To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Sept 22, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 08:22:54 +0000

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

8:00 PM Eastern

 NBC - DATELINE NBC - The results of DNA tests on the
   child of a divorcing couple call into question the paternity
   of the boy.(CC)

 PBS - SEEKING SOLUTIONS WITH HEDRICK SMITH -
   Communities respond to local crime involving teen gangs and
   ethnic violence.(CC)(TVPG)

 A&E - BIOGRAPHY - "Jerry Springer: In the Center Ring"
   - Jerry Springer begins public life as a
   politician.(CC)(TVG)

 DISC - ALL EXPEDITIONS, ALL ADVENTURES - Lost civilization
   in Peruvian mountains; new aquatic species off Cuban waters;
   Cleopatra's remains in the lost city of
   Alexandria.(CC)

9:00

 A&E - INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS - "Mind Control Murder" -
   Dr. Frank Olson, deemed a security risk by the CIA, dies
   mysteriously in 1953.(CC)

 HIST - THE KOREAN WAR: FIRE & ICE - "Retreat From Hell"
   - United Nations forces retreat from Chinese troops in
   freezing weather.(CC)(TVPG)

9:30

 TBN - JACK VAN IMPE PRESENTS

10:00

 NBC - LAW & ORDER - "Gunshow" - McCoy aims to
   prosecute both the suspect and the gun manufacturer after a
   shooting spree in Central Park kills 15
   people.(CC)(TV14)

 HIST - BATTLEFIELD MEDICINE - A corps of medics,
   nurses, surgeons, stretcher-bearers and ambulance drivers
   strives to attend the injured.(CC)(TVG)

--- BPR

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - US Forces on Y2K Alert
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 09:03:14 +0000

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

US Forces on Y2K Alert
Reuters
1:45 p.m. 21.Sep.99.PDT

http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/21865.html

The year 2000 computer glitch could open the door to a sneak attack on
the United States, especially if many automated systems crash, the
Defense Department said in a contingency-planning memo obtained on
Tuesday.

To deal with such a threat, the Pentagon is working out worldwide
staffing and emergency procedures to cope with vulnerabilities that
could be caused by computer mix-ups, according to the memo from the
Joint Chiefs of Staff dated 10 September.

The document, sent to US commanders worldwide, spelled out five alert
levels to streamline the Defense Department's response.

The highest, "Y2K Posture Level One," would reply to "widespread"
systems failures sparked by the century date change. It assumes that
civilian authorities would seek military help to cope with
disruptions.

In such a case, "deliberate information operations attacks and
opportunistic engagements by hostile forces are possible," it said.

"Information operations attacks" refers to computer-based efforts to
knock out critical electronic infrastructure such as financial
networks or military data banks.

"Opportunistic engagements" means surprise attacks timed to cash in on
any Y2K-related confusion in the United States, the world's most
technologically dependent nation.

Under such a Y2K-alert level, "strict" caps on communications
throughout the Defense Department might be imposed, presumably for
fear of playing into the hands of a foe seeking to take advantage of
Y2K-related disruptions, the document said.

The memo from the Joint Chiefs assigned the five unified regional
war-fighting commands and military services the task of preparing
troops, equipment and technical support personnel for five graduated
Y2K-related potential threat levels.

The military would adjust its year-end and early January operations on
the basis of those Y2K "vulnerability" assessments, the document said.
It said the alert level would be declared, as normal, by Defense
Secretary William Cohen.

If a threshold of perceived vulnerability is crossed because of
systems failures, Cohen "will declare a Y2K posture level and the
department will respond by adjusting readiness postures accordingly."

"Recognizing the uniqueness of each Department of Defense
organization, you should develop, promulgate and implement the
corresponding Y2K readiness postures that best prepare your
organization to cope with most probable Y2K consequences," the memo
told commanders, service chiefs, and Pentagon agency heads.

Such preparations were a normal part of military contingency planning
not unlike the five levels of readiness for a hurricane, said a
spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Lieutenant Commander Jim
Brooks.

"Preparing for Y2K is much like we would do for any potential threat
out there," he said.

Many military units have been conducting "tabletop" exercises to get
ready for the Y2K glitch, which may scramble systems that have not
been reprogrammed to recognize the century date change in 101 days.

Such drills, partly to determine where to base equipment such as
electric generators and emergency medical supplies, "have already
taken place and they are taking place," Brooks said.

