BPR Mailing List Digest: 07/15/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
July 15, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | July, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Injecting Big Brother
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 08:39:59 -0400

Published July 12 - July 18, 2000

                  INJECTING BIG BROTHER
                  BY CARLA SPARTOS
                  New Vaccines May Drug-Proof Kids

The war on drugs may soon be over, but not because of legalization,
stiffer penalties, or a truce between cartels and prohibitionists. This
uneasy peace would come at the hands of pharmaceutical companies and
biotech labs, which are about to unleash the ultimate weapon: the antidrug
vaccine.

One anti-cocaine vaccine, already shown to be safe for humans, prevents
people who snort coke from getting high. Researchers are also testing
vaccines for nicotine. And results look promising for the eradication of
PCP abuse and methamphetamine addiction. The National Institute on Drug
Abuse has funded much of the development cost—approximately $4.5 million
since 1996. "Just as medications have been developed for other chronic
diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes, and cancer," writes NIDA in its
five-year strategic plan, "drug addiction is a disease that also merits
medication for its treatment."

Looking at social ills through a medical lens is not a new phenomenon. By
studying disorders from alcoholism and compulsive gambling to attention
deficit disorder and depression, scientists have discovered not only
genetic factors responsible for so-called abnormal behavior, but also the
way such behavior affects the brain's neural map. According to Dr. Frank
Vocci, director of NIDA's Treatment Research and Development division, the
antidrug vaccines can provide a powerful weapon against substance
addiction, especially when combined with therapy and psychiatric medicine.
And vaccines, which unleash an onslaught of drug-busting antibodies, can
do what traditional treatment can't. "If a patient is in an emergency room
with high methamphetamine levels and experiencing a cardiovascular
crisis," says Vocci, "antibodies would bind the drug up and cause the
individual to excrete it." In other words, an injection of antibodies
could reduce the specter of death by overdose to a bad '70s flashback.

Though scientists have long used vaccines to trick the immune system into
thwarting lethal diseases, the antidrug vaccines are a new breed, designed
to attack pleasure-inducing chemicals that the brain craves. Some of these
new vaccines use antibodies that bind to the illegal drug, render it
inactive, and then leave the bloodstream. Others remain potent for years.
This is the type of vaccine that purged the Western world of polio and
smallpox—and may put a choke hold on civil liberties.

The human affinity for altering perception reaches far back in the
evolutionary chain. If antidrug vaccines become widely available, parents
will be able to decide whether their kids will be able to get high—even as
adults, even recreationally. And governments could target certain
communities for vaccination. "Who is going to get it?" asks Dr. Peter
Cohen, an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, who
has written on the legal implications of the vaccines. "Those who have a
history of cocaine abuse? Those who may be statistically likely to become
addicts? Or do you vaccinate everybody?"

Cohen argues everyone should get the shots, but so far the only human
tests have been done on addicts. In one experiment by Yale University this
spring, researchers vaccinated 34 former cocaine abusers living in a
residential treatment facility. That vaccine, called TA-CD, generates
antibodies that grab onto the upper as soon as it enters the bloodstream,
preventing the drug from bumrushing the brain.

The new vaccines have limitations. Namely, addicts could still get high if
they did enough lines. Enter Dr. Donald Landry, associate professor of
medicine at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons,
who's researching so-called catalytic antibodies. With a load of them in
your bloodstream, you'd have to snort a lot of coke to feel any effect. So
much so thatfinancial limitations (you'd have to spend a ton of money) and
physical needs (you'd have to stop and breathe) would kick in. "Everyone
attempting to quit cocaine can use the catalytic antibody," Landry says.

But if you can't get high from cocaine, you can get drunk on alcohol or
stoned on pot. Substance-abuse counselors say a vaccine alone won't solve
the problem of drug abuse, and shouldn't end up replacing more
expensive—and extensive—treatments that deal with the factors that lead to
addiction. "We're not going to run out of new and inventive things that
are going to make people high, but that doesn't mean a vaccine won't help
for some people," says Peter Kerr, a spokesman for the New York branch of
Phoenix House, who compares the use of antidrug vaccines to relying on the
synthetic opiate methadone to treat heroin addicts. "The primary emphasis
is relieving symptoms. Counseling is an ancillary factor."

