Month: August 2008

OLYMPICS SCOREBOARD: FIRST EDITION

Winston-Salem Journal
The Associated Press
August 13, 2008
NC

Synchronized 10-m Platform

Women’s final

1. China (Wang Xin; Chen Ruolin), 363.54. 2. Australia (Briony
Cole; Melissa Wu), 335.16. 3. Mexico (Paola Espinosa; Tatiana
Ortiz), 330.06. 4. Germany (Annett Gamm; Nora Subschinski),
310.29. 5. United States (Mary Beth Dunnichay, Indianapolis; Haley
Ishimatsu, Indianapolis), 309.12. 6. North Korea (Choe Kum Hui; Kim
Un Hyang), 308.10. 7. Canada (Meaghan Benfeito; Roseline Filion),
305.91. 8. Britain (Tonia Couch; Stacie Powell), 303.48.

Equestrian

Eventing

Individual Final Ranking

1. Hinrich Romeike (MARIUS), Germany (7, 37.40; 3, 12.80; 19, 4.00; 1,
0.00), 54.20. 2. Gina Miles (MCKINLAIGH), Creston, Calif. (10, 39.30;
12, 16.80; 1, 0.00; 1, 0.00), 56.10. 3. Kristina Cook (MINERS FROLIC),
Britain (13, 40.20; 13, 17.20; 1, 0.00; 1, 0.00), 57.40. 4. Megan Jones
(IRISH JESTER), Australia (4, 35.40; 9, 15.60; 19, 4.00; 11, 4.00),
59.00. 5. Ingrid Klimke (ABRAXXAS), Germany (3, 33.50; 13, 17.20;
19, 4.00; 18, 5.00), 59.70. 6. Didier Dhennin (ISMENE DU TEMPLE),
France (17, 42.80; 8, 14.00; 18, 3.00; 1, 0.00), 59.80. 7. Clayton
Fredericks (BEN ALONG TIME), Australia (6, 37.00; 11, 16.40; 19,
4.00; 11, 4.00), 61.40. 8. Andreas Dibowski (BUTTS LEON), Germany
(11, 39.60; 16, 17.60; 1, 0.00; 19, 8.00), 65.20.

U.S. Finishers: 42. Becky Holder (COURAGEOUS COMET), Mendota Heights,
Minn. (5, 35.70; 58, 82.00; 32, 8.00), 125.70. 44. Karen O’Connor
(MANDIBA), The Plains, Va. (16, 41.90; 59, 84.80; 30, 5.00),
131.70. NR. Amy Tryon (POGGIO II), Redmond, Wash. (24, 46.50; , EL),
EL. NR. Phillip Dutton (CONNAUGHT), Avondale, Pa. (14, 40.60; 20,
19.60; 32, 8.00), DQ.

Team Final Ranking

1. Germany (Hinrich Romeike; Ingrid Klimke; Andreas Dibowski;
Frank Ostholt; Peter Thomsen), 166.10. 2. Australia (Megan Jones;
Clayton Fredericks; Sonja Johnson; Lucinda Fredericks; Shane Rose),
171.20. 3. Britain (Kristina Cook; Mary King; William Fox-Pitt; Daisy
Dick; Sharon Hunt), 185.70. 4. Sweden (Linda Algotsson; Katrin Norling;
Dag Albert; Viktoria Carlerback; Magnus Gallerdal), 230.50. 5. New
Zealand (Caroline Powell; Mark Todd; Joe Meyer; Heelan Tompkins; Andrew
Nicholson), 240.90. 6. Italy (Vittoria Panizzon; Susanna Bordone;
Roberto Rotatori; Stefano Brecciaroli; Fabio Magni), 246.40. 7. United
States (Gina Miles, Creston, Calif.; Phillip Dutton, Avondale, Pa.;
Becky Holder, Mendota Heights, Minn.; Karen O’Connor, The Plains,
Va.; Amy Tryon, Redmond, Wash.), 250.00. 8. Ireland (Austin O’Connor;
Geoffrey Curran; Louise Lyons; Niall Griffin; Patricia Ryan), 276.10.

Fencing

Men’s Individual Sabre

Bronze Medal: Mihai Covaliu, Romania, def. Julien Pillet, France,
15-11.

Gold Medal: Zhong Man, China, def. Nicolas Lopez, France, 15-9.