John Hamre, the deputy defense secretary in charge of Y2K at the
Pentagon, is "particularly interested in your assessment of the need
to pre-position" personnel and equipment to cope with any Y2K
problems, the memo said.

via: nhney2k-owner@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Middle East Newsline items (9/22/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 09:03:14 +0000

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

SOUNDBYTE:
"For many years to come, Americans will become increasingly less
secure. America will become increasingly vulnerable to hostile attack
on our homeland, and our military superiority will not entirely
protect us. Americans will likely die on American soil, possibly in
large numbers. Threats to American security will be more diffuse,
harder to anticipate and more difficult to neutralize than ever
before." --U.S. presidential commission says the United States is
becoming a target of bio-terrorism.

MIDDLE EAST DIARY
--------------------------------
-In Teheran, new Iranian weapons are to be displayed at the beginning
of Sacred Defense Week
-In Cairo, Arab League information ministers meet to discuss Disney
boycott
-In western Black Sea, five countries including Turkey participate in
naval maneuvers
-In Toronto, NATO defense ministers conclude two days of meetings
-In New York, U.S. Secretary of State Albright meets Syrian Foreign
Minister A-Shaara
-In New York, Palestinian leader Arafat arrives
-In Ramallah, PA officials will meet to stop Arab contractors to work
in Jewish settlements
-In Bethlehem, Palestinian legislator Taamari holds meeting on Israeli
measures in northern Bethlehem area
-In two Golan Heights communities, new Israeli neighborhoods are
dedicated

FRANCE OFFERS TO RESETTLE PALESTINIANS
CAIRO [MENL] -- France has offered to resettle some of Lebanon's
nearly 500,000 Palestinian refugees, an Arab newspaper reported on
Wednesday.
    The London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat said in a front page report that
    the
offer was made during talks held by Lebanese security chief Jamil Said
in Paris on Tuesday. The talks were part of France's initiative to
launch the resumption of peace negotiations between Israel, Lebanon
and Syria.
    The French effort is meant to overcome military problems involved
    in a
peace agreement and in Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon and the
Golan Heights.
    The French offer was the first time a European country was said to
    have
formally invited Palestinian refugees. Palestinian sources said a
similar option was discussed in academic talks that involved the
United States and European countries.
    In New York, Prime Minister Salim Hoss reiterated that Lebanon
    would not
resettle Palestinian refugees. Hoss said peace talks between Israel
and Lebanon must include the return of Palestinian refugees in what is
now Israel.
    Hoss has also rejected meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister David
    Levy
during the United Nations General Assembly session. U.S. Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright and European Union officials are trying to
arrange a meeting between Arab foreign ministers and Levy.
    On Wednesday, French President Jacques Chirac will meet Israeli
    Prime
Minister Ehud Barak in Paris. Officials said Chirac will discuss ideas
for the resumption of negotiations with Lebanon and Syria.
    In a related development, A-Sharq al-Awsat quoted a U.S. official
    as
saying that Syrian ambassador to Washington Walid Mualem has ended his
mission and will return to his country within the next few weeks.
Mualem has been named as Syria's next foreign minister. Diplomatic
sources said the return of Mualem is part of a shakeup of Syria's
diplomatic corps.

JORDANIAN OPPOSITION PLANS TO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISRAEL
AMMAN [MENL] -- Jordanian opposition groups plan to launch a campaign
to battle Amman's policy of normalizing relations with Israel.
    Opposition groups plan to meet on Friday to plan a conference they
    said
will be attended by 500 Jordanian union members and professionals.
Plans to hold such a parley in May were cancelled because of pressure
by authorities.
    The conference plans to boycott people and companies who maintain
relations with Israel.
    Meanwhile, authorities have released a leading Jordanian
    publisher.
"This was a plot orchestrated by the government and I hope that the
government and all the people executing its policies know that their
plot has failed, as will others,'' Riad Hroub, chairman of the board
and bublisher of Al Arab Al Yawm daily newspaper.
    Hroub was arrested on Saturday and accused of "fraud,
    embezzlement and
misleading the company's general assembly."
    "I was very surprised when the attorney general said he was forced
    to
place me under arrest for 14 days of investigations and to transfer me
to court over the complaints filed against me, despite the fact that I
was not questioned throughout my meeting with [General Attorney Ali]
Masri on any fraud or embezzlement," Hroub told a news conference.
    Al Arab Al Yawm has been a gadfly of the government and has
    exposed
several scandals. "They will not stop Al Arab Al Yawm if they arrest
me, or even sentence me to death," Hroub said. "We have created the
soul of an independent paper that will remain independent."

