BPR Mailing List Digest: 06/08/00

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BPR Mailing List Digest
June 8, 2000

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - WHAT THENEW PROPOSED EU TREATY REALLY MEANS - a summary (second part of article)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Hosea")
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 07:48:07 +0100

Taken from thePORTMAN PAPERS (an UK - anti EU/NWO quarterley) Vol2 No 8
April 2000

As you will see, the new Treaty, could result in provisions which aim to
suspend 'political parties'.

Hosea.
-----------------------------

PREPARING THE GREAT BETRAYAL

WILLIAM HAGUE and MICHAEL PORTILLO have ruled out quite categorically the
option of ever leaving rile EU. (Hague: ".. never pull out of the EU';
Portillo: ".possibility of the Tories advocating withdrawal" - both on
record.*)

These statements came while Hague did not deny what Kenneth Clarke said on
TV: "My only difference with William on the Euro is over the timing of our
entry; while Portillo said, as new shadow Chancellor That he was "open to
persuasion' on the merits of jolting the Euro.

Torquil] Dick Erikson writes: "It really looks like the build-up to a Great
Betrayal.

"So what is, or what can be the role in this of Tories like Dan Hannan or
Patrick Nicholls MP' Their stated positions are diametrically in conflict
with their leaders over Europe. Well, the Party can only follow one policy,
it cannot go in two opposite directions at the same time.

"(One direction points to a leadership challenge at the earliest opportunity
to oust his leadership that has now said clearly and openly that they
"never" intend to take Britain out of the EU quicksand. This must mean
agreeing to the new Treaty demand for "No restrictions whatsoever on the
jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice" - which means we are heading
straight for Treason, with the complicity of the Top leadership, and if the
leaders are unchallenged. of the whole Tory Party.

DECOY DUCKS

Or if no challenge is mounted. then be only possible explanation for the
continued presence of Eurosceptics in the Tory Party is to act as Decoy
Ducks. They make their Eurosceptric statements, people here them, and give
them their votes saying, 'Oh well, yes, I'll vote Tory, I mean they have got
so-and-so and I know he is quite sound on the EU'.

Then when all The votes are all collected, the Hagues and Portillos, who are
in the saddle, collect then, and use them to vote in, or prevent an
effective opposition to, the measures that will enslave us. In a word, The
Great Betrayal.

"The European Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee has proposed
worrying features to put into the new Treaty of Paris/Nice, due to be signed
in December. One of these contains provisions which aim to suspend
'political parties'. And whereas in the earlier draft, a Party that strayed
from the 'democratic principles and fundamental rights' (nowhere defined,
they will make them up as they go along) was to be suspended, in ads new
version a Party will not even be recognised' - i.e. 'will not be
legitimate - unless they have already been vetted. So the gist is not just
lint anybody is free found a party, although it might be banned if it falls
foul of ill-defined 'rules', but that all parties are ipso facto illegal,
unless they have been recognised.' There is, however, a lot more of which
the public in Britain is completely unaware.

AN ARTICLE IN THE DAILY TELEGRAPH of 13th April confirm's the basis for Dick
Erikson's alarm.

The report is, says the Telegraph, "the most ambitious statement of
federalism ever to have emerged from a European institution. If even a
quarter of it were to be implemented. the EU would give up any pretence at
being an association of states and would become a state in its own right.."

The European Commission and the member stare holding the presidency (not he
Parliament) will actually draft the Treaty. The measures are all-embracing.
The Telegraph continues:

"First, there is to be no more national veto. With the sole exception of
decisions of a constitutional nature' [decided by the Commission - PP].
Britain. in other words, could find itself forced to pursue common policies
in the fields of tax, defence, immigration, and just about everything else.

"'The EU is to be given a written constitution, empowering its judges to
strike down any national parliamentary laws that they deem to Contravene our
rights as European citizens (including, inter alia, 'the right to social
protection".')

"It is also to acquire legal personality, thus enabling it to take over its
member seats on the United Nations, the IMF and so on.

"Brussels will gain a direct role in defence policy, which has hitherto been
conducted on an inter-governmental basis. It a also to develop its own
police force, Europol. Britain will be ordered to drop its border controls
and join Schengen. And ž this part comes as no surprise - the European
Parliament is to be given more power"

In a Later report Torquil Dick Erikson adds:
WHAT EVERYBODY IN THE COUNTRY NEEDS to be made aware of is that this Treaty
will be he last, since any further changes on matters of any importance will
be by majority vote [i.e., not 'weighted' voting as with Qualified majority
voting - PP]. Once this Treaty is signed, sealed and ratified, they will be
able to proclaim the birth of the United State of Europe quite openly. It
will be =The End = of our right to national self-determination and our civil
liberties - very basic things indeed, like freedom from arbitrary arrest and
incarceration, as Sir JoInt Mommer QC, the creator of Rumpole, points out in
a powerful article that appeared in yesterdays DaiLy Mail, appearing almost
symmetrically with Alan Judd's in the Telegraph.

