To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Is Big Brother Reading Your Email?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 09:16:05 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

IS BIG BROTHER READING YOUR E-MAIL?
By ROD DREHER

WANT to give a big, fat finger to Big Brother today? Fax or e-
mail this column to a friend. Be sure to include the following
words:

Unabomber. Anthrax. Fissionable plutonium. North Korea.
Militia. Delta Force. Ruby Ridge.

If the suspicions of Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.), the American Civil
Liberties Union and cyber-libertarian "hacktivists" are correct,
your fax or e-mail containing those words will have been
intercepted by a sophisticated official electronic monitoring
system called "Echelon."

Echelon is a supersecret global surveillance network, run by
the U.S. National Security Agency, in conjunction with the
governments of Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Echelon is said to intercept and sift through countless
electronic transmissions daily, filtering out those with
particular "keywords" that could signal a security threat. The
purloined posts are later analyzed.

Hacktivists around the world have scheduled today as "Jam
Echelon Day." They're encouraging computer users to flood the
Internet with e-mails containing suspected keywords, hoping the
deluge will short-circuit Echelon's computers and satellites.

The public will never know if they succeed, but crashing
Echelon is not really the point. The protest is meant to raise
public awareness about the threat to privacy and civil liberties
purportedly posed by the security network, which sounds like
something out of the movie "Enemy of the State."

Although the NSA will neither confirm nor deny Echelon's
existence, too much information has leaked out (through official
statements and partially declassified government documents) or
has been uncovered by journalists and investigators to allow for
plausible deniability.

If reports, including a study by the European Parliament, are
correct, Echelon was organized after World War II, chiefly as a
way for participating countries to intercept Soviet
communications.

With the Russian threat gone, there is growing evidence and
concern that Echelon is being used around the world for
commercial espionage and keeping tabs on non-military targets -
such as me and thee.

Groups on both sides of the American political debate, from the
ACLU on the left to the Free Congress Foundation on the right,
allege that Echelon's technology and structure makes the
unregulated monitoring of e-mails, faxes and phone calls
possible - this despite laws requiring court permission to
eavesdrop on private citizens.

"The NSA does not have jurisdiction in the U.S., but the way
the electronic-communications system is set up, I could send an
e-mail to you, and it could be routed through Canada," explains
Free Congress' Lisa Dean. "This puts the e-mail under NSA's
jurisdiction."

The potential for Echelon's abuse has so bothered Barr, a
former CIA analyst, that he's pushing for congressional hearings.

"My concern is that they are sweeping far too broadly," Barr
tells me. "I believe that the rights of American citizens are
being infringed.

"The danger is that we have no privacy whatsoever. Whenever you
pick up an instrument of communication, you run the risk of the
government listening in to you."

That claim is too far out for Steve Aftergood, who runs the
Federation of American Scientists' government-secrecy research
project. However overblown he considers the claims of Echelon
alarmists, Aftergood supports Barr's call for hearings to
establish oversight.

"Unchecked monitoring and surveillance by the government poses
a threat to freedom of dissent," he said. "Even if the whole
Echelon story is a hallucination or a hoax, it is nevertheless
the responsibility of Congress to get to the bottom of it."

http://www.nypostonline.com/commentary/16529.htm

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Moon mystery
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 09:21:57 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Moon mystery emerges from the X-files

REPORTS OF CURIOUS FLASHES and fleeting clouds on the Moon may
not be figments of wild imaginations, astronomers say. A new
look at observations by the American satellite Clementine show
that a small area on the Moon's surface darkened and reddened in
April 1994. Why this happened remains a mystery.

For hundreds of years, people have reported seeing flashes,
short-lived clouds and other brief changes on the Moon's
surface. But astronomers have never been able to confirm the
sightings. "The events were observed on many occasions, but most
astronomers don't believe in them," says Bonnie Buratti of
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

On 23 April 1994, around a hundred amateur astronomers reported
seeing a possible darkening of the Moon, lasting 40 minutes,
near the edge of the bright lunar crater Aristarchus. At the
same time, the US Department of Defense's Clementine satellite
was mapping the lunar surface.

Intrigued by the amateur reports, Buratti's team has taken a
close look at the Clementine data to see if the satellite also
recorded the event. Sure enough, they found that the crater
looked different before and after the amateur reports. "After
the event, it looks redder," says Buratti, who announced the
findings at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society in
Padua, Italy, last week.

Winifred Cameron, a retired astronomer who worked at the Lowell
Observatory in Arizona, thinks that brief colour changes might
be caused by small gas eruptions throwing dust around. We know
that there are pockets of gas in the lunar soil, and the gas may
occasionally escape. "I'm pretty sure that some of these changes
are due to emanations of gas that are more dense than usual,"
says Cameron. "The Aristarchus region is the source of about a
third of all of these.

Charles Seife

http://www.newscientist.com/ns/19991023/newsstory4.html

----------

Also at The New Scientist:

Will Net upgrade dent online privacy?

