BPR Mailing List Digest: 08/14/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
August 14, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | August, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - China Flexes Muscles South of U.S. Borders
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 08:25:07 -0400

China Flexes Muscles South of U.S. Borders
NewsMax.com
Monday, Aug. 14, 2000

China has demonstrated its growing influence in Central America by throwing
road blocks in the way of the Taiwanese president's planned diplomatic visit
to the area.

While the dominant Chinese presence in Panama since the U.S. pullout is
widely recognized, mainland China´s increasing power in the rest of Central
America has up until now been less obvious.

It became very apparent last week when pressure from Beijing caused three
Central American governments to tell Taiwan´s President Chen Shui-bian he
wasn´t welcome in their countries during his planned tour of the area.

Moreover, Nicaragua, the one Central American nation that told Chen to come
ahead, is accused of demanding $100 million in exchange for putting out the
welcome mat for Chen and promising to continue to recognize Taiwan
diplomatically.

"It's just a disaster,'' one knowledgeable Taiwanese source told the Miami
Herald. "We give so much money to these countries, and they just keep
playing the mainland off against us in order to get more.''

According to the Herald, Chen is due to begin his now partially aborted tour
of Central America after a visit to the Dominican Republic. He then will
move on to Nicaragua and Costa Rica before going to Africa, where he will
travel through Gambia, Chad and Burkino Faso.

What is shocking about the snubs to the Taiwanese president is the fact that
all seven Central American nations including Panama recognize Taiwan and not
the Beijing regime as the legitimate government of China. Yet El Salvador
(which welcomed a recent tour of the nation by China´s ambassador to
Mexico), Guatemala and Panama all nixed Chen´s visit to their homelands.

Taiwan officials were stunned by the rejection of their president´s visits,
given the fact that Taipei has been a major source of funds to the
cash-strapped Central American nations.

Panama, for example, recently got a $30 million low-interest loan plus an
informal promise of what diplomats from both countries describe to the
Herald as tens of millions of dollars in additional aid and investment. Yet
Panama´s President Mireya Moscoso coldly rejected Chen´s bid for a
diplomatic visit.

"It's a shame you give them $30 million and then you can't even get into
the country,'' one Taiwan source told the Herald. "If after spending so much
money, the president can't even come here, what's the point?"

Diplomatic experts say that Moscoso´s snub of Chen further demonstrates the
power of Mainland China in Panama, where a firm closely tied to the Chinese
military now dominates both ends of the Panama Canal.

The $100 million price tag Nicaragua allegedly put on continued diplomatic
recognition for a Chen visit was angrily denounced by Taiwan's foreign
minister, Tien Hung-mao, who said that the demand for the money was
"inappropriate'' and "damaging to bilateral relations.''

Nicaragua's foreign minister, Eduardo Montealegre, denied making such a
demand, telling the Herald: "Our relationship with Taiwan is important, and
we would not jeopardize it by doing something like that, And it's not a
relationship based on money. Our relations with them began in 1949, when
they were as poor as we were. We've been with them through bad times as well
as good.''

Taiwan has doled out more than $1 billion in aid to Nicaragua over the past
10 years; the $123 million in Taiwanese donations to Nicaragua over the past
three years are larger than those from any other country except Japan and
the United States. And the rest of Central America has been on the receiving
end of similar Taiwanese generosity.

And Taiwan expects to get something in return for the billions of dollars it
has poured into the region. Taiwanese diplomats told the Herald that the
least they expect is continued diplomatic recognition, support for Taiwan´s
readmission to the United Nations, and the opportunity for state visits such
as Chen´s that show that at least some governments see Taiwan as a
full-fledged nation rather than the breakaway Chinese province Beijing
insists it is.

http://www.newsmax.com/articles/?a=2000/8/13/144426

via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - 'Kum Ba Yah' Song Banned at Camp
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 08:50:26 -0400

'Kum Ba Yah' Song Banned at Camp

NORTH PORT, Fla. (AP) -- An 8-year-old girl was banned from singing the
campfire favorite ``Kum Ba Yah'' at her day-camp after talent show organizers
said it violated their ban on religious songs because it repeats the word
``Lord.''

Samantha Schultz had practiced the song for a week but was banned from
singing it Friday at the North Port Boys & Girls Club talent show.

