To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - July 25, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 08:35:51 +0000

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

8:00 PM Eastern

 NBC - CONFIRMATION: THE HARD EVIDENCE OF ALIENS AMONG US?
   (Repeat) - Whitley Strieber and others tell of alien
   abductions and UFOs; teen seeks alien information on his web
   site; host Robert Davi.(CC)(TV14)(From 7:00pm) (Ends 9:00pm)

 TLC - MYSTERIES OF ASIA - "Jewels in the Jungle" -
   Cambodia's Khmer Empire of the ninth to 14th centuries
   oversees the building of nearly 100
   temples.(CC)(TVG)

9:00

 HIST - THE CENTURY - "Heaven and Earth" - Pivotal factors
   and people shape the 20th century; Charles Lindbergh flies
   solo across the Atlantic; Neil Armstrong steps on the moon;
   space exploration.(CC)(TVG)

 TLC - MYSTERIES OF ASIA - "The Lost Temples of India"
   - Herds of elephants facilitate the construction of giant
   temples nearly 1,000 years ago.(CC)(TVG)

10:00

 TLC - MYSTERIES OF ASIA - "Secrets of the Great Wall"
   - Chinese emperors order the construction of a long, high
   barrier to barbarians.(CC)(TVG)

--- BPR

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Scientists teach chimp to speak English
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 08:43:39 +0000

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

http://www.the-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/99/07/25/stifgnusa03006.html
?1124027

July 25 1999 UNITED STATES
Scientists teach chimpanzee to speak English

by Jonathan Leake, Science Editor

RESEARCHERS have for the first time taught apes how to speak. Two
animals, a pygmy chimp and an orang-utan, have been able to hold
conversations with humans.

The chimp, called Panbanisha, has a vocabulary of 3,000 words and
talks through a computer that produces a synthetic voice as she
presses symbols on a keyboard.

She now speaks constantly, constructing sentences ranging from,
"Please can I have an iced coffee" to discussing videos she has
watched with the scientists who look after her at Georgia State
University's language research centre in Atlanta.

The 20-year-old orang-utan, called Chantek, is a few miles away at
Atlanta zoo where it, too, is learning to use a voice synthesiser - a
skill it is expected to master quickly, since it already has a
2,000-word vocabulary in sign language.

Among its first spoken words, delivered Stephen Hawking-style, was the
request to keepers: "Please buy me a hamburger." Recently it saved
money paid to it in return for carrying out tasks and building
artefacts, then told scientists in sign language: "I want to buy a
pool," because a heatwave was making life in the cage too
uncomfortable.

The animals use a specially designed keypad with about 400 keys, each
bearing a symbol. Some symbols have simple meanings such as "apple";
others represent more abstract concepts such as "give me", "good",
"bad" or "help".

The animals have to learn all the symbols and then construct sentences
by pressing keys in the right order. The computer speaks the words and
flashes them up on a screen. Recently Panbanisha, 14, has started
writing words on the floor using chalk - apparently learning letters
from the computer screens.

Duane Rumbaugh, the university's professor of psychology and biology,
who is director of the centre, said tests suggested the animals had
the language and cognitive skills of a four-year-old child.

Panbanisha has gone further than just learning to speak and read. She
is teaching the same skills to her one-year-old son Nyota, who has
developed a vocabulary similar to that of a one-year-old child. He
cannot create sentences yet, but his early start means he may soon
outstrip his mother. Apes could soon be talking to each other and
language skills could be passed from one generation to the next.

Panbanisha's mother, Matata, cannot use the keyboard, so she tells
Panbanisha, who then communicates her mother's needs, such as: "Matata
wants a banana."

When the apes look reflective, they may be asked what is wrong.
Sometimes they just reply: "I'm thinking about eating something," or
"I want to go to Campers Cavern" (a location in their 55-acre site).

Now Rumbaugh has been given a US government grant for a project to see
if great apes can be given the power of true speech.

Until recently it had been thought they would never speak because
their voice boxes could not produce the range of sounds used by
humans.

Then researchers noticed that some animals were successfully copying
human words and phrases. The sounds were distorted, but recognisable.
A spokesman for the centre said: "Over time our opinions of apes could
change and one day we may have to extend them human rights. Who knows,
soon Panbanisha may voice an opinion on that."

via: isml@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russian hackers steal US weapons secrets
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 08:46:51 +0000

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

http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/99/07/25/stifgnusa03003.h
tml?999

July 25 1999 UNITED STATES
Russian hackers steal US weapons secrets

by Matthew Campbell
Washington

AMERICAN officials believe Russia may have stolen some of the nation's
most sensitive military secrets, including weapons guidance systems
and naval intelligence codes, in a concerted espionage offensive that
investigators have called operation Moonlight Maze.

The intelligence heist, that could cause damage to America in excess
of that caused by Chinese espionage in nuclear laboratories, involved
computer hacking over the past six months.

This was so sophisticated and well co-ordinated that security experts
trying to build ramparts against further incursions believe America
may be losing the world's first "cyber war".

Investigators suspect Russia is behind the series of "hits" against
American computer systems since January. In one case, a technician
trying to track a computer intruder watched in amazement as a secret
document from a naval facility was "hijacked" to Moscow from under his
nose.

American experts have long warned of a "digital Pearl Harbor" in which
an enemy exploits America's reliance on computer technology to steal
secrets or spread chaos as effectively as any attack using missiles
and bombs.

In a secret briefing on Moonlight Maze, John Hamre, the deputy defence
secretary, told a congressional committee: "We are in the middle of a
cyber war."

Besides military computer systems, private research and development
institutes have been plundered in the same operation. Such institutes
are reluctant to discuss losses, which experts claim may amount to
hundreds of millions of dollars.

"We're no longer dealing with a world of disgruntled teenagers," said
a White House official, referring to previous cases of computer
hacking in which pranksters have been found responsible for
incursions. "It is impossible to overstate the seriousness of this
problem. The president is very concerned about it."

The offensive began early this year, when a startling new method of
hacking into American computer systems was detected. A military
computer server near San Antonio, Texas, was "probed" for several days
by hackers who had entered the system through an overseas site on the
internet.

Dozens of infiltrations ensued at other military facilities and even
at the Pentagon in Washington. When research laboratories also
reported incursions using the internet technique, officials realised
that a "cyber invasion" was under way.

"There were deliberate and highly co-ordinated attacks occurring in
our defence department systems that appeared to be coming from one
country," said Curt Weldon, chairman of a congressional committee for
military research and development.

"Such a thing has never happened before. It's very real and very
alarming."

Even top secret military installations whose expertise is intelligence
security have been breached. At the Space and Naval Warfare Systems
Command (Spawar), a unit in San Diego, California, that specialises in
safeguarding naval intelligence codes, Ron Broersma, an engineer, was
alerted to the problem when a computer print job took an unusually
long time.

To his amazement, monitoring tools showed that the file had been
removed from the printing queue and transmitted to an internet server
in Moscow before being sent back to San Diego. "It turned out to be a
real tough problem for us," he told a private computer seminar last
month.

It is not clear precisely what information was contained in the stolen
document. Beyond its role in naval intelligence, Spawar is also
responsible for providing electronic security systems for the Marine
Corps and federal agencies. It is suspected that several other
intrusions had gone undetected.

Oleg Kalugin, a former head of Soviet counterintelligence now resident
in Maryland, said such facilities were prime targets for Russian
intelligence. He said the Federal Agency for Government Communications
and Information, a former KGB unit that specialises in electronic
eavesdropping, was certain to be exploiting the internet for spying on
America. "That's what they're good at," he said.

America's high-precision technologies, including weapons guidance
systems, are of particular interest to a country such as Russia where
economic woes have prompted crippling cutbacks in funding for military
research. "Russia is quite good at producing technology but can't
afford to finance the research," said Kalugin. "It's easier to steal
it."

The computer assaults have given fresh impetus to measures ordered by
Clinton more than a year ago to protect the country's electronic
infrastructure. Alerted to the threat of Moonlight Maze, the president
has called for an extra $600m to help fund a variety of initiatives,
including an infrastructure protection centre in the FBI to gauge the
vulnerability of computer systems to attack.

He has ordered the military to develop its own information warfare
capabilities to respond to such attacks. But Weldon, describing
dependence on computer systems as "the Achilles heel of developed
nations", said this is not enough. He is advocating the creation of a
unit in the Pentagon under a senior commander to oversee the defence
of computer systems.

According to other experts, America has been so preoccupied with
beating the Y2K (year 2000) or millennium bug - a programming problem
that could paralyse computers on the first stroke of the new year -
that its military, scientific and commercial communities have
neglected the overall security of their computer systems.

At the same time, the huge number of systems being overhauled to make
them Y2K-compliant has heightened the risk of infiltration.

Alarmed by the theft of military documents whisked to Russia, American
officials argue that the country should brace itself for other,
equally disturbing forms of information warfare that, in theory, could
bring the country to its knees.

China, Libya and Iraq are developing information warfare capabilities
and, according to one White House official, "we see well-funded
terrorist groups that also have such capabilities".

A series of war games conducted by experts last year revealed that the
world's greatest superpower could be at the mercy of a handful of
determined computer hackers paralysing airports, markets and military
systems with a few taps on a computer laptop.

Suspicions that Russia is responsible are based partly on the
involvement of Moscow-based internet servers in some attacks.
But experts caution that evidence of a Russian hand in the operation
may not signal a Kremlin connection.

"It could turn out to be Russian organised crime," said one expert.
"And they could be acting as a front for the intelligence community."

Ironically, the Russians are pressing for an international treaty to
freeze information warfare. "We cannot permit the emergence of a
fundamentally new area of international confrontation," Sergei Ivanov,
the former Russian foreign minister, wrote in a letter to Kofi Annan,
the United Nations secretary-general in October.

Subsequently, Russia's relations with America have reached their
lowest ebb since the cold war because of Nato's intervention in
Yugoslavia. Relations with China have also suffered. An offensive in
cyberspace may be their one way of retaliating without getting into a
shooting war.

via: isml@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Great Lakes Reach Record Lows
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 08:51:48 +0000

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

Great Lakes Reach Record Lows

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Discovery Channel

Sat Jul 24,1999 -- July 21, 1999 -- The largest fresh surface water
system in the world has dropped to a 32-year low due to diminished
snow and rainfall in the region. All of the Great Lakes, along the
U.S.-Canadian border, have now receded to record low levels and are
expected to continue to recede until November before they begin rising
again due to seasonal precipitation. Numerous boats have run aground
recently, and many docks along the shores have become unusable. There
have also been dozens of reports of damaged propellers and gouged
hulls due to the lower water levels. Freighters and other large ships
have been forced to skirt the newly surfaced sandbars. Lake Ontario is
at seven inches below average, Lake Erie has dropped three inches and
lakes Michigan and Huron are depressed eight inches. The Great Lakes,
which are so large they are visible from the moon, supply about
nine-tenths of the total freshwater supply of the United States.

via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Tzemach News items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 09:01:08 +0000

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

THIS WEEK IN JEWISH HISTORY: 18 July 1290: Edward I (England),
pressured by his barons and the Church, announced the expulsion of all
the Jews. By November approximately 4,000 had fled. The Jews did not
return to England until 1659. This was the first national expulsion of
the Jews.