PRIVACY CAMPAIGNERS are up in arms over plans for a new
Internet transmission standard that can add information to e-
mails and Web requests that identifies the sender's computer.

http://www.newscientist.com/ns/19991023/newsstory16.html

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Subject: [BPR] - Project Megiddo - news story/press release
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 09:28:51 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

FBI warns of Y2K race violence

Updated 6:20 PM ET October 20, 1999

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Bureau of Investigation said
Wednesday it was warning local police about the danger of
apocalyptic violence by white supremacist groups spurred by the
dawn of the year 2000.

In a statement, the FBI said it had wrapped up "Project
Megiddo," a study of potential crimes "by individuals or
domestic groups who attach special significance to the year 2000."

The study highlights the dangers of fringe white supremacists
"who seek to initiate a race war," it said. It was being
distributed to law enforcement personnel nationwide.

The project was named for the ancient battleground in Israel
associated with Armageddon, the biblical scene of a final battle
between the forces of good and evil, prophesied to occur at the
end of world.

"The report is intended to...(warn) of the unique challenges
that may be presented by extremists motivated by millennial
agendas," the FBI said.

The report also cited a Year 2000-related threat from those who
fear the United Nations "will initiate an armed takeover of the
United States" and set up a "One World Government."

FBI Director Louis Freeh told Congress earlier this year that
the possible targets of such groups included Jews, non-whites
and their supposed "establishment allies, i.e. the federal
government."

In its statement, the FBI said it was aware that some militia
groups had moved to purge violent extremists. "These elements
are often very small cells or lone actors," it said.

http://news.excite.com/news/r/991020/18/millennium-fbi

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

U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation

For Immediate Release
Washington, D.C. October 20, 1999
FBI National Press Office

The FBI today issued the following statement to clarify the
"USA Today" story titled "FBI: Militias a threat at millennium:"

For several years, the FBI has had a program of reaching out to
militias and their members to explain the FBI's role in
investigating violations of law and to stress open lines of
communication with militia groups. This was done also to ensure
the militias that there was no intent to deny anyone their
constitutional rights nor was there a targeting of any militia
groups who were otherwise engaged in legitimate, protected
activity. The FBI realizes that the majority of militia members
engage in and support law abiding activities. However, the FBI
will investigate illegal activities coming within the purview of
its investigative responsibilities. In fact, the FBI is fully
cognizant of the fact that some militias have taken positive
steps towards ridding themselves of violent extremist elements.
It is these violent extremist elements that could be violating
laws which could subject them to investigations by the FBI.
Often, these extreme members will splinter from more established
groups and engage in violence autonomously. These elements are
often very small cells or lone actors. The contact with militia
members has proven effective, in that the more mainstream
militia groups have been helpful in identifying the more
extremist elements of the militia who may resort to acts of
violence.

"Project Megiddo" is the culmination of an FBI research
initiative which analyzed the potential for extremist criminal
activity in the U.S. by individuals or domestic groups who
attach special significance to the year 2000. In an effort to
educate investigators and officials in the law enforcement
community about potential violence associated with or motivated
by the arrival of the year 2000, the FBI conducted extensive
research into the various ideologies and concepts which serve to
motivate groups or individuals with violent agendas. Many
extremists place significance on the next millennium, and may
present challenges to law enforcement authorities. The
significance is based primarily upon apocalyptic religious
beliefs or political beliefs concerning the New World Order
conspiracy theory. The report is intended to provide a clear,
measured, and responsible picture of potential extremism
motivated by the next millennium, and to increase awareness
among law enforcement officials of the unique challenges that
may be presented by extremists motivated by millennial agendas.

The study is being distributed to appropriate law enforcement
personnel from around the country and provides an overview of
various extremist ideologies, specifically those which advocate
or call for violent action beginning in the year 2000. Such
ideologies motivate violent white supremacists who seek to
initiate a race war; apocalyptic cults which anticipate a
violent Armageddon; radical elements of private citizen militias
who fear that the United Nations will initiate an armed takeover
of the United States and subsequently establish a One World
Government; and other groups or individuals which promote
violent millennial agendas. The report also discusses how
extremists interpret biblical and/or other religious scriptures
to justify their agendas, and how certain extremist elements
point to the so-called Y2K computer crisis as an indicator of
imminent social chaos and unrest.

In addition to addressing key millennial concepts and the
ideological or religious motivations behind millennial
extremism, Project Megiddo outlines a number of issues of which
law enforcement officers should be cognizant, including
indicators of potential violence, possible preparations for
violence, and a general discussion of possible targets of
millennial extremists. Law enforcement officials are encouraged
to further educate themselves on the various issues discussed in
the project.

http://www.fbi.gov/pressrm/pressrel/militias.htm

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Zionist plot?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 09:34:16 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Tuesday October 19 7:44 AM ET

Millennium Bash Decried As Plot

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist newspaper on Tuesday denounced
Egypt's plans for a spectacular New Year millennium celebration
as part of a Zionist plot to lay claim to the pyramids.

