Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
April 15-17, 1999


Digest Home | 1999 | April, 1999

 

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Europe and space activities in the next century
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 08:53:39 +0000

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

Why should Europe invest in space? What challenges lie ahead? What
is Europe doing and could it do in such areas as : the search for
Earth-like planets, cheaper access to space, disaster warning from
space, the threat of cosmic collisions, space energy and space
tourism? These and many other questions are explored in the second
report drawn up by ESA's Long Term Space Policy Committee.

The report, intended to give ESA's Member States a framework for
long-term strategic thinking and decisions on space activities, has
recently been completed and will be presented to the press at a
briefing on Wednesday 21 April at ESA Headquarters.

Starting at 11:00, Peter Creola, Chairman of the Long Term Space
Policy Committee, Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA's Director for Strategy
and Technical Assessment, and Geraldine Naja, in charge of European
Policy and Prospective Studies at ESA, will illustrate the content
of the report and will outline the initiatives which the Committee
would like ESA to pursue.

The report identifies three challenges which Europe will have to
face as it enters the next century: independence, planetary
management and expansion beyond present-day horizons.

The Committee considers that Europe needs an ambitious space policy
and programmes to respond effectively to these challenges and to
continue playing a worldwide role commensurate with its economic
weight and cultural heritage.

Media representatives wishing to attend the press briefing are
kindly requested to complete the attached accreditation form and
return it, preferably by fax, to ESA's Public Relations Division in
Paris (fax no. + 33 (0)1 5369 7690). Copies of the report are also
available on request.

For further information, please contact :

ESA Public Relations Division

Tel: +33(0)1.53.69.7155

Fax: +33(0)1.53.69.7690

via: SEDSNEWS@listserv.tamu.edu


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Status of Resolution 181
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 09:21:20 +0000

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

 The Status of General Assembly
 Resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947
 March 30, 1999

Recent statements by the Palestinian leadership, particularly within
the United Nations, have charged that Israel's position that General
Assembly Resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947 is not longer
applicable, is 'illegal', and have asserted that this resolution is
one of the principles underlying the current peace process.

The charge that Israel's position regarding the unenforceability of
Resolution 181 is illegal can only be described as remarkable. It is,
in fact, the Arab states and the Palestinians themselves who for
decades have claimed that Resolution 181 is 'null and void'.(1)
Article 19 of the Palestinian National Covenant, for example, declared
that 'the partition resolution and the establishment of Israel are
entirely illegal'. Similarly, in arguing the Palestinian case, jurist
Henry Cattan proclaimed that 'at no time was the partition resolution
accepted by the Palestinians or by the Arab states',(2) while the
Seminar of Arab Jurists on Palestine declared that the Resolution was
'absolutely null and void'.(3)

It was the Arab rejection of Resolution 181 that prevented adoption of
the recommendation which the Resolution contained. Far from
'unilaterally annulling' the Resolution, as Palestinian spokesmen have
suggested, Israel was the only relevant party prepared to uphold the
Resolution. Indeed, Israel expressed its willingness to do so in the
1948 Declaration of Independence. But the Arab states refused to
accept the Resolution and resorted to armed force in order to prevent
its implementation. In what former U.N. Secretary General Trygve Lie
termed the 'first armed aggression which the world had seen since the
end of the [Second World] War',(4) the surrounding Arab countries
attacked the fledgling Israeli state and demonstrated, by force of
arms, that Resolution 181 was in their eyes a legal nullity.

In order to respond to the new realities that emerged in the decades
following the Partition Resolution, the United Nations abandoned the
proposal contained Resolution 181. In its place, the Security Council
adopted Resolutions 242 and 338 which provided a radically different
formula for the settlement of the conflict. Indeed, this is the only
formula which has been accepted by both sides as the basis for
permanent status negotiations.

Resolution 181 has never been part of the agreed foundation for the
peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. The letters of
invitation to the Madrid Peace Conference of 1991, and the agreements
signed between Israel and the Palestinians expressly provide that
permanent status negotiations are to be based on Security Council
Resolutions 242 and 338. No other United Nations Resolution is a
referred to. The Palestinians have thus affirmed that permanent
resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be achieved by
negotiated settlement in West Bank and Gaza Strip territory that is
the subject of those Security Council Resolutions.

Now, over 50 years later, the Palestinians are attempting to resurrect
a Resolution which for decades they have proclaimed dead. Long
rejecting the Resolution as invalid and resorting to violence to
ensure its irrelevance, Palestinian representatives are attempting to
claim legal entitlements under it. Elementary principles of equity and
international law as well as agreements the Palestinians themselves
have signed prohibit them from doing so.

These attempts seek to undermine the terms of reference of the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process and, in so doing, place the entire
process in jeopardy. The efforts to revive the defunct Resolution 181
can be added to a worrying list of recent Palestinian efforts to
depart from the agreed peace process framework. These include threats
to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state in violation of repeated
Palestinian undertakings to refrain from unilateral acts pending the
outcome of permanent status negotiations. They also include
Palestinian Authority activity in Jerusalem which is expressly
prohibited by the provisions of the Israeli-Palestinian Interim
Agreement.

If the peace process is to have any chance of success, the Palestinian
side cannot be permitted to discard legal obligations whenever it is
politically convenient to do so, The international community must
insist that the Palestinians comply with the peace process framework
to which they are committed and adhere to the legal undertakings they
themselves have made.

 (1) See statements of representatives of Arab League members, 2 U.N.
 GAOR
142-27 (1947) (2) Henry Cattan, Palestine, the ARabs and Israel 2655
(1969). (3) Seminar of ARab Jurists on Palestine, Algiers, July 22-27,
at 311 (1967). (4) Trygve Lie, In the Cause of Peace: Seven Years with
the United Nations 174 (1954).

Source: Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Mars watch/color red
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 10:56:17 +0000

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

[I added the info in brackets and "red" material--Moza]

THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 1999

Coming to a backyard near you

Astronomy

Over the next two months, backyard skygazers
and professional astronomers alike will be
focusing their attention and telescopes on Mars,
as it heads for its closest encounter with Earth
since 1990. In late April and early May, Mars will appear to the
naked eye as a glowing red ember in the south amid the
constellation Virgo. At that time, Mars will exhibit a wealth of
detail even when seen through modest backyard telescopes.

  [Mars - The Roman god of war; the Red planet]

"You can expect to see the planet's gleaming northern polar ice
cap as well as subtle dark markings and the occasional hint of
passing clouds," says Richard Talcott, Astronomy magazine
associate editor.

Astronomers call these close approaches "oppositions," meaning
that a planet outside Earth's orbit appears opposite the sun. Mars
reaches opposition on April 24, and its elliptical orbit will swing it
closest to Earth on May 1.

  [April 30th is Pesach Sheini--the "make-up" day for those who
  were defiled during the Passover feast (Numbers 9)

  May 4, Lag B'omer - 33rd day of the counting of the omer--33rd
  day of counting the seven weeks between Pesach (Passover) and
  Shavuot (Pentecost--May 21, 1999 this year). This 7 week period
  became a time of mourning for the Jews in later years. But the 33rd
  day is considered a joyous time--it's a day of weddings and
  haircuts that are not allowed during the other days of the
  counting, for on this day a plague that was ravaging the Jews was
  stopped. Jewish children vie to see who can build the pyre that
  will produce the biggest and highest fire. They also play with bows
  and arrows as a reminder of Roman rule over the land of Israel.

  May 4, Palestinians declare statehood?]

In early April, Mars can be seen easily with the naked eye in the
constellation Libra, low in the eastern sky around 10 p.m. or 11 p.m.
As Mars draws ever nearer to Earth, it will appear brighter and rise
earlier.

Mars comes to opposition once every 26 months as Earth catches
up and passes it. The next Mars opposition is June 13, 2001. And
in August 2003, Mars will venture closer to Earth than it has for
5,000 years.

  [5,000 years ago--around the time of Noah??]

http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/1999/04/15/fp12s1-csm.shtml
--------------------

I found a few "red" things of interest while pulling this together:

1. Red Sea - between Jews and Promised Land.
2. First plague turned the waters red
3. Red dragon of Revelation 12
4. Red China/Communist China
5. Santa Claus
6. Moscow's Red Square
7. Red horse of war in Revelation 6
8. Red heifer
9. Leprosy - red spots
10. Esau/Edom
11. The Black Stone in the Kaaba of the Moslems is a dark red color
12. Roman Catholic cardinals and some Shiites are called "wearers
      of the red hat."
13. Red Crescent - symbol of Islam
14. Two classifications of wheat - red and white.

Some Webster's definitions:

red: of the color red; flushed esp. with anger or embarrassment;
ruddy, florid; of a coppery hue; bloodshot; heated to redness:
glowing; inciting or endorsing radical social or political change
esp. by force; Communist; a color whose hue resembles that of blood
or of the ruby or is that of the long-wave extreme of the visible
spectrum; the bookkeeping practice of entering debit items in red
ink; the condition of showing a loss.

red alert: final stage of alert in which enemy attack appears
imminent; a state of alert brought on by impending danger.

red ant: any of various reddish ants (as the pharaoh ant).

red herring: something that distracts attention from the real issue.

red-legged grasshopper: a widely distributed and sometimes highly
destructive small No. American grasshopper with red hind legs -
called also red-legged locust.

red-light: warning signal.

red-light district: a district in which houses of prostitution are
numerous.

red ribbon: a red ribbon usu. with appropriate words or marking
awarded the second-place winner in a competition.