Gymnastics

Men’s Team

Final Ranking

1. China (Chen Yibing; Huang Xu; Li Xiaopeng; Xiao Qin; Yang Wei;
Zou Kai), 286.125. 2. Japan (Takehiro Kashima; Takuya Nakase;
Makoto Okiguchi; Koki Sakamoto; Hiroyuki Tomita; Kohei Uchimura),
278.875. 3. United States (Sasha Artemev, Highlands Ranch, Colo.;
Raj Bhavsar, Houston; Joey Hagerty, Rio Rancho, N.M.; Jonathan
Horton, Houston; Justin Spring, Burke, Va.; Kevin Tan, Fremont,
Calif.), 275.850. 4. Germany (Thomas Andergassen; Philipp Boy;
Fabian Hambuechen; Robert Juckel; Marcel Nguyen; Evgenij Spiridonov),
274.600. 5. South Korea (Kim Daeeun; Kim Jihoon; Kim Seungil; Kim
Soomyun; Yang Taeyoung; Yoo Wonchul), 274.375. 6. Russia (Maxim
Devyatovskiy; Anton Golotsutskov; Sergey Khorokhordin; Nikolay
Kryukov; Konstantin Pluzhnikov; Yury Ryazanov), 274.300. 7. Romania
(Adrian Bucur; Marian Dragulescu; Flavius Koczi; Daniel Popescu;
Razvan Selariu; Robert Stanescu), 274.175. 8. France (Thomas Bouhail;
Benoit Caranobe; Yann Cucherat; Dimitri Karbanenko; Danny Pinheiro
Rodrigues; Hamilton Sabot), 272.875.

Shooting

Men’s Double Trap

Final

1. Glenn Eller, Katy, Texas (145, 45), 190. 2. Francesco D Aniello,
Italy (141, 46), 187. 3. Hu Binyuan, China (138, 46), 184. 4. Jeff
Holguin, Yorba Linda, Calif. (140, 42), 182. 5. Russell Mark, Australia
(136, 45), 181. 6. Richard Faulds, Britain (137, 43), 180. 7. Ahmed
Almaktoum, United Arab Emirates (136), 136. 8. William Chetcuti,
Malta (136), 136.

Tennis

U.S. Men’s results

Second-round singles: James Blake (8), Tampa, Fla., def. Dominik
Hrbaty, Slovakia, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-3.

First-round doubles: Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (1), Wesley Chapel,
Fla., def. Mark Knowles and Devin Mullings, Bahamas, 6-2, 6-1.

U.S. Women’s results

Second-round singles: Serena Williams (4), Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.,
def. Samantha Stosur, Australia, 6-2, 6-0. Venus Williams (7), Palm
Beach Gardens, Fla., def. Iveta Benesova, Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-4.

First-round doubles: Lindsay Davenport and Liezel Huber (5), Newport
Beach, Calif., def. Klaudia Jans and Alicja Rosolska, Poland, 6-2,
6-1. Serena Williams and Venus Williams (2), Palm Beach Gardens,
Fla. def. Iveta Benesova and Nicole Vaidisova, Czech Republic, 4-6,
7-5, 6-1.

Weightlifting

Men’s 69kg

Final

1. Liao Hui, China (1, 158-347.6; 1, 190-418), 348 kg.-765.6
pounds. 2. Vencelas Dabaya-Tientcheu, France (5, 151-332.2; 2,
187-411.4), 338-743.6. 3. Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan, Armenia (3,
153-336.6; 3, 185-407), 338-743.6. 4. Yordanis Borrero, Cuba (6,
148-325.6; 6, 180-396), 328-721.6. 5. Turan Mirzayev, Azerbaijan (9,
146-321.2; 4, 181-398.2), 327-719.4. 6. Kim Chol Jin, North Korea
(8, 146-321.2; 5, 180-396), 326-717.2. 7. Afgan Bayramov, Azerbaijan
(10, 145-319; 7, 175-385), 320-704. 8. Sitthisak Suphalak, Thailand
(7, 147-323.4; 12, 171-376.2), 318-699.6.

Women’s 63kg

Final

1. Pak Hyon Suk, North Korea (2, 106-233.2; 1, 135-297), 241
kg.-530.2 pounds. 2. Irina Nekrassova, Kazakhstan (1, 110-242;
2, 130-286), 240-528. 3. Lu Ying-Chi, Taiwan (3, 104-228.8; 3,
127-279.4), 231-508.2. 4. Christine Girard, Canada (6, 102-224.4; 5,
126-277.2), 228-501.6. 5. Thi Thiet Nguyen, Vietnam (7, 100-220; 6,
125-275), 225-495.

Wrestling

Greco-Roman

Men’s Under 55g

Bronze Medal Final 1: Roman Amoyan, Armenia, def. Yagnier Hernandez,
Cuba, 3-0, 5-0.

Bronze Medal Final 2: Park Eunchol, South Korea, def. Hamid Soryan,
Iran, 1-1, 2-2.

Gold Medal Final: Nazyr Mankiev, Russia, def. Rovshan Bayramov,
Azerbaijan, 4-3, 2-2.

Men’s Under 60kg

Bronze Medal Final 1: Ruslan Tiumenbaev, Kyrgyzstan, def. Roberto
Monzon, Cuba, 8-0, 1-0.

Bronze Medal Final 2: Nurbakyt Tengizbayev, Kazakhstan, def. Sheng
Jiang, China, 4-1, 1-2, 3-0.

