BPR Mailing List Digest: 10/25/00

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
October 25, 2000

Digest Home | 2000 | October, 2000

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Fwd: American Muslim Council
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:26:38 -0400

----- Original Message -----
From: "AMC Media & Communications" <media@amconline.org>
To: <amc@list.us.net>
Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2000 11:44 PM
Subject: American Muslim Council-NET: 4 DAYS UNTIL NATIONAL MARCH
AND RALLY FOR
PALESTINE AND AL AQSA

With the Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

American Muslim Council

For Further Information
Contact:

Neveen Salem
Director of Communications and Media
202-789-2262, media@amconline.org

Action Alert 2000: #29
October 24, 2000

4 DAYS TO GO!
National March and Rally for Free Jerusalem and Al Aqsa

(WASHINGTON D.C., Oct. 24)---The National Task Force for the Crisis in
Jerusalem (NTFCJ), a coalition of national American Muslim organizations, in
cooperation with other organizations, urges the American Muslim community
to
attend a march and rally in front of the White House in protest of Israel's
aggression against Al-Aqsa Mosque and the use of excessive violence
against the
Palestinian people.

The event will be held on Saturday October 28th, and will begin at 11:00
A.M. with a march from Freedom Plaza to Lafayette Park, in front of the
White House, where a rally will begin at 12:00 p.m.

We call upon the Muslim community to come out in solidarity and in number
to
defend Al Haram Al Sharif and to protest against Israel in solidarity with our
Palestinian brothers and sisters. We urge our Imams to post this alert and
announce it at Friday prayers and mobilize the community to attend. Buses
are
being chartered nationwide and a strong presence will send a clear message
that
American Muslims stand for justice and peace in Jerusalem and Palestine.

We expect our Muslim brothers and sisters to come out in full force to
protest the aggressions, which have been and continue to be, aimed at the
Palestinians. We must also rally in support of Al Aqsa Mosque in
remembrance of its significance to Islam. This week commemorates the
occasion of Al Isra' wa Al Mi'rag, in which the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
made the night journey from Makkah to Jerusalem (Isra') and then ascended
to
heaven from the Dome of the Rock (Mirag).

Members of the National Task Force for the Crisis in Jerusalem:

American Muslim Council (AMC)
American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
Arab American Institute (AAI)
American Committee on Jerusalem (ACJ)
American Muslim Alliance (AMA)
American Muslims for Jerusalem (AMJ)
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Islamic Association for Palestine (IAP)
Islamic Association of North America (IANA)
Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA)
Islamic Institute Foundation (IIF)
Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)
Muslim American Society (MAS)
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Muslim Student Association (MSA)

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
THE AMERICAN MUSLIM COUNCIL
1212 NEW YORK AVENUE, NW, SUITE 400
WASHINGTON, DC 20005
PHONE : (202) 789-2262
FAX : (202) 789-2550
E-MAIL : amc@amconline.org
V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V*V
To subscribe to AMC's Read-Only E-mail network, e-mail
-majordomo@list.us.net with "subscribe amc" in the body of your message.
To unsubscribe, e-mail
-majordomo@list.us.net with "unsubscribe amc" in the body of your
message.

---

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israeli columnist asks for journalists not to u
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:28:13 -0400

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: "IMRA Newsletter" <imra-l@lyris.vcix.com>
Subject: [imra-l] Israeli columnist asks for journalists not to use material from attacks on Jews staged for the media
Date sent: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 00:56:01 +0200
Send reply to: imra@netvision.net.il

Israeli columnist asks for journalists not to use material from attacks on
Jews staged for the media

Jerusalem, October 22, 2000

The following letter was written by Hanni Luz, a columnist for "Hatzofe" (a
Hebrew daily newspaper), to her fellow journalists.
*************************************
Dear Sir,

A new game is being played on account of human lives. It's called: "Shoot
the Jew". The stage managers come from two parties. The first are armed and
usually masked gunman. The second are troops of cameramen. Both are looking
for the daily take.

The first party coordinates the time and place. The second party tails
behind, striving for headlines, aiding the stage managers with technology's
best lenses. Both the parties aim. The first takes careful aim at a Jewish
home, a Jewish bus or a Jewish soldier. The second aims carefully at the
daily hit, shooting it from the gunmen's point of view. Together the shoot.

The actors come on stage, ignorant of the two hungry parties waiting behind
the corner.

Bus number 160, on it's way home from Jerusalem thru the Ezion tunnels, was
shot at on Wednesday evening. At the exit of the tunnel, a CNN camera crew
was waiting patiently for the best shot. This incidence was not unique. The
same method is being played day after day near the Jewish town of Psagot,
and behind the Jewish houses in Hebron.

The grotesque truth behind "the picture tells it all" is that democratic
media teams are collaberating with killers, and therefore playing an
active, if not major, part in pre-planned murder. These are not press
reporters. They are terror-pushers, accountable for the worst of immoral
war crimes. This ugly phenomenon has to be stopped, if democratic society
wants to continue believing in humanistic values.

I beg you to boycott pictures from CNN, AP, Reuturs and other agencies,
that were abtained by trampling the most basic of human rights -- the right
to live. Even a Jew has the right not to be shot at.

Hanni Luz

------- 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] - Ha'aretz: Communications Minister Binyamin Ben-
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:29:40 -0400

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: "IMRA Newsletter" <imra-l@lyris.vcix.com>
Subject: [imra-l] Ha'aretz: Communications Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer proposes making East Jerusalem part of separate Palestinian phone system
Date sent: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 01:11:56 +0200
Send reply to: imra@netvision.net.il

Ha'aretz: Communications Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer proposes making East
Jerusalem part of separate Palestinian phone system

Hadar Horesh, Ha'aretz Correspondent Ha'aretz [Bulletin] 24 October 2000

Communications Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer has drawn up a plan for Prime
Minister Ehud Barak to separate the communications system of Israel and the
Palestinian Authority. According to the plan, Israel and the PA would have
different international access codes, with the PA receiving its own
international access code.

Should the plan be approved, all calls between Israel and the PA would be
considered international calls. Although East Jerusalem was annexed by
Israel, calls between East Jerusalem and Jerusalem proper would also be
considered international calls. The Palestinian communications system,
Paltel, has no international communication infrastructure, and is wholly
dependent on the Israeli international communications system Kavei Zahav
(Golden Lines). Kavei Zahav management refused to affirm the disconnection,
and the general manager of the company, Rami Belnikov, said he knew nothing
about such a severing.

In addition, the plan promotes a separation of cellular phone lines, but no
serious damage is expected since most Palestinians receive their cellular
service from Jalal, the daughter company of Paltel.

------- 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] - Document: House Resolution Concerning the Viole
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:31:25 -0400

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: "IMRA Newsletter" <imra-l@lyris.vcix.com>
Subject: [imra-l] Document: House Resolution Concerning the Violence in the Middle East (H. CON. RES. 426) passed by 2/3 majority
Date sent: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 01:30:29 +0200
Send reply to: imra@netvision.net.il

Document: House Resolution Concerning the Violence in the Middle East (H.
CON. RES. 426) passed by 2/3 majority

The US House of Representatives passed a resolution late Tuesday October 24
that places sole blame for the recent violence in the West Bank and Gaza on
the Palestinians.

The House resolution, which passed by 2/3-majority vote on the floor, calls
on the United States to prohibit assistance for the Palestinian Authority
and for programs, projects, and activities in the West Bank and Gaza.

Text follows:

Whereas the Arab-Israeli Conflict must be resolved by peaceful negotiation;

Whereas since 1993 Israel and the Palestinians have been engaged in
intensive negotiations over the future of the West Bank and Gaza;

Whereas the United States, through its consistent support of Israel and the
cause of peace, made the current peace process possible;

Whereas the underlying basis of those negotiations was recognition of the
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) by Israel in exchange for the
renunciation of violence by the PLO and its Chairman Yasser Arafat, first
expressed in a letter to then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin dated
September 9, 1993, in which Mr. Arafat stated: `[T]he PLO renounces the use
of terrorism and other acts of violence, and will assume responsibility over
all PLO elements and personnel in order to assure their compliance, prevent
violations and discipline violators.';

Whereas as a result of those negotiations, the Palestinians now fully
control over 40 percent of the West Bank and Gaza, with over 95 percent of
the Palestinian population under the civil administration of the Palestinian
Authority;

Whereas as a result of peace negotiations, Israel turned over control of
these areas to the Palestinian Authority with the clear understanding and
expectation that the Palestinians would maintain order and security there;

Whereas the Palestinian Authority, with the assistance of Israel and the
international community, created a strong police force, almost twice the
number allowed under the Oslo Accords, specifically to maintain public
order;

Whereas the Government of Israel made clear to the world its commitment to
peace at Camp David, where it expressed its readiness to take wide-ranging
and painful steps in order to bring an end to the conflict, but these
proposals were rejected by Chairman Arafat;

Whereas perceived provocations must only be addressed at the negotiating
table;

Whereas it is only through negotiations, and not through violence, that the
Palestinians can hope to achieve their political aspirations;

Whereas even in the face of the desecration of Joseph's Tomb, a Jewish holy
site in the West Bank, the Government of Israel has made it clear that it
will withdraw forces from Palestinian areas if the Palestinian Authority
maintains order in those areas; and

Whereas the Palestinian leadership not only did too little for far too long
to control the violence, but in fact encouraged it: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the
Congress--

1. expresses its solidarity with the state and people of Israel at this time
of crisis;

2. condemns the Palestinian leadership for encouraging the violence and
doing so little for so long to stop it, resulting in the senseless loss of
life;

3. calls upon the Palestinian leadership to refrain from any exhortations to
public incitement, urges the Palestinian leadership to vigorously use its
security forces to act immediately to stop all violence, to show respect for
all holy sites, and to settle all grievances through negotiations;

4. commends successive Administrations on their continuing efforts to
achieve peace in the Middle East;

5. urges the current Administration to use its veto power at the United
Nations Security Council to ensure that the Security Council does not again
adopt unbalanced resolutions addressing the uncontrolled violence in the
areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority; and

6. calls on all parties involved in the Middle East conflict to make all
possible efforts to reinvigorate the peace process in order to prevent
further senseless loss of life by all sides.

---
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From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Clinton to press for extra aid for Israel
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:35:05 -0400

Wednesday, October 25, 2000

Clinton to press for extra aid for Israel

By Aluf Benn
Ha'aretz Diplomatic Correspondent

The U.S. administration is expected to ask Congress this week for a special
military aid package for Israel, which will total hundreds of millions of dollars,
Israeli government sources involved in the contacts with the administration
said yesterday.

Congress recesses on Friday, and the administration is expected to present
an "omnibus bill" containing a number of budgetary requests before then.

Israel has asked the United States for an $800 million aid package, half to
cover the costs of the withdrawal from Lebanon, and half to finance
development of an anti-missile defense program in light of Iran's successful
test of its new Shihab missile. This money would be on top of the usual
military aid package, which will total $1.98 billion next year.

At first, American officials said they would request a much smaller aid
package, of between $150 million and $200 million. But Prime Minister Ehud
Barak reiterated his request for the larger sum to President Bill Clinton at the
Sharm al-Sheikh summit last week, and Israeli sources said yesterday that
there is now "a chance that our full request will be approved [by Clinton] and
submitted to Congress."

Sources in both the Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign Ministry predict
that Clinton will try to "do something" with the peace process after the
November 7 elections in the U.S., in order to secure his "legacy." Once the
elections are over, he will be free of political pressures.

According to reports that have reached Jerusalem, the American
administration is considering convening a summit with Barak and Palestinian
Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat. The latter has proposed November 16 as
a date. The summit would be a continuation of the Camp David talks this
summer, with the goal of reaching a framework agreement for a permanent
settlement.

The administration's main concerns regarding this plan are the continuing
violence in the territories and the political situation in Israel - particularly the
possibility of the Likud's entry into the government.

Earlier this week, the administration rejected Barak's request that it publicly
blame the Palestinians for the violation of the Sharm al-Sheikh cease-fire
agreement.

Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami will go to the U.S. next week to discuss
the peace process and bilateral relations with National Security Adviser
Sandy Berger. Among other items, Ben-Ami will push Israel's request that it
be "upgraded" to the status of a "strategic ally." Bilateral talks on this issue
were frozen a few weeks ago. The unilateral separation plan Meanwhile, in an
effort to defuse the criticism which Barak's plan for unilateral separation from
the Palestinians has elicited - in particular from the United States - the Prime
Minister's Office published a document yesterday declaring that "separation
from the Palestinians does not mean dissociation."

