To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Tzemach News Service items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 09:22:20 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE DAY: "The State of Israel will be open to the
immigration of Jews from all countries of their dispersion; will
promote the development of the country for the benefit of all its
inhabitants; will be based on the precepts of liberty, justice and
peace taught by the Hebrew Prophets ..." This is an extract from the
Israeli Declaration of Independence, issued on 5 Iyar 5708 (14 May
1948) in Tel Aviv -- six months after the UN official ratification of
the "legitimacy" of establishing a Jewish State. This Wednesday is the
celebration of that declaration 51 years ago. You may find more
information at the Virtual Jerusalem website located at
<http://www.vjtimetravel.com>. Also at the AIPAC "Israel at 50"
website which is located at: <http://www.israelat50.org>. "'And I will
be found by you,' declares the L-rd, 'and I will restore your fortunes
and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where
I have driven you,' declares the L-rd, 'and I will bring you back to
the place from where I sent you into exile'" (Jeremiah 29.14).
PA/PLO SECRETARY PROPOSES INTERNATIONAL FORCE AGAINST
ISRAEL: PA/PLO cabinet secretary Ahmed Abdel Rahman has
compared the situation faced by Albanian Kosovars with that of the
Palestinians, suggesting that the international community adopt
measures similar to those being employed in the Balkans to end the
"Israeli occupation". At a press conference, Rahman told reporters
that "the war in Yugoslavia is a sign of a new development in
international relations, by which the international community uses
force to impose international agreements". Rahman then accused Israel
of refusing "to execute agreements guaranteed by the world". When the
NATO campaign against Yugoslavia is over, he said, the West will be
confronted with the question: "What about the Palestinian people. What
will you do for them?" David Bar-Illan, media advisor to PM Netanyahu,
said the reference to Israeli "occupation" was also "an example of
unacceptable propaganda", as more than 95 per cent of the Palestinian
population today lives under PA/PLO civil authority. Foreign Minister
Ariel Sharon voiced concerns in recent weeks about the ramifications
for Israel of the precedent set by NATO military action against a
sovereign country engaged in a domestic conflict.
[Editor's note: Before the reader writes this off as some "paranoid
Israeli propaganda", please note that there is a basis for a scenario
such as this. The word of G-d declares, "O G-d, do not remain quiet;
do not be silent and, O G-d, do not be still. For, behold, Thine
enemies make an uproar; and those who hate Thee have exalted
themselves. They make shrewd plans against Thy people, and conspire
together against Thy treasured ones. They have said, 'Come, and let us
wipe them out as a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no
more.' For they have conspired together with one mind; against Thee do
they make a covenant: the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab, and
the Hagrites; Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the
inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; they have
become a help to the children of Lot" (Psalm 83.1-8). But this has not
been a surprise to the L- rd, for it is His own doing: "For behold, in
those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and
Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the
valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there
on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have
scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land (Joel
3.1-2)] (CNS, NAS)
OKLAHOMA-ISRAEL BUSINESS: Israel business correspondent Seth
Vogelman reports that the state of Oklahoma has opened a trade office
in Israel, in cooperation with the Oklahoma-Israel Exchange.
Representing Oklahoma in Israel will be Atid, E.D.I., a
Jerusalem-based business consulting firm, promoting local trade
contacts and facilitating communications between Oklahoman and Israeli
companies. Oklahoma thus joins a growing family of American states
that have established their own trade presence in Israel, including
California, Connecticut, Alabama, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Florida, New Jersey, Utah, and New York. (ARUTZ-7)
PAKISTAN BRINGS ISRAEL WITHIN MISSILE RANGE: --The
successful test of the 2,000 km range Ghauri-II missile by Pakistan on
Wednesday has for the first time brought Israel into the target range,
news reports here said Thursday. "However, to hit Israel, a firing
range will have to set up near Chagai in Balochistan province near the
Iran border," the report added. According to experts, entire India is
within the range of Ghauri-II as well as most of Russia, Mongolia,
Burma, Georgia, and Armenia. (INTERNEWS)
via: Tzemach News Service
Web site: http://www.tzemach.org/fyi
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Church's bank machine
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 09:36:11 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Church's bank machine performs miracles for
German pastor
BONN, April 13 (AFP) - The installation of a bank machine in a
Stuttgart church is performing miracles for the parish priest, as
electronic payments replace the more traditional collection plates.
Rather than borrowing change from a fellow worshipper or
surreptitiously dropping a button into the plate, parishioners who
turn up to church services without any money now only have to insert
their EuroCheque (EC) card into the machine's slot.
The miracle is that takings are 20 percent up since the electronic
terminal was installed last September while other German churches are
still praying for funding as takings drop, according to pastor
Gerrit-Willem Oberman,
"With a card it is rare that someone would only donate a single mark,"
he explained.
"The offerings are anything up to 500 marks (255 euros, 275 dollars).
People tap in a generous amount because they can claim it back in
tax," he added.
"For our internal administration, it's also more simple," said Oberman
sounding more like a Chief Executive Officer than a Chief
Ecclesiastical Officer.
"The little coins are very fiddly. You have to recount them all the
time, it's expensive, you lose half the takings". The cash is very
heavy to carry and for security you need two people to take it to the
bank.
The tale of the electronic bank of Filderstadt-Bernhausen, for which
the paster of the evangelical church battled for three years, is
indicative of the spread of electronic banking in the country where 43
million bank cards are in circulation.
Starting off merely as a guarantee for payment by EuroCheque, five
years later you can now use the cards in resturants, petrol stations
or in high street shops.
"I'm in a new town, near the airport. There are business chiefs here.
Everyone travels and they pay by card," explains Oberman.
This Stanford (California) graduate in economy and marketing sees
himself as a something of a prophet for a changing church.
"We are like the birds who sing at midnight, because we know the day
is about to dawn."
His bishop was completely supportive, he said. But the banks at first
thought they were the victims of a little holy humour.
"They though it was some kind of April Fool's joke. There was a mental
block". But with friends in high places, spiritually at least, Oberman
prevailed.
The marketing graduate also understands the benefits of good
publicity.
"There is a lot of marketing involved," he admits. "There are people
who visit the church just to see the machine. I get calls from all
over Germany. I've given more than 100 interviews and appeared five
times on television."
However he cannot claim an ecclesiastical first.
"We are the first in Germany and the first north of the Alps."
However a parish in Naples, Italy and one in Spain are credited with
giving him the idea.
One television show ran an excerpt from a church service in the middle
of a programme on sex and crime.
The EuroCheques and EuroCheque cards are far more popular in Germany
than regular credit cards such as VISA or Eurocard, which Pastor
Oberman warns are not acceptable at his church, yet.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Ovadia Yosef
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 09:39:24 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Israeli rabbi urges pope to intervene over Kosovo
JERUSALEM, April 12 (AFP) - One of Israel's most influential rabbis
appealed to Pope John Paul II Monday to intervene to help stop the
"massacre" of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.
"We are horrified by the massacre of innocent people in Kosovo and
that is why I have written asking the pope to intervene," said Rabbi
Ovadia Yosef, spiritual leader of the powerful ultra-Orthodox
political party Shas.
Rabbi Yosef said on Israeli radio that he had handed the letter to the
Vatican's representative in Israel, Pietro Sambi.
Arieh Deri, the head of Shas, said Rabbi Yosef sought the meeting with
Sambi over Kosovo "after the politicians failed to end this horror."
"Maybe a summit of spiritual leaders from the different religions
could bring an end to the massacres," said Deri, who was convicted of
corruption last month and is awaiting sentencing later this month.
Shas represents Sephardic Jews of Middle Eastern and North African
descent and is the third biggest party in parliament.
Israel welcomed 112 refugees from Kosovo on Monday.
=====================
Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef hospitalized after
heart attack
JERUSALEM, April 13 (AFP) - One of Israel's most influential rabbis,
Ovadia Yosef, was rushed to hospital Tuesday after suffering a heart
attack but doctors said his life was not in danger.
Yosef, 78, was admitted to the intensive care unit of Jerualem's
Haddasa Ein Kerem hospital where he was reported to be in satisfactory
condition, hospital officials said.
Yosef is the spiritual leader of the powerful ultra-Orthodox party
Shas, the third largest party in Israel which represents Sephardic
Jews of Middle Eastern origin.
Shas leader Rabbi Arieh Deri was at Yosef's bedside, Israeli radio
reported.
Deri, a key political ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was
convicted last month on charges of corruption and is due to be
sentenced on Thursday in a case which has rocked Shas.
Yosef is revered by Shas supporters and Netanyahu had been seeking the
rabbi's endorsement for his campaign for reelection in May 17 polls.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - How to pronounce a word?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 12:21:50 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
For ethnic Albanians, it all boils down to a vowel
by Mort Rosenblum
AP Special Correspondent
April 18, 1999
KUKES, Albania - For a half million refugees of Albanian blood, the
perilous flight is over, and now begins what might be the harder
part: waiting for a vowel change.
Serbs, who moved into their southernmost province in the Middle Ages
and defended it fiercely against Turks, call it Kosovo. To Albanians
who trace their ethnic roots there to ancient contemporaries of early
Greeks, it is Kosova.
-----edit-----
---------------------------
Then Jephthah gathered together all the men of Gilead, and fought
with Ephraim: and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said,
Ye Gileadites are fugitives of Ephraim among the Ephraimites, and
among the Manassites. And the Gileadites took the passages of Jordan
before the Ephraimites: and it was so that when those Ephraimites
which were escaped said, Let me go over; that the men of Gilead said
unto him, Art thou an Ephraimite? If he said, Nay; Then said they
unto him, Say now Shibboleth: and he said Sibboleth: for he could not
frame to pronounce it right. Then they took him, and slew him at the
passages of Jordan: and there fell at that time of the Ephraimites
forty and two thousand.--Judges 12:4-6
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - This century in the Psalms
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 18:01:22 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
I've seen in a couple of places where people have said that you can
take a Psalm and it will describe the happenings of that year in this
century--for example, Psalm 2 would be 1902, etc. The following is
taken from Keil & Delitzsch "Commentary on the Old Testament," volume
5: Psalms (1867): Hebrew texts used with Hebrew numbering. It is
interesting to note that all the Psalms are named and in some cases
the names are the first lines of each Psalm. I'd like to give a few
instances of this phenomenon and then just list the names of each of
the 150 Psalms for further study.
Psalm 39
Beginning of WWII.
Prayers of one sorely tried at the sight of the prosperity of the
ungodly.
2. I said: "I will keep my ways against sinning with my tongue;
I will keep a bridle on my mouth,
So long as the wicked is before me."
3. I was dumb in silence,
I held my peace taking no note of prosperity,
Yet my pain became violent.
4. My heart was hot within me,
While I mused the fire burned--
I spake with my tongue.
5. Make me to know, O Jahve, mine end,
And the measure of my days how short it is;
Oh that I might know, how frail I am!