20 July 1933: Cardinal Pacelli (who later became Pope Pious XII)
issued a concordant known as the Hitler Concordant. It was described
by Hitler as "unrestricted acceptance of national socialism by the
Vatican". Pacelli. In its spirit, declared all teaching priests were
to greet their students with "Heil Hitler, praised be Jesus Christ".

21 July 1947: The Exodus, a Jewish refugee ship with 4,500 refugees on
board, was turned back by the British and returned to Germany. The
ship had tried unsuccessfully to run the British blockade. The British
forcefully boarded the ship killing three Jews and wounding more than
100. The pictures of the refugees being forcibly unloaded in Germany
were a critical blow to world public opinion and helped force the
British out of Eretz Israel.

21 July 1970: Libya's Col. Qaddafi nationalizes all Jewish property.

21 July 1922: The League of Nations Council confirms the British
Palestine Mandate. The Balfour Declaration is seen as recognizing "the
historical connection of the Jewish people with 'Palestine'". (WZO)

The Opening Position
Boris Shusteff
July 6, 1999

On May 14, 1948 proclaiming the reestablishment of the Jewish state
David Ben-Gurion said, "We extend a hand of peace and neighborliness
to all the neighboring states and their peoples and invite them to
cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of
all."

Almost thirty years later on November 20, 1977 speaking in the Knesset
during Anwar Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem, Menachem Begin
bitterly remarked that the "hand outstretched for peace was not
grasped." The Arab's answer to Israel's yearning for peace was a
continuous war.

When Israel offered peace to her neighbors she did not ask them to
give her land for this. It was Peace for Peace. Israel did not bring
up her very justifiable claims to all of historical Eretz Yisrael.
Israel did not demand that Trans-Jordan allow Jewish settlement on the
East Bank of the Jordan River, which had been "postponed" for more
than a quarter of a century. Israel accepted the "game" that started
from square one. The Arabs did not. However, all their attempts to
destroy the Jewish state led only to more and more territorial losses.
 

Never in history was an aggressor rewarded with additional land for an
aggressive action in which it was defeated. It was the aggressor who
paid for the aggression with its own land, not the victim of the
aggression. The international community did not demand that
Czechoslovakia return the Sudetenland after Nazi Germany acquired this
territory in 1938 and later lost it during World War II. Quite the
contrary; although in 1938 more than 3.5 million Germans lived in this
territory, in 1945 the Sudetenland was returned to Czechoslovakia, one
of the victors of the war, and the Germans were expelled. The United
Nations did not request that the Soviet Union return the Kaliningrad
region to Germany after World War II. It did not matter that before
the war the region had formed the northern half of German East
Prussia. After the war the German population was evacuated to Germany,
deported to the USSR, or expelled.

However, it appears that history lessons are not applicable to the
Arab- Israeli conflict. The Middle East is like Lewis Carrol's
Wonderland. If one compares Israel's and the Arabs' opening positions
on the eve of the final "negotiations" one can easily see that the
sides have changed their roles.

The Arabs' opening position is strong and uncompromising. Already on
November 20, 1977 in Jerusalem Anwar Sadat said: "Our land does not
yield itself to bargaining, it is not even open to argument. To us,
the nation's soil is equal to the holy valley where God Almighty spoke
to Moses. We cannot accept any attempt to take away or accept to seek
one inch of it nor can we accept the principle of debating or
bargaining over it."

Since then, the Arabs have repeated and reiterated this position over
and over again. On June 26, 1999, at the opening session of the Arab
Parliamentarian Union meeting, Syrian parliament speaker Abdul-Kader
Kaddoura said "Our commitment to peace as a strategic option does not
mean, in any way, approving a peace that is not based on the full
restoration of the occupied Arab lands."

A day before that, Sheikh Hamed al Beitawi, the grand Mufti of Nablus,
and Head of the Palestine Ulama Association, warned against "giving up
any iota of Palestine." "This is an Islamic land with a decision from
God; this is the sacred land;"

On April 30, Yosuf Abu Snenah, Arafat-appointed cleric said in a
Sermon at Al Aksa Mosque:

"Our position is firm and will not change. All of Moslem Palestine
remains one indivisible unit that cannot be partitioned. There is no
difference between Haifa and Nablus, between Lod and Ramallah or
between Jerusalem and Nazareth, since the land of Palestine is holy
land that is the exclusive property of all Moslems from the East and
from the West. No one has the right to relinquish it nor to divide
it."

If one compares this Arab stance with the today's Jewish opening
position, one would be shocked at how drastically it has changed from
1967. The degradation is stunning. In 1988 the Likud Party platform
declared that "The state of Israel has rights and claims to
sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and the Gaza sector. Israel shall
forward this claim and press for fulfillment of this rights." It also
said that "The autonomy agreements agreed upon at Camp David are a
guarantee that there shall be no further territorial partition of the
area of Western Eretz Yisrael, and under no conditions shall a
Palestinian state be there established."

Ten years later the sacredness of Eretz Yisrael to the Jewish people
is forgotten. The lands of Judea, Samaria and Gaza are set for
squandering. Western Eretz Yisrael is on the eve of partition. Ariel
Sharon, foreign minister in Netanyahu's government summarized this
"new" territorial position on April 28 in Jerusalem at a briefing to
the diplomatic corps,

The Jewish people is the only nation in the world, that was ready to
hand over territories - not only a certain part of the country, but
the cradle of the Jewish people, where the Jewish people was born
thousands of years ago. ;We are the only nation in the world that has
not been defeated, but was ready and is ready to make territorial
concessions in order to reach peace.

Israeli eagerness to sacrifice her territory fits comfortably into the
Arab design for the Jewish state. The Arabs are ready to accept the
Land. As the Hizbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in Beirut
on April 26 addressing a rally of more than 300,000 people, "Israel
should not exist... we only accept from Israel every grain of sand
they occupy in the Arab world." This catastrophic weakening of the
Israeli stance is further proof for the Arabs of "Jewish inferiority."
They strongly believe, as Anwar Sadat put it in his April, 1972 speech
on the anniversary of the Prophet's birthday, that they "will, with
God's help take [the Land] back from those of whom our Book says that
lowliness and submissiveness is their lot."

That submissiveness is apparent today as the Jewish leaders steadily
weaken their negotiating stance and turn to weeping over their fate.
While the Arabs want to drown the Jews in the sea, the Jews,
apparently, are planning to drown the Arabs in Jewish tears. CNN
reported on June 17 that the British author Patrick Seale, a
well-known expert on Syria, recently traveled through the Golan
Heights with a top Israeli general, Uri Saguy, who told settlers "that
hard decisions may be coming." "There were tears in his eyes and their
eyes as he had this tough discussion with them," Seale said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak took part in the "crying" campaign
too. In an interview with Ha'aretz on June 18, he stated, "I feel the
pain of having to part with sections of the Land of Israel, I have an
emotional bond with those places; As for parting with sections of the
Land of Israel in Judea and Samaria, I am moved to tears when I stand
on the northern slope of Mount Ibal [north of Nablus].

It is not Saguy and Barak who should cry. It is the Jewish people who
should cry at having such leaders. Although the tears will not help.
Only the change in the Israeli position could put things in proper
perspective and bring Israel back from the Wonderland to reality. It
is time for the Jews to recall their Covenant with God. It is time for
the Jewish state to recall that it has one of the best armies in the
world. It is time to recall that its sons and daughters fell defending
every single inch of Eretz Yisrael, which is now so cheap in the eyes
of many Israelis. It is time to realize that without Eretz Yisrael the
Jewish people will cease to exist.

The only way to prevent disaster is by declaring that all of Eretz
Yisrael is destined for the Jewish people, and if anyone dares to
demand that the lands of Judea, Samaria and Gaza be put on the
chopping block, then the land of Jordan should be placed their first.

BARAK CANNOT WAIT TO GIVE UP YESHA: Prime Minister Ehud
Barak assured Yasser Arafat Tuesday he intends to withdraw promptly
from a portion of Yesha (Judea, Samaria and Gaza) even while pursuing
an overall Middle East settlement. "There is no reason to wait", Barak
said as he concluded a series of meetings in Washington with the
Clinton administration and members of Congress. US President Clinton
and Barak established a "new partnership" Monday designed to produce
a breakthrough in Middle East "peacemaking" within fifteen months, one
month before presidential elections in the US. As is typical of most
American administrations, Clinton dangled a carrot before Barak by
pledging to support Israel with US military aid boosted by one-third,
from $1.9 billion currently to $2.4 billion a year, subject to
congressional approval, and the US financing Israel's development of a
third battery of Arrow anti-missile missiles. All of this is being
done without government meetings on the matter. It has also been
reported that Barak has not even read the position papers prepared for
him by his staff.

Meanwhile, Israel said Saturday Barak would not meet Arafat Saturday
or Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Sunday as scheduled because of the
death of Morocco's King Hassan. Barak's spokesman said no new dates
for the meetings had been finalized. (AP, REUTERS)

AP TERMINOLOGY DELEGITIMIZES JEWISH CLAIMS TO THE
TEMPLE MOUNT: In a recent ASSOCIATED PRESS article (22 July
1999) reporting on the Muslims decision to close the Temple Mount to
Jews, the AP used loaded phrases that paint the Jewish position in a
bad light. For example, AP writes, "Angry Islamic clerics banned
visitors from Islam's third holiest shrine Thursday in reaction to a
call from Jewish extremists to expel Muslims from the area which they
believe is sacred Jewish ground". Here AP reports as a matter of fact
that the mosque on the Temple Mount is Islam's third holiest shrine,
while it described the holiness of the Temple Mount to the Jews as "an
area which they [the Jews] believe is sacred Jewish ground".
Furthermore, the AP report taints Jews who wish to pray peacefully on
the Mount (the holiest site in the world according to Judaism) as
extremists, "one extremist group, the Temple Mount Faithful, made an
attempt Thursday to enter the gates of compound on Tisha B'Av, the day
marking the destruction of the two ancient temples". The AP report
also included a blatant factual inaccuracy regarding the religious
freedom of Jews to pray on the Temple Mount. They reported that, "Jews
are allowed to visit the compound and pray, but only silently and in
small groups". The fact is that Jews trying to pray on the Temple
Mount are regularly arrested and charged with "interfering with a
policeman in the line of his duty" or with "resisting arrest".
(ARUTZ-7)

US TO KEEP SINAI PEACEKEEPERS: The US Pentagon has acceded
to an Israeli request not to reduce the size of the American component
of the multinational peacekeeping force in the Sinai peninsula,
according to a report in HA'ARETZ. US Defense officials had apparently
wanted to scale back the Sinai force, and send some of the troops to
bolster the peacekeeping mission in Kosovo.