Gold Medal Final: Islam-Beka Albiev, Russia, def. Vitaliy Rahimov,
Azerbaijan, 2-0, 4-0.

Yesterday’s team scores

BASKETBALL (Men)

Lithuania 99, Iran 67

Croatia 85, Russia 78

Greece 87, Germany 64

Spain 85, China 75, OT

United States 97, Angola 76

Argentina 85, Australia 68

BASKETBALL (Women)

Russia 71, Belarus 65

Spain vs. Czech Republic, late

FIELD HOCKEY (Women)

Argentina 2, Britain 2, tie

Australia 6, Spain 1

United States 1, Japan 1, tie

China 3, South Africa 0

Netherlands 3, South Korea 2

Germany 2, New Zealand 1

FIELD HOCKEY (Men)

Australia 10, South Africa 0

China vs. South Korea, late

SOCCER (Women)

Germany 1, North Korea 0

Brazil 3, Nigeria 1

China 2, Argentina 0

Sweden 2, Canada 1

United States 4, New Zealand 0

Japan 5, Norway 1

SOFTBALL

Canada 6, Taiwan 1

United States 11, Venezuela 0 (5)

China 10, Netherlands 2

Japan 4, Australia 3

China vs. Venezuela, late

TEAM HANDBALL (Men)

Croatia 33, Brazil 14

Russia 28, Egypt 27

France 33, China 19

Spain 30, Poland 29

South Korea 31, Denmark 30

Iceland 33, Germany 29

TEAM HANDBALL (Women)

Russia 28, Brazil 19

Romania vs. France, late

VOLLEYBALL (Men)

Russia 3, Germany 2 (25-27, 25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 16-14)

United States 3, Italy 1 (24-26, 25-22, 25-15, 25-21)

Poland 3, Egypt 0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-10)

Brazil 3, Serbia 1 (25-27, 25-20, 25-17, 25-21)

China 3, Venezuela 2 (25-21, 21-25, 16-25, 25-21, 16-14)

Bulgaria 3, Japan 1 (27-29, 25-23, 21-25, 19-25)

WATER POLO (Men)

Montenegro 12, Canada 0

Spain 9, Australia 8

United States 12, Italy 11

Hungary 17, Greece 6

Croatia 11, Serbia 8

Germany 6, China 5

WATER POLO (Women)

Italy vs. Algeria, late

Medals

(Through 53 medal events)

Country G S B Tot

United States 7 7 8 22

China 13 3 4 20

South Korea 5 6 1 12

Australia 3 2 5 10

Italy 3 4 2 9

Russia 2 4 3 9

France 0 7 2 9

North Korea 1 2 4 7

Germany 4 1 1 6

Japan 3 1 2 6

Britain 2 1 3 6

Netherlands 1 1 2 4

Azerbaijan 1 2 0 3

Brazil 0 0 3 3

Czech Republic 2 0 0 2

Slovakia 1 1 0 2

Finland 1 0 1 2

Romania 1 0 1 2

Spain 1 0 1 2

Zimbabwe 0 2 0 2

Austria 0 1 1 2

Cuba 0 1 1 2

Kazakhstan 0 1 1 2

Armenia 0 0 2 2

Indonesia 0 0 2 2

Taiwan 0 0 2 2

India 1 0 0 1

Thailand 1 0 0 1

Colombia 0 1 0 1

Hungary 0 1 0 1

Norway 0 1 0 1

Sweden 0 1 0 1

Turkey 0 1 0 1

Vietnam 0 1 0 1

Algeria 0 0 1 1

Argentina 0 0 1 1

Belarus 0 0 1 1

Croatia 0 0 1 1

Georgia 0 0 1 1

Kyrgyzstan 0 0 1 1

Mexico 0 0 1 1

Switzerland 0 0 1 1

Tajikistan 0 0 1 1

Togo 0 0 1 1

Ukraine 0 0 1 1

Uzbekistan 0 0 1 1

REJECTING FALSE PARALLELS: WHY KOSOVO IS NOT SOUTH OSSETIA OR…
By Marko Attila Hoare

New Kosova Report
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
Sweden

Marko Attila HoareWe are all familiar with a certain dishonest
rhetorical tactic: the use of an argument that is objectively
ridiculous and that the person making it knows is ridiculous, but
that nevertheless can sound impressive to the ears of someone who
does not pause to think twice about it.

A good example is the claim that we should not recognise Kosovo’s
independence lest it set off a chain reaction across the world,
with secessionist territories rushing to follow Kosovo’s example by
declaring independence. Former Serbian foreign minister Vuk Draskovic
suggested these would include northern Cyprus, the Basque country,
Corsica, Northern Ireland, Scotland, South Ossetia, Chechnya and
Taiwan. A superficially more sophisticated older brother of this
argument is the one made by Russian President Putin and his supporters:
that if Kosovo is allowed unilaterally to secede from Serbia, the same
right should be accorded to the Russian-backed breakaway territories of
Abkhazia and South Ossetia (formally parts of Georgia) and Transnistria
(formally part of Moldova). Both of these arguments are sophisms,
and it is worth pausing for a moment to understand all the reasons why.

