To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Apr 1, 19999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 08:58:52 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

8:00 PM Eastern

 DISC - CYBERCOPTER - The military shifts emphasis from fire
   power to technological superiority.(CC)(TVG)

 HIST - SCOURGE OF THE BLACK DEATH - In 1348 the
   bubonic plague kills millions in
   Europe.(CC)(TVG)

 TLC - MEDICAL DETECTIVES - "Crime Seen" - DNA tests
   are used to exonerate an accused
   rapist.(CC)(TVPG)

9:00

 ABC - THE CENTURY - Hitler rises to power; the race to
   build the atomic bomb.(CC)

 A&E - THE UNEXPLAINED - "Secret Societies" -
   Freemasons; re-creation of a Skull and Bones initiation rite
   at Yale.(CC)(TVG)

 DISC - BURIED ALIVE - Many leave wills instructing delayed
   burial to avoid being buried alive.(CC)(TVPG)

 HIST - MILITARY BLUNDERS - "Hitler's Flying Blunders;
   Death at Stalingrad" - Military miscalculations; Goering
   rebuilds the Luftwaffe; Hitler obsesses over taking
   Stalingrad.(CC)(TVG)

10:00

 PBS - FRESCO - Illustration of St. Thomas Aquinas' seven
   virtues; narrator Susan Sarandon.(CC)(TVG)

 DISC - MYSTERIES OF THE UNEXPLAINED - "Power of the
   Paranormal" - The nature of psychic powers; telepathy;
   telekinesis.(CC)(TVG)

 HIST - AIR FORCE ONE: A HISTORY - A profile of presidential
   planes includes aircraft construction, outfitting and
   operations.(CC)(TVG)

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pat Robertson eyes 'cooler' bible
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 09:02:00 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

*** Pat Robertson eyes 'cooler' bible

NEW YORK (AP) - It was quite a holy coterie: gospel singers, tap
dancers and Pat Robertson introducing a "cooler" Bible. In what is
being billed as "the largest Bible-reading campaign in the history of
America," the TV preacher hit the stage Wednesday at Grand Central
Terminal. "We want to make Bible reading cool in America," said
Robertson, introduced by actress Lynn Whitfield as strobe lights
flashed across the ceiling of the station's Vanderbilt Hall. TV ads
for "The Book" - in both a hip-hop and a country-western version -
feature Smokey Robinson, MC Hammer, Chaka Khan, Andrae and Sandra
Crouch, Charlie Daniels and Naomi Judd. The ad campaign is costing $7
million. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2559011260-2f3

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russia Today items (4/1/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 09:03:56 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

RUSSIA SAYS BALKAN CRISIS SPREADING
MOSCOW -- Russia's foreign and defense ministers said on Thursday the
Kosovo crisis was spreading beyond the borders of Yugoslavia and that
Moscow was preparing new unspecified measures to help end the
fighting. http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/1999040101.html?text

RUSSIA CONFIRMS CFE PROGRESS AMID KOSOVO CRISIS
MOSCOW -- Russia confirmed on Thursday NATO and other European states
had agreed a deal that opens the way for the Conventional Forces in
Europe (CFE) treaty to be adapted to the post-Cold War era.
http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/1999040102.html?text

IRAQI PAPER TRIES RUSSIAN NUKE APRIL FOOL
BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi newspaper played to some of its readers' dreams on
Thursday with a front-page report that Russia had made a nuclear
threat against the United States, only to disappoint them by revealing
it was just an April Fool.
http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/1999040110.html?text

YELTSIN WOOS UKRAINE OVER YUGOSLAV CRISIS
MOSCOW -- President Boris Yeltsin said on Thursday the Yugoslav crisis
made closer cooperation between Russia and Ukraine an "urgent task,"
Russian news agencies said.
http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/news/1999040112.html?text

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - EU and Asian Nations Plan Expanded Cooperation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 1 Apr 1999 14:56:44 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

