To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - PC Users Brace for 'Chernobyl' Virus
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 09:06:04 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
PC Users Brace for 'Chernobyl' Virus
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A virus that can erase a computer's hard-drive and
prevent the equipment from restarting is poised to strike on Monday,
but experts say off-the-shelf antivirus software can prevent
infection. The virus has been dubbed Chernobyl because its most common
version was programmed to activate on computers using Windows 95 and
Windows 98 on Monday, the 13th anniversary of the nuclear disaster in
Ukraine. But warnings from many experts lacked any sense of panic or
impending doom because the virus was discovered last summer, giving
antivirus companies time to develop free software updates to identify
and destroy it.
via: AP NewsBrief by DAN BOYLAN
April 25, 1999
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (4/24/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 09:09:53 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Russia To Ignore NATO Embargo
Weekend News Today
By David Attak
Source: BBC News
Sat Apr 24 , 1999 -- SAT,APRIL 24 Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov
said that his country would ignore NATO's calls to prevent oil getting
through to Yugoslavia. Earlier in the day President Clinton refused to
rule out military confrontation with Russia over enforcement of the
oil embargo. Russia looks set on a collision course with NATO.
NATO plans to choke Serb oil supples; Possible confrontation with
Russia
Weekend News Today
By Staff Writer
Source: Yahoo!
Sat Apr 24 , 1999 -- President Clinton Saturday defended NATO plans to
choke oil supplies fueling Serb forces in Kosovo, Reuters reported. At
NATO's 50th anniversary summit which has been overshadowed by the
Kosovo crisis, Clinton said an oil embargo against Yugoslavia was the
next important tactical step. Risking possible confrontation with
Russia -- Serbia's major oil supplier before air strikes started on
March 24 -- NATO said it was drawing up plans to ``visit and search''
ships bound for Yugoslavia. Splits over the oil blockade emerged in
the 19-nation bloc at the summit, originally called to map NATO's
mission into the next century but which has turned into a council of
war. Stopping Russian tankers from delivering oil could antagonize
Moscow at a time when NATO leaders want Russia to help mediate a
settlement with Belgrade and contribute troops to a force to protect
ethnic Albanians returning to Kosovo.
Russia wants to resume Israel and Syria talks
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arabic News
Sat Apr 24 , 1999 -- Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov on Thursday
called upon Israel to resume peace talks with Syria from the point at
which they broke off three years ago. In a joint peace conference with
Israeli Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon, Ivanov stressed that Russia's
position is to resume talks between Syria and Israel from the point
where they stopped. Ivanov is currently making a tour of the region
which will cover Syria, Egypt, and the Palestinian self-rule areas.
Upon his arrival in Israel on Thursday, Ivanov toured on board a
helicopter in the airspace of the occupied West Bank. He was
accompanied by Sharon. An Israeli official said through his tour of
the West Bank, Sharon intended to acquaint the Russian minister with
what Israel calls the "security zones" which it believes it has to
keep in the context of a final agreement with the Palestinians. Sharon
and Prime Minister Netanyahu believe almost half of the territories of
the occupied West Bank should remain under the Israeli control. Ivanov
is scheduled to meet today with Netanyahu before he heads for Ramallah
to meet with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat
'Remarkable relations' now between Syria and Jordan
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arabic News
Sat Apr 24 , 1999 -- The meeting held between Bashar al-Assad (son of
President al-Assad) and the Jordanian King Abdullah has added an extra
dimension to the Syrian-Jordanian comprehensive meetings which were
presided over by President al-Assad and King Abdullah, during which
two close-door meetings were held. In a remarkable step, the Syrian
news agency SANA said that Bashar al-Assad visited on Wednesday night,
King Abdullah in his residence and that during the meeting views were
exchanged on several debated issues. Jordanian sources told
well-informed sources in Damascus that the "remarkable relations"
established between King Abdullah and Bashar (34) add "a special
dimension to the bilateral relations between the two countries,"
adding that King Abdullah finds in the son of the Syrian President "
an ambitious project for renewal " and a strategist of a unique type
who matches to a great extent with his father President al-Assad. In
the plenary session which was presided over by the Syrian Prime
Minister Mahmoud al-Zou'bi and his Jordanian counterpart Abdul Raouf
al-Rawabdeh the two premiers agreed to convene the meeting of the
higher committee by the end of May. Official sources in Damascus
quoted al-Rawabdeh as saying that the Wadi Araba agreement which was "
imposed on Jordan " due to certain conditions will never be at the
expense of Syria. Replying to a question raised by one Jordanian press
man who accompanied the King in his trip back from Damascus to Amman,
on the extent of the impact of the relation with Damascus on that with
Israel, the King said: " We are a country open to all." He added he
will hold a tour next month. The tour, he continued, will cover the
US, France, Germany, and Belgium. He added that no invitation was
extended to him from Israel. Concerning Iraq, the Jordanian King said
" we feel the sufferings of the Iraqi people." He added that the
Jordanian view points in this matter " is identical with that held by
our brothers in Syria."
Russia politcal system may be headed for big change
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: TampaBay Online
Sat Apr 24 , 1999 -- Russia is in danger of undergoing another change
in its political system less than a decade after abandoning communism,
former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin warned Saturday.
Chernomyrdin, taking a break from his role as Russia's mediator for
the Kosovo crisis, told his struggling political party that it needed
to seek out allies in like-minded parties before parliamentary
elections later this year. ``If we don't start unifying soon, a third
power will win,'' he said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Without elaborating, he warned that the election could ``lead to a
change in the political system in Russia.'' Chernomyrdin's
center-right party, Our Home is Russia, has seen its influence wane.
It appeared on Russia's political scene in 1995 by winning the
second-largest number of seats in lower house of parliament elections.
Until President Boris Yeltsin handed him the assignment of trying to
negotiate peace in Yugoslavia, he has mostly been on the sidelines of
Russian politics. Our Home is Russia has been firmly behind Yeltsin
since its formation and has advocated free-market economic reforms.
But Yeltsin has become extremely unpopular and many Russians are
disappointed that liberal economic policies have brought few positive
results for the country. Another center-right party that has been on
the rise - the Fatherland party led by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov -
held a meeting Saturday, and Luzhkov declared that it would ``have a
say'' in the next presidential election. Many people believe Luzhkov
is strongly situated to become Russia's next president. He denied any
such intentions, declaring, ``I am not ambitious, and I have no desire
to move anywhere upward.'' In Moscow, liberal politicians gathered at
a rally Saturday to accuse the government of Prime Minister Yevgeny
Primakov of stifling press freedoms and rolling back economic reforms.
Primakov ``is bringing back censorship and the Iron Curtain, and is
working actively to drag Russia into the war in the Balkans,'' former
Vice President Yegor Gaidar, who now leads the Democratic Choice
party, said at the demonstration, where more than 1,000 people
gathered. Gaidar was referring to the government's vehement opposition
to NATO airstrikes in Yugoslavia and Primakov's occasional remarks
that he believes more government control should be exerted over the
media.
Almost 30 new disease-causing microbes identified
Weekend News Today
By Staff Writer
Source: CDC HIV/STD/TB Prevention News Update
Sat Apr 24 , 1999 -- The elimination of smallpox two decades ago led
many to hope that infectious diseases would soon cease to be a
problem. Vaccines against polio, measles, and diphtheria have all
proven to be useful in greatly reducing disease rates. However since
1973, almost 30 new disease-causing microbes have been identified,
including hepatitis C virus and HIV. Meanwhile, other pathogens, such
as tuberculosis, have rebounded and shown drug-resistance.
Tuberculosis is now the top infectious disease killer of adults
worldwide. HIV promises to reduce the life expectancy in a number of
countries, including Zimbabwe. Researchers blame the rising levels of
these diseases on a number of factors, including increased travel and
climate changes that facilitate the spread of pathogens. Vaccines
continue to play a key role in the ability to control infectious
diseases, but researchers note that multi-disciplinary prevention
approaches need to be instituted in order to increase success.