6. Behold, Thou hast made my days as a handbreadth,
And my lifetime is as nothing before Thee.
Only a mere breath is every man, however firm he may stand.
(Sela.)
7. Only as a shadow doth man wander to and fro,
Only for a breath do they make an uproar;
He heapeth up and knoweth not who will gather it.
8. And now for what shall I wait, Lord!
My hope is towards Thee.
9. From all my transgression rescue me,
Make me not a reproach of the profane!
10. I am dumb, I open not my mouth,
For Thou, Thou hast done it.
11. Take away from me Thy stroke,
Before the blow of Thy hand I must perish.
12. When Thou with rebukes dost chasten a man for iniquity,
Thou makes his beauty melt away, like the damage of the moth--
Only a breath are all men. (Sela.)
13. O hear my prayer, Jahve,
And hearken to my cry!
At my tears be not silent,
For I am a guest with Thee,
A sojourner, like all my fathers.
14. Look away from me, that I may rally,
Before I go hence and am no more.
____________________
Psalm 48
Israel's Independence
The inaccessibleness of the city of God.
2. Great is Jahve and greatly to be praised
In the city of our God, His holy mountain.
3. Beautifully elevated, a joy of the whole earth
Is mount Zion, the angle of the north.
The city of the great King.
4. Elohim in her palaces became known as a stronghold.
5. For, lo, the kings allied advanced together;
6. Yet they beheld, they were amazed immediately, bewildered they fled
away.
7. Trembling hath seized upon them there, pangs as of travail.
8. With an east wind didst Thou break the ships of Tarshish,
9. As we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of Jahve of Hosts, the city of our God--
Elohim upholdeth her for ever. (Sela.)
10. We thought, Elohim, upon Thy loving-kindness
In the midst of Thy temple.
11. As is Thy name, Elohim, so is thy praise
Unto the ends of the earth;
Full of righteousness is Thy right hand.
12. Let mount Zion rejoice,
Let the daughters of Judah exult
Because of Thy judgments.
13. Walk ye about Zion and go round about her,
Tell her towers,
14. Mark well her bulwark,
March through her palaces,
That ye may tell it the next generation.
15. That such an one is Elohim our God for ever--
He will guide us.
____________________
Psalm 91
Gulf War
Talismanic song in time of war and pestilence.
First Voice:
1. He who sitteth in the protection of the Most High,
Who abideth in the shadow of the Almighty--
Second Voice:
2. I say to Jahve: My refuge and my fortress,
My God in whom I trust.
First Voice:
3. For He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, from the
destroying pestilence.
4. With His feathers shall He defend thee,
And under His wings art thou hidden;
A shield and buckler is His truth.
5. Thou shalt not be afraid for any nightly terror,
For the arrow that flieth by day,
6. For the pestilence that walketh in the
darkness,
For the sickness that wasteth at noon-day.
7. A thousand may fall at thy side and ten thousand at thy right
hand,
It shall not come nigh thee--
8. Nay, with thine own eyes shalt thou look on
And see the recompense of the wicked.
Second Voice:
9. For Thou, O Jahve, art my refuge!
First Voice:
The Most High hast thou made thy habitation.
10. The range of misfortune toucheth thee not,
And the plague doth not come nigh thy tent.
11. For His angels hath He given charge over thee,
To keep thee in all thy ways.
12. On their hands shall they bear thee up,
That thou dost not dash thy foot against a stone.
13. Over lions and adders shalt thou walk,
Thou shalt trample lions and dragons under thy feet.
Third (divine) Voice:
14. For he loveth Me, therefore will I deliver him,
I will set him on high, for he knoweth My Name.
15. If he shall call upon Me, I will answer him,
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and bring him to honour.
16. With length of life will I satisfy him,
And cause him to delight himself in My salvation.
____________________
Psalm 93
Flooding around the world.
The royal throne above the sea of the peoples.
1. Jahve now is King, He hath clothed Himself with majesty;
Jahve hath clothed Himself, He hath girded Himself with might:
Therefore the world standeth fast without tottering.
2. Thy throne standeth fast from of old,
From everlasting art THOU.
3. The floods have lifted up, Jahve,
The floods have lifted up their roaring,
The floods lift up their noise.
4. More than the rumblings of great waters,
Of the glorious, of the breakers of the sea,
Is Jahve glorious in the height.
5. Thy testimonies are inviolable,
Holiness becometh Thy house,
Jahve, unto length of days.
For complete file including names of all Psalms, see:
http://www.mv.com/ipusers/butterfly/rev/psalms.htm
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Y2K Headlines
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 19:09:00 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
IT SURVEY FORESEES GLOBAL Y2K CRISIS
Information technology (IT) professionals are very concerned about the
Year 2000 bug, according to a survey conducted by the INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA (ITAA) in December 1998.
Link: http://www.yardeni.com/y2kreporter.html
U.S. TO HOST GLOBAL Y2K CONFERENCES
Link: http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,0-35066,00.html?st.ne.87.head
KOSOVO CRISIS COMPLICATING EUROPEAN Y2K INITIATIVES
Link: http://www.y2ktoday.com/modules/home/default.asp?id=1256
Link: http://www.news.com/News/Item/0,4,0-35066,00.html?st.ne.87.head
PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES CONCERNED ABOUT ACCESS TO RAW MATERIALS
Link: http://www.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/9904059C32
RUSSIAN AIRLINES FACE Y2K INSURANCE RATE HIKE
Link: http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/1999041317.html
GARTNERGROUP: MOST VENDOR SOFTWARE NOT OK FOR Y2K
Link: http://www2.computerworld.com/home/print.nsf/all/9904129DD6
WHITE HOUSE TO SET UP Y2K COORDINATION CENTER
Link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-04/15/115l-041599-idx
.h tml
FED SEES POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONS FROM Y2K
Link:
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/sc/story.html?s=v/nm/19990325/sc/
mi llennium_fed_1.html
GAO: NEARLY HALF OF POWER FIRMS WILL MISS DEADLINE
Link: http://www.cnnfn.com/digitaljam/9904/16/y2k_electricity/
Link: http://www.ci.columbia.mo.us/dept/wl/98y2k.htm
COMPANIES URGED TO PREPARE FOR Y2K POWER OUTAGES
Link: http://www.joc.com/issues/990414/i1nsur/e44806.htm
DEMAND FOR SAFE DEPOSIT BOXES RISING
Link:
http://www.amcity.com/twincities/stories/1999/04/12/story3.html?h=bug
"WINDOWING" ONLY A TEMPORARY Y2K FIX
Link: http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/tech/cte638.htm
via:
wild2k (Y2K):
http://www.wild2k.com/
The NHNE Y2K Report:
http://www.nhne.com/y2kreport/
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - The Image and Mark of God - and of the Beast
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 19:09:00 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
[The following study was done by 75060.742@compuserve.com (Donna)]
The Image and Mark of God - and of the Beast
The image of the beast in Revelation comes to my mind frequently and
so I found myself thinking about the word "image" today and decided to
investigate it a little bit. I thought I'd share with you where my
thoughts and investigations went.
OLD TESTAMENT "Image"
It seems fitting to first consider the word "image" as it is used in
the Old Testament. Right away in GENESIS 1:27 we are told that God
made man in his own image. That's the Hebrew word "tselem"
(Strong's 6754) and it means that man resembled him or was like him
... could even have been a paler version, a shade or a phantom or
shadow. God wanted us to be like him. After man's fall to Satan
in the garden, man must have lost something that made him like God,
for God would send his Son to bring man back to him through salvation
... and it was God's goal for us to grow in likeness to his Son, to
be conformed in his Son's image. What image ? Christ was the image
of God, as we shall see. We were created to be like God and God
wants us to return to that state through Christ. Not to be God ...
but to be like him ... like-minded, like-spirited perhaps.
>From Genesis we turn to Exodus where we find God telling his chosen
people in EXODUS 20:4 not to have any gods before him, nor to make any
graven images or likenesses of anything to worship. God wanted to
be first in the minds, hearts and affections of his people. Anything
man puts before God draws him away from God and changes man to be like
it (dead) and not like God (alive). There are several words given
in both EXODUS 20:4 and LEVITICUS 26:1 and DEUTERONOMY 9:12 that deal
with this graven image/likeness concept, "pecel" (6459) a carven,
graven idol, "maskiyth" (4906) which means a figure in the
imagination, a picture, a wish, a show-piece and then it's really
interesting prime "Sekuw" (7906) which is a place name meaning
observatory or the watch-tower. And then "maccekah" (4541) which
brings in the concept of something poured out, like a cast image ...
something that covers over, hides, obscures ... like a coverlet, a
web, a covering, a veil, woven stuff ... and the prime "nacak" (5258)
relates to a libation (covenant sacrifice) and the annointing of a
king. The other word for image I found in JOB 4:16, "temuwnah"
(8544) and "miyn" (4327) where Job speaks of an image before his
eyes, something fashioned to look like something else.
So in thinking about this, I believe God was telling man don't
create any physical idol or picture in your imagination, nor any
institution masquerading as a watch-tower that replaces me. Don't
create anything that covers over my image, that hides or veils it.
Don't make a covenant sacrifice with anyone nor annoint any king but
me.
We all know that Lucifer seeks to take God's rightful place. This
"annointing of a king" definition brings to my mind that fascinating
story in Judges 9 about the bramble that becomes king over the trees.
God's people always seem to be seeking a king other than God. No
wonder the first two commandments are about putting God first !
Here are the uses of the words for "image" in the Old Testament
(there are more references that use the same words - these are only a
random sampling of verses - one for each different word):
Gen 1:27 God created man in his own image ... 6754 tselem ... a
resemblance,a likeness, to shade, a phantom
2 Kings 3 ... put away the image of Baal ... 4676 matstsebah, 5324
natsab ... something stationed .. a stone or idol, an appointed
deputy, garrison
Ezek 8:3 ... image of jealousy (provokes the wrath of God)... 5566
cemel ... a likeness, image, statue, idol
Exodus 20:4 ... thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image ...
6459 pecel ... a carved, graven image, idol
Leviticus 26:1 ... neither shall ye set up any image of stone in
your land to bow down to it ... 4906 maskiyth, 7906 Sekuw ... a
figure, imagination ... conceit, wish, picture, showpeice ... a place
name ... observatory or "the watchtower
Deut 9:12 ... they have made them a molten image ... 4541
maccekah, 5258 nacak ... a pouring out, a cast image, a coverlet, a
web, a covering, a veil, woven stuff ...a libation (covenant
sacrifice) ... to annoint a king
Job 4:16 ... an image was before mine eyes ... 8544 temuwnah , 4327
miyn ... something fashioned, a phantom, a likeness ... a kind, a
species
NEW TESTAMENT "Image"
Interestingly, there are only two words in the New Testament that is
translated as "image". The first is the word "eikon" (1504) which
means a likeness, literally it means a profile or statue, figuratively
it means a resemblance or a representation of something. It's prime
is the word "eiko" (1503) to be like or to resemble, possibly through
the idea of faintness of a copy. So an image in the New Testament
may mean something that is like the original but is merely a copy of
it.