In the meantime, with Israel and Syria edging toward resuming peace
talks, the debate over the possibility of American troops being
deployed as peacekeepers on the Golan Heights after a future Israeli
withdrawal is picking up steam. Syrian President Hafez el-Assad is
adamant that peace is conditional on Israel relinquishing the entire
strategic Golan Heights. Barak is reported to have resigned himself to
a full withdrawal from the Golan. The debate over American
peacekeepers on the Golan has also resumed in Washington.

In other news, some 200 Golan Heights residents met Monday night in
the community of Chispin to plan their new-old campaign to "save the
Golan". Participants reported afterwards that spirits and optimism
were high. The residents are aware that their public campaign of five
years ago, when then-Prime Minister Rabin began talks with Syria, was
quite successful, and are attempting to duplicate this now. The famous
motto "The Nation is with the Golan" may be changed, however, to "I am
with the Golan". A rally of more than 500 people was held in Tsfat
Sunday night. (ICEJ, ARUTZ-7)

BRITAIN BLOCKED US PLAN TO SAVE HOLOCAUST VICTIMS: The
British government blocked a secret US plan that would have saved
thousands of Jews from Nazi concentration camps because Britain feared
they would settle in 'Palestine', according to newly released British
documents. The plan would have involved the exchange of captive Jews
in Germany and German-occupied territory who held South American
passports for German nationals in Latin America. Yet Britain's foreign
secretary, Anthony Eden, rejected the June 14, 1944, proposal because
he feared the freed Jews would stir up trouble for Britain if they
emigrated to 'Palestine', a Foreign Office document shows. (JTA)

JERUSALEM MYTH DISPELLED: Myth: Jerusalem is an Arab city.

Fact: Jerusalem was not only the ancient capital of Israel, but Jews
have always lived there, making up the largest single group of
inhabitants since 1844. Jerusalem was never an imperial capital under
the Muslims and not even a provincial capital. ("Myths and Facts
1976", NEAR EAST REPORT)
 

Tzemach News Service
Week Ending: 24 July 1999 / 11 Av 5759

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - What's New at BPR?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 25 Jul 1999 17:30:44 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Bible Prophecy Research
Additions and updates made since Jul 11, 1999
Number 28
July 25, 1999
========================================

Hi everyone...

We have several new files and updates online this week. Also, I've
added a little feature to our updated files to help you quickly locate
what's been added. You'll notice in the upper left-hand corner of our
files we have a header that lists the date of the last revision. If
that date is highlighted now, you'll be able to click on it and it will
take you directly to what we've changed or added. Hopefully this will
make it a little easier in locating the new stuff.

And now what's new....

> Added: New Jerusalem
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/n-012.htm

Rev 21:9-10. "And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had
the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me,
saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And
he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and
showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven
from God."

-----------

> Added: Leviathan
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/l-006.htm

From Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary:

leviathan -- 1a often cap: a sea monster represented as an adversary
defeated by Yahweh in various scriptural accounts; b1: a large sea
animal, b2: a large oceangoing ship; 2 cap: the political state; esp:
a totalitarian state having a vast bureaucracy; 3: something large or
formidable.

-------------

> Added: "...the merchants of Tarshish..."
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/t-007.htm

(Ezek 38:13) "Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all
the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a
spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away
silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?"

--------------

> Added: NIV Footnotes: A Comparative Study
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-032.htm

An article by David, a BPR list member.

"Three or so weeks ago I was advised to investigate the changes and
differences between the King James bible (KJB) and the new bibles, the
NIV, NRSV, NASB, and so on. I read opinion that appeared extreme, such
that the KJB was the only bible to own because it was the nearest the
english language had to the Word of God, that the developers of the New
Greek Testament, Westcott and Hort, were anti-KJB and set out on
purpose to discredit it, and that these same people and others were
using texts that were incomplete, contained scribal errors such as
missing lines, and had been altered by people to suit their particular
doctrine at the time they were first written, which was why the KJB
translators did not use them."

-------------

> Added: "...under the fig tree..."
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/f-007.htm

(John 1:48-50) "Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus
answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou
wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

--------------

> Added: Ape-man
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-033.htm

"In my reading of _The Legends of the Jews_, I came across the
following that might help explain where Darwin's ape-man came from..."

--------------

> Added: An Elephant Tale
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-034.htm

"In Africa lie the largest savannahs in the world, home to an abundance
of wildlife including the magnificent African elephant, the largest
living land mammal. Elephants are gregarious and social creatures.
Their legendary intelligence and complex social structure are curiously
similar to that of humans. Both invest years in the development of
their young because much of their behavior is learned. Without adults,
the young raise themselves."

Edited excerpt from: Into the Unknown, Supernatural Beings, Discovery
Channel

---------------

And now the old stuff with a dash of new...

> Updated: The Number Six
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/n-006-01.htm

> Updated: Rosh HaShanah
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Jewish_Feasts/js002.htm

> Updated: Harps/New Song
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/h-007-01.htm

> Updated: "...say they are Jews, and are not..."
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/j-002-01.htm

> Updated: The Temple
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/t-003-01.htm

> Updated: Thirteen: The Number of Rebellion
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/n-011.htm

=============

We added a few new links to our "tools" page that you
may find useful: http://philologos.org/bpr/tools.htm

Libr.Org Search Platform
http://libr.org/search/

GovStart Page - Your Start Page to Government on the Web
http://www.govstartpage.com/

Dan's News Query Page
http://www.crosswinds.net/~ds1999

Atlapedia - Country and World Maps
http://www.atlapedia.com/

=============

Previous and Upcoming events for the month of Av
from our Online Jewish Calendar:
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Calendar/A.htm

New Moon - 1 Av - July 14, 1999

July 16-21, 1994 - Anniversary of the comet
Shoemaker-Levy bombardment of the planet Jupiter. In
1994, the beginning of this event occurred on 9 Av.

Fast of Tisha B'Av - 9 Av - July 22, 1999
(Fast to commemorate destruction of 1st and 2nd Temple)
"Jewish tradition states that 'the Messiah will
appear on Tisha B'Av, and the day of mourning
will become a national day of rejoicing with the
rebuilt Temple" (Ready to Rebuild, Thomas Ice
and Randall Price; p 213).

Jul 28 - Partial Lunar Eclipse; Moon Occults Neptune

Jul 29 - Moon Occults Uranus

Jul 31 - Lunar Prospector is set for collision with the Moon
on this date.

Aug 10 - Moon Occults Mercury

Aug 11 - Solar Eclipse (Visible from Europe)

Aug 12 - Perseids Meteor Shower Peak

Don't forget to check out our 1999 Sky Signs file for further details
on these and other events:
 
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Sky_Signs/ss-011.htm

===================

Last year in China:

Jul 29, 1998 - MILLIONS BATTLE CHINA FLOODS: Millions of Chinese are
joining in an effort to strengthen dikes along the Yangtze River, as a
record flood-crest flows through. Floods from the river have killed
1,145 people this year.

This year in China:

Jul 24, 1999 - BEIJING (AP)- Flood crests burst a dike along the
Yangtze River in central China, forcing the evacuation of 120,000
people from low-lying areas, a local official said Saturday...Floods
caused by heavy rains have prompted two provinces along the Yangtze -
Hubei and Anhui - to declare emergencies. At least 291 people have been
killed this year in floods, according to the state-run Xinhua News
Agency. Last year flooding was more severe in China, when 4,150 people
died and millions were left stranded and homeless.

===============

That's it folks. Have a good couple of weeks!

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - July 26, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 08:37:39 +0000

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

6:00 PM Eastern

 HIST - HIGH POINTS IN HISTORY - Hitler: The Private Man

8:00

 PAX - Search for the Ark of the Covenant

9:00

 HIST - ULTIMATE POWER -
                            Peter Jennings looks back at key events
                            that shaped 20th century history, focusing
                            on the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and
                            the birth of the first weapon of ultimate
                            mass destruction, the atomic bomb that the
                            U.S. dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Could
                            these two forces of of evil, which changed
                            the world forever, have been prevented?
                            [TV G]

--- BPR

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - China News Digest items (7/26/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 08:45:49 +0000

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

Japan to Provide Aid to China's Ethnic Minority Areas

[CND, 07/25/99] Beijing signed an agreement with Tokyo, to provide an
aid package of 2.39 billion Japanese yen (US$20.2 million) to assist
development in China's ethnic minority regions, reported the China
Daily on Saturday.

Three projects are to receive Japanese government grants: 568 million
yen for improving teaching facilities in secondary schools; 807
million yen to providing medical equipment for hospitals in the
Ningxia Hui (Muslim) Autonomous Region; and 1.01 billion yen toward
setting up medical equipment for fluorosis in Guizhou province.

"The ethnic minority areas are in urgent need of assistance to enhance
their educational and medical situations," commented LONG Yongtu,
Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation. The grant
aid program began in 1981. By the end of 1998, Japan had sent 107.7
billion yen (US$905 million), mainly in support of agricultural,
educational, medical and environmental protection areas in China.
(Sue Bruell, WU Yiyi)

New U.S. Legislation Evokes Protests From Beijing

[CND, 07/25/99] ZHU Bangzao, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign
Ministry, expressed the government's condemnation of a new legislation
regarding the island of Taiwan recently enacted by the U.S. House of
Representatives, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.

According to Xinhua, the "State Department Authorization Act (Fiscal
Year 2000 and 2001)," submitted as a rider to an unrelated bill,
stipulates that "the President seek a public renunciation by China of
any use of force or threat to use force against Taiwan," and asserts
that "the U.S. should help Taiwan defend itself in case of threats or
a military attack by China." The amendment, sponsored by Congressman
Robert Andrews, would require approval by the Senate and the President
before becoming law.

