Resources

“Mindmap of the History of the Internet (Incomplete),” uploaded on June 20, 2008 by Kichigai Mentat on flickr, licensed under Creative Commons deed Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

The current effort by Baha’is all over the world to refute “baseless” and “thoroughly discredited” allegations against the Baha’i Faith by the government of Iran has been vigorous and has utilized the Internet like never before. As noted on page 2 of the current issue of  The American Baha’i, the Baha’i response to criticism and opposition on the Internet is noble and distinctive.-gw

“Blogs, social networks, multimedia presentations, discussion forums and other Internet tools provide creative ways to share insights from the teachings of Baha’u'llah and relate them to the central issues of individual and social well-being. Baha’is welcome an unfettered and constructive examination of these teachings, but will not engage in forms of exchange of presentation that are divisive or contentious in character. At the same time, Baha’is will not hesitate to respond, in a spirit of courtesy and fairness, to serious misrepresentations of their Faith. …

“Internet initiatives by Baha’is should therefore aim to broaden vision concerning challenging spiritual and social questions, shape discourse in a unifying way, and emphasize the potentialities and promise of the present moment in human affairs. When harnessed in this way, the Internet can become a vehicle for promoting mutual understanding and learning, serving others, instilling hope about the human condition, and demonstrating rectitude of conduct.”

The American Baha’i came in the mail this week. Sitting on the corner of the kitchen table with the other mail of the day, it immediately caught my eye. The American Baha’i is to be treasured. It is gorgeous to look at, but more than that, is both mirror and marching orders. There is an online version, too. As is suggested in the current magazine, get new articles from the online edition of The American Baha’i sent directly to your browser. -gw

Regional conferences come alive again in these videos

Thursday, March 12, 2009, 2:04:34 PM | Eric Vanzanten

Presented to aid reflection and planning for action to win Plan goals

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Rebequa Getahoun Murphy: astute, compassionate

Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 2:56:03 PM | Tom Mennillo

Daughter of Ethiopian diplomat served as Counselor, respresentative to United Nations

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I am struck by how Internet savvy Baha’is have become as I read the March/April issue. The inside front cover calls our attention to offerings on the Baha’i Internet Agency’s website. Want to study a recent letter from the Universal House of Justice or messages from the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly? They are all on the Administrative website, www.usbnc.org. Concerned about the news from Iran? http://news.bahai.org has it. This coffee table display-lovely magazine, The American Baha’i, calls upon us to get wired. -gw

Thanks for passing this on, Kurt.-gw

Facebook to me
show details Mar 10 (1 day ago) Reply

Kurt invited you to join the Facebook group “BahaiResearch.com : Baha’i Software”….. 13 language and counting on …..

To see more details and confirm this group invitation, follow the link below:
http://www.facebook.com/n/?group.php&gid=64517472704&mid=20ba31G2871222fG14f9859G6

Ian Vink wrote at 7:00pm We’re working on a new feature called “Search Bookmarks” Basically you’ll be able to organize your searches for future reference. One very cool new feature is the Bookmark Share On The Web button. Click your bookmark and you can have it open it up in the web version! You can share the search with friends online. ooo….

feature this!

Sholeh to me
2:45 PM (1 hour ago) Reply

REALLY good interview!!  And the website, Soul Pancake, has been launched. 
S — http://sholeh.calmstorm.net

Okay, Sholeh. (Hey that rhymes!) -gw

http://www.oprah.com/article/spirit/inspiration/pkgoprahssoulserieswebcast/20090309_oradio_oss_rwilson

Part 1  Watch Now Listen Now 

Part 2  Watch Now Listen Now 

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I tip my hat on this one to Martin who bookmarked this on Delicious. -gw

Where is the world heading? A bounty of being a Baha’i is that you know the general direction, although not necessarily the specific outcome. Baha’is know that “peace is inevitable,” for example. We have been given the Minor Plan of God to carry out. The Major Plan proceeds mysteriously. Here is a video that gets us to thinking about the future and, by implication, what we might want to do to influence it. Thanks, Praveen, as always, for passing on such gems. -gw
 

The “Did You Know” Presentation
was developed for a teachers meeting in the US and went viral on the Web in February 2007 and has been seen by more than 30 million online viewers. There are many versions available at Did You know! . In case you would like to take part in the conversation you could visit Shift Happens. If you would like to use the presentation for an Audience , some suggestions are available at Suggestions. Do leave your comments on where do you think the world is heading .
Warm  Greetings,
Praveen

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Have a look at www.qiblih.com a new website I put together to find the direction to Bahji with google maps. - William

Another amazing application for Baha’is to help them with their spirtual practices. Thanks William! -gw

In the Bahá’í Faith the Qiblih is the location that Bahá’ís should face when saying their daily obligatory prayers, and is fixed at the Shrine of Bahá’u'lláh in Bahjí, near Akká, in present day Israel.

Q: Why is the line not straight?
A: The direction is determined by the shortest path between two points on the surface of a sphere. The shortest path lies on an arc of a great circle. When a path along a great circle is drawn on a flat map, it usually looks curved.

Q: Why are there two different direction indicators?
A: The map data provided by Google is based on true north. The “Magnetic Direction” indicator factors in the magnetic declination for your geopraphic region so that you can use a magnetic compass. Magnetic declination varies both from place to place, and with the passage of time.

http://qiblih.com/

Bahai.org – The Baha’i World

news.bahai.org

The official presence of the Baha’i Faith on the Web. A body of authentic material presented by the Baha’i International Community. Available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and some others.

 Bahai.org has a traffic rank of:  94,074

Bahai.org users come from these countries:

United States 28.9%

China 12.8%

Iran 6.2%

Germany 4.5%

Australia 4.2%

 Iranpresswatch.org

 Iranpresswatch.org has a traffic rank of:  652,651

 Iranpresswatch.org users come from these countries:

United States 53.8%

Iran 17.7%

Canada 5.1%

Photo: Uploaded on March 8, 2008 by Shahram Sharif on flickr, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

Another avenue of communication. -gw

SpeakOut4Bahais.net is a volunteer project to provide an online platform for free and organic expression and support by all people over to address the issues of religious persecution and denial of human rights in Iran and other places in the world.

The site is especially intended to focus attention of the current threats facing leaders of the Baha’i Faith in Iran (right).

http://www.speakout4bahais.net/