BPR Mailing List Digest: 03/09/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
March 9, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | March, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Heavenly alignment
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2000 08:05:22 -0500

Heavenly alignment
http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSSpace0001/29_alignment.html

Doomsdayers say all hell could break loose,
but scientists scoff
By CHRIS MORRIS -- Canadian Press

Doomsday forecasters are advising people to hang on to their
Y2K survival kits because they may need them on May 5. There's
going to be an unusual clustering of heavenly bodies on that
date, and some people fear all hell could break loose.

Everything from spectacular displays of northern lights to
massive earthquakes, tidal waves and volcanic eruptions are
potential byproducts of the so-called "grand alignment."

Astronomers say there's nothing to worry about. It's nonsense,
they say, to think anything bad will come of the fact that
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the sun, plus the moon
and Earth, will be roughly in alignment.

"There will be no effect whatsoever," says John Mosley, an
astronomer at the world-renowned Griffith Observatory in Los
Angeles. "It's just complete nonsense."

It's been 6,000 years since this particular celestial
configuration last occurred. It's not clear what happened then
and no one is absolutely sure what might happen now.

The five planets will be aligned on the other side of the sun
from the moon and Earth. Unfortunately, skywatchers won't be
able to see the unusual lineup because the sun will be in the
way.

Richard Noone, a Georgia-based futurist who has written a book
and several essays on the alignment, says the conjunction of
forces could magnify magnetic fields and trigger a huge solar
storm.

"We're talking about a solar mass ejection in which a billion-
tonne wave of super-hot, electrically charged gas is discharged
from the sun and crosses space like a gigantic tidal wave," he
says.

"It would crash into earth's electromagnetic field at 620 miles
a second."

FACTS AND FIGURES ABOUT THE SO-CALLED "GRAND ALIGNMENT"

What: An occurrence where Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Mercury and
Venus will line up on the far side of the sun from the moon and
the Earth, which also will be aligned.

When: May 5, 2000.

Effect: Doomsdayers worry the alignment will trigger massive
solar storms or exert gravitational pull that could cause
electrical disruptions and natural disasters on Earth.
Astronomers say it will have no effect.

Quote: "There will be no effect whatsoever. It's just complete
nonsense." John Mosley, an astronomer at the Griffith
Observatory in Los Angeles.

Among effects of this solar "storm of the millennium," as Noone
calls it, would be the loss of communications satellites and
electrical power grids fried in the magnetic surge. He also
believes it would zap the earth's poles and people as far south
as Florida should be able to see dazzling northern lights.

Others say the alignment could exert extraordinary
gravitational pull on Earth. There has even been talk of the
planet tipping on its axis as the poles become unbalanced.

"Don't give away your Y2K supplies," warns survivalist Dick
Mankamyer, who runs an outfitting operation called the Survival
Centre in McKenna, Wash. "Hang on to them."

The scientific community is disturbed by this kind of talk.
Although a major solar disturbance is predicted for later this
year, astronomers insist it's not something that can be
triggered or inflamed by the movement of planets. The sun goes
through 11-year cycles of intensifying activity. Solar storms
have been known to wreak havoc on power grids and satellites. In
March 1989, a provincewide blackout in Quebec was attributed to
a geomagnetic storm triggered by solar flares.

But that is a long way from a huge gravitational pull that
could send the planet spinning out of control.

"There are lot of paranoid people out there and when they hear
people say the Earth is going to flip on its side, which is one
of the things I've heard, it's sort of sad people would promote
this stuff when there's no basis," says David Lane of the Burke-
Gaffney Observatory at St. Mary's University in Halifax. "It's
just a load of crap."

Those concerned about the grand alignment feel scientists are
protesting too much and not showing enough respect for the
unknown forces of the universe and the mysteries of the stars.
"This is not a fairy tale or an inquiring-minds-want-to-know
subject, although I admit it does read like that," says Noone.

"I wonder if we're inhabitants of a transition period, like
lemmings with a dark abyss in our future."

Astronomers say the massing of the planets on May 5 will be a
non-event from every perspective, especially since it will be
hidden from probing telescopes.

The only good opportunity for skywatchers will be on April 6
when Jupiter, Mars, Saturn and the moon will be clustered
together in the evening sky. "That'll be nice," says Mosley.
"That's something I'll make a point to go out and watch."

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Earth back in balance
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2000 08:23:19 -0500

Earth back in balance

Magnetic measures indicate planet rolled suddenly long ago
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID -- The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists studying underwater volcanoes
have found evidence the Earth may have wobbled like an out-of-
balance ball 84 million years ago, relocating the poles and
shifting the location of Washington to the tropics.

Something -- they're not yet sure what -- appears to have
changed the distribution of weight in the Earth, causing it to
begin shifting to get back in balance.

"What it appears that happened, was a rapid shift," at 84
million years ago followed by a "slow recovery to where things
are today," explained William W. Sager of Texas A&M University.

That shift of between 16 degrees and 21 degrees, occurring over
two million years or so, was rapid in geological terms, he said.

It would have moved Washington, D.C., south to about the
latitude now occupied by Cuba and the Hispaniola.

The findings are included in a paper by Sager and Anthony K. P.
Koppers of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, appearing in
Thursday's edition of the journal Science.

"They are suggesting something quite challenging," commented
John Tarduno of the University of Rochester, who said the report
will surely generate controversy.

