BPR Mailing List Digest: 03/15/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
March 15, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | March, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - [real_world_news] 03/14/2000
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 08:46:51 -0500

REAL WORLD NEWS 03/14/2000

EQYPT, SYRIA GET MISSLE AID FROM NORTH KOREA North Korea
is providing Egypt and Syria with missile technology meant
to vastly increase the weapons capabilities of the two
Middle East nations, the CIA says.
http://www.worldtribune.com/tout-3.html

ISRAELI AIRFORCE ADDS ARROW MISSILES TO ITS ARSENAL
Israel's air force took possession on Tuesday of the first
battery of state-of-the-art Arrow interceptor missiles to
protect it from attack by hostile neighbours, after years
of delays. "This is the first time the complete system is
in the hands of the operators, the Israeli air force," air
force chief of staff General Eitan Ben Eliahu told
reporters at a handover ceremony at this air base in
central Israel. "The missiles will soon be operational," he
said.
http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/article.html
?s=asia/headlines/000315/world/afp/Israeli_airforce_adds_Arrow_missile
s_to
_its_arsenal.html

GLOBAL GROUP PRESENTS 'EARTH CHARTER' FOR FUTURE
Environment advocates from around the world unveiled an
``Earth Charter'' Tuesday designed as a new code of conduct
for government, business and private citizens in the
globalized age.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000314/sc/environment_eart
hcharter_1.html

PAKISTAN SAYS 'GREAT DANGER' OF WAR WITH INDIA Pakistan's
foreign minister said Monday he feared arch-rival India
could start a limited war over the disputed Kashmir region
but President Clinton's South Asian trip this month might
ease tensions. ``I see great danger... certainly taking
into consideration India's proactive policy in Kashmir,''
Abdul Sattar told reporters in the port city of Karachi
when asked if he feared India could impose a limited war on
Pakistan.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20000313/wl/pakistan_india_1.html

CHINA - 'U.S. WILL SUFFER' IF WTO PACT REFUSED China is
closer to joining the World Trade Organisation and US
companies will suffer if Congress refuses to grant Beijing
permanent normal trade relations status, Foreign Trade
Minister Shi Guangsheng said yesterday.
http://www.scmp.com/News/China/Article/FullText_asp_ArticleI
D-20000314032134708.asp

BLOOD TRACES FOUND IN T-REX BONE CHALLENGE 'MILLIONS OF
YEARS' DATE Actual red blood cells in fossil bones from a
Tyrannosaurus rex? With traces of the blood protein
hemoglobin (which makes blood red and carries oxygen)? It
sounds preposterous to those who believe that these
dinosaur remains are at least 65 million years old.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/docs/4232cen_s1997.asp

TEMPLE TREASURY COINS MINTED A silver-plated coin minted
is being offered for purchase, with the Hebrew words
"Temple Treasury" engraved on one side, and "Anticipating
the Renewal of the Commandment of Giving a Half-Shekel" on
the other. Rabbi Menachem Makover, director of the Temple
Institute in Jerusalem, said that the purpose is to
"increase public awareness of the importance of the Temple
in our lives. We want to remind ourselves that this is a
live issue, one that is dynamically relevant."
http://www.harpazo.net/forzion/news.html

GOD ONLINE With everything from books to brokers, auctions
to elections online these days, it was only a matter of
time before religion found its place on the Web.
http://cbsnews.cbs.com/now/story/0,1597,171460-412,00.shtml

-------------------

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Christian Daily News, March 14
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 08:53:09 -0500

[Christian Daily News]
Published by Christian Word Ministries
March 14, 2000

And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver
refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.
Psalms 12:6 (NIV)

---------------------

Judge orders parent not to pray with children

OAKLAND, Calif. (USA) -- Pacific Justice Institute, a non-
profit legal defense firm which supports parental rights,
religious liberties and other basic constitutional civil
liberties, was contacted today regarding a mother who was
ordered by an Alameda Superior Court judge not to engage in
any religious activities with her children.