(Source: E Magazine)
via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz Sheva items (4/25/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 15:03:54 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
ARAFAT NOT UPSET WITH ORIENT HOUSE DECISION
Yasser Arafat is pleased with the Netanyahu government's decision to
close the Orient House in eastern Jerusalem, reports Arutz-7
correspondent Haggai Huberman. "Arafat is furious that Feisal
Husseini has dragged him into a dispute that he [Arafat] doesn't want
at this time," Huberman explained. "Arafat believes that flaunting
Palestinian activity in the capital prior to the elections will only
play into Netanyahu's hands. There haven't been any [Palestinian]
riots in response to the decision to close the Orient House, and for
good reason: Arafat is not prepared to harm his friendly relations
with the Clinton administration over this issue. And anyone searching
for strong words in the official Palestinian Authority newspaper,
Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, over the decision won't find them. Friday's front
page contained only a tiny article which reported 'opposition
throughout the world to the closing of the Orient House.'"
Huberman added that the conflict between Arafat and Husseini should be
viewed against the backdrop of the long-standing dispute between the
two as to which of their respective families is the true leader of
Jerusalem Arabs. "Arafat has so far been unsuccessful in getting
Husseini - who has a stronger hold of the Palestinian turf in
Jerusalem - to stop his activities at the Orient House," Huberman
said. "There have been leaks recently from the PA to the effect that
'Husseini does not hold the Jerusalem portfolio in the PA.' This is
technically correct; Husseini is responsible for Jerusalem on behalf
of the PLO, while Ziyad Abu-Ziyad is his counterpart in the
Palestinian Authority... Arafat is also reportedly cutting back funds
to the Orient House as a way of pressuring Husseini [to stop his
activities.]"
AMERICAN JEWS RALLY FOR JERUSALEM
American Jews will demonstrate this afternoon in a giant rally across
from the White House in Washington, D.C. in support of American
recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem. Helen Freedman,
Director of Americans for a Safe Israel (AFSI), says that the failure
of the Clinton administration to take practical steps for the
enactment of the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act of 1995 is one of
the rally's central themes. "The law states that every country has
the right to designate its own capital, and Israel has so designated
Jerusalem, the spiritual center of Judaism," said Freedman. "In
addition, it says that Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital
of the State of Israel, that it should remain an undivided city, and
that the U.S. Embassy in Israel should be established there no later
than May 31, 1999." Joint sponsors of the rally include AFSI,
American Friends of Women In Green, the National Unity Coalition for
Israel, and the Washington-based DESHA organization - an acronym for
the principles of Din (justice), Emet (truth) and Shalom (peace).
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Sunday, April 25, 1999 / Iyar 9, 5759 - Day 24 of the Omer
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - NBCs Noah's Ark
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 22:03:40 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Mother of 4: NBC's 'Noah's Ark' is inaccurate &
excessive in violence, sex
By Ken Walker
LAKELAND, Fla. (BP)--The NBC television network
calls its upcoming "Noah's Ark" a lavish
retelling of the biblical epic. But a Florida
homemaker warns that it contains biblical
inaccuracies, graphic violence and sexual
overtones.
Lisse McBride said the "bizarre" four-hour movie
shouldn't be labeled family entertainment. She
has been distributing flyers to friends and
church members, advising them to avoid the May
2-3 miniseries produced by Hallmark
Entertainment.
"They twisted everything around," said McBride,
who recently viewed a video copy. "It's made out
to be partly historical and partly biblical. I'm
very disappointed with people distorting God's
Word. And in the movie, [when they're] saying,
'God said,' I know he didn't say that."
Hallmark Entertainment, a subsidiary of Hallmark
Cards, it is the world's largest producer of TV
movies and miniseries, according to Liz Sheppard,
senior vice president of marketing.
One of McBride's complaints centers on the
movie's opening, in which the cities of Sodom and
Gomorrah are in the midst of battle and God warns
Noah to take his family and leave.
In reality, the two biblical accounts are
separated by at least 1,000 years, according to a
Bible scholar contacted by Baptist Press.
The opening scene of NBC/Hallmark's "Noah's Ark"
is brutal, McBride recounted, with people
engaging in "war games" that include depiction of
a decapitation.
Violence is part of many other scenes, McBride
said. One of Noah's sons slugs his girlfriend to
get her onto the ark, which the Florida mother of
four called abusive. Later, Noah's wife threatens
her family members with a weapon.
In another distortion of Scripture, the
miniseries tells of Lot -- depicted in the
opening as Noah's best friend -- turning against
Noah and leading a band of pirates in attempting
to seize control of the ark. The attack fails
when God sends a whirlwind that sucks them under
the sea, McBride said.
A former Southern Baptist who attends a Nazarene
church, McBride said she hopes to alert church
members to the film's content, which she said
will offend Christians and Jews alike.
Hallmark's Sheppard, however, said, "I'm not a
biblical scholar but I feel the message the movie
leaves you with is there is a rebirth and a new
beginning. And, that the evil that existed at the
beginning of the story does not exist at the end
of the story."
Sheppard, responding to reports of inaccuracies
in the production, said, "We did take a little
bit of creative license but our intent is never
to upset any particular group."
Of the violent scenes, Sheppard said, "Everyone
has a right to their own interpretation. Some
people would feel more strongly than others. I
think that's normal with any production."
Other inaccuracies or problems McBride cited:
-- Noah's three sons take girlfriends on the
ship. That conflicts with Genesis 6:18, with God
telling Noah, "But I will establish My covenant
with you; and you shall go into the ark; you,
your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with
you" (NKJV). In the miniseries, Noah waits until
after the flood to perform their marriages,
McBride said.
-- Sexually oriented discussions between the sons
and their girlfriends. Some of it stems from
another biblical distortion, with NBC/Hallmark
depicting God as telling Noah there is not to be
any procreation on the ark and that he removed
mating urges from the animals. Scenes following
show flirting and hints of sexual liaisons,
McBride said.
-- In one post-flood segment, God tells Noah he
is considering wiping out the inhabitants of the
ark and will leave them alone while he ponders
their fate.
Not only does this portray the Lord as cruel and
uncaring, McBride said, but the movie depicts the
family as consequently beginning to crack up
mentally, leading to the scene where Noah's wife
picks up a weapon.
A seminary professor in Louisville, Ky., asked to
comment on reports of the movie's biblical
background, said, "It looks like they've gotten
the most exciting stories of Genesis and Exodus,
put them together and called them the story of
Noah."
Daniel Block, professor of Old Testament
interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, said Noah and the story of Sodom and
Gomorrah, for example, are two events, separated
by 10 chapters in Genesis and at least 1,000
years of time.
Block said there is also serious problem in
another inaccuracy McBride cited, when the
NBC/Hallmark production has God telling Noah that
he's sorry he ever made mankind and is going to
destroy those on the ark. She said Noah does a
dance which pleases God and convinces him to let
them live.
The production doesn't square with Genesis 7:1,
Block said, in which the Lord tells Noah and his
household to come into the ark "because I have
seen that you are righteous before Me in this
generation." Nor does it line up with the Lord's
post-flood direction to take his family and all
the animals from the ark so they may be "fruitful
and multiply on the earth" (Genesis 8:17).
Block also said there is no hint in the biblical
text of an altercation within the ark.
"I look at the ark as an incubator in which God
is preparing Noah to function as a brand-new Adam
when they come out," the professor said. "That's
why he repeats the blessing he had given to Adam
in Genesis 1. There is nothing but positive
affirmation to Noah and his family."
