To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - July 11, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 08:41:57 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
8:00 PM Eastern
CNN - CLONE RANGERS - Medical achievements in cloning
technology.(CC)
DISC - BODY STORY - "Body Snatchers" - The body reacts to
foreign organisms such as a flu virus and a growing
fetus.(CC)(TVG)
9:00
CNN - CLONE RANGERS - Medical achievements in cloning
technology.(CC)
DISC - BODY STORY - "The Beast Within" - Frailty of the
human heart; alcohol affects man's brain
signals.(CC)(TVG)
HIST - SWORN TO SECRECY - "Super Guns" - The Paris gun of
World War I; Iraqi super gun; race for long-range
firepower.(CC)(TVG)
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Tzemach News items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 09:22:01 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
BARAK, CLINTON MEETING COINCIDES WITH GENEVA
CONVENTION: On the same day Barak is set to meet with Clinton,
signatories to the Geneva Convention are scheduled to gather for an
unprecedented session, at which Israel is expected to face
condemnation for its policies in the disputed territories. The meeting
is being convened specifically to discuss the enforcement of the
Fourth Geneva Convention in "occupied Palestinian territory, including
Jerusalem". It is being organized at the request of the United Nations
General Assembly, which in February voted overwhelmingly to convene
the signatories to the Convention, the treaty governing the treatment
of civilians during wartime. Of the parties to the Convention, only
Israel and the US have firmly and publicly stated that they will not
participate. The July 15 conference would be the first meeting of the
parties to the Convention for any reason since the treaty was adopted
in 1949. The Palestinians have strong support from the more than 100
countries in the Non-Aligned Movement at the UN for holding the
meeting. But some European states, Germany foremost among them, are
pushing for a delay, as the meeting would come just as Israel's new
government is being formed.
However, a week before the Convention is to be held, the meeting was
being downplayed as a "face-saving gesture", and was no longer seen as
an unprecedented deliberation of international humanitarian law,
according to an authoritative European diplomatic source at the UN.
"Something will take place - nothing exciting", the diplomat said
Wednesday. (CNS, JTA, JERUSALEM POST)
WHAT DID SHE SAY? On Thursday, Hillary Clinton demonstrated anew the
behavior that prompted Bill Safire to describe her as a "pathological
liar". In a transparent bid for Jewish votes in her newly adopted
state of New York, Hillary released a 2 July letter to the Orthodox
Union professing her commitment to Jerusalem as the "eternal and
indivisible capital of Israel" and her belief that the US embassy in
the Jewish State should be located in its capital, Jerusalem. (Not
surprisingly, the Clinton Administration immediately sought to
distance itself from Hillary's remarks.) Hillary is well-known for her
views which are opposite to her current statements:
* During the 1980's - served on the board of the New World
Foundation. Most contributions went to the PLO.
* February 1996 - hosted a reception at the White House for
leaders
of organizations with known ties to and/or who
have acted as apologists for Hamas terrorists.
* 29 January 1998 - hosted reception to mark the Muslim day when
the Ramadan fast is broken. Outside organizers included defender of
militant Islamic fundamentalism.
* May 1998 - used a television interview broadcast by the Voice of
America to declare her support for the creation of a
Palestinian state.
Hillary Clinton's record is not that of an individual committed to a
"strong and secure Israel". (CENTER FOR SECURITY POLICY)
SENATORS PROPOSE LAW SUPPORTING RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE
TOWARD MUSLIMS: US Senators Spencer Abraham and Larry Craig
are sponsoring legislation that would recognize the contributions of
American Muslims and strongly condemn anti-Muslim intolerance and
discrimination. A similar bill is expected to be proposed in the House
of Representatives. The legislation states "Islam is one of the great
Abrahamic faiths". This statement shows a complete ignorance of the
Scriptures. The only "Abrahamic faith" is that involved in the worship
of the G-d of Israel of which Islam is certainly not. Indeed, Islam
seeks to destroy the people of the G-d of Israel. One of the most
active Muslim groups in the US, the American Muslim Council, is
strongly supporting the bill. This group is an apologist for Hamas
terrorists. Abdulrahman Alamoudi, the AMC's executive director, is a
champion of Mousa Abu Marzook, the person responsible for creating the
group's death squads. The AMC considers Hamas to be a "freedom
fighting organization".
Meanwhile, US House Democratic leader Dick Gephardt has withdrawn his
appointment of a Muslim leader to a congressional panel assigned to
review US policy on terrorism. Jewish groups and several members of
Congress said the nominee had justified acts of terror against Israel
and the United States. Seven House members wrote FBI Director Louis
Freeh they had received information of statements by Al-Marayati
justifying terrorism against Israel and the United States. Al-Marayati
told The New York Times he would not withdraw. (USIA, FORWARD, CENTER
FOR SECURITY POLICY, AP)
Tzemach News Service
Week Ending: 10 July 1999 / 26 Tammuz 5759
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Australian mall using Bing Crosby to scare away loitering teens
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 09:25:54 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Australian mall using Bing Crosby to scare away
loitering teens
Copyright 1999 by Agence France-Presse
SYDNEY, July 8 (AFP) - An Australian mall has turned to Bing Crosby to
scare away loitering teenagers from its entrances, according to a
report Thursday.
The Warrawong Westfield mall in Wollongong, south of Sydney, has begun
playing Crosby's hit "My Heart is Taking Lessons" repeatedly to keep
its entrances teenager-free, The Daily Telegraph said.
And the tactic appears to be working with teenagers telling the
newspaper the "old fogey" music had driven them from their favorite
spot outside the complex.
"All the people from Warrawong High used to hang here after school -
now you don't see them," 14-year-old Matthew Wilson told the daily.
The technique could also be used by other communities with the
southern Sydney suburb of Kogarah considering blaring Bing to clear
loitering teen-agers from public areas.
The community is also considering installing pink lighting which
clearly shows pimples on teenagers' faces to discourage loitering.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - More Water from the Temple Mount photos
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 19:52:29 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
A subscriber sent the following url:
http://www.prophecyclub.com/main.html
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - What's New at BPR?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sun, 11 Jul 1999 18:48:46 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
Bible Prophecy Research
Additions and updates made since Jun 28, 1999
Number 27
July 11, 1999
===========================
Hello everyone...
Here are the latest changes to our site:
> Added: Thirteen: The Number of Rebellion
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/n-011.htm
Some believe that the origin of the fear involving the number 13 goes
back to the time of Christ at the Last Supper. In Leonardo da Vinci's
famous painting entitled The Last Supper much symbolism is apparent and
perhaps lends itself to the legend that surfaced. The painting depicts
the moment when Jesus said "Verily I say unto you, that one of you
shall betray me" (Matt. 26:21). "Fearing Jesus had discovered his
treachery, Judas draws back and knocks over a salt shaker and by that
creates a legend."
----------
> Added: The All-Seeing Eye
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-031.htm
(Gen 3:5) "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
In ancient and mythological tales (e.g., the epic of Gilgamesh),
becoming like the gods was viewed in terms of becoming immortal.
However, in biblical accounts it is understood in terms of wisdom.
-----------
> Updated: The Number 666
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/n-001-01.htm
> Updated: Flowing Water from the Foundation Stone?
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Misc_Studies/ms-027.htm
=======================
News From a Year Ago
From Morrock News Service
http://morrock.com
Jul 9, 1998 - AFGHANS TOLD -- GET RID OF TVS: Afghanistan's Taliban
government, which controls 85 percent of the country, has given the
population two weeks to get rid of all TVs, VCRs, videos and satellite
dishes, all of which it calls ``the cause of corruption in this
society.'' When the deadline has passed, armed religious police will
conduct spot searches of residences and violators will face
as-yet-unspecified punishment. . . . The government also bans women
from working and girls from going to school, forbids most music except
religious, and requires first-floor windows to be painted black to
ensure no glimpses from the street of women inside.
Jul 9, 1998 - TV, BOOKS COMPETE FOR FAMILY TIME: Spending time with
their families isn't the highest priority for Americans' leisure time,
according to a Harris Poll -- it ranks number four, behind reading,
TV-watching, and gardening. The discovery that reading is the favorite
pastime for 30 percent of the 1,007 adults surveyed, while TV was named
as favorite by only 21 percent, ought to give the networks pause. . . .
Only nine percent of those polled put team sports at the top of their
lists, barely more than the 8 percent who opt for sewing. According to
the survey, Americans have about 20 hours of leisure time per week,
roughly the same as in the previous two years.
==================
Ehud Barak, Israel's new prime minister who officially took office this
past week has certainly been busy in reviving the Wye River peace
accord. Here are some interesting quotes worthy of notice I believe:
Quotes about Barak
"Former premier Shimon Peres, named minister of regional cooperation in
the new Israeli government, told the conference that Barak 'is a man of
his word' who will 'move swiftly to the way of peace on all tracks.'"
[July 6, AFP]
"One of the first acts of Israel's Prime Minister-elect Ehud Barak
could not have been more symbolic. He bowed at the granite slabs and
steady flame that mark the grave of Yitzhak Rabin, the
warrior-turned-statesman who made peace with the Palestinians and
Jordan...Mr. Barak, Israel's most decorated soldier, was paying his
respects to the general. But he says it is the title of peacemaker that
he wants to inherit from his mentor." [July 6, Christian Science
Monitor]
"Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was in Washington last week, where he
declared Barak's rise a 'birth of a new hope' in Israel." [July 6,
Christian Science Monitor]
"[Barak] may not be the Messiah, but he's the best thing Israel's got,"
says Hirsh Goodman, the vice chairman of the Jerusalem Post. [July 6,
Christian Science Monitor]
"In the 50-year existence of the Jewish state, warriors have far
outnumbered peacemakers, and to be successful at both is rare indeed.
But Barak enters office with a strong mandate to make peace, and a
glowing military career that signals to security-conscious Israelis
that he won't sell the shop to make a deal." [July 6, Christian Science
Monitor]
"We still have a big hurdle, and that is Ehud Barak," says one Israeli
political analyst. "He's basically a hawk, and he's a very
security-minded person. Somebody who has been in the army 35 years
thinks differently than the rest of us. He has to be convinced
personally that we are not compromising on Israel's security by one
inch...Rabin passed the hurdle, but couldn't deliver the majority of
Israelis," the analyst says. [July 6, Christian Science Monitor]
Quotes by Barak
"We will not stop until we have relations of peace and friendship with
all our neighbors," Barak told the 120-member legislature, or
Knesset...[July 6, AFP]
"I extend my hand to all parties to achieve a peace of the brave," he
said, emphasizing the need both to revive negotiations with the
Palestinians, Syria and Lebanon and to strengthen ties with the two
Arab states already at peace with Israel, Egypt and Jordan. [July 6,
AFP]
"The previous government contributed to the peace process by signing
the Wye Plantation accord, but it did not have the strength to carry it
out. Our duty is to finish the job and move on to a comprehensive
peace..." [July 6, AFP]
This last statement by Barak suggesting that he will bring "strength"
to the Wye River accord is interesting to me for it reminds me of
Daniel 9:27. The word for "confirm" in that verse is "gabar" which
Strong's Dictionary defines as "to be strong; by impl. to prevail, act
insolently:--exceed, confirm, be great, be mighty, prevail, put to more
[strength], strengthen, be stronger, be valiant."
===============
We're still interested in hearing about any good books you've read.
We're also interested in your favorite study references or resources.
In particular, does anyone have any recommendations for a good Hebrew
Word Dictionary and Commentary?
================
That's it folks! Have a good couple of weeks...
