To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today (1/13,14/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 10:48:07 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

Black hole found near earth

Weekend News Today
By Weekend Staff
Source: Washington Post

Fri Jan 14,2000 -- A black hole has been discovered just 1,600 light years
away from Earth, practically on the doorstep in astronomical terms. On Sept.
14, the black hole announced its presence with an eruption of X-rays that
was brief, but dramatic. Three other eruptions followed, each one lasting
less than two hours. The black hole is located in constellation Sagittari and
centers on a star called V4641 Sgr.

  [Please see "The Witness of the Stars" by Bullinger at http://philologos.org
 for info on Sagittarius. Also see Chiron/Pluto conjunction at
http://philologos.org/bpr/research.htm]

-------

Russian revision to defense doctrine by Putin is new threat to West

Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: London Guardian

Fri Jan 14,2000 -- Russia has revised its defence doctrine to make it easier
to press the nuclear button in an international crisis, while unequivocally
declaring the west a hostile power that must be resisted. A new national
security strategy decreed by the acting president, Vladimir Putin, on Monday
and to be published today marks a radical shift in Russia's view of the world.
It ushers in a policy of "expanded nuclear containment" while pledging to
resist western attempts to dominate the globe. The strategic shift lowers the
threshold at which Russia may resort to nuclear weapons and is the first
foreign policy move that Mr Putin has taken since replacing Boris Yeltsin in
the Kremlin on New Year's Eve. Mr Yeltsin's strategy, decreed in December
1997, declared that nuclear weapons could only be used "in the case of a
threat to the very existence of the Russian Federation as a sovereign state".
The new document states that the use of nuclear weapons is necessary "to
repel armed aggression if all other means of resolving a crisis situation have
been exhausted or turn out to be ineffective". The new strategy substantially
eases the constraints on resort to the nuclear option. This has been partly
triggered by the fact that Russia still commands a large nuclear arsenal, but
its conventional forces lack combat readiness. "These are very substantial
changes," said a military affairs expert, Sergei Sorkut. "The emphasis on
nuclear weapons has changed. They can now be used in crisis situations."

----

Division of Jerusalem could start next week

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arutz-7

Fri Jan 14,2000 -- The coming withdrawal from areas of Judea and Samaria,
scheduled for next Thursday, will be different than that drawn up by former
Prime Minister Netanyahu. Arutz-7 correspondent Haggai Huberman reports
that a basic change made by Ehud Barak is to decrease the extent of the
withdrawal in the Ramallah-Binyamin area, and to increase it either in the
Southern Har Hevron area or by giving over Abu Dis, just east of Jerusalem..
Most of the Har Hevron area will come under total Palestinian control, leaving
Beit Haggai and Otniel largely surrounded by PA areas. Har Hevron can be
largely spared, however, if the security cabinet agrees this Sunday to
withdraw from Abu Dis instead. This would enable the terrorist cells in the
Har Hevron region to remain under Israeli military control, but Jerusalem
leaders say this would be the beginning of the division of Jerusalem.

Editor's note: If this happens, and it looks like it is set up to happen, this is a
very major prophetic move. In biblical times, the fall of Jerusalem was always
the last thing to happen before God's judgement into exile for the Israelites.
They always made a heroic last stand. Here, they are GIVING Jerusalem
away. "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones
those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it."
Luke 13:34

-----

Analyst's comments on Syria war games conclusions and treaty draft

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arutz-7

Fri Jan 14,2000 -- It was reported yesterday that an IDF simulation game had
recently found that the Golan Heights would be of limited less value in the
event of war than previously thought. The exercise found that if war were to
break out under the present circumstances, Israel would lose thousands of
dead, and hundreds of missiles would fall upon Israel's territory. Analyst Dr.
Aaron Lerner of IMRA, speaking on Arutz-7 last night, noted, however, that
the simulation's conclusions do not seem to take into account what would
happen in case of a Syrian attack if Israeli forces were *not* situated in the
Golan. Lerner also notes that the rough drafts of the peace agreement with
Syria do not include clauses specifying respect for human rights, the repeal
of hostile legislation, and acting to remove pejorative references to Israel from
conventions of which Syria is a member - clauses that do appear in the
Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty.

