New Statesman - Inside Islam's ''terror schools'', 28th March 2005 William Dalrymple reports from NWFP (citing Kepel in the process)

Top marks for sect schools that shun the modern world - Times Online, 22 Mar 05 "The Exclusive Brethren, which also believes that members should not go to university because it is too “worldly”, runs 43 private schools educating 1,400 children ...

" ... Television, radio, mobile telephones, newspapers and going to places of entertainment are all banned. Computers and the internet are regarded as tools of the Devil."

Aljazeera.Net - Ethiopia Jews battle Israeli prejudice non-tech, but interesting perspective on Falasha experience.

CWN 231, Seekers turn to cyberspace as gospel goes high-tech: "According to Pew Internet Research, nearly two-thirds of online Americans use the Internet for religious activities and 30 percent have searched for spiritual information on the Web.
"

The New York Times > International > Asia Pacific > Chinese Censors and Web Users Match Wits: "For specialists in China's Internet controls, though, the gathering of legislators and top political leaders offers a chance to measure the state of the art of Web censorship ...

" ... "All of the big mistakes made in China since 1949 have had to do with a lack of information," said Guo Liang, an Internet expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing. "Lower levels of government have come to understand this, and I believe that since the SARS epidemic, upper levels may be beginning to understand this, too.""

Wired 13.03: Howard Stern and the Satellite Wars, March 05 Censorship issues at stake here.

The New York Times > Books > A Mormon Daughter's Book Stirs a Storm, Feb 24 05 This refers to a book entitled "Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith" by Martha Beck: " ... Mormons around the country [USA] have participated in an e-mail campaign against the book, sending more than 3,500 messages to Oprah Winfrey, who has featured 'Leaving the Saints' on her Internet site and in the March issue of O, the Oprah Magazine. The magazine includes a monthly self-help column by Dr. Beck, who has a doctorate from Harvard. "

Asia Times Online :: The anatomy of a Thai porn scandal, 19 Feb 05: "Thailand's Buddhist-majority culture is generally conservative about sexuality, in the typical Asian sense ...

" ... Yet the government works constantly to keep these "dark influences" in check and to restrain, at least, the sex and pornography industries. The government even employs a special section of its police force consisting of computer experts who constantly seek out Thai pornography on the Internet and block access to it within the country. In some cases, this unit even tracks down and prosecutes adult-content webmasters when they are located in Thailand."

arabherald.comm 'Not all Jews are Zionists', 25 Feb 05 non-tech story

BBC NEWS | Entertainment | TV and Radio | Simpsons' gay character is Patty, 21 Feb 05: "In There's Something About Marrying, which has aired in the US, Homer Simpson becomes an internet minister for dozens of same sex marriages"

Douglas E. Cowan, Cyberhenge: Neopaganism on the Internet (Routledge 2004) Just received this book. Interesting to compare approaches to cyber-materials, and to observe the theoretical structure to the subject matter. The book highlights important (and unusual to the 'uninitiated') materials. Full feedback on completion. Doug Cowan is co-editor of Religion Online: Finding Faith on the Internet, which I have a chapter in.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Know thine enemy "The Vatican's exorcism rule book warns priests the devil "goes around like a roaring lion looking for souls to devour", but such is the perceived rise in his worship that a Catholic university is offering clerics classes to better identify their foe."

BEN HARPER [.net] - the official site Grammy Award winning traditional soul gospel album album "There Will Be a Light," with the Blind Boys of Alabama, is featured on this page, which contains WM/RP clips

BBC NEWS | 'Cyber church' launched in Denmark "The Danish church has launched a special online service to try to introduce the computer generation to Christianity." Interesting report showing the cyber church in action [note: this is a film clip, using the BBC News Player]

MSNBC - Yahoo sees small victory in Nazi dispute: "Free speech activists and Yahoo Inc. declared a small victory Thursday in a dispute over whether the e-commerce giant can host auctions for Nazi memorabilia on its U.S. sites."

It's only rock'n'roll... CNN.com - Rock Hall unhappy with Jewish Web site - Feb 9, 2005

AFP/TehranTimes, Chinese Internet users expected to reach 134m by late 2005: "The number of Internet users in China will hit 134 million by the end of 2005, consolidating its position as the second largest market in the world after the United States, a research firm said."

Blogarama - Religion catalogue of 'religion'-oriented blogs

Introducing the Telefon-Engel (Telephone Angel): How to stay in touch - even when you're dead | The Register: "An inventor from Osnabruck, Germany, has released a mobile phone for the deceased. The idea is that once your loved one is six feet under, you will still be able to talk to them, even if the conversation might be a little one-sided."