"So the essential thing is for everyone to spread the news about the hard
facts of the horrors that the new Treaty will contain, the 'Treasonable
measures it will bring in, and to rise such a hue and cry that Blair decides
not to sign the Treaty.

"IF BRITAIN DOES NOT SIGN, that means Britain is in effect vetoing it, And
if Britain vetoes it, that means that the entire EU juggernaut comes
shuddering to a halt. And with the currency in its present parlous state,
very possibly the whole thing will start to come apart at the seams,. The
entire 'bicycle' could topple over. For this, it is not necessary to force
Blair to adopt a withdrawalist policy. He could say, theoretically, as the
Tories actually do say, ' We are happy to stay in the EU, but not with the
modifications proposed by the new Treaty. We do not want them, so we are
exercising our right to veto thern.

"OF COURSE THIS WOULD BE DISASTROUS for the EU, but it would not require a
formal policy U-turn on the part of Blair to do this (he has already
resisted the imposition of the withholding tax when be responded positively
to pressure applied by Hague just before Helsinki). What we must do is tell
Blair that if he does sign, be will be committing the felony of TREASON, as
well as breaching his Parliamentary Oath of Allegiance to the Queen (which
means at least keeping her as a Queen, i.e. as the Head of a necessarily
sovereign state), and making a criminal misuse and abuse of the Royal
Prerogative to sign a Treaty granting foreign bodies like the ECJ 'FULL
JURISDICTION' ever the Queen's and all of our persons, amoungst other
things. And if he commits TREASON, he must be made to face all the criminal
consequences of that act, to answer for it in his own person,. He would do
much better not to sign.

* Re HAGUE see Times article (24/3/00) by James Landale, 'Tories will keep
Britain out of the EU'.

* Re PORTILLO Mr. John Gouriet had witten to Mr. Portillo stating that "...
if only the Conservative Praty would pledge to withdraw. from the EU, I am
absolutely certain the Party would win the next election, save the countryy
and restore its financial fortunes'. Mr. Portillo replied: "I do appreciate
this avice, but as you know there is no possibility of the Conservative
Party advocating withdrawal from the European Union".

Portman Papers, 20 Portmans, North Curry, Taunton,. Somerset, England, TA3
6NL portmanpapers@altavista.net

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Hungarians to Rebuild Palace of Hun King Attila
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 08:53:16 -0400

Wednesday June 7 11:23 AM ET

Hungarians to Rebuild Palace of Hun King Attila

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - The palace of Attila, King of the Huns, will be rebuilt
on its supposed original site in the Hungarian plain in Tapioszentmarton, the
mayor of the town said.

The Hungarian news agency MTI quoted Janos Toth, the mayor as saying
Wednesday that the plans and model of the palace were ready and
construction was likely to begin this year.

Attila swept into Europe in the fifth century from the Asian steppes at the
head of his pagan horsemen.

The Huns of Attila, called in chronicles ``the scourge of God,'' kept the late
Roman Empire in terror for decades, launching many raid campaigns from
their quarters in today's Hungary.

Toth said an account of a Roman scholar Priscos about a visit to Attila's
court and the archaeological and historic research of Erno Blaskovich, a 19th
century landowner in the town, suggested that the king's palace stood near
Tapioszentmarton.

``It is not excluded that his grave is hiding somewhere here,'' he said.

According to the legend, Attila was buried in a river bed, with his servants
and a huge treasure which was never found despite desperate searches by
treasure hunters for centuries.

Blaskovich was also the owner of the stable in which Kincsem, the legendary
Hungarian mare was born, a racehorse never beaten in 54 starts.

Toth said the wooden palace would be built by a local entrepreneur, Janos
Kocsi, who planned to spend 200 million forints ($738,000) on the project.

According to ancient legends, which historians say are untrue, Hungarians
are the descendants of Attila's Huns, who returned to their land four
centuries later in 896.

The Hungarian tribes, horsed nomads like the Huns, ravaged Europe for
decades before founding a Christian Kingdom in 1000.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000607/od/hungary_attila_dc_1.html

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

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Can Moscow be trusted?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 09:04:00 -0400

Tuesday, June 6, 2000

CAN MOSCOW BE TRUSTED?
Inside Russia's magic mountain

Congressmen: Secret nuke-proof complex bodes ill for U.S. arms-control
negotiations

Editor's note: This is the second in a major series of WorldNetDaily
investigative reports on Russian arms-control violations and the very
real nuclear threat they indicate, by former Time magazine reporter
Kenneth R. Timmerman. Part 1 revealed the full extent of a major Soviet
violation of an 1987 arms-control agreement, and how the SS-23
nuclear-tipped missiles the Soviets secretly stashed away are still
awaiting destruction in Slovakia today. In today's report, Part 2, WND
examines the super-secret nuclear war- fighting command center within
Russia's Yamantau Mountain.

By Kenneth R. Timmerman
Š 2000, WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.

