To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: ZDNet Help Channel/HTML Viruses?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 11:18:53 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

------------
Help Channel
------------

ZDNet's Help Channel site map
http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/help_map.html

The ZDNet Help Channel is the mother lode of computer-related how-to
information. This site talks about EVERYTHING! ZDNet's Help Channel
offers complete sections on how to use Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows
CE, NT Server, NT Workstation, and even Macintosh! On top of all
that, the Help Channel offers two sections you simply should not miss:

     - The "tutorials." ZDNet offers free tutorials on how to add or
       repair computer hardware, as well as how to use Windows
       machines, Macs, the Internet, Microsoft Office, and several
       other software applications. In fact, you should pay
       particular attention to the "Applications Tutorials" in the
       Applications section of the site because their tutorials teach
       you how to use most of the software you probably own.

     - The "Tip Zone." ZDNet offers over 11,000 tips on how to use
       software applications, games, hardware, and so on. You can
       access the Tip Zone section directly at
       http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/tip_help/tip_help.html

-------------
HTML Viruses?
-------------

You may have recently seen warnings in the media that a new class of
computer viruses called "HTML viruses" has been found, and these
viruses can hide in Web pages or email messages. The story is true
... sort of.

HTML viruses exist (or at least they exist in test environments), but
they don't really cause any damage. In fact, HTML viruses are a
little hard to explain, but an article I found at ZDNet does a pretty
good job of cutting through the hype to tell you what is *really*
going on:

http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2168134,00.html

The story explains how HTML viruses are more theory than reality. In
other words, you don't have to panic.

The Internet Tourbus
December 3, 1998
http://www.TOURBUS.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Israeli & Global News items (12/6/98)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 11:18:53 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

                    PNC Will NOT Vote on Charter Change
     (WAFA, Dec. 5)Palestinian leaders have called a meeting of the
Palestinian Central Council in Gaza on Thursday to reaffirm their
acceptance of Israel's right to exist.
     "The Palestinian Central Council will meet in Gaza on Thursday at
10:30 a.m.," said Saleem al-Zanoun, who is the Speaker of the
Palestine National Council, a larger and broader body which includes
those who belong to the PCC.
     The PCC, speaking for the membership of the Palestine Liberation
Organization, is expected to endorse President Yasser Arafat's
nullification of articles in the PLO's charter which called for the
destruction of the state of Israel.
     Zanoun said, "President Yasser Arafat's letter to U.S. President
Bill Clinton which outlines the articles in the charter that have been
revoked by the PNC in 1996 will be submitted for discussion and the
125-member PCC will be required to vote to endorse it," he said.
     Members of the PNC, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the
cabinet and other Palestinian bodies are required to reaffirm their
support for the peace process in another meeting to be addressed by
Clinton and Arafat in mid-December.
     Zanoun said, "We have issued invitations to all 730 members
of the PNC, and to members of other Palestinian institutions to
attend this public meeting that would be addressed by President
Arafat and President Clinton,". Palestinian officials said the large
meeting would not vote for the nullification of the charter
provisions which call for Israel's destruction "We will not vote. We
will clap to the speeches of President Arafat and President Clinton,"
said negotiator Hassan Asfour.
     PLO Executive Committee member Mahmoud Abbas said: "The
extraordinary session of the PNC that was held in Gaza in 1996 had
overwhelmingly voted in favor of the cancellation of those provisions.
Therefore they do not exist and the PLO is now without a charter until
it drafts a new covenant," said
     Around 60 members of the Palestinian opposition in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip are preparing to hold a conference on the day set for
the large public meeting that would be attended by Clinton to express
their rejection to changes in the charter.

                  PA Threatens Violence Without Jerusalem
     The VOP reported today "The Palestinian leadership reiterated its
rejection of the Israeli conditions to implement the Wye River accord,
noting that the US reaction in this respect confirms that the
Palestinian position is sound, and that the Israeli allegations and
maneuvers are null and void. In its weekly meeting in Gaza last night
under the chairmanship of President 'Arafat, the leadership stressed
the great importance of popular and national activities aimed at
confronting the Israeli manipulation of the prisoners' issue.
     "The leadership also denounced the ferocious settlement onslaught
against the Palestinian lands and the Judaization policy pursued in
occupied Jerusalem. It also condemned the murders committed by the
Israeli fanatics and zealot extremists against our people. The
leadership called on the masses of our people to be cautious and
alert. It also called for closing ranks and for cohesion to defend
holy Jerusalem, the capital of our independent state. It stressed that
security and stability will not prevail in the region unless the holy
city returns as a liberated land and the capital of the independent
state of Palestine."

            PA's Sha'th Outlines Significance of Clinton Visit
     Today's VOP reports on the significance of President Clinton's
forthcoming visit. Dr. Nabil Sha'th, planning and international
affairs minister, said US figures consider the US President's upcoming
visit to Gaza and Bethlehem one of the most important political events
of the present era, adding that they are making intensive preparations
for the occasion and that this upcoming visit is as significant as
former US President Richard Nixon's visit to China. Dr. Sha'th said
Palestinian-US ties have entered an advanced, close, and very special
stage, especially since President Yasir 'Arafat's recent visit to
Washington.
     The minister added that the meeting between Presidents
'Arafat and Clinton, the talks they held on boosting bilateral ties
and the historic visit to the Palestinian territories, their arrival
at the Donors' Conference hall, and Clinton's introduction of 'Arafat
to the participants as a good friend are all very clear indications
of how much these ties have developed.
     Dr. Sha'th said that what distinguishes President 'Arafat's
recent visit to the US capital is the private invitations his
excellency received, which is a precedence not set by any other head
of state. Among the private invitations he received were invitations
for dinner at US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's residence
and World Bank President James Wolfensohn's residence. He also met
with a number of senators --democrats and republicans -- and some of
the most prominent and influential US political figures such as
former US Chief ofJoint Staff Colin Powell and Clinton's advisers.
     Minister Sha'th said President Clinton's bringing along of a
1,500-strong delegation in addition to his wife and daughter with him
to Palestine is one of the most important indicators of this progress.
He added, in this context, that Clinton's delegation includes round
300 US media personnel, 50 congressmen, important political figures,
ministers, economists, businessmen, and others.
     In Jerusalem, Palestinian Christian figures welcomed the upcoming
visit that President Clinton, the first lady, and the accompanying
delegation will pay to the Church of Nativity. Ibrahim Qandalaft,
official in charge of Christian affairs at the Ministry of Awqaf and
Religious Affairs, said this decision to visit is new proof of the US
president's respect for President 'Arafat as a man of peace and a
person who was awarded the Nobel Peace prize; adding that it is a good
gesture by him [Clinton] and the US people toward the Palestinian
people and their aspirations to achieve self determination and
establish their independent state.
     Mr. Qandalaft said Palestinians -- leadership and people
--welcome the US President's historic visit to Palestine, since it
will be the first time a US president will be the guest of the
generous Palestinian people. He voiced his hope that this visit be
followed by more steps, the most important of which is the US
recognition of the Palestinian state once it is declared.

           Arafat Says Russia To Move 'Rapidly' on Mideast Peace
     Yesterday's VOP reports that "President 'Arafat met with Russian
Minister of Internal Affairs Sergey Stepashin at the Presidential
Office in Gaza this afternoon.
     "Discussions dealt with the developments of the political
situation in light of the new Israeli conditions on the
implementation of the Wye River agreement, as well as
Palestinian-Russian relations. President 'Arafat stressed the
importance of the Russian roleas a cosponsor of the peace process.
     Arafat said, "We discussed many issues, including the peace
process and the dangers posed to it, especially the Israeli leaders'
recent statements on noncommitment to what has been agreed upon.
President 'Arafat declared that Russia will move quickly to establish
peace in the region.
     Arafat added, "They informed us that they will move rapidly. I
asked him to convey a special message to President Yeltsin and the
prime minister in Moscow.
     "The Russian internal affairs minister said he will inform his
leaders of the National Authority's stand as he heard it from
President Yasir 'Arafat today. He indicated that discussions dealt
with the role that Russia can play to develop the Palestinian police.
He praised the joint cooperation between the Palestinian and Russian
police."

           Religious Ministers Urge Clinton To Postpone Arrival
     Yesterday's Ma'ariv in a report by Ya'aqov Galanti writes that:
     "Religious ministers and Knesset members asked the prime
minister's bureau to urge the US President to postpone his arrival in
Israel and to avoid landing on Saturday evening in order to prevent
desecration of the Sabbath by security officials preparing the visit.
Inthe meantime, the visit will take place as scheduled on 12
December."

       The Future of Jews Lies in the Re-establishment of Caliphate
                        Palestine Times, Dec. Issue
     A Jewish historian from Tel Aviv has called on Arabs and Muslims
 to re-establish the Islamic caliphate "in order to bring about a
genuine, durable and just resolution of the conflict between Israelis
and Palestinians. "
     Professor Meyer Kaplan said in an interview with Palestine Times
that the future of Jews in Palestine would look doubtful and
precarious if the current state of Zionism remained unchanged, which
he said necessitated the establishment of an umbrella Islamic
caliphate transcending geopolitical borders and covering Palestine. He
said that Jews would accept in principle Islamic sovereignty over
Palestine "provided that the caliphate rules according to the law of
the Prophet." He cited the "law of Medina" as the most appropriate law
of the land in a prospective Islamic State where "Jews, Muslims,
Christians and others are considered citizens of the Islamic State."
     Kaplan lashed out at the current peace process, saying it is
"nothing" from the historical point of view, and that, historically
speaking, it is not worth the paper on which it is written. "Neither
Jews nor Arabs are satisfied with it, so each party will wait until
the time is ripe to leap on the other", he said.

