To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Details of plane crash in England kept secret
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 1999 06:44:27 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Jumbo jet blown out of sky? Details of crash in England kept
secret from public

By David M. Bresnahan © 1999 WorldNetDaily.com

A 747 cargo jet was blown from the sky by an apparent terrorist
bomb, but details of the crash have been largely kept secret
from the public, according to intelligence and military sources.

A Korean Air 747 cargo plane crashed into a field Dec. 22 just
after takeoff from Stansted Airport in Essex, killing a crew of
four. Witnesses reported that it exploded violently in mid-air
only minutes after rising into the air.

Intelligence sources confirmed to WorldNetDaily that a
terrorist bomb is the most likely cause of the crash, and Osama
bin Laden's forces are the key suspects.

..The crash took place only hours after the 11th anniversary of
the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, with
the loss of 270 people. Using the Jewish calendar, the dates of
the two crashes were exactly 11 years apart -- 13 Tevet.

"Dates are very important to these people. You have to believe
there is a message here," said the intelligence source.

Full story:
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_bresnahan/19991227_xex_jumbo_jet_
bl.shtml

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Church leaders question Creation theory
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 1999 06:54:26 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Monday, 27 December, 1999
Church leaders question Creation theory

The majority of leading public figures including church leaders
and politicians do not believe in the Biblical version of the
Creation, according to a survey.

..Of the 103 church leaders who took part in the survey -
including Church of England and Catholic bishops and Methodist
ministers - only three said they believed in the literal,
Biblical, version of the Creation in which God created the world
in six days.

Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_578000/578972.stm

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - 'Tough guy Christ' contest
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 1999 07:00:23 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

'Tough guy Christ' contest is attacked by Church
By Jonathan Petre

AN international endurance competition in which several
thousand contestants will carry heavy wooden crosses to
"commemorate" Christ's crucifixion has been attacked as
"exploitative and tasteless" by Church leaders.

..Many will carry or drag crosses, weighing 40lb to 50lb each,
for 2,000 yards over a gruelling course as one of a number of
feats of endurance. Some will be dressed as Jesus. Leaflets
promoting the event include pictures of Jesus bearing the cross
to Calvary.

The leaflet says: "To commemorate the torture of the original
Tough Guy, on Sunday January 30, 2000, every entrant will sign
up as a Jesus Warrior. Each competitor will simulate the Passion
and carry a huge cross to Calvary." It also says: "Jesus Christ
was not meek and mild. He is the toughest Tough Guy of all time."

Full story:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=001851641145319&rtmo=LbKdhGyd&atmo
=99999999&pg=/et/99/12/26/wchri26.html

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Doomsayers Reconsider
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 1999 07:05:03 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

As Jan. 1 Draws Near, Doomsayers Reconsider
The Apocalypse Is Still Coming--Later

By Hanna Rosin Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 27, 1999; Page A01

A year ago, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, who have sold more
than 10 million copies of their "Left Behind" thrillers about
the Apocalypse, prophesied global upheaval on Jan. 1, 2000.

The Y2K bug could trigger "financial meltdown," they warned
readers on their Web site, "making it possible for the
Antichrist or his emissaries . . . to dominate the world
commercially until it is destroyed."

But now that the hour is upon us, the prophets of doom are
retreating.

Full story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-12/27/069r-122799-idx.
html

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Britannica sites
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 1999 12:48:04 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

MULTI-CHANNEL FEATURE | Apocalyptic Visions and Revisions
--------------------
Throughout the week, Books, Science, Religion, Arts, and Travel
join together to explore "Apocalyptic Visions and Revisions," an
examination of the transition of the millennium.

In Books, Neal Pollack checks in on the biblical four horsemen of
the Apocalypse--War, Disease, Famine, and Death--only to discover
that Death just isn't holding up his end of the bargain.

The Science Channel shows that while it might be healthy to be
skeptical of prophetic doomsayers, you shouldn=92t get too comfy
gazing at the night sky. According to some scientists, it may
indeed come crashing down.