Unlike methadone, which is used to fight debilitating withdrawal symptoms,
or Anabuse, which causes an alcoholic to become violently ill upon
drinking, some vaccines can last a lifetime. There's no turning back. And
if the choice of a child is in the hands of a parent, or that of a
prisoner in the hands of the government, then involuntary vaccinations
become the result. "It's hard to justify vaccinating a million children
when only a small percentage are at risk, even in an area where cocaine
use is endemic," says Landry.

The vaccines also raise questions of privacy. "Once you're vaccinated, you
have antibodies in your blood that would show up in a drug test,"
saysCohen. "The least controversial solution is universal vaccination: You
wouldn't be stigmatizing any one group."

Yet mass vaccinations have always been controversial. "That's treating
people like cattle," says Joe Lehman, a spokesman for the Cato Institute,
a libertarian think tank. Lehman believes that there would be pressure to
get an antidrug vaccine, especially when it comes to insurance companies
(who might offer special premiums to the vaccinated) or employers (who in
the age of mandatory drug testing have obvious motives). Though mass,
forced vaccinations may be unlikely, a scenario in which individuals feel
pressured to get the vaccine is no less chilling in its implications.

Civil libertarians, on both the left and right ends of the political
spectrum, aren't the only ones concerned over universal vaccination.
Critics of childhood vaccinations—alternative medicine advocates,
concerned parents—are growing in number. The National Vaccine Information
Center promotes parental awareness about vaccination risks and the right
to refuse shots. Barbara Loe Fisher, president of the center, is outraged
by the idea of antidrug vaccines. "To add a vaccine to the mix that
doesn't fit into early- childhood diseases seems amazing," she says. "That
we can get a vaccine to solve every social problem is short-term
thinking."

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0028/spartos.shtml

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

_________________________
To subscribe to BPR send a message to bpr-list@philologos.org
with the word "subscribe" in the subject. To unsubscribe send a
message to the same address with the word "unsubscribe" in the
subject.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Phobos Impact Scenario
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 08:57:10 -0400

[This is quite long but I have been trying to keep track
of events around the Sept 13, 2000 date when the PA is to
declare statehood. One possible scenario here has a date of
Sept 12, 2000. Please see link at bottom of article for
full graphics/links.--Moza]

Phobos Impact Scenario

By James van der Worp

YOWUSA.COM, July 13, 2000

On June 5, 2000 comet 76P/West-Kohoutek-Ikemura had its
closest encounter with the planet Mars. This event has
generated a wide-reaching debate on the Internet as many
feel that this event was prophesied by Nostradamus,
Scallion, Gilbert, Mother Shipton, and modern day Catholic
prophets such as Little Pebble.

While NASA had originally planned to observe the flyby
with the DSSI space craft, their position is that nothing
happened and that the 76P flyby is a nonevent.

Following NASA's statement that "nothing happened" the
interest in 76P began to fade. However, 76P has not been
sighted since the June flyby of Mars and NASA is still
publishing 76P data based on pre-flyby sightings. Since
then, the Earth has been repeatedly buffeted by a outbreak
of violent solar storms. Consequently, NASA's inability to
sight 76P plus the current solar activity has refocused
attention on the prophecies of Nostrdadamus, with specific
regard to C10:Q72.

Nostradamus Century 10, Quatrain 72 Mars Moon -- Phobos
(Phobos means fear or terror in Greek)

The year 1999 seven months From the skies will come a
great king of terror Resurrecting King d´Angolmois Before
and after Mars to reign by happiness

Is There The Slightest Chance?

As a member of the yowusa_space@egroups.com Special
Interest Group, I've been watching all of this detached
interest. I'm not one for jumping to conclusions or wild
speculation, but what began to trouble me most was NASA's
dismissive and condescending tone with regards to this
matter, despite the fact that their data is all based on
pre-flyby observations. To paraphrase Shakespeare, NASA say
that this speculation is Much Ado About Nothing. However, I
am beginning to think that NASA has begun to "Protesteth
too much."

Given that NASA's odd behavior with regards to this matter
had piqued my curiosity, I decided that I would see if I
could construct a Phobos impact scenario, given that Phobos
was thrown out of its unstable orbit around Mars sometime
during the 76P flyby and is now headed towards Earth.