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - July 12, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 08:24:16 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
8:00 PM Eastern
HIST - HOOVER DAM - The dam tames the river that
carved the Grand Canyon.(CC)(TVG)
9:00
DISC - HURRICANE X - Many scientists foresee a cycle of
violent weather patterns.(CC)(TVG)
HIST - MOON SHOT - "Moon Fever" - A history of the Apollo
space program is seen from the point of view of pioneering
astronauts.(CC)(TVPG)
10:00
DISC - MERCHANTS OF DEATH - Private arms dealers Sarkis
Soghanalian and Sam Cummings.(CC)(TVG)
TLC - SPEED DEMONS - "Fearless Fliers" - Racers try to
break record land speeds.(CC)(TVPG)
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Website Problem
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 12:16:25 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
Hi everyone...
There have been some configuration problems on our website. When a
visitor tries to view the site, it will ask you for a username and
password. This is in error. Apparently the configuration has been
changed by our ISP, and now they are having trouble changing it back.
I'm told that a "expert" is coming in tomorrow (7/13) to work on it.
Sorry for the trouble.
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israel Line items (7/12/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 18:10:22 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
BARAK, ARAFAT CLASP HANDS AT EREZ JUNCTION
Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat
met for over an hour on Sunday at the Erez junction situated between
Israel and Palestinian-controlled Gaza, THE JERUSALEM POST reported. Both
leaders exchanged symbolic gifts, the peace process was discussed, and a
sense of impending progress filled the air as both leaders clasped hands
at a joint press conference following the summit.
According to HA'ARETZ, Arafat called Barak "a friend and partner," and
agreed to Barak's request for six to eight weeks to formulate an outline
for the continuation of negotiations. According to diplomatic sources,
Israel will propose resuming talks with the Palestinians at the end of
September, after the holidays in Israel conclude and the United Nations
General Assembly convenes. Barak, additionally, reportedly desires
convening a summit meeting between himself, Arafat and United States
President Bill Clinton near the close of the second millennium, to declare
"an agreed framework for the permanent settlement," or a declaration of
principles outlining the steps toward a permanent settlement.
Arafat stressed that settlement activity is "contrary to the spirit of
peace" and called for a freeze on construction. Barak, in turn, repeated
the Government's position that while no new settlements will be built,
none will be dismantled at this point.
Senior White House sources said that Clinton hailed the Erez meeting as
"an unequivocal renewal of the peace process." A spokesperson added that
Clinton was "extremely pleased" that Barak had met with regional leaders,
and specifically with Arafat, prior to his trip to Washington scheduled to
begin later this week.
Meanwhile, THE JERUSLEM POST reported that at the Foreign Ministry, there
were the first signs of tension between Israel and the PA. Foreign
Minister David Levy told a meeting of senior officials that the conference
of the signatories of the Fourth Geneva Convention, to be held this week
in Switzerland, is a blow to the renewed peace process. Levy attributed
much of the blame for the gathering on the Palestinians, warning that it
is impossible to simultaneously "talk to us and negotiate with us" while
also "calling for our condemnation," Levy added that the conference's
cancellation will foster trust between both sides.
BARAK PROPOSES COMBINING WYE WITH FINAL STATUS NEGOTIATIONS
At his first official meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser
Arafat, Prime Minister Ehud Barak proposed combining the third phase of
the redeployment with progress toward a final settlement, THE JERUSALEM
POST reported. A senior source at the Prime Minister's Office explained
that Barak believes there are better ways to reach a satisfactory final
agreement between the sides than blindly following Wye, adding that Barak
wants to work with Palestinian leaders to devise a better framework based
on Wye, "but not prisoner to it." Arafat said at the press conference
following his meeting with Barak that Israel should "fulfill all its
responsibilities and fully comply with the agreement." Arafat, in turn,
promised to contain terrorism.
Barak stressed more than once that his Government is committed to
fulfilling the agreement signed by former Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu. He said he plans to push implementation ahead following his
return next week from diplomatic consultations with United States
President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
According to YEDIOT AHRONOT, Barak expressed optimism that "together we
will seek a way to implement the Wye agreement within the framework of
permanent status arrangements."
CABINET'S FIRST MEETING APPROVES INCREASING NUMBER OF MINISTERS
At its first official meeting since taking office, the Government on
Sunday unanimously approved the proposed bill increasing the number of
ministers from 18 to 24, and the number of deputy ministers from six to
eight, HA'ARETZ reported. Half of the 24 will serve in the inner
cabinet. Justice Minister Yossi Beilin and Attorney General Elyakim
Rubinstein presented the proposed bill, saying it had been drafted as a
temporary measure covering only the current term of office, thereby
avoiding tampering with one of Israel's Basic Laws.
According to THE JERUSALEM POST, Barak told the Cabinet that "this is a
necessity arising from a situation which those who legislated the Direct
Election Law did not foresee," adding, "The Knesset is composed of a
record number of approximately 15 factions, instead of two or three large
blocs, and thus the amendment comes as a required consequence."
When Barak visits the United States and Britain later this week, Foreign
Minister David Levy will be acting Premier, and Minister of Transportation
Yitzhak Mordechai will sit in as Defense Minister. Barak also appointed
himself three deputy premiers: Levy, Mordechai and Binyamin Ben-Eliezer.
ISRAEL RESUMES MEMBERSHIP IN GRAPES OF WRATH MONITORING COMMITTEE
Israel today resumed its participation in the committee monitoring the
Grapes of Wrath Understandings, which bar attacks on civilian sites in
both Lebanon and Israel, Israel Radio, KOL YISRAEL, reported.
Participation in the committee was halted two weeks ago by former Defense
Minister Moshe Arens, following Hizbullah-launched attacks from Lebanon on
residential areas in northern Israel. Prime Minister Ehud Barak decided
last week to abide by the Grapes of Wrath Understandings until Israel
reaches a final settlement with Lebanon.
via: Consulate of Israel - New York <nycon@interport.net>
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - The gospel according to Al Gore
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 18:28:15 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
The gospel according to Al Gore
Joe Loconte
Critics - mostly conservative - are ready to dismiss Vice President Al
Gore's recent talk about faith and values as empty presidential
sloganeering. But to do so is to neglect a profound cultural moment: a
repudiation by Democratic leaders of the antireligious mood that has
darkened liberal thought for at least a generation. Just as Bill
Clinton once declared the era of big government over, Mr. Gore now
admits that the "hollow secularism" of liberal government has run its
course.
As Gore opened his presidential bid June 17 in Tennessee, he
praised the work of religious groups in treating social ills. In an
interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, he claimed that "faith and family
are at the center of my life." And in a major speech on religion in
May, he called for a "new partnership" between church and state,
pledging to "put the solutions that faith-based organizations are
pioneering at the very heart" of his administration.
Gore joins the same choir section as most Republican presidential
hopefuls.
Over the last 18 months, for example, Steve Forbes has
repeatedly argued that free markets are not enough to sustain a
free society. What is needed, he says, is moral renewal, driven by
religious groups and religiously inspired social movements. Texas Gov.
George W. Bush has placed the efforts of religious charities near the
center of his "compassionate conservatism." No state leader, in fact,
has used his bully pulpit more effectively on behalf of the faith
community.
Yet Gore is not alone among his liberal peers. Yale law professor
Stephen Carter chides his liberal colleagues for treating religious
activism as "presumptively wicked." Joel Kotkin, writing a few years
ago in The New Democrat, was refreshingly frank: "No wound has
afflicted the Democratic Party so deeply as its divorce from religious
experience and community. In the name of opposing religious dogmatism,
it has embraced a morally relative dogma that many Americans find
shallow and uninspiring."
JULIA GRAN
To be sure, Gore himself has not completely escaped his party's
secularizing grip. In his May Atlanta speech he claimed that the
Founders "believed deeply in faith," as if the object of that faith
may as well be tapioca pudding. He fretted about the imposition of
religious values in public life, as if laws embody no moral claims.
And he warned against the proselytizing of "right-wing religion,"
forgetting that his Salvation Army audience consisted of evangelicals
who make faith in Jesus the explicit goal of their programs.
And there is a danger, of course, in the new church-state talk: the
watering down of religious commitment. "Give to Caesar what belongs to
Caesar," Jesus once counseled, "but give to God what belongs to God."
Officials at some of the largest religious charities - Lutheran Social
Services, Catholic Charities - admit that Caesar's support carries a
price: The good Samaritan is often strangled by bureaucratic rules, or
seduced into giving help without offering faith and hope.
Gore seems awake to the problem. In a move that stunned his
left-wing base, he recently backed the "charitable choice" law, a GOP
amendment to the 1996 welfare-reform package. It prevents government
from interfering in the hiring practices or religious outlook of
agencies under contract. Civil-liberties groups are trolling for a
test case. Whether it will survive a court challenge remains to be
seen. But as Peter Berger, a Boston University sociologist, warns, "he
who sups with the devil had better have a long spoon."
Nevertheless, the Gore rhetoric on religion suggests a watershed. He
correctly argues that the real aim of the First Amendment is to
protect religious freedom. He says religious approaches are overcoming
human problems left unsolved by federal programs. And he insists that
government help for faith-based charities should not invite government
control.
"We can protect against the establishment of religion," he says,
"without infringing in any way on its free exercise." For now, at
least, that deserves a hearty "Amen."
Joe Loconte is the William E. Simon fellow in religion and a
free society at the Heritage Foundation, in Washington. He is
author of 'Seducing the Samaritan: How Government Contracts
are Reshaping Social Services' (Pioneer Institute).
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/07/13/fp11s1-csm.shtml
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - A false sense of security about Y2K?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Mon, 12 Jul 1999 22:31:44 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
The Kansas City Star
By DAVID HAYES and FINN BULLERS - Columnist
Date: 07/09/99 22:15
Y2K followers are concerned that the country is being lulled into a
false
sense of security because there haven't been any high-profile,
high-impact
Millennium Bug failures.
But the false sense of security theme would be a tough sell if you live
in
New Berlin, Wis., are a passenger with Air France, a business owner in
Ohio or a widow in Japan.
In New Berlin, residents were left without water this week after a new
computer system designed to sidestep Y2K problems malfunctioned. Two
main
water tanks drained when computers failed to activate pumps to fill
them.
Residents had to ration their water.
On the same day that the Air Transport Association of America said 95
percent of its work was done, Air France stranded 4,000 pieces of
luggage
at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport. The culprit? An unsuccessful
attempt
to upgrade the airport's baggage computer system to squash the bug. Some
travelers were luggage-less for two days.
In Ohio, a new $7 million computer system in the secretary of state's
business office has so many bugs it will never run smoothly, the
Cleveland
Plain Dealer reports. New corporate filings that once took two weeks now
take two months.
And in Tokyo, stress from dealing with Y2K drove a 40-year-old man to
commit suicide, his wife said. The man routinely put in 15-hour days at
the Osaka steel sales company, where he was in charge of computer
software, she said in a court filing.
The man was ordered to ensure that more than 600 pieces of software
would
be bug-free. The work did not go well, and he would come home late and
tell his wife "I want to die," the Kyodo news agency reported. He jumped
to his death from their apartment building in February 1998. She is
seeking compensation.
Full story:
http://www.kcstar.com/item/pages/business.pat,business/3773ad14.709,.htm
l
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Church of England restores heresy trials for priests who defy doctrine
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 06:45:21 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
Tuesday 13 July 1999
Church restores heresy trials for priests who defy doctrine
By Victoria Combe, Religion Correspondent
HERESY trials for clergy are to be reintroduced to try to rid the
Church of
England of its reputation "for believing anything or nothing". For the
first time in more than 150 years, clergy who err on doctrine may be
tried
by a closed tribunal.
The General Synod agreed yesterday to the proposal by bishops to include
offences against "doctrine, ritual and ceremonial" matters in new
streamlined structures for disciplining clergy.