Arts features the paintings of the enigmatic Hieronymus Bosch,
known for their almost fanatical devotion to religious piety
and symbols. In Travel, a controversial megalithic site in
New Hampshire has people arguing over its authenticity and
purpose. And Religion covers the Bible=92s Book of Revelation,
which remains powerful despite misquotes and misinterpretations.

Monday in Books: Grading the Four Horsemen
http://www.britannica.com/books

Monday in Science: When the Heavens Fall
http://www.britannica.com/science

Monday in Arts: Apocalyptic Visions
http://www.britannica.com/arts

Wednesday in Travel: The World=92s Mysterious Places
http://www.britannica.com/travel

Thursday in Religion: Ending with a Bang--Or a Whimper
http://www.britannica.com/religion

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (12/27/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 1999 12:54:35 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

*** Dozens die in storms in Europe

PARIS (AP) - Powerful winds and rain swept across Europe on Sunday,
ripping trees out of the ground, tearing roofs off buildings and
killing at least 48 people in France, Switzerland and Germany. Paris
was buffeted by the strongest winds to hit the capital in 50 years.
Gusts of up to 105 mph tore through northern France, where the
Interior Ministry said at least 26 people were killed, some when
falling trees crashed into their cars. In Paris, where winds reached
98 mph, a couple was killed when a chimney collapsed into their
apartment. Their newborn baby was found alive. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562848441-078 ***
Also: Dozens dead in Russia from cold, see
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562843449-f55

*** France faces ecological catastrophe

NOIRMOUTIER, France (AP) - France's Atlantic coast is facing an
ecological catastrophe from an oil spill that is washing up on
beaches and rocky coastlines, the environment minister said Sunday.
The thick, foul-smelling oil, with the consistency of chewing-gum,
washed up along a stretch of coast from northwest Brittany to the
Vendee region, an area famed for its beaches and oyster farms.
Environment Minister Dominique Voynet said that it was too early to
fully assess the effects of the spill, which happened after a
24-year-old tanker broke apart on Dec. 12 and sank off Brittany. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562850354-a2e

*** Israel frees Lebanese guerrillas

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel released five Lebanese Shiite Muslim
guerrillas on Sunday in an apparent goodwill gesture ahead of a new
round of peace talks with Syria. Also Sunday, an official in the
prime minister's office said Israel will release 24 more Palestinian
prisoners as part of an accord reached with the Palestinians in
September. Another official close to the impending release said that
for the first time in the six-year peace process, the release will
include Palestinians who killed Israelis. The two releases come as
Israel is moving ahead with peace talks on two fronts, trying to
negotiate a final agreement with the Palestinians, while also
resuming discussions with Syria, the power-broker in Lebanon, after a
four-year hiatus. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562852861-cc9

*** Zhirinovsky to run in Russia

MOSCOW (AP) - Outspoken ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who
finished fifth in Russia's 1996 presidential election, said Sunday he
would run again in 2000. Zhirinovsky swept into parliament in 1993 on
promises of rebuilding the Russian empire, but has seen his
popularity wither in recent years. His party won just 6% of the vote
in parliamentary elections Dec. 19, and his bids for a governor's
seat have bombed. In a debate Sunday with other lawmakers on the
Russian television program Itogi, Zhirinovsky said he would run again
for president even though he knows he won't win. He predicted that
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, currently the top presidential
contender, would come in first. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562850800-c9c

*** Archeologists claim site ruined

JERUSALEM (AP) - An archeological site that dates back 750,000 years
has been deliberately destroyed in work carried out by a government
drainage authority, Israeli archeologists said Sunday. The Israeli
Antiquities Authority said, despite repeated warnings, the Sea of
Galilee Drainage Authority used heavy earth-moving equipment at the
site near the Banot Yaacov Bridge on the upper Jordan River in
northern Israel. The remains of two prehistoric elephants, tusks,
hippopotamus bones and flint tools were scattered and botanical
remains suffered irreparable damage. The director of the Drainage
Authority said the work was done to prevent a recurrence of flooding,
which has caused millions of dollars' worth of damage to roads,
bridges and agricultural land. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2562844083-47a

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Differences between clones baffles science
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 27 Dec 1999 13:12:28 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza@worldspy.net>

Monday December 27, 1999

Differences between clones baffles science
Jonathan Leake

The Sunday Times

The brave new world will have to wait a little longer: Scientists have
discovered that cloning technology will not produce carbon copies of complex
animals.

