BPR Mailing List Digest: 10/18/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
October 18, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | October, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pace Of Bible Translations Accelerates
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 08:26:01 -0400

October 18, 2000 -- 8:22 am

Pace Of Bible Translations Accelerates

LAKE MARY, FL (MCNS) -- With the rate of Bible translation work picking
up speed during the last decade, more than 93 percent of the world's
population can potentially access at least a portion of Scripture in its
own language, Charisma News Service reported.

Computer technology has quickened the pace. The Translation Task Force
of the AD 2000 and Beyond Movement has created a CD-ROM that provides
research resources to translators anywhere in the world. In addition,
computer translation takes must less time than previous methods.

"Everyone needs to have and understand the Bible. Only Scripture shows
us who God is. His character and purposes are revealed nowhere else.
Jesus' command to 'make disciples ... teaching them,' necessitates the
Bible," said Task Force coordinator John Bendor-Samuel.

From 1990 to 1999, the number of languages having a translation of the
complete Bible grew from 318 to 371. During the same period, complete
New Testament translations increased from 726 to 960 languages.

Bible society representatives told Charisma there is still much work to
be done. Nearly 2,233 language groups have at least one book of the
Bible in their native tongue, but that leaves hundreds of small language
groups yet to be embarked upon.

http://www.mcjonline.com/news/00b/20001017a.htm

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - In sealed-off territories, normal life comes to a standstill
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 08:33:37 -0400

Wednesday, October 18, 2000

In sealed-off territories, normal life comes to a standstill

By Amira Hass
Palestinian Affairs Correspondent

The complete isolation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip during the
recent clashes has disrupted essential services in the territories and
paralyzed the Palestinian economy. While the most immediate concern is
the supply of medical services to hospitals crammed with wounded from
clashes with the IDF and settlers, Palestinian officials are also worried about
the far-reaching effects of the closure on other essential services and on the
Palestinian economy.

The first restrictions on passage between the territories and Israel were
imposed on October 5 and total sealing-off was enforced October 12. Direct
access to towns in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been prevented by
IDF road-blocks and troops, and towns have been cut off from surrounding
villages. The movement of goods between the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip, and between cities and villages, is not permitted under the closure.
Access to the territories via the Rafiah and Allenby border crossings has
been limited, and the 40,000 residents of Hebron's old city, including the
Jewish settlers, have been under virtual house arrest for 19 days.

According to Palestinian sources the closure has disrupted medical services
throughout the territories, making it difficult for hospitals to treat Palestinians
wounded in clashes with IDF forces. Applications to have the most severely
wounded evacuated to surrounding Arab countries for urgent medical
treatment have been delayed by unusually protracted authorization
procedures. Medical institutions throughout the West Bank report that
doctors are unable to reach their clinics due to the restrictions on movement,
and sick people in the villages have been cut off from hospitals in nearby
cities. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights in Gaza reports that medical
equipment and medicine have not been reaching hospitals in time. Other
government services, such as education, have been affected by the closure,
as teachers have been unable to leave their homes to reach schools in the
villages.

In addition to the disruption to essential services, the cutting-off of the
territories is also likely to cause widespread damage to the Palestinian
economy. The Palestinian Ministry of Labor estimates that approximately
110,000 Palestinians work in Israel, 40,600 of them under valid work permits.
The loss of income to these workers is approximately 11 million shekels a
day, which in turn affects the whole of the economy due to a drop in
consumption. In addition, many Palestinian industries are paralyzed by the
halt in supply of raw materials from Israel. According to the Palestinian
Ministry of Industry, Palestinian concerns are losing approximately $5 million
a day.

http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=10/18/00&
id=96906

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - 20 Ways the World Could End
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 08:38:49 -0400

DISCOVER Vol. 21 No. 10 (October 2000)
Table of Contents

20 Ways the World Could End
Swept away.
By Corey S. Powell

We've had a good run of it. In the 500,000 years Homo sapiens has
roamed the land we've built cities, created complex languages, and
sent robotic scouts to other planets. It's difficult to imagine it all
coming to an end. Yet 99 percent of all species that ever lived have
gone extinct, including every one of our hominid ancestors. In 1983,
British cosmologist Brandon Carter framed the "Doomsday argument," a
statistical way to judge when we might join them. If humans were to
survive a long time and spread through the galaxy, then the total
number of people who will ever live might number in the trillions. By
pure odds, it's unlikely that we would be among the very first
hundredth of a percent of all those people. Or turn the argument
around: How likely is it that this generation will be the one unlucky
one? Something like one fifth of all the people who have ever lived
are alive today. The odds of being one of the people to witness
doomsday are highest when there is the largest number of witnesses
around- so now is not such an improbable time.

Human activity is severely disrupting almost all life on the planet,
which surely doesn't help matters. The current rate of extinctions is,
by some estimates, 10,000 times the average in the fossil record. At
present, we may worry about snail darters and red squirrels in
abstract terms. But the next statistic on the list could be us.

Natural Disasters

1 Asteroid impact

Once a disaster scenario gets the cheesy Hollywood treatment, it's
hard to take it seriously. But there is no question that a cosmic
interloper will hit Earth, and we won't have to wait millions of years
for it to happen. In 1908 a 200-foot-wide comet fragment slammed into
the atmosphere and exploded over the Tunguska region in Siberia,
Russia, with nearly 1,000 times the energy of the atomic bomb dropped
on Hiroshima. Astronomers estimate similar-sized events occur every
one to three centuries. Benny Peiser, an anthropologist-cum-pessimist
at Liverpool John Moores University in England, claims that impacts
have repeatedly disrupted human civilization. As an example, he says
one killed 10,000 people in the Chinese city of Chi'ing-yang in 1490.
Many scientists question his interpretations: Impacts are most likely
to occur over the ocean, and small ones that happen over land are most
likely to affect unpopulated areas. But with big asteroids, it doesn't
matter much where they land. Objects more than a half-mile wide- which
strike Earth every 250,000 years or so- would touch off firestorms
followed by global cooling from dust kicked up by the impact. Humans
would likely survive, but civilization might not. An asteroid five
miles wide would cause major extinctions, like the one that may have
marked the end of the age of dinosaurs. For a real chill, look to the
Kuiper belt, a zone just beyond Neptune that contains roughly 100,000
ice-balls more than 50 miles in diameter. The Kuiper belt sends a
steady rain of small comets earthward. If one of the big ones headed
right for us, that would be it for pretty much all higher forms of
life, even cockroaches.

2 Gamma-ray burst

If you could watch the sky with gamma-ray vision, you might think you
were being stalked by cosmic paparazzi. Once a day or so, you would
see a bright flash appear, briefly outshine everything else, then
vanish. These gamma-ray bursts, astrophysicists recently learned,
originate in distant galaxies and are unfathomably powerful- as much
as 10 quadrillion (a one followed by 16 zeros) times as energetic as
the sun. The bursts probably result from the merging of two collapsed
stars. Before the cataclysmal event, such a double star might be
almost completely undetectable, so we'd likely have no advance notice
if one is lurking nearby. Once the burst begins, however, there would
be no missing its fury. At a distance of 1,000 light-years- farther
than most of the stars you can see on a clear night- it would appear
about as bright as the sun. Earth's atmosphere would initially protect
us from most of the burst's deadly X rays and gamma rays, but at a
cost. The potent radiation would cook the atmosphere, creating
nitrogen oxides that would destroy the ozone layer. Without the ozone
layer, ultraviolet rays from the sun would reach the surface at nearly
full force, causing skin cancer and, more seriously, killing off the
tiny photosynthetic plankton in the ocean that provide oxygen to the
atmosphere and bolster the bottom of the food chain. All the gamma-ray
bursts observed so far have been extremely distant, which implies the
events are rare. Scientists understand so little about these
explosions, however, that it's difficult to estimate the likelihood of
one detonating in our galactic neighborhood.

3 Collapse of the vacuum

In the book Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut popularized the idea of
"ice-nine," a form of water that is far more stable than the ordinary
kind, so it is solid at room temperature. Unleash a bit of it, and
suddenly all water on Earth transforms to ice-nine and freezes
solid. Ice-nine was a satirical invention, but an abrupt, disastrous
phase transition is a possibility. Very early in the history of the
universe, according to a leading cosmological model, empty space was
full of energy. This state of affairs, called a false vacuum, was
highly precarious. A new, more stable kind of vacuum appeared and,
like ice-nine, it quickly took over. This transition unleashed a
tremendous amount of energy and caused a brief runaway expansion of
the cosmos. It is possible that another, even more stable kind of
vacuum exists, however. As the universe expands and cools, tiny
bubbles of this new kind of vacuum might appear and spread at nearly
the speed of light. The laws of physics would change in their wake,
and a blast of energy would dash everything to bits. "It makes for a
beautiful story, but it's not very likely," says Piet Hut of the
Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, New Jersey. He says he
worries more about threats that scientists are more certain of- such
as rogue black holes.

4 Rogue black holes

Our galaxy is full of black holes, collapsed stellar corpses just a
dozen miles wide. How full? Tough question. After all, they're called
black holes for a reason. Their gravity is so strong they swallow
everything, even the light that might betray their presence. David
Bennett of Notre Dame University in Indiana managed to spot two black
holes recently by the way they distorted and amplified the light of
ordinary, more distant stars. Based on such observations, and even
more on theoretical arguments, researchers guesstimate there are about
10 million black holes in the Milky Way. These objects orbit just like
other stars, meaning that it is not terribly likely that one is headed
our way. But if a normal star were moving toward us, we'd know
it. With a black hole there is little warning. A few decades before a
close encounter, at most, astronomers would observe a strange
perturbation in the orbits of the outer planets. As the effect grew
larger, it would be possible to make increasingly precise estimates of
the location and mass of the interloper. The black hole wouldn't have
to come all that close to Earth to bring ruin; just passing through
the solar system would distort all of the planets' orbits. Earth might
get drawn into an elliptical path that would cause extreme climate
swings, or it might be ejected from the solar system and go hurtling
to a frigid fate in deep space.

5 Giant solar flares

Solar flares- more properly known as coronal mass ejections- are
enormous magnetic outbursts on the sun that bombard Earth with a
torrent of high-speed subatomic particles. Earth's atmosphere and
magnetic field negate the potentially lethal effects of ordinary
flares. But while looking through old astronomical records, Bradley
Schaefer of Yale University found evidence that some perfectly
normal-looking, sunlike stars can brighten briefly by up to a factor
of 20. Schaefer believes these stellar flickers are caused by
superflares, millions of times more powerful than their common
cousins. Within a few hours, a superflare on the sun could fry Earth
and begin disintegrating the ozone layer (see #2). Although there is
persuasive evidence that our sun doesn't engage in such excess,
scientists don't know why superflares happen at all, or whether our
sun could exhibit milder but still disruptive behavior. And while too
much solar activity could be deadly, too little of it is problematic
as well. Sallie Baliunas at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics says many solar-type stars pass through extended
quiescent periods, during which they become nearly 1 percent
dimmer. That might not sound like much, but a similar downturn in the
sun could send us into another ice age. Baliunas cites evidence that
decreased solar activity contributed to 17 of the 19 major cold
episodes on Earth in the last 10,000 years.

6 Reversal of Earth's magnetic field

Every few hundred thousand years Earth's magnetic field dwindles
almost to nothing for perhaps a century, then gradually reappears with
the north and south poles flipped. The last such reversal was 780,000
years ago, so we may be overdue. Worse, the strength of our magnetic
field has decreased about 5 percent in the past century. Why worry in
an age when GPS has made compasses obsolete? Well, the magnetic field
deflects particle storms and cosmic rays from the sun, as well as even
more energetic subatomic particles from deep space. Without magnetic
protection, these particles would strike Earth's atmosphere, eroding
the already beleaguered ozone layer (see #5). Also, many creatures
navigate by magnetic reckoning. A magnetic reversal might cause
serious ecological mischief. One big caveat: "There are no
identifiable fossil effects from previous flips," says Sten Odenwald
of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. "This is most curious."
Still, a disaster that kills a quarter of the population, like the
Black Plague in Europe, would hardly register as a blip in fossil
records.

7 Flood-basalt volcanism

In 1783, the Laki volcano in Iceland erupted, spitting out three cubic
miles of lava. Floods, ash, and fumes wiped out 9,000 people and 80
percent of the livestock. The ensuing starvation killed a quarter of
Iceland's population. Atmospheric dust caused winter temperatures to
plunge by 9 degrees in the newly independent United States. And that
was just a baby's burp compared with what the Earth can do.
Sixty-five million years ago, a plume of hot rock from the mantle
burst through the crust in what is now India. Eruptions raged century
after century, ultimately unleashing a quarter-million cubic miles of
lava- the Laki eruption 100,000 times over. Some scientists still
blame the Indian outburst, not an asteroid, for the death of the
dinosaurs. An earlier, even larger event in Siberia occurred just
about the time of the Permian-Triassic extinction, the most thorough
extermination known to paleontology. At that time 95 percent of all
species were wiped out.

Sulfurous volcanic gases produce acid rains. Chlorine-bearing
compounds present yet another threat to the fragile ozone layer- a
noxious brew all around. While they are causing short-term
destruction, volcanoes also release carbon dioxide that yields
long-term greenhouse-effect warming.The last big pulse of flood-basalt
volcanism built the Columbia River plateau about 17 million years
ago. We're ripe for another.

8 Global epidemics

If Earth doesn't do us in, our fellow organisms might be up to the
task. Germs and people have always coexisted, but occasionally the
balance gets out of whack. The Black Plague killed one European in
four during the 14th century; influenza took at least 20 million lives
between 1918 and 1919; the AIDS epidemic has produced a similar death
toll and is still going strong. From 1980 to 1992, reports the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, mortality from infectious disease
in the United States rose 58 percent. Old diseases such as cholera and
measles have developed new resistance to antibiotics. Intensive
agriculture and land development is bringing humans closer to animal
pathogens. International travel means diseases can spread faster than
ever. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert who recently
left the Minnesota Department of Health, described the situation as
"like trying to swim against the current of a raging river." The
grimmest possibility would be the emergence of a strain that spreads
so fast we are caught off guard or that resists all chemical means of
control, perhaps as a result of our stirring of the ecological
pot. About 12,000 years ago, a sudden wave of mammal extinctions swept
through the Americas. Ross MacPhee of the American Museum of Natural
History argues the culprit was extremely virulent disease, which
humans helped transport as they migrated into the New World.