Also: red tape, red tide


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - China, Russia Concerned over US Missile Defense Umbrella
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 12:55:33 +0000

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

 
                            China, Russia Concerned Over U.S. Missile
                            Defense Umbrella

                            MOSCOW, Apr. 15, 1999 -- (Reuters) Russia
                            and China voiced concerns on Wednesday
                            over U.S. plans to deploy a Star
                            Wars-style missile defense umbrella,
                            calling them a threat to global security.

                            Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a
                            statement the two sides agreed the move to
                            develop a national missile defense system
                            threatened the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile
                            (ABM) Treaty which limits Russian and U.S.
                            ability to deploy anti-missile systems.

                            Both houses of the U.S. Congress voted
                            last month to make it national policy to
                            put such a system in place once technology
                            permits.

                            "The sides have expressed a serious
                            concern that the U.S. declaration about
                            its plans to deploy the national system of
                            anti-missile defense at the present time
                            poses a serious threat to the ABM treaty,"
                            Russia's Foreign Ministry said.

                            "The sides consider that the undermining
                            or infringement of the ABM agreement would
                            lead to a number of negative results: new
                            factors, which could destabilize
                            international affairs on a global and
                            regional level."

                            Washington wants to protect U.S. territory
                            and possibly allies from weapons based in
                            so-called rogue states such as North Korea
                            and Iran.

                            The statement said officials, who met on
                            Wednesday in Moscow, pledged to support
                            Russian and Chinese efforts to ensure
                            international stability and security.
                            Relations between Russia and China have
                            warmed in recent years after bitter
                            antagonism during part of the Soviet era.
                            ( (c) 1999 Reuters)

http://www.insidechina.com/china/news/1999041512.html?text


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - No US aircraft carriers in Asia
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 15:47:25 +0000

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

End Times Update
Re: Rumor of War
Scripture: Matthew 24:6
News Source: WorldNetDaily.com
URL:http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_dougherty/19990415_xnjdo_no_u
s_airc.s html
DateL 4-15-99
======================================

No U.S. aircraft carriers in Asia
Shortage of resources worries lawmakers

By Jon E. Dougherty
c 1999 WorldNetDaily.com

Sources have confirmed that because of a major shift in available
military resources to bolster NATO's war effort in Yugoslavia, the
Pentagon has pulled the last available aircraft carrier out of Asia
and sent it to the Mediterranean.

WorldNetDaily first reported the phenomenon last week in an exclusive
story detailing possible future threats to U.S. hegemony in Asia by an
alliance of nations consisting primarily of Russia and China.

The redeployment of the USS Kitty Hawk, the last available aircraft
carrier in Asia, came after Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen
issued a number of defense directives April 3. The move, according to
sources, was made to reinforce continuing military operations in Iraq
and Yugoslavia.

Among other directives, Cohen ordered the Kitty Hawk Battle Group,
based in Yokosuka, Japan -- to deploy to the Persian Gulf to relieve
the USS Enterprise, ostensibly because the latter carrier is scheduled
to return to the United States in May for regularly scheduled
maintenance.

A Defense Department spokesman who identified himself as LCDR
Sutherland confirmed that the USS Kitty Hawk has been ordered to take
up station in support of U.S. air operations over Iraq, but declined
to say when the carrier battle group would arrive.

"I don't have an exact date," Sutherland said, "but it will be there
shortly."

He did not elaborate on contingency plans to supplement security
obligations in the region, and did not know when the Kitty Hawk would
be replaced with another carrier group.

According to a Defense Department briefing, however, Cohen has ordered
"one F-15E fighter squadron, a carrier battle group, B-52s and EA-6Bs
to remain poised in the United States, ready to deploy on short notice
(to an Asian theater) if necessary." Also, Cohen has ordered that two
Air Force AC-130 gunships, presently deployed to Korea, will remain on
station to help bolster U.S. forces stationed in proximity to Japan,
Korea and Taiwan.

The redeployment of the last carrier in the Western Pacific, long an
area protected by U.S. forces, has some congressmen concerned that the
United States is spreading its forces much too thin to adequately meet
all the military's obligations.

Gary Hoitsma, press spokesman for Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., told
WorldNetDaily, "This is one of our huge concerns about this whole
operation (Yugoslavia)," Hoitsma said. "It's not just this incident,
but so many other things like it that are happening in this
administration."

Sue Hensley, an aide to Sen. Tim Hutchison, R-Ariz., echoed that
sentiment.

Hoitsma said Sen. Inhofe was most worried about overall dwindling of
military resources and the country's ability to meet its obligations
in all commitments -- those which are long standing and those recently
made by President Clinton.

Military force reduction, coupled with increased responsibilities,
"has been an area of our concern for the past six years," he added.
Hoitsma commented that should trouble arise between China or North
Korea while Pacific theater forces are being reduced, "there would
have to be some real quick shifting of resources" from other, less
pressing, areas of the world where American forces reside. And neither
he, nor a number of other congressmen and senators, is convinced the
United States has the ability.

"You've got aircraft being taken out of the no-fly zone in Iraq being
moved from Turkey over to Italy, for example," Hoitsma said. "You've
also got airlift stretched to capacity, the need to call up reserves,
and you've got pilots leaving the Navy and the Air Force in droves --
regardless of the current situation in Yugoslavia -- because of other
concerns about deployments, lack of mission, and all the rest."
Hoitsma said the Clinton administration's prosecution of the war in
Kosovo is exacerbating the preexisting military shortages.

He said Inhofe worries about becoming so heavily involved in areas of
the world where the U.S. has no national interests -- like Yugoslavia
-- "while we leave our flanks exposed."

He could not say whether the Japanese government had expressed concern
over losing the only U.S. carrier left in the region. But he did say
he had seen one report that said the 38,000 American troops based in
South Korea "might have to go to a higher alert status because of this
carrier having to be moved."

Robert Trainor, an aide to Sen. Rick Santorum, R-PA, said Cohen, along
with Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff Gen. Hugh Shelton, are
scheduled to testify April 15 before a senate committee looking into
such force shortages.

"The responses given by the defense secretary and the joint chiefs
chairman will determine the senator's line of questioning," Trainor
told WorldNetDaily.

He said the Senate hearing will address "the current situation in
Kosovo, but specifically our current readiness as well as troop and
equipment strengths (and needs) in Kosovo."

Trainor said Santorum has raised an eyebrow over the Defense
Department's decision to move the Kitty Hawk out of the Sea of Japan
and "obviously there is some concern about the current equipment
shortage and the fact that U.S. forces are spread too thin."

"The Clinton administration has dispatched our forces all over the
world" at the worst possible time, he added.

Rodger Baker, an analyst and spokesman for Stratfor, a global economic
and intelligence forecasting firm, told WorldNetDaily that he had
heard talk, in passing, that other analysts and congressional sources
were concerned with losing the last carrier in the Western Pacific
"because this is the first time since World War II that this has
happened." Stratfor notified Internet email recipients in their April
12 Global Intelligence Update that the carrier had indeed been
reassigned.

"By not having a carrier group readily available," Baker said, "it
does raise both suspicions and concerns."

He said his firm has no indications that China, for example, is moving
to take advantage of the loss of the U.S. carrier to the region. But
he added, "The U.S. has been actively trying to keep tensions low in
the Asian region," which left open the possibility that moving the
Kitty Hawk was a calculated move by the administration to appease
Beijing.

"We don't have any solid information on that, however," Baker said. "I
don't, however, see the U.S. giving up anything -- Taiwan or South
Korea, for example -- in exchange for a non-belligerent China."

via: End_Times_News@onelist.com


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Dinosaurs/Grendel
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 18:28:03 +0000

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

The following is an excerpt from "After the Flood" by Bill Cooper
http://www.best.com/~dolphin//cooper/ch11.html regarding dinosaurs.
The chapter is entitled "Beowulf and the Creatures of Denmark":

It is too often and mistakenly thought that the name Grendel was
merely a personal name by which the Danes knew this particular animal.
In much the same way as a horse is nicknamed Dobbin, or a dog Fido,
this monster, it is assumed, was called Grendel. But, in fact, Grendel
was the name that our forebears gave to a particular species of
animal. This is evidenced by the fact that in the year AD 931, King
Athelstan of Wessex issued a charter in which a certain lake in
Wiltshire (England) is called (as in Denmark) a grendles mere.
The Grendel in Beowulf, we note with interest, also lived in a mere.
Other place-names mentioned in old charters, Grindles bee and
Grendeles pyt, for example, were likewise places that were (or had
been) the habitats of this particular species of animal. Grindelwald,
lit. Grendelwood, in Switzerland is another such place. But where does
the name Grendel itself come from?

There are several Anglo-Saxon words that share the same root as
Grendel. The Old English word grindan, for example, and from which we
derive our word grind, used to denote a destroyer. But the most likely
origin of the name is simply the fact that Grendel is an onomatopoeic
term derived from the Old Norse grindill, meaning a storm or grenja,
meaning to bellow. The word Grendel is strongly reminiscent of the
deep-throated growl that would be emitted by a very large animal and
it came into Middle English usage as grindel, meaning angry.

