To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - June 23, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 08:25:21 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
7:00 PM Eastern
HIST - 20TH CENTURY - Search for peace in Middle East
9:00
PBS - AFTER STONEWALL: FROM THE RIOTS TO THE MILLENNIUM -
The 1969 Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village mark the
beginning of a chronicle of homosexual life up to the end of
the century.(CC)(TV14)
DISC - DISCOVER MAGAZINE - "Bloodsuckers" - The
American vampire; fleas as a weapon; vampire bats may hold
the key to treating heart disease; a leech
farm.(CC)
HIST - EMPIRES OF INDUSTRY - "Leaves of Gold" -
Tobacco.(CC)(TVG)
TLC - WAR AND CIVILIZATION - "Blood and Iron" - Trains,
telegraph and rapid-fire weapons; Crimean War; Civil War;
Prussian efficiency unites Germany.(CC)(TVPG)
9:30
TBN - JACK VAN IMPE PRESENTS
10:00
TLC - CONNECTIONS 3 - "In Touch" - Nuclear fusion;
the Eiffel Tower; oceanography.(CC)(TVG)
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (6/22/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 08:57:08 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Partnership agreement signed between EU, Egypt
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arabic News
Tue Jun 22,1999 -- The foreign ministers of the European Union on
Monday in Luxembourg signed the text of a partnership agreement
between the EU and Egypt with the objective of strengthening trade and
political cooperation between the two sides. The agreement provides
opportunities for trade openness and cooperation in various economic
and financial realms as well deepening the political dialogue and
unifying the efforts of the two sides in the area of fighting
terrorism. The EU has signed similar agreements in the course of the
Euro-Mediterranean partnership with Tunisia, Morocco, the Palestinian
Authority and Jordan.
Russia is seen as renewed threat by Turkey
Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: World Tribune.com
Tue Jun 22,1999 -- Russia has become a major threat to Turkey's
security as Moscow arms Ankara's enemies and supports Iran's missile
program, a leading strategist says. Gunduz Aktan, director of the
Istanbul-based Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, told a
Tel Aviv University conference on Turkey that Russia has resumed the
hostile role played by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. "Russia
is once more becoming a major threat to Turkish security," Aktan said.
"It has relationships with Armenia and Georgia. It is very active in
Iran, providing missile technology to Tehran. It has provided the
S-300 [anti-aircraft] missiles to Cyprus." Aktan pointed to Iran's
Shihab-3 missile program, with a range of 1,300 kilometers, which can
strike large parts of Turkey as well as targets in Israel, an ally of
Ankara. The strategist, however, did not forsee a military conflict
with Tehran. "We have stable borders with Iran," Aktan said. "That
frontier is very important to us." Aktan said Iran fears a Turkish
response to any attack. He said half of Iran's population is of
Turkish descent and Tehran fears a resurgence of ethnic feelings. But
Aktan said Tehran will continue to probe Turkey's weak spots,
including providing aid to the Kurdish Workers Party, PKK. Last week,
Abdulaziz Tunc, a member of the Hizbullah organization, has confessed
to his Turkish captors that Iran is offering various sorts of training
to members. Hizbullah, which is not connected to the Lebanese Shi'ite
organization, advocates the establishment of an Iranian-style Kurdish
state in southeastern Turkey.
PA furious over Israel's flag boycott
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz
Tue Jun 22,1999 -- The Palestinian Authority is threatening a protest
action over Israel's refusal to hoist the PA's flag along with those
of other countries at the Technology ?99 exhibition, which opened
yesterday in Tel Aviv. This is the first time the PA has had its own
booth at the event. Shosh Berlinsky, director general of the
Exhibitions Center, which organized the event, explained that the
organizers had chosen only to display countries' flags. The exhibition
is expected to be visited by delegations from Qatar, Jordan and
Morocco ? who have skipped the last few years.
Gays to show off their pride at Knesset today
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz
Tue Jun 22,1999 -- Dozens of homosexual men and women will meet at the
Knesset this morning to celebrate "Gay Pride Day." The sixth-annual
gathering has angered representatives of the ultra-Orthodox parties
and some ultra-Orthodox MKs have announced that they will boycott the
Knesset during the event (scheduled for 11 A.M. to 1 P.M.). MK Shmuel
Halpert (United Torah Judaism) said that this "blasphemous" event
denigrates the Knesset: "We don't need to accommodate this abomination
and filth. I don't want to come near them." Professor Uzi Even, who
first announced his homosexuality at a previous Knesset event, is one
of the speakers slated to address the gathering. Nicole Brenner-Kadish
is also scheduled to speak.
'Last' Jew vanishes in Kabul
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz
Tue Jun 22,1999 -- Jews of Afghani descent around the world are
concerned about the fate of two Jews who have disappeared in
Afghanistan, one of them reportedly the last Jew living in the country
and the other an emissary who had tried to get him out. According to
information received by Afghani-Jewish activists in the US, the two
were arrested by the Taliban's men and have not been heard from since.
The two abducted men have family in Israel, and officials at the
Foreign Ministry say they have received similar information and are in
the process of verifying it. Michael Cohen, one of the U.S.-based
activists, told Ha'aretz that Yitzhak Levi, a Jew in his 60s, was the
last known Jew in Afghanistan. He lived in an old synagogue in the
capital, Kabul, with a Torah scroll and a few other religious
articles. According to Cohen, Levi got along well with his Muslim
neighbors, and had few problems until new neighbors, intimates of the
Taliban government, demanded that he convert to Islam. When he
refused, they beat him. When Afghani-Jewish activists got wind of the
goings on, they pulled all the strings at their disposal to help
Cohen, and the harassment reportedly stopped. Meanwhile, some three
weeks ago, a Jew named Aharon Siman-Tov made his way, apparently
through Pakistan, to Levi. Though it is not yet clear, it is generally
believed that he had intended to bring Levi out of Afghanistan with
the Torah scroll and other religious artifacts. When neighbors found
out what was going on, they prevented the two men from leaving and
called the authorities. Since then, there has been no word from Levi
or Siman-Tov. Cohen has tried to talk with the unofficial
representative of the Taliban in the U.S., but without success.
Water provides tensions for tensions in Galilee
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: http://www.a7.org/news.htm
Tue Jun 22,1999 -- Negev farmers demonstrated once again yesterday
against the Mekorot national water company's plans to enforce
water-usage quotas. Hillel Glassman of the Israel Nature Reserves and
Parks Authority explained to Arutz-7, however, that Israel's water
resources are in dire need of conservation. "The flow in many springs
has decreased by one-half or more," Glassman said. "We predict that by
August, important sites on the Jordan River will be unable to support
its share of tourists." News Editor Haggai Segal sympathized, "This is
of course most unfortunate, but farmers will tell you that it is more
important to eat than to enjoy nature. It may be dryer this summer,
and kayaks won't be able to ride the Jordan - but tomatoes are more
important." Glassman responded, "Water is a resource that must be
divided up among many national needs. I am not belittling the farmers'
requirements, but let's not forget that water provides vital tourist
income and jobs in Israel's many outdoor sites, and that tourism has
seen tremendous growth over the past decade. Water also feeds streams,
trees and nature in general. Farmers, on the other hand, can and will
be issued compensation for the damage caused. Nature cannot be
compensated in the same way. We are already witness to serious damage
in water sources in the Western Galilee," Glassman explained. He
agreed that "nature recovers," but added, "We have the ability to plan
ahead, such that we need not allow the situation to deteriorate and
make it more difficult to recover." In a related item, the Yesha
Council responded today to Palestinian accusations about an
Israeli-caused water shortage in Arab villages. "Reports of a water
shortage in the autonomous areas," states a Council press release,
"are not only unfounded, but also represent blatant propaganda. They
are meant to deflect attention from the lack of proper piping and
water distribution in the PA, and instead focus blame on the Jewish
communities of Yesha. The Oslo Accords stipulate that the
infrastructure and distribution of water in the autonomous areas are
both entirely the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority."
Russia seeks more influence in Caucasus
Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: (Stratfor Report)
Tue Jun 22,1999 -- In the wake of a series of clashes between Armenian
and Azeri forces last week and over the weekend, Baku has charged
Moscow with destabilizing the Caucasus in a deliberate attempt to keep
Azerbaijan under Russian influence. The Azeri Defense Ministry
specifically condemned Russia for supplying arms to Armenia, arguing
that this helped fuel the recent clashes. As if to underscore Baku's
charges, four Russian MiG-29 fighter aircraft arrived in Yerevan on
June 21, part of a Russian fighter group that, according to Armenian
officials, is being deployed to Armenia in the context of a CIS air
defense framework. However, Russia's decision to deploy the jets is
far from a benign matter of collective defense, as some of the
fighters have already overflown contested territory currently held by
Azerbaijan. And further emphasizing the political message behind the
Russian deployment, Moscow apparently chose not to alert Tbilisi
before the latest four MiGs passed over Georgian territory. Russia may
have been treated as politically and militarily impotent by the West
throughout the Kosovo crisis, but Moscow is not ready to let the same
thing occur on its own immediate periphery. Russia's current concern
and area of direct competition with Western interests is the Caucasus
region. There, CIS members Georgia and Azerbaijan have been daily
sliding farther from Moscow's sway, while eagerly reaching to NATO to
support them in their move. Both countries opted out of the CIS
Collective Security Treaty and both are part of GUUAM, a regional
organization of Western-oriented CIS members increasingly evolving
from an economic cooperation forum to a NATO-affiliated security
alliance. At stake is not only a significant portion of Russia's
geographic buffer - and conduit - to the Middle East, but also an
economically vital gateway to Central Asia's oil and gas reserves.
With the true nature of its relations with the West brought into sharp
focus during the Kosovo crisis, Russia appears to be moving quickly to
stave off a similar outcome in the Caucasus. With NATO only beginning
to develop relations in the region, Russia seems willing to go so far
as to fuel conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and, according to
previous reports, to back efforts to assassinate Georgia's president,
in order to keep those relations from taking hold.