Zhu characterized the amendment as a major interference in the
sovereignty and internal affairs of China. He expressed the
government's desire to supplant the current Taipei government using
peaceful means, but affirmed that China would not rule out the use of
force to effect reunification because of forces within Taiwan and
abroad that were seeking to permanently split Taiwan from the rest of
China. Zhu added that eliminating the potential of force would also
render a peacefully negotiated solution impossible.

The National People's Congress Foreign Affairs Committee ruled that
the amendment provided de facto approval of Taipei President LEE
Teng-Hui's recent insistence that Beijing and Taipei deal with each
other as representatives of separate states. The committee also warned
U.S. lawmakers against damaging Sino-American relations by attempting
to influence the course of events within China.

Zhu also railed against the "Taiwan Relations Act" currently being
proposed by various U.S. lawmakers, which could once again establish
some form of official recognition and support of the Taipei government
by the United States. Zhu repeated that this action would constitute
unwarranted meddling in Chinese affairs by the U.S., and said that the
bill was a major stumbling block in fully normalizing relations
between the two powers.

He responded to the American actions by saying "We demand that the
U.S. Government strictly abide by the three Sino-U.S. joint
communiques and related commitments, and prevent the amendment seeking
a public renunciation by China of any use of force against Taiwan from
becoming law." (Phil STEPHENS, WU Yiyi)

via: CND-Global Editors <cnd-editor@cnd.org>

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Lunar Prospector in Eclipse
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 08:53:12 +0000

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

Lunar Prospector in Eclipse

The partial lunar eclipse of July 28, 1999 poses a last-minute obstacle to
Lunar Prospector, which is scheduled to crash into the Moon three days
later.

July 26, 1999: This Wednesday, July 28, sky watchers in the Americas, east
Asia and the Pacific have a chance to view the last lunar eclipse of this
millennium when the Full Moon passes through Earth's umbral shadow for over
2 hours. This eclipse will be a partial one. At maximum approximately 40%
of the Moon will be covered by the darkest part of Earth's shadow giving
the moon an eerie, orange-colored glow.

Lunar eclipses are fairly common -- they happen about once every 6 months,
on average -- but there's something uncommon about this one. It could mark
the premature end of NASA's Lunar Prospector mission.

Lunar Prospector is scheduled to crash into a crater near the Moon's south
pole on July 31 in a dramatic experiment designed to detect water on the
moon. Before that can happen it must first endure the July 28 eclipse that
will pose the biggest challenge to its survival since it was launched in
January 1998. According to the UT Austin Lunar Prospector Impact site,
Prospector's battery was designed to handle maximum shadow periods of 47
minutes before being recharged by solar arrays mounted on the side the
spacecraft. During the upcoming eclipse, Prospector will pass in and out of
regions of partial and total Earth/moon shadows for nearly 3 continuous
hours as it orbits the moon. Components of the spacecraft will experience
temperatures beyond their normal operating range as the battery runs down
to dangerously low levels and is unable to operate electric heaters. There
is a possibility that key subsystems required to operate the spacecraft may
be damaged and control of the spacecraft could be lost.

Nevertheless, mission scientists are cautiously optimistic.

"Lunar Prospector has gone through a couple of eclipses similar to this one
and experienced no difficulties," says Lisa Chu-Theilbar, the Lunar
Prospector Mission Office Outreach Coordinator. "However, this eclipse is
near the end of Prospector's intended lifetime so the operations team is
justifiably cautious about turning systems off and on and surviving
eclipses. Will Lunar Prospector experience any unusual difficulties on July
28? We hope not!"

If the eclipse on July 28 poses a hazard to Lunar Prospector, why schedule
the crash three days after the eclipse rather than before? According to Dr.
David Goldstein of the University of Texas at Austin, there are good
scientific reasons to wait, including the simple fact that the spacecraft
will fly right over the impact site on the July 31.

Also, Goldstein and his colleagues want to observe the crash after the full
moon on July 28 to take advantage of better solar illumination around the
lunar limb.

"We expect to only be able to see gas that is over a warm sunlit surface
and above the limb of the Moon," he explains. "During a full moon, the
terrain just behind the visible limb is dark. That's not optimal because if
the ground is dark and cold it will tend to trap and re-freeze gases
liberated by Prospector's impact. Waiting until after the full moon will
improve the prospects for a longer-lasting exosphere - an extremely thin
local atmosphere - which the astronomy team led by Dr. Edwin Barker of UT
Austin hopes to observe."

http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast26jul99_1.htm

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (7/26/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 08:59:45 +0000

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

*** Scientist accused of bogus research

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A scientist who the government says faked the
results of a study linking power lines to cancer has agreed to have
some of his data retracted by journals that published the material. In
an agreement with the federal Office of Research Integrity, Richard P.
Liburdy also agreed to a three-year ban on receiving federal funds.
Liburdy's 1992 study claimed to find a link between electromagnetic
fields around power lines and certain cellular changes in the body.
After a whistle-blower complained, the ORI investigated and concluded
that Liburdy had committed scientific misconduct by tossing out data
that did not support his conclusions. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560416560-769

*** Birth control program goes national

CHICAGO (AP) - Drug-addicted women are being offered $200 to get
sterilized or use long-term birth control under a controversial
program that is gaining momentum in several cities across the
country. "IF YOU ARE ADDICTED TO DRUGS get birth control - get $200
cash. Stop the cycle of addicted newborns now!" read two billboards in
Chicago, where social worker Lyle Keller is trying to establish the
program known as CRACK, Children Requiring a Caring Kommunity. Critics
have called the Anaheim, Calif.-based program short-sighted, racist
and a source of drug money for users. But founder Barbara Harris calls
it a response to a system that often fails to punish women who give
birth to drug-addicted babies. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560415661-4c1

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Yeltsin has second medical check in a week
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 09:02:32 +0000

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

Yeltsin Has Second Medical Check In A Week

MOSCOW, Jul 26, 1999 -- (Reuters) Russian President Boris Yeltsin went to
the hospital on Monday for his second medical check in a week, the Kremlin
said.

Presidential press secretary Dmitry Yakushkin said by telephone that the
68-year-old president, who has been on holiday for the past two weeks, had
visited the elite Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow but gave no details.

"A person has the right to see his doctors, and that is what he did,"
Yakushkin said, describing the examination as routine.

Yeltsin also had what the Kremlin said was a routine medical check last
Tuesday. It did not announce the results.

He has suffered a series of health problems since he underwent a quintuple
bypass operation in 1996. Ill health has forced him to miss several weeks
of work this year.

Yeltsin looked relaxed during silent television footage of a meeting with
Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin last Thursday at the Gorky-9 residence near
Moscow where the president is on holiday.

Yakushkin said Yeltsin had a meeting scheduled for Tuesday but did not say
with whom. He also declined to say how long the president would remain on
holiday. ((c) 1999 Reuters)

http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=81326&text

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Digital Big Brother
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 12:38:46 +0000

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

From the Star Telegram,
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/doc/1047/1:COMP17/1:COMP17072599.html

Updated: Sunday, Jul. 25, 1999 at 22:09 CDT

Digital big brother poses threat to consumer privacy

By Deborah Solomon
c.1999 San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO -- It's 2001 and you're surfing the Net, looking for
information on breast cancer to help your mom, who's recently found a
lump.You buy a book, check out some Web sites, even go to a chat room
on the subject. A few days later, your new employer has some bad news:
Your health coverage has been denied because of a "pre-existing
condition" -- breast cancer.

The health plan came to that erroneous conclusion after buying
information about your habits from a marketing firm, which has been
tracking your every move.

If George Orwell thought 1984 was going to be bad, he'd freak at
what's coming in the next century.

Soon, what we watch, what we read, even what we keep in our
refrigerators, may be accessible to someone
other than ourselves.

That's because companies are working on ways to network our homes
--linking every appliance together and connecting them all to the
Internet. High-tech companies want to connect our TVs with our PCs,
our refrigerators with the Internet and our cell phones with our
ovens.

But the futuristic ideas gaining steam in Silicon Valley worry privacy
advocates, who fear all this connectivity poses major security risks
for consumers.

While privacy on the Internet has long been a concern, consumer
advocates say the sheer number of devices that will soon be hooked to
the Net and the data about consumers that will become available to
companies are dangerous.

Most of the concern centers around the loss of control consumers
experience once they enter cyberspace. If everything is linked to the
Net, privacy advocates say, consumers won't be able to avoid leaving
records of their personal information and won't be able to control how
companies use that data.

Consumers already leave digital footprints just by casually surfing
the Internet. A file called a "cookie" stores information about you
each time you visit a Web site.

But tracking our movements will get easier for companies as more
elements of our daily lives become connected to the Net.

"Once people start to observe all of your habits, particularly your
reading and viewing habits, which make up a lot of our lives, they
make assumptions about you and those assumptions are often wrong,"
said Tara Lemmey, president of the Electronic Frontier Foundation in
San Francisco. "Privacy is about your identity. It's something you own
and other people don't. No one should have access to your personal
information but you."

In the networked world of the future, however, information about
consumers will flow from TV set-top boxes and various appliances to
huge databases that can track customer habits. Other companies are
compiling detailed lists of online spending habits and plan to sell
that information to marketers.

One new technology that has privacy advocates concerned is interactive
television, which is rich with consumer data. People will soon use
set-top boxes to watch digital TV, surf the Net and shop online. These
set-top boxes, which are actually tiny computers, will record data,
leaving a trail map of where you've been, what you've watched and what
you've bought.

With this information, companies can do targeted marketing and tailor
advertisements to your tastes. For example, if you watch the Travel
Channel frequently, you might see a lot of advertisements for trips
and airlines the next time you surf the Web. If you buy gourmet food
online, you might start seeing TV ads for cooking schools and
caterers.

"Set-top boxes are processors and so they can pick up and track
viewing habits," said Gary Arlen, a multimedia expert with Arlen
Communications in Bethesda, Md. "It's a little like Big Brother, but
integrating Web content, including advertising, with television
programming is part of the vision of what interactive TV will be."

Companies such as Redwood City, Calif.'s ExciteAtHome, which provides
Internet service over cable TV lines, plan to use some data from
set-top boxes for targeted marketing.While targeted ads may not seem
that big a deal, privacy groups say they're still intrusive.

"People don't want companies collecting personal, identifiable
information about them," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of
the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington, D.C.

He said a person who buys a book on breast cancer or watches a
documentary about alcoholism probably doesn't want that information
made public.

"Sometimes people are researching issues like breast cancer,
alcoholism or depression and it's not necessarily the case that they
want everyone to know that," Rotenberg said.

Some companies are trying to keep the data they collect private but
face challenges in a world where information flows so easily.