WASHINGTON -- Deep in the Urals, in the region of Beloretsk, rises a
mountain called Yamantau. It is believed to conceal one of Russia's
darkest nuclear secrets -- a secret President Clinton, members of
Congress and the U.S. military top brass have raised repeatedly with
Russia's leaders, without ever receiving a response.

Some U.S. analysts believe the secret underground complex beneath
Yamantau Mountain betrays a lingering belief among top Russian leaders
that they must continue to prepare to fight and win a nuclear war.
Russians say they still fear the U.S.

As WorldNetDaily revealed yesterday, it is now known that the Soviet
Union used secret underground bases in Eastern Europe to conceal nuclear
missiles at the end of the Cold War, as an integral part of its nuclear
war- fighting strategy. In all, some 73 SS-23 missiles, packing a
nuclear punch 365 times the bomb that detonated over Hiroshima, were
hidden by the Soviets in violation of the INF Treaty, which went into
force in June 1988.

                     On May 10, the Slovak Defense Ministry rolled out
                     the SS-23s it had inherited from a secret Soviet
                     missile cache left over from the Cold War. The U.S.
                     will assist Slovakia in dismantling them later this
                     year.

If war had broken out those missiles would have given the Soviets an
overwhelming strategic advantage against the United States, allowing
them to decimate NATO forces in Europe in a surprise attack. The last of
these missiles will be destroyed this summer by the government of
Slovakia, under a grant from the United States.

Today, Russia may be conducting nuclear deception on a far vaster scale
beneath Yamantau Mountain, where it has dug out a gigantic underground
military complex designed to withstand a sustained nuclear assault. U.S.
intelligence sources tell WorldNetDaily that the Yamantau complex is but
one of some 200 secret deep underground nuclear war-fighting sites in
Russia, many of which have been significantly upgraded over the past six
years at a cost of billions of dollars.

                   This declassified Defense Intelligence Agency map
                   shows the relative location of the underground
                   Yamantau Mountain complex.

Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, U.S. intelligence sources believe
the Russian government has pumped more than $6 billion into Yamantau
alone, to construct a sprawling underground complex that spans an area
as large as Washington, D.C., inside the Beltway -- some 400 square
miles.

In 1998, in a rare public comment, then-Commander of the U.S. Strategic
Command (STRATCOM) Gen. Eugene Habinger, called Yamantau "a very large
complex -- we estimate that it has millions of square feet available for
underground facilities. We don't have a clue as to what they're doing
there."

It is believed to be large enough to house 60,000 persons, with a
special air filtration system designed to withstand a nuclear, chemical
or biological attack. Enough food and water is believed to be stored at
the site to sustain the entire underground population for months on end.

"The only potential use for this site is post-nuclear war," Rep. Roscoe
Bartlett, R-Md., told WorldNetDaily. Bartlett is one of the handful of
members of Congress who have closely followed the Yamantau project.

The Yamantau Mountain complex is located close to one of Russia's
remaining nuclear weapons labs, Chelyabinsk-70, giving rise to
speculation it could house either a nuclear warhead storage site, a
missile base, a secret nuclear weapons production center, a directed
energy laboratory or a buried command post. Whatever it is, Yamantau was
designed to survive a nuclear war.

In response to repeated U.S. inquiries, the Russian government has
provided no fewer than 12 separate and contradictory explanations for
the site, none of them believed to be credible. The Clinton
administration admits that the Russian government has refused to provide
any information on the underground complex. Despite this, administration
officials tell Congress not to worry.

A 1997 Congressional Research Service report said that the vast sums
invested to build the Yamantau Mountain complex "provide evidence of
excessive military modernization in Russia." Russia is pouring money
into this and other underground nuclear sites at the same time U.S.
taxpayers have provided billions of dollars in aid to Russia to help
dismantle nuclear warheads taken off line as a result of START I and
START II.

"Yamantau Mountain is the largest nuclear-secure project in the world,"
said Rep. Bartlett. "They have very large train tracks running in and
out of it, with enormous rooms carved inside the mountain. It has been
built to resist a half dozen direct nuclear hits, one after the other in
a direct hole. It's very disquieting that the Russians are doing this
when they don't have $200 million to build the service module on the
international space station and can't pay housing for their own military
people," he said.

The Russians have constructed two entire cities over the site, known as
Beloretsk 15 & 16, which are closed to the public, each with 30,000
workers. No foreigner has ever set foot near the site. A U.S. military
attaché stationed in Moscow was turned back when he attempted to visit
the region a few years ago.

Neither the Central Intelligence Agency nor the Defense Intelligence
Agency would comment on what the Russians were doing at Yamantau
Mountain.

"There's not a lot we could say without venturing into the classified
realm," CIA spokesman Mike Mansfield said. "It's hard to discuss it with
any specificity."

