To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arabian Gulf turning hot, oily, salty
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 09:14:59 +0000

From: "Moza" <research-bpr@philologos.org>

ARABIAN GULF TURNING HOT, OILY, SALTY

By Sudeshna Sarkar

DOHA, Qatar, September 29, 1999 (ENS) - Shoals of fish are dying in
the northern part of the Arabian Gulf as the salt level soars and the
water temperature rises to a blistering 38 degrees Celsius (100.4
degrees Fahrenheit). A leading Arab environmental organisation warns
that this is the result of the global warming compounded by
indiscriminate dumping of waste water in the region by oil companies
and unchecked oil seepage into this body of water, also known as the
Persian Gulf. Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 1999 For full
text and graphics visit:
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/sep99/1999L-09-29-03.html

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pyramids will flash Y2K light
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 09:30:18 +0000

From: "Moza" <research-bpr@philologos.org>

                 Pyramids Will Flash Y2K Light

                 CAIRO (AFP) -- In a symbol of the renewal
                 of life through the ages, Egypt`s Great
                 Pyramid of Cheops will be rigged to emit
                 golden rays of light at the birth of the new
                 millennium after an all-night electronic opera.

                 The rays will bathe an international audience
                 of 50,000 people at dawn on the year 2000
                 on the desert plateau by Cheops and the two
                 other pyramids, the last of the seven wonders
                 of the ancient world still in existence.

                 The moment will also be beamed to a world
                 television audience in what officials here see
                 as a great opportunity to promote Egypt,
                 whose tourism has suffered greatly from
                 Islamic militant violence.

                 In a three-act performance with the two other focal
                 points at sunset and midnight, French composer
                 Jean-Michel Jarre revealed he will follow the theme
                 of "Twelve Dreams of the Sun," central to ancient
                 Egyptian mythology.

                 His "special effects will give the illusion that the
                 Pyramids are the doors through which the sun passes,"
                 he told a news conference in Cairo Wednesday.

                 "In ancient Egypt, the sun traveled through the night
                 passing through 12 doors, each one representing a
                 dream, to be reborn young and perfect," Jarre said.

                 "The sun, symbol of Egypt and time, seemed to me to
                 be the best analogy to celebrate the new millennium,"
                 he said.

                 There will also be fireworks, dances, a blend of
                 Oriental and Western music, as well as performances
                 by Egyptian groups playing ancient Egyptian
                 instruments.

                 A brochure released at the news conference said the
                 show was designed to revive notions from an ancient
                 time.

                 "The essence of the ancient Egyptian civilization and
                 its primary catalyst is the ancient Egyptian belief
                 that human life is never ending with death," it said.

                 Cheops, estimated to be 4,500 years old and the
                 largest of the trio at 137 meters (452 feet) tall,
                 re-opened to tourists in June after more than a year
                 of restoration.

                 Egypt is promoting the event as marking the start of
                 its own seventh millennium, although critics point
                 out it also coincides with the subdued Muslim fasting
                 month of Ramadan.

                 Critics have also complained that
                 Jarre and his cast of 1,000
                 performers, technicians and others
                 were receiving hundreds of
                 thousands of dollars for a
                 performance that should have been
                 awarded primarily to Egyptians.

                 They also fear Cheops will be
                 damaged when show organizers
                 place a modern nine-meter
                 (29.5-foot) high golden pyramid atop
                 the pyramid`s missing peak to
                 transmit the rays of light for the dawn
                 culmination.

                 But Culture Minister Faruk Hosni,
                 who was at Wednesday`s press
                 conference, again defended the
                 celebration.

                 "Its 9.5-million-dollar cost ... is much
                 lower than the artistic value" of the
                 show, he said.

                 Hosni added that a consortium
                 involving 60 countries will broadcast
                 20 minutes of the extravaganza on
                 300 television channels in a
                 "promotion blitz for Egypt in which
                 every minute is worth a publicity
                 campaign."

                 "Islam does not forbid beauty nor the spread of great
                 values," Hosni said.

