BPR Mailing List Digest: 08/02/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
August 2, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | August, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Aug 2, 2000 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 08:23:56 -0400

9:00 PM Eastern

DISC - TUNNELS: DIGGING IN - Tunneling under cities and
mountains; tunnels in Los Angeles, New York,
Switzerland.(CC)(TVG)

HIST - WEALTH & POWER - "Innovators" - Henry Ford;
David Sarnoff; Ted Turner; Bill Gates.(CC)(TVG)

9:30

TBN - JACK VAN IMPE PRESENTS

10:00

DISC - TREASURES OF THE ROYAL CAPTAIN - Mystery surrounds
the sunken English trade ship.(CC)(TVG)

HIST - BANKS - Modern technology revolutionizes the way
banks do business.(CC)(TVG)

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Barak: U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem by Jan. 20
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 08:29:28 -0400

Barak: U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem by Jan. 20

UPI
Wednesday, August 2, 2000

TEL AVIV, Israel – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak said Tuesday he
expected the United States to open its embassy in Jerusalem by Jan. 20.

Barak told state-owned Channel 1 television that the embassy move would
be one of several U.S. actions he expected to strengthen Israel's
sovereignty in Jerusalem after the Camp David talks in July.

The talks broke down last week mainly over the issue of Jerusalem.
President Clinton said afterward that Barak had been more ready than
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to make concessions to achieve peace.

The two Middle East leaders have agreed to continue negotiating on their
own, although U.S. envoy Dennis Ross said Tuesday that he might head to
the region within a few weeks to act as a mediator.

The date reportedly cited by Barak is notable: Jan. 20 is the last day
of Clinton's presidency.

A State Department official in Washington said he was aware of Barak's
televised comments, but referred questions on the matter to a statement
by Clinton on Friday that he would decide by the end of this year
whether to move the embassy.

The United States, along with almost all other countries, has not
recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and has maintained its embassy
in Tel Aviv despite pressure to move it to Jerusalem.

U.S. presidents have stayed in Jerusalem and met with Israeli leaders in
their offices in West Jerusalem. Clinton has addressed Israel's
Parliament, the Knesset, in the city as well.

http://www.newsmax.com/articles/?a=2000/8/1/185742

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

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Gov't. Moves To Halt In Vitro Fertilization Of Single Women
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 08:34:43 -0400

Australia Targets Single Moms
Gov't. Moves To Halt In Vitro Fertilization Of Single Women
All Kids Need A Mom And A Dad, P.M. Declares
Lesbian Activists Attack Plan

CANBERRA, Australia, August 1, 2000 (AP) Saying children have the right
to two parents, Australia's conservative government moved Tuesday to stop
single women from conceiving children through in vitro fertilization.

Full Story:
http://cbsnews.cbs.com/now/story/0,1597,220806-412,00.shtml

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

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - The Daily World Affairs Report items (8/2/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 09:21:52 -0400

THE HOLY ROMAN . . . POPE FOSTERS ECUMENICAL MEETING
BETWEEN ORTHODOX & CATHOLICS

John Paul II asked the one billion Catholics around the world to join,
spiritually, the prayer vigil, which will be held in Rome on August 5, the eve of
the feast of the Transfiguration, at the petition of Patriarch Bartholomew I of
Constantinople. After praying the "Angelus" with thousands of pilgrims in the
patio of the summer residence of Castel Gandolfo, the Bishop of Rome
explained that the purpose of the meeting was "to give glory to God, who has
revealed himself fully in Christ, when he said: 'This is my beloved Son, listen
to him.'"

