UN adopts AIDS battle blueprint
Powell: U.S. can't dictate Mideast peace
Update: Millennium terror trial begins
Update: Annan nominated for 2nd UN term
Racism condemnation hits obstacles
Update: World Court favors Germany over U.S.
Allied warplanes strike Iraq
Syria leader critical of U.S. role
Grasshoppers invading Calif. farms
Milosevic handed over to UN
Powell endorses Arafat proposal
China denies doctor's testimony to U.S.
Macedonia's president praises Bush
London to recognize same-sex unions
Rabbis approve convert guidelines
1. WOMAN KILLED IN SHOMRON TERRORIST SHOOTING
2. POWELL CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS
3. ZOA REPORT: PA VIOLENCE UP SINCE CEASE-FIRE BEGAN
4. UKRAINE RABBI: LET MY PEOPLE KNOW
5. LABOR MK ATTEMPTS TO DEFEND PARTY POSITION
6. MK TIBI STILL LISTED AS ARAFAT-ADVISOR
7. FOUR HOSTAGES STILL ALIVE, HIZBULLAH LEADER SAYS
8. TAKE BACK ARAFAT'S PRIZE!
9. U.N. REFUSAL LEAVES P.A. WITHOUT MEDICINES
10. WHO'S COMING TO ISRAEL
========
To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Clinton to Arafat: It's All Your Fault
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 08:56:06 -0400
--------
Clinton to Arafat: It's All Your Fault
http://www.msnbc.com/news/593326.asp?cp1=1
The former president says the Palestinian leader squandered a chance for
Mideast peace
Clinton and Arafat at Camp David last July
By Michael Hirsh NEWSWEEK WEB EXCLUSIVE
June 27, 2001 - Nearly a year after he failed to achieve a deal at Camp
David, former president Bill Clinton gave vent to his frustrations this week
over the collapse of peace in the Mideast. And Clinton directed his ire at one
man: Yasir Arafat. On Tuesday night, Clinton told guests at a party at the
Manhattan apartment of former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke and his
wife,
writer Kati Marton, that Arafat called to bid him farewell three days before he
left office. "You are a great man," Arafat said. "The hell I am," Clinton said
he responded. "I'm a colossal failure, and you made me one."
CLINTON SAID HE TOLD Arafat that by turning down the best peace
deal he was ever going to get-the one proffered by Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Barak and brokered by Clinton last July-the Palestinian leader was only
guaranteeing the election of the hawkish Ariel Sharon, the current Israeli
leader. But Arafat didn't listen. Sharon was elected in a landslide Feb. 6 and
has gradually escalated his crackdown on the Palestinians despite a shaky
ceasefire negotiated two weeks ago by CIA chief George Tenet.
Clinton has refused most interview requests since he left office
Jan. 20. But at the party-which was held jointly by Holbrooke and the
International Crisis Group to celebrate a new book, "Waging Modern War," by
former NATO commander Gen. Wesley Clark-Clinton captivated guests for
nearly an
hour with an insider's tale of the Camp David talks. Among the listeners, who
gathered around the former president as he cheerfully downed Diet Cokes
and hors
d'oeuvres, were Holbrooke, Clark and John Negroponte, who has been
nominated by
President Bush to replace Holbrooke as U.N. ambassador.
Clinton said, somewhat surprisingly, that he never expected to
close the deal at Camp David. But he made it clear that the breakdown of the
peace process and the nine months of deadly intifada since then were very
much
on his mind. He described Arafat as an aging leader who relishes his own
sense
of victimhood and seems incapable of making a final peace deal. "He could
only
get to step five, and he needed to get to step 10," the former president said.
But Clinton expressed hope in the younger generation of Palestinian officials,
suggesting that a post-Arafat Palestinian leader might be able to make
peace,
perhaps in as little as several years. "I'm just sorry I blew this Middle East"
thing, Clinton said shortly before leaving. "But I don't know what else I could
have done."
Clinton also revealed that, contrary to most conventional wisdom
after Camp David ended on July 25, 2000, the key issue that torpedoed the
talks in their final stages was not the division of East Jerusalem between
Palestinians and Israelis, but the Palestinian demand for a "right of
return" of refugees to Israel. On Jerusalem, he said, the two sides were
down to dickering over final language on who would get sovereignty over
which part of the Western Wall. But Arafat continued to demand that large
numbers of Palestinian refugees, mainly from the 1967 and 1948 wars, be
allowed to return-numbers that Clinton said both of them knew were
unacceptable to the Israelis.
Clinton said he bluntly contradicted Arafat when, in one of their
final conversations, the Palestinian leader expressed doubts that the
ancient Jewish temple actually lay beneath the Islamic-run compound in
Jerusalem containing the holy Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
This was
a critical point of dispute, since the Western Wall, a remnant of the temple's
retaining wall, is the holiest site in Judaism and one the Israelis were intent
on maintaining sovereignty over. "I know it's there," Clinton said he told
Arafat. The so-called Al Aqsa intifada began after Ariel Sharon made a
controversial visit to the disputed compound on Sept. 28, 2000.
--------------------------------------------
IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il
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Subject: [bprlist] Rabbi Ovadia's dream creates messianic buzz
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 09:11:14 -0400
--------
Thursday, June 28, 2001
Rabbi Ovadia's dream creates messianic buzz
By Avirama Golan
Ha'aretz Correspondent
A recent dream reported by Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has
sent a messianic buzz through the ultra-Orthodox community. Sources
close to the rabbi said that after prayers last Saturday morning, Yosef had
told his son, Moshe, and Minister Eli Yishai that he had dreamed about the
Messiah the night before.
Speaking to the two at breakfast, the rabbi apparently asked them not to
divulge any news of his nighttime vision.
Then, at a wedding of a grandchild on Monday, Rabbi Yosef told guests: "In
a dream on Friday night, I saw the Messiah coming to the Western Wall.
There were many people at the Wall plaza. The [Messiah] told them: 'I have
come because there are a million pupils who study at secular schools and
do not learn Torah. I want all religious scholars to mobilize...to teach them
Torah. There shouldn't be a single school without Torah.'
"I heard this all in a dream, and then I woke up," the rabbi told the guests.
Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox sources said yesterday that this was the first time
that Rabbi Yosef, who is viewed as a leading authority on religious law and
does not usually delve into mystical matters, had spoken about dreams, the
Messiah, and redemption.
Members of Shas said that in view of the strong emotions stirred by Rabbi
Yosef's dream, a discussion on the matter was to be held next Sunday at a
yeshiva in Jerusalem's Geula neighborhood.
http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=6/28/01&i
d=122671
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Subject: [bprlist] Knesset's Miss Manners has had it
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 09:13:00 -0400
--------
Thursday, June 28, 2001
Knesset's Miss Manners has had it
Ethics committee chair wants swearing MKs sanctioned
By Gideon Alon
Ha'aretz Correspondent
Labor MK Colette Avital, chair of the Knesset Ethics Committee wants new
rules of behavior to allow committee chairs and the Knesset speaker to
impose sanctions on MKs using abusive language.
In a letter to all 120 MKs, Avital writes that the committee gravely regards
the use of terms like "murderer, inciter to murder, killer, blood-spiller, traitor,
terrorist and Nazi" by MKs when referring to other people.
"The committee does not intend to limit freedom of expression by MKs but it
regards gravely any expression that harms the dignity of the Knesset and its
members. These expressions are a violation of the members' code of ethics,"
says the letter.
Avital has asked Knesset House Committee Chair Yossi Katz, also of Labor,
to amend the House rules to enforce cleaner language. Avital wants her
committee to have the right to deter MKs from excessive rhetoric, and
recommends that if an MK uses abuse during a plenum session, the session
chair would ask the MK to withdraw the remark.
If the MK refuses, the speaker would have the authority to turn off the MK's
microphone, and if necessary, use force to remove the MK from the plenum.
The issue of the recalcitrant MK would then go to the ethics committee,
which would have the authority to punish in stages - by reprimand; serious
reprimand; removal of the MK for up to 10 sessions, with the right to vote by
proxy; removal of the MK for up to 10 sessions without a right to vote; and
denial of the MK's right to ask questions, present motions for the agenda, or
propose laws, for a period up to the end of the session.
Avital also wants similar rules written into the House rules to enable
committee chairs to deal with MKs being abusive in committee.
Katz said he opposes any interference with freedom of expression, "but
we've reached the red line. Freedom of speech has become totally
irresponsible speech, and that requires an appropriate response.
http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=6/28/01&i
d=122657
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Subject: [bprlist] Zhirinovsky changes his spots
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 09:16:37 -0400
--------
Thursday, June 28, 2001
Zhirinovsky changes his spots
By Yair Sheleg
Ha'aretz Correspondent
Russian ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky wrote this week to Berl Lazar,
chief rabbi of the United Jewish Communities of Russia, that he "identifies
with the victims of the Holocaust" and "repudiates all those [anti-Semitic]
expressions that were misunderstood by the press."
The ultra-nationalist has long campaigned on anti-Jewish rhetoric, and was
roundly condemned in the Duma (Russian parliament) when he refused to
stand for a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the Holocaust
during a special parliamentary session.
"In the name of my party I inform you that our policies will always be based
on the principles of human rights which do not leave any opening for
expressions of nationalist anti-Semitism," he wrote.
