BPR Mailing List Digest: 10/03/00

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October 3, 2000

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Two UN Summits, One Millennium Goal:
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 08:40:53 -0400

Two UN Summits, One Millennium Goal:
Conforming Humanity to Socialist Solidarity

The Millennium World Peace Summit (August 28-31) sought a spiritual
foundation for a global ethic of socialist rights and duties

The UN Millennium Summit (September 6-8) sought approval for a world
government that would manage natural, human, and social resources around
the world by consensus

by Berit Kjos <www.crossroad.to>

-----------

"For the first time in history religious and spiritual leaders from the major religious traditions and from all regions of the world met at the United Nations to pledge themselves to work for peace. They signed this 'Commitment to Global Peace' and resolved to join together to address the pressing problems of conflict, poverty and the environment." Commitment to Global Peace

"...there have been well meaning and sometimes eloquent calls for world government; calls which pointed to the unfairness, inequality and injustice of the present distributions of wealth, power and policy making.... If only we could work as one world, then we could solve the world's problems together." Introduction to The Charter for Global Democracy signed at the Millennium Summit.

"We pledge to move expeditiously to endow the UN with resources --both operational and financial -- commensurate to the tasks it faces in its peacekeeping activities worldwide.... As Permanent Members of the Security Council, we will continue to fulfill our obligations under the Charter and commit to making UN organization stronger and more effective." Presidents Clinton (USA), Putin (Russia), Zeming (China) and Chirac (France) and Prime Minister Blair (UK), September 7, 2000. Statement by the P-5 on the Millennium Summit.

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

The two UN summits fit together. As in Nazi Germany, political success calls for cooperating churches and compromising spiritual leaders.[1]

Both Summits agreed to build a more "efficient" United Nations. They wanted a standing UN army and a "reformed" Security Council -- one unencumbered by the "gridlock" of a veto. Canadian master-strategist Maurice Strong, who led the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, serves their joint goal well.

Mr. Strong, who now heads the UN's University of Peace -- a vital partner to the World Peace Summit -- is also in charge of UN "reforms". His view of the needed reforms is no secret, for his leadership on the strategic Commission on Global Governance exposed some sobering plans. Its 1995 report, Our Global Neighborhood, outlined the agenda:

"Governments are understandably reluctant to commit troops rapidly for UN action, particularly in civil wars and internal conflicts....

"This underlines the need for a highly trained UN Volunteer Force that is willing, if necessary, to take combat risks.... Such an international Volunteer Force would be under the exclusive authority of the Security Council...." (page 110)

What if the US Congress disagrees with UN decisions. Could it simply press for a US veto on the Security Council? Not if Strong implements his vision of reform. The United States, which has been billed 25% of the huge UN budget, would be dismissed from the Security Council:

"We recommend that a new class of 'standing ' members be established.... Of these new members, two should be drawn from industrial countries and three from among the larger developing countries. Of the two from industrial countries, presumably one will be from Asia and one from Europe. Of the three from developing countries, we would expect one each to be drawn from Asia, Africa, and Latin America....

"The new standing members will not possess a veto, and we believe the aim should be for the power of the veto to be phased out." (240-241)

Many Americans refuse to believe this could happen. Others -- who like my family in Norway, saw nations shift from freedom to Nazi tyranny overnight during World War II -- know well that massive social changes always have and will be part of history.

It's tempting to think that the United Nations would save us from such devastations in the future. Instead, we need to realize that the same human quest for power that drove Lenin and Hitler to unthinkable ends, is now being centralized in a single government ruled by ambitious, compromising national leaders -- some in virtual bondage to the World Bank and IMF.

Granting such powers to the UN would mean that countless decisions affecting our lives and families will be made for us by leaders who are not accountable to voters and cannot be removed from office.

So don't be deceived by the noble sentiments. In spite of the grand promises, local control and "decentralization" are outright lies! Everyone -- throughout the world -- would have to live, think, participate and work according UN rules and standards or face a potential intrusion by the UN-controlled forces. And when that happens, you would have no place to hide. (See Local Agenda 21)

To skip down to The UN Millennium Summit, click on Part 2

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

Part 1: The World Peace Summit

Sheiks and swamis, priests and patriarchs, moguls and medicine men.... From around the world, they had gathered in New York on August 28 to join a four-day dialogue on "unity among religions." This Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual leaders would supposedly thrust humanity toward a utopian oneness and peace on earth. But for those who doubt the noble rhetoric, this meeting of minds raised some sobering questions:

a.. What kind of unity did these religious leaders envision?
b.. What would the UN require of its spiritual leaders?
c.. What did they have in common?

What kind of unity?

Not all spiritual leaders were welcome. The new global "democracy" calls for worldwide representation -- but only by those who conform to the UN vision of solidarity. Dissenting voices could cause conflict and expose the lack of consensus. As Rabbi Arthur Schneier, president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation, said,

"We have to marginalize religious leaders who are peace spoilers and are inciting hatred and nationalistic passions, which destroys life.... We have a lot of those who are out there who are not in sync, and who are seeking to undermine our peacemaking, bridge-building efforts.''[2]

"Peace spoilers" include those who refuse to conform to the UN vision of "Religion in a Culture of Peace." Biblical Christianity would fit the label well, for the true followers of Christ cannot be "in sync" with the world. They will not compromise their faith in order to please the global village.

Since Ted Turner's Better World Fund paid most of the Summit expenses,
one would expect intolerance for God's truth. It's no secret that the Summit's Honorary Chairman Turner has little love for Christianity. In his Summit message, he described his spiritual search:

"The thing that disturbed me is that my religious Christian sect was very intolerant... because it taught we were the only ones going to heaven. It just confused the devil out of me because I said heaven is going to be a might empty place with nobody else there.

"Now I believe there may be one God who manifests himself in different ways to different people ... And I can't believe God wants us to blow ourselves to kingdom come. He wants us to love each other and live in peace." [3] Ted Turner Attacks Christianity At U.N. "Peace Summit"

The Dalai Lama didn't fit either. China would tolerate no public support for the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader. Its leaders had voiced their disapproval, and the UN chose to violate its own principles rather than offend the Communist giant.

What does the UN require of its spiritual leaders?

The UN's readiness to bow to Chinese demands caused both concern and consternation. "While religion should not dictate politics, neither should politics dictate faith,'' said Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia and Herzegovina. "We have a very sorry experience from the Communist period, as well as the most recent past, where politics has manipulated religion.''

It makes sense that history would repeat itself. In spite of the tempting lies about human and spiritual evolution, human nature doesn't change from century to century. June Griffin, who attended the Summit with support from Congress, described the hypocrisy of those who proclaim lofty ideals but pursue self-interest, power and prestige:

"Past agendas have failed, thus religion is to be reintroduced into politics as the ultimate pressure. Over a thousand religious leaders and spiritual heads of the poor nations came to the UN Religious Peace Summit in their humblest limousines, SUV's and other means of western accommodation, after having flown through the air on Yankee-invented airplanes. One Hindu said he spent $20,000 to attend and still he couldn't get a place to speak. Not all is well. ...

"The solemn ceremony was delayed 45 minutes because the emcee was unable to clear the first three rows for the speakers. Either they didn't understand his "please empty the first three rows so that we can get on with this historic event," or used it as a good excuse to retain the best seats. He pleaded patiently for 45 minutes, I said, and in vain called an interpreter, but alas, none moved. "Please turn off cell phones," but they rang on. Seems Mother Earth's children don't mind very well."[4] A personal report from a reporter who was present at the conference.

What did count was a public demonstration of "unity in diversity." This "diversity" called for showy but shallow distinctions between their various religions. Drums, feathers and other outward symbols helped hide the genuine ideological differences which had yielded to UN standards for the new global "unity." In other words, peace pipes and distinguishing robes were welcome. Unlike the Biblical cross, they didn't threaten the blueprint for solidarity.

What did they have in common?

At the close of the World Summit, the spiritual guides signed a "Commitment to Global Peace." Together they would support the UN's quest for answers to "the pressing problems of conflict, poverty and the environment." As in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union and Communist China, compliant religious leaders would consent to a common UN-defined duty: to be used by political strategists to persuade and manage the masses.

Ponder some of the suggestions in this Commitment to Global Peace. As in most UN documents, it highlights the crisis needed to justify the loss of freedom and the planned control. Notice how it commits religious leaders (1) to accept its dubious presumptions, and (2) to use their influence to serve the UN agenda for "sustainable development" --establishing a socialist welfare system and economic equality around the world under the banner of "saving the environment."

"Whereas our world is plagued by violence, war and destruction, which are sometimes perpetrated in the name of religion....

"Whereas no individual, group or nation can any longer live as an isolated microcosm in our interdependent world....

"Whereas there can be no real peace until all groups and communities acknowledge the cultural and religious diversity of the human family in a spirit of mutual respect and understanding....

"In light of the above, and with a view to discharging our duty to the human family, we declare our commitment and determination:

1. To collaborate with the United Nations and all men and women of goodwill locally, regionally and globally in the pursuit of peace.....

2. To lead humanity by word and deed in a renewed commitment to ethical and spiritual values...

5. To awaken in all individuals and communities a sense of shared responsibility for the well-being of the human family....

7. To educate our communities about the urgent need to care for the earth's ecological systems....

The second point -- "no individual... can any longer live as an isolated microcosm in our interdependent world" -- is already being used in communities across the USA to justify pressuring people of all ages to participate in the consensus process. The Columbine massacre and the new quest to identify "loners" as potential criminals have intensified this pressure.

Remember, the United Nations demands solidarity. Only a new set of shared beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors can complete its utopian vision of the global community. To succeed, it needs the cooperation of spiritual leaders who will persuade their followers.

Absolute truth and political dissent are unacceptable. Uncompromising positions could bring conflict and gridlock. Our Global Neighborhood suggests a threefold approach to establishing “an ethical dimension to global governance.” Do they sound familiar?

a.. Encourage commitment to core values… and strengthen the sense of common responsibility for the global neighborhood.

b.. Express these values through a global ethic of specific rights and responsibilities….

c.. Embody this ethic in the evolving system of international norms, adapting, where necessary existing norms of sovereignty…. (See Our Global Neighood)

This "sense of common responsibility" was as vital to totalitarianism in Nazi Germany and the Communist block as it is to the United Nations today. While the responsibilities (or duties) were adapted to both real and artificial needs of the times, they served to focus the masses on common quests.

Part 2: The UN Millennium Summit

Like today's leading politicians, the Summit promised all kinds of rewards to those who would bow to its reign. But its seductive promises hide unthinkable threats to personal freedom and national sovereignty. Their purpose is socialist control, not compassion. Hard to believe? Then look at the roots of the United Nations.

Founded in 1945, the United Nations chose the communist spy Alger Hiss
as its first, though temporary, Secretary-General.[5] A Harvard law-school graduate, he served as an advisor to Franklin D. Roosevelt at the end of World War II. While secretly functioning as a Soviet agent, Hiss worked with the forerunner to the National Council of Churches to establish a world government that fit the Communist vision for socialist control. (See Conforming the Church to the New Millennium) He didn't stay long at the helm of the organization he had helped found. In 1946 he was elected president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and was replaced by Trygve Lie, a Norwegian labor leader.

Trygve Lie had earlier first been nominated to preside over the General Assembly by Andrey A. Gromyko of the Soviet Union. As Secretary-General in 1950, he urged that the UN admit the Communist People's Republic of China. But he offended the Soviet Union by supporting military intervention in the Korean War. From then on, he faced its "official hindrance and personal insult." Meanwhile, as a result of the McCarthy investigations against suspected Communists in the UN, Lie's "secretariat was accused of giving jobs to disloyal U.S. citizens." None of the charges were proven, but his authority suffered and he resigned in 1952.[6]

In the article, The Un-American United Nations, Steve Farrell wrote:

"Of the 17 individuals identified by the US State Department as having helped shape US policy leading to the creation of the United Nations, all but one were later identified as secret members of the Communist Party USA....