The second word is "charakter" (5481) and it means God's character
stamped upon Christ like a mark ... an exact copy ... it can refer to
both the tool that does the stamping or engraving ... or the person
himself. It's like when metal is pressed into a die .. or like the
impression a seal makes on wax. This word is only used one time in
the New Testament ... in Hebrews 1:3 where it describes Christ as
being the "express image" of God ... meaning he is the exact image of
God, an exact copy. Jesus is the one and only son that is the exact
copy of God. He is God's substance and being, poured out into a
flesh body.
The New Testament speaks about how the image of God has been
corrupted by ungodly men, how Christ is the image of God and we are to
be changed to be like him ... it speaks of the Law and how it is just
a shadow, an image, a faint copy of what was to come in the form of
Christ. It even asks the question, "who's image is on the money ?
Ceasar's ... it's not God's.
Here are all the uses of the word "eikon" or "image" in the New
Testament so that you can get a feel for the word and how it's used:
Matt 22:20, Mark 12:16, Luke 20:24 ... whose is the image on the
coin ? Ceasar's
Romans 1:23 ... image of incorruptible God made like corruptible man
and the creatures by ungodly men Romans 8 ... whom God foreknew he
predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son 1 Cor 11:7 ...
man is the image and glory of God (woman is the image of man) and
should not cover his head 1 Cor 15:49 ... we have borne the image of
the earthly ... and shall bear the image of the heavenly 2 Cor 3:18
... but looking in a mirror at the glory of God (Christ) are changed
into the same image by the Spirit 2 Cor 4:4 ... Christ is the image of
God Col 1:15 ... Christ is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of every creature Col 3:10 ... ye have put on the new man,
renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him Heb 1:3
... the express image of his [God's] person Heb 10:1 ... the law
having a shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the
things
Rev 13:14 ... that they should make an image to the beast which had
the wound by a sword and did live Rev 13:15 ... and he had power to
give life unto the image of the beast ... the beast should both speak
and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast
should be killed Rev 14:9 ... if any man worship the beast and his
image and receive his mark ... shall drink of the wine of the wrath of
God Rev 14:11 ... they shall have no rest day or night, who worship
the beast and his image Rev 15:2 .. a sea of glass mingled with fire:
and them that had gotten the victory over the beast and his image, and
his mark and the number of his name stand on the sea of glass having
harps of God
Rev 16:2 ... first vial .. .a noisome and grievous sore on the men
which had the mark of the beast and upon them that worshipped his
image Rev 19:20 ... the beast, the false prophet, them that worshipped
his image ... cast alive into the lake of fire Rev 20:4 ... I saw
thrones ... and the souls of them beheaded for witness of Jesus, for
God's word and who had not worshipped the beast or his image or
received his mark ... they lived and reigned 1000 years with Christ
Where the Old Testament speaks of the image of God or the image of
idols, it's interesting to note that half the references of the word
"eikon" or "image" in the New Testament deal with Christ, the image of
God (as well as the reference to "charakter") and the other half deal
with the image of the Beast in Revelation. The true image vs. the
false image.
An image of the beast is fashioned ... a copy that is like the
original ... and the beast has the power to make it "live" and
"speak" ... and to insist that people worship this image. Of
course God has told us from the beginning that we'd better not
worship any but him ... especially not an image of some other god.
That's pretty basic. I see the mark as the stamp of ownership upon
the person that worships this idolatrous image that is offered as a
replacement to God - it could even mean that the person is "conformed
to the image" that he worships, the "features" of that image stamped
upon him, has Satan's character the way we have God's character.
Satan owns those that worship his image, his representation in the
flesh and they become like him, molded according to HIS image.
We're free of his ownership because Christ ransomed us, sealed us with
his stamp of ownership and we are become like God/Christ again -
conformed in his image and his character. I think you can readily
tell who has Satan's stamp or mark already today.
This image of the beast seems to me to be a counterpart to the flesh
image of God which is Christ. So when a person worships the image
then they are worshipping the false copy or idol - the instead-of
Christ. Not earth-shattering news to us but it is interesting to
document the conclusion by parallel.
So ... if the image of God was Christ ... what will the image of
Lucifer be ? I keep remembering that Revelation points out to us in
several places that he is just a man. Does that fly in the face of
what PM [my pastor] says about Satan being supernatural here ? I
don't think so. Christ was in the flesh but still did miracles. I
do not think he lacked any supernatural power. And I really think
that the image of the beast and his mark are intertwined concepts
just like the image of Christ and the seal of God are intertwined
concepts.
Though we are not like Christ, who IS the image of the living God, we
can be like him in character because of the presence of the Holy
Spirit within us. And if you don't have that Spirit in you then you
will be conformed to the image of the Beast ... and have it's mark
stamped upon your character.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Bow - Rev 6:2
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 18 Apr 1999 21:17:29 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
It is an interesting fact of history that some cultures favored the
bow as a weapon of war, considering it a "noble weapon": Akkadians,
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a
bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering,
and to conquer.--Revelation 6:2
-----------------------
Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Parthians, to name but a few.
All used the bow in battle and prided themselves in their prowess with
it. Other cultures, including the Roman, did not consider the bow a
valorous weapon of war. Yet the Romans did realize the practical
importance of archery as a long-distance form of warfare and therefore
normally had auxiliary contingents of archers attached to their battle
groups. These were usually either mercenaries or troops contributed by
dependent kings.
(The Sea of Galilee, Shelley Wachsmann)
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Apr 19, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 08:27:43 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
7:00 PM Eastern
HIST - 20TH CENTURY - Guns & God: The Sieges of Waco and
Ruby Ridge.
8:00
A&E - BIOGRAPHY - "Prince Charles: Born to Be King" -
Prince Charles.(CC)(TVG)
HIST - THE ROMAN EMPERORS - A tour of rulers' mansions
reveals the splendor in which they lived.(CC)(TVG)
TLC - FORCES OF NATURE - Volcanic eruptions; tornados;
hurricanes; earthquakes.(CC)(TVG)
9:00
DISC - ESCAPE FROM EARTH - Physicists, mathematicians and
astronomers study the logistics of space
colonization.(CC)(TVG)
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israeli Prime Minister's Report (4/19/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 08:33:43 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
---------------------------------------------------
The Prime Minister's Report
Volume 3, Number 18
April 19, 1999
---------------------------------------------------
I. Message from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
to the Jewish Communities of the Diaspora on
the Occasion of Israel's 51st Independence Day
April 1999
II. Cabinet Communique
(Communicated by the Cabinet Secretariat)
III. Policy Clarification
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
--------------------------------------------------------
I. Message from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
to the Jewish Communities of the Diaspora on
the Occasion of Israel's 51st Independence Day
April 1999
--------------------------------------------------------
This Independence Day, the last before the Millennium year, finds
Israel better prepared than ever to meet the challenges of our time.
It is difficult to recall today that less than two decades ago our
economic and political future was hostage to oil politics, and Israel
was viewed as a strategic burden, a country in urgent need of help to
survive.
We do, of course, still welcome support and friendship, and the bond
between Diaspora Jewry and Israel is as vital as ever. But as a state
we have come a long way. We are now in the forefront of the world's
givers. In recent weeks we sent the first field hospital and plane
loads of vital supplies to help the Kosovo refugees. And, in previous
months and years, our rescue missions helped save many thousands in
Rwanda, Ethiopia, Mexico and Armenia. Our medical team was the first
to care for the victims of the terrorist bombing of the US embassy in
Kenya. Now we are welcoming Kosovo refugees, the way we welcomed
Vietnamese, Cambodian and Bosnian refugees in the past.
All this is but one indication of Israel's transformation. In the
economic sphere, our country is poised to become one of the few which
can compete with the world's giants. We possess today's most
important source of wealth: scientific and technological knowledge and
expertise. And through liberalization, deregulation and massive
privatization we are freeing our economy and enabling enterprise to
flourish.
Our political position, too, is firmer. Our concept of security and
the principle of reciprocity have become integral components of the
peace process - which makes me believe more than ever that we can
achieve real, lasting peace with our neighbors.
I am also certain that our neighbors, who have also suffered from long
years of war and violence, will conclude that an enduring peace can be
achieved only through negotiations, compromise, confidence building,
education for peace, and mutual respect.
There is no other way to attain peaceful coexistence, security and
prosperity for all of us, and for our children and grandchildren.
On this Independence Day I send you greetings from Jerusalem, Israel's
eternal, undivided capital. Let this be a day on which we welcome the
future with confidence, faith, fortitude and hope.
Sincerely,
Benjamin Netanyahu
--------------------------------------------------------
II. Cabinet Communique
(Communicated by the Cabinet Secretariat)
--------------------------------------------------------
At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday), 18.4.99:
1. At the start of the meeting, the Foreign Minister
briefed the Cabinet on the meeting of European foreign
ministers, which he attended over the weekend in
Stuttgart.
The Foreign Minister noted that, at the meeting, Syrian
Foreign Minister Farouk a-Shara claimed that former
Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres had
promised that Israel would withdraw to the 4 June 1967
border within the framework of a settlement with Syria -
- to which the Foreign Minister responded that the Likud
government is, and would be, unprepared to accept any
preconditions for the resumption of peace negotiations
with Syria.
The Foreign Minister further noted that he insisted the
matter not be included in the final communique of the
conference -- and that his demand was met.
The Prime Minister said that the statements of the Syrian
Foreign Minister unequivocally confirm what was
already known -- that the previous government
consented to withdraw to the shore of the Kinneret.
According to the Prime Minister, the comments of the
Syrian Foreign Minister also explain why the talks have
not resumed -- because the Likud government has not
agreed, and will not agree, to such a condition serving as
the point of departure for the negotiations. The
willingness of the Labor Party and the Left to resume the
talks from the point where they were halted during the
term of the previous government constitutes their
consent to retreat to the banks of the Kinneret.
2. The head of the Counter-Terrorism Task Force
presented the Cabinet with statistics detailing the number
of terrorist attacks and casualties that have occurred
since September 1993 (Oslo I).
September-December 1993 -- 62 people killed
1994 -- 74 people killed
1995 -- 49 people killed
1996 -- 82 people killed
(mostly in four suicide attacks
during February-March)
1997 -- 33 people killed
1998 -- 13 people killed
January-March 1999 -- 1 person killed
The head of the Counter-Terrorism Task Force noted
that, over time, there has been a great improvement in
the professionalism and efficiency of the security forces
vis-a-vis the war against terrorism. He added that the
Palestinian Authority has prosecuted almost nobody for
involvement in terrorist activities.