Simulated peace talks held in Sweden
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire
Tue Jun 22,1999 -- An Israeli-PLO Authority (PA) negotiating team was
convened over the weekend in Sweden to simulate possible scenarios in
the upcoming peace talks, Ma'ariv reported. The convention is private,
and sponsored by Ofsala University. The Israeli delegates include the
former political advisor to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Dr. Uzi
Arad; former head of the General Security Services Carmi Gilon; former
Ambassador to South Africa Dr. Alon Liel; Dr. Mark Heller from the
Center for Strategy Research; as well as Knesset Members Dan Meridor,
Meir Sheetrit and Michael Eitan. The PA side includes Faisal Husseini,
head of the Panorama Research Center Dr. Riad Malci, and Dr. Manuel
Hasasian, the President of Bethlehem University.
In Future Pacts, Arab States Will Have to Compensate Jews Who Left
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire
Tue Jun 22,1999 -- "In the framework of a future arrangement with the
Palestinians for solving the problem of refugees, the Arab states will
have to compensate some 1 million Jews who fled and left behind their
property," said outgoing Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon. Sharon's
remarks came in response to the organizing of a group of Jews from
Arab lands, based in London, which is planning to activate an
international lobby on behalf of compensation. The Foreign Minister
said that the financial arrangement for compensation must be enacted
simultaneously with solving the issue of the Palestinian refugees.
via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Roseanne Wants to Study in Israel
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 07:56:10 -0500
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
Roseanne Wants to Study in Israel
By Jack Katzenell
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, June 22, 1999; 4:54 p.m. EDT
JERUSALEM (AP) -- Comedian and talk show host Roseanne
compared the Bible to a sitcom Tuesday and then cried as Jerusalem's
mayor showed her historic sites of the holy land from the roof of city
hall.
Roseanne and Mayor Ehud Olmert held each other close as he pointed
out the Herodian citadel, the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the
Holy Sepulcher. ``It's amazing! It's amazing,'' she said, ``this small
piece of earth that's holy to three nations.''
The entertainer is in Israel to inaugurate the Jerusalem branch of a
Jewish mysticism school where she studies in Los Angeles. She told
reporters she will return to Jerusalem ``when I can stay forever.''
Asked when that would be, she replied ``well I gotta go home and
pack.'' She said she wants to study Jewish mysticism, known as
Kabbalah, in Jerusalem and has brought all her books with her.
She gave reporters a glimpse of her highly personal brand of Judaism.
``The Bible is very funny ... it's like one great sitcom,'' she said.
Minutes after her emotional reaction to looking at the city, Roseanne
recovered her composure and her quick wit. When a reporter asked
why she had wept, she quipped that the mayor ``was pinching me.''
Turning serious, however, Roseanne said she cried ``Because I'm
Jewish ... because for 46 years I've said `Next year in Jerusalem.'''
(c)1999 The Associated Press
source: http://search.washingtonpost.com/
wp-srv/WAPO/19990622/V000155-062299-idx.html
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Rock of Offense
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 08:49:15 -0500
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
In any Masonic assembly, the name of Jesus is not allowed to be
uttered for fear of "offending" any non-Christian member.
Freemasonry embraces all religions, while supposedly favoring none.
"The religion then of Masonry is pure theism on which its different
members engraft their peculiar opinions, but they are not permitted to
introduce them into the lodge or to connect their truth or falsehood
with the truth of Masonry...A Christian Mason is not permitted to
introduce his own peculiar opinions with regards to Christ's
mediatorial office into the Lodge." (Daniel, John. "Scarlet and the
Beast," Vol. I, p 17; quoting Albert G. Mackey, "Lexicon of
Freemasonry," p. 404.)
Now consider the following verse:
(Rom 9:33) "As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and
rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be
ashamed."
What is especially interesting about the above verse from Romans
9:33, is the spelling of Sion. In the New Testament, all references
which refer to the nation of Israel as Zion are rendered in the English
as Sion, the French spelling of the word. Perhaps it's more than
coincidence that one of the overseers of the translation of the King
James Version was Robert Fludd, Grand Master of the Priory of Sion,
Father of Rosicrucian-English Freemasonry. (cf. Daniel, pp. 100, 113)
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz 7 News items (6/23/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 16:00:56 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
PA NOT FULFILLING WATER OBLIGATIONS
Not only are the Palestinian accusations against Israel regarding
water supply totally false, but the Palestinian Authority is not
adhering to its own Oslo commitments in this matter. So say
high-ranking officials in the Civil Administration in Judea and
Samaria. The Administration cut off three illegal Palestinian water
connections in the Hevron area two days ago, prompting the PA to blame
Israel for "trying to dry up the Palestinians." Arutz-7's
correspondent Haggai Huberman said that the opposite is true:
"The Civil Administration specifically decided this week that despite
the
general water shortage in the area, and despite the fact that Israel
has reduced water quotas to some Israeli settlements, and even to
Jordan, it continues to allow the required amount of water to stream
freely in the autonomous areas. The PA, on the other hand, has not
fulfilled its own water-related obligations. For instance, the
Palestinians received rights to parts of the eastern aquifer, near the
Herodion (east of Gush Etzion), in return for which the PA was to
develop more water sources there and construct a piping system to
improve supply to Bethlehem and Hevron - but this has not been done.
There are many other similar examples, where the PA received funds
from the contributing countries to upgrade the water infrastructure in
the autonomy, but did not do so."
PA WILL PREVENT JEWISH PRAYER AT MACHPELAH TOMBS
Hevron's Deputy Mayor Kamal Dweik provided some insights yesterday
into how the Machpelah Cave - one of Judaism's most ancient and holy
sites - will look if Hevron is abandoned by Israel. "It is a mosque,
not a synagogue," Dweik said, explaining why Jewish prayer would not
be allowed. "It will be open to all visitors. It will not be
divided. It is a mosque. Not a church. Not a synagogue. It is a
mosque. It will be returned to being a mosque and the Jews who want
to visit the mosque are welcome [but not to pray]. Jewish prayer
would mean that it is a synagogue... And we refuse this thing. But to
visit the Tomb of Abraham and the others, as visitors, that's OK."
The Bible recounts that six of Judaism's Patriarchs and Matriarchs -
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Leah - are buried at the
Machpelah Cave, which was bought "for the full price" by Abraham for
the purpose. Interviewer Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA asked Dweik, "Would
you expect there to be a set-up again for the Jews to pray outside the
building?" The Deputy Mayor responded, "Before 1948 the Jews were
praying outside. Nobody said no." He said that this would be the
arrangement under Palestinian Authority rule.
CELL-SIZE COMPUTERS
The Bi-Weekly Economic Update reports that a general-purpose computer,
very similar to biomolecular mechanisms of the living cell, has been
developed at Rechovot's Weizmann Institute. Scientists expect that a
future version of the device may actually lead to the construction of
tiny computers - smaller than human cells - that may be able to
operate in the human body and interact with the body's biochemical
environment. Far-reaching biological and pharmaceutical ramifications
are foreseen.
Also from the Bi-Weekly Economic Update: Scientists at a Hebrew
University research center in Rehovot have succeeded in inserting a
cellulose binding gene into plant cells, accelerating tree and plant
growth by up to 50%. The insertion of the CBD gene will enable
restoration of devastated rain forests worldwide. Israel's CBD
Technologies expects the technique to enter the commercial market
within five years.
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.a7.org>
Wednesday, June 23, 1999 / Tammuz 9, 5759
--- 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: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 17:30:01 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
FEW MANAGERS SAY THEY EXPECT YEAR 2000 GLITCHES
Eighty-three percent of executives surveyed in a CIO Magazine
poll released Monday said they are confident that Y2K glitches
will have little to no impact on their business. Nearly 42
percent of respondents said they had become more optimistic in
the past three months, while only 4.2 percent said they had
become more pessimistic. The survey was conducted in conjunction with
the Information Systems Audit and Control Association and a Y2K
clearinghouse run by Deutsche Bank Securities chief economist Edward
Yardeni. Both Yardeni and CIO editor Gary Beach are known for being
Y2K pessimists who believe companies are underestimating the problem.
Yardeni noted that the poll's optimistic tone may have been slanted by
the fact that the majority of the companies polled were in the
financial industry, which is further along than most in their Y2K
preparations. (New York Times 06/21/99)
LAGGING ON YEAR 2000 BUG, RUSSIA STARTS MAJOR EFFORT
Russia has begun a major effort to become Y2K-compliant after a
slow awakening to the dangers of the computer bug. Initially,
much of the nation avoided repairs due to extreme financial
difficulties and at times because of the misguided belief that
the bug would pose no threat to Russian computer systems. Yet in
time, government-ordered technology inspections found that major
repairs totaling $1 billion to $3 billion are needed, comprising
nearly one-seventh of the country's already tight budget. Furthermore,
many repairs cannot be made; while two-thirds of desktop computers
need repair, many manufacturers have gone out of business or lack the
sales records to notify the owners. Many software programs for
personal or small business use are bootlegged, while military and
industrial tasks often rely on programs written decades ago by
technicians that have since left the country. (New York Times
06/23/99)
via: EDUCAUSE <EDUCAUSE@EDUCAUSE.EDU>
Edupage, 23 June 1999
--------------------
ISRAEL AMONG TOP COUNTRIES IN Y2K PREPAREDNESS
Israel is among the 12 most prepared nations in the world for the
Year
2000 bug, according to a report published on Tuesday at the second
International Conference of Y2K Coordinators, HA'ARETZ reported.
World Bank experts divided the nations of the world into four
groups,
according to the expected rate of Y2K problems. Israel was grouped
with the United States in the first group, nations whose rate of Y2K
problems was estimated to be 15 percent.