                   This U.S. satellite photograph of the Yamantau
                   Mountain region was taken on Oct. 16, 1997, and
                   annotated by the Defense Intelligence Agency. Clearly
                   recognizable signs of excavation can be seen at the
                   areas marked Yamantau Mountain and Mezhgorye. Two
                   above-ground support cities, each housing 30,000
                   workers, are located at Beloretsk and Tirlyanskiy.

Both agencies have provided repeated briefings on Yamantau to Congress,
and have declassified satellite photographs which reveal above-ground
support facilities for the underground sites as well as tell-tale signs
of excavation.

The very little that is known publicly about the site comes from
Soviet-era intelligence officers, who defected to Great Britain and the
United States. In public testimony before a House Armed Services
Subcommittee last October, KGB defector Col. Oleg Gordievsky said the
KGB had maintained a separate, top-secret organization, known as
Directorate 15, to build and maintain a network of underground command
bunkers for the Soviet leadership -- including the vast site beneath
Yamantau Mountain.

"And what is interesting," said Gordievsky, was that President Yeltsin
and Russia's new democratic leaders "are using those facilities, and the
same service is still running the same facility, like it was 10, 15
years ago."

Yamantau Mountain is so secret that only a handful of Russian government
officials knows about it, says Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., who speaks
Russian and travels frequently to Russia, chairing a congressional
working group that discusses strategic issues with counterparts from the
Russian Duma.

"I ask the Russians about it every time I meet with them," Weldon told
WND. "We've never had a straight answer."

Weldon got interested in Yamantau Mountain in 1995 when he saw a public
report suggesting it was a vast mining project.

"I went to Moscow and spoke with the deputy interior minister who was in
charge of mining," Weldon says. "I asked him if there was any mining
activity there. He just shook his head and said he had never heard of
it. So I mentioned the other name the Russians use for it: Mezhgorye. He
said he hadn't heard of that either. Then he sent an aide out to check.
Twenty minutes later, the aide came back, visibly shaken. He said they
couldn't say anything about it."

Weldon says he also met with Andrei Kokoshkin, a former deputy defense
minister who was put in charge of President Yeltsin's National Security
Council.

"Kokoshkin called it a public works project, and said there was nothing
to worry about, since the Defense Ministry had no involvement in it. So
I brought out a copy of the Defense Ministry's budget -- it's only a few
pages long -- and showed him the line item for Mezhgorye. He smiled and
said it must be for bridges, roads and schools. When I then asked if I
could see it, he said that could only be arranged through Yeltsin. The
site was controlled directly by the president."

So Weldon says he drafted a 3-page letter to Yeltsin in Russian.

"I told him all the things I was trying to do to foster better
U.S.-Russia understanding, but said that I couldn't help if they
couldn't clear up something as important as this," Weldon told WND. "He
never replied."

Weldon twice asked Gen. Sergeyev, commander of the Strategic Rocket
Forces about Yamantau.

"He said it was a command center, and that we had the same kind of thing
in our country at Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado. He suggested that
eventually we could be allowed to come visit it. Despite his promise,
that has never happened. Clearly, this is a project that is so secret
that only the upper level of the government know about it."

The work at the Yamantau complex is only part of Russia's current
efforts to modernize and reinforce some 200 deep underground command
posts, nuclear warhead repositories and clandestine missile sites. Some
CIA and Joint Chiefs of Staff analysts believe these assets will give
Russia a strategic advantage over the U.S. in the event of nuclear war.

                   The U.S. intelligence community has been observing
                   Sherapovo for many years. Initially built in the
                   1950s, it was modernized a first time in 1978, at the
                   height of détente, then again in the mid-1980s. This
                   declassified U.S. intelligence photograph shows
                   surface support areas and secret above-ground
                   entrances to the underground bunkers. In time of war,
                   Russia's civilian leadership can be evacuated from
                   Moscow along a secret subway line. Once at Sherapovo,
                   they can conduct the war effort using a highly
                   redundant communications system "allowing the
                   leadership to send orders and receive reports through
                   the wartime management structure," according to a
                   1988 Pentagon report. Over the past six years, the
                   Russian Federation has again upgraded Sherapovo,
                   intelligence sources tell WorldNetDaily.

Among these Russian sites is the Sherapovo command and control center,
south of Moscow.

This site, which is large enough to house 30,000 people, is the civilian
command center the Russian government can use in time of war. It is
connected to a network of deep underground bunkers built beneath the
Kremlin, and linked to Moscow by a secret subway line.

Russia's general staff has a similar facility some 20 kilometers away
from Sherapovo, known as Checkov, which can also accommodate an
estimated 30,000 people.

A separate facility, located 850 miles east of Moscow at Kosvinsky
Mountain in the Urals, has been designed as the Russian equivalent of
the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center in Colorado, where the United
States can track incoming ballistic missiles.and command U.S. forces to
counter-attack.

Altogether, the CIA now estimates that these sites can house some
150,000 Soviet civilian and military leaders and are impervious to
direct nuclear strikes.