"... the ideological makeup of the UN�s leadership has been constant. In its 54 year history all eight Secretary Generals of the UN have been either dedicated socialists or communists, all 15 of the UN Under-Secretary-Generals for Political and Security Council Affairs (the UN� s military boss) have been communists (all but one from the Soviet Union/Russian Federation), and two thirds of the membership in the General Assembly, the Security Council, and in the World Court have always been representatives of socialist and communist nations....

"Besides the scandal of having American communists Alger Hiss and company as the creators of the UN, a 1952 official Senate investigation into the then 6 year old United Nations revealed, 'extensive evidence indicating that there is today in the UN among the American employees there, the greatest concentration of Communists that this committee has ever encountered.' And these were high officials." [7]

Words that, to many, bring a sense of security such as peace, ethics, compassion, rights, democracy, security, and sovereignty become meaningless in this context. Like Gorbachev's "Council of the Wise," the minds behind the UN agenda are masters at deception. Having rejected Biblical and moral absolutes, they are free to believe that the end they envision justifies any unconscionable means.

Consider some of the main points in the "working draft" of the United Nations Millennium Declaration "unanimously adopted" by the delegates:

I. Values and Principles

1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the Member States of the United Nations, have gathered... to reaffirm our faith in the Organization and its Charter as indispensable foundations of a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.

Fact: It cancels every Constitutional right we treasure in America. The UN offers no balance of powers, no jury trial when accused..... (See Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules)

2. We recognize that... we have a collective responsibility to uphold the principles of equality and equity at the global level....

Fact: If your lifestyle fails to meet the UN's socialist standard for equality and equity you will face the consequences.

3. We reaffirm our commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, which have proved timeless and universal....

Fact: The UN Charter, as an international treaty, could cancel our freedoms under the U.S. Constitution.

4. We believe that the central challenge we face today is to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for all the world's people.... To be inclusive and equitable, globalization requires broad and sustained effort to create a shared future, based upon our common humanity in all its diversity....

Fact: This requires totalitarian training, management and monitoring of human resources around the world. Today's teaching and surveillance technology makes it possible to monitor compliance with the UN's politically correct "mental health" (including community participation and willingness to compromise) of each person and community.

The UN claims the right to define the rules, manage the action, and monitor compliance on each of the points below. The nice-sounding terms help win public consensus, but they hide an agenda that opposes the freedom we treasure in America.

For example, "Equality" would end your family's right to choose traditional gender roles for your home. "Tolerance" carries the duty to participate in the (dialectic) consensus process, put aside contrary facts and absolutes, and join the unbiblical quest for "common ground."

5. We consider certain fundamental values to be essential to international relations in the 21st Century. These include:

a.. Freedom: Men and women have the right to live their lives and raise their children in dignity, free from hunger and from the fear of violence, oppression or injustice. ...

b.. Equality: No individual and no nation must be denied the opportunity to benefit from development. The equal rights and opportunities of women and men must be assured.

c.. Solidarity: Global challenges must be managed multilaterally, and in a way that shares the costs and burdens fairly in accordance with the most basic principles of equity and social justice. ...

d.. Tolerance: Human beings must respect each other, in all their diversity.... Differences... should neither be feared nor repressed, but cherished as a precious asset.... Dialogue among all civilizations should be actively promoted.

e.. Respect for nature: Prudence must be shown in the management of all living species and natural resources, in accordance with the precepts of sustainable development. ... The current unsustainable patterns of production and consumption must be seriously addressed in the interest of our future....

The next section is introduced in Article 6 as "the key objectives to which we assign particular significance." It includes surrendering legal rights such as a jury trial to the whims and inefficiencies of a UN Criminal Court and to UN officials who often despise everything America once valued.

II. Peace, Security and Disarmament

7. We will spare no effort to free our peoples from the scourge of war...

8. We resolve therefore:

a.. To strengthen respect for the rule of law.... [i.e. the UN's international laws]

b.. To enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations in the maintenance of peace and security, by giving it the resources and the tools required to promote conflict prevention, the peaceful resolution of disputes, post-conflict peace building and reconstruction, and by strengthening the capacity of the Organization to conduct peace keeping operations.

c.. To take concerted action against the menaces of terrorism and drug trafficking....

d.. To take concerted action to prevent the illegal traffic in small arms and light weapons, especially by creating greater transparency in arms transfers....

e.. To strive towards the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons...

National sovereignty isn't mentioned here. However, the Security Council Declaration signed on September 7 "reaffirms its commitment to the principles of... national sovereignty... and respect for human rights and the rule of law." But, as in most UN treaties, there is a catch. (See Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules)

If, in the eyes of the UN, a nation violates the rules and principles of these treaties, they would face UN disciplines. If, under the planned UN monitoring system, a person or nation fails to carry out its UN-defined duties, it loses its rights. In this context, national sovereignty becomes meaningless. The U.S. Constitution would no longer guard the nation against UN legal or military interference.

For example, the Declaration "Affirms its determination to strengthen United Nations peacekeeping operations by:

a.. "taking steps to assist the United Nations to obtain trained and properly equipped personnel for peacekeeping operations;"

b.. "strengthening consultations with troop contributing countries when deciding on such operations;"

President Clinton and other national representatives have promised to provide the resources needed to establish a UN militia capable of "rapid deployment" that could interfere in civil matters within nations. In effect, they are handing the UN the very tools it needs to destroy the freedom God once gave us.

In his Summit speech on September 6, Bill Clinton gave the kind of ambiguous message we have learned to expect from our president. You may want to compare his Executive Order on The Implementation of Human Rights treaties with these nice-sounding words. They take on a different meaning in the overall context:

"We find today fewer wars between nations, but more wars within them. Such international conflicts, often driven by ethnic and religious differences, took five million lives into the last decade.... These conflicts present us with a stark challenge. Are they part of the scourge the UN was established to prevent? If so, we must respect sovereignty.... but still find a way to protect people....

"We must provide those tools-- with peacekeepers that can be rapidly deployed with the right training ad equipment, missions well defined and well led, with the necessary civilian police."[8]

This UN militia may well be necessary to quell the anger of the masses when they awaken to the true UN agenda. The next section gives another glimpse of the plan. It would establish a socialist welfare system for the people of the world -- funded primarily by U.S. taxpayers. Free enterprise, as we have known it, would no longer exist:

III. Development and Poverty Eradication

9. We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty... fully realizing the right to development and freedom from want.

10. We resolve, therefore, to create an enabling environment....

11. ... Internationally, success depends on the existence of an open, equitable, rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system, which guarantees special and differential treatment of developing countries....

12. We ... call on the industrialized countries to: adopt... a policy of duty-free and quota-free access for essentially all exports from the least developed countries; to implement the enhanced program of debt relief....

14. We resolve further: To halve, by the year 2015, the proportion of the world's people (currently 22 per cent) whose income is less than one dollar a day....

15. We also resolve:

a.. To ensure that the benefits of new technologies, especially information technology, are available to all. b.. To develop strong partnerships with the private sector and civil society organizations in pursuit of development and poverty eradication.

The Summit called for ratification of several treaties:

IV. Protecting our Common Environment

16. We must spare no effort to free all of humanity... from the threat of living on a planet irredeemably spoilt by human activities....

17.We resolve, therefore, to adopt in all our environmental actions a new ethic of conservation and stewardship and, as first steps agree:

a.. To adopt and ratify the Kyoto Protocol, so that it can enter into force no later than 2002- 10 years after the Rio Conference, and 20 years after the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment and to begin the required reduction of emissions of greenhouse gasses, especially in developed countries. a.. To press for the full implementation of the Convention of Biological Diversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification.

b.. To arrest the unsustainable exploitation of water resources....

c.. To ensure free access to the information on the genetic code, since this belongs to all humanity.

To better understand the practical ramifications of the above treaties, click on these sites:

Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO)

Environmental Perspectives, Inc. (EPI)

Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT)

V. Good Governance, Democracy and Human Rights

18. We will spare no effort to promote democracy and strengthen the rule of law, as well as the respect for all internationally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development.

19. We resolve, therefore:

a.. To fully observe and uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

b.. To press for more inclusive and participatory political processes in all of countries.

c.. To ensure the right of the media to perform its essential role of informing the public, and the right of the public to receive ideas and information provided by the media.

At the first glance, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights sounds good, as do all the intrusive UN human rights treaties. Article 18 upholds "the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion..." Article 19 affirms "the right to freedom of opinion and expression... and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." (Trading U.S. Rights for UN Rules)

But this basic end, Article 29 states that "these rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations." In other words, these "rights" or "freedoms" don't apply to those who would criticize the UN or its policies. Your rights would be conditioned on your compliance. Only if your message supports official ideology are you free to speak it. As Andrei Vishinsky wrote in The Law of the Soviet State, "There can be no place for freedom of speech, press, and so on for the foes of socialism."

VI. Protecting the Vulnerable

20. We will spare no effort to ensure that women and children and all civilian populations who suffer disproportionately the consequences of natural disasters and armed conflicts, are given every assistance and protection to regain normal life.

We resolve, therefore:

a.. To combat violence against women in all its forms,

b.. To encourage the ratification and full implementation of the Convention of the Rights on the Child....

Few would disagree that we should "combat violence." But the word violence, like countless others, has been redefined by the feminist movement. At the 1995 UN Conference for Women in Beijing, it wasn't limited to the dictionary definition: "the use of physical force so as to damage or injure."[9] Diane Knippers, President of the Institute on Religion and Democracy, gave some examples to show the new usage:

a.. Economic violence included 'unequal distribution of wealth. . . as evidence by world debt' and 'no wages for women's work.'

b.. Political violence ranged from genuine examples of violence [such as rape] . . . to 'women's exclusion in decision-making.'

c.. Religious violence was 'intolerance and persecution of women who will not conform' and 'exclusion of women from religious leadership.'[10]

d.. Sexual violence [included] 'compulsory heterosexuality.'[11]

VIII. Strengthening the United Nations

23. We will spare no effort to make the United Nations a more effective instrument for pursuing all of these priorities; the fight against poverty, ignorance and disease; the fight against injustice; the fight against violence, terror and crime; and the fight against the degradation and destruction of our common home.

24. We resolve, therefore:

a.. To restore the centrality and enhance the effectiveness of the General Assembly as the chief deliberative and representative organ of the United Nations.

a.. To call for the speedy reform and enlargement of the Security Council, making it more representative, effective and legitimate in the eyes of all the world's people.

a.. To further strengthen the Economic and Social Council....

a.. To give full opportunities to civil society, parliamentarians, the private sector and other non-state actors to contribute to the achievement of the Organization's goals and programs....

26. We solemnly reaffirm on this historic occasion that the United Nations in the indispensable common house of the entire human family, and through which it will be able to realize its universal aspirations for peace, cooperation and development. We will therefore pledge our unstinting support for the attainment of these common objectives.

The last part would ensure that every nation bows to UN duties and demands. It establishes the power of the world government to enforce and punish those who refuse to conform. According to key UN reports, the planned "reform and enlargement of the Security Council, making it more representative, effective and legitimate..." would end the Security Council veto. In other words, the USA, a Permanent Member, would lose the authority to block unwanted UN projects. On the vital issues of sovereignty and UN control, the USA, as a minority member, would be forced to yield to a majority of socialist and communist leaders.

Are you ready for this new world order? Are your children ready? Whatever your answer, please pray for God's mercy on America, for a change of heart in her leaders, for an awakening of its people and churches, for humble and watchful hearts in her children. Then equip your family with His armor and Truths. Don't forget, if you belong to Him, this promise is for you:

"Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them,

for the Lord our God is the One who goes with you.