At first, this project was a interesting diversion no
different than working a crossword puzzle, but as I began
to run and rerun the numbers, a chilling possibility began
to emerge and I realized that given an extraordinary
sequence of coincidences, there is a remote chance that it
could happen as the prophets have warned us.

Keep in mind that visual data is either unavailable or
being withheld by the government, so all we can do is to
present a mathematical assumption. Granted, numbers can
lie, but it is important to note that the Planet Pluto was
first discovered mathematically and then sighted some time
later. In this case, the same process could apply to
Phobos, a unstable moon of Mars, that has been thrown into
the oncoming path of our own planet.

In this is so, the numbers offer us a chilling scenario.
Therefore I am presenting them to the public at large and
encourage those who agree and disagree to publish their
positions on the Yowusa Space SIG.

The First Spark

Another list I monitor, the TMG Starweb had a post that
drew my attention to this issue. At first it just seemed
too wild to be even possible. But it started an analytical
process involving several people on several different
groups. Even though many felt there were flaws in the
article, all agreed that it was thought provoking.

Following the debate, I began to see patterns emerging in
the various discussions. Some things withstood scrutiny and
others simply did not. Using these observations, I set
about to determine the implications of these calculations
for myself, with the intent of validating or invalidating
their calculations.

Given that this first Starweb post started this debate, I
will use it to frame a step-by-step analysis of my own
findings.

OK I would like any help I can get with these number. I am
only human and make mistakes.

If we put earth at 0 degrees with the sun being the center
on June 5, 2000. Then Mars would be 194 degrees going
counterclockwise. This puts Earth somewhere around 2.54 AU
from Mars. AU=92 Million Miles (ccw=counter clock wise
cw=clock wise) Phobos orbit mars at around 4770 mph cw. 76P
has a elliptical orbit around the sun at 26600 mph. At 30.5
deg angle ccw. So far so good. If 76P hit Phobos then the
fastest it can be coming to earth is around 26000 mph. At
that speed the earliest Phobos can hit Earth is Nov. 12,
2000.

Why The Date?

Why the date? Where is this number coming from?

Okay, Earth and Mars both rotate ccw (= Counterclockwise)
when seen from above the ecliptical plane. (This will make
sense if you picture yourself in a spaceship right above
the North Pole of the Sun, you will see the planets
rotating around it against the clock, or counterclockwise.)
Therefore, Earth is overtaking Mars slowly therefore,
because it is in a smaller orbit and has the inner curve so
to speak.

Scientists tell us that Phobos has always been a bit of an
odd moon, because it is the only moon in the solar system
with a cw orbit, which has been assumed here also.

Could the assumption of the original Starweb posting be
that of an elastic collision? In that case, what are the
masses of the comet and Phobos compared to each other?
Phobos´ mass is known pretty accurately, as well as it´s
size. (See NASA's Mars Fact Sheet.)

Only with this info we can know their velocities before
and after. But a size of 25 by 18 km isn´t at all
impossible for a comet. This is important to be able to
tell anything on a collision effect.

Therefore, the issue here is, would it be elastic (not
permanently deforming or shattering the bodies involved).
If it is, sensible things can be said on the speeds after a
collision, if not, well, then speculation is too modest a
word.

Before we delve into the theoretically possibilities of
this, you might want to listen to a Read Audio interview of
Jim McCanney (primary theorist of the electric comet) by
Chuck Schramek on February 22, 1999. In this 1 hour and 14
minute radio interview, Schramek and James McCanney discuss
McCanney's comet theory, Venus, Mars, SOHO, and a new Solar
system Object!

To be frank, my initial thoughts of McCanney were very
skeptical, because a colleague once told me that he claimed
to have developed a new engine that could turn the Concorde
SST into a space shuttle for only $200 million dollars. I
remember saying to myself, "Uh oh, just an other backyard
inventor. No wonder the science community trashed his
reputation."

But after listening to the Schramek interview, my
impression of McCanney changed quite a bit. He sounds lucid
and has ideas (whether you agree with him or not) seem to
logically fit together without the need to remember any
arbitrary rules or exceptions.

