BPR Mailing List Digest: 08/01/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
August 1, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | August, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Aug 1, 2000 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 08:35:17 -0400

8:00 PM Eastern

HIST - THE TRUE STORY OF ROBIN HOOD - The quest for the
outlaw's identity is nearly as old as the legend
itself.(CC)(TVG)

9:00

HIST - WEALTH & POWER - "Building a Modern World"
- Astor; Carnegie; Morgan; Vanderbilt;
Rockefeller.(CC)(TVG)

10:00

HIST - U.S. MINTS: MONEY MACHINES - Secretive U.S.
government facilities generate legal tender.(CC)(TVG)

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - UN NGOs Propose UN Currency, Banks and Global Computer
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 08:43:20 -0400

June 30, 2000

UN NGOs Propose UN Currency, Banks and Global Computer to Implement Plan
for Welfare Check for Every Person

Geneva, Switzerland --- As government leaders from 170 nations deliver
their official addresses on scial development needs and progress at a
special session of the UN General Assembly in Geneva, across the street
thousands of other UN delegates are discussing ways to meet those needs
through UN agencies. Thomas Jacobson, senior policy analyst for Freedom
Alliance, attended a session today, titled, Basic Income For All People.
"While well-intentioned," Mr. Jacobson said, "the UN delegates are
proposing systems that would give the UN a measure of control over every
person, nation and economy in the world. Plus the UN would have its own
currency and banks, and have a gigantic computer with information about
every person on the face of the earth. That is alarming!"

The idea of giving every person in the world a basic income, or yearly
welfare check of approximately 250 UN dollars, was invented by the late
Pieter Kooistra, an artist from the Netherlands. His idea is being
passionately promoted by others before the UN and Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) that work closely with the UN. Here are some of the
basic elements of the proposal:

The money: 250 UN dollars to each person each year (may be in UN
currency or UN bank debit card);

· For 6 billion people, the cost would be at least 1.5 trillion UN
dollars per year;

· People in poorer countries would receive more, which would increase
the cost;

· Funds could be used to buy food and necessities, but the "rich" could
not use funds for food;

· The "people of the world would decide … what goods and services could
be purchased";

· Over 15-20 years, the amount would be increased to about 3,500 UN
dollars.

UN Banks, "Supplemental Economy" and "Field Representatives":

· UN would have a central bank and local banks;

· An entirely separate "supplemental economy" would be developed using
the UN currency;

· There would be a central computer system that would know how much each
person may spend;

· Every 1,000 people would be represented by a UN field worker, who
would, for each person, enter into the global computer personal
information and items approved for purchase;

· Those who are found guilty of any type of coercion or fraud would be
banned from the system.

Mr. Jacobson concluded, "What is being proposed by these UN delegates is
nothing short of global government with great potential for misuse."

For further information or to arrange an interview, call Mr. Jacobson at
one of the above Geneva numbers from June 26 to July 1. If calling from
the U.S., call: 011-41-79-470-1701 (cell phone), or 011-41-22-732-1530
(hotel). After July 5th, call the USA office at 703-444-7940.

http://www.freedomalliance.org/press/pr063000.htm

Link via:
http://www.newsviewtoday.com

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Fidel´s Floozies Fall From Grace
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 08:47:46 -0400

Fidel´s Floozies Fall From Grace

NewsMax.com
Monday, July 31, 2000

They were a key tourist attraction, raking in lots of hard currency for
Fidel Castro´s cash-strapped regime, and Fidel couldn´t have been
happier. But Cuba´s widely acclaimed hookers have lost favor with the
communist government and now face "rehabilitation," communism´s
euphemism for a stay in brainwashing prison camps.

Where once Castro sang their praises, as he did before Cuba´s National
Assembly in 1992, he now says he´s unleashing his feared Special
Brigades to round up the prostitutes – known locally as jineteras
(jockeys) – and drive them from the streets.

And they have. According to Silvano Paternostro, the women who were once
a fixture on Havana´s toniest streets have now been driven underground.

Writing in the July 10 and 17 issues of the New Republic, Paternostro
explained that the hookers' crime wasn´t prostitution – that´s not
illegal in the socialist workers' paradise – but capitalist consumerism,
the deadliest of communism´s deadly sins. In Castro´s eyes, prostitution
had suddenly become a political threat.

In 1992 Castro told the National Assembly that there were no women
forced to sell themselves. No siree. They do it on their own,
"voluntarily and without any need for it.

"We can say that they are highly educated jineteras and quite healthy,
because we are in a country with the lowest number of AIDS cases. ...
Therefore there is truly no tourism healthier than Cuba´s."

In other words, come and get it, Gringos – and don´t worry about getting
something else while you´re at it. After all, we are a healthy society.
Moreover, the jineteras were not just mere prostitutes, the government
advised. They were "promoters of tourism."

And they came and got it, by the hundreds of thousands from all across
Europe and even the United States. The government invited Playboy to
come down and photograph an issue featuring Cuba´s unique charms, and
distributed posters to travel agencies across the globe featuring lots
of white sand and lots of topless tan flesh.

"The campaign was wildly successful," Paternostro wrote. "In 1990,
300,000 tourists visited Cuba; last year more than 1.7 million did."

Largely thanks to the jineteras – described as some of the world´s most
beautiful women – "Cuba became one of the most popular stops on the sex-
vacation circuit, right up there with Thailand."

But there was an unexpected result of Cuba´s flirtation with the Sodom
and Gomorrah routine. The hookers, flush with foreign currency, began to
spend their earnings as if they were upper-class American housewives on
shopping sprees at their local upscale shopping mall. They were getting
hooked on consumerism and inciting envy among their fellow Cubans, who
also want a piece of the capitalist pie.

As Paternostro explained, it was not what they sell that bothered the
government, but the "frivolous things they buy."

"The prostitution Castro hoped would revive the Cuban economy was having
social and even ideological effects his government could not control,"
Paternostro wrote.

In the process of earning a lot of hard currency, the jineteras were
embracing the so-called dollar mentality that the communist government
sees as a serious threat to its existence.

And so Castro stopped pimping for the ladies, turned puritan, and
announced that "a pair of high heels, a luxurious little shoe, a
seductive perfume, a new dress cannot be the price of honor and the
sustenance of a nation."