                          Intelligence & Reports

                    Israel Condemned for Discrimination
                                BBC, Dec. 5
     UN criticises "second class status" of non-Jewish citizens
     The United Nations has condemned Israel for serious violations of
the international covenant on economic, social and cultural rights.
     In its first review of Israel's compliance, the UN Committee on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the body responsible for
monitoring the covenant, expressed its concern at the discrimination
faced by Palestinians.
     "The committee notes with concern that the government of Israel
does not accord equal rights to its Arab citizens," the committee says
in its observations, adding that Israel's emphasis on being the Jewish
state "encourages discrimination and accords a second-class status to
its non-Jewish citizens."
     The committee says that discrimination is not only widespread but
institutionalised
     "This discriminatory attitude is apparent in the comparatively
lower standard of living of the Israeli Arabs," the committee adds.
                         Fight against inequality
     Israeli officials said the government had made "tangible and
costly progress" in combating inequality and that the campaign would
continue.
     But they conceded that sometimes Palestinians suffer economically
because of security clampdowns necessary to fight terrorism.
     Israel also claimed that it was not responsible for guaranteeing
certain human rights in the occupied territories, an argument the
committee rejected, criticising Israel's over-emphasis on security
concerns.
     The committee said it still had not received the information it
needed on the situation in the West Bank and Gaza, but condemned what
it called Israel's large scale and systematic confiscation of
Palestinian land and property and its transfer to Jewish agencies.
     It also sharply criticised the common Israeli practise of closing
the occupied territories which it says has severe economic and social
consequences for the Palestinians.
                             Two year deadline
     In a list of 15 recommendations and suggestions, the committee
calls for equality of treatment for all Israeli citizens, respect for
the right to self-determination and recognition of the rights of Arab
Bedouin villages to basic services including water.
     It calls for an end to illegal Jewish settlements, arbitrary
evictions of Palestinians and the demolition of their houses.
     The committee has given Israel until November 2000 to comply with
the UN covenant.
     The committee, consisting of 18 independent experts, meets
annually to review how countries in the 137-nation International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights have met their
commitmentto assure an adequate standard of living to their citizens.

Israeli & Global News
http://www.cmep.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Iraqi Opposition Official on Plans to Topple Saddam
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 14:36:28 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

            Iraqi Opposition Official on Plans To Topple Saddam
             London Al-Majallah in Arabic 15-21 Nov 98 pp 13-14
     Interview with Nibras al-Kazimi, spokesman of the Iraqi National
Congress in Washington
     [Al-Majallah] Once again, you are counting on the United States
to help you get rid of Saddam Husayn. Has the United States not let
you down in the past?
     [Al-Kazimi] Last time, we counted on the US Administration. This
time we are counting on the Congress that passed the "Iraq Liberation
Law." This is a historic law. The US Congress has never issued a law
like this before.
     [Al-Majallah] Last time, US Vice President Al Gore gave you a
written pledge to back the Iraqi opposition, but he did not keep his
promise.
     [Al-Kazimi] That is why I just told you that, this time, we are
counting on Congress because the promises of the Administration are
not enough without a big political presence for us here in Washington
that would influence Congress. This is what happened.
     [Al-Majallah] Why did you differ with the Administration?
     [Al-Kazimi] They want to get rid of Saddam Husayn through a
military coup. In other words, they want to replace Saddam with
another Saddam. We refuse to drag the Iraqi people from one dictator
to another. The Iraqis are not savages who can be ruled only by
generals. The Iraqis want freedom and democracy like any other
civilized nation.
     [Al-Majallah] What is the alternative you are offering?
     [Al-Kazimi] Do you remember the Iraqi intifada near the end of
the Gulf war? Unfortunately, the Arab media did not cover it well but
it was an intifada in which 70 percent of the Iraqi people
participated. The forces of Saddam, however, destroyed it.
     [Al-Majallah] What is the guarantee that these forces would not
destroy your new plan?
     [Al-Kazimi] As I just told you, this time, we are supported by
the only superpower in the world and by a law passed by the Congress.
This time, when the intifada erupts, the US Administration will have
to help us because the Congress will force it to help us.
     [Al-Majallah] What kind of US assistance do you want?
     [Al-Kazimi] The most important point is that we do not want the
American soldiers to fight on our behalf or even to participate with
us. We will sacrifice our souls for the sake of Iraq. The law passed
by the Congress is very clear. It recommends weapons and assistance
for us, not the intervention of US forces alongside us.
     [Al-Majallah] What kind of US weapons?
     [Al-Kazimi] We want modern weapons to confront Saddam Husayn's
tanks and helicopters (his helicopters are not allowed to fly in the
south and the north).
     [Al-Majallah] Will you require US air cover with planes?
     [Al-Kazimi] If that is made available it will help, of course;
however, we are ready for war without air cover.
     [Al-Majallah] Will US generals help you in the planning?
     [Al-Kazimi] We are not helped by current generals in the US
forces but by retired generals. A large number of them participated
inthe Gulf war. They believe that the Gulf war is not over yet so
long as Saddam Husayn is in power.
     [Al-Majallah] Do you trust these retired generals and advisers
more than you trust the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)?
     [Al-Kazimi] The CIA let us down in northern Iraq. It fled and
abandoned the opposition when it was attacked by the forces of Saddam
Husayn.
     [Al-Majallah] What guarantee do you have that these retired
generals would not let you down either?
     [Al-Kazimi] They are a different breed. They are military people
who know how to plan a war. They also know the region because they
participated in the Gulf war. Moreover, the Congress is coordinating
with them.
     [Al-Majallah] Martin Indyk, the assistant secretary of state for
Middle East affairs, has said -- on behalf of the US Department of
State -- that the Iraqi opposition is weak.
     [Al-Kazimi] As I just told you, we do not trust the Department of
State or the CIA. Congress is with us and it is capable of forcing
them to implement the laws that they pass.
     [Al-Majallah] Will you need to proceed from countries neighboring
Iraq?
     [Al-Kazimi] We expect the countries neighboring Iraq to support
us because Saddam Husayn is hostile to all these countries. At any
rate, if the United States proclaims its full support for us and
pressured these countries to support us, they will do so.
     [Al-Majallah] Where will you proceed from, the north or the south
or the east or the west?
     [Al-Kazimi] We will proceed from any direction possible.
     [Al-Majallah] Some US experts have said that this plan is a
fantasy and that it will fail.
     [Al-Kazimi] Those who said this do not know anything about
military action. They are like Kordasman and Yulak [names as
transliterated]. They all believe in secret operations the way the
CIA does. However, what we will do will be out in the open and not
underground and will have nothing to do with the intelligence agency.
     [Al-Majallah] General Zini, the commander of the US forces in the
Gulf, also criticized your plan.
     [Al-Kazimi] General Zini told the Washington Post that he does
not know the details of the plan.
     [Al-Majallah] What is your timetable?
     [Al-Kazimi] President Clinton has signed the law passed by the
Congress. The next step is liberating the Iraqi opposition groups that
will be offered assistance.
     [Al-Majallah] And then?
     [Al-Kazimi] Opening the door to voluntary enrollment before any
independent Iraqi who believes in freedom.
     [Al-Majallah] Where will the training camps be located?
     [Al-Kazimi] This is to be determined later.
     [Al-Majallah] Will you start, say, in January?
     [Al-Kazimi] Yes, God willing.

Israeli & Global News
December 7, 1998
http://www.cmep.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: (Fwd) News Summary for Friday, December 4, 1998
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 14:32:14 -0500

From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------

          C U R R E N T N E W S S U M M A R Y
            by the Editors at ReligionToday.com

December 4, 1998

[...snip...]

Only God decides who goes to heaven, said Texas Gov. George W.
Bush, a professing Christian and possible Republican candidate
for the 2000 presidential nomination. He has come under fire for
saying five years ago that people who don't accept Jesus as their
savior won't go to heaven. The remark, reprinted in a New York
Times article, caused Anti-Defamation League director Abraham
Foxman to seek a clarification. The remark could be interpreted
as anti-Semitic, Foxman said.
..."What I said was that I believe that my faith tells me that
acceptance of Jesus Christ as my savior is my salvation, and I
believe that. I also, though, made it very clear that it's not
the governor's role who decides to go to heaven," Bush said last
week. He said a governor's job is to be tolerant and to promote
dialogue and mutual understanding and respect among people of
different beliefs, United Press International said. Asked if
faith in Christ is necessary for admission to heaven, Bush said,
"No. I believe that God decides who goes to heaven, not George W.
Bush."

[..snip..]

-----------
News from ReligionToday.com is Copyrighted by Media
Management. Content may be reproduced provided proper
credit is given to www.ReligionToday.com. Please go to
http://www.GOSHEN.net/Copyright.html to be sure you
meet all legal requirements.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: New Study
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 06 Dec 1998 14:44:01 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Hi folks....

Just wanted to tell you that BPR will be focusing and studying on the
book of Joel for the next few weeks. If you study along with us and
come across something interesting, please feel free to share it with
the list.

Thanks...

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Netanyahu says he can't stop Clinto visit
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 16:54:08 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

Netanyahu says he can't stop Clinton visit

Copyright (C) 1998 The Associated Press

JERUSALEM (December 7, 1998) -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
reflecting growing Israeli unease over an upcoming visit by President
Clinton, indicated Monday that the trip was initiated entirely by
Clinton.

"What am I going to tell him, not to come -- don't come? I can prevent
him from coming?" Netanyahu asked rhetorically in an interview on army
radio. "We're not accustomed to refusing someone who wants to come."

In another sign of tensions arising from the trip, the speaker of
Israel's parliament, Dan Tichon, said he intended to boycott events
with Clinton because the president did not plan to address the
Knesset.

Clinton's visit to Israel, which begins Saturday, is to be coupled
with a stop in the Gaza Strip, the first by a sitting U.S. president.

The United States has repeatedly said the trip is not intended as an
endorsement of Palestinian aspirations for statehood, but the
Palestinians see it as a powerful boost to their sovereignty hopes.

Speaking Monday to reporters in Gaza, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat
hailed the upcoming trip as "historical and great."