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Homosexual Reporters Want More Same-Sex Affection on TV
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 09:18:52 +0000

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

          Homosexual Reporters Want More Same-Sex
                                  Affection On TV

         ATLANTA, GA (CNS) -- A panel of homosexual journalists and
         media officials said Saturday that now is the time for
         increased portrayals of same-sex physical affection on
         television shows.

         The panel discussion entitled "Beyond Ellen," a reference to
         the now-cancelled television program about a lesbian comic,
         discussed the impact of same-sex kissing scenes on prime time
         television and the future of televised portrayals of
         homosexual affection.

         The panel discussion on portrayals of homosexuals in
         entertainment television was part of a four-day National
         Lesbian-Gay Journalists Association convention in Atlanta. An
         estimated 600 reporters and other media officials attended
         the convention, at which major television and print news
         organizations recruited journalists and other staff.

         News organizations with booths at the convention included NBC
         News, USA Today, CNN, Knight-Ridder, the New York Times, the
         Washington Post and taxpayer-subsidized National Public
         Radio, among others.

         The consensus of the panel discussion on more depictions of
         homosexual affection on TV was illustrated by USA Today
         television critic Robert Bianco, who said sexual
         traditionalists and people of faith who oppose homosexuality
         for religious reasons were "upset because they realize the
         war is already won," regarding homosexual characters on
         television. "There are still battles to be fought and it's
         not over, but we have won."

         Others cited the ratings of the NBC television program "Will
         and Grace" as further evidence that homosexuality is gaining
         broader acceptance among Americans.

         Back-to-back reruns of the program received 6.3 and 7.0
         ratings during the week of September 6-12, according to data
         published in the September 20 issue of Broadcasting and Cable
         magazine. A ratings point is equal to slightly less than one
         million American homes.

         "Ratings equal power," said Scott Seomin of the Gay Lesbian
         Alliance Against Defamation.

         But many advocates at the homosexual journalists conference
         also pointed to what they called the need for more portrayals
         of homosexual couples in general news stories and TV news
         reporting, drawing qualified support from CNN President
         Richard Kaplan.

         "It's a wonderful point, you're right," said Kaplan. "We'll
         look to make a change to that." Kaplan also warned against
         having homosexual news reporters covering homosexual issues.

         "When you start to... have your gay reporter cover your gay
         story or whatever, I think that's a big mistake," said
         Kaplan, adding that doing so might "play into Jerry Falwell's
         hands."

         Falwell is a Virginia-based evangelist who opposes
         homosexuality. He came under fire in some quarters for
         remarks earlier this year drawing a comparison between
         homosexuality and one of the characters on the PBS children's
         program "Teletubbies," a comparison that had already been
         drawn in a number of homosexual media outlets.

         (c 1999, Conservative News Service)

http://www.mcjonline.com/news/news3440.htm

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Misc. news items (9/22/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 12:38:34 +0000

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

U.N. EMPHASIZES GLOBALIZATION OVER NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY September 21,
1999

The Washington Times reported: "Leaders of the United Nations
warned at yesterday's opening of the U.N. General Assembly
that national borders will no longer be a deterrent to justified
humanitarian intervention. Traditional considerations of national
sovereignty will no longer be taken into account, Kofi Annan,
secretary-general of the U.N., told the opening session of the
188-member world body. Governments must not allow divisions within the
Security Council to derail legitimate intervention in places such as
Rwanda and Kosovo, he said. 'If states bent on criminal behavior know
that frontiers are not an absolute defense, if they know that the
Security Council will take action to halt crimes against humanity,
then they will not embark on such a course of action in expectations
of sovereign impunity,' he said. 'Massive and systematic violations of
human rights -- wherever they may take place -- should not be allowed
to stand.' Traditional talk of human rights, globalization and
conflict resolution took on new immediacy against the backdrop of
civilian atrocities in Kosovo and in East Timor, where U.N. troops,
mostly Australian, began arriving yesterday..."

ISRAEL TO SEEK PEACE AND SAFETY September 21, 1999

CNN reported: "Prime Minister Ehud Barak pledged on Sunday
to pursue peace with Israel's Arab neighbors 'with the olive
branch and the sword' to ensure a secure future for the Jewish
state. In tones that echoed his peacemaking
predecessors Yitzhak Rabin and Menachem Begin, Barak renewed
a commitment to forge peace with Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinians
in a national address before the start of the Jewish people's highest
holy day, Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. The holiday, when Israel
comes to a halt for a day of fasting and prayer, also marks the 26th
anniversary by the Hebrew calendar of the 1973 war when Syria and
Egypt launched a surprise attack in a failed bid to recapture the
Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula. 'In these days,
we are extending our hand towards the peace of the brave with all our
neighbors,' Barak, a former army chief of staff and Israel's most
decorated soldier, said in a message to bereaved families from the
1973 war. 'In one hand we hold an olive branch, in the other we hold
a sword so that we shall (not make) war no more,' he said. His words
were borrowed from an exhortation in the bible to turn swords into
ploughshares that Begin also quoted at the White House in 1979 when he
signed a peace treaty with Egypt, Israel's first with an Arab
state..."

