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Hilton also ruled that Lamparello sought to make a profit by selling a book on the site via a link to amazon.com.

Lawyers for owner of the site, Christopher Lamparello (who didn't own JerryFalwell.com, but shares the same lawyers), will appeal.

Both sides are quoted in the Associated Press accusing the other of attempting to silence opposition.

Real silencing
Make what you will of the free-speech battles in the Falwell case, but a story out of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, may help to put it in perspective. On Saturday, police raided Christian station Radio Hosanna after it reported on the arrest of owner Albert Lukusa, who is the pastor of the Nouvelle Cité de David (New City of David) church. Lusaka had in a recent sermon accused the government of corruption and mismanagement. He has not been formally charged, but ANR, the National Intelligence Agency, accuses him of insulting President Joseph Kabila and "inciting people to revolt against national authorities."

On Wednesday, the station rebroadcast the sermon to inform listeners why he'd been arrested, then invited listeners to talk about it on the air. During the call-in portion, the Committee to Protect Journalists says, "ANR agents and police stormed the station, confiscated equipment, including the transmitter, and arrested seven station employees. These included four journalists."

The employees were freed on Saturday, but the station is still off the air.

Olympics:

• Faith-based sprinting | At 21, he is one of the fastest men in the world over 100 metres and is a strong prospect for a medal at the forthcoming Olympics, but most important to Asafa Powell is winning for God (Jamaica Gleaner)
• An overlooked star | Many experts were surprised when Azusa Pacific's Clay won the decathlon at the Olympic trials (Los Angeles Times)
• Gods behind the Games | Athens Olympics will cast spotlight on ancient deities (The Dallas Morning News)
• Church prays for Olympic athletes not to be lazy | Athletes and sports fans should spend the days of the Olympic Games abhorring evil, clinging to good led by brotherly love and should not be slothful," Greece's Orthodox Church said in a statement (Reuters)

Religion and the Democratic Party:

• Democrats are trying to make a leap of faith | Kerry's campaign is working to connect with churchgoers, who tend to vote Republican (Los Angeles Times)
• Kerry seeks to close Democrats' 'religion gap' | Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has begun speaking more openly about his faith, a move political experts say is crucial to chipping away at President Bush's advantage among churchgoers (Associated Press)
• Democrats' religious coordinator resigns | The Democratic National Committee is seeking a replacement for the Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson (Associated Press)
• All quiet on the abortion front? | The president of Planned Parenthood discusses her take on the Democratic National Convention and what the Kerry campaign could be doing better (Newsweek)
• Kerry backs Missouri ban on gay marriage | Drawn into a Missouri debate over same-sex marriage, Sen. John F. Kerry said in an interview published Friday that he would've voted for the gay marriage ban passed overwhelmingly this week by state voters (Los Angeles Times)
• Kerry's zealotry | Extremism in defense of science is no virtue (Eric Cohen, The Weekly Standard)

The Passion:

• 'The Passion' premieres in Malaysia, piracy thrives | Mel Gibson's box office smash "The Passion of The Christ" had its Malaysian premiere on Wednesday before a Christians-only audience even as pirated DVD copies flooded the market (Reuters)

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August (Web-only) 2004, Vol. 48