What Remains Of The Shining Path?

Stay At The Table

Staying At The Table from Dennis Smith

Webinar Invitation

Grace and peace to you.

Join us for a webinar to learn from and pray with our partners working in Egypt. Hear how our brothers and sisters are being impacted by recent happenings, and learn how God is present in the midst of this situation. We will have the chance to hear from one of our Egyptian global partners, a Presbyterian mission co-worker, and Amgad Beblawi, World Mission's Area Coordinator for the Middle East.

When: Thursday, August 29 at 1:00 PM (EST)

To register for this webinar

We hope you will be able to join us for this important conversation. Please share this event with your congregations and colleagues.

In Christ,

Hunter Farrell

Director, Presbyterian World Mission

Mission Crossroads PC(USA)

Renco's Toxic Lead Fight

Resource:  Bloomberg News

By Andrew Martin

Aross the river from Belinda Elida Barja’s two-room apartment, the lead and zinc smelters of Doe Run Peru spread smoke and dust in the mountain town of La Oroya.

Her 9-year-old son Kenyi has headaches, memory loss, stomach ailments and difficulty concentrating, Barja said. The lead in his blood measured 41 micrograms per deciliter in a 2007 test -- eight times the level the U.S. government considers a cause for action. Barja blames Doe Run Peru.

“They just think about making money,” she said.

Most of La Oroya’s children suffer elevated lead levels, according to the Peruvian government. Parents say some have symptoms -- consistent with lead poisoning -- that include anemia, convulsions, stunted growth, mental retardation and the ills Barja said her son suffers.

The question of responsibility is at the center of a high-stakes clash between Peru and U.S. billionaire Ira Rennert, who owned Doe Run Peru for more than a decade through Renco Group Inc. Far from defensive, Renco is demanding $800 million from Peru because it ordered a costly pollution clean-up that the company says forced Doe Run Peru into bankruptcy in 2010. Renco has said it’s not responsible for the children’s ailments.

Its demand was made under an arcane, often secretive investor-state arbitration system that is growing rapidly in size and scope, roiling global trade and angering countries from Australia to South Africa over the perceived trampling of their sovereign rights.

Read more...

Mining Company Destroys Part Of Nazca Lines

Resource:  RUN Media

By Steven Clarke

An unfeigned disaster has occurred. A portion of Peru’s Nazca lines have been destroyed, and all just because of greed.

The lines were destroyed by the heavy equipment of a Peruvian mining company called Galvez, as they excavated the area looking for base construction material for their newly upgraded mine.

The Nazca lines are a particularly tenuous archaeological artifact, most of them being 10-30 cm deep, and constructed between 400 and 650 AD.

The parched and windless environment is responsible for their survival for last 1500 years, but all that is rivaled by the owner’s greed. The owner of the limestone aggregates company claims that the land and the lines are on his private property and he can do whatever he likes with the property.

The director of research at Ojos de Condor, Eduardo Herrán Gómez de la Torre describes the extensive damage and witnessed the irreparable destruction to a set of lines and trapezoids that existed in the area.

The company responsible for the disaster has not been sanctioned or supervised by the authorities of the Regional Directorate of Culture of Ica, despite of being in this great archaeological reserve.

The site of Nazca lines was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994 (UNESCO Ref 700) which covers some 500 square Kilometers Pampas de Jumana in southern Peru.

Mario Olaechea Aquije, the director of culture of Nasca said that the land is privately owned and the owner is free to work according to his will. The damage which took place near mile market 444 of the Panamericana Sur Highway is not yet clear.

The most iconic images and shapes of Nazca lines were fortunately unscathed and are in no instant danger. But the sites of such archaeological and historic importance need more belligerent legal protections.

As the story is attaining universal impetus, the public opinion and pressure may force the government of Peru to act in support to it. But we only can hope that someone takes the initiative to at least ensure that no more damage is caused to Nazca lines and other archaeological sites.

La Oroya Refinery Will Not Be Sold After All

Resource:  Platts

By Renzo Pipoli

Doe Run Peru's La Oroya metal refinery will not be sold off as previously expected, as the company will instead be restructured, the court-appointed administrator said Friday.