Human-Triggered Disasters

9 Global warming

The Earth is getting warmer, and scientists mostly agree that humans
bear some blame. It's easy to see how global warming could flood
cities and ruin harvests. More recently, researchers like Paul Epstein
of Harvard Medical School have raised the alarm that a balmier planet
could also assist the spread of infectious disease by providing a more
suitable climate for parasites and spreading the range of tropical
pathogens (see #8). That could include crop diseases which, combined
with substantial climate shifts, might cause famine. Effects could be
even more dramatic. At present, atmospheric gases trap enough heat
close to the surface to keep things comfortable. Increase the global
temperature a bit, however, and there could be a bad feedback effect,
with water evaporating faster, freeing water vapor (a potent
greenhouse gas), which traps more heat, which drives carbon dioxide
from the rocks, which drives temperatures still higher. Earth could
end up much like Venus, where the high on a typical day is 900 degrees
Fahrenheit. It would probably take a lot of warming to initiate such a
runaway greenhouse effect, but scientists have no clue where exactly
the tipping point lies.

10 Ecosystem collapse

Images of slaughtered elephants and burning rain forests capture
people's attention, but the big problem- the overall loss of
biodiversity- is a lot less visible and a lot more serious. Billions
of years of evolution have produced a world in which every organism's
welfare is intertwined with that of countless other species. A recent
study of Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior offers an
example. Snowy winters encourage wolves to hunt in larger packs, so
they kill more moose. The decline in moose population allows more
balsam fir saplings to live. The fir trees pull carbon dioxide out of
the atmosphere, which in turn influences the climate. It's all
connected. To meet the demands of the growing population, we are
clearing land for housing and agriculture, replacing diverse wild
plants with just a few varieties of crops, transporting plants and
animals, and introducing new chemicals into the environment. At least
30,000 species vanish every year from human activity, which means we
are living in the midst of one of the greatest mass extinctions in
Earth's history. Stephen Kellert, a social ecologist at Yale
University, sees a number of ways people might upset the delicate
checks and balances in the global ecology. New patterns of disease
might emerge (see #8), he says, or pollinating insects might become
extinct, leading to widespread crop failure. Or as with the wolves of
Isle Royale, the consequences might be something we'd never think of,
until it's too late.

11 Biotech disaster

While we are extinguishing natural species, we're also creating new
ones through genetic engineering. Genetically modified crops can be
hardier, tastier, and more nutritious. Engineered microbes might ease
our health problems. And gene therapy offers an elusive promise of
fixing fundamental defects in our DNA. Then there are the possible
downsides. Although there is no evidence indicating genetically
modified foods are unsafe, there are signs that the genes from
modified plants can leak out and find their way into other
species. Engineered crops might also foster insecticide
resistance. Longtime skeptics like Jeremy Rifkin worry that the
resulting superweeds and superpests could further destabilize the
stressed global ecosystem (see #9). Altered microbes might prove to be
unexpectedly difficult to control. Scariest of all is the possibility
of the deliberate misuse of biotechnology. A terrorist group or rogue
nation might decide that anthrax isn't nasty enough and then try to
put together, say, an airborne version of the Ebola virus. Now there's
a showstopper.

12 Particle accelerator mishap

Theodore Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, raved that a
particle accelerator experiment could set off a chain reaction that
would destroy the world. Surprisingly, many sober-minded physicists
have had the same thought. Normally their anxieties come up during
private meetings, amidst much scribbling on the backs of used
envelopes. Recently the question went public when London's Sunday
Times reported that the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) on Long
Island, New York, might create a subatomic black hole that would
slowly nibble away our planet. Alternately, it might create exotic
bits of altered matter, called strangelets, that would obliterate
whatever ordinary matter they met. To assuage RHIC's jittery
neighbors, the lab's director convened a panel that rejected both
scenarios as pretty much impossible. Just for good measure, the panel
also dismissed the possibility that RHIC would trigger a phase
transition in the cosmic vacuum energy (see #3). These kinds of
reassurances follow the tradition of the 1942 "LA-602" report, a
once-classified document that explained why the detonation of the
first atomic bomb almost surely would not set the atmosphere on
fire. The RHIC physicists did not, however, reject the fundamental
possibility of the disasters. They argued that their machine isn't
nearly powerful enough to make a black hole or destabilize the
vacuum. Oh, well. We can always build a bigger accelerator.

13 Nanotechnology disaster

Before you've even gotten the keyboard dirty, your home computer is
obsolete, largely because of incredibly rapid progress in
miniaturizing circuits on silicon chips. Engineers are using the same
technology to build crude, atomic-scale machines, inventing a new
field as they go called nanotechnology. Within a few decades, maybe
sooner, it should be possible to build microscopic robots that can
assemble and replicate themselves. They might perform surgery from
inside a patient, build any desired product from simple raw materials,
or explore other worlds. All well and good if the technology works as
intended. Then again, consider what K. Eric Drexler of the Foresight
Institute calls the "grey goo problem" in his book Engines of
Creation, a cult favorite among the nanotech set. After an industrial
accident, he writes, bacteria-sized machines, "could spread like
blowing pollen, replicate swiftly, and reduce the biosphere to dust in
a matter of days." And Drexler is actually a strong proponent of the
technology. More pessimistic souls, such as Bill Joy, a cofounder of
Sun Microsystems, envision nano-machines as the perfect precision
military or terrorist tools.

14 Environmental toxins

>From Donora, Pennsylvania, to Bhopal, India, modern history abounds
with frightening examples of the dangers of industrial pollutants. But
the poisoning continues. In major cities around the world, the air is
thick with diesel particulates, which the National Institutes of
Health now considers a carcinogen. Heavy metals from industrial
smokestacks circle the globe, even settling in the pristine snows of
Antarctica. Intensive use of pesticides in farming guarantees runoff
into rivers and lakes. In high doses, dioxins can disrupt fetal
development and impair reproductive function- and dioxins are
everywhere. Your house may contain polyvinyl chloride pipes,
wallpaper, and siding, which belch dioxins if they catch fire or are
incinerated. There are also the unknown risks to think about. Every
year NIH adds to its list of cancer-causing substances- the number is
up to 218. Theo Colburn of the World Wildlife Fund argues that dioxins
and other, similar chlorine-bearing compounds mimic the effects of
human hormones well enough that they could seriously reduce
fertility. Many other scientists dispute her evidence, but if she's
right, our chemical garbage could ultimately threaten our survival.

Willful Self-Destruction

15 Global war

Together, the United States and Russia still have almost 19,000 active
nuclear warheads. Nuclear war seems unlikely today, but a dozen years
ago the demise of the Soviet Union also seemed rather
unlikely. Political situations evolve; the bombs remain deadly. There
is also the possibility of an accidental nuclear exchange. And a
ballistic missile defense system, given current technology, will catch
only a handful of stray missiles- assuming it works at all. Other
types of weaponry could have global effects as well. Japan began
experimenting with biological weapons after World War I, and both the
United States and the Soviet Union experimented with killer germs
during the cold war. Compared with atomic bombs, bioweapons are cheap,
simple to produce, and easy to conceal. They are also hard to control,
although that unpredictability could appeal to a terrorist
organization. John Leslie, a philosopher at the University of Guelph
in Ontario, points out that genetic engineering might permit the
creation of "ethnic" biological weapons that are tailored to attack
primarily one ethnic group (see #11).

16 Robots take over

People create smart robots, which turn against us and take over the
world. Yawn. We've seen this in movies, TV, and comic books for
decades. After all these years, look around and still- no smart
robots. Yet Hans Moravec, one of the founders of the robotics
department of Carnegie Mellon University, remains a believer. By 2040,
he predicts, machines will match human intelligence, and perhaps human
consciousness. Then they'll get even better. He envisions an eventual
symbiotic relationship between human and machine, with the two merging
into "postbiologicals" capable of vastly expanding their intellectual
power. Marvin Minsky, an artificial-intelligence expert at MIT,
foresees a similar future: People will download their brains into
computer-enhanced mechanical surrogates and log into nearly boundless
files of information and experience. Whether this counts as the end of
humanity or the next stage in evolution depends on your point of
view. Minsky's vision might sound vaguely familiar. After the first
virtual-reality machines hit the marketplace around 1989, feverish
journalists hailed them as electronic LSD, trippy illusion machines
that might entice the user in and then never let him out. Sociologists
fretted that our culture, maybe even our species, would whither
away. When the actual experience of virtual reality turned out to be
more like trying to play Pac-Man with a bowling ball taped to your
head, the talk died down. To his credit, Minsky recognizes that the
merger of human and machine lies quite a few years away.

17 Mass insanity

While physical health has improved in most parts of the world over the
past century, mental health is getting worse. The World Health
Organization estimates that 500 million people around the world suffer
from a psychological disorder. By 2020, depression will likely be the
second leading cause of death and lost productivity, right behind
cardiovascular disease. Increasing human life spans may actually
intensify the problem, because people have more years to experience
the loneliness and infirmity of old age. Americans over 65 already
are disproportionately likely to commit suicide. Gregory Stock, a
biophysicist at the University of California at Los Angeles, believes
medical science will soon allow people to live to be 200 or older. If
such an extended life span becomes common, it will pose unfathomable
social and psychological challenges. Perhaps 200 years of accumulated
sensations will overload the human brain, leading to a new kind of
insanity or fostering the spread of doomsday cults, determined to
reclaim life's endpoint. Perhaps the current trends of depression and
suicide among the elderly will continue. One possible solution-
promoting a certain kind of mental well-being with psychoactive drugs
such as Prozac- heads into uncharted waters. Researchers have no good
data on the long-term effects of taking these medicines.

A Greater Force Is Directed Against Us

18 Alien invasion

At the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California, a cadre of
dedicated scientists sifts through radio static in search of a
telltale signal from an alien civilization. So far, nothing. Now
suppose the long-sought message arrives. Not only do the aliens
exist, they are about to stop by for a visit. And then . . . any
science-fiction devotee can tell you what could go wrong. But the
history of human exploration and exploitation suggests the most likely
danger is not direct conflict. Aliens might want resources from our
solar system (Earth's oceans, perhaps, full of hydrogen for refilling
a fusion-powered spacecraft) and swat us aside if we get in the way,
as we might dismiss mosquitoes or beetles stirred up by the logging of
a rain forest. Aliens might unwittingly import pests with a taste for
human flesh, much as Dutch colonists reaching Mauritius brought cats,
rats, and pigs that quickly did away with the dodo. Or aliens might
accidentally upset our planet or solar system while carrying out some
grandiose interstellar construction project. The late physicist Gerard
O'Neill speculated that contact with extraterrestrial visitors could
also be socially disastrous. "Advanced western civilization has had a
destructive effect on all primitive civilizations it has come in
contact with, even in those cases where every attempt was made to
protect and guard the primitive civilization," he said in a 1979
interview. "I don't see any reason why the same thing would not happen
to us."

19 Divine intervention

Judaism has the Book of Daniel; Christianity has the Book of
Revelation; Islam has the coming of the Mahdi; Zoroastrianism has the
countdown to the arrival of the third son of Zoroaster. The stories
and their interpretations vary widely, but the underlying concept is
similar: God intervenes in the world, bringing history to an end and
ushering in a new moral order. Apocalyptic thinking runs at least back
to Egyptian mythology and right up to Heaven's Gate and Y2K
mania. More worrisome, to the nonbelievers at least, are the doomsday
cults that prefer to take holy retribution into their own hands. In
1995, members of the Aum Shinri Kyo sect unleashed sarin nerve gas in
a Tokyo subway station, killing 12 people and injuring more than
5,000. Had things gone as intended, the death toll would have been
hundreds of times greater. A more determined group armed with a more
lethal weapon- nuclear, biological, nanotechnological even- could have
done far more damage.

