BPR Mailing List Digest: 05/18/00

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BPR Mailing List Digest
May 18, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | May, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Plan would create PA zones in Jerusalem
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 09:53:12 -0400

Plan would create PA zones in Jerusalem

By Nadav Shragai
Ha'aretz Correspondent

An Israeli team due for final status talks with the Palestinians in Stockholm has taken along a paper that outlines a detailed plan for setting up autonomous Palestinian quarters in Jerusalem within the framework of Israeli sovereignty over the city.

The plan, which the team is to use to guide it in negotiations, has been termed as providing a "intermediate solution" intended to get around the divisive issue of sovereignty over the city. However, the intended duration of this intermediate solution and a final date for settling the issue of Jerusalem has not been stipulated in the plan.

According to the paper, the Palestinian quarters in Jerusalem would get broad municipal responsibilities, as well as symbolic security powers. Under the proposal, two boroughs would be set up - one Jewish and one Arab - with a joint municipality over them to be headed by a Jewish mayor, since a majority of the city's population is Jewish.

The Palestinian quarters and borough would be linked to the Palestinian Authority.

Civilian affairs such as education, health and culture would be administered by the Palestinian quarters, which, along with the Palestinian borough, would be empowered to set taxes and establish their own courts for local affairs. East Jerusalem would also have a Palestinian civil guard, with responsibilities similar to those currently carried out by the Jerusalem civil guard.

Under the proposal, the authority for planning and building would not be handed over to the Palestinians, but a way would be found to have them take part in that aspect of the city's life.

Leadership in the Palestinian quarters would be determined by the the Arab population of East Jerusalem. They would be linked in some fashion to the PA - in precisely what manner remains to be negotiated - so that the PA could provide services to East Jerusalem residents.

The Arab quarters would not include the Old City or other holy sites, which are envisioned as holding a special status and being administered through a joint Jewish-Muslim-Christian religious administration. Religious shrines would remain under the control of the religious group that currently controls each shrine.

Under the plan, the Temple Mount would be defined as a religious site, but the Palestinians would be allowed to fly their flag or a Muslim flag only on the mosques there. Access to worshipers of all religions would be guaranteed at all religious sites, including to Jews wishing to go to the Temple Mount.

Yasser Abed Rabbo, who until a week ago headed the Palestinian team to the talks, said, "Israel has no objections to the Palestinians supervising some civil affairs in the city, including education and culture, but not planning and building." He was sharply critical of this kind of approach, adding: "Israel still looks at the city from their classic viewpoint, which means that they want to rule the land while getting rid of having to deal with the residents.

http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=05/18/00&id =78556

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - University denied accreditation for saying homosexuality a sin
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 10:00:52 -0400

Canadian High Court May Curb Religious Freedom

Trinity Western University denied accreditation for saying homosexuality a sin. posted 5/16/00

The Supreme Court in Canada will rule on whether a Christian college that disapproves of homosexuality may train teachers for Canadian public schools. The case involves Trinity Western University (TWU) and the British Columbia College of Teachers (BCCT) in 1996 and may set a historic precedent concerning religious freedoms in Canada. The teacher-training program at TWU, a Christian school 20 miles east of Vancouver, was first denied full accreditation by BCCT in 1996.

BCCT said TWU´s stance that homosexuality is a sin amounted to discriminatory practice. BCCT warned that even though the program met all academic qualifications, teachers trained at TWU might discriminate against homosexual students. In September 1997, the British Columbia Supreme Court ordered BCCT to approve TWU´s application for accreditation. BCCT appealed, and in 1998 the British Columbia Court of Appeals found again that BCCT´s decisions to deny TWU accreditation "reflect an error in law and are factually and patently unreasonable."

Guy S. Saffold, TWU executive vice president, says the Supreme Court ruling holds a great deal of significance for religious institutions in North America. "This case is about Christian people´s religious right to maintain their beliefs and not be excluded because of them," Saffold says. "If you can´t train teachers because you disapprove of homosexuality, can you be a teacher if you disapprove of homosexuality? Can you be a doctor or a lawyer or a judge?" TWU expects a hearing date in the fall of 2000 or early 2001.

http://www.christianityonline.com/ct/2000/120/23.0.html

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - US lawmaker wants Hindu priest to open session
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 10:04:05 -0400

US lawmaker wants Hindu priest to open session

WASHINGTON: An influential US lawmaker has requested the chaplain of the House of Representatives to set aside a day for a Hindu priest to deliver the invocation opening a daily session of the Congress. Sherrod Brown, a ranking member of the House International Relations Committee, asked for the opportunity to nominate a priest once a time has been reserved. Brown, a founder-member of the Congressional Caucus on India, said, "Freedom of religion is a hallmark of the US. By inviting clergy of various faiths to deliver the invocation opening the House of Representatives, we honour our diverse religious heritage". The House chaplain can allow clergy of any religion to offer the opening invocation. Historically, the House has hosted members of various Christian denominations and Jewish sects, and also recently had Muslim Imams. But it has never invited a representative of Hinduism. Thus far it has only been the Maryland state's House of Delegates that has hosted a Hindu priest, not once but twice, to offer an opening invocation. This has been largely due to the efforts of Democrat Kumar Barve, one of only two Indian- American state legislators in the US. The other is Satveer Chaudhary, also a Democrat, who is a representative in the Minnesota House. Brown said, "There are hundreds of thousands of practising Hindus in this country. We should fulfil our responsibility to represent the religious diversity of this country by including a Hindu priest as a guest chaplain." Because slots are reserved months in advance, Brown asked to be given three to four months' notice once a date has been selected to nominate a priest. (India Abroad News Service)

http://www.timesofindia.com/today/17home7.htm

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

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

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - (Fwd) "The Logic of Force and Violence:" Beatings of Legislato
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 10:50:33 -0400

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Thu, 18 May 2000 01:26:05 -0700
To: MEMRI <memri@erols.com>
From: MEMRI <memri@erols.com>
Subject: "The Logic of Force and Violence:" Beatings of
Legislators and
Executives in the Palestinian Authority

Inquiry & Analysis

May 18, 2000

No. 27

Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
1815 H Street, NW Suite 404 Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
E-mail: MEMRI@erols.com
Website: www.memri.org

[MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be cited
with proper attribution.]