EUROPEAN UNION AND ASIAN NATIONS PLAN EXPANDED
COOPERATION; FISCHER LINKS HUMAN RIGHTS TO DEVELOPMENT

The European Union and ten Asian nations agreed this week in Berlin to
supplement their extensive economic ties with an "intensification of
political dialogue." What holds for the world of finance also applies
already for many of new security issues - terrorism, drugs, computer
net security, global warming - Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer
observed as he opened the one-day "Asia-Europe Meeting" (ASEM) Monday
(March 29). "Geography," he said, " is becoming increasingly less
relevant a factor," . Extending political cooperation to address both
new and old threats to peace requires "open discussion" of human
rights questions, Fischer stressed. Such a discussion, he added, "has
nothing to do with meddling or Western arrogance."

Several of Fischer's Asian counterparts endorsed his call for closer
political ties between the two regions but sidestepped his invitation
to a more direct discussion of human rights issues. Without referring
specifically to Fischer's comments, Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan of
China underscored Beijing's oft-repeated refusal to permit any foreign
interference in the country's internal affairs. Voicing support for
further European-Asian cooperation, Tang stressed the importance of
mutual respect and cautious resolution of differences of opinion
through consultation as bases for closer ties. Thai Foreign Minister
Surin Pitsuwan likewise argued that extended cooperation between the
EU and the Asian states must rest on "greater respect for one
another."

Despite the evident differences of opinion on the place of human
rights issues in European-Asian relations, the foreign ministers
underscored their interest in forging a closer partnership. The
concluding declaration they issued in Berlin sets out arms control,
currency stability and environmental protection among the main areas
where cooperation is to be increased.

The ASEM conferences have been taking place regularly since 1996. The
ten Asian nations that participated in Monday's talks were Brunei,
China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South
Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

via: This Week in Germany
April 2, 1999

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Passover Genetics in Jerusalem
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 10:17:38 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

 PASSOVER GENETICS IN JERUSALEM
The semi-annual mass Priestly Blessing ceremony at the Western Wall
will be held this coming Sunday. A booth will be erected nearby for
the genetic testing of all Kohanim (priests), to see if they have what
is now often known as the Priestly gene. Two years ago, an American
geneticist found that all Kohanim share a common gene, proving that
they have one common ancestor [presumably Aaron the Priest]. Kohanim
in Israel will be able to undergo the simple test at the Wall, and
will receive the results from the U.S. within a few months. Rabbi
Nachman Kahane, head of the sponsoring Birkat Kohanim Institute, said
that 17 Israel Kohanim have already been tested. Thirteen have tested
positive, one negative, and the results in three cases were
inconclusive.

Arutz Sheva News Service
     <http://www.a7.org>
Friday, April 2, 1999 / Nisan 16, 5759, 1 B'omer

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Town Seeks Divine Help To Pay Its Bills
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 12:21:54 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

Town Seeks Divine Help To Pay Its Bills
(Yahoo News 3/29/99)

IRVINGTON, N.J. (Reuters) - Faced with a huge budget
deficit, the town of Irvington, New Jersey, has decided
to seek help from the highest authority.

Irvington Mayor Sara Bost organized a gospel-singing vigil
Thursday evening to pray for help in dealing with the $7 million
deficit in the town's fiscal 1999 budget.

``It's no secret that we're having problems,'' said the
mayor's spokeswoman, Jacqueline Andrews.

``The mayor felt there's no better way to respond than to
invoke God's leadership, whether it be for financial or
other help,'' she said.

State officials are poised to take over supervision of the
town's finances, a possible repeat of a 1997 takeover when
Irvington's budget was $17 million in the red.

Irvington, with a population of about 65,000 people, is
located in northeastern New Jersey, next to Newark and
just a few miles west of New York City.

About 100 residents attended the vigil at the Christian
Pentecostal Church, singing hymns such as ``Victory Is
Mine'' and swaying to songs performed by the Grace Temple
Mass Choir.

Not everyone was so supportive, arguing that the service
violated the constitutional principle separating church
and state.