20 Someone wakes up and realizes it was all a dream

Are we living a shadow existence that only fools us into thinking it
is real? This age-old philosophical question still reverberates
through cultural thought, from the writings of William S. Burrows to
the cinematic mind games of The Matrix. Hut of the Institute of
Advanced Studies sees an analogy to the danger of the collapse of the
vacuum. Just as our empty space might not be the true, most stable
form of the vacuum, what we call reality might not be the true, most
stable form of existence. In the fourth century B.C., Taoist
philosopher Chuang Tzu framed the question in more poetic terms. He
described a vivid dream. In it, he was a butterfly who had no
awareness of his existence as a person. When he awoke, he asked: "Was
I before Chuang Tzu who dreamt about being a butterfly, or am I now a
butterfly who dreams about being Chuang Tzu?" - with additional
research by Diane Martindale

RELATED WEB SITES:

The folks at the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists maintain the
famed "Doomsday Clock at www.bullatomsci.org/clock.html

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] - Infobeat News items (10/18/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 08:47:26 -0400

*** General assembly to hold meeting

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The U.N. General Assembly scheduled an
emergency meeting Wednesday on the Middle East at the request of
Palestinian supporters, despite a U.S. appeal to delay the session.
The Palestinian representative to the United Nations, Nasser
Al-Kidwa, asked for the special session last week, and more than 100
Arab and Third World nations backed the call. General Assembly
President Harri Holkeri of Finland scheduled the session after
meeting with Al-Kidwa Tuesday morning, spokeswoman Sue Markham said.
The session is expected to include a number of speeches about the
violence that has flared in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since Sept.
28, leaving more than 100 people dead, mostly Palestinians. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570642898-d1a

*** Miami judge to rule on 'Millionaire'

MIAMI (AP) - A federal judge said Tuesday he would rule shortly on
whether the hit television program "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"
discriminates against the hearing impaired and those who can't use
touch-tone telephones. The Center for Independent Living in Miami is
suing ABC-TV and the quiz show production company, Valleycrest
Productions Ltd., claiming telephone screening for contestants
violates the Americans With Disabilities Act. A million people call
the program daily, and 240,000 get through to an automated phone
system requiring callers to punch in correct answers within 10
seconds. Qualifiers are then drawn at random for a second round of
questioning. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570641377-9e4

*** Albright, Syrian president to meet

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - With U.S. encouragement, Saudi officials
arranged a meeting here between Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
and visiting Syrian President Bashar Assad. The meeting, scheduled
for Wednesday, could give Albright a chance to try to rally Syria to
support the agreement between Israel and the Palestinians negotiated
earlier in the day in Egypt, and also seek Syria's help in
controlling Hezbollah. The radical Islamic group kidnapped three
Israeli soldiers Oct. 7 on the Lebanese border. On Sunday, Hezbollah
announced it had seized Elchanan Tennenbaum, a 54-year-old reserve
Israeli air force colonel, in Switzerland. He works as a consultant
in the electronics industry. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570643727-d9c

*** 5 people held in synagogue fire

PARIS (AP) - Five people have been detained for questioning in
connection with the burning of a synagogue just outside Paris, police
said Tuesday. The five, between 18 and 20 years old, were detained
early Tuesday not far from the synagogue in Trappes, which was all
but destroyed by a fire last week. The fire was one among scores of
attacks this month that have targeted synagogues, Jewish schools and
other Jewish establishments in France. The attacks may have been
triggered by the recent violence between Israelis and Palestinians in
the Middle East. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570640980-f50

*** New Holocaust footage on German TV

BERLIN (AP) - As Germany struggles to combat surging neo-Nazi
attacks, a new TV documentary that includes recovered film footage of
the Holocaust will highlight the country's uneasy relationship with
its past. Starting Tuesday, public ZDF television is airing the
six-part documentary "Holokaust" based on interviews with more than
500 witnesses and research in some 50 archives on the persecution of
the Jews. The documentary, to be shown weekly in prime time, shows
Germans new images - including film shot by amateurs and German
military servicemen. It shows how Jews suffered increasingly violent
attacks before being deported from ghettos in occupied Eastern Europe
to concentration camps. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570640837-a13

*** Saudi dissidents want U.S. to leave

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The focus on Saudi suspects in the
bombing of the USS Cole throws the spotlight on Saudi dissidents who
have targeted Americans in the past - particularly Osama bin Laden.
Bin Laden, currently living in Afghanistan, has been accused of being
behind the bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa that killed
224 people. Bin Laden sees himself as a modern-day Muslim crusader
and has threatened to target the United States as long as its forces
remain in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. He has condemned the use
of Aden as a refueling port for U.S. warships. In remarks published
Tuesday, bin Laden vowed to continue his battle against the "enemies
of Islam" - a reference to the United States. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570638928-ac4

*** Arabs decry cease-fire agreement

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Many across the Arab world scoffed Tuesday at
word of a Palestinian-Israeli cease-fire agreement, criticizing
moderate leaders for talking to Israel and calling for a continuation
of the fight against the Jewish state. In Iraq, the Cabinet said
after a meeting chaired by Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein that
"regaining Palestine will only be through liberation, jihad and by
mobilizing the Arab nation's potentials." A statement by Jordan's 13
opposition groups said the Sharm el-Sheik parley "undermines the Arab
summit" scheduled to be held in Egypt on Saturday. The groups are
mainly Muslim fundamentalist and leftist parties opposed to a Middle
East settlement. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570641295-851

*** Iraq rebuffs Saudi return demand

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Iraq has rejected Saudi demands that it
extradite two hijackers who commandeered a London-bound Saudi Arabian
Airlines jet and diverted it to Baghdad last week. Interior Minister
Mohammed Zemam Abdel-Razzak said Tuesday that under Arab tradition,
Iraq cannot surrender the men to Saudi authorities. Any Arab entering
Iraq, whether from Saudi Arabia or another Arab country, is welcome
and "our people throughout their history have not surrendered an
alien," Abdel-Razzak said in a statement carried by the official
Iraqi News Agency. His Saudi counterpart, Prince Nayef, had insisted
the hijackers be turned over for trial. Hijacking carries the death
penalty in Saudi Arabia. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570644000-03c

*** Humanitarian goods flown to Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Two airplanes from Arab countries arrived in
Baghdad on Tuesday, the latest in a monthlong string of flights
bringing humanitarian aid - as well as business and entertainment
delegations - to Iraq. A Bahraini plane brought a delegation of
businesspeople and journalists and also delivered food and medical
aid to the country suffering under 10 years of U.N.-imposed
sanctions. An Egyptian aircraft, the second in a week, carried 100
actors, artists and literary figures. At the airport, famous actress
Raghda said the Egyptian delegation was proud to fly the plane to
Baghdad without waiting for clearance from the U.N. committee that
monitors sanctions on Iraq. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570645153-b8d

*** Doctors can keep HIV status secret

CHICAGO (AP) - A leading health policy expert says the government
should no longer compel HIV-infected doctors to tell patients about
their disease, reopening a debate that raged a decade ago after
Kimberly Bergalis got AIDS from her Florida dentist. Lawrence Gostin
of Georgetown University Law Center said the current rules "pose
significant human rights burdens" and are not supported by recent
data showing the risk of doctor-patient transmission is extremely
low. The guidelines are being evaluated under a routine review by the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Bergalis' death nine
years ago prompted the CDC to adopt guidelines in 1991 that say
HIV-infected health workers should reveal their disease to patients
undergoing invasive procedures. Gostin was among the advisers who
urged the CDC to adopt those guidelines. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570638491-6e0

*** AT&T Wireless offers 2-way text

NEW YORK (AP) - AT&T Wireless is introducing instant text messaging
for mobile phones, the first U.S. cellular company to offer a service
that's become a runaway craze in Europe, especially among teen-agers.
The new two-way messaging service lets subscribers send and receive
text messages up to 150 characters long using four Nokia digital
phones available through AT&T Wireless. Messages can be sent to other
digital phones, handheld devices, pagers or any e-mail address.
Worldwide, cell phone users send more than 9 billion short text
messages per month, a number that's expected to reach 10 billion a
month by year-end, according to the GSM Association, an industry
group consisting of wireless companies using GSM technology, the
dominant standard in Europe. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570639488-5a5

*** $1 mln awarded to Elian Gonzalez

MIAMI (AP) - Elian Gonzalez is the recipient of the first Al Neuharth
Free Spirit Award, and the $1 million prize will be used to help
needy refugee children. The selection of the 6-year-old shipwreck
survivor was announced Tuesday by the Freedom Forum, which
established the award last year to honor Neuharth when he retired as
a trustee of the international foundation. Neuharth, who started USA
Today, founded the Freedom Forum. Elian was found floating off the
Florida coast on Thanksgiving Day, one of three survivors from a boat
that capsized as it headed to Florida from Cuba. His mother and 10
others died. A Freedom Forum spokeswoman said the foundation did not
have the option of giving the $1 million to Elian or his father
because of laws prohibiting it from giving money to Cuban nationals.
See http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570644616-bd8

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Disease hope as brain cells are grown in the lab
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 08:50:11 -0400

Disease hope as brain cells are grown in the lab

Robin McKie, science editor
Sunday October 15, 2000

Scientists have discovered how to grow human brain cells in the laboratory.
They have isolated neurones from several key areas of the cortex and plan to
transplant them into patients suffering from epilepsy and strokes, as well as
Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Transplants of human brain cells have
already been demonstrated in clinical trials. However, each requires
neurones that have been taken from at least six aborted foetuses. Scientists
believe their breakthrough research has solved this crucial problem of supply.
'We could satisfy the demands of every Parkinson's patient in Europe and
the United States with cells grown in one small laboratory,' said Dr George
Foster, of Cardiff University. 'That's the immense potential of this technology.'
The technique employed by the group - based at Cardiff and Sheffield
universities - involves the immortalisation of brain cells in culture dishes.
Neurones are bathed in chemicals that switches on a gene that keeps the
cells dividing indefinitely. The end result is an abundant supply of human
neurones. 'Other groups have managed to grow rat and mouse brain cells in
the laboratory,' said Dr Brad Stringer of Sheffield University. 'We were the
first to succeed with human neurones.' The human cells isolated come from
the striatum, cortex, hippocampus and brain stem. When neurones die in
these areas, they produce, respectively: the fatal Huntington's disease;
Alzheimer's; strokes and epilepsy; and Parkinson's disease. 'That means we
now have a supply of specialised brain cells that could be used to replace
the cells lost in these conditions,' said Foster. The group has taken out a
string of patents to protect their technologies and have launched their own
biotechnology company, CellFactors. 'We have also developed a parallel
technique for growing bone cells - called human hypertrophic chondrocytes -
in the laboratory,' added company chief executive Dr Iain Cubitt. The firm has
launched pre-clinical brain cell trials, at the Institute of Psychiatry, London,
on stroke victims, and intends to begin clinical trials on transplants for
Parkinson's disease patients by the end of next year.

http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,382794,00.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] - Sneaking In the Secret Search
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 08:53:10 -0400

Sneaking In the Secret Search
No person's liberty is safe in the last week of Congress.

By Dave Kopel of the Independence Institute

No person's liberty is safe in the last week of Congress — traditionally a time when civil liberties invasions such as wire-tapping, gun prohibition, and the like are snuck through into legislation. These are the final frantic hours of the session, and there is no opportunity for public opposition.

This Congress will be no exception. As soon as today, the House may vote on a bill, which has already passed the Senate, to drastically expand government power to conduct secret searches without judicial approval.

The bill in question comes from Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT). It is S. 2516, "The Fugitive Apprehension Act." The bill allows the government to obtain any kind of document it wants, without first getting a search warrant or a subpoena from a court. Section 3(b) allows the attorney general or her subordinate, rather than a court, to issue subpoenas. These documents include any written or electronic document possessed by an individual — or possessed by a third party (such as bank records, credit card records, telephone records, school records, or an Internet Service Provider's customer records).

In other words, the bill guts the Fourth Amendment requirement that private documents should be searched only after a court issues a warrant based on probable cause.

Even worse, section 3(g) of the bill allows these document seizures to be conducted secretly, so that the individual might never be told that his bank records, Internet records, or other documents have been searched by the government. The section allows the attorney general's subpoena a "provider of electronic communication service" to receive the secrecy privileges that are currently allowed only for wiretaps (these include that the government can delay or postpone forever telling a person that he has been searched).

The bill currently applies to apprehension of "fugitives," which includes people who have been charged (not convicted) of a crime at both the federal or state level. In other words, if your wife's second cousin never showed up in court for his drunk-driving trial, the government could look at your bank records, telephone records and Internet records — without a court order and without ever telling you about most of the searches.

There is no law enforcement need for this provision. Under the All Writs Act, a United States attorney can go to court and present reasons why he needs access to private records. If the court agrees (it almost always does), the court issues a subpoena to obtain the records. This system is working well, and, notably, U.S. attorneys are not asking to change the law.

Even so, there is a very strong chance that S. 2516 will become law next week, unless Congress hears of widespread opposition. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is leading the fight against the bill on Capitol Hill, is urging to citizens to contact their representatives and senators in every way possible: at town hall meetings, by calling D.C. and local congressional offices, and by sending e-mails or faxes.

The main congressman opposing S. 2516 is Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA). The very conservative Barr is a former U.S. attorney, and one of the most prominent "law and order" Republicans in Congress — as shown by his leadership in the effort to impeach President Clinton. While the ACLU is generally considered liberal, and Barr conservative, both agree that protecting the Fourth Amendment transcends party or ideology.

Should S. 2516 become law, it would set a precedent for warrantless, secret searches on other areas — including firearms. This is one reason why Barr, one of the staunchest Second Amendment defenders in Congress, is opposing the bill.

There is also a possibility that S. 2516 may be snuck through as an amendment to HR 3048, "The Presidential Protection Act of 2000." Of course S. 2516 has nothing to do with presidential protection. Instead, the bill is about constitutional destruction.

http://www.nationalreview.com/kopel/kopel101000.shtml

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] - Egypt criticises Kadhafi for unveiling draft ahead of Arab summit
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 09:00:53 -0400

Wednesday, October 18 7:02 PM SGT

Egypt criticises Kadhafi for unveiling draft ahead of Arab
summit

CAIRO, Oct 18 (AFP) -

Egypt criticised Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi on Wednesday for revealing details of the draft resolution for the upcoming Arab summit in Cairo called to discuss the Israeli- Palestinian clashes.

"The draft statement is an initial document and not a final document, and it is not right to make it public," Foreign Minister Amr Mussa said, quoted by the official news agency MENA.

Mussa said he "regretted" the attitude of Kadhafi, who in an interview Tuesday with the Qatari satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera, read out extracts from the draft sent out to participants ahead of the October 21-22 summit.

"In keeping with the principles of diplomacy, these documents are used to exchange points of view and to express the position of each country," the foreign minister stressed.

The Cairo-based Arab League distributes a draft final resolution ahead of summits to be discussed by foreign ministers of the 22-member organisation and then submitted to the heads of state.

Kadhafi told Al-Jazeera that he had received a copy of the draft and that it failed to called for action against Israel at the first Arab summit to be held since 1996.

Kadhafi said the draft proposes "denouncing" and "condemning" the Jewish state for a wave of violence in the Palestinian territories and Israel itself since September 28 that has killed more than 100 Arabs.

"I denounce them (the Arab heads of state) because they are incapable of responding to the expectations of the Arab masses," he said waving a ream of papers.

But at the same time, Kadhafi, who has not yet clarified whether he will take his seat at the two-day Cairo summit, said that he felt "sorry" for his fellow Arab leaders.