Al-Shaab, bi-weekly mouthpiece of Egypt's Islamist-oriented
Labor Party, argued that the show, organized by ``Zionist''
French musician Jean-Michel Jarre, would bolster what it called
Zionist claims that Jews had constructed the 4,500-year-old
pyramids.

``The Jews claim that they are owners of Egypt's ancient
civilization and the builders of the pyramids,'' wrote Labor
Party Secretary-General Adel Hussein in a frontpage article.

Jarre, famous for albums such as Oxygene and Equinoxe, will
perform a 12-hour electronic opera in a $9 million spectacular
on the pyramids plateau, featuring 1,000 performers, lasers,
fireworks, and a mix of Oriental and Western music.

``The climax of the awesome celebration is the placing of gold
cap on the main (Cheops) pyramid. What we are dealing with here
is crowning the top of our Great Pyramid with the symbol of
Masonic Zionism,'' Hussein wrote.

Egypt's Culture Minister Farouk Hosni has already come under
fire from nationalists in the arts community for choosing a
foreigner to lead the millennium party, expected to attract
thousands of tourists and intense media interest.

``The minister is free to choose who he wants,'' said Culture
Ministry spokesman Ahmed Khalil on Tuesday. ``If (Jarre) is a
Zionist or not is nothing to do with us. He's an artist.''

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991019/od/plot_1.html

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Religion Today items (10/21/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 17:58:09 -0400

From: research-bpr@philologos.org (Moza)

Members of Congress support posting the Ten Commandments in
public. Washington, D.C.-based Family Research Council (see link
#1 below) will give a framed copy of the biblical laws to about
30 members of Congress, who have agreed to post them in their
offices. "By posting them in public places, members will send a
clear message that the Ten Commandments are an integral part of
public life and should be posted to promote a virtuous and civil
society," FRC said. The organization will kick off a campaign to
encourage public officials -- from governors to legislators and
jurists -- as well as public citizens, to post the Ten
Commandments. "This bold gesture by members of Congress will be a
spark" to encourage others to post the laws, FRC's Janet Parshall
said.

Israel's Tourism Ministry is teaching Jews about Christianity.
The government agency is educating customs officials, taxi
drivers, airport workers, and police officers in the basics of
Christianity to prepare them for the expected flood of Christian
pilgrims to the Holy Land in 2000, The Associated Press reports.
The program involves a daylong seminar on the life of Jesus, the
Apostle Paul's teachings, and brief explanations of the major
branches and denominations of Christianity. Tourism officials
said they hope the classes will help workers understand and be
more sensitive to the needs of Christian pilgrims. Police
commanders will attend a special course on identifying cults or
extremist groups that expect to see apocalyptic prophecies come
to pass as the new millennium nears. Members of at least two such
groups have been deported in the past year.

RELATED LINKS:
1: http://www.frc.org/

http://www.religiontoday.com

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (10/20/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 18:14:46 -0400

From: research-bpr@philologos.org (Moza)

Egypt undermining Israel foreign relations

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: JTA

Wed Oct 20,1999 -- Egypt is undermining Israeli attempts to
improve relations with Arab countries, Foreign Minister David
Levy said Wednesday. "Egypt has double vision. On the one hand
the peace with Israel is important, on the other hand they try
to block every attempt by Israel to improve its relations and
cooperation with Arab countries," Levy told Israel Radio.

Settlers, Defying Barak, Erect Synagogue

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Yahoo

Wed Oct 20,1999 -- Dancing, singing and waving Israeli flags to
the sound of traditional Jewish ``klezmer'' music, about 1,000
people held a high-spirited ``welcoming'' ceremony for a Torah
(Scripture) scroll to be placed in the hilltop house of worship.
The Maon Farm stronghold is one of 42 outposts that settlers set
up without government approval to create ``facts on the ground''
ahead of Israeli-Palestinian talks on a permanent peace. Barak
has earmarked 12, including Maon, for removal. Watched by
right-wing Israelis who flocked to the site to support them,
settlers erected metal siding walls for a synagogue on a square
concrete platform. The move was a symbolic expression of the
belief of many settlers that Jews have a divine right of
sovereignty over all of the biblical land of Israel, which
includes the West Bank.

Barak restricts ministers' trips

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz

Wed Oct 20,1999 -- Prime Minister Ehud Barak has informed his
ministers that they will not be given permission to travel
abroad unless they get an opposition MK to pledge to absent
himself from all Knesset votes while the minister is away.
This rule, meant to ensure that the coalition maintains its
Knesset majority at all times, will also apply to deputy
ministers. Barak also ordered that from now on, all ministers
and deputy ministers will have to be in the Knesset all day on
Wednesdays, when private members' bills are brought up for a
vote. Last week, a bill opposed by the government passed because
not enough coalition MKs were present in the building. Both
new rules were requested by Coalition Chair Ophir Pines-Paz.