The last heresy trial was of the Rev A Gorham in 1847, when the Bishop
of
Exeter accused him of being unsound on the doctrine of "baptismal
regeneration". Gorham did not agree that at baptism a person is
cleansed of
original sin and born again into Christ.
Since then, clergy and bishops have been able to deviate from doctrine
without fear of punishment, giving the Church a reputation for being
loose
on doctrine. The former Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev David Jenkins,
caused
a scandal in the 1980s when he said that he did not believe in the
Church's
doctrine on Christ's bodily Resurrection.
A code of practice drafted by the bishops says that clergy who profess
atheism or deny the doctrine of the Trinity or the Incarnation should be
disciplined.
The new legislation will replace the cumbersome Ecclesiastical
Jurisdiction
Act of 1963, which has been used only three times and never for heresy.
The
consistory courts of the 1963 Act are seen as outdated and expensive and
will be replaced by tribunals to be held in private. The judgments will
be
made public.
The tribunals, based on the industrial model, are intended to be
cheaper,
quicker and to protect the Church from the embarrassment of a public
trial.
The Ven Robert Reiss, the Archdeacon of Surrey, argued against heresy
tribunals, saying that they would unleash "evil spirits" into the
Church.
He dismissed a claim by the bishops that such trials would be rare. Many
people who thought that they had "the greater grasp on doctrine" would
bring complaints against vicars with whom they disagreed. Margaret
Brown,
from Chichester, supporting the more rigorous disciplinary measures,
compared the clergy to double-glazing salesmen.
"What person would have their house double-glazed by a man who said that
his firm was no good and the glass does not fit?" she asked. "He should
be
fired."
Ian Garden, a barrister from Blackburn, questioned the bishops'
decision to
replace the criminal verdict of "beyond reasonable doubt" with the civil
one of "on the balance of probabilities". He said: "Only when the
standard
of proof is fixed can we be assured of fairness".
The Rev Stephen Trott, of Peterborough, said that the 1963 Act was
unworkable and allowed "bad apples" to hide behind its inadequacies. The
synod referred the proposals legislation to the revision committee,
which
will prepare a fresh draft for the November meeting.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=000140326706927&rtmo=pQbUhhhe&atmo=p
QbU
hhhe&pg=/et/99/7/13/nher13.html
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Tinkering with the DNA on your dinner plate
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 07:02:51 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
Tinkering with the DNA on your dinner plate
By Scott Allen, Globe Staff, 07/11/99
SLAND FALLS, Maine - They look like all the other potatoes that blanket
the
farms in northern Maine: knee-high green plants with white flowers,
stretching out in neat rows across the rust-colored soil.
But Arthur Shur's potatoes are in the vanguard of one of the fastest and
most controversial transformations of American agriculture since the
rise
of pesticides after World War II. Depending on whom you believe, they
offer
either the best hope ever to feed the world or the danger of a new era
of
biological pollution, threatening the health of anyone who ingests them.
They may well spark a trade war with Europe, too.
Unlike ordinary potatoes, Shur's crops contain something extra, extra
genes
borrowed from bacteria and viruses in an effort to build a better
potato,
one more resistant to bugs, disease, even droughts. Created in a
specially
constructed laboratory behind Shur's storehouse, these potatoes even
secrete a substance to kill beetles that munch on their leaves.
When Monsanto Co. approached him five years ago, ''I said, `This is
unbelievable.' The new technology is just mind boggling,'' said Shur,
60,
who built the lab for Monsanto to do potato experiments on his land. ''I
thought it was the future, and I still think it's the future.''
Just five years after US approval of the first genetically modified
food -
a tomato - that future is rushing to supermarket shelves, though not all
consumers realize it. Fifty-six genetically modified farm products are
on
the market, most developed by a few corporations such as Monsanto and
DuPont, and hundreds more are under development.
Already, some ice cream and cookies contain soybeans injected with a
gene
from petunias to help make them resistant to herbicides. Certain brands
of
vegetable oils and baking powder contain corn treated with a bacteria
gene
to resist pests. Potato chips and French fries contain Monsanto's
beetle-
resistant potatoes.
Add the 15 percent of the US milk supply that comes from cows injected
with
Monsanto's synthetic hormone to increase output, and you have the
makings
of a revolution in the food supply. By some estimates, up to 60 percent
of
the foods in the grocery store contain an ingredient made by the booming
food biotechnology industry.
Yet, even though US regulators insist that these new foods are as safe
and
wholesome as conventional products, a growing number of people fear that
the manipulation of food's genetic structure has opened a Pandora's box.
European nations, especially Great Britain, have balked at the new
foods,
fearing that all the gene crossing will produce unpredictable results,
such
as foods that are toxic to people or dangerous to the environment. A
recent
Cornell University study, for example, shows that pollen from a
genetically
modified product called Bt corn is toxic to monarch butterflies.
''Genetic modification takes mankind into realms that belong to God and
God
alone,'' Prince Charles, perhaps the most famous critic of genetically
modified food, declared last year.
Full story:
http://www.globe.com/dailyglobe2/192/nation/Tinkering_with_the_DNA_on_yo
ur_
dinner_plateP.shtml
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Misc Headlines
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 10:11:42 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
July 12-13, 1999
Torrential Hungary rains kill six, 1,600 homeless
BUDAPEST, Hungary (Reuters) -- Torrential rain in Hungary has claimed
six
lives and forced more than 1,600 people to leave their homes, government
officials and press reports said on Tuesday. Nationwide flooding caused
by
four days of rain has washed out roads, disrupted rail travel and
inundated
whole towns in the most severely affected northeastern county of Heves.
---------------
UN Warns on Somalia Starvation Risk
ROME (AP) -- More than 400,000 people in the African nation of Somalia
risk
starvation due to civil war, disease and drought, a U.N. agency said
Monday. A protracted civil war has left Somalia without a central
government for nine years. The country is dominated by warlords who have
turned it into a battleground. Food shortages are chronic.
----------------
UN Warns of Food Crisis in Ethiopia
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) -- Warning of humanitarian disaster, U.N.
agencies appealed Monday for emergency relief for 5 million Ethiopians
threatened with starvation. Drought has struck in several parts of the
country and driven millions from their homes, six U.N. agencies said in
a
joint statement. In northeastern Ethiopia, the drought was compared to
one
in 1984, which led to a devastating famine that killed hundreds of
thousands of people.
via: Newmill <hblonde1@tampabay.rr.com>
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - July 13, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 14:10:03 -0500
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
8:00 PM Eastern
PBS - NOVA - "To the Moon" - Astronauts, scientists and
engineers chronicle the Apollo projects and landing on the
moon.(CC)(TVPG)
9:00
CBS - 60 MINUTES II - A secret city in Russia
manufactures tons of plutonium; Warren Beatty; Grand Central
Station changes.(CC)
HIST - MOON SHOT - "Bridge to the Moon" - American
astronauts nearly lose their lives in an attempt to go to the
moon.(CC)(TVPG)
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Geneva cathedral to welcome Dalai Lama
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Tue, 13 Jul 1999 16:45:06 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
--- begin forwarded message ---
From: Alan Morrison <AM@diakrisis.com>
To: Diakrisis Mailing List <AM@diakrisis.com>
Date: Tuesday, July 13, 1999 6:50 AM
Subject: Dalai Lama Meets John Calvin
Dear Friends:
There is something distinctly landmarkish about the forthcoming
preaching of the Dalai Lama on Sunday August 8th in Geneva's St.
Pierre Cathedral. Four hundred years ago it was John Calvin who
preached there Sunday by Sunday. Now it is the turn of the Dalai
Lama. This is a clear sign of the times.
A full report from the World Council of Churches News Service,
"Ecumenical News International", is as follows (my own responsive
remarks follow that):
---------------------
Ecumenical News International
ENI News Service
7 July 1999
In quest of religious tolerance, Geneva cathedral to welcome
Dalai Lama
By Edmund Doogue, Taipei, 7 July
Geneva's St Pierre Cathedral is to welcome the Dalai Lama,
spiritual leader of Tibet's Buddhists, to preach at a Sunday
service on 8 August.
Between 5000 and 15 000 worshippers are expected to attend the
service at the 12th-century building in Geneva's Old Town, which
in the 16th-century became the church of John Calvin, the most
influential thinker in Reformed Christianity. The event is the
latest in a series which indicates a growing role for the
cathedral - one of the most important places in Reformed church
history - as a centre for inter-faith dialogue.
The cathedral's dean, Dr William McComish, told ENI that an
inter-faith committee, with support from the cathedral, had been
formed to arrange the Dalai Lama's visit. Dr McComish, who is
also general treasurer of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches
(WARC), spoke to ENI in Taipei where he is attending a meeting of
WARC's executive committee.
"His Holiness the Dalai Lama will be welcomed to Geneva by a non-
political committee chaired by Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan. The
committee includes representatives of the major religions," Dr
McComish said.
The present Dalai Lama - the 14th incarnation, according to
Tibetans -while respected world-wide for his spiritual
leadership, is in political terms a controversial figure because
he has become a symbol of the wishes of many Tibetans to be free
of Chinese rule. The history of Tibet has been closely
intertwined with that of China since at least the 7th century,
and in 1950 Chinese communist forces reasserted claims to the
territory. In 1959, the Dalai Lama who is the traditional
religious and temporal head of Tibet, fled Tibet for India, where
he established an alternative government. Since that time, he has
travelled extensively to speak about Buddhism and to campaign for
Tibet's independence.
Asked if the Beijing government had tried to prevent the Dalai
Lama from visiting, Dr McComish told ENI: "We - the cathedral
clergy -understand that the People's Republic of China has
certain reservations about an official welcome to the Dalai Lama
on Swiss territory, but they have not interfered with the
invitation to the cathedral in any way. They have not got in
touch with us at all."
"We have invited him as a spiritual figure, not as a political
leader."
Asked by ENI how a leader of a faith which does not believe in a
personal God or a saviour could be invited to preach at a
Christian cathedral, Dr McComish replied that the cathedral had a
long tradition of cooperation with Geneva's Buddhists, who had
already participated in services at St Pierre. "We recognise the
spirituality of the Dalai Lama, and we consider it part of
Reformed and Presbyterian liberty to enter into the spirit of his
convictions in the hope that our meeting him and worshipping with
him will increase our understanding of our own Christianity."
Dr McComish stressed that the cathedral enjoyed good relations
with Geneva's Roman Catholic hierarchy, Geneva's mosque, liberal
Jewish community, Buddhists and other groups, and had a long-
standing involvement in inter-faith dialogue.
The cathedral's inter-faith role had grown since last September
when it organised, on an inter-faith basis, the main memorial
service following the crash of Swissair flight 111 - from New
York to Geneva - off Canada's Atlantic coast, in which all
passengers and crew died.
"All of the communities in Geneva lost someone in that crash," Dr
McComish said. "The fact that we were able to organise the
service within 36 hours was due to the fact that all the leaders
from many faiths who came were old friends."
The cathedral was becoming, he said, "a home for a new religious
centre to experience understanding between the world's major
faiths. By centre I mean a middle-ground between all extremes - a
place where ordinary people of all faiths can feel at home."
"The point," Dr McComish told ENI, "is that in each of our
[religious] traditions we are under pressure from extremist or
conservative or fundamentalist groups, the kind of right-wing
Jewish stuff from Israel or extremist views from Northern
Ireland. Someone asked [referring to the Dalai Lama's visit] why
we were inviting a pagan.
"We cannot afford to leave the religious high ground to the
extremists. This has nothing to do with syncretism," said Dr
McComish, referring to those who criticise inter-faith dialogue
as a mixing of religions which weakens Christianity. "There is no
loss of identity. We invite people as they are, we do not invite
them under 'certain conditions'."