The last 20 minutes or so of the interview really touch on
the issues relevant to this discussion and his ideas may
just leave you with a few sleepless nights. So, before
asking if this scenario is really possible I urge you to at
least listen to the last twenty minutes of
Shrameck/McCanney radio interview.

Is This Theoretically Possible?

Could Phobos reach us by next November 12? Well,
theoretically it could indeed. That is, if you assume the
moon to make an almost perpendicular descent down from
Mars' orbit towards the Sun. Just take the radius of the
circle towards its centre. However, that most likely won't
happen. In such a case, it would free fall into the Sun and
if it were to just dive past the Sun it will be accelerated
so tremendously, that the date of Nov 12 to cross Earth's
orbit would probably be too late.

Rather,, the most plausible way would be that the comet
76P somehow destabilized the orbit of Phobos so badly, that
Mars' gravity would have catapulted it away after a few
more revolutions around the planet and haul it away, which
would preferably be towards the front inner side of Mars'
orbit for reasons of gravitational pull of both Sun and
Mars and the direction of motion of the comet. (It would
enter into a descending spiral towards the Sun, be
slingshot by the Sun and pass Earth's orbit somewhere
around where we are between now and three months.)

The graph below shows a possible or even likely trajectory
in such a case. It is a bit of a rough sketch, but the
orbits of the planets are pretty accurate (Source:
Astroarts.)

The big parabola in the image is the orbit of the comet
76P. The pink dots are the locations of the planets on July
12, 2000. The red dot superimposed on Mars is the comet
itself, currently right above the North Pole of Mars. The
green curve (be it a bit bumpy) is a realistic estimate of
the trajectory Phobos could follow when detached from Mars
by the passing of the comet. It would be thrown away by
Mars in a generally forward direction and could be heading
for a collision/near miss with Earth this way. Earth will
be at the intersection point of the green curve and its
orbit about September 12th.

That is a little over three months after the close passing
of the comet by Mars (and a week´s time added for the moon
to shake itself loose from the planet..)

A Bit Deeper Into Number Crunching

First the possibility and likeliness of Phobos descending
upon Earth from Mars was examined. A more or less most
likely way of descent was established. Now let´s dig into
some numbers a bit more.

What will the speed of the moon coming down have become by
the time it reaches Earth´s orbit? It must be a LOT more
than 26,000 miles an hour (which is about the escape
velocity from Earth), since it passes by the Sun quite
closely and Earth is less far away from that than Mars is.
An almost free fall should lead to the same speed as when
it started by the time it reaches Mars´ distance again.

A rough calculation would then be:

It descends from 1.54 AU (via 0.2 - 0.3 AU) to 1 AU. In
doing that, it rotates roundabout 270 arc degrees around
the Sun. Let´s assume for the sake of argument that the
distance to the Sun decreases constantly in a spiraling
motion (it isn´t, but it would require too much calculation
to follow the descent curve pictured above and this is a
‘what if´ situation). Furthermore it will have to be
assumed for now (otherwise again calculation will become
too cumbersome, remember, it can be done, we just won´t
now) that the speed along the trajectory will not change or
will increase more or less linearly.

The figures:

Earth is at 1 AU = 150,000,000 km from the Sun, Mars is at
1.54 AU = 231,000,000 km from the Sun.

One Earth orbit equals 2 * p * 150,000,000 = 942,000,000
km. One Martian orbit this way becomes 1,450,000,000 km.

The average distance would then be 190,500,000 km from the
Sun, making the orbit path for that distance (we can do so,
twice as far out is twice as long an orbit path !)
1,200,000,000 km.

270 degrees around is three-quarters of that trajectory,
this would make it 900,000,000 km to travel to reach the
supposes intersection point with Earth´s orbit. This is
2.36 times the direct distance between Earth and Mars in
opposition as they are right now! Remember, Phobos would
come down on us along the ‘far side´ of the Sun, because of
the trajectory of 76P.

The distance to travel in three months would have to be
900,000,000 km. Three months is 91 days, times 24 hours,
equals 2184 hours. 900,000,000 /2184 makes 412088
kilometers per hour, is 114.5 km per second AVERAGE speed
all the way over from Mars to here!! That is an unrealistic
outcome, it wouldn´t even be simple with the use of
propulsion.. So either we need a different trajectory or a
longer period..