Therefore, the Jubilee 2000 will witness an important meeting in the Eternal
City, between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, whose symbol of
communion is the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. With this
ceremony, the Pope is responding to a proposal made by a Byzantine
delegation during a visit to the Vatican for the feast of Ss Peter and Paul at
the end of June. The liturgy will be held in the Basilica of St. John Lateran,
Rome's Cathedral, presided over by Australian Cardinal Edward Idris
Cassidy, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

In the most recent issue of the "Pilgrim's Journal," Bishop Eleuterio Fortino,
under-secretary of that Vatican Council, emphasized the importance of the
common celebration of the liturgical feast of the Transfiguration, which
coincides in the Catholic and Orthodox calendars. This feast suggests some
"essential dimensions of the Christian faith and, 2000 years after Christ's
birth, highlights one of the central topics of the tradition of Eastern
Christians: the "vocation to the divinization of man." Catholics and Orthodox
split in 1054 on doctrinal issues of worship, although the main reason was,
perhaps, the dispute between the East and West over the issue of
primacy in Christianity, as well as various political disputes. (Zenit)

NO EUROS PLEASE, WE'RE GERMAN

The third-generation phone auction in Germany is under way at last. It's all
frightfully modern, and mobile phones are banned to avoid collusion between
bidders. So what modern, international currency are they all bidding in? Er,
since you ask, it's Deutschemarks. (The London Telegraph)

PUTIN'S ALLY GUEST AT G.O.P. CONVENTION

One of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest political allies is
attending the Republican National Convention following Moscow's stated
determination to establish closer politician-to-politician contacts. Moscow
is seeking to go beyond the usual relationships between governments and
"develop relations" between the U.S. Congress and the Russian legislature,
according to official Russian sources.

Boris Gryzlov, an important Putin ally and a leader of the pro-Kremlin Unity
Party, accepted an invitation to attend the Republican National Convention
and speak with a number of high-ranking members of Congress. Gryzlov's
acceptance follows a declaration from the Russian Foreign Ministry that
Moscow places "great significance" upon the "development of parliamentary
relations between the U.S. and Russia."

Several other members from the Unity Party have accompanied Gryzlov to
the Republican convention. Their acknowledged purpose is to learn how to
build a political party and to improve relations with the GOP, according to
Associated Press and Agence France-Presse reports. Gryzlov is one of
Putin's most important political allies, having played a key role in founding
the Unity Party as the core of Putin's political operations in the Duma. Within
only a few months, Unity has gone from being a completely new party to
controlling nearly one quarter of the Duma's seats. Gryzlov also assisted
Putin in forming an alliance with the Communists after the newly elected
Duma began its first session.

Despite his prominence as an organizer and leader of Unity, important
questions remain as to Gryzlov's activities before his sudden rise in the
political arena. He is known to have been an intelligence officer in St.
Petersburg, but other details concerning his activities remain unclear. Before
Unity's impressive showing in the December parliamentary elections, Gryzlov
was an unknown figure. Following the parliamentary elections, a Moscow
newspaper sought to locate Gryzlov, who had just been elected as a Duma
representative from St. Petersburg. Attempts by the newspaper to contact
Gryzlov after the elections met with an unexpected stonewall. According to a
report in Moscow News, political circles in St. Petersburg denied any
knowledge of Gryzlov. He was listed as president of a regional development
foundation, but the foundation had no telephone listing. A dean at a St.
Petersburg technical university at one point stated that he was acquainted
with Gryzlov, but later stated through a secretary that no one at the
university knew of Gryzlov. Prior to his work with the Unity Party, Gryzlov
was also known to have founded or co-founded six separate commercial
enterprises, but attempts by Moscow News to contact him through these
business interests were similarly unsuccessful. In the Moscow News report,
the press center of Russia's internal security agency -- the FSB, a
successor to the KGB -- also claimed to have no knowledge of the recently
elected Duma deputy.

At the same time that Gryzlov had demonstrated an ability to virtually
disappear following his election to the Duma, some observers were
questioning the composition of the leadership of the Unity Party itself,
citing the presence of large numbers of Communist sympathizers within the
party. The Moscow News referred to Unity as "an association of CPSU
(Communist Party of the Soviet Union) ... hacks." Whatever may be the exact
background of Gryzlov or the composition of the Unity Party, Putin and his
allies are following a political course which in the past six months has
included direct attacks upon the Republican Party, Rep. Christopher Cox,
Sen. Jesse Helms and Gov. George W. Bush. (WorldNetDaily)

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - FW: Russia - Defense
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 08:22:16 -0500

-----Original Message-----
From: alert@stratfor.com [mailto:alert@stratfor.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2000 8:59 PM
To: redalert@stratfor.com
Subject: Russia - Defense

Stratfor.com's Global Intelligence Update - 2 August 2000
_________________________________________

It's not news; it's intelligence.