U.N. MEETING TO BRING WORLD LEADERS September 21, 1999

South China Morning Post: "World leaders begin gathering today
for the last time in the 20th century to tackle the global
agenda that will dominate the start of the next millennium
- from the Internet revolution to the
centuries-old dilemmas of poverty and war. In all, 186 of the
188 United Nations member states plan to address the UN General
Assembly's general debate, a two-week discussion that gives
leaders from nations big and small a global platform. The last
debate of the millennium is attracting an
unusually high turnout of world leaders, including South African
President Thabo Mbeki, Nigerian un Sen is also attending his first
General Assembly. Only Yugoslavia and Somalia are not speaking..."

Taiwan earthquake 'unusual', scientists say

Weekend News Today
By Staff Writer
Source: BBC

Tue Sep 21,1999 -- The earthquake which rocked buildings and
killed more than 1,000 people in central Taiwan in
the early hours of Tuesday morning was unusual, say seismologists.
Normally, quakes in the region occur hundreds of kilometres out to
sea, far away from urban populations. But this tremor, which measured
about 7.6 on the Richter scale, struck inland, close to the central
city of Taichung. It was also very near the Earth's surface. Already,
scientists have begun analysing data from seismometers around the
world. "It looks as if this one was peculiar in some way," said Dr
Chris Browitt from the British Geological Survey in Edinburgh. "It
looks as like it was much shallower than usual and in a different
area."

This was confirmed by reporters on the ground. "This quake
happened in the mountains on the western side of the
island," said Diane Baker of the Taipei Times. "The big cities
of Taipei and Taichung are unprotected for something
like this."

Annan: UN Intervention `Everywhere Or Nowhere'

Weekend News Today
By Andy Laurents
Source: International News

Tue Sep 21,1999 -- AS PEACE-KEEPING troops fanned out across
East Timor yesterday, Kofi Annan, the
United Nations secretary general, warned that the emerging
doctrine for robust international intervention to
tackle human rights crimes could only work if it was applied
everywhere in the same way.

Opening the last UN general assembly of this century, Mr Annan
spoke of the discrepancies between the
organisation's failure to act in the face of the 1994 Rwandan
genocide, Nato's attack on Yugoslavia over Kosovo
without even a mandate from the Security Council, and most
recently the dispatch of an international, UN-backed
force to East Timor - but only with the prior approval of Indonesia.

If the new commitment to intervene was to retain the support
of public opinion around the world, he said, "it must be,
and be seen to be, fairly and consistently applied, irrespective of
region or nation. Humanity after all is indivisible."

With his speech, Mr Annan immediately set the tone of an assembly
certain to be dominated by the issue of where - and how - to draw the
line between national sovereignty, and the right of the international
community to step in to end a manifest injustice. But agreement will
be anything but easy.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria - which has consistently
opposed any outside "interference" to help to resolve its own bloody
internal turmoil - rejected any UN intervention government of the
country involved.

The secretary general said it had been "a tragedy" that the
Security Council, which was required by the UN's
founding charter to defend the "common interest" had not presented a
united front over Kosovo.

Globalisation was making the UN more important than ever, he
argued, but similar failures in future could
destroy its credibility.

Mr Annan joined the French Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, in
making clear that the UN could do nothing without
money. In a pointed reference to the US, which is up to $1.5bn
in arrears on its contributions to the world body, Mr
Jospin urged "all countries" to meet their financial obligations. If
Washington does not come up with at least $250m by the end of the
year, it risks being stripped of its voting rights in the general
assembly.