"Personally, I think there is a possibility that they have
underestimated the errors in producing the data set," added
Tarduno, who was not part of the research team.

The period the researchers focused on was a time of great
changes on Earth, Sager noted, with three supervolcanoes
erupting and widespread changes in the plates that make up the
surface of the Earth.

When these massive plates meet, one gets pulled beneath the
other in a process called subduction.

This may help account for the shift in the weight distribution,
Sager said. Another potential cause is hotspots producing
gigantic volcanic flows. During this period, volcanoes produced
three massive plateaus, one around the Kerguelen Islands near
Antarctica, another in the region of Java, Indonesia and the
third in the Caribbean-Colombian area.

Sager and Koppers calculated the shift in the pole by studying
seamounts in the Pacific Ocean. Seamounts are ancient volcanoes
that rise from the ocean floor but are not tall enough to break
the surface and become an island. Researchers can determine when
they were formed and analyze their magnetic orientation. When
molten rock solidifies its magnetic orientation --indicating the
direction of the poles -- freezes. By studying that orientation
now, and how it varies from seamount to seamount, scientists can
calculate shifts in the location of the pole over time.

And what Sager found was a relatively rapid shift of the pole
beginning about 84 million years ago and lasting about two
million years before starting back.

There were no people around at the time, and Sager said that
while this change is speedy to a geologist, it would not have
been noticed by the dinosaurs who populated the planet then.

Indeed, he added, "I'm not sure, if we were living in it now,
that we would know if it were occurring because of the time
frame."

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Nowhere to hide
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2000 08:32:51 -0500

Nowhere to hide

A gene profiling system threatens to reveal your innermost
secrets

WILL "DNA chips" that reveal your genetic makeup within minutes
prove to be awesome medical tools or the means of genetic
discrimination? We could find out sooner than anyone expected. A
British biotech start-up has filed for a patent on a device that
can detect variants of over 2500 genes--including genes that
affect behaviour and intelligence. Researchers with the company
Genostic Pharma of Cambridge have worked out the blueprint for a
system which, they believe, can provide a "core" genetic profile
of any individual. The automated device uses DNA chips--
essentially sensors that can detect many thousands of gene
fragments at once. The company expects to start making prototype
chips within months. It says that the device will help doctors
to find out if people are predisposed to particular diseases and
tailoring treatments to individuals. But such devices could also
be used by unscrupulous employers or insurance companies to
reject applicants with "the wrong genes". Rival DNA chip
systems tend to focus on gene variations relevant to just one
disease, such as breast cancer, or to a potential adverse drug
reaction. But Genostic Pharma's chip gives medically relevant
genetic information about 16 different types of disease (see
Figure), says the company's founder Gareth Roberts.

Roberts and his colleagues at Genostic Pharma combed the
scientific literature for common gene mutations called single-
nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, which can alter people's
predisposition to disease or their reaction to drugs (New
Scientist, 14 November 1998, p 32
</archive/archive.jsp?id=21604800>). They then plucked the
entire sequences for these genes out of publicly available
sequence databases. In a 700-page patent application, Roberts
lists all the chosen genes plus known variants. To create its
genetic profiling system, Genostic Pharma must take short
stretches of DNA from each variant of each gene and fix them to
a specific spot on the surface of the DNA chip. To test a blood
or saliva sample, researchers will break down its DNA into
fragments, attach fluorescent markers and wash them over the
chip. The fixed DNA strands will grab any matching gene
fragments that pass by. The fluorescent tags will then reveal by
their position the identity of each gene captured from the
sample (New Scientist, 14 November 1998, p 46
</features/features.jsp?id=21605100>).

The genes Roberts has chosen to include on the profiling chip
are the ones he thinks are relevant to a range of conditions,
from cancer and heart disease to headaches and impotence. But
others doubt enough is yet known about the human genome for
Roberts to make these choices. "Where Genostic comes up with
thousands of gene variants to put on their chip is a mystery to
me," says Francis Collins, director of the US National Human
Genome Research Institute near Washington DC. Daniel Cohen,
chief genomics officer at Genset of Paris, agrees. "There
haven't been enough population studies, as far as I know, to
assess with enough precision the risk or predisposition for any
of the diseases mentioned in the patent," he says. Others are
not convinced that the chip is intended for entirely therapeutic
purposes. The patent lists 500 variants of genes related to
psychoses and personality, for example, as well as 250 linked to
behaviour. "It creates a set of issues way beyond medical
applications," says Onora O'Neill, former chair of Britain's
Human Genetics Advisory Commission. More at:
www.derwent.com/resource/interest.html
<http://www.derwent.com/resource/interest.html>

www.newscientistjobs.com/real/frame_real_lives.html
<http://www.newscientistjobs.com/real/frame_real_lives.html>
Andy Coghlan

From New Scientist magazine, 11 March 2000.

Sign up for our free newsletter </signup/signupform.jsp?>
Subscribe to New Scientist
<https://www.newscientist.com/subscribe/subs_home.jsp?source=news>

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Haman & Satan
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 08:53:24 -0500

[Purim is March 21, 2000]

Cosmic Codes, Equidistant Letter Sequences
Chuck Missler
Free tape series from FireFighters for Christ
http://www.firefighters.org

[Rabbi Yacov Rambsel sent the following info to Mr. Missler.]