"Dissociation, whether economic, infrastructure-related, civilian or social, is
not only impossible, it does not serve Israeli interests," the document said.

The document stated that Israel's goal is still a negotiated agreement with
the Palestinians, but that "this goal, particularly in light of recent events, may
have to be translated into a number of interim goals, the central one being a
start to implementation of a separation between Israel and the territories of
Judea and Samaria." However, it noted, this separation would be gradual,
occurring over several years.

The basic concept of the separation plan, the document said, is a "border
that breathes" - meaning one through which economic and infrastructure
cooperation could continue to flow. The exact location of this border has not
yet been determined.

http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=10/25/00&
id=97906

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - A double-edged electric switch
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:38:44 -0400

Wednesday, October 25, 2000

A double-edged electric switch

The shared electricity grid in the West Bank denies a possibility of "electric"
separation

By Amiram Cohen

"The economic separation between the Israeli and Palestinian economies will
not include the electricity system. The Israel Electric Corporation (IEC)
continues and will continue to meet the electricity demands of the
Palestinians," a senior official at the corporation told Ha'aretz Sunday."In
Gaza," the official continued, "the electricity networks to Jewish and Arab
customers are separate, so it is possible to effect an [economic] separation,
but in the West Bank the grid is shared. The lines that supply electricity to
the settlements also carry it to the Palestinian villages. So there is no way to
execute a separation, except by establishing two parallel grids, an idea that
could never be implemented." The official added that separating the grids
would take years and cost a fortune.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) is currently incapable of producing its own
electricity, and buys its entire electrical supply from the IEC. Has anyone in
the government ever thought of flicking the switch as a weapon in the
contention currently reigning between Israel and the PA? Probably not.
"Such a step," said one government minister, "would be a declaration of war
on the Palestinians."

A senior source in the Prime Minister's Office, when asked if Israel would cut
off electricity to the PA, or even make such a threat for political gain, said,
"Even though the Government Companies Law (paragraph 4) authorizes the
government to order the electric corporation to do so, it is inconceivable that
a sane government would use a control switch in the political arena."

He said that the paragraph in question is a problematic one from the outset,
and was not intended to be used for political purposes. The government has
used this provision only once - when it forbade El Al Airlines from operating
flights on the Sabbath.

The PA buys electricity from the IEC via the East Jerusalem Electric
Company, which it controls, so the IEC has no direct contact with
Palestinian consumers. The East Jerusalem Electric Company is
responsible for repairing and maintaining the electricity lines to all the
Palestinian towns and villages in the PA territories.

Electricity consumption by the PA currently stands at 450 megawatts per
day (about 5.3 per cent of the capacity of the IEC). Yigal Ben-Aryeh, the
director of the IEC's Jerusalem district who is in charge of the electricity
connections between the corporation and the PA, says these figures are not
an accurate reflection of the electricity demands of the PA areas, because
there are many areas, particularly in Gaza and in the northern section of the
West Bank, where the infrastructure is insufficient to supply the needs of the
residents. If the PA were to utilize all the electricity that is at its disposal,
said Ben-Aryeh, electricity consumption by the Palestinians would grow by
15 percent per year (300 million kilowatt hours per year), but this potential is
currently not being realized.

In its plans for electricity production over the next 10 years, the IEC took into
consideration the fact that electricity demand by the Palestinians will reach
750 megawatts per day. Sources at the corporation say that the continued
supply of electricity to the PA, just like the expansion of services, is
dependent on the signing of trade agreements between the two sides.

However, the PA now has a strategic goal to produce and convey its own
electricity. The American electric company Arnon has already commenced
building a gas turbine power plant in Gaza, with a future capacity of 120
megawatts.

The first production unit of the power station, with a capacity of 60
megawatts, will be operational within a month or two, Ha'aretz has learned.
The PA will also apparently be issuing an international tender for the
construction of an additional power station.

The new station will be powered by natural gas from the wells drilled by
British Gas off the coast of Gaza, or from a gas pipeline being built by the
Italian Agip company, which channels gas to El Arish and Egypt. Until the
natural gas is available, the turbine will be powered by diesel. The IEC
currently supplies the Gaza Strip with about 125 megawatts of electricity per
day, and estimates that demand will reach 200 megawatts by 2005.

The hostilities are making life difficult for IEC repair and maintenance
personnel, who are responsible for the central grids that carry electricity from
Israel to the territories, and for the networks that serve the settlements. All
repairs now have to be done with protection from the army

http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=2&datee=10/25/00&i
d=97875

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Hundreds of Christian families fleeing PA areas
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:42:16 -0400

Wednesday, October 25 2000 13:26 26 Tishri 5761

               Hundreds of Christian families fleeing
               PA areas
               By Margot Dudkevitch

               JERUSALEM (October 25) - Since the outbreak of
               violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, hundreds of
               Christian Arab families have left with the assistance of the
               Foreign Ministry and foreign embassies, such as those of
               England, Canada, and Cyprus, Shlomo Dror,
               spokesman for the coordinator of activities in the
               territories, said yesterday.

               In some cases, embassies sent cars to pick up the
               families from their homes in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Gaza,
               Nablus, and Tulkarm, granting passports to spouses and
               grandparents and offering financial assistance or air
               tickets to leave Israel, he said. In many cases the
               embassies eased restrictions and granted passports
               where only one of the couples had citizenship, to assist in
               their departure. A small number of those seeking to leave
               were Moslems, he added.

               "Lately the number of requests has subsided. Those left
               don't have foreign citizenship, but all those able to have
               left," said Dror. He recalled the speech made by a
               Moslem preacher in a Gaza mosque after prayers on a
               recent Friday, in which he called on Palestinians to attack
               Israelis and Christians. Shortly afterward, a group of
               Christians was attacked in Gaza, he said.

               His statements came as Israeli security officials said that
               the Palestinian Authority did not choose Beit Jala as the
               focus of violence by coincidence, but in an attempt to
               draw the Christian population into the conflict, a step it
               hopes will generate international support and criticism of
               Israel for shooting at civilians.

               Central Command chief of staff Brig.-Gen. Ya'acov
               Zigdon noted that those shooting at Gilo from Beit Jala
               are not local residents, but extremists from elsewhere.

"What we have here are cells that are not necessarily
from Beit Jala," he said.

               While many of the families have fled the area, those left
               behind are being held hostage by the situation. "The
               armed Tanzim enter the village and take over homes and
               rooftops, and threaten the occupants if they object," one
               official said.

http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2000/10/25/News/News.14287.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Palestinian peace activists are also disillusioned
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:44:07 -0400

Wednesday, October 25, 2000

Focus / Palestinian peace activists are also disillusioned

By Danny Rubinstein

In a mirror-image reflection of the emotional and ideological fracture among
Israeli leftists, which has been caused by weeks of fighting and bloody
events, Palestinian peace activists are now troubled by anger and dismay.

Directors of independent associations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
announced yesterday that they are curtailing all joint projects with Israelis,
including major undertakings designed to nurture understanding between the
two peoples that have been organized by the Peres Center for Peace and the
U.S. Agency for International Development.

A statement released by these independent Palestinian associations
declared that in light of the "proliferation of phenomena reflecting Israeli
fascism and prejudice," they have decided to boycott joint endeavors with
Israelis. The Palestinian organizational leaders call on counterparts in the
Arab world to refrain from contacts with the state of Israel until it withdraws
from all conquered areas, including East Jerusalem.

The statement adds that the Palestinian groups will only work with Israeli
organizations that expressly support the establishment of a Palestinian state
in the West Bank and Gaza whose capital is Jerusalem, and which
recognize the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

This declaration, issued by Palestinians who have been active in economic
affairs and in joint projects with Israelis, reflects the extent to which the
current crisis has convulsed Palestinian society as a whole.

Israelis who have recently spoken with Palestinian associates and friends
say that they have been surprised to hear such blunt, unqualified language
and allegations. Palestinians, for their part, say they are bitterly disappointed
by the insensitivity shown by their Israeli associates. On both sides,
members of one group accuse counterparts from the other of having become
partisan propagandists.

http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=10/25/00&
id=97909

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Beleaguered Barak could be thrown out of office next week
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:45:54 -0400

Sharon demands powerful role in Israel government

Middle East: Beleaguered Barak could be thrown out of office next week
as Likud raises the price of co-operation and threatens to force
elections

By Phil Reeves in Jerusalem

25 October 2000

The stakes were raised sharply yesterday in the jockeying for power in
conflict-torn Israel when the opposition Likud leader, Ariel Sharon,
issued an ultimatum to the beleaguered prime minister, Ehud Barak.

The message was stark: either forge an emergency government of national
unity, including Likud, or face being thrown out of office when the
Knesset returns next week.

Mr Barak – whose previous coalition government collapsed in July – has
been trying to pressure Yasser Arafat into ending the Palestinian
uprising by threatening to form an emergency government which would
include the Likud leader, who is hated in the Arab world.

Mr Sharon – who is demanding that power is shared equally between right
and left in the proposed new government – yesterday reportedly told
party members that he would topple the Barak government and go to new
elections if there was no agreement.

Mr Barak held talks with smaller parties, perhaps in the hope of
cobbling together a coalition without Mr Sharon – whose presence in the
government would mean the end of all hope of successful peace
negotiations with the Palestinians. The latter is hated in the Arab
world, partly because of his prominent role in the Sabra and Chatila
refugee camp massacres in Beirut but also because he triggered the
current round of bloodshed with a highly insensitive visit to the
Haram-al-Sharif, or Temple Mount, in Jerusalem.

The political crisis comes as Mr Barak is struggling with the uprising,
which saw three more Palestinian deaths yesterday, including a
13-year-old boy, Iyad Sha'ath. The protests widened into neighbouring
Jordan, where anti-riot police fired tear gas to drive back more than
20,000 anti-Israeli demonstrators along the border area overlooking the
occupied West Bank. They had gone there to protest against Israel and
rally for the right of return of Palestinian refugees, many of whom live
in Jordan. The demonstrators urged Jordan's King Abdullah to open the
border along the Jordan River which overlooks Jerusalem to the West, to
allow guerrillas to attack Israel.

"Open the borders to the Mujahedeen [Islamic fighters]... give us
weapons and we will give our souls to Palestine in return," chanted
angry youths.

The West Bank and Gaza Strip were still under total closure yesterday,
one week after the Sharm el-Sheikh summit at which US President Bill
Clinton extracted a pledge from Israel to take "immediate" steps to
reopen the borders. As the Palestinian uprising simmered through its
27th day, evidence continued to mount that the ceasefire has crumbled.
In the week since it was agreed, but never signed, some 30 people have
died, almost all Palestinians shot by Israeli troops.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/World/Middle_East/2000-
10/sharon251000.shtml

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Amr Moussa declares the end of the peace process
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:50:16 -0400

Wednesday, October 25, 2000

Amr Moussa declares the end of the peace process

'New standards' needed to form a new basis for
negotiations, says Egyptian Foreign Minister

By Daniel Sobelman
Ha'aretz Correspondent

Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa has announced that the peace
process is finished. Interviewed by the Lebanese newspaper A-Sapir,
Moussa threatened that Egypt is liable to take measures against Israel
should it believe that they will promote Arab interests.

"The peace process, as we have known it during recent years, is finished,"
Moussa declared. "Nobody among the Arabs, and especially among the
Palestinians, will agree to return to the negotiating table on the basis of the
old criteria and standards. Right now, the resolute stance taken by the
Palestinian people, and its resistance to Israel's conquest, is the top
priority." Moussa referred to the establishment of "new standards" to serve
"as the basis for continued negotiations." These standards, he said, will be
determined by the Arabs.

Decisions reached at the recent Arab League summit, Moussa told A-Sapir,
are "not routine," and "Israel isn't pleased with them at all."

From this point onward, the foreign minister declared, Egypt will not
establish new relations with Israel, unless a re-designed peace process
restores rights to Arabs. Moussa added that all necessary steps will be
taken to prevent Israeli "infiltration" into the Arab world and spoke of Israel's
"loathsome violations of human rights."

He said that Arabs should assist the Palestinian Intifada in four ways:

l By taking a firm, pan-Arab position in support of the Palestinian people;

l By providing material support and delivering money to alleviate economic
problems in the conquered territories;

l By lobbying in the international arena for an end to the siege which Israel is
enforcing against the Palestinians;

l By a refusal to return to the old negotiation frameworks.

Moussa told the Lebanese newspaper that Egypt supports Hezbollah's
campaign against Israel, since the Israel Defense Forces have not pulled out
of all Lebanese territory.