Lazar said Zhirinovsky's letter was in response to the sharp reaction of the
UJC.
http://www3.haaretz.co.il/eng/scripts/article.asp?mador=14&datee=6/28/01&i
d=122665
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To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Infobeat News items (6/28/01)
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 09:34:02 -0400
--------
*** UN adopts AIDS battle blueprint
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - In the first global approach to battling a
disease, the United Nations adopted an AIDS blueprint Wednesday
setting tough targets for reducing infection rates and protecting
the rights of people with the virus. Under pressure from Islamic
countries, Western nations were forced to back away from
specifically naming the most vulnerable populations, including
homosexuals and prostitutes. But experts said Wednesday that the
heart of the document was in the details of the plan, not the
language. With the rap of a gavel and a round of applause, the
16-page Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was adopted by
consensus by the 189-nation General Assembly. It calls for
accelerating efforts to find a cure for the disease that has taken
more than 22 million lives.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408830639
*** Powell: U.S. can't dictate Mideast peace
BOURG AL-ARAB, Egypt (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell said
Wednesday it is up to Israel and the Palestinians - not the United
States - to set the pace of Mideast peacemaking. Making his first
stop on a three-day trip to the region, Powell didn't challenge
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's demand for 10 days of
"absolute quiet" followed by a six-week cooling off period. Due to
meet separately Thursday with Sharon in Jerusalem and Palestinian
leader Yasser Arafat on the West Bank, Powell predicted, "This is
going to be going up a hill very, very slowly, one step at a time."
*** Sharon says Cabinet must decide fate of settlements, see
http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408826800
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408826751
*** Update: Millennium terror trial begins
NEW YORK (AP) - An Algerian on trial for terrorism aided a plot to
bomb Los Angeles International Airport, one of several attacks
planned by terrorist cells based in Afghanistan and aimed to
coincide with millennium celebrations in the United States, a
prosecutor said Wednesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph F. Bianco
said in his opening statement that Mokhtar Haouari gave convicted
terrorist Ahmed Ressam $3000, a fake driver's license and the name
of a person to meet when he arrived in the United States. The scheme
collapsed when Ressam was arrested in December 1999 crossing the
Canadian border with a trunkful of explosives. The explosives were
intended for an attack on "a terminal at the Los Angeles
International Airport," Bianco said, in a bid to kill hundreds of
people at the height of the holiday season.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408830499
*** Update: Annan nominated for 2nd UN term
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Both powerful and impoverished nations on the
Security Council gave Kofi Annan a unanimous vote of confidence on
Wednesday, nominating him for a second five-year term as
secretary-general of the United Nations. The official nomination by
the 15 council members - more than six months before Annan's first
term expires on Dec. 31 - paves the way for his re-election Friday
by the 189-member General Assembly, now just a formality. The speed
and ease of Annan's nomination was a far cry from 1996 when the
United States blocked his predecessor, Boutros Boutros-Ghali from
serving another five years. The Egyptian was perceived as
anti-American in Washington. After announcing his candidacy in
March, Annan quickly won support from the five veto-wielding council
members - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -
which is the key to victory, as well as from every regional group.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408833945
*** Racism condemnation hits obstacles
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Negotiations over a universal condemnation of
racism is hitting age-old obstacles - debate over castes,
colonialism and whether former slave nations such as the United
States should pay reparations, a top U.N. official said Wednesday.
Mary Robinson, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said she
is worried that Western countries are shying away from an
anti-racism declaration because they're wary of shining a spotlight
on their past sins. "There are dark corners and problems for
countries that they are somewhat reluctant to have addressed
globally," she told reporters in New York Wednesday where she has
been attending a global U.N. conference on AIDS. Diplomats are
trying to get a draft done in time for the World Conference Against
Racism in Durban, South Africa, set for Aug. 31-Sept. 7.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408826530
*** Update: World Court favors Germany over U.S.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - The United States violated the rights
of Germany and two of its citizens when it denied two condemned
brothers access to their consulate before executing them in 1999 for
murder, the World Court ruled Wednesday. The U.N. court also found
that its order to the U.S. government to postpone the execution -
which was ignored by the state of Arizona - was not merely a request
but a legal obligation. Karl and Walter LaGrand were executed in
Arizona for stabbing to death a 63-year-old bank manager in the town
of Marana during a botched robbery in 1982. Another employee was
seriously injured. The German consulate learned of the case 10 years
later in 1992, when the brothers already had gone through a series
of appeals in U.S. courts.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408828368
*** Allied warplanes strike Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. and British warplanes have struck targets
in southern Iraq, wounding one civilian, the official Iraqi News
Agency said Wednesday. Iraqi anti-aircraft missile units hit an
aircraft in Tuesday's attack, an unidentified Iraqi military
spokesman told the agency. But the Pentagon denied the report. The
Iraqi spokesman said coalition warplanes "targeted our civil and
service installations in the province of Basra," 340 miles south of
Baghdad, the agency reported. "Evidence indicates that an enemy
warplane was hit," the Iraqi spokesman said. The U.S. military said
the attack came in response to "Iraqi hostile acts against coalition
aircraft monitoring the southern no-fly zone."
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408826937
*** Syria leader critical of U.S. role
PARIS (AP) - Ending a state visit to France marked by sporadic
protests, Syrian President Bashar Assad said Wednesday that the Bush
administration has so far not acted strongly to defend peace in the
Middle East. The 35-year-old leader also accused Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon of "pushing the region toward war," adding
that Syria and Arab nations were exercising restraint. On relations
with the United States, Assad said that "so far, we have not
envisaged a meeting with President Bush. I don't know if he'll be
visiting the region." "The new American government has not really
acted strongly in the region to defend the peace process," he added,
speaking in Arabic at a rare news conference. Earlier, he said "we
don't really have a very active participation of the new American
government."
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408827032
*** Grasshoppers invading Calif. farms
CLOVIS, Calif. (AP) - Late season rains, lush foliage and then
sudden, triple-digit springtime temperatures have combined to bring
millions of grasshoppers down from the hills, worrying California's
farmers and nursery operators. Farms from Plumas County in the north
to San Diego County in the south are reporting swarms of the
voracious insects in fields of alfalfa, citrus, grapes and
ornamental nursery stock, among other crops. Although the
grasshoppers have not put much of a dent in the state's $26 billion
agricultural economy, many growers say it's the worst infestation
they've seen in years.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408833570
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To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Hidden Truths Of Lake Vostok Excite Scientists
From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 08:35:21 -0500
--------
Hidden Truths Of Lake Vostok Excite Scientists And Ranters
Bryon Okada
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
From The National Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/
6-26-01
A subglacial lake discovered four kilometres below the South
Pole has captured the imaginations not only of scientists
but also of conspiracy theorists and alien-encounter types.
NASA wants to use Lake Vostok to test equipment for a
mission to Jupiter. Microbiologists want to study life in
extreme climates.
Environmentalists halted exploration to keep the lake,
believed to have the purest freshwater on Earth, free of
contaminants. But when the drilling stopped the speculation
intensified, particularly via the Internet, that scientists
were about to expose the world to a deadly virus for which
humans have no antibodies.
And when several researchers became sick this year,
requiring airlifts out of Antarctica, the cries of a
government coverup reached a fever pitch.
Now some, inspired by the release of the movie Atlantis: The
Lost Empire, believe Lake Vostok provides evidence that the
lost city lies under the South Pole, a victim of polar
shifting and/or plate tectonics.
Here is an excerpt of a popular posting in several Internet
chat rooms:
"If the Great Flood was caused by the Earth shifting its
axis, as appears to be what actually happened, where what
used to be the North Pole ended up near the equator, then
Atlantis didn't sink. It simply relocated to the South
Pole."
To put it simply, Lake Vostok is cool.
For those unfamiliar with the story, a lot of hard science
has gone into the exploration of Lake Vostok.
The Russians have had a base at the site since the 1950s,
but it was not until two decades later that scientists
suspected there was something beneath it. Since 1989,
scientists and engineers have been drilling the ice sheet
above Lake Vostok to study the Earth's past climates.
Drilling was abruptly halted when researchers hit a layer of
refrozen ice 120 metres thick.
That led to speculation, later confirmed, that more than
3,600 metres below the base, there is a 23,000 square
kilometre subglacial lake, roughly the size of Lake Ontario.
The water is unusually warm, probably a little below 0C,
compared with -55C at the surface.
U.S. scientists studied the refrozen samples and found
bacteria, which could suggest that a whole ecosystem
different from ours -- an alternate ecology -- may have
existed for thousands, maybe millions, of years.
"That's what we know and it's not much," said John Priscu, a
Montana State University microbial ecology professor who
conducted the study.
"We know there's life down there, and it's a bizarre
environment under three miles of ice, and it's been there a
long time. That's pretty wild."
Mr. Priscu is leading another study this summer, so the
picture should become clearer in the next year or so.
The unanswered questions, along with the remoteness of
Antarctica and the hazy politics of that faraway continent,
have increased the already intense speculation.
The Atlantis Blueprint, by Colin Wilson and Rand Flem-Ath,
proposes that the people of Atlantis had created a thriving
maritime society that is the proto-culture of societies
today.
The basis of Mr. Flem-Ath's research is an ancient map
depicting Atlantis that he found in a book while doing
research for a screenplay about hibernating aliens.