He will not fail you or forsake you." (Deut. 31:6)

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

Endnotes:

Maurice Strong. This powerful Canadian multi-billionaire founded both the World Economic Council and Planetary Citizens. He has served as director of the World Future Society, trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation and Aspen Institute, and is a member of the Club of Rome. As head of the Earth Council, he began to prepare an Earth Charter—a global code of conduct based on global values and radical environmental guidelines.

Strong led the 1992 "Earth Summit" in Rio de Janeiro (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development). It produced the controversial Biodiversity Treaty and Agenda 21 — the monstrous plan for reorganizing the world along environmental guidelines. One of his offices is only two blocks away from the White House.

Officially, Strong was "hired" by Annan to "reform" the massive, inefficient, and corrupt UN bureaucracy so that the US Congress would pay its dues. But his leadership brings little comfort to those who remember Strong�s occult and environmental ties, globalist ambitions, and corrupt business practices.

[1] The World Peace Summit's list of "strategic partnerships" starts with the UN University for Peace, "an international institution created by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1980." It helps infuse the global education system with psycho-social strategies for conforming minds to the UN agenda. Started by Robert Muller, former assistant Secretary General of the UN, the University of Peace is now led by Maurice Strong.

[2] Gustav Niebuhr, "Religion's Many Faces Meet in New York for Peace," The New York Times, 31 August 2000. Rabbi Arthur Schneier's Appeal of Conscience Foundation "has worked on behalf of religious freedom, human rights and peace throughout the world. This inter-religious coalition of business and religious leaders promotes mutual understanding, tolerance and pluralism in many regions, including the former Soviet Union, Central Europe, China, Cuba and the former Yugoslavia." (See http://www.millenniumpeacesummit.org/partner.html)

[3] http://www.mcjonline.com/news/00b/20000839a.htm

[4]June Griffin, who attended the Summit with help from Jesse Helms, emailed this information in the form of an article. For more information, contact Berit Kjos through this website.

[5] http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/4/0,5716,41464+1+40585,00.html

[6]http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/2/0,5716,49312+1+48173,00.h t ml

[7] The points made in this quote are documented in the original article by Steve Farrell at http://www.newsmax.com/commentarchive.shtml?a=2000/9/6/092459

[8] UN transcript posted here: <http://www.un.org/millennium/webcast/statements/usa.htm>. See also Statement by the P-5 on the Millennium Summit

The Law of the Soviet State, "There can be no place for freedom of speech, press, and so on for the foes of socialism....

[9]The New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary (New York: Lexicon Publications, 1989).

[10]Diane Knippers, "Power!" (November/December 1995); 10.

[11]Ibid. (Knippers, "Power!")

Our Global Neighborhood, the official report of The Commission Global Governance (Oxford University Press, 1995), calls for (as does Towards A Rapid Reaction Capability for the UN) a more effective UN police force and an end to veto on Security Council.

But this more "efficient" world government would operate by a consensus based on ethical solidarity -- everyone must conform to the new global values and duties:

"The quality of global governance will be determined by several factors. High among them is the broad acceptance of a global civic ethic to guide action within the global neighborhood, and courageous leadership infused with that ethic at all levels of society. Without a global ethic, the fractions and tensions of living in the global neighborhood will multiply…

"The most important change that people can make is to change their way of looking at the world. We can change studies, jobs, neighborhoods, even countries… and still remain much as we always were. But change our fundamental angle of vision and everything changes—our priorities, our values, our judgments, our pursuits. Again and again, in the history of religion this total upheaval in the imagination has marked the beginning of a new life, a turning of the heat… by which men see with new eyes and understand with new minds and turn their energies to new ways of living…

"In our rapidly changing world, the standards and restrains provided by commonly accepted values and norms become ever more essential. Without them, it will be hard—if not impossible—to establish more effective and legitimate forms of global governance." pages 46-47)

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

For more information, see:

Millennium Declaration Analysis and What's Happening at the UN?

http://www.worthynews.com/news-features/un-conforming.html

via: Third_Watch@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Students fail classes but move up
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 08:42:01 -0400

Students fail classes but move up
D.M. promotes 300 to high school despite eighth-grade troubles.
By KATHY A. BOLTEN
Register Staff Writer
10/01/2000

About 300 students in Des Moines were promoted to high school this year
despite having failed four or more courses in the eighth grade, district
records show.

Two-thirds of those students had four or more failing grades in core-area
courses that include reading, language arts, math, science and social
studies. Those 200 students represent 7 percent of the city's ninth-grade
class.

The students' parents insisted on the promotions, said Tom Drake, executive
director of Des Moines' middle and high school programs. Many of the
students
will quit school before graduating, he said.

School board member Marc Ward said: "What we are saying to these kids is
that 'We don't care about you or what happens to you.' That is shameful and
we
should be ashamed."

The number of ninth-grade students failing classes underscores school
officials' concerns that many youngsters lack basic skills to complete
rigorous high school classes. The data also reinforce the urgency school
officials feel to bolster middle- and high-school students' reading and math
skills.

Numerous national studies indicate that if students are unable to read at
grade level by the end of third grade, they likely will lag behind their
peers throughout their school careers.

Des Moines officials have focused the past two years on making changes to
improve kindergarten through third-grade students' reading skills. If
students excel at reading, officials reason, they will succeed in other
subjects. The district added all-day kindergarten classes. The district also
added 30 minutes to the school day and devoted the extra time to reading.
School
officials placed reading teachers in all elementary schools and added
remedial
reading programs.

School officials now are turning their attention to middle and high school. The
district's goal is to reduce the number of students beginning high school who
lack basic reading and math skills.

A district report released last month revealed that one-fourth of the
students who entered ninth grade in 1992 failed to graduate four years
later, most likely because they dropped out of school. The report was the
first time Des Moines school officials looked at the graduation rate of an
entire class.

Officials said they would present board members with proposals to increase
the graduation rate in November.

Ward said the district must act now to ensure students have the skills
needed to complete high school. "This has got to be addressed this year."

Kittie Weston-Knauer, Scavo Alternative School principal, agrees.

About 90 ninth-graders opted to attend Scavo this school year instead of the
comprehensive high school where they were assigned. Nearly all had failed
core
academic courses in middle school.

"These young people should not have been sent on to high school,"
Weston-Knauer said. She proposes the district develop a program that
addresses the academic shortfalls of 13- to 15-year-olds.

Weston-Knauer's proposal, which has yet to be formally presented to school
administrators, calls for requiring youngsters who did poorly in middle
school to attend one or more semesters of intense academic study before
entering high school. Classes, scheduled in 90-minute blocks, would have no
more
than 12 students. Each class would have a teacher and an associate so
students
would receive concentrated doses of one-on-one help. The school year would
be
extended beyond the traditional 180 days.

Scavo is not designed to accommodate ninth-grade students' needs,
Weston-Knauer said. "We need to develop something else."

A committee of principals, teachers and other district officials is
reviewing options, Drake said. The district is studying programs developed
in Chicago and Denver and plans to survey students who dropped out of
school. The district also is considering ideas to increase parent
involvement.

"We can't come back to the board with the same old, same old. We have to
find things that are working," Drake said.

One possibility is to require middle school students who struggle with
reading to attend two reading classes each day. Middle school students now
have one reading class each day. The additional class would replace a
non-academic course.

The district also may expand before- and after-school tutoring programs in
the middle schools. Officials also are considering blocking student
promotions if the students fail several core-area classes. School officials also
are discussing mandatory extended summer school.

No one proposal will work by itself, said Tom Lee, Weeks Middle School
principal. "We can put safety nets there for kids, but it's going to have to be
a whole comprehensive program."

The district also may expand a truancy program to each of Des Moines' 10
middle schools. The program is now used at Hiatt and Hoyt middle schools,
Drake said.

"One way or another, we have to convince parents and students about why
it's so
important for these kids to be in school," he said.

http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4780927/12518276.html

via: Third_Watch@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - IsraelWire items (10/3/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 08:48:07 -0400

No cease-fire in Gaza or Nablus
(IsraelWire-10/3-15:13-DST) Despite reports earlier in the day of a
cease-fire agreement reached between Israel and the PLO Authority (PA),
gunfire is reported at Netzarim Junction in Gaza and at Joseph�s Tomb in
Nablus.

Tuesday News Brief – 14:45-DST
(IsraelWire-10/3) Yesha leaders on Tuesday night have informed the IDF
OC Central Commander of their intention to come out following sunset, in
defiance of the curfew imposed on Jewish residents, “and do whatever
necessary to keep the roads open.

Tuesday News Brief – 14:15-DST
(IsraelWire-10/3) SITUATION ASSESSMENT - In his presentation on
Tuesday morning to the Knesset Foreign Affairs & Defense Committee,
Deputy IDF Chief of Staff Major-General Moshe Ya�alon stated the worst
of the violence is still ahead of us.

P�sagot, a community under siege
(IsraelWire-10/3) At about 2:00pm on Monday, PLO Authority (PA) security
forces that were maintaining a degree of law and order were nowhere to
be found

Paris meeting set in the hope of ending warfare
(IsraelWire-10/3) United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
will on Wednesday meet with Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Chairman
Yassir Arafat, in Paris, in the hope of reaching and agreement that will
bring an end to the current wave of Arab violence seen throughout Yesha
and “Israel proper.

Possible cease-fire agreement signed
(IsraelWire-10/3) An unnamed senior PLO Authority (PA) security official
reported that Israel and the PA early Tuesday morning reached a
cease-fire agreement, Israel Radio reported.

Yesha Council condemns PM/DM Barak�s actions
(IsraelWire-10/3) The Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria &
Gaza on Monday afternoon issued a statement of condemnation regarding
the actions and policies of Prime Minister/Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Gazan Arab boy likely to have been killed by IDF bullet
(IsraelWire-10/3) Senior military officers have ordered an investigation
into the accidental shooting death of an Arab boy and his father on
Saturday.

Helicopter gunships fire missiles in Gaza on Monday
(IsraelWire-10/3) Following repeated warning and attempts to restore
order, senior IDF commanders gave the orders for helicopter gunships to
fire anti- tank missiles against armed attackers in Gaza on Monday.

Israel and the Occupied Territories: Civilians' lives must be
respected
(IsraelWire-10/3) News Release Issued by the International Secretariat
of Amnesty International on October 2, 2000.

http://www.israelwire.com/

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items (10/3/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 09:05:11 -0400

*** Swiss freeze Yugoslav bank accounts

BERN, Switzerland (AP) - Swiss authorities have blocked 100 bank
accounts belonging to associates of Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic, the finance minister told parliament Monday. Finance
Minister Kaspar Villiger said the accounts belonged to people
associated with Milosevic, not to the president himself. The finance
minister did not elaborate or say how much money was involved. In
June 1999, the Swiss agreed to freeze any assets belonging to
Milosevic and four other leaders indicted for war crimes - Serbian
President Milan Milutinovic, Yugoslav Vice Premier Nikola Sainovic,
Yugoslav Chief-of-Staff Dragoljub Ojdanic and Serbian Interior
Minister Vlajko Stojiljkovic. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570325550-735

*** Putin offers Yugoslav mediation

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin stuck to his cautious
stance Monday on the standoff in Yugoslavia, resisting Western
pressure to call on President Slobodan Milosevic to quit - but
offering to mediate between Milosevic and the opposition. The offer,
however, was quickly rejected by Yugoslavia's ambassador to Moscow.
The comments came days after the disputed Yugoslav election: Yugoslav
opposition candidate Vojislav Kostunica says he beat Milosevic
outright in last week's balloting, but Milosevic says Kostunica got
less than 50%, making a runoff necessary. Kostunica's supporters and
Western governments have dismissed talk of a runoff and urged
Milosevic to concede defeat. Western leaders have pressed Russia to
use its influence in Belgrade to press Milosevic to step down. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570330121-f56