Settlers block evacuation with boulders and bodies

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz

Wed Oct 20,1999 -- An attempt by the Yesha Council for Jewish
Settlements to evacuate two uninhabited outposts yesterday was
unsuccessful. As a result, the council announced that it would
change its timetable for the evacuation of Hill 804 (Shvut
Rachel II) because, it claims, the prime minister's office leak
ed the time set for the evacuation, resulting in the arrival of
protesters from the Next Generation (Dor Hemshech) movement.
The nonviolent opposition to the evacuation by the members of
the rightist group prevented the site from being evacuated. An
attempt may be made today to evacuate the first inhabited
outpost, the Magen David Farm, near Sussia in the southern Mount
Hebron area. The council sent a crane yesterday morning to
remove a lone container located on Hill 804 north of Ramallah,
but a group of about 20 young settlers and supporters blocked
the road with large rocks, preventing the crane from approaching
the site. Some time later, an attempt was made to evacuate Hill
827 nearby. At first technical difficulties prevented the
evacuation (the crane brought to remove the water tower was
too small). Later, when a larger crane was brought,
demonstrators denied it access to as well. Only toward the
evening, when they retired to a nearby settlement, could the
outpost's dismantling be completed. One young man said, "If
Barak has decided to evacuate, I don't think we should argue
with him. He may succeed in evacuating a few outposts, but we
have to be ready to run to other hilltops and grab them." Eli
and Harel, two other young men, said, "It is clear that the
hills will be evacuated. But we cannot remain indifferent and
let it pass without protest. We must protest." Meanwhile, the
Yesha Council has reached an understanding with the prime
minister's office concerning the evacuation of the outposts on
the Allon road, Mitzpeh Hagit and Mitzpeh Erez, during the
middle of next week. The settlers living at those sites have
been informed that the master plans for those sites will be
advanced as quickly as possible to enable the settlers to return
in an orderly and legal fashion to the very same sites. The
Next Generation has made it clear that the agreements reached do
not bind it in any way. Army sources have said that they are
not sure that Yesha Council can "deliver the goods" and
evacuate the hills that it has promised. It is feared that, in
some cases, the army and police may have to become involved.
Dalia Shehori adds: Attorney General Elyakim Rubinstein will
examine whether the rabbinical rulings handed down by Rabbis
Avraham Shapira, Mordechai Eliyahu and Dov Lior concerning
permission the rabbis have given to oppose the evacuation from
the outposts constitute a violation of the law. The rabbis
have ruled that it is forbidden to give away as much as a grain
of the land of Eretz Israel. Justice Minister Yossi Beilin spoke
on Sunday with Rubinstein concerning the matter, and Beilin said
that no political steps can be taken without undertaking a
dialogue with those opposed to them. On the other hand, Beilin
said that extremist remarks must not be ignored. Beilin added
that he is convinced that the Rabin assassination effected a
change in Israeli society and that more caution is exercised
today concerning comments and acts by those opposed to the
Israeli government. Nonetheless, he said, "Extremists still
exist on the fringes of the right-wing camp and we must take
care to examine whether these comments constitute a violation of
the law.

Passage to remain open even under security threats

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arutz7

Wed Oct 20,1999 -- Likud leader Ariel Sharon told the Knesset
Foreign Affair s and Defense Committee yesterday that the
agreement on the "free passage" for Palestinians stipulates
that Israel will not close the route for reasons of security
or terrorist threats. Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami
admitted that this point must be looked into. Ben-Ami also said
that Israel has given its verbal consent not to arrest wanted
Palestinians using the passage. The route will run between
Gaza and Hevron - and later, between Gaza and Ramallah. The
opening of the corridor has been delayed for over two weeks, and
is not likely to occur before next week. The latest issue of
dispute is whether visitors to the autonomy will be able to use
the route. Ben-Ami, listing several advantages for Israel of the
agreement, stated that the passage will be closed on Shabbat
and Jewish holidays, and that Israel has the right to stop
vehicles to conduct random vehicle-safety checks.

What will happen to the Wye money?