---
Iran says relations with Syria are strategic

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arabic News

Fri Jan 14,2000 -- The Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Muhammad Ali
Sabahani, has asserted that strategic ties and relations link his country and
Syria. "We are persistent to preserve these ties. We also back the state of
Lebanon and the Lebanese people and national resistance in order to restore
the occupied Lebanese lands," he said. He added that the Arab and Islamic
states have rights and that they have or should struggle to restore rights and
eliminate aggression. Sabahani indicated that Iran, Lebanon and Syria have
a common responsibility and a common duty for collective work to restore
the occupied Arab and Islamic territories.

---
Pope may quit next year according to rumours in Rome

Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: London Telegraph

Thu Jan 13,2000 -- The Pope will step down on grounds of health and old age
next year, after Jubilee Year celebrations for the Millennium are completed, it
was reported yesterday. Rome's La Repubblica newspaper said there were
"insistent rumours" within the Vatican of such a plan. The suggestions come
days after the head of Germany's Roman Catholics, Bishop Karl Lehmann,
became the first senior churchman to raise the subject of the Pope's
possible resignation. The bishop also speculated that Parkinson's disease
might be affecting the Pope's ability to run the Church.

---
Forum established to protect a united Jerusalem

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire

Thu Jan 13,2000 -- A forum has been established to combat government
efforts to hand over areas in the Jerusalem area to the PLO Authority (PA) in
the final status process between Israel and the PA. Activists involved in the
new forum met on Tuesday evening in Maale Adumim under the leadership of
Yesha Council director-general and mayor of Maale Adumim, Benny
Kashriel. Included in the forum are the leaders of the communities of Betar,
Pisgat Ze=92ev, Gush Etzion, Adam and other communities concerned with
their future as a result of the final status talks. Leaders of other
neighborhoods in the capital are also showing increasing concern as they
realize the government may be too willing to make land concessions in
Jerusalem and its surrounding area to reach a final status accord with the
PA, perhaps on the backs of the residents of the periphery. The Yesha
Council leadership is preparing for the worst case scenario, because they
have has seen signs pointing to a government willingness and plan to
relinquish control of certain areas in the Jerusalem area in order to hand
them over to the PA. Yesha Council leaders were to have met on
Wednesday with Deputy Minister of Defense Ephraim Sneh to see proposed
withdrawal maps but the meeting was cancelled. According to Sneh, due to
schedule changes the maps could not be shown to cabinet members as
planned and the decision was made to cancel the meeting with Yesha
leaders, explaining that it was not proper for them to see the maps prior to
government ministers.

---
First Temple artifacts tossed in the trash

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire

Thu Jan 13,2000 -- Remnants from both the First and Second Temple
Periods were discovered last week in piles of garbage dumped by the
Moslem Wakf in the Kidron Valley. Israeli MK Benny Elon, leading the
struggle to keep Jerusalem united, stated the follwing when interviewed:

Who is responsible for this?
MK Elon: We all are. I have asked how this crisis will end, and they say it
will be cleared up in six months. Six months is a long time, and I believe that
by then the plan will have been implemented and Jerusalem divided.

Have the Jews done all they can in the battle for the Temple Mount?
MK Elon: Definitely not. The fact that the Rabbis have pronounced it
forbidden for Jews to enter the Temple Mount, has been understood by Islam
as a relinquishing of our authority and the transfer of sovereignty to the
Arabs. Nationalist religious Jews, too, do not enter this holy place, so that
over the years it is the Kotel which has become synonymous with the Jewish
holiest site, although this is not true. I call upon the Chief Rabbis to
reconsider their pronouncement regarding forbidding Jews to enter the
Temple Mount, in order to prevent losing it to foreign sovereignty. There are
places, today, that can be permitted, but the Rabbis hesitate to do so. I call
upon the rabbis and politicians identified with the mainstream, to stop
playing games when it comes to the Temple Mount, and to take a stand to
ensure Jewish control of our People=92s historically
holiest site.