"The Logic of Force and Violence"
Beatings of Legislators and Executives in the Palestinian Authority

By Aluma Skolnik and Aaron Mannes*

Background

On April 2, 2000, the Palestinian Authority (PA) Minister of
Environment, Yusef Abu Safiyyah, was assaulted in his office by the
Director General of the Ministry, Hamdi Abu Gharbiyyah, and his
associates, all core members of the Fatah movement. (1) The incident
emanated from a power struggle between the Minister and his director
general over status and authority. Three weeks later, in a fast trial,
the attackers were convicted by the military court for state security,
and were sentenced to four and a half years in jail. (2)

A day after the Minister of Environment was beaten, the head of the
Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC)'s inspection committee on human
rights, legislator Qaddura Fares was beaten by members of the "Force 17"
security apparatus, which is responsible for the president's security.
They prevented Fares from entering Arafat's office in Ramallah. After
the incident, Arafat met Fares and told him that those who attacked him
had been arrested and would be brought to trial. But Fares decided to
protest by submitting his resignation from the Palestinian Council. (3)

These two incidents are only the most recent in a series of such
beatings in which armed members of the Palestinian security services,
use force against high-ranking PA legislators and executives. (4) In
February, 1998, Minister of Information, Yasser Abd Rabbo, ordered his
guards to physically assault his deputy, Al-Mutawakil Taha and ransack
his offices. Later, it was reported that the Director General of the
Ministry of Information in Gaza, Muhammad Khalifa, had already been
beaten by the minister's guards. (5)

In December 1999, members of the general intelligence apparatus in
Jericho, beat the elderly opposition PLC member Abd Al-Jawwad Salih,
after he had signed "The communique of the 20." This communique
condemned corruption in the PA executive branch and was signed by 20
prominent Palestinians, in cluding several legislators. Another
signatory, PLC member Dr. Mu'awiyah Al-Masri, was shot in the leg by
three veiled suspects, one of whom was a policeman. (6)

Calls for Rule of Law in the PA

The endemic violense has prompted introspection and analytical
criticism, both in the PA and abroad.

The Independent Palestinian Authority for Civil Rights condemned this
use of violence as indicative of the absence of rule of law in the PA.
It demanded that the PA "take real measures to punish those violators of
the law and not be [satisified with] regular statements about an
intention to punish those responsible for it, establish an investigative
committee, and similar formal steps that are soon erased or bypassed."
(7)

Deputy Head of the PLC, Ibrahim Abu Al-Naja, raised serious questions
regarding this violence: "It is total chaos in our territories.
Everybody beats everybody else …we Palestinians have to ask ourselves
today, where are we leading our people? Are we acting in accordance
with the logic of force and violence or the logic of democracy and rule
of law?" (8)

The London Arabic daily, Al-Quds Al-Arabi, discussed the implications of
this phenomenon on the future of the Palestinian state: "Observers need
no further proofs to get a gloomy picture of the future of the
Palestinian entity now being forged. All the facts on the ground show
that it will not be a democratic entity that respects the law and human
rights. …It is not the first time, nor will it be the last that elected
Palestinian legislators are beaten. The anarchy crosses every boundary.
There is no respect for a minister or a member of Parliament. We
cannot blame the occupying enemy anymore. These undemocratic and
inhumane acts are being carried out by PA apparatuses whom we had hoped
would guard the citizen's rights and security, and would direct all
their activities against the occupiers …but it seems that civil rights
are a low priority for these apparatuses. Things go from bad to worse
in the territories under PA control, and there is hardly a glimpse of
hope on the horizon to herald an improvement of the situation. Mending
the 'Palestinian home' from within is much more important than further
Israeli withdrawal, or the application of the agreements with Israel.
For what is the use of an Israeli withdrawal when the foundations of
this home are collapsing?" (9)

The Cultural Roots of Palestinian Violence

Gaza psychiatrist and human rights activist Iyad Al-Sarraj commented on
this subject from a broader perspective. He contended that the use of
violence by security apparatuses in the PA is just one expression of
violence within Palestinian society, and that all these expressions
emanate from the education to violence, which the Palestinian youth
receives at home from his parents.

Al-Sarraj asks, "What brings a high-ranking official to overrule
decisions by his superior through violence? What is the reason for
throwing stones at a university faculty member by a student? What can
explain the murders of women and the popularity of the death sentence in
Palestinian society? And what connects all these phenomena to the
application of torture in Palestinian jails?" Al-Sarraj's answer is
clear:

"I do not disregard the depth of the rage that Israeli occupation
inserted into our lives [as a cause for violence] but I don't want to
hang everything on it, because one of the major reasons for this use of
violence emanates from us and from our upbringing of our youth in our
homes."

"Dear reader," asks Al-Sarraj, "Aren't you one of the fathers who are
excited when their beloved two-year old infant says for the first time
'let your father be cursed?' Aren't you dancing with joy when your
child proves his masculinity by beating another child, and don't you
always encourage him, telling him, 'beat that guy,' and don't you play
the role for him to help him imitate you? And don't you show him, 'see
how I beat him?' and don't you get crazy when you learn that your most
educated son was beaten by one of his friends in school? And wouldn't
you go yourself to grab that villain by the neck? And aren't you in
general teaching your son not to be a lamb amoung wolves?"

"If you are not one of those, dear reader, then you belong to a
minority. Therefore, do not be astonished when you hear of a grocery
store owner stabbing a client, because he dared doubt the sweetness of a
watermelon? And do not be shocked when you see an executive beat his
minister, a soldier beat his legislator, and a youngster beat his mother
or murder his sister…"

Al-Sarraj argues that Palestinian parents educate their children that
the expression of anger through the use of force is permissable.
Moreover, they encourage it by considering such behavior honorable and
courageous, "disregarding the most beautiful elements of the Arab,
Islamic and Christian traditions, the virtues of tolerance,
self-restraint, curbing rage, and the use of the mind." Al-Sarraj
contends that this explains the firing of guns in the air on joyous
occasions, despite the fact that this often leads to fatalities. "It
seems," observes Al-Sarraj, "that the rifle is as much a symbol of
masculinity as the mustache."

"We have to ask ourselves," Al-Sarraj concludes, "How can we establish a
state governed by the rule of law when some of us are educated and
encouraged to use force to take their right, or what they imagines to be
their right?" (10)

Conclusions

There is a growing concern, expressed by an array of human rights
organizations and activists, the media, and public figures such as
those that signed "The Communique of the 20," that the Palestinian
entity is spiraling out of control towards chaos, autocracy, and
thuggery. That individuals are willing to speak out on this issue,
despite the clear threat of reprisal, demonstrates the severity of the
situation in the PA.

