Be careful what you say; even phones have ears.

I have always been opposed to cell phones, although not for privacy reasons. Like the internet, like genetic experimentation, like so many new technologies, we haven't spent any time thinking about what they do to us, rather than what they do for us. As Neil Postman wrote in the 80s, technology is not neutral but always has a particular bias. In the case of television, for instance, the bias is toward entertainment. It doesn't matter what content you're presenting, if you present it via television, it will inevitably be squeezed into the mold of entertainment. Incidentally, this is one of the reasons that televangelism is so bad. Televangelists are entertainers above all else--and they have to be. If they weren't primarily presenting religious entertainment, their shows would be canceled for being bad (and boring) television.

Likewise, I've always been hesitant about technological "improvements"--not because technology is bad, but because we humans are bad and bound to abuse it. Case in point, the US government has vastly expanded its spying on its own citizens. They embrace every new technology (video surveillance, internet hacking, social media tracking, cell phone tapping, etc.) without making real (or any, for that matter) provisions to protect us, the people, from government abuse. Every unchecked power will be abused, regardless of legality.

In addition to real and potential abuse of government power, we ought to be aware of how we are creating opportunities for people (and unscrupulous government agencies) to violate and erase our privacy.

For instance, you probably know that nearly anyone can hack our computers and watch and listen to us through built-in mics and webcams. But did you know that your cell phone is perhaps an even worse offender?

In fact, cell phones are so dangerous to privacy that according to above article,

Christians in Iran have learned that they must take the batteries entirely out of their cell phones before they gather for home church meetings.  If they don't take the batteries out of their cell phones, there is a good chance that the secret police will show up and drag them off to prison.

I doubt anyone will change their habits as these sorts of stories become more common, but I do hope that we will at least begin to ask ourselves is newer is always better.

VIDEO: News story on cell phone tapping.

News to Know: Obama Lawyer admits forgery, IRS tries to lock you up

• The IRS may soon be able to revoke your travel plans at will. A new bill will allow the IRS to keep you from leaving the country by merely alleging you owe unpaid taxes. Land of the free, huh? And home of the brazen abuse of power.
• Obama's Lawyer admits his birth certificate is forged.
• It's old news for most of us, but in case you didn't know, Obama is Marxist radical Saul Alinsky's best student.
• New $2B spy center in Utah -- do you believe they aren't spying on you? How can one believe an organization with no accountability to keep its word? If there's one thing politics ought to teach us is that the less transparent departments, politicians, panels, etc. are, the more likely it is that they're corrupted beyond imperial Rome.

News to Know: Animal Farm IRL, Obama flag

• Holder 1995: We must brainwash people on guns

• Executive Order Panic: Martial Law in the US? --Maybe not.

• Obamacare will cost twice as much as figured

• Dem HQ hoist American flag with Obama's image

• Big Pharma pushes drug to "cure racism" --While racism is evil, do we really want to fight bad ideas with pills rather than Reason?

• Gaystapo: Arrest British Vicars for "hate crime" of disagreement --Freedom of speech is on its deathbed in the UK. Whatever position you take on the morality of homosexual behavior, we ought to agree that freedom of speech and freedom of thought are the hallmarks of a free society. If you lose your intellectual freedoms, no other freedom matters, nor can it be preserved.

News to Know: Obama claims "right" to assassinate U.S. citizens at will

In Soviet America, president assassinate YOU.

FBI Director: I have to check to see if Obama has the right to assassinate Americans on U.S. soil.

"President Obama has just stated a policy that he can have any American citizen killed without any charge, without any review, except his own. If he’s satisfied that you are a terrorist, he says that he can kill you anywhere in the world including in the United States. . .You’ve now got a president who says that he can kill you on his own discretion. He can jail you indefinitely on his own discretion."

Whatever happened to the fifth amendment? (And amendments IV and VI, for that matter.)

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. - Amendment V

Protesting soon to be illegal in the U.S.?

Goodbye, First Amendment: 'Trespass Bill' will make protest illegal.

A governments which makes laws to protect itself from its citizens is a government which is not governing, but tyrannizing. Bad governments, like criminals, invariably suffer the paranoia of being challenged by good men.

News to Know: Your body is now an FDA regulated drug/ FBI on Twitter/ Wolfman hunted

AMERICAN TOTALITARIANISM:

• U.S. Government to mine social media to prevent "terrorism" & "uprisings"
  

• FDA claims that your body is a drug and they have the authority to regulate it
  

• 99 Years of Evil: Celebrating the 16th Amendment

AMERICAN PERSECUTION:

• Michigan city faces more penalties for arresting Christians

BRITISH TOTALITARIANISM:

• Last free Brit hunted by cops "for his own good"

STAND FOR LIBERTY - Read and sign the Manhattan Declaration HERE.

• You can also sign their petition against the Obama administration's overt attack on religious freedom HERE.

If you aren't familiar with the Manhattan Declaration, take a look. Join the movement!

Persecution Update 10 Feb 2012

VOM-USA Prayer Update for February 10, 2012

PAGE SOURCE

Laos--Village Leaders Retract Demands
Source: VOM Contacts

Proverbs 15:1-2
A soft answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.
The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly,
But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.

A pastor's wise words turned away the demands of a village leader in Laos recently. On Nov. 21, 2011, seven village officials demanded that a pastor and his church members sign documents promising they would stop witnessing. The church members refused to sign, explaining that to do so would be a betrayal of God's teachings. The village head continued to pressure them, saying, "Christians are not good people. They do not drink, smoke or participate in the important [village] occasions." The pastor finally agreed to sign the documents under the condition that he receive copies to show Lao Communist party officials, the governor and leaders of his church denomination. The village leaders then immediately backed off of their demands. Our VOM contact wrote, "The Christians in this village are poor and uneducated people, but the Holy Spirit puts the words in their hearts to say!" Thank God for these faithful villagers, and pray that they will remain strong in the face of harassment from local officials.

Pakistan--Evangelist Faces Harassment and Spiritual Attack
Sources: VOM Contacts

Acts 1:8
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

A VOM-supported evangelist in the Afghan-Pakistan border region reports that he is being harassed by a local Muslim leader and is also under attack by spiritual forces. After a recent Christmas service that was attended by a few Muslims, the evangelist received a letter warning him that his congregation was not respecting the Muslim call to prayer. Police have monitored the evangelist's activities, and the local mullah has told his audience that Christian activities "must be stopped." The evangelist says the region historically has been difficult for mission workers and that he is affected spiritually when he goes on prayer walks. Pray that God will grant supernatural strength to this brother and his church.

Azerbaijan--New Laws Further Restrict Religious Freedom
Sources: Forum 18 News, VOM Canada

1 Timothy 2:1-4
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Under new amendments to Azerbaijan's Criminal and Administrative Codes, anyone who distributes religious materials that haven't been through state censorship may be imprisoned for two to five years or fined the equivalent of nine years' salary. President Ilham Aliyev signed the amendments into law on Dec. 12, 2011, the latest in a series of increasingly restrictive legislative actions by the government. In July 2011, amendments introduced new controls on religious education among other restrictions. In December 2010, fines for illegal religious activity under the Administrative Code were greatly increased, and in 2009, the Religion Law was twice amended to restrict rights and freedoms related to religion. Pray that President Aliyev will stop enacting laws that restrict the religious freedoms of his people, and pray that believers in Azerbaijan will continue to be bold in sharing their faith.

Page borrowed from the VOM.