Keeping to Three Months Time

The smallest possible distance for Phobos to travel to us
in three months would be some 3.0 AU (a pretty sharp
hyperbola around the Sun as shown above, the minimal
distance (a straight line) is 2.54 AU, but that would make
it plunge into the Sun, which would be a nice end to the
problem, for sure, but let's assume 0.5 AU more and have it
go on or just inside Mercury's orbit, any closer would make
it disintegrate completely.)

All this would leave Phobos with 3.0 AU is 450,000,000 km
to travel in the above-mentioned 2184 hours, is still
206043 km an hour or 57 km/s on average. It could for
example start at some 26000 - 5000 = 21000 mph (= 33600 km
an hour). This is the hardest estimate to make. It requires
knowledge on the masses of the comet and Phobos and the
nature of a possible collision (it is still unknown what
took place there, but something did, as various SOHO images
seem to suggest).

If equally heavy and elastic (no bending of shape, just
two rigid bodies) the collision would sort of ‘swap speeds´
between the two. But the number estimate may vary by 100%
easily. The beginning speed doesn´t really matter all that
much, we can also take it´s revolution speed of 5000 mph.

But if we were to assume the speed would start at 33600 km
per hour, and average over 206000 km per hour, with a peak
just inside Mercury's orbit, where would that leave us?

Now 57 km/s is a speed you can normally see meteorites
impact in when they collide head on with Earth, so the
figure isn't all that wild. Meteorites up to 70 km/s have
been spotted. But this one would come a bit from behind, or
left behind when you stand on top of the North pole and
keep the Sun at your left hand. We need to take Earth's
velocity into account for a collision speed estimate. Earth
moves, based upon the values used above, with 107589 km/h
along its orbit, that is 29.9 km/s

We now have two vectors. This will need a bit of insight
in mathematics. Some imagination is needed here. The impact
angle will be from around ten to fifteen degrees (estimate,
but it cannot be much more, nor will five degrees make too
much difference in the numbers resulting, as long as the
angle remains below 20 or so) to our left back, behind our
left hand (again, standing on NP, facing in the direction
of motion of our planet). Now we'll have to do vectorial
subtracting (!) of the Earth motion vector from the
outbound impact trajectory of Phobos. Why, what, how, you
say?

Well, because Phobos would be coming from left behind, the
effective speed will be lessened somewhat by our own
motion. It isn´t slamming into a standing object, but it´s
‘target is moving along a bit, thus softening the impact a
little. Just think of two cars colliding when both are
moving in the same direction.

Let's calculate a real speed of impact then. It comes from
left behind (15 deg). The tangential speed (along a line
which lies along our motion in orbit at any given moment, a
so-called touching line) is then (cosine 75) * 57 is 14.8
km/s and the radial speed is 55 km/s (sine 75 times 57
km/s). So we would slam into it from our point of view,
going much faster around the Sun than Phobos, but keeping
an almost constant distance to the Sun, which Phobos isn´t.
The tangential speed resulting would become 15.1 (=29.9-
14.8) km/s, the radial speed 55 km/s (the true speed of
Phobos away from the Sun), the true speed (vectorial speed)
is then (Pythagoras) the square root of the sum of the
squares of 55 and 15.1, which makes it 57.0 km/s from a
seeming angle of 75 degrees left front (the angle is the
inverse tangent of (55/15.1), the quotient of the two speed
vectors), again we are seeing this standing on NP, looking
ahead along Earth trajectory). Yes, we would be FACING it
like a car slamming into us from the left.

One important remark is that this is based upon center-to-
center collision. So it would impact on mid day.

Our Concerns Are Not Childish!

We will probably not know if Phobos is heading for us
until it´s too late, but the imagery taken shortly after
the passage by Mars certainly indicate an interaction of
SOME sort between the planet Mars and the comet and perhaps
even the moons of Mars. Another detail is that on the last
few SOHO images taken before the passage the comet COULD be
seen, just before it passed directly behind Mars. It hasn´t
been spotted coming back out from behind Mars.

And Mars hasn´t been looking so bright and a bit larger on
images taken the weeks after the passage. Some even called
it a blot of used bubblegum. Coincidence? Could it be
optical effects by the Sun´s radiance? Possibly, but it´s
not satisfactory as an explanation to too many of us out
here.