Since Israel continues to keep Lebanese prisoners behind bars, he said, it
bears responsibility for any retaliatory measures that Hezbollah might
attempt.

http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=10/25/00&
id=97911

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - One World Religion is Not Enough
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:54:59 -0400

One World Religion is Not Enough

                                    By Wendy Griffith
                                    CBN News Reporter
                                    October 24, 2000

CBN.com - -- Globalization – It has become a pretty common buzzword in
recent years. It seems everyone is talking about global economics,
global politics, and now even global religion.

It may sound far-fetched, but many liberal organizations, including the
United Nations, are pursuing the development of a one-world religious
organization. Today, on the UN�s 55th anniversary, CBN News takes a look
at what's behind this push for a global religion.

After a while the drums, chants and prayers representing many of the
world's leading religions all started to sound alike, somehow losing
their flavor in a melting pot of spiritual soup. The first ever
Millennium World Peace Summit of religious and spiritual leaders took
place at the United Nations in August. And some believe it marked the
first major step toward a movement to usher in a global spiritual body
that may one day speak for all religions.

"It certainly sounds suspicious to me," remarks Bob McGinnis.

Mcginnis, of the Family Research Council, says it appears the hidden
agenda is to unite people under one religious organization so they will
peacefully accept UN goals such as population control, abortion rights
and one world government.

"I would suspect that they do kind of want to bring all faiths under one
umbrella, whether it be Muslims or Hindus or some tribal group down in
the central part of the Amazon," says McGinnis. "If they can accomplish
that then they co-opt their religious voice in the world and I think
it's really going to water down our effectiveness as we try to go
elsewhere and be spokespersons for Christ."

"Maybe there is, instead of all these different Gods, maybe there's one
God who manifests himself in different ways to different people," stated
Ted Turner at the Summit.

CNN founder and billionaire Turner was the honorary chair of the World
Religions Summit. Turner, known for his critical views on Biblical
Christianity, promoted the new age concept that there are many ways to
heaven.

"The thing that disturbed me was that my religion, the Christian sect,
was very intolerant, not of religious freedom, but we thought we were
the only ones going to heaven," he told the assembled leaders.

Although the movement's goals are clearly anti-Biblical, some liberal
protestant denominations have become big supporters of a New World
church. Among those leading the way is the United Religions Initiative,
or U.R.I. Introduced in 1995 by San Francisco Episcopal bishop William
Swing, the U.R.I. is active in nearly 60 countries worldwide and 33
states in the United States. The U.R.I. envisions itself as the future
religious arm and spiritual partner of the United Nations.

"I think the initial vision that Bishop Swing had was that it would be a
religious United Nations," says Rev. Charles Gibbs. "What we've
discovered over the years is that it carries with it a tremendous amount
of baggage."

Gibbs, who is the executive director of the United Religions Initiative,
denies reports that the U.R.I. goal is to form a new world religion, but
says, instead, it will serve as a global agency that will work towards
world peace, protection of the environment and other social issues.

"We still hold the aspiration that we'll have the visibility and stature
of the United Nations but in a very different organization where all
over the world, everyday, ordinary and exceptional people are working
through interfaith cooperation to solve the pressing issues they have
locally and still be connected to a global community," notes Gibbs.

Supporters of a global religious voice have come down hard on
evangelical Christians who refuse to adopt their new age agenda. For
example, former UN Assistant Secretary-General Robert Muller said,
fundamentalists are stuck in an "inflexible belief system and play an
incendiary role in global conflicts." He goes on to say that "peace will
be impossible without the taming of fundamentalism through a united
religion that professes faithfulness only to the global spirituality and
to the health of this planet."

U.R.I. founder Bishop Swing is also quoted as saying, " The time comes
when common language and a common purpose for all religions and
spiritual movements must be discerned and agreed upon. Merely respecting
and understanding religions is not enough."

Biblical scholars warn that Christians must not be sucked into this new
age agenda that takes the focus off Christ and places it on the
so-called "global good" of mankind.

"It is written, Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever,"
stresses Dr. Charles Holman, a divinity professor at Regent University.
"Real Christians will follow him to the end."

If global religion supporters do gain influence, many say a key object
of worship will be creation - not the creator. The U.R.I. supports the
push by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Canadian billionaire
Maurice Strong, founders of Green Cross International, to form an earth
charter --a sort of Ten Commandments that will provide a guide for human
behavior toward the environment in the 21st century. Gorbachev has said,
"Nature is my God. Trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals."

Although many believe a world religious organization is just what we
need to overcome religious conflicts and feuds, Christians point out
that the Bible warns of a time when religious control will escalate into
religious persecution.

Quotes Holman: "Jesus said in Matthew 24:9, ‘then shall they deliver you
up to be afflicted, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all
nations for my names' sake. For then there shall be great tribulation,
such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor
ever shall be."

Lee Penn, a freelance reporter and critic of the U.R.I., said, "The
leaders of the U.R.I. do not place their ultimate hope in God or in the
saving acts of Christ. They hope for an earthly utopia that the united
religions will help bring into being."

Rev. Gibbs says the U.R.I's peace is not the false peace of the
anti-Christ, which some have accused.

"I would simply reflect into that Jesus own statement, you will know
them by their fruit."

http://www.christianity.com/partner/Article_Display_Page/1,1183,PTID2546
|C HID101025|CIID170228,00.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - U.S. press sympathetic to Israel, ADL finds
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:56:14 -0400

Wednesday, October 25, 2000

U.S. press sympathetic to Israel, ADL finds

By Shlomo Shamir
Ha'aretz Correspondent

NEW YORK - Covering the recent clashes between Israel and the
Palestinian Authority, the majority of large-circulation, influential newspapers
in the United States have shown support for Israel and expressed sympathy
for its plight. An Anti-Defamation League survey of editorials published by
American newspapers between September 30 and October 15 has
established this pattern of media support for Israel.

In the case of 67 editorials published by U.S. newspapers in the past two
weeks, 19 newspapers expressed unqualified support for Israel, this survey
says. Seventeen newspapers presented "balanced analysis," articulating
criticism of both sides. Only nine newspapers stood squarely on the
Palestinian side, voicing criticism against Israeli leaders (particularly Ariel
Sharon), whom they accused of responsibility for the conflagration.

http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=10/25/00&
id=97914

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Crowded Solar System
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 08:58:09 -0400

Crowded Solar System

New Estimates Show There Are More Large Asteroids Near Earth

New estimates show there are 1,100 asteroids that are more than six-tenths of a mile in diameter near Earth. Chances are slim that one could strike Earth, but if it did happen it could have disastrous consequences as depicted in this NASA illustration. (neo.jpl.nasa.gov)

By Amanda Onion

Oct. 24 — Although space may seem like a vacant place, the inner solar system is crisscrossed by a scattering of rocky, fast-slinging projectiles. And new estimates suggest there may be more traffic out there than previously thought.

“We�ve run a search that�s been bigger than anyone else�s by a factor of ten and we found there are more out there,” says Grant Stokes, the principle investigator for the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research Program or LINEAR.

Led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher Scott Stuart, the LINEAR team used data from two New Mexico-based telescopes to calculate there are more than 1,100 asteroids bigger than six-tenths of a mile in diameter screaming in orbits near Earth.

Why worry about a little galactic traffic? Geologic records suggest there is good reason for concern.

Foreboding Traces

Most scientists agree it was a gargantuan-sized asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. The meteor that gouged out Arizona�s three-quarter-mile-wide Meteor Crater 49,000 years ago most likely destroyed all life for miles around. And, most recently in 1908, a meteor crashed down in Siberia and devastated more than 1,000 square miles of forest and wildlife.

Scientists have determined that an object with a diameter of 10 km or more could extinguish life on earth. Fortunately such collisions only occur once every 100 million years or so.

More worrisome are objects six-tenths of a mile or more in diameter that impact the planet every 500,000 to 10 million years. Collisions from objects of this size could affect the global climate, trigger tsunamis and kill billions of people. So far LINEAR has identified 400 of these asteroids near Earth.

Chances are slim that a significantly sized asteroid may strike Earth again in the next few million years, but astronomers can�t rule out the possibility. In fact in 1996 an asteroid about a third of a mile wide zoomed within an unnerving 280,000 miles of Earth.

Astronomers only knew about the approaching asteroid four days before it passed by and would have had no chance of averting disaster had it been aiming straight for Earth. That�s why astronomers like Stuart believe it�s only prudent to track any comets or asteroids within striking distance.

Planning Ahead

If an asteroid is on a known path towards Earth, the hope is scientists could develop a way to either push the asteroid off course or break it up before it reaches the planet.

“If we continue our work and upgrade our telescopes there is a good chance that we will be able to discover all of the [one-kilometer-wide near-Earth asteroids] within 10-20 years,” says Stuart. “And the odds are pretty low that we�ll get hit before then.”

Since 1998, the LINEAR program has discovered 70 percent of all near-Earth asteroids detected so far. The key to LINEAR�s success is its two New Mexico telescopes, located on a barren stretch of land within eyeshot of the Trinity atomic test site. The telescopes were originally designed for the Air Force to track man-made objects, such as satellites. Three years ago, with the help of NASA funding, the Air Force began sharing the equipment with researchers from MIT�s Lincoln Laboratory.

Every night the telescopes take multiple images of patches of sky and then pick out objects that move within each frame. Researchers then look for previously unseen moving objects and send any new data to the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts where the asteroids are tracked.

Earlier this year, NASA�s asteroid tracking program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California had estimated there are about 700 near-Earth asteroids more than 0.6 miles in diameter. Stokes explains LINEAR�s new, higher estimates stem from their ability to look in new swaths of sky.

Off the Beaten Path

“Most planets, including the Earth, orbit around the sun along a single plane,” he says. “Take that plane and twist it and you have a different inclination. That�s where we�re finding more things.”

Not only are surprisingly more asteroids located off this beaten path around the sun, they�re also more difficult to detect. That�s because when objects are located above or below the Earth-sun plane, they�re only partially illuminated by the sun so they�re dimmer and harder to see from Earth.

NASA�s goal is to find 90 percent of all large-sized near-Earth asteroids in the next ten years. Based on the amount of sky that LINEAR has searched so far, the team knows they have many more to find.

“If the total number is really 750, we�re going to make the 10-year deadline without breaking a sweat,” says Stokes. “But if our number is right, we have our work cut out for us.”

http://www.abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/asteroids001024.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Zenit Dispatch items (10/25/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 09:54:18 -0400

DELORS OPPOSES ELIMINATION OF RELIGION FROM CHARTER OF
RIGHTS
Former President of European Commission Calls for Public Debate

ROME, OCT. 24, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Jacques Delors, former president of the
European Commission, spoke out publicly against the decision to eliminate
the reference to religious values from the preamble of the European Union's
Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Delors told ZENIT that the writing of this document, which could be the
seed of a future European Constitution, was "an almost impossible exercise."

"I regret that for reasons related to a certain secularism, the reference
to 'religious heritage' was left out," Delors said, who has always stated
publicly that he is Catholic.

"It would be as if in France, those who do not like dictatorship, or rather
authoritarian power, decided to make Napoleon disappear from history," he
said. "Likewise, those in Europe who do not like the fact that Christ existed
wish to leave out the reference to religion. It is absurd. All the elements that
have cemented humanity, as and how we have received them, must be taken
into consideration in the charter."

Delors, a past minister of economy and finance in France, was in Rome this
past weekend for a meeting of the Aspen Institute.

Regarding the European Charter, he said he is asking the writers and those
responsible for the document to distinguish between personal opinion and
the task of writing the charter.

Delors also addressed the criticisms being made by Catholics of the
document's statements on life, cloning and the family.

"I am not surprised by the fact that the writers wanted to keep legal and
political developments in mind, as well as the concept of values of today's
European society," he said.

He then clarified his personal position on life issues. "Our representatives
have kept in mind the existing system of values," he said, "if you then ask
me if these are also my own, I answer that I do not like these values, my
values are different; however, I, myself, cannot change things. My values are
different, but I cannot impose them on others."

Delors does not think that the debate ended with the document's approval,
however.

"No country will be impeded from submitting it to the national Parliament,
because this charter does not come from on high," he said. "It is a text that
must be lived, and stir debate among citizens." ZE00102404

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

"A SPIRITUAL DIMENSION IS NECESSARY" FOR EUROPE
Interview With Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, Archbishop of Prague

BRUSSELS, Belgium, OCT. 24, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- Cardinal Miloslav Vlk of
Prague has lived Europe's division in his own flesh.