To the hapless Danes who were the victims of his predatory raids,
however, Grendel was not just an animal. To them he was demon-like,
one who was synnum beswenced (afflicted with sins). He was godes
ansaca (God's adversary), the synscatha (evil-doer) who was wonsaeli
(damned), a very feond on helle (devil in hell)! He was one of the
grund-wyrgen, accursed and murderous monsters who were said by the
Danes to be descended from Cain himself. And it is descriptions such
as these of Grendel's nature that convey something of the horror with
which the men of those times anticipated his raids on their
homesteads.

But as for Grendel's far more interesting physical description, his
habits and the geography of his haunts, they are as follows:

At one point in the poem, Hrothgar, king of the Danes, relates to
Beowulf the following information when describing Grendel and one of
the monster's companions:

     'Ic thaet londbuend leode mine seleraedende secgan hyde thaet hie
     gesawon swylce 1-wegen micle mearcsta pan moras healdan
     ellorgaestas. Thaera other waes thaes the hie gewislicost gewitan
     meahton idese onlienes, other earmscea pen on weres waeslmum
     sraeclastas traed naefne he waes mara thonne aenig man other
     thone on geardagum Grendel nemdon foldbuende...'

... the best translation of which is Alexander's:

     'I have heard it said by subjects of mine who live in the
     country, counselors in this hall, that they have seen such a pair
     of huge wayfarers haunting the moors, otherworldly ones; and one
     of them, so far as they might make it out, was in woman's shape;
     but the shape of a man, though twisted, trod also the tracks of
     exile - save that he was more huge than any human being. The
     country people have called him from of old by the name of
     Grendel.'

The key words from this passage, and from which we gain important
information concerning the physical appearance of Grendel, are idese
onlicnes when referring to the female monster, and weres waestmum when
referring to the male. Those Danes who had seen the monsters thought
that the female was the older of the two and supposed that she was
Grendel's mother. She may have been. But what exactly do the
descriptive terms tell us that is of such importance? Simply this:
that the female was in the shape of a woman (idese onlicnes) and the
male was in the shape of a man (weres waestmum), 'though twisted'. In
other words, they were both bipedal, but larger than any human.

Further important detail is added elsewhere in the poem concerning
Grendel's appearance, especially when the monster attacked the Danes
for what was to prove the last time. In lines 815-8, we are told, in
the most graphic detail, how Beowulf inflicted a fatal injury on the
monster by holding the creature in an arm lock, which he then twisted
- 'wrythan'. line 964). The poem then goes on to tell us that:

     'Licsar gebad atol aeglaeca him on eaxie wearth syndolh sweotol
     seonowe onsprungon burston banlocan.'

Which may be translated thus:

     'Searing pain seized the terrifying ugly one as a gaping wound
     appeared in his shoulder. The sinews snapped and the (arm) joint
     burst asunder.' (My translation)

For twelve years the Danes had themselves attempted to kill Grendel
with conventional weapons, knives, swords, arrows and the like. Yet
his impenetrable hide had defied them all and Grendel was able to
attack the Danes with impunity. Beowulf considered all this and
decided that the only way to tackle the monster was to get to grips
with him at close quarters. The monster's forelimbs, which the Saxons
called eorms (arms) and which some translate as claws, were small and
comparatively puny. They were the monster's one weak spot, and Beowulf
went straight for them. He was already renowned for his prodigious
strength of grip, and he used this to literally tear off one of
Grendel's weak, small arms.

Grendel, however, is also described, in line 2079 of the poem, as a
mutbbona, i.e. one who slays with his mouth or jaws, and the speed
with which he was able to devour his human prey tells us something of
the size of his jaws and teeth (he swallowed the body of one of his
victims in large 'gobbets'). Yet, it is the very size of Grendel's
jaws which paradoxically would have aided Beowulf in his carefully
thought out strategy of going for the forelimbs, because pushing
himself hard into the animal's chest between those forelimbs would
have placed Beowulf tightly underneath those jaws and would thus have
sheltered him from Grendel's terrible teeth.

We are told that as soon as Beowulf gripped the monsters claws (and we
must remember that Grendel was only a youngster, and not by all
accounts a fully mature adult male of his species), the startled
animal tried to pull away instead of attacking Beowulf. The animal
instinctively knew the danger he was now in and he wanted to escape
the clutches of the man who now posed such an unexpected threat and
who was inflicting such alarming pain. However, it was this action of
trying to pull away that left Grendel wide open to Beowulf's strategy.
Thus, Beowulf was able in the ensuing struggle eventually to wrench
off one of the animal's arms as so graphically described in the poem.
As a result of this appalling injury, the young Grendel returned to
his lair and simply bled to death.


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Online Book: After the Flood
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 18:28:03 +0000

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

Online book:

          After the Flood
          Bill Cooper
          http://www.best.com/~dolphin//cooper

From Introduction:
...I decided to select a certain portion of Genesis and
submit it to a test which, if applied to any ordinary historical
document, would be considered a test of the most unreasonable
severity. And I would continue that test until either the book of
Genesis revealed itself to be a false account, or it would be shown
to beutterly reliable in its historical statements. Either way, I
would discover once and for all whether the biblical record was
worthy of my trust or not. It seemed a little irreverent to treat a
book that claimed to be the very Word of God in such a fashion. But
if truth has any substance at all, then that book would surely be
able to bear such a test. If Genesis contained any falsehood, error
or misleading statement of fact, then a severe testing would reveal
it and I would be the first to add my own voice to those of all the
other scholars who declared the book of Genesis to be little more
than fable.

What I had not expected at the time was the fact that the task was to
engage my attention and energies for more than twenty-five years. Nor
had I expected the astonishing degree to which Genesis, particularly
the tenth and eleventh chapters, was to be vindicated. These chapters
are conveniently known to scholars as the Table of Nations, and the
sheer breadth and depth of the historical evidence that was available
for their study astonished me. It bore very little relation indeed to
what I had been led to expect. But that was not the only surprise in
store...

          Introduction: In the Beginning
          Chapter 1 The Knowledge of God amongst the early Pagans
          Chapter 2 Where to Begin
          Chapter 3 Nennius and the Table of European Nations
          Chapter 4 The Chronicles of the early Britons
          Chapter 5 The History of the early British Kings
          Chapter 6 The Descent of the Anglo-Saxon Kings
          Chapter 7 The Descent of the Danish and Norwegian Kings
          Chapter 8 The Descent of the Irish Celtic Kings
          Chapter 9 Ancient Chronologies and the Age of the Earth
          Chapter 10 Dinosaurs from Anglo-Saxon and other Records
          Chapter 11 Beowulf and the Creatures of Denmark
          Chapter 12 Conclusion
          Chapter 13 What the CSM is all about

          Appendices
          Appendix I The Nations of Shem
          Appendix 2 The Nations of Ham
          Appendix 3 The Nations of Japheth
          Appendix 4 Surviving MSS of the early Welsh Chronicles
          Appendix 5 The Latin Text of Nennius 17 and 18
          Appendix 6 The Molmutine Laws and Pagan Britain
          Appendix 7 The Genealogy of the early British Kings
          Appendix 8 The Descent of the East Saxon Kings
          Appendix 9 The Historical Characters of Beowulf
          Appendix 10 Zoologically applied terms in the Beowulf
          Appendix 11 Epic From Japheth to Brutus
          Appendix 12 The Descent from Japheth of the Miautso
          Appendix 13 Britain's First Christian
          Appendix 14 The Irish Chronicles and the end of the Ice Age
          Bibliography


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Seasons of the Moon - Iyar
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 20:27:06 +0000

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

SEASONS of the MOON
The Jewish Year seen through its months

 Iyar 5759 / April 16, 1999 - May 15, 1999
 
A Straight Line

The computing power inside your skull vastly exceeds any
supercomputer. However, for the past half century, neuroscientists
have suggested that the brain achieves its phenomenal performance in a
way fundamentally similar to electronic computers. Thinking takes
place through the aggregate action of billions of simple elements --
cells called neurons -- that are connected in an extremely complicated
way.

Thinking Is Connecting

Neuroscience understands that the physical process of thought is
connectivity. Neurons conduct signals in the form of tiny electrical
impulses. Messages travel from one neuron to another as pulses of
chemicals that are released at specialized junctions, or synapses.
There are trillions of such junctions in the human brain. The whole
process is one of connecting.

 Everything in this physical world has a metaphysical counterpart -- a
 
doppelganger in the world of the spirit: Just as connectivity is the
modus operandi of the physical process of thought -- the "body" of
thought, if you will -- so too is connectivity the heart of cognition,
the "soul" of thought. We think and understand by connecting one
thing to another. Whether this process takes place by comparing or by
extrapolating, essentially we are connecting.

 What if we were to concretize the process of thinking, of
connectivity, into a word? What would this elemental word of
connection be? What is the basic unit of connectivity in language?

 I think that word is and. And is the basic building block of
language. And is to language what the neuron is to thought.

 And if we were to conjecture what the word and would look like if we
were to give it a shape, if we wanted to draw a picture of and -- we
would probably draw a straight line. For a straight line is the
elemental symbol of connection. It connects "here" with "there."

Iyar And The Letter Vav -- Thought And The Straight Line

Every month in the Jewish Year represents a certain characteristic.
The essential characteristic of the month of Iyar is thought. We know
that the Hebrew alphabet is the DNA of Creation. Each of the months
was brought into being through one of the letters of the Hebrew
alphabet. The formation of the month of Iyar was through the letter
vav which represents thought.