The mother has been divorced from the father for several
years. While the father has sole physical custody of the
children, both parents have joint legal custody, and are
entitled to visitation.

However, the judge specifically ordered the mother not to
"discuss issues of a religious nature during visitation."
The mother's request for a hearing to allow her children to
attend church, as well as pray and read the Bible with her
during visitation, was denied. The matter arose after a
social worker had earlier determined that the children were
receiving too much religious exposure by the mother.

"This action by the judge, we feel, is totally beyond the
boundaries of the proper exercise of judicial powers. No
parent should have to face this kind of religious
intolerance," said Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific
Justice Institute. Pacific Justice Institute is assisting
the mother in challenging this court order.

-----------

Reprint Permission for Christian Daily News

Christian Daily News may be redistributed in its entirety
for non-commercial purposes.

-----------

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Asteroid Devastation Leads to Ultraviolet Spring
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 08:56:00 -0500

Asteroid Devastation Leads to Ultraviolet Spring

by David Stauth

http://www.spacedaily.com/spacecast/news/deepimpact-00d2.html

Corvallis - March 13, 2000 - Researchers say in a new
report that if a huge asteroid were to hit the Earth, the
catastrophic destruction it causes, and even the "impact
winter" that follows, might only be a prelude to a
different, but very deadly phase that starts later on.
They're calling it, "ultraviolet spring." In an analysis of
the secondary ecological repercussions of a major asteroid
impact, scientists from Oregon State University and the
British Antarctic Survey have outlined some of the residual
effects of ozone depletion, acid rain and increased levels
of harmful ultraviolet radiation. The results were just
published in the journal Ecology Letters. The findings are
frightening. As a number of popular movies have illustrated
in recent years, a big asteroid or comet impact would in
fact produce enormous devastation, huge tidal waves, and a
global dust cloud that would block the sun and choke the
planet in icy, winter-like conditions for months. Many
experts believe such conditions existed on Earth following
an impact around the Cretaceous-Tertiary, or K-T boundary,
when there was a massive extinction of many animals,
including the dinosaurs. That's pretty bad. But according
to Andrew Blaustein, a professor of zoology at Oregon State
University, there's more to the story.

--- more ---

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Mar 14 Headlines from The Telegraph
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 08:57:09 -0500

Are you smarter than a robot?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=002550734463243&rtmo=VMs8w
JfK&atmo=tttttttd&pg=/et/00/3/9/ecftur09.html

The world's largest experiment on artificial intelligence
starts today - readers with internet access are invited to
take part. Roger Highfield reports CAN a computer think?
Tonight you can judge for yourself as part of the world's
largest test of artificial intelligence, one of a series of
mass experiments planned to mark Science Week.

-------------

Meteorite study finds no trace of life on Mars
By Roger Highfield

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=002550734463243&rtmo=VMs8w
JfK&atmo=tttttttd&pg=/et/00/3/9/ecnmars09.html

A STUDY of a Mars meteorite has found that it does not
contain evidence of alien biology. Strictly inorganic:
scientists have failed to find evidence of life using
isotope ratios in Martian meteorites

-------------

Look sharp: CCTV is zooming in

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=002550734463243&rtmo=r3mah
hQX&atmo=tttttttd&pg=/et/00/3/2/ecfcam02.html

New digital cameras on the streets promise better quality
pictures. But the ability to manipulate images and the
wider civil liberty implications are worrying. Neil
Crossley reports

TO most of us who spend our time ambling down high
streets or supermarket aisles, closed-circuit
television is a familiar presence. Gone are the days when
children would wave at the cameras and there are now few
streets, shops or car parks without CCTV in place. But new
technology is emerging that looks set to revolutionise CCTV
surveillance in Britain.

--------------

When substance puts style in its place

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=002550734463243&rtmo=r3mah
hQX&atmo=tttttttd&pg=/et/00/3/2/ecfweb02.html

There's more to the web than pornography, semi-literate
navel-gazing and slick shopping sites, but finding quality
information can be difficult. Paul Fisher reports on a site
that makes it easy ANYONE who needs proof that there is
intelligent life out on the web should visit Arts & Letters
Daily ...