We can start by rejecting the obvious falsehood that recognising
Kosovo’s independence without Serbia’s consent would be an
irresponsible act of radicalism equivalent to Prometheus’s
revealing the secret of fire to mankind or Pandora’s opening of
the box. Unilateral declarations of independence – and unilateral
recognition of the independence of secessionist territories by outside
powers – are part and parcel of the modern world. It is enough to
mention France’s recognition of the independence of the United States
in 1778, Britain’s recognition of the independence of Bangladesh
in 1972 and Germany’s recognition of the independence of Croatia in
1991 – all of them without the consent of the country against which
the wars of American, Bangladeshi and Croatian independence had
been fought. None of these actions led to global chaos. Recognising
Kosovo’s independence without Serbia’s consent is hardly an action
without precedent in international relations.

Nor is it true that the world is covered by dozens or hundreds of
potentially separatist territories, all eagerly watching to see what
happens with Kosovo before deciding whether themselves to follow its
example. We know this is not true, because several of the territories
that are usually cited – South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Transnistria and
northern Cyprus, in particular – have already unilaterally seceded
from their parent countries. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
formally declared independence in 1983, years before Kosovo attempted
to secede from Serbia. Anyone with any knowledge of the chronology of
historical events in greater south-eastern Europe knows perfectly well
that the acts of secession in question were not in any way inspired
by events in Kosovo. In the cases of South Ossetia, Abkhazia and
Transnistria, the obvious precedent, in the eyes of the secessionist
leaderships, was the secession of the constituent republics of the
USSR, to which was coupled their own reluctance to be left in an
independent Georgia or Moldova.

Secessionist leaderships, in other words, choose the precedents
that suit them. Those South Ossetians, Abkhazians and Transnistrians
seeking precedents can cite the recognised secession of Lithuania,
Azerbaijan, Croatia, Montenegro, etc. If Kosovo is recognised, they
will be able to cite Kosovo as well. But nobody should confuse rhetoric
and propaganda with genuine motivation. And it is particularly comical
to hear the Russian leadership voice its ‘fears’ of Kosovo setting
a precedent, when it was the Russians whose military intervention
enabled South Ossetia, Abkhazia and Transnistria to break away from
Georgia and Moldova in the first place. That the Russians continued
to support the secessionists in question while crushing Chechnya’s bid
for independence should be enough for us to dispense with the illusion
that their arguments over Kosovo have anything to do with principles
over consistency and precedent-setting. They could, if they wish,
respond to our recognition of Kosovo’s independence by recognising
formally the independence of their Transnistrian and South Caucasian
clients – as Turkey has recognised northern Cyprus – but nothing forces
them to do this, certainly not their infinitely malleable ‘principles’.

This brings us to the question of whether Kosovo really is
fundamentally different from those secessionist countries that
we have already recognised – Slovenia, Croatia, Latvia, Georgia,
Montenegro, etc. – and fundamentally similar to those we have not –
South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Transnistria, Nagorno Karabakh, etc. The
answer on both counts is, simply, no. Kosovo is different from the
latter territories in terms of its status in the former federation
to which it belonged: it was – like Croatia, Slovenia and the other
former Yugoslav republics – a constituent member of the Yugoslav
federation in its own right. By contrast, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and
Nagorno Karabakh were not constituent members of the former Soviet
Union. Transnistria was not even an autonomous entity at all. If one
applies consistently the principle that all the members of the former
federations of the USSR, Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia should have
the right to self-determination, then this right belongs to Kosovo.

Furthermore, when Kosovo joined Serbia in 1945, it did so formally
of its own free will, by a vote of its provincial assembly. Kosovo
was, before Slobodan Milosevic’s abrogation of its autonomy in the
late 1980s, already effectively independent of Serbia, which was
a composite republic consisting of the two autonomous provinces of
Kosovo and Vojvodina and so-called ‘Serbia proper’ – each of which was
a member of the Yugoslav federation in its own right, independently
of the other two. There is absolutely no reason why the international
community should, given the collapse of this federation, automatically
assign Kosovo to the possession of an independent Serbia. Since Kosovo
joined Serbia in 1945 on the understanding that it was simultaneously
part of Yugoslavia, the only reasonable course of action would be to
permit Kosovo’s assembly to decide what its status should be in the
new circumstances. These new circumstances were, let us not forget,
created by the leadership of Serbia’s deliberate and successful
campaign to break up Yugoslavia and deprive all Yugoslavs – including
the Kosovars – of their common homeland.

