BPR Mailing List Digest: 08/19/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
August 19, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | August, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Judaism and the Human Genome Project
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 04:24:11 -0500

Judaism and the Human Genome Project
by Richard Greenberg
Author of the book "Pathways: Jews Who Return," published by Jason Aronson Inc

http://www.torah.org/features/secondlook/genome.html

"Today," President Clinton declared at a recent White House ceremony,
"we are learning the language in which God created life." No, he
didn't mean Hebrew, although that would have been a nice touch.
Clinton was referring to the human genome, the multi-billion-letter
"operating manual" for homo sapiens that scientists have finally
deciphered -- surely the most eagerly awaited literary release this
side of Harry Potter.

This cracking of the genetic code promises to revolutionize medicine,
but it also raises a host of moral and ethical questions that Judaism
speaks to. The genome, for example, will no doubt help us better
understand human behavior-and misbehavior-by identifying its genetic
components. Consider where that might take us. Fast-forward to the
year 2015: Is it farfetched to imagine, say, enterprising defense
attorneys concocting "genetic defenses" for their clients?

Judaism wouldn't buy it. Our tradition maintains that biology is not
destiny, and therefore holds people accountable for their
actions-whether or not they have whatever syndrome is momentarily
fashionable. There are legitimate mitigating factors, of course, such
as mental incompetence, but Judaism otherwise consistently affirms
the ability of people to exercise their free will and make moral
choices. In fact, in general the Talmud says a person is always
liable for his actions, whether awake or asleep.

Unfortunately, Judaism's position runs counter to a growing societal
tendency to diminish personal accountability, often using medical or
psychological "explanations" to excuse evil deeds. Does the term
"Twinkie defense" ring a bell? That argument was used in a celebrated
1978 case by an attorney who maintained that his client was driven to
commit murder by his addiction to junk food.

Time will tell whether the human genome is abused in this and other
ways. The possibilities are endless. Will it be used, for example, to
invade individual privacy through the unauthorized release of
sensitive genetic information? Moreover, will man use it to play God
through selective breeding or the engineering of desirable traits?

As for privacy, Judaism certainly values it-to the extent that it
opposes even subtle forms of snooping. The Torah speaks of the
Gentile prophet Bilaam praising the Israelites for dwelling
arrangements that prevented unwanted intrusions and other invasions
of privacy.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, no one is fit to play God,
genome-enhanced expertise notwithstanding. This category, however,
does not include a wide range of scientific endeavors, such as
legitimate medical intervention and research, which Judaism
encourages. The human genome promises to be an invaluable tool in
this area. What Judaism discourages is interfering with God's natural
plan for no good reason. This theme is reflected in the Torah, which
forbids the mixing of distinct plant and animal species. Disrupting
the natural order is not only arrogant; it can be downright
dangerous, too. It's common sense. It's also the law-the law of
unintended consequences.

Mr. Greenberg's book, "Pathways" is a collection of stories told by
once-assimilated Jews who have rediscovered their spiritual roots.
Mr. Greenberg is available to discuss his book at RickG613@aol.com or
301-649-0846.

http://www.torah.org/features/secondlook/genome.html

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Aug 19, 2000 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 09:05:08 -0400

8:00 PM Eastern

HIST - LAWBREAKERS - "The Last Mass Execution" - Seven
German POWs are hanged for the murder of a fellow
POW.(CC)(TVPG)

9:00

HIST - KU KLUX KLAN: A SECRET HISTORY - Through sacred
bonding, secrecy and ritual, the hooded order seeks white
supremacy.(CC)(TVPG)

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - EEOC rules that cold fusion is a religion
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 09:14:15 -0400

INFINITE ENERGY: EEOC RULES THAT COLD FUSION IS A RELIGION.
Paul LaViolette was terminated by the Patent Office on 9 Apr 99.
He had been recruited by patent examiner Tom Valone, who issued
an e-mail appeal for "all able-bodied free energy technologists"
to "infiltrate" the Patent Office (Science, V.284, p.1254, May
99). It was Valone, you will recall, that organized the much-
traveled Conference on Future Energy (WN 30 Apr 99). Claiming he
was fired because of his belief in cold fusion, LaViolette turned
to the Equal Employment Opportunities Office. He argued that his
belief in cold fusion amounted to a religious belief. Actually,
LaViolette believes in lots of stuff, like the B-2 bomber relies
on antigravity technology (WN 20 Nov 98). Anyway, on 7 July the
EEOC ruled that cold fusion is indeed protected religious belief.
This appears to confirm what many have been saying all along.