By contrast, the three U.S. nuclear war-fighting command centers
(Cheyenne Mountain, Fort Richie, Maryland and Mount Weather, Virginia)
were designed in the 1950s to withstand first generation atomic weapons.
They have not been upgraded, despite the fact that Russia's arsenal is
composed of large "city-busting" thermonuclear weapons. Only Air Force
One is considered to be invulnerable in the event of a nuclear strike,
intelligence sources told WND.

Under the START II agreement, the U.S. and Russia are supposed to reduce
their nuclear arsenals to 3,500 warheads each. Since then, Presidents
Clinton and Yeltsin agreed to a further reduction to 2,500 warheads.
Administration officials are now talking about a START III agreement
that would bring the levels down to around 1500 warheads.

In an unusual move, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not a source of
opposition to administration plans until now, recently told the
administration that they could not recommend such deep reductions, the
Washington Times reported last month.

Intelligence sources familiar with U.S. and Russian nuclear-war fighting
scenarios explained why: The U.S. must keep back a "strategic reserve"
of 400 megatons to deter Russia from attacking U.S. cities, where 80
percent of the U.S. population lives. By contrast, only 25 percent of
Russia's population lives in cities.

Given the smaller size of current U.S. warheads -- around 300 kilotons
-- this task alone would require more than 1,200 warheads, leaving only
300 warheads for strategic targeting, the sources said.

The 200 deep underground sites in Russia are considered "weapons sinks"
by the CIA and JCS targeting analysts, and require multiple warheads
each.

"In other words, at 1,500 warheads, the U.S. would have to choose
between attacking missile silos or command and control centers, a
dilemma the Russians wouldn't face," one analyst told WND.

Russia's track record of cheating on previous arms control agreements
and its massive underground building program in recent years provide an
ominous backdrop to President Clinton's negotiations with Russian
President Putin in Moscow.

See Part 1: Russia's hidden nuclear missiles

COMING TOMORROW: Part 3, The New Russia. President Clinton's offer in
Moscow to share missile defense technology was rejected by President
Putin. But with new information coming out on Russia's record of
violating past arms accords, should the United States be making such
offers in the first place? WorldNetDaily examines the deal Clinton
offered Putin and how it's being received in the United States Senate,
where new arms control treaties must be ratified. And with the help of
Russian experts, WorldNetDaily takes a fresh look at the new Russia --
one ruled increasingly by the military, determined to reconstruct the
core of the Soviet empire and renew its strategic relationship with
communist China.

Kenneth R. Timmerman is a veteran investigative reporter who has
published three books on the arms trade and intelligence issues. In
congressional testimony last year, he revealed the existence of an ICBM
program in Iran known as the "Kosar," helping to spark legislation that
imposed sanctions on Russia for transferring missile technology to Iran.
A contributing editor to Reader's Digest, the former Time magazine
correspondent is currently writing a book on Bill Clinton's corrupt
relationship with communist China.

To read more articles like this one, visit
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_exnews/20000606_xex_inside_russi.shtml

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Space weather
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 09:07:22 -0400

Space Weather News for June 7, 2000

Following close on the heels of yesterday's two X-class solar flares, a third
powerful X-class flare erupted today at approximately 1545 UT. Soon
afterward, coronagraphs on the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory
detected a faint full halo coronal mass ejection. It appears to be heading in
the direction of Earth at ~800 km/s. This latest full halo CME will probably
extend the geomagnetic disturbances expected to begin on Thursday when
an interplanetary shock wave spawned by a CME on June 6 collides with our
planet's magnetosphere. Aurora watchers are advised to be on the alert for
Northern Lights beginning after sunset on Thursday, June 8.

For more information, please visit http://www.spaceweather.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - King pursues meetings with US officials, congressmen
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Khazneh")
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 09:11:30 -0400

King pursues meetings with US officials, congressmen
By Saad G. Hattar

WASHINGTON - His Majesty King Abdullah met here on Wednesday with several
officials and congressional leaders a day after Washington agreed in
principle to move forward on a possible Free Trade Agreement with Jordan.
A high-ranking Jordanian official said the King's round-the-clock talks were
meant to bolster chances for the signing of an FTA after winning the
administration's backing.

"The minute the president made his public announcement, the negotiations
kicked off and it [the FTA] could pass through the Congress within 30 days,"
said the official who accompanied King Abdullah on his two-week tour of the
U.S.

During a joint press conference following his talks with the King at the
White House on Tuesday Clinton said: "I think we will have a good
announcement on the trade issue...We have to discuss it to make sure that we
are clear and in agreement on all essential points."

For their part, Jordanian officials were upbeat on the prospects of sealing
the FTA within weeks. "The King's meetings with congressional and Senate
members were very fruitful," said one official. "Unlike the cases with other
countries, most lawmakers extended support for the Jordanian request. Almost
all legislators said they would endorse the agreement as soon as it arrives
from the administration," added the source.

He said American labour unions, which usually oppose such US engagements
with the rest of the world, have come to support the FTA with Jordan.

