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Indonesian Pastor Attacked by Muslims Brought to you by The Voice of Martyrs

Although he lost his teeth from a machete attack by a Muslim fanatic, Santoso returns with new teeth to share Christ. "Santoso" is a farmer and a pastor for a small village church in Indonesia. He was attacked on the way home after sharing Christ with Muslims on a farm in the city of Poso. He and a friend, both on motorbikes, were hit with a machete wielded by a Muslim who jumped from a bush. The Muslim tried to cut off his head but missed, hitting him in the mouth. He ran to his village holding his face. Because of the attack Santoso lost 10 teeth and damaged his tongue and his friend's fingers were cut off. (This was the third attempt on Santoso's life.) VOMedical staff has flown him to Java twice for treatment and is happy to report that Santoso now has teeth implants. Before going into his last surgery, he told us, "I read Ephesians 1:19 which promises God's great power to us who believe. God sends me power so I can bear suffering. We rejoice that one Muslim has come to Christ." Christians across the 3,000 inhabited islands of Indonesia are suffering increased attacks, church burnings, imprisonment and threats from angry mobs because of their bold faith in Jesus Christ! Much of the world would like you to believe that Christians are no longer persecuted but Santoso would disagree. Now you can stay informed of what is really happening to your Christian brothers and sisters in countries like Indonesia and discover practical ways that you can get involved. Subscribe to receive your free monthly newsletter from The Voice of the Martyrs.

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On Friday, the New York Times suggested that the Bush administration has instituted "a major shift in American intelligence-gathering practices" when it "secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without [obtaining] court-approved warrants."

But in fact, the NSA had been monitoring private domestic telephone conversations on a much larger scale throughout the 1990s - all of it done without a court order, let alone a catalyst like the 9/11 attacks.

In February 2000, for instance, CBS "60 Minutes" correspondent Steve Kroft introduced a report on the Clinton-era spy program by noting:

"If you made a phone call today or sent an e-mail to a friend, there's a good chance what you said or wrote was captured and screened by the country's largest intelligence agency. The top-secret Global Surveillance Network is called Echelon, and it's run by the National Security Agency."
NSA computers, said Kroft, "capture virtually every electronic conversation around the world."

Echelon expert Mike Frost, who spent 20 years as a spy for the Canadian equivalent of the National Security Agency, told "60 Minutes" that the agency was monitoring "everything from data transfers to cell phones to portable phones to baby monitors to ATMs."

Mr. Frost detailed activities at one unidentified NSA installation, telling "60 Minutes" that agency operators "can listen in to just about anything" - while Echelon computers screen phone calls for key words that might indicate a terrorist threat.

The "60 Minutes" report also spotlighted Echelon critic, then-Rep. Bob Barr, who complained that the project as it was being implemented under Clinton "engages in the interception of literally millions of communications involving United States citizens."