After the sermon came the threat: "It hurts too much that a country that
has done so much to dignify women, that a foreigner can come and trick
her, fill her with vices ... to corrupt her." So out would go the feared
Special Brigades to round up the jineteras. "We will win this battle,"
Castro pledged.

But as Paternostro points out, Castro really can´t afford to "win this
battle." His government still needs all that lovely hard currency, and
to get it he needs to attract large contingents of tourists. In
suppressing one of Cuba´s foremost tourist attractions, he is also
suppressing a key source of that much-desired foreign currency.

And so the jineteras are still available. They´re no longer walking the
streets in their signature yellow, purple or black Lycra, but they can
still be found in Cuba´s many sleazy underworld nightclubs, still
hauling in big bucks, still spending like capitalists – and spreading
capitalist fever in the socialist workers´ paradise.

http://www.newsmax.com/articles/?a=2000/7/31/130030

Link via:
http://www.newsviewtoday.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Edupage items (7/31/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 08:52:39 -0400

E-MAIL GOES POSTAL
The U.S. Postal Service is proceeding with a controversial
program to provide e-mail service to anyone who has a U.S.
residential address. The program comes as the Postal Service
continues to lose business to e-mail and the Internet. These
losses could total as much as $17 billion by 2008, industry
observers predict. Under the new program, consumers can either
keep their e-mail in a Postal Service account or have it
forwarded to another e-mail address, while those without Internet
access could receive printouts of their e-mails through the
regular mail at a cost of 41 cents for every two pages. The
program is voluntary, and the Postal Service is not providing any
Internet access at this time. The Postal Service also will link
all of its e-mail addresses to its main customer database in
Memphis, Tenn. This has raised fears among Internet industry
observers that the new service will provide direct marketers with
an unprecedented opportunity to reach consumers. The Postal
Service maintains it will prevent spamming and says federal law
prevents it from sharing consumer information with a third party.
(Wall Street Journal, 31 July 2000)

FEW NOTICE $10,000 KIOSK SET UP TO MAKE GOVERNMENT
ACCESSIBLE
An Internet kiosk was installed in a grocery store in Washington,
D.C., on Thursday, as part of a federal effort to form a closer
link between the government and citizens. The General Services
Administration (GSA) is testing the kiosks, and has already sent
the devices to several other cities. The $10,000 kiosk provides
information about birth certificates, driver's licenses, student
loans, taxes, and Social Security. Users can also print out
federal and local forms and e-mail elected officials. The kiosks
will help D.C. and federal governments to better serve
constituents, says D.C. Deputy Mayor Norman Dong. The GSA has
purchased 36 kiosks, all of which will contain the same federal
information. Meanwhile, local governments will be able to
customize their section of the kiosks to provide information
relevant to their specific region. Although few shoppers noticed
the new D.C. kiosk, one user suggested that the device might
catch on as people become more comfortable with technology.
(Washington Times, 31 July 2000)

AUTO MAKERS TAKING HIGH-TECH ROAD
Major automakers and their suppliers are embracing technology by
outfitting vehicles with "telematic" devices that provide a range
of Internet, satellite, and telecommunications services. General
Motors, considered a telematics pioneer, has been offering its
OnStar system since 1996. OnStar automatically phones police and
ambulance services when air bags are deployed, and can also serve
as a concierge service that makes dinner and theater
reservations, for example. This year, GM will release its OnStar
Virtual Adviser, which will use voice software to read drivers
their e-mail, as well as stock, sports, or weather reports.
Meanwhile, Cadillac offers its Infotainment System, which lets
passengers play CDs, CD-ROMs, and MP3s; use a computerized
address book; and write e-mails on a Windows CE-based system. The
Infotainment system also reads news aloud, records voice memos
dictated by users, and offers an infrared port to let users share
data with handhelds. Meanwhile, companies such as XM Radio and
Sirius are creating satellite radio systems that will allow users
to listen to hundreds of radio stations.
(Los Angeles Times, 31 July 2000)

EDUPAGE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Vatican Seeks a Say on Jerusalem
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 08:59:35 -0400

Vatican Seeks a Say on Jerusalem

VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The Vatican has something to offer Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright: its influence with the Palestinians in prodding them
toward accord with Israel on Jerusalem.

The Vatican, for its part, wants something from the U.S-brokered mediation
on Jerusalem's final status: a say.

Albright interrupted her flight home from an Asian tour to meet Tuesday with
the Vatican's foreign minister, Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, on the failed
Israeli-Palestinian talks at Camp David in July.

The Vatican made clear during the talks that it, along with Israel and the
Palestinians, holds its own distinct position on the city, sacred to Christians,
Jews and Muslims alike.

The talks deadlocked over rival claims by Israel and the Palestinians to
Jerusalem as a capital. Palestinians said they would accept nothing less
than full sovereignty over east Jerusalem, home to all the city's most
important religious sites.

The Vatican has a different vision for Jerusalem, long-held and so strongly
felt that Pope John Paul II publicly reminded Camp David's powerbrokers of it
during the talks.

Urging all sides ``not to overlook the importance of the spiritual dimension of
the city of Jerusalem,'' John Paul repeated the Holy See's insistence that
international oversight -- ``a special statute, internationally guaranteed'' --
would best safeguard the city's holy sites and all its religions.

Albright, however, told a news conference Tuesday that the issue of
internationalization ``was not the solution'' at the Camp David talks.

In February, the Palestinians and the Vatican signed an accord that, among
other conditions regarding Palestinian territory, calls for international
safeguards of freedom of religion in Jerusalem.

It is not clear if Arafat's insistence at Camp David on full Palestinian
sovereignty over east Jerusalem posed a conflict with that accord.

The Palestinians ``were not interested in internationalization even though
they openly called for an open city,'' Albright said after talks with Italian
Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini.

Albright later went to the Vatican for the talks Tauran, the Holy See's foreign
minister.

Arafat has a long history with John Paul, who has met with the Palestinian
leader a half-dozen times starting in 1982, when Israel still was calling Arafat
a terrorist.

John Paul was saying two decades ago that he saw Israel and Palestinians
both as having a right to their own homelands.

In 1996, a week after an icebreaking handshake with then-Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Arafat said in Rome that he saw that city as a
model for the ultimate status of Jerusalem. The Vatican is a sovereign state
within Italy.

``We want Jerusalem to be a city open to Israelis and Palestinians, exactly
like Rome is the capital of the Vatican and of Italy,'' Arafat said on a trip to
lobby for Italian and Vatican support.