"There is a growing conviction in the US that the Jordanian record on human
rights and economy-related legislation made the Kingdom eligible for an FTA
with the US," the source added.

Referring to the King's "tremendous efforts in reforming the economy and
laying down the legislative groundwork, since he ascended the Throne in
February 1999," Jordanian officials here said it was now up to the Kingdom's
private sector to seize the opportunity and tap the vast American market.

"The ball is now in their court," one official said. "The government has
prepared the groundwork and they [the private sector] have to do the rest."
He urged Jordanian industrialists to upgrade their products in order to meet
international standard requirements.

The King met on Wednesday with Secretary of Commerce William Daley, who
co-signed with Minister of Industry and Trade Mohammad Halaiqa an
"e-commerce statement."

Daley told the press that the "joint statement on electronic commerce with
Jordan marks an important step towards enhancing economic and social growth
cooperatively in the Middle East." The secretary told the King that several
US firms had voiced their interest in directing their investment towards
Jordan.

King Abdullah also met with Undersecretary of State Thomas Pickering and
Deputy Secretary of Defence Rudy de Leon.

Jordan and the US have maintained a long and solid record of military
cooperation, including the periodic holding of joint military exercises.
Last year, Washington granted Amman $95 million in military assistance.

Late Wednesday, the King conferred in different meetings with leaders of the
US Senate on Capitol Hill. He met with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott,
Minority Leader Tom Daschle, Majority Whip Don Nickles and Minority Whip
Harry Reid.

Afterwards, he met with the chairmen of key Senate committees: Ted Steven of
the Appropriations Committee, Jesse Helms of the Foreign Relations Committee
and William Roth of the Finance Committee.

The senators expressed their support for King Abdullah's domestic policies
and economic reforms.

"Since he ascended the Throne, the King moved in the right direction. He did
not just take the political side but he rather stretched to consolidate
Jordan's status on the regional arena and prepared the local ground for a
targeted economic boom," the Jordanian official said.

He cited a veteran Congressman as telling the 38-year-old King: "You filled
a gigantic pair of shoes in record time," in reference to his father the
late King Hussein who died last year following 47 years of reign.

http://www.access2arabia.com/jordantimes/Thu/homenews/homenews1.htm

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 09:25:32 -0400

*** Policy said to spur teacher scandal

WASHINGTON (AP) - Someone's been cheating on tests in the nation's
schools and it isn't the students. In less than a week, the principal
of a high-scoring Maryland elementary school has quit and two
teachers - one from the Potomac, Md., school and another from Reston,
Va. - were suspended after pupils told their parents that adults gave
them test questions or guided them to correct answers. As
investigations continued Wednesday, critics said these test scandals
- following others in New York, Texas, and Ohio - will only increase
as more states link scores to a school's reputation, teachers raises
or a superintendent's job. Both of the major presidential candidates,
Vice President Al Gore and Texas Gov. George W. Bush, have proposed
tying federal education dollars to states' test scores. "We don't
have the luxury of piously condemning individual teachers when the
real villain here is an overemphasis on test scores at the expense of
real learning," said Alfie Kohn, a Cambridge, Mass.-based author and
former teacher who has lectured extensively on standardized tests.
See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2567167900-0b9

*** Chicago sues for gun sale info

CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago sued a federal law enforcement agency
Wednesday seeking confidential data concerning gun buyers nationwide
in an effort to bolster its $433 million lawsuit against the firearms
industry. The city is seeking a nationwide list of those who have
bought more than one gun in a five-day period. That list is kept on a
databank maintained by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms. City officials claim that manufacturers deliberately market
guns to criminals, and they want the ATF's list to track major gun
dealers - who possibly supply street gangs - by purchasing patterns.
ATF spokesman Tom Ahern said that handing over the list would violate
the privacy rights of law-abiding gun purchasers and that personal
information on the list could jeopardize investigations and the
safety of undercover ATF agents. The city filed suit in 1998 against
23 gun manufacturers and 13 suburban gun dealers to recoup losses
incurred by gun violence. ###

*** Population growth in India explodes

WASHINGTON (AP) - It has taken thousands of years for the population
of India to swell to 1 billion. It may take just 100 years for India
to add another billion. How successful the Indian government is in
boosting literacy rates and sexual education among females in the
next several decades will be critical in determining just how quickly
the population there increases, the author of a new report on world
population says. Currently, India is home to one-sixth of the world's
6 billion people. By mid-century, India's population could reach 1.6
billion people, helping to swell the world population to 9 billion,
according to the report by the Population Reference Bureau scheduled
for release Thursday. By 2050, India could surpass China as the
country with the world's largest population, said Carl Haub, one of
the report's authors. "At that rate, what we're talking about is the
very real possibility of India adding 1 billion people in this
century. That's unheard of," Haub said Wednesday. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2567168149-a22