TiVo, a Sunnyvale, Calif., startup, makes a kind of video recorder
that builds a database of what the TV is tuned to. This enables TiVo
to track your viewing habits so the device can "learn" your favorite
programs and automatically tape them for you. The company recently put
in place a strict privacy policy that forbids releasing individual
information on what a customer watches.

"We respect people's privacy and we wanted to be proactive in telling
people, `We care about you as viewers,"' said Lisa Varni, director of
marketing for TiVo.

However, the device will still monitor what customers watch, and the
company said it may sell that information in an aggregate form -- such
as for an entire ZIP code or region.

While no individual information would be sold, advertisers may
eventually get their hands on that data anyway. That's because TiVo
will soon allow customers to buy products online. Once a consumer
decides to make a purchase over the TV, TiVo is no longer responsible
for information about that customer. So if you buy a cell phone in
response to an interactive ad, the manufacturer is not legally bound
to keep that information private.

But it's not just our Internet and TV habits that could be tracked in
the future.

High-tech companies have talked about building Internet-based
appliances like refrigerators that monitor food levels and communicate
with the Web site of a major grocer. When you're running low on eggs
and milk, the refrigerator would contact the grocer and order
replacements.

But that information -- how often you go through items like beer and
meat -- could be sold to other companies that want to sell you
products or monitor your lifestyle. If you eat a lot of eggs and
steak, you could start seeing ads for cholesterol tests or, in a
worst-case scenario, your health care provider could increase your
premiums in anticipation of a heart attack.

Marketers are also compiling huge databases of online spending habits.
Earlier this year, Geocities, a "community" site where users could set
up their own home pages, got into trouble for secretly selling
personal information about users -- such as income and occupation --
to marketers. But other companies have similar plans.

A recent example is DoubleClick, an online advertising company which
bought Abacus Direct, a marketing research company. Together, the two
companies plan to build an online database with specific customer
information, such as spending habits.

DoubleClick sells banner advertising space on a network of more than
1,500 Web sites. When a customer shops at a site in DoubleClick's
network, that information will be coupled with Abacus's database,
which tracks what customers have bought in the past.

While DoubleClick has no plans to collect any personal data itself,
information will flow between the Web sites in its network and Abacus'
1,100 merchandise catalog companies. Privacy advocates have opposed
the deal and filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission,
saying the merger is invasive because it uses personal information
without the consumer's consent."There's a really fine line between
good targeting and stalking," said Lemmey. She added that there's very
little to prevent all this private information from falling into the
wrong hands.

"If that much information about you is in one place and you're not in
control of it, it doesn't take a lot for others to get access to it,"
she said. "That can lead to things like redlining." For example, a
person who accesses information about personal bankruptcy could be
denied a loan by a banker who subscribes to a database that tracks
people's financial actions on the Web.

Or just plain old embarrassing situations could arise. For example, if
a man were to watch the Playboy Channel one night, a banner ad for a
pornographic Web site could possibly appear on his computer the next
day when his daughter sits down to do her homework. Or a wife who buys
a book on divorce for a friend may have some explaining to do when her
husband starts seeing ads for divorce lawyers on their PC and in the
mail.

"The freedom to think freely is really what makes society move
forward. Losing your privacy will curtail that freedom," Lemmey said.

But others say the loss of privacy is just the price people must pay
for living in a digital age.

"In general, I'm sort of resigned to the loss of privacy that the
digital age is forcing upon us," said Arlen, the multimedia expert.
"The Internet is both more anonymous in that you're just a number and
it's also less private."

Yet people don't have to opt out of the digital society to remain
private. There's software available that can keep you anonymous when
surfing the Web and privacy advocates say people can make sure
information about them is kept confidential by asking companies about
their privacy policies.

And that anonymity may come in handy in the future. Some companies are
planning to gather data from the most unlikely places.

One Japanese company, Matsushita, plans to market a "smart" toilet.
Sensors in the bowl will analyze what you deposit and send information
about it to health care providers.

Distributed by The Associated Press (AP)

via: isml@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Space Tourism
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 12:46:18 +0000

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

From The Washington Post,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPcap/1999-07/25/042r-072599-idx.html

Space Tourism's Boosters Start Countdown

By Joel Glenn Brenner
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, July 25, 1999; Page H01

Like many who witnessed the glory and spectacle of the Cold War space
race, Robert Bigelow grew up devouring sci-fi novels, sketching
rockets in his schoolbooks and wondering when it would be his turn to
fly to the moon. Now, at 55, the Las Vegas multimillionaire still has
dreams of blasting into orbit--only he's going to do it in style.

 The owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain is investing as
much as $500 million of his real estate fortune to design and build a
100-passenger luxury cruise ship that will permanently orbit the moon,
giving vacationers a week-long excursion they'll never forget. For
Americans waxing nostalgic about Apollo on the 30th anniversary of the
first moon landing, Bigelow may be the best chance, however remote, of
seeing lunar dreams fulfilled.

 "It's up to private enterprise to get the general public into space in
our lifetimes," Bigelow said in a weighty tone, as though he alone
were carrying this burden. "It is imperative that we create
user-friendly, market-driven projects like this one or it will never
happen."

 The Las Vegas native, who made his fortune developing apartment
complexes and mid-priced hotels throughout the
Southwest, said he realizes his vision is "highly experimental." But
he also firmly believes that he can succeed where NASA and other
aerospace companies have failed. "I know a lot more about aerospace
than NASA knows about business," he said, his voice brimming with
confidence. "The government's launch costs are outrageous; I can do it
for one-twentieth of what they're spending."

 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's shuttle program
costs about $10,000 per pound and private launch companies spend about
$8,000 per pound to get their payloads into orbit, experts said. At
that price, Bigelow's $500 million is mere pocket change. But if
launch companies are able to develop less-expensive means of orbital
transportation, that per-pound cost could drop dramatically--something
Bigelow is counting on.

 More than a dozen private firms are currently trying to develop
reusable rockets that could potentially cut the payload cost to
$1,000 per pound, maybe less. But so far, none of these rockets
exists.

 "We're getting close, but we're still not there," said Thomas Rogers,
chief scientist for the Space Transportation Association. "If the
commercialization of space is ever going to take off, we're going to
have to overcome this barrier."

 Bigelow hopes the lure of his "cruise ship" idea will provide a crucial
incentive to reusable-rocket makers, which have been
struggling because of lack of capital. "I expect to provide [these
companies] with a market for their product," Bigelow said. "That, in
turn, should help them raise money to finish their plans."

 Gary C. Hudson, president of Rotary Rocket Co., which is developing a
reusable single-stage rocket that is undergoing tests in the Mojave
Desert, called Bigelow "an angel" and likened him to the royalty of
the 1700s who privately sponsored seafaring voyages to the Far East
and the New World. "This is just the kind of boost we've been waiting
for," said Hudson, who plans to have his vehicle in commercial service
next year.

 Bigelow shrugs off such accolades. The extremely private real estate
mogul has always been interested in outer space and the paranormal. He
donated millions of dollars to the University of Nevada at Las Vegas
to fund a "consciousness studies" program and he bankrolls the
nonprofit National Institute for Discovery Science, which researches
such out-of-the-box concepts as creating interstellar "wormholes"
using nuclear explosions.

 But his new project, privately funded Bigelow Aerospace Co., is about
more than cosmic curiosity: It's about being at the vanguard of the
"dawning age of space tourism," as he puts it. It also reflects these
flush economic times. Vacationers are already paying tens of thousands
of dollars to climb Mount Everest or explore the Antarctic, Bigelow
points out.

A journey into space would represent the ultimate tourist destination,
easily worth a few hundred thousand dollars per ticket. Recent surveys
on behalf of adventure travel companies have shown as many as 10,000
people say they are willing to spend $1 million or more for an
experience in space.

 "This is the beginning of the future," he said matter-of-factly. "It's
people like me that are going to get the public into space--not
NASA, not some internationally sponsored space station."

 This assessment was echoed last week at a symposium in Houston where
more than 100 scientists, researchers and engineers--and even a few
former Apollo astronauts--met to discuss the future of the moon.
Virtually everyone at the conference agreed with Bigelow, saying it is
time to take the moon out of the government's hands and place it
squarely with the private sector. The idea of a lunar cruise ship was
met not with snickers but with a hearty "it's about time" sense of
relief.

 "This is not a pie-in-the-sky fantasy," insisted rocket scientist Greg
Bennett, who presented Bigelow's plans. "The technology is
there; the know-how is there. It's always been a matter of money and
now Bigelow is closing that gap."

 To be sure, Bigelow's $500 million investment will cover just a
fraction of the project's ultimate cost, even if launch costs drop
dramatically. But it is a serious enough commitment to make people
stand up and take notice, and Bigelow himself speaks as if money is
his last concern.

 "I'm not in this for the profit," he said. "I don't expect to see any
return for at least 15 years--if ever. This is all a big experiment."

 But it's one the Las Vegas native is taking very much to heart. "I'll
put in more than [$500 million] if that's what it takes," he said. "My
only hope is that this company can be a catalyst for change, that we
can alter the way people view space and make everyone realize that
it's up to the private sector to make things happen."

 Just how much capital Bigelow can afford to invest is unclear. The
developer owns all of his companies outright--including the Budget
Suites hotel chain, which analysts estimate is worth about $600
million, and a number of large apartment complexes and other real
estate assets around Las Vegas worth about $400 million, according to
other Las Vegas developers.

 Further obscuring the picture, Bigelow has generally kept himself out
of the public spotlight; he has never been profiled by the media or
granted a face-to-face interview, and he declined to be photographed
for this story. He said he is only talking about his aerospace plans
because "there is a general need to educate the public," not because
he's seeking personal glory.

 But these are reasons, too, that he believes he'll be successful. "The
only shareholder I have to answer to is Mrs. Bigelow," he
said, only half joking. "There isn't a public company in America that
could take the risks I'm taking--I have no investors breathing down my
neck, no need for short-term profits," he continued. "And if I say I'm
going to do something, I do it."

 Evidence of "Mr. B's" commitment is everywhere, said Bennett, a 30-year
aerospace veteran who left his job at Houston's
Johnson Space Center in April to become Bigelow's vice president of
spacecraft development. The company is already running full-page
advertisements in Space News and other publications to hire the
researchers, industrial engineers, architects and scientists who will
try to turn Bigelow's vision into reality.

 The company plans to break ground next year on its new Las Vegas
headquarters--a rocket-shaped building surrounded by a moat, "to give
it the impression of being on a launch pad," said Bennett. With 60,000
square feet set aside for building models and developing the space
ship, the production facility will rival those of aerospace giants
such as Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co.