The presidential visit to Israel and the Palestinian lands is meant to
encourage both sides to stick to the timetable set out in the Wye
River accords signed in October.

However, Netanyahu said Clinton's trip "has value only if he
strengthens the Palestinian fulfillment of their obligations" under
the agreement.

In recent weeks, Israel and the Palestinians have accused one another
of failing to live up to various provisions, and Israel has threatened
to hold off on a scheduled Dec. 18 troop pullback.

Palestinians, for their part, are angry over stepped-up Jewish
settlement activity in the West Bank and Israel's failure to free
hundreds of prisoners jailed for anti-Israel activity.

Israel released the first 250 of a promised 750 Palestinian prisoners
last month, but they were mainly criminals, not so-called security
prisoners as the Palestinians have demanded.

In response, Palestinians have staged protests that have repeatedly
boiled over into violent street clashes. More demonstrations were
taking place in several West Bank towns Monday.

Also, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners were continuing a hunger
strike they began over the weekend.

The controversy over Clinton's visit also comes as Netanyahu is trying
to quell a potential parliamentary rebellion. Opposition from within
his coalition to Israel's ceding of West Bank land has forced
Netanyahu to seek new allies to prop up his government. A vote on
early elections was possible later Monday.

Netanyahu has been sparring publicly with his former foreign minister,
David Levy, who considered rejoining the shaky governing coalition in
exchange for the finance minister's job.

The prime minister said the two couldn't agree on economic principles
and that he wouldn't sacrifice Israel's economy to coalition politics.

The Clinton visit has exacerbated tensions within the government. At
Sunday's Israeli Cabinet meeting, a shouting match erupted over it,
according to Israel radio.

"Who invited President Clinton to the Gaza Strip?" Silvan Shalom, the
science minister, reportedly yelled at Netanyahu. Netanyahu said it
had been Clinton's idea, not his.

In Gaza, Clinton is to attend a meeting at which Palestinians will
reaffirm the nullification of clauses in their national charter
calling for Israel's destruction.

By SARI BASHI, Associated Press Writer

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Exclusive: Death Sentence on Israelis
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 7 Dec 1998 16:56:27 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

  ====================================================================
  
        Information Division, Israel Foreign Ministry - Jerusalem
              Mail all Queries to ask@israel-info.gov.il
                    URL: http://www.israel-mfa.gov.il
                         gopher://israel-info.gov.il
  ====================================================================
  

         Note: The translations of articles from the Hebrew press
               are prepared by the Government Press Office
              as a service to foreign journalists in Israel.
                 They express the views of the authors.
         --------------------------------------------------------

EXCLUSIVE: DEATH SENTENCE ON ISRAELIS
(Article by Nadav Haetzni, "Ma'ariv", Dec 3, 1998, "Shabbat
Supplement," pp. 2-3)

Not only has a Palestinian land law come into being, but a Palestinian
law on weapons is also now in effect, according to which it is
permissible for the Palestinian Authority to manufacture weapons and
accord its citizens the right to bear arms. Both of these laws are
part of a new stage in the Palestinian struggle against Israel.
Brigadier-General Uri Shoham, the Chief Military Prosecutor: "This is
a serious violation of the agreements with the Palestinians." Attorney
Tewfiq Abu-Ghazzaleh, Chairman of the Palestinian Legal Sub-committee:
"There is no declaration of war here, although I would understand
someone thinking that there was. If it were up to me, perhaps I would
not submit this law." Palestinian Justice Minister Freih Abu-Medein
declined to comment.

A few days after the signing ceremony at Wye River, Justice Minister
Tzahi Hanegbi wrote to the Prime Minister, and called his attention to
a new Palestinian law, which was, at that time, in the final stages of
enactment. It is called the "Law on Foreign Ownership of Real Estate
in Palestine," which was recently brought into law in secret in Gaza,
and a copy of which was received by chance by the Justice Ministry.
This law amounts -- according to jurists -- to a declaration of war on
the State of Israel.

Justice Minister Hanegbi made it clear to the Prime Minister that the
new law severely infringes on Israeli citizens' and authorities' land
acquisition rights of Israeli citizens and organisations, from both
sides of the Green Line, and complete contravenes the instructions of
the agreements with the Palestinians, including the Wye Agreement.

According to the new law, revealed here for the first time, any
Israeli citizen or institution, certainly any settler or the IDF,
holding land in "Palestine", is harming Palestinian "national
security". Together with this, any Palestinian who aids, in any way,
the acquisition or possession of land by an Israeli -- is guilty of
treason. The land will pass automatically to the treasury of the
Palestinian state, and the judgment on the Israeli holding the land or
the Palestinian selling it -- death.

A few months before the enactment of the land law, senior Justice
Ministry and IDF officials brought an additional Palestinian law to
the Prime Minister's attention. This was the "Firearms and Ammunition
Law", which was also passed in secret and signed by "Rais" Arafat last
May. According to Chief Military Prosecutor Brigadier-General Uri
Shoham, and Central Command Legal Adviser Colonel Shlomo Politis, this
law too constitutes a serious infringement of the agreements with the
Palestinians. It gives legitimacy to the Palestinian Authority itself,
to manufacture weapons and permit citizens to bear arms. All this is
seen by the State of Israel as onstituting a serious security threat,
violates the agreement between the sides, and demonstrates aggressive
intentions.

The two laws, on land and on weapons, constitute a single unit of land
and fire, and constitute a new and additional stage in the Palestinian
struggle against Israel. Despite numerous attempts by political and
professional elements to bring this to the attention of the Prime
Minister, both before and after the Wye Agreement, Netanyahu has done
nothing. It seems, however, from the Justice Minister's sharp words,
that he will soon lead the issue of hostile Palestinian legislation to
a serious crisis with the Palestinians.

IDF, the Anger and the Frustration But these two new laws do not
represent the whole picture. For a long time, senior figures in the
Justice Ministry and the IDF have been climbing the walls with anger
and frustration at Palestinian behavior in the legal sphere. According
to unambiguous articles in the Oslo Accords, which were ratified in
the Wye Agreement, the Palestinians are required to submit all
legislative initiatives to Israel via a special legal committee, in
order to enable Israel to examine whether the proposed legislation is
in keeping with the agreements. The laws are supposed to be submitted
to the legal committee prior to their enactment, so that it would be
possible to change or cancel them, before they become law.

Precisely because of this, the Palestinians have not, until today,
submitted even one law to Israel. In fact, they are carrying out, by
means of legislation, a war against Israel. Countless requests by
senior Justice Ministry officials to their Palestinian counterparts,
asking them to comply with the agreements and submit the laws which
have been enacted or are in the process of being enacted, have simply
been ignored. Copies of laws which have reached the Israeli side were
obtained by intelligence, or as a result of the monitoring of internet
sites and newspapers.

This "legal war", which has been completely ignored by the media, is
causing much anger and frustration on the part of the legal officials,
who are required to coordinate with the Palestinian Authority. They
constantly send letters and memoranda to politicians, but with no real
result.

>From the Land Registry to the Gallows The "Foreign Ownership of Real
Estate in Palestine" law, revealed here for the first time, marks a
new high in this legal war. In its English version, the law is only
two pages long, but this was enough to set off all the warning lights
among top Justice Ministry officials.

The law, which, as far is known, has already passed through all the
legislative processes, defines as "occupiers" the "Israeli occupying
authority and its civil and military institutions, settlements and
whomever is under their authority."

It states that "any actions conducted by or being conducted by the
occupying authority (Israel) on Palestinian real estate are considered
absolutely null and void." The law contains no definition of what
Palestinian land is, so that according to the accepted Palestinian
view, the law also applies to land in Tel Aviv, Acre and Haifa, and
certainly hat in Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria."

The law also prohibits "all persons who are not Arab Palestinians,
whether they are persons real or artificial, to possess any real
estate in Palestine or to obtain any material right, by any reason of
ownership ..." However, while regarding citizens of countries "with
which there is reciprocity" the Palestinian "Council of Ministers" may
permit the holding of real estate, a special article in the law states
that regarding "occupiers," that is the government and citizens of
Israel, the Council of Ministers has no authority to permit the
holding of real estate. Such land would be confiscated immediately by
the Palestinian authorities.

Of course, the law prohibits brokerage efforts, sales or approval of
ransactions to foreigners and "occupiers" from being carried out, and
states that "Any Palestinian who violates the terms of this law has
committed the crime of high treason," and will be punished
accordingly. A foreigner who violates the law "has committed harm to
national security" and will be punished accordingly. The punishment
for treason and harming national security is death. Thus, Israelis and
Palestinians are to march together from the land registry to the
gallows.

"A Severely Racist Law" So far as is known, the bill has secretly
passed through all of the required legislative procedures and was even
approved by Yasser Arafat. As stated above, not a word of this was
reported to Israel. By chance, the draft legislation reached senior
officials at the Justice Ministry last September, including attorney
Jean-Claude Nidam, who is responsible for contact with the Palestinian
Authority at the ministry. They were shocked and appealed to the
highest echelon of the judicial system, with a demand for action.

They clarified that "the orders of the aforementioned law severely
damage the real estate rights of the country's citizens and
institutions." They

also asserted that "the Interim Agreement clearly states that there
will be no harm to these rights, and a number of articles explicitly
determine that the (Palestinian) Council is obligated to honor the
existing rights." Therefore, they stated that, "there is a clear
contradiction between the law and the agreement."

They demanded that the Palestinians be informed that the law lacks any
validity and is void, and that the lessons from the very fact of its
legislation be learned.

Senior jurists both in and outside the civil service point to the even
more severe implications than those about which the official documents
speak. "This is a racist law, which, if it were legislated by a
friendly country such as Britain, we would interpret as a declaration
of war against us, and which would cause an immediate severing of
relations with it," says a senior jurist in the civil service. "We
must understand the meaning of the legislation. This law states that
any Israeli who owns land in a place that the Palestinians determine
is Palestine, certainly in the settlements and in Jerusalem, will be
sentenced to death. The same holds true for the Israeli government.
This is an intolerable law that harms the very ability to continue
coming into contact with whoever legislated the law."