The most striking thing about these criticisms of the PA is that they
are not blaming Israel for this situation. This is a major departure
from Palestinian rhetoric which literally blames Israel for almost every
problem. (11) This introspection has moved beyond the political sphere
to the Palestinian value system which is reflected in the socialization
of the youth and determines the present sad reality where violence
pervades every sector of society.

While it is important that some Palestinians are beginning to ask
profound questions about the Palestinian polity, considering that the
roots of the malady are in the very nature of the society, all
predictions forecast a black future for rule of law in the PA.

Aluma Skolnick is a Research Associate with MEMRI. Aaron Mannes is
MEMRI's Director of Research.

Endnotes:

(1) One of the attackers, Ibrahim Abu Gharbiyyah, for example, is a
captain in the Palestinian security apparatus, who was arrested several
times in the past by the [Israeli] Jerusalem police as a suspect in
kidnappings and for threatening Palestinian residents of east Jerusalem.
Jerusalem (Israeli weekly), May 5, 2000. (2)The families of the
convicted reacted violently. They threw stones at PA cars, closed PA
roads, burned of tires, and initiated a commercial strike in Jerusalem.
Ha'aretz, April 25 and May 1, 2000. (3) Al-Hayat (London), April 4, 2000
and Al-Risala (Gaza), April 6, 2000. (4) The most recent case seems to
be the verbal and physical abuse of the Finance Minister, Muhammad
Al-Nashashibi, by the head of the preventive security apparatus in Gaza,
Muhammad Dahlan during a discussion of the budget. Both parties have
denied that violence was involved, but authoritative sources have
reported on it. "State of Chaos?" Khaled Abu Toameh, The Jerusalem
Report, May 22, 2000. (5) Al-Risala (Gaza), February 12, 1998. (6)
Al-Risala (Gaza), December 23, 1999. (7) Al-Masar (Ramallah weekly),
mid-April, 2000. (8) The Jerusalem Report, May 22, 2000. (9) Al-Quds
Al-Arabi, April 5, 2000. Even the organ of the Islamic movement, the
Hamas weekly, Al-Risala, which is opposed to the foundations of western
democracy, and strives for the application of 'Shari'a', Islamic law,
complains, expediently, that PA security apparatuses harm the rule of
law and the trust of the Palestinians in their future state: "How will
we prepare our public for the state when the men of the regime act in a
thuggish manner towards the people and the public leaderships? It seems
that we regress to the stage of occupation in which the army had the
absolute authority to impose whatever it deemed necessary for security
and public order. It is inconceivable that the Palestinians will
replace the Israeli officers with a Palestinian security officer who
will act as he wishes without any supervision" Al-Risala (Gaza), April
6, 2000. (10) Al-Quds Al-Arabi, April 21, 2000. (11) Similar voices are
heard in the Egyptian media, see Special Dispatch No. 91, "'Let's Not
Blame Israel for Arab Faults,'" May 5, 2000.

The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent,
non-profit organization providing translations of the Arab media and
original analysis and research on developments in the Middle East.
Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background
information, are available upon request.

------- End of forwarded message -------

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - World Affairs Report items (5/18/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 10:50:33 -0400

The Daily
WORLD AFFAIRS REPORT
ISSUE #186

THE HOLY ROMAN . . .

CATHOLIC LAWYERS DISCUSS HUMAN RIGHTS A group of Catholic
lawyers met at the Augustinian College this week to sort out the thorny
issue of human rights. The Congress, entitled "The Church, Europe and
Individual Rights," sought to define what real human rights are. Bishop
Aldo Giordano, secretary of the Council of European Episcopal
Conferences, said, "It is true that we use the term human rights for
everything. We fill our mouth, but we never develop the basis" of this
concept. Bishop Giordano was referring to the need to define the essence
of humanity. "In regard to human rights, the uncertain and changing
nature of convictions and historical experience do not allow these to be
the criteria of truth," Bishop Giordano explained. In fact, the answer
is in the very being of the human person, who refers to the Absolute.
Therein lies the possibility of discovering a definition free of
attachment to convenience or the "tyranny of the majority." According to
Bishop Giordano, the moment has arrived to focus on the anthropological
dimension, and he alluded to an important text being prepared, which
will affect the whole of Europe. At present, preparations are being made
for a meeting in Nice, in December of this year, which will serve as the
basis for writing the Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the European
Union. The text "will not reflect great novelties from the juridical
point of view but, will primarily carry psychological weight... We will
have our voice heard, and tell our parliamentarians what we want in this
Charter." The Bishop stressed that the Catholic voice should be heard,
because "human rights are already in the Gospel." (Zenit) . . .

EMPIRE OF THE GERMAN NATION

STASI FILES ON KOHL'S TAPPED CALLS VANISH Helmut Kohl was the
most security-conscious of modern German leaders. On the car phone he
would use only codenames for politicians - the line was being monitored
by different intelligence services - and would sometimes leave his
armoured Mercedes to use a public call box. He was right to be cautious.
The Stasi secret police had him in their sights. As a result, the key to
many current political riddles, above all about illegal party financing,
should be contained in the old East German police reports. The former
Chancellor has taken out an injunction against the use of Stasi tapes by
parliamentary investigators looking into his role in various corruption
scandals. There is broad political support for his stand: no one should
be condemned on the basis of the selective poison of Stasi
eavesdroppers. But the case has not been closed. Indeed, it is becoming
increasingly obvious that there is a whole secret history of West
Germany waiting to be written. One possible author could be Paul
Limbach, 66, an espionage specialist. Shortly after Easter police
confiscated 20,000 documents from the journalist's private archive,
mainly Stasi eavesdropping protocols of conversations held by West
German businessmen, politicians (Social Democrats as well as Christian
Democrats) and intelligence chiefs. They include tapped conversations in
the 1980s of the current Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, and at least two
other cabinet ministers. The main target, though, was the CDU hierarchy.
Yet among these papers there were no records of Herr Kohl's telephone
conversations. Herr Limbach has a simple explanation. He gave them to
Herr Kohl in 1990 as a present. Herr Kohl has no memory of receiving
them. The keeper of the Stasi archive, Joachim Gauck, says the
eavesdropping documents on Herr Kohl are not in his building. So where
are the Kohl tapes? The easiest explanation would be that they were
destroyed. Herr Limbach, who worked for the now defunct Quick magazine,
made contact with a Stasi officer in charge of phone tapping in 1990.
The officer brought him crate-loads of documents and he began to write a
six-part series on the basis of the monitored phone calls. The Interior
Minister at the time, Wolfgang Schäuble, leaned on the magazine to stop
publication and parliament altered the law to prevent publication of
tapped conversations. Intelligence chiefs encouraged the delivery of the
Stasi documents to Herr Limbach. When the law was changed top agents
visited Herr Limbach's villa, removed papers and now claim that they
have all been officially destroyed. But the journalist was allowed to
hang on to 20,000 pages and had already hamstered away his material on
Herr Kohl. It was therefore not shredded by the Western intelligence
agencies. The Kohl file has simply vanished. There is plenty of other
Kohl material in the Stasi archives. And the grudging return by the CIA
of material taken from the Stasi after unification will provide the
names and missions of East German agents in the West. The CIA is
rumoured to have found clues about a mole in the CDU upper echelons. All
this goes some way towards explaining the increasingly tense
relationship between Herr Gauck and the political class. The Stasi
archivist knows better than anybody that the definitive biography of
Herr Kohl cannot be written until all the vagabond files have been
tracked down. Germany, in turn, cannot settle easily into its new
capital and role until it has digested the records about its former
Chancellor and former hero. (The London Times)