via: transhumantech@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Scared Monkeys
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 08:25:20 -0500

Scared Monkeys
by Nosson Slifkin

http://www.jlaw.com/Commentary/scaredm.html

In a cage, in a certain British zoo, sits a tamarin. Tamarins are
small members of the monkey family, hailing from the jungles of South
America. They are about the size of a small rabbit, with dense brown
fur and short but dexterous limbs. This particular tamarin is a
cotton-top tamarin, so called due to its shock of snow-white fur on
top of its head.

Its cage is strangely furnished. Rather than the branches and logs we
would expect, there are instead sheets of plastic mesh hanging down
from the ceiling, as well as some wooden trelliswork. What's the
sense in that, wonders the observer. But the tamarin knows well the
sense in it. For these artificial materials provide a much better
climbing frame than even the best branches.

The tamarin's meal is served. Rather than arriving in a tray, it
arrives in a deep container of sawdust. This is not fast food — the
tamarin must rummage around for a while in the sawdust to retrieve
all of the morsels. If the tamarin were more intelligent, he would be
thinking, What's the sense in that? But the observer understands; he
sees that the tamarin is forced to develop the stimulation of
foraging that would normally be lost in captivity.

A shadow passes overhead. All of the tamarins in the cage look up.
Above the skylight at the top of the cage glides a figure. It is a
piece of cardboard shaped like an eagle, a common predator of
tamarins, moved along by a robotic arm.

The reaction of the tamarins is instantaneous. Their humanlike faces
fill with raw terror. Piercing shrieks sound across the cage as the
tamarins scramble for safety. The agonizing horror of impending doom
tears their nerves to shreds. They cower in their sleeping quarters,
trembling in fear.

The shadow passes from view and the sunlight shines unblocked through
the skylight. Several minutes pass. Cautiously, their pulses still
racing, the tamarins peek out of their boxes. After a few more
minutes, they are leaping amongst the trelliswork once more, with an
ever-watchful eye upwards.

If tamarins were intelligent, they would be asking, What's the sense
in that? Why do we have to suffer from the attacks of eagles? For the
observer, who sees that the eagle is not even real, the question is
even stronger. What's the sense in that, he wonders. Why cause
needless suffering to the animal? What could possibly be the purpose?

The tamarin keeper knows the answer. He knows why the cage
furnishings are so unorthodox, he knows why the food is buried in
sawdust — and he knows the reason for making the animals suffer the
terror of an impending eagle attack.

For this is one of the more progressive zoos. Its keepers understand
that for an animal to thrive in captivity, it needs more than just
food and water. And it is not a matter of giving it lots of space. In
this zoo, the keeper understands the animal's real needs — those that
are met in the perfect tamarin cage of the jungle. In the jungle,
tamarins climb. They forage. And they flee in terror from eagles.

How does the tamarin benefit from fleeing from eagles? It isn't
entirely clear. It might be the occasional extra surge of adrenaline
that fires up its body; it might be a factor in psychological balance
in health. Whatever the reason, the fact is that this zoo boasts
tamarins that are physically and emotionally healthy and breed well.

Zos chukkas haTorah, "This is the chok of the Torah," is the telling
phrase with which the Torah introduces the topic of parah adumah.
Parah adumah is the quintessential chok, the mitzvah [law or
commandment] for which we can discern no explanation. The ashes of
the red cow make tahor [spiritually clean] those who are tamei
[spiritually unclean], and make tamei those who are tahor — where's
the sense in that? Yet this mitzvah is called "the chok of the
Torah," the mitzvah which fundamentally defines the nature of God's
relationship to us — and gives us advance warning about it.

Parah adumah tells us that this relationship is not necessarily going
to make any sense to us. God is notifying us that He is going to do
many things that we simply won't understand. Just like the little
tamarin in the cage.