``The Jerusalem question could make the peace process fail -- or become
the symbol of peaceful coexistence among Muslims, Christians and Jews,''
Arafat said, prophetically, then.

Also Tuesday, Albright met with the president of Yugoslavia's pro-Western
republic, Montenegro. After meeting in a Rome hotel with President Milo
Djukanovic, Albright told a news conference that Montenegrin and Serbian
opposition leaders should urge their supporters not to boycott upcoming
national elections in Yugoslavia.

``It is important for the democratic opposition in Serbia to unite and
participate in the elections,'' Albright said. ``They have an opportunity to do
that and they need to unite on a single candidate.''

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Rev 7:1 Revisited
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Cynthia")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 07:35:05 -0600

It is clear that the weather is changing dramatically - and has been for
several years now. I'm in Northwest New Mexico, near the Four Corners, and
we've always had four seasons - we're at 5300 ft. elev. Until four years
ago. The winters have been so mild that the bugs don't freeze, hence we're
plagued not only with no appreciable moisture, but with insects and spiders
like we've never seen before. Twenty years ago I heard of a climatologist
who predicted that New Mexico would once again be a wet state, similar to
the days when dinosaurs roamed here. I certainly feel the change to a more
tropical, seasonless climate, but the moisture has yet to make an
appearance. My prayers, right now, are for the fire fighters. And for maybe
just one day of NH temps! Cynthia

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News: Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2000
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 12:29:59 -0400

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2000 / Tammuz 29, 5760

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. PRESIDENT KATZAV TO BE SWORN IN
   2. PERES DEFEAT DEALS BLOW TO THE CLINTONS
   3. PRAYERS AGAINST WITHDRAWALS
   4. PA PREPARATIONS
   5. GOV'T HANGING ON
   6. RAMPANT ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION DRIVES PISGAT ZE'EV TO DESPERATE
   ACTIONS 7. IN BRIEF

1. PRESIDENT KATZAV TO BE SWORN IN
Israel's new President, Moshe Katzav, will be sworn in this evening at
6:30 in a festive ceremony in the Knesset. Recently-resigned Ezer
Weizman will speak at the ceremony as well. Twelve hundred people have
been invited to the event. Katzav has asked Aryeh Shumer to remain in
his post as Director-General of the President's Home for the time being.

Likud MK Limor Livnat, speaking in the Knesset yesterday, called upon
Prime Minister Barak to "pay attention to the writing on the wall
today... Moshe Katzav's election is the first, but not the last, price
to be paid by the left-wing for turning its back on the Nation of
Israel's sacred values."

2. PERES DEFEAT DEALS BLOW TO THE CLINTONS
Shimon Peres, who lost in his bid to become Israel's President
yesterday, has withdrawn his letter of resignation from the government,
and will continue as Minister of Regional Development. Peres said this
morning that the "continuation of the peace process is more important to
me than my own personal future." He called upon Prime Minister Barak to
quickly complete the final-status agreement with the Palestinians, "as
there will soon be new elections."

Arutz-7 correspondent Yedidya Atlas reports, based on sources close to
both the Clinton Administration and to Hilary Clinton's Senatorial
campaign in New York State, that the Clintons were "shocked and
dismayed" by the news of Shimon Peres' loss yesterday. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Clinton had been relying on a President Peres to promote their
respective agendas, say the sources, including the American plan for the
division of Jerusalem and improving Hilary's lagging support among
Jewish New York voters. Nationalist-camp sources in Israel also
expressed relief that U.S. President Clinton had now lost some of his
leverage in pushing his Jerusalem plan.

Ha'aretz commentator Akiva Eldar terms Peres a "victim of Barak's"
policies, and wrote, "... the ministers of his [Barak's] own party, who
until recently were considered his staunchest loyalists, are now sharing
the same experience as the former Shas ministers. They are telling each
other how 'Ehud ignored/is ignoring their existence,' revealing to them
only secrets that can be found on the front pages of the newspapers. If
Barak rather than Peres had run for president yesterday in the Knesset
in a secret ballot, Katzav would not even have needed a second round to
win."

3. PRAYERS AGAINST WITHDRAWALS
A massive Rosh Chodesh-eve prayer service will be held at the Western
Wall this evening, in light of Barak's plans to withdraw from parts of
Eretz Yisrael and to divide Jerusalem, "as well as other calamities that
have befallen Israel of late." Former Chief Rabbis Shapira and Eliyahu
initiated the service, and Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef has
announced that he will also take part. A similar prayer service will
take place in Elijah´s Cave in Haifa later today.

Hundreds of Lubavitch Hassidim gathered in Kfar Chabad last night, to
rally against any further withdrawals from the Land of Israel.
Lubavitchers around the world were called upon "not to be silent in the
face of the dangerous withdrawals."

4. PA PREPARATIONS
Concern is mounting in Jerusalem over the continued preparations by the
Palestinians for a military clash with Israel - despite recent
assessments that no such clash would erupt in the weeks ahead. Arutz-7
correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that Palestinian hospitals are now
on "high alert." He adds that the IDF is also concerned with the
increased incitement against Yesha residents over the past weeks. A
high-ranking Palestinian official has publicly accused "terrorists of
[the Shomron city] Ariel" of planning to murder local Arabs.

5. GOV'T HANGING ON
The government survived two no-confidence motions yesterday, although
not by much. The National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu faction submitted a
bill to topple the Prime Minister because of what it termed "Barak's
failures in the Camp David talks and his expected consent to the
division of Jerusalem." The bill passed by a 53-48 margin, but did not
receive the required 61 votes to initiate an immediate toppling of the
government and new elections within three months. The Likud's
no-confidence motion ended in a 50-50 stalemate. Prime Minister Barak's
troubles have not ended there, however; Foreign Minister David Levy, who
met with Barak twice today, said afterwards that he will resign from the
government tomorrow if efforts to form a national-unity government
continue not to be seriously made.

The Prime Minister, speaking from the Knesset podium yesterday, said
that "the leader of the Likud" had rejected One Israel overtures to form
a national-unity government. Ariel Sharon himself, who had spoken
earlier, took the lectern once again to refute the charges. "It's not
pleasant to say that the Prime Minister did not speak the truth, but
that is in fact the reality," Sharon said.