"...this will crack you up. It occurs at Esther 3. If you go to the text and go to
the first 'heh' and count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and then you take the 'mem' and
count 6 and go through this whole passage you get this particular phrase
which is...'Haman and Satan stink.'"

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Possible hypernova could affect Earth
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2000 13:59:44 -0500

Possible hypernova could affect Earth
By Wil Milan for explorezone.com

http://explorezone.com/columns/space/2000/milan_march_eta.htm

-----

Southern skywatchers this time of year can look up and see the
most interesting and enigmatic star in the sky -- a star of a
type so remarkable that only a few dozen examples are known.
That star is Eta Carinae, and it may also be the most dangerous
star in the sky.

The reason for the danger is that Eta Carinae is like a nearby
volcano waiting to explode, but we don´t know when. In the last
few months, however, it has shown signs of new activity and it
has astronomers riveted on its every move.

The burning fuse

To astronomers there are two things immediately obvious about
Eta Carinae: It is amazingly, almost impossibly bright, shining
4 million times brighter than our sun. It is also wildly
unstable, being prone to huge flares, outbursts and dizzying
swings in brightness that give the impression of something on
the verge of self-destruction – which it may well be.

What causes all this strange behavior in Eta Carinae is very
simple: It´s enormous, more than 100 times the mass of our sun.
On Earth we tend to think of large things as being solid and
stable, but in stars of this size the opposite is true. Their
large size causes them to burn their nuclear fuel at an
extremely rapid rate, blasting out so much heat, light and other
energy that their outer layers are shredded, roiled and
sometimes completely blown off in repeated violent outbursts.

The blast in the past

It was just such a violent outburst that first brought Eta
Carinae to the attention of astronomers almost two centuries
ago. It was first catalogued in 1677 as an unremarkable star,
barely noticeable to the naked eye. But by 1730 observers
noticed that Eta Carinae had grown much brighter, having become
one of the most prominent stars in its constellation.

By 1782 it had dimmed to its former obscurity, but then in 1820
it again started growing and growing in brightness. By 1827 it
had brightened more than tenfold, and by 1843 it was blazing as
the second brightest star in the sky, outdone only by the star
Sirius, which is 1,000 times closer to us.

At the time, no one understood what could possibly cause such
strange behavior in a star, and it wasn´t until 1994 that the
Hubble Space Telescope first revealed what had happened 150
years before: Eta Carinae had blasted out an enormous two-lobed
bubble of hot, glowing gas. Even today it can be seen racing
outward at one and a half million miles per hour (2.4 million
kilometers per hour). The amount of material blasted out was
enough to make several of our suns, but for Eta Carinae it was
just the latest outburst in its short and violent life.

The end of a short life

Eta Carinae is destined to die young. Most stars live for
billions of years, but stars as massive and active as Eta
Carinae burn through their fuel in an extremely short time -- as
short as one million years or so, very quick for a star. They
almost always end the same way: With a supernova explosion, a
massive detonation that blows the star apart and scatters its
remains for trillions of miles (kilometers) around.

That´s how most supermassive stars end, but Eta Carinae is such
an extreme case that another possibility exists: It could end as
a hypernova, a super-supernova that at its peak will outshine
the entire galaxy.

The blazing violence of such an event is difficult to describe.
Were it much closer it could even wipe out all life on Earth,
eradicating our thin biosphere just like an ultraviolet lamp
kills microbes. Fortunately it´s not that close, but at 7,500
light-years it´s still close enough to do some damage.

However, the likely damage is not to humans directly, but to
satellites and the upper atmosphere. That´s because an explosion
of this type generates huge amounts of high-energy radiation
such as gamma rays. We on Earth are well shielded from gamma
rays by our atmosphere, but satellites in space would be
vulnerable and some of their electronics could be damaged by
such an event.

Some have speculated that a huge blast of gamma rays could also
affect the upper atmosphere, including the ozone layer. But that
remains only speculation, and any such effect is likely to be
very transient because the blast of gamma rays would be fairly
brief.

The only humans who might suffer directly from Eta Carinae´s
violent demise would be astronauts in space. Outside of the
Earth´s protective atmosphere they would be subject to the same
powerful radiation as satellites, with conceivably lethal
effect. While our own sun is also capable of lethal emissions,
such as coronal mass ejections that could be harmful to
astronauts, the difference is that our sun´s eruptions usually
give us some warning, whereas Eta Carinae would not.

Current warning signs

What now has astronomers thinking again about Eta Carinae's
ultimate end is what has happened since 1998: It has suddenly
started brightening again, more than doubling in brightness in
the last 18 months.

This sudden change was completely unexpected. The leading
theories on Eta Carinae held that it had entered a more stable
phase during which it would very slowly brighten as the dust
cleared from its last outburst. But instead it shot up in
brightness in a very short time, and it continues to brighten
while the theorists puzzle out what could be happening.

The star we´ve never seen

What makes the puzzle particularly difficult is that we have
never actually seen Eta Carinae. When we look toward Eta Carinae
or photograph it, what appears is not the star itself, but the
huge shroud of glowing gas and dust it has thrown up around
itself.

The glowing shroud around Eta Carinae has led some to speculate
that behind the shroud lies not one star, but two or more
massive stars combining to shine so brightly. But that still
doesn´t explain the burning question of the moment: What has
happened to Eta Carinae in the last few months, and what will
happen next?

No one really knows. Like geologists watching a trembling
volcano, all we can do is watch and wait.