Most of the United Nation's member-nations sent representatives to
discuss
government, economic, and emergency services' readiness for the Y2K
bug. Israel's team was headed by Rafi Peled, chair of the Israel
Electric Company and coordinator of the Y2K coordination effort.
Arab representatives to the UN conference were outraged to find the
Israeli representatives grouped together with them in the Middle East
and North African group. Israeli representatives who arrived for the
final discussion on Monday found themselves waiting in an empty room
for two-and-a-half hours while Arab representatives stood at the door
and refused to go in until the Israelis left, thereby canceling the
discussion.
MA'ARIV reported that Israeli Ambassador to the UN Dore Gold
expressed his
disappointment with the Arab representatives' behavior. He said that
instead breaking down barriers, the Arab missions are creating new
ones.
via: Consulate of Israel - New York <nycon@interport.net>
Israel Line 06-23-99
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - September 11, 1999
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 09:10:19 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Note from Bill Koenig:
I have posted at the web site (http://watch.org) Author Bonnie
Gaunt's Exodus 19 and 20 Bible Code findings. She has determined
that September 11, 1999, could possibly be the day of the rapture.
(She uses the Bible Code Plus 99 software.)
I would also like to add, I am a watchman, who is watching for
things to share with you. I am not endorsing Bonnie's material, but
only sharing this part of her extensive work with you for your
thoughts and prayer.
There is risk in furnishing information like this, but I would feel
remiss if didn't provide it to you.
I am not going to allow the potential concern over it's abuse keep me
from sharing this information with responsible people like you. This
is not date setting, this is the sharing of a possibility.
Bonnie found September 11, 1999, by backing into the date. She
entered 1st Tishri (the first day of the Jewish year), 5760 (the
Jewish year 5760 + 240 years (Persian rule) equal 6000 gentile years),
six days, Sabbath (twice), etc..
She then found other words (come with me, deliverance, to reign,
return, bride, went up and rapture) to come up with the conclusion
that the "rapture" could be on September 11, 1999.
In Bonnie's book "The Coming of Jesus" (a 218 page book published by
Adventures Unlimited Press) she also goes into great detail on her
multiple reasons that this coming Rosh Hashanah is the 6000th
anniversary of Adam. (We have her book available in Online Shopping
http://watch.org/catalog/.)
However, I think you need to read the material and pray about it. Ask
the Lord to guide you on this. This information was produced by one of
the top Bible Code experts in the world. It has incredible potential
implications.
IF BONNIE IS WRONG, THE FOLLOWING IS HER VIEW
"One of the most important things that I was taught, as a child,
was that `prophecy is best understood after it is fulfilled.' I had
good mentors. The concept of this book are only a perception of
prophecy. The good news is that we do not have long to find out
whether they are true or false. Because many predictions of the past
have failed to materialize as suggested, many authors of eschatology
today are shy of putting their beliefs out there where all can see
them fail, I run the same risk but that is OK. I feel it is important
to let the Word of God speak, and if I have interpreted incorrectly
the Word of God remains true, for which I praise Him!"
YACOV RAMBSEL'S THOUGHTS ON SEPTEMBER 11, 1999
Yacov Rambsel has not confirmed September 11, 1999. He did say "it is
a possible rapture day." He does believes the rapture is imminent;
very likely this year. He said what he found in his code research
(performed without a computer) was the proximity "over and over" of
the words "rapture, computer and deliverance" in the Old Testament.
Also, next to these words, were found "Jesus" and the word "mercy."
Yacov also said there are seven raptures (the taking away) in the
Bible. They are Enoch, Elijah, Jesus, the Church, the two witnesses,
the 144,000 and the tribulations saints.
He also said the rapture of the church does not necessarily have to
happen on a Jewish holiday and that it could happen at any time.
Yacov also said, in response to the comments that no one knows the
date or the hour, if the rapture took place at the stroke of midnight
in Israel, in other parts of the world it would be a different day,
thus no one knows the exact day. It would also take place at a
different hour in different places, thus no one knows the hour. This
might be simplistic but he said Noah knew just before the flood. He
feels the "believers" will know just before the rapture too.
HOW TO ACCESS THE EXODUS 19 AND 20 MATERIAL.
First of all, if you don't have Acrobat Reader on your computer you
can download it for "free" by clicking on this link
(http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html.) (Many of you
already have Acrobat, because a lot of groups on the Internet use it
for document downloading. We used it because of the Hebrew fonts and
the matrix could be included.)
AFTER DOWNLOADING:
After downloading click on this link
(http://watch.org/images/exodus.pdf.) to go right into Bonnie's
Exodus 19 and 20 material.
You can also access it under the Prayer, Devotion and Prophecy
section at our website http://watch.org. (then under Torah Code /
Bible Code link)
via: "Koenig's International News" <bill@watch.org>
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Far side of the sun
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 09:18:54 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
N. 24-99 - Paris, 22 June
1999
------------------------------------
ANOTHER WINDFALL DISCOVERY FROM SOHO
------------------------------------
SOHO shows us the far side of the sun!
A truly astounding discovery about our sun is to be unveiled by a
European team of scientists headed by Jean Loup Bertaux, of the CNRS
Service d'Aronomie in France, when he reports to the SOHO-8* workshop
in Paris (22 to 25 June). They have found a way of studying the hidden
far side of the sun, allowing us, among other things, to predict the
imminent appearance of solar storms originating out of view behind the
sun.
Bertaux will present a compelling video sequence based on images
captured by SOHO using an instrument called SWAN. It shows how
projections of sunspots on the far side of the sun rotate through the
sky in time with the sun's own rotation, ultimately emerging on the
eastern (left-hand) side of its visible surface. This intriguing
discovery could be used to predict the solar storms that periodically
threaten the Earth.
"Strong ultraviolet emissions from active regions at the back of the
sun behave like the beams of a lighthouse sweeping over the sea",
explains Bertaux, who is Principal Investigator for SWAN. "The 'beams'
rotate through the sky with the sun," taking approximately 28 days to
complete one cycle, "and allow us to monitor activity on the far side
of the sun without observing it directly. This method could be used in
future studies on space weather, which is capable of disrupting
orbiting satellites and earth-based electronics."
"SOHO has allowed us to study the sun extensively, from its interior
to the space surrounding it. It is fascinating to think that now we
can detect what's coming at us from the other side of the sun", says
Martin Huber, Head of ESA's Space Science Department.
SOHO sees the shadow cast in space by a passing comet
SWAN (short for Solar Wind ANisotropies) was designed to create an
ultraviolet map of the entire sky. It has chalked up another first by
recording the biggest shadow ever observed in our solar system: the
shadow of a passing comet.
Although most of the hydrogen atoms in the solar system blow in from
interstellar space, comets are surrounded by large hydrogen clouds of
their own. When comet Hale-Bopp blazed past the sun in 1997, sporting
a tail 100 million kilometres in length, SOHO was on duty in orbit.
Scientists studying the data recorded by SWAN have now detected a
remarkable, hitherto unknown feature: the comet cast a shadow more
than 150 million km long on the sky behind it.
"This allows us to calculate directly the amount of hydrogen and water
released by the comet, about 300 tonnes per second," says Jean Loup
Bertaux.
Roger Bonnet, Director of ESA's Scientific Programme, expressed his
appreciation for the SOHO results: "After many years, SOHO is still
at work and fully operational. As in the case of the comet's shadow,
it keeps making discoveries and amazing observations."
Says Bernhard Fleck, SOHO Project Scientist for ESA: "The nice thing
about this discovery is that with SOHO we're not just confined to
studying the sun. Here we are contributing to a different and
intriguing field. We are learning more about comets and their
physics."
Note for editors :
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a project of
international cooperation between ESA and NASA. The spacecraft was
launched by an Atlas rocket from Cape Canaveral on 2 December 1995.
More information can be found on the SOHO website at :
http://sohowww.estec.esa.nl
Images of the far side of the sun and the comet's shadow are available
at: http://sci.esa.int/soho.
For more information, please contact :
ESA Public Relations Division
Tel: +33(0)1.53.69.7155
Fax: +33(0)1.53.69.7690
Jean-Loup Bertaux
Service d'Aeonomie du CNRS
BP 3
91371-Verrires le Buisson Cedex, France
Tel: +33(0)1.64.47.42.51
e-mail: bertaux@aerov.jussieu.fr
Bernhard Fleck
ESA SOHO Project Scientist
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Tel: ++1 (301) 286-4098
e-mail: bfleck@esa.nascom.nasa.gov
- The SOHO-8 meeting is the eighth in a series of SOHO
workshops. It
will be held in Paris (CAP 15, 1-13, Quai de Grenelle, 75015-PARIS)
from 22 to 25 June 1999. Over 200 scientists from around the world
will discuss their findings on the dynamics and diagnostics of the
solar transition region and corona.
via: SEDSNEWS@listserv.tamu.edu
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Ancient Factory Discovered in Israel
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 09:22:26 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/ap/international/
story.html?s=v/ap/199906 23/wl/israel_archaeology_2.html
Ancient Factory Discovered in Israel
.c The Associated Press
JERUSALEM (AP) - Archaeologists today discovered a 2000-year-old
factory underneath Jerusalem that was used to make tools for a Jewish temple.
An archaeologist involved in the dig told Israel TV that the factory
was the largest series of ancient rooms discovered in Israel.
``In these rooms, dozens of people, expert stone workers, designed
tools, tables, and cups ... from the raw material we are sitting on,''
said Jon Zeligman of the antiquities authority, pointing to soft rock.
Zeligman said the vessels and tools were used for rituals in the
nearby Temple, which was built in the sixth century B.C.