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Genes and the Future...
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 09:01:34 -0500

Matt Ridley on the new world of medicine The following is
an adaptation of a BBC interview with science writer Matt
Ridley, conducted last December.

http://www.globeandmail.com/gam/Science/20000311/BKMATT.html

Saturday, March 11, 2000

Q: What medical discoveries lie around the corner in the
next century?

A: I think one of the most far-reaching discoveries in the
current century will be the discovery of the genes that
cause us to age. Once we've been able to understand which
genes those are -- and we know they're there, there's no
question about it: We've found them in mice, we've found
them in flies -- we'll be able to counteract them. Then we
will slow down the aging process dramatically. My great-
grandchildren might well live a very long time and might
not look very old at the end of it.

Q: What will the social and economic consequences of that
be?

A: Dramatic. Careers would go on potentially forever,
since there'd be no particular reason why people should
retire. More than that, I think people would delay having
children. They already delay it pretty well as far as they
can, in order to keep their options open in economic and
mating terms. If you could quite happily have your first
child in your fifties or sixties, then I think a lot of
people would do that, and that would have a very depressing
effect on population growth. In fact, population would
start to fall very rapidly.

Q: Have we more to hope for or to fear when it comes to
health and disease?

A: Well, if I wanted to be pessimistic about infectious
disease in the next century, I could make the argument that
a lot of viruses and other bugs have jumped into our
species from animals, and there's good reason to think
there are more to come. There are a lot of creatures which
we've only just come into contact with at a concentrated
level. Moreover, we're living in very crowded cities and
we're communicating round the world, we're travelling very
far, so the whole globe is now the germ pool, as it were,
for the germs. It is very different from a century ago. But
I don't think we need to worry too much because I think
we'll keep one step ahead of these diseases, and because,
on the whole, most infectious diseases are getting less
virulent, not more virulent. The reason for that is because
the virulent ones tend to be the ones communicated by
insects, not communicated directly. Directly communicated
diseases don't like to lay low their victims, they actually
want the victim to be pretty healthy so that he can spread
the disease more.

Q: Just give me an indication of how dramatic medical
changes might be by 2100?

A: Somebody looking back from the end of the 21st century
will be amazed by how many things we didn't understand. We
didn't understand what schizophrenia was caused by. We
didn't really understand what heart disease was caused by;
we thought it was caused by diet, but didn't take into
account other factors like infection or social pressures
and so on. The other thing that person will be surprised by
is how many things were incurable. Just as we look back at
1900 and say what a lot of things were incurable then,
someone will look back and say, "They really didn't have a
cure for cancer; they really couldn't do anything about
colds."

Q: What effect will our understanding of our own genetic
makeup have on medicine?

A: The main effect of our genetic understanding on
medicine, I think, will be to individualize, then
personalize, medicine. At the moment, medicine treats the
population, it doesn't really treat the individual. So it
gives the same remedy for everybody and it says to
everybody, "Lower your cholesterol," for example. That's
good advice for some people but bad for others, because
some people already have dangerously low cholesterol and
they end up very depressed if their cholesterol goes down
even further. In the future, I think you'll go to see your
doctor and you'll have, on a chip, [a list of] all your
genes. And the doctor will literally say, "Ah, for you,
with this particular complaint, the best solution is this
drug." For somebody else it might be a different drug. In
that sense, we'll all at last be treated as the individuals
that we are and not as the statistical parts of a
population.

Q: How will we reproduce in the future?

A: I think most of us will go on reproducing the normal
way, but there will be an increasing number of people who
will use in vitro reproduction. The reason for that is
partly because there's going to be an increase in
infertility. We know that simply because we're already
allowing the infertile to breed [in test tubes] and, on the
whole, that kind of infertility is heritable, so it's bound
to increase as a proportion of the population. Moreover . .
homosexuals who want to have their own children will
probably use in vitro techniques.