Bill Sadlo, director of operations for the club, about 50 miles south of Tampa,
said he was concerned parents would complain if children went home and
said they heard a religious song at the nonsectarian camp.

``We don't want to take the chance of a child offending another child's
religion,'' Sadlo said.

Samantha's relatives were livid. They said club officials should have told her
in advance that she could not sing the song.

``I learned that song in Girl Scouts, not in church,'' said Pam Schultz,
Samantha's mother. ``It's a campfire song, for goodness sake.''

Sadlo agreed the staff should have informed the girl earlier and apologized to
the family.

``We just can't allow any religious songs,'' said Randy Bouck, the local
club's director. ``You have to check your religion at the door.''

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Plan to beatify anti-Semitic pope causes outcry
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 08:55:12 -0400

Plan to beatify anti-Semitic pope causes outcry

LUCERNE, Switzerland, Aug 11 (AFP) - The planned beatification of Pope
Pius IX, the 19th century pontiff regarded as an anti-Semitic ultra-
conservative, has caused an outcry in Switzerland both among historians
and the various religious faiths, including some Catholic groups.

On September 3, Pope John-Paul II is scheduled to beatify the two popes
who organised the two Vatican councils -- Pius IX (1846-79) for Vatican I in
1870 and John XXIII (1958-63) for Vatican II in 1962.

Beatification is the first stage to sainthood, under the procedures of the
Catholic church.

Nicolas Betticher, spokesman for the Swiss episcopal conference, said the
double beatification was meant to express the "doctrinal continuity of the
church".

He said "Vatican I reaffirmed the pertinence of the Catholic faith in face of the
industrial revolution. In the same process, Vatican II tried to open up the
Church to the world."

But Markus Ries, a theologian at Lucerne university, said that Pius IX was
an advocate for militant anti-Semitism and ultra-conservatism, even though
he had proclaimed two major dogmas of the Catholic faith - the infallibility of
the Pope and the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary.

Pius IX "recreated the ghetto of Rome after having suppressed it," said Ries.
"He was a virulent opponent of advances in human rights in the 18th century,
as epitomised by the French Revolution. Further he imposed on the church
his completely personal view of his own temporal power."

These criticisms were endorsed by an association of Catholic historians that
met in Innsbruck, Austria, and on June 13 published an exceptional
communique expressing concern about the beatification.

"The beatification (of Pius IX) would amount to a disavowal of all the
declarations of Vatican II and John-Paul II on human rights and relations
between the church and the Jews," the historians said.

A famous declaration by Pius IX ("la tradizione sono io") were among "the
most shameful pages of his pontificate," the historians said.

Swiss Jewish groups have also complained to the Swiss episcopate about
the beatification. "The very virulent anti-Semitism of Pius IX expressed not
only that of the period, but also his own," said Martin Rosenfeld, secretary-
general of the Swiss federation of Jewish groups.

He said the beatification was "a step backwards" from Pope John-Paul II's
latest actions, notably his visit to Israel last spring.

By definition, Swiss bishops, like those of other countries, are banned from
commenting on papal decisions, but Swiss Catholics have not been so
reticent.

Editor of the Swiss Catholic magazine Choisir, Jesuit father Pierre Emonet,
strongly criticised the planned beatification. "Pius IX was perhaps a pious
man, but all his actions as a pope were regrettable. He opposed the modern
world in the most narrow-minded and stubborn way, without discernment."

In Protestant quarters, criticism has also been pointed. Raymond Rham, vice-
president of the Federation of the Protestant Churches of Switzerland, said
that Pius IX could not be considered as "a Christian faithful to Christ. I can
respect him as a believer, but not as an exemplar of the faith nor as a a
venerable."

These criticisms echo those already formulated in several other European
countries, notably Italy, Austria and German. But that will not change "the
Vatican's determination to beatify an anti-Semitic pope," said Ries.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russian Nuclear Sub Sinks in the Barents Sea
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 10:27:28 -0500

Monday August 14, 9:43 AM (EST)

Navy commander says sub sank due to collision

MOSCOW, August 14 (Itar-Tass) - The commander of the Russian Navy,
Admiral Vladimir Kuroyedov said "there are signs of a big and serious
collision" aboard the nuclear submarine Kursk that has sunk in the
Barents Sea.