The Prime Minister said that the statistics indicate a
decline of almost 80% in the number terrorist victims
during the tenure of the present government, which has
resulted from Israel's bolstered action against terrorism,
and from the activist policy of the security branches --
acting at the instruction of the Government and in
accordance with its policies. Also contributing to the
increase in internal security is the current government's
policy of reciprocity. The Palestinians are conscious of
the fact that terrorist attacks will also affect them, even
in the political sphere, in the wake of Israel's response.
The Prime Minister emphasized that, in light of this, the
Palestinian Authority has refrained from assisting
terrorist operations and has taken specific action to
combat terrorism -- although they have not yet taken
action against the terrorist infrastructure.
At the same time, it is impossible to guarantee that there
will be no terrorist attacks in the future, because the
desire of terrorist organizations to perpetrate attacks still
remains unchanged. What has changed is our ability to
prevent such acts from being perpetrated -- as a
consequence of security and political action. This is a
badge of honor for the Government.
The Prime Minister offered his thanks to the GSS, the
IDF, the Israel Police and the other security branches for
their uncompromising war against terrorism.
--------------------------------------------------------
III. Policy Clarification
(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
--------------------------------------------------------
In the wake of various reports this morning (Thursday),
15.4.99, the Prime Minister's Media Advisor wishes to
clarify that Israel and the United States have always had
their differences on the matter of settlements.
With all due respect for the friendship between the two
countries, the Prime Minister is committed to ensure --
first and foremost -- the interests of the State of Israel.
On various occasions, the Prime Minister has clearly told
the US Government that Israel's policy is to enable the
development and expansion of existing communities in
Judea and Samaria, just as there is no restriction on the
continued expansion of Arab communities.
The Prime Minister added that, as is known, the
Government has no plans to build new communities in
Judea and Samaria.
The Prime Minister of Israel <pmr@pmo.gov.il>
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Bow - Rev 6:2 (one more time)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 08:39:05 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow;
and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to
conquer.--Revelation 6:2
-------------------------------
It is an interesting fact of history that some cultures favored the
bow as a weapon of war, considering it a "noble weapon": Akkadians,
Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Parthians, to name but a few.
All used the bow in battle and prided themselves in their prowess with
it. Other cultures, including the Roman, did not consider the bow a
valorous weapon of war. Yet the Romans did realize the practical
importance of archery as a long-distance form of warfare and therefore
normally had auxiliary contingents of archers attached to their battle
groups. These were usually either mercenaries or troops contributed by
dependent kings.
(The Sea of Galilee, Shelley Wachsmann)
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (4/19/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 08:51:23 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
*** Russia leaders warn of World War III
MOSCOW (AP) - A leading Russian politician warned Saturday that the
U.S. and NATO could spark another Vietnam and possibly World War III
if they send ground troops to Yugoslavia. "In the event that NATO and
America start a ground operation in Yugoslavia, they will face a
second Vietnam," Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said. "I do not want to
forecast what is going to start then. I cannot rule out a third world
war." Luzhkov said if NATO ground troops are sent to Yugoslavia,
Russia should consider breaking a U.N.-imposed arms embargo and supply
military and technical assistance to the Yugoslav army. Luzhkov is one
of Russia's most popular politicians and is a likely candidate in next
year's presidential election. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559201375-797 ***
Also: Russia military won't act on Kosovo, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559216869-ed3
*** NATO 50th anniversary summit set
WASHINGTON (AP) - Amid platters of stuffed grape leaves and hummus
laid out in the Turkish ambassador's residence, diplomats, Congress
members and federal officials mingled with executives whose
corporations are kicking in $250,000 apiece for the NATO summit.
Schmoozing and talking business with leaders from 43 foreign countries
and the U.S. are part of the payoff for American corporate sponsors
helping finance the receptions, logistics and hoopla surrounding
NATO's 50th anniversary. The summit begins Friday in Washington.
General Motors, Ameritech and Boeing are among 13 companies so far
that have donated at least a quarter-million dollars in cash or goods
and services. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559214716-f0c ***
Also: Members of NATO host committee, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559221496-9a0 ***
Also: D.C. spruces up for NATO conference, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559202721-88d ***
Also: Kosovo complicates NATO's 50th, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559202797-039 ***
And: German general helped steer NATO, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559202750-4ea
*** Muslims celebrate new Islamic year
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Millions of Muslims celebrated the new Islamic
year Saturday, a holiday of low-key religious events in many Arab
countries. Government offices, banks and schools were closed. Jordan
announced a one-day national holiday during which the government
banned serving alcohol in public. Jordanian clergymen planned a
special sermon. In the Gulf nation of Oman, Islamic lectures were held
in mosques extolling the importance of the new year. In Egypt,
residents of Cairo fled their dusty city and swayed and danced to
Arabic music aboard crowded boats sailing along the Nile River to
popular picnic sites. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559205327-0f0
*** Palestinians seek U.S. assurance
JERUSALEM (AP) - Palestinians want a written assurance that the U.S.
will back Palestinian statehood in exchange for a delay in its
declaration, a Palestinian official said Sunday. Palestinian leader
Yasser Arafat has sent his deputy, Mahmoud Abbas, to Washington for
another round of talks with U.S. officials regarding the declaration
of an independent state. The Clinton administration is seeking a
one-year extension of the Oslo peace accords agreements, scheduled to
end May 4, out of concern that a unilateral statehood declaration on
that date would sink the fragile peace process. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559217305-55b
*** Jordan's king, Arafat meet Gadhafi
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Jordan's King
Abdullah met separately Saturday with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in
talks on Middle East peace and economic ties. King Abdullah received a
red-carpet welcome Saturday in the coastal town Sirte. Arafat arrived
with similar fanfare Friday night. Abdullah and Arafat were among the
first Arab leaders to fly to Libya after a 7-year U.N. travel ban was
lifted earlier this month. Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir visited
last week. Gadhafi met with Abdullah and Arafat, Libyan TV said. They
discussed Arab and international issues. Egypt's Middle East News
Agency said the talks focused on the stalled Mideast peace process and
efforts to unite Arab nations. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559206126-5b9
*** Swiss approve revamped constitution
GENEVA (AP) - Swiss voters approved a new constitution Sunday that
eliminates the traditional requirement for the country's currency to
be backed by gold. The modernization of the 125-year-old constitution,
which was backed by all the major Swiss political parties and expected
to pass easily, came down to a closer-than-expected vote. Some 59% of
voters casting ballots, 969,400 people, approved the new document. In
addition to abolishing the gold standard for the Swiss franc, the
constitution enshrines new rights in law, including the right to
strike and the principle of equal opportunities for the handicapped.
But 12 of Switzerland's 26 states voted against the proposal, which
needed a majority of both voters and states to pass. About 669,200
people or 41% rejected it. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559215430-0b2
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russia Today items (4/19/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 10:13:20 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
YELTSIN WON'T LET WEST DEFEAT MILOSEVIC - TASS
MOSCOW -- President Boris Yeltsin said on Monday that Russia would not
allow the West to defeat Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and
establish control over Yugoslavia, Itar-Tass news agency said.
http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/1999041901.html?text
RUSSIA URGES PEACE IN EUROPE AS REICHSTAG OPENS
MOSCOW -- Russia, which opposes air strikes on Yugoslavia carried out
by NATO members including Germany, marked the reopening of the
Reichstag in Berlin on Monday by saying much had to be done to keep
peace in Europe.
http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/1999041902.html?text
YELTSIN TO HEAR PROPOSALS ON YUGOSLAVIA
MOSCOW -- President Boris Yeltsin and other Russian leaders will meet
on Monday to consider proposals for settling the conflict in
Yugoslavia, Kremlin peace envoy Victor Chernomyrdin said.
http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/1999041904.html?text
IVANOV SAYS NATO ALLIES PLANNING FOR GROUND TROOPS
-- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov was quoted on Sunday as saying
that NATO allies were planning for a ground force in Kosovo but were
not saying so as they did not want to upset public opinion.
http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/1999041905.html?text
PAKISTAN PM LEAVES FOR MOSCOW ON OFFICIAL VISIT
LAHORE, Pakistan -- Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif left Monday
for a four-day official visit to Moscow.
http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/1999041906.html?text
IMF BOARD TO DISCUSS RUSSIA IN EARLY MAY: MOSCOW
LONDON -- The IMF board, which holds the key to more than two billion
dollars in new financial aid to Russia, will discuss the Russian
crisis in early May, Russia's Deputy Finance Minister Mikhail Kasyanov
said on Sunday.
http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/business/news/1999041901.html?text
NO EU FOOD AID TO RUSSIA SOLD YET, ALL IN STORE
MOSCOW -- All the food aid so far delivered to Russia from the
European Union is sitting unsold in storage as an agreement on how to
use the proceeds from the sale has not been reached, an EU spokeswoman
said on Monday.
http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/business/news/1999041902.html?text
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Oslo expert: Palestinian state is a violation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 13:17:41 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
OSLO EXPERT: PALESTINIAN STATE IS A VIOLATION
Oslo-agreement architect Yoel Zinger has determined that Israel has
the right to annex parts of Judea and Samaria, in the event that the
Palestinian Authority unilaterally decides to declare a state. In an
article in the American quarterly journal The National Interest,
Zinger writes that a Palestinian declaration of a state would be a
flagrant violation of the Oslo accords, and that it would immediately
entitle Israel to annex parts of Yesha without the consent of the PA.
The Egyptian paper Al-Wafd reported today that Arafat plans to declare
a Palestinian state a few weeks after the election in Israel.
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Monday, April 19, 1999 / Iyar 3, 5759 - Day 18 of the Omer
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arabia On Line items (4/19/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 13:26:24 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Islamic Jihad Threatens Chemical Warfare
The Jihad draws up a "plan for carrying out 100 attacks against US and
Israeli targets..."
http://www.arabia.com/content/news/4_99/jihad19.shtml
Jordan's King to Visit Syria
Syrian President Assad, an arch-critic of Jordan`s 1994 peace treaty
with Israel. http://www.arabia.com/content/news/4_99/jordan19.shtml
The Silk Road: Images From the Past
http://www.arabia.com/content/culture/4_99/silk19.shtml
CNN to Dismiss Peter Arnett
CNN is planning to dismiss award-winning war correspondent after
Arnett's prominent role in an embarrassing report.
http://www.arabia.com/content/living/4_99/cnn19.shtml
Israel to Construct Mosque in Nazareth
Israel authorizes the construction of a mosque next to the Basilica of
the Annunciation in Nazareth.
http://www.arabia.com/content/living/4_99/nazareth19.shtml
Saudi Prince Dead
Saudi Prince Fahd ibn Saad ibn Saud ibn Abdel Aziz died Sunday at age
41. http://www.arabia.com/content/living/4_99/saudi19.shtml
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Sound of shooting stars
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 13:30:16 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Monday, April 19, 1999 Published at 11:33 GMT 12:33 UK
Sci/Tech
Sound of shooting stars
The sounds were recorded in Mongolia
From BBC Science reporter Dr Chris Riley in San
Francisco
A Croatian astronomer thinks he has cracked a meteor
mystery that has baffled the scientific world for over
two centuries.