*** Jordan king meets with U.S. lawmakers

WASHINGTON (AP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II met with congressional
leaders Wednesday to discuss Middle East peace efforts and other
issues. "We will work together to really bring peace and prosperity
to our modern world," he said after seeing Senate Majority Leader
Trent Lott, R-Miss., and Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D. The king
also met with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and other
members of Congress as he sought to continue the peace efforts of his
father, King Hussein, who died in March 1999. Abdullah met Tuesday
with President Clinton. ###

*** Soccer boosts Iran-Egypt ties

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Egypt narrowly beat Iran in a penalty shootout
Wednesday, but diplomacy was said to be the real victor in the first
soccer match between the two nations. "Winning or losing is a
secondary issue in these tournaments. They are more of a bridge
between us and the participating countries for the expansion of
friendly ties," said Mohammad Ghaffari, an Iranian soccer federation
official, before the game. "We hope that football will serve as a
means to improve political relations among us." The head of the
Egyptian delegation, Azmi Quraitem, called the event "very symbolic."
"We had a choice not to come, but we did so eagerly because we want
the two countries to have better ties," he said. The match, part of a
four-sided contest with South Korea and Macedonia, began after dozens
of white doves of peace were released from boxes on the field. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2567167927-fd5

*** Gorbachev OK after swimming accident

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev
was rescued during a Caribbean swim, after a powerful current pulled
him close to dangerous rocks, a Red Cross lifeguard said Wednesday.
Gorbachev, who presided over the breakup of the Soviet Union,
suffered only a scraped knee in the accident, said lifeguard Carlos
Segura Roman. Gorbachev and a companion were drawn out by the current
while swimming Sunday at Costa Rica's Puerto Viejo de Limon beach,
125 miles southeast of San Jose, the capital. "An ocean current began
taking them out to sea, toward an area where there are rocks and
coral reefs," said Segura Roman. "They weren't in danger of drowning,
but they were at risk of getting banged up," said the lifeguard, who
towed the pair back to shore with a flotation device. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2567172643-ea4

*** Vatican OKs U.S. Catholic school rules

(AP) - Controversial new rules asserting tighter control over who may
teach theology at America's 235 Roman Catholic colleges and
universities have won Vatican approval, the U.S. bishops announced
Wednesday The rules, passed by the bishops last November over the
objections of college administrators, received only minor amendments
in Rome and will go into effect May 3, 2001. One rule will require
that a university theologian obtain a "mandate" from the local bishop
in order to teach. This could give bishops, and ultimately the pope,
leverage to stem open dissent against church policy. Other
regulations say that a college's president should be a Catholic who
professes fidelity to the faith, and that "to the extent possible" a
majority of trustees and faculty members should be Catholics as well.
See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2567168879-3fd

*** Tunnel found linking Gaza, Egypt

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - Palestinian security forces unearthed a
tunnel Wednesday between Egypt and the Gaza Strip apparently used to
smuggle goods into Gaza. Hussein Zanoon, the Palestinian security
chief in charge of the Rafah area where the tunnel was found, said
five suspects have been arrested. Police were to close the
150-yard-long, 9-yard-deep tunnel later Wednesday, which Zanoon said
was used to smuggle Egyptian food and other products into Gaza.
Israel says such tunnels are used by militants to smuggle weapons
into the Gaza Strip. Zanoon said he reported the discovery to an
Israeli liaison committee, noting it was the 26th such tunnel
uncovered by Palestinian security in the last two years. ###

*** Norwegians goof off for an hour

OSLO, Norway (AP) - Hundreds of Norwegians goofed off during working
hours Wednesday with the government's blessing in a campaign to
remind people about the value of time. Throughout the country, people
left their offices and other workplaces, switched off their cellular
phones and just enjoyed life for an hour from noon to 1 p.m., in
addition to their regular lunchtime. "This is about thinking through
what we use our time for," said Minister of the Environment Siri
Bjerke, who joined about 200 people in lollygagging for an hour
outside parliament in Oslo. A project called "07-06-05" had taken out
full-page newspaper advertisements throughout Norway urging people to
take a break and think about their lives. The group's name was taken
from the June 7, 1905, date that Norway gained full independence from
neighboring Sweden. The group said people need independence from the
tyranny of tight schedules. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2567167351-a12

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - a question
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("John in NZ")
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 08:36:10 -0500

Greetings one and all. I hope there is an all to enter
into this discussion.

I am involved in a teaching ministry which will remain for
the purposes of this discussion nameless. I am going around
churches to see if we can take seminars in their church. It
is a well known respected evangelical international
ministry. Today I was asked by someone "What covering are
you working under?"

Now I have heard talk about "covering" for several years
now and have always felt just a little uncomfortable about
it. Usually when there is something wrong with an idea I
feel this sort of discomfort. Usually this sort of
discomfort lurks in the background until some speicific
instance raises the question about the idea and I am forced
to examine it. I think I am at this point on "covering".