Personally I believe it can be said that something did
take place there, and that it may result in terrible
consequences for the Earth. In this regard, the dismissive
and condescending attitude of NASA officials is what
troubles me more. They do not seem to know anything more
than we do (or do not want to let on to what they know) but
nonetheless they keep patting us on the head like
precocious children and telling not to worry. But we do
worry that Phobos could turn out to be Nostradamus´ King of
Terror and NASA's patronizing treatment only further this
these disturbing thoughts.

God help us if it is… I would like to appeal to NASA that
if this is anywhere near the truth, please, for the sake of
humanity, come out with the info as soon as you possibly
can.

Jacco van der Worp
Volunteer Moderator YOWUSA Space Mail List

http://www.yowusa.com/authors/jvdworp/0300/phobos/phobos1.html

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pet owners are now 'guardians'
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 09:08:32 -0400

Pet owners are now 'guardians'

Boulder council approves change in animal ordinances

By Kevin McCullen
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

BOULDER — Animal owners officially are "pet guardians" today in Boulder,
thank you.

Boulder's City Council, at the urging of the Humane Society of Boulder
Valley, adopted changes in its animal ordinances Tuesday night that
substitute the word guardian for pet owner in the city books.

Boulder is the first city in the country to adopt the name change, which
carries no legal weight under the city code. But other communities are
looking at similar changes in an effort to promote more responsible
treatment of companion animals, said Jan McHugh, Humane Society executive
director.

"What this is about is educating people about their responsibility to
animals. The word guardian denotes a higher level of responsibility to
animals," McHugh said. "It does not change the legal standing of animals
as property, but we think it will help prevent animal abuse and
exploitation.

"We hope the change will elevate the status of animals in our community,"
she said.

Boulder's City Council voted 8-1 for the changes in its animal ordinances,
with only Councilman Gordon Riggle voting no. Former Councilman Bob
Greenlee said he would have joined the dissent.

"It's this kind of silly nonsense that we, somehow or another, adore here
in Boulder," Greenlee said.

The new ordinance drew support from some pet owners, who said it would
encourage people to be more responsible in caring for their animals. The
proposal was opposed by others, including the American Kennel Club,
because of concerns that it would dilute the rights and obligations people
currently have to care and protect their animals.

Other communities, including San Mateo County in California, are looking
at a similar semantic change, McHugh said.

"It's a wonderful bit of doublespeak," said Boulder resident Jon Caldara,
president of the Golden-based Independence Institute. "If we start
changing verbiage to promote different ideas, soon we might not own our
land or the house we live in, but we'll be guardians of it for the earth.

"Boulder is turning into one giant re-education camp," Caldara said.

July 13, 2000

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/0713pet9.shtml

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

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Medical Marijuana ID Cards Issued
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 09:14:20 -0400

Medical Marijuana ID Cards Issued

by JESSIE SEYFER
Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- With $25 and a doctor's note, sick
people can get an official city ID card entitling them to
use marijuana, the city's maverick district attorney
proudly announced Friday.

The program shields card-holders caught with the drug from
local prosecution -- though marijuana possession remains
illegal under federal law.

''This represents another stone in the foundation we're
building to make people recognize that cannabis is a
legitimate medicinal agent,'' said District Attorney
Terence Hallinan. ''I'm not really worried we won't be able
to work things out with the federal government.''

Californians voted to legalize marijuana for medical use
in 1996, but the ballot measure they approved has been
entangled in legal disputes ever since.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy has long
opposed medical marijuana initiatives, considering them
backdoor routes to legalizing marijuana. Agency officials
refused to comment on San Francisco's new ID program.

In addition to California, measures approving the medical
use of marijuana have passed in Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii,
Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state.

While federal opposition to marijuana remains strong,
there are signs that government arguments against states'
medicinal marijuana measures may be weakening.

A federal judge on Friday hinted he may be forced to allow
an Oakland club to distribute medicinal marijuana because
the Justice Department hasn't rebutted evidence that
cannabis is the only effective treatment for a large group
of seriously ill people.