Tomorrow, the Knesset will deliberate on Likud MK Silvan Shalom's bill
to dissolve the Knesset and call new elections. Only a preliminary
reading of the bill will be voted on tomorrow, however, and the Knesset
begins its recess next week - such that even if the bill passes, the
government still has three months of "life" before the Knesset convenes
again. The opposition may topple the government even during the recess,
however, if 61 MKs request a mid-recess session for the holding of a
no-confidence motion.
MK Shalom therefore said today that if 61 MKs vote in favor of his bill
tomorrow, he will attempt to garner their support for a mid-recess
no-confidence motion. Shalom told Arutz-7 today that he cannot accept
the idea of a national-unity government, because "the Likud simply does
not share sufficient common political ground with a party that is
willing to give away 95% of Yesha, divide Jerusalem, and allow the entry
of tens of thousands of Arabs into Israel."

Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, considered to be one of Barak's
confidantes, echoed the opposition calls for new elections last night.
He said that if it was impossible "to elect even the statesman Shimon
Peres, then other government projects may also be stonewalled. We must
go to the people, so they can choose what they want." Somewhat in
parallel to Peres' sentiments [in item 2 above], Sneh said, "In the
coming weeks it will be possible to reach accords with the Palestinians
that must be presented to the people, so we must call the elections
now."

6. RAMPANT ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION DRIVES PISGAT ZE'EV TO DESPERATE ACTIONS
Grave findings about the illegal construction activities within Israel's
Arab sector were revealed in a meeting of the Knesset Audit Committee
today. Police inspectors and the mayors of Lod and Ramle reported to
the committee on the wide scope of illegal construction, and admitted
that practically no effort has been exerted to enforce the law against
offenders. State Comptroller Justice Eliezer Goldberg told the MKs that
the last few years have seen a significant increase in such violations,
and that the illegal construction is taking place on state-owned land.
"We are speaking of theft, pure and simple," Goldberg said.

Residents of the Jerusalem suburb Pisgat Ze'ev have registered severe
complaints about illegal construction in the nearby Arab village of
Anata, and say that the village has encroached to within dozens of
meters of their homes. "Thefts are commonplace," Uzi Cohen told Arutz-7
today, "and I am afraid that the situation will soon explode into real
violence." The residents' complaints to the Jerusalem municipality have
not been answered, he said. The residents are planning, if nothing else
works, to stage a well-publicized event in which they invite Feisal
Husseini - the PA's Jerusalem governor - to solve their problems and
possibly even symbolically offer him their homes for sale.

7. IN BRIEF
Operation Refuah, a grassroots organization promoting worldwide Jewish
unity, has been circulating a "Chaverim Kol Yisrael - All Jews are
Friends" Scroll around the world, reaffirming the oneness of all Jews.
Tomorrow, Rosh Chodesh Av, the names of those who have signed the scroll
will be read at both the Western Wall and Meron, on behalf of the full
and speedy recovery of all who are ill. For more information, visit
<www.operationrefuah.org>...
The last of the Israeli soldiers wounded in Lebanon was released from
the
hospital today. Corp. Ran Yisraeli, 19, was seriously hurt on May 17,
only a week before the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, during a
Hizbullah barrage on his outpost. He will undergo further
rehabilitation...
An Israel Air Force pilot parachuted to safety today, only seconds
before
his F-16 jet caught fire and crashed. Arutz-7's Kobi Finkler reports
that the accident occurred just south of the IAF base at Hatzerim in the
Negev. Air Force Commander Brig.- Gen. Dan Halutz has ordered a special
committee to investigate the cause of the mishap...

Hebrew News Editor: Haggai Segal
English News Editor: Hillel Fendel

***************************************
Daily Radio News from Israel in Easy Hebrew!
<http://www.israelnationalnews.com/>

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Bugs in space
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 12:42:36 -0400

Bugs in space

posted July 24th, 2000 at 10:14:25 pm

    The theory that microbial life once came to Earth on a
    meteorite from another planet will be tested on July 26 when a
    NASA rocket carries into space special microorganisms from
    research at the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
    (UMBI).

    The tiny space pioneers will be riding an apogee, or suborbital,
    flight path similar to the historic 1961 flight of astronaut Alan
    Sheppard. The passengers this time will be four dime-size
    cultures, each holding about 100 million cells of the microbes
    that will be exposed to space vacuum and solar radiation for 10
    minutes.

    For the first time, scientists with UMBI's Center of Marine
    Biotechnology (COMB) and NASA will also study the direct
    effects on living cells of the sun's extreme ultraviolet, or EUV,
    radiation that does not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere.

    "We routinely look for DNA repair systems in extreme microbes
    called Archaea that might be useful in biotechnology or medical
    research," says Jocelyne DiRuggiero, the project leader at
    COMB. "And, in this case, we may also want to know what kind
    of lesions EUV can cause to the DNA of these microorganisms."
    Archaea are microbes that typically live in extreme conditions,
    such as high temperature, pressure, sulfur, methane or
    radiation. The space-going microbes are known to survive high
    temperatures and some radiation.

    NASA's Joseph M. Davila, principal investigator for the flight,
    says, "Exposure to direct UV particles from the sun is not a well
    known field. We know a bit about short gamma rays, but with
    EUV, not much is known at all about how to be protected from
    these fields."

    Part of a four-year, $400,000 partnership with NASA, the UMBI
    experiment is "hitchhiking" on the latest launch of the Solar EUV
    Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph, or SERTS, explains
    DiRuggiero, Since 1997, fast, slender 19-foot sounding rockets
    carrying SERTS have helped NASA study sun activity and
    "cross-calibrate" data from the more sophisticated solar
    instruments aboard their SOHO satellite, Davila notes. He says
    the microbe experiments may expand into orbital missions on a
    space shuttle. "First, we are trying to demonstrate that this
    kind of work will yield interesting results and we want to try our
    instruments (on the SERTS flight)."

    The first microbes to be tested on the SERTS do not yet have
    a biological name But their training regimen has been rigorous,
    according COMB research professor Frank Robb. "We thought
    this strain was a good candidate. We found it living in the
    sediments of Potts hot springs in Yellowstone National Park,
    where it was exposed to steamy plumes, alternating with hot,
    dry conditions." Back at the COMB laboratories in Baltimore,
    Md., Renu Nandakumar, post-doctoral researcher, isolated the
    heat-loving strain and grew it up into cultures. She found that
    the strain survived gamma rays and a hard, or space-like,
    vacuum. Robb and DiRuggiero say the strain showed robust
    qualities, making it the right stuff for the SERTS flight.