Southeast Asia: Local Insurgencies Go Global
http://www.stratfor.com/asia/commentary/0008020010.htm

The Dark Days of Kurdish Guerrillas
http://www.stratfor.com/MEAF/commentary/0008012359.htm
_________________________________________

Russian Military Quarrel Winds Down

Summary

In what seems to be the first step toward a reformation of Russia's
military, President Vladimir Putin fired six high-ranking Defense
Ministry officials on July 31. The move signals not only a behind-
the-scenes change in the military command, but also hints at an
answer to the question troubling Moscow's inner circle of late: Is
the goal of military reform to maintain the nuclear capability of a
superpower, or to amass conventional forces worthy of a great
regional power?

Analysis

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed six generals from their
posts on July 31. The order seems to be the first hint of what the
future holds for Russia's military. A heated battle is winding down
- a battle over the reformation of the Russian army, symbolized by
the bitter personal relationship between the military's highest
commanders - Defense Minister Marshal Igor Sergeyev and Gen.
Anatoly Kvashnin, Army Chief of Staff. Putin seems prepared to
minimize Sergeyev's influence over military decision-making and
begin directing the administration's efforts toward a modernized
conventional military.

On July 31 the Kremlin announced that six generals, appointed by
Sergeyev himself, would be "reassigned to other posts." They were:
Gen. Anatoly Sitnov, Defense Ministry's chief of Armaments; Maj.
Gen. Anatoly Shatalov, chief of the Defense Ministry's press
service; Gen. Nikolai Karaulov, chief of the rocket and artillery
directorate; Lt. Gen. Alexadner Zobnin, chief of the military's
foreign economic relations; Col. Gen. Stanislav Petrov, chief of
biological, chemical and radiation defense; and Col. Gen. Boris
Dukhov, chief of anti-missile defense. Sergeyev chose the generals;
their dismissal suggests the likelihood of Sergeyev's decreased
authority.

A longstanding dispute among Russia's military leaders on the
future of the armed forces has leaked into the public forum.
Sergeyev, former commander of the Strategic Rocket Forces, has
always wanted to channel military spending directly to the nuclear
arsenal. A Cold War general, he believes that Russia is threatened
by other superpowers, and that the competition between superpowers
is expressed through nuclear threat. Kvashnin, his subordinate, has
called for the marginalization of Russia's once mighty nuclear
forces in favor of a modernized, more professional conventional
army. He sees Russia's most immediate security threat as coming
from Russia's immediate neighbors.
________________________________________________________________
Would you like to see full text?
http://www.stratfor.com/SERVICES/giu2000/080200.ASP
___________________________________________________________________

Putin will, in effect, strive to meet both Kvashnin's and
Sergeyev's demands. His military doctrine, published in April,
jolted the Western world when it openly granted Russia permission
for a nuclear first strike. The doctrine, however, claims to be a
transitional solution to Russia's defense policy. And, for several
reasons, Putin probably plans to use it as such.

The president can rely on the country's nuclear weapons to back up
Moscow's military assertions for some years to come, which will
provide time to bring the conventional forces up to par. Most of
Russia's aging warheads will not survive the next decade intact.
Russia's threat of a nuclear strike is effective in bolstering
Russian nationalism, forcing the West to consider its actions and
reminding Russia's neighbors of their relative military
inferiority. It does not, however, work against regional terrorists
and domestic separatist groups. Nor does it enable Russia to deploy
peacekeepers or wield any practical regional control in an
emergency.

All Russia needs in order for it to cling to the superpower title
it used to enjoy is parity with the United States. Putin can use
the Soviet nuclear cache as a security umbrella for the next decade
until Russia's conventional forces have received a desperately
needed refurbishment. By then the START III treaty could be in
effect, putting Russia on equal terms with the United States, with
each country allowed between 2,000 and 2,500 warheads.
_______________________________________________________________

For more on Russia, see:
http://www.stratfor.com/cis/countries/Russia/default.htm
__________________________________________________________________

In the meantime, Putin has already begun restructuring the
military. The military recently announced that it would increase
the number of elite airborne troops by 5,000 by the end of 2001.
And it has shifted the Strategic Rocket Forces under the control of
the air force, reallocating some of its funding in the process.