*** Insurers say they'll cover RU-486

NEW YORK (AP) - Health insurers have generally agreed to cover the
newly approved RU-486 abortion pill, according to a survey of leading
managed care plans. The health insurers, including heavyweights
Aetna, United HealthCare and Cigna, will cover the abortion pill as a
standard benefit. PacifiCare will leave the decision up to its
doctors, because it considers the pill a new method of performing
abortions, rather than being a new drug. Humana Inc. and Kaiser
Permanente said they are still deciding whether to cover the pill. In
keeping with standard abortion coverage, insurers will give employers
the choice of whether to offer the benefit to their workers. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570326503-a21

*** Glitch mars first cyberelections

NEW YORK (AP) - A programming glitch kept hundreds of people from
voting as the world's first international cyberelections got under
way. Election.com, the company conducting the vote, said the glitch
was fixed by Monday morning, though some users reported other
problems later. Voting began Sunday and continues through Oct. 10.
More than 75,000 users are registered to vote for five directors of
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, a group
whose decisions ultimately affect usage and growth of the Internet.
See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570326626-d59

*** Archaeologists save ancient city

BELKIS, Turkey (AP) - It was a race against time - and archaeologists
say they won. Water crept in a foot a day over the past three months,
slowly submerging the ancient city of Zeugma, a key transit point
across the Euphrates River believed to have been more than three
times the size of the Roman city of Pompeii. More than 250
archaeologists and other specialists fought to rescue elaborate
mosaics and other ancient Greek and Roman remains. The operation
finishes Thursday, when the water of the Birecik Dam - part of a
multibillion dollar energy and irrigation project in southeastern
Turkey - is due to reach its maximum size, covering 30% of Zeugma.
But everyone agrees: It's a success story. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570324284-b93

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - The Lunar Module's Evil Twin
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 09:10:20 -0400

The Lunar Module's Evil Twin

Air & Space Smithsonian: October/November 2000, page 22

Joshua Stoff

"The two cosmonauts squinted out the window of the cramped Soyuz. They
could just make out the spacecraft that ground control said was rapidly
heading toward them. It was an awkwardly shaped vehicle with a mechanical
arm menacingly outstretched ..."

It sounds like a scene from a sci-fi B movie, but in fact, at the height of the
cold war, the U.S. military seriously considered developing a vehicle in which
astronauts could inspect Soviet satellites up close and, if need be, destroy
them.

It all began in November 1962, when NASA awarded the the Grumman Aircraft
Corporation of Bethpage, New York, the contract for the Project Apollo
Lunar Excursion Module, or LEM. Grumman's largest contract, this was to be
the first spacecraft ever built that would take human beings to another
world.

After it won the contract, Grumman looked for ways to expand the LEM
program. The company's Space Development Team began work on Covert Space
Denial, a project to develop "a non-detectable action to incapacitate
vehicles in space", in words of Grummman report. The team concluded that
the LEM was well suited for the task.

All of the major systems necessary were already under development for the
Apollo program. The LEM had a highly efficient, two-stage main propulsion
system, combined with a fully redundant reaction control system and
versatile guidance and navigation capabilities. All together, these
technologies gave the LEM capacity to change both the plane and the
direction of its orbit - flexibility that a space vehicle would need if
its crewhad to fly off to inspect other craft. And the total maneuvering
capacity of the LEM's engines could easily be enhanced with larger fuel
tanks; as they were external to the vehicle, this was considered a simple
modification.

[...]

The following May [of 1965 - CD], the Department of State's U.S. Arms
Control and Disarmament Agency contracted Grumman to conduct a study on an
Arms Control Inspection System. Although it was a spacecraft, the Navy,
not the Air Force, ran the program. The Navy awarded Grumman a contract to
develop an Arms Control System based on Lunar Excursion Module.

In response, Grumman proposed both an inspector version of the LEM and a
hunter/killer vehicle. And what would the killer LEM be armed with? Laser
cannon? Proton torpedoes? Would you believe ... spray paint?

A company report reasoned: "[M]ost space vehicles, manned or unmanned, are
vulnerable to unplanned variations in their operating environment.
Temperature control is one of the most critical areas. Variations in
surface properties can produce disastrous consequences." [...]
a former Grumman engineer on the program recalled: "I thought that the
most effective thing, if you didn't like somebody else's satellite, was
to get some black paint and spray their solar panels [...]."

Other proposed missions included using the LEM to capture, de-orbit, or
disorient satellites (hence the mechanical arm), or depressurize the
craft by pelting them with "synthetic meteriorites."

Grumman also considered using the military module for attacks on manned
spasecraft - for example, using lights or sounds to induce crew mental
breakdown, or isolating personnel by sabbotaging their vehicle's
communication antenna, perhaps by draping it with netting that would
render it immobile.

[...]

--
Constantine A Domashnev

Senior Research Programmer
Robotics Institute
Carnegie Mellon University

via: transhumantech@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Plans for Keeping the Peace in Space
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 09:13:00 -0400

The Moscow Times / September 28, 2000

Plans for Keeping the Peace in Space

By Simon Saradzhyan

A makeshift prison hovering more than 380 kilometers above the Earth?
Why not, if there is no other way to neutralize an unstable inhabitant of the
International Space Station who is endangering the safety of the $ 60 billion
scientific outpost, Russian space doctors say.

Once fully deployed, the 16-nation station will house seven permanent
residents from different nations, including Japan and Russia, and they may
find it difficult to accept one another's cultural taboos, according to psychiatrist
Vadim Gushchin.

If crew members fail to cope with one another, they can become
increasingly neurotic and even violent, said Gushchin, who works for the
flagship of Russia's space medical research, the Institute of Medical and
Biological Studies.

"The idea of a space isolator is not that fantastic," he said in an
interview Wednesday.

With the mission of the first full-time crew fast approaching, space
officials are considering how to prevent serious conflicts on the orbiting
station and to handle any that may occur.

Gushchin's institute recently completed a study of how people of
different nationalities got along during long-term "flights" in an ISS
simulator.

During one flight, two Russian men exchanged blows after one of them
tried to forcefully plant a kiss on the lips of a Canadian female volunteer
during a New Year's celebration.

The Canadian perceived the attempted kiss as a case of sexual
harassment, while the Russian was merely trying to congratulate her with
the New Year, showing how easily cultural differences can lead to violence on board
the ISS, Gushchin said.

It took a big effort by Gushchin and others to convince the Canadian and
her colleagues not to leave the simulator and complete their 110-day stint.

Unlike these volunteers, inhabitants of the International Space Station
won't be able to escape a tense situation by simply walking out.

Austrian doctor Norbert Kraft, who also participated in the ISS flight
simulation, proposed forming a "space police" unit that could rush to the
station in a U.S. shuttle and enforce order there when necessary.

However, both Gushchin and Yury Kargopolov of the Gagarin Cosmonaut
Training Center disapprove of the space police idea, although they agree that
ISS inhabitants should be allowed to enforce their will upon unruly colleagues
if necessary.

Thus, experts from the space agencies of the 16 countries participating in
the ISS project should come together and draft a very detailed code of
behavior for the station's international crews, Gushchin said.

"It has to be very, very detailed and regulate as much as possible,
otherwise fights can erupt over such seemingly insignificant issues such as
whose job it is to tidy the place up," he said.

The Russian Aviation and Space Agency and NASA did endorse a draft
of such a code this month, but it has yet to be approved by the Russian government,
whereas the first full-time crew of U.S. astronaut Bill Shepard and two
Russian cosmonauts is due to take off for the ISS on Oct. 30.

Even Kargopolov, who coordinates all space training at the Gagarin
center, has only a vague idea of what powers this code would give to
Shepard, who is the crew's commander. He noted, however, in an interview
Wednesday that the original code would have allowed Shepard, who is a former U.S. Navy
SEAL, to use physical force if necessary.

However, the latest draft allows the commander only to ban his
misbehaving subordinate from work as the harshest punishment, the Russian
space official said.

It is not clear whether all ISS inhabitants would perceive such a ban as
punishment. For instance, U.S. astronaut Michael Foale chose to abstain
from work during his accident-ridden stint on Mir with two Russian cosmonauts in
1997, which included the potentially lethal collision of the station with a
Progress cargo ship.

Kargopolov also could not say whether the code would be of any use if the
entire crew spun out of control.

The first case of a space rebellion was reported in October 1968 when the
stressed commander of the Apollo 7 craft, Walter Schirra, openly refused to
obey ground control.

Then the entire crew of the U.S. SkyLab-4 station took a day off during
their 84-day stint from November 1973 to February 1974. The three astronauts
simply turned off the radio so as not to be bothered by ground control, citing
fatigue and stress.

"We looked out the window, took showers, and did that sort of thing,"
Commander Gerald Carr recalled in an interview with The New York Times.

The best-known rebellion by Russian cosmonauts took place in June
1995. Vladimir Dezhurov and Gennady Strekalov refused to come out of Mir for their
sixth space walk in two months, despite orders from the Flight Control
Center.

These cases show that any code of behavior on the ISS would be
useless, said cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, who has been to Mir and is now training
to fly to the international station.

"No one is going to use it. We have worked before in international
crews and it was fine, and I can't imagine a commander actually referring to
this code to sort something out," Padalka said in a interview.

via: transhumantech@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - FW: Iraq - Succession
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 08:39:11 -0500

Stratfor.com's Global Intelligence Update - 3 October 2000
_________________________________________

After Saddam: The Coming Succession in Baghdad

Summary

For years, the West has worried about Iraq after Saddam Hussein.
Now, his succession seems within sight as Iraq enters the long-
awaited transitional period. By speaking openly about succession,
Saddam has bolstered rumors of his deteriorating health, long
circulated by the opposition. His younger son, Qusai, has
consolidated his position as the likely successor and will confront
challengers in Baghdad. But Iraq will not tear apart upon the death
of its president.

Analysis

Rumors that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein is dying of cancer have
circulated for years and generally originate from marginally
reliable opposition sources.

Recently, several London-based papers reported that foreign doctors
are in Baghdad treating Saddam's cancer with chemotherapy. The
president gave only a short, rambling speech on the July 17
anniversary of the Baath party revolution, rather than the multi-
hour oration of the past.

Most important, the official Iraqi News Agency (INA) reported on
Sept. 22 that Saddam talked about the issue of his successor during
a meeting of the ruling Baath party. His mention of the subject
gives credence to opposition reports and indicates succession has
now officially become an issue for the Iraqis.

The Iraqi succession appears clearly laid out. Contrary to years of
Western speculation, Iraq is unlikely to suddenly collapse upon
Saddam's death, engulfed by rebellions in the north and south.
Saddam's younger son, Qusai, appears to have gained the upper hand
over his older brother, Odai, in the upcoming succession. The
largest threat to Qusai will come from a handful of men in Baghdad,
not from a low-level military commander, or from separatist Kurdish
and Shiite regions.

Qusai Hussein controls every major state organ, except foreign
policy. He is in charge of Iraq's security and intelligence
apparatus, which includes the Directorate General of Intelligence,
the General Security forces, Special Forces, and the Special
Protection team, which oversees the personal safety of the
President and key officials. Qusai also commands the military's
elite Republican Guard (RG) and Special Republican Guard (SRG).
Qusai is reportedly in good health, exercises regularly and sees
his father frequently, according to Jane's Foreign Report.

_______________________________________________________________

Promote global intelligence. Forward this newsletter to your
colleagues and friends!
__________________________________________________________________

Odai no longer seems likely to succeed his father. Odai does not
have Saddam's support and more importantly, relies on his younger
brother to keep him alive. A 1996 assassination attempt left him
temporarily paralyzed and in generally poor health. Although Odai
controls the state media and a small security force, he appears
unable to pose a legitimate threat. In addition to other powers,
Qusai commands a special battalion trained by the Special Security
organization responsible for monitoring the media. Qusai appears to
know everything that his older brother does and always remains a
step ahead.