 The cruise ship itself will be just as impressive. Though there are no
artist renderings yet, Bennett said he is designing a craft
equipped with artificial gravity and appointed with all the amenities
of an opulent ocean liner, complete with private bathrooms, bedrooms
and individual portal windows for viewing the earth, moon and planets.
Like a scene straight out of "The Jetsons," the cruise ship will also
contain an observation deck and gymnasium, a dining room with "real"
food and possibly even a means of allowing passengers to take a brief
walk in the cosmos.

 It all sounds a bit wacky, Bigelow admits. But Apollo astronaut Buzz
Aldrin, an ardent supporter of Bigelow's idea, gushes: "This is
completely within the realm of possibility. For 30 years we've been
waiting for a chance to go back to the moon. But it's never been a
matter of technology, only desire."

 "We need more Bob Bigelows," seconded Alan Binder, chief scientist for
NASA's Lunar Prospector mission, which last year
discovered evidence of water frozen in the moon's polar craters. "His
project alone could jump-start an entire lunar industry."

 A lunar orbiting cruise ship would undoubtedly be a ferociously hungry
beast, requiring thousands of rocket launches annually
just to keep it supplied with food, crew members and passengers--not
to mention clean linens and toilet paper. A commercial lunar base
could provide supplies such as fuel and water, said Binder. And while
there are bound to be many skeptics, Bennett, who has only been on the
job for two months, said he has absolutely no doubt that Bigelow's
dreams will come to fruition.

 Asked how he can be so certain, he smiled wryly and said, "This isn't
NASA," referring to the agency's endless bureaucracy. "We've got the
know-how, and he's got the money. It's a beautiful combination."

Besides, Bennett quipped, "Robert Bigelow is the only man in the world
with his own pet rocket scientist."

c Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company

via: isml@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russian ISP Refuses to Spy on Customers
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 12:47:40 +0000

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

From TechWeb,
http://www.techweb.com/news/story/TWB19990726S0003

Russian ISP Refuses To Spy On Customers
(07/26/99, 6:35 a.m. ET)
By Marina Moudrak, Data Communications

At least one Russian ISP is refusing to go along with a directive that
allows the government to spy on customers -- and it's paying the
price.

The directive is known as SORM-2 (System of Efficient ResearchMeasures
2), and it gives Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) the right to
look into private e-mail without a warrant, under the pretense of
sniffing out tax dodgers and corruption.

It also calls for ISPs to pay for surveillance equipment in their
servers and a link to FSB headquarters in Moscow.

But ISP Bayard-Slavia Communications is refusing to along with SORM-2,
and now the government is taking action.

According to Bayard-Slavia director general Nail Murzakhanov, the FSB
tried to shut down the ISP by withdrawing its license and challenging
its right to frequencies used for its satellite connection to Moscow.

Eventually, it found a way to freeze the ISP's bank account so it
couldn't pay for the satellite connection at all.

"We will never help the FSB implement illegal shadowing," Murzakhanov
said. "We're the first ISP to struggle against illegal information
collection. Unfortunately, we're also likely to become the first to be
destroyed because of insubordination."

via: isml@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - A Party for the Ages
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 12:09:13 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

A Party for the Ages
Celebrate the Millennium at a Gold-Tipped Pyramid

Egypt plans to mark the millennium with one of the world's most exotic
ceremonies: a re-enactment, with some high-tech wizardry, of a
spectacular
event from 4,700 years ago - the completion of the greatest of the
pyramids.

At sunset on December 31, 1999, as laser beams pierce the sky, a
helicopter
will lower a gold-plated capstone onto the top of the Great Pyramid on
the
Giza Plateau.

And there in the desert near Cairo, at the foot of perhaps the greatest
monument of the ancient world, a 12-hour party will go until dawn of the
year 2000 with a music-and-laser show by French musician Jean-Michel
Jarre.

The goal is to celebrate - as the ancient Egyptians did when the
enormous
project of the pyramid was finally completed - "the idea of the rebirth
and
the afterlife. [Jarre] will do a kind of opera, a kind of
classical-style
party," says Zahi Hawass, who is in charge of the archaeological
treasures
on and around the plateau. "This is something the whole world will
watch.
They will come to watch the pyramids that night."

At a pyramid-workers' village Hawass is excavating, "I discovered two
scenes. One shows the workmen dragging a capstone.... The other scene
shows
ladies dancing. My interpretation is when the king finished building the
pyramid, they put a capstone above the top of the pyramid. After that,
the
people danced and sang because the national project, which had taken
almost
25 years, was now finished. That is what we are doing at the
millennium."

He said the gold-plated capstone is being designed now as a copy of the
lost original, which "according to the evidence, was cased with yellow
gold." The gold-covered capstone will come down after the party.

Such details as tickets and costs have not been worked out yet, but
Hawass
promises an announcement will be made soon.

SJ

Discovering Archaeology Online
http://www.discoveringarchaeology.com/0499toc/ages.shtml

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - New Hotel Trend: Bed-and-PC
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 17:45:31 +0000

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

NEW HOTEL TREND: BED-AND-PC
Choice Hotels International is going beyond giving tech-oriented
guests data ports and second phone lines -- they're supplying them
with the computers, too. The hotel franchiser plans to have PCs in
more than 1,000 rooms by early August, with 50,000 rooms wired up by
year's end. "It's pretty revolutionary," says Choice CEO Charges
Ledsinger Jr. "It's a real pain to lug these laptops around." The
company has signed an installation agreement with GuesTech, which
estimates the average in-room computer will generate $6 to $7 a day,
producing a $2 to $3 profit over operating expenses. Of course, that
profit will go up if guests choose to use fee-based business
applications such as Excel or Powerpoint, or pay to log onto
GuesTech's "Afterhours" porn site, which is expected to be one of the
leading uses. In an experiment earlier this year, GuesTech found that
many of the guests logging onto the porn site were simultaneously
watching adult movies on their TV set. "They had them going stereo,"
says GuesTech co-founder Craig Ziegler. "Can you believe it?" (Wall
Street Journal 26 Jul 99) http://wsj.com/

via: "NewsScan" <newsscan@newsscan.com>

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (7/26/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 17:54:11 +0000

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

*** Barak finds opportunity at funeral

JERUSALEM (AP) - It was a golden opportunity for Israeli Prime
Minister Ehud Barak after just over two weeks in office. The funeral
of Morocco's King Hassan II provided the stage for impromptu meetings
between Barak and leaders of Arab countries with whom Israel hopes to
forge closer ties once there is progress in Mideast peace talks. The
outpouring of warmth toward Barak and the Israeli delegation was
closely scrutinized back home for signs that hostility toward Israel
is receding. Barak mingled easily with Arab leaders and was able to
hold groundbreaking meetings with Algeria's president, Abdelaziz
Bouteflika, and Kuwait's crown prince. Public support for Barak's
future peace moves is critical since he has pledged to present future
land-for-peace agreements with the Syrians and the Palestinians to a
national referendum. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560435586-e7f

*** Sainthood of Mother Teresa sought

CALCUTTA, India (AP) - The archbishop of Calcutta launched an inquiry
Monday to gather evidence of the holiness of Mother Teresa, the first
step in the process that could lead to her being declared a saint.
Thousands of nuns flocked to St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church to
witness the opening of the inquiry "on the life, virtues and
reputation of sanctity" of Mother Teresa. Archbishop Henry D'Souza
said the inquiry could take about a year. Mother Teresa, hailed during
her decades in the slums of India as a "living saint," died in 1997 at
age 87 after a life spent caring for the poor and the outcast,
inspiring followers worldwide to take up her example. Pope John Paul
II waived the customary five-year waiting period to start the process
leading to her possible declaration as a saint. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560436806-df6

*** Govs waffle on 'happiness' day

DALLAS (AP) - In politics, edgy issues are perennially divisive, but
who knew happiness was a politically sensitive theme? Pam Johnson had
no idea - until she got a volley of waffling replies with her request
for all 50 U.S. governors to declare Aug. 8 "National Admit You're
Happy Day." "We have no official position on happiness," hedged a
letter from New York Gov. George Pataki. "We're going to wait and see
what the federal government and other governors do." Johnson, founder
of the Secret Society of Happy People, proposed the day of observance
as part of her ongoing campaign to drag contentment out of the closet.
Convinced that happiness has fallen out of fashion in the
therapy-driven, angst-ridden 1990s, Johnson wages her unorthodox
battle from her suburban Dallas apartment. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560428715-160

*** Banned fish becomes hot item in Mo.

REPUBLIC, Mo. (AP) - A tiny fish that became a cause celebre in this
city within a landlocked state has continued reeling in national
interest. A federal court ruled this month that the Christian fish
symbol - known as an ichthus - had to be removed from the city's seal
because it violated the constitutional separation of church and state.
But ever since the ichthus-bearing seal started coming down last week,
the little fish seems to be more popular than ever. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560432811-2ed

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Jerusalem Population Becoming More Arab
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 26 Jul 1999 23:16:48 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Jerusalem Institute: Capital Population Becoming More Arab as Jews
Continue to Leave

(IsraelWire- 7/27) A report released by the Jerusalem Institute for
Israel Studies has Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert concerned.
According to the data, the Arab population in Jerusalem is growing
three times faster than that of the Jews. The Jews, both secular as well
as Hareidi (ultra-Orthodox), continue to leave.

At present, according to the report, the Jews comprise 68.5 percent of
the Jerusalem population which is now 633,700. In 1998, the Jewish
population grew one percent while the Arab population by 3.5
percent.

Mayor Olmert stated the report should sound an alarm and called
upon the government to provide additional affordable housing in the
capital to reverse the trend of the number of Jews seeking housing
elsewhere. The mayor blames the lack of affordable housing for the
reason so many young couples are looking to begin a life outside of
the capital.