When the temple, known as the Jewish Temple, was destroyed in 70 A.D.,
the factory, located on the edge of Jerusalem's walled Old City, was
abandoned and forgotten - until its discovery Wednesday morning.
via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - China's Major Religions
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 09:27:43 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Thursday, Jun 24 at Prague 03:23 pm, N.Y. 09:23 am
CHINA'S MAJOR RELIGIONS
Religion in China is influenced by three major schools of thought: Taoism,
Confucianism and Buddhism. While Confucianism is a major philosophy and
Buddhism originated in India, Taoism is truly a Chinese religion.
Regardless of their origin, all three major religions are ancient and when
practiced today are deeply intertwined in China's communist ideology.
Taoism and Confucianism have coexisted throughout history are usually
practiced together - either at different times or as different aspects of
the follower's overall life. While Confucianism largely concerns human
society, social relations and individual conduct, Taoism is more
individual and mystic and is greatly influenced by nature. Buddhism, with
an estimated 300 million followers worldwide, is a major world religion.
"The Tao abides in non-action, Yet nothing is left undone." Lao Tzu, the
father of Taoism
According to legend, philosopher Lao Tzu is the founder of Taosim.
Tradition says he was conceived of a shooting star, carried in his
mother's womb for 82 years ands was born a wise old man around 604 B.C.
His name means "Old Sage" or "Great Old Master" in Chinese.
Legends says he worked as a clerk in the imperial archives and was a
friend to Confucius. Towards the end of this life, disillusioned with
humankind, Lao Tzu is said to have journeyed west towards what is now
Tibet to live out the remainder of his life in solitude with nature. He
was stopped by a guard at the border of China and asked to write down his
teachings. The result is "Tao Te Ching" ("Dao De Jing") or "The Way and
Its Power".
The concept of Dao (Tao - the way) is at the center of Taoism, meaning
"the way" or "the path." Dao cannot be perceived because it is invisible,
beyond sense, thought and imagination. It is the driving force and order
behind all life; it is the power of nature and the way of the universe.
Dao is the origin of all creation and force. It is the way to follow to
organize life in harmony with nature and the universe. It can be known
only through mystical insight and cannot be expressed in words or writing.
It is the union of the Yin and the Yang, dual elements united perfectly in
a circle.
Behind the philosophical expression, there is a strong political meaning:
the emperor has Dao and therefore rules the world. The word Dao is often
presented with the character De, which means the power of the universe.
Taoist ideas inspired a love of nature and an intense affirmation for life
-- physical health, vitality, longevity and even immortality. Early
Taoists used their knowledge of Dao to enhance and prolong life by
experimenting with herbal medicine and pharmacology, developing
macrobiotic and other healthy diets, and creating systems of massage,
exercise and meditation to keep the body healthy and strong.
This association with alchemy and immortality attracted the attention of
Chinese emperors long before Confucianism was adopted as the national
religion.
Today Taoism is alive as a popular belief among Chinese people around the
world. It covers a wide variety of gods, magic ceremonies and powers and
sorcery. It is extremely popular in rural areas, but also plays an
important role in the everyday lives of city dwellers. Fortune tellers are
often still consulted for every major event, including weddings, opening
new offices, and the signing of business contracts.
Confucianism, which originates from around the same time period as Taoism,
is more of a social and ethical philosophy than a religion.
It takes it name from Kongzi, known in the West as Confucius, who was born
in 551 BC in the current Shandong province. His philosophy was adopted as
a state religion until the end of the last Qing Dynasty in1911.
Confucius is said to have held government aspirations, but never managed
to hold a post high enough to have any influence. He never intended to
found a new religion, his wish was to reorder society through
administration. Never having this opportunity, at the age of 50 Confucius
took to the streets offering unsolicited advice about how to structure
government and administration bodies. He wandered for 13 years and then
returned to spend the last years of his life teaching and editing. Only
after his death did Confucianism begin to take hold of life in China.
Beginning in the Han Dynasty, under Emperor Wu (140- 87 B.C.) Confucianism
became accepted as state ideology and orthodoxy.
Confucianism is based on the idea of respect for oneself and others.
Inspired by his own experiences of the local wars devastating the Spring
and Autumn period (722-481 B.C.), Kongzi figured the only way to stop the
constant conflicts in this period was to introduce the concept of humanity
to his fellow people. Believing China had once witnessed a time of peace
and abundance when people had lived in harmony, Confucius advocated a
return to tradition and family values. In order to achieve collective
well-being, these morals were instilled in the population through every
aspect of life - much the same way Communism was later to be pounded into
the hearts and minds of the Chinese.
The emperor was considered the embodiment of Confucian wisdom and virtue,
total respect was due to him. Along the same lines, children respect
parents, wives their husbands and the young the old. This strong hierarchy
became the canon of political rule during the Song Dynasty (A.D. 960-
1279). The concept of family is central to Confucianism, generating a high
standard for family interaction through mutual respect, love and
consideration for the needs of others. Much respect is paid to ancestors
and the elderly, as they retain the most wisdom.
Today new Confucianism has been adopted in Singapore, and is often quoted
in mainland China.
Buddhism was founded in India in the sixth century B.C. by Siddhartha
Gautama. Siddhartha was born in 563 B.C. to a royal family in the
foothills of the Himalayas, in present-day Nepal. Before his birth, his
parents had a premonition their son would grow up to be either a king or
become the Enlightened One. Preferring the first option, Siddhartha's
parents kept him inside the walls of their kingdom, sheltered from the
real world.
One day around the time he was 30, Siddhartha ventured beyond the walls of
his family's confine and for the first time saw an old, sick dying man.
Shocked by what he saw, the young man renounced all worldly goods and left
home to wander in suffering in order to gain spiritual enlightenment.
After wandering and suffering without success, a confused Siddhartha
decided to sit under a Bodhi (Banyan) tree until he achieved
enlightenment.
After sitting and mediating for many hours, suddenly enlightenment came to
the young man and he became the Buddha, the Enlightened One.
The main concept of Buddhism is liberation of the soul to achieve
enlightenment. Life is made of suffering because people are tortured by
desire. The aim is to overcome desire and enter nirvana, a state of
complete freedom. Realizing the self-destructiveness of denying desire and
the misery of always following it, Buddha realized there is a middle path.
Until his death in 480 B.C. at the age of 80, Buddha taught that all life
is suffering, that suffering is caused by desire and that suffering can
only end when desire stops. Buddha taught that a path exists through which
the end to suffering can be attained. Buddhism expanded throughout China
from the third to sixth century. Chinese emperors sent missions to India
to collect original texts and ordered the translation from Sanskrit to
Chinese.
Today Buddhism is split into several major schools: Theravada, also called
Hinayana, Mahayana, Mantrayana and Zen. Theravada Buddhism or "Little
Vehicle," is more conservative and stresses that the path to nirvana - the
end of all suffering - is an individual pursuit. This school teaches that
individuals are alone in the world and that Buddha can only show the way.
The Mahayana, or the "Great Vehicle", believes all lives are part of one
whole and that therefore the fate of one individual is linked to the fate
of others. Mantrayana has a structure of spiritual leaders and disciples
and uses a variety of evil spirits, deities, magic and secret rituals. Zen
Buddhism concentrates on intuition and is similar to Mahayana Buddhism.
Karma is a central belief in Buddhism, the belief that all beings are
caught up in a cycle of rebirth, a labyrinth of suffering in which their
actions keep them wandering until nirvana is found.
Lamaist or Tantric Buddhism, practiced in Tibet, follows from the Mahayana
school. It started in the seventh century A.D. Lamaist Buddhism is more
mystical than other forms of the religion and relies more on sacred
speech, art and ritual positions. The Dalai Lama, currently living in
exile in India, is the chief of Lamaist Buddhism.
http://www.insidechina.com/culture/relig.php3
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (6/23/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 09:33:00 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Jordan faces unprecedented drought
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arabic News
Wed Jun 23,1999 -- An official at the Jordanian Ministry of
Agriculture, Mazin al-Khasawenah, said Jordan is currently facing an
unprecedented drought, a situation which greatly affects agricultural
crops. In an interview with Monte Carlo Radio on Tuesday, the
Jordanian official stated that the damage resulting from the drought
for this year is estimated at more than US $200 million. The Jordanian
official added that the Jordanian government has taken a series of
measures and plans in order to alleviate the consequences of the
drought on crops and fruit trees.
Jerusalem Mufti says Israel is forcing Jerusalem away from its Arab
identity
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arabic News
Wed Jun 23,1999 -- Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, general Mufti of Jerusalem,
warned against Israel's attempts to Judaize the city of Jerusalem. In
press statements to ArabicNews.com on the margin of the 11th
conference of the supreme council for Islamic affairs, currently
underway in Cairo, he said, "Jerusalem is besieged by Judaization and
Westernization in a studied plan to move it away from its Arab Islamic
roots that extend in history." He said, "Israel tries subjecting
Jerusalem by force to accept its civilization that aims at canceling
the past and imposing the fait accompli." Sabri said in the 11th
conference for the Supreme Council on Islamic Affairs that expelling
the inhabitants from their houses under weak pretexts is not
acceptable by any religion or law. He added that the current year has
witnessed the withdrawal of the identities of nearly 1,260 of
Jerusalem's inhabitants, and that tens of houses were destroyed at a
time in which not hundreds but thousands of settlement housing units
are built for new Jewish immigrants from all over the world.
US, European envoys start regional tour
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arabic News
Wed Jun 23,1999 -- An Arab official source told ArabicNews.com that
the US and European envoys for the Middle East peace process will
start a tour in the region soon that will include countries concerned
with the peace process, including Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Israel and the
Palestinian territories. The source said that the tour will focus on
means of reviving the peace process and negotiations on all tracks and
that Dennis Ross and Miguel Moratinos are carrying important ideas,
whether for the Syrian or the Palestinian tracks. The source also
stated that the two envoys are trying to persuade Israeli Prime
Minister-elect Ehud Barak's coming government to resume the peace
process on all tracks and to give priority to the agreements signed
between the Palestinians and Israel to start seriously implementing
them, which could give an indicator of Barak's government's
seriousness as well as tempting the Syrians to return to negotiations
according to the Madrid formula as it had during Yitzhak Rabin's era.