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz

Wed Oct 20,1999 -- "There has never been such a muddle here
before," says Tova Herzl, the counselor for congressional
affairs at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. "If anybody tells
you that they know what will happen to the Wye money, don't
believe them. Nobody knows anything at this point." Herzl was
trying to explain to Deputy Defense Minister Efraim Sneh, who
had traveled to Washington precisely for this purpose, just
how the Wye money had fallen victim to the titanic struggle now
being waged between Congress and the White House or, more
accurately, between the conservative Republican leadership and
its archenemy, President Clinton. But foreign aid per se
arouses considerable opposition in the political arena, and so
the Wye money cannot be taken for granted, especially when the
Jewish and non-Jewish right-wingers have declared all-out war
against confirming the Wye money. Clinton explained his veto of
the foreign aid budget by stating that "this is the next
important chapter in the new American isolationism." His veto
comes immediately after the Senate refused to ratify the nuclear
test-ban treaty, a personal defeat for the president. "There is
no money for peace in the Middle East, no money to reduce the
nuclear threat in Russia, and no money to ease the burden of
debt of the poorest countries of South America and Asia. We are
unable to face up to our responsibility toward the rest of the
world," the president declared angrily. The "isolationist"
tendency is deeply rooted in American history and the country's
political mentality. Foreign aid has never been popular in
America, and the Republican majority in Congress considers it an
excellent political tool to use against the Administration.
Congressman Sonny Callahan, who chairs the allocations
subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has made it
clear that the Republicans would not condone "robbing" Social
Security or raising taxes in order to increase foreign aid.
Such statements play well in Alabama or Kansas, where not many
understand why billions of dollars should be distributed "at
their expense" to rulers imbued with a negative image, such as
Yasser Arafat, at the other end of the world. As for the
"natural" hostility that prevails in the United States on the
subject of foreign aid in general, even more influential is the
propagand a spread by Jewish and non-Jewish groups against the
actual Wye accords themselves. Organizations such as the
Coalition of National Unity For Israel, Americans for a Secure
Israel, the Christian Action Campaign for Israel and the Group
of Three (which dates back to the days of Yitzhak Rabin - Yoram
Ettinger, Yossi Ben Aharon and Yigal Carmon - implore Congress
not to approve the Wye money. They call on their people to
write to members of Congress and tell them that the Wye money is
a "malicious waste of American money." Right-wing activity in
the U.S. and the voices heard at the settlers' demonstrations
here in Israel portend a general mobilization of the Jewish
left. In the meantime, the struggle is led by Friends of Peace
Now, which enjoys a broader base of support in the U.S. than
does its sister movement in Israel. The president's veto of
the foreign aid bill is his 28th veto since he entered the
White House. It seems likely that it will stand up. The cutbacks
in foreign aid narrowly squeaked through the House of
Representatives (214 to 211) and in the Senate (51 to 49) amid
the Democrats' strenuous opposition. A two-thirds majority of
both Houses is required to override a presidential veto.

Law enforcement agencies to be alerted by FBI for possible Y2K
violence

Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: CNN

Wed Oct 20,1999 -- The FBI is preparing to issue a warning to
10,000 law enforcement agencies alerting them to the potential
for violence as the millennium approaches, CNN has learned. The
agency plans to distribute a 30-to-40-page document which warns
law enforcement personnel to take threats and tips about
potential acts of violence seriously. A number of FBI sources
say the changing of the century could be a catalyst for those
who believe the new millennium will bring about a cataclysmic
event. And, as noted last month by the Senate Y2K committee,
demands for police and/or fire service could intersect with
technical problems caused by the celebrated Y2K bug. The
committee warned of "any combination of unknowns that could
result from the strange social dynamic that could potentially
be created by public reaction to Y2K."

Government blamed for increased illegal Arab construction

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire

Wed Oct 20,1999 -- Officials in Jerusalem City Hall point a
finger of blame for the ongoing illegal Arab construction in
the capital at Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and Minister of
Jerusalem Affairs Haim Ramon. Jerusalem officials report that
the two ministers have given the order to halt all demolitions
of illegal Arab construction, a move that resulted in a 'green
light' for ongoing illegal building in the capital as the Arab
community works towards achieving a land continuity from
outlying Arab suburbs into the city proper. Last week, the
government intervened to stop the execution of a demolition
order in the Jerusalem Arab neighborhood of Bet Haninah.
Jerusalem officials expressed outrage over the government's
intervention. The two ministers ordered the establishment of a
committee to reevaluate the policies vis-E0-vis illegal Arab
construction in the capital. On Oct. 12, ISRAELWIRE reported
that over 1,000 demolition orders have been frozen by the
government as it continues to implement its policy of avoiding
a conflict with the Arab community 96 preferring to turn a
blind eye to illegal construction.

Israel supports PA currency

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire

Wed Oct 20,1999 -- Prime Minsiter Ehud Barak indicated on
Monday that the current Israeli administration would not oppose
moves to implement a PLO Authority (PA) currency. The director-
general of the Finance Ministry, Avi Ben-Bassat concurred with
the opinion of the prime minister. Ben-Bassat told reporters
that anything that would contribute to the continued growth of
the PA economy would cause PA residents to have a more favorable
attitude to the ongoing Oslo process between Israel and the PA.
"We favor allowing the Palestinians to decide their own monetary
policy and their own currency policy, whether they want to
issue their own currency, for example, or have a currency
board," he told the Reuters News Agency. Ben-Bassat said that if
a physical border exists between the PA and Israel then all of
the proposals would be viable but in the absence of a border
only the customs union would be possible.