"The map is a map of Atlantis, but if you take off all the
labels, and you compare it to the Earth's surface, it's very
similar to Antarctica," he said. "That was the first thing
that got me on to it."
His work has often been used to promote Lake Vostok
theories, but his research locates the main city of Atlantis
elsewhere.
The speculation about the lake does not surprise Ray Browne,
founder of the Popular Culture Association and professor
emeritus at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, the
United States's only department devoted to studying the
reality-in-flux of coolness.
"When there's an interest, you've got to feed that," Mr.
Browne said.
"Someone has rediscovered Atlantis outside the Pillars of
Hercules, inside the Mediterranean, in the Caribbean, under
the South Pole and everywhere else ...
"They want to find it, we want to find it, and if we never
do, it's still tremendously interesting, because we all have
a little archaeologist in us, and we're yearning for the
Garden of Eden."
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To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Uploading Life: Send Your Personality to Space
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 14:00:58 -0400
--------
Uploading Life: Send Your Personality to Space
By Staff Writer, SPACE.com
WASHINGTON - Long journeys of flesh and bone astronauts might become
a thing of the past. Human space travel in the 21st century could be, quite
literally, an out-of-body experience.
It sounds like New Age meets the Space Age. But one sociologist argues
that uploading digital representations of our personalities and behavior into
the cosmos rather than in-person star trekking is a form of space
transportation worth thinking about.
Modest projects
William Sims Bainbridge says there are several new data points to consider.
He argued his case recently at a symposium on the past 40 years of human
space exploration and beyond, organized here by George Washington
University's Space Policy Institute.
In his talk, Bainbridge "revisited" the spaceflight revolution, pointing out:
No launch system breakthroughs can be expected soon in the field of space
technology; Space industrialization is unimportant for post-industrial society;
Fertility collapses in advanced nations remove population pressures for
space colonization; Opinion polls show no growth in support for space
program over the past 15 years; and The "space movement" has little
influence, even as conventional space support groups are respectable. And
"space religions" -- like Heavens Gate, The Solar Temple, or The Raelian
Movement -- have been scorned and unpredictable. "Human beings have not
left low Earth orbit since 1972, and for 30 years the emphasis in space has
been on relatively modest projects," Bainbridge said. "Private enterprise and
the general public have not endorsed Solar System colonization as a
practical or worthy goal," he said.
Radical movement
Bainbridge said he concludes that great progress cannot be achieved in
space without radical ideas, motivations and actions of a new spaceflight
social movement.
To re-energize space progress, Bainbridge said that a "wholly new radical
movement" might be required. That movement requires embracing new
technology serving old and new motivations, he said.
Several blossoming fields in science and technology, while seemingly
remote to astronautics, can give space exploration a new edge, Bainbridge
said. Specifically, these disciplines are cognitive neural science, genetic
engineering, nanotechnology and information systems, he said.
A melding of such powerful tools, Bainbridge said, may allow the founding of
a cosmic civilization, a possibility that does not require flying living human
bodies and all the necessities of life to other planets. By applying that
diverse tool kit, we can overcome death. The gradual merging of human
beings with their computers over the next century gives rise to the prospect
of interstellar immortality, he said.
Archival arks
The technology already exists to start archiving personalities, albeit at low
fidelity. We can begin now to make digital, audio/visual copies of a person's
perceptions, speech and behavior. In years to come, the ability to reanimate
human personalities at ever-higher fidelity is a sure bet, Bainbridge said.
That archive is what Bainbridge, author of the seminal work in the mid-1970s,
The Spaceflight Revolution, calls Starbase. "Only a goal as valuable as
eternal life can motivate investment in substantial scientific infrastructure on
the Moon or Mars," Bainbridge said.
Starbase modules, filled with archived but active personalities of crew and
colonists, could also make the first interstellar excursions. On their arrival,
the crews need not waste time setting up terraforming operations. Rather,
the colonists would adapt and thrive in whatever environment they are dealt.
Follow-on waves of colonists can be dispatched as "radioed datafiles" across
interstellar space, Bainbridge said.
In future centuries, Starbase archives sent throughout the galaxy can be
resurrected into robots, clones or cyborgs, Bainbridge said.
By offering the stars to people living today, the second wave of the
spaceflight movement would be spurred into being, Bainbridge said. The
future demands a powerful, motivational force to create interplanetary and
interstellar civilizations, he said, and a new spaceflight social movement can
get us moving again.
But there are a few worrisome signs that could short-circuit these ideas.
Moves to prohibit human reproductive cloning, attacks on advanced forms of
artificial intelligence, android robots, genetic engineering, and actions to ban
some forms of nanotechnology -- this kind of talk heard in various countries
"terrifies rather than pleases me," Bainbridge said.
Too human?
Bainbridge freely admits that his ideas may be too radical for some.
However, NASA (news - web sites) itself has started to wrestle with the
ethics of giving birth to "life-like" technologies and "living" systems.
Samuel Venneri, who heads NASA's Office of Aerospace Technology, sees
up and down sides to the merging of nanotechnology with biology and
information technology. He notes in a recent National Science Foundation
(news - web sites) report on the social implications of nanoscience and
nanotechnology that "we will be building systems that become more and
more 'life-like' and which interact with and support living systems at the
cellular level."
On the other hand, Venneri added, life-like technology and systems are
actually living systems, and that systems designed to interact with humans
in a human-like manner might be viewed as being "too human."
"In the past, this has been the domain of science fiction," Venneri said. "In
the foreseeable future, it could become reality. Our view at NASA is to be pro-
active in developing ethical standards to make clear that we understand the
accepted boundaries between true 'life sciences' and 'life-like' science," he
said.
Perish the thought
When pondering the vast distances between stars, experts point out that
even a short-duration interstellar voyage might take centuries. "This might
not bother an automated probe, but could cause problems for humans," said
astro-psychologist, Albert Harrison, at the University of California, Davis.
In his new book, Spacefaring - The Human Dimension, Harrison cites several
proposals by deep space thinkers that question the need for human
migration to the stars. That includes hurling starbound super-powerful
computers that are surrogate brains, packed with personality, a sense of
self, memory, and other psychological qualities.
"The beauty of this, if it worked, is that there would be no need for life
support as we normally think of it," Harrison said. Star-leaping clones of the
human mind would make the voyage, long after the physical bodies they
represented had perished, he said.
Yet another popular idea, Harrison recounts, is merely sending a probe filled
with genetic codes from Earth, along with a way to cultivate that life upon
arrival. Eventually, intelligent life forms would begin to develop. This approach
allows seeding life throughout the galaxy without the messy drudgery of
protracted human voyaging, he notes.
"There are many conceivable paths to interstellar migration, and the ones
that we actually will tread, if any, remain to be seen," Harrison concludes.
Visit SPACE.com for more space-related news, information, entertainment
and multimedia, including videos, launch coverage and interactive
experiences. Check out cool space images at our photo galleries. Follow the
latest developments in the search for life in our universe in our new SETI:
Search for Life section.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/space/20010628/sc/uploading_life_send_your_
personality_to_space_1.html
via: isml@yahoogroups.com
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To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Hamas Martyr's Memorial Hosted By PA School
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 14:00:58 -0400
--------
Special Dispatch - PA
June 28, 2001
No. 234
Hamas Martyr's Memorial Hosted By PA School
In a speech delivered by phone to a Hamas gathering that
was convened last Friday in the Palestinian Authority
Al-'Adawiya High-school in Tulkarm, Head of the Hamas
Politibureau, Khaled Mash'al, stated:
"Hamas has tens of martyrs who are willing to carry out
attacks against Israeli targets. An operation of such
Martyrs exceeds that of Arab armies who fought the Hebrew
state. The importance of the weapon of such martyrs is no
less than the importance of nuclear weapons."
"These initiatives and proposals [Mitchel's and Tenet's]
are only meant to save Tel-Aviv and its Premier Sharon,
after the rope of these Martyrs has tightened on his neck.
They are only meant to deal with Israel's security, not
with the Palestinian people's rights."
"The ceasefire that was declared [by Arafat] is not
accepted by Hamas neither in terms of principles nor
considering the reality. In terms of principles what
happens in the occupied territories is not [a clash]
between two armies and therefore the principle of ceasefire
does not apply to it. Also, it is not mutual violence.
Rather, it is legitimate activity of the Palestinian people
to defend itself against the aggression of the occupation."
"Realistically, the Intifada continues and will continue.
It did not stop because there is a consensus amongst the
Palestinian people on all its factions to endorse the
option of struggle and Intifada until all of the goals of
the Palestinian people are achieved [namely]: the
liberation of the land, and the expulsion of the
occupation."
"The martyrs of Hamas are ready to carry out their duty and
Sharon has no where to hide but to go."(1)
The PA organ Al-Hayat Al-Jadida published an invitation to
join the gathering. The invitation mentioned that the
gathering is convened to commemorate and honor the two
martyrs of the Al-Qassam Brigades, Ahmad Umar Alayan and
Mahmoud Ahmad Marmash. The invitation specified the
location of the gathering in the PA high-school.(2)
Little children holding weapons participated in the
gathering as well as future suicide bombers with their
white garments and bandanas. Hamas activists distributed
amongst the participants at the gathering posters of the
last 10 martyrs in suicide operations.
Endnotes:
(1) Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 24, 2001.