Under the former Czech regime, he had to carry out his priestly ministry in
secret, while earning his living as a window cleaner.

For seven years now, he has led the Council of Episcopal Conferences of
Europe (CCEE), which just ended it general assembly in Leuven. He has led
the CCEE with the sensitivity typical of the Church in the East -- heroic in
her resistance to communism and also critical of neo-capitalism.

And because of his personal experiences, the 68-year-old archbishop of
Prague believes in the profound, spiritual unity of Europe. He recently spoke
about the continent.

--Q: Eminence, the European Union is facing important objectives. First of
all, extension to include countries of the East. As CCEE president, in
addition to being bishop of this geographic area of Europe, what judgment
can you make on these challenges?

--Cardinal Vlk: We have given much time to these reflections in our
assembly. Among other things, we wished to meet with some
representatives of the European institutions to know in what way the
Churches of Europe might help in this process. Unification cannot take place
only for political, economic and financial reasons. Those who are responsible
also say this: A spiritual dimension is necessary, which gives perspective to
a road that is often difficult and resisting, for a greater unity of European
peoples.

The same conclusion is reached by those who, like me, have lived under
communism. Without spiritual motivation and, I wish to add, profoundly
religious motivation, the countries of the East would not have been able to
free themselves from dictatorship and oppression.

--Q: However, in Eastern European society doubts and fears are spreading in
regard to a decided integration from on high. There are even those who have
compared Brussels' Eurocrats with former Soviet bureaucrats.

--Cardinal Vlk: It is true, there is a fear of loss of national identity, especially
where there is strong religious tradition as, for example, in Poland. I think
that on this point the European Union must do everything possible to apply
the principle of subsidiarity: All those decisions that can be made at levels
closer to the people should have precedence over decisions at the central
level.

--Q: For many, talk of European unification means opening the doors to
secularization, yes?

--Cardinal Vlk: Look here, until some time ago it was thought that the
process of secularization was irreversible. At the beginning of the
century, the German sociologist Max Weber formulated this theory but he
later realized that this was not so and he formulated the thesis of the
persistence of religion in the modern world. However, there are those who
prefer to repeat old topics and close their eyes to reality. It is a
mentality that resists death; suffice it to read the recent Charter of the
Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

--Q: Why has the assembly of European bishops given so much attention to
this document?

--Cardinal Vlk: Because the idea of a charter of rights might imply a
decisive step for the European Union. A step in the direction of giving an
explicit ethical foundation to the communitarian path of our continent.

--Q: In fact, there is talk of the possibility of inscribing the charter in the
Union's treaties, transforming it into the nucleus of the future European
Constitution. What do you think of this?

--Cardinal Vlk: For the time being, the charter that will be approved at the
Nice summit will have no juridical value; they are only recommendations.
However, with perspective, it could become the preamble of a European
Constitution. The judgment of the European bishops is that the charter must
be profoundly revised. If it were inscribed in the treaties as it is, it would
cause many problems and harm the process of extension of the European
Union.

--Q: In your opinion, why has there been a desire to exclude any reference to
European religious tradition in the charter's preamble?

--Cardinal Vlk: It's as if some groups, which are very strong politically, were
afraid to recognize the reality of the Christian faith and to acknowledge its
decisive contribution to European construction. I know very well that some
give importance to laicism and they do not wish to betray the ideals of the
French Revolution. However, as I said earlier, the world moves on, and one
cannot look at the religious phenomenon through the lens of 18th-century
thinkers. ZE00102401

via: ZENIT News Agency <english1@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] - Yasser Arafat has formed a working alliance wit
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 10:00:38 -0400

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: "IMRA Newsletter" <imra-l@lyris.vcix.com>
Subject: [imra-l] Yasser Arafat has formed a working alliance
with Hamas and Islamic Jihad Date sent: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 14:01:41
+0200 Send reply to: imra@netvision.net.il

Yasser Arafat has formed a working alliance with Hamas and Islamic Jihad

By Keith B. Richburg Washington Post Foreign Service Wednesday, October
25, 2000; Page A01

GAZA CITY - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has formed a working
alliance with Palestinian militants he previously had jailed, giving
seats on a decision-making committee to political leaders of two parties
suspected of terrorist attacks against Israel in recent years, according
to leaders of the two groups and Israeli officials.

Many radical members of the Islamic Resistance Movement, or Hamas, and
Islamic Jihad had been imprisoned - some for months, others on-and-off
for years - by Arafat's Palestinian Authority, partly as a conciliatory
gesture toward Israel. But dozens of the militants have been allowed out
of their cells within the last 3� weeks to help coordinate the current
campaign of violence that the Palestinians call "resistance" to Israeli
occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian
and Israeli sources.

Some of these militants may have been responsible for a wave of
terrorist attacks in Israel in the mid-1990s, although none has been
tried or charged with any specific crime. Their release has set off a
wave of panic in Israel as fears grow that the country might see a
return to a suicide bombing campaign that claimed 57 lives in 1996.

Leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad have warned obliquely of precisely
that. With more than 120 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the
current wave of violence, "everyone is calling for revenge," said
Mahmoud Zahhar, a physician who is a Hamas spokesman in Gaza. "How many
days and weeks we wait, I cannot tell. I have no data. Even the Israelis
are waiting; they are afraid of such operations."

Sheik Ahmed Yassin, the paralyzed founder and spiritual leader of Hamas,
said in a separate interview that his group is now trying to "renew" its
paramilitary wing after its weapons were confiscated and many of its top
members jailed by Arafat's security forces. "We have to get free from
our handcuffs to face the enemy," he said in a sickly voice. Asked if
new Hamas operations could be expected, he said, "Anything can happen,
but in time."

An Islamic Jihad spokesman, Abdallah Shami, was asked if there would now
be terrorist attacks inside Israel. He replied: "We expect. But we don't
have any information. There is a military leadership that is working
secretly."

Zahhar said Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders have met regularly with
officials of the Palestinian Authority and Arafat's Fatah political
organization through a revived group called the High Committee Follow-Up
Intifada of Nationalist Islamic Organizations. "We are meeting at least
once daily," he said. "All [the participants] are from the first-class
leadership."

Shami said he attended one meeting in Gaza to discuss how to coordinate
activities during confrontations with soldiers at Israeli checkpoints
and military strongholds. "All are going to share in the clashes," he
said.

Arafat's new cooperation with militant Palestinian groups comes as
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is reaching out to hard-line Israeli
politicians to form a common front in the face of the Palestinian
uprising. Yesterday, Barak continued negotiations aimed at establishing
an emergency, broad-based government that would include right-wing
opposition leader Ariel Sharon.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad have separate roots, but both are committed to
creating an Islamic Palestinian state and have taken a more radical
approach to achieving that end than has Arafat's Fatah. Arafat jailed
many of the more militant activists and decimated their organizations'
paramilitary wings while he was seeking to conclude a peace settlement
with Israel. His aim was to remove from the scene real or perceived
terrorists, as well as potential rivals for power.

Shami was jailed nine times, most recently for a month last May; Zahhar
was arrested four times. The release of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad
prisoners had long been demanded by Palestinian human rights activists
and some international rights groups; many Palestinians argued that
their imprisonment made little sense as the peace process faltered.

"We consider their arrests entirely illegal," said Raji Sourani,
director of the Palestinian Center for Human Rights here. "It was
entirely American and Israeli pressure; they came with a list." He
added: "What's the point in keeping them when the peace process is
over?"

Faisal Husseini, the senior Palestinian official in Jerusalem, said of
Arafat: "He'll unify the internal front. If not, everyone will say 'Why
are you keeping these people who fight the Israelis in jail?'"

The details of how the militants were freed remain murky. According to a
Western diplomatic source, the releases came in two batches - one just
after the start of the Palestinian uprising on Sept. 29, the other on
Oct. 12, the day Israeli helicopter gunships blasted Palestinian police
barracks and other targets in retaliation for the mob killing of two
Israeli soldiers at a police station in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

It is unclear whether the prisoners were actually set free, to protect
them before the police buildings were attacked, or whether they escaped
when the guards ran away to avoid the Israeli strikes. Zahhar insists
the latter was the case in Gaza. "Forty-six or 47 detainees smashed the
doors and just went out," he said.

Shami said that jailed militants on the West Bank were released when
"the Palestinian masses crowded outside the jail and they released them.
Here in Gaza, they released themselves because they were afraid of being
killed."

Reports vary on how many militants were freed. Estimates range as high
as about 50 in Gaza and as many as 200 in the West Bank. But those
released apparently did not include the most notorious terrorism
suspect, Mohammed Deif, who was considered Israel's most wanted man
until he was arrested by Palestinian police in May. Deif is alleged to
be the mastermind behind a 1996 Jerusalem bus bombing that killed 26
people as well as other terrorist acts. All sources - Palestinian and
others, interviewed separately - said Deif was transferred to a more
secure location and was never out of Palestinian Authority custody.

Palestinian officials attending a summit on the violence last week at
the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh assured U.S. officials that those
who had been released were being rearrested, but Islamic Jihad and Hamas
sources disputed that, saying most remain free.

Even with two of the better known militants accounted for, there is
worry in Israel and elsewhere that others will organize terrorist
strikes. "Some of them are fairly nasty characters," said a Western
diplomat. Said an Israeli intelligence officer: "We are talking about
operators, killers."

Asked if any of the released militants had been involved in terrorist
actions against Israel, Zahhar said, "They were members of the military
wing involved in acts against the occupation."

Israeli officials are warning citizens to brace for a new wave of
violence, and they have made clear they will blame Arafat for any acts
of terror. One Israeli official was quoted as telling journalists that
Arafat "was not making an intelligent calculation. . . . He let a devil
out of the bottle, one that might never be able to be put back. This
devil will blow up buses and will damage the Palestinian image in world
opinion."

Barak has said that releasing the militants, or allowing them to escape,
"is the equivalent of a green light to terror." He added: "It makes him
[Arafat], not Hamas or Islamic Jihad, responsible for the following
terrorist attacks that might easily come."

Hamas and Islamic Jihad are already showing some signs of their clout,
and perhaps some growing public support, on the streets. There were
green Hamas banners - as well as the yellow flag of the Lebanese Islamic
group Hezbollah - in evidence in the West Bank town of Nablus Friday as
a funeral for a slain Palestinian led to new clashes with Israeli
soldiers and the deaths of several more Palestinians.

Also in Nablus, witnesses said that Hamas militants played a key role in
the Oct. 7 mob attack on a site revered as the place where the biblical
patriarch Joseph is buried. They said Palestinian police initially tried
to protect the site but that Hamas activists showed up later and led the
assault on the tomb as police drifted away.

Here in Gaza City on Oct. 14, just before the opening of the Sharm
el-Sheikh summit, Hamas led protesters in torching a hotel and smashing
several shops that sold alcohol. Hamas and Islamic Jihad also have
joined with Arafat's armed militia in distributing leaflets about
resistance events, including a plan to try to break through Israeli
roadblocks to Jerusalem, and a "day of rage" on Friday following noon
Islamic prayers.

------- 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] - New Fatah flier -OCT/25/00
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 13:49:58 -0400

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: 25 Oct 2000 17:06:22 -0000
To: List Member <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
From: BreakingNews-Israel <44828-owner@listbot.com>
Subject: New Fatah flier -OCT/25/00

BreakingNews-Israel

New Fatah flier calls for increase in attacks
(IsraelWire-10/25) The Fatah faction, aligned with PLO Authority (PA)
leader Yassir Arafat, has published a new flier calling for an increase
in attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. The new flier, which
was distributed on Wednesday in the autonomous city of Ramallah, called
for attacks inside “Israel proper,” over the Green Line.

Some of the sections recapped as follows:
I) We support the continuation of the Intifada and are calling for it to
intensify.

II) We turn to all people of our nation to carry out attacks
in the heart of Israel and cause them pain and losses.

III) We, the Palestinians are disappointed by the decisions by leaders and are
calling among all Arab nations to begin the jihad against Israel.

IV) Palestinians are to not to comply with orders from IDF military
forces – adding that if the IDF instructs Bet Jalah residents to
evacuate their homes, they are not to do so.

V) Do not fire in the air or waste ammunition, or fire out of anger. Do not give the Israelis a
reason to fire on innocent persons. Fire straight at the enemy.

Courtesy of IsraelWire News Service – http://www.israelwire.com

------- 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] - Israel opens jail cells to replace lost Palestinian labour
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 13:52:50 -0400

Israel opens jail cells to replace lost Palestinian labour

JERUSALEM, Oct 25 (AFP) - Israel is planning to use prisoners to help ease
a labour shortage caused by the blockade around the Palestinian territories
that has kept tens thousands of Palestinians away from their jobs in the
Jewish state, industry leaders said Wednesday.