The debate may continue in rhetoric, but Putin seems to have chosen
a course by reassigning six of Sergeyev's generals. Sergeyev, whose
term ends next May, may hold his title until then, but his
influence in Moscow is dwindling. After almost three years of
wrangling between Kvashnin and Sergeyev, Kvashnin seems to have
secured his place at the ear of the president.
_______________________________________________________________

For more on Russia & the CIS, see:
http://www.stratfor.com/cis/default.htm
_______________________________________________________________

(c) 2000 Stratfor, Inc.
_______________________________________________
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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - MasterCard Moves Toward Mobile Commerce
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 08:25:39 -0500

Wireless payments off internet

http://www.internetwk.com/story/INW20000801S0007

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2000
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 12:31:29 -0400

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 16:49:11 +0200
To: arutz-7@arutzsheva.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2000
Send reply to: netnews@a7.org

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Wednesday, Aug.1, 2000 / Rosh Chodesh Av 5760

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. GOVERNMENT ON LAST LEGS
   2. BARAK AND THE PUBLIC
   3. SHOFAROT AT KOTEL, AND FOR PRESIDENT
   4. REPORTS: ARAFAT WILL NOT DECLARE STATE
   5. CONFLICTING REPORTS ON GUSH KATIF
   6. POLICE CLASH WITH WORSHIPERS
   7. LIKUD ON THE MARCH
   8. HAMAS EXPLOSIVES LAB FOUND
   9. BOBOVER REBBE, 92
   10. DIGITIZED BOOKS

1. GOVERNMENT ON LAST LEGS
Several more blows were dealt to the sickly Barak coalition today - and the
Likud has already begun making plans to call a special Knesset session to
topple it altogether. The barrage began with Foreign Minister David Levy's
resignation from the government this morning. The 16-month old alliance
between Levy and Ehud Barak came to an end after Levy said that today's
government policies are not those of the government he joined. "Jerusalem
has been divided [by Barak's promises] in a way that is not reversible," he
said, "and we're not just talking about Arab neighborhoods, but rather the
heart of ancient Jerusalem!" Levy also said that he is not satisfied with
the Prime Minister's efforts to form a national-unity government.

Levy's resignation came after U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
phoned him in an attempt "to save the coalition of Prime Minister Ehud
Barak..." - according to Middle East News Line. The Zionist Organization
of America has listed other examples of what it calls the Clinton
administration's "interference in Israeli affairs," including Clinton's
Israel Television interview last week in which he said he might move the
American embassy from Tel Aviv to western Jerusalem; the dispatch of
Clinton's top public relations adviser, James Carville, to Israel to help
Ehud Barak's 1999 campaign; help to Peres' campaign in 1996; and blatant
intervention by U.S. Ambassador Martin Indyk in Knesset votes and other
internal matters. Indyk met yesterday with Levy in an attempt to convince
him not to resign.

Shortly after Levy's resignation, the Knesset voted to approve preliminary
readings of five separate resolutions to dissolve the Knesset - most of
them by a margin of 61-48. All five of the bills received the support of
at least 60 MKs. The broad majorities were enabled after the five MKs of
United Torah Judaism decided in mid-vote to support the resolution. Calls
are increasingly being heard from both sides of the political spectrum for
new elections.

The government will now benefit from the upcoming three-month Knesset
recess, which begins tomorrow, and during which further readings of the
dissolution bill will not be introduced. However, 61 MKs may request a
special session for the purpose of raising a no-confidence motion. Likud
leader Ariel Sharon told his fellow MKs that he has already taken steps to
garner the necessary signatures for such a session.

