items of interest

J. Michael Parker with contributions from Todd Spangler

"As part of a long-term program to usher in change in the mindset of convicts serving sentences in jails, [the] Maharashtra [state] government [in india] has introduced a series of lectures by prominent spiritual leaders to be delivered in various prisons, the state's junior minister for prisons, Kripashankar Singh, said. ... 'I had made a statement on the floor of the house that there is an urgent need for reforms relating to state prisons. A prisoner who serves his sentence and leaves the prison should be a changed person. If not, the entire motive behind the punishment fails,' Sing said. 'Hence, I have decided to organize a series of lectures by various members supporting peace and nonviolence, which will be delivered at regular intervals within the walls of the prison,' he said."

Religious leaders to lecture prisoners"
©2003 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd.
May 7, 2003

"The Matrix Reloaded and Bruce Almighty are the season's hottest opening movies, the first raking in $93.3 million in its first weekend and the latter $86.4 million. Other popular films with religious themes or subplots released recently or soon to come include A Walk to Remember, The Passion, The In-Laws, and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. That's no surprise to Ted Baehr, publisher of Movie-guide, a Christian publication that critiques films and tracks their success. 'The number of films with religious content has been growing geometrically,' Baehr said. 'In 1985, we found one film with positive content. There were more than 100 last year.'