He has managed to record what he
believes are the illusive,
instantaneous sounds made by shooting stars as they
crash through the Earth's upper atmosphere.
The extraordinary thing about these
noises is that the observer on the
ground hears them at the same time
as the meteor appears overhead. On
the face of it, this would seem
impossible because it would require
the noises to break the sound barrier!
He made the recordings
during last November's
Leonid meteor storm and
presented his findings to a
conference in San Francisco
this week.
Dejan Vinkovic, currently at
the University of Kentucky,
conducted his enterprising
experiment on an expedition
to Mongolia. He was joined
by colleagues Slaven Garaj,
Goran Zgrablic and a number
of others from the University of Zagreb.
They were perfectly placed to record any sounds that
might accompany the Leonids, the shower of shooting stars
that are seen when the Earth plunges through the dust
debris left by Comet Temple Tuttle as it circles the Sun.
Eyewitness accounts
Since Biblical times, stories have been told of a low
thunder-like noise instantly accompanying bright shooting
stars. But it was not until 1784 that proper research
into the phenomena began.
Sir Charles Blagdon, the then Secretary of the Royal
Society, collected eyewitness accounts of a bright
fireball that rushed across the UK. He noted surprisingly
that all the witnesses had heard the accompanying rumble
at the same time, regardless of where they were in the
country.
Blagdon concluded that it
could not be a proper
acoustic sound as it had
travelled too fast. But he
knew of no principle that
could account for what his
witnesses had heard and
declared that future
observations would no doubt
explain it.
But it was to take almost two
centuries to explain the
principle when a huge fireball
streaked across Australia
promoting lots of reports of the "instant" sound
phenomena again. This time astronomer Colin Keay
gathered the eyewitness accounts and proposed that the
twisting wake of the fireball might trap its magnetic
field - creating very long radio waves which would travel
to the ground below at the speed of light.
In the lab Keay showed that such
radio frequencies could produce an
audible sound at ground level by
interacting with anything from a tree
to someone's hairstyle or pair of
spectacles! He called his phenomena
electrophonic sound.
Generating sounds in this way is still somewhat
controversial. And most astronomers believed that these
instant sounds which accompanied bright meteors were just
something that eyewitnesses were imagining.
Freezing temperatures
The proof to the contrary has had to wait until now. Away
from civilisation, 20 kilometres south of Ulan Bator and
battling with temperatures below minus 30 degrees
centigrade, Dejan Vinkovic and his team set out to record
these enigmatic X-sounds.
"Our equipment was not
sophisticated," he admits.
"To protect the microphones
from wind noise, we just
buried them in sealed
wooden boxes with a
partition of aluminium or
paper foil to act as a kind of
drum skin. Then we just
covered them in snow and
waited."
Their wait was rewarded after
two frigid nights when the
fireballs started falling over the Mongolian steps. "We
were just chatting around midnight and suddenly a few
happened," recalls Vinkovic.
"Then they just came, brighter and brighter. We stood
there amazed. It was complete madness. I've never seen
fireballs so bright. You could see your shadow - night
turned to day."
Vikovic estimates they saw more than 30 fireballs in
about five hours. But this was a freak night that
probably will not be repeated in our lifetimes. "And the
accompanying sounds are very rare," he stresses.
"The average person may expect to
hear only one electrophonic fireball in a
lifetime, as long as they spend most of
their night hours outside."
Alternatively you could click on our
RealAudio recording. The sound to
listen out for is a thud heard in between a couple of
sharp clicks.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_321000/321596.stm
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Poison cloud engulfs Belgrade
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 09:44:36 -0500
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/
pages/tim/99/04/19/timfgnkos02002.html?1124027
Poison cloud engulfs Belgrade
AN ecological disaster was unfolding yesterday after Nato bombed a
combined petrochemicals, fertiliser and refinery complex on the banks
of the Danube in the northern outskirts of Belgrade.
A series of detonations that shook the whole city early yesterday sent
a toxic cloud of smoke and gas hundreds of feet into the night sky. In
the dawn the choking cloud could be seen spreading over the entire
northern skyline.
Among the cocktail of chemicals billowing over hundreds of
thousands of homes were the toxic gas phosgene, chlorine and
hydrochloric acid. Workers at the industrial complex in Pancevo
panicked and decided to release tons of ethylene dichloride, a
carcinogen, into the Danube, rather than risk seeing it blown up.
At least three missile strikes left large areas of the plant crippled and
oil and petrol from the damaged refinery area flowed into the river,
forming slicks up to 12 miles long. Temperatures in the collapsing
plant were said to have risen to more than 1,000C. Asked about the
hazard from chemical smoke, Nato said there was "a lot more smoke
coming from burning villages in Kosovo".
Belgrade scientists told people to stay indoors and to avoid any fish
caught in the Danube. They said pollution would spread downstream
to Romania and Bulgaria and then into the Black Sea.
At least 50 residents of Pancevo were reported suffering from
poisoning and the Health Ministry was struggling to find gas masks
to distribute in the surrounding areas. residents were told to breathe
through scarves soaked in sodium bicarbonate as a precaution against
showers of nitric acid.
Thirteen hours after the first explosions, the Yugoslav Army took
journalists to Pancevo just as a thunderstorm broke over the complex.
As the director tried to hold a press conference in the fertiliser plant's
headquarters offices, panes of glass and other fixtures loosened by
the earlier explosions began falling from the building. The driving rain
and gusts of wind only increased the smoke and brought the toxic
gases down from the higher levels of the atmosphere. "This plant is 37
years old and this is our worst nightmare," said Miralem Dzindo. " By
taking away our fertiliser they stop us growing food, and then they try
to poison us as well." He rejected journalists' questions about
chemical weapons, saying that the plant was strictly non-military.
Mr Dzindo said an airstrike three nights ago had grazed a tank
containing 20,000 tons of liquid ammonia. If that had gone up in
flames, he said, much of Belgrade would have been poisoned. Against
the roar of thunder and the crackle of the burning oil refinery, the
Serbian Ecology Minister, Dragoljub Jelovic, accused Nato of trying
to destroy the whole Yugoslav environment. He said the pollution in
the Danube and in the atmosphere over Belgrade "knows no frontiers"
and he warned neighbouring countries that the poison clouds could
soon be with them.
A westerly wind had taken the worst of the gases away from Belgrade,
he said, but he predicted that they could soon reach Romania.
Disaster will be avoided, as long as the cloud remains several hundred
feet high (Dr Thomas Stuttaford writes). However, if the wind
changes, and if it rains so that the gases are dissolved in solutions
which can be deposited and inhaled, the old, very young and those
with chest diseases might suffer.
The usual advice is to keep indoors with the windows shut, wearing a
mask, and after the danger has passed to wash all clothes that were
being worn, and to flush down any contaminated person's skin with
soapy water.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - New Germany, New Berlin (2 items)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 22:20:06 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 1999
WORLD
A new Germany; A new Berlin
In shifting the government from Bonn to Berlin, Germany
chooses to confront its past.
Lucian Kim
Special to The Christian Science Monitor
BERLIN
When the German parliament assembled here yesterday it marked
an event of historic dimensions. Nine years after German
reunification, the government finally has returned to Berlin.
Germany's political center, planted for 50 years in tidy Bonn, is
shifting to this raw eastern metropolis that is still in the process
of redefining itself and its role in Europe.
EXTERIOR: The remodeled
Reichstag building in Berlin.
(FABRIZIO BENSCH /REUTERS)
The move from Bonn can be read on any number of levels. The
German parliament, or Bundestag, is moving into the Reichstag
building, long a reminder of the Nazi hijacking of the first German
democracy.
The government, in a sign of reunified Germany's regained
sovereignty, is self-confidently moving into a city filled with the
memories of a dark and difficult past.
And the German capital, once a stark symbol of Europe's
cold-war divisions, now represents both the pitfalls and successes in
integrating Eastern and Western Europe.
German political commentators have already heralded the
beginning of the "Berlin Republic," much to the displeasure of
politicians, who insist on a seamless continuity with Bonn's
democratic traditions.
"The politicians are right to object for a good reason: It's the same
Constitution," says American historian Brian Ladd. "And yet in some
ways the move to Berlin completes a process that Bonn began - the
process of reformulating German identity through confrontation with
German history."
The 'Berlin Republic'
Once at the center of the sprawling German Reich, or empire,
Berlin today is only 40 miles from the Polish border. The
geographic displacement of Germany's center of power promises
to give new impulses to a country - and a continent - still faced with
deep economic and social divisions.
"If Germany becomes more truly unified, it will be different," says
Mr. Ladd. "The 'Berlin Republic' will be a Central European state, as
opposed to a Western European border state. But it's a gradual
process."
That process began in 1991 with heated debates in the Bundestag
over whether the newly reunified Germany needed a new capital.
Many feared the cost of the move - now some $12 billion - while
others were opposed to moving into a city that had been home to
Prussian militarism, the nerve center of Hitler's killing machine, and
more recently, the capital of communist East Germany.
By a majority of only 18 votes, the parliament decided for the
historic German capital.
A frenetic period of construction, demolition, and renovation
began (and remains unfinished), as city planners and speculators
scrambled to stitch back a city that had been torn down the
middle.
The Berlin Wall, hated symbol of the cold war's division, vanished
from the face of the capital, and the Brandenburg Gate, central
hallmark of the city, was opened to traffic.
Subway stops that had been cemented shut by the East German
government were excavated and reopened; gloomy
communist-era neighborhoods received new fa=E7ades and gleaming
shopping centers.
Long the urban embodiment of the East-West confrontation
following World War II, Berlin now is the place where two
worldviews, once diametrically opposed, fuse and clash.
A fusion of worldviews
"As a combination of East and West, it hasn't been terribly
successful, because too many easterners have felt left out of the
process of planning - left out of a city center that many see as
having been built for rich westerners," says Ladd, author of the
recent book "Ghosts of Berlin: Confronting German History in the Urban
Landscape."
Click here for the bigger picture.
One example is the huge construction site at Potsdamer Platz, in
the 1920s Europe's busiest traffic intersection and during the cold
war a barren no man's land between capitalism and communism.
Today it is one of the biggest construction sites in the city, with
Sony and Daimler Benz racing to complete a sleek urban quarter, still
quite disjointed from the rest of Berlin.
In this multipolar city, old stereotypes provide little orientation,
however.
Many merchants in the western half of the city are watching with
dismay as business shifts eastward to the historical center of
Berlin. And most of the capital's poorest districts are located in the
West, not the East.
Berlin suffers from a 16 percent unemployment rate and a stagnant
growth rate, the worst in any German region.
The city government, once propped up by fat federal subsidies, is
bankrupt. Compared with the industrialized regions in western and
southern Germany, the country's largest city is still an economic
dwarf.