Attorney Dudu Rotem, legal adviser to the Yesha Council, towards whose
members the law is especially directed, asserts that the implications
are even more serious: "According to this law, if I travel tomorrow to
Jericho they can arrest me, since every settler, due to his very
ownership of his home, harms Palestinian national security. In fact,
this is no law, but a joke. It is a dictator's order that grants
legitimacy to murder and racism, and harms every principle of law and
justice. However, the interesting thing is not what Arafat does, but
what the Israeli government will do regarding this law."

A Clear Threat to Israel On 6 July, the legal adviser to the IDF
Central Command and the Civil Administration, Col. Shlomo Politis,
wrote a letter to OC Central Command. He warned against another new
Palestinian law which had just been legislated. This is the
"Palestinian Firearms and Ammunition Law," which was approved in an
order by Yasser Arafat this past May, and which received nearly no
exposure.

The law permits the Palestinian Authority to manufacture weapons and
to issue licenses to carry all sorts of weapons. The position of the
Israeli jurists regarding it is unanimous. Col. Politis' opinion later
received further backing from Chief Military Prosecutor Brig. Gen. Uri
Shoham. Both view the law as a direct violation of the Oslo Accords.

According to Col. Politis, "The first part of the law, which deals
mainly with licensing and carrying weapons by Palestinians,
contravenes the orders of the Interim Agreement, since the law
authorizes the 'minister of interior' to give a weapons permit for
pistols and rifles." This "contravenes what is stated in the
agreement's security appendix, according to which the Palestinian
Police would be permitted to issue licenses only for pistols."

However, it seems that an even more severe aspect of the law is
expressed in its second section, which deals with the manufacture and
import of weapons. This section, states legal adviser Politis,
constitutes "a violation of the Interim Agreement orders which
prohibit the possibility of the manufacture and import of weapons and
ammunition."

"In the agreement's security appendix," he states, "it even says that
the Palestinian Police have an obligation to prevent the manufacture
of weapons in the PA areas."

The illegal legislation of this law was brought to the Prime
Minister's attention early last August. The issue was even raised a
number of times with Netanyahu and in the cabinet by the Justice
Minister, but without any result.

As was said, there is no disagreement between the jurists regarding
the meaning of the law, but the truth is that one does not need to be
a legal xpert to understand the full severity of the matter: the PA is
giving itself the imprimatur to manufacture, import and issue licenses
for weapons and ammunition, despite the fact that this imprimatur
contravenes both the spirit and the letter of its agreements with the
State of Israel, and despite the fact that it is clear to it that
manufacturing and licensing weapons constitute a clear and flagrant
threat to Israel.

How to Bury a Committee "There is nothing in our legislation which
violates the agreements," claims Attorney Tewfiq Abu-Ghazzaleh, the
Palestinian Chairman of the Legal Sub-Committee, the committee was
supposed to deal with legal issues arising between the two sides. "I
am not claiming that the Israelis are lying in the serious accusations
which they are making against us, but there is a misunderstanding
here. Regarding the law on weapons, we are trying to create order from
the scorched earth situation which existed here when we arrived.
Regarding the land law, I would need to check if it has indeed already
been published in the official gazette and come into force. If it were
up to me, perhaps I would not submit this law, but it has been done to
show that we are in control on the ground. There is no declaration of
war here, although I would understand someone thinking that there was.
I hope that things will be different in the future."

In general," says Attorney Abu-Ghazzaleh, "I can understand the
frustration of the Israeli side. I agree with them, there is a
problem, but I hope that it will soon be solved. If it depended on me,
it would have been solved already, but we need to create a structure
and get organized, especially in the West Bank. We need means and
people, I hope that it will happen, I am still waiting to hear from
our Justice Minister."

The Justice Ministry and the security establishment have become used
to answers of this kind over the last few years. There they claim that
Abu-Ghazzaleh's bosses are deliberately sending him to dole out
promises, but in practice are making sure that these promises have no
cover, or ndeed that in the field, the precise opposite will happen.

By the way, Palestinian Justice Minister Freih Abu- Medein declined to
be interviewed for this article, despite repeated calls to his office
and his home, and promises that he would, "call back."

Abu-Ghazzaleh's basic embarrassment derives from the committee that he
heads. The Oslo Accords established a joint legal committee, headed by
the two sides' justice ministers -- Tzahi Hanegbi and Freih
Abu-Medein. It set up a sub-committee headed by Justice Ministry
Director- General Nili Arad, and Attorney Tewfiq Abu-Ghazzaleh.

Palestinian legislation, like all other legal issues, was supposed to
be submitted to this committee. But for years now, the Palestinians
have prevented the convening of the committee. This is hardly a great
surprise, nd in the Justice Ministry, they say that "This is the only
committee in which they are supposed to give and not receive, and
therefore, they are making sure that it does not convene or function."

Long months pass until dates are set for the meetings of the
committee, and when these dates arrive, the Palestinians cancel the
meetings at the last moment. In the few meetings which have taken
place, in small forums, the Palestinians have been asked to submit all
proposed items of legislation to the committee for its consideration.
This has not been done.

Gaza Station Is Not Responding. One of the severest aspects of the
legal war which the Palestinians have declared is the non-functioning
of the legal assistance mechanism which was established by the Oslo
Accords. According to the Accords, a body was set up which was
supposed to carry out a series of legal coordination activities, in
the criminal and civil spheres, as is customary between two countries
which are not at war.

The mechanism is supposed to see to it that court decisions of the
other side are enforced, that bailiff's office decisions regarding the
collection of debts are implemented, etc., etc. A senior Justice
Ministry official, attorney Jean-Claude Nidam, heads the mechanism.
His counterpart is an Arab-Israeli attorney, Jamal Abu- Toemeh. Dozens
and even hundreds of appeals from the Israeli side reach the mechanism
daily. These range from decisions against convicted rapists, to
detention orders against criminals who fled, requests to summon
witnesses, and requests to carry out decisions against Palestinians
who owe vast sums to Israelis. All requests are checked and passed on
to the Palestinian side, but merit no response. Even attorney
Abu-Toemeh, the man in charge on the Palestinian side, does not
succeed in obtaining any cooperation on his side. Gaza station is not
responding.

The result is severe. Debts of tens of millions of shekels are not
collected, and thousands of files involving residents of the
territories are closed. The paradox is that the Israeli taxpayer is
massively financing the defense of Palestinian Authority residents who
are up for trial inside the Green Line, via the public defender's
office. Indeed, a considerable portion of our crime is perpetrated by
Palestinian Authority residents. But the Authority is avoiding any
assistance and cooperation,

and at the same time, with characteristic audacity, is insisting that
VAT funds -- which Israel collects from Palestinian residents -- be
fully refunded.

In the justice establishment, it is claimed that it is precisely the
judicial sphere that could serve as the first, and precedent-setting,
area for cooperation between the two entities, Israeli and
Palestinian. This is not cooperation between peoples carrying
difficult psychological baggage, but two bureaucracies, that take
orders from the politicians, and are supposed to obey. But in
practice, the Palestinian bureaucrats receive contradictory orders
from their politicians, orders to make things difficult and obstruct.
And thus, the judicial field has become a battlefield which broadcasts
hostility and alienation, just like between two hostile entities.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Thoughts on Joel
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 07 Dec 1998 12:25:09 -0600

From: "Donna J. Berkley" <donna_berkley@csi.com>

Here are some thoughts I had on Joel a few months ago when I studied
it for myself. I sent them originally to the BPL and I do not know
if you were there at the time. Just thought I'd send them to you
for input.

Donna

[Mod Note: Great! Thanks Donna for your input.]

I was studying the book of Joel recently and, since it seems to be a
popular topic this week, I had a few thoughts on it that I will
hesitantly share with you. I tend to look at things in a lot
simpler manner than some of you do so I hope that you will pardon me
for not being the quality of scholar as yourselves.

It seems to me that God is describing to Joel a time when a great
nation (whom he first likens to locusts, fire and then horses)
strips, not the vegetation, but God's truth out of the land.
This seems to happen because the priests are not paying attention
... the husbandmen are in a drunken stupor ... and the harvest has
perished, the fields are laid waste.

I believe that the book of Joel is written about the days just
before the "Day of the Lord" ... it seems to say so in Joel 115 as
I read it. This, I interpret to be the time of the Lord's return
and outpouring of wrath. If we are in that season today then it
means to me that Joel is talking about present day and not past
history ... although it may have represented some past event as well
... it is a type for the last generation. (Lance is now nodding to
himself about now saying "Law of Double Reference". -)

God tells Joel that there will be no corn and wine and oil ... I
believe this is metaphorical language ... perhaps the corn (aka
wheat, barley) are the seeds of God's truth, the wine (aka new wine)
is the deep understanding of it and the oil is the annointing of the
Holy Spirit that comes through drawing close to God through study of
his word. (It reminds me of the parable of the 10 virgins - 5
didn't have enough oil which I think means they did not have enough
of the Holy Spirit within them - ie, they didn't make their
relationship strong enough, they didn't learn enough.) I think
there is scope for this analogy ... just think about how the
seed/sower thread runs throughout the bible. This phrase "corn,
wine and oil" (or variations of it) is used throughout the Minor
Prophets and Amos, in particular, speaks of the famine of the latter
days as being a famine for the Word of God and not for bread.

I believe that God uses word-pictures to teach us things because he
really means for his Word to be understood by everyone and not just
the learned scholars. I just don't believe it is as complicated as
some would make it out to be.

God further tells Joel to call the people and sound the alarm
...that it's time for a solemn fast not a feast ... to urge
repentance and to plead with the Lord. He then tells Joel what he
will do if there is repentance and how he will turn the situation
around and give back the years that the locust has eaten up (the
word millenium comes to mind here.)