In an exclusive interview with Itar-Tass on Monday, the admiral said
he could say yet what the sub had collided with.

He said "all rescue forces have been mobilised" to save the
submarine, but "the situation is bad".

The admiral admitted that "despite all the efforts being taken, the
probability of a successful outcome from the situation with the Kursk
is not very high".

-- more --

http://drudgereport.com/flash1.htm

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News items (8/14/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 12:23:14 -0400

CLINTON PLEDGES TO CONTINUE TO WORK FOR THE DIVISION OF
JERUSALEM

U.S. President Bill Clinton has apparently not internalized the objections of
the Jewish community to his Jerusalem-dividing proposals. Mr. Clinton told
four Jewish groups at a reception yesterday in Los Angeles that he will
continue to work every day for the remainder of his term to try to reach an
agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Such an agreement, if it
comes to pass, will necessarily feature a form of Clinton's own "bridging"
proposal involving the division of Jerusalem and some measure of sovereignty
over the Temple Mount to the Palestinian entity.

President Clinton sees not only the division of Jerusalem as a main feature
of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, but also the placing
of an American Embassy in the "Palestinian" part of Jerusalem. This was
strongly implied in remarks he made to the Arabic-language Al-Hayat of
London this past Friday. Clinton said, "I greatly hope that the Israeli and
Palestinian parties will have reached solutions by [the end of the year],
and, with our help, an agreement on Jerusalem that satisfies their demands.
I will then be able to open a US embassy in the Palestinian state's
capital. I strongly believe that the Jerusalem issue can be solved in a way
that achieves the two parties' national aspirations."

Clinton - who, along with his wife Hillary, will be featured speakers
tonight at the Democratic convention in Los Angeles where Al Gore and
Joseph Lieberman will be officially nominated for President and Vice
President - has resisted ordering the relocation of the American Embassy in
Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act calls
for the embassy to be moved by May 1999, but Clinton has invoked a special
security waiver clause inherent in the law. He last invoked it in mid-June
of this year.

RABBI YOSEF CLARIFIES OLD RULING
Former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef has clarified his famous
25-year-old ruling that portions of Eretz Yisrael may be given away in
cases of "danger to life." In an interview with the religious magazine
Mishpacha, Rabbi Yosef said that he was referring a) only to cities with
hostile Arab populations, b) only when the transfer itself of the
territories does not involve danger to life, and c) certainly not to the
Old City of Jerusalem.

Yossi Elituv, who interviewed Rabbi Yosef for Mishpacha, reviewed the
relevant passages of the interview for Arutz-7 listeners today. Some
excerpts from the interview follow:

Rabbi Yosef: "Barak is doing things that he should not do. He wants to
give sections of the Old City of Jerusalem to the Palestinians. Who will
live there - quiet, peaceful people? No! Murderers and Jew-haters will
live there. This situation will bring about the spilling of innocent blood."

Mishpacha: "Do you, then, oppose concessions in Jerusalem?"
Rabbi Yosef: "I ask you - how can we take actions that will place us in
danger, G-d forbid? The Prime Minister did not act wisely; if he had sat
and thought for a few days, and had realized that he does not have a
majority of the Knesset with him on this - he might have reconsidered
before traveling [to Camp David] and thereby putting us in danger..."

Mishpacha: "Surely [you] know that the left-wing camp is making use of your
halakhic decision that in cases of danger to life, we can make territorial
concessions in the Land of Israel?"

Rabbi Yosef: "Cases of danger to life have no connection to my
ruling... When they spoke of granting autonomy in Gaza - I supported
it. Let them go to Gaza! That's a case in which my ruling applies. But
to sign deals that will bring [the Arabs] into our homes, into our city, in
the center of the Old City - how could Barak do this? He is using my
ruling in a way that I did not intend. My ruling is inapplicable when the
transfer of territories actually brings about a danger to life... It
certainly does not apply to Jerusalem... Is it logical that we can engage
in dangerous concessions in Jerusalem, and cite danger to life as the
reason to do so?! This is absurd! The Barak government is actually
bringing danger closer..."

HILLARY'S ALLIANCES

The American Muslim Alliance chapter in Massachusetts held what it called
a "successful" fundraiser for First Lady Hillary Clinton at the Park Plaza
Hotel in Boston on June 13, 2000. AMA Massachusetts Chair Tahir Ali said
afterwards, "We are attempting to send an important message to all AMA
chapters: we must support all who have [Muslim] interests at heart,
regardless of what part of the country they are running in."