A Southern Baptist official, Bill Merrell, vice
president for convention relations with the
Executive Committee, stated April 23, "The
producers would have done themselves and the
viewing public a great service by hiring a script
consultant who took the Bible seriously."
Merrell noted, "Good artistic portrayal requires
that sources be treated with integrity,
particularly when the source accounts are from
the Bible. When you read this story line, it's
easy to conclude that there was no care taken to
'get it right.' It isn't being augmented, it's
being convoluted. ... If the subject matter
weren't so important, the muddle in the story
line and plot elements would almost be laughable.
Of course, it isn't amusing when the Holy
Scriptures are handled with so little respect."
Merrell also stated, "The inaccuracies embedded
in the plot could be predicted to make discerning
viewers approach the project with deep suspicion.
If they can't get the facts straight, how can you
trust the treatment of the great concepts, the
organizing ideas? Will it be a hodgepodge of
contradictory notions? Probably.
"The sadness is that the rich drama of the
biblical account is so powerful that it makes the
confused and confusing changes both unnecessary
and unhelpful. The great themes seen in Noah's
life could certainly have provided the basis for
an appealing, entertaining, and thought-provoking
video presentation," Merrell said.
In a press release distributed by NBC, the
network said the movie is not blasphemous or
disrespectful. Quoting director John Irvin, it
cited humor as the prominent element of
screenwriter (and co-director) Peter Barnes'
script.
"I think what Peter found in the story and
provided to us filmmakers was a story that's
joyous and funny," Irvin said. "And yes,
irreverent to a point."
Actress Mary Steenbergen said working on the film
sent virtually all of the cast back to their
Bibles for further study. Steenbergen, who plays
Noah's wife, said tremendous research and care
went into the writing.
"Is it 100 percent exactly the way everybody's
going to expect it to be?" she asked. "No, it
isn't. But I think our task is to make something
that inspires people, that makes people think,
that makes [them] go back and examine the story
themselves, to search for the meaning."
Actor Jon Voigt, who portrays Noah, said the
movie can be approached for its entertainment
value, since it is "stunningly visual."
But the film invites the audience to reflect on
where humans as a species have been and where we
are going, he said.
"And here we are, just a few months away from a
new millennium," Voigt said. "This may just be
the right picture in the right country at the
right time."
While McBride doesn't agree it is the right
picture, she said there may be a silver lining to
the situation. After relaying her concerns to the
Christian operator of an Internet site, he
responded that he would let people know. However,
the man said, he expects the movie to stir up
considerable interest in Noah and his home page
about the ark.
Hallmark's own description of the production's
plot line, highlighting Noah's alleged life in
Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot as "his best friend"
at the time and Lot's later "pirate ship" attack
against Noah's ark, can be viewed at the
company's Internet website, www.hallmark.com.
http://www.baptistpress.org/Archive/BaptistPress/view.cgi?file=1999042
3.html#STORY3
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Coat of Arms of Prince Charles of Wales
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 25 Apr 1999 21:36:38 -0500
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
To read this article online with the accompanying images please
go to http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-022-a.htm
---------------
Coat of Arms of Prince Charles of Wales
"Prince Charles of Wales"
Born Charles Philip Arthur George
on November 14, 1948
to the Duke of Edinburgh Philip Mountbatten
and Princess Elizabeth (present Queen of England)
Prince Charles was granted his heraldic achievement (or coat of
arms) at the age of 13. It contains the following "royal devices"
or symbols:
First note that mythological animals and imaginative creatures,
monsters and hybrids are popular devices in heraldry and, in
heraldic language, are referred to as "beasts."
This beast on the left-hand side of Charles' coat of arms has the
head and mouth of a lion, the body of a leopard, and the feet of a
bear. Typically in heraldry, lions have only three claws per foot
while bears will have four or five. This lion has four claws and
thus resembles those of a bear. Traditionally in heraldry, the lion
has represented England, however Prince Charles' heraldic
representation is totally unique in history even differing from that
of his mother's, Queen Elizabeth, whose lion has the typical three
claws per foot.
(Rev 13:2 KJV) And the beast which I saw was like unto a
leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as
the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his
seat, and great authority.
Note the design around the lion's neck. This image is called
the "eldest-son label" and has been described by
Tim Cohen (The AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea, pg. 124) as
"three parallel horns which are, in a manner of speaking,
'plucked out by the roots' (i.e., turned upside down)." The eldest-
son label is a "distinctive mark" of all succeeding Princes of
Wales. Other members of the British royal family have labels
that have more than three descending "horns." There are a total
of five eldest-son labels on the coat of arms: on the left-side lion,
the head lion, the unicorn, the red dragon, and at the top of the
center shield where 10 lions are depicted.
(Dan 7:8 KJV) I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up
among them another little horn, before whom there were three of
the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn
were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great
things.
This region presented on the left is from the top of Charles' shield
and is thus called the "head" of the overall coat of arms. Pictured
is another lion with the eldest-son label around its neck standing
on top of a crown and a "gold helm." The helm is made up of
seven curved bars or "horns." These seven horns, along with
the three horns from the eldest-son label make a total of 10 horns
in the head region of the coat of arms.
(Dan 7:20 KJV) And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of
the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that
horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things,
whose look was more stout than his fellows.
Note that Daniel speaks of 10 horns in his head, i.e., singular head, not
plural. The word for "head" here is the Aramaic noun "resh"
which corresponds to the Hebrew "rosh." It often refers to the
head as a body part, or could be that of an animal or statue. It
sometimes refers to a leader or "chief" as well.
To the right of the head of the coat of arms is a representation of
a unicorn. "In heraldry, this unicorn represents not only
Scotland, but also a counterfeit Christ" (Cohen, pg 184).
Symbolically, the unicorn in the past has represented Alexander
the Great (Dan 8:5, goat with one horn) and Antiochus
Epiphanes, a type of anti-Christ (Dan 8:9, "a little horn").
Mythologically, the unicorn probably originated in ancient
Babylon and today is a symbol adopted by New Agers to
represent "a great world leader" whom they expect to bring world
peace to earth. Interestingly, in "Christian" symbolism, the
unicorn has also represented the Virgin Mary.
In heraldry, and even historical representations, the unicorn's
eyes are round and black, i.e., no visible eye-whites. (Queen
Elizabeth's heraldic unicorn is depicted as thus.) Charles' design
has the eyes shaped more like those of a human with noticeable
eye-whites, (although not easily recognized in this particular
copy.)
(Dan 7:8 KJV) ...and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes
of man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Note the chain leading from the unicorn and connecting it to the
base of the arms (directly above the red dragon.) In heraldry this
chain functions as a "restrainer" (cf. 2 Thess 2:6-7).
At the base of the coat of arms is the heraldic symbol of Wales,
the red dragon. The flag of Wales, approved in 1953, pictures a
red dragon on a green and white flag with the motto "Y Ddraig
Goch Ddyry Cychwyn," meaning "The red dragon gives the
lead" (Cohen, pg 196). Note that the eldest-son label is around
the neck of the dragon, thus associating it with Prince Charles.