The Israeli Manufacturers' Association has signed an accord with the
country's prison service allowing certain inmates to replace Palestinian
workers, said Shlomo Menahem of the association's small and medium
business organisation.

"Under the terms of this accord we can employ about 1,200 prisoners to help
fill the void left by Palestinian workers," he told public radio. "They will not
resolve all our problems, but will ease the situation in certain sectors."

The Israeli army has closed off Israel to Palestinians living in the West Bank
and the Gaza Strip because of the deadly clashes that have raged through
the territories for almost a month.

The blockade affects more than 100,000 people who work legally or on the
black market in Israel, mostly in the building industry, agriculture and the
restaurant trade.

Their wages constitute a major source of income for the two territories.

Israel is also considering using students or soldiers to help ease the labour
crisis.

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Palestinian plane to fly wounded to Baghdad
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 13:59:08 -0400

Palestinian plane to fly wounded to Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Oct 25 (AFP) - A Palestinian aircraft is to fly out 20 people
wounded in the clashes with Israeli forces for treatment in Baghad, a
Palestinian diplomat said Wednesday.

"A Palestinian Boeing from Gaza airport is to bring to Baghdad on Sunday
20 Palestinian wounded who will be hospitalised in Iraq," said Dalil al-Qasus,
first secretary at the "embassy of Palestine".

"The plane will also carry a delegation from the Palestine National Council for
a solidarity visit to Iraq," said the diplomat.

It will be the first Palestinian flight to join the flow of aircraft into Saddam
International Airport since it reopened in August, in a bid to force a end to the
10-year-old air embargo on Iraq.

Iraq has despatched two convoys of more than 100 trucks carrying food and
medicines for the Palestinians, but charged that Israel refused to let the
goods enter the Palestinian territories.

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Why you won't need to have sex to make a baby
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 14:21:49 -0400

25 October, 2000

                              Why you won't need to
                              have sex to make a
                              baby
                              BY MICHAEL HANLON
                              SCIENCE EDITOR IN SAN DIEGO

                              THE idea of having sex in order to
                              have babies will be dead within 20
                              years, one of America's leading
                              scientists predicted yesterday.

     The "messy business" of procreation will, in the richest parts of
     the world, be consigned to history as humans take control of
     their evolution and turn instead to the creation of "designer
     babies".

     Addressing the world's largest ever gathering of fertility experts,
     in San Diego, Professor Greg Stock of the University of California,
     Los Angeles, predicted that a number of new technologies would
     mean that parents wishing to have children will turn to science
     rather than letting nature take its course.

     "This is the beginning of the end of sex as the way we
     reproduce," he predicted. "We will still have sex for pleasure, of
     course, but we will view our children as too damn important to
     leave it to a random meeting of sperm and eggs."

     Professor Stock, a biologist and expert on the genetics of
     reproduction and ageing, acknowledges that his theory is
     controversial.

     But he said that several technologies - including conventional
     IVF treatment, pre-implantation genetic screening, and a new
     technique on the horizon which will allow women to produce
     thousands of eggs to store for later use - would revolutionise
     reproduction.

     "It is likely that younger women will want to store their eggs
     before they have any plans for children or any idea of who the
     father will be," he said. When egg extraction becomes cheap and
     simple, he predicted, many women will choose to conceive in the
     lab rather than leave it to chance in the bedroom.

     Genetic screening to reduce the chances of having a baby with
     diseases such as cystic fibrosis, for example,will be widened in
     scope as more genes are identified.

     "We will be able to screen for lots of genetic diseases. We will, in
     essence, be able to take a single cell from an embryo in the lab
     and calculate from that how the child will develop. Effectively,
     the child will have to pass a test before it is even born.
     Eventually it will be thought as reckless to have a child without
     genetic screening as to have a child without pre-natal screening,
     as happens today."

     Genetic screening is controversial because it allows doctors to
     decide which embryos created in the test tube should be
     implanted into the woman's womb and which should be rejected.

     While most experts support using the technique to eliminate
     deadly diseases, Professor Stock said they would have to face
     the reality that parents would also want to weed out children
     who would turn out to be obese or mentally retarded.

     Genetic counsellors would, he predicted, be needed in their tens
     of thousands to help parents make difficult choices. Most
     controversially, Professor Stock advocated a technique called
     "germline manipulation". Conventional genetic therapies involve
     altering the genes in the body of an individual.

     Germline genetic engineering means altering the genes in the
     individual's sex cells as well, meaning the new genes are passed
     on to future generations. Most scientists say that although this
     will soon be possible, it should not be attempted as humanity
     would effectively be redesigning itself, with unforeseen
     consequences.But Professor Stock said there would be
     safeguards built in. He told the annual meeting of the American
     Society for Human Reproduction that the technology would be
     available within 10 to 20 years.
     =A9 Express Newspapers, 2000

http://www.lineone.net/express/00/10/25/news/n1520-d.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Some gays critical of AOL chairman's donation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 14:21:49 -0400

Some gays critical of AOL chairman's donation to Lauderdale Christian school

By MEGAN O'MATZ
Sun-Sentinel
Web-posted: 12:03 a.m. Oct. 24, 2000

An $8.35 million gift from AOL Chairman Steve Case and his wife, Jean, to Fort Lauderdale's Westminster Academy is causing some consternation in the gay community, given the school's close ties to the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.

Led by D. James Kennedy, the church and its related ministries publicly condemn homosexuality, going so far as to conduct national ad campaigns proclaiming that gays can change. Kennedy is the school's founder.

"If the Cases are willing to support such an anti-gay group, the gay and lesbian community …is going to react negatively," said David Smith, communications director for the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group for gay rights.

Last week, the group sent a letter to Case and his wife asking them to reconsider their decision to donate a portion of their personal wealth to the school. Jean Case is a 1978 graduate of the high school.

"We find it unfathomable how your family could reward a school inexorably linked to teachings that say gay and lesbian Americans are not worthy of dignity, respect and full citizenship," Elizabeth Birch, Human Rights Campaign's executive director, wrote. "From our point of view, your gift will only create an assembly line of hate and intolerance."

In response, Jean Case released a statement saying the money was meant to benefit the children of South Florida, not the church.

"In no way was the gift intended to send a message of intolerance," she wrote. "Steve and I strongly oppose discrimination in any form."

Last year, Steve Case made a $10 million donation to his high school alma mater, the Punahou School in Honolulu, Hawaii.

In voicing its displeasure with the Westminster Academy donation, the Human Rights Campaign stopped short of calling for a boycott of AOL, but some gay people said they would cancel their AOL memberships and sell their AOL stock anyway.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/daily/detail/0,1136,36000000000115719,00.html

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Arutz Sheva & One Jerusalem Call to Action
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 14:24:59 -0400

Your computer must have Windows Media Player, which can be downloaded
for PCs at:
http://microsoft.com/windows/mediaplayer/download/default.asp for Macs
at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/mediaplayer/en/download/Macintosh.asp

File is 1.5M

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 12:42:12 +0200
To: arutz-7@IsraelNationalNews.com
From: Arutz-7 Editor <netnews@IsraelNationalNews.com>
Subject: Arutz Sheva & One Jerusalem Call to Action
Send reply to: netnews@a7.org

Arutz Sheva Teams Up with OneJerusalem.org
Combatting the Anti-Israel Bias in the Major Networks.

**
This piece includes simple instructions for receiving, via the internet, a
powerful 30-second video concerning the present political situation
**

By now you probably know that the IDF warned the Palestinian Authority
before firing missiles into the Ramallah police station in retaliation
for the two Israeli reservists who were lynched there. What you
probably did not know was that the reason the film clips of the bombing
showed Palestinian Arabs running for their lives before the missiles
hit, despite the fact that the warning was given a full three hours
before the attack, was because the inhabitants were ordered to wait
there until just before the missiles struck.

Arabs running for their lives makes for good television.

Hard to believe? It sure is. But the fact is that the Palestinian
Authority could have cleared the building of people long before the IDF
retaliated. Instead it chose to use the three hours to strategically
place a BBC television crew opposite the building so that they could
film a bunch of Palestinian Davids escaping Goliath's missiles.

War is indeed an extension of diplomacy as Clausewitz wrote, and in the
age of the sound bite, propaganda is an extension of war. The
Palestinian Arabs are at war with the State of Israel and their most
effective weapon is propaganda.

The Palestinian Authority orders children out of school and buses them
to confront IDF soldiers with rocks and Molotov cocktails. If that
doesn't draw enough victims, Palestinian soldiers fire their automatic
weapons on Israelis from within the crowd of children, forcing the IDF
troops to shoot back. Like the sacrificing of children to the Moloch of
biblical times, Arafat's henchmen prefer that their dead be children.
"The Israelis are killing our children," they will then cynically
declare on CNN in order to justify any atrocity they then commit.

This propaganda war is not an easy one for us to fight. We naturally
recoil from telling lies and distorting reality. But we do have the
truth, and even though lies are rapid and truth is slow, it is the truth
that we must tell, again and again and again.

Unfortunately many of those fighting the war for us are insufferably ill
equipped to do so. Or, they simply don't believe in the veracity of our
cause enough to convince anyone. It is therefore imperative that every
concerned and dedicated person committed to a secure future for Israel
and the Jewish people become an ambassador of Israel, an ambassador of
the truth.

Below, you will find instructions on how to receive a 30-second film
entitled Hatred from the Cradle. The film depicts the Palestinian's
contemptible manipulation of children's minds and the endangerment of
their lives in order to achieve political gain. The major networks -
CBS, ABC, and NBC - all refused to air it, despite a guarantee of
payment up front.

The answer is for you to air it.

Show it to your family, friends, and business partners. Show it at your
local synagogue and school and at the PTA meeting. Show it to local
journalists and try to buy time on your local networks.

Follow that up with action.

Circulate the One Jerusalem international petition against the
redivision of Jerusalem. Jerusalem has been placed on the negotiation
table for the first time, and it is unlikely that it will be removed in
the foreseeable future. A petition signed by millions declaring the
indivisibility of Israel's eternal capital will help ensure that it will
remain just that. It can be seen and signed at
http://www.onejerusalem.org

For more information, and to receive posters and petitions, call (212)
340-1171 (in New York) or (02) 625-2550 (in Israel).

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yechiel M. Leiter
OneJerusalem.org

To receive the video attachment, send blank email to: <a href
="mailto:hatredfromthecradle@IsraelNationalNews.com">
hatredfromthecradle@IsraelNationalNews.com </a>

____________________________________________________________
Arutz-7 Educational Radio: a project of Beit El Yeshiva Center
Institutions. Individual news items may be reproduced in any form,
provided Arutz-7 is credited and its e-mail address and URL is listed
alongside the quote.

Subscribe (free): <a href="http://subscribe.a7.org/subscribe.asp">Arutz-
7</a> To Unsubscribe: mailto:unsubscribe@IsraelNationalNews.com For
other subscription-related matters:
mailto:listmanager@IsraelNationalNews.com For automated response about
Arutz-7: mailto:info@IsraelNationalNews.com

------- 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] - Arutz-7 News items (10/25/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 18:45:25 -0400

EXPLAINING ISRAEL TO WALL STREET

"Crowd control" doesn't work when some in the crowd have AK-47s. BY MARK
HELPRIN, Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, October 24, 2000 "If the aims of
the Palestinians are a state on the West Bank and Gaza, a presence in
Jerusalem, and peaceful coexistence with Israel, why have they taken in
such numbers, with such ferocity, and at the cost of so many lives, to
the streets that soon would have been theirs absolutely? Why have they
unleashed anguished and accusatory rhetoric sufficient to whip up not
one but half a dozen wars?...

"The answer is not they are inexplicably self-destructive and lack
self-control, for they are constant, purposeful, and often well
disciplined... Nor is the answer the casualties and suffering sustained
by the Palestinians since the beginning of this latest intifada, as much
as this may feed it day by day, for the Palestinians initiated the
violence knowing from experience that what would follow was more or less
a sure thing.

"They took to the streets [because] they are so great a distance from
their genuine aim... They would rather chance a return to pure
occupation than risk that the [achievements of the Oslo process might
actually] be frozen into permanence... In short, they are having second
thoughts, and shaking off the uncomfortable fiction that for years has
been the face they have presented to the West. In the Arab world they
speak without ambiguity: "Occupied Palestine" means all of Palestine.
The "occupied territories" means all the territories of Palestine.
Palestine will not coexist with Israel but, rather, will replace it.