2. BARAK AND THE PUBLIC
"Barak has begun implementing a policy that is not acceptable to most of
the public," Foreign Minister Levy said this morning, explaining his
decision to resign. Even Tali Lipkin-Shachak - wife of Government Minister
Amnon Lipkin-Shachak and someone known for her strong left-wing views -
agrees. She wrote the following in Ma'ariv today:
"...Anyone who claims that the Knesset is detached from the nation, and
does not reflect the public will, is simply not yet ready - even after the
sound defeat [of Peres] this week - to understand Israeli society, and to
define it based on reality. The Knesset, with all of its sectarianism, is a
true reflection of our society. The right wing-religious-ethnic front that
formed around the candidacy of Katzav is a front that reflects the Israeli
street of today... Anyone who believes that behind the peace initiatives
of this government (?) stands a broad sector of society... also believes
that the majority of Israeli society supported Shimon Peres..."

All the above stands in stark contrast to the Prime Minister's repeated
insistence that he has the support of most of the country. "Before my eyes
I see the Rabin government," Barak said, "which was what you like to call
'supported by Arab votes' and which accomplished great things for the
Nation of Israel. We can continue working in that way... The public is
very enthusiastic about the great changes that we are bringing about."

Likud MK Limor Livnat was particularly happy with the results of the votes
- she sponsored one of them - and said later that the government "has
basically crumbled." When reminded that the situation could change if
Barak uses the next three months to conclude an agreement with the
Palestinians, she said, "It is very dangerous that he is ignoring the other
branch of democracy in Israel - the Knesset." Likud leader Ariel Sharon
also warned Barak against making a "grab" by signing an agreement during
the Knesset recess.

The Yesha Council, too, warns against what it calls the anti-democratic
move of signing an agreement during the Knesset recess. "There are no
black holes in a democracy," stated the Council.

3. SHOFAROT AT KOTEL, AND FOR PRESIDENT
Over 50,000 people took part in special prayers at the Western Wall
yesterday. The crowd was notably heterogeneous, and was packed with
black-jacket clad hareidi Jews, Chabadniks, Sephardic Jews, and
colored-yarmulked religious-Zionists. Shofarot were sounded during the
service.

At the same time, shofarot were also being sounded at the Knesset in honor
of the swearing-in of President Moshe Katzav. In a speech sprinkled
liberally with quotes from Scriptures and the Jewish liturgy, Katzav said
that he was chosen to instill "peace within our own home." He said that
the Israeli public will be asked within the next few years to decide
fateful questions such as the future of Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, Judea
and Samaria, and the Jordan Valley. "Are we ready to do so with clear
thinking and a sense of responsibility?" he asked.

Katzav prayed this morning in the home of Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri, and will
attend services tomorrow at the home of Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef. He will move
into the President's Home in Jerusalem only after Tisha B'Av, in accordance
with Jewish law.

4. REPORTS: ARAFAT WILL NOT DECLARE STATE
Latest Israeli security reports are that Yasser Arafat despite his public
statements will not declare a Palestinian state on September 13. Arafat
reportedly does not want to endanger his relationship with the United
States, nor has he strong support for the move around the world. France,
Turkey, and other nations have announced that they will not recognize a
Palestinian state that is established without Israeli consent.

5. CONFLICTING REPORTS ON GUSH KATIF
Prime Minister Ehud Barak turned down a Palestinian offer, during the Camp
David talks, to retain Gush Katif under Israeli sovereignty in exchange for
the transfer of the Negev's Halutza area to the Palestinian
Authority. Haggai Huberman reports in HaTzofeh today that Barak in
principle is against the exchange of territories with the PA. Contrary to
previous reports - which Israeli sources accuse the Palestinians of
spreading - Barak is willing to agree only to the evacuation of three of
the 15 Gush Katif settlements: Netzarim, Kfar Darom, and Dugit. In
exchange for Israel's retention of settlement blocs in Yesha, the PA
demands some 200 square kilometers in the Israeli areas of Wadi Ara and the
Jezre'el Valley, as well as its own terminals in Ben Gurion International
Airport and the Ashdod seaport.

6. POLICE
One of the gates to the Temple Mount was the scene of a major clash this
afternoon between police officers and some 100 Jews who wished to pray on
the Mount. The police were enforcing the Moslem Waqf-authorized
status-quo, according to which Jews may not pray on the site of the Holy
Temple. Today's attempt was organized by Zo Artzeinu founder Moshe
Feiglin, who was arrested in the course of the incident.