Opposite the red dragon is Charles' badge as the heir-apparent to
the British throne. It consists of three ostrich feathers
surrounded by a crown with the motto Ich Dien. The meaning of
Ich Dien is "I serve" in German. In old Welsh, Eich Dyn, as some
believe the motto is a corruption of, is "Your man." The motto
and ostrich feathers are associated with "the Black Prince"
(Edward III's son). Reading the motto and symbols from right to
left, the following message is possibly conveyed :
Ich, the Black Prince, Dien the Red Dragon
(I, the Black Prince, serve the Red Dragon)
The reference for the above study is The AntiChrist and a Cup of
Tea by Tim Cohen, Prophecy House, Inc., 1998. Mr. Cohen goes
into much greater detail about these and other symbols in Prince
Charles' heraldic achievement. I highly recommend this book. It
is certainly a fascinating volume of work. Please visit our
bookstore for further information concerning The AntiChrist and
a Cup of Tea.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Apr 26, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 08:24:16 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
8:00 PM Eastern
HIST - THE FIRST AMERICANS - Archaeologists use new
technologies to determine when America's native peoples
arrived.(CC)(TVG)
TLC - EYE OF THE STORM - Hurricanes; weatherproof housing;
waves; beaches.(CC)
9:00
DISC - DEAD SEA SCROLLS: UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY - New
technologies enable researchers to decipher the ancient
documents.(CC)(TVG)
10:00
PBS - THE MARSHALL PLAN: AGAINST THE ODDS - The post-World
War II program helps a devastated Europe
recover.(CC)(TVPG)
HIST - U.S. MINTS: MONEY MACHINES - Secretive U.S.
government facilities generate legal tender.(CC)(TVG)
TLC - THE SECRETS OF FORENSIC SCIENCE - "Splinter of
Guilt" - A splinter of wood holds clues about a double
homicide.(CC)(TVPG)
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (4/26/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 08:42:35 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
*** IMF approves global crisis program
WASHINGTON (AP) - The International Monetary Fund said Sunday it had
given final approval to a major change in procedures that will allow
it to make available billions of dollars in resources to countries in
hopes of averting future global financial crises. The IMF endorsement
represented a major victory for President Clinton. He had put the idea
forward last fall, at the height of the economic crisis which has
pushed one-third of the globe into recession and sent America's trade
deficit to record levels. At a hastily called news conference, IMF
Managing Director Michel Camdessus and Italian Finance Minister Carlo
Ciampi announced the agency's executive board had given final approval
to creation of new "contingent credit lines" to make IMF loans
available to countries before a crisis strikes. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559307836-bf7
*** Palestinians want deadline on talks
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - The Palestinians want the U.S. to set a
deadline for peace negotiations with Israel before they consider
delaying a declaration of statehood, officials said Sunday.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has pledged to declare an independent
state May 4, when a five-year interim period of self-rule ends under
the Oslo peace deals with Israel. The Clinton administration has urged
Arafat not to declare statehood, fearing it would scuttle the ailing
peace process, and favors extending the interim period instead. U.S.
officials are expected to express specific views on the extension this
week. Arafat's top negotiator, Saeb Erekat, told the Palestinian
Legislative Council Sunday that Arafat was awaiting U.S. views on a
deadline before proceeding. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559307877-4f2 ***
Also: Facts about West Bank, Gaza Strip, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559295495-388 ***
And: Mubarak says Mideast peace needed, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559292774-9f6
*** Russia may review NATO relations
MOSCOW (AP) - Russia may beef up its defense budget and will review
its relations with NATO countries if the alliance commits ground
troops to Yugoslavia, Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov said Sunday.
President Boris Yeltsin and President Clinton, meanwhile, discussed
the Kosovo conflict and Russia's latest mediation efforts in a
telephone conversation Sunday. Russia has strongly denounced the NATO
airstrikes against its ally Yugoslavia but has insisted it will not
intervene militarily. Instead, it has sought to serve as a peace
broker. Several Russian politicians and diplomatic leaders, including
Primakov, have traveled to Belgrade to meet with Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic, but they have achieved no breakthroughs. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559309128-5c2 ***
Also: U.S. envoy to urge Russia on Kosovo, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559308445-df9
*** NATO raises bar for new members
WASHINGTON (AP) - The door to NATO remains open to new members, but
they may find getting over the threshold more difficult than the
alliance's three newest members did. The Membership Action Plan
approved by participants at the weekend NATO summit provides no
timetable for accession of new candidates nor any guarantee they will
get in. Rather, it establishes a program of activities designed "to
assist aspiring countries in their preparations for possible future
membership." These include commitments to strengthen democracy, human
rights, democratic control of the armed forces and programs to improve
military cooperation with the 19 NATO countries. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559308794-547
*** Reward offered to solve London bombings
LONDON (AP) - An $80,000 reward has been offered for anyone who can
help London authorities find those responsible for what police fear is
a bombing campaign targeting minorities. The reward was put up by
police and other organizations after the second bomb in eight days
exploded Saturday, injuring seven people in a London district
populated by immigrants. "We retain very serious fears that this could
be a continuing series of vicious attacks, and we cannot in any way
rule out the fact that those attacks might be taken to locations
outside the London area," said David Vaness, assistant commissioner
for crime in the Metropolitan police force. A neo-Nazi organization,
Combat 18, claimed responsibility for Saturday afternoon's car bomb
explosion on a busy street in Brick Lane, home to a large Bangladeshi
community. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559312588-47b
*** Israel to invite pope for millennium
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel's foreign minister will formally invite Pope
John Paul II to visit the Holy Land during the upcoming millennium
year when the two meet this week in Rome, his office said Sunday.
Ariel Sharon will discuss Israel's plans for the year 2000 with the
pope, including those for Jesus' hometown, Nazareth, recently
threatened by Muslim-Christian tensions in the city. Sharon will also
discuss Church property in the Holy Land when he meets the pope
Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aviv Shiron said. Israel has been
pushing for a papal trip to boost 2000 celebrations, and the pontiff
has expressed a keen desire to visit. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559305186-fa1
*** Satellite device helps trace kids
ANDERSON, S.C. (AP) - Dave Smith stares at a computer screen as a
satellite map of North America telescopes down to a grid of a major
city and, finally, to a single neighborhood with green space and
railroad tracks. He clicks a mouse. A dial tone sounds, followed by
the screech of a modem. Suddenly a little panda icon with a red bow
tie appears at the intersection of Linwood Drive and Warren Road. A
few seconds later, amid more tones and screeches, the panda lurches to
another spot on the map. Smith, now a private computer consultant, has
just accessed a global positioning satellite unit, or GPS, in Canada.
But he's not tracking a stolen car. He's hunting down a kidnapped
child - or, rather, a software engineer in Toronto posing as one for
this test. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559305243-26a
*** Yugoslav mystics predict end of war
ZEMUN, Yugoslavia (AP) - The most frequent question asked of Spasoje
Vlajic these days is when NATO airstrikes on Yugoslavia will end. "The
war," he predicts firmly, "will stop May 21." An engineer by
profession but mystic by calling, the 53-year-old has been drawing a
steady stream of visitors to his small office outside Belgrade since
the NATO attacks began a month ago. "They come in greater numbers
now," says the man with the piercing blue eyes. "Most ask, 'When will
all this end?'" That question was clearly on the mind of the six
people crowded into the small office recently - along with related
worries about survival. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559305484-e49
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Geography Newsletter items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 09:00:40 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEW ARTICLE: Members of the United Nations
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A chart and graph showing the gradual increase in United
Nations' membership since the organization was founded in
1945 to the addition of Palau as the most recent member in
1994.
http://geography.miningco.com/library/misc/blunchart.htm
Or click "Members of the United Nations" on the
Geography home page.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NEW CATEGORIES
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Palestine - http://geography.miningco.com/msubpalestine.htm
* Israel's Mission to the U.N.
* Palestinian National Authority
* The Partition of Palestine
* U.N. General Assembly Resolution 181 (Partition Plan)
November 29, 1947
* Wye River Memorandum
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
IN THE NEWS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Serious Syrian Drought
The worst drought in 26 years has forced the General
Establishment for Drinking Water in Damascus to ration water
to city residents. The city's primary water source is a
4,000 year old spring. Damascus' population increased from
350,000 in the 1960s to 1.5 million today has also
contributed to the scarcity. A pipeline from the spring
will be replaced to reduce leakage.