The most significant example is with suffering. The question of why
bad things happen to good people is the perennial and ultimate
mystery. As discussed previously in this forum, the answers offered
are not always applicable. Sometimes, the only answer is that there
is no answer — at least, not one that mortal man can comprehend.

But that raises no doubts as to G-d's existence. On the contrary — if
we were to understand all events, that would raise problems. For with
parah adumah, God has said that there will definitely be things that
we will not understand. And that's the way it should be. After all,
He is omnipotent and omniscient — His ways really ought to be a
little beyond us.

Still, to the tiny extent that we can understand His ways, it's a
good idea to try to do so. The Ramban writes that "it is the duty of
every created being who serves [God] with love and awe — to
investigate His intentions, to reveal the justness of the judgment
and the truthfulness of the verdict to the fullest extent of his
ability." The famous psychologist Victor Frankl discussed with a
therapeutic group whether an ape being continually injected to
develop a cure for polyomyelitis serum would ever be able to grasp
the meaning of its suffering. They agreed that it would not. Replied
Dr. Frankl: "And what about man? Are you sure that the human world is
a terminal point in the evolution of the cosmos? Is it not
conceivable that there is still another dimension, a world beyond
man's world; a world in which the question of an ultimate meaning of
human suffering would find an answer?"

The tamarin's reaction to the cardboard eagle gives us further
insight. For here we see the caring keeper inflicting suffering on
the tamarin not for some extrinsic, separate goal, but for the very
purpose of the suffering itself. The tamarin becomes a "better" (i.e.
fitter) tamarin for the experience. If man does this for the good of
the animal, is it not conceivable that G-d acts similarly for the
good of man?

And if this is too difficult to grasp, it doesn't matter. This is the
chok of the Torah.

· Sources: Be'er Yosef Kisvei HaRamban, part II, Shaar HaGemul,

*********************************

This essay is extracted from the ongoing publication of the Torah
Universe series of books (available at http://www.www.feldheim.com),
which explore how the lessons of the Torah are manifest in the
natural world. Already published is the book "Seasons of Life," which
shows how the Jewish year is reflected in the seasons and the life
cycles of animals and plants. Awaiting publication is "Nature's
Song," which explains the ancient Midrash of Perek Shirah that
details the philosophical and ethical lessons manifest in the natural
world; and "Creature Chorus," a collection of essays on Torah and the
animal kingdom. The author, Nosson Slifkin, studies at the Mirrer
Yeshivah and teaches at Ohr Somayach Institutions. He also leads
Torah education projects at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo and at other
zoos worldwide, described at http://www.zootorah.com, and can be
reached at zoorabbi@zootorah.com.

http://www.jlaw.com/Commentary/scaredm.html

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 11:42:21 -0400

UN Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light
Weapons in All Its Aspects [.pdf]
http://www.un.org/Depts/dda/CAB/smallarms/

In December of last year, the UN determined to hold a conference in
June/July 2001 to develop a plan of action to control illegal trade
in small arms and light weapons. Though the conference is almost a
year away, its Website already boasts plenty of material, including
working papers, discussion papers, reports from the
Secretary-General, press releases, resolutions from the General
Assembly, and more. For the general user, one of the more interesting
sections of the site may be the Views of States section which gives
brief (1-2 page) opinions on the issues and the conference from
various countries. [TK]

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2000.
http://scout.cs.wisc.edu/

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Man Chops Off Hand to Collect Insurance
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 11:55:03 -0400

Friday August 18 11:58 AM ET
Man Chops Off Hand to Collect Insurance

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A heavily indebted Taiwan insurance salesman asked two
friends to chop off his left hand on Friday in a bid to collect on insurance
policies totaling up to $645,000, police said.

Huang Chun-ming, 35, was admitted to hospital and tried to pass it off as a
gruesome attack by a teenage motorcycle gang.

``We were shocked,'' Tsai Shui-sheng, police chief of the central city of
Taichung, told Reuters by telephone.

``We felt a bit suspicious because we combed the...crime scene, but could
not find the missing hand.''

Police said they questioned one of Huang's friends, who admitted to
committing insurance fraud because Huang
had ran up gambling debts of T$20 million.