 The meaning of the letter vav in Hebrew is "and." Interestingly, if
you look at the way we write the letter vav, you'll see that it is
written as a straight line. The vav is a pictogram of connection.
The line which is the letter vav connects one word to another, one
thought to another, one world to another.

The Line Which Connects

If you think about it, the month of Iyar is itself like a line -- a
straight line connecting two thoughts into a single idea. That idea
is called Pesach in Nissan and Shavuos in Sivan. These two festivals
represent the beginning and the conclusion of the birth of the nation.
 This line is most visible when it surfaces in the nightly ritual of
the counting of the omer (the majority of which is done in the month
of Iyar). Every night for forty-nine nights, from the second night of
Pesach until the night before Shavuos, the Jewish People plug into a
line of spiritual energy, counting one day at a time, until we reach
that supernal moment of contact with the Eternal.

 The counting of the omer is like the vav, a line crossing a spiritual
 
map; like neurons connecting, communicating a thought across the
synapse to the next neuron. Days connecting to days. Communicating a
single idea until it is complete and concrete, like a fetus developing
in the womb until it emerges into the world.

Gate 49

When the Jewish People left Egypt, they were hovering over the
precipice of spiritual annihilation. They were at the last gate. 49
gates of tuma (spiritual impurity) exist in this world and the Jewish
People were at the threshold of oblivion.

 49 is 7 times 7. When you square a number, it reaches its ultimate
expression. It is the thing times itself; nothing can be a greater
revelation of essence than that. Thus, 49 is the furthest reach of
seven- ness in this world. And seven is this world: There are seven
notes in the scale, seven days in the week and seven colors in the
rainbow. Seven in Sound. Seven in Time. Seven in Space.

The End Of The World

The 49 days of the omer represent the 49 steps by which the Jews
ascended from their spiritual nadir in Egypt to be the worthy
recipients of the Torah. The Torah was given on the fiftieth day
because it is both beyond, and circumscribes, this world. Its
presence here is an anomaly -- it is beyond the world. Thus, it was
given on the 50th day, because 50 is a number which cannot be counted
in this world. This world is seven. Count seven times seven. And
that's it. Forty-nine. You reached the end of the world. Even
though there is a number called fifty, what fifty represents is really
beyond this world.

Basic Arithmetic

The Jewish People in Egypt were spiritually on level -49. And by the
time they received the Torah, they had reached level +49. I don't
know about you, but when I was at school, the difference between -49
and +49 wasn't 49, it was 98. So why then are there only forty-nine
days between the second night of Pesach and Shavuos? Really, we
should count 98 days, and Shavuos should be on the 25th of Tammuz.
Why isn't it? Why do we need only seven weeks, and not fourteen, to
rise from the pits to the heights?

 There are two ways to destroy evil. You can nullify it or you can
transform it. You can eradicate it or you can reverse its polarity
from negative to positive. The Jewish People only needed forty-nine
days to reach the heights of Sinai because they took the impurity that
had encrusted them in Egypt and turned it into a positive force. They
literally turned it on its head. In other words, each day was not an
eradication of a certain aspect of evil; rather it was the
transformation of that evil into its positive equivalent.

      Thinking Straight

The power of thought is that it can be instantly reversed. If you
throw a car into reverse, you'll break the gearbox, but you can change
your mind in a second. The power of teshuva -- the power of return --
lies in this capability of the mind to instantly reverse itself.
Thought is a straight line. A straight line connects two opposite
ends of the same possibility. The polarity can be instantly reversed.
 Maybe this is the secret power of the month of Iyar, the month of the
vav, the month of the straight line. The straight line parallels the
power of thought to instantly reverse itself. And that was the very
essence of the process by which the Jewish People made it to Sinai in
49 days.

The Grammar Of Eternity

Biblical grammar has a very unusual feature: By merely adding "and"
to a verb, you can change the tense from the future to the past and
vice versa. As we mentioned before, the word "and" in Hebrew is
created by using the letter vav as a prefix. The mere addition of the
letter vav to a verb changes the future into the past and the past
into the future. What does this mean?

 Time is a creation. To G-d, there is no past, present and future.
G-d doesn't exist in time. He creates time. The letter vav, the
straight line which means "and", is the letter that connects. The vav
tells us that the past is connected to future, the future to the past.
 It tells us that ultimately the past is the future and the future is
the past.

 According to the Zohar, vav symbolizes truth. The essence of truth
is that things are not random, that everything is connected -- the
future to the past, the past to the future. For everything is
connected in He Who is One.

Prepared by the Jewish Learning Exchange of
Ohr Somayach International
22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103
Jerusalem 91180, Israel
Tel: 972-2-581-0315 Fax: 972-2-581-2890
E-Mail: info@ohr.org.il Home Page: http://www.ohr.org.il


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (4/15/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 10:50:50 +0000

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

Diplomats turn down Sharon invitation to tour West Bank

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz

Thu Apr 15 , 1999 -- Most of the 81 diplomatic missions based in
Israel, including the European Union and the United States, have
declined an invitation from Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon to
participate in a "study tour" of the West Bank next Friday. Diplomats
from an estimated two dozen countries, however, have indicated that
they will attend. While the countries' names are not being disclosed,
they are located in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
European diplomats confirm that all the EU states have decided to
boycott the Sharon trip, which contradicts the EU's policy of not
going to the West Bank in the company of Israeli officials. U.S.
diplomats say they will not attend for the same reason. Sharon
initiated the offer, to provide diplomats with a better understanding
of Israel's security needs for the territories in advance of the final
status talks. The foreign minister is fond of conducting such tours
himself. Sharon's office sent a letter to the dean of the diplomatic
corps, Philippine Ambassador Rosalinda de Perio-Santos.


Sharon to give message: Jerusalem is ours

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz

Thu Apr 15 , 1999 -- Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon is expected to
announce at a European-Mediterranean gathering in Stuttgart, Germany,
that Israel views UN Security Council Resolution 181, which attempted
to partition Palestine in 1947, as "null and void." Sharon's remarks
should be seen in the context of last month's European Union mention
of Jerusalem as a "corpus separatum" or separate entity from Israel,
an idea mentioned in 181. Israel sees 181 as nullified upon Arab
armies' 1948 invasion of Israel. To drive the point home about
Jerusalem, Sharon is expected to say that he brings greetings from the
city, which has been the Jewish capital for 3,000 years. In his
remarks, Sharon is also expected to call upon the assembled countries
to mobilize on behalf of a "flagship" regional water desalination
project to avert shortages that are expected to intensify in the
region in 10 years' time. European leaders have so far been cool to
the idea, but they are expected to be more receptive if it becomes the
unified position of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians. The Euro-Med
conference, dubbed "the Barcelona Process" due to the city of its
founding meeting in 1995, is the only multilateral gathering where
Syrian and Israeli foreign ministers participate together. No contact
whatsoever is expected, however, between Ariel Sharon and his Syrian
counterpart, Farouk al Shara.

Israel officially declares drought

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Jerusalem Post

Thu Apr 15 , 1999 -- The country is in the middle of a drought,
Agriculture Minister Rafael Eitan Thursday announced officially. He
spoke at a Tel Aviv conference to explain plans for saving water in
the agricultural sector, whose water supply may be cut by 40 percent.
"I call on everyone, both you and those who don't use it for
commercial purposes, to save water," Eitan said to an auditorium full
of farmers and ministry officials. For now it is just the farmers who
are facing cutbacks. A bill to cut the fresh water available to the
agriculture sector by 40%, or 250 million cubic meters, passed its
first reading in the Knesset on Tuesday. "We have no other option than
to cut back by 40%, because this is the worst situation in 10 years,"
Water Commissioner Meir Ben-Meir said. Yaron Solomon, director of the
settlement department of the Agricultural Workers Union, said that "as
farmers, we understand the principle and that there is a problem, and
therefore we must cut back." However, the local authorities' water
supply also should be limited since, he said, a significant part of it
goes toward maintaining public gardens. Dr. Mordechai Cohen Kedmon,
director of the planning branch, emphasized that farmers will be
compensated and that the cuts will not be made unilaterally. Water for
orchards, for example, would be cut by 20%, while water for cotton and
grains would be cut back much more. Kedmon estimated that the cutbacks
under consideration would cost the agriculture industry NIS 400
million and that industries dependent on it would lose another NIS
400m.

via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - State Dept. Refuses to Recognize Jerusalem as Part of Israel
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 10:50:51 +0000

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

STATE DEPARTMENT REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE JERUSALEM
AS PART OF ISRAEL

The case of two American babies born in Jerusalem is threatening -
unsuccessfully, so far - to change United States policy in the Middle
East. Shoshanna Walker, whose two children were born in the Israeli
capital in 1985 and 1986, is attempting to raise public awareness of
the fact that their birth certificates lists their birthplace only as
"Jerusalem," without specifying Israel. She has been attempting for
some time now to have the United States State Department recognize
Israel's sovereignty over the city. Mrs. Walker has been told by
State Department officials that Jerusalem - all of it - is not in
Israel, but she claims that this directly conflicts with a
Congressional decision of November 1995 recognizing Jerusalem as the
capital of Israel.

