"...the biggest thing is that we're not scared about leaving the house"

The words are those of a Pakistani woman talking about being able to work at a fast food restaurant. Interesting.

Pray for Asia Bibi

Asia Bibi is the Pakistani Christian convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death for her faith.

Tomorrow, at the Pakistani consulate in New York, Pakistani Christians who live in the US will stage a protest on her behalf.

Please pray that God will give them--and Bibi--favor and that this mother of five, the victim of persecution, will avoid the death sentence and be set free.

Pakistani Christian Woman Sentenced to Death for "Blasphemy"

Britain's Daily Telegraph has the story.

US pastor and blogger Chris Magnell suggests three things you can do to help prevent from Asia Bibi from being hanged. Please, take up Pastor Magnell on his suggestions.

Pray for and Help the People of Pakistan

If you watched the PBS Evening News Hour tonight, you know how dire things are in Pakistan are in the wake of recent flooding: Millions are displaced, living in constant exposure to the elements, without food or medical care, families are separated, and children separated from their families are subject to the strong possibility of exploitation or violence.

Please pray for the people of Pakistan and prayerfully consider a contribution to Lutheran World Relief so that some of that sterling organization's partner groups can bring relief and help to the people in Pakistan.

Here is a link by which you can contribute online.

Five different perspectives...

on keeping Pakistan's nuclear arsenal out of the hands of terrorists.

"Welcoming" the New Administration

Certainly instability born of the disconnect between the Afghan government and its people to which President Obama alluded in his news conference several days ago is at play in a suicide attack on the Ministry of Justice in Kabul.

But there's another factor as well. The Taliban and their allies obviously also are welcoming the new administration in Washington, testing the new president's mettle, and sending a message that they haven't given up fighting.

The attack comes just before Obama's representative, Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, is scheduled to arrive in Kabul.

Just before that, a secular Pakistani legislator was killed by a bomb in the same city that Holbrooke was visiting at that very moment.

Of course, the attacks aren't meant not only to send a message to the new administration, which appears prepared to undertake the war in Afghanistan and the war on Taliban and al-Qaeda enclaves in Pakistan with new urgency, more troops, and greater firepower. The attacks are also meant to be a warning to Pakistanis and Afghans against collaboration with the United States in the fight against radical Islamist terror groups.

This all would seem to underscore the need for the US to pursue a policy akin to that used in Iraq during the recent surge. It was accompanied by efforts to pacify enemies and would-be enemies, often through the payment of what can fairly be described as protection money to local war lords. The pacification program also included frequent foot patrols and interaction with local populations, fostering trust and quelling enmity.

During the recent presidential campaign, now Vice President Joe Biden famously predicted that early on, his boss would be tested by international troublemakers. Biden didn't need to be a seer to say that. It always happens to new presidents.

But in consideration of this test, Obama may be inclined to look up from days filled with multiple crises and tell the Taliban, "Take a number." Unfortunately, he won't have that luxury.