EUROPE

SWEDISH F.M. DISAGREES WITH GERMANY'S FISCHER ON EUROPE
Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh waded into the debate over the
European Union's future structure Wednesday, disagreeing with the vision
of a federal Europe recently voiced by her German counterpart Joschka
Fischer. "European democracy is built on national governments and
parliaments," Lindh said during a debate on the EU while on a visit to
the Baltic state of Latvia. "I think most EU states share Sweden's
opinion that we need to increase cooperation between European
governments on numerous issues." Fischer rekindled a simmering debate on
the EU's future Friday in a speech to the German parliament by laying
out his vision of a Europe in which member states would cede some of
their power to a reformed federal government in Brussels. (Agence
France-Presse)

POLAND REJECTS IDEA OF EUROPEAN FEDERATION
Poland's Foreign Minister, Bronislaw Geremek, yesterday rejected the
idea of a European federation as proposed by Joschka Fischer saying
Warsaw was in line with Britain and Scandinavian countries. Mr Geremek
said: "This proposal is opposite to the way of thinking of candidate
states who have just refound their independence and their sovereignty.
Neither does it coincide with the ambitions of Britain or Scandinavian
countries." (The London Telegraph)

UNITED EUROPE GOV'T STILL A DREAM It's a grand vision for a continent
that gave the last century its most horrible wars: a government uniting
countries from Britain to Germany and France to Finland, maintaining
national distinctions while operating under a federation-style political
structure. The idea, being promoted anew by Germany's foreign minister,
seems like the logical end of efforts that have opened borders,
eliminated tariffs and adopted a single European currency. But six years
after the idea last sparked passionate criticism, many skeptics remain -
indicating a United States of Europe still has a way to go. Even German
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer made a nod to the wary in his speech
promoting the idea last week - labeling it a "personal vision of the
future'' in his address at Berlin's Humboldt University. The planned
expansion of the 15-nation EU "will make a fundamental reform of
European institutions indispensable,'' Fischer said. "How can one
imagine a European Council with 30 state and government heads? 30
presidencies? How long will a council meeting then last? Days or even
weeks?'' Questions like those, Fischer said, mean the original vision of
a united Europe from 50 years ago should be carried to its logical end
with a European Federation led by an executive branch and two houses of
legislature codified in a European constitution. If everyone isn't ready
to go that far right now, a "core group'' of countries should make the
first move and the rest can join later, he said. "For me it is fully
clear that Europe can only play its appropriate role in economic and
political competition when we proceed courageously,'' Fischer said.
Splits over common European policy have been blamed by some leaders as a
reason for the weakness of the euro, leaving traders with their heads
spinning over the 11 euro countries' conflicting economic policies.
Closer cooperation would also lead to common defense and foreign policy,
enabling the EU to step out of Washington's shadow and avoid a repeat of
the recent embarrassments in the Balkans, when the Europeans had to wait
for U.S. support to act on their own continent. But the response to
Fischer's proposal illustrated the divisions over where the EU is
headed. The traditionally euro- skeptic British tabloids criticized
Fischer's proposal as a German "master plan'' for a "Euro superstate.''
"Euro set to rob UK of self-rule, admit Germans,'' The Sun screamed.
Some politicians warned a two-tier system of a "core group'' and
outsiders would merely erect political walls the EU was intended to tear
down. "We don't want a rigid system of 'ins' and 'outs' or anything that
would lead to a two-speed Europe,'' Prime Minister Tony Blair's office
told The Daily Telegraph. Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja said
his government wants "a union in which everyone is equal. We must not
accept any kind of unequal structures, however temporary in nature,'' he
told the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper. Even at EU central, reaction was
muted. "Mr. Fischer has shown a brave vision,'' Michel Barnier, EU
commissioner for institutional reform, said Monday in Brussels, Belgium.
But he noted it was a "long-term view,'' and cautioned that "forging
ahead'' without all EU members was "questionable.'' Unqualified praise
for Fischer's speech came from France, Germany's traditional partner in
pushing for European integration. Italy also said countries that so wish
should move forward with closer ties. France's Le Monde newspaper
headlined its editorial on the speech "Danke Schoen, M. Fischer,''
calling the federalism plan an "ambitious vision.'' "In the course of
the last few years, the word (federation) has practically become taboo,
as if Europeans ... fear it will encourage Euro-skepticism,'' the paper
wrote. Fischer's speech will be discussed this week at a German-French
summit meeting, ahead of Paris taking over the rotating EU presidency in
July. Fischer is to join Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on a visit to the
French town of Rambouillet for talks with President Jacques Chirac and
Premier Lionel Jospin, German government spokesman Uwe-Karsten Heye said
Monday. The idea of a "core group'' moving ahead with faster integration
has supporters across the political spectrum in Germany. A similar
proposal was floated in 1994 by former Chancellor Helmut Kohl's
then-governing conservative CDU. "Nothing is new about the ideas,'' said
Christian Deubner, an expert on European relations at Germany's
prestigious Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik think-tank. He shied away
from guessing when a European Federation could become a reality. "Even
so, I think we are getting closer and closer to a moment at which these
kind of questions have to be taken seriously in the sense that we have
to start acting on them,'' Deubner said. (Associated Press)