"I want to save my brothers ... I have asked them to give up this summit to save face. I want to save them from the wrath of the masses, who will turn on them because, with this extraordinary summit, they will be throwing oil on the fire."

One good point in the draft, Kadhafi said, was a proposal to seek international legal action against "certain Israeli leaders," notably Ariel Sharon, the hawkish leader of Israel's right-wing Likud opposition.

It was a highly publicised visit by Sharon to a disputed holy site in Arab east Jerusalem sacred to both Jews and Muslims that sparked the almost three-week-old clashes between Israel and the Palestinians.

"A summit must declare a war or an economic boycott against the enemy (Israel), but the Arabs are not capable of fighting or boycotting the enemy," the Libyan leader said in Jordan recently.

"Therefore what will the summit do besides issue denunciations, present condolences to the families of the victims and provide an occasion (for Arab leaders) to eat and drink?" he asked, dismissively.

"It will be useless for the Arabs to meet at a summit that fails to take decisions or to stop the massacres perpetrated against the Palestinians," he said.

http://asia.dailynews.yahoo.com/headlines/world/article.html?s=asia/head line s/001018/world/afp/Egypt_criticises_Kadhafi_for_unveiling_draft_ahead_of _Ar ab_summit.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Bush Beats Gore in Presidential 'Blue Blood' Stakes
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 09:12:06 -0400

Tuesday October 17 11:12 AM ET
Bush Beats Gore in Presidential 'Blue Blood'
Stakes

LONDON (Reuters) - If royal genes have anything to do with electoral
success, then Republican U.S. presidential candidate George W. Bush
(news - web sites) will be the next man in the White House, Britain's blue
blood bible said Tuesday.

Burke's Peerage, a revered guide to the breeding of the aristocracy, said
both Bush and his rival Al Gore (news - web sites) are of royal descent, but
investigations deep into their heritage show Bush has far more noble and
royal connections.

Bush is closely related to every European monarch on and off the throne --
including the King of Albania -- and has kinship with every member of
Britain's royal family, the House of Windsor.

He is a 13th cousin of Britain's Queen Mother, and of her daughter Queen
Elizabeth and is a 13th cousin once removed of the heir to the throne, Prince
Charles.

Bush's family tree can be documented as far back as the early 15th century.

He has a direct descent from Henry III and from Henry VIII's sister Mary
Tudor, who was also the wife of Louis XI of France. He is also descended
from Charles II of England.

``Well Endowed''

``It is now clear that Mr. Gore and Mr. Bush have an unusually large number
of royal and noble descents,'' said Harold Brooks-Baker, publishing director
of Burke's Peerage.

``In point of fact, never in the history of the United States have two
presidential candidates been as well endowed with royal alliances.''

Brooks-Baker said there had always been a significant ''royalty factor'' in
those who aspired to the White House, with Presidents George Washington,
Thomas Jefferson, Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan,
among others, all boasting blue blood links.

Democrat candidate Gore, who is currently lagging Bush by one point in
opinion polls ahead of U.S. elections in November, has a less illustrious
gene pool.

Being a descendant of Edward I, he is also a cousin of former U.S. president
Richard Nixon, who resigned from the White House in 1974 for his part in the
Watergate scandal.

But Gore does have direct links to the holy Roman Empire.

He is a descendant of Roman Emperors Louis II, Charles II and Louis I and is
therefore also a direct descendant of Charlemagne -- the eight-century
Emperor.

The problem is, Gore's Charlemagne links also make him a cousin of George
W. Bush.

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001017/od/royalty_dc_1.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Police Treaty a Global Invasion?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 11:39:20 -0500

Police Treaty a Global Invasion?
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,39519,00.html

WASHINGTON -- Civil liberties groups are vexed over a proposed treaty that
would grant more surveillance powers to U.S. and European police agencies,
and expand copyright crimes.

Thirty groups -- from North America, Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe --
said this week that the treaty "improperly extends the police authority of
national governments" and places the privacy of Internet users and the
freedom of computer programmers at risk.

In a long letter to Walter Schwimmer, the Council of Europe's secretary
general, the groups advise the participating governments to delay action on
the treaty and consult with technical and privacy experts instead.

"It's a direct assault on legal protections and constitutional protections
that have been established by national governments to protect their
citizens," says Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
"It's both an end run by police agencies and a bit of policy laundering by
the U.S. Department of Justice to get more (surveillance) authority."

Rotenberg said EPIC and other groups wanted to rally opposition to the
measure before a summit of participating nations next week in Berlin.

The U.S. has helped craft the Council of Europe's proposal, which is
expected to be finalized within the next few months, making it the first
computer crime treaty. The draft treaty is designed to aid police in
investigations of online miscreants in cases where attacks or intrusions
cross national borders.

It would:

Make it a crime to create, download, or post on a website any "device,
including a computer program, designed or adapted" primarily to gain access
to a computer system without permission. Also banned is software designed to
interfere with the "functioning of a computer system" by deleting or
altering data.

Allow authorities to order someone to reveal his or her pass-phrase for an
encryption key. According to one survey, only Singapore and Malaysia have
enacted such a requirement into law, and experts say that in the United
States it could run afoul of constitutional protections against
self-incrimination.

Internationalize a U.S. law that makes it a crime to possess even digital
images that "appear" to represent children's genitals or children engaged in
sexual conduct. Linking to such a site also would be a crime.

Require websites and Internet providers to collect information about their
users, a rule that would potentially restrict anonymous emailers.

Require each country signing the treaty "to establish as criminal offences
under its domestic law the infringement of copyright." Currently the United
States appears to be the only country where sharing software or music with a
friend -- what lawyers call "nonprofit infringing" -- is a crime.

Restricting security-related software is not a wise choice, the groups say.

The letter argues: "We believe that this concept lacks sufficient
specificity to ensure that it will not become an all-purpose basis to
investigate individuals engaged in computer-related activity that is
completely lawful. As technical experts have made clear, this provision will
also discourage the development of new security tools and give government an
improper role in policing scientific innovation."

Technical experts have said Article 6 of the measure, titled "Illegal
Devices," could ban commonplace network security tools like crack and nmap,
which is included with Linux as a standard utility.

Groups participating in the letter include Russia's Human Rights Network,the
U.K.'s Privacy International, the LINK Center in Africa, France's IRIS, the
American Civil Liberties Union, and the Canadian Journalists for Free
Expression.

Representing the United States in the drafting process is the Justice
Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property section, which chairs
the G-8 subgroup on high-tech crime and also is involved with a cybercrime
project at the Organization of American States. In December 1997 Reno
convened the first meeting on computer crime of the G-8 nations.

The Council of Europe is not affiliated with the European Union, and
includes over 40 member nations, including Russia, which joined in 1996.

After the Council of Europe's expert group finalizes the proposed treaty,
the full committee of ministers must adopt the text. Then it will be sent to
countries for their signatures and subsequent legislation to create the new
civil and criminal offenses.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - The World Heritage List
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 12:42:31 -0500

http://www.unesco.org/whc/heritage.htm

Any thoughts on the possibility of the Temple Mount ending up on this
list??? Shophar_Sho_Good@usa.net

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Cultural diversity, conflict and pluralism
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shophar_Sho_Good")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 12:53:06 -0500

[ Open your eyes, their mandate will override sovereignty ]

World Culture Report 2000
Cultural diversity, conflict and pluralism
http://www.unesco.org/culture/worldreport/index.html
English version available in October 2000

Aware of the need to delve further into the multi-layered concepts of
cultural diversity, conflict resolution and pluralism, UNESCO proposes this
second edition of the World Culture Report, in which experts, statisticians
and artists provide information and analysis and propose new concepts,
insights and policy recommendations.

-Cultural justice, redistribution and recognition
-The 'social investment state' as a solution to state regulation and market
dynamics
-Cultural diversity vs. international trade debates
-Poverty and culture
-The relationship between cultural pluralism and citizenship in the context
of increased international migration
-New strategies and concepts on tangible and intangible heritage in the
globalized world
-Information and communication technologies as vehicles for cultural
empowerment
-Survey of changing views on diversity, tolerance and happiness
-Cultural indicators an statistics on languages, religions, heritage sites
and cultural festivals.

Last update 12/OCT/00

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Bush Beats Gore in Presidential 'Blue Blood' Stakes
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 16:20:19 -0500

> Burke's Peerage, a revered guide to the breeding of the aristocracy,
> said both Bush and his rival Al Gore (news - web sites) are of royal
> descent, but investigations deep into their heritage show Bush has far
> more noble and royal connections.
...
> Brooks-Baker said there had always been a significant ''royalty
> factor'' in those who aspired to the White House, with Presidents
> George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt
> and Ronald Reagan, among others, all boasting blue blood links.

Tim Cohen in "AntiChrist and a Cup of Tea" (p. 84) also records Harold
Brooks-Baker (director of Burke's Peerage) as saying: "'The presidential
candidate with the greatest number of royal genes has always been the victor,
without exception, since George Washington.'"

* Cohen's source: "Royal Roots? Clinton gets the edge," The Denver Post, 29
Oct. 1996. p. 2A.

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Zenit Daily Dispatch items (10/17/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 16:24:56 -0500

ROME WARMING UP FOR JUBILEE OF SPORTSMEN
John Paul II Will Be First Pope to Attend Soccer Game

ROME, OCT. 17, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- During the Jubilee of Sportsmen John
Paul II will be the first Pope in history to attend a soccer match.

The event, set for Oct. 28-29, will highlight values such as the
spirit of
loyalty, the expression of courage, and respect for opponents.
Thousands
of athletes from around the world will participate.

A key attraction will take place in the Olympic Stadium, when athletes
render homage to the Pope. Among the activities will be a 100-meter
dash
and a soccer game that will pit the Italian national team against a
representation of foreign players who play in Italy's first division.
The
selection of champions from the "Rest of the World" will be made by
Rome's
and Latium's trainers, Fabio Capello and Sven Goran Eriksson,
respectively.

This will be the second time John Paul II goes to the Olympic
Stadium. The
first was May 31, 1990, when the stadium was renovated for the World
Cup
soccer championships.

Archbishop Crescenzio Sepe, secretary of the Jubilee Central
Committee,
said that this is an event "that the Pope has looked forward to
intensely,
to embrace the world of sports and celebrate the Jubilee of Sportsmen.

"It is also an event to emphasize the importance of sport as an
instrument
of social cohesion. Moreover, the Church has always followed sports
activities, especially because of the values they express, such as
honesty, fraternity, joy and sacrifice."

The calendar of the Italian Soccer League has been changed for the
occasion: 1st Division will not play Oct. 29, but Nov. 1.

"Both the exhibition of the 100 meters, as well as the time reserved
for
the handicapped and the soccer game ... will express to the Holy
Father
the importance of sports as a time of joy, naturalness and gratitude,"
explained Franco Carraro, president of the soccer league.

During the exhibition, the Pope will be given the "Sports Manifesto
for
the Third Millennium," the document with which the international
sports
movement assumes the commitment to respect fundamental ethical values
of
sports activity.

"For the world of sport, the Jubilee dedicated to athletes represents
a
time of reflection, of stopping," said Gianni Petrucci, president of
the
Italian National Olympic Committee.

He added: "We are always busy with new enterprises, new objectives,
new
arguments, and there is never time for a pause, to really understand
what
the true values of sport are. This is why the Pope's presence in the
Olympic Stadium will be the right occasion to experience a moment of
reflection."

The program includes an international congress entitled "The Face and
Soul
of Sport at the Time of the Jubilee," to be held in the Vatican's
Paul VI
Hall on Oct. 28. Champions of the Sydney Olympics, and Juan Antonio
Samaranch, president of the International Olympic Committee, will be
among
the participants. ZE00101703

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

QUEEN REPORTED "VERY INTERESTED" IN CATHOLIC POINT OF VIEW
So Says English Historian Paul Johnson About British Monarch

LONDON, OCT. 17, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Historian Paul Johnson says that
for
the queen of England the meeting today with the Pope has spiritual
significance that goes beyond a state visit.

"More than as head of the Anglican church, Elizabeth II meets with
John
Paul II as a believer profoundly concerned about the world's
problems,"
Johnson told the Italian newspaper Avvenire. Johnson has dedicated
many
years to studying the history of Christianity.

"In recent years, the queen has become more religious, and is very
interested in the Catholic point of view, where she finds points of
reference that are not always present in the Anglican church," the
English
historian said.

As regards the religious role of the English sovereign as head of the
Anglican church, Johnson explained that, unlike the Protestant
churches of
the north, the Church of England does not have much theological
content.

He said the break took place over issues of power, the desire to
remove
English lands from Roman jurisdiction. As a result, the church that
came
into being has always been a state church, whose function is to
support
the monarchy and, at most, guarantee moral rules of conduct to
maintain
society united.

"The spiritual dimension -- that faith which at the same time is a
paradox
and mystery, which often breaks the conventions of society rather than
reinforcing them -- has to a large extent been lost in the Anglican
church," Johnson explained. Many Anglicans, he added, now look to the
Catholic Church with curiosity and interest.

"The merit of Cardinal Basil Hume, the head of the Catholic Church in
England, who died a year and a half ago, was precisely to guarantee a
spiritual refuge for many disturbed Anglican souls," Johnson said. He
mentioned the conversion to Catholicism of many distinguished figures,
including the duchess of Kent, the Queen's cousin; and government
ministers -- all of which annoyed English society.

"In December 1995, Queen Elizabeth attended a vespers service at
Westminster Cathedral, the mother church of Catholicism," Johnson
noted.
"She was the first English sovereign to have done so since 1685, when
Catholic King James II reigned. To do so, she had to defy a good part
of
the Anglican church, which regarded this action as treason."
ZE00101702

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

ABORTION PILL TO BE PULLED FROM GERMAN MARKET

HOLZKIRCHEN, Germany, Oct 17 (AFP) - The so-called abortion pill
Mifegyne, a brand of RU-486, will be pulled from the German market at
the
end of the year due to poor sales.