    Next Dennis Spencer, a high school student at Baltimore
    Polytechnic, whose summer internship at COMB included
    preparing such microbial cultures, hand carried them on an
    airplane to White Sands.

    A second microbe, a radiation resistant bacteria, Deinococcus
    radiodurans, extensively studied by the Department of Energy,
    also will be on the launch as a control in the experiment.

    The COMB researchers helped NASA engineers retrofit the
    SERTS instruments with microbe sample holders that were later
    shake tested to simulate the flight. The main NASA mission is to
    run experiments to study the sun's outmost atmosphere, called
    the solar corona.

http://www.exosci.com/main/news/shownews/?id=2124

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Real World News - 08/01/00
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 2000 12:10:25 -0500

Selected Items from:

REAL WORLD NEWS 08/01/2000

Visit Real World News online at http://www.realworldnews.net

IRAQ PREPARES FOR ATTACK ON KURDISTAN
Saddam Hussein is poised to launch a full-scale military invasion of
Kurdistan, according to a report late last week in the Times of
London. If the Iraqi attack takes place, it will be a re-enactment
of a similar attack Saddam Hussein made in August 1996, in the run-up
to the U.S. presidential election. At the time, President Clinton
vowed to defend Kurdistan, and several cruise missiles were fired at
radar stations. Hussein quickly backed off.
http://www.newsmax.com/articles/?a=2000/7/30/102329

U.S. TROOPS CALLED IN TO BATTLE WILDFIRES
The Pentagon ordered 1,000 troops to help firefighters as the
nation's worst fire season in more than a decade grew worse Monday
with eight new large blazes reported. Some 500 Army soldiers from
Fort Hood, Texas, are expected to leave Tuesday for Boise, Idaho, on
their way to help fight the Burgdorf Junction Fire on the Payette
National Forest near McCall, Idaho. Another 500 Marines from Camp
Pendleton, California, are expected to be in Boise by Friday.
http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/07/31/wildfires.03/

ALBRIGHT TO VISIT VATICAN TO DISCUSS MIDEAST PEACE
U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will travel to Italy on
Monday for talks with Vatican officials on the Middle East peace
talks at Camp David, a U.S. official said on Sunday. Albright will
meet Tuesday with Vatican Foreign Minister Jean-Louis Tauran to
"bring him up to date" on the peace process, said State Department
spokesman Richard Boucher. Last Sunday, Pope John Paul II made a plea
during the Camp David summit for Jerusalem's holy sites to be
governed internationally.
http://www.timesofindia.com/today/31mide6.htm

WEST NILE PARNOIA SPREADS NORTHEAST
Gripped by fear of the potentially fatal West Nile virus, some people
in the Northeast are asking health officials to test everything from
a dead bat in a toilet to birds that were shot to death or mauled by
the family cat. Although health officials don't want to minimize
the public's concern about the virus, they emphasize that the real
West Nile threat to humans comes from mosquitoes -- not birds or
bats. http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/a/AP-West-Nile-Virus.html

FETUS CAN SUE, JUDGE SAYS
An Ohio judge has ruled that a 2 1/2-year-old child has the right to
sue for damages in an auto accident that occurred while she was in
her mother's womb. Medina County Judge Christopher Collier said that
Sarah Nicole Leinweber of Elyria was a "viable child" at the time of
the 1997 accident that injured her mother. Collier, after examining
more than a century's worth of related case law, concluded the child
was "capable of existing independently" and therefore had the same
rights under statutes that characterize a viable fetus as a person
for purposes of homicide and wrongful death.
http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/breakingnews/2000/07/31/fetus0731_01
h tml

BARAK SURVIVES NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak survived a no-confidence vote in
parliament Monday, parliamentary speaker Avraham Burg said.
Parliament voted 50-50 with eight abstentions, a result that fell
short of the 61 votes needed in the 120-seat Knesset to topple the
government. Some deputies did not attend the session. It was the
second time Barak had survived a no-confidence vote in less than a
month. Both votes were called over his attempts to secure a peace
deal with the Palestinians.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000731/ts/israel_leadall_dc_5.html

SADDAM SENDS FEMALE ASSASSINS ON MURDER MISSIONS
Saddam Hussein is sending specially trained female agents to London
to infiltrate Iraqi opposition circles and kill and maim leading
dissidents. Codenamed Operation Falcon, the mission is the Iraqi
dictator's most radical attempt to wipe out opposition since he
invaded Kuwait 10 years ago, and has prompted a major security alert
across Europe. The "Mata Hari hit squads", which include
belly-dancers and actresses, were formed earlier this month after an
intensive training programme including assassination techniques such
as poisoning and staging car accidents.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001851641145319&rtmo=kNLkLCZp&atmo=rr
rr rrrq&pg=/et/00/7/30/wsad30.html

ARAFAT 'WILL DECLARE PALESTINIAN STATE ON SEPT. 13'
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat said in an interview published
Tuesday that he intends to declare an independent Palestinian state
on time on Sept. 13, regardless of outside pressure. Asked if he
intended to delay the declaration of a Palestinian state, Arafat
said: ``Never, never. There is no retreat on the fixed timetable of
the declaration of the state. ``It will be declared at the fixed
time, which is Sept. 13, God willing, regardless of those who agree
or disagree.''
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000801/wl/mideast_arafat_dc_2.html

ARAFAT CALLS FOR ISLAMIC MEETING ON JERUSALEM
Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat called yesterday for a
special meeting of an Islamic committee on Jerusalem to discuss the
city's future after last week's failed summit. "We have called for
a meeting of the al-Quds [Jerusalem] committee and agreed to consult
with each other to set a date as soon as possible," he told reporters
after talks with King Mohammed of Morocco, who chairs the Jerusalem
committee. "Jerusalem is not only a Palestinian responsibility. It is
also an Arab, Moslem, and Christian responsibility," Arafat said.
http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2000/08/01/News/News.10390.html

NEW ISRAELI PRESIDENT COURTS CONTROVERSY
Israel's new President, Moshe Katsav, has made known his views on the
thorny subject of Jerusalem - despite a pledge to steer clear of
politics. Mr Katsav, who is due to be sworn in later on Tuesday, said
he believed the Holy City should remain united under Israeli
sovereignty. The president-elect won a shock victory over the
government candidate, Shimon Peres, in a Knesset vote on Monday.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/middle_east/newsid_860000/86075
9. stm