San Francisco is the "Connected" City
According to a study by "Yahoo Internet Life"
magazine, San Francisco ranked number one among U.S.
metropolitan areas for its Internet connectivity. Austin,
Texas ranked second due to its high proportion of home
Internet users (32.4%). San Jose scored highest in the
percentage of work-based Internet users (37.9%). See the
complete rankings in the "Most Wired Cities" link
under my "Cities & Urban Geography" category of
Net Links at http://geography.miningco.com/msub9.htm
Planet Temperature Could Rise 3 degrees F (2 degrees C)
The U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research predicts
that if carbon dioxide emissions continue along the status
quo, global average temperature could rise 3 degrees F (2
degrees C) by the year 2100. If CO2 emissions are cut in
half world-wide, the planet should experience just a 2
degrees F (1.5 degrees C) rise in temperature. Any rise in
global temperature will likely melt ice caps, raise ocean
temperature, change weather patterns, result in additional
droughts, and produce more severe weather.
New Madrid Risk May Be Lower
Results of research by geologists in the New Madrid fault
zone of the Midwest United States shows that the risk of
earthquake may be lower than had been originally thought.
In addition, the large earthquakes of 1811 and 1812 that were
thought to have been magnitude 8 on the Richter scale were
likely magnitude 7, though a magnitude 7 earthquake still
represents a significant release of earthquake energy.
Sundial On Mars
NASA's Mars Surveyor mission, set to begin in 2001, will
include a sundial that will mark the passing of the Martian
day. Although the Martian day is only 40 minutes longer
than an earth day, the 697-day long Martian year requires
that such a sundial be configured differently for the red
planet. A camera is expected to provide images of the
sundial for the Internet.
Pangea Lava Flow Largest Found
Scientists recently discovered that 200 million years ago a
lava flow stretched across present day South America, West
Africa, Spain and North America - forming the world's
largest known lava flow. The lava resulted from huge
eruptions of a volcano while the continents were joined as
the mega-continent of Pangea. Those volcanic eruptions may
have contributed to mass extinctions.
Matt T. Rosenberg
Geography Guide at The Mining Co.
geography.guide@miningco.com
http://geography.miningco.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Perilous Times items (4/26/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 09:06:39 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Know Your Passenger: FAA Introduces New Screening Rules
The Federal Aviation Administration proposed new rules on April 20 for
increasing airline security by requiring that all airlines conduct
computerized profiling of all passengers on domestic flights. The new
program, called Computer Assisted Passenger Screening (CAPS), would
use data from airline computers and secret profiling standards to
select passengers for additional questioning and searches.
Under the new rules, airlines would select passengers for increased
scrutiny based on internal profiling standards. They would also
randomly select some passengers for the "deterrent value that would
increase airline passenger safety." The FAA funded the program,
paying the carriers over $10 million to develop CAPS. The new rules'
details on who would be targeted by the automated systems are not
revealed for security reasons. However, the Department of Justice has
determined that the rules raise no civil liberties concerns.
The rules are based on the recommendations of the White House
Commissioner on Aviation Safety and Security, led by Vice President Al
Gore. The Gore Commission issued its report in 1997 and was
criticized by a coalition of groups for its intrusive proposals. The
proposed rules recognize that there have been few actual incidents of
the sort that CAPS seeks to address (the only one reported was in
1979), but links unrelated occurrences such as the World Trade Center
bombing and the accidental crash of TWA Flight 800 as justification
for the stringent new procedures. The FAA estimates that it will cost
between $50 million and $70 million to implement the program, which
will be paid by the airlines and presumably passed onto passengers.
Comments are due on the proposal by June 18, 1999. They can be
e-mailed to 9-NPRM-CMTS@faa.gov. More information on the proposed
rules, airline security and privacy issues is available at:
http://www.epic.org/privacy/faa/ (EPIC ALERT 4-99)
"Orwell Awards" Presented to Biggest U.S. Privacy Invaders
Privacy International presented its first Orwell Awards on April 7
to the worst corporate and government privacy invaders in the United
States. Privacy International's Director, Simon Davies, said the
awards were designed to raise awareness of the erosion of privacy
rights in the U.S. "Surveillance over our private lives has reached a
dangerous new level. It's time to turn the spotlight around and shine
it on the invaders." The awards were presented at the Computers,
Freedom and Privacy (CFP99) conference in Washington, DC.
A total of five awards were announced, but most recipients were not on
hand to receive them. The winner in the "Worst Public Official"
category was Rep. Bill McCollum (R-FL) for his numerous activities in
Congress opposing privacy, including pushing through a law increasing
wiretapping approved last year, several bills promoting the creation
of a national ID card, opposition to efforts to improve financial
privacy, and his recent efforts to amend the SAFE encryption bill to
mandate key escrow. Runners-up were New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani
(for his suggestion to take DNA samples of all children at birth) and
Ambassador David Aaron and White House Advisor Ira Magaziner (for
their travels around the world promoting encryption restrictions and
opposing privacy laws).
The Federal Depository Insurance Corporation received the award for
"Most Invasive Proposal" for its "Know Your Customer" proposal (see
EPIC Alert 6.05). The runners-up were the Communications Assistance
for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) and the FAA's Airline ID Program. The
"Greatest Corporate Invader" award went to Elensys Inc., a Woburn,
Massachusetts company that has secretly collected the pharmacy records
of millions of consumers from 15,000 pharmacies nationwide. The
runners-up were Intel for the Pentium III Processor Serial Number
(designed to identify and track users) and ImageData for its attempts
to create a national database of drivers license photographs.
The "Lifetime Menace" award went to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for its activities over the past 80 years, including
CALEA, COINTELPRO, and its efforts on information warfare. Runners-up
were the Direct Marketing Association, the National Security Agency,
and credit bureau TransUnion Corp. Finally, Microsoft Corp. received
the "People's Choice" award for the Global User ID Number, Open
Profiling System, and the proposed P3P standard. The other candidates
were Intel, President Clinton and Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr.
Two "Brandeis" Awards were presented to individuals who have made an
outstanding contribution to the protection of privacy, as well as to
victims of privacy invasion who have successfully fought back. Phil
Zimmermann, author of the encryption program Pretty Good Privacy, and
Diana Mey, a West Virginia housewife who successfully took on Sears
telemarketers, were the recipients this year.
More information on the awards can be found at:
http://www.bigbrotherawards.org/
(EPIC ALERT 4-99)
via: periloustimes@onelist.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - May 4, 1999 - FAQ
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 10:30:21 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
-----------------------------------------------------------
I. May 4, 1999 - Frequently Asked Questions
-----------------------------------------------------------
1. What is the significance of the date May 4, 1999?
The Oslo accords are based on the principle that there will be a
transitional period leading to a final settlement. During this period
Israel and the Palestinians will implement interim arrangements and,
at the same time, conduct negotiations on the permanent status
arrangements to be implemented at the end of the transitional period.
In the Declaration of Principles the parties stated their intention of
concluding permanent status negotiations after a transitional period
of five years. However this was expressed not as a fixed deadline but
as an "aim" of the negotiations (later, in the Wye Memorandum the
parties termed it a "mutual goal").
Article V of the Declaration of Principles provided that this
transitional period would begin upon the Israeli withdrawal from the
Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area. This withdrawal took place on May 4,
1994. Accordingly the transitional period was intended to continue
until May 4, 1999.
* * * * *
2. Will there be a legal vacuum after this date?
No. If the two sides do not succeed in concluding the permanent status
negotiations by the ta rget date of May 4, 1999, the interim
arrangements will continue until these negotiations have been
concluded. It is for this reason that the Interim Agreement contains a
date for its entry into force, but no date for its conclusion.
This reflects the understanding of the parties that the Oslo process
is not a temporary and reversible experiment. To the contrary, as the
parties affirmed in the preamble of the Interim Agreement:
The peace process and the new era that it has created, as well as the
new relationship established between the two parties, are
irreversible.