"Berlin was the showcase of two systems. In many ways, it didn't
orient itself to the market," says Elmar Pieroth, a long-serving
Berlin politician and now the city's economic envoy to central and
eastern Europe.
A businessman himself, Mr. Pieroth recalls that while the
command economy snuffed out private initiative in the East,
subsidies from Bonn likewise stifled entrepreneurship in the West.
The loss of the capital's Jews, who played a vital role in Berlin's
economic life before the Holocaust, was a further blow, he adds. "The
first step is to turn Berlin - the westernmost city of eastern Europe
- into the distribution and production point of eastern European
companies," Pieroth says, describing his recipe for Berlin's recovery.
"The customers are in the East; the western markets are already
strongly occupied by western companies."
Geography is key for city promoters, who are banking that the
eventual expansion of the European Union will turn the capital into a
focal point for East-West trade. Lehrter Bahnhof, the city's new train
station, is expected to become the European rail network's new hub,
with a quarter of a million passengers passing through it daily.
Measuring up
The largest city between Paris and Moscow, Berlin still exudes a
certain air of self-conscious provinciality incongruous to its
population of 3.5 million.
The roots lie in the island mentality of West Berlin and the isolation
of East Berlin from outside influences. While the easygoing
cosmopolitanism of Berlin in the 1920s is returning to the city,
Berliners still seem uneasy about their place in the world, constantly
measuring themselves up against New York, London, or Paris, cities
certainly not burdened with inferiority complexes.
KEEPING AN EYE ON
LEGISLATORS: The remodeled
Reichstag building in Berlin.
Parliament met here Monday for
the first time since reunification in
1990. Visitors can look down on
legislators while acending the
walkway that circles a central
cone of mirrors.
(REINHARD KRAUSE /REUTERS)
The capital has three airports but only two intercontinental flights -
to Havana and Ulan Bator, the Mongolian capital.
And Berlin boasts three daily newspapers but not one that speaks
for the nation. Recent front-page stories in the local sections
announced which one-way streets had opened to two-way bike
traffic, and detailed the color choice - gray or purple - of seats in
suburban trains.
"Berlin is a collection of villages. You move in your neighborhood and
have everything around the corner," says Volkmar Staub, a Berlin-based
political cabaret artist. "The funniest thing about Berlin for a
comedian is that it's not worth parodying a single city politician.
They are really provincial."
Yet Mr. Staub doesn't assess Germany's inherited cold-war
unpretentiousness negatively. "Germany will now sing along in the
choir of the great powers, so it needs a presentable capital," he
says. "In that sense, I would welcome the modesty of Bonn."
It is inevitable though that the view from Berlin will change the
perspective of Germany's political elite.
That the government comes to this city fully aware of its troubled
history is less a sign of a resurgent Germany than of a
self-confidence to accept its central role in the project of European
integration.
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/04/20/fp12s1-csm.shtml
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D
TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 1999
WORLD
Parliament returns to site of 'end of
democracy'
Lucian Kim
The Reichstag building embodies Germany's road to democracy
like no other structure in this city so cluttered with the symbols of
a tumultuous past.
When the Bundestag, or parliament, gathered yesterday for its first
session in the renovated Reichstag building, it returned to a
structure that has witnessed some of the darkest moments of the 20th
century.
"The building has a large, multilayered historical significance for
Germany," says architectural critic Sebastian Redecke. "The burning of
the Reichstag was a symbol of the end of German democracy."
Mr. Redecke refers to the mysterious fire that gutted the
Reichstag, then-seat of the parliament, a week before elections in
1933. Using the fire as a pretext, the Nazis arrested opposition
leaders and swept into power.
As the Third Reich crumbled with the onslaught of Allied forces,
anti- aircraft batteries were placed atop the four corner towers of
the former parliament building. In 1945, when the Soviet Red Army
fought its way into the capital, the Reichstag was at the center of
the street battles. The most famous photograph from the Battle of
Berlin shows a Russian soldier raising the Soviet flag over the
Reichstag.
Renovated in the 1960s, the building hulked uselessly on the
fringes of West Berlin. The Berlin Wall passed right along its
eastern side.
In 1992 British architect Sir Norman Foster received the
commission to rebuild the Reichstag building as the new seat of the
Bundestag. The generous use of glass is reminiscent of the
transparency and modesty that the former Bundestag building in Bonn
conveyed. A central cone consisting of 365 mirrors casts natural light
onto the assembly. Another carryover is a modified sculpture of the
federal eagle, nicknamed the "fat hen," which, contrary to the
architect's wishes, will hover behind the speaker's podium.
To historian Brian Ladd, it is unproblematic that the Bundestag is
moving into a building that once symbolized German democracy's
downfall. "The move to the Reichstag represents an acceptance of
20th-century German history with all its complications," he says. "The
move into the Reichstag is not denial, it's acceptance."
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/04/20/fpcon-intl.shtml
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - What's New at BPR?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 19 Apr 1999 17:57:42 -0500
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
Bible Prophecy Research and Study List
Additions and updates made since Apr 12, 1999
Number 21
April 19, 1999
---------------------
Hi everyone...
A few new items and updates to mention this week.
> Added: "Bible History, Old Testament," Vol. V by Alfred
Edersheim
http://philologos.org/__eb-bhot/
---------------------
> Added: Dinosaurs
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/d-002-01.htm
Excerpt from "After the Flood" by Bill Cooper regarding
dinosaurs. The particular chapter highlighted is entitled "Beowulf
and the Creatures of Denmark."
--------------
> Added: Apokalupsis
http://philolgos.org/bpr/files/Word_Studies/apokalupsis.htm
A brief word study on "apokalupsis" found in Revelation 1:1.
--------------
> Added: The Image and Mark of God - and of the Beast
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Word_Studies/image.htm
Word study submitted by: 75060.742@compuserve.com (a friend
of BPR).
"The image of the beast in Revelation comes to my mind
frequently and so I found myself thinking about the word 'image'
today and decided to investigate it a little bit. I thought I'd share with
you where my thoughts and investigations went."
---------------
> Added: Seven Thunders
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/s-018-01.htm
...and when he [another mighty angel] had cried, seven thunders
uttered their voices.--Revelation 10:3
---------------
> Added: This Century in the Psalms
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-021-a.htm
"I've seen in a couple of places where people have said that you
can take a Psalm and it will describe the happenings of that year
in this century--for example, Psalm 2 would be 1902, etc. The
following is taken from Keil & Delitzsch "Commentary on the Old
Testament," volume 5: Psalms (1867): Hebrew texts used with
Hebrew numbering. It is interesting to note that all the Psalms are
named and in some cases the names are the first lines of each
Psalm. I'd like to give a few instances of this phenomenon and
then just list the names of each of the 150 Psalms for further
study."
-------------
> Updated: Gog
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/g-001-01.htm
> Updated: The Four Horsemen
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/f-005-01.htm
> Updated: Mark
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/m-002-01.htm
> Updated: The Number Seven
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/n-009-01.htm
********************************
Iyyar 5759 (Apr-May 1999)
Wheat and barley harvest begin.
April 17 marked the appearance of the new moon and therefore
the Jewish month of Iyyar began.
Please check out the Jewish Calendar for
events relating to this month:
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Calendar/A.htm
*********************
Read a good book lately that you think we would enjoy? Tell us
about it.
That's it! If you have any questions, comments and/or
suggestions please feel free to contact me.
Have a good week folks...
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Apr 20, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 08:46:53 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
7:00 PM Eastern
HIST - 20TH CENTURY - Sexual Revolution/AIDS.
8:00
PBS - NOVA - "Lost City of Arabia" - The space shuttle
helps locate the lost city of Ubar in the Arabian
desert.(CC)(TVG)
DISC - SPYTEK - "The Deadly Game" - The world of
assassination and espionage.(CC)(TVG)
9:00
PBS - FRONTLINE - "Waco: The Inside Story" - Peter
Boyer investigates the FBI siege of the Branch Davidian
compound in Waco, Texas.(CC)
DISC - THE NEW DETECTIVES: CASE STUDIES IN FORENSIC SCIENCE
- "Death Grip" - New computerization techniques aid in the
fingerprinting process.(CC)(TVPG)
10:00
PBS - JOURNEY TO PLANET EARTH - "Land of Plenty, Land of
Want" - Farmers try to supply food without destroying natural
resources.(CC)(TVPG)
MSNBC - CRISIS IN KOSOVO: AN MSNBC TOWN MEETING - Tom Brokaw
moderates a discussion of the European conflict.(CC)(Ends
midnight)
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - US: Congress must deal with Executive Orders
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 08:52:13 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Congress Must Deal With Executive Orders
http://www.eagleforum.org
April 19, 1999
by: Phyllis Schlafly
Not only does President Clinton not feel any shame about his
impeachment; as he told Dan Rather recently, Clinton now feels
stronger than ever, able to ignore and override the U.S. Constitution
by exercising extraordinary new powers that no President has ever
exercised before. Rep. Jack Metcalf (R-WA) says that Clinton has "made
himself a super-legislator by issuing executive orders that require
the appropriation of funds."
Clinton's good friend and defender of Oval Office misdeeds, Paul
Begala, put it like this: "Stroke of the pen. Law of the land. Kinda
cool." No, it isn't cool; it's hot with disdain for the constitutional
rules that "all" legislative powers belong to Congress and "all bills
for raising revenues shall originate in the House."
Executive Orders (EO) originate with the constitutional text that says
the President shall "take care that the laws be faithfully executed."
However, "laws" must mean laws that are already passed, not laws that
the executive order purports to create.
Metcalf is trying to rein in Clinton's attempts to take over powers
that belong to Congress by introducing H.Con.Res. 30. It provides that
any executive order that "infringes on congressional powers and
duties," or requires spending federal funds "not specifically
appropriated for the purpose of the executive order," would be
advisory only and have no effect.
Some of Clinton's executive orders (now up to 279, but others are not
numbered) are federal land grabs over property that belongs either to
the states or to private landowners. Land use and zoning are
quintessentially matters of state or local, not federal, jurisdiction.
By EO 13061, Clinton purported to give himself the power to take
over 10 rivers a year (later extended to 14), whose adjacent lands of
indeterminate size would be put under the control of Clinton-appointed
River Navigators, each with a salary of $100,000. Congress never
authorized this land grab or appropriated any money for it, so Clinton
says he will divert funds from 12 departments.
This Rivers EO takes governing authority away from states and
localities. It threatens private property rights guaranteed by the
Fourth and Fifth Amendments.
Clinton's surprise grab of 1.7 million acres of Utah land for a
national park in 1996 just happened to include a trillion dollars
worth of clean-burning, low-sulfur hard coal. Clinton's removal of
this huge natural resource from commercial availability tremendously
enhanced the value of the second largest source of
environmentally-safe coal, which just happens to be owned by Clinton's
Indonesian friends the Riadys, who gave millions of dollars to
Clinton's presidential campaigns in 1992 and 1996.