7. LIKUD ON THE MARCH
Close to 240 Likud-sponsored buses are on a solidarity tour today,
travelling through Judea and Samaria, the Jordan Valley, Ma'aleh Adumim,
and Jerusalem. The group's theme is, "We are with the Jordan Valley and
Jerusalem." The event will end with a celebration in Ma'aleh Adumim in
honor of Moshe Katzav's election to the Presidency - the first time that
the Likud has succeeded in fielding a winning candidate for the top
office. Likud Director-General Uri Shani told Arutz-7 today that his party
is ready for new elections "and the people are excited to start. Phone
calls have been flooding in from people asking how they can help. The only
thing is that the entire nationalist camp must be united, or else we will
not win."

8. HAMAS EXPLOSIVES LAB FOUND
Israel has confirmed Palestinian reports that the PA has uncovered a large
Hamas explosives laboratory in an Arab village north of Shechem. Arutz-7
correspondent Haggai Huberman reports that this same village produced
members of the Tzurif terrorist cell who committed, among other severe
terrorist attacks, the bombing of the Apropos cafe which killed three
Israeli women.

9. BOBOVER REBBE, 92
The Bobover Rebbe, Rabbi Shlomo Halberstam, passed away in Boro Park, NY
this morning at the age of 92. He was the leader of thousands of Hassidim
in Israel and the United States.

10. DIGITIZED BOOKS
Versaware - a New York company with research-and-development facilities in
Jerusalem - has announced an agreement with the Taylor & Francis Group
publishers to convert the latter's complete print backlist of 17,000 titles
to electronic format. So reports the Bi-Weekly Economic Update. The
initiative marks the first time a major publisher has committed to digitize
a list of this magnitude and make it available to a global audience in all
digital formats. Taylor & Francis is a leading international group of
publishing companies, which publishes specialist scientific, academic and
professional journals and books. Versaware has developed technologies that
allow publishers to convert print reference texts into a fully searchable
digital format that can support sound, video and animation.

Hebrew News Editor: Ariel Kahane
English News Editor: Hillel Fendel

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Lunar Business Ideas Booming
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 12:34:52 -0400

Lunar Business Ideas Booming

LAS VEGAS, Nevada - If investment visionaries have their way, the 21st
century Earth's moon is going to be dotted with robot factories, underground
cities, power towers, tourist stopovers, science stations, even lunar burial
sites.

That's the declaration from entrepreneurs, land developers, space
technologists and researchers attending the second annual Lunar
Development Conference, held here July 20-21 and underwritten by the
Foundation for the International Non-Government Development of Space.

Taking the long view

Years ago, this conference crowd might have been called the "lunatic fringe."
But they continue to take the long view about barren and forsaken celestial
landscape - and they don't have to look far to prove their point. Decades ago,
who could have thought a useless stretch of sandy real estate called Las
Vegas would become a multi-billion-dollar industrial base that is now the
economic powerhouse for the entire state of Nevada? It was far more than a
chancy roll of the dice.

LunaCorp rover preparing to enter a crater.

"There is a major sea change taking place," said Rick Tumlinson, president
of the Space Frontier Foundation in Los Angeles, California, a conference co-
sponsor, along with the Space Studies Institute of Princeton, New Jersey.

"The year 2000 may well be looked at as the turning point at which the
private sector, the people, began to take over and open the space frontier.
But it has been a long, long battle," he said.

"We have the beginning of the first commercial moon race starting this year,"
Tumlinson said. He pointed to such groups as SpaceDev, LunaCorp,
TransOrbital, and Idealab - each with privately-funded projects to send
orbiters, landers, or robot rovers to the moon within the next few years.

Planet moon project

A hundred years from now, expect to see a fully inhabited sister planet of the
Earth. People will be living on the moon permanently, a by-product of a multi-
phase effort to create what is called the new Planet Moon.

That's the view of David Schrunk, a former aerospace engineer and founder of
the Science of Laws Institute in San Diego, California.

Schrunk said that a major milestone in coming years will be the
manufacturing of a solar cell from lunar surface materials. "That will be as
significant as fire, the computer, or the steam engine," he told SPACE.com.