Eta Carinae could blow anytime, or it could continue rumbling
and spewing gas until the day, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps
thousands of years from now, when it will suddenly let go with
the most phenomenal display of violence ever witnessed by
humans. It is now being watched almost around the clock, as much
for the fascination as the science.

But perhaps the ultimate knowledge we can gain from Eta Carinae
is not about stars, but about ourselves: That on the grand scale
of creation, we are puny creatures indeed, and fortunate to have
such a protective abode. The grand universe is fascinating, but
there´s no place like home.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - FOUR NBC AFFILIATES JOIN ANTI-"GOD" SQUAD
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2000 14:24:25 -0500

From: Real World News <real_world_news@usa.net>

REAL WORLD NEWS 03/09/2000

FOUR NBC AFFILIATES JOIN ANTI-"GOD" SQUAD
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Four more NBC affiliates have joined the
anti-"God" crusade. KTAL Shreveport, La.; WTVA Tupelo, Miss.; KTVB
Boise, Idaho; and KTFT Twin Falls, Idaho have told NBC that they don't
plan to air the midseason animated series "God, the Devil and Bob" in
its regular Tuesday night time period. The show concerns the everyman
adventures of Detroit autoworker Bob Alman, who finds himself picked
by the Devil in a bet with a Jerry Garcia lookalike God, to see if
humankind is really worth saving.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000308/en/television-god_4.html

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News: Thursday, March 9, 2000
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2000 14:26:34 -0500

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 11:54:01 -0500
To: arutz-7@arutzsheva.org
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@arutzsheva.org>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Thursday, March 9, 2000
Send reply to: netnews@a7.org

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.arutzsheva.org>
Thursday, March 9, 2000 / Adar Aleph 2, 5760
------------------------------------------------
Delivered Daily via Email, Sunday thru Friday
--- See below for subscription instructions ---

*******************************************************
Again this year, you can send MISHLOACH MANOT baskets
of a broad range of Yesha products to your relatives and
friends in Israel and support Yesha at the same time.
<a href="http://www.ComeToYesha.com/MANOT">
http://www.ComeToYesha.com/MANOT </a>
*******************************************************

TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. UNCERTAINTY AFTER SHARM
   2. FIGHTING IN LEBANON
   3. COALITION TROUBLES WITH SHAS AND THE NRP
   4. MORE ON THE COURT DECISION
   5. SHOTS FROM THE TUNNEL
   6. DEALING WITH NEIGHBORLY CRIME
   7. SHECHEM AND HEVRON
   8. PRAGUE PUZZLE SOLVED, NOT ERASED

1. UNCERTAINTY AFTER SHARM
Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister David Levy met
with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Yasser Arafat in Sharm
a-Sheikh this afternoon.
Attempts are being made to conclude the final-status principles of
an
agreement with the Palestinians within two months, and the
agreement itself by September. Analysts feel, though, that
Barak's main goal at present is an agreement with Syria. An
Arab-language paper in London reports that the talks between
Israel and Syria will resume in two weeks in Washington. This
report is bolstered by the fact that Syrian President Assad has
apparently agreed to accept Hamat Gader in place of a foothold
on the Kinneret Sea. In addition, he is in the process of
replacing his entire government with a new one designed to work
for economic reform, embrace a peace treaty with Israel, and
support his son and heir-apparent, Bashar.

Foreign Minister Levy termed "delusions" the reports that there
are contacts with the Syrians. On the other hand, Egypt's
Mubarak said today that there could soon be developments on the
Syrian track.

MK Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, said
today that the Sharm a-Sheikh summit today indicates that the
government plans to reach simultaneous agreements with the
Syrians and the Palestinians, and to combine the two in one
referendum. Lieberman calls upon Shas, Yisrael B'Aliyah, and
the NRP "not to close your eyes, and to leave the government at
once."

The Golan Residents Committee and the Yesha Council will hold
protest vigils in 250 main intersections throughout the country
tonight. They will hold signs with their motto, "Uprooting
Settlements Tears the Nation Apart."

2. FIGHTING IN LEBANON
Heavy fire is being exchanged in the eastern sector of the
security zone in southern Lebanon this afternoon. Arutz-7's
Kobi Finkler reports that the IDF has not suffered any
casualties in the battle.

3. COALITION TROUBLES WITH SHAS AND THE NRP
The National Religious Party's days in the government appear to
be nearing their end. Following the party's threat last week
that it will quit the government the day Barak presents a
Golan-abandoning agreement with Syria, party officials said
today that the same will happen if the government carries out
its apparent intentions to give away Arab-populated
neighborhoods in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Barak-aide Danny
Yatom said today that he has no objection to transferring to the
Palestinians the "villages" of Abu Dis, Azariyah, and A-Ram. MK
Zevulun Orlev (NRP), visiting Arutz-7's studios today, said that
this is a "red line" for the party, "as well as for Yisrael
B'Aliyah, and maybe even Shas... Barak should listen closely -
because even I, who am known as a moderate, have some red lines
which simply cannot be crossed, such as the Golan and the
Jerusalem neighborhoods. "

Orlev also said that if the Likud files a no-confidence motion
on the matter of Meretz-party Education Minister Sarid's
decision to include Palestinian-nationalist poems in the high
school curriculum, "we will support it. This is not the first
time that Arab writers are in the curriculum, but it is the
first time that the Minister calls a press conference and
announces his personal dictates about the way the curriculum
should be run. We will not agree that the Education Ministry
should become Meretz-ized." Orlev served as Director-General of
the Education Ministry under the Netanyahu government.