``We're at an all-time low in this town when the mayor calls
a religious event that violates the law,'' said attorney
J. Edward Waller, who lost the last mayoral election to Bost.

``We didn't elect her to lead us in prayer. We elected her to
lead us out of this financial crisis,'' he said.

via: Prophezine News Bites
April 1, 1999

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (4/2/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 08:41:13 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

Japan asserts relations with Syria

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arabic News

Fri Apr 2 , 1999 -- The Japanese ambassador in Damascus has
asserted the remarkable relations linking Japan to Syria. He stressed
his country's support for Syria's position concerning the Middle East
peace process and its right to restore all its occupied territories in
the Golan in line with UN resolutions. In press statements to the
Syrian media on Wednesday the Japanese ambassador in Damascus
described the recent visit made by Syrian Foreign Minister to Japan as
"very successful" and as contributing "to exchanging
views on the Middle East peace process."

Abdullah pleases his public at Israel's expense?

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz

Fri Apr 2 , 1999 -- A formal announcement that Abudllah would
visit Syria came about a week ago, and the visit is arousing interest
because the King's first state visit since his ascension to the throne
is to Syria (with the exception of a short visit to Egypt and a
meeting with President Hosni Mubarak to inaugurate the new electricity
line between the two countries).The Palestinian public and leadership
are closely watching Abdullah's first days in power and are definitely
pleased with him up to this point. They are pleased that Abdullah has
strengthened his connections with the Arab world and hope this will be
at the expense of his relations with Israel. During his first weeks in
power, diplomatic relations that had been severed during the Gulf War
were renewed, and money was transferred from Saudi Arabia and the oil
states to strengthen the Jordanian dinar. Jordan's connections with
Egypt and the Palestinian Authority look good. Arafat has visited
Jordan twice in the past month.

But the biggest surprise is Jordan's friendship with Syria. Assad even
sent his son Beshar, whom he is grooming for leadership, to visit
Abdullah in the hopes of creating a bond of friendship between the two
heirs. A Jordanian rapprochement with the Arab world need not
necessarily come at the expense of relations with Israel, but right
now it looks as if it is. Normalization with Israel is very unpopular
in Jordan. There is no lack of subjects and issues that could cause
tension between Israel and Jordan. The issue of the slash in the water
quotas promised by the Netanyahu government to Jordan will crop up in
this drought-blasted summer. The Jordanians and Palestinians also
blame Israel for deliberately impeding commerce across the Jordan
River. Both Jordanian and Palestinian spokesmen blame Israel for a
colonialist economic policy, keeping Palestinian consumers to itself
while denying market access to Jordan and other Arab states.

The members of the Palestinian leadership who are hoping for a
deterioration in Jordanian-Israeli relations note with satisfaction
that the king's latest appointments advanced people of Palestinian
origin while trying to placate the devout Islamicists who are hostile
to Israel. Even the Palestinians who sit in cafes at Damascus Gate in
Jerusalem speak affectionately about the new King Abdullah. They
mention his common touch. Abdullah does not insist on being called
"Our Lord" and has issued orders to limit the endless ceremonies
associated with royalty. He has also ordered that fewer honorifics are
to be used when addressing him. After the 40 days of mourning for his
father, he appointed his wife, Raina (of the Abdullah Yasin family
from Tulkarm), as queen, while the Queen Mother, Noor al Hussein is
considered alien in the Jordanian-Palestinian world because she is
American and does not speak Arabic well.

All of these trends in the new Amman administration are important in
the months ahead and in the negotiations over the permanent status
between the Israelis and Palestinians. The subjects of Palestinian
refugees in Jordan, water rights, the status of Jerusalem and border
and commercial arrangements between Israel, Jordan and Palestine will
be the focus of struggles and crises in which King Abdullah and his
men will have a key role

Syria economic woes

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Arutz 7

Fri Apr 2 , 1999 -- Syria is suffering a heavy economic crisis,
according to official American reports. The gross nationalproduct is
less than $900 per capital -about 1/15 of Israel's. Ha'aretz newspaper
reports today that the problems are affecting all walks of society,
including the army. One of the Americans involved in preparing the
report said that when he crossed the border from Syria into Jordan, he
felt as if he had left Nigeria and arrived in Switzerland.