                 In respect for Ramadan, Jarre said the opera will
                 start in a low-key way at sundown, when Muslims
                 conduct prayers before breaking the daytime fast.

                 There will be discreet lighting and music inspired by
                 the mystical Muslim Sufi chants, he said.

                 Hosni and Jarre also pointed out that the celebration
                 will feature not only Egyptian performers but also
                 the music of the late Egyptian diva Um Kulthoum,
                 whose voice Jarre pledged would not be modified
                 electronically.

                 The price of tickets ranges from 150 dollars to 400
                 dollars.

http://www.arabia.com/content/culture/9_99/y2k_30.shtml

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Daywatch items (9/30/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 09:39:31 +0000

From: "Moza" <research-bpr@philologos.org>

WASHINGTON -- President Clinton pledged Wednesday to
forgive all the debt owed the United States by 36 of the
world's poorest countries, lamenting that nearly 40 million
people die of hunger each year and 1.3 billion people
struggle on less than $1 a day. Poor nations owe the United
States $5.7 billion, including $2.1 billion from so-called
concessional loans, granted at interest rates of 1 percent
or less.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Advocates for individual privacy are
concerned that groundwork legislation for a national ID may
be included in the final version of a transportation
funding bill when a House and Senate conference committee
finalizes a compromise between the two versions this week.
Full Story: http://www.mcjonline.com/news/news3464.htm

MISSISSIPPI -- The American Family Association (AFA) is
leading a protest against Internet bookseller giant
Amazon.com. For the second time in a week, American Family
Association censured the online bookseller for selling
books which promoted sexual perversion.
Full Story: http://www.mcjonline.com/news/news3465.htm

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Search is on for Jerusalem third temple priests
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 09:04:04 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Extremists Launch Search for Cohens

By Jay Cohen
Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, Sept. 28, 1999

JERUSALEM -- An extremist group that hopes to rebuild the
Jewish temple in Jerusalem has launched a search for descendants
of the priests and caretakers of the ancient temples.

Organizers of the Second Annual Conference of the Lovers of the
Temple said Monday they would use phonebooks and public records
to track down Cohens and Levis, who could be called up for
service if a third temple is built.

Those attending the conference hope to hasten the Messianic age
by building a new temple on the site of the Second Temple, which
was destroyed in 70 A.D. by Romans quelling a Jewish revolt.

Muslims, however, decry their movement, saying it seeks to
destroy Islam's third holiest site -- the Dome of the Rock and
the Al Aqsa mosques, which now stand on the site.

The vast majority of Jews reject plans to force Muslims off the
Temple Mount. Attempts by extremists to lay claim to the site
have led to bloody clashes with Muslims in the past. Judaism's
holiest site, the Western Wall, is the only remnant of the
temple.

"Tonight we started a project in which we will be listing all
Cohens and Levis in the Jewish movement," said Yehuda Etzyon,
head of the Hai VeKayam -- "Alive and Well" -- organization.

The Cohens, the priestly caste in ancient times, led services
at the temple. The Levis maintained the temple and were its
musicians. Their descendants are identified primarily through
their names, including Cohen, Levy and a wide range of
derivatives.

A model of a rebuilt temple was displayed at the conference,
and speakers called for the expulsion of Muslims from the site.
About 200 people attended the conference, at Jerusalem's
International Convention Center.

"One of the ideas of interest is to build a guard of Cohens and
Levis, like the guards of the King and Queen in England, so
people know this is the holiest place in Israel and not the
place the Muslims stole," Etzyon said.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands turned out Monday at the Western
Wall to mark Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. A row of Cohens,
covered completely under white prayer shawls, raised their arms
to bless the crowd.

The weeklong holiday of Sukkot symbolizes the harvest season
and commemorates the 40-year trek through the desert by biblical
Israelites, from Egypt to the Promised Land.