Arab Palestinian sources, including MK Ahmed Tibi, have
confirmed the intention to grant them areas in the vicinity of
Jerusalem. United Torah Judaism leader MK Meir Porush sent a
letter to Barak, demanding that he disassociate himself from
Yatom's statements - although UTJ members confirmed that Barak
told them earlier this week of the intention to give away areas
close to the capital. Shas leader Minister Eli Yeshai said that
his party would not support any move that harms the status of
Jerusalem.

Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef met this morning with
a leading member of the opposition, Likud MK Silvan Shalom -
although Rabbi Yosef has no similar plans to meet with Prime
Minister Barak, said Shas party leader Eli Yeshai this
afternoon. Shalom later said that he came to thank the rabbi
for Shas' support in last week's referendum vote, and to "talk
about continuing our cooperation in future votes." The Likud MK
acknowledged that some people have told him that Shas could
simply be "using" him in its efforts to squeeze coalition
concessions from Barak, "but the fact is that on several key
votes on issues of principle over the past few years, Shas has
voted with us - Oslo II, for instance. We hope that next week,
too, in our no-confidence vote on the Darwish issue, Shas will
vote with us - especially if the NRP votes with us." It was
later learned that both Shas and the NRP plan to vote against
the government if such a no-confidence motion is submitted; see
above. He will, however, meet with new U.S. Ambassador to
Israel, Martin Indyk, later this afternoon.

4. MORE ON THE COURT DECISION
The Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Salai Meridor,
warned yesterday that the Supreme Court decision allowing an
Arab family to buy property in the Jewish community of Katzir
could endanger the Galilee, the Negev, and the north-central
Israel area known as the Triangle "as integral parts of the
State of Israel." Meridor said, "The subject at issue is not
connected to the rights of an individual or of one family. We
are in favor of equal rights for Arabs, and we feel that an
effort must be made to allocate land for this sector in order to
substantially improve their quality of life, living conditions,
services and education." However, he emphasized, "especially
during this period, when an independent Palestinian entity is
being formed, a real danger arises for the future of the
Triangle, the Galilee and the Negev as integral parts of the
State of Israel. In the Triangle there is a clear Arab
majority, which has demographic continuity with the Palestinian
entity and where the Jews constitute a small minority." Meridor
said that the Court did not relate to the reality that in the
Triangle, where the Jews are the minority, a situation could
arise which would discriminate negatively against Jews. The
Jewish Agency head called upon the government to hold urgent
talks in order to ensure a Jewish hold on these areas.

Eliezer Avitan, whose request to live in a Bedouin village was
turned down by the Supreme Court six years ago, told Arutz-7
today that he will study yesterday's decision, and will then
decide whether to appeal his case.

Atty. Mordechai Haller, speaking with Arutz-7's Ron Meir last
night, analyzed and criticized the Court's decision:
"There is no law that specifically prohibits discrimination in
cases such
as this. The Court simply decided that it doesn't like this
policy, calls it 'discrimination', and then strikes it down.
[But] discriminating between Jewish and non-Jewish potential
immigrants, which the Law of Return as been doing for the past
fifty years, is also discrimination! So is the concept of
having a Jewish state, aimed at benefiting Jews more than it
benefits others. I think that the Court's decision really
indicates almost a schizophrenia in its thinking and its
struggle to cope with the idea of Israel being both a Jewish and
a democratic state as the Knesset has defined it."

Haller said, "It's questionable as to whether that definition
[of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state] is really tenable.
I think that this case illustrates that it's not necessarily
tenable. I think that there are situations in which 'Jewish'
and 'democratic' values part ways. The clear case is when we
are talking about one of the very many kinds of activities that
the state carries out in order to benefit Jews."

Meir then said, "In the synopsis of their decision, the justices
write that 'the Jewish character of the state does not allow for
discriminatory community acceptance policies.' What you seem to
be saying is that there is sometimes a clear clash between the
two sets of values, and that the Court is not really addressing
the heart of the matter."
Haller: "I'm glad you quoted that line - that not just the
democratic,
but the Jewish nature of the state cannot accept a
discriminatory acceptance policy. I think that that is a
comment that even George Orwell might have had trouble dreaming
up! Chief Justice Aharon Barak believes that when Israeli
jurisprudence speaks of the state's Jewish values, it is
referring to those Jewish values that are in tune with
democratic values. According to this definition, the word
'Jewish' doesn't mean anything more than democratic - so that
when he says that the Jewish values prohibit the discrimination
in question, he is just repeating what he said before - namely,
that the democratic values of the state do not permit such
discrimination. Why are the Jewish values of the state given
such preeminence in Israel's constitutional legislation if not
because Israel discriminates against non-Jewish values. In order
to resolve the schizophrenia, the court is eliminating any real
content to the term 'Jewish values.'"

5. SHOTS FROM THE TUNNEL
An Israeli car was shot at on the Tunnels Highway between
Jerusalem and Gush Etzion last night. Some 25 bullets were fired
upon the car, and though five of them hit, no one was hurt. The
driver, Tzofnat Hollander of Efrat, was treated for shock. She
told Arutz-7 today that she was returning to Efrat from
Jerusalem at around 7:30 in the evening, when, as she entered
the second tunnel leading to Gush Etzion, she heard a loud
noise: "My windshield was shattered, but I continued to drive
on, without realizing exactly what had happened, until I reached
the next army checkpoint, about a kilometer away. When I got
out of my car, I saw that five bullets had actually hit the
car." She said that although help was a while in coming, the
soldiers at the checkpoint were "100% - they helped me, calmed
me down, and tended to me until help came."