Plenty of energy pouring out from the sun can support lunar industrialization,
Schrunk said. Large underground chambers on the moon will house people
in near Eden-like ecologies, similar to those back on Earth, Schrunk said.
He added that this underground engineering can be done without mussing up
lunar craters on the moon's surface.

By moving Earth's industrial base to the moon, then tapping lunar resources
and utilizing solar energy, as well as comets and asteroids, "we can build an
entirely new planet, inhabited by us," Schrunk said. Mark Maxwell's futuristic
vision of life on the moon.

Schrunk said that a melding of commercial enterprises and governmental
interests in the moon is needed. "By working together, there is a greater
likelihood of success, and things can happen on a shorter time scale. That's
my philosophy," he said.

Lunar sweet-spot

NASA has been quietly studying ways to couple space agency lunar
interests with commercial participation or by buying services from private
firms.

"That's in our strategic plan," said Kent Joosten, chief engineer of NASA's
exploration office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Joosten said that there is a special area of the moon -- the lunar south pole --
that encompasses a variety of attributes, perhaps even sun-hidden craters
that brim with water ice. "You don't have to rove very far to have it all," he
said.

This lunar sweet-spot includes places that are in near permanent sunlight
and even areas that are in constant darkness. Also, this select lunar acreage
contains tracts that always face Earth, while other locales are totally hidden
from Earth's view.

Setting up a science station on the moon, turning lunar resources into
products, and perhaps even testing on the moon hardware and astronaut
survival skills for long duration Mars missions - all these make for potential
NASA assignments in the future, Joosten said.

NASA's science and exploration goals, Joosten said, may start to merge
with the abilities of private companies to provide lunar maps, power
generation at the moon, navigation to, around, and on the moon, as well as
other services.

"We at NASA don't necessarily own the only expertise in these areas,"
Joosten said.

The shock of the new

There is an emerging business in doing things lunar, said conference chair,
Greg Bennett of the Las Vegas-based, Bigelow Aerospace.

"There is strong evidence that we've turned the corner," Bennett said.
"People are making deals and shaking hands. We're no longer talking about
what we could do, but now moving into how we could do it," he said.

Still, the biggest lunar roadblock is fighting what Bennett tags as "concept
shock" - telling taxpayers that real commercial space business does exist
and that there are actual private enterprise space projects. "We're not talking
about spending or wasting taxpayer money. We are talking about
commercial projects where if you don't like it, ignore it," Bennett said.

The Robotics Institute will create a machine that can operate in the frigid
darkness of a crater shadow that hasn't seen the Sun in two billion years.

As the first president of the newly formed Moon Society, Bennett said that
the spate of upcoming privately-financed lunar missions opens the door for
more to follow. "Right now, there's no base of knowledge about the risks,
either the business risks or the technical, political, or legal risks. The first
private mission becomes an important pathfinder. That opens it up, I think,
for everybody," he said.

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/moon_conference_000724.html

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - 9th of AV
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 12:31:50 -0500

Does the 9th of AV commence tonight at sundown???

[If I'm looking at the calendar right, no. The 9th of Av is August 10.
August 2 is (or was) the New Moon making it Av 1. ]

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: 9th of AV
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Khazneh")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 14:15:33 -0400

Here is a handy Jewish/Gregorian calendar in a great format for printing
[all or portions]. It leaves a nice margin for notes.

http://newwine.org/Studies/JewCal.htm

----- Original Message -----
From: "Shophar_Sho_Good" <bpr-list@philologos.org>
To: BPR Mailing List <bpr-list@philologos.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2000 1:31 PM
Subject: [BPR] - 9th of AV

> Does the 9th of AV commence tonight at sundown???
>
>
>
> [If I'm looking at the calendar right, no. The 9th of Av is August 10.
> August 2 is (or was) the New Moon making it Av 1. ]
>

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Meltdown!
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 13:39:35 -0500

via: hblondel@tampabay.rr.com

Here is the URL to NASA Space Science News, where the complete story
with photos can be seen...

http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast31jul_1m.htm

Meltdown!

Comet LINEAR continues to disintegrate and
could disappear completely within a few days.