Not only is Kosovo not equivalent to Abkhazia, South Ossetia
and Transnistria in legal and constitutional terms, but it is not
equivalent to them in other respects either. With roughly two million
people, Kosovo has a resident population roughly four times the size
of Transnistria’s, ten times the size of Abkhazia’s and thirty times
the size of South Ossetia’s. It has a larger population than several
independent European states, including Estonia, Cyprus, Malta and
Iceland (about five times the population of Malta and seven times the
population of Iceland, in fact). Furthermore, Kosovo’s population is
overwhelmingly Albanian and supportive of independence, and was so even
before the exodus of non-Albanians following the Kosovo war in 1999.

By contrast, Abkhazia’s largest nationality was, until the ethnic
cleansing operations of the early 1990s, the ethnic Georgians, who
outnumbered ethnic Abkhaz by two and a half times, who comprised nearly
half the population of Abkhazia and who oppose independence. In South
Ossetia, ethnic Ossetians outnumbered ethnic Georgians by two-to-one;
still, an independent South Ossetia would be considerably smaller
in terms of population and territory than any independent European
state except for mini-states like Monaco, Liechtenstein and San
Marino. Were their independence recognised, Abkhazia and South Ossetia
would in practice become parts of Russia; a vast state would thereby
have expanded its borders at the expense of a much smaller state
(Georgia). As for Transnistria, its population is somewhat larger than
Abkhazia’s or South Ossetia’s, but Moldovans who oppose independence
comprise the largest nationality, albeit outnumbered by non-Moldovans
two-to-one. And as we noted above, Transnistria’s claim to independence
on constitutional grounds is even weaker than Abkhazia’s or South
Ossetia’s. One could make a case for the independence of any of these
territories, but in terms of constitutional status, population size,
national homogeneity and viability, Kosovo’s is by far the strongest.

Modern European history has witnessed the continual emergence of newly
independent states that successfully secede from larger entities:
roughly in chronological order, these have been Switzerland, Sweden,
the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, Belgium, Luxemburg, Serbia,
Montenegro, Romania, Norway, Bulgaria, Albania, Poland, Finland,
Czechoslovakia, Ireland, Iceland, Cyprus, Malta, Lithuania, Latvia,
Estonia, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus, Slovenia,
Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Slovakia, the Czech Republic
and Montenegro (for the second time). There are, of course, many
countries or nations that have failed to secede, or whose secession
has not been recognised internationally. The merits of any particular
claim to self-determination have to be judged on their own basis.

In supporting Kosovo’s independence, both justice and as many
precedents as we care to pick will be on our side. And we can safely
ignore the sophisms put forward by hostile governments against us.

Marko Attila Hoare is a Senior Research Fellow at Kingston University,
London with considerable experience in the Balkans. He is author of
books The History of Bosnia and How Bosnia Armed. This article was
first published on 28 November, 2007.
From: Baghdasarian

FLORIDA BAPTIST CONVENTION WINS TWO TOP AWARDS AT NAMB CONFERENCE

Florida Baptist Witness
August 14, 2008
FL

Geoff Hammond (far right), president of the NAMB, presented NAMB’s
top church planting award to the Florida Baptist Convention for the
planting of 140 new churches in 2007, which led the Southern Baptist
Convention. Shown accepting the award were (L-R) Emanuel Roque,
Rick Lawrence and Maxie Miller.

ATLANTA, Ga. (NAMB)–The Florida Baptist Convention was recently
honored by the North American Mission Board’s church planting group
for "being No. 1 in the commitment to expand the Kingdom of God"
by planting 140 new churches in 2007–an achievement that led the
Southern Baptist Convention in new church starts.

Accepting the church planting award for the Florida convention were
Emanuel Roque, director of the Language Church Planting Department;
Rick Lawrence, director of the Church Planting Department; and Maxie
Miller, director of the African American Ministries Division.

"The Florida Baptist Convention is fortunate to have some of the
nation’s leading church planting practitioners and an executive
director-treasurer, Dr. John Sullivan, who values church planting,"
said Cecil Seagle, director of the Convention’s Mission Division,
which oversees the state’s church planting strategy. "Recognition by
the North American Mission Board is recognition of the outstanding
work of Frank Moreno, Emanuel Roque, Maxie Miller, Rick Lawrence and
their church planting teams."

Moreno serves as director of the Convention’s Language Division.

NAMB’s evangelization group also honored the Florida Baptist Convention
for the state’s increase in the actual number of baptisms in 2007
over 2006. David Burton, director of the Evangelism Division, accepted
that award.

FBC photo by John Swain

Geoff Hammond (left), NAMB president, and Ken Weathersby (right),
NAMB’s senior strategist for evangelism, presented the Florida
Baptist Convention with an award honoring the convention for its
increase in baptisms in 2007. Accept­ing the award is David Burton,
state director of evangelism for the FBC.