More importantly, Odai has alienated important figures in Saddam's
inner circle, such as Izzat Ibrahim, vice-chairman of the powerful
Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), and Mohammed Hamza al-Zubeidi,
speaker of the parliament. Ibrahim's daughter was married to Odai
until he divorced her because the marriage bore no children. Odai
then had aspirations of taking Zubeidi's place at the head of
parliament, but Saddam put a stop to his eldest son's ambitions.
Odai may have mental problems as well. Opposition sources reported
Sept. 17 that Odai attempted suicide by overdosing on sedatives
because Saddam officially named Qusai as his successor.

Upon Saddam's death, Qusai's will be in a strong position - but he
will face challenges.
The presidency is a goldmine of wealth and economic power. Iraq
contains the world's second largest proven oil reserves with
potential reserves even greater than those of oil giant Saudi
Arabia. Such vast potential wealth makes the Iraqi presidency a
popular target for those in Baghdad seeking money and power.

A palace coup, as opposed to an uprising from the Kurdish north or
Shiite south, will pose the strongest threat to Qusai. Iraq's
military structure ensures that a coup led by a low-level commander
is extremely unlikely. Since the United States' Operation Desert
Fox in late 1998, Iraq has restructured its military and placed a
privileged few in command.

These few could be presidential contenders following Saddam's
death. Saddam's close loyalists -- Izzat Ibrahim, Mohammad al-
Zubeidi, Defense Minister Ahmed Sultan, and Staff General Ali Hasan
Al-Majid -- command the four military regions. These regions
include regular army units and Republican Guard units.

The better-funded RG units protect Iraq's borders and make sure no
regular army officers decide to roll their tanks on Baghdad. Ultra-
elite units of the Special Republican Guard surround Baghdad and
protect throughout the city. Commanded by Qusai, this extensively
funded force comprises only those whose allegiance to Saddam
Hussein is unquestionable. This is the last line of defense in case
the RG breaks ranks and decides to roll on Baghdad.
__________________________________________________________________

For more on Iraq, see:
http://www.stratfor.com/MEAF/countries/Iraq/default.htm
__________________________________________________________________

Ultimately, a military coup against Qusai would be extremely
difficult. The four regional military commanders loyal to Saddam
have not necessarily pledged their allegiance to Qusai. And many
high-ranking Baath party officials are not fond of the president's
sons and believe that power should be throughout the party, rather
than within Saddam's family. Qusai has repeatedly bought cars and
other lavish gifts for Baath party officials to win their favor.

The West's nightmare scenarios, such as successful foreign-
sponsored uprisings in the Kurdish north or Shiite south, appear
unfounded. Iran and Turkey support Kurdish factions opposed to the
Baghdad regime but neither country would accept a Kurdish state on
their border.

Furthermore, Iran is not militarily, politically or economically in
position to sponsor a Shiite uprising massive enough to topple
Baghdad. Such a move would be equivalent to rekindling the Iran-
Iraq war, in which hundreds of thousands lost their lives.
Moreover, Iraq's Arab neighbors would oppose Iranian-backed Shiites
taking over Iraq's oil reserves to become the predominate power in
the Middle East. Revolts in the north and south will occur, but
without foreign assistance or the support of an Iraqi military
faction, Baghdad will promptly crush them.

What about the United States? Would Washington support rebellion
and partition?
Despite its policy of supporting a regime change, the United States
has proven on more than one occasion that it will not spend the
resources necessary to replace the existing regime in Baghdad.
Iraq's democratic opposition has not seen one dollar of the scant
$97 million earmarked for the opposition by the 1998 Iraq
Liberation Act. Moreover, Washington would be loath to split up
Iraq, since it needs Iraq to maintain the balance of power against
Iran, and certainly would oppose an Iranian dominated regime in all
or part of Iraq.

The United States will have to accept another strongman, and Qusai
is as good as any. Clearly the heir apparent, the major threat to
Qusai's succession comes from within. His brother may be weak, but
Qusai may not have the full support of key Baath party officials.

As the issue of succession increasingly moves to the forefront of
Iraqi politics, Qusai will try to secure his position within the
Baath party and particularly with military commanders loyal to his
father.
_____________________________________________________________

For more on the Middle East see:
http://www.stratfor.com/MEAF/default.htm
_____________________________________________________________

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Baby 'created' to save sister
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 11:56:09 -0400

Baby 'created' to save sister

by Zoe Morris, Health Reporter

A test-tube baby, custom-designed to save the life of its older sister, has
been created by doctors using controversial genetic screening.

The manipulation of human reproduction on this scale will provoke a fierce
new controversy about medical ethics, and the use of embryos.

The baby, named Adam, was born to parents Lisa and Jack Nash of
Colorado to provide bone marrow transplant material for Molly, their six year-
old daughter. Molly suffers an inherited marrow deficiency, and the Nashes
were told she would not survive another year without a transplant.

Doctors implanted an embryo from Mrs Nash into her womb after it had been
genetically screened to ensure that the new baby would be a suitable bone
marrow donor. After four failures, they were successful.

Mr and Mrs Nash had been reluctant to have any more children naturally
because there was a 25 per cent chance of them inheriting the same
disorder.

Adam was born on 29 August. Less than a month later doctors infused cells
from Adam's umbilical cord to Molly, who is recuperating in hospital. The
Illinois Masonic Medical Centre said Molly has an 85-90 per cent chance of
being cured.

Mrs Nash said Molly held Adam in her lap while the cells dripped through a
plastic tube into the girl's chest. "It was the most awesome, monumental
experience of our life, yet it was so simple. You'd think there'd be
thunderbolts and lightning, but it was calm," Mrs Nash said.

Molly was born with Fanconi anaemia, an inherited disorder that causes a
massive failure of bone-marrow cell production. Children with the disease
suffer from anaemia, bleeding disorders and severe immune system
problems and generally die from leukaemia or other complications by the
time they are seven. The only effective treatment is to get a batch of healthy
cells from a perfectly matched sibling to replace the ailing child's faulty bone-
marrow cells.

However, even if the treatment proves successful in this case, there are likely
to be concerns raised about whether parents should be able to manipulate
the genetic make-up of their offspring.

There are fears that technology used to detect genes responsible for
inherited disorders could also be harnessed to select embryos on a non-
medical basis.

Jeffrey Kahn, director of the University of Minnesota's bioethics centre, told
The Washington Post: "I suspect that it's only because we don't yet have the
tests that we're not having parents asking for embryos without a
predisposition to homosexuality or for kids who will grow to more than six
feet tall."

Both Nash parents carry both a faulty and a normal version of the Fanconi
gene, giving them a 25 per cent chance of having a child with the disorder.

Eggs were taken from Mrs Nash and fertilised using sperm from Mr Nash in
a laboratory, using the normal IVF technique.

Doctors created 15 embryos then tested each of them using sophisticated
cell-typing tests. Two of the embryos, created late last year, were identified
as being free of the inherited disorder and a perfect match for Molly, but only
one was healthy enough to be transferred into Mrs Nash's womb. On
Christmas Eve the couple were told that it had implanted successfully.

The technique of pre-implant genetic diagnosis (PGD) is used by five fertility
clinics in Britain.

Under a licence from the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority (HFEA),
they are allowed to screen embryos for certain conditions including cystic
fibrosis, sickle cell anaemia, haemophilia and Hunter's Syndrome.

Doctors have to make an application to the HFEA to screen for a particular
disease or condition, and some can be avoided just by screening for the sex
of an embryo.

There have been 200 treatment cycles of PGD and around 20 babies born
since 1990. However, there are not believed to have been any cases where a
baby has been engineered specifically to help a sibling.

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/news/story.html?in_review_id=321962
&in_re view_text_id=265437

via: isml@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - "Dark Angel"
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 11:58:48 -0400

THE NEW TV SEASON: 'Dark Angel' is pop noir in all
its cool, sleek glory
Phil Kloer - Staff Tuesday, October 3, 2000

TV REVIEW

"Dark Angel"

9 tonight on Fox (33680)

Grade: A-

Meet Max. She's not your everyday, run-of-the-mill genetically enhanced cat
burglar fighting evil and kicking major keister in a post-apocalyptic,
grunge-noir future.

No, she's a genetically enhanced, etc., played by Jessica Alba, who sends
the hubba factor zooming in Fox's new sci-fi plaything, "Dark Angel."

Pure pop, and purely disposable like all good pop, "Dark Angel" is dark and
sleek and plenty of fun, and the two-hour premiere tonight is a kicky
alternative to the first presidential debate. Down the road, though, Max may
have more than just futuristic baddies to battle: The competition includes two
very popular shows, "Frasier" and "Dharma & Greg," as well as the WB's
"Angel," which appeals to the same fantasy crowd.

It's 2019 in Seattle, and America is "just another broke ex-superpower"
after terrorists set off a massive electromagnetic pulse that trashed all
the computers and started a depression. The streets are in chaos and the
government is more or less fascist. Max is a bicycle messenger by day and a
thief by night, whipping her motorcycle down rain-slick streets, looking out
only for herself.

But her "hope is for losers" mantra changes when she meets Logan (Michael
Weatherly), a pirate cyber-journalist who hacks into TV to tell the truth
about the government: Max Headroom as hottie. He pulls Max out of her
selfishness and molds her into a freedom fighter.

That would be more than enough plot to digest, but "Dark Angel" throws in a
whopper of a back story that unspools in (sometimes confusing) flashbacks.
Max was part of a government project to manipulate kids' DNA and produce
a superwarrior. The kids, who had shaved heads and bar codes tattooed on
the backs of their necks, escaped and scattered, and now the government is
hunting them down.

So how cool is "Dark Angel"?

The visuals are stunning for TV. The pilot reportedly cost about $10 million
(peanuts for a feature film, Godzillalike for TV), and it offers the same rich,
imaginative detail as "Blade Runner."

The action sequences rock. But parents of younger kids should know that
although it's fine for teens, it's pretty rough (and a little sleazy) in
places.

Max is a unique character, part vulnerable girl, part tough-talking loner
squarely in the hard-boiled detective tradition from Philip Marlowe to
Spenser. "Down these mean streets a man must go who is not himself
mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid," Raymond Chandler wrote in his
famous essay about noir, "The Simple Art of Murder." Only here it's "Down
these mean streets a chick must ride . . ."

Alba will be a star even if "Dark Angel" implodes. Known till now for the
syndicated show "The New Adventures of Flipper" and as one of the bad girls
in "Never Been Kissed," she is one of those creatures the camera adores.

"Dark Angel" was created by Charles Eglee ("Moonlighting," "Murder One")
and James Cameron, who had that little flick "Titanic" not long ago.
Cameron's attachment probably means Fox will give it a shot to find that
elusive young male audience. It has a rough ride ahead, but if anybody can
pull it off, it's Max.

http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/tuesday/features_
939d57e0e5119169009d.html

via: isml@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Human Immortality Is Achievable By The Year 2029
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 12:01:27 -0400

"Human Immortality Is Achievable By The Year 2029,"
Proclaims Ronald Klatz, M.D., Pioneering Biotech Guru And Founding
Physician Of Anti-Aging Movement

CHICAGO, IL -- (INTERNET WIRE) -- 10/02/2000 -- In the October 2000
issue of Anti-Aging Medical News, an official scientific newsletter
servicing a physician readership in excess of 50,000 worldwide, Dr.
Ronald Klatz, Senior Fellow at Tufts University, President of the 10,000
member American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M, Chicago, IL), and
inventor/administrator of more than 100 US biotech patents, advances his
longstanding thesis that life expectancy projections based on pastcast
models will be quickly abandoned in favor of a new forecasting
projection of longevity that focuses on five emerging technologies
which, taken collectively, will be the singlemost important innovation
that delivers boundless vitality to humankind within the next three
decades.