(2) Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, June 21, 2001.
************************
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an
independent, non-profit organization that translates and
analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles
and documents cited, as well as background information, are
available on request.
The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI)
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
E-Mail: memri@memri.org
www.memri.org
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Subject: [bprlist] Bush and Sharon: Insights and Implications—Bill Koenig
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 14:00:58 -0400
--------
Bush and Sharon: Insights and Implications—Bill Koenig
June 28, 2001
The Bush-Sharon Meeting: A Media Perspective
Yes, there were some differences between President George W. Bush
and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in their White House
meeting on Tuesday, but the press blew it out of portion.
The Washington Post´s front-page headline read, “Bush and Sharon
Spar over the Middle East.” Many other world newspapers had the
same type of sensational headline in an attempt to make Sharon
appear obstinate and perhaps even ungrateful.
As usual, the world´s liberal media stands by the Arab nations and
isolates Israel.
However, Secretary of State Colin Powell stated—in an Associated
Press article—that the United States cannot dictate to either the
Palestinians or the Israelis when the cooling-off period should
begin.
After a 50-minute meeting Wednesday with Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak, Powell said that once both Israel and the Palestinians
agree on returning to the negotiating table, the process of
concluding a settlement will be slow. ''There are some expectations
we may be able to do it in a year,'' he said.
The Lord Uses The Middle East Peace Process
Many of us believed that some land would have to be given up by
Israel as a part of the seven-year Oslo accords, thinking that it
could become part of the Daniel 9:27 peace covenant. However, it
didn´t work out that way. The land offer was not enough for Yasser
Arafat and the Palestinians, because they also wanted control over
the Temple Mount and East Jerusalem.
In addition, Hafez el Assad and the Syrians weren´t satisfied with
only taking back the strategic Golan Heights territory with the
exception of a few meters of land along the eastern shoreline of
the Sea of Galilee.
The Lord did use this long and drawn-out process to show:
· that none of Israel's land is to be given up for peace;
· how important the Israeli settlements are to Him;
· how unreasonable the Palestinian and Syrian leaders had been;
· the motives of the United Nation and their resolutions and their
partiality to the 52 Muslim member states, representing 1.2 billion
people, and the importance of their oil;
· the American Government´s economic interest in standing by Israel
as a strategic partner to protect Middle East oil;
· the American church´s lack of knowledge regarding the
significance of Israel;
· the Catholic Church´s complicity in the Vatican-Palestinian
agreement of February, 2000, calling for Jerusalem to become an
international city;
· Pope John-Paul II´s lack of Scriptural knowledge, pertaining to
his statements about lasting peace and about the “need” for all
participants to fulfill the U.N. Resolutions pertaining to Israel´s
land.
This seven-year process revealed much to those with eyes to see and
ears to hear. However, the days ahead could be even more
significant.
The Council on Foreign Relations Role
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) initiated the Middle East
peace process through President George H. W. Bush (the elder) in
Madrid on October 31, 1991. It was continued by President Bill
Clinton, and now has been inherited by current President George W.
Bush (the younger). Both Bush (the elder) and Clinton are members
of the CFR.
Now we have a new plan on the table, authored by and named for
former Senator George Mitchell, who also happens to be a CFR
member. This plan calls for the cessation of terror and the
freezing of settlements in Israel.
The Administration´s National Security Adviser on the cabinet,
Condoleeza Rice, whose dad and grandfather were both Presbyterian
pastors, is also a CFR member. She and Secretary of State Colin
Powell are the top two Bush officials to sit in on the Bush and
Sharon meeting.
Some people think the Council on Foreign Relations is a clandestine
and covert operation. Whatever the case may be, the CFR is a
misguided entity seeking world peace through a new world order. The
CFR membership includes many of the most powerful business and
political leaders in the world, and they aren´t hiding themselves.
Their Internet web site is accessible: http://www.cfr.org. They
have many of their papers and documents available at the site. The
problem is that the CFR relies upon its own worldly intelligence
and not the Lord´s plan.
In its Middle East planning, the CFR probably didn´t figure that
Syrian President Assad and Palestinian Chairman Arafat would turn
down the generous proposals, which included 95 percent of what they
wanted, from the Israelis.
Now the CFR has a new plan, the Mitchell Report. Here is the
Mitchell Report´s Text:
http://www2.haaretz.co.il/breaking-news/Intifada/362927.stm. This
too will be a major failure, and it could very likely lead to war
in Israel.
Understanding the Biblical Significance
As I have written before, President Bush is a Methodist, and his
staff for the most part consists of Methodists, Presbyterians,
Catholics, and Reform and Conservative Jews. Unfortunately, the
Administration has demonstrated that either they don´t know the
significance of Israel´s covenant land, and/or they don´t see any
harm in giving up some of Israel´s land for peace.
Even more significantly, the Bush Administration appears not to be
influenced by Arafat´s and other Muslim nations avowed, and
certainly not secret, mission to annihilate Israel and drive the
Jews into the Mediterranean Sea.
The bottom line, and what President Bush has said is his greatest
concern, appears to be the flow of Middle East oil. That is his
main interest—anything else appears secondary.
The Bush Administration has been provided documentation about the
importance of standing by Israel and protecting the land, which
belongs to her by Biblical covenant. At this point, it hasn´t made
any difference, and it might not. Only the Lord knows how this
scenario will play out.
We must keep praying for God´s will to be done in the Middle East
process, for President Bush and the role that his Administration
will play in the outcome, and for Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and
his government. Our nation has a lot riding on their decisions.
No matter what cease-fires are proposed, reports are released, or
agreements are made, the Arabs will keep trying to extract more
from Israel through terror, until the result is a Middle Eastern
war. This big event will likely take place when Syria, Iraq, Egypt
and the Palestinians go to war with Israel.
However, according to Holy Scripture, these Arab nations and others
will eventually be devastated by Israel, under God´s protection.
Please refer to Isaiah, chapters 17 and 19; Ezekiel, chapters 38
and 39; and the book of Obadiah.
Is Judgment Near?
Thanks to the documentation of author John McTernan in “God´s Final
Warning to America,” we have seen how the Lord responds, over and
over again, whenever Israel is pushed by the United States to give
up her covenant land, and/or when Yasser
Arafat comes to Washington.
Just recently, as Arafat´s government was about to fail, both the
United States and the European Union threw him a lifeline.
Suddenly, the Palestinian leader is back in the loop, and it looks
like he will he invited to the White House soon.
Putting these matters into perspective, the day that George Tenet
began the Israeli and Palestinian talks and Arafat met with U.S.
Special Envoy William Burns, Tropical Storm Allison (the largest
tropical rainmaker in history) regrouped in the Gulf of Mexico and
pummeled Houston. This is former President George H. W. Bush´s
hometown, as well as the home state of his son, the current
President George W. Bush.
Additionally, the Bush administration is now putting their arms
around the Mitchell Report. On May 22, the day that Bush and Powell
came out in favor of the Mitchell Report, Senator James Jeffords
was rumored to be leaving the Republican Party, an action which
became official two days later, thus costing the Republicans the
majority in the Senate and putting at risk both judicial
appointments and the legislative agenda.
If the policies of the current U.S. administration further handcuff
Israel or push God´s promised land into war, our nation will surely
reap the dire consequences. Sadly, a majority of Americans will not
even be remotely aware of the who, what, when, or why of this
cause-and-effect scenario.
Even more sadly, the majority of the church today doesn´t see the
importance of Israel. Additionally, many prayer intercessors have
very little knowledge about the speed of prophetic fulfillment
continue to pray without even knowing or understanding the Lord´s
plan. They pray for peace when God´s Word tells us there will be no
peace, or they pray to stop events without ever knowing the root
cause or how the Lord is using it to bring His plan to fulfillment.
I pray that those who intercede in His Name will become
increasingly more tuned into God´s time clock, Jerusalem, and the
significance of what is happening in Israel and in our nation.
We have a Lord who must be tiring of the divisive militant
homosexual agenda, which is tearing apart our churches, our homes,
our schools, our organizations, and our governments. We have a Lord
who must be sickened by the slaughter of 40 million unborn children
in our nation and by the apathy of His church in our nation.
If the people of this country repent for not standing by Israel,
for the loss of 40 million children aborted in their mother´s
wombs, and for our un-Biblical embracing of the homosexual
movement, then maybe the Lord will spare us. However, based upon
the church´s apathy today, I cannot be too optimistic.
But His love does reign, and His Grace is amazing. We must remember
judgment and trials are effective in bringing people to Him,
because they come from His love for us.
---------
Report: US freezes financial aid package for Israel
http://www.jpost.com/Editions/2001/06/27/LatestNews/LatestNews.29240.ht
ml
President George W. Bush told Prime Minister Ariel Sharon last
night that the $800 million special aid package pledged to Israel
is frozen "for now," according to a report in Globes.
The aid package, pledged by President Bill Clinton, was intended to
cover the cost of the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
The Bush administration does not plan to approve the aid package
within the next two years, government sources in Washington said.
Some administration officials are in favor of linking the aid
package to progress in implementing recommendations of the Mitchell
report, the sources added.
The aid package was originally intended to be paid out within two
years, with $450 million to be paid by this October, and $350
million by next year.
AIPAC leaders told Sharon the administration lacks the "political
will" to approve the package after promising not to supplement the
US budget.