6. DEALING WITH NEIGHBORLY CRIME
The police will establish several new Border Guard divisions
that will deal specifically with the problem of Palestinian
thefts of agricultural equipment from Jewish towns near the
Green Line. Public Security Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami informed
Agriculture Center Chairman Shalom Simchon of the decision. MK
Simchon said today that the thefts have become a genuine threat
and that the annual damage they cause is estimated at 50 million
shekels.

7. SHECHEM AND HEVRON
The students at the Joseph's Tomb Yeshiva feel like they have
been on a roller coaster this week. Several days ago, they put
in a new floor in the yeshiva compound in Shechem, to replace
the one that was destroyed during the battles with the PA over
three years ago. The local Palestinians were upset at the
change to the status quo, and demanded that the army destroy the
works - which it did. The army also closed off the entrance and
the exit to the yeshiva compound. Tensions quieted after Yesha
Council leaders came to the site to meet with the army
representatives on the matter. This morning, however, the
situation intensified once more when the army again prevented
students and worshipers from entering the yeshiva compound,
after a yeshiva student threw a stone on a Palestinian
para-military police agent. As of this afternoon, it is not yet
clear when the students will be allowed to return to the
yeshiva; as a rule, they do not spend the Sabbath there, and it
is assumed that they will return on Sunday.

In Hevron, too, relations are tense between Jewish residents and
Israeli authorities, and have even become violent. Hevron
resident Mishael Cohen said that Hevron policeman Sharon Naji
banged the head of his 17-year-old daughter on the pavement
yesterday, causing her to lose consciousness. The brutal
violence occurred during the course of continued protests by
Hevron's Jews against the intentions to re-open an Arab gas
station in the middle of the Jewish community in the city. The
girl was taken for medical treatment by ambulance, and was
released this morning. Mishael Cohen refused to condemn the
entire Hevron police force, however: "I tell my children that
the police, too, are operating under difficult conditions, and
that some of them know how to restrain themselves, while some do
not. Those who do not must be punished - as in the case of my
daughter, which almost led to bloodshed." A second police
officer witnessed the episode, and backs up the father's
charges.

8. PRAGUE PUZZLE SOLVED, NOT ERASED
A historic circle in the Czech Republic has been closed -
almost. In the year 1696, the Prague authorities forced the
Jewish community to pay for a large inscription of the Hebrew
words "Holy holy holy the L-rd of hosts..." engraved in gold on
a statue of Jesus on a bridge in the city. The reason for the
humiliating order: one of the members of the Jewish community
did not remove his hat when passing the statue. The inscription
has puzzled millions of tourists who have passed by the statue
over the years - but as of today, their questions will be
answered. An explanation of the incident has been posted near
the statue, and Rabbi Marc Schneier - participating with several
other rabbis and officials in the dedication ceremony- said that
this is a Christian gesture towards the Jewish people. Prague
Mayor Jan Kasal gives a more earthy explanation: Many Jews
refused to cross the bridge into the city, thus reducing foreign
investment there. Prague Chief Rabbi Ephraim Sidon is not
satisfied, however, and hopes that the heretical inscription
will be erased altogether.

Hebrew News Editor: Haggai Segal and Haggai Seri
English News Editor: Hillel Fendel

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Curse of the locusts
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2000 14:28:25 -0500

Curse of the locusts
COLIN HASKIN

http://www.globeandmail.com/gam/Science/20000309/RV9ECO-1.html

Sources: Wire Services Thursday, March 9, 2000 In a scenario
that might have been written by Stephen King, locusts are wiping
out crops in a region of northern Peru. The insects have already
torn through fields of corn, destroying about 1,000 hectares of
land under cultivation around the town of Salas. Among crops
lost are annual harvests of mango, passion fruit and yucca
plants. "The locusts formed a horrifying red carpet over an area
of about one kilometre," reports one radio station. "If this
situation continues, more than 5,000 families who depend on
farming will be left without food." chaskin@globeandmail.ca
<mailto:chaskin@globeandmail.ca>

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (3/8/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2000 14:29:57 -0500