Dr. Klatz's authoritative report on the future of human life expectancy
debunks pessimistic claims of a predetermined and finite limit to human
lifespan as advanced by S. Jay Olshansky, demographer at the University
of Illinois at Chicago. Olshansky, whose statistics-centered,
non-clinical research is underwritten by the National Institute of
Aging, is part of an arcane and ineffective movement seeking to squelch
the voice of forward- looking physicians and scientists who embrace
cutting-edge medical and biotechnological advancements that will help us
to achieve human immortality. Olshansky, who since 1990 has clung to
historical statistical analyses purporting that the elimination of
cancer, heart disease, and diabetes would increase life expectancy only
to about age 85, and would proliferate disabling conditions such as
arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, and vision and hearing losses in
advanced age, is now contradicted by a highly reputable and objective
source. In a new study published by the prestigious Science magazine
(Sep 29 2000: 2366-2368), "Increase in Maximum Life- Span in Sweden,
1861-1999," we learn that in Sweden, the maximum age at death has risen
from 100 years during the 1860s to about 108 years during the 1990s. The
study's authoring team, demographers J. R. Wilmoth and L. J. Deegan of
the University of California/Berkeley along with H. Lundstr�m, and S.
Horiuchi, acknowledge that "an intensification of efforts … to prevent
or even cure ailments such as coronary heart disease, stroke, and
cancer" has profoundly contributed to "the more rapid rise in the
maximum age since 1969."

In "Making the Quantum Leap to Human Immortality in the Year 2029"
appearing in the October 2000 issue of Anti-Aging Medical News, Dr.
Klatz advances the concept of The Longevity Link, a novel representation
of the impact of five key biomedical technologies on gains in human
longevity.

According to Dr. Klatz's LEx Equation, medical knowledge and technology
doubles every 3.5 years and gains in human longevity are directly
proportional to the cumulative sum of advancements in the biotech fields
of:

stem cells, giving rise to a supply of human cells, tissues, and organs
for use in acute emergency care as well as treatment of chronic,
debilitating disease cloning, a technique holding tremendous promise in
producing consistent organs, tissues, and proteins for biomedical use in
humans nanotechnology, enabling scientists to use tiny tools to
manipulate human biology at its most basic levels artificial organs,
making replacement body parts available digital cerebral interface, a
technology to transfer one's thoughts, sensory perceptions, emotions,
personality, and autonomic body responses -- to computer storage device,
enabling your memories and consciousness to survive in the event of your
physical death

Says Dr. Klatz, "The accelerating biotech revolution leads us to the
incontrovertible conclusion that human immortality -- lifespans beyond
120 years -- may well be delivered by the year 2029. The arrival at the
Ageless Society is believed by leaders in the government, commercial,
and private sectors to be the salvation and solution to the healthcare
crisis in America." As a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization, the
American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) is the only non-profit,
non-commercial, medical society in the world devoted to eradicating the
degenerative diseases of aging. Since its inception seven years ago, the
A4M has been the first and only scientific nonprofit medical society to
have forecast the deliverance of human lifespans in excess of 100 years.
The 10,000 physician, scientist, and health practitioner members of the
A4M are forging a profound healthcare paradigm shift that alleviates the
mounting social, economic, and medical woes otherwise anticipated to
arrive with the rapidly growing volume of an aging population. The A4M
sponsors The World Health Network, the Internet's #1 anti-aging portal,
at www.worldhealth.net, as part of its mission of promoting advocacy and
awareness of this new clinical science.

Special complimentary media-only offers are available at
www.worldhealth.net/press. View galley proof copies of Dr. Klatz's
insightful articles on "Making the Quantum Leap to Human Immortality in
the Year 2029" and "Anti-Aging Medicine Delivers the Potential for Human
Immortality." At www.worldhealth.net/press, you may request a
complimentary subscription to Anti-Aging Medical News (including the
Fall 2000 issue) as well as Press Credentials for the foremost annual
conference on human longevity -- the Eighth International Congress on
Anti-Aging Medicine and Biomedical Technologies taking place 15-17
December 2000 at The Venetian Resort & Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, where
4,000 of the world's top scientists and clinicians will be in
attendance.

http://www1.internetwire.com/iwire/release_clickthrough?release_id=17292
&c ategory=Medical/Health via: isml@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Prophecy Video sale
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 12:25:02 -0400

Prophecy videos on sale:
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/specialty_sub/20014294?them
e=1052&category=Prophecy+Videos&file=Closeouts/Prophecy_Videos.html&
event=BCR

My picks:

The Search for the Messiah Video
By: Grant Jeffrey
Retail Price: $19.99
CBD Price: $9.95
You Save $10.04 (50%)

Description: Roman historians and the Jewish Talmud and Mishnah Torah
are the sources for this overwhelming evidence---censored for 700 years---
that Jesus lived, died, and rose from the dead!

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/20014294?item_no=4
149&event=SP
---------------------------

2000 A.D. - Are You Ready?
Video By: Peter LaLonde Paul LaLonde
Retail Price: $19.95
CBD Price: $5.95
You Save $14.00 (70%)

Description: Go on a prophetic journey to the future with Peter and Paul
Lalonde. They reveal how new technologies are leading us into a godless
world and preparing us for the antichrist. You'll learn chilling details about
virtual reality, holograms, how we're being programmed to expect
supernatural contact, and more. Previously released as Racing Toward . . .
The Image of the Beast.

------------------
Russia's Secret Agenda
By: Grant Jeffrey
Retail Price: $19.95
CBD Price: $9.95
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Description: What is Russia's secret plan to conquer the Middle East?
Explore the real meaning of the Soviet coup and the massive Russian arms
buildup!

http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product/20014294?item_no=1
4092&event=SP
----------------

While you are there check out the rest of their "Bargain Center Specialty
Page"
http://www.christianbook.com/html/static/bargaincenter.html?promo=8648&a
d=9568

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - FCC Slams Fox, NBC for Debate Play
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 12:12:18 -0500

[This seems an "odd" over-reaction...any thoughts?]

FCC Slams Fox, NBC for Debate Play
by DAVID BAUDER
AP Television Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission
scolded executives at Fox and NBC on Tuesday for not committing to showing
all four of the presidential and vice presidential debates.

William Kennard called on NBC affiliates to ''atone for their network's
timidity'' and show Tuesday night's first debate between Democrat Al Gore
and Republican George W. Bush.

''In the future, the networks should remember that the public interest is
far more important than their financial interest,'' Kennard wrote in an
op-ed piece in The New York Times. He was not immediately available for
comment.

Fox is showing the premiere of its drama, ''Dark Angel,'' in place of the
debate tonight. NBC is giving its local stations the option of showing
politics or the first playoff game between the New York Yankees and Oakland
Athletics.

Kennard said the NBC and Fox decisions are ''particularly galling'' in light
of Congress' 1996 decision to give the TV industry space on the broadcast
spectrum to offer digital television, valued by some experts at more than
$70 billion.

''This generous gift came with a caveat: As the broadcasters reap billions
from use of the airwaves, they must also serve the public interest,''
Kennard wrote.

The debate will be carried on ABC, CBS and PBS stations and cable networks
CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. The more networks that carry it, experts
say, the lesser the temptation for viewers to turn elsewhere.

NBC backed away from its initial decision to strictly carry baseball, saying
its local stations should choose to air what they believe is best in their
local markets.

Fox said on Monday that the 22 stations it owns would carry the debate by
tape-delay after the late local news. The network's parent company, News
Corp., offered to turn over one hour of prime-time on Oct. 27 to Bush and
Gore to address viewers.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Untouched 4,300-Year-Old Tomb Discovered In Syria
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 12:14:28 -0500

Untouched 4,300-Year-Old Tomb Discovered In Syria
http://unisci.com/stories/20004/1003001.htm

An ancient, untouched tomb of what may be royalty from one of the world's
first city-dwelling civilizations has been discovered in Syria, containing
human and animal remains, gold and silver treasures and unbroken artifacts
that had not been disturbed for about 4,300 years.

The tomb was discovered during the summer by a team of archeologists from
The Johns Hopkins University, working in Umm el-Marra, what is believed to
be the site of ancient Tuba, one of Syria's first cities.

"This is one of the earliest urban civilizations in the world," said Glenn
Schwartz, leader of the team and professor of Near Eastern studies in the
Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins. "By studying Syria, we
can learn more about the different ways urban societies developed, why they
developed when and how they did, and how they differed from each other. It's
an important addition to our understanding of why cities, writing, states
and social classes first developed."

The tomb was remarkably intact and contained five adults and three babies,
some of whom were ornamented head-to-toe in gold and silver. It may be the
oldest intact royal tomb yet to be found in Syria, Schwartz said.

It included three layers of skeletons. The top layer includes traces of two
coffins, each containing a young woman in her 20s and a baby. The women were
the most richly ornamented of all the occupants of the tomb, with jewelry of
silver, gold and lapis lazuli. Also of interest on this level was an
accompanying lump of iron, possibly from a meteorite. One of the babies
appeared to be wearing a bronze torque, or collar.

In the layer below were coffins of two adult males and the remains of a baby
at some distance from both men, close to the entrance of the tomb. This
differs from the placement of the babies in the upper layer, where they were
placed next to the women's bodies.

Crowning the older man was a silver diadem decorated with a disk bearing a
rosette motif, while the man opposite had a bronze dagger. The third and
lowest layer held an adult male with a silver cup and silver pins.

All the individuals were accompanied by scores of ceramic vessels, some of
which contained animal bones that may have been part of funerary animal
offerings.

Outside the tomb to the south, against the tomb wall, was a jar containing
the remains of a baby, a spouted jar, and two decapitated skulls, horselike
but apparently belonging neither to horses or donkeys. The ceramics in the
tomb date to around 2300 B.C., the latter part of Egypt's pyramid age.

Now back at Hopkins, Schwartz and his team are working to assess what it all
means.

"An important aspect of this discovery is the intact character of the tomb,"
said Schwartz. "In contrast to elite tombs from the same period found along
the Syrian Euphrates in recent years, the Umm el-Marra tomb was not
plundered, allowing for unimpeded study of the mortuary ritual involved.

"What is unclear at present is why the tomb was not robbed, particularly if
it was an aboveground structure and conspicuous on a high part of the city.
Also unclear is the character of the tomb's individuals: why are the most
richly adorned persons two young women, each accompanied by a baby? This
peculiar aspect may hint at ritual characteristics, rather than a tomb
simply reserved for royalty or elite individuals."

The tomb is clearly part of a larger complex: walls extend from the tomb in
almost every direction and indicate further structures yet to be
investigated. Whether it is part of a palace structure or a larger elaborate
ancient cemetery remains to be found during future expeditions.

The city of Tuba was mentioned frequently in second and third millennium
B.C. texts. Since 1994, Schwartz and a University of Amsterdam team directed
by Hans Curvers have been excavating the city, located on a major east-west
route that connected the Mediterranean coast with upper Mesopotamia. Umm
el-Marra, the city's modern name, is located about 200 miles northeast of
Damascus.

All of the bodies and artifacts found in the tomb remain in safekeeping in
Syria. In the meantime, the tomb has been re-covered with earth and hidden
until the Hopkins team can return to it in a year or two.

Q&A ABOUT THE TOMB OF UMM-EL-MARRA

Q: What was the importance of this civilization?

SCHWARTZ: This is one of the earliest urban civilizations in the world.
Until recently, historians and archeologists have been primarily aware of
Mesopotamia as one of the very first urban societies, with the first
examples of writing; and of the Egyptian civilization, which appears about
the same time as Mesopotamia or a bit later. But now we realize that Syria
also had its own early variety of urban, literate civilization. By studying
Syria, we can learn more about the different ways urban societies developed,
why they developed when and how they did, and how they differed from each
other. It's an important addition to our understanding of why cities,
writing, states and social classes first emerged.

Q: 2300 B.C. ... what does that relate to in the time lines of other, more
familiar civilizations?