U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer of San Francisco
said he would rule Monday in the complex case, which draws
in the wider conflict between California's medical
marijuana initiative and federal drug regulations.

Jane Weirick, who uses marijuana to alleviate pain from a
back ailment, said the city's ID cards will ''finally give
us legitimacy.''

''I was taking prescription opiates and was stuck in bed
all the time,'' she said. ''When I started taking cannabis,
I was finally able to function. It was like night and day.''

Former state Attorney General Dan Lungren opposed any
attempt to carry out the 1996 ballot measure and shut down
most of the state's informal marijuana distribution clubs.

But since Bill Lockyer took over as attorney general last
year, the state's position has shifted toward support for
the creation of a statewide marijuana ID program.

''When Proposition 215 passed, many prosecutors said they
wouldn't enforce it,'' said San Francisco Department of
Public Health Director Mitch Katz. ''But things are
different in San Francisco.''

As a prosecutor, Hallinan, who describes himself as
''America's most progressive district attorney,'' has
refused to carry out the government's War on Drugs,
choosing instead to send minor drug offenders to diversion
programs.

His stance on marijuana is shared by a growing number of
law enforcement officials elsewhere in Northern California,
where attitudes toward marijuana have a decidedly mellow
tone. Similar marijuana ID programs already are in use in
Mendocino County and Arcata.

To get the card in San Francisco, a doctor must sign a
form agreeing to monitor the patient's medical condition.
The cards are good for up to two years, and minors can get
them too with approval from a parent or guardian. The
program doesn't address how card-holders will obtain the
drug. It merely shields them from prosecution -- and then
only local prosecution.

Police officials have described it as an efficient way to
distinguish medical users from recreational ones.

''This is a wonderful civics lesson that could only occur
in a place like San Francisco,'' said Police Department
Assistant Chief Prentice Sanders. ''We find that this is an
orderly way to carry out the law and the will of the
people.''

http://www.newsday.com/ap/national/ap769.htm

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

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Govt. Ends Radioactive Metal Sales
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 09:16:48 -0400

Govt. Ends Radioactive Metal Sales

Jul 13, 2000 6:37 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Energy Department took steps Thursday to
ensure that radioactive metals are no longer recycled into braces, zippers,
toys and other consumer products, ordering a halt to sales of thousands of
tons of scrap metal left at nuclear weapons facilities.

Full Story:
http://chblue.com/a/ap.washington/20000713/396e4493.3ad1.13/ap.asp

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Girl marries dog to ward off evil spirits
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 09:29:13 -0400

Girl marries dog to ward off evil
spirits

An Indian man has married off his four-year-old
daughter to a stray dog - to ward off evil spirits.

   Subal Karmakar, of Haringhata, made his youngest
   daughter Anju marry the mongrel to transfer the evil
   effects of the planet Saturn from the girl to the dog.

   Villagers said they enjoyed the sight of the girl
   garlanding the dog the way a Hindu bride does. They
   helped the dog put a garland around the bride with its
   paws.

   Mr Karmakar said: "After she was born, she cut her first
   tooth when she was only eight months, she broke her
   arm when she was two years old, almost drowned six
   months later and burnt her legs accidentally in the
   kitchen just five months ago.

"All these were considered inauspicious by my family
and a result of the evil eye on Anju."

   Anju was married with Hindu priests chanting hymns in
   front of 150 of the 250 residents in a village 40 miles
   north of Calcutta.

Residents of the village enjoyed the feast but ridiculed
the ceremony, reports the Hindu Newspaper.

   "He is superstitious, but why should I care if he wants to
   waste money and give us a feast? I enjoyed the rice,
   meat, curd, lentils and sweets," said Fakir Chand
   Durlab, Karmakar's neighbour.

   Anju's father was unrepentant: "I did the right thing for
   my child. My grandfather had arranged a marriage of a
   relative with a dog 40 years ago and the remedy
   worked."

http://ananova.com/news/story/sm_10850.html

via: Third_Watch@egroups.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Sunday, July 16, 2000 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 10:08:09 -0400

8:00 PM Eastern

TNT -- NUREMBERG --Part 1 of 2 -- TNT original courtroom drama.
American justice Robert Jackson heads an international tribunal convened in
war-ravaged Nuremberg to try 21 members of the Nazi high command for war
crimes. Among the defendants: the notorious Hermann Goering, Hitler's
cocky second-in-command, who begins to take control of the courtroom. The
film includes graphic footage from concentration camps and dialogue spun
from actual court transcripts. (2:00) Concludes Monday.