Russian warship leaves for Mediterranean

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: TampaBay Online (AP)

Fri Apr 2 , 1999 -- A Russian warship left for the Mediterranean
today to shadow NATO vessels participating in airstrikes against
Yugoslavia as Moscow continued to insist that the attacks must end.
The frigate left from the Black Sea fleet's base at Sevastopol and
was expected to pass through the BosporusStrait and into the
Mediterranean on Saturday. Six other warships were on standby for
deployment in the Mediterranean. Russia has said it will not become
involved in the military conflict despite its close ties with
Yugoslavia. NATO and the United States are unhappy about the Russian
naval deployment. Deploying Russian ships near NATO warships in
action against Yugoslavia has raised concerns about an accidental
confrontation.

Russian officials reviewed the Kosovo situation today and said they
would continue efforts to find a political solution. Turkey, a NATO
member that controls the Bosporus - through which Russian ships must
pass from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean - said it approved
Russian requests to send eight warships through. Four ships could
pass through the strait this weekend, three more on Tuesday and one
on April 8.

The Kremlin has walked a thin line between solidarity with its
Yugoslav ally and confrontation with the West, trying to ignore
domestic opponents who have accused the government of weakness.
Russia does not have the means to do more than protest. The Russian
military is disintegrating and Moscow needs Western loans to prop up
the plunging economy.

Israel to build religious ritual baths

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: IsraelWire

Fri Apr 2 , 1999 -- Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs Rabbi
Aryeh Gamliel signed an agreement with the Mifal HaPayis Lottery
Commission for the construction of additional ritual baths (mikvaot)
at the cost of NIS 12 million. According to a statement released by
the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the lottery commission allocates a
fair amount of monies for cultural and other related projects but in
the past, has ignored the religious sector. The deputy minister
decided to attempt to change the reality and held meetings and
negotiations with senior lottery officials, Avraham Katz and Yaakov
Bardugo. Rabbi Gamliel reported that the lottery officials were
pleasantly receptive and he explained to them the critical situation
existing regarding the nation's ritual baths.

Gamliel added that he was acting as a messenger for the spiritual
leader of the ultra-Orthodox Sephardic Shas Party, Rabbi Ovadia
Yosef, who has instructed him to place an emphasis on building new
ritual baths to promote more adherence to Jewish laws dealing with
family purity. The first ritual baths will be constructed in moshavim
and kibbutzim which to date do not have any. An agreement was signed
committing to the construction of 25 bathhouses by year's end. The
deputy minister added that the lottery commission agreed to allocate
an annual budget for the construction of bathhouses and synagogues.

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - It's Raining Pesticides in Europe
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 08:44:52 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

                                        It's Raining Pesticides
                                   In Europe - Rainwater Undrinkable

                             By Fred Pearce and Debora Mackenzie
                                    www.newscientist.com
                                           3-31-99

                RAIN IS NOT what it used to be. A new study reveals
                that much of the precipitation in Europe contains such
                high levels of dissolved pesticides that it would be
                illegal to supply it as drinking water.

                Studies in Switzerland have found that rain is laced
                with toxic levels of atrazine, alachlor and other
                commonly used crop sprays. "Drinking water standards
                are regularly exceeded in rain," says Stephan M=FCller,
                a chemist at the Swiss Federal Institute for
                Environmental Science and Technology in D=FCbendorf. The
                chemicals appear to have evaporated from fields and
                become part of the clouds.

                Both the European Union and Switzerland have set a
                limit of 100 nanograms for any particular pesticide in
                a litre of drinking water. But, especially in the
                first minutes of a heavy storm, rain can contain much
                more than that.