Dr McComish said that the cathedral's role as a centre for inter-
faith dialogue was in keeping with its past. As well as being the
church of John Calvin, the 18th-century philosopher,
educationalist and writer Jean-Jacques Rousseau was baptised in
the cathedral, and US statesman Woodrow Wilson and the Swiss
founder of the Red Cross, Henri Dunant, worshipped at St Pierre,
which belongs to the National Protestant Church of Geneva.
William McComish, who is 56 years old, is originally from
Northern Ireland, where he was ordained as a minister in the
Presbyterian Church in Ireland. Twenty years ago he came to
Geneva for security reasons after serving as chaplain during a
troublesome period in Northern Ireland in a women's prison which
housed terrorists. Originally appointed to serve a two-year term
as a minister, he has remained in Geneva ever since. He holds a
degree in political studies from Trinity College, Dublin, and a
doctorate in Reformation studies from the University of Geneva.
He told ENI that his views on the need for tolerance had grown
largely from his period in Northern Ireland. "I saw that
'religion' was increasingly being used to divide humanity. It is
essential that the visible members of the great religions
demonstrate that they are capable of coming together, and praying
together. This is the only dynamic that will help the great bulk
of humanity to perceive the richness of the other person, rather
than seeing the other person as a threat. We've got to start
somewhere - so where better than the St Pierre Cathedral as a
symbolic building.
---------------End of ENI News Report----------------
Alan Morrison writes in response:
It is extraordinary that the Dean of St. Pierre's should say "We
recognise the spirituality of the Dalai Lama, and we consider it
part of Reformed and Presbyterian liberty to enter into the
spirit of his convictions in the hope that our meeting him and
worshipping with him will increase our understanding of our own
Christianity."
Carrying out some research into the Dalai Lama's background is a
revealing exercise. This religious leader engenders some
sympathy in the West because of the treatment of his countrymen
at the hands of the Chinese Communist army in 1959. To the
world, he seems to be a respectable religious and patriotic
leader with a gentle disposition. In these non-judgemental,
multi-cultural, pluralistic times it would appear that there is a
general reluctance to raise a question about the spiritual
credentials of such a man. We do not seek to make ad hominem
statements against the Dalai Lama here; we are merely attempting
to expose a fundamental spiritual deception - to take issue with
the illusion that at the heart of all the world's religions lies
a kernel of truth which is indistinguishable from that of
Christianity. This we must deny emphatically, if we are to be
faithful to the Bible. Even in Evangelical circles today, it is
becoming increasingly common to disclaim the fact that eternal
salvation is withheld from those who embrace religions other than
Christianity.
The Dalai Lama's religion is known as 'Lamaism'. So we ask: what
exactly is Lamaism? The answer will surprise many. Lamaism is a
politico-religious derivative of the Tibetan version of Buddhism,
which was first introduced into Tibet twelve hundred years ago by
one Padma-Sambhava, who brought with him a mixture of "the
Madhyamika system of Nagarjuna modified by the alaya-doctrine of
the Yoga-cara school, and in association with the magical and
occult practices of the Tantrayana (mystical formularies)"
[Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Vol.II (George Newnes, 1963), p.645].
This, in itself, represents a heavy blend of demonic influences.
But the development of Lamaism in Tibet comes through a further
amalgamation of the above three Buddhist schools with the
indigenous Tibetan shamanism [Ibid. Shamanism can be defined as
'the religion of N. Asia based essentially on magic and sorcery'
(Chambers's English Dictionary), although the term has come to be
used to describe any religious system involving these two
elements].
In the thirteenth century, an actual Lama hierarchy was set up,
and the theory was later put forward that the Dalai Lama (English
meaning: Ocean-Like Supreme One) was "a reincarnation of the god
of mercy, Avalokiteshvara, whose famous spell (i.e., mantra)
'Aum-Mani-Padme-Hum' is inscribed on prayer-wheels throughout
Tibet" [Ibid. A mantra is a verbal formula with breathing
techniques which is chanted repetitively during Eastern
meditation to release latent forces which will allegedly induce a
mystical experience of the divine. This has been discussed
earlier in Chapters 9 and 10].
Each successive Dalai Lama is alleged to be a reincarnation of
his predecessor, and the 'Vice-Regent' on earth of the Buddha.
He is also regarded by his followers a s 'infallible'. When a
Dalai Lama dies, his successor is chosen by prophetic revelation
from the male infants of the country born shortly after his
death. The present incumbent, Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyamtsho,
received the following selection of names at his initiation
ceremony: "The Holy One, the Tender Glory, Mighty in Speech, of
Excellent Intellect, of Absolute Wisdom, Holding the Doctrine,
the Ocean" [Chambers's Encyclopaedia, op. cit., Vol.XIII, p.621].
By any standards, this is a somewhat overblown claim for any
human being to make concerning himself, and must surely give
credence to the fact that the Dalai Lama has received an
initiation far beyond his mere installation as the Dalai Lama.
Ever since his exile from Tibet, the Dalai Lama has been
travelling around the world to gather support for his interfaith
syncretistic dream. In terms of the development of interfaithism
within the Ecumenical Movement, one of his foremost triumphs was
a high-profile meeting with the World Council of Churches in
Geneva in July 1985 [The Times, July 12th 1985].
I have often alluded to the fact that Tibetan Buddhists
(including the Dalai Lama) are awaiting a World Teacher called
Bodhisattva Maitreya to come to establish "a reign of peace and
justice" on the earth -a name which corresponds precisely with
that of the World Teacher and 'Ascended Master' expected by the
New Age Movement of today. It would be worth going into that a
little here, for it forms a significant backdrop to the extensive
development of Interfaith religion today.
An interesting and significant fact is that this concept of a
coming World Teacher who sets up a Golden Age on earth can be
found in many world religious systems as well as in the
literature of the occult. At present, numerous religious
groupings are living in such an expectation. For example, the
Shi'ite Muslims believe that 'God has designated a line of the
family of 'Ali to act as sources of spiritual guidance to the
community' [John R. Hinnells, ed., The Penguin Dictionary of
Religion (Penguin, 1984), p.161]. The various members of this
family line are known as 'Imams'. However, in the ninth century
the twelfth of the line disappeared, and this led to a hiatus in
the manifestation of the Imams. However, 'the Shi'is now await
the return (raj'a) of the expected Imam, who will re-establish a
reign of justice and peace on earth' [Ibid., pp.162-164]. The
significance to world events of this expectation of the Mahdi, as
he is called, should not be missed. For the Shi'ites believe
that "towards the end of the world, before the Last Day (Qiyama),
a Mahdi, often identified with the returned Jesus, will establish
a reign of justice on the earth. In Shi'ism the Mahdi is a vital
figure, identified with the Hidden Imam who will reappear and
rule by divine prescription" [Ibid., p.198].
The Ayatollah Khomeini was a Shi'ite Muslim and his Iranian
Revolution of 1978-9 was a Shi'ite-inspired event. It is worth
noting that after this Revolution, the Ayatollah Khomeini became
recognised as 'Vilayat Faqih' or supreme temporal representative
in Iran of the Hidden Imam or Mahdi who is still to come [Ibid.,
p.58]. The power of the Shi'ites worldwide is enormous. If a
World Teacher was to appear who could fulfil their expectations,
his powerbase would be immense. But it is not only the many
millions of Shi'ite Muslims who are expecting a World Teacher to
establish a reign of peace and justice on the earth.
There is yet another interesting connection here: In the ideology
of the New Spirituality, the etheric retreat where the 'Ascended
Masters' are reputed to live is referred to as Shambhala. In the
religion of Tibetan Buddhism, the same name of Shambhala refers
to "a mystic kingdom ruled by the lineage holders of the
Kalachakra Tantra (Wheel of Time Tantra). It is said that King
Suchandra of Shambhala received this Tantra from Buddha in the
latter's eightieth year and entrusted it to his successors, the
last of whom, Rigden Pema Karpo, is expected to return and
establish Shambhala as a universal kingdom" [Ibid., p.294].
Once again, we discover in yet another religion this idea of a
coming World Teacher who sets up a Golden Age on earth. Let us
remember here that the Tibetan Buddhist Dalai Lama, who is so
influential among the adherenyts of the New Spirituality today,
occupies a similar role to that of the Ayatollah Khomeini in
terms of being the 'supreme temporal representative' of the
Buddha, until the coming of the Maitreya to 'establish Shambhala
as a universal kingdom'. In anticipation of this occurrence, the
Tibetan Buddhist organisation known as Vajradhatu, with its
headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, has set up an imprint entitled
the 'New Science Library Series of Shambhala', which publishes
many titles propagating the New Gnosticism.
Another important factor to recognise, in relation to the global
expectation of a World Teacher who will usher in a Golden Age on
earth, is that the Jewish people of the world are still awaiting
their Messiah (Hebrew, Mashiyach) to bring a reign of peace and
justice on earth. This fact takes on sinister proportions when
one considers that enigmatic statement of the Lord Jesus to the
Jews that, although they would not accept Him as Messiah, "if
another comes in his own name, him you will receive" (Jn.5:43).
Here we begin to gain an insight into the true identity of this
World Teacher expected by so many of the world's religions. As
Augustine of Hippo (A.D. 354-430) rightly states, concerning the
words of the Lord Jesus to the Jews in Jn.5:43: "He intimated
that they would receive Antichrist, who will seek the glory of
his own name" [Augustine of Hippo, Tractates on the Gospel
According to St. John, Tractate XXIX, section 8].
Numerous other cults and groupings hold beliefs which are
significant to this concept of the coming World Teacher. Among
them, the American Indian Hopi tribe has been lending support to
the spiritual timetable of the Neo-Gnostics. We have mentioned
earlier the special dates which were given by Hopi prophecy as
being auspicious to the approaching quantum leap in evolution
which is associated with the coming of the World Teacher. Another
fact pointed out by the New Spirituality people is that all the
prophecies of the Mesoamerican Mayan culture -- for whom they
have great admiration --culminate in the year A.D. 2011, by which
time they expect their earthly millennium to have been well-
established.
Discerning Christians believe that the credentials of this
universally awaited World Teacher are startlingly close to the
Bible's portrayal of the Antichrist. The role of the Dalai Lama
in this process is therefore very revealing. It is no
coincidence to find in a book published by the New Age Findhorn
Foundation, entitled "Spiritual Politics", that the dedication is
to a couple of the "Ascended Masters" (Djwal Khul and Morya),
while the foreword has been written by the Dalai Lama.
Now we know a little bit about the Dalai Lama and his
connections. And this is the man who has been invited to preach
in John Calvin's old church in Geneva! The Dean there says he
recognises "the spirituality of the Dalai Lama". So do we, but
with different eyesight! He also hopes that meeting the Dalai
Lama and worshipping with him will increase his understanding of
his own Christianity. I am certain that will be the case. For
his Christianity, in common with many others in the world at this
time is based on New Age interfaith teachings rather than the
historic understanding of the faith.
All this has great ramifications for our future. For alongside
of the growing respectability of Interfaithism is going to come
the increasing marginalisation of true Christianity and a massive
upsurge in the persecution of believers. Not only will this
apply to believers in general, but you will witness an increasing
number of prominent Christian spokesmen and women publicly
belittled, slandered, lied about, and treated in a disgraceful
fashion -- all in order to discredit them (and thereby discredit
the faith). We are only at the very beginning of this process.
The world thinks that the preaching of the Dalai Lama in Geneva
is a sign of peace and brotherhood. The true Church knows that
it is a sign of apostasy, of hostility to Bible Christianity, and
of impending chaos.
Please remember that all this is not meant to depress us so that
we lose heart, but to equip us so that we are not taken by
surprise when the 3 o'clock knock comes. Remember also that,
historically, persecution of the church has meant growth of the
church in both strength and numbers. Maybe in the sleepy West we
could do with some more of that right now!