"The creditors of Doe Run [Peru] met this week and agreed to change the mandate from a liquidation to a restructuring, designating Right Business as the administrator," Rocio Chavez, general manager of Right Business, said in an e-mail Friday. "It has given us 60 days to ready a restructuring plan."

Chavez said that if the mandate had not been changed, the plant would have been immediately closed and workers let go, because the prior mandate to liquidate assets was about to expire.

The plant is processing zinc and lead, but not copper. Chavez said the copper circuit remains closed because a project to produce sulfuric acid -- while at the same time cutting emissions -- and make other upgrades is not finished, "which makes that operation impossible."

The refinery stopped operating in mid-2009, after suppliers halted deliveries of feedstock mineral concentrates due to nonpayment. At the same time, the Peruvian government said the company had to invest in upgrades that would reduce pollution. The company's creditors eventually took it to bankruptcy court, leading to the appointment of a temporary administrator.

La Oroya, which before the closure had some 3,500 workers, restarted operations with fewer than 1,000 workers in July 2012, running just the zinc circuit. It restarted the lead circuit later the same year.

Perú Objects To Warning

Resource: New York Times

By: The Associated Press

A United States Embassy warning to American tourists about a potential kidnapping threat in the Cuzco region of Peru, which includes the Incan citadel Machu Picchu, drew vehement objections from Peruvian officials on Friday.

But a United States Embassy official said credible evidence existed of a threat from a Peruvian terrorist group.

The official confirmed a report in La República, a Peruvian newspaper, that said that leaders of the Shining Path guerrilla group had discussed kidnapping foreigners, particularly Americans, in intercepted communications. Tens of thousands of Americans visit Peru each year.

The official agreed to discuss the report only if not quoted by name because of the political delicacy of the warning.

La República said its sources about the interceptions included members of Peru’s military high command, but the country’s military chief, Adm. José Cueto, said that he had no such information.

“Perhaps it is information that they alone have and have not shared,” Admiral Cueto said of the United States government.

The embassy warning that mentioned Peru’s biggest tourist draw was posted on the embassy’s Facebook page on Thursday. Dated Feb. 13, it was also posted on the embassy’s Web site.

Read more...

Threat For Machu Picchu Travelers

Resource:  Miami Herald
By Frank Bajak
Associated Press

A U.S. Embassy warning to U.S. tourists of a potential kidnapping threat in the Cuzco region, including the famed Inca citadel of Machu Picchu, drew vehement objections from Peruvian officials Friday.

But a U.S. Embassy official said credible evidence exists of a threat from a Peruvian terrorist group.

The official confirmed a report in the Peruvian newspaper La Republica that said leaders of the cocaine-financed Shining Path outlaw band discussed kidnapping foreigners, principally Americans, in intercepted communications. Tens of thousands of Americans visit Peru each year.

The official agreed to discuss the report only if not quoted by name due to the political sensitivity of the warning.

La Republica cited sources about the interceptions including members of Peru's military high command, but the country's military chief, Adm. Jose Cueto, told The Associated Press that he had no such information.

"Perhaps it is information that they alone have and have not shared," Cueto said of the U.S. government.

The embassy warning that mentioned Peru's biggest tourist draw was posted on the U.S. Embassy's Facebook page Thursday. Dated Feb. 13, it was also posted on the embassy's website.

Read more...

Upper Class Warfare In The Hamptons

Resource:  Mother Jones
Written by Josh Harkinson

Illustration: Martin Kozlowski

With twin 2,520-horsepower engines and up to 19 seats, the Sikorsky S-92 is among the world's most powerful civilian helicopters. "Helibuses" typically service offshore oil platforms and the like, but two years ago billionaire industrialist Ira Rennert acquired a posh version to shuttle himself between Manhattan and Long Island's exclusive Hamptons, where he owns a 63-acre, 110,000-square-foot villa complex. One of the first to notice the giant bird was Frank Dalene, founder and CEO of a successful luxury homebuilding company, who lives on a ridge along Rennert's flight path. Its whumping rotor was like "a lightning bolt striking nearby," says Dalene, a fast-talking 58-year-old with a long nose and narrow-set eyes. He blames the vibrations for "literally damaging my home."

Read more...