Early this summer, it was reported that Ms. Clinton had raised tens of
thousands of dollars from associates of Yasser Arafat. A private fund-raising
reception on May 12 at the Washington mansion of Hani Masri, a close
confidante of Arafat, reportedly raised more than $50,000. Yigal Carmon,
President of the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), said that
his organization has done extensive research on the Masri family's control of
the Palestinian Development Investment Co. and its ties to Arafat. During
the 1980's, Hillary served on the board of the New World Foundation,
funneling money to the PLO, which at the time was recognized as a terrorist
organization. In February 1996, Hillary hosted a reception at the White
House for leaders of Hamas-supporting groups such as the American Muslim
Council and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. In January 1998,
Hillary hosted a White House reception organized by Muslim leaders who
defended militant Islamic fundamentalism and supported radical Islamic
groups.

Ms. Clinton, scheduled to speak in the choice spot tonight - immediately
before the President, her husband Bill Clinton - has raised close to half-a-
million dollars in California since last fall. So reports the Los Angeles Times
today, and adds that this sum does not include donations under $200 or
other unregulated donations, which total about $7 million nationwide. Her
"aggressive push" in California, reports the LA Times, raises concerns "about
the message [that] a flood of Hollywood money sends to New York voters"
as well as the issue of cash-constituents versus real constituents.

ARAB PRESS AND LIEBERMAN

Many Arab newspapers across the Middle East and North Africa have
strongly criticized the selection of Senator Joseph Lieberman as the
Democratic party's candidate for Vice President. Egypt's Al Akbar
newspaper, in an editorial entitled, "The Judaizing of America," wrote that
Gore's choice of Lieberman amounts to selling himself to the Jewish lobby
and to Israel. Asharq al Awsat, based in London, said mildly that it expects
U.S. political support for Israel to increase if the Democrats win this
November's presidential election. Voice of America's Egyptian
correspondent reported that some Cairo political analysts feel that the new
Lieberman development will lead to "greater bias toward Israel, and greater
yield and submission to pressures of Israeli and Zionist lobbies in the United
States."

The Jordan Times, on the other hand, welcomed the choice of Lieberman as
a way to "help moderate Israel's image in the Middle East." Egyptian
presidential spokesman Osama el Baz also praised Mr. Lieberman's
selection, saying that Lieberman "is not an anti-Arab at all. On the contrary.
He is a friend of Egypt," and adding that Egypt did not detect any trace of
pro-Israeli bias in his record.

Arutz Sheva News Service
<www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Monday, August 14, 2000 / Av 13, 5760

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (8/14/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 18:36:01 -0400

Air Force lab invents new chemical laser to be used in weapons systems

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly
                         Source: Nando Times

Mon Aug 14,2000 -- A new, lightweight chemical laser, which could enable a
range of future laser weapons systems, has been invented by the Air Force
Research Laboratory in Albuquerque. The laboratory's directed energy
research directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base says technical details of
the All Gas Iodine Laser, or AGIL, will be revealed at an international
laser symposium next month in Italy. "We envision it to be a broad-based
laser for a variety of Air Force missions," said Tom Henshaw, an Air Force
physical chemist. "It would be readily adaptable to airborne and
spaceborne (weapons) platforms."

Secularists want to establish a 'new Israel'

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly
                         Source: Jerusalem Post

Mon Aug 14,2000 -- A group of secular academics and hi-tech professionals
are tentatively planning the establishment of a new, Israeli-style colony
in the Diaspora. Israeli History lecturer at the University of Haifa Dr.
Michal Oren, one of the organizers, explained that motivation for the idea
comes from built up frustration with the way of life in Israel. One cause
for the roused feelings among the secularists has been the political
activity of the Shas party.

Oren feels that Shas has “brought up all the things that have been
underground in Israel,” and that the end result is a shift away from a
Western- style, democratic country. Oren feels that the state of Israel
began to go wrong after the first ten years of its establishment, and that
there is now a motivation to go back to Zionist roots.