Your servant, in Christ Jesus,
ALAN MORRISON
Diakrisis International
AM@diakrisis.com
====================================================
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--- end forwarded message ----
via: "Watch Unto Prayer" <timbarbaho@msn.com>
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - BPR site back up
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 08:57:56 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
Hi folks...
Well, the bpr website (http://philologos.org/bpr) appears to be up and
running again this morning. Sorry for the trouble and the confusion.
Have a good day!
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Website Problem Revisited
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 11:36:46 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
Hi again...
Sorry to bother everyone again with this, but I'm getting reports that
the window asking for a username and password is still showing up at
the bpr site. It's a mystery how or why that window appeared in the
first place. Anyway, to possibly correct the problem this time, try
clearing the cache in your browser or clicking on the "reload" or
"refresh" button on your browser, since you may be bringing up the old
page. If that doesn't work, try rebooting your machine (has something
to do with the IP address being cached by Windows). If that doesn't
work... well, if that doesn't work, I'm all out of suggestions, sorry.
<g>
Let me hear from some folks as to whether this helped or not.
Thanks,
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - July 14, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 14:47:12 -0500
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
8:00 PM Eastern
FOX - DRAGONHEART *** (Sci-Fi/Fantasy, 1996) -- A medieval
dragonslayer teams up with his intelligent prey to rid the land of an
evil despot who betrayed them.
HIST - MONUMENTAL STATUES - The Sphinx; Colossus of
Rhodes; Statue of Liberty; Mount Rushmore; Crazy Horse
Memorial; Rio's Christ the Redeemer; Kiev's
Motherland.(CC)(TVG)
9:00
DISC - DISCOVER MAGAZINE - "Protecting the Presidents" - A
set of systems and structures are designed to protect U.S.
presidents.(CC)
HIST - MOON SHOT - "Go Fever" - Three astronauts lose their
lives in a disastrous Apollo mission.(CC)(TVPG)
9:30
TBN - JACK VAN IMPE PRESENTS
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Hope for brain chip breakthrough to help disorders
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 14:49:37 -0500
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
http://www.abc.net.au:80/news/state/sa/archive/metsa-12jul1999-4.htm
Hope for brain chip breakthrough to help disorders Monday 12 July,
1999 (6:23am CST)
A world expert is predicting Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases,
schizoprehnia and other common disorders will be treated next century
with
the implant of a brain chip instead of chemicals.
Bob Bishop is chairman of the Geneva-based Silicon Graphics World
Trade Corporation and was one of 14 international guest speakers at
the weekend's Festival of Ideas in Adelaide.
Mr Bishop says while the chip implants are going to create ethical
dilemmas, they are expected to solve some medical ones.
via: islm@onelist.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Central Europe Online (7/14/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 14:50:22 -0500
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
ROMANIA PUTS CONDITIONS ON TREATY WITH RUSSIA
BUCHAREST -- Romania will not sign a post-communist treaty with
Russia unless certain conditions are met, a senior parliamentarian was
quoted as saying on Tuesday.
http://www.centraleurope.com/news.php3?id=78886&text
EU SEES SLOVAKIA NEGOTIATING ENTRY AT YEAR'S END
BRUSSELS -- The European Union executive body said on Tuesday it
expected Slovakia to be admitted to formal talks on membership to the
bloc
at the end of the year.
http://www.centraleurope.com/news.php3?id=78884&text
MONTENEGRO'S OFFER TO SERBIA CHALLENGED BELGRADE --
Montenegro's bid to gain equal powers with Serbia in Yugoslavia
faced its first challenge on Tuesday when a junior partner in the ruling
coalition rejected the proposal on the eve of talks in Belgrade.
http://www.centraleurope.com/news.php3?id=78876&text
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Joan Rivers Hopping Mad
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 14:51:12 -0500
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
JOAN RIVERS HOPPING MAD:
Comedian Joan Rivers went ballistic on the air Monday night after a
commercial for controversial religious group Jews for Jesus aired on her
WOR radio show, reports the New York Post. "Do not prostyletize on my
show, you a**holes!" Rivers ranted after coming back from a commercial
break where the ad was played. "I am going to say right now that I am
against this. I find this disgusting to put on my show!" she said.
via: TVGuide Insider <tvguideinsider@TVGUIDE.COM>
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Radiation from computers blamed for workers' sickness
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Wed, 14 Jul 1999 14:52:18 -0500
From: moza@butterfly.mv.com
RADIATION FROM COMPUTERS BLAMED FOR WORKERS'
SICKNESS
13 July 1999 17:37
Computers are making office workers sick by flooding their bodies
with harmful radiation, researchers said today.
They were said to be responsible for a host of symptoms, ranging
from fatigue to backache and depression.
More than a third of the ailments normally blamed on "sick building
syndrome" were caused by low frequency radiation from computer
monitors, it was alleged.
With a range of nearly 20 feet and the ability to penetrate eight feet
of
concrete, even a computer in a neighbouring office presented a potential
hazard.
Symptoms included headaches, dry itchy eyes, tiredness and fatigue,
aching backs, necks and limbs, rashes, coughs and sneezes,
depression, irritability and loss of concentration and memory.
A study showed that in any four working weeks, 50% of staff in a
typical office equipped with computers experienced between seven
and 12 such symptoms.
Environmental experts Professor Derek Clement-Croome from Reading
University and consultant John Jukes made the discovery while
testing a new device designed to counter the effects of radiation from
visual display units (VDUs).
One hundred people working in separate wings at the offices of
Southampton and South West Hampshire Health Authority in
Southampton were involved in the study.
The devices, which sit on top of the computer screen, were given to 50
staff working in one wing for a month, while the rest received a dummy.
After four weeks the devices were switched round, but no one knew
which were real and which fake until the results were recorded at the
end
of the study.
When the real devices were operating, the number of symptoms fell by
between 27% and 44%, with an average reduction of 36%. As soon as the
were
taken away, the symptom level shot up again.
Mr Jukes said: "The results were surprising. We didn't expect to get
anything like a 36% reduction in symptoms.
"The conclusion is that low frequency magnetic fields account for
over a third of so-called sick building syndrome."
The researchers were surprised to find that the radiation appeared to
produce purely physical symptoms, such as back and neck ache, as well as
those commonly associated with stress and environmental factors.
The health authority was deliberately chosen because of the
"informed scepticism" of its staff, many of whom had medical
backgrounds, and the fact that the office did not have air
conditioning.
Air conditioning systems have in the past been blamed for "sick
building" problems.
Although the symptoms were not severe enough to cause absence
from work, they affected personal well-being and productivity.
Mr Jukes said: "So common is the pattern that most people tend to
regard it as just part of life.
"They may complain about the air conditioning, the lighting, or their
desk
and chair, but since no one knows quite what to do the problem
remains."
He stressed that the radiation had a range of 18 feet and could not be
blocked out. It was able to pass through a concrete wall eight foot
thick.
"A VDU below you or on the floor above, or in an office next door,
could have an adverse effect," said Mr Jukes.
Low frequency radiation induces small circulating currents in the body
which are said to mimic and confuse bio-electrical functions, affecting
cell division and making the immune system less efficient.
The u67 Tecno AO device developed in France emits a signal that boosts
the
body's own beneficial electromagnetic fields.David Little, head of
corporate services at Southampton and South West Health Authority, said:
"We welcome the findings of the study team and are very pleased that
staff
seem to feel healthier when a live device is fitted to their VDU. As our
staff have been so cooperative the researchers have agreed to let us
keep
the devices, and we hope that they continue to improve the wellbeing of
people working here." David Little, head of corporate services at
Southampton and South West Health Authority, said: "We welcome the
findings of the study team and are very pleased that staff seem to feel
healthier when a live device is fitted to their VDU. As our staff have
been so cooperative the researchers have agreed to let us keep the
devices, and we hope that they continue to improve the wellbeing of
people
working here."
c Press Association
http://www.lineone.net/newswire/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi/skynews/uk/story/
1999/7 /c--1999-7-13-4n15.html_
via: isml@onelist.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - July 15, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 08:44:22 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
8:00 PM Eastern
HIST - THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA - Historians, engineers
explore the ancient structure.(CC)(TVG)
9:00
DISC - SCIENCE MYSTERIES - "Between Life and Death" -
Scientists describe near-death experiences with medical
terminology.(CC)(TVG)
HIST - MOON SHOT - "... And Never Give Up" - Neil Armstrong
and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon.(CC)(TVPG)
10:00
DISC - DIVINE MAGIC - "Dreams of Gold" - Alchemy; the story
of Paracelus.(CC)(TVG)
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today (7/14/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 09:22:04 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
China says it has technology to develop neutron bomb
Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: AP
Thu Jul 15,1999 -- Seeking to further discredit U.S. allegations that
it stole American nuclear weapons technology, China said Thursday that
its scientists had long ago developed their own neutron bomb. China
exploded its first neutron bomb 11 years ago, something widely known
in the international community. However, in keeping with the secretive
nature of China's military establishment, apparently no public
announcements were made by officials or the state-run media. In a
presentation intended to refute accusations by a U.S. congressional
committee that China had stolen such technology, chief government
spokesman Zhao Qizheng noted that Chinese scientists had developed a
neutron bomb on their own. Threatened by the Cold War nuclear arms
race between the United States and the Soviet Union, ``China had no
choice but to carry out research and development of nuclear weapons
technology and improve its nuclear weapons systems, mastering in
succession the neutron bomb design technology and the nuclear weapon
miniaturization technology,'' Zhao said. Zhao noted that since China
had already mastered atom bomb and hydrogen bomb technology, it was
``quite logical and natural for it to master the neutron bomb
technology through its own efforts over a short period of time.'' The
spying allegations made by the congressional committee, headed by U.S.
Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Calif., have led China to document in greater
detail than before its own weapons research and development programs.
Zhao characterized the findings of the committee's report as ``utterly
absurd'' and ``racist,'' saying the implication was that the Chinese
would not have been able to develop advanced technology without
resorting to theft -- ``The Chinese can't be as smart as the
Americans, therefore they must have stolen the technology,'' Zhao
said.
China threatens Taiwan with force if it declares independence
Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: AP
Thu Jul 15,1999 -- Vowing to defend every inch of Chinese territory,
China's military today threatened to use force against Taiwan if
President Lee Teng-hui declares independence on the island. In a
sharply worded commentary run in newspapers nationwide, the military's
newspaper, the Liberation Army Daily, said the armed forces stood
ready to enforce a long-standing government policy to attack Taiwan,
if need be, to uphold China's claim to the island. The commentary
echoed warnings delivered Wednesday and carried in newspapers today by
Defense Minister Chi Haotian. Chi, a career political commissar in the
military, said the People's Liberation Army would ``smash any attempts
to separate the country.'' The rhetoric is the most aggressive used by
China's leaders since Lee provoked Chinese outrage Saturday by
suggesting that China and Taiwan are separate, equal countries. The
tone also underscored the military's strengthened hand over
policy-making since NATO bombed the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia two
months ago.
UN meeting on Jewish settlements to proceed without Israel, US
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: TampaBay online (AP)
Wed Jul 14,1999 -- A UN-ordered conference on whether Jewish
settlements in the West Bank violate the Geneva Conventions was set to
take place after negotiations Wednesday, although Israel and the
United States were not expected to take part. The session will open as
scheduled Thursday at the United Nations' European headquarters. But
the format and goals of the closed-door conference as well as who will
lead it remained open, Swiss Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Yasmine
Chatila said. The meeting is the result of a 115-2 vote by the UN
General Assembly in February to convene a meeting of signatories to
look at the Geneva Conventions on the conduct of war. Switzerland was
called on to arrange the meeting. Palestinian officials insisted the
conference go ahead. Israeli and US officials have said their
countries, which pushed for the session to be canceled, won't attend.