ASIA

JAPANESE CLAIM TO DIVINE RIGHT ANGERS BEIJING Yoshiro Mori,
Japan's new Prime Minister, provoked political uproar yesterday when he
described his country as God's nation with the Emperor at its heart - a
view that harks back to the cult of emperor worship used to justify the
conquest of Asian countries in the Second World War. Mr Mori's comments
brought a furious response from China, which said that Japan should
"learn a lesson from history . . . to prevent history from repeating
itself". Mr Mori's remarks were made in a speech to a staunchly
nationalist body of MPs linked to Japan's ancient Shinto religion. He
said: "We need to have the people of Japan recognise that this is a
divine nation centring on the Emperor." In the first half of the 20th
century, Japan's militaristic rulers promoted Shinto as a national cult
based on the worship of the Emperor as a living god. The myth of
divinity fired Japanese armies with a special fervour when they set out
in the 1930s to conquer Asian countries, resulting in an estimated 20
million deaths. After the Second World War, the US occupation saw the
drafting of a new Constitution separating state and religion and
stripping Shinto of its militaristic connotations. The Emperor was
forced to shed his divine mantle and become a figurehead with no
political power. Opposition parties said that the Prime Minister's
statement would sour Japan's relations with countries in the region.
Even some Cabinet colleagues thought Mr Mori had gone too far. "He
should be more careful," said Tsutomu Kawara, the Defence Agency head.
Mr Mori later apologised for his remarks, but insisted that they did not
contradict Japan's democratic principles. He added that he meant to say
that Japan should treasure its history and culture. One senior member of
the ruling Liberal Democratic Party said that the statement should be
seen as an attempt to generate electoral support from Japanese voters
who would like to see Shinto restored to a more central role in society.
Mr Mori, who was swept into office six weeks ago after his predecessor,
Keizo Obuchi, suffered a stroke, makes little effort to disguise his
nationalism and is an active member of the parliamentary group promoting
Shinto. Expectations are growing that he will dissolve the Lower House
on June 2 and call an election on June 25, Mr Obuchi's birthday, in what
critics call a blatant ploy to capture the sympathy vote. (The London
Times)

MICHAEL TURNER
(mykelturner@airmail.net)
780 HART ROAD; FAIRVIEW, TX 75069
972.569.9175 & 214.395.3096

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - IsraelWire items (5/18/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 10:50:34 -0400

IDF officers and PA counterparts to meet over Abu Dis
(IsraelWire-5-18) Senior IDF commanders and their PLO Authority (PA)
counterparts are scheduled to meet on Thursday to discuss the planned
Israeli handover of Abu Dis, Azariya and Swahara. The three, which
border the capital, are currently designated as areas "B", under PA
civil and Israeli security control, will become areas "A", under total
PA control.

It has been announced that the handover would take place prior to Prime
Minister Ehud Barak's meeting in the White House with President Bill
Clinton, on Tuesday, May 23. Prime Minister Barak was scheduled to leave
for the US late Saturday night but Israel Radio reported on Thursday
morning that Mr. Barak has postponed his departure, apparently for two
days.

Nations volunteer to take part in UNIFIL force
(IsraelWire-5/18) Representatives of nations have informed United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan that they are willing to send
troops to serve in the UNIFIL force which will be deployed in the
security zone of southern Lebanon following the unilateral Israeli troop
withdrawal.

The nations are: Argentina, Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Holland,
Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Sweden,

The representatives of the nations will convene in Copenhagen next week
to discuss the character of the new UNIFIL force.

Southern Lebanon - Thursday morning
(IsraelWire-5-18-07:56-DST) Hizbullah is pounding IDF and SLA positions
throughout the security zone of southern Lebanon Thursday morning,
focusing on the eastern and western sectors of the zone.

According to Lebanese television, Hizbullah has fired over 150 mortar
rounds at enemy positions since midnight.

Israel Radio reports confirm that fighting on Thursday morning is heavy,
with shells having already landed in the border area. There were no
immediate reports of casualties. IDF and SLA forces are responding to
the gunfire. IsraelWire will provide additional details as they are made
available.

Arabs set ancient Hebron Jewish cemetery ablaze
(IsraelWire-5-18) Hebron Arabs continue to desecrate the Jewish cemetery
in Hebron. Last week the old Ashkenazi plot, site of the tomb of Menucha
Rachel Schneerson Slonin was set ablaze.

Late Wednesday afternoon (May 17), the Sefaradi Rabbi's plot was set
afire.

According to Hebron leaders, the IDF refuses to post guards at either of
the cemetery plots and refuses to allow Jewish residents of Hebron to
guard them 24 hours a day, thereby facilitating continued Arab
desecration. (Hebron Press Office)

Greek president refuses to meet with PA officials in Jerusalem
(IsraelWire-5-18) Greek President Constantinos Stephanopoulos was
involved in a feud with PLO Authority (PA) officials on Wednesday,
refusing to meet with PA officials in eastern Jerusalem, stating he
would only meet with Chairman Yassir Arafat in the autonomous city of
Bethlehem. The president said that he had no intentions of getting
caught up in the dispute between Israel and the PA over Jerusalem.

Angered by the president's refusal to meet in eastern Jerusalem, PA
officials sent a formal letter of protest to Athens. As a result of the
conflict, President Stephanopoulos decided to move up his planned
departure from PA areas, leaving on Wednesday night, a day ahead of
schedule.

Lebanese media: 9 IAF aerial attacks since Wednesday
(IsraelWire-5-18) Lebanese media sources are reporting that the Israel
Air Force has carried out nine sorties over southern Lebanon between
Wednesday and Thursday morning. As a result of the raids, at least two
civilians have been injured. There have been no official Israeli
confirmations of the Lebanese report.

In a related matter, at 9:30am, Israel Radio reported heavy fighting in
the security zone on Thursday morning, with guerillas pounding IDF and
SLA outposts with mortar fire since midnight. There are no reports of
injuries between IDF and SLA troops.

Yesha Council leaders calls upon PM to see Abu Dis maps
(IsraelWire-5-18) The executive director of the Council of Jewish
Settlements in Judea, Samaria & Gaza, Benny Kashriel, on Wednesday night
sent an urgent letter to Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

Kashriel requested that Yesha leaders be permitted to see the withdrawal
maps dealing with the panned handing over of total control of Abu Dis,
Azariya and Swahara to the PLO Authority (PA).

Kashriel and council leaders feel the deal will include turning over
areas "C" to the PA, areas currently under total Israeli control,
contrary to statements made by the prime minister.

Fighting continues to escalate in southern Lebanon
(IsraelWire-5-18) Fighting since 5:30am Thursday morning is reported as
heavy in the security zone of southern Lebanon. At 10:10am, Israel Radio
reported that Hizbullah forces are firing Katyusha rockets, mortars,
artillery, and light weapons fire at outposts located throughout the
security zone. The Office of the IDF Spokesman confirms that one SLA
soldier sustained light injuries in the eastern sector of the security
zone. The soldier was transported to a hospital in Israel.

