To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - TV items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 08:49:01 -0400

SURVIVOR MEETS JENNY CRAIG:
The folks who brought Big Brother to America (thanks a lot!), are developing
a follow-up - and all we can say is, "Shame on you!" According to Variety,
Endemol Entertainment is pitching to German TV Big Diet, a show that
would lock up 10 overweight contestants in a fitness center for 100 days
surrounded by... Twinkies and other sweet temptations. The catch: Winners
will receive bars of gold equivalent to the number of pounds they've lost. In
true reality-show tradition, however, viewers will vote one participant out each
week. Stop the insanity!

OSCAR THE GROUCH:
Apparently, the "honorary Oscar" presented to President Clinton Monday
evening in Los Angeles was in fact a fake - but that's little consolation to the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. California Gov. Gray Davis
bestowed the award upon Clinton for his "achievements as president" at a
bash on the Paramount Studios lot. "Our concern is that people are
commenting that the president got an honorary Oscar," John Pavlik, the
Academy's rep, told The Hollywood Reporter. "We're not angry, but we want
people to understand that it wasn't really an Oscar - it was a counterfeit
Oscar being used in an inappropriate way."

TVGuide@LISTSERV.TVGUIDE.COM

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Baby 'bank' registers its first arrival
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 11:52:33 -0500

August 17 2000 EUROPE
http://www.the-times.co.uk/
   
Baby 'bank' registers its first arrival

BY ROGER BOYES

RONJA, a chubby girl, has become the first deposit in Germany's
controversial baby bank. She was pushed through a hatch by a teenage mother
and is already in the care of foster parents.

The Hamburg baby bank is intended to be a model for Germany. Operation
Foundling is targeted at girls who cannot cope with being young, single
mothers. Last year about 30 new-born babies died after being dumped in
cardboard boxes and rubbish skips. Another 80 were saved just in time.

The baby bank is in fact a hatch - 11in high and 28in wide - cut into the
side of a city centre clinic. The baby lands safely on a soft, heated
mattress. An alarm is triggered in a neighbouring room manned by nurses, who
took eight minutes to register that Ronja, named by the nurses, had been
deposited.

The mothers are guaranteed anonymity and no cameras are directed at the
outside of the building. The baby is kept for eight weeks in case the mother
changes her mind. Ronja was deposited in late June and the Altona children's
hospital delayed the announcement to give the mother a chance to reclaim her
child. Ronja was two days old when she was left at the bank run by
SterniParks Charity.

The baby bank allows a less shameful way of putting up children for
adoption. One child, called Anna, was given up for adoption after the mother
read about the scheme. Rather than depositing her child anonymously, she
personally handed over the baby.

Critics complain that pushing babies through a "letter-box" encourage
mothers to reject their children. Manfred Ullstein, an anti-abortionist
campaigner, said: "It is as if we have created the disposable child for the
disposable society." Designating it as a "baby bank" also draws comparison
with recycling containers.

Uli Gierse, one of the project's brains, said: "Many mothers, particularly
young ones, are shamed into killing their child or putting it into a rubbish
bin, which in most cases amounts to the same thing. We are offering an
alternative to those deaths and the resulting shame and guilt that young
mothers would otherwise have to live with for the rest of their lives. At
least this way the child gets to live and the mothers have anonymity.

"The fact that Ronja is a healthy, happy child is testament to our success."

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News items (8/17/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 18:45:57 -0400

PALESTINIAN CITES "IMPROVED ISRAELI OFFER" ON JERUSALEM
American mediator Dennis Ross arrived in Israel this morning, with the goal of
renewing the American efforts on the Israeli-Palestinian track. He met this
morning with Acting Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, and later with leading
Palestinian negotiators; he is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Barak
tomorrow.

Ross said that a new summit is not presently on the agenda; he is rather
working for a "pre-summit" meeting between the delegations. A senior
Palestinian figure said today that an "improved Israeli offer" on
Jerusalem, or alternatively, an Arab willingness to defer the Jerusalem
issue to a later date, make an agreement in the very near future "likely."

BARAK'S HOME CLAIMED BY ARAB
An elderly Arab from the Palestinian town of Biet Jamel in Samaria said
today that the home of Prime Minister Ehud Barak in Kokhav Ya'ir, north of
Ra'anana, sits on his land. He told Israel's Army Radio yesterday that he had
lost his land when a fence was erected between Israel and Jordan, i.e.,
between
the land and his village, following the 1948 war. Despite the radio's report
that the man has documents proving his claims, the Prime Minister's Office
stated that they are groundless and that Kokhav Ya'ir was build on state-
owned
land. Moti Karpel, a resident of Bat Ayin in Gush Etzion and an editor of
Jewish Leadership's Lechatchila newsletter, said on the radio program, "The
purpose of Zionism was to conquer the Land. It is therefore not surprising
that
many Arabs are walking around with papers proving their ownership of lands
within Israel... Barak sits on land owned by Arabs, while he wants to evict
Jews from settlements on lands that never belonged to Arabs."