U.S. military exercise off Gaza coast, PA says marines landed on
'Palestinian territory'

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly
                         Source: Middle East Newsline

Mon Aug 14,2000 -- The Palestinian Authority has protested what it
described as U.S. military maneuvers off the coast of Gaza. PA officials
said the exercise took place in January off the northern Gaza coast near
an Israeli naval base outside the Jewish settlement of Dugit. The exercise
was conducted by U.S. Marines, the officials said. Brig. Gen. Osama Mussa
Ali, commander of the PA military liasion office, said a protest was filed
with the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. He said the marines landed on
Palestinian territory.

"The landing operation was carried out in occupied Palestinian territory
and is not under Israeli sovereignty," Ali said. "We do not object to
carrying out such an operation on the shores of Haifa or Tel Aviv. But
carrying out this operation on the shores of an occupied Palestinian
territory is considered a U.S. recognition of the Israeli occupation of
that territory."

http://www.upway.com/cgi/readnews.cgi?day=00_08_14&item=#966280565

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

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - JVIM Update items (8/14/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 18:43:08 -0400

HAMAS CALLS FOR NEW INTIFADA
AGAINST ISRAEL
August 14, 2000

     IsraelWire reported: “Hamas terrorist leader Sheik Ahmed
     Yassin cried out on Friday that the Arabs would make another
     Intifada (uprising) against Israel. Yassin, who spoke in a rally
     south of Gaza City to celebrate the release of one of Hamas'
     terrorist leaders after spending 16 years in an Israeli jail, said
     that a new Intifada is expected in the coming days against Israel.
     Yassin said: ‘The arms of the new Intifada would not be this time an
     Intifada of stones and empty bottles, it will be an Intifada of
     rifles, bombs, missiles and explosive materials.´ He said that the
     new Intifada would begin as long as Israel keeps attacking the Arab
     people and violating their rights of worship at their holy sites. He
     added: ‘Hamas will make an earthquake under the feet of the Zionists
     until we uproot them and remove their existence on this earth!´
     Hundreds of Hamas supporters waved the Hamas and Palestinian flags,
     and called upon the Hamas military wing to renew its suicide bombing
     attacks into Israel. The 64-year-old Yassin said that Hamas would
     never change its strategy of ‘Jihad, armed resistance and the war to
     liberate Palestine.´...”

RUSSIA TO REBUILD CONVENTIONAL
                    MILITARY FORCES
                                     August 14,
                                     2000

     The International Herald Tribune reported: “President Vladimir
     Putin has decided to unilaterally reduce Russia's nuclear arsenal and
     shift scarce financial resources to rebuild conventional military
     forces, according to reports in the Russian news media. Details
     emerging from a pivotal defense-policy meeting that lasted four hours
     Friday suggest that Mr. Putin sided with the chief of the general
     staff and against the defense minister in the bitter dispute. ‘Great
     significance was attached to the development of conventional forces,´
     the Interfax news agency said. ‘A decision was made on the
     redistribution of financial flows´ away from nuclear arms. Mr. Putin
     decided to let the number of Russia's nuclear warheads shrink to
     1,500, less than half of the 3,500 permitted under the START-2
     arms-reduction treaty, which Russia ratified only this year, the
     Russian media reported Saturday. Russia wants the United States to
     agree to reduce its arsenal to 1,500 warheads under a proposed
     START-3 treaty. Russia's nuclear arsenal has been shrinking because
     of obsolescence and the lack of money to build new missiles,
     airplanes and submarines to deliver the nuclear warheads...”

IRAQI SCUD MISSILES BEING BUILT
FOR LIBYA AND SUDAN
August 14, 2000

     The World Tribune reported: “The United States is monitoring
     what intelligence sources said are efforts by Iraq to develop
     missiles abroad. Among the countries believed to be developing
     Iraqi intermediate-range missiles are Libya and Sudan, Middle
     East Newsline reports. In both cases, North Korea is said to be
     providing expertise and missile components. A CIA report
     relayed to Congress asserts that Iraq is financing the
     construction of a Scud missile assembly plant in Sudan. The
     plant is to be constructed by North Koreans. Reports of such a
     plant have been circulating for nearly a year. They asserted that
     Iraq paid $400 million for the plant -- with Khartoum to receive half
     of the funds… In Libya, Iraq is said to be financing efforts to build
     intermediate-range missiles. Again, North Korea is said to be
     involved. U.S. intelligence sources said China and Egypt are also
     said to be involved in the development of a missile in Libya. The
     CIA's national intelligence estimate asserts that Iraq, Iran and
     Libya are accelerating their missile programs with help from China,
     North Korea and Russia...”