The offensive is concentrating on the western sector of the security
zone, but is hitting other areas as well and Israel Radio reports some
shells have already landed within Israel.

Israel Radio adds that "tens or as many as hundreds" of mortars and
shells have been fired, but pointed out that Hizbullah is targeting
military and not civilian targets.

In northern Israel, IAF fighter planes can be heard overhead, presumably
involved in aerial assaults over southern Lebanon.

PA officials: IDF threatened to attack Arafat's Ramallah headquarters
(IsraelWire-5-18) Brigadier-General Shlomo Oren, the IDF Division
Commander of Judea & Samaria on Monday (May 15) threatened PLO Authority
(PA) Chairman Yassir Arafat with an aerial attack of his Ramallah
headquarters if he did not take immediate action to bring an end to the
Nakba Day warfare. This according to PA officials.

According to PA officials, after a day of fighting in the streets, Or
made the decision to threaten Arafat with a Cobra attack helicopter
attack against his Ramallah headquarters if he did not immediately order
an end to the shooting. Angered by the threat, Arafat did act and the
violence subsided a short time later.

The PA subsequently sent a letter of protest to the Prime Minister's
Office, outraged over such a threat, refusing to return to talks aimed
at calming the situation. Finally, Arafat representatives agreed to sit
and talk, in an attempt to bring an end to the Arab violence.

The attacks against Israeli motorists and IDF forces began on Friday
(May 12), but peaked on Monday, the day the Arab community observes as a
day of mourning, marking the establishment of the State of Israel 52
years ago, thereby calling it 'Nakba', "The Catastrophe". The violence
has continued through the week, and by Wednesday, there have been six
consecutive days during which Israeli civilians and security forces have
been the targets of stones, bottles and firebombs.

In addition, Imad Al Falouji, who hold the PA's communications
portfolio, earlier in the week called for the kidnapping of Israeli
civilians and military personnel, to be used as hostages to negotiate
the release of some 1,600 Arab prisoners, many convicted terrorists,
serving sentences in Israeli jails.

According to Israel Radio, in the letter sent to Prime Minister Ehud
Barak, Arafat and the PA place the entire blame for the warfare Monday
and the weeklong violence on Israel and its security forces.

http://www.israelwire.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Buddha/Pope birthdays
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 13:26:01 -0400

Tens of thousands pay homage on Buddha's
2544th anniversary

KATHMANDU, May 18 (AFP)- Tens of thousands of Tibetans and Nepalese
Thursday paid homage to Lord Gautam Buddha here Thursday on his
2,544th anniversary.

Nepalese Buddhists were joined by several hundred Tibetan monks, Tibetan
lamas and Tibetan refugees now living in Nepal at the country's oldest
Buddhist stupa, Swayambhu Nath. on the outskirsts of Kathmandu,
witnesses said.

A mile long queue formed outside the stupa to pay homage to a Buddha relic
placed inside a bullet proof glass bottle.

The day marks the birth, enlightement and death of Buddha, Buddhist
scholar Professor Asha Ram Shakya said.

The killing of animals is strictly prohibited on the day as a sign of peace and
non-violence.

King Birendra and Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala sent messages of
peace to the nation, describing Buddha as the world's greatest lover of
peace, helping to maintain religious tolerance between Hindus and
Buddhists.

"All concerned should learn lessons from Buddha's teachings and work to
ensure cordial relations and guarantee a peaceful environment," Koirala said.
-----------------------

Congratulations pour in as pope turns 80

VATICAN CITY, May 18 (AFP) - Thousands of priests and all the Vatican's
cardinals joined a visibly weary Pope John Paul II Thursday to celebrate the
pontiff's 80th birthday with a giant mass in Saint Peter's Square.

Some 5,000 priests, bishops and cardinals attended the mass, said to be
the biggest ever celebrated by this pope.

Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos congratulated the pope in the
name of the Roman Catholic clergy.

"Thank you for your white hair, for your suffering which have made you still
dearer to us," he said.

Hoyos praised the pope as an "athlete who does not tire to travel the world"
and meet people of many cultures.

John Paul II, defying his poor health with yet another exhausting ceremony,
was to lunch with his guests at the Vatican's Saint Martha's residence,
where a giant birthday cake was waiting for him.

In Saint Peter's Square, the pontiff said, "I will always chant the Lord's love:
this is my belief, my hymn of gratitude for the Lord, who allows me to
celebrate with you ... on my 80th birthday."

He thanked God for allowing him to serve him "more than 50 years."

The pope, then Karol Wojtyla, was ordained in Krakow, Poland on November
1, 1946 after secretly studying theology during Poland's occupation by Nazi
Germany.

The London Symphony Orchestra was to perform Haydn's "The Creation"
under Gilbert Levine Thursday evening at the Vatican's Nervi Hall.

John Paul II's birthday coincides with Jubilee 2000 celebrations for priests,
one of the many festivities during the Roman Catholic holy year which began
on Christmas Eve and ends on January 6, 2001.

On Friday, ambassadors of the 173 countries and international agencies
which maintain diplomatic relations with the Vatican will see the pope to
wish him well.

Workers in the Vatican City's post office were mobilised to sort the
thousands of goodwill messages sent to the pope.

L'Osservatore Romano, the official Vatican newspaper, published a special
edition devoted to the pope with tributes by former Soviet president Mikhail
Gorbachev, Czech President Vaclav Havel and former Nicaraguan president
Violeta de Chamorro.

Gorbachev, who has met the head of the Roman Catholic Church with his
late wife Raisa, praised the pope as "an exceptional man" who has followed
an "exciting and difficult path."

The pope "really did everything possible to help humanity to leave a time of
hatred and walls behind," the former Soviet leader said, adding that John
Paul II worked for "a new order of peace, justice and humanism."

Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato, in a personal birthday message,
recalled the pope's commitment to peace and brotherhood.

Congratulations even came from his would-be killer Ali Agca who is serving a
life sentence in prison.

Agca's lawyer Marina Magistrelli said it was a "normal message" but did not
reveal its contents.

Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi said the pope had "won over the Italian
people which are full of affection and admiration for you."

Ciampi noted that family values and solidarity, at the center of the pope's
preoccupations, were also part of the heritage of the Italian nation.

"The histories of the Church and Italy are indissolubly linked," he said.

Italian newspapers, with the notable exception of the communist Il Manifesto,
dedicated several pages to the birthday celebrations.