"...Why then doesn't Israel take steps to reduce Palestinian casualties
and block the world's tendency to equate one side with the other? ...
Why not use conventional crowd-control techniques? ... This is the crux
of it, and why Israel cannot win the battle of public opinion... Why
then do they not follow Amnesty's recommendations? Because they cannot.
They are not faced with American university students or European Greens
with an uncontrollable animus for McDonald's. At the world's insistence,
the Palestinians are armed. There are probably 100,000 or more AK-47s in
the hands of the police and militia, and countless others stockpiled by
civilians and secret organizations, not to mention heavier weapons such
as grenade launchers and rockets. Every day, from the periphery and
from within the rock-throwing and gasoline-bomb-tossing crowds,
automatic weapons fire is directed at the Israelis, who are thus forced
to use small-unit tactics and keep themselves dispersed. The Israelis
cannot close with the crowds, using shields and batons, because to do so
they would need to concentrate hundreds or perhaps thousands of men in
these battles, soldiers who in such antiquated formations would be a
vulnerable and irresistible target. The Israelis cannot deal with the
Palestinians as if they were discontented university students, because
the Palestinians who fight them on the street are backed by gunmen who
daily use their weapons. That is why the horrific toll mounts. And when
judging the toll and the reasons for it, it is prudent to keep in mind
one incontrovertible fact. For every Palestinian who falls, Israel is
weakened and Yasser Arafat gains strength."

THE INTERVENTION THREAT

Dore Gold, who served as Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. in the Netanyahu
government, spoke with Arutz-7 yesterday about possible international
involvement in the region. He was asked, "Deputy Defense Minister Sneh
warned recently that the PA request for international forces here could
become a reality if the violence gets worse. Is this a genuine
possibility?" Gold responded, "A decision of this nature is generally
made only in the Security Council, which is subject to U.S. veto. But
there are exceptions: International NATO forces were stationed in
Kosovo without any UN decision -
because the U.S. feared a Russian veto..." Gold implied that it was safe to
say that a decision of this nature would not happen without American
approval: "The threat of international observers must not be ignored,
in that Israel must coordinate its activities with the U.S., and receive
American understanding, and work with a timetable for a quick resolution
- because the more this situation lasts, the more chances there are for
an Israeli 'mistake,' such as the bombing of a civilian center. In
addition, international patience will wear out... We have more 'credit'
in American opinion than in Europe - most American opinion molders feel
that Arafat is responsible for the violence - but this 'credit' is not
unlimited."

***SPECIAL INSERT: A PALESTINIAN ATTACK, BLOW-BY-BLOW An
article by Jack Kelley in USA TODAY, Oct. 23, 2000, describes how
Palestinian police, snipers, children, and ambulances are part of a
well-oiled team fighting "organized warfare" against Israel. The
article describes, in play-by-play fashion, the battle that took place
at Ayosh Junction between Ramallah and Beit El this past Saturday.
Excerpts: "…Laughter and singing coming across the… radio is suddenly
interrupted. ''Snipers! Snipers!'' screams an Israeli Army scout atop a
nearby building. A second later, a barrage of bullets shatters the
windows of an Israeli Army Jeep, inches from the head of Lt. Erez
Winner, 31, who controls the Israeli ground forces in Ramallah. More
bullets ricochet off the side of his Army Jeep, the street and a nearby
building. Simultaneously, 200 Palestinian youths, yelling '' Allah
Akbar,'' charge down the street throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails.
One of the fiery explosives lands under the hood of a Jeep and appears
to set it on fire. The Israeli soldier reverses the Jeep so fast that
another soldier, leaning against the side of the Jeep for protection, is
knocked to the ground. About 60 Palestinians, who are within 25 yards,
pelt him with rocks. He is hit in the forehead and starts to bleed.
Still another soldier jumps from the Jeep to help him, but he is shot in
the right hip by one of the Palestinian snipers. He limps into the back
of the Jeep, bleeding. The crowd of Palestinians cheers… "Palestinians
have begun attacking Israeli soldiers in what appear to be well-planned
and coordinated ambushes involving not only youths but Palestinian
Authority policemen and civilian ambulance drivers. Ambulances are
delivering stones, and sometimes fighters, to the front lines, despite
official denials. The Palestinians are not only throwing rocks at the
soldiers but are shooting at them. Israeli officials also say, though
there is no confirmation, that Palestinians have begun bringing heavier
artillery, including hand-held rocket launchers, to the front lines…
"[Winner] adamantly denies international claims that IDF troops are
being too aggressive. His rules of engagement are straightforward, he
says in English: Soldiers on the front lines are to shoot only tear gas
canisters, stun grenades and, if they feel their lives are in danger,
rubber-coated steel bullets. And they are always to shoot below the
waist, preferably at the knees, he says. Only the Israeli snipers on the
rooftop of the nearby City Hotel can shoot live ammunition, and their
shoot-to-kill orders must come from Winner, a 13-year IDF veteran…
"Winner disputes reports that Palestinians are throwing only rocks by
pointing out bullet holes on the hood of his green Jeep that he says
were shot by Palestinian snipers last week. ''These weren't made with
BB guns,' Winner says. ''The Palestinians are starting to engage us in
full-scale war. That's why we're firing back.' "…A soldier from inside
the one of the Israeli Army Jeeps fires six tear gas canisters in the
direction of the youths. Another fires at least three stun grenades that
explode with a loud noise but do little else. But the youths pick up
the tear gas canisters and lob them back at the soldiers. They also
continue to throw more Molotov cocktails and rocks. There are so many
rocks hitting the Jeeps that one [Jeep] nearly disappears from view.
Also, the Palestinian snipers are firing with such intensity that
bullets can be seen bouncing off the street. "…Palestinian ambulances,
their horns blaring and lights flashing, begin racing toward the front
lines to pick up the wounded. But before picking up an injured youth,
one ambulance can be seen dropping off two buckets of rocks and a crate
of bottles to be used as Molotov cocktails. Seconds later, another
ambulance races onto a nearby hill, its horn blaring and lights
flashing. But there are no youths on the hill. The driver gets out and
fires two shots at the tank in a vain effort to hit the Israeli soldiers
before jumping back in and driving off… Israeli soldiers have long
claimed, and Palestinian officials have long denied, that ambulance
drivers were being used to shuttle ammunition in the intifada. "…Winner
is then interrupted by an Israeli sniper atop a nearby hotel. ''Erez,
Erez, they are shooting from atop four different buildings. One of them
is the PA building,'' the sniper says. ''He is a policeman. I recognize
him [but I can't shoot him because] I can't see them. They shoot and
disappear…" Last week, several Palestinian policemen in the West Bank
and Gaza said they would be joining in the intifada to defend their
people. Then the Israeli military video cameraman and a sniper, both on
different rooftops, radio in at the same time that a Palestinian man in
his 20s appears to be carrying ''a missile.'' Through binoculars, the
man can be seen removing what appears to be a hand-held rocket launcher
from the trunk of a car and, with the help of some youths, hiding it
behind a rock. Just then, automatic gunfire erupts from four buildings
to the right as if to distract the Israelis. Soon after, six car tires
and a Dumpster are set afire in an effort, Winner says, to block the
view of the Israeli soldiers with the smoke. As the smoke builds, an
Israeli scout atop one of the buildings reports that Palestinian cars
are driving to the right of the frontlines to unload semi-automatic
weapons… Then a pickup truck displaying the Hamas flag races toward the
front lines pulling the first of several abandoned car frames.
Palestinians youths untie the frames and stand them up to use as shields
against the bullets. ''This is a coordinated attack,'' Winner
says. ''First the snipers, then the kids, then the fires, then the
cars. The kids and smoke provide cover for the gunmen."

Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2000 / Tishrei 26, 5761

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - AIPAC: U.S. HOUSE STANDS BY ISRAEL; SOLIDARITY
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 18:47:55 -0400

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From: imra@netvision.net.il
To: "IMRA Newsletter" <imra-l@lyris.vcix.com>
Subject: [imra-l] AIPAC: U.S. HOUSE STANDS BY ISRAEL; SOLIDARITY RESOLUTION PASSES365-30
Date sent: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 21:56:21 +0200
Send reply to: imra@netvision.net.il

AIPAC: U.S. HOUSE STANDS BY ISRAEL; SOLIDARITY RESOLUTION PASSES365-30

October 25, 2000
Contact: Ken Bricker Ken_Bricker@aipac.org
(202) 639-5273

U.S. HOUSE STANDS BY ISRAEL; RESOLUTION CONDEMNS PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIP FOR
ENCOURAGING VIOLENCE AND CAUSING SENSELESS LOSS OF LIFE

(Washington, D.C.) -- Sending a strong message of
solidarity with the State and people of Israel, the U.S. House of
Representatives today passed a resolution, H.Con.Res.426, that condemns the
Palestinian leadership for encouraging violence and doing little stop it;
calls upon the Palestinian leadership to refrain from public incitement;
urges the Palestinian leadership to vigorously use its security forces to
stop all violence, show respect for all holy sites, and to settle all
grievances through negotiations; commends successive U.S. governments on
their continuing efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East; urges the
Administration to use its veto power at the UN Security Council to ensure
the Security Council does not again pass unbalanced resolutions addressing
the uncontrolled violence in the areas controlled by the Palestinian
Authority; and calls on all parties to make all possible efforts to
reinvigorate the peace process.

The bipartisan resolution passed, 365-30.

American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) President Tim Wuliger
praised the efforts of Reps. Ben Gilman (R-NY), Chairman of the House
International Relations Committee; Sam Gejdenson (D-CT), the committee's
ranking Democrat; Dick Armey (R-TX), House Majority Leader; Dick Gephardt
(D-MO), House Minority Leader; Jerry Nadler (D-NY); and Tom Reynolds (R-NY).

"To its credit, the House of Representatives has made it abundantly clear
today that it is not fooled by biased UN resolutions and attempts by the
Palestinian Authority (PA) to cast Israel as the villain," Wuliger said. In
fact, the terrible violence that we have witnessed over the past few weeks
has been carefully orchestrated by the PA in order to achieve in the street
what it could not obtain through negotiations," he said.

Calling on Chairman Arafat to stop the violence, Wuliger said, "Congress has
now made it clear that the violence option will not work. This is a
fundamental violation of the entire peace process."

A complete text of the resolution follows:

WHERAS: The Arab-Israeli conflict must be resolved by peaceful negotiation;

WHEREAS: Since 1993, Israel and the Palestinians have been engaged in
intensive negotiations over the future of the West Bank and Gaza;

WHEREAS: The United States, through its consistent support of Israel and the
cause of peace, made the current peace process possible;

WHEREAS: The underlying basis of those negotiations was recognition of the
Palestine Liberation Organization by Israel in exchange for the renunciation
of violence by the P.L.O. and its Chairman Yassir Arafat, first expressed in
his letter to then-Israeli Prime Minister Rabin dated September 9, 1993, in
which he stated: "The PLO renounces the use of terrorism and other acts of
violence, and will assume responsibility over all PLO elements and personnel
in order to assure their compliance, prevent violations and discipline
violators."

WHEREAS: As a result of those negotiations, the Palestinians now fully
control over 40% of the West Bank and Gaza, with over 95% of the Palestinian
population under the civil administration of the Palestinian Authority;

WHEREAS: As a result of peace negotiations, Israel turned over control of
these areas to the Palestinian Authority control with the clear
understanding and expectation that the Palestinians would maintain order and
security there;

WHEREAS: The Palestinian Authority, with the assistance of Israel and the
international community, created a strong police force--almost twice the
number allowed under the Oslo accords--specifically to maintain public
order;

WHEREAS: The Government of Israel made clear to the world its commitment to
peace at Camp David where it expressed its readiness to take wide-ranging a
nd painful steps in order to bring an end to the conflict, but these
proposals were rejected by Chairman Arafat;

WHEREAS: Perceived provocations must only be addressed at the negotiating
table;

WHEREAS: It is only through negotiations, and not through violence, that the
Palestinians can hope to achieve their political aspirations;

WHEREAS: Even in the face of the desecration of Joseph's Tomb, a Jewish holy
site in the West Bank, the Government of Israel has made it clear that it
will withdraw forces from Palestinian areas if the Palestinian Authority
maintains order in those areas;

WHEREAS: The Palestinian leadership not only did too little for far too long
to control the violence but in fact encouraged it;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The House of Representatives:

1. Expresses its solidarity with the State and people of Israel at this time
of crisis;

2. Condemns the Palestinian leadership for encouraging the violence and
doing so little for so long to stop it, resulting in the senseless loss of
life;

3. Calls upon the Palestinian leadership to refrain from any exhortations to
public incitement, urges the Palestinian leadership to vigorously use its
security forces to stop all violence, show respect for all holy sites, and
to settle all grievances through negotiations;

4. Commends successive U.S. governments on their continuing efforts to
achieve peace in the Middle East.

5. Urges the Administration to use its veto power at the UN Security Council
to ensure the Security Council does not again pass unbalanced resolutions
addressing the uncontrolled violence in the areas controlled by the
Palestinian Authority;

6. Calls on all parties involved in the Middle East conflict to make all
possible efforts to reinvigorate the peace process in order to prevent
further senseless loss of life by all sides.