-----
Powell: US Can't Dictate Mideast Peace
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010627/ts/powell_10.html
BOURG AL-ARAB, Egypt (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell said
Wednesday it is up to Israel and the Palestinians—not the United
States—to set the pace of Mideast peacemaking.
Making his first stop on a three-day trip to the region, Powell
didn't challenge Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's demand for
10 days of ``absolute quiet'' followed by a six-week cooling off
period.
``Nobody is claiming the level of violence is down to where it is
realistic,'' Powell said. ``What we are looking for now is a period
of quiet so people will have the confidence to move forward.''
Scheduled to meet separately Thursday with Sharon in Jerusalem and
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on the West Bank, Powell
predicted, ``This is going to be going up a hill very, very slowly,
one step at a time.''
After a 50-minute meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak,
Powell said that even when Israel and the Palestinians agree to
return to negotiations, a settlement won't come quickly. ``There
are some expectations we may be able to do it in a year,'' he said.
------
Economic Indicator: Israel Foreign Investment off 58.7%
On Sunday, the Bank of Israel reported that foreign investment
dropped 58.7% in the first five months of this year, to $2.2
billion compared to $5.3 billion during the corresponding period of
2000.
END
--
Koenig's International News - http://watch.org
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To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Hamas spokesman leaves Jordan...for Bangkok
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 14:03:20 -0400
--------
Hamas spokesman leaves Jordan, reportedly for non-Arab country "Ibrahim
Ghoshe flew out of Jordan for Bangkok," a senior official said on condition of
anonymity
June 28, 2001, 12:45 PM AMMAN (AFP) - A leader of the Palestinian group
Hamas denied entry into Jordan for the past two weeks flew out of Queen
Alia Airport Thursday for Bangkok, a senior official said.
"Ibrahim Ghoshe flew out of Jordan for Bangkok," the official said on
condition of anonymity.
Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television reported that Ghoshe's destination was
Yemen without giving details if it was through Bangkok or if he was going
there directly.
The official later reported that the Qatari Airways plane that flew Ghoshe to
Jordan was preparing for takeoff to return home. And another official said
Jordan informed Ghoshe that it would be willing to discuss his future after he
agreed to leave for a third country.
Earlier, another official had announced Ghoshe's imminent departure for a
third country.
Ghoshe, a Jordanian of Palestinian origin, flew into Amman unexpectedly
from his exile in Doha on June 14 in defiance of a government decision in
November 1999 to outlaw Hamas activity in Jordan.
Yemen had been mediating a solution to the crisis that also involved Qatar,
Ghoshe's host country since November 1999, and had agreed to welcome
the Hamas leader on its territory but he declined the offer, the official said.
On Wednesday, Jordanian Information Minister Saleh Kallab said Jordan
would continue to deny Ghoshe entry into the kingdom unless he agreed in
writing to renounce all links to Hamas.
"Ibrahim Ghoshe will not enter Jordan as long as he does not resign from his
post as spokesman of Hamas and relinquish his membership in the
movement's political bureau," Kallab said.
Jordan's state-run Petra news agency confirmed Ghoshe's departure to
Bangkok and said that the 65-year-old Hamas official left "of his own desire."
http://www.arabia.com/news/article/english/0,1690,51139,00.html
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To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Infobeat News items (6/28/01) PM
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 19:22:19 -0400
--------
*** Milosevic handed over to UN
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia (AP) - Slobodan Milosevic was handed over to an
official of the U.N. war crimes tribunal Thursday, in the start of
his extradition for trial before the Netherlands-based court for
alleged Kosovo atrocities. "The former Yugoslav president was handed
over to The Hague tribunal," a government spokesman said. Milosevic
would be the first former head of government to be brought before
the war crimes tribunal. The former Yugoslav president was indicted
for alleged atrocities committed in Kosovo during the crackdown he
ordered two years ago on the province's ethnic Albanian population.
The crackdown ended after NATO's 78-day bombing campaign.
Confirmation of Milosevic's handover came just hours after the
former president appeared to have won more time in his fight to
avoid trial by the tribunal when judges suspended a federal
government decree allowing his extradition.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408851792
*** Powell endorses Arafat proposal
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) - Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed a
proposal sought by Yasser Arafat for outside monitors to supervise a
fragile cease-fire. He also called on Israel and the Palestinians
Thursday to move swiftly to take preliminary moves toward peace.
Powell said he would like to see the two sides move to implementing
confidence-building measures within weeks. And to help the
cease-fire to hold through the process leading up to reopened peace
talks, Powell said, "As we start out with confidence- building
measures there will be a need for monitors." Powell said the
monitors would go to points of friction between the Palestinians and
Israelis and serve as go-betweens to resolve disputes, but said he
had not decided on the composition of such a force. Israel objects
to an observer force. A report by former Senate Majority Leader
George Mitchell declined to back the idea as well.
*** Also: Israeli woman killed in West Bank, see
http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408851090
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408850769
*** China denies doctor's testimony to U.S.
BEIJING (AP) - Beijing said Thursday that a Chinese doctor was lying
when he told Congress about the harvesting of organs from executed
prisoners in China. Adding weight to widespread reports of
involuntary organ donations in China, burn doctor Wang Guoqi told a
U.S. House International Relations Committee panel Wednesday that he
removed skin from nearly 100 executed prisoners for transplant.
Wang, who is seeking asylum in the United States, told the human
rights panel that doctors took the kidneys from a prisoner who was
still breathing after being shot in a 1995 execution in northern
China. "Any clear-sighted person can see that this is a vicious
slander against China," said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.
Chinese officials say organs are transplanted from executed
prisoners only if they and their family consent.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408847860
*** Macedonia's president praises Bush
SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) - Macedonia praised U.S. efforts to choke off
funds to ethnic Albanian rebels, appealing Thursday to European
nations to follow the same path. President Boris Trajkovski
applauded an executive order by President Bush that bars Americans
from any transactions involving the property of known rebel leaders.
In a separate proclamation Wednesday, Bush restricted their entry to
the United States. Singling out Germany, Belgium and Switzerland as
countries used by rebel movement organizers as safe havens for their
accounts, Trajkovski and other officials appealed to European
leaders to follow Bush's lead. Trajkovski seemed particularly
gratified that Bush's action zeroed in on the rebels - a move he
claimed indicated that the militants were at fault for the Balkan
country's slide toward civil war.
*** Also: EU's new envoy arrives in Macedonia, see
http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408850509
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408852220
*** London to recognize same-sex unions
LONDON (AP) - London's city government will officially recognize
same-sex relationships and offer ceremonies that resemble weddings,
the mayor announced Thursday. The London Partnerships Register, to
be launched in September, will make the Greater London Authority the
first public organization in Britain to offer recognition to
same-sex couples. Mayor Ken Livingstone called the move a "step on
the road to equality," adding he hoped other cities and
organizations would follow suit. The Church of England is opposed to
gay marriages. Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey declared in
April that gay unions would "muddy the waters" of traditional
marriage.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408850460
*** Rabbis approve convert guidelines
MONTEREY, Calif. (AP) - More than a century ago, Reform rabbis of the
most liberal major branch of Judaism rejected traditional rituals in
conversion as meaningless. On Wednesday, Reform Jewish rabbis came
to a different conclusion: that rituals do have meaning for many,
and should be observed. The Central Conference of American Rabbis
overwhelmingly approved guidelines that suggest converts be examined
by a panel of learned Jews, immerse themselves in a ritual bath,
and, for men, undergo circumcision. The organization of 1,800 clergy
says it represents about 1.5 million Reform Jews. About 450 rabbis
enthusiastically applauded after the guidelines were approved. The
guidelines reverse a position the group has held for 108 years -
that traditional conversion rituals are unnecessary.
Full article at: http://www.infobeat.com/fullArticle?article=408847765
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To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Arutz-7 News (6/28/01)
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 19:25:19 -0400
--------
Arutz Sheva News Service
<http://www.IsraelNationalNews.com>
Thursday, June 28, 2001 / Tammuz 7, 5761
http://NewsFromIsrael.com - Arutz Sheva's All-English Newsradio
TODAY'S HEADLINES:
1. WOMAN KILLED IN SHOMRON TERRORIST SHOOTING
2. POWELL CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS
3. ZOA REPORT: PA VIOLENCE UP SINCE CEASE-FIRE BEGAN
4. UKRAINE RABBI: LET MY PEOPLE KNOW
5. LABOR MK ATTEMPTS TO DEFEND PARTY POSITION
6. MK TIBI STILL LISTED AS ARAFAT-ADVISOR
7. FOUR HOSTAGES STILL ALIVE, HIZBULLAH LEADER SAYS
8. TAKE BACK ARAFAT'S PRIZE!
9. U.N. REFUSAL LEAVES P.A. WITHOUT MEDICINES
10. WHO'S COMING TO ISRAEL
1. WOMAN KILLED IN SHOMRON TERRORIST SHOOTING An Israeli
woman was murdered late this afternoon, and another one was lightly
wounded, when Arab terrorists shot at their car in the Ganim-Jenin area, in
northern Shomron.