[..edit..]

http://www.israelwire.com/

--- BPR

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Y2K items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 08:49:56 +0000

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

SOME MAJOR FIRMS WARN COMPUTERS AREN'T Y2K-READY
Close to one in 10 large multinational companies will not achieve Y2K
compliance by January 1, according to a survey by CIO Communications.
The group reports that 33 percent of the firms participating in the
survey answered that they were behind schedule, while another 8
percent said they would not finish their Y2K preparations by the turn
of the millennium. Many top global corporations reported that
although they had finished Y2K compliance efforts on their own
systems, they anticipated problems due to disruptions from foreign
suppliers, particularly in developing nations. The report found that
while multinational corporations can exert influence on domestic
trading partners, overseas partners, particularly government-owned
telecommunications and electrical utilities in large countries, are
largely immune to threats by the corporations. (Wall Street Journal
07/26/99)

via: EDUPAGE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU
---------------------------

Most Americans say they're not worried about Y2K woes

With just 157 days remaining 'til year's end, most Americans appear
confident that computer-related problems will affect them in only
minor ways - if at all - a new survey shows. In a poll of 1,008
adults, the Associated Press found respondents over 65 twice as
confident as those under 35 that such glitches will not disrupt their
lives. The survey was conducted between July 16 and 21. There were no
participants from Alaska or Hawaii. Among the findings:

There will be no problems 18%

Problems will be minor 66%

Problems will be major 11%

Problems will be serious enough that I'm stocking up on food and
other essentials 31%

Banking will be most affected 31%

I'm leaving only the minimum in my bank accounts 25%

My money stays in the bank 69%

Electrical service will be most affected 26%

Transportation will be most affected 12%

Food distribution will be most affected 11%

via: "e-Monitor Freemail edition recipients"@csmonitor.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Environment News Service items (7/26/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 09:07:31 +0000

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

NOISE AT GRAND CANYON PROMPTS AIR TOUR FREEZE

WASHINGTON, DC, July 26, 1999 (ENS) - The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) has released a package of proposals designed to
meet a congressionally mandated goal of "substantially restoring
natural quiet" at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Among the
proposals is a freeze on aircraft flights over the canyon that would
limit the number and destinations of commercial air tours. Copyright
Environment News Service (ENS) 1999 For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul99/1999L-07-26-04.html

EPA LAUNCHES PROGRAM TO REUSE TOXIC WASTE SITES

WASHINGTON, DC, July 26, 1999 (ENS) - Dozens of hazardous waste sites
across the U.S. may soon be transformed into city parks, residential
neighborhoods or commercial districts. Under the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency=C6s (EPA) new Superfund Redevelopment Initiative,
nearly $5 million in grants will be awarded before the end of 2000 to
help restore 50 toxic waste sites to productive use. Copyright
Environment News Service (ENS) 1999 For full text and graphics visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul99/1999L-07-26-02.html

ASIAN, AFRICAN MAYORS VOW TO CULTIVATE "ECO-SOCIETY"

TOKYO, Japan, July 26, 1999 (ENS) - Mayors from across Asia and Africa
have pledged to cultivate an "eco-society" that will minimize the
burden on the environment and enable sustainable human development in
their cities. The will work to strengthen the participation of the
private sector and community organizations in combating environmental
degradation, and to sensitize the public on the importance of "clean
city" through campaigns for "clean water," "clean street" or "clean
air." Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 1999 For full text and
graphics visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul99/1999L-07-26-01.html

via: "Environment News Service (ENS)"
<ENS-NEWS@PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM>

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - 2 children's books on homosexuality pushed into federal court
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 09:07:31 +0000

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

Current Baptist Press News (7/26/99:

2 children's books on homosexuality pushed into federal court by
ACLU

By Don Hinkle

WICHITA FALLS, Texas (BP)--The outcome of a year-long battle
pitting the Wichita Falls City Council, area churches and other
pro-family groups against Americans United for Separation of
Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union over two
children's books that promote the homosexual lifestyle now rests
with a federal judge.

The controversy began in May 1998 when members of First Baptist
Church in the Texas city discovered two taxpayer-purchased books,
"Heather Has Two Mommies" and "Daddy's Roommate," in the children's
section of the city's public library. The 8,400-member church led a
drive that ultimately convinced the city council to pass a resolution
to move the books to the adult section of the library -- provided 300
library cards holders signed a petition requesting such a move. More
than 500 signatures were collected and the books were moved July 14.

The ACLU responded by filing a lawsuit in federal court against
the city July 16, citing the moving of the books from the
children's to the adult section of the library as a violation of
the First Amendment.

Meanwhile, in a temporary setback for the churches and pro-family
groups, both sides in the lawsuit agreed to a temporary order that
suspends the city's library policy and allows the books to stay in the
children's section until U.S. District Judge Jerry Buchmeyer conducts
a hearing on the temporary location of the two books. That hearing is
expected in mid-August. Buchmeyer will not resolve the ACLU lawsuit
until a later, unspecified date.

"This is not about censorship," said Robert Jeffress, pastor of
First Baptist Church, Wichita Falls. "We're not talking about
removing books from the library. We're simply talking about
moving books from one section of the library to another."

First Baptist Church has been among those leading the charge to
have the books moved. The church's 80 deacons voted May 12 of
last year to urge the city council to take action on the books in
question and any other that promote the homosexual lifestyle.

"More importantly, this battle is part of a much larger issue
about restricting material available for children in the
library," Jeffress said. "The ACLU and the American Library
Association [the ALA recommends both books for children] believe
that there should not be any restrictions on pornographic
material available to children in the library."

Jeffress and the city council has caught the ire of
pro-homosexual and liberal groups like the ACLU, the ALA,
Americans United for Separation of Church and State, and the Gay
and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

"The ACLU has never met a piece of pornography that it would not
like to defend," Jeffress told Jay Jacobson, head of the Texas
chapter of the ACLU on Court TV's "Pros and Cons" television
program July 23.

Jeffress also criticized the ALA for supporting the location of
the two books and offering advice on sex to teenagers on its
Internet website. "Its 'Go Ask Alice' site for teens answers
questions like, 'What does semen taste like?'" said Jeffress, who is
not the first leader among pro-family advocates to blast the ALA.
Radio personality Dr. Laura Schlessinger, a member of the Jewish
faith, also has accused the ALA of promoting pornography to children.
Recently Toys R Us, the national toy store chain, withdrew its $1
million in funding for the ALA.

Jeffress and First Baptist caught the eye of Americans United
last year when Jeffress preached a sermon in which he called for
Christians to vote out of office any city council member who
favored keeping such books in the children's section of the
library. The sermon prompted a letter from Americans United's
executive director, Barry Lynn which seemed to threaten First
Baptist Church's tax-exempt status if Jeffress continued to speak out
on the issue.

"You [Jeffress] want city council members to vote your way about
library books you find objectionable, and if they fail to do so,
you are instructing your congregation to vote against them. As
such, you have issued a political threat and this is exactly the
kind of activity that federal tax law is trying to prevent," Lynn
wrote to Jeffress in July 1998.

In a news release at the same time, Americans United said it is
engaging in a nationwide campaign "to educate clergy about the
laws governing church involvement in politics. As part of that
project, churches that violate the rules are being reported to
the Internal Revenue Service." The news release stated Americans
United had notified the IRS of 14 religious institutions that
attempted to influence the outcome of elections, including two
churches and one religious radio station in Texas. Jeffress said
Lynn told him that Americans United had not turned in First
Baptist, Wichita Falls, to the IRS.

In mid-July of this year, six U.S. senators asked U.S. Attorney
General Janet Reno to investigate Americans United tactics,
accusing the organization of attempting to intimidate churches
into being silent on moral issues that also are in the political
arena.

Meanwhile, attorneys with the conservative Rutherford Institute
have reassured pastors they are free to address any moral or
political issue from the pulpit as long as they do not endorse a
specific candidate by name. The institute, which specializes in
First Amendment issues, has said it can provide free legal
service to any church or pastor who receives such threats from
the ACLU or Americans United.

At one point during the Wichita Falls book controversy, a leader
with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation suggested
that Christians who want the books moved are "irrational" and
likened one area pastor's scriptural views on homosexuality to
the treatment Jews received from Nazis during World War II. The
city's newspaper, The Times Record News, in an editorial
indirectly called for city authorities to take legal action
against Jeffress after he took the two books from the library in
an act of civil disobedience. (He paid for them and new copies
were purchased by the library.)

"Daddy's Roommate" tells the story of a boy who has a homosexual
father who lives with his boyfriend. Written from a little boy's
perspective, it features a drawing of two men in bed with the
caption, "Daddy and his roommate sleep together." Another drawing
shows two men embracing, with a caption, "Being gay is just one more
kind of love." "Heather Has Two Mommies" is the story of a little girl
who has what the author calls two lesbian "mothers."

Some legal experts speculate Buchmeyer will order both books to
remain in the children's section. Chances of winning the case on
appeal -- with what is regarded as the more conservative U.S. 5th
Circuit Court of Appeals -- are good. But in an ironic twist and in a
blow to pro-family groups in the controversy, a May 1 election changed
the composition of the city council and the majority now favors
leaving the books in the children's section. As a result, the city
council may repeal its present library petition policy. Some observers
believe the city council will wait for Buchmeyer's ruling before
changing the policy, making the issue moot and thus avoiding a likely
reversal -- and loss for homosexual activists -- by the 5th Circuit.

"We feel like we've done the right thing," Jeffress said in
reflecting on the long struggle. "We've done what we've supposed
to do. The city council -- as well as the rest of us --
ultimately must answer to God.

http://www.religiontoday.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News items (7/27/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 12:22:16 +0000

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

CONSEQUENCES OF Y2K FOR ISRAELI SABBATH
The halakhic [Jewish-legal] aspects of the Y2K computer bug will be
among the topics to be researched by a ministerial committee. The
Prime Minister yesterday instructed his top aide Yossi Kucik to
convene a committee that will coordinate the various ministries'
efforts on the Y2K matter. "The committee should look into the
Jewish-legal issue as well," Infrastructures Minister Eli Suissa
(Shas) said today. Suissa noted that Jan. 1, 2000 will fall on a
Saturday, and the possible life-threatening dangers that may result
may make it necessary to grant special permits for Sabbath work. "I
am not a halakhic authority," Suissa said, "but it is likely that the
rabbis will rule it permissible to work in hospitals, security forces,
the electric company, and the like specifically for this problem... I
have consulted with Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef and with the Chief Rabbis, and
they will have to decide if and to whom to issue work permits on that
Shabbat."

ABU ALA, IN KNESSET, DEMANDS EASTERN JERUSALEM
Palestinian Legislative Council Chairman Ahmed Qurie, known also as
Abu Ala, did not hide his maximalist views on Jerusalem while visiting
the Knesset yesterday. In a joint press conference with his host
Knesset Speaker Avraham Burg, Qurie related to remarks by Jerusalem
Mayor Olmert, who said that Qurie's visit is a recognition of Israel's
annexation of Jerusalem. "I don't agree," Qurie said, "because
Jerusalem is part of the Palestinian and Arab territories occupied in
1967 and it is subject to UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338,
that there should be a withdrawal from east Jerusalem. Secondly,
Jerusalem is one of the issues of the permanent-status negotiations
and therefore when we sit at the table we will determine together the
future of Jerusalem. And thirdly, we are looking to Jerusalem as the
capital of Palestine. That's the only solution in my point of view.
The only solution is as a capital of two states."