SNEH BREAKS IT TO JORDAN VALLEY RESIDENTS
Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, meeting yesterday with the
residents of the Jordan Valley, told them that the status of their towns would
be the same as those in Judea and Samaria: Israeli sovereignty over the
towns
themselves, and not the areas in between. Some residents said afterwards
that
the Labor party leaders had lied to them over the course of "years." Others,
such as Shmuel Eyal, the secretary of Kibbutz Kalya, remained optimistic;
he
told Arutz-7 today that no agreement has been signed yet, and that he
continues
to have confidence in the Prime Minister.

AMERICAN TRAVEL ADVISORY
The U.S. State Department has issued a travel advisory, warning tourists to
Israel that they should take proper precautions in crowded places and on
buses
in light of possible terrorist activity. Israel has expressed great dismay at
the announcement. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Sha'ul Mofaz says that there
have
been no specific terrorist warnings that could serve as a basis for the
advisory. National Security Advisor Gen. (res.) Danny Yatom said that he
attempted to meet with American Ambassador Martin Indyk before the
advisory was
released, but was rebuffed. Minister Amnon Lipkin- Shachak, responsible for
both Transportation and Tourism, joined Yatom in saying that there is no
reason
for the American warning, and he will work to have it cancelled.

Arutz Sheva News Service
   <http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Thursday, August 17, 2000 / Av 16, 5760

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (8/17/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 17 Aug 2000 18:48:12 -0400

Water riots spreading as world wells run dry

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: Inside China/ Reuters

Thu Aug 17,2000 -- Global fresh water supplies are being used up so fast
that almost half a billion people already depend on non-renewable sources,
an international conference was told on Monday. Water riots such as those
in China recently will become more common as people struggle for control
of dwindling supplies, said Lester Brown, chairman of the U.S.-based
Worldwatch Institute. "This is an example of how desperate people become
when they are deprived of water," Brown said. "This is going to happen
more and more. Water suddenly becomes an issue when the wells run dry."
Overpumping of aquifers in China, India, the Middle East and United States
now exceeds 160 billion tons of water per year. "In consumption terms, 480
million of the world's six billion people are being fed with food produced
with the unsustainable use of water," Brown said. "We are already using up
the water which belongs to our children," he added. South African
Education Minister Kader Asmal said that by 2025, one in three of the
world's population "will struggle just to find water to drink and bathe,
much less grow food." At present about 70 percent of all water diverted
from rivers and pumped from underground is used for irrigation, 20 percent
goes to industry and 10 percent for residential use.

About 35 million pieces of debris circling earth

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: CNN

Thu Aug 17,2000 -- A Russian supply craft raced toward the heavens in the
latest stage of the International Space Station construction. The station,
to be completed in 2005, attempts to establish a semi-permanent human
presence in space. Though, human problems are tagging along, as usual.
Garbage plaguing the earthly environment is accumulating in space as well.
Estimates are that there is around 35 million pieces of such debris
circling Earth´s environment. Yes, it´s more than just comets and meteors
that hit this earth at any time. Who knows what´s all floating out there,
and it carries with it.

"Space should be proclaimed a scientific territory available to mankind,"
says a new report issued jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA) and
the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). UNESCO
TV tells CNN World Report that the "Ethics of Space Policy" report grew
out of the realization that orbiting junk has developed into a "dangerous
source of pollution." "Science and technology are now marching ahead, and
we don't know where they'll end," says UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Vigdis
Finnbogadottir. "We have to have values in these fields."

What's happening with our wierd weather?

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: CNN/ AP

Thu Aug 17,2000 -- Too dry, too wet, too hot: U.S. divided by its weather
woes. While fires devour Western forests at a record pace, and the South
endures devastating drought and deadly heat waves, the Northeast is in one
of the coolest, soggiest summers in memory. Definitely topsy turvy weather
of late. Fourteen inches of rain fell in New Jersey township in only half
a day last weekendNew York City had its coolest July since 1914, while
triple-digit heat has killed scores of people in Texas and the Deep South.
Large sections of the Southeast are in extended drought, predicted the
costliest ever for Georgia farmers. "We do live in an interesting place,"
said deputy director of the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction
Center. Laver said the Northeast's sustained, cool dreariness -- one year
after severe drought afflicted the region -- is more puzzling. "We talk
about it every day, asking why this is happening," he said. "We'll figure
it out eventually."