IRAQ SEEKS RUSSIAN AGREEMENT
                   TO BUILD MISSILES
                                     August 14,
                                     2000

     The London Times reported: “Iraq is secretly negotiating with
     Russian companies to set up a plant making key components of
     ballistic missiles, Western intelligence sources have disclosed.
     Having expelled United Nations arms inspectors, President Saddam
     Hussein seems determined to develop a long-range missile facility and
     is counting on Russian help. The latest meetings are believed to have
     focused on constructing a plant for the production of gyroscopes -
     advanced navigation and guidance components for long-range ballistic
     missiles. Under the UN agreement after the 1991 Gulf War, Saddam is
     allowed to develop only short-range ballistic missiles. Intelligence
     reports say the proposed factory is expected to be built south of
     Baghdad at a cost of £10 million and may be completed by next year.
     If the deal were to go ahead, in breach of the UN arms embargo,
     Russian engineers would be involved in building and running the plant
     and the equipment would be shipped to Beirut before being transported
     to Baghdad...”

NORTH KOREA ADMITS SELLING
MISSILES TO IRAN AND SYRIA
August 14, 2000

     Fox News reported: “North Korean leader Kim Jong Il admitted
     that his country has been selling missiles to Iran and Syria,
     according to South Korean newspaper reports Monday. North
     Korea had previously said it has sold missiles abroad but not
     identified customers. Kim reportedly said his country has to
     develop missiles to earn foreign currency, and that he was not
     serious when he told Russian President Vladimir Putin about a
     possible deal to stop his country's missile development...”

NEW MEXICAN PRESIDENT SEEKS EU
       LIKE RELATIONSHIP WITH AMERICA
                                     August 14,
                                     2000

     The Washington Post reported: “President-elect Vicente Fox said
     today that a closed and often fortified border between the United
     States and Mexico has failed both countries and that the time has
     come for Americans to see Mexican workers and resources as an
     ‘opportunity, not a threat.´ Fox, who meets with President Clinton at
     the White House next week, proposed creating a European Union-style
     partnership in North America, in which the United States and Canada
     would help create jobs and raise income levels in Mexico. ‘We must be
     better friends, we must be better neighbors, we must be better
     partners,´ Fox said at his family ranch here in central Mexico in his
     first interview with American reporters since his landmark election
     July 2. His comments during the wide-ranging, 90-minute conversation
     represented the most detailed description to date of his vision of
     U.S.-Mexican relations...”

www.jvim.com/cgi-bin/update.cgi

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israel: will annex if Palestinians unilaterally declare statehood
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 18:47:46 -0400

Israel: will annex if Palestinians unilaterally declare statehood

Monday, 14 August 2000 10:50 (ET)

Israel: will annex if Palestinians unilaterally declare statehood

TEL AVIV, Israel. Aug. 14 (UPI) -- The head of the Israeli prime
minister's political-security staff, Danny Yatom, said Monday Israel would
extend its law to significant parts of the West Bank should the Palestinians
unilaterally declare statehood.

An extension of Israeli law means virtual annexation. At the moment
Israeli law considers those areas, except Jerusalem, "occupied territories"
that are not part of Israel proper.

Yatom's comments were made amid speculation on when the Palestinians
would
declare statehood. The Palestinians have said they have a right to do so
after Sept. 13, but the final decision hasn't been made yet.

In an interview on Israel Radio, Yatom quoted Prime Minister Ehud Barak as
warning: "The day the Palestinian state will be unilaterally declared, if at
all, the State of Israel will extend in law to no insignificant parts of
Judea and Samaria."

Judea and Samaria are the biblical names for the West Bank.

Yatom said the Israeli move would mainly concern area of extensive Jewish
settlement.

Asked whether there would be a summit next month he said: "I very much
hope there will be a summit, but you can't know." When pressed he added:
"I
assume there will be (one)."

Yatom maintained the ball is now in the Palestinian court. "They are the
ones who will have to make bold and tough decisions."