Hill 827 dismantled and uprooted

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire

Wed Oct 20,1999 -- Following the opposition on Tuesday morning
from demonstrators which delayed the planned uprooting of Hill
804 adjacent to Shvut Rachel, agents of the Council of Jewish
Settlements of Judea, Samaria and Gaza (Yesha Council), did not
encounter resistance during the evening when 827 was removed. In
accordance with the deal struck between Yesha Council leaders
and the government, the council would not oppose the uprooting
of 12 encampments located throughout Judea and Samaria. The
prime minister gave the order to begin the dismantling of the
encampments this week, beginning with those areas that are not
regularly inhabited. It was believed that those areas would
offer the least or no resistance. Following the failure to
remove Hill 804, located near Shvut Rachel in the Benjamin
Regional Council of Samaria, Yesha Council officials did not
encounter any resistance during the evening when Hill 827,
located near 804, was shut down. The water tower was to have
been removed earlier in the day but it was realized that the
crane sent to do the job was too small. When Prime Minister Ehud
Barak heard that the two hills were not uprooted as planned, he
was angered and his aides issued a statement indicating Mr.
Barak remained adamant that his decision would be implemented.
Rather than wait until Wednesday, the Yesha Council leaders
deemed it fitting to return during the evening hours with a
larger crane, at which time the Hilltop encampment known as 827,
was removed.

Nazareth ruling discriminates against Christians

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz

Tue Oct 19,1999 -- The government's decision to permit the
construction of a mosque near Nazareth's Basilica of the
Annunciation discriminates against Christians in a way
unparalleled during all the years of Ottoman and British rule,
the heads of all the Christian churches in Jerusalem wrote in a
letter to President Ezer Weizman yesterday. A copy of the
letter, which asked Weizman to try to persuade the government
to change its mind, was sent to Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The
letter, signed by Latin Patriach Michel Sabbah on behalf of all
the church leaders, charged that the interministerial committee
that made the decision had not taken the views of Christian
spiritual leaders "fully into consideration." "We deplore this
decision," the letter continued. "It is the legitimization and
approbation of all threats, insults and attacks against
Christians carried out to date by the Islamic group leading
the campaign to build the mosque... It is a decision that
rewards an aggressor and punishes the victim. It is real
discrimination by the State of Israel against its Christian
citizens." "Looked at from another perspective, this issue is
political and we deplore the misuse of religion for political
ends," the letter added. "Although we fully support the notion
of freedom of worship by any faith community wherever needed, we
are nonetheless deeply concerned with this particular
decision," the letter concluded. "We believe that once
implemented, it will seriously disrupt the established relations
in the City of the Annunciation as much as the rest of the
country, and prove to be a grave historical mistake committed by
the government of Israel with no precedent whatsoever during
the centuries of Ottoman or British rule." A church official
told Ha'aretz last night that the churches are particularly
furious over the fact that the interministerial committee did
not even discuss their counterproposal: that instead of a
mosque, an interfaith discussion forum be built on the square in
front of the basilica. The official said the proposal has won
support from many Muslim leaders. Editor's note: the TRUE
church, the body of Jesus Christ would not be complaining about
rights or talking about building an interfaith discussion
forum. This may be part of what causes the "one world religion"
to come about.

Mysterious illness kills tens of thousands of lobsters in Long
Island

Weekend News Today
By Weekend Staff
Source: Yahoo

Tue Oct 19,1999 -- A mysterious illness is killing tens of
thousands of lobsters in Long Island Sound, alarming lobstermen
and conservation officials, AP reported. The die-off is the
Sound's worst in nearly a decade, officials said. About eight of
every 100 lobsters caught are coming up dead, said Byron H.
Young of the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Tests on blood taken from the lobsters have not pinpointed the
cause. Water quality tests have ruled out pollution and low
oxygen levels. Last fall, thousands of lobsters died in the
waters off Maine, the nation's top producer. Scientists there
have not pinpointed the cause.

Hindus ask Pope to affirm all religions are equal: ''He should
announce that Hinduism and Christianity are equal paths to
salvation''

Weekend News Today

Tue Oct 19,1999 -- A Hindu group allied with the governing
party has asked Pope John Paul II to affirm that all religions
are equal when he comes to India next month, AP quoted the
Press Trust of Indian news agency. The demand by the Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh echoed calls made in recent weeks by other Hindu
allies of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. H.V.
Seshadri, general secretary of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, told
activists the pope should announce that Hinduism and
Christianity are equal paths to salvation, the news report
said. During the Nov. 5-8 papal visit the pope will participate
in a gathering of Asian bishops, meet Indian secular and
religious leaders and celebrate Mass at Nehru Stadium in the
Indian capital. There are 820 million Hindus and 23 million
Christians in India.

Earthquake God's revenge against secularism says Islamic leader
charged in Turkey

Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: AP

Tue Oct 19,1999 -- An Islamic sect leader was charged Tuesday
with inciting religious hatred by claiming the August killer
earthquake was God's revenge against Turkey for secularism.
Mehmet Kutlular denied the charges in an interview with CNN
Turk, a joint venture with CNN. If convicted, he faces up to
three years in prison. Kutlular is one of the leaders of the Nur
Cemaati sect, which published a booklet calling the Aug. 17
quake divine retribution for military-imposed policies banning
head scarves in schools and public buildings. Many women wear
the scarves for traditional reasons, but the head coverings are
also viewed in some quarters as statements of political
opposition to Turkey's secular system. Also on Tuesday, police
tried to search the home of an Islamic deputy who created an
uproar by wearing a headscarf to Parliament, the Anatolia news
agency said.

via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israel Line items (10/21/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 18:32:49 -0400

