To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Jan 24, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 10:01:01 +0000

7:00 PM Eastern

 A&E - ANCIENT MYSTERIES - Astrology - Secret in the Stars.

8:00

 DISC - TREASURES OF THE EARTH - "Gold" - Throughout history,
   gold has been a coveted material.(CC)(TVG)

9:00

 PBS - THE 50 YEARS WAR: ISRAEL AND THE ARABS - "Land
   Divided, 1948-56; The Six Day War, 1967; Palestinian Exiles,
   1970-82" - Israel struggles for statehood; establishment and
   campaigns of the Palestine Liberation
   Organization.(CC)(TVPG)(Ends 11:30pm)

 DISC - TREASURES OF THE EARTH - "Diamonds" - Emerging from
   coal, the diamond both decorates and aids
   humans.(CC)(TVG)

 TLC - SECRET WORLD OF AIRPORTS - The workings of
   Regan and O'Hare; flight simulators; training for in-flight
   emergencies; future jet travel.(CC)(TVG)

10:00

 CNN - NEWSSTAND: TIME - Jordan's King
   Hussein.(CC)

 DISC - TREASURES OF THE EARTH - "Amber and Pearls" - The
   opaque gems of amber and pearl have unique
   origins.(CC)(TVG)

 HIST - HISTORY UNDERCOVER - "The Doomsday Flu" - The
   influenza epidemic of 1918 kills 22 million people
   worldwide.(CC)(TVG)

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (1/23/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 10:06:30 +0000

Regarding the seriousness of Y2K problems

Weekend News Today
By IsiahMan
Source: Weekend Discussion Groups

Sat Jan 23 , 1999 -- Last week Salt Lake City rolled their clocks
ahead on their water filtration plant to see what would happen when
the date changed. They were confident that there would be no problem.
When the date changed, the water filtration system (which uses an
absolute number for year designation) read the following code: year =
ABS(CurrentYear - PreviousYear) Normally, it would either get a zero
(1999 - 1999 = 0) to show that it was within the same year OR it would
get a one to show that the year had changed to a new year. It would
then deal with the roll over to the new year and readjust itself. It
would then go on to figure the month. All of this is done to determine
a number of things, including how much chemical should be dumped into
the water (Chlorine, floride, all those "good" poisons). Because they
were using the ABS (absolute number) function, the computer understood
that the last time chlorine, floride and other chemicals had been put
into the water was ABS(00-99) years ago. 0-99=-99. But the absolute
number is 99 years. Thus, the program figured it was a little behind.
It didn't know what to do. IT FREAKED OUT AND ATTEMPTED TO DUMP 99
YEARS WORTH OF DANGEROUS CHEMICALS INTO THE WATER SYSTEM. A "minor"
Y2K inconvenience. . . . What would 99 years worth of floride do to
your body?????

Rabbi invited to read from bible in prayer service with pope

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: TampaBay Online

Sat Jan 23 , 1999 -- Rabbi Robert Jacobs believes his invitation to
read from the Bible during a prayer service with Pope John Paul II is
nothing short of extraordinary. ``I have never heard of a rabbi
reading in a basilica anywhere in the world, and certainly not with a
pope,'' the 90-year-old rabbi said. ``I was simply amazed by the
invitation.'' The pope's visit to St. Louis Tuesday and Wednesday is
being welcomed not only by Catholics, but by local Protestants, Jews
and other religious leaders as well. Perhaps no event is more symbolic
of that than the prayer service Wednesday at the historic Cathedral
Basilica of St. Louis. The service will open with the blowing of the
Jewish shofar, a ceremonial ram's horn. Jacobs will wear his yarmulke
and tallit - a prayer shawl - and read from the book of Isaiah. Rabbi
David Rosen of Jerusalem, who is the Jewish representative on the
bilateral commission of the state of Israel and the Vatican, said he
knew of no rabbi participating in such a service with a pope. John
Paul has declared unity among the religious community one of his goals
for the next millennium. Jacobs will be among 95 interfaith
representatives - including Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant,
Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu leaders - at the service. Twenty of them
will enter the sanctuary and greet the pope afterwards. ``There has
never been a pope like him,'' Jacobs said. ``Throughout his 20-year
papacy he has been a close friends of many Jews throughout the
world.'' Bishop Ann Sherer of United Methodist Church in suburban
Chesterfield said John Paul's willingness to meet with representatives
of other faiths shows that ``God is moving among us.''

Pope issues statement to Americas

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: TampaBay Online

Sat Jan 23 , 1999 -- Pope John Paul II on Saturday turned his church's
attention to the evils of exploitive capitalism, issuing a major
statement that also called upon the church to reach out to society's
movers and shakers. In a document intended to change the direction of
the Roman Catholic church in the autumn of his papacy and the final
days of the millennium, John Paul said pastors must preach the
Christian message to the rich and the powerful, not just the poor. But
more generally, the missive reflects the pope's concerns about
unfettered capitalism, moving the church away from its earlier worries
about Marxism and liberation theology in the region. The 24-page
message was written in response to suggestions from bishops in both
North and South America, called to the Vatican in 1997 to agree on
joint strategy to win back disenchanted Catholics and promote a
genuine ``Christian spirituality.'' The document acknowledged the
success Protestant evangelicals have had in winning over converts in
the traditional Catholic bastion of Latin America, home to nearly half
the world's 1 billion Catholics. It also criticized the proselytizing
activity by the evangelicals, suggesting coercion was involved. It
noted the bishops themselves had questioned whether emphasis on
meeting people's material needs ``has not in the end left their hunger
for God unsatisfied.'' In a sharp turn from the emphasis of the church
since the 1960s, the pope called for a new activism to reach out to
the leaders of society. ``If this evangelization of the leadership
sector is neglected, it should not come as a surprise that many who
are a part of it will be guided by criteria alien to the Gospel and at
times openly contrary to it.'' Since the start of his papacy 20 years
ago, John Paul has expressed his concern over unfettered capitalism
and lately has been worrying about the effects of globalization on
weaker economies, an issue of serious concern in the Americas because
of the economic might of the United States. He repeated in the
document that the globalized economy must be examined in the ``light
of the principles of social justice.'' John Paul called for greater
efforts to foster priestly vocations, but stood his ground against
dropping the celibacy requirement that some hold responsible for
shortages. He said women should be given a greater role in
decision-making in the church, but made no mention of calls to allow
them to become priests.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - News: Ultra-Orthodox rabbi unveils Palestinian peace proposal
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 10:22:14 +0000