Jewish men dine in huts to commemorate the simple conditions
the Israelites suffered in the wilderness.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israel Line items (9/30/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 18:07:37 +0000

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

ISRAELI OFFICIALS CELEBRATE OPENING OF DISNEYWORLD'S JERUSALEM EXHIBIT
  During Wednesday's opening ceremony of the Israeli Pavilion at
Disneyworld's Millennium Village in Epcot Center, Foreign Ministry
Director-General Eytan Bentsur declared Jerusalem as the Capital of
Israel, and Israel's Ambassador to the United States Zalman Shoval
said that "Political blackmail is just another word for terrorism, and
we all praise Disney for not letting it pass," MA'ARIV reported.
  According to Israeli Radio, KOL ISRAEL, the Israeli pavilion is a
fascinating, state-of-the-art look at the Israeli capital. The film
portrayed in the exhibition presents Jerusalem as "the capital of the
Millennium," while the exhibition itself captures the city's 3,000
year-history and depicts Israel's achievements over the past 51 years.
Visitors can walk in the streets of the old city, watch a live show of
Israeli folk dancing and even send an e-mail message to the Western
Wall in Jerusalem.

ISRAEL SUPPORTS IDEA OF NUCLEAR-FREE MID-EAST
  Israel announced on Wednesday its support in principle for the
establishment of nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East at the
right time and on the condition that there is progress in the peace
process, HATZOFEH reported.
  "Israel is still obliged, in the right time and context, to the
establishment of a mass destruction weapon free zone in the Middle
East," said the chairman of the Israeli committee on Atomic Energy,
Gidon Frank, during the International Agency for Atomic Energy
convention.
  Frank mentioned Iraq as an example of a country that undermines the
stability of the region. In reaction to Iraq's demand that Israel
dismantle its alleged nuclear arsenal, Frank said that its views on
weapons issues have been rendered irrelevant.

via: ISRAELINE@PANKOW.INTER.NET.IL

--- BPR

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Misc. news items (9/30/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 21:47:08 +0000

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

The manufacturer of a gun used in a 1993 San Francisco massacre must
stand trial, a California appellate court ruled. The court reinstated
a civil suit against Navegar Inc., the maker of a semiautomatic pistol
used to slay eight people. The decision marks the first time a US
court has allowed a gunmaker to be sued in a criminal shooting. In
ruling that Navegar can be held liable for the weapon's misuse, the
judges cited the company's marketing practices and the weapon's lack
of apparent legitimate civilian uses.

A first test of a national missle defense system is scheduled for
tomorrow over the South Pacific. The plan calls for launching a dummy
warhead from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and shooting it down
with an interceptor missle fired from Meck Island in the Marshalls.
The system is designed to destroy missles from rogue nations or
terrorists, not to withstand all-out attacks.

The CIA announced plans to become a presence in California's Silicon
Valley. In an effort to stay abreast of developing computer
technology, the agency will set up a venture capital company, In-Q-It.
Besides sharing information with universities and investing in
high-tech firms, the company will form joint ventures to aid it in
addressing computer security issues and information gathering.

Thirty-six impovderished countries will be forgiven their debt to the
US so long as they use the money saved on basic human needs, Clinton
told the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World
Bank. African nations are expected to be the main beneficiaries.

Homosexuality took its second hit from a major African head of state
in less than a week, as Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi called it a
"scourge" and a "dangerous practice" that he would not hesitate to
attack. Moi said he'd warn Kenyans that the practice goes against
biblical teachings as well as African traditions. On Tuesday, Ugandan
President Yoweri Museveni ordered the arrest of openly homosexual
people.

Pizza Hut announced the launch, literally, of an innovative
advertising campaign designed to carry its image to new heights. The
Dallas-based - and world's largest - chain of pizza restaurants said
its logo would be affixed to the unmanned rocket that will place the
living quarters of the International Space Station in orbit above
Earth. The launch is scheduled for mid-November from the former Soviet
republic of Kazakhstan. The company said the 30-foot-high logo should
be visible to a global TV audience, although the rocket will burn up
before leaving Earth's atmosphere.

via: "Free-Mail Subscription"
<freemail-support@csmonitor.com>