It all just sounds too much like the present day to me ... but then,
I believe that the bible was mostly written for the last generation
anyway. Although previous generations got what they needed from
it, too, the whole thing is really aimed at that final generation
because of what they will face ... that generation needs every bit
of help it can get. So I guess I think it's all types specifically
for events of the last generation.

Anyway the book of Joel also put me in mind of the 23rd Psalm. Even
though the "land" is stripped, we as individuals, can still have
green pastures and still waters if we stick close to the Shepherd
... whatever desolation is visited on the "land" we will not want
for anything. Even if we get caught up in the famine at first we
can be restored by the Shepherd ... and the Lord will show us where
to walk. And remember those multitudes of Joel 3 in the valley of
decision ? Well we won't have to fear it ... because before them is
the decision to choose God or choose Death (for Satan is death) but
we will have already made that choice ... so we need not fear it
even if we find ourselves in that valley.

Is not God's Word his rod and staff, his measuring stick so to speak
? Those that hear the Shepherd's voice will also know his Word
and it will be a comfort to them though it is a tool of chastisement
to those who don't. Even in the midst of an enemy nation that
devours the "crops" God can and will set a table of plenty before
us. As long as we listen to our Shepherd we are annointed with his
oil ...the more we study the Word the more the Holy Spirit reveals
to us ... kind of like a cup running over. And it is the reward of
those that stick to the Shepherd, that overcome, to dwell with the
Lord ... isn't it ?

The last thing I noticed is in Joel 3 verse 18 where it speaks of a
fountain that waters the valley of Shittim. I looked that word up
and found it means acacia ... but if you check further it also has a
relationship to "sticks of wood" and that reminded me of the "two
sticks that become one stick" ... ie, Israel and Judah as one
nation again ... again a reference to the millenium, perhaps.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Dec 8, 1998 TV Program
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1998 10:14:54 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

10:00 PM Eastern

 NBC - DATELINE NBC - Hand-transplant
   controversy.(CC)

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Madrid cathedral takes credit cards
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1998 18:38:11 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

*** Madrid cathedral takes credit cards

MADRID, Spain (AP) - Seeking to boost donations, a cathedral in
Madrid has started taking credit cards. Wooden collection boxes are no
more at Almudena Cathedral. In their place are a pair of electronic
card processors into which parishioners insert their plastic, then
punch in how much they want to give. Cathedral officials told the
newspaper El Pais they made the move to credit cards because donations
were down. Worshipers were carrying little cash to church, apparently
because they were afraid of getting robbed on the street. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2557521234-cb0

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Accused Ukrainian serial killer claims to be creature of the devil
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1998 13:52:32 -0500

From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>

Accused Ukrainian serial killer claims to be creature of the devil

December 4, 1998
Web posted at: 5:14 p.m. EST (2214 GMT)

KIEV, Ukraine (CNN) -- A man accused of murdering 52 people said at
his trial Friday he was no longer a human being, but a "beast of
Satan."

"I would kill today in spite of anything," Anatoly Onoprienko, 39,
told the court. "Today I am a beast of Satan."

Onoprienko has confessed that he killed couples, elderly men and
women and at least 10 children between 1989 and 1996. Many were shot
with a sawed-off shotgun and their homes set ablaze. Onoprienko has
expressed no remorse.

On Thursday and Friday, the regional court in the central Ukrainian
town of Zhytomir listened to Onoprienko's evidence on the third group
murder he committed in 1989.

Onoprienko said he shot and killed five people, including an 11-year-
old boy, who were sleeping in a car. He then burned their bodies. But
he said at his trial he hadn't planned on killing anyone.

"I was approaching the car only to rob it," he said. "I was a
completely different person then. Had I known there had been five
people, I would have left."

Onoprienko, dressed in the duffel coat he has worn since the start of
the trial last week, criticized the judges and spectators for not
understanding his nature.

"You are not able to take me as I am," he shouted at Judge Dmytro
Lypsky. "You do not see all the good I am going to do, and you will
never understand me."

Psychiatrists have declared Onoprienko mentally fit to stand trial,
even though he has said he was driven by voices telling him to kill.
He said Friday he was ruled by a supernatural force.

"Yes, I have such a protector, but I will not speak of him," he said.
"This is a great force that controls this hall as well. You will
never understand this. Maybe only your grandchildren will
understand."

[.. snip..]

http://cnn.com/WORLD/europe/9812/04/ukraine.serial.killer/index.html

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: IsraelWire items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 09:39:58 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

GSS PHOTOGRAPHING RABBIS -
IsraelWire-10/29-16:53-IST

Agents of the General Security Service (GSS/Shin-Bet) were on
hand yesterday to photograph leading rabbinical figures, who were
attending a gathering in the Tel-Aviv study hall of the Admor
(Chassidic Rebbe) of Sadigora. At the gathering, the prominent Torah
personalities in attendance proclaimed, "In accordance with our Holy
Torah, the Oslo process is null and void." In attendance were
rabbinical leaders of the National Religious Camp, leaders of the
North African community, and chassidic leaders.

Rabbi Yaakov Friedman, the Sadigora Rebbe stated, "The land
concessions are likely to have a profound negative effect in the
heavens since this is an abandonment of the chosen land."

A security agent who made no attempt to hide his presence,
photographed the prominent rabbis. The rabbis who were aware of
what was taking place, told reporters "The attempt to scare us
will not work."

RABBIS ISSUE RULING PROHIBITING ASSISTING THOSE WHO WORK TOWARDS
GIVING AWAY LANDS
IsraelWire-11/16/98

Four prominent rabbinical personalities have affixed their
signatures to a ruling prohibiting assisting those powers who are
actively giving away portions of the Land of Israel.

The ruling states that any deal made by the leaders of the
government which negate Torah law, are not binding. The rabbis
also ruled that any discussion of giving away portions of the
Holy Land to gentiles can only serve to place us in danger and
will have disastrous results. "Anyone assisting in giving away
lands takes part in the spilling of Jewish blood," states the
ruling.

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Is Clinton about to resign?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 09:48:33 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

        IS PRESIDENT CLINTON ABOUT TO ANNOUNCE HIS RESIGNATION?

                              By J. Adams
                          December 8th, 1998

                       The Spirit Of Truth Page
                  http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~jpa94001/

    Monday's White House Press Briefing was opened with the
announcement that President Clinton would give his State of the Union
Address on Jan 19, 1999 - unusually early.

    January 20th is a key date if the president chooses to resign on
this date because, as of the 20th, Al Gore will be eligible to serve
two full terms as President on top of serving out the final two years
of Clinton's presidency. Therefore, if Clinton were to resign the day
after his State of the Union address, Al will effectively be able to
serve up to ten years as President.

    When Nixon resigned in 1974, he did so after the Judiciary
Committee voted for articles of impeachment but before the House
actually voted for impeachment. The reason he timed his announced
resignation at this point is most likely because, according to the
U.S. Constitution (Article II Section 2): "The President shall ...
have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the
United States, except in Cases of Impeachment." Thus, in order to
preserve Vice President Ford's ability to pardon President Nixon's
criminal offenses, Nixon had to announce his resignation *before* the
House voted for his formal impeachment. And this, of course, is
precisely what happened. Nixon resigned before the House voted for
impeachment and later, since no formal impeachment occurred, Ford was
able to pardon him.

    The odds are that Clinton wants to avoid criminal prosecution and
going to jail for his felonies more so than he wants to cling to the
Presidency and try and ride out impeachment proceedings.

    Even if Clinton succeeds in not being removed from office for his
crimes, he can, after his term ends after the year 2000, be criminally
prosecuted and incarcerated for his crimes. If the House votes for
his impeachment, the next president, and there's no guarantee the next
president will be a Democrat, can NOT pardon him since the
Constitution forbids pardons in cases of impeachment.

    Hence, if it looks like the House is going to vote for
impeachment, it behooves Clinton to announce his resignation in order
to stave-off such a vote. In this way, Gore will still be able to
pardon Clinton for his crimes since Clinton was not formally impeached
by the House of Representatives. Although it is still an open
question in Constitutional Law debate, the odds are that Clinton can
not hold-off announcing his resignation until after the House votes if
he wants to preserve a possible pardon by Gore. If it looks like the
House is going to vote for impeachment, it appears that Clinton MUST
announce his resignation beforehand in order to stop his formal
impeachment from taking place.

    If Clinton is going to announce his resignation in order to stop
the House of Representatives from voting for his formal impeachment,
it would be most strategic to announce that his resignation will be
effective January 20th, 1999. As noted above, this will allow Gore to
serve out the last two years of Clinton's presidential term and still
be able to serve two additional full terms, i.e., Gore will be able to
be President for up to ten years.

    Thus, the reason that the White House has announced an early State
of the Union address is because, contrary to his stated promises to
never resign, Clinton is planning to announce his resignation -
effective January 20th, 1999, the day after his final State of the
Union address - sometime during the next couple of weeks in order to
stave-off a vote for formal impeachment by the House. (And yes....this
would mean Clinton has told yet another lie!)

    Further indicating that resignation may be on the mind of
President Clinton, a leading Democratic Senator, Joseph Lieberman of
Connecticut, has reportedly agreed to receive Ross Perot's petitions
calling on the President to resign "for the good of the country, for
the sake of our children".

According to Robert Hillman of the Dallas Morning News (12/8/98):

    "Petition signatures sought by Ross Perot to persuade
    President Clinton to resign will be sent to the Democratic
    Connecticut senator who was an early critic of the president's
    relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Russell Verney, chairman of
    the Perot-founded Reform Party who helped coordinate the
    petition drive, said Sen. Joseph Lieberman had promised to
    deliver the message to the White House.

    He (Lieberman) is the `one person in Washington who would be
    respected by the president when he delivers the message and has
     the courage to deliver a tough message to the president,' Verney
    said. `It's a message directly to the president: that for the
    good of the country, for the sake of our children, he should
    resign,' he said."