One State Department official at the Country Desk for Israel in
Washington, D.C., told Shoshanna that the State Department cannot
favor requests for documents to read "Jerusalem, Israel" over those
requesting "Jerusalem, Palestine." Greg Rickman, an aide to Senator
Alfonse D'Amato, who attempted to help Mrs. Walker, told her that "the
State Department was adamant about not changing its position on
Jerusalem." Senator D'Amato's office also sent Ms. Walker's complaint
to the State Department. In response, the Senator received a letter
from Barbara Larkin, Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs,
which cited U.S. passport law: "The practice of listing Jerusalem
without a country in a U.S. passport as the place of birth of a U.S.
citizen born there is a long-standing one. We do not believe that
this is an appropriate time to change that practice."

Arutz Sheva News Service
     <http://www.a7.org>
Friday, April 16, 1999 / Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5759 - Day 15 of the Omer

--- BPR

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


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Communist China's birthday/Jewish Feasts
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 10:50:51 +0000

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

 CCP Circular Warns Against Extravagance in Anniversary Celebration

[CND, 04/15/99] The Chinese Communist Party warned against
extravagance in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the
founding of the People's Republic of China, the Associated Press
reported on Wednesday.

The warning was carried in a circular issued by the Party to local
authorities, one day after the announcement by a senior Beijing
municipal official responsible for the celebration's preparatory work.

According to the circular, no grand banquets, no unauthorized
souvenirs, and no use of the occasion as an excuse to renovate offices
will be allowed. Local authorities are required to make great efforts
to safeguard social stability. Apparently, the central authorities are
concerned about public reactions to soaring unemployment, stagnant
incomes, and widespread corruption.

Starting in early September, entry to Beijing will be strictly
controlled. Chang'an Avenue in central Beijing is being renovated for
the anniversary parade that half a million people will participate in
on October 1st. The parade is expected to display modern weaponry of
the Chinese armed forces. No estimate for the cost of the celebration
has been disclosed. (Peter LI, YIN De An)

C h i n a N e w s D i g e s t
(Global News, No. GL99-050)
Friday, April 16, 1999
------------------------------

October 1, 1999 Hoshanah Rabbah
October 2, 1999 Shemini Atzeret
October 3, 1999 Simchat Torah
-------------------------------

  Hoshanah Rabbah
  The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshanah Rabbah (The Great
  Hoshanah). The name is taken from the word hoshanah ("please, save")
  frequently said in the prayers of the day, and reminiscent of the
  Temple service. Prayers for sustenance are recited and five aravot
  (willow branches) are beaten on the ground. The mystical meanings of
  this is hidden to all but a few.

  In the synagogue seven circuits (hakaffot) are conducted around the
  prayer-stand with the lulav and etrog in hand as these prayers are
  chanted. In post-talmudic times, this day has become a "supplement"
  of Yom Kippur since God's decrees for the coming year are
  finalized on this day. So, some have the custom of spending the
  night of Hoshanah Rabbah in prayer and study.

   Shemini Atzeret
   Although called the "Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly" - giving rise
   to the notion of this holiday being the continuation of
   the seven days of Sukkot - Shemini Atzeret was regarded by the
   rabbis as a festival in its own right. Included in the
   special prayers is the Prayer for Rain. As its name implies,
   Atzeret ("Assembly"), was also the time when the populace
   gathered, once in seven years, for a public reading of the Law.

              In Israel, the day is combined with Simchat Torah, the
              Day of Rejoicing with the Torah.

  Simchat Torah
  The last day of the holiday period is Simchat Torah (which in
  Israel coincides with Shemini Atzeret). On this day, the
  annual reading of the Sefer Torah in the synagogue is concluded.
  Over the years, a number of ceremonies have grown up
  around the day.

   * A new cycle of reading is begun as soon as the old cycle is
      concluded (symbolizing the eternity of the Torah).
   * The person called up for the last portion of the Torah is
      called the Chatan Torah - Bridegroom of the Torah; likewise,
      the person called up for beginning of the new cycle is called
      the Chatan Bereishit - Bridegroom of Bereishit, after
      the Hebrew name of the first Book of the Torah. These people
      are usually distinguished and meritorious members of
      the community.
   * During the evening and morning prayers of the festival, all
      the Torah scrolls are taken out the ark, amidst much pomp and
      ceremony. The scrolls are carried in procession while songs
      of praise are sung, followed by much dancing.
   * During the morning service, all the congregants are called
      up to the Law, and even the young children make a
      collective blessing on the Torah.

Virtual Jerusalem
http://www.virtual.co.il


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - EU-Mediterranean Partnership Must Be Extended
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 10:57:02 +0000

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

FISCHER: EU-MEDITERRANEAN PARTNERSHIP MUST BE
EXTENDED

The European Union wants closer ties with its neighbors along the
Mediterranean and is ready to step up its financial engagement in the
region, Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told the participants at the
EU-Mediterranean Conference in Stuttgart this week. Opening the
conference Thursday (April 15), Fischer noted that the political,
economic and social stability of the EU and the Mediterranean region
are tightly interwoven. Building a closer partnership with the
Mediterranean nations is, consequently, a crucial complement to the
EU's planned expansion in Eastern Europe.

The main item on the agenda in Stuttgart was the drafting of a
"Charter for Peace and Stability." The EU and the dozen Mediterranean
states participating in the conference are looking to the founding
agreements of the Organization (previously Conference) for Security
and Cooperation in Europe as a model for the charter.

via: This Week in Germany


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Russia Today item (4/16/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 11:07:31 +0000

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

WORLD BANK DANGLES BILLIONS IN AID FOR RUSSIA
MOSCOW -- World Bank President James Wolfensohn on Thursday promised
Russia billions of dollars in new credits, but said first the
government must implement reforms required by the International
Monetary Fund.
http://www.russiatoday.com/rtoday/business/news/1999041602.html?text


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - "Lightcraft" - Flying disc
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 13:04:50 +0000

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

                                 Riding the Highways of Light

                                  Science mimics science fiction as a
                                  working model flying disc - a
                                  "Lightcraft" - takes to
                                                    the air

          April 16, 1999: It looks like another fine product of Area
          51, and it really is shaped like a flying disc, and would
          even fly like one. If it works, the family tree will trace
          back not to Roswell, New Mexico, but Troy, New York.

          "It came out of a trans-atmospheric vehicle design course at
          Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute," which is in Troy,
          explained Prof. Leik Myrabo.

          The microwave Lightcraft being studied by Myrabo and his
          students is shaped that way because that's how the physics
          works. It's an advanced derivative of a tiny, 25-gram craft
          that he is pushing around on a 10 kilowatt beam of infrared
          laser light in tests at White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

          Myrabo discussed his work last week during the Advanced
          Propulsion Research Workshop held in Huntsville.

          "This is where we are now," Myrabo said, showing a picture
          of Dr. Robert Goddard with his first liquid propellant
          rocket, launched March 16, 1926. Just 43 years later, a
          sophisticated descendant of that rocket sent the first
          humans to the Moon.

          "My goal has been to cut the cost of getting to space by a
          factor of 1,000 using a system that is completely green," he
          explained of his passion for the past three decades. Since
          1972, he has been building on an idea developed by Arthur
          Kantrowitz to use lasers to launch satellites. Myrabo
          introduced a variation using the atmosphere as the
          propellant heated by a laser. At higher altitude and at 5.5
          times the speed of sound, as the air thins, the craft would
          use a small supply of on board hydrogen, still heated by the
          remote laser beam.

          Myrabo's initial design for NASA was a 5-meter (16.5 ft)
          diameter, four-person craft - "ma and pa in the front, two
          kids and a dog in the back" - in a shape that he dubbed
          Acorn. The front is shaped to reflect the coherent laser
          light into a narrow region between the body and a shroud.
          The focused light superheats the air to become a jet exhaust
          that pushes the craft up. In this case, the laser power
          station would be based in orbit.

          He next worked on the Toy Top design which reversed the
          optics for lasers based on the ground. The Strategic Defense
          Initiative Organization was interested in this approach for
          rapid launches of satellites weighing around 100 kg (220
          lbs).

          Under continued Air Force and NASA sponsorship, Myrabo has
          developed and test flown a 15 cm (6 inch) diameter model of
          the Toy Top Lightcraft.

          "We just passed Goddard's second flight of 92 feet (28
          meters)," Myrabo said. That limit, though, is set at 120 ft
          (37 m) by a light shield erected by a crane to stop the
          light beam and eliminate the chance of blinding a satellite
          sensor.

          The next step is to develop a 150 kilowatt laser that would
          boost a larger model to 30 km (18 mi) altitude. Eventually,
          a 1 gigawatt laser would be needed to orbit satellites as
          Kantrowitz, Myrabo, and others have long envisioned.

          It's possible, though, that it all might be supplanted by
          mid-21st century by the microwave Lightcraft. When word of
          his work got around to the Space Studies Institute in
          Princeton, Myrabo was asked if he could design a similar
          craft that used microwaves beamed from space since microwave
          transmitters were a more mature technology than lasers.

          The concept that evolved is a part airship, microwave
          receiver, and (the smallest part) jet and rocket engine,
          and as green as any space concept.The 12-person,
          20-meter (66 ft) craft would be powered from
          the Earth's surface to the Moon by sunlight
          captured by an orbiting power station (1 km diameter, 20 GW
          power), converted to microwaves, and beamed to rectennas
          (rectifying antennas) that turn it back into electricity on
          the Lightcraft. That's where the saucer shape comes from.

