There were some stories that defied classification- like the mystery of Jesus' Foreskin , which is actually a pretty fascinating glimpse into the inner politics of the Catholic Church if you can just get past the absurdity of it all. Atheist Hemant Mehta made a statement by auctioning off his soul on Ebay, and offering critiques of the Church who bought it. The uber-creepy documentary "Rape of the Soul " may or may not be the beginning of another round of Satanic Panics with its insistence that renaissance art is encoded with secret, Satanic symbols that encourage priestly pederasty- absurd on its face yet strangely well-promoted. Also significant is the story of fanatical, sectarian "kabbalists" in Israel publicizing their repeated use of death curses against public policy-makers they disagree with.