Il Corriere della Sera carried an entire page with tributes by 32 world leaders
and public figures, with US President Bill Clinton, his wife Hillary, Vice
President Al Gore, US Senator Edward Kennedy, Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak among them.

Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro Valls, in an interview with the paper,
paid homage to the pope's sense of humor, recalling an incident in Nazareth
during his visit to the Holy Land in March.

"A man proudly offered him a brick of Abraham's house," Navarro said,
referring to the biblical patriarch and founder of the ancient Hebrew nation.

"And I always though Abraham lived in a tent," Navarro cited the pope as
replying with a smile.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Third temple a dream of future for some Jews
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 13:31:40 -0500

Third temple a dream of future for some Jews
By Julia Duin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

JERUSALEM -- Anyone wandering about the Jewish Quarter here comes
across a startling poster displayed in various gift shops: a photo of
modern-day Jerusalem with all the Muslim holy sites excised.

The shrines -- "the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa mosque" have been on
the Temple Mount along the eastern wall of the Old City for 1,300
years. Replacing them in the doctored aerial view is a "third temple"
built on the site of Herod's temple. Razed by the Romans in 70 A.D.,
it replaced the first temple -- Solomon's, which was destroyed in the
6th century B.C.

In the poster, the new, white marble temple is surrounded by
courtyards. One shop, Levi's Gift World, sells the posters for a few
dollars. A sign reads: "Buy now before the Temple is rebuilt and
prices go up."

For many people, a third Jewish temple ranks on the same level as the
lost continent of Atlantis: wildly improbable and almost certainly
the stuff of legend. But for the devout, the 35-acre Temple Mount on
Jerusalem's eastern edge is the world's most hotly debated piece of
real estate, from where some Jews and many Christians believe the
Messiah will someday reign.

'Center of universe'

"This place has been sanctified by God from the beginning of time,"
said Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute. "The foundation
stone underneath the Dome of the Rock was the center of the universe.
Here Jacob laid his head. Here Abraham tried to sacrifice Isaac. The
heart of the Garden of Eden is here. Adam's altar was located here."

To this day, Jews do not walk on the site because the Holy of Holies
-- "the temple's inner sanctum" was there. Only the high priest was
allowed inside and the profane were not allowed near it. Because no
one is sure where the Holy of Holies was located, Jewish law bans the
faithful from the area, lest anyone should accidentally step on the
spot.

Muslims believe the site marks the spot from which the prophet
Mohammed ascended to heaven from a large rock -- hence the name Dome
of the Rock, for the golden dome that covers a rocky area the size of
an Olympic-sized pool. Islamic tradition says the prophet's footprint
is embedded there, along with the handprint of the angel Gabriel.

Although Israeli soldiers guard the Mount, a Muslim
political-religious trust called the Waqf administers the area. It
allows non-Muslims there for very limited amounts of time -- mainly
early mornings -- and forbids Christians and Jews to pray there. The
Waqf has been accused of destroying artifacts from pre-Islamic times.

Christians also interested

As for Christians, they believe the entire area was much loved by
Jesus, who frequented its precincts 2,000 years ago. The New
Testament (Matthew 24:15) suggests a third temple must be in place
before the Second Coming.

Barbara Ledeen, executive director of the Independent Women's Forum,
a Washington-based neo-conservative women's organization, remembers
being a staff writer at the Biblical Archeology Review when the
magazine published an article in the early 1980s about the location
of the Holy of Holies. What astonished her were the calls from
Christian readers.

"I was amazed Christians were remotely interested," she says. She and
her husband, Michael, ended up writing more on the matter in a 1984
article in the New Republic.

"What's happening is there's a fight for position around the Temple
Mount," she said. "Jews have been buying up property from the Arabs
so their access to the Temple won't be blocked. The tinderbox is
right there. In order to understand what the fight for Jerusalem is
all about, you have to understand the Temple Mount.

"The secular Jews aren't reliable about it, either," said Mrs.
Ledeen, who attends a conservative synagogue in Chevy Chase. "[Former
Israeli Defense Minister] Moshe Dayan took control of the Temple
Mount during the [1967 Middle East] war, but gave it to the Waqf
because he's a secular Jew. He didn't want to deal with it."

Earlier temples destroyed

The first Jewish temple was destroyed by the Babylonians on the ninth
day of the Jewish month of Av, which works out to Aug. 10, 586 B.C.
It was partly rebuilt by Jews from Babylon 70 years later, starting
in 516 B.C.

Another more resplendent version was built by King Herod starting in
22 B.C. Built by 10,000 laborers over a 46-year period, this temple
was known for its magnificent white-marble walls and gold and silver
plate exterior. The glittering vision inspired worshippers arriving
for the three major feasts of Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot)
and Tabernacles (Sukkot).

Herod's temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., again on Aug.
10, and only one wall, the famous "Wailing Wall" remains. It was
renamed the "Western Wall" in 1967 when Israel seized the city, it
being the closest structure to the west end of the Holy of Holies.

Every August, a two-day holiday, Tisha b'Av, marks the destruction of
the temple.

There have been attempts to occupy the site by force, including
several attempts in the early 1980s by extremist Jews planning to
blow up the Dome of the Rock or assault the Mount itself. Followers
of Islam say a Jewish takeover of the site would provoke a jihad
(holy war) from the world's Muslims.

Israelis 'Judaize the city'

"Attempts have taken place," said Khalid Turaani, executive director
of American Muslims for Jerusalem. "This is consistent with an
official Israeli policy to Judaize the city. Native Christians and
Muslims have become tourists in their own city.

"Without a temple, Palestinians and Christians are subjected to
humiliation by the Israelis. What will happen if they build a
temple?" Mr. Turaani asked.

Several activist groups in Jerusalem are ready to spring into action
should a third temple be built. These include yeshivas said to be
preparing boys for positions as future temple priests. People with
the tribal priestly surname of Cohen and its derivatives -- who live
in Israel and could be called upon to do temple service, are said to
be maintained on secret databases.

Others, such as the House of Harrari, a harp-making shop just west of
the Old City, makes cypress, rosewood, walnut, maple and cherry
instruments for temple worship. Micah Harrari, who owns the business
with his wife, Shoshanna, is a descendent of the Levites, the tribe
responsible for music in the temple.

There are also efforts to breed red heifers in Israel, so they can be
sacrificed and their ashes used to sprinkle the high priest in
preparation for temple service. As the shedding of blood is
associated with the remission of sin in the Torah -- the first five
books of the Old Testament -- the restoration of animal sacrifices in
a properly consecrated third temple is crucial to some Orthodox Jews.