          The airship part is a pressurized helium balloon-type
          structure made of advanced silicon carbide film (transparent
          to microwaves) to make the craft partly buoyant and to
          provide for a large parabolic reflector for the energy
          beamed from space. The craft would be encircled by two
          superconducting magnet rings and a series of ion engines,
          and topped with solar cells.

          At launch, the Lightcraft would use electricity from its
          solar cells (powered by an infrared space-based laser at
          night) to ionize the air and move the craft through
          electrostatic discharges. The craft could move at 80 to 160
          km/h (50-100 mph).

          That's just low gear. Switching on the microwave transmitter
          would make the Lightcraft disappear in less than an eye
          blink. The microwaves would be focused by the internal
          reflector to heat the air on one side or the other of the
          craft and push it in the opposite direction.

          "This is used to climb out to a good altitude and beyond the
          speed of sound where you use the magnetohydrodynamic drive,"
          Myrabo continued. Now the craft tilts from flying edgewise
          to flying flat into the air stream. That seems wrong but for
          another trick. The microwaves are reflected forward to
          create a superhot bubble of air above the craft and form an
          air spike that acts as the nose cone as the Lightcraft
          accelerates to 25 times the speed of sound.

          "This cleans up the aerodynamics of a vehicle that does not
          look like it should fly in that direction," Myrabo said.
          Even better, when the load is properly balanced the craft
          sails through the air without leaving a shock wave and
          virtually no supersonic wake. Water is used by the craft to
          cool the rectennas and as a propellant in the last stages of
          ascent.

          At least initially, during the prototype phase, it won't be
          for everyone, just NASA and military test pilots. The
          hyper-energetic performance will require that the crew ride
          in liquid-filled escape pods to protect them from g-forces
          greater than even fighter pilots occasionally endure. In
          some Air Force Space Command schemes, the crew would breath
          an oxygenated fluid to protect their lungs.

          It all sounds a bit too much like science fiction, but
          Myrabo points out that most of the technologies or
          principles have been demonstrated. Faculty and students at
          Rensselaer have demonstrated the MHD slipstream accelerator
          and the air spike concept in a high-speed wind tunnel, and
          will test new models of other parts of the propulsion system
          later this year.

          "If successful, this will cut the cost of getting to space
          to whatever someone wants to charge for electricity from the
          orbiting power station," Myrabo said. "You could go halfway
          around the world in 45 minutes, or from the Earth to the
          Moon in about 5-1/2 hours."

          At the Moon, the Lightcraft would zoom down a series of
          ring-shaped electromagnets that would slow the craft, or
          could accelerate another Lightcraft for the return to Earth.

          "This would require a fully mature infrastructure to support
          these vehicles," Myrabo said. But it could bring about an
          era of airline-like space travel on "highways of Light."

          More information about the Lightcraft program, including
          additional images and Quicktime movies, are available at the
          Lightcraft web site at RPI
          [http://www-aero.meche.rpi.edu/curriculum/tavd/intro/].

http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/prop16apr99_1.htm


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Edupage items (4/16/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 19:05:33 +0000

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

AOL TO ROLL OUT DEVICES THAT GET YOU ON THE INTERNET WITHOUT REQUIRING
A PC AOL in the next several weeks plans to unveil a range of devices
that can access the Internet without needing a PC. The company aims
to make AOL more ubiquitous in consumers' lives and to increase
advertising and electronic commerce revenue opportunities. The new
devices could be used by AOL members to quickly access email and Web
pages. An example of one of the gadgets is a screen phone, which is
similar in appearance to an ordinary desk phone, but with a screen and
a small keyboard. Screen phones could fit easily in a living room or
kitchen, and because they lack much of the software that slows a PC's
boot-up process, the devices can access the Internet in seconds. (Wall
Street Journal 04/16/99)

THE Y2K BUG GOES TO COURT
At least 78 Y2K lawsuits have already been filed, and Lloyds of
London predicts claims could surpass $1 trillion worldwide. In
what may have been the first Y2K lawsuit, the owners of the
Produce Palace sued the makers of their computer system, which
crashed in 1995 when customers used credit cards with expiration dates
ending in "00." The firm that made the system did not want to replace
the computer even after the Produce Palace placed over 200 service
calls. The Warren, Mich.-based gourmet grocery store won a settlement
of $260,000. Some lawmakers and industry lobbyists have been urging
legislation that would limit Y2K litigation. However, trial lawyers,
consumer groups, and the U.S. Justice Department feel that the
proposed restrictions would be unfair to people with legitimate Y2K
claims. (Time 04/19/99)

WEB PHONE: THE NEXT BIG THING?
New Internet-capable wireless phones are expected to enter the
market in greater numbers in upcoming months. Analyst Phillip
Redman believes that in the next couple of years practically
every handset will be connected to the Internet. However,
International Data predicts that the number of people of using
their phones to connect to the Web will account for only 5.6
percent, or 6 million, of the 108 million expected to own
wireless phones by 2002. Currently, only a few carriers,
including AT&T Wireless and Bell Atlantic, are offering
Web-capable phones. (New York Times 04/15/99)

via: EDUCAUSE Edupage Mailing List
<edupage@franklin.oit.unc.edu>

--- BPR

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


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Link between solar cycle and earth climate
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 1999 08:45:39 +0000

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

                                     Link Established Between
                                  Solar Cycle And Earth Climate
                               NASA/Goddard Spaceflight Center
                           www.gsfc.nasa.gov www.sciencedaily.com
                                                   4-12-99

                Researchers have found that the variations in the
                energy given off from the sun effect the Earth's wind
                patterns and thus the climate of the planet, according
                to results of a new study published in the April 9
                issue of Science.

                For decades, scientists have tried to understand the
                link between winds and temperature and the sun and its
                cycles. There were tell-tale signs of a connection.
                For instance, the Little Ice Age recorded in Europe
                between 1550 and 1700 happened during a time of very
                low solar activity. But how the sun and climate were
                linked continued to elude researchers.

                According to Drew Shindell, a climate researcher from
                NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New
                York, NY, and lead author of the new study, a key
                piece of the puzzle was missing. Previous studies
                neglected to take into account the effects of
                increased solar activity on the ozone layer or the
                complex chemistry of the upper atmosphere where most
                of the high-energy radiation, including ultra-violet
                radiation (the kind responsible for creating the ozone
                layer) gets absorbed.

                "When we added the upper atmosphere's chemistry into
                our climate model, we found that during a solar
                maximum major climate changes occur in North America."
                The changes, according to Shindell, are caused by
                stronger westerly winds. Changes also occur in wind
                speeds and directions all over the Earth's surface.

                "Solar variability changes the distribution of
                energy," said Shindell. "Over an 11-year solar cycle,
                the total amount of energy has not changed very much.
                But where the energy goes changes as wind speeds and
                directions change." During the sun's 11-year cycle,
                from a solar maximum to a solar minimum, the energy
                released by the sun changes by only about a tenth of a
                percent.

                When the solar cycle is at a maximum, it puts out a
                larger percentage of high-energy radiation, which
                increases the amount of ozone in the upper atmosphere.
                The increased ozone warms the upper atmosphere and the
                warm air affects winds all the way from the
                stratosphere (that region of the atmosphere that
                extends from about 6 to 30 miles high) to the Earth's
                surface. "The change in wind strength and direction
                creates different climate patterns around the globe,"
                said Shindell.

                According to Shindell, the new study also confirms
                that changing levels of energy from the sun are not a
                major cause of global warming.

                Many scientists have argued that the radiation change
                in a solar cycle - an increase of two to three tenths
                of a percent over the 20th century - are not strong
                enough to account for the observed surface temperature
                increases. The GISS model agrees that the solar
                increases do not have the ability to cause large
                global temperature increases, leading Shindell to
                conclude that greenhouse gasses are indeed playing the
                dominant role.

                The general circulation model used in the study
                included solar radiation data from NASA's Upper
                Atmospheric Research Satellite, launched in 1991. With
                data from UARS, which was used to calculate ozone
                changes, scientists have good measurements of how much
                radiation the sun puts out, increasing the accuracy of
                the new model.

                ___________

                Note: This story has been adapted from a news release
                issued by NASA/Goddard Spaceflight Center for
                journalists and other members of the public. If you
                wish to quote from any part of this story, please
                credit NASA/Goddard Spaceflight Center as the original
                source.

http://www.sightings.com/ufo3/linkest.htm
---------------------

And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners
of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind
should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any
tree.--Revelation 7:1


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Awesome Iceberg Impacts
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 1999 08:50:19 +0000

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

                               Armageddon In Antarctica
                            - Awesome Iceberg Impacts
                                    By Damian Carrington
                              BBC News Online Science Reporter
                                           4-15-99

                Icebergs crashing against the sea floor could be the
                most devastating natural disaster that any living
                community on Earth experiences.

                Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey have
                discovered that over 99.5% of all visible sea-bed
                dwellers are massacred when the bergs collide with the
                ocean bottom.

                Floods, earthquakes and even meteorite impacts cannot
                claim such total destruction. The project leader,
                Professor Lloyd Peck, told BBC News Online: "In
                biological terms it is outrageous - it's almost a
                sterile environment."

                Up to 20% of the world's oceans are prone to
                catastrophic ice berg impacts. Even ocean floor as
                deep as 500m is at risk.

                The bergs float in and gouge and trample the
                communities as they rock back and forth in the tide.
                It is their immense weight that causes the damage.