Britain is earmarking a special contingent of police officers
for UN peace-keeping operations. The move,
announced by the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, to the general
assembly last night, involves up to 200 men, 40 to 50
of whom will constitute a rapid response squad available for
immediate deployment. It follows Britain's decision to
put the equivalent of a brigade of troops on permanent stand-by
for UN operations.

via: pre-trib-news <rapture77@bigfoot.com>

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israeline items (9/22/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 18:03:04 +0000

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

UN DIPLOMACY: A MIDDLE EAST OUTLOOK
United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will re-initiate
efforts at renewing peace negotiations between Israel and Syria
during a private meeting today with Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk a
Shara, YEDIOT AHARONOT reported. Israeli Foreign Minister David Levy,
who arrived in New York today for the United Nations General Assembly,
is scheduled to meet with Albright on Monday. Until then, a public
meeting is scheduled for Friday between Levy and his counterparts,
Albright and Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Moussa. Levy is scheduled
to address the General Assembly on September 29 at 10:45 a.m., in
which he will ask the nations to abide by "a code of conduct" with
regard to Middle East peace negotiations, namely, its pursuit on a
bilateral basis.
    Meanwhile, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported that Israel opposes the
appointment of Norwegian diplomat Terje Roed-Larsen as both UN Special
Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Secretary-General
Kofi Annan's Personal Representative to the Palestine Liberation
Organization and the Palestinian Authority. Israel's opposition stems
from the fact that the title of the appointment over-extends the role
of the UN into an area designated for bilateral talks between Israel
and the Palestinians. Israel asserts that the basis of the
Arab-Israeli peace process, since its advent during the 1991 Madrid
Peace Conference, has been direct, face-to-face negotiations between
the parties. Any attempt to alter these terms of reference, including
the involvement of the UN in the negotiating process, is unacceptable
to the Government of Israel.
  While at the UN, meanwhile, British Foreign Minister Robin Cook raised the
fate of the thirteen Jews detained in Iran with his Iranian corollary,
Kamal Kharazzi. Cook later promised reporters to raise this issue
again during an upcoming visit to Iran. Furthermore, during his visit
to Iran, Austrian President Thomas Klestil expressed "fears and
concerns of the European Union with regard to their human rights
practices."

GERMAN CHANCELLOR PLEDGES TO ENHANCE ISRAEL'S TIES WITH EU
   Prime Minister Ehud Barak and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, held a
working meeting in Berlin on Tuesday, in which they discussed
Germany's role in the multilateral talks and in regional projects, as
well as Israel's relations with the European Union, THE JERUSALEM POST
reported. Europe, Barak told Schroeder during the first leg of a
three-day European tour, has a role to play on the multilateral track.
 Barak also asked that Germany assist Israel in securing a
preferential agreement with the EU.
   According to HA'ARETZ, Barak asked Schroeder to give real content to the
Essen Declaration of five years ago, which promised Israel a special
status with regard to the EU. Schroeder responded affirmatively and
said that it was necessary and possible to reach a special
relationship between Israel and the EU, promising to make the
Declaration a reality.
  Schroeder subsequently praised Barak "for proving to the entire world that
it is possible to bring a new dynamic to the peace process."
   During their visit today to the slave labor camp of Sachsenhausen, Barak
urged a resolution of the issue of slave labor reparations, stressing
its urgency given the age of survivors, THE JERUSALME POST reported.
Schroeder responded that he believes the matter will be concluded this
year.
   Barak will meet tomorrow with French President Jacques Chirac, Prime
Minister Loinel Jospin and leading Jewish leaders.

ARAFAT: ISRAEL IMPLEMENTED ACCORD "TO THE LETTER"
   Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat told reporters in Alexandria
that Israel has implemented the terms of the Sharm el Sheikh
Memorandum "to the letter," adding that "the Israeli side has
implemented the first phase precisely and well," THE JERUSALEM POST
reported. Arafat briefed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Israel's
implementation of the accord and discussed prospects for a final peace
treaty. Arafat later flew to the United States, where he will address
the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday and meet with U.S.
President Bill Clinton in the White House on Friday.
    According to HA'ARETZ, a member of the American peace team has told
Israel that the U.S. does not intend to add any additional pledges to
those the Palestinians have already procured from Clinton in both a
letter from the President and during discussions on the Sharm el
Sheikh Memorandum.
   Since Arafat signed the Sharm agreement with Prime Minister Ehud Barak
nearly three weeks ago, Israel has released 199 Palestinian prisoners
and transferred civil powers to the PA in seven percent of the West
Bank.

POPE TO SIGN PEACE CALENDAR
   Pope John Paul II will sign today a calendar painted by a group of
Israeli and Palestinian teenagers from Israel, YEDIOT AHARONOT
reported. The Pope's signature will be followed by those of United
States President Bill Clinton, President Ezer Weizman and other world
leaders. Proceeds from sales of this calendar have been earmarked to
fund a computer program designed to forge new connections between
Israeli and Palestinian teenagers. UNESCO and The Peres Center For
Peace are sponsoring the project.

via: ISRAELINE@PANKOW.INTER.NET.IL