Activists held 'fringe'

The official Israeli government policy is: No future temple is in the
offing.

"They're fringe," Yaakov Levy, the Israeli government's deputy
director for public affairs, said of temple-oriented groups. "They
are not mainstream. The Israeli public is not making preparations for
a third temple in the near future."

Although things have been relatively quiet on the Temple Mount for
the past decade, plenty goes on underneath the radar. A Web site,
www.templemount.org, details everything from the site's history to
prophecies of a third and even a fourth temple.

In the Cardo, a shopping center in the Jewish Quarter, the Temple
Institute has placed a giant, 90-pound gold menorah. The menorah,
said Rabbi Richman, is the first of its kind to be built since the
destruction of the Second Temple.

The American-born rabbi, wearing a black yarmulke and wire-rimmed
glasses, has devoted his life to educating the world about a third
temple from the institute's Jewish Quarter showroom at 24 Misgav
Ladach St. Three rooms are filled with huge canvases of scenes from a
future third temple.

"Of the 613 commandments in the Torah, 113 of them depend on the
existence of a Jewish temple," he said. "We have not received a
cancellation order for any of the commandments issued at Mount Sinai."

He insists that his organization has no connection with groups that
would seize the Mount by violent means.

Rabbi rejects violence

"People assume those who are interested in the Temple are radical
elements opposed to peace," he said. "It's the hallmark of the
greatest era known to man, so it can't come through aggression."

Of the 93 vessels described in the Bible, half have been re-created
by the institute and are displayed behind glass cases. Some items
remain mysterious.

Things were done on a grand scale in previous temples. As many as 120
harpists and trumpeters were employed to lead daily worship. The
offerings were made in enormous rooms with ceilings 40 to 50 feet
high. Men in turbans, red belts and white robes presided over a
multitude of sacrifices.

But the paintings at the Temple Institute do not show the vast amount
of plumbing needed to wash away all the blood from the sacrifices,
nor are priests shown with bloodstained garments. And there are no
women in these pictures, save in the outermost courts.

The displays obviously captivate the imaginations of many. An alcove
for contributions reveals a pile of cash: Mostly dollars, but also
Indonesian rupiahs, Italian lira and Polish zlotys. Rabbi Richman
says it's up to the world's 14 million Jews to bring the temple about.

"Our mandate is religious and spiritual," he said. "If we [Jews] were
the people we were supposed to be, it'd happen. If we were 'the light
to the world' -- not the best pediatricians, film producers and Wall
Street brokers . . ."

via: freemanlist@lists.io.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - China Building Weather-Changing Machines
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 15:35:58 -0500

------- Forwarded message follows -------

via: hblondel@tampabay.rr.com

China Building Weather-Changing Machines

http://www.newsmax.com/uk/archives/articles/?a=2000/5/16/52812

May 15, 2000

BEIJING - The China Meteorological Administration will build
artificial rainfall and snow operation bases and an ecological
environment monitoring system in western China. Tuesday's overseas
edition of the People's Daily said the measures will be taken to
guarantee the smooth development of the western region and protect the
ecological environment there.

Experts here describe the move as a "blood transfusion" for
development of the west, as most of the northwestern areas are arid or
semi-arid, and agricultural development is an important part of the
development of the western region.

The China Meteorological Administration will also apply satellite
remote sensing technology in building monitoring systems of the
weather and ecological environment in west China.

These systems also will monitor the latest development of forests,
grasslands, and vegetable cover in the region.

The shortage of water has hindered the development of west China,
however the water resources in the air had been far from fully used,
according to experts.

Experts here said, for instance, 80 percent of the water resources in
the air can be utilized in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, by
making artificial rain or snow.

------- End of forwarded message -------

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - "Crime in cyberspace" first draft of international convention released
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 18:32:57 -0400

STRASBOURG, 27.04.2000 -
The COUNCIL OF EUROPE today released a draft
version of a Convention on crime in cyberspace for public discussion
in order to enhance the consultation process with interested parties,
whether public or private. Businesses and associations are
particularly encouraged to share their comments with the experts
involved in the negotiations before the final adoption of the text.

Provisionally entitled "Draft Convention on Cyber-Crime", this Council
of Europe text will be the first international treaty to address
criminal law and procedural aspects of various types of offending
behaviour directed against computer systems, networks or data as well
as other similar abuses.

This legally-binding text aims to harmonise national legislation in
this field, facilitate investigations and allow efficient levels of
co-operation between the authorities of different States.

The text should be finalised by a group of experts by December 2000
and the Committee of Ministers could adopt the text and open it for
signature as early as Autumn 2001.

The text of the draft Convention can be found on the following
website: http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/en/projets/cybercrime.htm

via: cyberwar@egroups.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Goats with spider gene produce webs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 21:28:34 -0500

------- Forwarded message follows -------

via: hblondel@tampabay.rr.com

Goats with spider gene produce webs

18 May 2000 15:31 (ET)

MILWAUKEE, May 18 (UPI) - Canadian scientists have implanted spider
genes in a herd of goats, resulting in the production of silky strands
in goat milk that can be used for sutures and other applications.

The technique was perfected by Jeffrey Turner, a geneticist and
president of Nexia Biotechnologies of Quebec.

"We have combined the old and the new," Turner told UPI in a recent
interview. "The old is represented by the goats and their milk, which
is used to make cheese. The new is genetic engineering."

In addition to sutures for eye surgery, the strands - which are
harvested from the goat's milk -- can be used to reconstruct tendons
or ligaments and to repair bones, Turner said, adding that companies
like DuPont and 3M have been trying unsuccessfully to duplicate spider
web silk in their laboratories for years.

Turner said he has been contacted by numerous pharmaceutical firms
seeking to acquire the technique but he said he won't sell.

"We may take on a partner for the marketing end," he said, "but we
will keep the ownership here in Quebec."

One major reason for that decision is the fact that Quebec's Caisse de
depot et placement, which is responsible for investing Quebec pension
funds, has invested several million dollars in the venture. Turner, a
native of Ontario, said he decided to base his venture in Quebec
because of the province's favorable economic climate.

Turner estimates the technology has a potential market of $2 billion.
He expects the silk to go on the medical market within a year under
the brand name BioSteelJ.

Additionally, he said, the substance likely has industrial
applications, possibly replacing such things as Kevlar. It also could
be used to cover domed stadiums and in the aerospace and
communications industries.

Both the U.S. and Canadian military have expressed interest in using
it for making anti-ballistic defense systems, he said.

------- End of forwarded message -------

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

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