                "The biggest icebergs are the size of Oxfordshire and
                weigh two billion tonnes. The impact force is greater
                than that of cruise missiles - it's immense," says
                Professor Peck.

                His team, including colleagues from Gent University,
                Belgium, set up three underwater test sites near Signy
                Island, Antarctica. All were destroyed within 18
                months.

                They dived beneath the sea and used vacuum pumps to
                suck up the animals living on the sea bed both before
                and immediately after the berg impact.

                They were shocked by the totality of the death toll.
                In some cases, literally everything had been ground to
                a fine powder.

                "For animals bigger than one millimetre, there were
                eight really common groups and six disappeared
                completely," explained Professor Peck. "The removal of
                the other two species was over 99.5%.

                "Animals smaller than one millimetre, like nematodes,
                went down from two million per square metre to a few
                hundred."

                Rising from the ashes

                For the first time, the scientists also tracked the
                recovery of the obliterated sites. It had been thought
                this would take years.

                But the first arrivals re-colonised within a few days,
                simply by walking back in. The smaller creatures
                needed the assistance of a major storm to be swept
                back in. This occurred within four months, with a 150
                km/h gale.

                And this revealed a surprise - the berg impacts
                actually revitalise the sea floor communities in the
                same way that forest fires clear "dead wood" and allow
                new trees to flourish.

                "The icebergs actually help to maintain the population
                with a larger number of young animals because it's
                clearing areas for settlement," says Professor Peck.
                "So the ice bergs do have positive effects as well."

http://www.sightings.com/earthchanges/impacts.htm


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Naked-Eye Eclipse Sunday Evening, April 18th
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 1999 16:01:17 +0000

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

          Naked-Eye Eclipse Sunday Evening, April 18th;
      Camcorder Records by Public Wanted for Climate Studies

     A rare naked-eye eclipse of the bright star Aldebaran by the Moon
can be seen and videorecorded with most camcorders from most of the
Northwest, Midwest, and much of Canada on Sunday evening, April 18th.
For these areas, this will be the last nighttime eclipse of Aldebaran
for 14 years. However, on Friday night, May 21-22, Regulus, almost as
bright, will be eclipsed, in that case by a first-quarter Moon. That
will be the last naked-eye eclipse of a star by the Moon for the
region until 2005.

     Astronomers call such eclipses "occultations". The
International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA) wants your (or a
friend's) videotape of this event. Many camcorder records that can be
accurately timed by simple techniques are valuable for helping chart
lunar mountains and craters, information that is needed for analyzing
timed observations of total solar eclipses. Those observations can
then be used to measure small variations in the solar diameter, and
its energy output, that could enhance our knowledge of climate
phenomena such as global warming. Procedures for filming the
occultation are in the item "precisely timing the occultation with a
camcorder" on IOTA's Web page at
http://www.lunar-occultations.com/iota

     The occultation will be seen best in the Northwest, northern
Rockies area, Great Plains, and Canada, except for British Columbia
and western Washington, where the event occurs too close to sunset to
be seen without a small telescope. From Lake Huron to Indiana,
southern Illinois, and southeastern Missouri, the event again will be
hard to see since it will occur very low on the western horizon,
shortly before moonset. In a zone about four miles wide passing south
of Eugene, Oregon (over Florence and Cottage Grove); over southern
Idaho; over Jackpot, Nevada; north of Salt Lake City (over North
Ogden); south of Denver (just north of Castle Rock); south of Wichita,
Kansas; and north of Bartlesville, Oklahoma (over Copan, Delaware, and
Vinita), the star's path relative to the Moon's disk is a tangent
line. The star will disappear and reappear there several times among
the mountains in the lunar South Pole area. South of that
southern-limit "grazing" zone, there will be no occultation; the Moon
will appear to pass north of the star.

     Predictions of the occultation disappearance for several large
North American cities are given below.

                Local Times Sun Moon
Location h m Alt Alt

Anchorage AK 6:20 pm ADT +21 42
Boise ID 9:25 pm MDT -10 23
Chicago IL 10:19 pm CDT 4
Denver CO 9:39 pm MDT 12
Des Moines IA 10:23 pm CDT 7
Detroit MI 11:16 pm EDT 1
Edmonton AB 8:58 pm MDT -3 26
Kansas City MO 10:30 pm CDT 6
Minneapolis MN 10:15 pm CDT 9
Omaha NE 10:25 pm CDT 8
Portland OR 8:18 pm PDT -4 29
Regina SK 9:06 pm CST -11 19
Seattle WA 8:10 pm PDT -2 30
Spokane WA 8:50 pm PDT -11 20
St Louis MO 10:28 pm CDT 3
Vancouver BC 8:04 pm PDT 0 31
Winnipeg MB 10:07 pm CDT 14

The Sun and Moon altitudes (Alt) are in degrees above the western
horizon; the Sun altitude is not given if it is more than 12 degrees
below the horizon since the sky is quite dark by then. Twilight will
be too strong to see the event without optical aid in Seattle,
Vancouver, and Edmonton, while the event will occur too low to see it
directly in Detroit. The event will be only marginally visible, even
if the sky is clear, in St. Louis and Chicago; binoculars or a
camcorder are recommended to watch it there. Since the disappearance
will occur rather low in the west for most areas, you will need to
select a location to watch the event where trees, hills, or buildings
will not block the view. Data for the reappearance are not given here
since it will occur on the Moon's bright side even closer to moonset;
a telescope will be needed to see and record it. Predictions of it
are on IOTA's Web site for telescopic observers. Also on the Web site
are local-time predictions for over 100 North American cities, maps
from which the event local times can be estimated for any location in
the USA (except Alaska, where it occurs in daylight) and southern
Canada, and views the star's path behind the Moon for several North
American cities.

     Aldebaran is an orange giant star 65 light-years away that
marks the right eye of Taurus, the Bull. The star is large enough
that its disappearance behind the edge of the Moon takes about a tenth
of a second, or three frames of a video record. It is the brightest
star other than the Sun that can be eclipsed by the Moon.


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Seven Thunders
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 1999 20:06:28 +0000

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


...and when he [another mighty angel] had cried, seven thunders
uttered their voices.--Revelation 10:3

                                     ____________________

The following is from Keil & Delitzsch "Commentary on the Old
Testament," volume 5: "Psalms" (1867)--Hebrew manuscripts are used
including Hebrew numbering of verses. It's interesting to note that
all the Psalms have names. I'm going to have to skip a fair amount in
the commentary as I don't read Hebrew and there is no transliteration.
Anything in brackets is what I have added.

                                           Psalm 29
                                  The Psalm of the Seven Thunders.

1.Give unto Jahve, ye sons of God,
   Give unto Jahve glory and might!
2.Give unto Jahve the glory of His name,
    Do homage to Jahve in holy attire!
                      

3.The voice of Jahve is upon the waters,
    The God of Glory thundereth,
   Jahve is upon the great waters.
4.The voice of Jahve goeth forth in power,
    The voice of Jahve goeth forth in majesty.

5.The voice of Jahve breaketh the cedars,
   Yea, Jahve breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.
6.And He maketh them to skip like a calf,
   Lebanon and Sirion like a young antelope.
7.The voice of Jahve flameth forth quivering fire.

8.The voice of Jahve shaketh the wilderness,
   Jahve shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.
9.The voice of Jahve maketh the hinds to travail,
    He strippeth the forest --
   And in His temple everything saith: "Glory!"

10.Jahve hath sat at the Flood,
     And Jahve sitteth a King for ever.
11.Jahve will give power to His people,
     Jahve will bless His people with peace.

     [Sirion = 08303 Shiryown = "breastplate" = one of the names of
     Mt. Hermon.

     flood = 03999 mabbuwl = flood, deluge: Noah's flood that
     submerged the entire planet earth under wter for about a year]

The occasion of this Psalm is a thunderstorm; it is not, however,
limited to the outward natural phenomena, but therein is perceived the
self-attestation of the God of the redemptive history. Just as in the
second part of Psalm 19, the God of the revelation of salvation is
called Jahve seven times in distinction from the God revealed in
nature, so in this a Psalm of thunders voice of is repeated seven
times, so that it may be called the Psalm of the seven thunders (Apoc.
10:3 sq.). During the time of the second Temple, as the addition to
the inscription by the LXX seems to imply,* it was sung on the Shemini
Azereth, the last day (Lev 23:36) of the feast of tabernacles. Between
two testrastichs, in each of which the name Jahve occurs four times,
lie three pentastichs, which, in their sevenfold voicings of,
represent the peals of thunder which follow in rapid succession as the
storm increases in its fury.

     * The Temple liturgy of the Shemini Azereth is not stated in the
     Talmud. We only know, that Psalm 29 belongs to the Psalm-portions
     for the intervening days of the feast of tabernacles. Besides
     this the treatise Sofrim xviii. 3 mentions Psalm 29 as the Psalm
     for the festival of Pentecost and the tradition of the synagogue
     which prevails even at the present day recognises it only as a
     festival Psalm of the first day of Shabuoth [Pentecost]; the
     Psalm for Shemini Azereth is the 65th. The only confirmation of
     the statement of the LXX is to be found in the Sohar; for there
     Psalm 29 is referred to the pouring forth of the water on the
     seventh day of the feast of tabernacles (Hosianna rabba), since
     it is said, that by means of the seven voices of Jahve
     (corresponding to the seven compassings of the altar) seven of
     the Sephiroth open the flood-gates of heaven.

