My Way News - Iran: new audience for US scholar's protest guide
AP reports: "Iranian protesters wondering what to do next are being encouraged to consult a source that helped drive a decade of nonviolent revolutions in Eastern Europe: a how-to guide to toppling dictatorships written by a retired American scholar who is little known outside of activist circles. But the Iranian regime definitely knows about 81-year-old Gene Sharp. His name and references to his 1993 book have buzzed around opposition Web sites and social networks."

Comment: His book From Dictatorship to Democracy can be downloaded here in PDF form.

My Way News - Internet companies embrace human rights guidelines
AP reports: "Leading Internet companies, long criticized by human-rights groups for their business dealings in China, agreed Tuesday to new guidelines that seek to limit what data they should share with authorities worldwide and when they should do so."

Comment: It's nice to see that these companies recognize that they have a responsibility when dealing with repressive countries, but I'd like to see how these new polices fare when tested by real events. Is this just PR?

My Way News - Pope Benedict urges help for Iraqi Christians
AP reports: "Pope Benedict XVI urged the world to help Iraqis who have fled their country and called for better protection for Christians inside Iraq during talks Friday with Iraq's prime minister, the Vatican said."

U.N. scheme to make Christians criminals:
WND reports "'The 'defamation of religion' resolutions establish as the primary focus and concern the protection of ideas and religions generally, rather than protecting the rights of individuals to practice their religion, which is the chief purpose of international religious freedom law.' 'Furthermore, 'defamation of religion' replaces the existing objective criterion of limitations on speech where there is an intent to incite hatred or violence against religious believers with a subjective criterion that considers whether the religion or its believers feel offended by the speech,' the group continued."

Comment: Basically this is an approach to prevent missionary activity, to stop people from sharing their religion with the intent of winning converts. It "protects" one religion from another religion, it doesn't protect religious freedom, at least not in the way we understand that in the West.

My Way News - Ways consumers can safeguard personal data on Web
AP reports: "Your privacy protections may disappear with a court order or subpoena, but there are steps that privacy activists suggest you take to reduce your exposure."

Comment: This AP report gives four tips on protecting your privacy on-line. I'd like to re-post the whole thing (because it's so short), but that would probably be a violation of copyright, so read it before AP removes it and it becomes a dead link. Their best recommendation: use anonymizing software like Tor to avoid leaving tracks on the net. We gave very little privacy left anymore, we need to jealously guard the little we have left. And, of course, for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are living in repressive countries this issue goes far beyond consumer privacy, it can literally be a matter of life and death.

China Cracks Down on Dissent
Here are two news reports that suggest that the underground church in China is in for some very difficult times as the Olympics approach:

My Way News - China Closes Christian-Linked Businesses
AP reports: "China has closed two businesses whose owners allegedly sought Christian converts in a traditionally Muslim region and also revoked the visa of an American citizen for illegal proselytizing, a rights group said Wednesday."

My Way News - Rights Group Condemns China Net Controls
AP reports: "Though the communist government promotes Internet use, it also has set up an extensive surveillance and filtering system to prevent Chinese citizens from accessing material considered obscene or politically subversive."

My Way News - Chinese Catholic Bishop Dies in Custody
AP reports: "A bishop who led an underground congregation of Roman Catholics and was repeatedly detained in China for his loyalty to the Vatican died in police custody, a monitoring group said Tuesday. [...] China's officially atheist communist government requires that Christians of all denominations worship in state-registered churches. Millions, however, instead worship in underground churches - known as 'house churches' because services are often held in private homes - risking arrest, fines and official harassment."

Protect your web searches
What's the best way to protect your web searches? This article from Lifehacker (Technophilia: Protect your web searches) recommends several basic strategies as well as some software and web services that can help you surf without leaving too much of a trail. This could be especially important for our brothers and sisters in China, where the government has just launched a new high visibility web surveillance program (BBC News - Virtual police patrol China web).

My Way News - Rights group accuses Yahoo of helping China arrest and torture
AP reports: "A human rights group sued Yahoo Inc. Wednesday on grounds the U.S. search company assisted China's communist government with torture by revealing information that led to the arrest of dissidents.[...] Activists, meanwhile, have criticized Cisco Systems Inc. for selling computer networking equipment that could potentially be used to monitor Internet use."

Guardian Unlimited - State Dept. Cites Saudi Arabia on Rights
The Guardian Unlimited reports on the release of the annual U.S. State Department report on religious freedom:

The State Department cited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for denying religious freedom to non-Muslims and found fault to a lesser degree with other allies including Israel, Belgium, France, Germany and Pakistan...Burma was accused of severe violations of religious freedom. China was faulted for showing insufficient respect for freedom of religion, Cuba for controlling and monitoring religious activities, and North Korea for not permitting religious freedom at all. Listed as hostile toward minority or nonapproved religions were Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, as well as Saudi Arabia. The State Department said that in Iran, Sunni Muslims, Bahais, Jews and Christians reported imprisonment, harassment, intimidation and discrimination based on religious belief. Burma was accused of severe violations of religious freedom. China was faulted for showing insufficient respect for freedom of religion, Cuba for controlling and monitoring religious activities, and North Korea for not permitting religious freedom at all. Listed as hostile toward minority or nonapproved religions were Eritrea, Iran, Laos, Sudan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, as well as Saudi Arabia. The State Department said that in Iran, Sunni Muslims, Bahais, Jews and Christians reported imprisonment, harassment, intimidation and discrimination based on religious belief.

Let's agree to pray for the persecuted church in these countries, that they will persevere and continue to shine the light of hope amid dark oppression.