Barak plans Washington trip to revive peace process
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz
Wed Jun 23,1999 -- Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak plans to visit the
US to discuss reviving Middle East peace talks after he forms his
government, a senior US official said Tuesday. He will receive a warm
reception, free from pressure and harsh deadlines. The source added
that Clinton hopes to be able to host a Middle East summit in
Washington sometime in the fall. Assistant Secretary of State for Near
Eastern Affairs Martin Indyk said the administration was optimistic
that negotiations will get underway quickly after Barak has formed his
government. He told reporters that Barak will be going to Washington
for consultations with the US administration, which wants to work with
Israel and its Arab peace partners to get negotiations underway on all
tracks and to see the implementation of the Wye agreement. No date was
mentioned.
1,000 Christian leaders in Israel for Millennium conference
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire
Wed Jun 23,1999 -- One thousand Christian clergymen and community
leaders from 54 countries, including 40 archbishops and 10 cardinals
will arrived in Israel on Tuesday for an international Christian
conference addressing year 2000 tourism. The conference, organized by
the Vatican's official travel company and Israel 2000, will take place
on June 22-27, '99. Participants will visit Christian holy sites in
Jerusalem, Nazareth, Tiberias and the area around Lake Kinneret, and
Bethlehem and Jericho(in the PLO Authority), as well as the baptismal
site at Qasr al-Yehud, which will be opened especially for them. The
conference will also include masses, prayers, candle marches in
Nazareth and a special prayer service at Capernaum, on the shore of
Lake Kinneret. The visiting leaders will receive a first-hand look at
the preparations for the year 2000 being made by the Israeli
government and they will be able to examine the potential for
pilgrimages by members of their communities. The clergymen and
community leaders will meet with Tourism Minister Moshe Katzav,
Jerusalem Mayor Ehud Olmert, Nazareth Mayor Ramez Jerasi and other
officials involved in the Israel 2000 project.
Presbyterian committee recommends allowing gays and lesbian
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: TampaBay Online
Wed Jun 23,1999 -- Gays and lesbians are one step closer to becoming
part of the Presbyterian church's leadership. In a 24-14 vote on
Tuesday, the Church Orders and Ministry committee recommended striking
a clause from the church's constitution that forbids the ordination of
"self-affirming, practicing homosexuals" to the ministry. The issue
now goes to the full 560-member assembly later this week during the
denomination's annual meeting. Approval would require a simple
majority. If the measure passes, it then goes before the ordained
Presbyterian ministers and elders nationwide for approval. The
majority of 173 presbyteries, or regional governing bodies, must agree
to the change. Opponents have argued the gay lifestyle goes against
biblical principles by which the church should abide. "It is
scandalous to the gospel the way these people behave," the Rev.
Stephen Moss, a committee member, said during the heated debate. "I
know of no other behavior that the scripture forbids that is upheld by
the church as proper."
Iran denies building up it's weapons of mass destruction arsenal
Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: (Stratfor Report)
Wed Jun 23,1999 -- Iranian officials are denying accusations made June
22 by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Martin Indyk that their
country is seeking to build up a weapons of mass destruction arsenal.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, declaring that
his country's armament programs are purely defensive, said, "America's
destructive methods are aimed at diverting public attention from
threats posed by the Zionist (Israel) regime and selling more arms to
the region's countries. But they have no effect or value." Indyk had
told the Gulf Cooperation Council on Tuesday that the United States is
"very concerned" about Iran's program to acquire such weapons and
characterized the situation as an "emerging threat."
via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russia Faces Prospect of Renewed Drought
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 09:41:52 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Thursday, Jun 24 at Prague 03:40 pm, N.Y. 09:40 am .
Russia Faces Prospect Of Renewed Drought
MOSCOW, Jun 24, 1999 -- (Reuters) Russia is facing a drought for the
second year in a row, the State Meteorological Service said on Wednesday.
But the position looked better than in 1998, when the grain harvest fell
to a dangerously low 47.8 million tonnes.
"As compared to last year, the situation is better so far, but we are
unable to make absolutely reliable long-term forecasts," Viktor Strashnoi,
deputy head of the meteorological reports department, told Reuters.
"It may become clearer, perhaps, in 10 days," he added.
But he said hot, dry weather would remain over most of European Russia for
the rest of June except for some southwestern and southern regions, the
southern Urals and in southwestern Siberia and the Russian far east.
Soil drought was expected in most of the North Caucasus except for
Krasnodar Krai and the southwestern half of Stavropol Krai, Strashnoi
said.
It would also affect the southern Volga region, the southeast of the
Central Chernozyom (Black Earth) region, the southern part of the Central
region and parts of Orenburg region and Bashkortostan in the Urals.
Hot, dry weather was expected in July in central and southeastern European
Russia, in the southern Urals, in parts of Western and Eastern Siberia and
parts of the Far East.
Strashnoi forecast the probability of this at 55 to 60 percent.
In August hot dry weather was expected in the Volga region, parts of the
North Caucasus, the central Urals, parts of Western Siberia and in the
southern part of Western Siberia around lake Baikal.
Strashnoi said that hot, dry weather with daytime temperatures of 26 to 33
degrees Celsius had prevailed over European Russia since early June.
In the lower Volga region and the North Caucasus, temperatures were
between 34 and 37 degrees Celsius, and accompanying arid winds were
sharply reducing soil moisture.
Strashnoi agreed that the harvest this year might be lower than expected
but declined to give any figures.
The food and agriculture ministry also declined to comment on the
weather's effect on crops.
"We don't have the full picture. The ministry has requested data from the
regions and is processing it," Vasily Ryabov, deputy head of the plant
cultivation department at the ministry, told Reuters.
The ministry plans for a harvest of more than 70 million tonnes of grains
this year, but independent consultancy SovEcon downgraded its grain
harvest forecast to 60 million tonnes from 65 million tonnes previously,
expecting hot weather to cause losses in some regions. ((c) 1999 Reuters)
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=75221&text
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Egypt's Pyramids Groomed for Millennium
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 10:10:30 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Wednesday, June 23, 1999: The Culture Channel
Egypt's Pyramids Groomed for the Millennium
GIZA, Egypt (Reuters) -- Egypt plans to herald the millennium with a giant
party at the pyramids, the biggest of which is to be capped in gold, as it
may have been long ago.
"Most countries are building monuments for the millennium, but in Egypt we
can boast existing monuments older than two millennia. All they need are
some cosmetic re-touches," said Culture Minister Farouk Hosni.
The Great Pyramid of Cheops, the largest of the three main pyramids, was
reopened this month, along with three tombs and the temple of the Sphinx,
as part of efforts to speed recovery of the tourist industry after the
November 1997 Luxor massacre in which 58 people were killed by Muslim
militants.
Egypt has spent two years restoring monuments at the Giza plateau amid
preparations for millennium festivities that will cost $9.5 million and
include a New Year`s Eve concert at the pyramids by the French musician
Jean-Michel Jarre.
"We chose the Giza plateau as the main venue because it is the most
powerful symbol of time. There is a ninth century Arab adage that says
'Man fears time but time fears the pyramids'," Tourist Minister Mamdouh
el-Beltagi told Reuters.
Helicopter spectacular
On New Year`s Eve a helicopter will place a sheaf of gold on top of the
Great Pyramid in what Zahi Hawass, director of the Giza plateau, calls a
"re-enactment of history", albeit with the help of modern technology.
"We are celebrating the third millennium at the Great Pyramid just as it
happened in ancient Egypt 5,000 years ago," said Hawass.
"We have evidence to show that these gold caps called pyramidions existed
and were placed on pyramid tips," said Kent Weeks, an egyptologist at the
American University in Cairo.
Hawass said recent excavations near the Great Pyramid had unearthed
engraved limestone blocks depicting workmen dragging a gold-capped stone.
"In another scene a group of people are dancing," he said. "I interpret
this as the celebration marking the end of construction. They must have
been pretty happy to finish it!"
According to the Greek historian Herodotus, it took up to 100,000 workers
to build the 137 meter (449 feet) high pyramid in the fourth dynasty of
the Old Kingdom (2,613-2,494 BC), using some 2.3 million stone blocks
weighing 2.5 to 15 tones.
Ravages of tourism
Hawass said the Great Pyramid, the interior of which was reopened to the
public on June 3 after a 14-month break, had needed time to recover from
damage caused by the vapor from tourists.
"We were forced to shut down the pyramid...to let it breathe," he said.
"Now a new ventilation system has increased the flow of fresh air."
Hawass said only 300 tourists a day would be allowed inside the pyramid to
limit damage.
Nearby, the three restored tombs of high-ranking officials and the temple
in front of the 4,500-year-old Sphinx have been restructured according to
their original design.
"The temple of the Sphinx has one of the only chapels in the area for the
ritual of the rising sun and the ritual of the setting sun. This will be
very symbolic when we come to celebrate the millennium," Hawass said.
Militant threat recedes
The government hopes that its millennium celebrations will help rebuild
the tourist industry as it recovers from the Luxor massacre.
"Not only are we promoting the pyramids, but we are also reviving the
itinerary of the Holy Family in Egypt," Beltagi said of the biblical
journey of Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus.
"We want to tell the world that Egypt is a place of peace, stability and
tolerance," Beltagi added.
Militant violence has almost ceased since the Luxor massacre, the
bloodiest attack since Muslim radicals launched an armed struggle for a
purist Islamic state in 1992.
Security has been tightened at archaeological sites across Egypt to
prevent any repeat of the assault at Luxor, where lax policing gave the
gunmen freedom to slaughter at will.