HIST - SUICIDE MISSIONS - "Hazmat" - The Hazardous
Materials Response Squad fights industrial disaster,
terrorism.(CC)(TVPG)

9:00

CNN - CNN & TIME - "Medical Payback" - The Air
Force asks homosexual John Hensala to repay
scholarships.(CC)

HIST - MILITARY BLUNDERS - "The Bomb Plot to Kill
          Hitler; Mutiny in the Trenches" - Unorganized group plots to
          kill Hitler; a general's flawed tactics causes wide-scale
          mutinies in the French army.(CC)(TVG)

TLC - UNMASKED: EXPOSING THE SECRETS OF DECEPTION - Hoaxes:
crop circles, seances, mind readers.(CC)(TVG)

10:00

DISC - HIGH-SPEED CHASE - Law-enforcement officials use
technology to capture criminals without endangering
lives.(CC)

HIST - HISTORY UNDERCOVER - "Duel in the Desert" -
North African theater of war; El Alamein; Rommel vs.
Montgomery.(CC)(TVG)

TLC - UFOS & ALIENS: SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH - "Making
Contact" - The SETI Institute pioneers the search for
extraterrestrial signals.(CC)

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Phobos Impact Scenario
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Khazneh")
Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 13:29:28 -0400

Luke 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the
stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and
the waves roaring;
Luke 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those
things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be
shaken.

5401 phobos {fob'-os}

from a primary phebomai (to be put in fear); TDNT - 9:189,1272; n m

AV - fear 41, terror 3, misc 3; 47

1) fear, dread, terror
1a) that which strikes terror
2) reverence for one's husband

----- Original Message -----
From: "Moza" <bpr-list@philologos.org>
To: BPR Mailing List <bpr-list@philologos.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2000 8:57 AM
Subject: [BPR] - Phobos Impact Scenario

>
> Nostradamus Century 10, Quatrain 72 Mars Moon -- Phobos
> (Phobos means fear or terror in Greek)
>

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Body of 'Exodus pharaoh' found
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Khazneh")
Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2000 22:34:25 -0400

Body of 'Exodus pharaoh' found
Nick Fielding

MORE than 3,000 years after it was stolen from a tomb in Egypt, scientists
believe they have found the body of Ramses I, who is thought to have been
the pharaoh at the time of the Exodus recounted in the Old Testament. The
mummy was discovered in a private museum at Niagara Falls where it had lain
unrecognised for 140 years.

American Egyptologists who bought the remains are awaiting the results of
DNA tests. They hope these will back up evidence from the body's provenance
and appearance which suggest that it is Ramses.

They will compare material taken from the body with DNA samples from Ramses
I's son, Sethi I, and his grandson, Ramses II.

The Egyptologists at the Michael C Carlos Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, say
clues suggest it is the body of a pharaoh even though the 5ft 5in man has
lost his original coffins and bandage wrappings. He lies in a cardboard box,
head tilted back and arms crossed across his chest.

"The arms are crossed in a way which is generally only seen in royal mummies
and the incisions made in its side to allow the removal of internal organs
also correspond to the techniques used on the pharaohs," said Betsy Teasley
Trope, the assistant curator of antiquities.

Her museum bought the remains last year from the owner of the Niagara Falls
Daredevil Museum.

Museum records show that in 1861 Colonel Sydney Barnett, the son of its
founder, bought five mummies from James Douglas, an adventurer who may have
bought them during a visit to Thebes in Upper Egypt around 1860. It is
believed that one of these bodies came from a cache of royal mummies that
was discovered near Thebes and later transferred to Cairo.

http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/Sunday-Times/stinwenws03018.html

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

Philologos | Bible Prophecy Research | Online Books | Reference Guide

Please be advised that this domain (Philologos.org) does not endorse 100 per cent any link contained herein. This forum is for the dissemination of pertinent information on an end-times biblical theme which includes many disturbing, unethical, immoral, etc. topics and should be viewed with a mature, discerning eye.