If this were not the case, and the intention was that in the absence
of agreement on May 4, 1999 the Oslo arrangements would expire, the
result would not be the creation of a legal vacuum. Rather all powers
and responsibilities would revert to the Israeli military government,
which under Article I of the Interim Agreement retains the residuary
jurisdiction.
It was indeed the hope of the parties to reach agreement by May 4,
1999. However this was an aspiration, not a mandate to jettison
everything achieved after that date. For this reason, as noted above,
the date is described in the Israel-PLO agreements as an "aim" or
"mutual goal" and not a fixed deadline. That the intention of the
parties was not to gamble all the agreed arrangements on the
conclusion of negotiations by May 4, 1999 was recently acknowledged by
Herbert Hansell, former legal adviser of the US State Department who
observed:
... it is difficult to believe that the parties could have intended
that the entire legal structure they so laboriously established would
self-destruct on May 4... the interpretation that the Oslo agreement
terminate seems so at odds with the language of the accords, and with
the spirit of the extended legal regime the parties have constructed,
that no interruption in the performance of the Oslo agreements could
be based on that interpretation.
This approach reflects not only the language and logic of the accords,
but also the practice of the two sides to date. Where, in the course
of implementing the Oslo accords, the two sides have been unable to
reach agreement by the specified deadlines, the arrangements in force
have continued to apply until the negotiations on the new arrangements
have been concluded. Thus, for example, pending the conclusion of the
Gaza-Jericho Agreement in 1994 and the Hebron Protocol in 1997, both
of which were concluded some months after their envisaged target
dates, the existing arrangements continued in force until the
negotiations were successfully concluded.
* * * * *
3. Can the Palestinians declare a state unilaterally after May 4,
1999?
The answer is emphatically no. As noted above, the Interim Agreement,
which prohibits unilateral attempts to change the status of the
territories, does not expire on May 4, 1999 but continues in force
until superseded by agreed permanent status arrangements. In fact, for
the avoidance of any doubt in this context, the Interim Agreement does
not link the prohibition to a specific date but rather prohibits the
initiation or taking of "any step that will change the status of the
West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent
status negotiations" (Article XXXI.7, emphasis added).
Additionally, it should be recalled that the Palestinian undertaking
not to declare a state unilaterally is enshrined in documents which
are independent of the Interim Agreement and unrelated to the
transitional period. Thus, in his letter to Prime Minister Rabin dated
September 9, 1993, Chairman Arafat undertook that "all outstanding
issues relating to permanent status will be resolved through
negotiations".
Finally, it should be stressed that the Palestinians, after refusing
Israel's repeated invitations to negotiate a permanent status
agreement, cannot be permitted to rely on the absence of such an
agreement to justify a unilateral declaration of statehood.
* * * * *
4. What would be the legal effect of a unilateral Palestinian
declaration of statehood?
International law has established a number of criteria for the
existence of a state: effective and independent governmental control,
possession of defined territory; the capacity to freely engage in
foreign relations; and control over a permanent population.
In order to be recognized as a state, an entity must satisfy all four
criteria; the Palestinian entity, however, cannot actually be said to
satisfy any of them: Palestinian governmental control is far from
independent - it is partial, temporary, and reliant on Israeli
assistance and cooperation; the territory is not defined - it is
non-contiguous and indeterminate - nor do the Palestinians hold
sovereign title to it; the interim agreements explicitly prohibit the
exercise of foreign relations by the Palestinian Council; and its
control over its population is neither independent or comprehensive.
Additionally, over recent years new additional criteria have been
established by the international community for recognition as a state.
These include the principle that a state cannot arise as a result of
illegality. It follows that, even if the Palestinian entity were to
satisfy the criteria for statehood, the unlawfulness of a unilateral
declaration of statehood would invalidate any Palestinian claim to
recognition.
Accordingly, however decisively phrased, a declaration of statehood
could not have the effect of bringing a state into being. Moreover the
conferral of recognition on such an entity by a state would, under
international law, itself be an unlawful and invalid act.
* * * * *
5. What would be the practical effect of a unilateral Palestinian
declaration of statehood?
A Palestinian unilateral declaration of statehood is more than simply
an unlawful act. It is a rejection of the two fundamental principles
of the peace process: the need to accommodate the legitimate rights of
both sides, and the recognition that this accommodation can only be
achieved through negotiation. It would thus undermine the only
framework that has proved capable of bringing about genuine changes in
the situation of the Palestinian people - to the extent that today
over 97% of the Palestinians of the West Bank, and all the
Palestinians of the Gaza Strip live under Palestinian, not Israeli,
rule.
A Palestinian rejection of this framework in an attempt to establish
the final status of the territories on a unilateral basis would also
inevitably force Israel to take corresponding unilateral measures to
protect its own position, and would ultimately frustrate the
possibility of achieving a durable and lasting negotiated settlement.
* * * * *
6. Does the peace process mandate the eventual establishment of a
Palestinian state?
As regards the status of the Palestinian entity to be established at
the end of the interim period, the Israel-PLO agreements make it clear
that this is a subject for negotiations between the two sides. Pending
the outcome of these permanent status negotiations, all options are to
remain open. The Declaration of Principles (Article V.4) provides that
"the outcome the permanent status negotiations should not be
prejudiced or preempted by agreements reached for the interim period"
while the Interim Agreement (Article XXXI.6) adds: "Neither party
shall be deemed, by virtue of having entered into this Agreement, to
have renounced or waived any of its existing rights claims or
positions".
While the Israeli-Palestinian agreements leave the outcome of the
permanent status negations open, some guidance is given by Article I
of the Declaration of Principles. Entitled "Aim of the Negotiations",
the Article provides that the goal of the talks is to establish
interim arrangements "leading to a permanent settlement based on
Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338". The reference to these
United Nations resolutions is significant, for while they set out a
number of principles to be applied in the final settlement, including
the termination of states of belligerence and the right of every state
in the area to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries,
no reference is made to the need to establish a new, Palestinian
state.
Both sides approach the final status negotiating table with a clean
slate. Beyond the general principles set out in UN resolutions 242 and
338, all options remain open.
* * * * *
7. What should the international community do?
The outstanding issues of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations cannot
be resolved unilaterally. The Oslo process, and UN resolutions 242 and
338, provide that bilateral negotiations are the only way of reaching
a just and lasting peace. And in practice, it is only face to face
negotiations that have proved themselves capable of creating genuine
changes on the ground and bringing the Palestinians closer to their
aspirations.
The responsibility of the international community, therefore, is
clear. It must refuse to recognize any unilateral attempt to change
the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. It must call on the
Palestinian side to comply with its obligations under the continuing
interim arrangements. And it must urge the Palestinian leadership to
return to the negotiating table. This is not just its legal
obligation; it is also the only way to reach a genuine and lasting
peace.
Source: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs
via: The Prime Minister of Israel <pmr@pmo.gov.il>
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - 'Bank your own DNA' kit to be marketed
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 12:35:02 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
http://www.amcity.com:80/cincinnati/stories/1999/04/26/focus3.html -
April 26, 1999
`Bank your own DNA' kit to be marketed
Genetic material may have many uses down the road
Cindy Stiff Courier Contributor
If predictions by a Greensboro, N.C. company come true, you'll be able
to grow yourself a new liver, heart or perhaps a bone or two from your
own genetic material saved and frozen when you were younger.
YouthCell Technologies Inc. will soon market a do-it-yourself kit that
allows you to collect your own DNA sample, keep it alive in a special
solution and have it stored in a frozen state as long as you want.
Even after you die, your DNA could be saved for your descendants. The
company's two creators, backed by a 12-member investment group that
includes five physicians from Greensboro, said the possibility of one
day using a person's own DNA to grow new organs isn't as farfetched as
it may have seemed even a few years ago.