Ultra-Orthodox rabbi unveils Palestinian peace proposal

Copyright 1999 by Agence France-Presse

TEL AVIV, Jan 19 (AFP) - An ultra-Orthodox rabbi put forward a radical
peace proposal Tuesday suggesting Israel allow the creation of a
Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital in exchange for
Palestinian acceptance of massive Jewish settlement of the West Bank.

The plan was drawn up by Rabbi Yaakov Shulewitz, a close aide to the
influential spiritual leader of the Degel Hatora party, Rabbi Eliezer
Shach.

"This project is aimed at reassuring the (Jewish) settlers while
remaining loyal to the thinking of Rabbi Shach," Shulewitz told AFP.

The peace proposal calls for Israel to permit the creation of an
independent Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and parts of the West
Bank.

It foresees a major expansion of the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem
to include nearby Jewish settlements on the West Bank while at the
same time granting Palestinians control over Arab sectors of east
Jerusalem.

In exchange, Israel would demand the right for several hundred
thousand more Jews to live on the West Bank under Israeli
jurisdiction.

The plan as outlined by Shulewitz did not mention precise boundaries
for the Palestinian state or specific areas for settlement by Jews on
the West Bank.

"Rabbi Shach has never opposed the principle of a withdrawal from the
West Bank," he said.

"According to Rabbi Shach, the West Bank is a territory occupied
militarily by Israel and not given by God, so a withdrawal poses no
theological problems," he said.

Degel Hatorah is one of two ultra-Orthodox factions in the United
Torah Judaism party which makes up part of Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu's ruling coalition.

Rabbi Shach, who is over 90, is considered one of the most influential
figures among ultra-Orthodox Jews of European origin.

Netanyahu firmly opposes the creation of a Palestinian state and has
ruled out any concessions concerning Israeli sovereignty over east
Jerusalem, which Israel captured from Jordan in 1967 and annexed as
part of its "eternal capital."

The Palestinians demand the creation of an independent state in all of
the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip with east Jerusalem as its
capital.

The issue of Jerusalem and the future of about 150,000 Jews now living
in some 160 settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are among the
thorniest in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - News: Fast-track diplomas for ultra-Orthodox
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 10:25:16 +0000

Fast-track diplomas in Israel for politically ambitious
ultra-Orthodox

Copyright 1999 by Agence France-Presse

JERUSALEM, Jan 18 (AFP) - The powerful ultra-Orthodox political party
Shas has developed a fast-track university system so its activists can
gain access to the upper reaches of the Israeli civil service, a party
official said Monday.

Shas, Israel's third biggest party after the governing Likud bloc and
opposition Labor Party, launched the two-year Bachelor of Arts program
with the US Jewish college Touro, said Gabi Butbul, a senior party
official.

The Shas students, most but not all of whom studied for years in
religious seminaries, or yeshivas, go to Touro's Jerusalem campus once
a week, year-round for 12 straight hours of classes in secular
subjects such as finance and management.

At the end of two years, successful students obtain the BA and gain
access to senior public service jobs which require the diplomas.

"In this way we hope to gain access to the top positions in Israeli
society in both the public administration and the economy by merit and
not through charity," Butbul said.

The ultra-Orthodox students are all Shas activists, mostly over 40
years old and include both people with no working experience and
others who serve in local religious councils and government, including
two Jerusalem deputy mayors.

A first group of 200 students are nearing the end of their 24-month
college experience and their inevitable entry into the upper echelons
of the public sector job market is already raising some concern.

Emanuel Zisman, a member of parliament from the secular Third Way
party who heads the Knesset Education and Culture Committee, has
announced an inquiry into whether the Shas program at Touro College
meets Israel's higher education standards.

"If it becomes clear that the program for Shas is illegal, it will
have to be closed," Zisman said.

Secular Israelis have grown increasingly concerned with the growing
political influence of the ultra-Orthodox since the May 1996 election
of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition of right-wing
and religious parties.

Placed in control of such key ministries as interior, labor and
housing, ultra-Orthodox parties have succeeded in funneling funds to
their educational, religious and social institutions while seeking to
enforce more strict observance of religious law in the country.

Shas, which won 10 seats in the 120-member Knesset in the 1996 polls,
is forecast to win anywhere from 13 to 20 in the next national
elections in May.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - News: Pope comes to 'reconquer' Americas
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 10:35:52 +0000

Pope comes to 'reconquer' the Americas

Copyright 1999 by Christian Science Monitor
Jan 20, 1999

After five centuries in which the Roman Catholic Church converted
Latin America into the most Catholic region on earth, Pope John Paul
II arrives tomorrow for what is being called a ``reconquest.''