Consistently ranked as the most influential foreign policy lobbying
organization on Capitol Hill, AIPAC is a nonpartisan American membership
organization that seeks to strengthen the relationship between Israel and
the United States. For more than 40 years, AIPAC has been working with
Congress to build a strong, vibrant relationship between the United States
and Israel. Its 55,000 activists throughout the United States work to
improve and strengthen that relationship by supporting U.S.-Israel military,
economic, scientific and cultural cooperation. Please visit our Web Site at
AIPAC.ORG

###

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From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Vaccine Refusal May Cause NY to Take Children
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 18:54:44 -0400

Vaccine Refusal May Cause NY to Take Children

Today, 77 middle-schoolers will be yanked from home and taken into
custody by New York state unless their parents agree to vaccinate them for
a disease usually caught by drug abusers or the sexually promiscuous.

On October 10, students in Utica were sent home for failing to get hepatitis
B vaccines by the state deadline. Parents were warned the children would be
turned over to Child Protective Services for neglect if they were still without
vaccination in 2 weeks.

"This is Hillary-Care coming home to roost in NY," said Jane M. Orient, MD,
Executive Director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
(AAPS). President and Mrs. Clinton's 1992 campaign pledge to create the
Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) was to become the first domestic
policy initiative of the administration. It was designed as their first shot to
pass the Health Security Act. "Their campaign to pass VFC was based on
creating a false crisis by claiming that millions of children would be exposed
to risk of disease without a government program."

"This vaccine is a potential death sentence for some children," said Dr.
Orient. "Government studies show that children under the age of 14 are three
times more likely to die or suffer adverse reactions after receiving hepatitis B
vaccines than to catch the disease itself." Hepatitis B is primarily an adult
disease, usually spread by multiple sex partners, drug abuse or an
occupation with exposure to blood. Children are at a very low risk of
exposure, unless the pregnant mother is infected.

The school district will lose a substantial amount of state funding if students
do not comply with the vaccine mandate. "We refuse to let that happen,"
said school district physician, Mark Zongrone.

"Apparently, Dr. Zongrone is more interested in protecting his employer's
budget than protecting the children under his care, and Mrs. Clinton cares
more about her vision of socialized medicine, "said Dr. Orient.

"It's obscene to seize a child and force him to the custody of strangers just
because his parents refuse medical treatment they think is unnecessary or
even dangerous," said Dr. Orient. "Parents, not Mrs. Clinton's village
government bureaucrats, should make decisions about their children's
medical care. We urge an immediate repeal of all vaccine mandates.

http://www.healthmall.com/mailarticle.cfm?type=article&id=649

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] - Cybercrime treaty targets hackers
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 18:59:59 -0400

Cybercrime treaty targets hackers

Computer scientists fear impact on security research

By Bob Sullivan
� MSNBC

AMSTERDAM, Oct. 24 — Meet the world�s newest class of persecuted
artists: computer hackers. European Union nations, and perhaps even the
United States, are about to make nearly any form of hacking — even
security research — illegal by treaty. The possibility scares a group of
top European computer security experts gathered in Amsterdam this week
so much that one declared, “It�s the witch hunt of the 21st century.”

USE THE TERM “computer hacker” and you�ve already touched off a battle
of semantics that leaves many scratching their heads. That�s part of the
problem with The Council of Europe�s Draft Cybercrime Treaty, authored
by the 41-nation body in consultation with the U.S. Department of
Justice. It could be signed as early as December.

To computer scientists, “hacking” merely means research by dis-assembly.
The end result of hacking is understanding how something works and
occasionally suggesting an improvement. Using such knowledge to break
into computers to steal information is, well, stealing — not hacking,
according to purists.

Computer hackers say the distinction was lost upon the Council of Europe
earlier this year when it agreed in principal to the Draft Cybercrime
Treaty. The treaty makes it illegal to write or possess hacking
software. Currently, both are legal in the U.S.

The treaty even includes aiding and abetting rules that appear to make
the publishing of software vulnerabilities or “exploits” illegal,
according to U.S.- based cyberlaw expert Jennifer Granick. That could
make vulnerability mailing lists like BugTraq and NTBugTraq, both with
well over 30,000 subscribers, illegal, she said.

“They are just afraid of things they don�t understand, things that they
cannot control,” said Stefen Buerger, a Germany-based security
professional. “Yes, we might end up chasing witches.”

Coalition slams cybercrime treaty

TREATY SCARES HACKERS

At a two-day gathering in Amsterdam designed to discuss technical
computer security issues, Granick�s discussion of the treaty drew swift,
emotional response.

“This would have a terrible chilling effect on security research,” said
Scott Blake, a Boston-based security professional. He belongs to a
research group that sent letters of protest to the Council of Europe
when the draft treaty was first released in April. A revised version of
the treaty, which was to have included updates based on an open public
comment period, was released last month with no changes on the hacking
software issue. “They basically just ignored us,” Blake said.

It�s hard to find an appropriate comparison to determine whether mere
possession of software should be illegal. In the U.S., possession of
drug paraphernalia, even for novelty, is illegal in most states.
Ownership of some kinds of lock-picking devices is illegal. But
possession of bomb-making recipes is not.

Hacking software poses special challenges because most of the tools have
two equal uses, Granick says. For example, a popular hacking tool called
nMap connects to a remote computer and tells the user if that computer
has any open ports that can be used to establish a connection. Finding
such a port is often the first step in a computer attack, making nMap
popular among attackers. But the program is equally popular with network
administrators who want to check their own systems for open ports.

The Council of Europe has promised to provide a list of exceptions to
the treaty, and professional network administrators will likely end up
exempt. But hackers at the Amersterdam conference were still worried
about the plight of the thousands of hobbyists who currently research
vulnerabilities in their spare time and in good faith. And software
writers — such as the author of nMap — would likely be offered no legal
protection.

The wide-ranging draft treaty also includes extradition agreements and
other controversial elements, such as requirements for Internet service
providers and network administrators to help police by maintaining
detailed logs of all network activity.

POLICE WANT TOUGHER CYBERLAWS

European police agencies say they desperately need some kind of help to
stem a tidal wave of this new, borderless cybercrime. Stuart Hyde, chief
superintendent of police in West Yorkshire and a British cybercrime
expert, told the hackers European nations need new laws to deal with
complicated issues like jurisdiction and evidence transportation.

“In part because of the ingenuity of lawyers and the ingenuity of
[computer criminals] to get around the laws we�ve got, the laws we�ve
got aren�t sufficient,” Hyde said. “The draft convention….will make it
much easier for people to investigate. It will have an immense impact.”

Not every hacker found the law offensive. One system administrator
compared the discussion to the gun control debate familiar to U.S.
residents.

“It�s like arms control,” said a German-based hacker, who requested
anonymity. “Saying you can�t walk around with a loaded gun produces
safety. You can compare an exploit to a fully-loaded weapon. Making
exploits illegal could decrease the number of hacked boxes.”

But others openly questioned the existence of a massive cybercrime
outbreak requiring bold legislation.

“Cybercrime just doesn�t pay,” said one hacker who requested anonymity.
“Other forms of criminal activity are much more lucratice. And if you
are a hacker, you are smart enough to know that any crime which would
pay you�d have to deal with people who could hurt you. All the hackers
who could do this have good-paying jobs they wouldn�t want to lose.”

Instead, another hacker suggested, the “cybercrime outbreak” is nothing
more than noisy teen-agers committing high-profile, low-impact Web site
hacks. But those crimes are being used as rationale by governments and
law enforcement agencies to pass highly restrictive laws.

“There is a certain hysteria about cybercrime,” the hacker said. “But I
don�t think anyone has stolen money from a bank using the Internet yet.”

And Granick fears Council of Europe, in an effort to create consensus,
has rushed forward and created a legal document “with far-reaching
ramifications, but without far-reaching insight.”

http://www.msnbc.com/news/480734.asp

via: cyberwar@egroups.com

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Human embryos created to supply researchers
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 19:02:02 -0400

Wednesday 25 October 2000

Human embryos created to supply researchers
Benefits may be huge, but ethicists troubled
Sharon Kirkey
The Ottawa Citizen

SAN DIEGO -- U.S. scientists have created human embryos for the sole
purpose of research, a controversial move critics say will lead to researchers
creating embryos just to later destroy them.

Researchers from the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Virginia
used eggs and sperm donated from young, healthy donors to create 40
embryos. The researchers then retrieved human embryonic stem cells --
cells that are capable of growing into virtually any cell, tissue or organ in the
human body.

Their work was revealed yesterday at the largest gathering ever of
international experts in reproductive medicine. It is believed to be the first
published study in the U.S. of scientists creating embryos outside the
human body for the sole purpose of harvesting stem cells.

Scientists believe stem cells could lead to groundbreaking treatments for
diseases such as Parkinson's and new organs and tissues for transplant
patients.

But the research is controversial because the cells have to be harvested from
human embryos and critics worry it will open the door to human cloning.

Two months ago, U.S. President Bill Clinton unveiled new guidelines allowing
scientists to conduct federally funded research on human embryonic stem
cells, but only if they use spare embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization
attempts for couples undergoing assisted reproduction that normally would
have been discarded anyway. However, the rules will not apply to privately
funded research.

But scientists around the world are now saying they can no longer rely just
on leftover embryos because of the speed at which stem cell research is
moving. In addition, fertility clinics are moving toward limiting the number of
embryos they create during each attempt at IVF because of growing
concerns about multiple pregnancies.

Stem cells are retrieved when embryos are only microscopic clusters of cells
-- three or four days old. Proponents of stem cell research argue the
embryos never actually implant in a uterus or womb, so are not capable of
surviving on their own.

There are no Canadian laws dealing with issues of embryonic research. In
1997 the Liberals allowed Bill C47, which would have included restrictions on
embryo research, to die on the order paper. Canada has only a voluntary
moratorium in place, though it doesn't cover research on human embryos.

Britain allows scientists to create embryos for research, but a spokesman for
the country's Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority said yesterday
that most researchers rely on donated embryos from IVF patients because of
a severe shortage of donor eggs. He was aware of only one research project
that's attempting to retrieve stem cells from embryos created with donor
eggs and sperm.

Ethicists say creating embryos just for research raises huge social and
ethical questions about respect for the transmission of human life.

"To transmit human life for no purpose other than its intentional destruction,
we have to ask, 'Are we ethically justified in doing that?' " said Margaret
Somerville, of McGill University's Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law.

She said scientists have felt better about using spare embryos that would
normally be destroyed anyway "because their moral intuition was so
worrying." She said actually creating embryos for research and then
destroying them "is a failure to show respect for human life."

"And the question comes up: What is the ethical number of embryos to
create?"

The Virginia researchers said they created embryos using donor eggs and
donor sperm for two reasons: To get research material from young, healthy,
consenting donors and to use embryos that were never created with the
intention of a pregnancy.

They retrieved 162 mature eggs from 12 young women.

The eggs were then fertilized with frozen sperm. Sixty-eight per cent
fertilized, and half of those developed into a blastocyst, a five-day old
embryo. From 40 embryos, the researchers were able to retrieve three stem
cell lines.

The researchers said many ethical issues were considered before the study,
which first had to be approved by the East Virginia Medical School's
Institutional Review Board.

They also said both the egg and sperm donors fully understood the nature
and purpose of the research before they agreed to participate.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/001025/4747429.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] - G-8 wants to combat cybercrime
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 19:05:17 -0400

25/10/2000 10:20 - (SA)

G-8 wants to combat cybercrime

Berlin - Germany called for greater cross-border efforts to combat
Internet crime on Tuesday as law enforcers from eight major countries
began a new round of talks on how to keep criminals from using
cyberspace for fraud, pornography and - potentially - terrorism.