"We are very excited that Florida Baptists continue to be an example
for the nation in the initiatives of soul winning and baptisms,"
said Burton.

"Our work in Haiti has grown over the years and continues to provide
strong baptism numbers, which when combined with the work of our
Florida Baptist associations gave us the highest increase of any
other state in 2007," he explained.

"In the midst of a national downturn in baptisms, it’s refreshing and
exciting to see many of our churches continue to be aggressive in their
teaching and training church members to be active lifestyle witness,"
added Burton. "I believe this is the reason many of our churches have
high baptisms because they encourage their members to be soul winners."

More than 500 attended the largest NAMB summer leadership meeting in
the mission agency’s history in Atlanta, July 27-31. Representing
Southern Baptists from each state of the Union, Canada and Puerto
Rico, attendees included specialists in evangelism, church planting,
ministry and academics from state conventions, local associations,
all six SBC seminaries and NAMB.

"North America is increasingly a lost mission field," Hammond told
the crowd packing the Airport Westin Hotel ballroom. "North America
has always been a mission field. It was a lost mission field that
Jesus Himself came to."

Hammond challenged Southern Baptist leaders to pray for a spiritual
awakening in the changing North American environment, emphasizing
the changing population and diversity of the U.S. and Canada.

"Among the world’s industrialized countries, Canada and the
U.S. continue to have growing populations, legally and illegally," said
Hammond. "Canada admits into their country 250,000 legal immigrants
each year. The U.S. population is 303 million and will be 400 million
in the next 35 years. Over 100 million will be Hispanic."

Illustrating the continent’s exploding diversity today, Hammond said
100,000 Ethiopians now call Atlanta home. Some 166,000 Armenians
live in Los Angeles. In Toronto, 911 calls are handled in any of 150
languages, according to Hammond.

In his first address to state convention, local association and NAMB
staff, new Southern Baptist Convention president Johnny Hunt delivered
a wakeup call.

"If this denomination doesn’t get desperate for God’s Son and a
movement of the Holy Ghost of God in our denomination again, we’re
in trouble," Hunt said. "The great evangelist Vance Havner said,
‘the great tragedy of our day is that the situation is desperate but
the saints are not.’

Attendance at the recent convention in Indianapolis dropped 20
percent. You can’t do that very often and not be in serious trouble."

Hunt, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Ga., said
Baptists have to go back 50 years to find baptism numbers as low
in North America. Hunt said evangelism is what Southern Baptists
do as a result of what they’ve learned–to be obedient to the Great
Commission. "But revival comes when God touches. We need God to revive
us personally, as churches and as a denomination, and give us passion
for lost people. You let God come down and touch our hearts and we’ll
share. God’s going to have to wake us up, shake us and show us where
we are."

To meet the challenges of spreading the Gospel throughout North
America, NAMB’s senior strategists, under the leadership of Hammond,
homed in on the mission agency’s new National Evangelism Initiative
(NEI), recently introduced at the SBC’s annual convention in
Indianapolis.

"Not often do we have the opportunity to come together at an historical
point with a rallying call to Southern Baptists like the NEI," Hammond
said. "We didn’t come up with NEI in a vacuum. About 96 partners from
state con­ventions, associations and NAMB developed the strategy
after many hours of meetings and travel. After your input here,
it will go national," he told the audience.

With a time-horizon of 12 years, NEI will be launched in early
2009. Its theme will be "God’s Plan for Sharing" (GPS) with the goal
of every believer sharing and every person in North America hearing
by 2020. The four primary focus points of the initiative are praying,
engaging, sowing and harvesting.

"The process of implementation lies in the hands of many of you in
this room," Hammond said. The church is the way Jesus has chosen to
win the world. Our headquarters is the local church. Jesus died for
the church."

Calling associations the "front lines," Hammond said association
offices have most of the contacts with SBC churches. He reminded
the Baptist leaders that in an effort to achieve more focus and
emphasis on associations, NAMB has appointed David Meacham–a former
associational missionary and state executive–to the newly created
post of NAMB senior strategist for associations.

"Is NEI going to be a challenge? Absolutely. Is it anything less
than what God expects of us? No." Hammond told the audience that
they would not recog­nize the Southern Baptist Convention in 2020
"if God helps us reach these goals."

In addition to the objectives set for the NEI, Hammond stated
additional goals in the areas of church starting and missionary
sending.

Hammond stated he wants each of the 48,000 SBC churches in North
America engaged in starting new churches to reach all people groups by
2020. In addition, he hopes to see every Southern Baptist crossing
cultural and spiritual barriers to serve in some sort of short-
or long-term mission endeavor by 2020.

During the four-day conference, NAMB also presented annual awards for
outstanding achievements in evangelism and church planting to state
conventions and individuals.

Steve Fowler, state director of missions for the Montana Southern
Baptist Convention in Billings, Mont., was presented the "Dennis
Hampton Rural Church Planting Award," while Stanley K. Smith, state
director of missions for the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania-South
Jersey, was given NAMB’s "People’s Choice Award" for "excellence in
mentoring and coaching peers across North America in church planting."

The Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention was recognized for its 200
percent increase in the number of churches planted in 2007 over 2006.

In addition to Florida, NAMB’s evangelization group recognized three
other state conventions for their increase in the actual number of
baptisms between 2006 and 2007. These included the Georgia Baptist
Convention, the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Tennessee
Baptist Convention.

Four other state conventions were honored for "expanding the
kingdom of God by the increase in percentage of baptisms between
2006 and 2007." These were the Illinois Baptist State Association,
Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention, Southern Baptist Conservatives
of Virginia, and the Convention of Southern Baptists of Puerto Rico.

–Boundary_(ID_hXk7BzJpOnxx1QMxm+UrRQ)–

NO MILITARY EXPERTS ARRIVE IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan

Au g 12, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 12, NOYAN TAPAN. The deputy foreign minister of Armenia
Gegham Gharibjanian denied mass media reports that a plane with U.S.

military experts allegedly landed at Yerevan’s Zvartnots Airport. "In
the past two days, several special flights were operated to the
airports of Yerevan and Gyumri with the aim of transporting foreign
citizens from Georgia. No plane from the territory of Romania has
landed at Yerevan Airport recently. No military experts have arrived
in Armenia by plane from any foreign country," the deputy foreign
minister stated.

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER: GOOD HARVEST OF CORNS IN ARMENIA THIS YEAR MADE IT POSSIBLE TO PROVIDE THE REPUBLIC WITH LONG-TERM STORE

arminfo
2008-08-13 16:32:00

ArmInfo. Good harvest of corns in Armenia this year made it possible
to provide the republic with long-term store, Armenian Prime Minister
Tigran Sarkisyan told journalists today when speaking about the food
and fuel stores in case of the battle actions.

‘The harvest was so big that we managed to store corn. This is
a positive factor foe Armenia’, – Sarkisyan said. ‘Although we are
ready as much as possible to the unpredictable development of events,
I hope we shall not be forced to start the planned distribution of
products’, – Armenian premier said.

AS OF AUGUST 12, NO ARMENIAN CITIZEN SUFFERS DURING EVENTS IN GEORGIA

Noyan Tapan

Au g 12, 2008

YEREVAN, AUGUST 12, NOYAN TAPAN. As of 5 pm August 12, no Armenian
citizen suffered during the events in Georgia, the RA MFA Press and
Information Department reported.

In the period of August 11 to August 12 (5 pm), the return of another
4,450 Armenian citizens from Georgia to Armenia was organized. With
the assistance of the appropriate Armenian bodies, about 750 foreign
citizens, including diplomats accredited to Georgia, employees of
international organizations, and their family members, entered Armenia
by a simplified order.

The Armenian embassy in Georgia and the Armenian consulate general
in Batumi continue their work to organize the return of Armenian
citizens from Georgia to homeland.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER: ARMENIAN ECONOMY MAY SUFFER IF THE CONFLICT AROUND SOUTH OSSETIA CONTINUES

arminfo
2008-08-13 16:30:00

Arminfo. Armenian economy may suffer if the conflict around South
Ossetia continues, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan told
journalists today.

‘Armenian economy nay suffer only in case if the conflict runs
over very much and Georgia shut downs the roads running via its
territory from Russia to Armenia. In that case we shall be forced
to deliver goods via Iran. This will require extra time and material
expenditure. There is still no such danger – roads are open, and the
railway also implements cargo and passenger traffic’, – Sarkisyan
said and added that at present trade via Batumi ands Poti ports is
implemented without any delay.

ARMENIAN PRIME MINISTER: ARMENIA WILL DISCUSS AN OPPORTUNITY OF GIVING HUMANITARIAN AID TO THOSE WHO SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF THE ARMED CONFLICT IN SOUTH OSSETIA

arminfo
2008-08-13 16:29:00

ArmInfo. Armenia will discuss an opportunity of giving humanitarian
aid to those who suffered as a result of the armed conflict in South
Ossetia, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan told journalists
today.

‘We are going to discuss this issue. At present big number of
humanitarian aid arrives in South Ossetia, for this reason we should
clear out what they need most of all’, – Armenian prime minister said.

To recall, yesterday Armenian Transport and communication Minister
Gurgen Sarkisyan said that Armenia gave a corridor for delivery of
humanitarian aid of European Union in the conflict zone.

‘TOGETHER WE WILL WIN’: DEMONSTRATION OF DEFIANCE ON STREETS OF TBILISI
By Shaun Walker in Tbilisi

Independent
Wednesday, 13 August 2008
UK

They flocked to Rustaveli Street in their thousands, waving Georgian
flags, chanting and straining their necks to get a view of the
politicians on stage, whose words were boomed across central Tbilisi
via loudspeakers. There was a party atmosphere as helpers handed out
free ice creams, and the speakers milked the crowd like rock stars.