During a five-day visit to Mexico the pope will promote a ``new
evangelization'' not only to discourage Catholics from straying to
other folds but also to counter growing secularization.

-----edit-----

"The pope is coming on a cultural crusade,'' says Soledad Loaeza, a
religion expert at the International Studies Institute of the Colegio
de Mexico in Mexico City. "The adversary is no longer the secular
state, as it once was, but modern society. The church's task as John
Paul sees it is to recuperate that society.''

The pope is visiting Mexico - the fourth trip here of his 20-year
papacy - to deliver to more than 500 Latin American bishops the
conclusions of a November 1997 synod on ``America.'' Pope John Paul
II and the Catholic Church have begun discarding differentiating
terms like ``North'' or ``Latin'' America in favor of one America.

This is just one indication, some observers stress, of how the
Vatican's perception of the region has changed since John Paul became
the first pope to visit Latin America with his 1979 trip.

"This pope broke with the church's tradition of treating the Americas
separately, and has chosen instead to approach it as one America and
in terms of its common problems,'' says Bernardo Barranco, president
of the Center for the Study of Religions in Mexico. Some of the worst
rich-poor gaps on the planet, immigration, drug trafficking, human
rights, "and of course the loss of faith, which has the same effect
whether it's in New York, So Paulo or Mexico City,'' are among the
"common'' challenges the pope sees, says Mr. Barranco.

The hemisphere holds special importance for the Vatican because of its
large number of Catholics and because it includes the world's only
superpower and preeminent purveyor of mass international culture, the
US.

"The pope knows the future of Catholicism is in America,'' says
Carlos Martnez Garca, a religion expert at the Center for Studies
of Protestant Mexico in Mexico City.

Not everyone sees Mexico as playing any special role for the Vatican
in this reevangelization of the Americas.

"It's an exaggeration to infer so much importance for Mexico from the
pope's visit,'' says Miguel Canto, a Mexico City sociologist and
director of a church-related community services center. ``He's coming
for an international event [the post-synod conclusions] focused on
America.''

But others say Mexico does play a special role in the Vatican's
strategy - as the second-largest Catholic country in the world after
Brazil, and home to 1 in 10 of the world's Catholics. But the pope
also sees Mexico as crucial as a "bridge'' between Latin America and
the US, says Barranco - and as a "dike'' or first line of defense
against what the pope sees as the US's worst influences.

THE United States "is home to what are now the fastest-growing
religions in Latin America,'' says Barranco, referring to the
Jehovah's Witness, Mormon, and Protestant evangelical churches. "At
the same time the US is the premier model of a style of life the
Vatican opposes,'' he adds: "individualistic, hedonistic,
consumer-oriented.''

After the Mexico visit Pope John Paul continues on to St. Louis for a
stop in a US toward which the Vatican feels great ``ambivalence,''
says Ms. Loaeza. Much of US mass culture is the antithesis of what
the pope will be preaching during his trip, she says. More
significant, adds Loaeza, is the growing importance the Vatican
places in the role of the US Catholic Church in the Americas.

"The US is one of the few places in the world where Catholicism is
growing, thanks largely to immigration, it is a wealthy church, and
it is also an increasingly conservative church in the pope's image,''
she says.

The Colegio de Mexico scholar says the US church could regain the
importance it enjoyed in the 1950's - then as a staunch enemy of
communis min Latin America - a rise she believes could culminate in
the election of an American pope.

Because of this strategic importance of US Catholicism, the pope will
not beat American Catholics over the head with his cultural crusade,
analysts say.

In Mexico, a tempest is raging over what some observers say are the
confusing signals the church is sending by criticizing modern society
at the same time it turns to mass marketing to promote the pope's
visit. Mexican TV is blanketed with pope ad spots, while Pepsi and
the Sabritas potato-chip company are mixing their ads with images of
the pope and other religious symbols. The ad campaign is indicative
of how many churches, facing the challenges to spirituality at the
end of the 20th century, are experimenting with using mass
communications to reach out, analysts here say.

"The risk for the Catholic Church is that the intense publicity
campaign turns the pope's visit into something like the World Cup,''
says Mr. Martinez. "There's an ecstasy of the moment, but then the
pope leaves and everyone returns to normal life,'' he says. "And in
Mexico that means many people returning to a daily life where the
teachings of the church count for less all the time.''

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - News: Rabbis and Vatican to forge alliance
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 10:37:25 +0000

Rabbis and Vatican to forge alliance: report

Copyright 1999 by Agence France-Presse

LONDON, Jan 21 (AFP) - Talks between British rabbis and the Vatican
have forged a breakthrough in Jewish-Catholic relations, promising a
new era of friendly partnership, the Daily Telegraph reported
Thursday.

It said they reached an agreement in Rome last week to end 2,000 years
of antagonism by accepting each other's legitimacy and working
together rather than against each other.

Until now, the Telegraph said, dialogue between the faiths had been
hindered by the old Catholic teaching that the Jewish Covenant between
God and Abraham was superseded by the coming of Jesus Christ.

Now, the Vatican has assured the rabbis that Christianity was the
fulfilment of the Covenant, but not its replacement.

Cardinal Edward Cassidy said the two faiths should establish a
partnership based on "shared ethical values" which would be an example
to the world.