Vers. 1-2. The opening strophe calls upon the celestial spirits to
praise Jahve; for a revelation of divine glory is in preparation,
which, in its first movements, they are accounted worthy to behold,
for the roots of everything that takes place in this world are in the
invisible world. It is not the mighty of the earth, but the angels
that are here [spoken of]. A revelation of the power of God is near at
hand. The heavenly spirits are to prepare themselves for it with all
the outward display of which they are capable. If verse 2 were a
summons to the church on earth, or, as in 96:9, to the dwellers upon
the earth, then there ought to be some expression to indicate the
change in the parties addressed; it is, therefore, in verse 2 as in
verse 1, directed to the priests of the heavenly temple. In the
Apocalypse, also, the songs of praise and trumpeting of the angels
precede the judgments of God.

Vers. 3-9. Now follows the description of the revelation of God's
power, which is the ground of the summons, and is to be the
subject-matter of their praise. The All-glorious One makes Himself
heard in the language of the thunder, and reveals Himself in the
storm. The waters in verse 3 are not the lower waters. Then the
question arises what are they? Were the waters of the Mediterranean
intended, they would be more definitely denoted in such a vivid
description. It is, however, far more appropriate to the commencement
of this description to understand them to mean the mass of water
gathered together in the thick, black storm-clouds. The rumblings of
Jahve is, as the poet himself explains in verse 3b, the thunder
produced on high which rolls over the sea of waters floating above the
earth in the sky. The rumbling of Jahve is, issues forth, or passes
by. In verse 3 the first peals of thunder are heard; in verse 4 the
storm is coming nearer, and the peals become stronger, and now it
bursts forth with its full violence: amidst the rolling of the thunder
the descending lightning flashes rive the cedars of Lebanon (as is
well-known, the lightning takes the outermost points). The suffix in
verse 6a does not refer proleptically to the mountains mentioned
afterwards, but naturally to the cedars, which bend down before the
storm and quickly rise up again. The skipping of Lebanon and Sirion,
however, is not to be referred to the fact, that their wooded summits
bend down and rise again, but, according to 114:4, to their being
shaken by the crash of the thunder,--a feature in the picture which
certainly does not rest upon what is actually true in nature, but
figuratively describes the apparent quaking of the earth during a
heavy thunderstorm. The lightning makes these mountains bound like
young antelopes [the KJV has the word "unicorn" here].

Each peal of thunder is immediately followed by a flash of lightning;
Jahve's thunder cleaveth flames of fire, i.e. forms the fire-matter of
the storm-clouds into cloven flames of fire, into lightnings that pass
swiftly along [depictions of Pentecost?]. The brevity and threefold
division of verse 7 depicts the incessant, zigzag, quivering movement
of the lightning. From the northern mountains the storm sweeps on
towards the south of Palestine into the Arabian desert, viz. as we are
told in verse 8b, the wilderness region of Kadesh (Kadesh Barnea),
which, however we may define its position, must certainly have lain
near the steep western slope of the mountains of Edom toward the
Arabah. Jahve's thunder, viz. the thunderstorm, puts this desert in a
state of whirl, inasmuch as it drives the sand before it in
whirlwinds; and among the mountains it, viz. the strong lightning and
thundering, makes the hinds to writhe, inasmuch as from fright they
bring forth prematurely. The poet describes the effect of the storm
which "shells" the woods, inasmuch as it beats down the branches of
the trees, both the tops and the foliage. While Jahve thus reveals
Himself from heaven upon the earth in all His irresistible power, His
heavenly palace, i.e. each of the beings therein, says: Glory! That
which the poet, in verses 1 and 2, has called upon them to do, now
takes place. Jahve receives back His glory, which is immanent in the
universe, in the thousand-voiced echo of adoration.

Vers. 10-11. The poet has not thus far expressly referred to the
torrents of rain, in which the storm empties itself. The word flood
[mabbuwl] occurs exclusively in Genesis 6-11 as the name of the great
Flood. Every tempest, however, calls to mind this judgment and its
merciful issue, for it comes before us in sacred history as the first
appearance of rain with lightning and thunder, and of the bow in the
clouds speaking its message of peace. Jahve--says the poet--sat (upon
His throne) at the Flood (to execute it), and sits (enthroned) in
consequence thereof, or since that time, as this present revelation of
Him in the tempest shews, as King for ever, inasmuch as He rules down
here upon earth from His throne in the heavens (115:16) in wrath and
in mercy, judging and dispensing blessing. Here upon earth He has a
people, whom from above He endows with a share of His own might and
blesses with peace, while the tempests of His wrath burst over their
foes. How expressive is "peace" as the closing word of this particular
Psalm! It spans the Psalm like a rain-bow. The opening of the Psalm
shews us the heavens opened and the throne of God in the midst of the
angelic songs of praise, and the close of the Psalm shews us, on
earth, His people victorious and blessed with peace, in the midst of
Jahve's voice of anger, which shakes all things.

                                     ____________________

In the Vulgate Latin version is added, "at the finishing of the
tabernacle"; suggesting that this psalm was composed at that time, and
on that occasion; not at the finishing of the tabernacle by Moses, but
at the finishing of the tent or tabernacle which David made for the
ark in Zion, (2 Sam 6:17). The title in the Arabic version is, "a
prophecy concerning the incarnation, ark, and tabernacle." In the
Septuagint version, from whence the Vulgate seems to have taken the
clause, it is, at the "exodion," "exit," or "going out of the
tabernacle"; that is, of the feast of tabernacles; and the eighth
day...

(The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible)


========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - More on Dinosaurs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 1999 20:07:50 +0000

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

Genesis 1:20-25 describes six basic groups of animals [definitions
from Online Bible]:

     20: And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the
     moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the
     earth in the open firmament of heaven. Overview of animals in
     water and air.

     21: And God created great whales (tanniyn-08577), and every
     living creature (nephesh-05315) that moveth, which the waters
     brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl
     ('owph-05775) after his kind (miyn-04327): and God saw that it
     was good. Break-down into 3 categories: great whales, every other
     living thing in the water, birds.

     22. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and
     fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
     23. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. Fifth
     day, animals in the water and air are created.

     24. And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature
     after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the
     earth after his kind: and it was so. Overview of animals on land.

     25. And God made the beast (chay-02416) of the earth after his
     kind, and cattle (behemah-0929) after their kind, every thing
     that creepeth (remes-07431) upon the earth after his kind: and
     God saw that it was good. Break-down into 3 categories: beasts,
     cattle, every thing that creepeth.

1. whales/tanniyn 08577 = dragon or dinosaur, serpent, sea or river
monster, venomous snake.

2. creature/nephesh 05315 = creature (in this instance, every living
creature that moveth which the waters brought forth)

3. fowl/'owph 05775 = flying creatures, fowl, winged insects, birds

kind/miyn 04327 = kind, sometimes a species
Note: groups of living organisms belong in the same created "kind" if
they have descended from the same ancestral gene pool. This does not
preclude new species because this represents a partitioning of the
original gene pool. Information is lost or conserved not gained. A new
species could arise when a population is isolated and inbreeding
occurs. By this definition of a new species is not a new "kind" but a
further partitioning of an existing "kind."

4. beast/chay 02416 = living thing, animal.

5. cattle/behemah 0929 = beast, cattle, animal, livestock

6. every thing that creepeth/remes 07431 = creeping things, moving
things, creeping organism.

                                     ____________________

Kinds of Dinosaurs: Dinosaurs are divided into two large classes
according to the arrangement of the pelvic bones of their skeletons:
those with a reptilelike pelvis (order Saurischia) and those with a
birdlike pelvis (order Ornithischia). In these orders further
divisions are based on feeding habits, two- or four-footed posture,
and the presence of armor on the body.

Saurischians may be divided into two major groups or suborders, the
theropods (beast-footed) and the sauropods (reptile-footed).

Sauropod dinosaurs, perhaps more than any other type, have come to
stand as a symbol of gigantism in animals...Sauropods are the true
giants among terrestrial reptiles. Their size, however, is greatly
exceeded by some of the whales (lengths up to about 100 ft) among the
mammals.

Although the skulls of sauropods portray the greatest differences
between genera, they did have many features in common. All skulls were
very small in proportion to total body size and the brains were very
small. The eyes were fairly large and, in some types, the nostrils
were on top of the head. These probably were adaptations for life in
water; the animal could have remained submerged, except for the top of
the head, and breathed without difficulty.

(Collier's Encyclopedia)

reptile: an animal that crawls or moves on its belly (as a snake) or
on small short legs (as a lizard); any of a class (Reptilia) of
air-breathing vertebrates that include the alligators and crocodiles,
lizards, snakes, turtles, and extinct related forms and are
characterized by a completely ossified skeleton with a single
occipital condyle, a distinct quadrate bone usu. immovably articulated
with the skull, ribs attached to the sternum, and a body usu. covered
with scales or bony plates.

(Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary)

                                     ____________________

Dinosauria: [Some] species were so heavy that they could not walk for
any distance on dry land and therefore spent most of their lives in
swamps and the shallow waters of lakes and seas where mud and water
could buoy them up. Some even went into deep water. This hypothesis is
strengthened by the fact that a number of the larger species had weak,
pencil-like teeth adapted only for browsing on water plants.

(Universal Standard Encyclopedia)

 

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