Site ready for papal mass at the Mount of Beatitudes

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire

Wed Mar 8,2000 -- Pope John Paul II will hold a Mass on Friday,
(March 24) from 7:00am to 12:30pm, on an open field at Korazim
overlooking the Mount of the Beautitudes. The site for the Mass
was selected by Church officials. 100,000 worshippers from
Israel and around the world are expected to attend this Mass,
which will be the largest event of its kind ever held in Israel.
Approximately 2,500 dignitaries from the Vatican, as well as
Israeli public figures, will be present as guests. Israel
Electricity Corporation is now completing the infrastructure
work at Korazim, including leveling and gravelling the ground
with local granite, preparing walking paths and a special road
for the Pontiff's use. A 1,250 square meter platform has been
built from which the Pontiff will lead the Mass. 300 cardinals,
archbishops and bishops and a 150-member chorus will stand on
the platform. The work is being carried out day and night under
difficult conditions, while vigorously protecting the unique
character and nature of the site and without damaging the view.
The archeological site at the location will be fenced-off and
protected. Three parking lots have been built by the site with
room for 2,000 buses. Arrival at the site will be by bus and
ticket-holders only. Editor's note: This is the site where Jesus
taught as recorded in Matthew chapters 5-7, known as the Sermon
on the Mount, one of the most revered passages. But the bible
has this to say about that place of about a 5 mile radius in
Matthew 11:20-24. The only other place Jesus spoke against was
Jerusalem; Then He began to reproach the cities in which most of
His miracles were done, because they did not repent. "Woe to you
Korazim! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occured
in Tyre and Sidon which occured in you, they would have repented
long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless I say to you, it
shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of
judgment than for you. And your, Capernaum, will not be exalted
to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades; for if the
miracles had occured in Sodom which occured in you, it would
have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it
shall be more tolerable for hte land of Sodom in the day of
judgment, then for you."

Assad's son recommendations for new Syrian government

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arabic News

Wed Mar 8,2000 -- On the eve of forming a new government in
Syria, Col. Bashar al-Assad said that his country "more than any
time before needs a change." He remarked that the general
conference of the Baath Party will be held this year, "but the
date has not fixed yet," stressing, "My ambition is to serve my
country and not to be a president. We do need a change today
more than any time before." It was clear from his words that the
change is necessary in all sectors relating to the lives of
citizens like the economy, information, the educational system,
technology, relations between the rural areas and the urban
areas, Syria's relations with the world and bureaucracy, as well
as a change in certain traditions. The son of the Syrian
president said that the first task of the new government is "to
renovate administration and eliminate corruption." Despite the
fact that there is an overwhelming conviction in Damascus that
Bashar has played a key role in choosing the government's
members, he added that his role was limited to "recommending
certain qualified people for the president and to the Baath
Party leadership," saying that the traits needed in the new
government are "efficiency, honesty and administrative skills.
If these three elements are available we will have the
government we seek." But the key to this key is to change what
is bad in traditions and concepts which obstruct the move of the
administration. We cannot separate the administrative reforms
from educational, informational, cultural and social
development. We have to develop all sectors simultaneously."

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Woolly Thinking
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2000 14:30:47 -0500

WOOLLY THINKING Sheep are so stupid! Or are they? Jon Peirce
at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge has found that, just like
humans, these much-maligned animals rely on facial clues to
recognise their friends and use the same bits of their brains
when they are doing so. Bear this in mind if you're prone to the
occasional sheep slander.

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns222922

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Spin Doctors?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2000 14:34:58 -0500

Earth spins at fastest rate for 80 years

If it feels to you like the days are getting shorter and
life is getting more and more hectic, I might be able to
give you the reason. Recent data from the International
Earth Rotation Service (IERS) imply that the Earth's
rotation is speeding up and that by early July of this year
it will be spinning at its fastest rate since 1929.

Full story:
http://www.newscientist.com/nsplus/insight/time/earthspins.html

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Multi-Faith Leaders Usher in Lent
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 18:32:00 -0500

12:23 PM ET 03/09/00

Multi Faith Leaders Usher in Lent

           LOS ANGELES (AP) _ For the first time since the 16th century
Protestant Reformation, Roman Catholic, Episcopal and Lutheran
bishops hosted a joint Ash Wednesday service to welcome the
Christian penitential season of Lent.
           The three clergymen _ Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, Episcopal Bishop
Frederick H. Borsch and Evangelical Lutheran Bishop Paul W.
Egertson _ made the traditional mark of the cross on each other's
foreheads with ashes during the service at the University of
Southern California.
           ``Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel,'' the
clergymen said to each other before placing ashes on the nearly 900
students in attendance. The ashes serve as a reminder of mortality.
           A Vatican spokesman said Wednesday he was unaware of any
precedent to the joint service.
           The event was seen as ``one more step'' toward unity, according
to Mahony, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, the
largest archdiocese in the nation.
           In 1993, leaders of the three churches in Los Angeles recognized
the validity of each other's baptism rites. They participated in a
joint baptismal service in 1994.
           Episcopalians and Evangelical Lutherans are free to receive
Communion in each other's churches, but may not receive Communion
in a Catholic church.
           ``We cannot on this day yet share bread and wine together,''
Borsch said in a brief homily Wednesday. ``But we are sharing ashes
with one another _ and rightly so as we stand before God.''
           Last October, international leaders of the Catholic and Lutheran
churches put aside five centuries of differences in theology. They
issued a declaration ending a dispute over salvation, which sparked
the Reformation and led to the Thirty Years War.
           Martin Luther set in motion the Protestant Reformation when he
nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in
Wittenberg, Germany, protesting the practice of selling indulgences
to help believers gain forgiveness for their sins.
           The dispute centered on the question of how to get to heaven.
Catholics believe that people's actions can make a difference,
while Lutherans believe salvation is based on faith alone.
           At the heart of the agreement last fall was a statement that
faith is essential in salvation.

http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2564847703-ba4

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Iridium Satellites May Start Reentering Earth's Atmosphere Starting March 17
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 18:44:03 -0500

Sky May Fall on Iridium

By Mary Motta Senior Business Correspondent
08 March 2000

WASHINGTON - Chicken Little could be in for a big surprise.