Huang drank kaoliang, a strong Chinese spirit, before his friends chopped off
his hand with a samurai sword,
police said. They had to hack it more than once.

Police later found Huang's missing hand at his home.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000818/od/hand_dc_1.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - First Heroin Injecting Room Approved
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 11:59:10 -0400

Friday August 18 11:54 AM
First Heroin Injecting Room Approved

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Australia's first approved heroin shooting gallery will
be opened later this year after the Uniting Church officially received a state
operating license for such a premises in Sydney on Friday.

Announcing the license, New South Wales state's Special Minister of State
John Della Bosca said he expected the 18-month trial to start in October.

The church had originally hoped to have the safe injecting room open by now
but was stalled as it waited for official approval.

UnitingCare executive director Reverend Harry Herbert said the first step was
to renovate the proposed center, a former pinball parlor, in Sydney's inner-
city Kings Cross district and recruit staff.

Herbert was skeptical about opening in October with building work around
Sydney expected to be affected for at least two weeks by the Olympics
which start in the city on September 15.

Della Bosca dismissed talk of a deliberate delay until after the Olympics to
avoid any adverse international publicity.

The director of the injecting room, Dr Ingrid van Beek, said the trial would be
of benefit to the community and drug users.

``Many drug users die simply because they collapse alone in back alleys,
parks or dingy rooms and are not found until it is too late to resuscitate
them,'' van Beek told reporters.

She said around 360 people died of heroin overdoses in Australia in 1998, up
from 292 in the previous year.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard has warned New South Wales that
any ``shooting gallery'' plan would contravene the 1961 Convention on
Narcotics Drugs.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000818/od/heroin_dc_1.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Daily World Affairs Report items (8/19/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 12:11:52 -0400

RUSSIAN PAPER: KURSK CRASHED INTO U.S. SUB

Sevodnya, a Russian daily, today claimed that the nuclear submarine Kursk
had crashed into a US submersible, which then limped to a Norwegian port.
The Moscow daily's sources, apparently military, said that after the
catastrophe on Saturday Russian ships detected the presence of another
submarine also lying grounded at the bottom of the Barents Sea. The
Russian navy subsequently overheard radio communications establishing
that a US submarine requested permission to enter a Norwegian port, and
then made its way there at reduced speed. The claims contrast with a report
today by the Norwegian Norsar seismological institute, which said that it
registered two powerful explosions in the Barents Sea on Saturday in the
area where the Kursk remains stranded on the seabed. (The London
Telegraph)

* US Orion reconnaissance planes flew over the area on Sunday, the
sources added. Experts cited by Segodnya said that only an Ohio-class
strategic US submarine could have survived such a massive collision with the
Kursk. But they underlined that such a craft does not carry out surveillance
missions and had no reason to be in the vicinity when the Northern Fleet was
carrying out military exercises.

The newspaper suggested that Moscow and Washington could have agreed
secretly not to reveal the incident, pointing out that Vladimir Putin and Bill
Clinton had a telephone conversation Wednesday after which the Russian
president gave the order to accept foreign help "from any quarter." Moscow
had until then refused all international offers of assistance.

The US military admitted after news of the accident Monday that two of their
submarines had been in the same zone, but firmly denied that a US vessel
could have been involved in a collision. The Russian navy chief, Admiral
Vladimir Kuroyedov, said on Monday that the Kursk had likely crashed into a
vessel, perhaps a foreign one spying on it, but later suggested an explosion
onboard had rocked the craft.

Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov late Thursday confirmed that
investigators now believed that the submarine had collided with a very heavy
unidentified object. In the past, collisions have occurred frequently between
Soviet or Russian and US submarines. The navies of both countries continue
to closely monitor each other under the seas despite the end of the Cold
War, an expert from the AVN military news agency, Vladimir Urban, told
AFP. "Our submarines play a constant game of cat-and-mouse, following
and chasing after each other." (Agence France-Presse)

THE IMPACT OF THE KURSK ACCIDENT

The apparent loss of the Russian Oscar-II nuclear submarine Kursk will have
repercussions that long outlive Moscow=92s dramatic efforts at rescue and
recovery. The submarine sank to the bottom of the Barents Sea on Aug. 12.
Russian rescue efforts have been unsuccessful. Stranded in 450 feet of icy
water, the crew could run out of oxygen as early Friday. The accident will
impact naval operations. Kursk was to deploy to the Mediterranean Sea as
part of a carrier group, led by the carrier Kuznetsov.