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - DNA computer
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 10:48:07 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

'DNA COMPUTER' IS CREATED AND DOES COMPLEX CALCULATIONS
A research team at the University of Wisconsin has successfully
used synthetic DNA attached to a solid surface to perform
calculations, moving DNA computing closer to real-world use.
Traditional computers run on chips, but chip technology might be
reaching the limits of its potential. A number of research teams
in the United States are now working to build computers that
leverage the tremendous storage capacity of DNA and RNA. Most
DNA computers that have been created in the past confine the DNA
to test tubes filled with liquid, but the University of Wisconsin
team was able to attach the DNA strands to a piece of glass. The
Wisconsin team, led by Dr. Lloyd Smith, coded the synthetic DNA
strands to hold all possible answers to a problem with 16
possible solutions. The team built several computers, which were
able to solve different calculations over a period of several
days. Researchers have been working on DNA computing only since
1994, and less than a dozen research groups in the United States
are working in this field. (New York Times, 13 Jan 2000)

via: EDUPAGE@LISTSERV.EDUCAUSE.EDU

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Total eclipse of the moon
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 11:22:34 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

TOTAL ECLIPSE OF THE MOON

The night of January 20th marks a total eclipse of the Moon visible
for all of the Americas, and for Europe on the morning of the 21st.
You may detect the first pale shading encroaching on the Moon's
eastern side around 9:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (2:30 January 21st
Universal Time). Partial eclipse begins at 10:01 p.m. EST; this is
when the Moon's eastern limb first enters the umbra (dark inner
portion) of the Earth's shadow. Total eclipse runs from 11:05 p.m. to
12:22 a.m. EST, when the Moon is entirely inside the umbra; during
this time the Moon should glow a deep, dim orange-red. Then partial
eclipse returns until 1:25 a.m. EST. The final penumbral shading
disappears around 1:55 a.m. EST. (Convert these times to your time
zone.) For more information, including special observing projects for
telescopes and binoculars, see the January Sky & Telescope, page 109,
or http://www.skypub.com/sights/eclipses/lunar/0001preview.html .

Sky & Telescope News Bulletin - January 14, 2000
--------------------

This eclipse will last for 77 minutes and "will probably
take on a vivid red or orange color." Please see the significance of "The
Number Seven" at http://philologos.org/bpr/files/n-009.htm

Keep in mind: 1. the talks with Syria, 2. more withdrawals being spoken of to
placate the PA including the possible splitting of Jerusalem, 3. Tu B'Shevat
(the New Year for trees) is on Jan 21/22, 2000 (please see
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Jewish_Feasts/js006.htm) and 4. the moon is
usually symbolic of Israel.

The next total lunar eclipse will be on July 16, 2000 for an unusual 1 hour
and 47 minutes.

_________________________
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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - 'Peace' talk news
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 15 Jan 2000 12:33:08 -0500

From: "Moza" <moza7@netzero.net>

Arafat to Give Clinton Ideas on
 a Final Peace
 January 15, 2000 7:06 am EST

 By Wafa Amr

 RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) -
 Palestinian officials said on Saturday that
 Palestinian President Yasser Arafat will
 present President Clinton with an outline for a final peace
 with Israel in Washington talks on Jan. 20.

Full Story:
http://www.iwon.com/home/news/news_article/0,11746,336|top|01-15-
2000::11:08|reuters,00.html
--------------------

Syria Rejects Assad-Barak
 Meeting for Now
 January 15, 2000 11:05 am EST

 By Issam Hamza

 DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Syria rejected on
 Saturday a call by Israeli Prime Minister
 Ehud Barak for talks with President Hafez
 al-Assad saying a summit to boost peace talks was not
 yet necessary.

Full Story:
http://www.iwon.com/home/news/news_article/0,11746,4164|top|01-15-
2000::12:05|reuters,00.html

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