A spokeswoman for the French distributor Femagen Arzneimittel made the
announcement Tuesday, according to Agence France Presse.

Mifegyne was introduced in Germany in November 1999. The Femagen
spokeswoman said that few gynecologists offered Mifegyne in their
practices because physicians receive more money from insurance firms
for
performing operations than for prescribing a medication, AFP reported.

She said that the reimbursement for Mifegyne did not cover doctors'
costs
and that the resulting low demand led to heavy losses on the pill for
Femagen, she said.

The spokesman said that French manufacturer Exelgyn had not yet
decided
whether it would continue to make Mifegyne available in Germany via
another distributor, AFP reported. ZE00101722

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

TWIN BOYS 'ENGINEERED' IN SPAIN TO BEAT HEMOPHILIA
Procedure Used is Against Church Teaching

BARCELONA, Spain, OCT. 17, 2000 (ZENIT.org). - Spanish doctors have
created a new ethical dilemma for governments by engineering the sex
of a
couple's children in order to avoid genetic diseases in their
grandchildren, The Times of London reported today.

Doctors from the Cefer Institute and the Universidad Autonoma of
Barcelona
said that they had selected the sex of the couple's twins, both of
whom
are male, in order to avoid daughters who might pass on the father's
hemophilia, The Times said.

"As far as we know it is the first time in the world that a couple has
chosen the sex of its children in order to avoid passing a disease on
to
their descendents," said Dr. Simon Marina, of the Cefer Institute.

The genetic mechanism by which hemophilia is passed on means that it
is
capable of skipping a generation, The Times noted. This occurs when
the
father suffers hemophilia, because men do not pass the disease on to
their
children, it said.

Their daughters, however, become carriers and can then transmit the
disease to their own sons -- the grandsons of the original, male
carrier.
By ensuring that the twins, who were born in Madrid in May, were
male, the
doctors said that they had stamped out the disease in that family
forever,
The Times said.

Only male embryos were chosen to be implanted into the mother's womb.

The Times said the Barcelona team insisted that, under Spanish law,
it was
legally acceptable to choose the sex of a child if that prevented
future
illness.

The couple originally chose "assisted reproduction" because the
father,
35, had become an HIV and hepatitis C carrier after a blood
transfusion,
the British newspaper said. Doctors were able to wash the semen in
order
to eradicate the HIV virus and managed to create three embryos, the
daily
reported.

Such an "assisted reproduction" procedure is condemned by the Catholic
Church.

Doctors planned to implant only the male embryos but, in fact, ended
up
with three male embryos anyway. All three were implanted into the
mother's
uterus, though the couple later had one aborted, The Times said.
ZE00101723

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

GOVERNOR WHO HEEDED POPE, SPARED KILLER, DIES IN PLANE
CRASH
Missouri's Mel Carnahan and Son Perish in Accident

ST. LOUIS, Missouri, OCT. 17, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- The governor who
listened
to the Pope's request and commuted a death sentence in January 1999
has
died in a plane crash about 30 miles south of here.

Mel Carnahan died with his son, Roger, and an aide Monday night in
their
twin-engine Cessna. Authorities were probing the crash, which occurred
during rain and fog.

When the Holy Father visited St. Louis in 1999 he made a personal
plea to
Governor Carnahan to spare the life of death-row inmate Darrell
Mease.

Carnahan, a Baptist, heeded the request and commuted Mease's sentence
to
life without parole. It was apparently the first time in U.S. history
where a direct papal intervention resulted in the death penalty being
commuted.

Carnahan, a Democrat, was running in a tight race for the U.S. Senate
against incumbent Republican Senator John Ashcroft. ZE00101725

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

MESSAGES OF JOHN PAUL II AND QUEEN ELIZABETH II

VATICAN CITY, OCT. 17, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Here are the texts of the
messages that John Paul II and England's Queen Elizabeth II exchanged
at
their private audience today.

Holy Father's Message:

Your Majesty,
Your Royal Highness,

With enduring memories of our first meeting in the Vatican in 1980
and of
your gracious welcome to me in London two years later, I am happy to
greet
you once again in this Apostolic Palace to which you are no stranger.
My
predecessors Pope Pius XII and Pope John XXIII first bade you welcome
here, and I do the same with a still greater sense of occasion in this
Jubilee Year when all Christians sing the praises of Almighty God for
the
gift of the Word made flesh, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Your Majesty´s visit immediately brings to mind the rich heritage of
British Christianity and all that Great Britain has contributed to the
building of Christian Europe, and indeed to the spread of Christianity
throughout the world, since Saint Augustine of Canterbury preached the
Gospel in your lands. Through that long history, relations between the
United Kingdom and the Holy See have not always been untroubled; long
years of common inheritance were followed by the sad years of division
(cf. Address in Canterbury Cathedral, 29 May 1982, No. 5). But in
recent
years there has emerged between us a cordiality more in keeping with
the
harmony of earlier times and more genuinely expressive of our common
spiritual roots. There can be no turning back from the ecumenical
goal we
have set ourselves in obedience to the Lord´s command.

Yet it is not only the past which prompts us to pursue the path of
ever
greater understanding and, from the religious perspective, of ever
more
perfect communion. The future too demands of us a sense of shared
purpose.
I am thinking first of Europe, which stands at a turning-point in its
history as it seeks a unity capable of excluding for ever the kind of
conflicts which have been so much a part of its past. You and I have
personally lived through one of Europe´s most terrible wars, and we
see
clearly the need to build a deep and enduring European unity, firmly
rooted in the genuine human and spiritual genius of Europe´s peoples.
However, the unity to which Europeans aspire cannot be a structure
without
content. Only by preserving and reinvigorating the highest ideals and
achievements of its heritage in politics, in law, in art, in
culture, in
morality and in spirituality will the Europe of the near future be a
viable and worthwhile endeavour.

Moreover, at the dawn of the third millennium our gaze must go beyond
the
bounds of Europe, for the world as a whole has become increasingly
interactive and interdependent. The Commonwealth and the Catholic
Church
are institutions of a very different kind, but both have a proven
experience in universality, both know the rich diversity of the one
human
family.

To set the common good as the aim and focus of human thought and
action
becomes more important than ever at a time when there are increasing
disparities in the way the world´s resources are shared. Even as we
see
the forces of globalization holding out the promise of greater
prosperity
and cohesion, there is an ever growing gap between rich and poor, a
gap
which is in danger of becoming more fixed and intractable as some
benefit
from the advances of technology while others are completely left out.
This
troubling phenomenon has many causes, but the problem will certainly
not
be solved unless peoples and their leaders accept worldwide
solidarity and
cooperation as ethical imperatives that impel and mobilize the
consciences
of individuals and nations. I cannot but express my appreciation of
Britain´s recent undertaking to effect a total cancellation of the
debt
owed to it by the heavily indebted poor countries. The new millennium
calls upon us all to work effectively to achieve a world not
contaminated
by greed, self-interest and the lust for dominance, but open to and
respectful of the human dignity, inalienable rights and fundamental
equality of every member of the human family.

Your Majesty, for many years now and through times of great change you
have reigned with a dignity and sense of duty which have edified
millions
of people around the world. May the Almighty grant Your Majesty, Your
Royal Highness and the members of the Royal Family his unfailing
light and
strength amid the challenges and difficulties of your calling. May he
bless the citizens of the United Kingdom with happiness and peace; the
Commonwealth with the benefits of a heightened sense of solidarity and
cooperation; and the Christian people of your realm with a fresh
outpouring of the grace of Jesus Christ, "the same yesterday, today
and
for ever" (cf. Heb 13:8). [Original text: English]

Queen Elizabeth II's Message:

Your Holiness,

It gives me very great pleasure on behalf of Prince Philip and myself
to
deliver this message to you of friendship and goodwill. We both
recall the
warm welcome we received from you on our last visit to the Vatican,
exactly twenty years ago today, and we remember too our pleasure in
welcoming you to Buckingham Palace when you came to Britain in 1982.
Our
visit today has particular significance, because it takes place in
this
year of the Great Jubilee.

One of the themes you have set for this Jubilee year is reconciliation
between different cultures and faith communities. In a Christian
context I
am pleased to note the important progress that has been made in
overcoming
historic differences between Anglicans and Roman Catholics - as
exemplified in particular by the meeting of Anglican and Roman
Catholic
bishops in Canada this year. I trust that we shall continue to advance
along the path which leads to Christian unity.

Religion may sometimes be a source of division, but it can also be a
powerful source of healing. In the United Kingdom, there has been
progress
towards peace between the two communities in Northern Ireland. We are
most
grateful for your help and support for this process. Many share a
sense of
real hope now, although there is so much still to do. Your Holiness,
you
are spiritual leader of some one billion Roman Catholics. This
includes
some of the richest and many of the poorest people of the world. You
have
made alleviation of poverty a particular focus for the Jubilee Year.
As
Head of the Commonwealth of fifty-four independent nations I welcome
and
admire your personal commitment to this cause. For my government,
helping
the world's poor is a major priority, and we are actively supporting
faster debt relief for the most heavily indebted countries, many of
them
in Africa. I pray for continued strength and determination by
everyone to
achieve this important goal.

The new Millennium reminds us all how Christianity has shaped so much
of
our world. As Christians of the twenty first century we are called
anew to
follow our Lord's teaching and, by standing with those in suffering,
need
and distress, to build a world more worthy of its Creator.

Your Holiness, Prince Philip and I are delighted to have the
opportunity
of returning to the Vatican, and of meeting you again. May we thank
you
for the warmth of your welcome, and wish you peace and happiness as we
enter together this new Christian Millennium. [Original text: English]
ZE00101725

ZENIT, October 17, 2000 - DAILY DISPATCH - The World Seen From Rome
http://www.zenit.org/

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: Wednesday, October 18, 2000
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 18:27:10 -0400

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 18:28:15 +0200
To: arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <neteditor@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject: Arutz-7 News: Wednesday, October 18, 2000
Send reply to: netnews@a7.org

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2000 / Tishrei 19, 5761
------------------------------------------------
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TODAY'S HEADLINES:
   1. ISRAEL 'HOPES" FOR CEASEFIRE, OPENS P.A. AIRPORT
   2. VIOLENCE CONTINUED THIS MORNING AND YESTERDAY
   3. ISRAEL ARRESTS 8 LYNCHERS
   4. THE SHARM STATEMENT
   5. OPPOSITION MEMBERS SPEAK
   6. SNEH AND THE SEPARATION PLAN
   7. LEVY DEMANDS NATIONAL-UNITY GOVERNMENT
   8. ITAMAR RESIDENTS ARRESTED
   9. ITALIAN JOURNALIST APOLOGIZES TO P.A.
   10. PRAYERS IN SYNAGOGUE AND ON THE WEB

1. ISRAEL 'HOPES" FOR CEASEFIRE, OPENS P.A. AIRPORT
Some 18 hours after Israel fulfilled its new Sharm a-Sheikh obligation -
Prime Minister Barak instructed the army early last night to take steps
to ensure that the violence abates - the PA finally issued an official
announcement at 2 PM today calling on its forces to hold their fire.
Following a meeting between leading Israeli and PA army officials this
afternoon to discuss arrangements for a ceasefire, the Israel Defense
Forces opened the international crossings for Palestinians, opened the
Dahaniye airport in Gaza, and removed the closure from around the
Palestinian cities. The ban on the entry of Palestinians into Israel
remains in force, however. A statement by the IDF spokesman expressed
the hope that these steps will lead to a cessation of violence
throughout Judea and Samaria.

After Arafat's announcement, Palestinian streets in the autonomous
cities were full of demonstrators demanding the continuation of the
"struggle for Palestinian independence." Hussein a-Sheikh, a Tanzim
leader, told the Jerusalem Post that the message of these demonstrations
is that "the intifada is continuing." Tanzim head Marwan Bargouti, who
said after the Sharm a-Sheikh summit that the intifada would continue,
said later today that he does not believe that Yasser Arafat will ask
him to rein in his forces. He said that even if Arafat would ask him to
do so, "[I] will not be able to control my people."

News of the ceasefire has apparently not reached Gaza, where an IDF
officer was lightly wounded in the face by a firebomb thrown at him
during Palestinian riots near an IDF position at Kfar Darom. Homemade
grenades were also tossed at an army post there, and an Israeli citizen
was wounded by gunfire shot from a passing Palestinian car. Palestinian
forces are also shooting at IDF forces near Shechem and Jenin; the army
has returned fire.

2. VIOLENCE CONTINUED THIS MORNING AND YESTERDAY
Palestinian riots and violence continued this morning in three sites in
the Gaza Strip, despite the agreement reached in Sharm a-Sheikh
yesterday. Anita Tucker, a long-time resident of Netzer Chazani in Gush
Katif, reported that a bullet was shot into her car from a Palestinian
sniper standing on the street this morning; "it landed directly where my
head should have been at that second, but miraculously it did not hit
me," she said.

Two soldiers were shot and wounded last night - one lightly, one
moderately - while standing at a checkpoint south of Ma'aleh Adumim.
The Palestinians attempted an ambush on Israeli soldiers last night in
Bethlehem; they called in a report of a "lynch" in the city, and when
the soldiers arrived, Palestinians opened fire on them; no one was hurt.
Heavy fire was shot at the Jewish homes in Hevron, all IDF posts in
Gaza, and at Vered Yericho.

The Israeli tanks outside the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo
have not yet been removed. Palestinians from Beit Jalla fired heavily
on Gilo yesterday; many families were evacuated from their homes for
several hours, and the condition of a Border Guard policeman shot
through his heart yesterday continues to be very serious. The army and
the Jerusalem municipality have almost completed the fortification of
the endangered Gilo homes with concrete blocks and reinforced walls.
The head of the Gilo local council described the atmosphere in Gilo to
Arutz-7 today: "Mothers are afraid to let their children onto the
streets... We never, in our worst dreams, could have imagined that the
situation here could deteriorate so drastically."