From: research-bpr@philologos.org (Moza)

BARAK, CLINTON, ARAFAT TO MEET IN OSLO
  Prime Minister Ehud Barak, United States President Bill Clinton and
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat are expected to conduct a
trilateral meeting on November 2 in Oslo, Norway, HA'ARETZ reported. The
leaders will be in Oslo to participate in a ceremony marking the sixth
anniversary of the Declaration of Principles and to pay tribute to late
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The summit will mark the beginning of final
status negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
  Barak and Arafat have recently accelerated the pace of ongoing
negotiations to reach an agreed-upon agenda for the summit. Barak has been
consulting with his top advisors to discuss the legal foundation's for
Israel's final settlement positions.
In response to U.S. foreign budget's exclusion of aid for implementation of
the Wye and Sharm el-Sheikh Memoranda, American-Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC) and the American Friends of Peace Now recently began a
campaign to draw support for the aid in Congress. The campaign has been
successful in bolstering the opposition of a number of Senators and
Representatives already hostile to foreign aid. In addition, U.S. Defense
Secretary Sandy Berger stressed that Clinton has no intention of backing
down over his promises to fund the Wye and Sharm el-Sheikh memoranda and
said that Clinton will not sign any foreign aid bill that does not include
that aid.

According to Israel Radio, KOL ISRAEL, the official memorial day marking
four years since Rabin's assassination is being commemorated today with
ceremonies and gatherings throughout the country. An official ceremony at
the graveside of the late Prime Minister was followed by a special mourning
session in the Knesset.

ISRAELIS AND PALESTINIANS TO FORM INTERFAITH FORUM
  Chief Sephardic Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron and the Palestinian Authority's
minister for prisoners issues Hesham Abed Arazach have decided to form an
interfaith forum of Jewish and Muslim religious leaders, HA'ARETZ reported.
The goal of the forum will be to foster good relations between the two
groups.
  Other recent and unique cooperative efforts include the arrival in Israel
next week of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's bureau chief
and the head of Palestinian intelligence. Both figures are also members of
the Palestinian soccer team, which is scheduled to hold a historic,
week-long training camp in Israel, during which time it will compete against
Israel in a friendly atmosphere.

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Scientists dig up near-intact woolly mammoth
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 19:02:27 -0400

From: research-bpr@philologos.org (Moza)

Scientists Dig Up Near-Intact Woolly Mammoth In Sibreian Tundra

WASHINGTON, Oct 21, 1999 -- (Reuters) Scientists said on
Wednesday they had dug a woolly mammoth from the Siberian
permafrost and transported it, virtually intact and still
frozen, to a laboratory for study.

They used a radar imaging technique to "see" the mammoth in its
icy grave, then excavated a huge block of frozen dirt around it
to preserve the 23,000-year-old creature.

"It is the first time that a mammoth carcass from the
permafrost of Siberia has been excavated under such cold
conditions," Dick Mol of the Museum of Natural History in
Rotterdam, who has written several books on mammoths, told
reporters in a telephone briefing.

Samples have been sent to a laboratory for possible attempts to
clone the animal, and scientists will study the carcass to try
to find out why and how it died.

Mol said he was thrilled by the discovery. "When you find the
remains of the animal and you can touch them and even you can
smell them when you use a hair dryer to melt the permafrost," he
said.

The paleontologists, led by North Pole and Siberian explorer
Bernard Buigues, were directed to the site by local residents
who found a tusk sticking up out of the ground.

They dug up the head, which had partially thawed and decayed,
and decided to stop digging for fear of destroying their find.

They brought in ground-penetrating radar. "It is a system that
gave an anomaly other than ice and soil. From this anomaly, it
was interpreted that there was the body of the animal in the
permafrost and the ice," Larry Agenbroad, a mammoth expert at
Northern Arizona University, said.

JACKHAMMERS CRACKED OPEN FROZEN GRAVE

They used jackhammers to break up the frozen soil, which was as
hard as concrete. They dug a trench around the mammoth and then
tunneled underneath before breaking it free.

On a rare sunny day last Sunday, a helicopter lifted the 22-ton
block of frozen dirt and flew it 200 miles (320 km) to the
Russian city of Khatanga.

In Khatanga it has been put into an ice cellar, which has a
constant temperature of -12 or -13 degrees C (-8 or -9 F).

"In April we will return to Khatanga," Mol said. They will use
a rack of hair dryers to thaw out the block, layer by layer, and
examine every speck of plant matter and animals remains they can
find in the soil surrounding the mammoth.

"We hope of course to find the internal parts of the ...
mammoth," Mol added.

Discovery Channel, which funded and filmed the expedition,
released videotape showing the helicopter carrying the huge
block. The mammoth's tusks curved out of one side of the block,
and its thick hair matted the surface.

Buigues confessed that he had taken a bit of dramatic license
in sticking the tusks into the side of the block.

"For me this mammoth is a star," he said in a telephone
interview from Paris. "I had to take care of him like a star. To
travel from (the) place where he slept for more than 20,000
years without his tusks was a pity. I wanted to give him a
second life."