The creators of Dolly the sheep have bred four genetically identical sheep
but found that the animals have grown up with dramatic differences in their
appearance and behaviour. It indicates that any human who tried to re-create
themselves would be doomed to disappointment.

Keith Campbell, who worked on the cloning program at the Roslin Institute in
Edinburgh and who helped to create the four ram clones, said the animals
had increasingly diverged from one another with age. "They look similar, as
sheep from the same breed do, but you would not know they are clones," he
said. They have developed different sizes, appearances and temperaments.

Roslin, headed by Dr. Ian Wilmut, made history in 1997 when it announced
the creation of Dolly, the first mammal to have been cloned from an adult cell.
It led to predictions that humans could also soon be cloned allowing tycoons
and dictators to perpetuate themselves indefinitely.

The film, Boys from Brazil starring Gregory Peck, portrayed such a
possibility with Hitler clones created round the world by renegade Nazi
scientists. Some foresaw serious commercial applications such as the
cloning of top racehorses or pet dogs. But such ideas may lie in tatters thanks to
Cedric, Cecil, Cyril and Tuppence, four Dorset rams that were created from
genetically identical embryonic sheep cells.

If such cloning worked exactly they should, theoretically, have been carbon
copies of each other. In reality, a host of other factors have conspired to
make them into unique individuals. Mr. Campbell is unable to say exactly
why the animals differ: research into the causes has not been done. High among
the possibilities is the fact that the four-cell nuclei from which they were
created were placed into egg cells taken from different female sheep. The
contents or cytoplasm of those egg cells would each have interacted with the
introduced nuclei in slightly different ways. In particular, the
mitochondria, the parts of the cell that convert chemicals into energy,
contain separate DNA, amounting to about three per cent of that found in the
nucleus.

It means that the mitochondrial DNA from each of the different mothers may
have interacted with the nuclei in ways that could have been different
enough to alter the growing embryo and hence the adult sheep.

Dr. Harry Griffin, assistant director for science at Roslin, said the
quality of the eggs would also have varied. "Just like in women undergoing
fertility treatment, the eggs of sheep can vary in quality and that will
help determine the viability of the embryo and possibly the appearance of
the adult," he said.

Other factors that could make clones appear different from one another
include mutation where cells fail to replicate perfectly as they divide. If
this happened in an embryo it could affect all the subsequent cells and so
slightly alter the resulting adult.

Additionally, the genes that control the way an animal grows or behaves are
subject to a switching system so that they turn themselves on and off at the
appropriate times. In humans, these switches control factors such as growth
or the onset of puberty but they are also subject to environmental factors
that could be different between clones.

The Roslin researchers say that overall their results show that the
resurrection of lost loved ones, human or animal, will never be possible
using the method that created Dolly.

Such assertions will disappoint cloning enthusiasts such as Dr. Richard
Seed, an American scientist who followed the announcement of Dolly's
creation by setting up a program to create the first human clone.

He believes that cloning could become a legitimate treatment for infertility
and could enable bereaved families to replace lost loved ones. Spin-off
technologies could help to slow or reverse human ageing by replacing old
body parts with cloned new ones.

Mr. Campbell, who has moved to take up a new post at Nottingham
University, said: "The only real clones are identical twins and anyone who really knows
twins understands that even they have different features and personalities."

The Ottawa Citizen Online,
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/991226/3348268.html

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