We apologize in advance for the language

Riot At Wholesale Market

Resource: The Sacramento Bee

By Gonzalo Ruiz Tovar

LIMA, Peru -- Two people were killed and close to 110 people, including 50 police officers, were injured in riots that caused damage worth millions of dollars in the Peruvian capital Lima, authorities said Friday.

The riots broke out late Thursday around the wholesale market La Parada, which was closed by the government of Lima Mayor Susana Villaran for not meeting security and hygiene requirements. The riots broke out as police placed fences around the market to prevent trucks from entering the site.

According to reports, police were overwhelmed by hundreds of rioters and police were attacked in some cases. National television broadcast footage of the beating of one police officer, who was seriously injured.

Rioters later were said to have moved to another market, looting shops as well as attacking passers-by.

Read more...

The other market that the rioters moved to was the Gamarra Gamarra Market...  Better known to all that visit Lima as the "Indian Market"!

Perú Doctors To Suspend Strike Over Pay

Resource:  BBC

Thousands of doctors in Peru have agreed to suspend a strike that has left many poor people without medical care for more than a month.

The leader of the doctors' union, Cesar Palomino, said they would return to work while they consider government proposals for a pay rise.

The doctors had complained that their pay was not increasing despite strong economic growth in Peru.

The strike caused huge backlogs in hospitals and clinics.

Read more...

Perú Healthcare Feels Strain Of Doctor's Strike

Perú Hospital Managers Walkout

Resource:  BBC

About 90% of hospital managers in Peru have resigned in support of doctors on strike over pay, union officials say.

The head of Peru's medical federation, Cesar Palomino, told the BBC that more than 300 managers had quit in the capital Lima alone.

The walkout by 11,000 doctors, now in its fifth week, has caused huge backlogs in hospitals and clinics.

Doctors say that despite Peru's recent strong economic growth, their pay has not been increased in years.

Read more...

Peruvian Doctors Protest For Higher Salaries

Resource: Fox New Latino

Dozens of female doctors with Peru's social security system, known as Essalud, chained themselves to the entrance of the Labor Ministry in this capital as part of a strike headed by their union for the past 28 days to demand higher pay and better working conditions.

The physicians told reporters that they came to the ministry to protest against Labor Minister Jose Villena, whom they accused of making statements against them.

Full story...

5 Factors That Brought A Dying Church Back To Life

By J.D. Greear
Create A Sending Culture

In my opinion, creating a sending culture is essential to revitalizing a church. Churches that are revitalized see themselves as communities on mission with God, not as country clubs for Christians.

One very practical thing you can do to encourage this mentality is to send as many people on short-term mission trips as possible. Few things open our eyes to missional living like spending time with missionaries overseas. The more that mentality gets into the bloodstream of the church, the more church members become willing to apply missional principles to their own context.

During our first two years, we sent an inordinate amount of our people and leaders overseas. It cost a lot of money and took up valuable time, but it did two things. First, it raised the level of generosity in our church. Having seen the needs on the field, the people gave. The trips may have cost us a lot of money, but they paid for themselves many times over. Second, it made our people ask themselves if we were laboring to reach our city the same way that missionaries overseas were laboring to reach theirs.

When you create a sending culture in your church, you will likely lose some of your best people to a church plant or a missions assignment. But don’t be afraid; the sending culture creates more leaders to take their place. It has worked for us like the five loaves and two fish: the more we give away, the more is multiplied and given back to us.

Full story...

Outrage Over Death Squad Decision

Peruvians are reacting with widespread anger to a Supreme Court ruling that could allow the imminent release of military death squad members who took part in notorious 1990s killings under the government of Alberto Fujimori.

In the 3-2 ruling, seven members of the so-called Colina death squad created under the auspices of then-spy chief Vladimiro Montesinos may now apply immediately for parole, legal experts say.

Full story...

Perú And Chile Tensions Flare

LIMA, Peru — Historical tensions between Chile and Peru are on the rise ahead of a keenly awaited ruling on the South American nations’ disputed maritime frontier.

The latest source of friction has been a leaked draft of Santiago’s national defense strategy, published in Peru, in which Chilean President Sebastian Pinera warns that his country must be ready for armed conflict.

Full story...