The murder comes towards the end of a relatively quiet day, attributed in part
to U.S. Secretary of State Powell's visit in Israel. A mortar shell was fired
towards Netzer Hazani in Gush Katif today; no one was hurt. This morning,
Palestinian terrorists shot towards the town of Atzmonah in Gush Katif,
Gaza, and later, for an extended period, towards nearby N'vei Dekalim. An
Israeli ambulance was also targeted. IDF soldiers refrained from returning
fire. Arabs threw some 15 grenades at an IDF position near Rafiach over the
night. Israeli and Palestinian security officials convened last night; no
practical decisions were announced, except for an agreement to meet again
next week.
Arabs in Hevron attacked Israeli targets again today, throwing 13 Molotov
cocktails at IDF soldiers and policemen. No one was hurt; IDF soldiers
withheld their fire. The attack occurred only a short while after the army
removed the closure from around the Arab-controlled parts of the city; the
closure was imposed three days ago after the resumption of shooting from
the Abu Sneineh hills at the Jews' Avraham Avinu neighborhood wounded
four Israelis, including a 7-year-old boy.
The Herut Party in the Knesset - actually, its lone MK, Michael Kleiner - has
submitted a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Sharon because of
the government's negative attitude towards the Jews of Judea and Samaria.
Kleiner explained that the lack of security there, together with the freezing of
budgetary allocations and the talk of dismantling outposts, are all designed
to "sow despair among the settlers in order to get them to leave."
2. POWELL CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS U.S. Secretary of
State Colin Powell met today with Arafat in Ramallah, after a meeting with
President Moshe Katzav this morning. The American demanded that the
PLO leader take stronger measures to "stabilize the ceasefire," and said that
Israeli declarations condemning Arafat are "damaging and unnecessary."
Taking a position diametrically opposed to that of Israel, Powell said, "I think
that if we reach the confidence-building measures stage, we will need
international observers to come to the flashpoints to give us an independent
view of the situation."
On the other hand, Powell has made it clear over the past two days that
Prime Minister Sharon and the Israeli government will be those who will
determine when the violence has stopped. "This process is a package,"
Powell said, "and we have to end the violence, at least for a number of days,
before we open the package..." Next on Powell's schedule is a meeting with
Sharon later today, upon the latter's return from his trip to the U.S. and Great
Britain.
Secretary Powell met earlier this morning in the Foreign Ministry with
Minister Shimon Peres. Peres took an "independent" stance of his Prime
Minister before the meeting when he said that the new Yesha outposts must
be dismantled (see article 5 below). Peres is scheduled to meet with Arafat
during a gathering of socialist leaders in Lisbon two days from now; Sharon
recently forbade a meeting between the two, but later agreed that they could
meet if he was informed beforehand.
Yesha Council leaders demonstrated outside the Foreign Ministry today with
oil barrels, dramatizing the connection between U.S. pressure on Israel and
the Americans' anxiety not to antagonize the oil-producing countries.
3. ZOA REPORT: PA VIOLENCE UP SINCE CEASE-FIRE BEGAN Contrary
to statements by U.S. President Bush and Secretary of State Powell that
Palestinian violence against Israelis has been decreasing, there was actually
a 39% increase in the number of attacks during the 25 days after Arafat
declared his "cease-fire" compared to the 25 days beforehand. So reports
the Zionist Organization of America, based on a just-completed analysis of
the violence of this period. The ZOA found that there had been 266 terrorist
attacks against Israelis between June 2, when Arafat announced his "cease-
fire," and June 26, when Bush stated that "there has been progress" in
reducing the violence. In contrast, there were only 191 such attacks during
the 25 days beforehand. The number of murder victims did decline, however;
eight people were murdered in the latter period, compared to 17 beforehand.
[The Dolphinarium slaughter occurred on the night of June 1, and is not
included in these statistics.]
4. UKRAINE RABBI: LET MY PEOPLE KNOW Ukraine's Chief Rabbi
Yaakov Dov Bleich has asked Pope John Paul II to open church archives and
reveal the names of Jewish children who were raised as Catholics during
World War II. The rabbi said that thousands of Jews in Poland and western
Ukraine were taken in by Christian families to save them from the Nazis, and
many of them were never told of their Jewish origins. "We think that every
normal person understands that Jewish children who were saved during the
war should have been returned to the Jews after the war," Rabbi Bleich said,
shortly before he and the Pope paid tribute to Nazi victims at Babi Yar,
outside Kiev. The Germans killed 33,761 Jews there within 72 hours in late
September 1941, and over the next two years, killed another 170,000 people
there, most of them Jews.
After the Holocaust, then-Chief Rabbi Yitzchak Herzog asked for Pope Pius
XII's assistance in locating Jewish orphans who were cared for by Catholic
families, but the Pope refused. Today's Israeli Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau
recounted last year that the present Pope told him in 1993 that he had
refused to baptize a Jewish child whose parents had died, "because the
parents had specifically requested that the child be brought up as a Jew."
5. LABOR MK ATTEMPTS TO DEFEND PARTY POSITION The Labor Party
appears to be readying for the upcoming political fight regarding the small
new Yesha outposts. Defense Minister Ben-Eliezer said earlier this week
that he plans to dismantle them - "by force, if dialogue does not work" - but
Prime Minister Sharon instructed him not to take action until the Cabinet
discusses it. Foreign Minister Shimon Peres said today that the army is
already spread much too thin, "so what do we need 15 extra points of
contention for?" Labor MK Ophir Pines said that his party should quit the
national unity government if the outposts are not removed. Arutz-7's Haggai
Segal spoke today with Labor faction head MK Effie Oshaya on this issue:
HS: The Bedouin have established illegal "outposts" on area equivalent in
size to all of Tel Aviv. So the few little hilltops in Yesha are what's bothering
you? EO: I know all the settlements and the extent that they have, thank G-
d, reached. The State of Israel today has reached, in Judea, Samaria, and
Gaza, an amount of settlements that, in our view, is a millstone around the
neck of peace. We are against illegal construction in all areas...
HS: ... You say that the settlements are a millstone, but I believe it was your
party that proved, in Camp David last year, that the true obstacle to peace is
not the settlements, but the "right of return" [of Arab refugees] and Jerusalem
[when Arafat turned down an offer of 95% of Judea and Samaria and the
dismantling of most of the Yesha communities]... EO: Yes, but it's all one
big package. Today, there is the Mitchell Report, which the Prime Minister
himself says that he accepts totally, and which calls for a total settlement
freeze - so how can we establish new ones or new outposts? HS:
Implementation of the Mitchell Report has not yet begun because the
Palestinians are not stopping their violence, so they deserve to be rewarded
for this? EO: No, they don't deserve a prize, but we also don't deserve to
have another obstacle. Look, we entered a national unity government during
a time of national trouble, and both the Likud and we made compromises. I
don't see any reason to keep these outposts in place, aside from that of
protest, which may be justified, but not to keep them there for a long time.
They contribute nothing to security --
HS: Some of these outposts were established exactly where attacks had
occurred, and in their merit, further attacks are prevented. EO: Look, Haggai,
these outposts require army soldiers to protect them, and residential
communities never helped in the security effort. In the Yom Kippur War, the
first thing that happened was that these towns were evacuated...
HS: OK, here we're not talking about a total war, but just the prevention of
local attacks. I want to ask you - EO: Why is it that civilians - to whom,
truly, my heart goes out and for whom I want the best security means but
unfortunately they are not getting - but why do they have to be the ones to
maintain the security of the State of Israel? This is why we have the Israel
Defense Forces --
HS: Look, they feel somewhat abandoned, MK Oshaya, and the facts speak
for themselves -- EO: Yes, I agree that they feel a little abandoned, because
I remember during the Gulf War, the whole country was forced to wear those
silly masks which did nothing but cost a fortune, while today the residents of
Yesha travel around without protection, and are forced to scramble for
themselves to acquire bulletproof vests and the like. The State should be
doing this for them. But at the same time, I don't think that they have to
establish pirate outposts, even if their protest is painful and just.
HS: Don't you think, MK Oshaya, that your party has been waging a lost
battle? For decades already you have been fighting against the settlements,
and not only have they not been evacuated, they have even grown? EO:
Let's not distort history: We're the ones [under whose government] the
settlements were established, so it can't be said that we have been fighting
against them for decades.
HS: Well, since 1975 approximately. In any event, that's a question for
history to decide. MK Effie Oshaya, head of the Labor Knesset faction,
thank you. EO: A good day to you.
6. MK TIBI STILL LISTED AS ARAFAT-ADVISOR Herut MK Michael Kleiner
has called upon MK Ahmed Tibi to resign from the Knesset. This, because
of Tibi's "side job" as advisor to Yasser Arafat, as revealed by Dr. Aaron
Lerner of IMRA (www.imra.org.il) two days ago. The Palestinian Academic
Society for the Study of International Affairs publishes an annual directory of
PA and PLO officials and offices, and in the 2001 edition, Tibi is listed as
"Israeli Affairs Advisor" in the "President's Office."
Asked about the listing, Tibi explained that it was merely a copy from an
older directory and that his name had mistakenly not been removed.
However, Lerner now reports that Tibi was not listed in the directories
published before 1999, and that only in past three directories does Tibi
appear as Arafat's advisor. When Tibi was elected to the Knesset in 1999,
he announced that he had resigned from the position of advisor to Arafat.