He said Israel had gone to the limit it could "and cannot yield more than
what it had been willing to consider at the last Camp David summit."

http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=109432

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (8/14/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2000 18:55:28 -0400

*** Clinton ponders new Mideast summit

JERUSALEM (AP) - President Clinton will only decide on whether to
hold a new Mideast summit after his envoy meets with Israeli and
Palestinian negotiators, a senior Israeli official said Monday. U.S.
mediator Dennis Ross, who is to arrive within a few days, will meet
with both sides to hear whether they have narrowed gaps since the
failure of last month's summit at Camp David, the presidential
retreat in Maryland. The possibility of another summit has been
debated here as the deadline for a final peace treaty looms: The two
sides had said they would have a final agreement by Sept. 13, and the
Palestinians have talked about unilaterally declaring statehood on
that date even without a treaty. The Camp David talks broke down over
the issue of Jerusalem. The Palestinians insist on sovereignty in
traditionally Arab east Jerusalem. Barak has offered them control
over some outlying Arab neighborhoods and limited rights in Muslim
shrines. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2568908054-f9b

*** Arafat wins support from China

BEIJING (AP) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat won strong support
Monday from China's president for "any Palestinian decision,"
including the declaration of an independent state, Arafat's spokesman
said. Arafat briefed President Jiang Zemin on last month's failed
Middle East peace summit and the possible unilateral declaration of a
Palestinian state, said Nabil Aburdene, Arafat's spokesman. Arafat
has given conflicting signals on whether he will proclaim statehood
on Sept. 13, the deadline for a final Israeli-Palestinian peace
agreement. He could proceed without Israel's blessing or delay a
declaration if a peace agreement has not been reached by then. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2568905222-98c

*** Man's eye cut out as punishment

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Sobbing and expressing regret for his
actions, an Egyptian man had his left eye surgically removed in the
first eye-for-an-eye punishment in Saudi Arabia in over 40 years, a
newspaper reported Monday. Abdel Moati Abdel Rahman Mohammed, 37, an
Egyptian, was convicted of disfiguring a compatriot by throwing acid
on his face. He had his left eye removed last week in a hospital in
the western city of Medina. The punishment was carried out despite
offers to pay $213,000 to the victim, Shihata Ajami Mahmoud, the
daily Okaz said. Mohammed threw acid on Mahmoud's face following an
argument over money in 1996. Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of
Islamic law calls for cutting off the hands and feet of thieves. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2568908864-7c6

*** French offered vasectomy tour

LONDON (AP) - For men in France, obtaining a vasectomy has long been
all but impossible, thanks to a 200-year-old Napoleonic law
prohibiting self-mutilation. Now, a new cross-channel "vasectomy
tourism service" set up by a British sexual health charity aims to
cut the complications in obtaining the birth control procedure. The
service, launched Monday by Marie Stopes International, is targeting
Frenchmen with the offer of a vasectomy for $300 at one of its
clinics in London or Ashford - both stops on the Eurostar rail line
from Paris - and the suggestion the operation be incorporated into a
day trip to Britain. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2568910314-d3a

*** A convention first: Online roll call

LOS ANGELES (AP) - During the roll call at the Democratic National
Convention this week, state delegations will simply point and click
to cast their votes. It's yet another first in the era of e-politics.
No tallying votes for the presidential nominee by hand, as the
traditional Republicans did in Philadelphia two weeks ago. A host of
gray Apple computers, with translucent cases that put the machines'
inner workings in view, will be assigned to the Democratic
delegations on the floor. There are 4,338 delegates. To win the
nomination, a candidate needs 2,170 votes. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2568893770-e9a

*** Russian church canonizes czar

MOSCOW (AP) - The Russian Orthodox Church decided Monday to canonize
Russia's last czar, Nicholas II, his wife and five children, a church
statement said. The decision closed a debate which began soon after
the czar and his family were executed by a Bolshevik firing squad 82
years ago, and two years after his remains were ceremoniously buried
in his former imperial capital, St. Petersburg. The vote to canonize
the czar and his family was unanimous, the Interfax news agency
reported. The family was canonized as so-called "passion bearers,"
the lowest rank of sainthood. That appeases supporters of Nicholas
II, especially nationalists who want a return to the monarchy,
without endorsing the way he ruled, church officials said. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2568910437-ebc

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