What a contrast with Georgia, suffering its third straight summer of
severe drought, with rainfall since May 1998 at least 20 inches below
normal. Most summers, thousands escape to Lake Lanier. Not this year! The
lake is down nine feet and many beaches and coves have been closed. Same
story in parts of Alabama. Henry County's rainfall deficit this year is 24
inches below. In Tuscaloosa The National Drought Mitigation Center said
the Southeast is experiencing "a real doozy of a drought". "Drought is
really the forgotten disaster," he said. "You don't see houses washed
away. But when you add it up in the end, it can have more economic loss
than any natural disaster." In Texas, a state of disaster was declared for
195 drought-stricken counties. Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas and Montana also
suffering this drought. Add in the parched West, with more than 80 major
wildfires raging across 13 states. Remember, in an average year, only 1.5
million acres of forest normally burn, yet in this year's summer-long
inferno, so far almost 5 million acres have already burned with an
unseasonably early start. And the fires continue to rage on. Laver said,
"That's the puzzlement -- why is so much more burning this year?" Yes,
                      great question!

1rst 7mths. of this year HOTTEST on record in U.S.

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: CNN

Thu Aug 17,2000 -- The first seven months of this year were again the
hottest ever on record, U.S. government scientists said on Thursday.
Although July wasn't a record-breaker, the abnormally warm temperatures
earlier in the year made the January through July 2000 average temperature
of 54.85 degrees Fahrenheit the warmest seven-month period on record for
the United States, NOAA said. Every state in the lower 48 -- except South
Carolina, Maine, and Vermont -- was warmer than normal during the
seven-month period, the agency said. We´ve been breaking the records for
record hottest years many times over this past decade.

In July, conditions were generally cooler and wetter than normal in the
Northeast and Midwest, and warmer and drier than normal in the Deep South.
Western U.S. Pennsylvania and West Virginia logged their coolest July on
record and seven other eastern states were much cooler than normal, NOAA
said. Talk about ups and downs with weather lately. Many types of records
are being broken. Nearly one-third of the nation experienced severe to
extreme drought conditions during the month, including parts of Texas,
where July was the driest ever recorded. The hotter-than-normal
temperatures and lack of rain have led to the worst wildfire season in 50
years for many western states. Nevada and Arizona recorded their second-
driest July in history, and Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama,
Tennessee, and Utah had rainfall significantly below average.

Jordan says Jerusalem is occupied, Barak praises King Abdullah's Olso
efforts

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly
                         Source: IsraelWire

Thu Aug 17,2000 -- In the Wednesday meeting between Prime Minister Ehud
Barak and King Abdullah II in Amman, King Abdullah made his country´s
position vis-à-vis Jerusalem very clear. He stated that all portions of
East Jerusalem liberated by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War were “occupied”
and rejected any Israeli claims to the areas which the Hashemite kingdom
is calling to be handed over to the PA. Mr. Barak made an appearance on
Jordanian Television, praising the efforts of King Abdullah to advance the
Oslo process, Israel Radio reported.

Toyota starts Euro precedent in UK, other companies to follow

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly
                         Source: Stratfor Report-0050 GMT, 000811

Thu Aug 17,2000 -- Toyota directed its UK component suppliers to settle
all accounts with it in euros, the European Union´s single currency, on
Aug. 10. The decision will force other companies to adopt similar policies
in order to remain competitive. Until the United Kingdom joins the
European Monetary Union (EMU), the EU institution that controls European
monetary policy and the euro, the United Kingdom´s economy will face
creeping degradation as small pieces split off in favor of higher profits
on the continent. Aside from adopting the euro, there isn´t a thing that
London can do to counter this shift.

Israel plans cutting water to farmers by 50 percent

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly
                         Source: IsraelWire

Thu Aug 17,2000 -- As the water shortage becomes increasingly critical,
government officials are now speaking of cutting water for farmers by
fifty percent in the coming year. The move comes following the already
implemented water cuts to farmers, which many claim are putting them out
of business. The cabinet is expected to approve the latest proposed cuts
in the coming days.

Arabic broadcasts in Israel stop

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly
                         Source: Jerusalem Post

Thu Aug 17,2000 -- The Israel Broadcasting Authority's Arabic-language
broadcasts went off the air last night at midnight. This followed a
decision by the Environment Ministry to close a powerful transmitter in
the Sharon area which is thought to be harming the health of residents of
the area. Dozens of protests were received from Arabic-speaking listeners
over night, Israel Radio reports, and a petition has been lodged with the
High Court of Justice. The broadcasts started 40 years ago.

http://www.upway.com/cgi/readnews.cgi?day=00_08_17&item=#966546890

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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To subscribe to BPR send a message to bpr-list@philologos.org
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