                In a study to be published by M=FCller and his colleague
                Thomas Bucheli in Analytical Chemistry this summer,
                one sample of rainwater contained almost 4000
                nanograms per litre of 2,4-dinitrophenol, a widely
                used pesticide. Previously, the authors had shown that
                in rain samples taken from 41 storms, nine contained
                more than 100 nanograms of atrazine per litre, one of
                them around 900 nanograms.

                In the latest study, the highest concentrations of
                pesticides turned up in the first rain after a long
                dry spell, particularly when local fields had recently
                been sprayed. Until now, scientists had assumed that
                the pesticides only infiltrated groundwater directly
                from fields.

                M=FCller warns that the growing practice of using
                rainwater that falls onto roofs to recharge
                underground water may be adding to the danger. This
                water often contains dissolved herbicides that had
                been added to roofing materials, such as bitumen
                sheets, to prevent vegetation growing. He suggests
                that the first flush of rains should be diverted into
                sewers to minimise the pollution of drinking water,
                which is not usually treated to remove these
                herbicides and pesticides.

                Meanwhile, Swedish researchers have linked pesticides
                to one of the most rapidly increasing cancers in the
                Western world. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which has risen
                by 73 per cent in the US since 1973, is probably
                caused by several commonly used crop sprays, say the
                scientists.

                Lennart Hardell of Orebro Medical Centre and Mikael
                Eriksson of Lund University Hospital found Swedish
                sufferers of the disease were 2.7 times more likely to
                have been exposed to MCPA, a widely used weedkiller,
                than healthy people (Cancer, vol 85 p 1353).

                MCPA, which is used on grain crops, is sold as Target
                by the Swiss firm Novartis. In addition, patients were
                3.7 times more likely to have been exposed to a range
                of fungicides, an association not previously reported.
                

                The patients were also 2.3 times more likely to have
                had contact with glyphosate, the most commonly used
                herbicide in Sweden. Use of this chemical, sold as
                Round-Up by the US firm Monsanto, is expected to
                rocket with the introduction of crops, such as
                Roundup-Ready soya beans, that are genetically
                modified to resist glyphosate. The researchers suggest
                that the chemicals have suppressed the patients'
                immunity, allowing viruses such as Epstein-Barr to
                trigger cancer.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Magog/Scythians attack US embassy in Moscow??
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 09:16:07 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

[Josephus understood Magog to refer to the Scythians--see end
of article.--Moza]

                                    Russia Readies Forces -
                                    Confers With China, Iran

                    http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSKosovo/home.html
                                          

                MOSCOW (CP) -- Russia confirmed today it will send a
                warship to the Mediterranean in response to NATO air
                strikes against Yugoslavia and that others are on
                standby after Moscow's diplomatic efforts failed to
                end the Kosovo crisis. In another development, Foreign
                Minister Igor Ivanov said Russia had "reliable
                information" that Washington is considering a plan to
                partition Kosovo.

                Ivanov told a news conference such a plan would
                involve deployment of a land force, and suggested NATO
                was already preparing for such a ground operation.

                "According to reliable information we have obtained,
                Washington is considering in practical terms
                separating Kosovo from Yugoslavia or splitting the
                province," Ivanov said.

                Meanwhile, Russian Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev said
                one warship from the Black Sea fleet "is getting ready
                to sail through the Bosporus to monitor NATO actions
                to enhance Russia's security."

                It was not clear if the ship was already en route.

                "Other ships are also getting ready to go, but as of
                now no decision has been made to send them," he told a
                news conference.

                However, Russia has said repeatedly that its military
                will not become directly involved in the conflict in
                Yugoslavia.

                And NATO said today that it expected Russia to stick
                to what it said.

                "We are counting on President (Boris) Yeltsin to keep
                to those words," NATO spokesman Jamie Shea said in
                Brussels, Belgium.

                Sergeyev's statement came after Russian news agencies
                reported a squadron of seven ships, including missile
                frigates and anti-submarine frigates from the Black
                Sea Fleet, would be sent to the Mediterranean in early
                April.

                The appearance of a Russian naval squadron in the
                Mediterranean could cause concern among NATO
                commanders. U.S. and allied warships are deployed in
                the region and have launched cruise missiles from the
                sea.