CHARTER 'MAY FORM CONSTITUTION FOR E.U. SUPERSTATE'
Tony Blair was facing demands last night to veto a proposed European
Charter of Fundamental Rights after an attempt to make it binding on
EU member states. The draft charter, posted on the internet this
week, will be discussed by EU leaders at a summit in Biarritz,
France, in October. It details a wide range of rights to which all EU
citizens would be entitled. But the Tories fear it will become the
basis for a "European superstate constitution", giving European
judges more scope to intervene in British law.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000163167039689&rtmo=wAQM0etb&atmo=99
99 9999&pg=/et/00/8/1/weu01.html

THERAPY IS NEW RELIGION, SAYS ARCHBISHOP
The Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday that a new religion,
therapy, was replacing Christianity in Western countries. Dr George
Carey told the Amsterdam 2000 conference of preachers and evangelists
that "Christ the saviour" was becoming "Christ the counsellor" in
watered-down sermons. He told 10,000 church leaders from 185
countries at the conference, organised by the American evangelist
Billy Graham, that therapy, education and wealth were "false gods".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=001136033854542&rtmo=3mwuAxqM&atmo=kk
kk kkku&pg=/et/00/8/1/wcar01.html

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Therapy is replacing religion
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 12:22:19 -0500

Therapy is replacing religion says Carey

BY RUTH GLEDHILL, RELIGION CORRESPONDENT

http://www.the-times.co.uk/ 7/1/2000

THE Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey, said yesterday that religion
is being replaced by therapy, with "Christ the saviour" becoming "Christ the
counsellor".

Dr Carey denounced Western culture as beset by a "reign of sin" caused by an
obsession with an unholy trinity of therapy, education and wealth.In one of
his most strongly worded speeches for a decade he attacked even his own
clergy for preaching sermons with an emphasis on therapeutic methods rather
than Christian salvation.

"Western culture today is obsessed with three alternative saviours -
therapy, education and wealth, among many others - none of which can provide
lasting healing for our broken world," he said. "Our society is fascinated
with the healing of the body and mind. Its unspoken assumption is that if we
can but keep in tune with the wellbeing of our inner selves, all will be
well."

Dr Carey attacked the "false gods" of therapy, learning and money in an
address to 10,000 evangelists and church leaders from 185 countries at a
convention in Amsterdam organised by Billy Graham, the American evangelist.

He conceded that there was nothing wrong with many therapeutic practices and
described Christ as the supreme example of a "whole person", at one with
himself.But he added: "Therapy can easily fail to face up to the reality of
sin in our lives. When therapy replaces faith and when therapeutic
techniques are seen as the total answer to humanity's deepest needs and
longings, another idolatry is introduced."

This replaced the Gospel with a focus on "my happiness, my needs and my
desires", he said. "Listen to many sermons today and this therapeutic
approach is uppermost - missing is the appeal to a holy God and his call to
us to turn to him in repentance and faith," he said.

Dr Carey went on also to condemn an obsession with education as the answer
to all the world's problems. He compared the adulation of education to the
early Church heresy of "gnosticism" - a mystery religion based on the
acquisition of esoteric knowledge. Dr Carey said that in spite of advanced
education systems in the countries of the first world, crime, vandalism and
family breakdown were still endemic.

"Once again, as with therapy, when education is seen as an alternative to
the Gospel it introduces a different kind of saviour, an enlightened teacher
who can lead us from ignorance to knowledge."

He said that the pursuit of wealth was another "pseudo-saviour". Dr Carey
said: "It is a false god when wealth, riches and possessions become the
ultimate aims of life."

Dr Carey was criticised by therapists in Britain for his address. Brian
Beber, chairman of the National Association of Counsellors, Hypnotherapists
and Psychotherapists, said: "I would be extremely concerned were any
therapists of my acquaintance to consider themselves a substitute for
Christ."

He said the aim of a therapist was to restore the natural balance between
mind, body and spirit. "I would counsel that therapy be viewed not as an
idol, but as the hand of help and friendship held out to those in pain and
torment."

Billed as the world's largest conference of preaching evangelists, Amsterdam
2000 was to be the occasion where Mr Graham "passed the torch" to the next
generation. However, he was confined to his bed and is too ill to attend.

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Group sex for gays to be legal after Euro ruling
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 12:24:06 -0500

August 1 2000 BRITAIN

Group sex for gays to be legal after Euro ruling

BY RICHARD FORD, HOME CORRESPONDENT

http://www.the-times.co.uk/

PROSECUTIONS of men involved in gay group sex in private are to be
abandoned after the European Court ruled yesterday that Britain's laws
discriminated against homosexuals. The European Court of Human Rights
decided in favour of a gay local government official from Yorkshire and
awarded him £33,000 compensation and costs. The man, known only as ADT,
had appealed after being convicted of gross indecency for taking part in
gay sex with four other men at his home.

The European Court ruling will force the Government to drop Britain's
gross indecency law because it applies only to men, who can be convicted
for taking part in homosexual group sex even in private. The law does
not apply to lesbians or heterosexuals.

Until the law is changed the Crown Prosecution Service will not
prosecute any cases involving consensual gay group sex in private.

The man at the centre of the ruling was arrested after police found a
video of himself and four other men taking part in sex acts at his home
in 1996. He was charged with gross indecency and conditionally
discharged for two years. The man, aged 52, appealed to the European
Court alleging that gross indecency is discriminatory.

In its judgment the Court said it found "an interference with the
applicant's right to respect for private life" and there was no social
need to justify the legislation. Ben Emmerson, QC, who took the case to
the court, said: "In singling out gay men in this way, the offence bears
the hallmarks of homophobic prejudice."

Adrian Rogers, adviser to the pressure group Family Focus, said that the
ruling highlighted the need for Britain to distance itself from Europe,
which is "bringing down the social fabric of our society". He added:
"One wonders whether anything is going to remain illegal in Europe."

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pioneering Astronaut Sees UFO Cover-up
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 12:43:34 -0500

Pioneering Astronaut Sees UFO Cover-up

By Leonard David
Senior Space Writer
posted: 07:14 am ET

http://www.space.com/news/spaceagencies/gordon_ufos_000728.html

30 July 2000

WASHINGTON -- One of America's first astronauts claims that the government
has withheld information that alien spacecraft have visited Earth.

Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. says the government has "swept under the
rug" the truth about unidentified flying objects or UFOs.

NASA Mercury astronaut, Gordon Cooper, flew a single-seat capsule in 1963.

"Each administration has probably tried to figure out how, with the least
embarrassment, they could confess to this whole thing," he said at a recent
appearance in Washington to promote his new book, Leap of Faith: An
Astronaut's Journey in the Unknown (HarperCollins Publishers, $25).

"They need to clean the slate about what has been going on or has not been
going on," he said.

In space for a day

Cooper, 72, was one of the original Mercury Seven picked by NASA in 1959.

The last of the Mercury astronauts to be lofted into space, Cooper was
blasted into orbit atop an Atlas rocket in May 1963. He circled Earth for 22
orbits in his Faith 7 capsule, becoming the first American to stay in space
for a day.

Cooper returned to space in August 1965 with the late Pete Conrad on the
Gemini 5 mission. After retiring from NASA in 1970, he went to work for
Disney as a vice president for research and development. He later worked as
a high-tech consultant and aircraft designer.

Since 1989, he has been a partner in an aeronautical design firm in Van
Nuys, California. Now a retired Air Force colonel living in Los Angeles, he
is campaigning to have the government open the books on UFO research.

Charges of cover-up

"There certainly have been too many people, very qualified people and
qualified groups of people, that have had interface of one type or another
with extraterrestrial craft or beings," Cooper said. "To really deny that
something is going on and deny that they definitely exist...we need a little
more explanation."

Government officials say there is nothing to cover up about UFOs.

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (8/1/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 17:53:09 -0400

Hezbollah denounces US 'terrorist' stance on Jerusalem

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: Ha'aretz

Tue Aug 1,2000 -- In an escalating war of words with the US government,
Hezbollah on Tuesday denounced statements by an American official
branding the Iranian-backed group as terrorist and accused the United
States of sponsoring terrorism. A statement issued by the militant
Islamic group in Beirut also repeated that moving the US Embassy from
Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would be tantamount to an "aggression" against all
Arabs.

"The shameful American decision to move the US Embassy to occupied
Jerusalem is an expression of the official terrorist policy that the
United States sponsors and fully supports," the statement said. "Such a
decision constitutes a terrorist aggression against the people of our
nation and its sacred rights and provides a flagrant cover for Zionist
terrorism." Hezbollah also called on Palestinians to "use all available
means to defend" Jerusalem and urged Arabs and all Muslims to jointly
confront what it termed as U.S. and Israeli attempts to rob them of what
is theirs.

Prayer service in New York for the endangered Jewish communities

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: IsraelWire

Tue Aug 1,2000 -- On Thursday, August 10th, on the Fast of the Ninth of
Av at 1:30pm, at the Isaiah Wall by the United Nations in New York City,
a prayer vigil will be held on behalf of the Iranian Jews found guilty
of espionage. Jews sentenced in Iran on false charges subjected to
increasing anti-Semitism in Russia waiting desperately in Ethiopia for
aliyah facing uncertainty and possible violence in Israel.

May our prayers this Tisha B´Av merit peace and freedom for our brethren
throughout the world. Please join us! Sponsored by the Coalition for
Jewish Concerns-Amcha - Rabbi Avi Weiss, national president; the Yeshiva
of the West Side; and the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry.
Information: (212) 663- 5784.

US calls Hizbullah threats outrageous

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: IsraelWire

Tue Aug 1,2000 -- Officials in the US State Department called recent
threats made by Hizbullah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah outrageous.
Following a Friday televised interview on Israel Television with US
President Bill Clinton, in which the president spoke of reviewing the
possibility of moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to
Jerusalem, Nasrallah threatened to blow up the embassy and kill the
diplomatic staff of the Jerusalem facility. US officials strongly
condemned the threats made by the Hizbullah commander, calling on the
entire world community to condemn such comments and threats made against
any nation.

Web-based gene project launched

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Weekend Staff
                         Source: Yahoo! AP

Tue Aug 1,2000 -- On Tuesday, DNA Sciences Inc., a Mountain View-based
company launched a large-scale gene research project that uses the
Internet to collect medical information from any willing donors, healthy
and ill, in the United States. Using this information, DNA Sciences will
determine which donors fit into various patient profiles for 20 common
diseases the company wishes to study. Blood samples will be taken from
these donors, and the samples will be used to determine gene variations
that could lead to better drugs and medical treatments for the diseases.
The donors will not be paid for their information or blood samples.

Jordan to reject any Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, King tells
Arafat

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: Jordan Times

Tue Aug 1,2000 -- His Majesty King Abdullah told Palestinian President
Yasser Arafat in Rabat on Monday that Jordan will reject any Israeli
sovereignty over East Jerusalem. The King was speaking with Arafat in
Morocco where the two leaders had attended the celebrations marking the
first anniversary of King Mohammad VI's accession to the throne. Arafat
had arrived in Morocco on Monday for talks with King Abdullah and King
Mohammad. The young Moroccan king heads the Jerusalem Committee of the
Organisation of Islamic Conference, a position he inherited from his
late father King Hassan, whom Arafat made a point of consulting
frequently on matters involving the future of Jerusalem. The King's
meetings with Arafat and Mubarak were part of a flurry of diplomatic
activity across the Arab world, following the failure of the two-week,
US-brokered Palestinian-Israeli summit.

“Jerusalem was at the centre of the King Abdullah-Arafat talks in
Rabat,” reported the Jordan News Agency, Petra. Petra said the King
underscored “the importance of Jerusalem to us (the Jordanians), for the
Palestinians and for the Arab and Islamic worlds.” King Abdullah
reiterated Jordan's “unequivocal backing of the Palestinian stand in
rejecting Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem, notably the Islamic
shrines.” He also called for “taking into account the Palestinian and
Arab rights as well as pertinent UN resolutions in the event of reaching
a permanent settlement on such issues as Jerusalem, refugees and
borders.”

King Abdullah renewed “Jordan's support for all the legitimate
Palestinian demands including their right to an independent Palestinian
state with Jerusalem as its capital.” The King also called on Arab
nations “to offer genuine support to the Palestinian negotiators in
order to bolster their position at this crucial juncture,” Petra said.