For the Mexican and Brazilian bailouts, Clinton used executive
authority to raid a U.S. Treasury Department fund set up in the 1930s
for the specific purpose of being available to stabilize the U.S.
dollar. The President certainly was not authorized to give this money
to foreign governments so they could make their loan payments due to
Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin's old firm, Goldman Sachs.
Clinton's EO 13107 on Implementation of Human Rights Treaties tries to
bypass the constitutional requirement that treaties, to be valid, must
be ratified by the Senate. By this EO, Clinton purports to set up an
apparatus to implement our alleged "obligations" under the UN treaties
on human rights "to which the United States is now or may become a
party in the future."
UN treaties that the Senate has refused to ratify, but would be
included in this EO, include one on economic rights (which refuses to
recognize private property rights), one on the rights of the child
(which would set up a global committee of "experts" to monitor
childrearing), and one on women (which would interfere with our social
relationships and textbooks).
Clinton's EO 12919 of June 3, 1994, entitled National Defense
Industrial Resources Preparedness, asserts plenary and dictatorial
authority over citizens, food, transportation, energy, health,
contracts, materials and resources, to be exercised by the National
Security Council and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). Many
wonder if this EO's real purpose is to grab emergency powers if we are
bitten by the Y2K bug.
Clinton's EO 13083 on federalism, which was a transparent attempt to
rescind the Tenth Amendment, did give Congress a wake-up call. After
congressional protest, Clinton said he would suspend it, but it's
still viable and needs Metcalf's bill to make it inoperative.
Clinton has almost two more years as President. His unprecedented grab
for new powers by a blitz of executive orders is in awesome tandem
with his other power grabs through phony "peacekeeping" expeditions,
bombing of four sovereign countries, plans to create a "Homelands
Defense Command" to use the Army for domestic law enforcement,
monitoring of our bank accounts, and databasing of our health records.
Congress and the American people must call a halt to Clinton's
assault on our separation-of-powers form of government. James
Madison called the accumulation of executive and legislative powers in
the same branch "the very definition of tyranny."
via: Prophezine News Bites, 4/19/99
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News item (4/20/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 09:33:22 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
*** UN names development program head
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. chief has selected Mark Malloch Brown,
a World Bank vice president, to head the United Nations Development
Program, a spokesman said Monday. The choice of Malloch Brown, from
Britain, came as the European Union had been lobbying for a European
to take over the U.N. agency, arguing Washington shouldn't continue to
have the top spot while it cuts its aid contributions. The EU had
backed Denmark's development minister, Poul Nielson, for the job after
outgoing UNDP chief James Gustave Speth, an American, announced in
September that he was leaving. Secretary General Kofi Annan will
formally announce his choice later this week and send Malloch Brown's
nomination to the General Assembly for confirmation. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559230339-764
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - China, Russia, Czech etc. constitutions
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 09:38:20 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
CONSTITUTION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
A new Constitution of the People's
Republic of China was adopted in 1982, and
amendments were made in 1988 and again in
1993.
(Adopted at the Fifth Session of the Fifth
National People's Congress and Promulgated
for Implementation by the Proclamation of
the National People's Congress on December
4, 1982.)
Preamble
Chapter One - General Principles
Chapter Two - The Fundamental Rights and
Duties of Citizens Chapter Three - The
Structure of the State
Section I The National People's
Congress Section II The President of
the People's Republic of China
Section III The State Council Section
IV The Central Military Commission
Section V The Local People's
Congresses and Local People's
Governments at Various Levels Section
VI The Organs of Self-Government of
National Autonomous Regions Section
VII The People's Courts and the
People's Procuratorates
Chapter Four - The National Flag, the
National Emblem and the Capital Amendments
to the Constitution of the People's
Republic of China 1988 Amendments to the
Constitution of the People's Republic of
China 1993
If you are interested in other countries'
constitutions, see the constitutions of
Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland,
Slovakia and Slovenia
http://www.insidechina.com/china/constit/chconst.html
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Calvary Contender items (5/1/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 09:54:54 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
NEW WORLD ORDER'S MEN, MONEY, METHODS - Historian and political
analyst Dennis L. Cuddy, Ph.D., in a newly updated edition of his
Secret Records Revealed book, chronicles the efforts since 1890 of
Rhodes Scholars and others to erase national barriers and bring in a
world government with "no war and only one language." He discusses the
role of President Clinton, the UN, CFR, international bankers, New Age
networking, etc. He says the eventual goal of the power elite is a
synthesis of capitalism and communism into a World Socialist
Government. This would entail a world court, our disarmament [we are
now depleting our cruise missile arsenal in Kosovo] and a world police
force [an all-powerful UN Peace Force], and giving the UN the power to
levy "international" taxes to support all this. The stage is being set
for the Antichrist! This 240-page book is available from: Hearthstone
Publishing, 500 Beacon Dr., Oklahoma City, OK 73127, 800/652-1144, $15
+ 3 s. & h.
SUDAN'S PERSECUTION BY ISLAM WORSE THAN KOSOVO - Paul Marshall says
Western media are not interested in religious persecution in Sudan,
"the largest country in Africa which still practices crucifixion."
(3/99 Imprimis) He said: "After enduring over forty years of civil
war, the predominantly Christian population in southern Sudan is
subject to torture, rape, and starvation for its refusal to convert to
Islam. Christian children are routinely sold into slavery. Muslims who
dare to convert to Christianity are faced with the death penalty." In
the last 15 years, Sudan's death toll is far greater than that of
Rwanda, Bosnia, and Kosovo combined. Yet we fight to protect Muslims
in Kosovo, while Muslims torture, enslave, and kill Christians in
Sudan and other places.
FORCED ABORTIONS IN CHINA - China's one-child-per-family policy causes
abortions and infanticide and results in few females. Only allowed one
child, a boy is preferred, and even older little girls are sacrificed
if their mother becomes pregnant with a son (4/12 New Am.). Every
female of childbearing age is required to visit a family-planning
inspection center three times per year (4/10 World). If she has one
child and doctors determine she is pregnant again, she is forced to
have an abortion - sometimes taken away in the middle of the night for
it.
HOME-SCHOOLERS SCORE WELL - A largest-ever study of home-schooled
students, sponsored by Va.-based Home School Legal Defense Assoc.,
found they scored far higher on a national basic skills test than
peers in other schools. As many as 1.2 million children are taught at
home (4/5 CN). The study used the mailing list of the U.S.'s largest
home-school testing service at Bob Jones University.
PRESIDENT SAYS IMPEACHMENT WAS NO SHAME President Clinton in a recent
White House interview by Dan Rather said he does not see his
impeachment vote as "some great badge of shame" and said he felt
"honored" that it gave him a chance to defend the Constitution! He
said he never thought about resigning, "I just, I prayed about it."
(4/1 H. Times) Even after receiving the best [or worst?] counsel
liberals/religionists (Schuller, Hybels, Wogaman, Campolo) could give,
Jeremiah 6:15 was/is needed: "Were they ashamed when they had
committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither
could they blush: therefore they shall fall...."
CCM/ROCK GROUPS PERFORM FOR POPE VISIT - Many CCM/Rock musicians
joined in the festivities that preceded the pope's arrival in St.
Louis Jan. 26 for the "Light of the World" youth gathering. Audio
Adrenaline and others played outside the center where the pope was to
speak. The Supertones, Rebecca St.James, and dc Talk played inside the
center (BJU's What In The World!). The raucous rock concert/pep rally
had priests and nuns dancing and swaying to the throbbing beat of rock
bands.
BARBOUR WINS TEMPLETON PRIZE - Theologian and physicist Dr. Ian G.
Barbour, who is credited with breaking age-old barriers between
religion and science was awarded the 1999 $1.2 million Templeton Prize
for Progress in Religion (4/5 Chr. News). But Alistar McGrath (Oxford)
is concerned that Barbour (a member of the liberal United Church of
Christ) seems to "compromise the biblical understanding of God,
particularly God's transcendence." (4/26 Chr. Today) The 3/99 Berean
Call reports that a theology conference at Wheaton College in April is
sponsored by the "Unity/Mind Science/New Age occult" Templeton
Foundation...and InterVarsity Press. Other well-known Templeton Prize
recipients have included: Bill Bright, Billy Graham, and Mother
Teresa.
BOXER HOLYFIELD, A HINN DONOR, TO DIVORCE - Champion boxer Evander
Holyfield, admitting he fathered two more children out of wedlock
during marriage, has filed for divorce from wife Janice (4/5 C.News).
He is hailed by charismatics as a Spirit-filled born again Christian
who was supposed to have been healed by Benny Hinn, a leading
charismatic, and has donated big bucks to Hinn.
HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA TARGETS CHILDREN - Homosexual activists are using
the public school system as a propaganda tool. Their vision for
tomorrow is an America in which their lifestyle is not simply
tolerated, but celebrated (4/99 AFA Journal).Today's school children
are already targeted for this corrupting change of heart.
ONENESS GROUP PERFORMED AT CEDARVILLE - John MacArthur spoke at
GARBC-approved Cedarville College's Winter Enrichment Conference, and
Phillips, Craig & Dean "provided an evening of praise and worship on
January 8." (3/99 Bapt. Bulletin, 4/1 CC). The June 1997 Charisma
said: "The contemporary Christian recording group Phillips, Craig and
Dean is composed of three Oneness ministers." Oneness Pentecostals
have been called heretics for many years based on their beliefs
concerning the Godhead (6/15/97 CC). This CCM group also was featured
at NRB '97 and at a local SBC church.
GRAHAM: 'GOD MAKES MISTAKES'? - Luis Palau "Again and again assures us
[in a new book] that God doesn't make mistakes." (4/17 World) But the
3/99 Plains Baptist Challenger says Billy Graham, in replying to a
letter, says "God does make mistakes-that doesn't mean He is directly
responsible for everything that happens...."
CARDINAL ARINZE: ONE CAN GET TO HEAVEN WITHOUT JESUS - A possible
successor to Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Francis Arinze, at the
Thanksgiving World Assembly (Dallas) in March said a person can get to
heaven without accepting Jesus. He said a document from the Second
Vatican Council says that "God's grant of salvation includes not only
Christians, but Jews, Muslims, Hindus and people of good will." (3/20
Dallas Morn. News). Many Roman Catholics agree with the Pope that
Christianity is not the only saving faith and that a sincere Jew,
Muslim and other non-Christian can get to heaven without saving faith
in Jesus Christ (4/5 Chr. News). United Religions promoter and
Episcopal Bishop William Swing also participated in the Dallas
assembly.
VA. BAPTISTS FUND PRO-GAY SCHOOL - The U. of Richmond, an SBC school
established by the Baptist Gen. Assoc. 169 years ago, has added to its
non-discrimination policy an amendment that will drop the school's ban
on homosexual students (3/31 Baptist Standard). They will now be
actively recruited by the University's recruiting staff .