                Yeltsin and other officials have strongly condemned
                the NATO action but ruled out any Russian military
                intervention. While any deployment of warships would
                likely be symbolic, it would be a step up in the
                Russian response.

                With its military and economy in shambles, western
                observers say Russia lacks the means to mount a
                credible military response to support its Yugoslav
                ally.

                But regional governor Alexander Lebed, a presidential
                hopeful and former general, called today for sending
                military aid to Yugoslavia in some of his strongest
                statements yet on the NATO bombing.

                "We must declare that we will render military and
                technical aid to Yugoslavia with the aim of supporting
                the civilian population," said Lebed, adding that
                Russia should declare Yugoslavia a "zone of strategic
                interest."

                Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said he supported
                sending warships to the Mediterranean. "Either we stop
                these overexcited war-mongering politicians or the war
                will spread," he said.

                The Russian Defence Ministry said today it is
                discussing the NATO attacks with its counterparts in
                China, India and Iran, but gave no details.

                Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov returned to Moscow
                today after his diplomatic mission to Yugoslavia
                failed to produce a breakthrough. Moscow had hoped to
                resume international talks on ending the Kosovo
                dispute.

                Primakov said he believed Yugoslav President Slobodan
                Milosevic had signalled he was ready to start talks on
                a peaceful solution.

                In the Russian parliament today, a debate on calls to
                end air strikes turned violent when communist and
                liberal lawmakers ended up in a fistfight.

                The scuffle started after Communists and other
                hardliners criticized an earlier failed peacemaking
                mission to Belgrade this week by a group of Russian
                liberals. It was separate from Primakov's mission.

                Opposition to the air strikes also goes beyond the
                government. A leftist group took responsibility for
                attacking the U.S. Embassy in Moscow and said it was
                the start of a campaign against western targets to
                protest NATO's air assaults, according to news reports
                today.

                The previously unknown group named Scythian sent
                letters to Russian newspapers saying it carried out
                the attack in which gunmen with grenade launchers and
                a rifle opened fire on the embassy. No one was hurt
                and the gunmen escaped.

                Scythian, named after a tribe of warlike nomads who
                roamed Russia 2,000 years ago, said it is an
                ultra-left organization that was formed to honor a
                deceased Russian Orthodox priest who supported the
                Communist Party.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Solar System items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 09:33:42 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

                                 Our Solar System: A Sharp
                                 Contrast To Recent Finds
                                       By Kathy Sawyer
                                 Washington Post News Service
                                           3-29-99

                Is Earth a "lucky" planet, dwelling in a rare gem of a
                solar system that somehow escaped the gravitational
                wrecking balls that have knocked other planetary
                systems cockeyed? Or is the sun's realm fairly typical
                in its symmetry and orderliness?

                Such questions arise from the extraordinary burst of
                discovery that began in 1995, in which astronomers say
                they have found 17 worlds orbiting sun-like stars
                outside the solar system -- and counting.

                The tally is getting high enough to show statistical
                patterns that, scientists say, may be telling them
                something new about how nature forms and destroys
                planets, and just how fragile the prospects for
                life-harboring worlds like Earth may be. The growing
                population of known extrasolar planets so far offers
                shocking contrasts with our own home solar system,
                defying theories based on that familiar model and
                challenging scientists to cobble together new ones.

                All 17 extrasolar bodies appear to be roughly as
                massive as the largest planet in our solar system --
                the giant gas ball Jupiter. It is not surprising that
                the hunters would find the largest, most obvious
                planets first. But eight of them are bound in tight,
                circular orbits that skim astoundingly close to their
                stars. The closest of these "hot Jupiters" whips
                around its star at such scorching proximity that its
                "year" -- one complete circuit -- lasts just 3.3 days.
                

                Physical laws seem to dictate that they could not have
                formed that close and so must have migrated inward
                early in the system's history (wreaking havoc on any
                other fledgling worlds in their path). And yet
                something has halted their gravitational death spiral
                before it carried them "down the drain" to
                destruction.