Alexei Tikhonov of the Zoological Institute in Russia's second
city of St. Petersburg had earlier stressed that the mammoth
carcass was not complete.

But he and Buigues said the science behind the expedition was
more important.

"I will be proud if we have only 85 or 90 percent of the
mammoth," Buigues said.

The mammoth, dubbed "Zharkov" after a local man who first
discovered its tusk sticking out of the ice in 1997, was a nine-
foot tall adult male that would have looked like a hairy
elephant to the modern eye.

Carbon dating of bits taken from the mammoth at the site show
it is 23,000 years old. Other tests show it died at the prime of
its life, aged about 47 years, Mol said.

Pieces will be sent off to other laboratories for testing.

"I have been approached by a lab in the United States that has
a track record with cryogenetics," Agenbroad said, referring to
the science of using frozen genetic material. "They have done
cloning. They know the procedure, have experimented with
elephants and have elephants available."

If they can get an intact cell nucleus, they may try to clone
the mammoth using an elephant egg and an elephant as a surrogate
mother. Or they might use frozen sperm, if they can get any, to
try to create an elephant-mammoth hybrid.

The excavation also offers good opportunities to
paleontologists trying to understand what Siberia looked like
20,000 years ago.

Mol said they have found bits of well-preserved plants that
suggest the mammoth died on or near a pond. "It still had its
original green color," Mol said. "This is, for paleontology, a
big discovery."

http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=102930&text

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Largest live event in history of tv
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 19:33:45 -0400

From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.or>

DRUDGE REPORT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1999

PBS is set to announce the "largest live event in the history of
television," the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.

On Friday, December 31, 1999, Public Broadcasting Service stations across
America will begin airing a 25-hour Millennium-Day exploration and
celebration of the world -- a special that has been in the planning stages
for 3 years.

The network says it plans to broadcast to and from virtually every region
of the planet on New Year's Eve.

PBS MILLENNIUM 2000 is the most ambitious live television event in history,
claims the network.

A total of 60 satellite paths, several thousand miles of fiber optic cable,
and more than 2000 cameras will be employed for the show, the DRUDGE REPORT
has learned.

The unprecedented undertaking is the brainchild of WGBH's executive
producer, Zvi Dor-Ner. The program is co-produced by WGBH Boston, the BBC
and a consortium of 56 countries.

The show will be a "momentous celebration and a reflection on the meaning
of this once-in-a-thousand-years transition," says PBS.

- On a holy mountain top of New Zealand's East Cape, Maori warriors dance
to prepare themselves for the challenges of a new age;

- From Robben Prison Island off Cape Town, Nelson Mandela hosts a joyous
celebration of freedom and equality;

- From the South Pole, an observation on the beginning of the universe;

- An acrobatic ballet on the sails of Sydney Opera House;

- Love songs from the symbol of love, the Taj Mahal;

- The Royal opening of the Millennium Dome in Greenwich, England;

- A lot of joie de vivre from the Champs Elysees, lined with dozens of huge
Ferris wheels;

- A ritual of the sun from Macchu Pichu;

- In Europe, nineteen countries will cross into the new millennium together
in a vibrant sequence that will combine contributions from Paris, Rome,
Berlin, Warsaw and Madrid, among others.

According to the network, a sample hour -- for instance, 11 p.m. to
midnight ET -- might consist of:

11:00 Link up: Caribbean Venezuela, Nova Scotia Canada.

11:10 Caracas, Venezuela, Downtown party.

11:15 Special ice skating, dance and acrobatic extravaganza in Montreal.

11:21 El Tajin night ceremony in downtown Mexico City.

11:30 Jordan, a Bedouin welcome ceremony in Petra.

11:39 Israel, Bethlehem ecumenical moment.

11:47 Link-up: Times Square, Toronto, Quebec, Montreal, Miami, Niagara
Falls, Panama, Easter Island, and Lima, Peru.

On and on it will go, until there is no Moet left...

The Alhambra in Spain and the French Quarter in New Orleans; an ice ballet
on a Christmas-lights festooned Tivoli Lake in Denmark and sunrise over the
White Cliffs of Dover; French doctors working in war-devastated Kosovo and
the transformation of Vienna into a city-wide, open-air ballroom...

Hot air balloon festivals, sky diving, native songs and dance, fireworks,
prayers and ritual chants, building dedications, boat races, Las Vegas and
Hollywood entertainment extravaganzas.

Producers expect to record the "lasts" and "firsts" of the old and new
millenniums: the last and first babies - every one of the 70 maternity
hospitals in New Zealand, the initial major country to celebrate 2000,will
have a "PBS MILLENNIUM 2000" camera on site - the
last and first weddings; the final sunset and inaugural sunrise; perhaps
even the first reports of a Y2K "disaster."

When asked if the network plans to cover The Rapture, if it were to occur,
a network spokesman said on Thursday: "Sure, if the satellites are still
beaming."

via: nhney2k@onelist.com

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