Burg said that his own stand, "is of course completely different:
United Jerusalem is Israel's capital," but agreed that Jerusalem's
status will be determined in the final-status negotiations. This
prompted National Union MK Benny Elon to call out, "You are using your
official position to advance extreme-left political views!"

Some Qurie clips (courtesy of the Jewish Community of Hevron
<http://www.hebron.org.il>):
 * The Jerusalem Post reported on July 13, 1997, "Qurie walked over a
freshly burned Israeli flag during a protest in Ramallah
[yesterday]... A TV camera caught Palestinian protesters burning an
Israeli flag as leading Palestinian Authority and PLO officials
watched. Witnesses said Qurie smiled as he watched two Palestinian
men burn the flag and then stepped over its charred remains."
 * Asked by the BBC Radio on February 17, 1997, which parts of
 Jerusalem
should be negotiated between Israel and the PLO, Qurie replied: "Not
East or West - Jerusalem, the whole of Jerusalem." * He has often
said that the permanent borders between Israel and a new Palestinian
state should be determined by United Nations resolution 181, known as
the Partition Plan. This plan, which was rejected by the Arab states
in 1947, leaves much of present-day Israel outside the Jewish entity.
Abu Ala told the Palestinian Authority newspaper Al Hayat al-Jadida
last December, "The fact that we didn't take advantage of that
resolution then doesn't mean that it is invalid today."

Arutz Sheva News Service
     <http://www.a7.org>
Tuesday, July 27, 1999 / Av 14, 5759

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - 'Red ten' means global catastrophe
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 12:24:44 +0000

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

From The Independent,
http://www.independent.co.uk/stories/A2707912.html
-
'Red ten' means a global catastrophe

By Steve Connor Science Editor

A danger scale has been devised to assess the potential devastation
that could result from a collision between an asteroid and Earth.

Scientists said that the 10-point gradient for assessing the risks
posed by any new objects detected in space could be likened to the
Richter scale for earthquake hazards.

The International Astronomical Union - the official body representing
astronomers around the world - has formally adopted the scale for
classifying near-Earth objects according to their potential danger.

Richard Binzel, professor of planetary sciences at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology, in the United States, devised the scale
because of public concern about doomsday scenarios, depicted in films
such as Deep Impact. "The purpose is to place newly discovered objects
into context. If we discover an object that was a certain impactor and
of large enough size we do have a responsibility for making that
information known," he said.

The scale starts at nought, where the object is too small to worry
about; six is a close encounter with significant threat;and ten is
capable of causing global catastrophe). Each number has a designated
colour, with white given for events with "no likely consequences",
orange for "threatening events" and red for "certain collisions".

A "red ten" is a certain impact with an asteroid capable of causing
extensive, global climatic catastrophe, similar to the collision 65
million years ago which is thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs.

Since scientists began searching for asteroids with orbits similar to
that of Earth, they have discovered an ever-increasing number with the
potential to collide with the planet.

Professor Binzel said nobody would lose any sleep over asteroids
classified at the lower end of the scale but those given a higher
designation would need to be monitored carefully. "Scientists haven't
done a good job of communicating to the public the relative danger of
collisions with an asteroid. [They] should have some means of clearly
communicating about it so as to clearly inform but not confuse or
unnecessarily alarm the public," he said.

Less than 20 per cent of the estimated population of asteroids capable
of causing global destruction have been detected to date, and
scientists believe it could take another 10 years to identify a
further 70 per cent. It is calculated that one object of this size
hits Earth every 100,000 years, with smaller asteroids - capable of
substantial local destruction - colliding at a rate of up to one every
50 years.

"What I hope the scale will accomplish is to put in perspective
whether an object merits concern. This is a case of a high-consequence
but low-probability event. It's difficult for human nature to figure
out what level of anxiety we should assign to an approaching
asteroid," Professor Binzel said.

via: isml@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Foreign Ministers Ham It Up
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 17:53:25 +0000

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

11:20 AM ET 07/27/99

Foreign Ministers Ham It Up

By JOCELYN GECKER Associated Press Writer

SINGAPORE (AP) _ Was it Madeleine Albright or a drag queen? Top diplomats
from more than 20 nations probably squinted extra hard Tuesday when a male
State Department official dressed as the secretary of state serenaded them
during an evening of skit and song that has become the highlight of an
annual diplomatic forum.

Albright skipped the dinner to travel to Rome, Kosovo and Bosnia before
returning to Washington.

``Sorry I couldn't make it, but with new technology they're able to clone
me,'' Albright, wearing a cowboy hat, said on a videotape shown on a giant
screen before her counterparts at the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations conference, a U.S. official told The Associated Press on condition
of anonymity.

Albright and her hairier stand-in wore matching black dresses with six-
shooters in hip holsters.

With six officials singing backup, the stand-in sang a parody of ``Home on
the Range,'' the U.S. official said.

``So we're meeting once more,'' he sang.

``Here in old Singapore, where they said that I couldn't chew gum.

``Matters transnational, always go rational.

``Lighten up, SM, and have fun.''

SM is short for Senior Minister Lee Kwan Yew, credited with shaping the
island-state into a modern metropolis and imposing strict laws on public
behavior.

Albright held the spotlight during the past two years' banquets, where
foreign ministers let down their hair after ASEAN's regional security
meeting.

She wore a red rose in her hair for a spoof on ``Don't Cry for Me
Argentina'' at the 1997 dinner in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Last year in Manila, she and then-Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov
sang a duet from the musical, ``West Side Story,'' which they renamed
``East-West Story.''

For this year's spectacle in Singapore, Russia was going solo with a more
patriotic jingle.

``We sing only to Russian tunes,'' Russian spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin
told the AP.

The banquet was behind closed doors. But interviews with participants and
members of the audience, and texts of songs helped reconstruct the scene.

The evening began with Southeast Asia's foreign ministers in batik shirts
swaying and singing the ASEAN theme song with the help of cue cards _ all
except for Brunei's Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, who stood motionless.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, dressed in a white tuxedo
with a red sequined bow tie, sang a spoof of the 1970s hit, ``Love is in
the Air,'' which enjoyed a revival after the release of the quirky
Australian film, ``Strictly Ballroom.''

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura performed a martial arts display
with two aides. The minister limped off stage faking pain when one aide
kicked his boss in the shin.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon teamed up with his Thai
counterpart, Surin Pitsuwan, to sing a mock version of Frank Sinatra's
classic ``My Way.''

Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh recast the Lewis Carroll poem, ``You
are old, Father William,'' with apologies up front to the author of ``Alice
in Wonderland.''

In the parody, a text of which was released before the dinner, Singh struck
a more serious tone, spoofing India's military campaign against intruders
in Kashmir.

Infobeat News
July 27, 1999

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Kuwait's Crown Pince Snubs Arafat
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 17:57:34 +0000

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

Tuesday, July 27, 1999: The News Channel

Kuwait's Crown Prince Snubs Arafat

KUWAIT CITY (AFP) -- Kuwait's crown prince and prime minister refused to
shake Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's hand at the funeral of Morocco`s
King Hassan II, newspapers said Tuesday.

Witnesses told Al-Qabas newspaper that Shaikh Saad Al-Abdallah al-Sabah
rebuffed Arafat's extended hand as the leaders queued in Rabat to pay their
last respects to King Hassan on Sunday.

Shaikh Saad did not move, kept his arms crossed, and said "Kuwait did not
deserve the position you (Palestinians) took in supporting (Iraqi
President) Saddam Hussein," Al-Qabas reported.

Arab officials then intervened to usher Arafat away from Shaikh Saad,
telling him that a funeral was not the occasion to shake hands, the
witnesses said.

The pro-government daily Al-Watan said Shaikh Saad also turned down an
attempted kiss by Arafat.

"Please, please, please, please do not shake hands with me and I will not
shake hands with you. What you did to Kuwait and the Kuwaiti people was not
small," Shaikh Saad reportedly told Arafat.

Kuwait accused the Palestinians of supporting Iraq following its invasion
of the emirate in August 1990 and it expelled hundreds of thousands of
Palestinian and Jordanian workers, most of them also of Palestinian origin.

The emirate has this year restored normal ties with Jordan, Yemen and
Sudan, the other Arab states accused of backing Saddam in his seven-month
occupation of Kuwait, but relations with the Palestinians remain frozen.

http://www.arabia.com/content/news/7_99/kuwait27.shtml

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - LunarImpact website
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 20:17:19 +0000

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

NASA Space Science News for July 27, 1999

Web Site Announcement: LunarImpact.com is a new Science@NASA site
devoted to the end of the Lunar Prospector mission. It includes
science news, images and animations, and tips for amateur astronomers
wishing to observe the spacecraft's scheduled crash into the Moon on
July, 31. See http://www.LunarImpact.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - U.N. warns of 'unprecedented' drought in the Middle
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 16:31:52 -0500

From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>

U.N. warns of 'unprecedented' drought in the Middle East

July 27, 1999

ROME (AFP) - The United Nations Food and Agriculture Programme
on Monday warned of "unprecedented drought" in the Middle East,
where rice and cereal production is expected to drop by 16 per cent
this year. The worst-affected countries are Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Syria,
the organisation said.

The rice and cereal harvest is expected to be 52.4 million tonnes this
year, a drop of 16 per cent on 1998. Grain exports are likely to drop 51
per cent to 2.4 million tonnes, the organisation said. Turkey, which
accounts for about 50 per cent of the region's grain production, is
expected to see its harvest fall by nine per cent this year. Cereal
imports are expected to rise 13 per cent, the U.N. organisation said,
adding the food imports would hit the region's foreign exchange
reserves.

via: Newmill <hblonde1@tampabay.rr.com>

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Millennium Thames Will Be a River of Fire
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 16:31:52 -0500

From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>

Millennium Thames Will Be a River of Fire

July 27, 1999 - UK Telegraph

THE Thames in London will become a "river of fire" when the
Millennium arrives, with nearly four miles being set alight.

Just after midnight, the first of 2,000 firework candles will be set off,
creating the illusion of a single and continuous 200ft high flame that
will sweep from Tower Bridge to Vauxhall Bridge in under 11 seconds.
Described by the promoters as a "stunning pyrotechnic moment", the
flame will be visible from space. It will burn for about 20 seconds as
Big Ben completes the chimes at midnight.

After a short pause, there will be a 15-minute firework display which
the organisers claim will be the most spectacular seen in the capital.
Negotiations have already started with the Port of London Authority
to ensure that party cruisers will be found safe moorings during the
pyrotechnics.

via: Newmill <hblonde1@tampabay.rr.com>