There have been many surreal sights in this short, nasty war, but
none quite so puzzling as that which unfolded on the main street of
the Georgian capital yesterday. Little more than 12 hours after the
country’s army had quite literally run away from the key strategic
city of Gori without so much as firing a shot, the Georgian President,
Mikheil Saakashvili, and his ministers held a rally that bore all
the hallmarks of a victory celebration.

The proceedings began shortly after Russia’s President, Dmitry
Medvedev, claimed that military operations were over, but many in
the 150,000-strong crowd still seemed to believe the misinformation
spread on Monday by the Georgians that the Russian army had captured
Gori and were preparing an assault on Tbilisi, 45 miles away.

They were in defiant mood, as a Georgian minister shouted out to the
crowd: "All nationalities together in Georgia – the Armenians, the
Azeris, the Georgians and the Ossetians! We will be together! We will
win! Together we will win!" Shouts of approval went up in the crowd.

One after another, top government officials gave speeches in the same
vein. "We will never surrender and we will tell this to the enemy
thousands and thousands of times," said Georgia’s Deputy Foreign
Minister, Giga Bokeria, one of Mr Saakashvili’s closest allies.

"We will never allow the Russians to do this!" said Gia Loria, 53,
who was in the crowd with his friends. "We are a nation of warriors,
and we will fight until the end. We will destroy the Russians and
retake Gori; we’ll drive them out of South Ossetia and we’ll take
back Abkhazia as well! Onwards!"

Sukhumi and Tskhinvali, the respective capitals of Abkhazia and South
Ossetia, were "the same as Jerusalem is for Israel", he said, and the
Georgians would fight until the last to regain them. It was brave
talk, but totally at odds with the reality of a population fleeing
westwards from the Russian army. Gori had been abandoned without a
fight, and people in Tbilisi reported a mass flight of residents to
the region of Kakheti, so terrified were people that the Russians
were advancing on the capital.

Moscow has made it clear that it wants the pro-Western Mr Saakashvilli,
who was educated at Columbia, out of office. But for now at least,
the mood in Tbilisi suggests that the six-day war has made him more
popular among Georgians. Among the Georgian flags in the crowd, there
were banners proclaiming "I love you Misha", the diminutive form
of the President’s first name. When speakers praised his leadership
during the conflict, the crowd roared its support.

The last time crowds of this magnitude massed on Rustaveli Street was
last November, when opposition parties demanded Mr Saakashvili step
down and many Georgians took to the street in protest against his
government before being brutally dispersed. Over the past year there
has been pressure from opposition figures who challenged the Georgian
leader over his democratic credentials and demanded he step down.

But this time it was the President himself doing the talking. In
defiant, finger-wagging mode, he said he was pulling Georgia out of the
Commonwealth of Independent States, and declared Russian peacekeepers
in Abkhazia and South Ossetia "occupying forces". The crowd lapped
up his words, and even those who had wanted him out just a week ago
had been converted to his biggest fans.

"I, and a lot of my friends, used to be against him," said Niko
Durchashvili, 57. "But he’s our president, we elected him, and if we
don’t like him, we’ll remove him ourselves, without Russia. This war
has made Georgia united."

Opposition leaders have been conspicuous by their absence. As the
conflict erupted last Friday, an opposition leader announced a
"moratorium on confrontation" with the authorities.

"The situation is very difficult in the country. I think that there
is no time for internal political disputes," Davit Gamkrelidze, head
of the opposition New Rights Party, said at the time. "Under such
conditions – it is an unwritten law – internal political confrontations
and disputes should be stopped."

But for all his defiance yesterday, the hot-headed Georgian President’s
days may be numbered. He came to power pledging that Abkhazia and
South Ossetia would soon be part of a united Georgia, and if people
on Rustaveli Street seemed still to believe that yesterday, it surely
won’t be long before they realise that this military defeat has made
the prospect almost unimaginable.

That is when Mr Saakashvili’s reputation, already badly weakened on
the international stage, may start to falter at home.

"Most of Georgia is unified behind the President now," said Alexander
Rondeli, a senior political analyst. "But there are certain rascals
who are waiting for the moment to start to talk about his mistakes
during this crisis."

NATURAL GAS SUPPLY FROM RUSSIA TO ARMENIA FULLY RESTORED

arminfo
2008-08-13 16:27:00

ArmInfo. Natural gas supply from Russia to Armenia was fully restored
beginning from yesterday, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan
told journalists today.

He also added at present 4,7 mln sq/m of gas are delivered to Armenia
daily, the same quantity as earlier.

To recall, gas delivery from Russia to Armenia has reduced by 30%
since 7 August because Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation had started the
test work at its sector of the main gas pipeline without warning. For
this reason gas pressure fell in the system.