Rabbi Tony Bayfield, who was part of the Jewish delegation, told the
paper that the talks indicated "a new era" in Jewish-Catholic
relations.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - News: Catholic Educators Protest Rules
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 10:40:42 +0000

Catholic Educators Protest Rules

Copyright 1999 by The Associated Press
Jan 21, 1999

NEW YORK (AP) -- A proposal that would have Catholic universities in
the United States adhere to Vatican regulations would be detrimental
to the quality of education, two prominent Catholic educators say.

The warning comes on the eve of the pope's latest U.S. visit.

The comments of President Edward Malloy of the University of Notre
Dame and J. Donald Monan, chancellor of Boston College, were made in a
joint article to be issued Friday in America magazine. America is
published by the Jesuit order, which sponsors 28 U.S. colleges and
universities.

America's editor, Father Thomas Reese, said it was a coincidence that
the article was ready for publication just before John Paul's Tuesday
arrival for a 30-hour stopover in St. Louis.

The proposed college and university rules, written by a special
committee of U.S. bishops led by Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua of
Philadelphia, were presented to the U.S. hierarchy for consideration
in November.

Malloy and Monan say the rules undermine two essential qualities of
U.S. campuses, academic freedom and institutional autonomy free from
outside control.

They are especially alarmed over proposed requirements that theology
teachers have a ``mandate'' from church authorities, that theology
teachers and some administrators make a profession of faith and take
an oath of fidelity upon appointment, and that colleges require
appointees to display doctrinal and personal integrity in line with
church teaching.

Such provisions are included in the code of canon law that the pope
put into effect in 1983. But Malloy and Monan state that these
provisions, ``with the full knowledge of the U.S. hierarchy, and with
good reason, had been lifeless for 25 years'' until they were revived
by the Bevilacqua committee.

The conflict stems from a Vatican decree on Catholic higher education,
Ex Corde Ecclesiae, which was approved by the Pope in 1990. In 1996,
the U.S. bishops overwhelmingly approved a plan to implement that
document in the U.S. But the following year the Vatican rejected the
plan and directed the Americans to tighten up the hierarchy's control
over the schools.

The Malloy-Monan article is accompanied by an analysis from Father
James Conn, a Jesuit and dean and canon law professor at St. Mary's
Seminary and University in Baltimore. Conn criticizes a previous
editorial in America stating that the proposed rules are
``well-intentioned but unworkable'' and ``could be disastrous for U.S.
Catholic higher education.''

Conn says both educators and bishops need to answer ``irksome
questions'' on precisely who applies what powers before the hierarchy
discusses the text in detail at a meeting next November.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - News: Pope wants to visit Russia and China
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1999 10:43:56 +0000

Pope wants to visit Russia and China

Copyright 1999 by Agence France-Presse

ON BOARD THE POPE'S PLANE, Jan 22 (AFP) - Pope John Paul II on Friday
expressed a desire to visit Russia and China, despite his ailing
health and increasing frailty.

"I would like to go to the biggest countries, which today are European
and Asian Russia and China," the 78-year old pontiff told journalists
accompanying him on a flight to Mexico.

"I am full of enthusiasm, and I still have the desire and the
possibility to go. We'll see," he said.

-----edit-----

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Jan 25, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 09:45:07 +0000

9:00 PM Eastern

 PBS - THE 50 YEARS WAR: ISRAEL AND THE ARABS -
   "Peacemaking, 1970-79; Banging Heads, 1987-91; Land Divided,
   1992-98" - Yom Kippur War; the Camp David Accords; peace
   treaty; Palestinian uprising.(CC)(TVPG)(Ends 11:30pm)

 DISC - CURSE OF THE COCAINE MUMMIES - A researcher discovers
   evidence of cocaine and nicotine in an Egyptian
   mummy.(CC)(TVG)

 HIST - MODERN MARVELS - "Quest for Fitness" - The role
   of physical fitness in heath and
   society.(CC)(TVG)

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Infobeat News items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 11:59:25 +0000

*** Flu victims pack NYC hospitals

NEW YORK (AP) - With a bone-rattling cough and a deep sniff, the flu
virus made its presence known in the metropolitan area this week as
hundreds of people flooded hospital emergency rooms. The Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta confirmed the nation was
having a mild flu season, except in the New York City area, where
there was a widespread influenza outbreak. Hospitals in the city were
reporting cases of the flu or respiratory viruses with flu-like
symptoms, which ranged from headaches to muscle aches and head colds
to high fevers. The elderly, the very young and those with other
illnesses, such as diabetes and heart problems, were particularly at
risk and accounted for the majority of people going to hospitals. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558150809-cd5

*** New microbes posing health risks

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - Previously unknown bacteria and viruses
blooming in the Earth's warming oceans are killing some marine life
and threatening human health, researchers say. There are increasing
reports of dying coral, diseased shellfish and waters infected with
human virus as the seas rise in temperature and pollution from the
land intensifies, researchers said Friday in studies presented at the
national meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science. About 10% of the coral worldwide has died, said James W.
Porter, an ocean studies specialist at the University of Georgia. He
said if present trends and conditions continue, another 20% to 30% of
the coral could be lost. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558150281-0eb

*** Promise of 'master cell' research questioned

WASHINGTON (AP) - Should the tax dollars of people who oppose
abortion be used for medical research based on cells taken from
aborted fetuses or discarded embryos? Anyone against abortion might
answer no. But if research creates a cure for, say, Parkinson's
disease and an abortion opponent who opposed the research gets
Parkinson's, should treatment be withheld? Ethics experts are
grappling with these kinds of questions as medical science moves
toward a new frontier: research using master cells that are the root
of human life. They are called embryonic stem cells, microscopic dots
that grow inside weeks-old embryos before morphing into 210 types of
cells that make up a human body. See
http://www.infobeat.com/stories/cgi/story.cgi?id=2558142658-be6