7. FOUR HOSTAGES STILL ALIVE, HIZBULLAH LEADER SAYS A
Lebanese newspaper reported today that Hizbullah leader Sheikh Nasrallah
told the Japanese Ambassador in Lebanon that the four Israeli hostages his
organization is holding are receiving "good treatment, as if they were our own
men."
8. TAKE BACK ARAFAT'S PRIZE! As Arafat's war against Israel continues
and recognition of his role in the terrorism increases - - even former President
Bill Clinton blames him for the failure of his peace initiatives (Newsweek
reports that Clinton said last week that he told Arafat, "I'm a colossal failure,
and you made me one") - various people are channeling their frustrations at
the PA Chairman in different ways. One up-and-coming campaign aims to
strip Arafat of his Nobel Peace Prize. In keeping with the times, a website
has been built (www.deprizearafat.com), and newspaper articles have been
written. For instance, Joshua Hasten writes today in WorldNetDaily.com
that when Alfred Nobel set aside a fund for an annual Peace Prize, his
intention was to recognize those who "shall have done the best work for
fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies
and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses." Hasten then lists
some of Arafat's "accomplishments," such as being linked to the murder of
11 Israeli Olympic athletes during the 1972 Munich games, the bombing of
the United States Marines barracks in Beirut in 1983 that killed 241 people,
the murder of U.S. Ambassador to Sudan, Cleo Noel, in 1973, and more.
"To reestablish the Nobel Peace Prize as the most distinguished, honorable,
and most celebrated award on the planet," Hasten concludes, "it's time to
take back [Arafat's]."
9. U.N. REFUSAL LEAVES P.A. WITHOUT MEDICINES Regional
Cooperation Minister Tzippy Livni denies UN claims that Israel is blocking
the transport of medicines to the PA areas. Livni explained to UN
representatives that the medicines are not being transferred due to UN
refusal to allow their trucks to undergo security inspections - while at the
same time insisting that UN trucks be used. Minister Livni expressed the
hope that instead of maintaining its stubborn stance, the UN will try to
advance a solution to the benefit of those who need the medicines.
10. WHO'S COMING TO ISRAEL The Simferopol Oholei Menachem Day
School, located in the Crimea, Ukraine, reports on 5 students headed for a
year of study in Israel this coming autumn, joining 7 former students who are
already learning in Israel. 14 out of 15 students from the first graduating
class of the Yeshiva High School of Boca Raton will be attending various
Yeshivot in Eretz Yisrael in the next year. Close to 80 North American
youngsters will be coming to Israel this summer in the framework of Camp
Gan Israel (Chabad). The group will be traveling across Israel, hoping to help
strengthen morale of the soldiers and Yesha residents. All four graduates of
Ora Academy Girls High School in Rochester, New York plan to spend this
coming year studying in Israel. 28 graduates of the Hebrew Academy of
Cleveland's Beatrice Stone Yavneh Girls' High School (90% of the graduating
class) will continue their studies in Israel this coming September.
Hebrew News Editor: Haggai Segal
English News Editor: Hillel Fendel
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Subject: [bprlist] PA issues total rejection of Sharon map
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 19:33:23 -0400
--------
June 28, 2001 13:59 (Israel time)
PA issues total rejection of Sharon map
By Daniel Sobelman, Ha'aretz Correspondent
The Palestinian Authority issued Wednesday evening an official response to
the map Prime Minister Ariel Sharon presented before U.S. President
George Bush. Official Palestinian news agencies issued a statement from a
"reliable source" completely rejecting the general guidelines of Sharon's plan.
The Palestinian response said "The Palestinian leadership sees in the map
that Sharon presented a picture that includes colonialist and settlement
aims, with the only goal not being peace and security, but rather to
perpetuate the occupation. This occupation map completely violates UN
Security Council decisions 242, 338, 425 and 252 which speak of a
complete Israeli withdrawal from all of the occupied Palestinian territories to
the June 4, 1967 border."
The Palestinian leadership stresses in the statement that it sees
implementation of the international decisions and the principle of land in
exchange for peace as the path to peace. The statement also said that
"Sharon's map is a continuation of Israeli aggression on the Palestinian
nation and expropriation of its land."
Ha'aretz sorrespondents Aluf Benn, Daniel Sobelman and Natan Guttman
reported Wednesday that according to sources who accompanied the prime
minister to the U.S., Sharon's plan calls for the establishment of a small, but
territorially-contiguous Palestinian state in part of the West Bank. The new
state would enjoy economic cooperation with Israel, but would be subject to
various security restrictions; for instance, it would be forbidden to maintain
an army.
It also stipulates that two areas that Sharon views as strategically important
would remain under Israeli control: a wide strip in the Jordan Valley and a
narrower strip on the western slopes of the Samarian hills, near the pre-1967
border of Israel. In addition, East Jerusalem would remain under Israeli
control.
© copyright 2001 Ha'aretz. All Rights Reserved
http://www2.haaretz.co.il/breaking-news/Diplomacy/367941.stm
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To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] No Welcome For the World [UN] In Utah Towns
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 19:37:33 -0400
--------
No Welcome For the World In Utah Towns
Tuesday, June 26, 2001
BY THOMAS BURR
(c) 2001, THE SALT LAKE
TRIBUNE
Most city councils have enough to do keeping the streets clean and safe.
Not La Verkin and Virgin. The rural southern Utah towns have taken on the
United Nations. The international organization has not exactly overrun them,
but the two town councils are considering ordinances that would erase all
traces of the United Nations in their communities, citing concerns the body
is usurping the sovereignty of the United States. "We've been pushed far
enough, and long enough," La Verkin Mayor Dan Howard said Monday.
"We're tired of marching to [the U.N.] agenda. Maybe now we can start to
march on our own agenda. Maybe La Verkin is the crucible to get the rest of
the cities and the national government to listen." Prompting the anti-U.N.
ordinance was the case of Michael New, an Army medic from Texas who
was court-martialed in 1996 for refusing to wear a U.N. beret and insignia for
peacekeeping duty in Macedonia. New's father, Daniel New, met with both
town councils last week to discuss the proposed ordinance. The proposed
ordinance creates a "United Nations-free zone" that would ban aiding the
organization with town funds, displaying any U.N. symbols on town property
and prohibit the "involuntary servitude" of any resident in U.N. peacekeeping
activities. Those who support the organization would be required to post
signs that say, "United Nations work conducted here." This is not the first
time the towns, about 25 miles northeast of St. George, have courted
controversy. A year ago, the Virgin Town Council passed a law requiring all
households to own a gun. Last week, La Verkin passed a resolution
supporting the Second Amendment right to bear arms. The towns have also
passed legislation supporting free use of public lands and opposing federal
control. U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said Monday that while his office often
receives criticism, this is the first time he has heard of a U.N.-free zone.
However, the organization had no comment on the issue. "The U.N. doesn't
involve itself in the internal affairs of its member states," Haq said. Likewise,
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Susan Pittman said this was also a
first for her but said the Utah towns are perfectly free to criticize the U.N. La
Verkin Mayor Howard acknowledged the move was largely symbolic. But
that will not stop La Verkin from making a big splash out of it. The City
Council has scheduled a special Fourth of July meeting in which it is
expected to adopt the ordinance, making it the first such city in the nation to
do so, according to Howard. Meanwhile, Virgin officials are proceeding more
cautiously. Virgin Mayor Jay Lee calls the ordinance "real interesting," but is
unsure his council will pass it at its next meeting July 19. At least one
council member opposes the U.N. measure. "It's just another radical thing
that we don't need," Ken Cornelius said. La Verkin Councilman Al Snow,
who helped draft the ordinance, says the city is only trying to shape the
debate about the United Nations and make a statement to the federal
government: The United Nations should not control U.S. foreign policy. Said
Snow: "The Constitution is the supreme law of the land and not some [U.N.]
treaty that tries to supersede it." tburr@sltrib.com
http://www.wnd.com/frame/direct.asp?SITE=www.sltrib.com/06262001/utah/1
08851.htm
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To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Washington Post: US Demanding Total End to Attacks
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 19:38:50 -0400
--------
22:00 Jun-27-01, 6 Tammuz 5761
Washington Post: US Demanding Total End
to Attacks
(IsraelNationalNews.com) According to a
Washington Post report, a senior official in the
Bush administration reported that US Secretary
of State Colin Powell will be demanding a total
cessation of terrorist attacks from PA leader
Yasser Arafat. Powell is scheduled to meet on
Thursday with Arafat.
According to Dennis Ross, the former Mideast
Envoy to the Oslo process under the US´ Clinton
administration, the comments made by President
George W. Bush on Tuesday night prior to his
meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
indicated that he was trying to assist Arafat in
obtaining the necessary points for doing his
utmost to bring about a halt to terrorist attacks.
Bush stated that although the US preferred a
cessation of attacks, it was also realistic and
acknowledged the progress seen of late, a sharp
reduction in terrorism. He said the progress was
minimal but noticeable.
Reports following the meeting indicated tensions
between Bush and Sharon were high but Sharon
insists this was not so, adding the talks were held
in a pleasant atmosphere.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=5489
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To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] A U.N. 'gay' threat to 1st Amendment?
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 19:44:21 -0400
--------
June 28, 2001
A U.N. 'gay' threat
to 1st Amendment?
Group seeks to muzzle media that have
'content discriminatory to homosexuals'
By Mary Jo Anderson
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
Homosexual activism is advancing on a number
of fronts at the United Nations these days,
including a call by one group to prohibit the
media from publishing "discriminatory" content
– which critics are calling an outright attack on
the First Amendment right to a free press.