"Ten years ago, we would have been laughed at," said Lee Skidmore, the
creative mind behind the company. "Now there's all the reason in the
world to store your own DNA and recover it if you need it."
Dozens of biotech companies and university labs are doing genetic
research to replace or regenerate failed body parts.
Already, scientists are using human stem cells saved from the
umbilical cords of newborns to grow new cells.
Researchers say stem cells have the potential to develop into any of
the infinite varieties of tissue that make up the body. The cells have
been used successfully in bone marrow replacement therapies and as
seeds to engineer cartilage to build a chest that could grow with a
12-year-old boy. One day, genetic material may be used to cure
diseases ranging from juvenile diabetes to Parkinson's disease.
Skidmore, president of YouthCell, and Wayne Worgan, executive vice
president, figure that most people never had a chance to store stem
cells and instead could store DNA now and use it if they become ill as
they age.
Of course, the scientific technology isn't available to actually turn
frozen DNA into new organs for the body. Clinical and basic
researchers still have much to do before gene therapy lives up to its
potential.
"Theoretically, you're taking a bit of a chance," Skidmore said.
"But think of the billions of dollars people pour into insurance
policies that they may never use. It will be too late to do this if
you wait until you get sick."
Added Dr. Mark Featherston, a family practice physician at Urgent
Medical and Family Care Center in Greensboro and an investor in
YouthCell: "We don't want to promise too much. What this company is
about is potential. No one can tell you with certainty that storing
your DNA will help you down the road."
In other words, YouthCell is gambling its future on the hope that
people will see the possibilities of research yet to come.
"Even two years ago, if somebody said you could clone a sheep, you'd
have said, `No way,'" Featherston said. "It's easy to look at what has
progressed with genetic research. To me, it's not a far leap to see
the possibilities of viable therapies for this."
A Texas firm, the publicly traded GeneLink Inc., banks DNA material
to be used as a person's molecular blueprint for genetic testing in
the future, but Skidmore said it's not stored in a form that keeps the
cells alive for possible future cell growth.
Other companies freeze umbilical cords of newborns, but not genetic
material from older people.
Skidmore said YouthCell is the first company to offer to freeze and
store living adult tissue for possible future use. YouthCell also will
freeze and store umbilical cord cells, eggs and sperm.
Essentially, the firm will operate like a safe-deposit vault for the
frozen tissue. The company started up March 1. YouthCell already has a
Web site at http://www.youthcell.com.
YouthCell plans to charge $59.95 for a DNA kit and one year of
storage, then $25 a year thereafter for storage. A one-time fee of
$249.95 will store the DNA in perpetuity. There's also a
family-planning kit for four priced at $74.95 the first year.
The personal gene material is collected by scraping four swaps across
the inside of the cheek. The four swabs are then placed inside a
specially designed container and returned to YouthCell.
The company will use 55-gallon drums that hold 6,000 of the DNA vials,
which are barely larger than an eraser on the end of a pencil but hold
thousands of cells. The drums will be stored in a freezer with three
levels of electronic surveillance, barriers against dust and bacteria
and a positive-air pressure system.
The freezer will not rely on electricity, but on liquid nitrogen; it
will have a backup system with a tank filled with 180 liters of liquid
nitrogen, enough to keep cells frozen for 50 days.
YouthCell's marketing material touts its technology as a way to "stop
the clock" in the aging body:
"It is a proven medical fact that everyone's genes grow older and
possibly mutate every day to cause cancers and other diseases... With
age, even healthy human cells stop dividing and die," the brochure
says.
Skidmore and Worgan have developed a 20-page company plan and raised
nearly $250,000 start-up funding from investors.
Worgan said the company will hire five or six employees, including two
technicians and hopes to be selling up to 50 sample kits a day before
the end of the year. The goal is to sell more than a million sampling
kits within five years.
"This company is going to grow," Worgan said. "I'm putting in 10- and
12-hour days, I'm so excited. Every person I talk to wants to bank
their DNA."
via: isml <isml@onelist.com>
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Saddam Throws Himself a Party
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 13:14:29 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Monday, April 26, 1999: The Living Channel
Saddam Throws Himself a Party
BAGHDAD (AFP) -- All of Iraq is putting on its party
best for what is the biggest day of the year,
President Saddam Hussein's birthday.
The big event falls on Wednesday when the Iraqi
strongman will turn 62 and the country will turn out
to celebrate.
Delegations and guests are arriving daily by bus in
Baghdad -- from Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Russia -- to
join the party.
A hundred and fifty Russians, as well as two Armenian
football teams, are in town for a sports extravaganza
centered at the People`s Stadium.
New portraits of the man known as the modern-day
Nebuchadnezzar are being added to the already
ubiquitous giant paintings which adorn the capital.
Fairy lights and hearts drawn in red bulbs have been
stretched across Baghdad`s overgrown boulevards.
The festive mood has spread right up to the border
with Jordan, where the reception room at the VIP
guesthouse is draped in tinsel and multi-colored
paper decorations.
The smile on the face of the man at the entrance is
as wide as the door. "Welcome, welcome," he shouts.
"It will be a big party." And indeed it should be.
The sanctions-struck state is to unveil a dam on a
tributary of the Tigris river to mark the day in 1937
when Saddam Hussein came into the world in a poor
village near the town of Tikrit.
The 10-million-dollar Al-Azim (greatest) dam will be
inaugurated on April 28 at 5 p.m. (1300 GMT), marking
the very hour of his birth.
Some 2,000 Iraqi workers have labored since 1996 at
the site 180 kilometers (110 miles) northeast of
Baghdad. The structure will irrigate vast tracts of
land, help generate electricity and stop the Tigris
flooding in Baghdad.
Saddam`s big birthday bash first spread about a
decade ago and has taken on grander and grander airs
each year.
He has decreed that one new mosque be built and the
foundation stone laid for another every year to mark
the anniversary.
But this year, five new mosques will be opened on
April 28, the Iraqi News Agency has reported. Four
are in Baghdad, a fifth is in the northern Salaheddin
province.
And the foundation stone of a new mosque in the
northern city of Mosul will also be laid in honor of
the president.
On Baghdad`s Al-Jumhuriya street, a Latin rite church
will unveil a full-sized statue of the president on
Wednesday.
Ministry buildings, needless to say, rival for the
most decorations and banners in praise of the great
leader.
In the cavernous information ministry, each of the 10
floors has been bedecked with bunting, glitter -- and
a few more pictures of Saddam.
Across the city, he offers a multitude of poses,
smiling or serious, relaxed in a Panama hat and short
sleeves or in a smart blue suit.
The true measure of the festivities may lie not with
grandiose schemes, but rather with the popular events
organized across the nation.
At a street corner in central Baghdad, a small girl
peers into cars waiting at red lights, selling
firework sparklers. Shops are also stocked with
fireworks while some private homes sport a string of
colored lightbulbs.
New songs have been released: one praises Saddam as
the "grandson of Imam Hussein", one of the leading
martyrs of the Shiite strand of Islam, whose tomb is
in Kerbala.
Newspapers are preparing special birthday editions
while state television reports that in the provinces,
the festivities have already began.
Armed soldiers have been shown parading up and down
in various towns. Cadres of the ruling Baath party
are doing the rounds, civilians are parading, book
shows being held, thousands of cakes being cooked.