The meeting ``is not conducive to good diplomacy'' at a time when
there is new hope for the Mideast peace process, said Yitzhak Mayer,
Israel's ambassador to Switzerland. Earlier Wednesday, Palestinian UN
observer Nasser al-Kidwa said the conference probably would be brief
but would ``absolutely not'' be a symbolic exercise. Nabil Shaath, the
Palestinian planning minister, said the conference should back the
assertion that the Geneva Conventions apply to Israeli-occupied
territory and set a date to review Israel's compliance. It should
approve a resolution stating that "Israel as the occupying power must
immediately stop all violations of the conventions" concerning land
Israel seized during the 1967 Mideast War, including the West Bank and
east Jerusalem, he said. The Palestinians assert Israel's settlement
activity violates the Fourth Geneva Convention's prohibition on
population transfers in occupied territories. Israel considers all of
Jerusalem as its capital and says its claim to the West Bank, site of
the heaviest settlement construction, is as solid as Palestinian
claims. Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan.
Ehud Barak, Israel's new prime minister, supports withdrawing from
West Bank land in exchange for peace with the Palestinians, who hope
to establish an independent country. Barak has pledged to revive the
ailing peace process. "It seems to be a slap in the face of these
efforts to get together a conference which nobody wants, which nobody
believes is going to serve any practical purposes," Mayer said.
US should scale back role in Mideast says Barak
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: TampaBay online (AP)
Wed Jul 14,1999 -- On the eve of his first visit to Washington as
Israel's prime minister, Ehud Barak said the United States should
scale back its role as ``policeman and judge'' in Mideast peacemaking.
Barak also said that while he would resume an Israeli troop pullback
in the West Bank suspended by his hard-line predecessor, Benjamin
Netanyahu, he would not stick to the tight timetable stipulated by the
U.S.-brokered Wye River land-for-security agreement. Under the accord
signed in October, the Palestinians were to assume full or partial
control of 40 percent of the West Bank before heading into talks on a
permanent peace agreement with Israel. Netanyahu halted the
three-stage troop withdrawal after the first phase, charging that the
Palestinians were not keeping their promise to crack down on Islamic
militants. "Clearly implementation of Wye should begin so they (the
Palestinians) will see that something has changed, and that we are
determined to move and not just to speak," Barak told The New York
Times. "But full implementation now is too risky. It would reduce our
chances of achieving permanent peace." Barak apparently wants to
resume talks with the Palestinians on a permanent peace agreement
after the second Wye troop pullback. Arafat's reaction has been
ambiguous. After meeting with Barak on Sunday, Arafat said at one
point that he expected Wye to be implemented in full before final
status talks could begin, but then seemed to leave open the
possibility of partial implementation. Barak said regardless of
progress in the final status talks, he would eventually set a date for
a third pullback. He told The Washington Post that he hoped to
complete the withdrawal by the end of the year. The Wye agreement gave
the United States an unprecedented role in monitoring implementation -
a result of the deep distrust between the PA and the Netanyahu
government. The Clinton administration only reluctantly stepped up its
involvement. Barak said while he considered the United States to be a
major partner in peacemaking, it should stop acting as "abitrator,
policeman and judge. I don't think the CIA should be involved in
counting the number of policemen in the Gaza Strip to check up on the
Palestinians," Barak, a former army chief, told the Times. He said
redefining the U.S. role was one objective for his meetings with
President Clinton.
Clinton reiterates stance on refugees
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz
Wed Jul 14,1999 -- Clinton reiterates stance on refugees U.S.
President Bill Clinton has reiterated the stance that the question of
Palestinian refugees is an issue to be settled by Israel and the PA
without the intervention of any third parties. Clinton expressed these
views in a letter to the Anti-Defamation League, prompted by ADL
Director Abe Foxman's protest at his comment two weeks ago that the
"refugees should have the right to live wherever they wish."
Initially, Clinton had dispatched National Security Adviser Samuel R.
Berger to do the damage control. But when Foxman called for a personal
clarification, Clinton sent the letter. "Let me assure you that there
has been no change in U.S. policy on this matter," Clinton wrote. "My
position and the position of this Administration is clear: The issue
of Palestinian refugees must be dealt with and resolved by the parties
themselves. This reflects the longstanding U.S. view that all
permanent status issues are to be negotiated by Israelis and
Palestinians, without prejudgment by any outside party. "I thank you
for this opportunity to clarify my position on this subject.
Sincerely, Bill Clinton
Clinton awaits Barak as a boy awaiting a toy
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arutz 7
Wed Jul 14,1999 -- Prime Minister Ehud Barak is on his way to
Washington, after meeting with Turkish President Demirel in Jerusalem
this morning. Barak, who met last night with Jordan's King Abdullah,
told the Washington Post yesterday that the anticipations raised by
his election had best be lowered, and said that the negotiations with
the Palestinians will be "tough." As if to place Barak's suspicions in
bold relief, a senior State Department official said that the U.S. has
"high hopes" from Barak. Clinton, with whom Barak will meet four times
during the week-long visit, is looking forward to Barak's trip, saying
today, "I'm as excited as a little boy with a new toy." Itim
correspondent Yoram Levy said today that the Americans are making
extensive efforts to ensure the success of the visit, including a
large dinner at the White House for Mr. and Mrs. Barak and an
overnight stay with the Clintons in Camp David. "Hanging in the
background is $1.2 billion that was promised to Israel if the Wye
Agreement is carried out," noted Levy. He observed that the Prime
Minister's office is happy with the pleasant relations forged at the
recent meetings with Arab leaders Mubarak, Arafat, and King Abdullah,
"although this is no more than should be expected for a new Prime
Minister in his first talks with regional leaders."
Barak's meeting with King Abdullah
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire
Wed Jul 14,1999 -- PM Ehud Barak met with King Abdullah of Jordan, at
the King's Aqaba residence Tuesday night. The atmosphere at the
meeting was warm and positive, with an emphasis placed on the close
partnership between Israel and Jordan. The Prime Minister updated the
King on his meetings with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and PLO
Authority (PA) Chairman Yassir Arafat; King Abdullah briefed the Prime
Minister on his recent meetings in Damascus. The two leaders agreed to
remain in contact during the Prime Minister's visit to the United
States and thereafter. During the meeting, the Prime Minister and the
King conducted an exchange of views and ideas with regard to advancing
the peace process in the spirit of both the late King Hussein and late
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Also discussed, during talks between the
expanded Israeli and Jordanian delegations, were issues relating to
bilateral Israeli-Jordanian relations -- including the Aqaba airport,
water, future cooperation and the strengthening of relations between
the two countries -- and the possibility of promoting the Peres Center
for Peace project to create an oncological hospital in Naharayim, with
an initial investment of $7 million. According to Prime Minister
Barak: "Jordan's role in the region is exceptionally important -- as
demonstrated by its contribution to efforts toward resuming the
negotiations with the Palestinians, and by the example it offers for
the establishment of peace in the Middle East."
Israel ready to call an 'End to the State of Emergency'
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire
Wed Jul 14,1999 -- Justice Minister Yossi Beilin stated on Tuesday
that he intends to bring an end to the 'state of emergency' which has
remained in effect since the establishment of the State of Israel in
1948. Beilin, who is among the more outspoken proponents of Oslo and
making concessions if need be to achieve a peace treaty with Syria,
has indicated he has already ordered his ministry to prepare
legislation if the need arises for a national referendum regarding the
final status talks with the PLO Authority (PA) and a deal with Syria
that would impact the Golan Heights.
Israeli Environmental official concerned over critical water shortage
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire
Wed Jul 14,1999 -- Minister of Environmental Affairs MK Dalia Itzik
warned of the dangerously low water level in Israel as a result of the
significantly less than normal winter rainfall. Experts in government
agencies and among the research community are calling on the
government to declare a state of emergency and implement stringent
water saving measures. Experts also point out that if the coming
winter does not yield significantly more than a normal season's
rainfall, the situation in the region next spring and summer will
reach an unprecedented critical level.
Huge Y2K test conducted by U.S. military
Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: AP
Wed Jul 14,1999 -- The Pentagon is finishing what is believed to be
the largest-ever simultaneous test of computer systems to make sure
Year 2000 problems won't prevent delivery to the troops of anything
they need. The Pentagon said Tuesday it had identified, and quickly
fixed, three minor glitches in its enormously complex computerized
logistics network. The weeklong test was expected to conclude today.
Technical experts built a duplicate network -- what they called a
``parallel processing environment'' -- then rolled those computer
clocks forward to simulate the week following Feb. 28, 2000. ``What
we're seeing is the ultimate in testing,'' said John Koskinen,
chairman of President Clinton's Year 2000 commission. The Defense
Department needs to watch how its systems behaved during the date
rollover from 1999 to 2000, and it needs to make sure computers will
recognize the next leap year. Zach Goldstein, the department's
director of logistics information systems, said the test will prevent
officers on the battlefield from neglecting to request extra
ammunition ``because your computer systems have the wrong date.'' The
test involved 44 military computer systems and more than 1,000 people
in 22 locations, including five Navy ships. None of the computers
being tested this week was closer than 50 miles to Washington.
Turkey wants Israeli-Syrian peace
Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: Reuters
Wed Jul 14,1999 -- Turkey said Wednesday it would welcome renewed
peacemaking between regional neighbors Israel and Syria despite its
own grievances with Damascus. Turkish President Suleyman Demirel made
the remark after meeting Prime Minister Ehud Barak and President Ezer
Weizman on the first day of an official visit to Israel. The timing of
his visit, just one week after Barak took office, underscored the
importance that mainly Muslim but secular Turkey and Israel attach to
their bilateral ties. ``If you are talking about a third country such
as Syria, Syria is not our enemy, (it is) our neighbor. If Israel
settles the problem with Syria, we'll be very happy,'' Demirel told
reporters at news conference with Weizman in Jerusalem. Analysts have
said Turkey, whose relations with Israel have blossomed in recent
years, was uneasy about Israeli-Syrian peace talks, fearing an accord
would harm Turkish interests. Barak, who met Demirel early Wednesday,
said the fact that the Turkish president was the first foreign leader
to visit since Israel's new government was formed last week
``symbolizes the close relations between the two countries.'' Israel
and Turkey signed a military pact in 1996 that reversed years of
frosty ties. The agreement, which opened the door to joint military
exercises, lucrative arms deals and intelligence sharing, caused
concern in neighboring countries that have disputes with both Israel
and Turkey -- Syria, Iraq and Iran. Israel has fought three wars with
Syria and keeps a large garrison on its border. Turkey is locked in a
range of disputes with Damascus over water, territory and alleged
support for separatist Kurdish rebels. Israeli analysts tend to view
the common threat from Syria as the main motive for the
Israeli-Turkish alliance. scientist Amikam Nachmani, an expert on
Turkey, wrote in a recent article that Turkey fears Israeli-Syrian
conciliation would free Damascus to send more troops to its border
with Turkey. Demirel meets Peres and other Israeli officials Wednesday
and Thursday before travelling to the Gaza Strip Friday for talks with
Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
Locusts invade Uzbekistan, ravage vast acreage of crops
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: TampaBay Online (AP)
Wed Jul 14,1999 -- Locusts have ravaged crops over 815,000 acres of
Uzbekistan, a Russian news agency reported. The pests have also been
wreaking havoc in neighboring Kazakstan and Russia. Bakhtiyer
Olimzhonov, deputy prime minister for agriculture and water resources
in the Central Asian nation, said the locusts had come into Uzbekistan
from Kazakstan and were destroying vast swaths of cropland, Interfax
reported Tuesday Russian authorities recently reported that locusts
had also crossed into Russia from Kazakstan, and were speeding north
at a rate of about 30 miles a day.