The attack scared away many visitors for a while, but the tourist trade,
worth about $3 billion a year, is showing signs of a quicker recovery than
many analysts had expected.
http://www.arabia.com/content/culture/6_99/pyramid_23.shtml
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - 3-D images with plain light
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 12:32:24 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
http://infoseek.go.com/Content?arn=a1332LBY849reulb-19990624&qt=%2Bsci
entists&sv=IS&lk=noframes&col=NX& kt=A&ak=news1486
- Thursday, June 24, 1999
Illinois team makes 3-D images with plain light
08:54 a.m. Jun 24, 1999 Eastern
By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) - Scientists said on Thursday they had
invented a new kind of camera that takes three-dimensional pictures
using visible light.
It cannot project an image, like a hologram, which uses a laser beam.
But it can create an image that can be viewed in three dimensions on a
computer and even ``walked through'' using virtual reality, the
researchers said.
David Brady of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and
colleagues combined two kinds of technology -- computed tomography
(CT), which is used to scan the inside of the body, and
interferometry, which makes it possible to see an image without
focusing on it.
``The most immediate applications are in microscopy,'' Brady, an
electrical engineer, said in a telephone interview.
CT scanning can do this but it is scanning -- meaning an image is
recorded line by line. Brady's system more resembles photography in
that it records the entire image at once.
So instead of a cell having to be put onto a slide for microscopic
examination, it could be suspended in a droplet and photographed in
real time and in three dimensions.
For everyday consumers, the camera might offer 3-D television without
the need for special glasses. ``You would be able to record everything
in a room and a person would be able to walk in and see everything,''
Brady said.
Writing in the journal Science, Brady's team said they based their
system on the radio interferometry that astronomers use to look at
distant objects in space.
``With interferometric cameras there is no need to focus,'' Brady
said. ``The image is in focus at all depths.''
This can be viewed on a computer screen -- something many people
already do with images taken by digital cameras.
``People think of an image as something that is recorded on film, but
when you go to digital systems there is no reason to think of it that
way at all,'' Brady said.
Brady's research was funded in part by the Department of Defence
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which he
said would like to use it for military applications.
A camera that worked without having to focus would be ``smarter,'' he
said. ``They have cameras spread throughout the world -- a lot more
cameras than people,'' he said. These include camera viewing from
satellites.
``If a missile is flying through the air for example, it makes it
easier to track if you don't have to focus on it.''
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and
redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the
prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any
errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance
thereon.
via: isml@onelist.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israel Line items (6/24/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 12:56:21 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
EFFORTS TO CANCEL U.N. CONFERENCE CONTINUE
The Foreign Ministry is engaged in intensive diplomatic efforts to cancel
an international conference under United Nations auspices that is expected
to condemn Israel for its policies in the West Bank and Gaza, HA'ARETZ
reported. The meeting is scheduled for July 15th in Geneva, and its
cancellation would be viewed, according to HA'ARETZ, as a goodwill gesture
toward the new Israeli government.
It would also be seen as international recognition of Israel's readiness
to move forward with the peace process.
The conference's mandate is to discuss means to enforce application of the
Geneva Convention "on the occupied Palestinian territories including
Jerusalem."
Since 1967, Israel has consistently stated that the Geneva Convention is
not applicable in the West Bank or Gaza. It also maintains that the Geneva
Convention contains no provisions for the July 15th conference, and that
such a conference would constitute a precedent for the political
exploitation of a humanitarian institution. Last week, a preparatory
meeting was convened in Cairo, at the U.N.'s initiative, and anti-Israel
resolutions were adopted.
The United States sided with Israel on the issue, and voted against the
conference at the U.N. The U.S. declared that it would not participate in
the meeting, and called on all other countries to boycott the conference,
which it said, "does not contribute to the peace process."
Two ancient Phoenician ships, 2750 years old, have been found off the
coast of Ashkelon by a team of American oceanographers and archaeologists,
HA'ARETZ reported. These are the oldest vessels ever discovered in the
deep sea and the story behind them will be told by the National
Geographic's first-ever Israeli film project.
via: Consulate of Israel - New York <nycon@interport.net>
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Red Cross predicts climatic super disasters
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 09:03:32 -0500
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
Red Cross predicts climatic super disasters
GENEVA, June 24 (AFP) - The world is heading for a spate of
"super" disasters sparked by a mix of climate change,
environmental damage and population pressures, a Red Cross
report said on Thursday.
The forecast was contained in the World Disasters Report 1999
published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies.
According to the survey, last year's season of natural disasters
was the worst on record, causing more damage than ever before.
Most of the destruction to lives and livelihoods occurred in poor
countries, just as international aid flows continue to plunge, the
report said.
Asia suffered the heaviest toll in terms of fatalities and economic
fall- out, with massive flooding ravaging parts of China,
Blangadesh and Nepal, murderous cyclones in India and two
major earthquakes in Afghanistan.
Of the 60,000 people killed in man-made and natural disasters last
year, half of the victims were in Asia, the federation said.
Hurricane Mitch, the deadliest Atlantic hurricane in 200 years,
was another mega disaster, spawning landslides and floods
mainly in Honduras and Nicaragua that left around 10,000 people
dead.
The Pacific's deadly climatic duo, El Nino and La Nina, wreaked
worldwide havoc, drenching Latin America but bringing drought
to southern and eastern Africa and the worst dry spell in
Indonesia in half a century.
The El nino phenomenon shows "compelling" evidence of trends
towards weather triggered super-disasters, the report said.
The federation noted that the drought in Indonesia set off a
chain reaction of crises from a rice crop failure to massive forest
fires burning out of control, paralysing parts of the country with
a toxic layer of smoke.
"Everyone is aware of the environmental problems of global
warming and deforestation on the one hand, and the social
problems of increasing poverty and growing shanty towns on
the other," said federation president Astrid Heiberg.
"But when these two factors collide, you have a new scale of
catastrophe," she said, adding that the insidious combination
was throwing millions more people into the path of potential
disaster
In 1998, natural disasters created more "refugees" than wars and
conflict as declining soil fertility, drought, flooding and
deforestation drove 25 million people from their land into packed
city slums.
The report warned that emergency aid funding had dropped by
40 percent between 1994 and 1997 from a peak of 3.5 billion
dollars to 2.1 billion as rich countries tightened their purse
strings.
In 1998 alone, more than 700 "large-loss" natural disasters
caused more than 90 billion dollars in economic losses, far
outweighing the insured tally, according to reinsurance firm
MunichRe.
In the case of Hurricane Mitch, only two percent of the estimated
seven billion dollar economic burden was covered, the report
said.
"And that substantial gap will increase as the insurance industry
continues to retreat from the front line of disaster coverage to
escape escalating losses," the federation said.
Insurance cover for floods, deemed the most murderous
catastrophe, is the most scarce.
Floods account for almost half of all economic losses but just 11
percent of insured losses worldwide. In many countries, flood
insurance is simply not available, the report pointed out.
The survey did highlight one bright spot.
Data contained in the report showed evidence that higher
investment in disaster preparedness pays off.
For instance in China, a recent analysis of disaster preparedness
indicated that 3.5 billion dollars invested in flood control over the
last 40 years had saved the economy 12 billion dollars in
potential losses.
Source: http://asia.yahoo.com/headlines/230699
/world/930152100-90623153512.newsworld.html
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Historic designation awarded for homosexual bar
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 17:51:07 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
From: http://www.washtimes.com/nation/nation1.html
Historic designation awarded for homosexual bar
----------------------------------------------------------------------
By Julia Duin THE WASHINGTON TIMES
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The Clinton administration quietly awarded a homosexual bar with a coveted
place on the National Register of Historic Places in an emotional ceremony
this week at a party in New York.
On Monday, the Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village bar that was ground zero
in a series of riots in June 1969, was honored with a National Register
plaque by John Berry, an assistant secretary for the Department of the
Interior. In a speech, he likened the riots to the Boston Tea Party, the
Declaration of Independence and the Battle of Gettysburg.
"The last week of June and the first week of July are hallowed days for
our country's history," he said before presenting the plaque to Kim Kearns
of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation. "It was the
heat of a summer's night here at Stonewall that led to the creation of a
new civil rights movement for America.
"For laws that would call our love perverse, that hold our sacrifice of
life in the service of our country any less dear and that conclude that by
our very existence we are somehow inferior, are not laws founded in
truth."
The ceremony, which was at the headquarters for the Lesbian and Gay
Community Services Center of New York, was at the start of a party to mark
the 30th anniversary of Stonewall.
"[The historic designation] is very exciting, especially since many people
think activism in general is waning these days," said Dan Wilson of the
Center. "It reminds us this movement was born in the streets with
activists and everyday gay, lesbian and transgendered people."
The Stonewall riots occurred in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969,
when police raided the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in Greenwich
Village because of reports the homosexual bar was selling liquor without a
license. As arrests mounted, a crowd gathered and bottles, beer cans and
garbage cans were hurled through the air. A parking meter was turned into
a battering ram against the door of the bar, behind which police blockaded
themselves.
The rioting continued for the next four nights, sparking a chord among
activists, who said the bar was raided because its patrons were
homosexual.
Stonewall's historic designation not only includes the original bar but
also a nearby park and several other avenues, including one named Gay
Street.
Peter LaBarbara of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality reported that,
when he visited the nearby Christopher Street Bookstore last year, "There
was sex cruising. How many historic districts have that going on?"
Criticized by Focus on the Family as one more example of the
administration's "endorsement of homosexual advocacy," the nomination
sailed through state and national agencies in record time, said Kathleen
LaFrank of the New York State Historic Preservation Bureau.
"In fact, it's unusual to list something that's happened this recently,"
she said. "Usually sites have to be at least 50 years old. But it was felt
this had exceptional significance."