                All of the remaining nine extrasolar planets -- those
                maintaining average distances of at least 19 million
                miles from their stars (about one-fifth Earth's
                distance from the sun) -- follow "eccentric"
                (egg-shaped) orbits -- killer orbits.

                "A trend is now being stamped on these discoveries
                that we thought, frankly, would go away," said
                Geoffrey Marcy of San Francisco State University at a
                recent meeting of the American Astronomical Society in
                Austin. "We are realizing that most of the
                Jupiter-like planets . . . tool around in elliptical
                orbits, not circular orbits, which are the rule in our
                solar system."

                This seemingly minor distinction could spell the
                difference between life and its absence. Jupiter-size
                bodies lunging close and then veering far away from
                their stars are likely to sweep away smaller worlds.
                "None of us would be here if we had such a solar
                system," he said. "These Jupiters constitute a death
                knell for any possible habitable planet as we know
                it."

                That's "bad news" for those in search of
                extraterrestrial intelligence, said Marcy, whose team
                leads the world in planet detection. But he noted
                that, of hundreds of stars surveyed so far, only about
                5 percent appear to have world-wrecking planets. "The
                good news is that 95 percent of the sun-like stars
                don't have these nemeses."

                Like the first photographs of Earth taken from the
                moon, the revelations of the extrasolar worlds may
                inspire a new appreciation for the fragility of human
                existence. Pointing to the bull's-eye symmetry of the
                inner solar system, Marcy said, "Look at how perfect
                this thing is. It's like a jewel. You've got circular
                orbits. They're all in the same plane. They're all
                going around in the same direction. . . . It's
                perfect, you know. It's gorgeous. It's almost
                uncanny."

                Passing "Jupiters" flung out of other systems, black
                holes and neutron stars that are known to wander the
                galaxy are among the marauders that might have come
                barreling through in the 4.6-billion-year history of
                the solar system, he said. "Obviously our solar system
                represents kind of a dartboard. And no darts have hit
                it."

-----edit-----

===================

The Heavens Resound with a Message for Mankind

Three astronomers have discovered yet another of the many delicate
balances operating in our solar system, balances that protect life on
this planet. Their investigation of planetary resonances (the
intensification of gravitational effects resulting from orbital
patterns and repeated, regular planetary alignments) indicates that
without an Earth-Moon system just like ours, the solar system's inner
planets (planets between Jupiter and the sun) would be destabilized
by the huge and intensifying push-pull of Jupiter and Saturn in their
orbits. Our massive, single moon locked in orbit with our even more
massive Earth "interferes" with the "whip effect" caused by Jupiter
and Saturn, which may be likened to heavy stones in a whirling
slingshot.

The team is still analyzing the extent of the damage that would be
done, but already they have learned that it would send Venus and
Mercury either smashing into the sun or whizzing--perhaps
catastrophically close to Earth--clear out of the system altogether.
Mars would be impacted as well, but ongoing research will have to
tell us by how much. Even if the disruptions to these planets' orbits
were less profound, they would result in a destabilization of the
entire system, including Earth, and the effects on life would be
major. Living creatures of any complexity cannot withstand even a 1%
variation in Earth's orbital pattern.

In the words of the three astronomers, "Design in the solar system
[is needed] to ensure long-term stability." Once, again, a deeper
understanding of the solar system amplifies the evidence for God's
purposeful, powerful involvement in shaping both the Earth and the
solar system.