Moscow could be forced to either take 1 of the other 9 Oscar IIs off a
previously scheduled patrol, or deploy a vessel at a lower level of readiness.
Russia has a large submarine force, but its most modern vessels will be
increasingly taxed, particularly in the Northern Fleet=92s area of operations in
the Barents and Kara seas. If the crew is lost, the accident will have taken
the life of up to 10 senior naval officers, who were reportedly aboard as
observers. A total of 116 are aboard. If so, their loss would likely create a
short-term disruption in the navy leadership.

Most significant to Russian military strategy, the loss of the nuclear
submarine will probably force the Putin government to reconsider its
aspirations to be both a conventional and a nuclear power. The accident will
likely set off a chain reaction of investigation into training, maintenance and
rescue in the navy, putting pressure on the country=92s military budget. The
cruise missile submarine fleet has been a favorite of the Putin government,
which is hoping to increase spending from $4.4bn to $5.5bn next year.
Launched just 6 years ago, Kursk was one of Russia=92s most modern major
weapons systems. The realization that part of the country=92s naval strategy is
under hundreds of feet of water at the bottom of the Barent Sea will send a
shudder through the country=92s defense debate. (Stratfor)

via: origin@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Children aged 11 seek help for venereal disease
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 12:14:13 -0400

Children aged 11 seek help for venereal disease

       BY HELEN RUMBELOW, MEDICAL REPORTER
  CHILDREN as young as 11 are being treated for sexually
  transmitted diseases, it was revealed yesterday.

  The cases occurred in Nottingham, which is becoming
  known as a sexual disease blackspot, although the number
  of teenagers with sexually transmitted diseases is
  increasing rapidly across England. Nottingham has twice
  the national average of gonorrhoea at 120 per 100,000 as
  compared to 50 per 100,000. One in eight teenage girls in
  the area carry chlamydia.

  Dr Richard Slack, consultant in communicable diseases
  for the Trent health region, said that Nottingham was a
  victim of students with a hedonistic lifestyle. "Nottingham
  has a large number of students and a vibrant nightlife, but
  there is a down side to that," Dr Slack said. "Alcohol
  often means people may not be as careful as they should
  be."

  In one Nottingham clinic children as young as 11 and 12
  have been treated for sexually transmitted diseases, he
  said.

  "We found that 12 per cent of all girls under the age of 20,
  were testing positive for chlamydia. Across the national
  population we would expect something like 3 to 4 per
  cent," Dr Slack said.

  "Research has shown that the age of sexual activity drops
  by about five years with every generation. So 30 years
  ago the average age for first having sex was 20 or 21, that
  is now 14 or 15 especially for girls."

  The number of cases of chlamydia in England has almost
  doubled since 1995. The rise has been in teenagers,
  among whom chlamydia cases have risen by a fifth in the
  last year.

  Gonorrhoea in England has also gone up by 56 per cent
  since 1995, again with the largest rise among teenagers.
  Cases in teenage boys have gone up by 39 per cent in the
  last year, 24 per cent in teenage girls.

http://www.the-
times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/2000/08/17/timnwsnws01031.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - EPA maps toxic pollutants across American airscape
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2000 12:23:29 -0400

EPA MAPS TOXIC POLLUTANTS ACROSS AMERICAN AIRSCAPE

WASHINGTON, DC, August 18, 2000 (ENS) - A clear picture of which toxins
may be tainting your neighborhood air is now online. The U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) has posted new interactive maps estimating
concentrations of the most toxic air pollutants across the United States. For
full text and graphics
visit: http://ens.lycos.com/ens/aug2000/2000L-08-18-06.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - IRIS Seismic Monitor
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("NL")
Date: Sun, 20 Aug 2000 01:58:30 GMT

There's a great website which shows all the volcanic activity around the
world and is updated every 30 minutes. The circles have certainly increased
over the past weeks!

http://www.iris.washington.edu/seismic/60_2040_1_8.html

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

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