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Stratfor Analysis: The game's afoot?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 08:25:04 -0500

Global Intelligence Update
Red Alert
January 25, 1999

Rising Danger of Simultaneous Crises in Iraq and Kosovo

Summary

Something odd is going on. The Iraqis are not allowing the latest
crisis to die down, but are challenging U.S. aircraft with missiles and
are deploying forces southward. Their newspapers are full of threats
directed toward Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. At the same time, the Serbs
deliberately carried out a massacre that was intended to be detected,
and then intentionally exacerbated the crisis by trying to expel a senior
diplomat. There is now the real possibility that Baghdad and Belgrade
are coordinating their actions to simultaneously pose challenges that
strain U.S. military capabilities. At the same time, Russia has taken on
a much more assertive role, demanding that the U.S. not attack either
Iraq or Serbia. The U.S. Post-Cold War coalition has completely
broken down. Russia, France and China are all resisting the U.S. A
window of opportunity has opened here for the Iraqis and Serbs. We
see signs that they are now taking advantage of it, perhaps in concert.
 

Analysis

One of the major predictions STRATFOR made in the Annual Forecast
was that Russia would become much more assertive in 1999. One of
the consequences of this new assertiveness would be an increased
willingness on the part of Russia to challenge the United States. We
went on to say that, "the first confrontation will come, we think, over
Serbia, where we expect Russia to increase direct aid to Serbia openly,
thereby challenging U.S. policy in Bosnia and Kosovo. Serbia,
watching U.S. fumbling over Iraq, and emboldened by Russian
support, is clearly preparing a new challenge to the United States over
Kosovo. Serbia is calculating that the United States will not risk a
major confrontation with Russia, and France may choose to oppose a
full-scale anti-Serbian intervention. The dangers of a new
confrontation with Serbia rise as Russian nationalism intensifies.
There is particular danger if Serbia and Iraq challenge the United
States simultaneously." Barely three weeks into the new year, we are
now witnessing a crisis with Serbia over Kosovo at the same time as
U.S. warplanes are engaged in almost daily combat against surface to
air missile launch sites in Iraq. The game's afoot.

Let's first consider the old game, since there is a new one starting.
The old game was built around George Bush's New World Order
doctrine. According to this doctrine, the collapse of the Soviet Union
meant that great power conflict had been effectively abolished. The
United States was the only superpower and all other major powers
(the Europeans, Japan, China, Russia) basically shared a common
interest in international peace and prosperity. Major international
conflicts were no longer possible. There were only two types of
military problems. There were nations that would suffer internal
instability, which required the international community to intervene in
order to prevent suffering. Then there might be some nations that
might seek to create regional hegemonies. Somalia was an example of
the former; Iraq, the latter.

The solution to these problems was the same. The international
community had a common interest in preventing regional conflict and
national instability and in alleviating human suffering. Therefore,
when such problems occurred, the international community, using
multilateral institutions like the United Nations or NATO, would
intervene in order to maintain the status quo. The United States
would take a major role in such interventions, as was its obligation as
the only superpower, but it would share responsibility with other
nations. Most important, it would only act where there was an
international consensus that such intervention was necessary.

This led to a series of operations including Iraq, Somalia, Haiti, and
Bosnia =96 to name the most important. The tempo of interventions
carried out by the United States actually increased after the end of the
Cold War. More important, the geographical distribution of these
interventions was, under normal circumstances, extremely dangerous.
The United States was committing troops both simultaneously and
sequentially throughout Eurasia, Africa and the Western Hemisphere.
Under the best of circumstances, the frequency of these operations
and their geographical diversity would have strained the logistical
capabilities of the United States. Given the fact that the United States
was simultaneously decreasing resources available to the military
while increasing the tempo of operations, the strain on the U.S.
military was quite intense.

The strategic reality alleviated these dangers to a great degree.
Because there was general consensus in favor of intervention, the
target country was isolated. Its military capabilities could only
decrease. Second, since there was no major power supporting them,
the probability of coordinated action was minimal. The great risk was
always that two geographically diverse powers, like Iraq, North Korea,
or Serbia, would simultaneously strike at U.S. forces. This would pose
a dangerous problem for the United States. With U.S. troops
simultaneously engaged in combat in three different theaters, it was
not clear that the United States could reinforce and resupply all
theaters. However, under the strategic reality for most of the nineties,
this was a theoretical, not a real problem. The overwhelming
international consensus supporting these interventions guaranteed
that target nations would lack the resources with which to initiate
intense operations on their own, let alone coordinate their actions with
nations continents away. Thus, even though two of these
interventions, Serbia and Iraq, have turned into long-term
commitments, joining Korea in dispersing U.S. forces, the actual risks
appeared small.

It is interesting that Iraq and Serbia have adopted almost identical
strategies for dealing with the U.S.-led interventions, which is
reasonable since both want to achieve similar goals: to become the
dominant power in their region. Without U.S. intervention, this goal
was in the reach of both nations. After the intervention, not only
wasn't that goal attainable any longer, but the very survival of the
regimes and the territorial integrity of their nations were in doubt. It=
 
would have appeared rational for both to capitulate to the
international coalition arrayed against them. Neither did.