Send comments to "jhuffman2@juno.com"
http://www.whoisit.com/contender/5-1-99.shtml
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israel: Prime Minister's Report (4/20/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 1999 09:59:14 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
The Prime Minister's Report
Volume 3, Number 20
April 20, 1999
---------------------------------------------------
I. Looking Forward
By Benjamin Netanyahu, Jerusalem Post
20 April 1999
II. Mayday for Oslo
By Joel Singer, The National Interest
Spring 1999
III. More than One-Third of All Jews Live in Israel
By Moti Bassok & Relly Sa'ar, Ha'aretz
20 April 1999
--------------------------------------------------------
I. Looking Forward
By Benjamin Netanyahu, Jerusalem Post
20 April 1999
--------------------------------------------------------
In his appearance before the Palestinian legislature in February,
Shimon Peres passionately called for the establishment of a
Palestinian state. A few weeks before, 22 members of the Knesset's
Labor faction, including six in leadership positions, either abstained
on or voted for two separate resolutions calling for a Palestinian
state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital.
The Peres speech and the Knesset vote faithfully reflect the Labor
Party's position on the final-status settlement with the Palestinians.
Labor supports a Palestinian state as a historic imperative, and while
its leaders vow during the election campaign to preserve the integrity
of Jerusalem, there can be no doubt that a Labor government will be
ready to accept a "territorial compromise" in the city and redivide
it.
I do not believe a sovereign Palestinian state is a historic
imperative, any more than the triumph of socialism - which the same
leftist parties once touted as inexorable - was preordained. Nor do I
think that Israel can achieve peace only by making egregious
unilateral concessions. On the contrary. I am convinced that Labor's
way will endanger Israel and cause war.
My position on the peace process has been consistent. I say now
precisely what I said in the 1996 election campaign: Israel should
adhere to the Oslo agreements because democratic governments honor
accords signed by their predecessors.
But the only way to make these agreements viable is to insist on
reciprocal fulfillment of Palestinian commitments, particularly in the
fight against terrorism. With reciprocity, "territory for peace" may
work. Without it, we shall have "territory for terrorism," which is
sheer insanity.
The consistency of my position has disappointed both those on the
Right, who wanted me to scuttle the Oslo, Hebron and Wye agreements;
and those in the leftist opposition, who wanted me to put my faith in
a chimeric "New Middle East" and overlook Palestinian non-compliance.
It was this middle-road consistency which caused the fall of the
government. The Right withdrew its support, and the Left reneged on
its promise to provide the government with a "safety net."
Yet my aims remain the same: maximum self-rule for the Palestinians,
with minimum risk for Israel.
After a half century of hardship, poverty and humiliation caused by a
self-inflicted catastrophe in 1948, it is time the Palestinians had
peace, prosperity and progress. They can thrive and flourish if
hostilities truly cease, if there is free movement of people and goods
between Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian entity, and if the
Palestinian economy adopts transparency, accountability and
free-market principles.
Over 95% of the Palestinians are already ruled by a Palestinian
administration. But a Palestinian state and all it implies would
threaten Israel's security
If peace is to prevail, the Palestinians must not have a large army
equipped with tanks, missiles and artillery, a contiguous border with
Jordan, and the capacity to form alliances with such regimes as Iraq
and Iran. Israel cannot relinquish control over air space, strategic
areas and vital water resources, and must retain security supervision
over seaports and airports. Jerusalem, never the capital of any other
nation, must stay Israel's undivided capital.
To return to Labor's policies of unilateral withdrawals, indifference
to the Palestinian coddling of terrorists, and acceptance of virulent
incitement in official Palestinian pronouncements and school books is
to turn the clock back to the bad old days of fear and terror.
It is a prescription for Palestinian irredentism, and the
radicalization of the whole land mass stretching from Kfar Sava and
Jerusalem to Baghdad and Teheran. It ensures violence, terrorism and
war.
The return to Labor rule would be disastrous in the economic sphere,
too. The Likud-led government has begun a transformation of the
Israeli economy - moving it from irresponsible spending and stifling
centralization to budgetary prudence and sound free market principles.
Without such a change, Israel will be unable to compete in the coming
era. In three years, we have halved inflation, cut the budget to the
tune of NIS 8 billion, dramatically reduced the trade deficit,
privatized more than all previous governments put together,
deregulated the currency, attracted more foreign investments than
ever, instituted the "computer for every child" project and a longer
school day in development towns and the minorities sector, and
survived the worldwide economic crisis - all without raising taxes.
The economy is now poised to receive and integrate hundreds of
thousands of immigrants, to expand its high-tech industries to the
point of making Israel the second largest "Silicon Valley" in the
world, and to begin real, large-scale and solid growth. It is no
wonder that the world's leading economists praise our performance with
unalloyed superlatives.
As in all major transitions, some painful side effects are inevitable.
In Israel it has taken the form of a two percent rise in unemployment.
That the number of Palestinian and foreign workers is double that of
the jobless indicates that the problem is more social than economic,
but this does not diminish the humiliation and hardship of the
unemployed.
The latest statistics are encouraging - unemployment has been going
down steadily - and I have no doubt that if we continue our policies
the number will reach an acceptable level.
In the next few years Israel will face crucial decisions. The
negotiations with the Palestinians on the final status will begin, and
the negotiations with Syria will resume.
To secure our future, we must not only achieve safe agreements with
our neighbors, but make economic conditions and the quality of life in
Israel attractive enough to draw Jews from the West and the former
Soviet Union.
Internally, too, much must be done. We shall have to ease tensions
between the secular and religious, Arab and Jew, Diaspora Jews and
Israelis. The intensity of these tensions is often exaggerated, but
they do exist. They should be ameliorated through dialogue and
compromise, not judicial coercion, abrasive legislation and offensive
rhetoric.
These are daunting challenges, and the people of Israel will soon have
to decide who will best lead the nation in meeting them. I am sure
they will make the right choice.
--------------------------------------------------------
II. Mayday for Oslo
By Joel Singer, The National Interest
Spring 1999
--------------------------------------------------------
Excerpts from "Mayday for Oslo", by Joel Singer, former Foreign
Ministry Legal Adviser under Rabin and Peres and one of the architects
of the Oslo Accords (The National Interest, Spring 1999 issue):
"A unilateral Palestinian declaration of statehood would change the
West Bank and Gaza's status and thus constitute a flagrant violation
of the Oslo Agreements. This would indeed, as the Israelis argue,
entitle Israel to take countermeasures such as the annexation to
Israel of parts of the West Bank and Gaza.
Since it is difficult for Arafat to make a convincing legal case for
UDI [unilateral declaration of independence] within the Oslo
framework, he might justify such a course in a different way, as a
rejection of the process and its earlier agreements. But even this
action would not validate a unilateral Palestinian declaration of
independence. One of the recognized conditions for establishing a
state is freedom from foreign control, but Israel clearly continues to
exercise control over the entire West Bank and Gaza. The Oslo
Agreements recognize Israel's supreme authority over these areas, even
in those parts where local autonomy has been transferred in full to
the Palestinians, such as in most of Gaza and the big cities of the
West Bank. In fact, if Arafat terminates the Oslo Agreements, Israel
can make a strong legal argument that, with the expiration of these
agreements, the West Bank and Gaza's status would return to the status
quo ante; in other words, all the authority currently exercised by the
Palestinians should revert to Israel rather than being retained by the
Palestinians, because the agreements transferred this authority for
five years only.
Moreover, while Israel has long asserted a claim to sovereignty over
the West Bank and Gaza, it decided not to effectuate it unilaterally,
but rather to negotiate the West Bank and Gaza's status with Jordan
and Egypt, from which Israel conquered these areas. In Camp David,
Egypt abstained from asserting any sovereignty claims over Gaza, but
Israel committed to a negotiated solution to the West Bank and Gaza.
In its Treaty of Peace with Israel, Jordan too did not require the
return of the West Bank, leaving its future to be resolved between
Israel and the Palestinians per the Oslo Agreements. In the Oslo
Agreements, Israel renewed its commitment to a negotiated solution for
the West Bank and Gaza and undertook not to change the West Bank and
Gaza's status pending the conclusion of the permanent status
negotiations. However, if the Palestinians themselves terminate the
Oslo Agreements, Israel might effectuate its claim for sovereignty,
free of any commitment to the contrary to Egypt, Jordan or the
Palestinians."
--------------------------------------------------------
III. More than One-Third of All Jews Live in Israel
By Moti Bassok & Relly Sa'ar, Ha'aretz
20 April 1999
--------------------------------------------------------
Israel's population grew by 135,000 since last year's Independence Day
celebrations, and currently some 36 percent of all the world's Jews
live in Israel - a sixfold rise since 1948 - according to data
released by the Central Bureau of Statistics and a demographics
project at the Hebrew University. The country's population in 1999 has
grown by 38,000 to stand at 6,076,000.
Last year's growth totaled 2.3 percent, down very slightly from the
previous year, when it was 2.4 percent, but still higher than most
Western countries.
A much larger decline was registered in the number of new immigrants
who arrived in Israel over the past year - 55,000, down from 67,000
between the 1997 and 1998 Independence Days. That decrease was
partially offset by an increase in the number of births, which totaled
128,000 during the past year, 4,000 more than in the 1997 to 1998
period.
About 68 percent of the population gain last year stemmed from natural
increase, up 5 percent from the previous year.
>From a global perspective, Israel's 4.8 million Jews account for 36
>percent
of the world's 13.1 million Jews, according to data released by the
demographic forecasts project of the Hebrew University's Department of
Contemporary Jewry, headed by Sergio DellaPergola.
In 1948 there were 650,000 Jews in the nascent state, representing 6
percent of the 11.5 million Jews then alive. By the early 1970s the
Jews in Israel accounted for 21 percent of world Jewry (2,582,000 out
of 12,643,000).
DellaPergola notes that the Jewish people has increased minimally in
the past 50 years. The additional two million Jews translate into an
average annual growth rate of one-third of one percent.
The demographic project suggests that in the coming decades most
Jewish young people will live in Israel. Today, half of the Jews under
the age of 5 live in Israel and half abroad. Of the group between the
ages of 5 and 15, 43 percent live in Israel and 57 percent abroad,
while 47 percent of the 16-24 group are in Israel and 53 percent
abroad. The gap grows larger as age increases: Of those 75 years old
and older, 22 percent live in Israel and 78 percent abroad.
The demographic data show that the natural growth rate of Jews in
Israel is far lower than that of the country's Arabs. The Muslim
population in Israel, which constitutes the majority of the Arabs, is
growing by 3.4 percent a year, the Druze by 2.4 percent and the
Christians by 1.7 percent. The natural increase of the Jewish
population is increasing by about 1.2 percent annually, with another
0.8 percent added by immigration.
via: The Prime Minister of Israel <pmr@pmo.gov.il>
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