I understand generally what people are talking about when
they talk in this way but today I felt a strong reaction to
the idea altogether. Not that I am "uncovered" in the sense
that is meant (as far as I understand it). The church I am
going to endorses my ministry. The international body has
accredited me to the task, and so on. So I am not reacting
because I am operating out of order, or off my own bat, or
do not in the sense "covering" is talked about, have no
"covering."

Rather I feel that the whole concept of covering may be
faulty. But I don't know. I have never actually heard any
teaching on it. I can't think of where it would come from
in the Bible (and I have done 11 years full or part time
theological education).

Question: Is there someone out there who can supply me
with the rationale behind this idea of "covering"? My
spirit reacts to the idea - suggesting to me that it is
unscriptural, and I have enough to do to obey scripture
without coming under unscriptural ideas.

Can anyone help me? do you havea sermon on it? A bible
study? some references?

Are you willing to get into dialogue on it? I tend to be
pretty hard nosed and want it proven from scripture on any
issue and will dissect things fairly thoroughly to see if
they stand up. Dialogue could be rough (I warn you).

John in chilly NZ.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Warfare praying
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 09:53:49 -0400

Phrases such as: "praying the blood" to cover someone or something for
protection, "praying a hedge" of protection around someone, or "claiming"
protection, etc. This kind of "warfare praying" and commanding of God is...
improper from a biblical perspective since these practices are not found in
the Bible and are specifically forbidden.
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/warfare/warfare.htm

On 8 Jun 00, at 8:36, John in NZ wrote:

> Greetings one and all. I hope there is an all to enter
> into this discussion.
>
> I am involved in a teaching ministry which will remain for
> the purposes of this discussion nameless. I am going around
> churches to see if we can take seminars in their church. It
> is a well known respected evangelical international
> ministry. Today I was asked by someone "What covering are
> you working under?"

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: a question
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("George")
Date: Thu, 08 Jun 2000 11:06:10 -0400

John;
Greetings in the name of the Lord.
Would love to dialog on issue of "covering".
Having come "out" of a "full time" (paid staff) ministry position to a
place that many say is "without" covering, would love to share thoughts.
As far as doctrinal insights on "covering" most I have found are
unscriptural or erroneous at best. I did notice thou that the only
"being" referred to as a "covering" (other than God/Christ) was Lucifer
in Ez 28 and Is 14. Raises a curious thought , does it not?

Be blessed

George

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: a question
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("-Rick-")
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 08:16:17 -0700

Hi,

Are you a trained Pastor. Most people feel that that is important. I don't.
If you know your Bible, your words should be good enough. Another word for
covering to me is "franchise.." Corporate Churches like to franchise
themselves out in order to expand. I have a pretty successful out reach
ministry on line and I am not so called "trained." I do not have that piece
of paper to show that I believe as the higharchy do. I only believe in what
the Bible says. I did go to Bible collage and then dropped out as I did not
want a label placed on me.

Did the Apostles have a piece of paper to prove who he was. No. The only
piece of paper we should have to our name is scripture! Do realize how many
false teachers are out there that have that so call piece of paper? Your
piece of paper should be scripture. Your Church should be the Church (body
of) Christ. And when people listen to you they should like the Bereans did,
examine the scriptures to see if you are correct. You should answer to no
man except scripture and God. So there is my two cents worth. :-)

-Rick-

Rapture Apologetics
http://www.geocities.com/raptureapologetics/

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - SEATTLE'S GAY-LESBIAN PTA BOOSTS TOLERANCE
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Thu, 8 Jun 2000 11:42:17 -0500

SEATTLE'S GAY-LESBIAN PTA BOOSTS TOLERANCE

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/article/0,2669,SAV-0006080081,FF.html
By Matt Rosenberg
Special to the Tribune
June 8, 2000

SEATTLE -- On a drizzly Wednesday evening in a cavernous, 1930s-vintage
school lunchroom, people stand in small clusters and chat. An eerie whistle
comes from a tall coffee percolator, and the cookies and Pepsi are neatly
laid out. To a casual observer, this looks like just another PTA meeting.
Except this is the nation's first gay and lesbian PTA. Calling the group to
order is Susan Carmel, president of the Gay and Lesbian Parent Teacher
Student Association of Greater Puget Sound, and mother of an 18-year-old gay
son.

Carmel reports the group has completed a food drive at one school and will
assist with playground cleanups and carnivals at others. In return, posters
are put up in the schools to publicize GLPTSA, which leaders say they formed
to combat intolerance, insensitivity and related barriers to fuller
participation by gay and lesbian students and parents in the region's K-12
public schools.

The group, founded last fall, has 249 members, Carmel says. Dues are only $7
because members are encouraged to ante up for their local, school-based PTAs
too.

At this meeting, before the group watches a video on gay and lesbian figures
in American history, Carmel reports on a homophobic harassment incident in
the suburban Kent school district that "has not had a good history" of
fostering tolerance, she says. "We're kind of pressuring them to find out
what they're doing in terms of staff training."

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

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