    Most likely in relation to this news, Ross Perot is scheduled to
appear on CNN's Larry King Live program on Thursday night (9 PM EST)
to make a "major announcement".

    The question is, why has Joseph Lieberman agreed to receive
Perot's petitions and, more importantly, why does it appear that the
White House is going to arrange the spectacle of Senator Lieberman
delivering petitions to President Clinton calling for his resignation?

    The timing of Senator Lieberman's possible delivery of these
petitions to the White House has an interesting historical parallel.

    As noted above, President Nixon resigned after articles were voted
out in the Judiciary Committee but before the full House voted in
1974. Furthermore, prior to Nixon's resignation, Barry Goldwater,
considered the concience of the Republican Party at the time, went to
the White House and and effectively told Nixon it was "time to go",
that the President lacked sufficient support to escape a vote for his
impeachment.

    We are currently entering the same time period during impeachment
proceedings with Clinton at which Barry Goldwater called on President
Nixon to resign in 1974. Hence, it makes sense that Senator Lieberman
is preparing to take on a role analogous to Barry Goldwater in the
context of Nixon's impeachment proceedings and eventual resignation.
Senator Lieberman, per arrangement with the White House, may be
planning to receive Ross Perot's resignation petitions and deliver
them to President Clinton in order to set the public stage for Clinton
to announce his resignation in the face of an impeachment vote by the
U.S. House of Representatives.

    In this way, Clinton can announce his resignation in a manner that
makes it look like he's acting "for the good of the country, for the
sake of our children" as Perot's petitions proclaim. Indeed, the
White House may be pursuing a resignation strategy that will
effectively martyr President Clinton in order to place Republicans in
as negative a light as possible.

    President Clinton's current impeachment defense is highlighting
how, if the House votes for impeachment, it will handicap the U.S.
Presidency for months on end until the Senate votes on whether to
remove Clinton. By resigning in the face of impeachment by the House,
the White House can claim it is acting to defend the U.S. Presidency
from a dangerous Republican assault and is doing what's in the best
interest of the country.

    All in all, it appears that President Clinton and his legal and
political advisors have concluded that announcing Clinton's
resignation sometime during the next couple of weeks is the optimal
strategy for the President, President-to-be Al Gore and the Democratic
Party. By announcing his resignation, Clinton can block a vote for
formal impeachment by the House and thereby preserve Al Gore's ability
to pardon Clinton's criminal offenses. Furthermore, if Clinton's
resignation is set to become effective January 20th, 1999, the day
after what would be Clinton's final State of the Union address, Al
Gore will be able to complete the final two years of Clinton's
presidential term and still be eligible for two more full terms.
Finally, by having Senator Lieberman deliver Ross Perot's petitions
calling on President Clinton to resign "for the good of the country",
the White House can maximize the image that Clinton is acting in the
best interest of the nation in contrast to destructive Republican
efforts.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: The Age of the Universe (?)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 12:08:54 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

   Is the account of the creation in Genesis -- six twenty-four hour
days, 5,757 years ago -- literally correct, as so-called creation
science has it? Recall that the Jewish understanding of the Bible has
always been complex and subtle; that while these accounts surely
point to or suggest something real -- they are by no means myths or
fables or psychological projections -- not all of them are meant to
be taken as simple, literal history (except by those who can
assimilate their moral lessons in no other way). In the words of
Maimonides, "The creation account [in Genesis] is natural science,
but so recondite that it is cloaked in parable.... Discrepancies
between science and religion arise out of misinterpretations of the
Bible."

    Not even the Bible's apparent placement of mankind at the center
of the creation epic implied to the ancient Jews what literalists
nowadays take it to mean. For example, a number of commentators as
early as the eighth century A.D. accepted the possibility of life on
other planets. If it existed, then it, too, was subject to the same
divine moral law as are we.

    What is the literal age of the world according to this ancient,
unexpectedly rational, version of the biblical view? To prepare an
answer, let's first consider the "gold standard"-- what modern
science has concluded. Current scientific consensus (not universal,
however) has arrived at the following points:

    1. For reasons unknown the universe sprang into existence ex
nihilo -- out of nothing.

    2. It first appeared as an almost unimaginable tiny "micropellet."
    
    3. It was initially composed of a tiny proportion of matter
admixed with an enormous quantity of "compressed" energy.

    4. The "micropellet" then exploded outward at nearly the speed of
light -- the "big bang." In the first second of its existence it
went from being a speck smaller than a single atom to being globular
mass more than 270,000 miles across, with a volume 5,000 times that
of the earth. Its expansion caused much of the energy to convert, by
stages, into matter. It has beenexpanding at a similar rate ever
since.

    5. The micropellet started out with ten dimensions, six of which
quickly "collapsed down" to size scales so small they are
inaccessible to us now, leaving the familiar four dimensions: three
of space and one of time (which, according to relativity, are
interconvertible directions of a four-dimensional space time). The
initial substance within the pellet took the form of a
ten-dimensional "string" of almost pure energy. The strings that now
fill the universe remain almost unimaginably thin and
insubstantial--10^-27 centimeters in diameter -- but since they
extended entirely across the universe, each one is estimated to have
a mass equivalent to 10^17 suns. This is the so-called superstring
theory, or TOE: "theory of everything."

    Given (a) the above considerations, (b) the density of the
residual light from the initial explosion (the so-called 2.7K cosmic
background radiation), and (c) estimates of the current size of the
universe, cosmologists can calculate thatthe age of the universe is
about 15 billion years.

    The notion that the universe is this old is a conclusion that
took a very long time to reach. It was first suspected only in the
twentieth century, in light of certain features of Einstein's general
theory of relativity. Before that, the universe was assumed to have
no age at all (having existed forever with neither beginning nor end)
or to be relatively young: a few thousand years old or so. The
boldest scientific thinkers -- and kooks -- occasionally proposed
larger numbers -- but only slightly: tens or hundreds of thousands of
years at most. But here, too, the ancient Jews seemed to have struck
out on their own.

    First, let's compare the general conditions at the creation which
the oral tradition insisted may be understood directly from the
account in Genesis -- properly interpreted. Note that the latest
commentators referenced below lived and died in the Middle Ages:

    1. Both Maimonides (Rambam) and Nachmanidies (Ramban) state that
neither space nor time existed prior to the creation; hence it came
into existence ex nihilo.

    2. The kabbalists of that same era explain further that prior to
the creation God filled all of eternity perfectly and uniformly. At
the instant of creation, however, He "withdrew" Himself from a
spherical region at the very center of eternity to create a "hollow"
or "vacuum." Into this he placed a portion of His own essence in the
form of a minutely thin line of "Upper Light," which was to evolve
into the physical universe. According to Nachmanides (Ramban) in his
commentary on the creation account, at the moment it appeared the
universe was "no larger than a mustard seed." To the ancients, the
mustard seed was the smallest unit of life capable of expanding and
growing into something huge.

    3. Nachmanides' characterization of the size of this "seed" is as
follows, in Gerald Schroeder's summary translation:

    The matter at this time was so thin, so intangible, that it did
not have real substance. It did have, however, the potential
to gain substance and form and to become tangible matter.

    4. Nachmanides then describes what occurs with this tiny
"seed"-size universe:

    From the initial concentration of this intangible substance in its
minute location, the substance expanded, expanding the
universe as it did so. As the expansion progressed, a change in
the substance occurred. This initially thin, non-corporeal
substance took on the tangible aspects of matter as we know it.
   
   From this initial act of creation, from the ethereally thin
pseudosubstance, everything that has existed, or will ever exist,
was, is and will be formed.

    5. The pencil-beam of "Upper Light" that formed the universe in
its "seed" state was composed of ten aspects or dimensions. During
the six days of creation, six of these ten aspects became so small
that weare capable only of detecting four-- the four dimensions of
physical existence.

    With this striking parallelism in mind, let us now answer our
question concerning the age of the universe according to (at least
certain representatives of) the oral tradition.

    The kabbalist whose studies of the creation account in Genesis
are the most precise and authoritative was Nechunya ben HaKanah.
Among other matters in which he was expert, Nechunya specifically
asserted that the 42-lettered name of God allowed one to deduce from
the creation account the correct age of the universe. Because in his
day this kind of information was considered religiously sensitive (as
it is today), another kabbalist who followed closely in Nechunya's
footsteps -- RabbiYitzhak deMin Acco -- laid out the calculations
precisely.

    Thus, Nechunya claimed that if you properly understand how to use
the 42-lettered name, Genesis provides for a period of time between
the origin of the universe and the creation of man, namely 42,000
"Divine Years." But a "Divine Year" isn't 365 1/4 of our days; it's
365,250 of our years (Psalms 90:4 - "1000 years in Your (God's) sight
are like a day that passes, a watch in the night"). So, between the
origin of the universe and the creation of man there transpired
42,000 * 365,250 years. In other words, says Nechunya, Genesis tells
us that the universe came into existence 15.3 billion years ago.

The Age of the Universe
Jeffrey Satinover
http://members.xoom.com/torahscience/bigbang3.htm

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: The Locust in Joel
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1998 04:17:57 +1100 (EST)

From: Scott Willmon <ewillmon@yahoo.com>

There is some interesting information about locusts that is found in
Raymond Dillard's commentary, The Minor Prophets ("Joel," pgs.
255-56). The passage is too long to type here, but it can be found in
the commentary on Joel at the Biblical Studies Foundation website,
whose address is

http://www.bible.org/docs/ot/books/minorp/singledoc/minorp-04.htm.

Also, I heard one commentator, (Marvin Rosenthal of Zion's Hope), in
his commentary on Revelation, who said that he believes that the
locusts in Revelation that come out of the abyss are of demonic
origin. He cites the passage in Genesis where the "sons of god"
intermarry with the "daughters of men." Has this been speculated
before? What other information about this in known?