Connections Newsletter
First Quarter 1999

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Cuttingedge News Articles
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 13:43:51 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

Directory listing of Cuttingedge news articles
http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/directory.html

Sample Headlines:
Cold War Trap -- Gorbachev More Dangerous Than Ever
"Mortal Fear' TV Movie Promotes Adult Euthanasia
'Independence Day', Aliens, UFO's - Truth Stranger Than Fiction
Olympic Games Strongly Advance New World Order
Terrorism Advancing New World Order
Conditioning To Accept Mark of the Beast
Halloween Through Prism of Coming New World Order
Scene Being Set In Middle East For BOTH Prophesied Wars!
   Antichrist to be Produced
Boyscouts Training Their Scouts To Be Good Global Citizens
US Supreme Court To Decide Whether Person Has 'Constitutionally
   Protected Right To Die'!
Time Magazine Redefines Christianity So People Can Accept Antichrist
Satan's Divisions of Hell -- From Former Satanist, Now Born Again
Occultic House of Theosophy Seminar Notes Reveal
   Details of Antichrist Appearance, plus Identifies Pope as False
   Prophet, and Reveals That Occultic Leaders Know About Rapture of
   Church
Freemason Site Confirms Government Center In Washington, D.C., was
  Deliberately Created Using Freemason Occult Symbols. You will be
  shocked! Compare Revelations With Tourist Map.
Crisis of Drinking Water Is Staged To Promote Distrust of Our
   Industrial Civilization

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Italy says Contact Group, G8 to meet on Kosovo
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 20:48:10 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

From: Portents2@aol.com

End Times Update
Re: Ten Kings
Scripture: Rev 17:12-14
News Source: Reuters
Date: 4-3-99
==================================================
Italy says Contact Group, G8 to meet on Kosovo

ROME, April 3 (Reuters) - Italy said on Saturday the big powers
Contact Group would meet next week to discuss the conflict in
Yugoslavia and the meeting would be followed by a session of the Group
of Eight industrial countries.

The Foreign Ministry said in a statement that a conference call
between U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and the foreign
ministers of Italy, Britain, Germany and France, on Friday night had
``decided to give agreement today to the Russian proposal'' for a G8
meeting. ``Thus, next week, a meeting of the Contact Group is planned,
followed by a G8 meeting at the level of political directors,'' it
said.

would take place. The Contact Group consists of Russia, the United
States, Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

Russia, which vehemently opposes NATO's air strikes against
Yugoslavia, called for the G8 meeting after the failure of peace
mission to Belgrade by Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov on Tuesday.

The United States and Britain had said until now there would be no
benefit in a meeting of the G8 nations, which also include Russia,
Germany, Japan, Italy, France and Canada.

France said earlier that Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine had told his
Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov that France intended to maintain a
close dialogue with Russia. Germany said it was considering the
proposal for a G8 meeting and Canada has said it might consider
participating if Yugoslavia made commitments to end its campaign in
Kosovo.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Apr 4, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 3 Apr 1999 21:55:54 +0000

From: "Moza" <moza@butterfly.mv.com>

[Infobeat Entertainment News TV schedules that I usually rely
on are not being delivered this weekend due to a planned power
outage.]

8:00 PM Eastern
HIST History Undercover
               Las Vegas and the Mormons.
               Las Vegas--20th century Babylon in the Nevada desert,
               where you're never more than a 2-minute walk from a
               casino. But our story is less well-known--Las Vegas is
               a Mormon town. Host Arthur Kent explores the paradox of
               how a religious, abstemious people came to terms with
               life in Sin City, and even helped finance the notorious
               gaming resorts. [TV G]

DISC Discovery Sunday
                       Secrets of the Skies: Stonehenge,

                       Recent research sheds new light on the enduring
                       mysteries of Stonehenge, including how the
                       massive stones -- weighing up four tons apiece
                       -- were moved to the site from their original
                       resting spots up to 200 miles away.

AMC Between Heaven and Hell: Hollywood Looks at the Bible

9:00
 HIST High Rollers
               A History of Gambling.
               You can bet on an exciting two hours as we expose the
               history of gambling in America. Since the first race
               horses arrived in colonial Virginia in 1607 to 1998,
               when 48 states allowed legalized gambling, moralists
               and risk-lovers have waged a continuous war. Hear both
               sides as we explore our national need to throw the
               dice. [TV PG]

AMC The Bible

10:00 PM
DISC Discovery Sunday
               Pyramids--Resurrection Machines