Which this site had, said Interior spokesman Chris Thomsen.
"This is the first time the federal government has recognized a site
related to gay and lesbian history," he said. Impetus for the site grew
from a meeting last year of a Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual Employees meeting,
a federally sponsored organization with a branch at Interior, he said.
"We were trying to think of things the administration could do for gays
and lesbians and one of those was to see if Stonewall could get listed on
the National Register for historic places," he said.
The group got a welcoming reception from the New York State Historical
Commission, he said, plus a unanimous vote to place Stonewall on the
Historic Register. "It was a pretty compelling nomination," he said.
via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Just Don't Quote Me
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 17:55:23 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
JUST DON'T QUOTE ME
In what may be the first reported case of its type in the
post-impeachment era, a senior elected office-holder has staked out
the position that political leaders may lie to the public with
impugnity because President Clinton did and got away with it.
Moreover, added new Premier Ndaweni Mahlangu of the province of
Mpumalanga, South Africa: "I personally don't find it to be a very bad
thing." Callers to local radio stations denounced him, and opposition
parties are demanding that he be disciplined by the ruling African
National Congress.
via: "e-Monitor Freemail edition recipients"@csmonitor.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - June 25, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 09:29:54 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
8:00 PM Eastern
NBC - DATELINE NBC - A Jehovah's Witness seeks surgery
to remove a brain tumor without a blood
transfusion.(CC)
DISC - SECRET SERVICE - Agents learn assassination analysis,
firearm proficiency and evasive driving.(CC)(TVG)
9:00
PBS - EPIDEMIC! A FRED FRIENDLY SEMINAR - The cause, spread
and control of infectious disease.(CC)(TVPG)
DISC - DISCOVERY NEWS - (CC)
TLC - TURNING POINT - "Animal Transplants: Madness or
Miracle?" - Forrest Sawyer examines animal transplants,
speaking with baboon bone-marrow recipient Jeff Getty and the
mother of baboon heart recipient Baby
Fae.(CC)(TVPG)
10:00
DISC - STORM WARNING! - "Jetstream Turbulence" - Variance in
the jet stream.(CC)(TVG)
TLC - AMAZING SCIENCE - "Medical Marvels" - Scientific
research; dinosaurs; deformed frogs; benefits of
dreaming.(CC)(TVG)
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Bible Translation Concerns Rekindled
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 09:47:22 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
June 25, 1999 -- 9:43 am
Bible translation concerns rekindled
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (BP) -- The Bible translation debate has now
stretched into its third year with an announcement by the International
Bible Society -- the guardian of the New International Version -- that it
is developing a new "inclusive" Bible translation that would reduce the
amount of masculine language utilized in the popular NIV, which critics
say violates a 1997 IBS pledge not to make any changes in the NIV.
IBS maintains it is making no changes to the NIV, but simply developing a
separate new Bible translation, which has not yet been named.
R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,
told Religion News Service he felt "a sense of betrayal" because the 1997
agreement, forged in a late-May meeting by representatives of both sides
in the dispute in Colorado Springs, Colo., now seems to have "no effect."
"It does appear that they're going to revise the text but they will not
call it the NIV, which was not at all what the understanding was in 1997,"
RNS quoted Mohler as saying. "It appears in this case that we have a
translation problem of the document two years old much less one of 2,000
years."
In the RNS article, Mohler acknowledged "legitimate linguistic issues" in
contemporary Bible translation, but voiced concern that changes in gender
language could alter the theology at the core of various passages by
removing "what is in many cases a clear gender reference in the original
text."
For example, Mohler cited Psalms 34:20, which in the 1984 NIV states: "He
protects all his bones; not one of them will be broken."
RNS recounted that a British version of the NIV -- the center of
controversy in 1997, a controversy which prompted the IBS to assure
evangelicals it would maintain the NIV --reads, "He protects all their
bones; not one of them will be broken."
Mohler views the verse as a reference to Jesus' crucifixion and
resurrection, RNS reported, quoting him as saying: "In removing the
masculine reference, they just obscured, if not obliterated, the messianic
reference in the text. Israel was not looking for a plural messiah but a
singular one ... and a rather gender-specific one."
According to an International Bible Society news release May 14, the
agency's board of directors had "reached two important decisions" in a
recent meeting:
-- "First, it reaffirmed its prior commitment 'to continue to publish the
1984 New International Version (NIV) with no changes whatsoever, with the
confidence that this classic text will be a blessing to the Church for
many years to come.'"
-- "Second, the Board went on to state, 'at the same time, IBS continues
to explore its options with respect to additional Bible publishing in the
English language.' This decision affirms the ongoing work of the Committee
on Bible Translation (CBT), the group that originally translated the NIV."
In what was described as "a specific message to the CBT," the IBS board
stated, "IBS encourages the CBT to continue translating the biblical text
with clarity, accuracy and faithfulness, so that this work can be reviewed
by the IBS Board for possible publication" of a new English translation.
RNS described the IBS decision as "quietly announced." But it soon yielded
a headline in WORLD magazine, a prominent critic of the International
Bible Society's handling of the NIV, stating, "There they go again ..."
followed in large print by: "Just when you thought it was safe to forget
about feminist Bible translations, an International Bible Society decision
suggests that a new threat may soon appear."
The magazine, in its article, stated, "If the IBS announcement is greeted
warmly over the next month by key Christian leaders, that will be good
news for those wanting a regendered translation stylistically similar to
the New International Version (NIV), but bad news for those who care about
biblical accuracy.
"The trial balloon also provokes questions about whether IBS is sticking
with its own policy statement and the Colorado Springs agreement reached
two years ago, or whether it is parsing the English language to evade an
agreed-upon covenant," WORLD stated.
The Colorado Springs agreement involved the IBS; Zondervan Publishing
House, the publisher of the NIV; and vocal critics of gender-neutral
translation such as James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family, and
leaders of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
"From the beginning," WORLD said, "critics of regendered translations
wondered if IBS would keep its word, or was merely waiting until
evangelical guards were down."
WORLD quoted a letter written by Eugene Rubingh, IBS vice president for
translations, on March 19 of this year, which the newsweekly said it had
received from "the head of a Bible ministry."
Rubingh, in the letter, wrote, "I, the CBT and practically everyone
involved, thoroughly support gender-accurate language. The matter is one
of timing, of finding the appropriate hour to move ahead."
In the May 14 IBS news release, Ronald Youngblood, chairman of the IBS
board's translation committee, said, "We are grateful for the truly
amazing reception accorded the NIV through the years. But since language
is continually developing and since new archaeological and other
discoveries are constantly being made, responsible translation work never
really ends. That is why IBS must be open to the future."
No changes will be made in describing God or Jesus Christ in male
terminology in the new translation, the IBS Internet site states,
according to RNS. IBS spokesman Steve Johnson told RNS the new
translation, which will use the NIV as a "building block," will not likely
be considered for publication until 2003 or 2004.
Of the IBS announcement, RNS quoted Catherine Clark Kroeger, president
emerita of the Minneapolis-based Christians for Biblical Equality, as
stating: "We're turning cartwheels. We have wanted to make the Bible
accessible to women, and we were very upset that the people obstructed
access to the spirit of the Bible."
http://www.mcjonline.com/news/news3197.htm
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (6/25/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 09:56:20 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
*** Update: Global disasters, disease escalate
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - Epidemics and natural disasters are on the rise
around the world, especially in underdeveloped countries where
expanding urban slums pose health hazards, a report said Thursday. The
International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent said global
warming, deforestation, poverty and urban crowding in the developing
world are escalating the spread of contagious and deadly diseases and
have left populations vulnerable to natural disasters. An increasing
number of people are being affected by poverty, mass population
movements, increasing bacterial resistance to antibiotics and the
emergence of new diseases like AIDS, the report said. In addition,
scientists link global warming and other climate changes to altering
disease patterns, including the emergence of diseases in places they
hadn't been before, it said. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560059291-664
*** Egypt urging Israeli, Arab peace
WASHINGTON (AP) - Osama al-Baz, a senior adviser to Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak, urged Israel Thursday to seize a "golden
opportunity" for peace with the Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon.
Preparing for a meeting Mubarak plans with President Clinton at the
White House July 1, al-Baz said the tide of extremism was ebbing in
the Middle East. "The mood is changing, both in the Arab world and in
Israel," Mubarak's adviser said. Mubarak may be ready to resume the
traditional Egyptian role of middleman between Israel and the Arabs.
Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel,
in 1979, two years after the late President Anwar Sadat made an
unprecedented visit to Jerusalem. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560059577-dc3
*** Arafat blocks settlement workers
MORAG, Gaza Strip (AP) - As the sweltering midday sun beat down on
this Jewish settlement, streets were deserted, apart from an
occasional Israeli army foot patrol. Just 10 days ago, Morag's
hothouses and construction sites had been abuzz with Palestinian
workers tending cherry tomato fields and laying bricks. Since June 14,
Palestinians employed at Morag and two other isolated settlements in
the Gaza Strip have been ordered by the Palestinian Authority to stay
home. It is a first step in what Yasser Arafat's government says will
be a concerted effort to choke settlement expansion in the West Bank
and Gaza Strip. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560059008-d41
*** CDC sees fewer anonymous HIV tests
ATLANTA (AP) - Fewer Americans are choosing to remain anonymous when
tested for HIV at federally funded clinics, hospitals and prisons - a
sign that the stigma attached to AIDS may be waning, the government
reported Thursday. In most states, people can get tested for the AIDS
virus without giving their names. But the number of federally funded
anonymous tests declined nearly 27% between 1995 and 1997, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention said. "One of the reasons perhaps
is that people are beginning to see HIV as more of a treatable
condition and perhaps less of a stigmatizing disease,' said Robert
Janssen, deputy director of HIV and AIDS prevention at the CDC. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560060466-9dd
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Disputed Panchen Lama Urges Followers to Love Communist Party
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 10:02:28 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Disputed Panchen Lama Urges Followers To Love Communist Party
BEIJING, Jun 25, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse) One week after his return
to Tibet, the Beijing-appointed Panchen Lama has urged Tibetan Buddhists
to obey President Jiang Zemin, official media said Friday.