SCHWARTZ: The people of this tomb lived around the time of the Sumerians in
southern Mesopotamia (Iraq), and also around the creation of the world's
first empire, the Akkadian empire, founded by Sargon of Akkad, also from
southern Mesopotamia. They lived in the latter part of Egypt's pyramid age;
for example, the Great Pyramid dates circa 2600 B.C.

Q: You said this is may be a royal tomb. Could it be a king? Or some lesser
brand of royalty?

SCHWARTZ: Since the most richly decorated individuals are women, it's
unlikely to be a king's tomb. Princesses? Queens? Concubines? One could
compare it to the much later very rich tomb of queens of Assyria (circa 700
B.C.) found about a dozen years ago in northern Iraq. Those tombs were more
elaborate, however, since Assyria ruled the entire Middle East at the time.

Q: How did you find this tomb?

SCHWARTZ: For several years, my team of Hopkins graduate students and I have
been excavating in Syria. Our site is a tell, an archaeological term for a
site that is in the form of a mound or hill. Tells develop because they were
occupied by a community for many generations, with people repeatedly
building new structures on top of the ruins of earlier ones. We were
actually excavating the remains of one of the upper layers, for a city that
existed later, around 1800 B.C. But one day, Alice Petty, a Hopkins graduate
student, came across an unbroken pot, which is quite unusual -- usually we
only find shards of pots -- and then another, and then another. That's when
we knew we had found a structure whose contents were undisturbed -- and the
pottery told us it was much older than we had anticipated. Then we hit some
bone and knew it was a tomb. - By Leslie Rice

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - United Religions Initiative (URI)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 12:41:05 -0500

Tuesday, October 3, 2000
Inter-faith group aims to end violence

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2000/10/3/nation/0315czfa&sec=nat
ion

KUALA LUMPUR: Ten spiritual and religious group representatives came
together for a signing ceremony on Sunday to launch the local chapter of the
United Religions Initiative (URI), a global inter-faith grassroots
organisation.

Named the URI Kuala Lumpur Co-operation Circle, the organisation was
launched by its international founder Dr T. D. Singh and aims to "end
religiously motivated violence.''

The organisation seeks to put this message across through seminars, sports
activities with families of various religions and inter-religious dialogues
in the future.

"They say wars are waged because of religious differences. Now in this age
of science and technology, we must find a way to work out differences and
respect each other's diversity,'' he said.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by representatives of Islam,
Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Bahai Faith, Sikhism, International
Society of Krishna Consciousness, the Brahma Kumaris, Confucian Society and
the Mahaguru Ching Hai Association.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (10/3/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 18:42:29 -0400

Heavy fighting going on now at Joseph's Tomb

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly Pagatpatan
                         Source: IsraelWire

Tue Oct 3,2000 -- Heavy fighting is being reported at this time between
Israeli and PLO Authority (PA) security forces at Joseph�s Tomb in the
PA autonomous city of Nablus. According to a Kol M�Hashetach News Agency
report, at least ten PA troops have been injured and they are now
calling upon Israel to transport them to a medical facility inside
“Israel proper,” using IDF air force helicopters.

Future global change coming faster than thought!

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: UPI

Tue Oct 3,2000 -- A Presidential Commission on the future of national
security asked 20 experts, including scientists, to speculate about
possible scenarios for the next 20 years. A score of the futurologists
came up with predictions that were much more gloomy than the forecasts
from just 9 months ago. There was unanimous agreement that the pace of
technological change is accelerating faster than the most far-sighted
experts could see five years ago. The participants also agreed that the
next 10 years will bring more technological change than the entire 20th
century and that national governments will not be able to cope.

In the last century, the time that elapsed between the dropping of bombs
by hand from Zeppelins over allied trenches in World War I and the
dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima was only 28 years. At the
beginning of the 21st century, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)
technology, which is the world of the small, and nanotechnology, the
world of the ridiculously small, is now 10 years ahead of schedule.
Scientists can already see the entire Library of Congress, which can be
transmitted in its entirety in 17 minutes through optical networks at
the rate of 80 billion bits per second, fitting into something the size
of a sugar cube. Below are many of their predictions of the near future:

an energy crisis

global economic instability

U.S. economic recession

a loss of confidence in the western democratic system as the recession
morphed into a depression

South America's economic collapse

a major increase in drug production

the collapse of the plan to prop up Colombia

the spread of the Colombian disease to other Latin American countries

the emergence of China as a global power

a new Sino-Russian alliance that seized the leadership of an
anti-American, anti-capitalist group in opposition to U.S. economic
imperialism.

Sub-Sahara Africa's starving millions, plagued by AIDS, flooded North
Africa on their way to Europe.

A major act of bioterrorism in the U.S., coupled with a cyber-terrorist
attack to silence 911 emergency response capabilities.

Electronics will be worn, ingested or implanted.

AIDS and other emerging, or old but now resistant diseases, spread to
large parts of the world and that AIDS mutated into waterborne and
airborne strains.

(all four groups agreed that...) globalization and fragmentation would
proceed along parallel tracks.

U.S. arrogance was seen as the main threat at the present, or the sense
of superiority that has convinced Americans that they are the best that
God ever devised, and on a mission to take it to the rest of the world.
The rest of the world does not like too much success. The U.S. wants
mirror-images but will not accept what the rest of the world wants --
e.g., among other things, an international tribunal.

Other group conclusions:

--Physics is due for revolutionary revision and the time is ripe for a
new Einstein.

--The convergence of physics, biology and chemistry will led to the
reinvention of the human species over the next generation.

Near-earth asteroid found to be TWO

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: Space Weather.com

Tue Oct 3,2000 -- Of the amazing number of near-Earth asteroids flying
by our planet recently, one of them has become even more significant.
One of the near-Earth asteroids that flew by Earth in September, was no
ordinary space rock. Arecibo radar observations on Sept 30 - Oct 3
confirm that asteroid 2000 DP107 is actually two,a binary system. The
two components measure 300 and 800 meters across; they move in a 1.77
day orbit separated by 2.6 km. Astronomers are calling for more
observations while DP107 is still close to Earth. At 14th magnitude, the
asteroid is visible in 8 to 10 inch amateur telescopes
with CCD cameras.

Israel's Ramon says Paris aim should be final peace settlement

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly Pagatpatan
                         Source: Reuters

Tue Oct 3,2000 -- Israeli cabinet minister Haim Ramon said on Tuesday
that Israeli-Palestinian talks in Paris this week should aim beyond an
end to recent fighting to reach a full peace agreement. Fifty-three
people, almost all Palestinians or Israeli Arabs, have died in fierce
fighting between Israeli troops and Palestinians in the West Bank, and
Gaza, the most intense clashes between the two sides in at least four
years. Ramon, speaking at a press conference in Istanbul, said talks
slated for Wednesday between Palestinian President Yasser Arafat,
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright should aim for a final settlement.

"The first thing I expect from Paris is to bring an end to the
violence...the second thing is to resume the peace talks," Ramon said.
"The timetable is very tight. President Clinton will not be president
two or three months from now. The political situation is changing and we
need a peace agreement in the next few weeks, if possible with
Jerusalem, if not without Jerusalem," he said.

Quakes building in Japan's Ryukyu Islands

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: USGS

Tue Oct 3,2000 -- The Ryukyu Islands of Japan have been seeing a surge
in earthquakes. They had several very close together: 5.0, 5.5, 5.7,
then 5.1.

Japan has had an unusually high number of quakes in the last several
months, many thousands of them. As the quakes have been building, so
have the volcanoes along the islands been acting up more and coming back
to life. Scientists say it's due to a large mass of lava moving
underground. Japan's people have reportedly been very on edge as quake
after quake and volcano after volcano act up.
What's next? Only time will tell.

Higher chance of major quake in Istanbul Turkey

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: faith
                         Source: Yahoo business news

Tue Oct 3,2000 -- ZURICH, Switzerland--The large earthquakes in Turkey
in August 1999 once again brought home the sudden, devastating force of
this most feared of natural catastrophes. It also showed the great lack
of any reliable methods to figure out when or where, or how often
earthquakes will hit. Recently, though, a major breakthrough has been
achieved in earthquake modelling, by looking at both the timing,
alongwith the earthquake stress transferred onto other faults by past
quakes.

The results of a recent research project by the USGS in co-operation
with Swiss Re clearly shows the probability for a major earthquake
hitting Istanbul in the near future is far greater than previously
thought. Last year's disastrous event in Izmit, also transferred much
additional stress to those faults. On a global scale, the many
metropolitan areas which are under earthquake risk, will benefit greatly
from these newest finds in earthquake forecasting.

UN Council fails to agree on Mideast violence

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly Pagatpatan
                         Source: Reuters

Tue Oct 3,2000 -- The United States and Arab nations failed on Tuesday
to agree on a U.N. response to the violence between Israelis and
Palestinians that has killed some 50 people and threatened the Middle
East peace process. In all probability, a statement will not be agreed
until after the meeting U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright plans
in Paris on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, diplomats said. Unlike a
resolution, a statement requires the agreement of all 15 members. He
said the council should adopt a resolution, which carries more weight
than a statement, and that he would submit a draft himself.

But there was little chance Washington would approve such a document,
diplomats said. U.S. envoy Nancy Soderberg said, "We had a long
discussion about a statement and there just wasn't enough consensus to
agree on it." Soderberg had agreed to a draft statement critical of
Israel. It would condemn "the acts of provocation, the violence and the
excessive use of deadly force against Palestinian civilians in the past
few days." But she objected to Arab proposals referring to violations of
the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, which deals with occupying powers
protecting civilians in time of war.

Kuwait on red alert to stop stateless Arabs entering from Iraq

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly Pagatpatan
                         Source: AFP

Tue Oct 3,2000 -- Kuwait placed troops deployed near the border with
Iraq on maximum alert and moved up elite reinforcements, a security
source said, as stateless Arabs gathered Tuesday to demand a right to
return to the oil- rich emirate. "We have rushed a number of the special
forces to Metla area, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) from the border with
Iraq," the source told AFP amid fears the stateless protestors would try
to cross into Kuwait from southern Iraq. Police and military personnel
near the border were on maximum alert, he added.

A senior officer of a UN observation force said more than 100 stateless
Arabs -- known as "bidoon" in Arabic, meaning without papers -- were
gathered on the Iraqi side. "The situation is quiet. We are keeping a
close watch on the borders, but there has been no attempt by the
stateless Arabs to cross into Kuwait," said Chief Operations Officer
Colonel Dominique Mariotte of the Iraq- Kuwait Observers Mission
(UNIKOM). "They started coming Monday morning and erected some tents.
There are some 100-120 people only. Up till now, the situation is not
serious," he added. Mariotte said UNIKOM had not upgraded its state of
readiness. UNIKOM but had not been informed by Iraqis or the organisers
of any attempt to cross the border, he said. Organisers of the sit-in in
Iraq said about 3,000 stateless people and their relatives would remain
for a week near the demilitarized zone.

Kuwait's acting premier and foreign minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-
Sabah said in press statements that the emirate was prepared for any
emergency. He warned Kuwait would not allow any of the bidoon to enter
the emirate, and accused the Iraqi regime of orchestrating the protest.
"These are not bidoons. They are Iraqis. Those who lived in Kuwait were
not expelled after liberation, they left along with the (Iraqi
volunteer) army before liberation," said Sheikh Sabah. "We will not
allow these people, who are Iraqi, to cross the international borders.
They are helpless and are being used by the Iraqi regime for political
purposes.

More than 10,000 protest in Baghdad

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly Pagatpatan
                         Source: AFP

Tue Oct 3,2000 -- More than 10,000 people demonstrated in the Iraqi
capital on Tuesday to protest at the "Zionist butchery" against the
Palestinians, an AFP correspondent reported. Foreign Minister Mohammad
Said al-Sahhaf, meanwhile, rejected an Arab League proposal to call for
a UN commission of inquiry into the killings in the Palestinian
territories and Israel. "The blood of the Palestinians fills us with
pride and the strength to face up to the American and Zionist enemy,"
chanted the demonstrators, who included officials of the ruling Baath
party. The Iraqi government has called for jihad, or Islamic holy war,
for the "liberation of Palestine" in the wake of the bloodshed.