'Dramatic' rise in Jewish exodus from Russia
Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: TampaBay Online (AP)
Wed Jul 14,1999 -- The exodus of Jews from Russia has increased
dramatically and could bring the largest number of Russian Jews to Israel this year
since the early 1990s, Israeli immigration officials said Wednesday.
In the first six months of 1999, 12,188 Russian Jews came to Israel,
an increase of 129 percent from the same period last year, said the
Jewish Agency. "A dramatic turn of events has taken place in Russia,"
said Jewish Agency chairman Sallai Meridor. "If the trend continues,
the number of Russian Jews might reach 30,000, the largest immigration
figure since 1992," Meridor added, noting that only about 14,000
Russian Jews settled in Israel in 1998. Russian Jews are pushed to
emigrate by concerns about their homeland's weak economy, political
fears and anti-Semitism, officials said. Immigration to Israel from
the entire former Soviet Union, including Russia, also was up and
could total about 60,000 people this year, compared to 47,000 in 1998.
Some 800,000 former Soviet Jews have moved to Israel since 1989, when
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev adopted more liberal emigration
policies. The exodus brought some 185,000 people to Israel in 1990 and
148,000 in 1991, the year of the Soviet Union's collapse, but the
number had declined steadily ever since. Jewish Agency officials said
they had expected a certain increase in Jewish immigrants following
last year's economic crisis in Russia, home to an estimated 600,000
Jews and their family members. Meridor declined to directly link the
increase to a recent wave of anti-Semitic attacks in Russia, such as
the May blasts at Moscow's main Choral Synagogue and another synagogue
in the capital and anti-Jewish outbursts by some Russian lawmakers. A
Jewish activist was stabbed Tuesday at the Choral Synagogue. However,
surveys among recent arrivals from Russia found anti-Semitism ranking
the third reason for emigration, after concern for the future of
children and the "desire to live among our people".
via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Lucent unveils wireless network technology using light beam
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 09:33:21 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Lucent unveils wireless network technology using light beams
July 15, 1999
BY BRUCE MEYERSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK -- A technology using light beams to carry data through
the air offers a new way to meet Internet demand in cities where
digging up streets for cables is too costly.
Lucent Technologies, the former research and equipment arm of
AT&T, unveiled the OpticAir system Wednesday, saying it transmits
data 65 times faster than the next-fastest wireless system, which
uses radio waves.
The back-pack sized transmitters could provide a powerful new way
for operators of Internet "backbones" -- networks of fiber-optic
cables that carry data around the world -- to handle an ever-
increasing torrent of business traffic.
Lucent said it expects to offer the technology for sale within a
year.
OpticAir converts data, voice and video information into a laser
beam, shooting it through a two-inch wide lens. The signal
travels between roof-tops or office windows and is then passed
back to a fiber-optic cable for the rest of its journey.
There are drawbacks like those encountered with a microwave
system: The laser signal can't travel more than three miles and a
direct line-of-sight is required between transmitter and
receiver.
And much like a wireless microwave system, OpticAir is not a
practical alternative for individual consumers. The equipment
involved with either system carries too high a price and far too
much data for most people to afford or need.
Recently, demand for new capacity has been doubling every three
or four months at Uunet, a unit of MCI WorldCom that's one of the
biggest backbone operators in the world.
Most of that growth is coming from businesses, although consumers
are adding to the demand by subscribing to new high-speed
services being offered through cable TV wires and so-called
digital subscriber lines using regular copper phone wires.
While the new technology doesn't offer nearly as much capacity as
fiber-optic cables, it does provide a lower-cost alternative to
the often-complex task of installing new underground lines in
urban areas -- where demand is growing fastest.
"At some point, there's no more capacity in the ground and no
more right of way, especially in older metropolitan areas," said
Lisa Pierce, an industry analyst for Giga Information Group.
Wireless transmission "is a lot a cheaper than going the ground
route," said Pierce. Even if a landlord charged exorbitant rates
to put wireless equipment on a rooftop, it would still be cheaper
than putting new cable in the ground, she said.
The OpticAir system can simultaneously transmit at different
wavelengths -- or colors -- of light, each carrying distinct
streams of information.
Global Crossing, a company that has been building and buying
fiber-optic systems to create a global network, will be the first
company to test the OpticAir system, starting in December.
The capacity provided by the new technology "could offer a
breakthrough method to help our global customers bypass local
bottlenecks and offer leading-edge services," said Wally Dawson,
a Global Crossing executive.
Lucent, based in Murray Hill, N.J., said other applications for
OpticAir might include sending data across a corporate or college
campus, as well as for temporary data links during special events
such as live broadcasts of concerts.
http://www.freep.com/tech/qtchw15.htm
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Book angers Vatican
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 07:27:15 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
June 28, 1999
Retired prelate is accused over Vatican exposé
By Bruce Johnston in Rome
A BOOK which claims to expose corruption, blind ambition,
cronyism and sexual shenanigans in the Vatican has enraged Church
authorities, who accuse an elderly prelate of its authorship.
The Roman Rota or ecclesiastical tribunal, acting on a report by
someone claiming to be an injured party, alleges that Mgr Luigi
Marinelli wrote Via Col Vento in Vaticano (Gone with the Wind in
the Vatican), and has ordered him to appear for questioning with
a lawyer. The prelate, who retired last year from the
Congregation for Eastern Churches, has also been told to withdraw
the book from circulation, and to halt any translations.
The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
formerly the Inquisition, is also said to have opened a case
against Mgr Marinelli over the alleged violation of Vatican
secrets.
The name of the author appearing on copies of the book published
by Kaos Edizioni of Milan is "I Millenari", meaning the
Millenarians. But the Rota says that Millenari is also an anagram
of "Marinelli". Mgr Marinelli, while not denying involvement, has
replied that the book was clearly co-authored, and claims that he
is a scapegoat.
The book, which names many of those it accuses, also again
questions whether the death of Pope John Paul I was natural, and
discloses the back-stabbing that went on in the fight for one of
the Vatican's highest posts.
It talks of cartels of power in the Vatican and of one monsignor
regularly locking himself in his Vatican office at night with
handsome young men "to do urgent work", and of a prelate being
caught at the Swiss border with suitcases stuffed with dollars.
One "elderly priest" showered so many presents on influential
people in Rome that he became known as "Father Christmas" until
one of his beneficiaries had him made a bishop, at the age of 72.
He then "squandered millions", and various items of diocesan
property mortgaged by him, including the bishop's palace and
cathedral, were sold.
"When he died, it was discovered that he had passed them to his
natural son, who had never stopped blackmailing him," the book
says.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=001801733226889&rtmo=0X2Je0Xq&atmo=9
9999999&pg=/et/99/6/28/wvat28.html
------------
July 15, 1999
Corruption 'rife in Vatican'
By Bruce Johnston in Rome
AN Italian prelate who co-authored a book about alleged
widespread sex, power and cronyism inside the Vatican said
yesterday that Satan had "entered the Church".
Luigi Marinelli said he would not be attending a hearing tomorrow
to answer for the book, Gone With the Wind in the Vatican, as
ordered by the Sacred Roman Rota, the Holy See's highest appeals
court. He told Italian state television news: "I won't be
attending because I don't want to blow the matter up any
further."
In another interview, he said the move against him was absurd and
"mistaken in method and merit". It ignored his rights under Canon
Law to discuss the matter first with his superiors. The book
accuses the Vatican of careerism, Freemasonry, sex and
corruption. It has sold 100,000 copies since its publication in
Italy in February. The Vatican's reaction has merely fuelled
demand.
The Vatican has taken steps to stop the pro-homosexual
campaigning of a priest and a nun in America. Robert Nungent and
Jeannine Gramaick have been told that they are to be punished by
the Sacred Congregation of the Faith for their "ambiguous
opinions".
http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/et?ac=001801733226889&rtmo
=Lib3Ghid&atmo=99999999&pg=/et/99/7/15/wvat15.html
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - The famine that didn't happen
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 07:34:13 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
THURSDAY JULY 15 1999
The famine that didn't happen
© 1999 WorldNetDaily.com
In the early 1930s there was a famine in the Soviet Ukraine that
killed 13 million people. Kremlin officials long denied that any
such famine took place. In those days, the Soviet Embassy in
Washington reported that the Ukraine had the lowest death rate of
any Republic in the USSR, that its population was growing at 2
percent a year. How could there be a famine?
Many Western journalists and intellectuals supported Moscow's
claim. The British writer, George Bernard Shaw, traveled
extensively in Russia and the Ukraine. Feeling certain that the
famine was sheer anti-Soviet invention, he mercilessly ridiculed
those who said that millions were starving. He wrote, "I did not
see a single under-nourished person in Russia, young or old. Were
they padded? Were their hollow cheeks distended by pieces of
India rubber inside?"
Sadly, Shaw was mistaken. The terror-famine of the early 1930s
was all too real. The Kremlin created this famine in order to
exterminate a politically unreliable section of the population.
Like Shaw, the West accepted Moscow's lies. Evidence was ignored
and testimony was suppressed. Only a generation later did the
truth finally emerge in all its gory detail.
Of course, Soviet Russia has changed and now we have the Russian
Federation. It is only a matter of inheritance that both these
states are governed by liars, though the liars have curiously
reversed themselves. Under Soviet Russia the pattern of
disinformation was to hide weaknesses, atrocities, and ethnic
problems. On the other hand, under the Russian Federation the
pattern of disinformation serves to expose weaknesses,
atrocities, and ethnic problems. This is what KGB defector
Anatoliy Golitsyn calls the "weakness and evolution pattern" in
Russian strategic disinformation. According to Golitsyn, with
this approach "real and artificial weaknesses in the system are
emphasized; readjustments and solutions are presented as
failures. ..."
Why present yourself as weak when you are strong?
According to the Chinese general, Sun Tzu, "All warfare is based
on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable;
when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near,
we must make the enemy believe we are away; when far away, we
must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the
enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him."
In the 1930s Soviet Russia was at war with the West. Since all
warfare is based on deception, the Kremlin regularly used
deception to fool the West. The same logic applies to the Kremlin
today. It remains at war with the West. Therefore, its
pronouncements are deceptive. In this respect, nothing has
changed in Russia.
What we have seen in the 1990s as opposed to the 1930s, is a
parade of stories about Russia's weakness. We are shown pictures
of Russia's rotting navy. We see the dilapidation of the army. We
read of Russia's defeat in Chechnya. We are shown the economic
despair of the people, the profound failures on every front.
Russia is depicted as a mess, chaos -- on the verge of civil war.
In this context, Russia announced last autumn that it was
suffering its worst famine in 40 years. As it happened, the
harvest shortfall was only one dimension of the problem. Russia's
concurrent financial crunch meant that food imports were in
serious decline. In other words, the Russian people were facing
starvation. The Western reaction was immediate. "It is in our
interest," said Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman, "to make sure
that Russians are fed through the winter."
As news of the alleged famine unfolded, a few of us in the West
noted serious inconsistencies in Moscow's agricultural
statistics. Some of us concluded last October that the famine was
probably a hoax, that the Kremlin's objective was to obtain
excess grain and food for stockpiling in nuclear war bunkers.
Such stockpiling conforms to an observed pattern of Russian
military preparations.
Naturally, those of us who distrusted Moscow's famine reports
were ignored. Our arguments were said to be overly paranoid. The
U.S. Congress believed the famine was real. The CIA raised no
objections to the famine relief package. Consequently, the
Clinton Administration sent Russia more than a billion dollars
worth of food. Western Europe sent Russia an additional $400
million in food.
Was the famine real or not?