Both Serbia and Iraq adopted the same view. First, both regimes felt
that capitulation would mean their destruction as well as the
abandonment of their dream of regional hegemony. Their perception
was that any attempt at conciliation with domestic minorities or
enemies across their borders would mean their utter destruction, and
that continued conflict actually protected their interests better than a
genuine peace. Second, they felt that time was on their side. The
United States and its allies did not have fundamental interests at
stake. Having viewed U.S. behavior elsewhere, it was both Iraq's and
Serbia's perception that, over time, the United States would lose
interest and drift away. They simply had to wait.

More important, they read the U.S. coalition as inherently unstable. If
only one major power were to break away from the coalition, then both
Iraq's and Serbia's isolation would be done away with. Moreover, at
that point, the ability of the United States to act under the cover of the=
 
international community would dissolve, leaving Baghdad and
Belgrade with room for diplomatic maneuver, trade opportunities, and
even access to arms. The key for both Iraq and Serbia, therefore, was
simply to survive without capitulating. This meant maintaining the
state of belligerence without conceding anything substantial and
without triggering an overwhelming military action.

Both Iraq and Serbia adopted the same strategy. They would press
forward continually until challenged. On being challenged, they
would make a concession that would forestall military action. After a
while, they would break whatever promises they made and continue to
press forward. At times they miscalculated, triggering an easily
endurable series of air strikes, which actually helped perpetuate the
regime by creating a sense of embattlement and victimization among
the populace and increasing support for the regime. This strategy was
facilitated by the inability of the United States to put forward any
meaningful demands beyond that Iraq and Serbia stop doing some
particular thing. This allowed them to stop doing whatever was
demanded, causing the U.S. to stand down its forces. When the
carriers and planes went home, they resumed their actions in an
endless series of challenges designed to exhaust the United States.
All the while they waited for the coalition to break.

The coalition has broken. This is a very different situation than before.
 Russia is no longer part of the U.S. led coalition, but is now crafting
its own independent foreign policy, one strongly opposed to military
actions against both Iraq and Serbia. China is supporting the Russian
position. France, although it has backed off somewhat in the case of
the Serbs, following the recent massacre, is also opposed. Following
the unsanctioned bombing of Iraq in December 1998, the United States
lost the cover of its coalition. More important, it moved into a period
of grave danger. Madeleine Albright is heading to Moscow on
January 24 to repair the damage. There will undoubtedly be toasts
and a warm communique. But Albright has nothing to offer the
Russians. Nothing will come of the meetings.

The hidden nightmare of U.S. strategy has been the possibility of
coordinated action between Iraq and Serbia. Imagine the havoc if Iraq
moved south into Kuwait at the same moment that Serbia launched an
offensive against Bosnia. In both cases, U.S. troops would be
immediately involved. Which would receive priority for
reinforcements? Could the U.S. fight two high-intensity conflicts
simultaneously without allied support and with the active opposition
of Russia, perhaps with it even shipping weapons to both Iraqis and
Serbs?

It is not clear to us that the Iraqis are explicitly coordinating with the=
 
Serbs, although these two pariahs would be foolish not to begin some
sort of secret coordination. We have no direct evidence of such
coordination, but it if this is all mere coincidence, it is inspired
coincidence from the Iraqi and Serbian point of view. Our guess, for
what it is worth, is that this is not coincidence and that we are seeing
skillful coordination between Baghdad and Belgrade.

Something is going on. The Iraqi crisis did not end as such crises
normally do, with Iraq standing down. Rather, Iraqi SAMs are locking
on to U.S. aircraft daily, while reports persist of Iraqi troop
concentrations along the Kuwaiti border. The Iraqi press is filled with
claims against Kuwait and condemnation of Saudi Arabia. Thus,
rather than ending the last crisis, the Iraqis have deliberately
prolonged the crisis. They are behaving very differently than before.
At the same time, the Serbs have decided to challenge the United
States in Kosovo. The perpetrated a massacre that was clearly
intended to be detected. They threatened to expel a diplomat,
deliberately infuriating the United States. They have gone out of their
way to make it clear that they intend to do everything necessary to
keep Kosovo inside Serbia, whether the United States likes it or not.
Suddenly and simultaneously, Iraq and Serbia are doing everything
possible to provoke the United States. What has happened?

Time has run out on U.S. post-Cold War policy. The coalition has
shattered and both Serbia and Iraq see a window of opportunity. The
outcry against the December bombing of Iraq was not only intense,
but seems to have broken the coalition permanently. Most important,
Russia is now taking a much more active role, demanding that the
United States not repeat its bombing of Iraq or Serbia. While working
publicly to calm the crisis, there are continual reports coming from the
region of Russian weaponry flowing into Serbia. In effect, the
Russians, committed to working with China and France to limit U.S.
global power, see an opportunity to block U.S. power in two critical
regions.

If the simultaneous Iraqi and Serbian crises are not pure coincidence,
then there is a tremendous danger emerging. Iraqi military behavior
over the past few weeks is extremely hard to explain. They are clearly
both more confident and more aggressive. Their apparent deployment
of forces seems to indicate some sort of aggressive intention. The
Serbs have deliberately provoked a crisis with the United States at the
same time. Both situations could explode at any minute. Both
countries have a reason to want the situation to explode, since this is
very much the situation they have been waiting for since their
confrontation with the United States began. Neither country is in a
position to confront the United States alone. They stand a much
better chance of achieving their goals if they challenge the United
States simultaneously. With overt and covert Russian support, they
have the ability to pose a tremendous challenge to American military
capabilities.