3. ISRAEL ARRESTS 8 LYNCHERS
Israel admitted at noon today that it had arrested eight Palestinians
who were involved in the lynching of two Israeli soldiers six days ago.
The arrests were enabled after the General Security Service discovered
their hideouts. Palestinian sources had earlier said that several of
them had been missing from their homes for the last few days. The two
soldiers were brutally killed when a Palestinian mob crashed the
Palestinian police station where they were being questioned. One of
those arrested include the Palestinian man who was seen on the video
clips waving at the mob with bloodstained hands from the police station
window.

Photographs of the lynch can be seen at Time Magazine's website, at
<http://www.time.com/time/daily/special/photo/brink/index.html> and
<http://www.time.com/time/daily/special/photo/brink/2.html>.

4. THE SHARM STATEMENT
No agreement was signed at the Sharm a-Sheikh summit yesterday, but U.S.
President made the following agreed-upon statement while Prime Minister
Barak and Yasser Arafat looked on quietly:
"First: Both sides have agreed to issue public statements unequivocally

calling for an end of violence. They also agreed to take immediate
concrete measures to end the current confrontation, eliminate points of
friction, ensure an end to violence and incitement, maintain calm and
prevent recurrence of recent events. To accomplish this, both sides will
act immediately to return the situation to that which existed prior to
the current crisis in areas such as restoring law and order, redeploying
forces, eliminating points of friction, enhancing security cooperation,
and ending the closure, and opening the Gaza Airport... Second: The
United States will develop with Israelis and Palestinians, as well as in
consultation with the United Nations Secretary General, a committee of
fact-finding on the events of the past several weeks and how to prevent
their recurrence... Third: If we are to address the underlying roots of
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there must be a pathway back to
negotiations and the resumption of efforts to reach a permanent status
agreement based on the UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 and
subsequent understandings. Toward this end, the leaders have agreed
that the United States would consult with the parties within the next
two weeks about how to move forward."

More on American-Israeli relations: The final count on the number of
Senators who have signed the pro-Israel letter is 96. Senators Abraham
(R., Mich.) and Byrd (D., WV) were the only Senators who chose not to
sign. Senators Hagel (R., Neb.) and Gregg (R., New Hamp.) could not be
reached by last Friday's deadline and they have not requested to be
added to it. The letter expresses solidarity with the State and people
of Israel at this time of crisis, while condemning the Palestinian
leadership for encouraging the violence and doing little to stop it.

5. OPPOSITION MEMBERS SPEAK
Arutz-7 spoke today with two members of the opposition, MK Avigdor
Lieberman (National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu) and MK Limor Livnat.
Lieberman was cynical about the Sharm a-Sheikh summit: "There was no
agreement, but only a declaration by Clinton - which he needed for his
own internal electoral purposes, and not for us. After all, there will
be elections there in three weeks, and violence here during the
elections could only hurt his wife's chances and those of Gore... We
conceded a lot, simply for Clinton's electoral considerations... This
is an emergency situation, and emergency steps must be taken, which we
are not doing. Beit Jallah residents [adjacent to Gilo] cannot be
allowed to go on living there as if nothing happened. We must take the
initiative, and not only retaliate. We have all the tools to put an end
to this violence. For instance, we must cause the Palestinians to beg
us for a ceasefire; they're not stopping their anti-Israel incitement,
so we must do it, both on radio and TV."

Former Minister Limor Livnat has only criticism for Barak: "The Sharm
agreement is not on our favor: We are re-opening their the airport and
withdrawing our forces, while the demands that we have on the
Palestinians are very critical, yet are not being fulfilled: [there
are] four Israeli prisoners, which no one mentions and about whom no one
demands information; the re-arrest of Hamas prisoners, the disarming of
the Tanzim, the restoring of the Shalom al Yisrael synagogue in Jericho
and Joseph's Tomb in Shechem, etc." She said that she is against
joining a unity government: "Our job as the opposition is to topple
this failing Barak government - not to rescue it. But a short-term
emergency government would be a different story: If Barak wants to use
Sharon's experience and those of others, then OK - but only for a
minimum amount of time, and without the distribution of portfolios,
etc... What, families in Gilo have to live behind concrete barricades?
Let the Arabs sit behind the concrete!"

6. SNEH AND THE SEPARATION PLAN
Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said today that the planned Israeli
reaction to the collapse of the Oslo accords and/or the unilateral
declaration of a Palestinian state does not include the removal of
Israeli settlements in Yesha. Neither does it grant territorial
contiguity to the Palestinian entity. Instead, it includes physical
barriers, turning the checkpoints into regular border crossings, and new
economic arrangements. Opposition leader Ariel Sharon, who asked to see
the plan, was told by Prime Minister Barak that he could see it only if
he joins the government. MK Rabbi Chaim Druckman (NRP) said that reports
of such a plan are misleading to the public, because a secure separation
of this nature is impossible.

7. LEVY DEMANDS NATIONAL-UNITY GOVERNMENT
Prime Minister Barak continues in his efforts to form a national-unity
government, in the knowledge that otherwise he is sure to be toppled
when the current Knesset recess concludes two weeks from now. In an
attempt to attract the religious parties, Barak told MK Moshe Gafni of
United Torah Judaism today that he would call off all plans for the
secular revolution. Gafni said that he would not believe Barak until he
sees this occur in actuality. Shas party leaders said today that they
are still interested in new elections.

Former Foreign Minister David Levy told Israel Radio today that the
Sharm agreement is already falling apart, "and even if it [leads] to a
ceasefire, it is of limited-time value only, because Arafat is making it
contingent upon Israel's fulfilling all his demands... We were fooling
ourselves all this time, basing our policies on our own wishes." Levy,
who resigned from the Barak government in protest of the Prime
Minister's increasing concessions to Arafat, said that there are only
two options available to us at this time: either a national unity
government based on "seeing the reality as it is and preparing
appropriately," or new elections - but not a continuation of the
"zig-zag" policy. Minister Matan Vilnai is against the formation of a
unity government, calling it a national paralysis government.

8. ITAMAR RESIDENTS ARRESTED
More facts about yesterday's attack upon the Shomron town of Itamar
continue to be revealed. A mob of between 70 and 80 Arabs, armed with
axes, hatchets, and knives began to march on the town, and did not turn
back even when the guards fired in the air. The guards then reportedly
opened direct fire, killing one and injuring five. The two guards,
residents of Itamar, were arrested, and today a Petach Tikvah court
ordered their custody extended for five days. Shomron Regional Council
head Bentzy Lieberman warned that "their arrest is scandalous. They
deserve a medal, and not arrest!" The arrests may cause Jewish lives to
be lost, according to Lieberman, as other Israelis will be deterred from
opening fire when necessary. "The army is on our side," he told Arutz-7
today. "An IDF investigation found that the shooting was carried out
legitimately in the framework of self-defense, and the army insisted
that they not be tried, and at the very least that their custody not be
extended - but the police still acted as they did."

Kedumim Mayor Daniella Weiss was even more vehement: "According to
instructions that we have received from the army, and even from the
Chief of Staff himself, if Arabs come to kill us, such as with hatchets
and axes as they came yesterday, then we are to shoot to kill... We
don't exactly carry out these 'orders' very often, such that if it
happens once every few years, it is clearly a case of danger to life.
It is a disgrace that Jews who defend their lives and those of their
neighbors be placed under arrest even for one hour! There should be no
trial or anything else; they must simply be released!"

9. ITALIAN JOURNALIST APOLOGIZES TO P.A.
A representative of Italian Television apologized to the Palestinian
Authority for screening the video of the lynching of the two Israeli
soldiers - and had his press card suspended. Riccardo Christiano,
Italian TV's representative in Israel, wrote to the PA, "To my dear
friends in Palestine, We bless you, and feel that we must clarify that
the photos of the events in Ramallah were taken by a private Italian
station, and not by official Italian TV… We emphasize to you that we
respect the proper journalistic work guidelines with the Palestinian
Authority. Be sure that we would never do something like that." The
letter was published in the PA's Al Hayat al-Jadida. Israel sent a
sharp protest of the apology to the Italian government, and the
Government Press Office has temporarily suspended his press card.

10. PRAYERS IN SYNAGOGUE AND ON THE WEB
The National Council of Young Israel has asked all of the movement's 150
member synagogues to schedule special prayers this Thursday night for
the restoration of peace in Israel. Shlomo Z. Mostofsky, National
President of the organization, suggested that Thursday night - the
beginning of the holiday of Hoshana Rabba - is especially appropriate
for such prayers, "because it represents the culmination of the annual
Jewish season for self-examination and atonement." For those unable to
take part in the prayers, a special web prayer-broadcast sponsored by
the Orthodox Union's Synagogue Services will be aired at
<http://www.ou.org> beginning at 9 PM EST tomorrow night, led by Rabbi
Hershel Schachter of Yeshiva University.

A Solidarity Rally for Israel will be held tomorrow at 6 PM in
Melbourne, Australia, at the steps of the Victorian Parliament, at the
corner of Bourke and Spring Streets.

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

***************************************
News in Easy Hebrew - Hear it AND Read it!
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/ See "On Demand Audio"

Yesha, Golan, Women In Green, MIA's, Pollard, City of David.....
http://www.jewishuniverse.org/israel/politics/Politics1.htm

Investment / Partnership / Hedge Opportunities with Dynamic Professional
Commodity Trading Advisor, Contact: Roger M. Pearlman, CTA
mailto:RMPCTA@aol.com, phone # : (401)521-2424, (310) 745-0765
***************************************

ARUTZ-7 ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. The Anti-Defamation League accused him of "crude anti-Semitism"... He
has praised the Hizbullah terrorist movement... He is lobbying Congress
to cut back on military aid to Israel... He is James Zogby, recently
appointed as a Senior Advisor to the Al Gore campaign. Tonight at 9:15
PM, RUTH MATAR interviews STEVEN EMERSON on Zogby:
"Will Gore continue in the Path of Clinton?"
2. For Torah in Hebrew (audio & text!) including Parshat Shavua, Emunah,
and Gemara, see the Bet El Yeshiva Center's new site:
http://yeshiva.org.il

   ((((ARUTZ-7 ENGLISH RADIO BROADCASTS))))
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              new AM frequency: 1539 AM

For weekly programming schedule, see
http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com/English/radio/Fradio.htm
Thursday Night:
9:00 PM -(2:00 PM EST) - News in English + In Focus with Ron Meir
9:15 PM - The Jay Shapiro Hour: Current Events, Analysis, and Items of
Interest in the Jewish World 10:00 PM - Weekly Commentary by Dr. Aaron
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____________________________________________________________
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------- End of forwarded message -------

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Coverage of Oct 12 Lynch in Ramallah by Italian TV
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 18:34:10 -0400

Coverage of the October 12 Lynch in Ramallah
by Italian TV Station

                     The Government Press Office today (Wednesday),
                     18.10.2000, has decided to temporarily suspend the press
                     card of Riccardo Cristiano, the representative of Italian state
                     television (RAI), in the wake of his letter to the Palestinian
                     Authority which was published in the Monday (16.10.2000)
                     edition of Al Hayat al Jedida. Mr. Cristiano has also been
                     summoned to the GPO where he will be requested to explain
                     his letter.

                     In the aforementioned letter, Mr. Cristiano declared that he had
                     acted according to the PA's working rules for journalists. His
                     letter implies that he will never again film events which are
                     liable to cast a negative light on the PA, such as the recent
                     lynching of IDF reservists in Ramallah.

                     Mr. Cristiano also wrote that his competitors in the Italian
                     media are responsible for broadcasting the pictures of the
                     lynching and thereby accused other foreign journalists working
                     in the territories.

                     The State of Israel, as a democratic society, welcomes the
                     foreign journalists working here and invests considerable effort
                     in both assuring freedom of the press and assisting journalists
                     in their work. All that we ask from foreign journalists is that they
                     abide by the rules of press ethics as is accepted in democratic
                     societies.

Background

                     On October 12, 2000, two non-combatant Israeli reserve
                     soldiers were lynched and brutally murdered by a Palestinian
                     mob in Ramallah. Both were drivers, one aged 38 and the
                     father of three, the other a 33 year-old newly-wed.

                     Since this lynching, the official Palestinian broadcasting
                     stations have made every effort to hide the horrible pictures
                     which were shown around the world.

                     According to reporters' evidence on the scene, not only did the
                     Palestinian police not protect the two men slaughtered while in
                     their custody in the Ramallah police station, but they also tried
                     to prevent foreign journalists in the area around the building
                     from filming the incident.

Despite the attempts to distance reports, an Italian television
crew managed to film several scenes.

                     The following is an ad published in the Al Hayat Al Jadidah
                     newspaper, considered the main newspaper of the Palestinian
                     Authority. The ad, probably paid for, is evidence of the double
                     standard which has come to characterize much of the reporting
                     of the recent violence in the territories.

Note that the brutal lynching is described merely as "the
events".

                          Special Clarification by the Italian
                          Representative of RAI, the Official Italian
                          Television Station

                          My dear friends in Palestine. We congratulate
                          you and think that it is our duty to put you in the
                          picture (of the events) of what happened on
                          October 12 in Ramallah. One of the private Italian
                          television stations which competes with us (and
                          not the official Italian television station RAI)
                          filmed the events; that station filmed the events.
                          Afterwards Israeli Television broadcast the
                          pictures, as taken from one of the Italian stations,
                          and thus the public impression was created as if
                          we (RAI) took these pictures.

                          We emphasize to all of you that the events did not
                          happen this way, because we always respect (will
                          continue to respect) the journalistic procedures
                          with the Palestinian Authority for (journalistic) work
                          in Palestine and we are credible in our precise
                          work.

                          We thank you for your trust, and you can be sure
                          that this is not our way of acting. We do not (will
                          not) do such a thing.

Please accept our dear blessings.