This, as well as other related controversies, are
embroiling the U.N. as it heads toward the
opening of the World Conference Against
Racism scheduled for August 31 through
September 7 in Durban, South Africa.
For instance, yesterday the U.N.'s AIDS
conference closed amidst diplomatic tensions
sparked by threats from "progressive" nations
that insisted the conference document not
connect the spread of AIDS to homosexual
behavior.
Western nations objected when the Egyptian
delegation attempted to insert into the
document the pertinent factors that constitute
the leading cause of the spread of the disease –
namely, "homosexuality among men,
prostitution and other forms of irresponsible
sexual behavior." Some Western nations balked
at referring to homosexuality as "irresponsible
sexual behavior."
But the efforts at de-emphasizing any negatives
associated with homosexuality took an
unprecedented turn recently when the
International Gay and Lesbian Association
(IGLA) demanded that the U.N.'s World
Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (WCAR)
adopt provisions that would prohibit media
from broadcasting "content discriminatory to
homosexuals."
Although the IGLA does not have an official
status at the United Nations, some of the
demands made by the association are advanced
by powerful non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) which do enjoy official United Nations
designations. IGLA representatives lobbied in
Geneva during the preparatory meeting for the
Conference on Racism.
The Conference on Racism includes a segment
on the influence of the media. Draft provisions
include this: "Developments in technology have
had a profound impact on the role of the media
by providing individuals and groups with new
ways to communicate with each other. These
developments have benefited societies in many
ways, for example, in drawing attention to
human rights abuses and in the field of human
rights education. Regrettably, the Internet and
other new forms of communication have also
been used to disseminate messages of hatred
and contempt for certain groups based on race,
religion, nationality, ethnicity and gender."
Media experts are wary of the questions that the
U.N.'s Conference on Racism have raised about
the role and obligation of the media. U.N. critics
point to what they recognize as the "usual
obfuscation" inherent in the language
employed. Such critics note that the U.N. listed
the following questions:
How can the media be used more
effectively to promote tolerance and
respect?
Are there best practices with regard to
balancing of freedom of expression with
the use of new technologies, such as the
Internet, to promote racist beliefs and
attitudes?
How can freedom of the press best be
balanced with the duty not to incite racial
hatred?
How can the U.N. human rights system
assist in the process of balancing
competing rights?
These questions from the U.N. draft use the
word "balance," say critics, as a euphemism for
censorship of the media.
Homosexual activists working through IGLA
want the language of the U.N. conference
document to specifically restrict "all forms of
discrimination that negatively affect human
individuality." The IGLA held a "satellite
meeting" in preparation for the upcoming
racism conference. The "declaration" produced
by IGLA at Quito, Ecuador, in March
applauded the conference as the first U.N.
world conference to include "related forms of
intolerance."
Related forms of intolerance?
Some legal scholars find the phrase "related
forms of intolerance" to be so broad as to be
interpreted in the future as including any new
group that seeks U.N. protection under these
standards, if adopted.
"We cannot rule out pedophiles as 'related
intolerance' in the future," said one attorney
who requested anonymity. (Many experts who
lobby at the U.N. fear being quoted as it may
endanger their continued work at U.N.
conferences.)
"Now," remarked one New York-based
journalist, "the gay lobby is on the brink of
bagging two for one -- they have linked
'homophobia' to racism, and they have
demanded the U.N. muzzle the media to ensure
their 'rights' to be free from 'discrimination.'" A
religious leader who declined to be named
raised the question of religious freedom.
"If it becomes an infringement of a homosexual
person's 'rights' to speak out about
homosexuality as an offense against nature and
God, then how is religious freedom protected?"
Others, however, note that prominent media
leaders have favored some of the proposed
provisions.
Bill Roedy, president of MTV Networks
International and chairman of the Global
Business Council – a business booster group
that supports United Nations initiatives – said,
"MTV is working hard to break the wall of
silence on HIV and AIDS by broadcasting
programs that talk to our audience around the
world ... to break the stigma and discrimination
associated with HIV and AIDS." MTV and the
United Nations have collaborated to set up a
website on racism, discrimination and tolerance
issues in preparation for the WCAR. (See
websites on the International Day for the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the
Fight for your rights campaign. )
Homosexuals whose lifestyle is at odds with
their inherited religious beliefs are also
challenging that heritage from within. The
Muslim homosexual activist group called
al-Fatiha has been set up to help homosexual
followers of Islam to reconcile their sexuality
with their religion. Homosexuality is forbidden
in Muslim cultures; in certain Islamic countries
it is regarded as a criminal activity punishable
by death. Muslim leader Ajaf Shaikh is firm: "...
the Muslim culture and religion is totally
against this kind of activity. And Muslim
religion don't allow these kind of activities."
Reconciling homosexual lifestyles with
inherited religion is a struggle that homosexual
men and women claim must be fought,
including at the international level.
Traditional religious leaders have resisted.
Pope John Paul II addressed some pointed
remarks to the United Nations' AIDS conference
that ended yesterday. He said "[The] frightening
spread of AIDS" has plagued a world
"characterized by a serious crisis of values." The
pope exhorted the international community not
to ignore its "moral responsibility" to address
the disease. His remarks, though diplomatically
worded, were a pointed call for a traditional
moral view of human sexuality which would
eradicate the disease through chastity and
marital fidelity.
The Black Radical Congress, however, in a
statement prepared for WCAR has said, "What
we have not seen is any significant decline in
the scourge of racism and its corrosive effects on
the lives of millions of people of color around
the world, nor any pronounced slippage in
xenophobia, nor any reduction in heterosexual
hatred of other sexual orientations, nor any
abatement of religious intolerance ... The Black
Radical Congress strongly supports the WCAR."
U.N. observers have pointed out that the five
themes that WCAR lists as its major issues are
ominous. The themes are: Sources, causes and
manifestations of intolerance; victims of
intolerance; measures of prevention, education
and protection against intolerance at the
national, regional and international level;
effective remedies, recourses and compensation;
and strategies to achieve equality for victims of
racism and intolerance, including enhancement
of the U.N. and other international mechanisms
in combating intolerance.
Observers critical of the U.N.'s sweeping
conferences, that launch new standards into
international and customary law, point out that
the attempt by the IGLA lobby to muzzle the
media as part of a world standard against
"intolerance" would suit many substructures
within the U.N. system.
"Look," commented one legal scholar, "just look
at that fifth provision in the five themes listed
for WCAR. What do you think 'enhancement of
the U.N. and other international mechanisms'
means? We are talking media censorship, sure,
but also coercive means that bring
once-sovereign nations to heel."
One of those mechanisms may be to control
media imagery about homosexuality. The IGLA
declaration demands: "To call upon the
communication agencies, the media and related
systems to reaffirm their democratic and ethical
principles and their social function as opinion
leaders, by opening up their areas of action to
sensitize society and to include the expressions
and symbolic representations of diversity; to
recognize discriminated sectors' right to
communication; and to eradicate the
broadcasting of products with discriminatory
contents."
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=23422
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To: bprlist@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [bprlist] Phones hasten end to cash
From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 19:46:15 -0400
--------
Phones hasten end to cash
By James Mackintosh in London
Published: June 27 2001 15:40GMT |
Last Updated: June 27 2001 22:16GMT
Europe's leading banks will move a step closer to a cashless society on
Thursday when they unveil plans to turn mobile telephones into credit cards.
If the recommended technology - supported by mobile makers Nokia,
Ericsson and Siemens - catches on there will be no more fumbling for
change at the till. Instead, a second chip inside the phone will act as a credit
or debit card, communicating with tills over a built-in local network.
"I don't expect to kill cash by next year, but hopefully eventually," said Liisa
Kanniainen, vice-president of mobile banking at Nordea, the Scandinavian
bank. Nordea is one of the founding members of the Mobey Forum, which
will set out the suggested standards.
The forum is also backed by the banks UBS, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, BNP
Paribas and Barclays, among others, and by Visa, the credit card network.
The suggested standard is the first attempt to persuade banks and mobile
manufacturers to use common technology for the emerging area of mobile
payments. It involves phones with two chips - one Sim provided by the
mobile operator, as now, and one from the bank.
Security would be provided by a Pin number users would have to enter each
time they made a purchase. Initially purchases could be carried out only
online on Wap or third generation internet phones.
Once local wireless network technology becomes commonplace, the banks
hope to provide links to shops' tills so all transactions can be carried out on
the telephone.
However, early trials have also been carried out by other groups using
competing technology. Motorola, the handset maker, demonstrated a version
of its StarTac phone in 1999 which could read credit cards, allowing easy
and secure online purchases. Others have suggested adding bank software
to the telephone Sim card.
But Ms Kanniainen said banks preferred the technology adopted by Mobey
because it made the bank service independent of the telephone network.
This removed the need for banks and mobile operators to strike alliances
before the system would work, and meant customers could change bank
without changing phone company.
She dismissed concerns about the low take-up of early Wap mobile online
services. "When the third generation [fast internet] network capability is there
it will take off," she said.
Ten separate trials of the technology are due to start later in the year.
http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3N18D8H
OC&live=true&tagid=ZZZAFZAVA0C&subheading=europe
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