It´s not the sky that will be falling, but if a suitor doesn´t
rescue the debt-riddled Iridium satellite-telephone company by
March 17, its 66 communication satellites are going to make a
rather early reentry.

That deadline was set by Motorola, which has lost nearly $1
billion in the operation and maintenance of the $5 billion, 10-
year-old Iridium constellation. Motorola, the founding investor
and majority shareholder, holds an 18 percent stake in Iridium.

To stem the bloodletting of cash, Motorola, based in
Schaumberg, Illinois, has declined to provide any more funding
and has threatened to yank the Volkswagen-size satellites from
orbit and send them on a fiery suicide dive through Earth's
atmosphere.

"That is a realistic scenario," said Scott Wyman, a Motorola
spokesman.

The move came after cellular communications pioneer Craig McCaw
and his Eagle River investment group begged off a plan to buy
beleaguered Iridium last Friday.

In a desperate move Monday, Iridium asked a federal bankruptcy
court in Manhattan for interim financing to keep afloat as it
sought out another backer. The court threw the company a
lifeline and approved its request for $3 million.

But as the March 17 deadline looms, no savior has yet emerged
to rescue Iridium.

Despite industry rumors, it´s unlikely that McCaw and his group
of investors will step in at the last minute -- making more
likely the prospect of a celestial light show of satellite debris.

"Our decision on Friday was final," said Roger Nyhus, a
spokesman for Teledesic. The Bellevue, Washington satellite-
communications company was co-founded by McCaw and Microsoft
Chairman Bill Gates to build a satellite-based "internet in the
sky."

What can be expected from these Iridium satellites being
brought back to Earth?

Motorola´s Wyman says that the company has a "very controlled
process" for bringing down the satellites. "They will be brought
down in stages, not all at once," he said.

It is expected to take a few years for all 66 satellites to
come down.

But the reentry business is an imprecise one at best because
objects can survive and make it all the way to the ground, said
Bill Ailor, director for the Center for Orbital and Reentry
Debris Studies at The Aerospace Corporation in Los Angeles.

Objects typically enter the atmosphere at a blazing 6 miles
(9.7 kilometers) per second and are often incinerated by
friction with Earth's atmosphere. But materials designed to be
heat-resistant often can survive the plunge all the way to the
ground. "Typically what we look for are titanium spheres and
objects made of stainless steel (to survive)," Ailor says. Glass
also can survive.

It´s unlikely, though, that debris from Iridium´s satellites
will hit a populated area.

"The Earth is a big place," he said. "But the satellites
burning up in the atmosphere will probably be visible to the eye."

About 10,000 objects bigger than the size of a basketball are
tracked by the Air Force Space Command. So far, only one person
ever has been hit by falling debris. In 1997, Lottie Williams
(below) was hit on the shoulder by a 6-inch (15-centimeter)
charred piece of metal mesh that came from a tank of a Delta 2
rocket. Lottie, who is from Tulsa, Oklahoma, was hit while
walking in nearby park.

The tank (pictured below) had fallen from the sky hours before
and crashed 150 feet (45 meters) from a Georgetown, Texas
farmer's house, about 391 miles (629 kilometers) from Tulsa. The
giant fuel tank had been spinning in space since April 1996
after helping propel the McDonnell Douglas rocket from
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

One high note, however, is that the age of random reentries may
be coming to a close.

As the number of satellites is expected to increase
dramatically because of the current boom in the
telecommunications industry, new rules are being considered that
would require companies to safely take their satellites out of
orbit at mission's end, Ailor said.

Lucky for us because Iridium´s future seems to be getting
dimmer. On the heels of the bankruptcy court authorizing the
sale of furniture, fixtures and equipment at Iridium´s
headquarters in Washington, an e-mail was sent out Wednesday
that seems to have driven another nail in the company´s coffin.

"Please note that as of March 16, the Iridium.com e-mail
address for me will no longer be valid," said the e-mail sent to
reporters from Iridium spokesman David St. John.

http://www.space.com/space/business/iridium_motorola_000308.html

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - IBM to test people-sniffing tech in UK supermarket chain
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2000 18:50:14 -0500

IBM to test people-sniffing tech in UK supermarket chain

IBM is planning to unleash people-sniffing technology on
supermarket shoppers, according to a report at beyond2000.com.
The "Footprints" system equips the supermarket (or any other
location you might fancy) with arrays of thermal sensors, which
then track the movements of individual consumers throughout the
store.

Not a lot of people know it, but your thermal signature is
aparently sufficiently individual for it to work as an
identifier in this context. You can therefore be "followed"
around the store, and it's manifestly clear that the store
owners will be just gagging for extra information they can use
to maximise the value of the data they're picking up.

On its own, Footprints provides a picture of the routes people
take when going round a supermarket, so the layout can be
modified in order to make their shopping lives easier. Or data
on standard movements can be used to predict an oncoming rush to
the checkouts before it happens. But don't they want to know
what people are buying while they're wandering around as well?
Of course they do.

Footprints is going into trial this year in an un-named British
supermarket chain, but we bet it's Safeway. A while back IBM UK
piloted a barcode shopping system in conjunction with Safeway,
and combining that or something similar with the sniffer
technology would leverage the store's info quite nicely.

We're tottering on the brink of linking individual identities
to shopping behaviour here, aren't we? But of course we wouldn't
do anything like that, oh no...

http://www.theregister.co.uk/000309-000006.html

via: transhumantech@onelist.com

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

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