                          Signed,
                          Ricardo Christiano
                          Representative of RAI in the Palestinian Authority
                          (the official Italian station)

http://www.israel.org/mfa/go.asp?MFAH0i2p0#letter

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Scientists Revive Ancient Bacteria
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 18:40:36 -0400

02:00 PM ET 10/18/00

Scientists Revive Ancient Bacteria

By MATTHEW FORDAHL
AP Science Writer

In what sounds like something out of ``Jurassic Park,'' bacteria
that lived before the dinosaurs and survived Earth's biggest mass
extinction have been reawakened after a 250-million-year sleep in a
salt crystal, scientists say.

The bacteria's age easily beats longevity records set by other
organisms revived from apparent suspended animation _ not to
mention Hollywood's ``Jurassic Park'' dinosaurs, cloned from
prehistoric DNA encased in amber.

''`Jurassic Park' was neat, but this beats it hands down,'' said
Paul Renne, a geologist at the University of California at
Berkeley. ``The idea of having a living glimpse of what life looked
like 250 million years ago is pretty spectacular.''

If the discovery by Pennsylvania and Texas researchers holds
true, the bacteria could open a window onto a prehistoric world
that was both dying and being reborn. It would also show the
tenacity of life in the toughest conditions.

Its genetic makeup also could help biologists calibrate the
evolutionary clock for the bacterium and its present-day relatives,
said Russell Vreeland, a study author and biologist at
Pennsylvania's West Chester University.

DNA tests indicate the prehistoric germ is related to
present-day Bacillus, a type of bacteria found in soil, water and
dust.

``We all feel reasonably comfortable that this particular
organism isn't going to attack anything,'' Vreeland said.

The organism was found in a tiny, fluid-filled bubble inside a
salt crystal 1,850 feet underground, about 30 miles east of
Carlsbad, N.M.

At the end of the Paleozoic Era, the area was a vast and barren
salt lake. The world was then experiencing its greatest loss of
life ever. Up 95 percent of all marine species became extinct. The
first known dinosaurs date to about 230 million years ago.

``The end of the Paleozoic was such a curious time and we don't
really know what happened,'' said Renne, who was not involved in
the research. ``This offers the possibility that we may be able to
interrogate some of the organisms that were around.''

The findings were published in Thursday's issue of the journal
Nature.

The researchers are confident that the germ has been locked away
in the crystal all these years. Fossils and radiation tests show
that the formation where the sample was found is 250 million years
old, they said.

Still, there is the possibility the bacteria somehow seeped into
the salt more recently in small drops of water, said Chris McKay, a
biologist at NASA's Ames Research Center.

``Unlike amber or rocks or permafrost, salt is not an
impermeable material,'' he said.

The scientists pulled about 220 pounds of rock salt from the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, an underground nuclear waste dump.
Fifty-six crystals that showed no signs of contamination were
sampled for the presence of bacteria.

One crystal the size of a large postage stamp contained the
organism. Two other strains of bacteria were found and are being
studied.

The testing was done inside a containment lab at the
Pennsylvania campus. The scientists said they took pains to prevent
contamination.

The researchers believe the bacteria survived as a spore and
metabolized very little or not at all over the years.

Spores are well-known for their longevity. They have been found
in a 118-year-old can of meat, and yeast has been cultured from a
166-year-old bottle of porter ale, R. John Parkes of England's
University of Bristol said in a Nature commentary.

In 1995, researchers at California Polytechnic State University
reported reviving Bacillus bacteria spores from the gut of a bee
stuck in amber. The bee was estimated to be 25 million to 30
million years old.

Since 1960, researchers have reported finding organisms up to
650 million years old in salt, but the findings were met with
skepticism because of contamination fears.

In any case, the latest study shows that life can exist inside a
salt crystal.

``So the next time you sprinkle salt on your food, think of what
else you might be eating,'' Parkes said.

___=

On the Net: West Chester University: http://www.wcupa.edu
Nature magazine: http://www.nature.com

http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2570658014-3c0

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Human bone grown outside body
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 18:43:14 -0400

Wednesday, 18 October, 2000, 00:01 GMT 01:01 UK

Human bone grown outside body

The bone glass under the microscope

Scientists have successfully grown human bone cells outside the body.
They hope the work will eventually lead to new treatments for bone
fractures and the crippling bone disease osteoporosis.

A team from Hammersmith and Chelsea & Westminster Hospitals in London
used a glass-like material which allows bone cells to grow and bond with
each other quickly.

This treatment is only short step away from becoming clinical practice

Professor Julia Polak, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital

In the future, researchers hope that the glass - enriched with bone
cells and in liquid form - would be injected into patients with complex
fractures to accelerate the healing process.

Professor Julia Polak, and her team in the Tissue Engineering Centre at
the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, found that a certain type of glass
ceramic - made up of silicon, calcium and phosphorous - acts as a
scaffold for the bone cells to cling to and as a material to bind
existing bone to the new cells.

Already in use

The glass is already in use in orthopaedic and dental surgery to fill
holes and mend fractures, but combined with an individual's human bone
cells, greatly accelerates the healing process and creates a stronger
bond.

Professor Polak, director of the Imperial College Centre for Tissue
Engineering, said: "This discovery is a significant step forward in the
fight against osteoporosis and in the development of better treatment
for bone injuries.

"As the glass has already been approved for use in humans, this
treatment is only a short step away from becoming clinical practice.

"Our challenge now lies in developing the material further to cut down
on bacterial infection and to understand how we can combine our recent
genetic findings to co-ordinate bone cell growth and differentiation to
optimise the healing process within the body."

The National Osteoporosis Society (NOS) welcomed the research.

A spokeswoman said: "We look forward to further studies investigating
the potential role of bone cell growth in the management of the
disease."

The research is published in the journal Calcified Tissue International.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/health/newsid_976000/976711.stm

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] - THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION FOR MISSING ISRAELI
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 18:45:26 -0400

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: "IMRA Newsletter" <imra-l@lyris.vcix.com>
Subject: [imra-l] THE INTERNATIONAL COALITION FOR MISSING ISRAELI SOLDIERS LETTER TO MUBARAK ABOUT ISRAELI MIAS
Date sent: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 23:19:51 +0200
Send reply to: imra@netvision.net.il

President MubarekTHE INTERNATIONAL COALITION FOR MISSING ISRAELI SOLDIERS
LETTER TO MUBARAK ABOUT ISRAELI MIAS

Wednesday, October 18, 2000

President Mubarek
The Arab Republic of Egypt
% The Egyptian Embassy
T.A.

RE: The International Coalition for Missing Israeli Soldiers Request
For Assistance in Freeing all the IDF POWs and MIAs.

Your Excellency

In four days time there will be a summit of Arab leaders in Cairo under
your patronage. Thanks to your experience and wisdom the Sharm el Sheik
Conference succeeded in saving the area from war.

We can work together in a confidence building measure between the Arab
Countries and the Israeli people. Your personal conduct in the matter of
our MIAs will impress on the participants the importance of this
humanitarian matter.

The three MIAS from Sultan Yakub have been held incommunicado for over 18
years. The navigator, Ron Arab, has been missing for 14 years. Guy Hever
for several years and now we have the addition of Beni Avraham, Omer Suad,
Adi Avitan and the businessman Elchanan Tenenbaum who have been abducted
into Lebanon, in contravention of the Geneva Convention of 1949, paragraph 2, part 12.

You would demand their immediate release if they were Egyptian citizens.

My dear President, I am requesting the help of the Republic of Egypt in
solving this painful dilemma of the Arad, Baumel, Feldman, Katz. Hever ,
Avraham Suad, Avitan and Tenenbaum families.

We ask that you meet with leaders of the Coalition, former Justice Minister
Atty. Yaakov Neeman, Former POW in Egypt during the Yom Kippur War, Lt.
Col. (Res.) Atty Shlomo Erdinest, Drs, Guy Bechor and Boaz Genor of the
Inter-disciplinary Center in Herzeliah. We request a meeting after the
Summit.

I ask you to work together with Yasser Arafat, head of the PNA to influence
Pres. Basher Assad and Sheik Nassralah of the Hizbolah to provide all the
information that contribute to locating the missing IDF soldiers.

Thanking you in advance,

Daniel Grisarou

CC:
P.M. & D.M Ehud Barak
US Ambassador to Israel, Martin Indyk
US Senators and Representatives
Members of the Knesset

For more information ;

Daniel Grisaro , Spokesperson 4 ICMIS ;

Tel: 972- 3-69 15 115 : Fax: 972-3- 69 55 115 : Cellular: 972-50-255 111
e-mail : grisaro@ibm.net

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

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Shark deaths off Florida a mystery
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 18:53:17 -0400

Shark deaths off Florida a mystery,
Usual suspects don't appear to be the cause

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Oct. 18 - Several hundred dead sharks have been washing up on beaches
along the Gulf of Mexico near Panama City, and officials are baffled by
what's causing their deaths. With no hard evidence to work with, scientists
are testing tissue to see if they can solve the mystery.

'Why would these sharks be dead and the fish be alive?' - SKIP FRANCK
Helicopter pilot who flew over area

"WE REALLY have no idea," said Jack Mobley, a wildlife biologist at Tyndall
Air Force Base, where about 50 sharks, mostly blacktips as well as some
Atlantic sharpnose, had washed up. "There needs to be tests done before
that can be determined."

The sharks, which ranged up to 5 feet long, started showing up Monday in
waters off the Florida Panhandle. Officials estimate between 200 and 300
sharks have died.

Traces of blood reported on nostrils and gills of some sharks suggests an
infection might be the culprit, said Mike Brim, an ecologist with the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.

Other theories include the lack of oxygen in shallow waters and dumping of
shark carcasses by fishermen who sell the prized fins for food. The practice
is banned in state waters, but continues nonetheless.

Red tide, an algae bloom toxic to fish, is also a suspect, and it was reported
in the area last week. The Florida Marine Research Institute is testing shark
tissue for red tide, which gets its name from the fact that the water turns
reddish when the bloom shows up.

But if it was red tide other species would have been affected as well, and that
doesn't appear to have happened.

"Why would these sharks be dead and the fish be alive?" helicopter pilot
Skip Franck said after flying over the bay. "When we flew over, it was
bubbling with fish."

DISEASED SEAS?

Another theory is that seas have become such a toxic mess that diseases
are becoming more common, affecting species at different times and on
different scales.

Bruce McKay, a senior researcher for the nonprofit group SeaWeb,
acknowledges that fish die-offs might be natural events, but he feels the
litany of incidents over the last two years suggests otherwise. Writing
recently in the journal Sea Technology, McKay cited these examples:

More than 70 dead bottlenose dolphins were found dead along Florida's far
west coast last year.

225 harbor porpoise carcasses were found along mid-Atlantic shores earlier
last year.

An estimated 300 gray whales died along Pacific shores.

California sea otters and Pacific Northwest orcas continued their mysterious
decline.

A large-scale sea urchin die-off occurred in Maine waters.

Disease plagued lobsters in Long Island Sound.

Black abalone off southern California have been decimated by withering
syndrome, and red abalone is now being affected.

New diseases have been noticed in Alaskan fur seals, California sea otters,
and Florida manatees.

Green sea turtles in Hawaii and Florida are suffering from a disease
characterized by grotesque external tumors. Virtually unheard of before
1985, it recently appeared in loggerhead and olive ridley sea turtles in the
Caribbean.

Coral diseases are substantially reducing reef cover and biodiversity in parts
of the Florida Keys. Disease was found at 26 of 160 monitoring stations in
1996. By 1998, 131 stations had diseased coral while the number of species
affected rose from 11 to 31. New coral diseases have emerged there as well.
The first reported epidemic of mycobacterium-induced sores in wild striped
bass has hit the Chesapeake Bay. This disease is usually found in fish
farms, McKay noted.

OCEAN PROTECTION URGED

"Very little is typically known about the underlying environmental changes
and conditions that may be at the heart of these events," he wrote. The
potential factors, he added, include "dead zones" caused by nutrient run-off,
red tide, human development, climate change and invasive species that bring
in new diseases. McKay argues that most studies of die-offs are piecemeal
and that more should be done to study these as a global problem.

He'd also like to see stronger coastal protections. "Changes in agricultural
practices involving massive reductions in fertilizer and pesticide use are
required," he wrote. "Coastal wetlands as natural filtering bodies need to be
protected and restored." We should also move away from fossil fuels and to
renewable energy, he added, and industries should phase out harsh
chemicals. "It should now be the time to focus attention on what our marine
wildlife is telling us," he concluded, "and the important task of ocean
protection."

http://www.msnbc.com/news/478079.aspMSNBC

via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Lutherans ready to accept Pope as "spokesman for all Christianity worldwide"
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 18:56:04 -0400

Lutherans ready to accept Pope as "spokesman"

Wednesday, 18 October 2000 13:53 (ET)

Lutherans ready to accept Pope as "spokesman"

NEW YORK, OCT. 18 (UPI) -- Lutherans might be willing to accept the Pope
as "spokesman for all Christianity worldwide," their leading prelate in
Germany said Wednesday.

The statement by Bishop Hans Christian Knuth came almost one year after
representatives of the Vatican and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF)
signed their historic accord on "justification" in Augsburg, Germany.

This issue had divided Roman Catholics and Protestants for almost five
centuries. Now, Catholics and the LWF's member churches agree that only
"by grace through faith," but not good deeds, are Christians justified before
God.

Knuth is the presiding bishop of the Union of Evangelical Lutheran Churches
in Germany.

In an address to his denomination's general synod in the eastern German
resort town of Schneeberg, the bishop made it clear that the Pope would
have to meet certain conditions to be accepted by non-Catholics as their
spokesman.

Knuth added: "As far as we are concerned, he could perform this function
only in his capacity as bishop of Rome."

Furthermore, when speaking for non-Catholic Christians, the Pope would
have to give up his claim of being the ultimate arbiter in matters of church
law, Knuth said. "He could not present himself as Christ's deputy nor pretend
to be infallible in doctrinal matters," Knuth added, according to "Idea," a
Protestant news agency based in Germany.