Milosevic government threatens crackdown on mounting protests

                         Weekend News Today
                         Lead: Kelly Pagatpatan
                         Source: AFP

Tue Oct 3,2000 -- Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's government
warned of a crackdown and police moved in Tuesday as hundreds of
thousands of people protested nationwide to demand his removal. More
than 30,000 people swamped Belgrade's main street, where 150 riot police
set up a cordon to stop them moving into the Dedinje neighbourhood where
Milosevic lives. On the second day of a mounting campaign to force
Milosevic to admit outright defeat after September 24 presidential
elections, police moved against key protest organisers.

http://216.219.160.226/cgi-
bin/readnews.cgi?day=00_10_3&item=#970610307

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz-7 News items (10/3/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 18:51:30 -0400

ISRAELI GOV'T: SHARON NOT TO BLAME

Israeli politicians are largely in consensus that MK Ariel Sharon's visit to the
Temple Mount last week is not to blame for the current violence. Prime
Minister Barak told Israel Radio on Friday that Palestinian incitement after
Sharon's visit was to blame for that day's violence in Jerusalem. At
yesterday's Cabinet meeting, the ministers were unanimous in blaming
Yasser Arafat for the "premeditated and staged riots." In a letter to U.S.
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright yesterday, MK Sharon protested the
State Department's accusation that it was his visit to the Temple Mount that
ignited the violence:

"I find it most regrettable and disturbing that your spokesman has been
swayed by slanderous propaganda on the part of the Palestinian leaders and
media, intended to put pressure on Israel and the U.S. to make additional
concessions in the negotiations, under threat of violence if their demands are
not met...

"Israel's security establishment has publicly presented its conclusions
that the violent riots and armed confrontations are part of a premeditated and
organized campaign initiated by the Palestinian Authority, [which] began over
ten days ago in the Netzarim area in Gaza...

"These riots have spread out through the deliberate incitement (prior to the
visit) by the 'Tanzim' (the armed militia of Chairman Arafat's Fatah
organization). Last Friday, Arafat instructed the 'Tanzim' to escalate the
riots. Moreover, Palestinian Security Chiefs have been directly involved in
inciting the violence and in ordering Palestinian Police to open fire on Israeli
soldiers, Police and civilians. Arab Members of the Knesset have
contributed to and joined this violent campaign by repeated incitement calling
Arab Israelis as well as Palestinians to resort to violence prior, during, and
after my visit to The Temple Mount...

"The united city of Jerusalem [and the] Temple Mount are under full
Israeli sovereignty. Neither I, nor any Israeli citizen, need to seek
permission from the PA or from any foreign entity to visit there or any
other site which is sovereign territory of the State of Israel." [full
text provided by IMRA]

EXCERPTS FROM A WALL STREET JOURNAL ARTICLE, OCT. 2, 2000:

"So who is to blame for this [the current wave of violence]? The New York
Times faults Mr. Sharon for 'provocatively leading his supporters to the
Temple Mount.' That view is seconded by the U.S. State Department and
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, not to mention Mr. Arafat and his
minions. But we take a dissenting view. In visiting the Temple Mount, Mr.
Sharon was exercising his right to visit a site open to the public. That right
belongs to him no less than to anyone else, Israeli, Palestinian or otherwise.
And it belongs to him precisely because the Temple Mount falls under
Israel's tolerant stewardship, rather than the previous, exclusionary Jordanian
regime... Rather, blame for the violence must fall squarely upon those who
started it, which in every instance so far seems to have been the
Palestinians. How is it, we'd like to know, that in a society as tightly
controlled as is the Palestine Authority's, were riots and attacks on Israeli
military outposts allowed to occur? Why were Palestinian security forces,
who under Article 8 of the Oslo are supposed to ensure public order and
security, joining the battle? Who among the top leaders of the Palestinian
Authority authorized -- or at least did nothing to stop -- the violence? Perhaps
the State Department, so voluble in condemning Mr. Sharon, should seek
answers to those questions.

"While they're at it, they may also wish to ponder why it is that Palestinian
tempers have flared just as the Israeli government seems prepared to make
unprecedented concessions on the re-division of Jerusalem... It's certainly
not because of Mr. Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount. Indeed, if Mr. Sharon
can be faulted for anything, it's that his visit served the propaganda purposes
of the Authority by supposedly demonstrating that the area is no place for
Jews. The violence in Jerusalem is best explained by the fact that the
hitherto "non-negotiable" city is suddenly up for grabs. The Palestinian
Authority thus has a keen interest in making East Jerusalem utterly
ungovernable for Israel, and it's a safe bet that it will repeatedly wink at
further violence, even if that means endangering the lives of its own people. If
so, remind yourself that it was the "peace process" that delivered them to
their fate."

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2000 / Tishrei 4, 5761

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - NASA funds controversial gravity shield
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 19:00:25 -0400

                                       Weighty Implications:
                                       NASA Funds
                                       Controversial Gravity
                                       Shield

                                       By Jack Lucentini
                                       Special to SPACE.com
                                       posted: 11:00 am ET
                                       28 September 2000

                  Brushing aside controversy and a few glitches, NASA officials
                  are forging ahead with plans to build a device that they say
                  could work as an antigravity machine.

Most scientists say the idea of such a gadget is ludicrous. But
given the stakes, NASA officials say, it's worth a try.

                        French astronaut Philippe Perrin floating in France's "Vomit
                        Comet" -- the Airbus 300. These training planes are still the
                       only way to change what you weigh -- short of a trip to space.

                  A machine that even slightly reduces gravity at spacecraft
                  launch sites, agency officials believe, could save significant
                  amounts of money.

                  "The fact that it had appeared in a credible
                  scientific journal is what really caught our eye."
                       Ron Koczor, assistant director for science and technology at
                  the Space Science Laboratory

                  The opportunity to try out such a machine is expected to come
                  this May, when an Ohio company is scheduled to finish a
                  prototype of the device for NASA.

Not that the space agency's officials themselves have high
hopes.

                  "To say this is highly speculative is
                  probably putting it mildly," acknowledged
                  Ron Koczor, assistant director for
                  science and technology at the Space
                  Science Laboratory in NASA's Marshall
                  Space Flight Center, Huntsville,
                  Alabama.

                  Nonetheless, NASA awarded a $600,000
                  contract last year to Superconductive
                  Components Inc. in Columbus, Ohio to
                  build the device.

Critics say the notion of a "gravity shield" violates Einstein's
fundamental laws of physics.

                  "The theory of gravity is fairly well established, and I don't see
                  it reversing itself," said Francis Slakey, a professor of physics
                  at Georgetown University. The NASA project is "wasted money
                  that could have been used to do legitimate space science," he
                  added.

Koczor portrayed that view as closed-minded.

                  Scientists such as Slakey "don't seem to be amenable to
                  observing that maybe the laws [of physics] are incomplete,"
                  Koczor said.

                  Throughout history, new discoveries have rocked old
                  assumptions, he pointed out. "People used to talk about laws
                  of conservation of mass, conservation of energy. Then all of a
                  sudden, Einstein comes along and says those are really parts
                  of the same thing."

                  Einstein wrote that gravity can be considered a bending of
                  space-time that inevitably occurs around massive objects such
                  as planets and stars. That, the conventional view holds, means
                  no mere machine or invention can make it go away; it is not a
                  "force" that can be counteracted.

                  The conventional scientists aren't the only critics of the NASA
                  project. The agency is also drawing fire from some of its former
                  collaborators in the effort. To see why, it helps to start from the
                  beginning.

In 1992, a Finnish scientist, Eugene Podkletnov, claimed to
have built a device that produced a gravity-shielding effect.

                  It consisted of a hot, fast-spinning, 12-inch (30-centimeter) disk
                  of a superconducting ceramic, levitating within a magnetic field.
                  Objects above the disk, Podkletnov reported, showed a loss of
                  weight of between about 0.5 percent and 2 percent.

                  In 1996, researchers at Marshall Space Flight Center decided
                  to investigate the claims. "The fact that it had appeared in a
                  credible scientific journal is what really caught our eye,"
                  Koczor said.

                  Actually, Podkletnov had withdrawn his most recent article
                  from publication under unclear circumstances. But he and
                  others had published research on antigravity phenomena in
                  several peer-reviewed journals.

                  Koczor assembled a team that worked together with scientists
                  at the nearby University of Alabama at Huntsville, to build a
                  device partially simulating the one Podkletnov had used. But
                  the researchers were unable to replicate Podkletnov's results,
                  and the partnership fell apart last year with bad blood between
                  the two sides.

                  The university's Larry Smalley, a physics professor, says
                  NASA simply failed to assemble a competent team of
                  scientists who could give the project a serious chance.

                  The events "amused me, stunned me and upset me," said
                  Smalley, who said he was involved as an observer of the
                  project at the time. "It made me feel like they wasted time, a
                  lot of money and a really golden opportunity to do something."

Smalley said he remains skeptical that Koczor and NASA
have the know-how to do anything meaningful with the project.

The main university professor involved with the project, Ning Li,
has since left the school. She is said to have moved to China.

                  Koczor said the project fell apart not because of
                  incompetence, but because Li was primarily interested in
                  proving her theories of why the "gravity shield" would work.
                  That differed from NASA's goal of simply building a working
                  device, he said.

                  "She wanted the research to focus on her particular theory.
                  Our intent was simply to show there was a gravity effect,
                  without saying 'theory A is right' or 'theory B is right,'" he
                  explained.

                  Last year, NASA decided to try again, this time by contracting
                  out the construction of the device. Superconductive
                  Components is in communication with Podkletnov as they
                  attempt to build it, Koczor said.

The project is on or ahead of schedule, said J.R. Gaines, vice
president of Superconductive Components.

                  "The superconductor is built. The rest has been designed and
                  fabrication is proceeding," Gaines said. However, he said, he
                  can't offer an opinion on whether the device will actually work.
                  The company's job is simply to build it to the assigned
                  specifications.

"We don't necessarily have a technical opinion," he said,
though "we would certainly love to see this work."

http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/anti_grav_000928.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Mir news
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 19:17:29 -0400

Spaceflight Now, in an article written by fpspace member Anatoly Zak, is
reporting that RKK Energia has decided to deorbit Mir shortly after its 15th
anniversary (which will occur on 20 February 2001). The reason given is
MirCorp's failure to deliver additional funds. The full story can be
read at
http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n0010/03mir/

Interfax is reporting something similar:

DELHI. Oct 3 (Interfax) - Chief designers a few days ago decided
that Mir space station must end its operation, Russian Deputy Prime
Minister Ilya Klebanov told the press in Delhi on Tuesday.

http://www.interfax.ru/freshnews/enews2240.htm

MOSCOW. Oct 3 (Interfax) - The council of top rocket and space
technology builders decided at its Tuesday meeting that Russia's space
station 'Mir' has to be allowed to return to Earth next February.

http://www.interfax.ru/freshnews/wbue1545.htm

However, the Associated Press is reporting something quite different:

MOSCOW (AP) - Russian space experts ruled Tuesday that the 14-year-old
Mir space station was fit to continue orbiting the Earth, if funding for the
mission does not dry up.

The Russian government, which had planned to abandon the Mir last spring,
extended the orbiter's life indefinitely after the Netherlands-based MirCorp
provided money for a new mission.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001003/sc/russia_mir_1.html

Reuters, meanwhile, is hedging its bets:

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A top Russian minister said on Tuesday that a
council of designers had recommended downing the aging Mir space station
in the Pacific Ocean, but the national space authority still had to make a
final decision.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001003/ts/space_mir_dc_1.html

via: transhumantech@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

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