Hope I've been helpful,

[Mod Note: Yes, Scott... you've been very helpful. I'm familiar with the Dillard
commentary you refer to, and I agree that it is very interesting material. As to the
locusts being demonic in origin in Revelation, I too have heard other commentators
relate that as well. Just the other day I came across one which I don't recall at the
moment. I'll have to go back and see if I can find it for ya.]

Scott Willmon
    

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Oil in Israel
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 19:41:29 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

OIL IN ISRAEL
Encouraging signs of oil in Israel: There was "guarded optimism"
today following an experimental drilling by the Givot Olam company in
the Rosh Ha'ayin area. A strong flow of gas was reported, but it is
not yet known whether the oil deposits signaled by this flow are of
commercial proportions.

Arutz-7
http://www.a7.org

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Dec 11, 1998 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 09:35:26 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

7:00 PM Eastern

 C-SPAN - HOUSE JUDICIARY IMPEACHMENT HEARINGS -
   (CC)(Starts 7:00pm) (Ends 2:00am)

10:00

 TLC - TEN PLAGUES OF EGYPT - The people of ancient Egypt
   endure a series of calamities.(CC)(TVG)
   [EXCELLENT PROGRAM]

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Bridges for Peace items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 09:44:11 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

RUSSIA RESUMES ARMS SALES TO SYRIA, EGYPT
     Russia is renewing arm shipments to Syria and Egypt, according
to the Russian newspaper "Nezavisimaia Gazeta."
     The Russian newspaper reported that the arms deals were
concluded last month during Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev's
visit to Syria and Egypt.
     According to the report, some 100 Russian military advisers are
currently in Syria and more than 70 Syrian officers are training in
Russia.
    The Syrian army is seeking large quantities of small arms and
ammunition, and anti-aircraft missiles. Russian experts are also
upgrading the fire control systems in Syrian tanks, and have set up a
"base" at the Syria port of Tartus, the only location on the
Mediterranean Seawith Russian naval forces.
      Regarding Egypt, plans are being completed for supplying
anti-aircraft and radar systems to the Egyptian air force. Russia
will also send experts to help the Egyptian army upgrade its outdated
Soviet weaponry. (Israel Consulate-NY, IsraelWire, December 6, 1998)

MOSLEM WAKF: KEEP ISRAEL POLICE OFF TEMPLE MOUNT
     In an emergency meeting last week, Jerusalem's Moslem Wakf
Authority decided not to permit Israel police to "interfere" in
maintaining order on the Temple Mount of Jerusalem's Old City.
     The participants of the meeting adamantly rejected a decision by
the ministerial committee on Jerusalem affairs, which called for
increased security on the Temple Mount, including additional security
forces, closed-circuit television cameras and more.
     The PLO Authority (PA)-appointed Mufti of Jerusalem, Ikrama
Sabri, stated that if the police are concerned about security on the
Mount, they may take whatever steps deemed necessary outside the
Temple Mount area. Sabri added the Wakf Authority would not permit
any "outside body" to implement changes that would interfere with the
mosques and their arrangements on the Mount.
     The Wakf Authority stated it would do everything possible to
stop the planned deployment of an additional 430 police troops
throughout the Temple Mount area as well as working to stop all
efforts by "extremist Jews who may be planning an attack on the
Mount."
    The Wakf called upon Israel to distance border police
troops from the area, since they "are a provocative force" and
they are unwanted by the Moslem worshipers who attend services on the
Mount.
    The High Islamic Council last week issued a ruling
"warning" Israel against any affront to the Moslem holy sites on
the Mount. In the statement issued bythe council, it stated, "Moslems
will do whatever necessary to defend the holy site and the number of
'sacrifices' in the struggle will be whatever they may be."
     The Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City is Judaism's holiest
site, the location of the First and Second Temples. It was liberated
from Jordanian occupation in the June 1967 Six Day War. Following the
war, Israel made the decision to turn control of the site over to the
Moslem Wakf, which today bars Jewish worshipers with the backing of
the government of Israel. (IsraelWire, December 7, 1998)

HAPPY HANUKKAH
     The staff of Bridges for Peace, Israel wishes you a Happy
Hanukkah. The first light of Hanukkah will be lit Sunday evening,
December 13. For the next 7 nights candles will be lit (one
additional eachnight) until on the last night (December 20) all eight
candles plus the servant candle will be ablaze. Let us encourage you
to reach out in friendship to your Jewish friends during this time
and wish them a happy holiday.
     In Israel candle sales are picking up in preparation for the
Festival of Lights, Hanukkah. The Menorah Candle Company, the
nation's largest manufacturer of Hanukkah candles is working around
the clock to meet the demandfor the start of the weeklong Hanukkah
holiday.
     Working three shifts a day, the factory is producing
500,000 candles per day. It is predicted that by the start of the
holiday, 180 million candles will have been sold, marking a 20
percent increase from last year.
    A survey commissioned by the SuperSol national supermarket chain
indicated that 72 percent of the public will light Hanukkah candles.
(IsraelWire, December 10, 1998)

ISRAELI SOLDIERS IN LEBANON REQUEST SCRIPTURES
     "Hamodia" newspaper reports that Golani (infantry) soldiers
stationed in the security zone in southern Lebanon had an interesting
request. In light of the losses they have suffered in recent days,
they were asked what equipment they need: "A new kind of weapon?
Ammunition? Food?" The soldiers responded, "Thank you, but all we
need is a shipment of 250 booklets of Psalms." (Arutz 7, December 4,
1998)

Bridges for Peace
December 11, 1998
http://www.bridgesforpeace.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Someone in the US Government is helping Hizbollah?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 22:04:00 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

US CONGRESSMAN ON HIZBOLLAH: "TERRORISTS WHO ARE
THREATENING CHRISTIANS IN LEBANON"
ALPAC: "EVERYTHING INDICATES THAT SOMEONE IN THE US
GOVERNMENT IS HELPING HIZBOLLAH"

Washington, DC, Lebanon Bulletin, staff, December 8, 1998

After a meeting with a Lebanese-American delegation, US Congressman
Bill McCullum (R-Florida) said "we still consider Hizbollah as a
terrorist organization, and nothing has changed in this US policy.
This organization is still on the Government list of groups implicated
with terrorist acts. Furthermore, said McCullum, we are very concerned
about the threats Hizbollah poses on the Christian population in south
Lebanon." Commenting on McCullum's remarks, Mr Anthony Merheb from the
American Lebanese Public Affairs Committee (ALPAC) said "with Mr
Satterfield's endorsement of Hizbollah's aggression in south Lebanon,
everything indicates that someone in the US Government is helping
Hizbollah. If one adds the terminology used by CNN corespondents,
usually borrowed to US foreign policy officials, to the open statement
by our ambassador in which he rejected the qualification of terrorist
for Hizbollah. Add to all of that the diplomatic flirt between the
terrorist group and members of US government who recently visited
Lebanon. All indicates that a conspiracy is underway to legitimize
Hizbollah. It smells the scandal," said Merheb.

In Beirut, an Islamist source, close to the Shiite radical
organization, told Lebanon Bulletin that "the Americans are
encouraging Hizbollah to increase its operations against the Israelis
in south Lebanon to raise hell on the Netayanhu government. They
expect us to cause maximum casualties among the Jewish soldiers in the
security zone, causing the enemy's government to collapse. We know the
Americans are using us for their own political purpose, but we will go
along, as long as this will bring us a victory." The Islamist source
said "when Americans and Israelis are in conflict, we win. We will win
over the Jews, now, then we will move against the forces of the
istikbar (imperialism), later."

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Windows 98 and Y2K
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 11 Dec 1998 22:06:23 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

-----------------
Win 98 Y2K Issues
-----------------

As you have probably heard by now, Microsoft has discovered some year
2000 "issues" in their Windows 98 operating system. Microsoft has
created a free "Windows 98 Year 2000 Update" to correct these issues.
If you are a Windows 98 user and want to either download the Y2K
update over the Internet or order the update on a free CD-ROM from
Microsoft, launch Windows Update in your Windows 98 machine by going
to Start --> Settings --> Windows Update (or at least that is where
Windows Update is located on *my* computer).

Most of the press releases I have seen about the Windows 98 Y2K
issues say that you can also order a free CD-ROM of the update on the
Windows Update Web site at

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

What the press releases don't tell you is that this Web page (at least
on my computer) just tells you to "[p]lease start the Windows Update
service from the link on your Start menu." Of course, you can bypass
all of this mess and just order a copy of the free CD-ROM directly
from Microsoft by calling 1-800-363-2896.

To read more about the Win98 Y2K problem, visit Microsoft's highlights
page at

http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/highlights/Win98Y2K.asp

or CNET's recent news story at

http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,29598,00.html

Internet Tourbus
December 10, 1998
http://www.TOURBUS.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Dec 12, 1998 TV Program
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 09:47:16 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

8:30 PM Eastern

 CNN - BUSINESS UNUSUAL - European Monetary Union and
   it's Euro, the new common currency that will launch January
   1, 1999 for the participating European
   countries.(CC)

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Sea of Galilee at risk/Elsewhere on the net
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 12:42:50 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

GALILEE AT RISK
It's an environmental disaster. It could become a spiritual
catastrophe. Parched by drought, the Kinneret -- better known as the
Sea of Galilee -- is close to death. Israel Guide Ellis Shuman has
alarming facts.

http://israeliculture.miningco.com/library/weekly/aa120798.htm

---------------------- Elsewhere on the Net ----------------------

STRANGE BUT TRUE
We read the news today. Oh boy ...

Hackers Can Steal Your Car With a Palmtop!
http://www.newscientist.com/cgi-bin/pageserver.cgi?/ns/981205/newsstory6.html

Video Camera Lets You See Through Clothes!
http://www.zdnet.com/zdnn/stories/news/0,4586,2127332,00.html

Government Issues Patent on Human Cells!
http://www.wired.com/news/news/technology/story/16730.html

The moral? When life starts imitating the tabloids, we're all in big
trouble. From now on, we're sticking to science fiction.

