In China: Censorship, Control over Net Users - Amnesty
China is exerting ever-greater control over Internet usage, including arrests and prosecutions of those providing information about the country's SARS epidemic, stated Amnesty International in a report released today. The report also refers to U.S.-based tech companies that are selling Chinese authorities the means to impose Internet censorship.

Swiss woman seeks pardon for aiding Jews during World War Two - WLOX, MS
Most people would now consider Aimee Stitelmann a hero for helping Jews escape to Switzerland during World War Two. :: Wow, what an inspiring story.

Cuba Tightens Its Control Over Internet - AP
Cuba tightened its controls over the Internet on Friday, prohibiting access over the low-cost government phone service most ordinary citizens have at home.

This Car Can Talk. What It Says May Cause Concern - NYT (sub)
OnStar is one of a growing number of automated eyes and ears that enhance driving safety and convenience but that also increase the potential for surveillance.

Consolidating the Christian Blogosphere - IFC
If you like to keep up with what the Christian blogging community is saying, browsing the Christian blogosphere just got a bit easier: The Blogdom of God is a meta-blog that aggregates new posts and content from Christian blogs all over the Web.

The Twelve Voices of Chistmas
Back to the Bible (BTTB) invites you to hear Dr. Kroll's The Twelve Voices of Christmas on its Web site. "The Twelve Voices" is an audio reenactment of the stories of twelve people who were witnesses to the coming of the Messiah. Hear the powerful retelling of the impact that Christ's birth had on these well-known individuals and hear the voices of disclosure, disbelief, blessing, preparation and more. Enjoy this popular Christmas feature as you reflect on the real meaning of Christmas.

Tiny transmitters give retailers, privacy advocates goosebumps
USA Today reports, "Say hello to RFID: radio-frequency identification. If you don't know about it already, you're going to. Because, depending on who you ask, RFID technology is either a giant can of WD-40 on the wheels of commerce and inventory, or a spawn of the evil military-industrial complex that (still) plans to enslave us all."

Send Free Bibles To Persecuted Christians
Right now, 200 million Christians are living under restriction and persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ. Most do not even have their own copy of the Bible. Now there is a unique new way that you can provide your suffering brothers and sisters with a portion of God's Word at no cost to you. By visiting The Bible Site on the Internet you can click a button that will send a scripture portion to a persecuted Christian, funded completely by sponsors of the site.

Reading the Ancient Bible Online - IFC
Is it possible to read the Bible in its original languages online? What do you need to read the Bible in its original languages? Where online can the original texts be found? IFC has gathered links and resources to help you start exploring online Bible texts in Greek and Hebrew.

125 Christian Meeting Halls in China Shut - AP
Authorities in an east China province have sealed off 125 Christian gathering places since July, cutting off 3,000 believers from their places of worship, a human rights organization said Thursday.

Ukraine moves to tighten control of Internet - AFP
The Ukrainian parliament passed the first reading of a bill banning publication -- including on the Internet -- of anything that promotes terrorism, the overthrow of the state or damages an individual's reputation.

Encryption revolution: the tantalizing promise of 'unbreakable' codes - AP
Code-makers could be on the verge of winning their ancient arms race with code-breakers. After 20 years of research, an encryption process is emerging that is considered unbreakable because it employs the mind-blowing laws of quantum physics. This month, a small startup called MagiQ Technologies Inc. began selling what appears to be the first commercially available system that uses individual photons to transfer the numeric keys that are widely used to encode and read secret documents. Photons, discrete particles of energy, are so sensitive that if anyone tries to spy on their travel from one point to another, their behavior will change, tipping off the sender and recipient and invalidating the stolen code.

Lifeway & 'Left Behind' boost evangelism with end-times aids - BP News
LifeWay Christian Resources is partnering with the creators of the popular "Left Behind" series to help individuals and churches use the apocalyptic thrillers as tools to share the Gospel. The evangelistic strategy, called "Share Eternity with Someone Today," is available to download for free at LifeWay.com.

Religion Journal Focuses on International Missions
ReligionJournal, a Christian Internet news service, focuses on international missions news as it reports the latest in evangelism and world missions. Read the "Evangelism & Missions Report" about missionaries in Africa, anticipating a renewed Gospel interest following President Bush's visit there. Learn how evangelicals are "on the move" in Romania and about prayer-walking in Chicago. Enjoy a Christian Aid report from India, Bible League news around the world, news on the International Charismatic Catholic Renewal Services and a highlighted story on Top Chretien's major French Christian presence on the Internet. Subscribe to receive Religion Journal's weekly headlines news and keep updated on what God is doing in His world today!

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church Day
There are many Christians being persecuted all over the world in places like Egypt, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Latin America, Cuba and France. Join with millions of Christians all over the world on November 9th, 2003 in celebrating the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.

Startup Says Quantum Crypto Is Real - Light Reading
Light Reading yesterday announced it's shipping what appears to be the first security system based on quantum cryptography. Quantum cryptography goes a step further than electronic cryptography through its employment of a stream of photons, the quantum properties of which determine the key. The fun part is that if an intruder observes or intercepts the transmission, those properties get changed -- an unavoidable principle of quantum mechanics -- meaning the sender and receiver can tell if anyone is eavesdropping. Perhaps more important, the key can't be copied or faked.

American Tract Society - BOTCW
American Tract publishes attention arresting evangelistic literature and interactive Christian cd-roms, as well as growth, discipleship and witnessing resources for the local church.

Priests to train on Temple Model - Isreal Today
For several months, Jewish experts have been working on a replica of the Third Temple in the blazing heat near the Dead Sea. The Jewish community of Mitzpe Yericho, between Jerusalem and Jericho, is home to the model, which is built on a 1:1 scale. Covering an area of 25,000 square meters (269,000 square feet), it will function as a training site to prepare priests (kohanim) for service in the Third Temple in Jerusalem.

Group lobbies for domain buyers' privacy - ZDNet
Individuals and small-business owners should be able to buy domain names without being required to divulge their mailing address, phone number and e-mail address, an international coalition plans to say in a letter Tuesday evening. Currently, the Internet Coalition for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) broadly requires that such details be made publicly available through the "Whois" directories. That policy enables spammers, direct marketers and identity thieves to loot the directory for personal information about domain name owners, the coalition's draft letter to ICANN charges.

Take A Whirlwind Tour of the Bible
Does the prospect of ever becoming familiar with the history and characters of the Bible seem daunting? Whirlwind Bible Tours(WBT) understands--and they've taken it upon themselves to give Internet visitors a fast-paced, humorous tour of the major people and events of the Bible. You will receive "a whimsically humorous and brief overview of the Bible" with these intriguing learning categories: "Earth: The Early Years"; "My World's Fallen and I Can't Get Up"; "Moses: the Great Escape"; "War and Peace (Repeat)"; "Decline and Fall of the Israeli Empire" and "Jesus People: The Early Years." If you're the sort of person who doesn't know his Jeremiah from his Jehoshaphat, WBT's light-hearted overview of Bible basics may be right up your alley! Parents will want to check out Discovering the Bible [Microsoft Word document], a coordinating Bible quiz developed for a 7th grade class by Geoff Roberts-Thomson of "Community and Religious Education" in Melbourne, Australia.