On Monday The Washington Post reported that Western famine relief
to Russia had been unnecessary. The 5 million metric ton
shortfall that Moscow had predicted turned out to be a 2 million
metric ton surplus. According to the Post article, out of 89
regions in Russia only the Magadan region (in the Siberian Far
East) reported food shortages over the winter.
U.S. officials dare not admit they were duped. Like officials of
the 1930s who could not admit they were wrong about the Ukraine
terror-famine, today's officials are incapable of seeing reality.
Even now, new lies are being created to replace the old. This
year, Moscow is again claiming an agricultural disaster. This
time it is drought and locusts.
What is alarming about Moscow's famine swindle is the West's
gullibility and the apparent bankruptcy of our intelligence
community. If Russia's worst famine in 40 years did not happen,
then what of Russia's supposed nuclear disarmament? What about
the state of Russia's navy and army?
The evidence of widespread and continuing Russian deception is
overwhelming. The evidence of Western incompetence is also
overwhelming.
J.R. Nyquist is a WorldNetDaily contributing editor and author of
'Origins of the Fourth World War.'
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_nyquist/19990715_xcjny_the_famine.s
html
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Fires and Grasshoppers in Russia destroy over 2.5 million acres
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 07:46:09 -0500
From: owner-bpr@philologos.org
MOSCOW, July 14 (AFP) - Fires and grasshoppers have ravaged tens
of thousands of hectares (acres) of the taiga, as natural
disasters mount in Russia's worst heatwave this century, ITAR-
TASS reported Wednesday.
Fires have destroyed some 31,000 hectares (77,000 acres) of the
taiga, a huge belt of coniferous forest between the Siberian
steppes and the Arctic tundra. Authorities have counted more than
1,100 separate fires in the taiga since the summer began.
[.. edit..]
Meanwhile, grasshoppers have invaded more than 200,000 hectares
(500,000 acres) of farmland in the taiga and a million hectares
(2.5 million acres) all over Russia, wiping out entire harvests.
High temperatures have destroyed the vegetation that Russian
grasshoppers usually feed on, forcing them to look for food
elsewhere.
In a situation the emergency ministry has described as
"catastrophic," regional authorities are running out of
insecticide -- their only means of battling the bug invasion.
[..edit..]
http://asia.yahoo.com/headlines/140799/world/931949760-
90714105602.newsworld.html
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - The Four Freedoms
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 13:29:49 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
The Four Freedoms
Four historical freedoms are mentioned by Rabbi Eliezer in connection
with Rosh Hashana:
* On Rosh Hashana it was Divinely decreed that the long barren Sarah,
Rachel and Chana would bear children. * On Rosh Hashana Yosef was
released from prison. * On Rosh Hashana our ancestors in Egypt were
released from their work as slaves. * In the month of Rosh Hashana --
Tishrei -- the final redemption of our people will take place.
The source for all these freedoms is the shofar. Just as the sound of
the shofar on Yom Kippur of the yovel year signals the freedom of
Hebrew slaves, so does the shofar blast on Rosh Hashana every year
signal freedom from the evil inclination which causes man to sin.
Freedom from the power of evil is the wellspring for all of the
aforementioned four freedoms. Human bondage is not limited to chains.
Physical handicaps, political oppression and economic dependence are
all forms of bondage. It was only natural then that on Rosh Hashana,
the day of freedom from sinful desire, three great women should be
released from the physical handicap of childlessness. This pattern is
repeated with the release from political oppression, expressed in
Yosef's release from prison in which he was so unjustly incarcerated.
It reaches national proportions when our ancestors are released on
Rosh Hashana from the bonds of economic dependence on their Egyptian
slavemasters.
But the ultimate national freedom is yet to come, and it too will be
ushered in with the sound of the shofar. "And it shall come to pass
on that day the great shofar will be blown" (Yishayahu 27:13). This
is the sound of the shofar which will mark both the end of Israel's
subjugation to other nations and human subjugation to the temptations
of evil.
Rosh Hashana 11a-b
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Two New Songs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 13:29:49 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
The Passover Haggadah speaks of two new songs of rejoicing, one in
the feminine form and one in the masculine. We introduce Hallel, the
psalms of praise for the Exodus, by calling it a new song, spelled
with the feminine suffix Hei. The song of Messianic Days, however,
is...in the masculine form. Before Hallel, when we are about to thank
God for redeeming us from the Egyptian bondage, we use the feminine
form to suggest that the redemption was incomplete, as it was
followed by other exiles and sufferings, each more painful than the
preceding one. This as yet unended chain of national suffering is
similar to labor pangs which ease up for a short period only to be
followed by more severe pains. Indeed, the tribulations of Israel are
called the birthpangs of the Messiah. After Hallel, we pray for the
complete and final redemption of the Messianic era, which will
finally bring everlasting peace and complete happiness to the world.
In the prayer, which alludes to the period after the advent of
Mashiach when the pangs will have stopped, the masculine form is used
(Tosafos, Pesachim 116b).
BOOK: The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet
AUTHOR: Rabbi Michael L. Munk
--- BPR
BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pop radio is a real mouthful
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 13:59:58 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
Pop radio is a real mouthful
Chicago - Radio-playing lollipops give new
meaning to pop music. Tiger Electronics teamed
up with toy candy-maker Sound Bites to make
Pop Radio, a lollipop holder that plays FM
radio stations that can be heard only by the person sucking on the
candy. The radio sends vibrations through the lollipop and the sound
travels through your teeth and directly into the inner ear.
http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/07/15/fp14s4-csm.shtml
========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Israel Report items 7/17/99
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 14:15:52 +0000
From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>
DEMIREL OFFERS TO SELL ISRAEL WATER (Haaretz 7/15/99)
Turkey could solve Israel's chronic water shortage by sending enormous
water-filled plastic bubbles hauled by tug boats across the
Mediterranean Sea, Turkish President Suleyman Demirel suggested
yesterday. Demirel said a project already in place could supply Israel
with 180 million cubic meters (6.3 billion cubic feet) of water a
year, and a new effort could yield four billion cubic meters (140
billion cubic feet) annually in the future. That would meet Israel's
needs "several times over," he said, adding, "Israel should take into
consideration that we can supply water." Israel and Turkey are already
close military allies, and the relationship would become even stronger
should Turkey turn into Israel's major water supplier. Many Arab
countries in the region, especially Syria, watch the Israeli-Turkish
ties with great concerns, fearing the alliance could eventually
dominate the Middle East. Demirel yesterday began a two-day visit to
Israel, to be followed by a one-day trip to the Palestinian areas
tomorrow. Demirel met with Prime Minister Ehud Barak and President
Ezer Weizman. "It's a matter of price and conditions," said Demirel,
standing under an awning outside the president's official residence.
Israel's minister for infrastructure, Eli Suissa, has ordered a new
study about building water desalination plants to solve the problem in
the long run. But Demirel said his water "must be much cheaper than
desalination." Weizman indicated that the Turkish solution could not
be implemented in time to save the orchards and crops. He said Barak
would go to Turkey with a team of experts to study the prospects. A
date for Barak's trip has not been set. Demirel discussed Middle East
politics and bilateral issues with Barak. Demirel plans visits to
Israeli industries to check on joint projects and the aircraft plant
where Israel is upgrading Turkish Air Force Phantom fighter planes.
Answering Arab criticism of his country's military ties with Israel,
he said the relationship is "not an alliance," and is not directed
against any other country.
BARAK AND NAVA, DODGING STATE, HEAD FOR LOVE FEST WITH THE CLINTONS
(Aluf Ben, Haaretz 7/13/99) The White House's bag of tricks and
gestures buried deep in a back drawer during Benjamin Netanyahu's term
as prime minister will be taken out in honor of Ehud Barak's
Washington visit. The spin-doctors will be working overtime to make
good on the promise of "an unprecedented reception" for Israel's new
prime minister. In the coming week, the Israeli media will be flooded
with stories about the mutual love between the Clintons and the
Baraks. Their intimate dinner at Camp David will be exhibited as a
high point in Israeli-American relations, with Ehud playing Chopin
preludes on the ivories and Hillary holding thoughtful discussion with
Nava about the importance of education in the future of the nation.
The planned production in Washington this week could also be called
"The Rabin Retro Show." Barak is setting out on his victory tour of
America in expectation that his host will appoint him successor of the
prime minister who paid for peace with his life. In his warm-up shows
with Hosni Mubarak and Yasser Arafat, Barak already made a point of
repeatedly referring to his work with "my commander and mentor, a
great Israeli leader," and he committed himself to continue in his
footsteps. The Arab leaders lauded their good relations with Yitzhak
Rabin and Shimon Peres, although Barak was careful not to mention the
Minister of Regional Cooperation. Creating contact with Clinton lies
at the center of Barak's Washington visit. Their work sessions have
been split into two meetings and between them, the Americans will try
to send optimistic message to Arab leaders in order to bolster the
diplomatic profile of the visit. Barak insisted on launching the visit
with a meeting with Clinton, refusing preparatory sessions with
administration officials. The White House, led by National Security
Advisor Sandy Berger, took over command of the visit, relegating
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and her staff to the sidelines.
This is indicative of the president's involvement. Barak shifted the
two embassies aside, sending his chief of staff, Danny Yatom, ahead to
prepare the visit. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Edward Walker, who
according to estimates from Barak associates bet on a Netanyahu
victory in the elections, has not yet succeeded in obtaining an
audience with the prime minister, and was yesterday sent for his first
meeting with Foreign Minister David Levy. Barak has in mind the model
of the first Rabin-Clinton meeting held on March 15, 1993. Although
both sides had some trepidation about the meeting because of the
differences in ages and personal background - the ex-chief of staff
facing the draft dodger - the chemistry was instantaneous. Personal
chemistry is very important in diplomacy. Clinton instructed the
administration to move the peace process forward but to avoid
confrontations with the prime minister. Rabin moved along on the peace
process in the knowledge that the king of the hill was watching out
for him and would not do anything behind his back. Netanyahu was at
odds with Clinton from the outset, thereby losing his diplomatic
coordination with Washington, which started cooperating with Arafat.
Barak wants to guarantee American backing before he starts
negotiations on the final status settlements with the Palestinians and
Syrians and to be careful that Clinton's bear hug does not turn into
pressure for concessions. Barak's success seems assured. The political
situation in Washington appears tailor-made for him. The president,
nearing the end of his second term, is looking for a foreign-policy
triumph and perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize before retirement.
Additionally, a cast of supporting stars has aspirations for the year
2000. These include Vice President Al Gore, who asked to have lunch
with Barak; Hillary Clinton, running for Senate, who wants to move the
American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, unlike her husband's
decision of a month ago; and of course the members of the Senate and
Congress, whom Barak will meet with on Monday. The most enthusiastic
requests for meetings with Barak came from the delegations from Texas
and Missouri, the home of the large F-15 and F-16 jet factories,
between which Barak will have to decide for Israel's next air force
acquisition deal. The Missouri voters are the most concerned, because
their factories are in danger of closure should Barak decide on the
F-16. But efforts to present him as successor cannot hide the fact
that Barak is not Rabin and the difference between them will be
especially obvious on Barak's visit to America. Rabin came with a
history. He had been ambassador to Washington and had a generation of
American diplomacy behind him. Barak is a dark horse to the Americans.
His English is unpolished despite his studies at Stanford, and his
commando escapades do not impress his hosts much. He will try to use
the visit to become a household name in America and on Sunday will
make the rounds of the talk shows. Although as head of the opposition
Barak avoided meetings with senators and members of congress, now he
understands the importance of good relations with Capitol Hill. "His
test will be this summer when dozens of members of congress and
governors will visit in Israel," said an Israeli diplomat. Upon his
return, Barak will have to staff the key posts of ambassador to
Washington and Consul General in New York, his contact person with the
Jewish community. Sending personal envoys like Yatom for talks with
the administration cannot replace station