Interior Minister Otto Schily told a Group of Eight conference of police
officials and high-tech executives in Berlin that the Internet must not
become a "lawless zone" even though it doesn't lend itself to
regulation.

"We're not talking about an international cyber-police, but better
international co-operation is certainly needed," he said.

Police and justice officials in many countries have complained about the
lack of regulation on the Internet, warning that unless national police
forces and cross-border agencies such as Interpol hire and train
specialists they will be outsmarted by hackers and fraudsters.

Cybercrime causes tens of billions of dollars in damage yearly.

The three-day meeting was designed to explore how software and
telecommunications firms can help law enforcers build systems to track
cybercriminals and preserve evidence before it vanishes off the Web.

The G-8 groups the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain,
Italy, Canada and Russia. - AP

http://www.news24.co.za/News24/Technology/Infotech/0,1113,2-13-
45_931103,00.html

via: cyberwar@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] - NASA caught substituting old video feed to public from Mission STS-99
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 19:13:01 -0400

[This comes from a list I'm on and is questionable, but interesting :) --Moza]

NASA caught substituting old video feed to public from Mission STS-99

Click to see substituted video feed (runs about 10 minutes)

In a video released by California researcher Jeff Challender there appears to
be concrete proof of NASA deliberately falsifying information released to the
public about its programs.

Jeff has put together a compilation of space anomalies recorded directly from
NASA video feeds from recent shuttle missions via his Sacramento, CA
cable station.

There is a six minute segment from Mission STS-99, the radar mapping
mission, which shows the earth viewed from the shuttle, with the land
disappearing, and the shuttle moving over a large body of water (ocean).

There is one problem.

According to the accompanying NASA animated schematics of the shuttle's
orbit - THE SHUTTLE SHOULD HAVE BEEN OVER AFRICA (i.e. LAND)
FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION OF THE SHOT.

i.e. NASA, for reasons unknown, was not showing live feed, but substituted a
clip of footage from a different mission, which was not even correctly
juxtaposed.

The footage was shot on February 17th, 2000.

At face value, this tape appears to be some of the most damning evidence
ever that NASA's space programs, as fed to the public, are smoke and
mirrors.

The complete tape also contains many other anomalies, such as moving
pulsating lights etc. etc. Always when something interesting starts to
happen, the feed cuts back to mission control, or herky-jerky S-band
transmissions are substituted.

The 1-hour tape can be obtained from Jefchall@worldnet.att.net (Jeff
Challender 2768 Mendel Way - Sacramento, California 95833-2011)

Note: James Oberg, who is mentioned in the commentary by Jeff Challender
accompanying the video, advises that he has never in fact seen the video,
nor been given an opportunity to comment to Jeff about it.

http://www.cseti.org/position/addition/sts99.htm

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (10/25/00)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 19:26:58 -0400

Teenagers' beliefs moving farther from Biblical perspectives

Weekend News Today
Lead: Leo
Source: Barna Online Research

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- America's teenagers are quite involved with religious faith. Based on a new nationwide survey of teens, however, the question is: what religious faith have they really embraced? The survey shows that while most teens consider themselves to be Christian and attend a Christian church at least occasionally, many of their beliefs are not consistent with biblical teaching.

Understanding teenagers provides a window into the future. We discovered that their spiritual beliefs are moving farther from biblical perspectives.. While they appreciate the value of faith in their life, they are less likely than are adults to embrace biblical truths. Here are some examples:

Teens are more likely than are adults to reject the existence of Satan, to believe in salvation by good deeds, and to contend that Jesus was a sinner.. Most teens say they do not expect their religious beliefs to change in the future. A majority of teens are involved in a church today and also believe that they already know all the major teachings of the Christian faith.

Internet funeral broadcasts

Weekend News Today
Lead: Leo
Source: Religion Today

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- Undertakers are broadcasting funerals on the Internet. Internet funerals, called "memorial Webcasts," allow people to pay their respects when they are too far away, too ill, or too old to attend the funeral, according to the National Funeral Directors Association, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

When Henry Armitage died at age 81 in February in Syracuse, his family knew that few of his World War II Army friends could plod through the snow for his funeral, so they broadcast it over the Internet, the newspaper reported. "We were able to show at least part of the service, as much as the widow wanted us to shoot," said Pat Ferguson of Ferguson's Funeral Home. "His faraway friends were able to see the military procession carrying the casket."

Internet funerals are rare but are expected to become more common as Baby Boomers age. "Eventually all the funeral homes will stream their services over the Internet," Robert Forward of the Brown-Forward Funeral Home in Shaker Heights, Ohio, told the Plain Dealer.

Arafat making tactical alliance with Islamic Jihad and Hamas

Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Washington Post

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- As Prime Minister Ehud Barak works to broaden his governing Israeli coalition by negotiating with his political adversaries, the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, is also seeking new partners and making at least a new tactical alliance with the political enemies he once ordered jailed. With the Palestinian intifada, or uprising, now three and a half weeks old and showing few signs of abating, Mr. Arafat has given a seat at the decision-making table to political leaders of the Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Resistance Front, which is also known as Hamas, according to leaders of those two groups and Israeli officials.

Many of those activists with Hamas and Islamic Jihad had been imprisoned for months, and others intermittently for years - but dozens were allowed out of their cells within the last few weeks to help coordinate the current campaign they call ''resistance'' against Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

North Korea hints at deal, 'idea' of missile curb accepted Albright says

Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Washington Post

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- The leader of North Korea accepted ''the idea'' of a deal to curb his country's missile programs during six hours of talks Tuesday with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, according to a senior American official. Mrs. Albright pressed the missile issue with Kim Jong Il, in the U.S. view a chief supplier of missiles to outlaw states. But she will leave Pyongyang on Wednesday without any firm agreement and without announcing whether President Bill Clinton would visit North Korea.

Calls for Saddam Hussein to bomb Israel

Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: IsraelWire

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- Over 20,000 persons participated in a demonstration in Jordan on Tuesday during which participants called on Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to launch a missile attack against Israel. When the demonstrators got too close to the Allenby Bridge Crossing to Israel, Jordanian police used water cannon, teargas and batons to restore order.

Syria calls for Arab unity against dangers of national unity gov=92t

Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: IsraelWire

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- The government of Syria is calling for unity among Arab nations against the inclusion of Likud opposition leader MK Ariel Sharon in an emergency national unity government. Syrian government-controlled newspapers on Wednesday attack Prime Minister Ehud Barak for his considering including Sharon in his coalition. The ruling Baath Party accuses Barak of leading the entire region to an explosion and destroying the Oslo process. In a related matter, Turkey on Wednesday issued statements against Israel, accusing Jerusalem of using unjustifiable force against Arab unrest. Turkey added the Moslem world has been outraged and was distressed by the Temple Mount visit of Ariel Sharon.

Turkey: Israel using too much force

Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Jerusalem Post

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- Turkey, Israel's traditional ally in the Middle East, has expressed criticism over Israel's handling of the current crisis. Turkey claims that Israel has used excessive force against Palestinian demonstrators, Israel Radio reports. Meanwhile, the director-general designate of the Foreign Ministry, Alon Liel, is in Turkey to explain Israel's position to the Ankara authorities.

IDF to remain in current deployment

Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Jerusalem Post

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- OC Operations Maj.-Gen. Giora Eiland said that there is an expectation of the possibility that the situation will deteriorate in the coming months. He said that, therefore, the IDF will remain in its current deployment for some time. However, he added that the situation is not lost and that there is a chance that the region will calm down and that the sides will return to the diplomatic process.

Palestinian TV calls for slaying of Jews and Americans

Weekend News Today
Lead: Kelly
Source: Jerusalem Post

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- From a Gaza mosque the message of incitement is broadcast across the Palestinian Authority that all Jews are the enemy whether Labor or Likud. Director General of the Palestinian Ministry for International Cooperation Majdi Khaldi responds to the broadcast. http://www.jpradio.com/asx/001025maj.asx

Most pregnant Canadian teens abort their babies

Weekend News Today
Lead: Leo
Source: Lifesite.net

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- Statistics Canada released a report on Teenage Pregnancy Friday which noted that for the first time, statistics are showing that Canadian pregnant teens aged 15-19 aborted most of their babies. The report says that "in 1997, for the first time, the percentage of teenage pregnancies ending in abortion (50.3%) surpassed that of live births (46.8%). The remaining 2.9% of pregnancies ended in a miscarriage or stillbirth." Thus the news that the number of births and the birth rate of teens reached an "at all-time low" in 1997 is severely tainted - more than half of the children conceived by teens were killed by abortion.

Trends at the national level were driven by patterns in the three most populous provinces - Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia - where the majority of teenage pregnancies were aborted in 1997. Among the provinces and territories, 1997 abortion rates were highest in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Ontario, and lowest in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick.

UNICEF gives award to pro-abortion Ted Turner

Weekend News Today
Lead: Leo
Source: Lifesite.net

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- UNICEF has once again shown its pro-abortion colours by giving an award to population control fanatic Ted Turner. In New York Monday, Turner was awarded the Trick or Treat Partner Award from the UNICEF at a dinner celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Trick or Treat for UNICEF campaign.

A National Catholic Register (NCR) article reported in Zenit News demonstrates that support for UNICEF means funding abortion, contraception and sterilization programs in the Third World. The Oct. 22 edition of the US Catholic paper quotes Archbishop Fernando Saenz Lacalle of San Salvador condemning a 170-page sex-education booklet designed by UNICEF and El Salvador's Ministries of Health and Education for training adolescents on sexuality issues including contraception, homosexuality and abortion.

Thousands of fans turn out to hear Rowling read Harry Potter novel

Weekend News Today
Lead: Leo
Source: Yahoo News

Wed Oct 25,2000 -- Admitting she was very nervous, and feeling more like a preacher than an author, J.K. Rowling on Tuesday hurried through a reading of her fourth Harry Potter novel at Toronto's massive SkyDome stadium in what was dubbed the largest author reading ever. Thousands of children, parents and teachers -- estimates range to upwards of 12,000 -- took the morning off to hear Rowling read in a tent set up inside the cavernous baseball stadium from "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" as part of the International Festival of Authors.

Although they may not have been able to hear every word -- Rowling's voice echoed in the microphone -- they screamed and applauded after Rowling finished, with the same fervour as fans at a Backstreet Boys concert. Before the reading, children clad in wizard capes and hats yelled with delight and anticipation, madly waving posters and signs that read "We Love You Harry." An hour before the reading, young magicians mingled in the crowd, entertaining the audience with simple tricks such as making a rope stand straight and pulling strings out of their hats. A voice sporadically announced to the audience that the crowd was gathered for a postponed quidditch match -- a game similar to football but played on broomsticks with multiple balls, which Rowling writes of in her novels.

The quidditch match was postponed due to a "defective memory modification charm" meaning that "muggles" or non-magical people could see what was going on. Instead, the overhead voice informed, there would be no magic but rather a reading by Rowling and two Canadian authors. Children seemed immediately taken in by the atmosphere, amused by the joke that they could hear the voice being broadcasted which was meant only for wizards.

http://216.219.160.226/cgi-
bin/readnews.cgi?day=3D00_10_25&item=3D#972505999

From: moza@butterfly.mv.com

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Salt Lake Conducts Gas Experiments
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 20:13:46 -0400

Salt Lake Conducts Gas Experiments
The Associated
Press, Wed 25 Oct 2000

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) =97 In what sounds like something out of ``The X-
Files,'' scientists are releasing gas on downtown Salt Lake City in
experiments aimed at preparing for the possibility of a terrorist attack.

By releasing tiny amounts of a safe gas called sulfur hexafluoride, they are
trying to understand the risk of chemical or biological attacks on urban
areas. The gas is released on a street corner from a pressurized cylinder
with a fan.

The experiments could be useful for security during the 2002 Olympic Winter
Games in Salt Lake.

Scientists chose Salt Lake because its mountain-rimmed basin is vulnerable
to weather inversions that trap pollutants near the ground. That could make a
chemical attack even more dangerous.

Scientists funded by the Energy Department have been joined here by
members of the Pentagon's Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Sixty environmental experts from government labs and universities are using
portable weather stations to measure the tracer gas as it blows over and
around the city's tallest buildings.

From its command post, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency measures
the amount of gas that can get into a building through the ventilation system.
It hopes to improve the accuracy of its computer projections on the flow of
deadly gas.

The agency's involvement has some residents worried, and rumors have been
circulating.

``We had people calling up wondering when the airplanes are going to be
dropping chemicals,'' said Chris Kramer, a spokesman for Utah Public
Safety.

The ninth and final experiment was planned for Wednesday night and early
Thursday.

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