saw a performance by the famed 1980s duo Air Supply, rapper Raheem Davaughn, the Brazilian Batala percussion band and Indonesian entertainers including Sherina Munaf and the Elfa Singers.
Writen by : http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/07/10/washington-dc-shakes-angklung-world-record.html