The Mining Co. Now Newsletter
http://www.miningco.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: Chanukah
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 19:50:17 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

CHANUKAH (starts Dec 13/14, 1998)

Chanukah, the Feast of Dedication or the Feast of Lights, is an eight
day celebration commemorating the rededication of the Temple around
165 BCE. Under Antiochus Epiphanes the Syrians had desecrated the
Temple by slaughtering a pig on the altar. They tried to force the
Jews to forsake their faith and sacrifice to pagan idols. Judah
Macabee led a revolt against the Hellenistic Syrians. Under his
leadership the Jews defeated the Syrians and took back the Temple.
When they went to rededicate the Temple and light the Menorah, only
enough oil for one day was found. Tradition tells us that the oil
miraculously lasted for eight days until new oil could be prepared.

Modern day celebration includes lighting the Chanukiyah (Chanukah
menorah) which has 9 candles. One is called the shamash which means
"servant." The Shamash candle is lit first and used to light the other
candles. On the first day you light one candle. Each day another
candle is added until on the eighth day you light eight candles. The
chanukiyah should be displayed in a window for all to see. It is
customary to eat potatoe latkes (pancakes) and sufganiyot (doughnuts).
Both are fried in oil and are to remind us of the miracle of the oil
burning for eight days. Another custom is to give out a gift on each
day of Chanukah. A final custom is the dreidel which is a small
four-sided spinning top. Each side has a Hebrew letter on it. Nun,
Gimmel, Hey, Shin, which stands for "A great miracle happened there."
(In Israel the letter Pey is used instead of shin for "A great miracle
happened here.") Children play many games with the dreidel.

Scripturally, we find one reference to the Feast of Dedication in John
10:22. Yeshua came to Jerusalem at this time to celebrate this feast.
Even though this is the only reference to Chanukah in the Bible, there
are several reasons for us as Messianic Jewish believers to celebrate
this holiday. First, the central motif of the holiday is light. In
John 8:12, Yeshua says, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows
me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." As
we kindle the lights of Chanukah, we should rejoice in Yeshua, the
light of the world. We no longer live in darkness, but are children of
the light because we have accepted Yeshua as our Messiah and Savior.
Secondly, the shamash or 'servant' candle should also point us to
Yeshua who came as a servant and gave his life to heal the sick and
serve the lost. Just as the shamash candle is the source of light to
the other candles on the chanukiyah, so Yeshua is the source of light
and life for you and I. It should also encourage us to be servants and
to have the mind of Messiah. We should give of ourselves that others
might receive the love and life Messiah has to give.

Messianic blessing for lighting the Chanukiyah: Baruch atah adonai
eloheynu melech ha-olam asher keed-shanu beed-var-cha oov-sheem-cha,
hashem Yeshua haMachiach, a-nach-noo mad-lee-keem hanerot shel
Chanukah. (Blessed are you Lord our God, King of the Universe, who
has sanctified us by thy Word and in your name - the name of Yeshua
the Messiah - we light the candles of Chanukah. )

The Messianic Significance of the Holidays
http://www.bethemanuel.com
====================

NASA Space Science News -- December 4, 1998

The Mysterious Geminid Meteors: On the night of
December 13, 1998, fragments of a mysterious object
called 3200 Phaethon will plunge into Earth's
atmosphere and produce a beautiful display of shooting
stars. The Geminids may be the only meteor shower
caused by an asteroid, or it could be a comet in disguise.
The article includes more information about 3200 Phaethon,
and tips on how to observe the Geminids. FULL STORY:
http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast04dec98_1.htm
====================

Phaethon: a son of Helios who drives his father's sun-chariot through
the sky but loses control and is struck down by a thunderbolt of
Zeus.

Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Jihad Threatens Americans with 'Ferocious, Long War'
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 22:47:25 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

           Jihad Threatens Americans With 'Ferocious, Long War'
     London's Al-Hayah reported yesterday: Cairo -- The Jihad group,
led by Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is resident in Afghanistan, has
issued a new threat to the United States. It vowed to fight the
Americans "ferociously in a long and sustained battle."
     The group yesterday issued a statement, of which Al-Hayah has
received a copy, within a bulletin it publishes outside Egypt under
the name "A Word of Truth."
     This is the [group's] first statement since the famous statement
that it issued on 7 August, in which it threatened the Americans that
an action against them would be carried out within days in retaliation
for the U.S. intelligence service's alleged involvement in the arrest
of elements belonging to the group in Albania and their extradition to
Egypt. The U.S. Embassy bombings in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam a few
days later gave the impression that the organization took part in the
two operations, but this has not been proved.
     The statement can also be regarded as the first response from the
organization to the U.S. prosecution service's announcement that
al-Zawahiri colluded in the embassy bombings, which is why his name
was included on the bill of indictment.
     The statement describes the United States as "the biggest enemy
which is seeking to uproot Islam." It adds: "We must demonstrate the
strength of the Muslim nation by deterring those committing aggression
against it, first and foremost the United States and Israel. Our
Muslim nation has in its possession numerous weapons to fight the
United States, Israel, and their agents." It also says: "These
weapons include training in the use of arms, and the door to training
is open... let every Muslim consider himself a vanguard for the
mujahidin everywhere by detecting the movements of the Americans, the
Jews, and their agents and then informing the mujahidin of them
[their movements]."
     As is known, in February the Jihad group signed a fatwa issued by
the "World Islamic Front for Fighting Jews and Crusaders," telling
Muslims it is their duty to kill Americans and plunder their money.
     The Jihad's new statement says that economic boycott is "one of
the most serious weapons in the Islamic nation's hands." It also
says: "Every Muslim must not purchase any U.S. commodity, no matter
how tempting. Nor should he deal with any U.S. company, airline, or
bank, or get involved with them in any purchase, sale, or rent deal
or partnership. We must also boycott the United States' agents, not
cooperate with them, marry among them, or allow them to marry among
us; and ties of amity with them should be severed. This includes those
who are working in U.S. embassies and U.S. intelligence agents..."
     The statement adds that Muslims "must not join the U.S. Army." It
also says: "Our Muslim nation should know that the United States --
even if it pretends that it has not learned a lesson from the blows
that the mujahidin have dealt it, as attested by the Americans
themselves -- is extremely scared and unable to stop the mujahidin.
The Americans are convinced that the young men of Islam are competing
to die for God's cause in pursuit of martyrdom in the jihad against
the Americans, the Jews, and their agents."
     Concluding, the statement says: "Let the Americans know that we
are determined to fight them ferociously in a long and sustained
battlein which generations will pass the trust to one another... so
if the remains of the Americans are scattered, and if the planes
carry coffins to them containing a mixture of charred parts of their
criminals, they should blame no one but themselves." The statement
also says that the Americans must "brace themselves for a ferocious,
long war."

Israeli & Global News
http://www.cmep.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: News: Report Cites 'New' US Mideast Initiative
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 22:47:25 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

                 Report Cites 'New' US Mideast Initiative
     London Al-Sharq al-Awsat today released a report by Nazir Mujalli
in Tel Aviv; Muhammad Sadiq in Washington; and Ruba al-Husari in
London
     The report said: US sources in Tel Aviv told Al-Sharq al-Awsat
yesterday that during his visit to Israel and the Palestinian
territories, President Bill Clinton will carry a new initiative, which
will be "an unexpected gift to the Israelis."
     These sources, which are among those accompanying the mission
entrusted with making preparations for the visit, added that a US
initiative is being materialized. The initiative provides for the
recognition by the US Administration of West Jerusalem as the capital
of Israel as well as the transfer of the US Embassy to West Jerusalem
on condition that Palestinian President Yasir 'Arafat should agree to
this in exchange for a Palestinian-Israeli-US agreement on extending
the transitional phase of the Oslo agreement for one year or six
months, during which time an agreement on a final solution will be
reached. This agreement will guarantee the establishment of an
independent Palestinian entity, the sources said.
     Replying to a question posed by Al-Sharq al-Awsat on transferring
the US Embassy, a senior White House official, who will accompany the
President on his visit, said: "We have not planned to do or say
anything during the visit with regard to transferring the US Embassy
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem."
     On his part, an informed Palestinian source told Al-Sharq
al-Awsat yesterday that Washington officially requested Palestinian
President Yasir 'Arafat to calm down the situation in the Palestinian
territories prior to the arrival of President Clinton in the region
today. The source added that 'Arafat issued instructions to the
Palestinian security forces to stop the clashes between the
Palestinian demonstrators and the Israeli Army at the boundaries of
the cities under Palestinian control.
     In the meantime, there was much escalation in tension on the eve
of Clinton's arrival. A Palestinian source yesterday said that two
Palestinian youths--Muhammad Amin Sulayman, 18; and Kamal Mansur
'Adwan, 18; were shot dead by Israeli troops during confrontations in
the city of Qalqilyah yesterday. He added that the UNRWA [UN Relief
and Works Agency] Hospital received more than 50 wounded people.
     Moreover, approximately 800 people staged a demonstration in Gaza
following the Friday prayers. The demonstration was organized by
Palestinian opposition organizations. The demonstrators chanted
slogans against President Clinton and demanded the release of
Palestinian detainees.
     The PLO Central Council issued a statement yesterday rejecting
the Israeli position on the detainee issue. The statement came after
the Council the day before yesterday endorsed the cancellation of
articles in the Palestinian National Charter calling for the
destruction of Israel.
     The informed Palestinian source said that the Palestinian side,
in its turn, is pressuring to have Clinton emerge from this visit
withan Israeli commitment to fulfilling the Israeli pledges under the
Wye Plantation agreement, particularly relating to the withdrawal,
which is scheduled for 18 December. The source added: "If Clinton
does not extricate this commitment from the Israeli side during his
visit, then we will never obtain it."

Israeli & Global News
http://www.cmep.com

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