He compared what he saw as a possible future status for the Pope with the
current role of Konrad Raiser, secretary-general of the World Council of
Churches (WCC) in Geneva, Switzerland. Raiser often acts as the joint
mouthpiece for the WCC's 337 Anglican, Protestant and Eastern Orthodox
member churches.

"One could also imagine that church leaders will take turns in speaking for
all of Christianity world-wide, said Knuth. "If so, the president of the Lutheran
World Federation might conceivably succeed or precede the Pope in that
function, Knuth mused.

http://www.vny.com/cf/News/upidetail.cfm?QID=128897

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Ruins may be ancient city swallowed by sea
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 18:58:44 -0400

Ruins may be ancient city swallowed by sea

By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD

In a winter night in 373 B.C., the one-two punch of an earthquake followed
by a surging tidal wave destroyed the grand old Greek city of Helike, near
the Gulf of Corinth. The city was, coincidentally, a venerated center for
worship of Poseidon, the god of earthquakes and the sea.

The land and the city ruins sank beneath the sea, and all the people were
said to have perished. Ancient Greece had not known a natural disaster as
devastating in more than 1,000 years, when an exploding volcano destroyed
much of the island of Thera, modern Santorini. The Helike catastrophe, some
scholars speculate, may have inspired Plato's story of Atlantis, a land that
supposedly sank to the bottom of the sea.

For several centuries after the disaster, writers like Pliny, Strabo and
Ovid reported that the ruins could still be seen on the sea floor, just
offshore. Then all traces of Helike disappeared. Here was another "lost"
city to challenge the sleuthing instincts of archaeologists.

In excavations this summer, Greek and American researchers uncovered
what they think is the first evidence pointing to the location of Helike
(pronounced ha-LEE-key). After 12 years of searching, mostly offshore and
invariably in vain, they began digging on a coastal plain near the town of
Aigion, 45 miles northwest of Corinth. Some of their first trenches yielded
stones of a paved road and building walls, classical ceramics and a bronze
coin, which was minted in the late 5th century B.C.

"It's just a glimpse," one of the researchers, Dr. Steven Soter of the
American Museum of Natural History, said in an interview. "But it's the
first strong evidence for Helike that is consistent with descriptions in
ancient accounts."

Dr. Soter and Dr. Dora Katsonopoulou, an archaeologist and president of the
Ancient Helike Society in Aigion, reported the discovery at a recent
conference of archaeologists in Greece. Though Dr. Soter is a planetary
scientist, his research on earthquakes drew him into the search for Helike in
collaboration with Dr. Katsonopoulou.

Dr. Soter directed the use of remote-sensing technology like magnetometry
and ground-penetrating radar in surveying buried terrain where the city was
thought to be. These surveys, followed by the sinking of scores of bore
holes, located ancient ceramic fragments and other evidence of human
occupation over an area of about one square mile. Digging among the
orchards and vineyards of modern villages, archaeologists reached layers of
sediment 10 feet deep bearing classical pottery along with seashells and
other marine remains.

In their reports, the researchers said these findings suggested that the
pavement and wall stones were from the time of Helike's destruction and
supported stories that the city ruins were for a long time submerged in the
sea or a lagoon. The ruins were buried by silt, which, combined with a
general uplifting of the land, had left the once-submerged site about half a
mile inland from the present shore. A house built on the shore between the
Selinous and Kerynites Rivers in the 1890's is now about 1,000 feet from the
sea.

"It's a very important find in classical studies," said Dr. Robert Stieglitz, an
archaeologist and classics professor at Rutgers University at Newark.
"These are definitely signs of a settlement. Now they need to expand the
excavations to look for the temple and theater and other public buildings that
should be at the core of a city like Helike."

As a measure of his confidence that the site of Helike has been found, Dr.
Stieglitz said he would join the expanded excavations next summer.

Dr. Soter and Dr. Katsonopoulou said the discovery of paving stones from a
buried road might be especially rewarding. So far, only a short segment of
the road's cobbles and boundary boulders have been uncovered, but enough
to tantalize archaeologists.

"We think the road may be the best thing we could find," Dr. Soter said.
"This could lead us to the rest of the city. And it could provide a relatively
undisturbed `time capsule' from the classical period of Greece."

On the other hand, Dr. Soter acknowledged, the earthquake and tsunami, a
towering sea wave, might have left few recognizable ruins. Scientists suspect
that a strong earthquake set off a submarine landslide, which in turn
produced the tsunami. Aftershocks of the quake could have caused the
landscape to collapse, perhaps sinking below sea level. And a tsunami,
perhaps more than 35 feet high, could have swept away most of the remains.

But digging deeper and wider at the likely site of Helike will probably be
irresistible to archaeologists seeking to learn more about public and private
life during the golden age of Greece. At the time of Helike's destruction,
Plato was teaching and Aristotle was a boy of 12. Socrates and
Aristophanes had died at the beginning of the century.

http://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/17/science/17CITY.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Jordan: Gov't bans 'return march' to King Hussein Bridge
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 19:32:46 -0400

October 18, 2000

Gov't bans 'return march' to King Hussein Bridge
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh

AMMAN — The government has banned a public march to the King
Hussein Bridge on Oct. 24, chairman of the Council of Jordanian
Professional Association Presidents Saleh Armouti said on Tuesday.

“I was surprised to be informed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister
of Interior Awad Khleifat, that the government refuses and bans the
march,” Armouti, who is also president of the Jordan Bar Association,
said.

He told the Jordan Times that the Kingdom's 13 professional
associations had organised and announced what he called the “return
march” four months ago. The activity was planned to call for
Palestinians' right to return to their homeland and their refusal of
settlement elsewhere.

“They can't tell us to halt the march only one week before,” Armouti
said.

“I was told the ban was due to private reasons, but was not given any,”
Armouti added.

He said he could think of no evident reason as to why the government
would want to ban the march, adding that the associations are known to
be well organised and would not create any problems.

“Besides it is a peaceful march, and no one would be carrying weapons,”
he said, adding that the march falls in line with the government's
declared policies for the right of Palestinians to return.

Two weeks ago clashes between riot police and demonstrators erupted in
various parts of the Kingdom prompting an official ban on marches and
public rallies

Armouti said he has called for a meeting of the Council of Jordanian
Professional Association Presidents to discuss whether to proceed with
the march or take other measures.

The meeting will take place at noon on Wednesday.

“It is not my decision alone, and maybe we will ask the government to
go back on its ban,” he said.

The “return march” to King Hussein Bridge prepared four months ago and
announced earlier this month, was expected to include a vast number of
Jordanians.

Armouti said earlier that the march would include all sectors of
society in addition to those who were exiled or deported from the West
Bank.

He said organisers had invited other Arab associations, unions,
political parties, civil society institutions, clubs, public figures,
as well as the
Secretary
General of the Arab League Ismat Abdul Meguid.

“The associations' main aim in organising this march, is to stress the
sacred right of return to Palestinians in the diaspora, in the face of
all attempts to liquidate the Palestinian cause and exchange that right
with settlement and compensation, which we consider as treason,”
Armouti said earlier.

It was also a sign of Arab refusal of Israeli and American plans to
skirt international resolutions in resolving exile and displacement of
around five million Palestinian refugees by settling them in their host
countries.

At the time, Armouti did not foresee a government interference or ban
on the march saying Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb participated in a
similar march in 1991.

“The government's position is expected to be in tune with the feelings
of the public especially since Jordan is being disregarded when major
issues are discussed,” he said.

A similar march was held by activists in 1991, whereby more than a
river of 20,000 people flowed to the King Hussein Bridge to express
solidarity with the Palestinian cause and insist on the right to
return.

According to news reports, the 1991 march was charged and emotional as
tensions rose. The situation grew out of hand, forcing soldiers and
security forces to use tear gas to push the crowds back from the
borders. Casualties were reported.

The Oct. 24 march, that was expected to kick off from the Professional
Associations Complex in Shmeisani and other complexes around Jordanian
governorates towards the Bridge, coincides with Al Israa and Miraj
(when the Prophet Mohammad made his nocturnal trip to heaven). It was
supposed to be preceded by seminars and lectures on the right to
return.

Similar marches were also expected to take place on the same day in
Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. Lebanese activists were to march
towards the Fatimah Gate in the south, while Palestinians march from
Gaza to the Beit Hanoon Crossing Point (Erez barrier) and from the West
Bank towards the Green Line.

“I do not expect the others to go back on the marches even if we decide
to,” Armouti said.

“Still, we will not give up easily on the march and we will try our
best to go for it. We will call on the government to rescind the ban,”
he added.

http://www.jordantimes.com/Wed/homenews/homenews6.htm

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Barak warns of "days of fire" ahead with 48-hour deadline
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 19:37:30 -0400

Barak warns of "days of fire" ahead with 48-hour deadline to end violence

JERUSALEM, Oct 18 (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak warned
Wednesday of "days of fire" ahead despite a truce aimed at halting three
weeks of deadly unrest, and said he was not yet convinced Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat was a partner for peace.

"The days ahead will be difficult, days of fire and of fighting," Barak said in a
speech the day after US President Bill Clinton announced that Israel and the
Palestinians had both agreed to take steps to end the spiral of violence that
threatens to sink Middle East peacemaking.

"We have done everything, left no stone unturned, to put an end to the
conflict but I am not convinced that at the moment we have a partner for
peace," he added.

Barak used a bomb blast in the Gaza Strip late Wednesday that damaged a
bus carrying women and children Jewish settlers to highlight his concerns,
saying: "I'm not sure that will be the last test."

Israel has been on high alert for possible terror attacks by the militant
Islamic movement Hamas and Wednesday's blast came three weeks after
an Israeli soldier was killed in a similar explosion in Gaza.

And the government warned the Palestinians they faced a 48-hour deadline
to end the violence in the West Bank and Gaza under the truce agreement
but clashes continued across the territories, injuring dozens of people.

But the Israelis also began taking steps to ease their clampdown on the
Palestinians, while the Palestinian Authority pledged its commitment to halt
the fighting which has killed more than 100 people, all but seven of them
Arabs.

Witnesses said Palestinian police were physically removing demonstrators
in some places.

Israeli government spokesman Nachman Shai said Clinton, who brokered the
truce Tuesday at a hastily convened summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm
el-Sheikh, had given 48 hours for the entire process to be completed.

"The countdown starts now," he said at 3:00 p.m. (1300 GMT). "Within 48
hours we expect a cessation of all kinds of hostilities in the territories."

The announcement followed the first meeting between Israeli and Palestinian
security officials on implementing the agreement. There was no immediate
confirmation of the deadline from the Palestinian side.

Shai said Israel would apply the summit conditions "point by point" and
expected the Palestinians to do the same.

Asked what steps Israel would take if violence did not cease by the deadline,
Shai said: "We'll have to sit down and take tough decisions."

At the same time Israel announced that it was opening crossing points from
the Gaza Strip into Egypt and from the West Bank into Jordan, as well as
the Gaza international airport.

But access from the territories into Israel itself remained closed.

In Wednesday's clashes, 30 Palestinian youths were wounded in fighting
with Israeli soldiers guarding a Jewish settlement in the central Gaza Strip,
all but two with live bullets, witnesses and hospital sources said.

One, a 12-year-old boy, was in a serious condition, they said.

Clashes were also reported in Erez, the Israeli-controlled crossing between
the Gaza Strip and Israel, with youths stoning troops. Six were injured, three
of them with live rounds, and the rest with rubber-coated steel bullets.

Another three were hit by rubber bullets near the Khan Yunis Jewish
settlement

In the West Bank, more Palestinians were wounded by rubber-coated steel
bullets in Ramallah, near Bethlehem, in Nablus, Salfit and Tulkarem.

Israeli military sources said meanwhile that Shin Beth intelligence agents
and undercover troops had snatched eight Palestinians suspected of
involvement in the lynching of two Israeli soldiers in Ramallah on Thursday.

The soldiers were stabbed and beaten to death by a crowd of angry
Palestinians who stormed the police station where they were being held,
arousing fury in Israel.

According to the Israeli army, the soldiers were reservists who had
mistakenly driven into the Palestinian-controlled town after getting lost.

Israel's Deputy Defence Minister Ephraim Sneh hinted that the information
was correct, saying, "it was not for nothing that we promised that the guilty
will be punished and that justice will be done."

A Palestinian security official said that up to five youths had been arrested in
Israeli-controlled areas of the West Bank.

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Sanaa ready to send fighters to defend Palestinians
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 19:38:51 -0400

Sanaa ready to send fighters to defend Palestinians

SANAA, Oct 18 (AFP) - Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said
Wednesday he was ready to send thousands of Yemeni fighters to defend
the Palestinians and the holy sites in Jerusalem.

"We have everything. We are ready to send hundreds, thousands of Yemeni
fighters to defend the Palestinians and the holy sites in Jerusalem," Saleh
said in an interview with the Qatari-based satellite television channel Al-
Jazira.

"I am not in favour of war, but you have to call for war if the holy sites in
Jerusalem are soiled," the Yemeni head of state added.

On October 7, Saleh called for the opening of Arab borders to allow arms and
troops to be sent to help the Palestinians.

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israel dismisses UN Assembly emergency session as "abuse of procedure"
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2000 19:41:28 -0400

Israel dismisses UN Assembly emergency session as "abuse of procedure"

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 18 (AFP) - The UN General Assembly began a
special emergency session Wednesday on the crisis in the Middle East that
was expected to condemn Israel for excessive use of force against
Palestinians.

The session was scheduled to adjourn after four opening speeches and to
resume on Friday, when UN Secretary General Kofi Annan will address the
General Assembly after he returns from the Middle East.

In the opening speech, the Palestinian observer to the United Nations,
Nasser Al-Kidwa, accused Israel of committing war crimes in the past three
weeks of violence in Jerusalem and the West Bank.

More than 100 people have been killed, the vast majority of them Palestinian.
In reply, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Yehuda Lancry, said the calling
of the special session was "a disgraceful abuse of procedure."

The session was called after the UN Security Council turned down a request
from Al-Kidwa for a meeting on Thursday.

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

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