"With your birth Iraq was reborn and under your
leadership it is prospering," reads one of a legion
of banners strung around the capital. "Glory and long
life for you, leader," says another. Next year, of
course, it will be: same place, same time.
http://www.arabia.com/content/living/4_99/saddam26.shtml
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - The UN Meditation Room
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 10:42:06 -0500
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
The U.N. Meditation Room
"...what appears to be a serpent intertwining a pole intersected
by the perpendicular side of a triangle (cf. the central cross
intertwined with a serpent) in front of a half-darkened sun
representing the Zoroastrian concept of the conflict between
good and evil (cf. a brilliant light), and a large, seemingly casket-
shaped, black natural magnet (cf. a skull and crossbones, a
casket, and a dagger), perhaps intended to act as an
hallucinogenic catalyst like a drug -- comprises the occult
Meditation Room at the United Nations, where 'followers of all
religions, who visit by the hundreds of thousands each year, may
[currently] awaken the 'god within.'" ("The AntiChrist and a Cup
of Tea," Tim Cohen, pg 159)
The room is designed like a pyramid lying on its side with a mural
in place of the capstone (i.e., the top of the pyramid would appear
to be cut-off, with this image appearing in the place of it.) It's a
small room with no windows. In the center of the room is a 4' high
stone [altar?] made of dark grey crystalline ore. The stone is
extremely magnetic and possesses polarity. The room is dimly lit,
however a small beam of light from a lens in the ceiling focuses
on the altar. Dag Hammarskjold, former UN Secretary General,
described this center stone as "the symbol of the god of all."
(Cohen, pg 160).
"The Meditation Room at the United Nations Building in New
York, designed by Dag Hammarskjold, contains backless
benches - as he wrote: 'for the men who come here will have
enough force to support their own backs.' In a dark room of sharp
angles, a six and a half ton (the entire building had to be
reinforced) black iron ore altar evokes Abraham and Isaac and all
sacrifice - mythic and historic - swords and ploughshares."
(http://www.castle.net/~iwd/page0015.html)
According to Cohen and J.R. Church, there are only ten chairs or
benches facing the altar. (Cohen, pg 160) [For the 10 Kings?]
---------------
Sri Chinmoy, New Age guru, meditation leader at the UN: "the
United Nations is the chosen instrument of God; to be a chosen
instrument means to be a divine messenger carrying the banner
of God's inner vision and outer manifestation."
(http://www.execpc.com/~jfish/na/070896n3.txt)
Donald Keys, New Age leader, President of Planetary Citizens,
author "Earth At Omega": "We have meditations at the United
Nations a couple of times a week. The meditation leader is Sri
Chinmoy, and this is what he said...'The United Nations is the
chosen instrument of God...a divine messenger carrying the
banner of God's inner vision and outer manifestation. One day
the world will treasure...the soul of the United Nations as its very
own with enormous pride, for this soul is all-loving, all-
nourishing, and all-fulfilling.'"
(http://www.cuttingedge.org/ce1049.html)
"The UN meditation room, and the minute of silent prayer or
meditation at the beginning of each UN General Assembly, place
'the greatest gathering of nations . . . under the symbol of silent
prayer or meditation,' in the words of U Thant. The UN is where
'moral and ethical issues are being brought one after the other to
the world organization.' The UN is creating codes of ethics and
conduct, one of the greatest being the Charter itself. The UN
'extends the power of our hearts and souls.' The UN thus has
become 'a cathedral where we can worship what is best in each
other.' 'Little by little a planetary prayer book is being composed
(at the UN) by an increasingly united humanity seeking its
oneness.'" (http://www.globaleduc.org/dolan.htm)
William Jasper, author of "A New World Religion" describes the
religion of the UN: "...a weird and diabolical convergence of New
Age mysticism, pantheism, aboriginal animism atheism,
communism, socialism, Luciferian occultism, apostate
Christianity, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism, and Hinduism".
(http://www.cuttingedge.org/ce1049.html)
Jasper further describes the types of worshippers: "...a strange
admixture of crystal worshippers, astrologers, feminists,
environmentalists, cabalists, human potentialists Eastern
mystics, pop psychologists, and 'liberal' clergymen one would
normally associate with the offbeat, sandals-and-beads
counterculture of the 1960's. But, today's worshippers in this
rapidly expanding movement are as likely to be scientists,
diplomats, corporate presidents, heads of state, international
bankers, and leaders of mainstream Christian churches."
(http://www.cuttingedge.org/ce1049.html)
"This house [the UN Building], dedicated to work and debate
and the service of peace, should have one room dedicated to
silence in the outer sense and stillness in the inner sense. A
place where the door may be opened to the infinite land of
thought and prayer. There is no symbol or altar (in this
room)[apparently the UN does not look upon the center stone as
a type of altar, but merely a piece of art?] not because there is no
God, but because it is dedicated to the God whom man worships
under many names and forms. There is an ancient saying that the
sense of a vessel is not in its shell but in the void. So it is with
this room, it is for those who come here to fill the void with what
they find in the center of stillness." [From a United Nations
Meditation Room leaflet]
(http://www.dnai.com/~arcanaws/study/wm-07.htm)
---------------
"Prayer And Meditation At The United Nations"
Robert Muller
http://home5.swipnet.se/~w-54890/UN001.htm
"Prayer, meditation and spirituality at the UN are fascinating
subjects. All major world religions are accredited to the United
Nations as non-governmental organizations. For example, no less
than twenty-four Catholic organizations are represented at the
UN. Several of the world's religious leaders have visited the
international organization. Most memorable were the visits of
His Holiness Pope Paul VI during the General Assembly in 1965
and of Pope John Paul II in 1979. Many religions have special
invocations, prayers, hymns and services for the United Nations.
The most important examples are those of the Catholic, the
Unitarian-Universalist, the Baptist and the Bahai faiths. It is a
common practice of the Unitarian-Universalists to display the
United Nations flag in their houses of worship. So does the Holy
Family Church, the parish church of the UN, with its international
reliquary and its many religious services and activities catering to
world peace and to the international community.
"When it comes to the United Nations proper, one can obviously
not say that it is a spiritual organization. How could it be
otherwise? For the UN is the creation and mirror of governments,
most of whom have 'secularized' themselves, i.e., separated
spirituality from their daily lives and preoccupations.
Nevertheless, prayer and spirituality play an important role in the
United Nations. It is a moving experience, for example, to witness
the minute of silence for prayer or meditation at the opening of
the yearly General Assembly, when men and women from all
nations center their minds and souls on the job to be done and
when at the end of the Assembly a similar minute of silence
permits them to reflect on their achievements and failures. Thus,
the world's first universal gatherings of nations are placed under
the symbol of prayer or meditation. Also, there are many
delegates and world servants whose cultures do not make any
distinction between spirituality and public service. Then there are
those who are deeply attached to their faiths or for whom the
United Nations is a new form of spirituality and ethics, while they
remain faithful to their respective religions. Some delegates are
known to meditate in a place of worship before speaking in a UN
assembly. One of the greatest orators ever at the United Nations,
Professor Belaunde from Peru, meditated on his speeches in St.
Patrick Cathedral. Then we have the UN Meditation Room, which
is visited by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. We
have also a UN Meditation Group led by an Indian mystic. One
could tell several moving stories of the spiritual transformation
the UN has caused, to the point that this little speck on earth is
becoming a holy ground. For example, the rational, intellectual
economist Dag Hammarski=F6ld found God at the United Nations
and inspiration for his work as a world servant in the mystics of
the Middle Ages. Towards the end, his Markings overflow with
spirituality and mysticism."
--------------
The publishing company for the United Nations is Lucis Press,
formerly called Lucifer Publishing Company. Sounds too hard to
believe? According to a transcript at Cutting Edge this name
change has been confirmed (Tim Cohen, author of The
AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea also confirms this): "Christian
author, Constance Cumbey, in her book, 'Planned Deception',
reprints the title page of Alice Bailey's book, 'Initiation, Human
and Solar'. This book was originally printed in 1922, and clearly
shows the publishing house as 'Lucifer Publishing Co.' Very
shortly thereafter, Bailey changed the name to the present 'Lucis
Trust'..."
(http://www.cuttingedge.org/ce1049.html)
Current Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his wife were married
in a ceremony in the Meditation Room.
(http://www.usasurvival.org/med-room.html)
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