The Iraqis and Serbs are clearly up to something. What has changed?
 The Russians are no longer passive. We are now passing out of the
post-Cold War world into a new, longer-lasting era in which the
United States is no longer leading a passive, subservient international
coalition in crusades against isolated rogue nations. A coordinated
resistance to U.S. power has begun to emerge and function. U.S.
military deployment is based on the assumption that there will be no
geographically dispersed, coordinated resistance to U.S. military
actions. The U.S. is even less prepared for coordinated initiatives by
its enemies that places the U.S. on the defensive and in which military
action takes place at the time and choosing of Washington's
opponents. It appears to us that we are moving into such a period. If
there is Serbo-Iraqi coordination going on, or if this is mere
coincidence, the U.S. may find itself in a two- theater confrontation
which could strain its military resources to the limits. The problem:
whether this happens is not up to Washington but to planners in
Baghdad and Belgrade. This is a very new game that's afoot.

___________________________________________________

To receive free daily Global Intelligence Updates,
sign up on the web at http://www.stratfor.com/mail/,
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========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - (Fwd) "Ethnic-cleansing weapons" within 10 years: report
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 08:25:04 -0500

[Mod Note: This particular news article is from another mailing list I'm
on, so I don't have a URL to pass on to you. Sorry. I'll try to track one
down if it's requested though.]

Agence France Presse

LONDON, Jan 21 (AFP) - Advances in genetic research raise the
possibility of biological weapons, available within 10 years, that would
attack one ethnic group but leave others untouched, according to a
report published Thursday.

Given the availability of bomb-making instructions and "recipes" on
the Internet, the British Medical Association said, the Biological and
Toxin Weapons Convention of 1972 needs "urgent" strengthening.

While "genetic weapons which target a particular ethnic group are not
currently a practical possibility", the report concludes "it would be
complacent to assume they could never be developed in the future".

The report "Biotechnology, weapons and humanity" by the BMA,
which represents all Britain's doctors, predicted their existence within
"five or 10 years" and warned of their attractiveness to terrorists.

"Scientific knowledge has been quickly exploited for weapons
development in the past," said Vivienne Nathanson, of the BMA,
adding she saw no reason why this trend would alter with genetics.

The report explains that genetic research into humans leads almost
every day to further understanding of the differences in disparate
human groups.

Such differences were apparent in blood groups or varying resistence
to disease, such as developed by certain groups in west Africa
against malaria.

Two key developments were highlighted by the experts. One is the
Human Genome Project which aims to map the entire human genetic
blueprint by 2003.

The other is gene therapy, a technology still in its infancy, which uses
"vectors" such as harmless viruses to carry corrective DNA into
malfunctioning cells.

The BMA warned that theoretically nothing could stop the
development of "viral vectors or micro-organisms" (bacteria, virus,
etc) capable of targeting an enemy group with a particular genetic
make-up while sparing their neighbours.

"In short, if there are distinguishing DNA sequences between groups,
and if these can be targeted in a way that is known to produce a
harmful outcome, a genetic weapon is possible," said the report.

Far from being science fiction, it cited a report in the strategic military
magazine Jane's on worries expressed by US Defence Secretary
William Cohen in June 1997 about "certain types of pathogens that
would be ethnic specific so that they could eliminate certain ethnic
groups".

"The scientific community is very close to being able to manufacture"
such weapons, said Cohen.

There have also been sporadic reports of Israeli developing such
weapons to use against Arabs and white South Africans targeting
blacks in a similar fashion.

On November 15, Britain's Sunday Times reported Israel was working
on an "ethnic" biological weapon which will hit Arabs and not Jews
by distinguishing between their genetic differences.

Quoting Israeli military sources and western intelligence services, the
report said researchers were trying to isolate distinctive "Arab" genes
in order to develop a virus, transmitted by air or water, which would
target them specifically.

The programme, based in the top secret Ness Ziona germ warfare
laboratory south of Tel-Aviv, is complicated by the fact that Jews and
Arabs are genetically close, both being of semitic origin, the report
said.

The BMA did not argue that all genetic research should stop,
recognising its possibilities for saving lives and advancing medical
treatment.

But the report stressed: "Getting rid of of weapons once they are
produced is very difficult; governments may be reluctant to give up
weapons that the rest of the world finds unacceptable."

The BMA said it was particularly anxious to see effective verification
procedures introduced to ensure compliance with the biological
weapons ban, and stressed that vigilance by doctors and scientists
was "vital".

"We still have the chance to strengthen the ban on these weapons,"
said Nathanson. "We must do so now and we must make sure the ban
is policed effectively."

** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this
material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a
prior interest in receiving the included information for research and
educational purposes. **

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Two Witnesses
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 18:03:51 +0000

In Jewish wedding ceremonies there are two friends of the bridegroom
that act as two witnesses. One is a special help to the groom and the
other is a special help to the bride.
--------------------

*Moses betook himself to the encampment [at the foot of Mt. Sinai]
and awakened them with these words: "Arise from your sleep, the
bridegroom is at hand, and is waiting to lead his bride under the
marriage-canopy." Moses, at the head of the procession, hereupon
brought the nation to its bridegroom, God, to Sinai, himself going up
the mountain.

*(After the first tablets of the ten commandments are broken, Moses
pleads for the people.) God replied: "Thou desirest Me to forgive
them. Well, then, I shall do so, now fetch Me hither tables on which
I may write the words that were written on the first. But to reward
thee for offering up thy life for their sake, I shall in the future
send thee along with Elijah, that both of you together may prepare
Israel for the final deliverance."