July 31, 2000 -- Astronomers around the world continue to monitor the
unexpected disintegration of comet C/1999 S4 (LINEAR). Intense solar
heating apparently triggered a massive disruption of the comet's
fragile
icy core when it passed close to the Sun last week.

It is still bright enough to see through small telescopes so even
amateur astronomers can watch the comet as it dissolves. If you do
plan to
look, don't wait. Experts think that comet LINEAR might disappear
completely in a few days.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (8/2/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 17:13:20 -0400

Iraq-Syria rail link to reopen

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: Bahrain Tribune

Wed Aug 2,2000 -- A 60-year-old rail link between northern Iraq and Syria,
suspended in 1981, is to resume service on August 11, an Iraqi official
said yesterday. Ghassan Abdelrazek al-Ani, director general of the State
Enterprise for Iraqi Railways, said the train would run once a week
between Mosul and Aleppo, some 350km north of Damascus. It will take 14
hours for the 510km journey, he said.

Knesset passes Jerusalem Basic Law, first reading

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: IsraelWire

Wed Aug 2,2000 -- The Knesset passed the first reading of Basic Law:
Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel on Monday by a vote of 71-27. The law
fixes the present boundaries of Jerusalem and requires approval of 61
Members of Knesset to transfer areas within the municipal boundaries of
the city.

Hundreds participate in Orient House assembly Monday

                         Weekend News Today
                         By Andra Brack
                         Source: IsraelWire

Wed Aug 2,2000 -- Hundreds of persons participated in a Monday assembly in
the PA Jerusalem headquarters, Orient House, including senior leaders of
Israel�s Druze community. In his address to the forum, Faisal Husseini,
who holds the PA�s Jerusalem portfolio, called for total PA sovereignty
over all portions of “occupied East Jerusalem”. Husseini told the audience
that US pressure on Arafat at Camp David did not result in the expected PA
concessions, and the PA would remain firm in its demands for sovereignty
of Al Quds (Jerusalem), which will serve as the capital of Palestine. Dr.
Hanan Ashrawi stated the PA has to declare statehood and continue to move
forward with plans to build its independent sovereign state.

http://www.upway.com/cgi/readnews.cgi?day=00_08_2&item=#965239803

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Two German lawyers want Bible classed "dangerous for children"
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 17:21:17 -0400

Two German lawyers want Bible classed "dangerous for children"

MUNICH, Germany, Aug 1 (AFP) - Two lawyers said Tuesday they had
written to German Family Minister Christine Bergmann asking her to officially
class the Bible among books considered dangerous for children because of
its violent content.

The Holy Book contains passages of "a gruesomeness difficult to exceed"
which are glorified as the will of God, the Bavarian lawyers Christian Sailer
and Gert-Joachim Hetzel said in their submission to the minister on behalf of
"some parents of minors".

"It preaches genocide, racism, enmity towards Jews, gruesome executions
for adulterers and homosexuals, the murder of one's own children and many
other perversities," Sailer and Hetzel said.

The book should therefore be kept on the "not for children" list so long as the
"bloodthirsty and human rights-violating passages" were not removed.

A spokeswoman for the Roman Catholic in Munich, Adelheid Utters-Adam,
described the demand as absurd. If the Bible should be put on the index,
then so should every history book and practically every newspaper edition,
she said.

The Bible described the dark side of human life too, Utters-Adam said,
adding that the authors of the demand had in no way understood the book.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Earth Browser
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 2 Aug 2000 17:34:15 -0400

EarthBrowser 1.2.2

Now for Mac and Windows too!

EarthBrowser is a revolutionary new program that gives a beautiful and
intuitive way to monitor the constantly changing conditions across the globe.
EarthBrowser shows the latest weather, earthquake, volcanoes and clouds
on a very intuitive and enjoyable three-dimensional model of the Earth.

This isn't just a static image, you can grab the Earth and rotate it in any
direction you want. You can zoom in and out to get a detailed image or a far
off view from space. The clouds are updated from satelite images on an
hourly basis and the shadow travels across the globe all day long (taking the
seasons into account).

If you like to know the weather, or are fascinated by our beautiful planet, this
is a must have!

http://www.earthbrowser.com/

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

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