Saudi Arabia backs Palestinians on East Jerusalem

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: Jordan Times

Tue Aug 1,2000 -- Regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia expressed support on
Monday for Palestinian demands that East Jerusalem be the capital of
their future state. Information Minister Fouad Ben Abdul-Salam Farisi
said after a weekly cabinet meeting chaired by King Fahd that the issue
of Jerusalem was “the heart of the problem (of the failed Camp David
talks) and the core of the Middle East conflict.” “East Jerusalem must
be dealt with within (UN) resolutions ...and must be considered part of
occupied land and Israel must refrain from unilateral measures affecting
the status of this Holy City,” Farisi said. “Saudi Arabia urges the Arab
and Islamic world to work...to achieve the full legal rights of the
Palestinian people, including establishing an independent Palestinian
state with Jerusalem as its capital,” he added.

Arafat to visit Moscow

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: Ha'aretz

Tue Aug 1,2000 -- PA Chairman Yasser Arafat will visit Russia on August
10, a spokesman at the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Moscow said
Tuesday. Russia has been an official co-sponsor of multilateral Middle
East peace talks along with the United States since 1991, but played
only a marginal role as bilateral Palestinian-Israeli talks gathered
steam. Itar-Tass news agency said Moscow might offer to play a more
public role since the U.S.-sponsored Camp David peace talks ended last
month without agreement.

Arafat: Israel was ready to uproot Yesha communities & all of Gaza

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: IsraelWire

Tue Aug 1,2000 -- An unnamed senior diplomat who recently met with
Arafat in Ramallah stated that according to Arafat, Israel was ready to
uproot the entire Jewish community of Gaza and dismantle Gush Katif. The
unnamed senior diplomat met with persons in Jerusalem, telling them that
in his meeting with Arafat several days ago, Arafat stated that Barak at
the Camp David II summit expressed his willingness to dismantle the
Jewish presence in Gaza as part of a comprehensive agreement with the
PA. Israel also agreed to the deployment of an international
peacekeeping force at border crossings between Israel and the PA,
between Rafiah and Egypt and between Israel and Jordan.

Responding to the report, officials in the Prime Minister´s Office
stated that Israel did not make a commitment to carryout any of the
ideas raised at Camp David and therefore, the report must be categorized
as “speculation”.

Jewish nation: 'The Three Weeks' and 'Nine Days'

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: IsraelWire

Tue Aug 1,2000 -- During the Three Weeks from 17th Tamuz until the 9th
Av, the Jewish nation undergoes a collective period of mourning.
Historically, the period between the 17th of Tamuz and the 9th Av (Tisha
B´Av), has witnessed a series of calamities and disastrous events for
world Jewry. During the mourning period, Jews focus on the destruction
of the First and Second Temples, signifying the cessation of the
national, social and political life of the Jewish state.

The prophets have promised that there will be a future time when Zion
will be comforted from all the troubles that have befallen her since the
destruction of the Second Temple. Until then, the Three Weeks is a
period of mourning and reflection which intensifies in the 9 days that
count down to a dramatic close with the fast of Tisha B'Av.

Editor's note: The "Nine days" starts tonight at sunset in Israel. At
that time, tens of thousands of people will be praying at The Wall for
keeping the land of Israel and Jerusalem. (See article from July 31).
Also, on the 17th of Tammuz was when it appeared that Barak gave in on
the sovereignty of parts of East Jerusalem - the same part Titus
breached on that same date right before the destruction of the Second
Temple.

Israel increases monitoring of right-wing extremists

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: IsraelWire

Tue Aug 1,2000 -- Senior officials in Israel´s security establishment
have acknowledged reports that over past days, searches of homes of
persons affiliated with the extreme right-wing have been conducted. In
addition, persons affiliated with what police label the extreme-right
have been called in for questioning. Over the past days, five persons in
Israel affiliated with the illegal Kach organization have been called in
by the General Security Service (GSS/Shin Bet). GSS agents questioned
them, issuing a warning to refrain from any activities against Prime
Minister Ehud Barak. Statements issued by the activists called the
recent actions by the security establishment “political terrorism,”
vowing to continue their legitimate anti-government activities.

International presences in Hebron extended

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: IsraelWire

Tue Aug 1,2000 -- Director General of the Israel Foreign Ministry, Eitan
Bentsur, and Saeb Erekat of the PA on Monday, in Jerusalem, signed a
six- month extension of the mandate of the Temporary International
Presence in Hebron (TIPH). The Ambassador of Norway to Israel, Svein Ole
Saether and the new commander of TIPH, Einer Henriksen, also
participated in the ceremony. At the close of his statement, Director
General Bentsur emphasized that Hebron is a city of great national and
religious significance, and that there is vital importance to
maintaining the sense of security and stability which is reinforced by
the activities of TIPH. He added that the dialogue between the sides to
find creative solutions would continue, free of political rhetoric and
external pressures.

http://www.upway.com/cgi/readnews.cgi?day=00_08_1&item=#965141718

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Chinese space news item (7/26/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 18:15:08 -0400

*** Chinese Space News ***

[July 26, 2000] China Could Help Fund Russian GPS Network
------
Russia and China could be close to signing documents on cooperation in
the use and advancement of Russia's global navigational system Glonass
by late October, early November when Russian Prime Minister Mikhail
Kasyanov plans to visit Beijing. Glonass is a similar system to the
American GPS system. While China has showed interest in having Glonass
terminals installed at airports and on planes, Russia has invited China
to participate in financing a group of Glonass satellites. The entire
system should incorporate 24 satellites. However, there are currently
just 14 satellites available, and only nine are fully operating. The
system requires 1.5 billion rubles a year to maintain. However,
equipment is aging due to lack of funding and satellites are starting to
fail. Thus, new satellites must be launched to restore the system.
(SpaceDaily)

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - BPR and amazon.com
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 1 Aug 2000 18:37:33 -0400

BPR is affiliated with amazon.com and if you use our Reference Guide
(http://philologos.org/guide/books.htm) to buy any of the specified books, we
receive a percentage of the purchase price (there is no extra charge added)
which we use to buy new materials. If you are not interested in any of the
books featured on our site we can still receive a percentage of any purchase
you make at amazon if you enter their site through ours. Again, there is no
extra charge added to your order. If you'd like to become a "silent partner"
with us in our studies, please think of us next time you are going to buy
anything at amazon.com and goto our website and click the amazon logo
instead of going to their main page. Once inside, you are free to surf their
site as you normally do and in the process we will receive a referral fee.

Thank you very much!
Moza

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