Q: What other choices will rich people have about how to
breed?

A: By 2100 I think if you're rich enough and you can
travel, you will be able to have your future children
genetically modified. Whether that will be legal in most
countries I don't know, but I think it will be technically
feasible. It will be simple things at first, like
correcting short-sightedness and before that, of course,
debilitating diseases that you will be able to avoid by
genetic modification. That will be pretty uncontroversial.
It will get much more controversial when people start doing
cosmetic things, when people start trying to make their
children more intelligent by genetic modification. The
question is whether we'll consider that to be something
that we should leave to the individual, or something that
society should take a view about and, indeed, legislate
about.

Q: Is cloning viable and if so what might its consequences
be?

A: One of the interesting things about cloning is that you
could actually do it in secret. I mean, you could actually
produce a complete replica of yourself, with the right help
from medical doctors, and nobody would know that it wasn't
just another baby that you'd had by normal means, because
nobody knows what I looked like when I was a baby. By the
time it is grown up to my age, it will, of course, look
like me; but by then I won't look like that any more, so I
could go through my whole life bringing up my clone and
pretending it was my child. Nobody would be any the wiser.
Of course, the psychological effects on a clone of the
parent's expectations that the child should behave in the
way that they behaved might be very frightening.

Q: What does cloning actually mean?

A: The fundamental shift involved in cloning is to abandon
the idea that there are two parents of each child. A clone
literally has only one parent, and it's genetically
identical to that parent, just as an identical twin is
genetically identical to its twin. It happens already: a
lot of plants clone themselves and if you take a cutting
from a plant, that is cloning the plant. There's a lizard
in Arizona that only reproduces by cloning, so it's not
unknown in the animal kingdom. But it is unknown for
mammals like ourselves to do it, with the single exception
of Dolly the sheep and her successors in the farm world.
The problem is: how to reset the aging clock so that [the
clone] doesn't start, as it were, with its biochemistry
already at the age of the parent; [otherwise, the clone]
would age very much more rapidly.

Q: Will there be a moral burden on the parents by 2100 in
terms of pre-birth choices for their child?

A: I think parents will come under more pressure, perhaps,
to produce perfect children, and that could be unfortunate.
Just as today's parents, particularly in large cities, come
under pressure to get the best schooling for their
children; in a way, it's analogous to that. But the one
thing I think that we misunderstood 100 years ago and
therefore are probably misunderstanding again now, is the
extent to which there is diversity in human beings and the
extent to which individuals will want to do different
things. For example: Halfway through the 20th century,
people started thinking about in vitro fertilization. One
of the things that they said was that the problem would be
that people would rush out and try to have famous people's
babies instead of their own babies. Lenin was mentioned as
someone who everybody would want to have as the father of
their child. Well, of course, it is exactly the other way
around.

Q: What are you most looking forward to in the 21st
century?

A: Understanding the entire human genome. I think that's a
fantastic intellectual advance on the part of our species,
really. What I most fear about the future is that we
haven't really done anything to improve human competence
and human nature. The technology gets better and better but
people don't get better and better, and the potential for
individuals to wreak havoc on their fellow members of the
human race is still as great as ever.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - 'Watchdog' group ignores its polling that 79% of Americans OK creationism
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 15 Mar 2000 12:33:16 -0500

Christian News at Worthy News <http://www.worthynews.com>

'Watchdog' group ignores its polling that 79% of Americans
OK creationism

By Todd Starnes & Art
Toalston NASHVILLE, Tenn.

(BP)--A national poll released by People for the American
Way shows a majority of Americans believe creationism has a
place in public schools along with Darwin's theory of
evolution -- at least that's how The New York Times, the
Associated Press and other national media interpreted the
data. PFAW, on the other hand, ignored the findings of its
own commissioned poll, opting to contend in a news release
that, among other things, the public doesn't see a
contradiction between God and Darwin. PFAW, on its Internet
site, describes itself as "a watchdog of the Religious
Right."

--- more ---

Worthy News <http://www.worthynews.com>

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