"The Panchen Lama told the lamas and believers to follow the instructions
of President Jiang Zemin, to love the country and the religion, safeguard
the country and serve the people, and make contributions to the region's
prosperity and stability," the Xinhua news agency reported.
The Panchen Lama is the second most important figure in Tibetan Buddhism.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, has named a rival nominee
to the boy put in place by Beijing. Both boys are nine years old.
"All the lamas of Zhaxi Lhunbo (Tashilhunpo) Lamasery, including myself,
and the believers should love the Communist Party of China, love our
socialist motherland and love the religion we believe in," the Panchen
Lama added.
Gyaincain Norbu, appointed by China's Communist Party as the 11th Panchen
Lama in 1995, was returned to Lhasa last week in what was seen as an
escalation of the propaganda war between China and the Dalai Lama.
The reincarnation chosen by the Dalai Lama, who fled to Dharamsala, India
in 1959, remains under house arrest somewhere in China.
According to Xinhua, Norbu returned to the Panchen Lama's traditional
residence, the Tashilhunpo Monastery, to baptize lamas and other religious
followers for the first time.
Tashilhunpo is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, whose traditional
role is to select the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama.
"Intelligent and diligent, the Panchen Lama is able to recite sutras of
more than 60,000 words," Purbu Songzhub, one of the young Panchen Lama's
teachers, was quoted as saying by the news agency.
He added that the Panchen Lama's "unusual understanding of the sutras" had
convinced his followers that he was "the true reincarnation of the last
Panchen Lama who died in 1989."
But on Thursday, the Dalai Lama's goverment-in-exile in Dharamsala blasted
the Panchen Lama's return as a "blatant attempt by China to interfere in
the religious affairs of Tibet" and called the boy an "imposter."
"Not only Tibetans but the entire world would not allow China to interfere
in the religious matters of the Tibetans," a spokesman said.
"The hope for a peaceful and amicable solution to the Tibetan issue in the
near future has receded," he added.
The fragile co-existence between the Dalai Lama and Chinese authorities
collapsed in 1959, when a revolt against Communist rule was brutally
suppressed in Lhasa, forcing the Dalai Lama and his followers to flee
Tibet.
Gedhun Choeki Nyima, the Dalai Lama's choice for Panchen Lama, has not be
seen in public since 1995, while China has refused all requests from
international human rights groups to visit the boy. ((c) 1999 Agence
France Presse)
http://www.insidechina.com/news.php3?id=75376&text
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Y2K items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 17:29:45 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
HIGH-TECH GIANTS TEAM UP TO TAKE ON Y2K
A number of high-tech corporations have formed a consortium to
share Y2K information and resources and hopefully reduce the
impact of the bug on the high-tech industry. Cisco Systems,
Motorola, Solectron, Dell, and Sun Microsystems have created the
High Tech Consortium (HTC) to keep track of the Y2K compliance of
major suppliers and service providers. Because the industry consists
of a tangled network of suppliers and distributors, it is nearly
impossible for individual companies to assess the Y2K readiness of
their entire production lines. The consortium will allow companies to
compile their information, simplifying the assessment process. The
HTC will use standardized tools to determine and prepare for possible
Y2K disruptions. Trained representatives from HTC member companies
will assess the suppliers, then post the results on the Data Sharing
Service, a secure, Internet-based database. (InformationWeek Online
06/23/99)
OFFICE DEPOT TO WARN ABOUT Y2K
Office Depot will post signs in its computer aisles, customer
services desks, and cash registers to warn consumers that its
computers may not be Y2K compliant. Although consumers often
believe that the Y2K bug will only affect older products and
large corporate networks, Office Depot will warn them that their
hardware or software may be susceptible to Y2K, no matter how new it
is. The company will also release Y2K information in its Sunday
advertisements and provide manufacturers' Web addresses and phone
numbers. This decision is the result of a lawsuit filed against
Office Depot, Circuit City, Fry's Electronics, the Good Guys, CompUSA,
Staples, and OfficeMax by California swim coach Tom Johnson. Johnson,
frustrated that store clerks could not provide Y2K information about
their products, contended that the stores had violated California's
Unfair Competition Law. The lawsuit is the first to target retailers.
(Associated Press 06/24/99)
via: EDUCAUSE <EDUCAUSE@EDUCAUSE.EDU>
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - China Seeks Smart Sperm Donors
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 17:35:25 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
03:17 AM ET 06/25/99
China Seeks Smart Sperm Donors
SHANGHAI, China (AP) _ Wanted: Healthy men under 60 willing to make
donations to a sperm bank. Only college professors need apply.
At the new ``Notables' Sperm Bank'' in southwestern China donors must have
academic qualifications at least equal to an associate professor.
The bank is run by the state family planning agency in Chengdu, capital of
Sichuan province, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported late Thursday.
It has received lots of phone calls and applications from prospective
donors, mainly intellectuals, Xinhua cited the facility's manager, Huang
Ping, as saying.
The report did not say whether there were any restrictions on who was
allowed to receive the sperm.
Most of China's family planning efforts are aimed at reining in the growth
of its population of 1.2 billion people. But the government also has begun
to support research into fertility treatments, sperm banks and other ways
to help childless couples conceive.
Some local experts have questioned the ethics and scientific basis of the
Chengdu sperm bank, Xinhua reported.
Zhang Sizhong, a geneticist at Huaxi Medical University, was quoted as
saying that genetically, the sperm of highly educated people may not be
better than anyone else's.
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2560064353-f06
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Rare Cloud Seen Over Colorado
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 17:36:42 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
From: http://www.drudgereport.com/matt.htm
FREAK: RARE CLOUD -- WITH POSSIBLE WARNING -- SEEN OVER COLORADO
High-flying clouds of ice crystals were spotted in the sky over
Colorado Tuesday night, the first time they've been seen this close to
the equator.
The cloud clusters are common closer to both poles of the Earth during
the summer. They had never been spotted in the U.S. south of North
Dakota.
"This could be a signal that something is happening to our upper
atmosphere," Gary Thomas, a professor at the University of Colorado's
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, tells Firday's DENVER
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS.
The NEWS' Charlie Brennan reports that Tuesday's sighting was recorded
by three men in three locations: CU meteorology instructor Richard
Keen near Boulder, Utah State University physics professor Mike Taylor
in Logan, Utah, and Mark Zeilcik, a noctilucent cloud researcher in
Edmonton, Canada.
There are diverse theories as to what caused the clouds to form at
such a southerly latitude.
"It could be an indication that we're polluting our atmosphere with
greenhouse gases, or it could be part of a natural cycle of long- term
trends," said Thomas.
via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Comet Lee/Sept 11, 1999
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 11:18:59 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Note from Bill Koenig:
Below are notes from Jim Bramlett on Comet Lee. (Hal Grisham, one of
our e-mail subscribers and a student of geological and astronomical
events, is also keeping a "close eye" on Comet Lee.)
According to Greg Killian, the comets closest point to earth will be
on September 9th, and IF there is an effect on earth it will be on
September 11 (Rosh Hashanah).
The comets movement can be viewed at the Japanese web site
explained below.
******
From Jim Bramlett:
Messianic Jewish brother and astronomer Greg Killian devotes some
space to Comet Lee on his Web site, at
http://24.130.69.207/greg/cometlee.html.
An excerpt: "To put this in perspective, it is important that you
understand that the picture of Revelation 12:1ff will also take place
at this time. In other words, when we feel the effects of the comet we
will be seeing the Revelation 12 picture on the only Biblical festival
that falls on the day that no man knows the day or the hour when it
begins. We are looking at a warning! Pay attention to the dates and
pay attention to the Torah. These events are in the hands of Hashem.
Teshuvah, repentance, is the proper reaction at this appointed time on
Hashem's calendar - whether or not the comet has any effects!
Repentance is what the month of Elul is all about."
Greg's main site is a source of astronomical/biblical information and
numerous articles, plus links. I note that he links to the Millennium
Group, which recently put out a lengthy message about Comet Lee. His
link obviously indicates that he considers the Millennium Group as
credible.
******
From Jim Bramlett:
I sat stunned yesterday afternoon and this morning as I played with
the astronomical computer model of the solar system and the newly
discovered Comet Lee on the Japanese astronomy Web site
http://www.astroarts.com/.
As I click-by-click advanced the progress of the comet forward from
today (a neat feature!), I sat in sheer amazement as the comet and the
earth gradually moved closer and closer and closer together, until
they almost merged_of all days, on Rosh ha Shannah, September 11,
1999!!! Coincidence? I don't think so. God seems to use comets as
warning signs. For example, Jewish-Roman historian Josephus reported
a comet hanging over Jerusalem "like a sword" just before the Roman
siege and destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
Actually, the closest point may be September 9, but astronomer Greg
Killian says that IF there will be an effect upon the earth, it will
be September 11. Try it yourself: (1) Go to http://www.astroarts.com,
click on (2) comets, then (3) comets in 1999, then (4) Jul 11, Lee,
them (5) simulation. Repeatedly click on days or months to watch the
movement between now and September 11.
When using the Comet Lee computer simulation, be sure to use the
ZOOM feature and ZOOM in all the way to get a better picture of the
relative location of the earth and the comet.
via: "Koenig's International News" <bill@watch.org>
Please be advised that this domain (Philologos.org) does not endorse 100 per cent any link contained herein. This forum is for the dissemination of pertinent information on an end-times biblical theme which includes many disturbing, unethical, immoral, etc. topics and should be viewed with a mature, discerning eye.