Legends of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg, Book 3
--------------------

For more info on the Two Witnesses, please see:
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/w-002-01.htm

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Wings of a great eagle (Rev 12:14)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 18:03:51 +0000

Rev 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle,
that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is
nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of
the serpent.
--------------------

The words that Moses was to address to the women as well as to the
men, to the Sanhedrin as well as to the people, were as follows: "You
yourselves have seen--for it is not from writings, or through
tradition, or from the mouths of others that ye learn it--what I did
for you in Egypt; for although they were idolaters, slayers of men,
and men of lewd living, still I punished them not for these sins, but
only for the wrong done to you. But ye will I carry on the wings of
eagles, on the day of the revelation at Sinai, and ye will I bring
to Me when the Temple shall be erected..."

Legends of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg, Book 3

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Clouds (Rev 1:7)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 18:03:51 +0000

Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds...
--------------------

When Moses had been carried to God in a cloud [from Sinai], which was
always ready to bear him to God and then restore him to men...

Legends of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg, Book 3
--------------------

"One of the names of the Messiah, with the Jews, is, 'Anani,' which
signifies 'clouds'; and his coming is so described, both to denote the
grand and magnificent manner, in which he will come, making the clouds
his chariots; and to strike terror into his enemies, clouds and
darkness being about him, thunder and lightning breaking out of them,
as tokens of the vengeance he comes to take upon them; as also the
visibility of his coming, he shall descend from the third heaven,
where he now is, into the airy heaven, and sit upon the clouds, as on
his throne, and be visible to all."

The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Pre-wrath Tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Scott")
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 11:30:54 -0800 (PST)

Another good source of information on the pre-wrath rapture is Robert
van Kampen's book, The Sign. He also has a pretty good web page
(www.signministries.org, I think.)

I also have my reservations about the pre-trib position and like you
have read and enjoyed Marvin Rosenthal's book.

Scott Willmon

[Mod Note: Another book by Van Kampen is "The Rapture Question Answered."
However, I gave that book to a friend and she didn't much care for it. <g> OTOH,
I preferred it over Rosenthal's book. I believe the general opinion among
pre-wrather's though is that Rosenthal's book is better.]

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Y2K Headlines
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 20:28:25 +0000

MASSIVE NEW YEAR'S DEPLOYMENT OF CANADIAN TROOPS PLANNED
Link: http://www.southam.com/ottawacitizen/newsnow/cpfs/national/990115/n0115108.html

REPORTS OF Y2K FAILURES ON THE RISE
Link: http://www.joc.com/issues/990119/i1nsur/e23991.htm

U.S. MEDICARE MAY NOT MAKE IT
Link: http://www.ntgov.com/gcn/gcn/1999/january11/13a.htm

REPUBLICANS FEAR Y2K DELAYS IN SOCIAL SECURITY
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-01/17/231l-011799-idx.html

MOVE TO DELAY NEW YEAR'S 2000 BY THREE DAYS
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-01/17/231l-011799-idx.html

McCAIN, GORTON CONSIDER NEW Y2K LEGISLATION
Link: http://www.newsbytes.com/pubNews/124611.html

BRITISH BANKS REFUSE TO PLEDGE Y2K COMPLIANCE
Link: http://webserv.vnunet.com/www_user/plsql/pkg_vnu_news.right_frame?p_date=14-JAN-99&p_type=&p_story=72888

BRITISH POLICE PREPARE FOR MILLENNIUM BURGLARS
Link: http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/99/01/18/timnwsnws01016.html?2466332

LARGE UK FIRMS FALL BEHIND IN Y2K PREPARATIONS
Link: http://www.computerweekly.co.uk/cwmain/cwmainfram.asp

CHINESE AIRLINE BOSSES MUST FLY ON NEW YEAR'S DAY
China has given managers of its state-run airlines the ultimate
incentive to find solutions for the Year 2000 computer bug -- they
must all personally board flights next New Year's Day.
Link: http://www2.nando.net/noframes/story/0,2107,7931-13668-96619-0,00.html

REPORT OF NATIONAL MOBILIZATION OF NATIONAL GUARD UNTRUE
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-01/21/075l-012199-idx.html
Link: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_exnews/19990118_xex_the_threat_t.shtml
Link: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_exnews/19990111_xex_bad_news_pow.shtml
Link: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_exnews/19990107_xex_national_gua.shtml
Link: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_exnews/19990106_xex_the_plan_mas.shtml
National Guard Bureau website: http://55.189.40.32/

THE Y2K PROBLEM & THE FOOD SUPPLY SECTOR
USDA web page: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OM/y2kfact2.htm
The Small Business Association's Y2K website: http://www.sba.gov

AMERICAN INSULIN: "NO CAUSE FOR ALARM"?
Eli Lilly Website: http://www.lilly.com/index.html

NHNE Y2K Report 8:
http://dispatch.mail-list.com/archives/nhnelist/msg00032.html

THE STEPHENS REGISTER OF Y2K COMPLIANT COMPANIES
Link: http://www.sy2k.com/
--------------------

wild2k (Y2K): http://www.wild2k.com/

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - News from Religion Today
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 22:55:01 -0500

          C U R R E N T N E W S S U M M A R Y
            by the Editors at ReligionToday.com

January 25, 1999

[.. snip..]

Nine Protestant denominations took a step toward official unity.
Representatives of the churches participating in the Consultation
on Church Union signed a document pledging to declare that they
will unite in Christ in 2002. It is not a merger, but an
agreement of affiliation. It will not create a new church, but
allow the denominations to celebrate Holy Communion together,
share one baptism, and recognize each other as "authentic
expressions of the one church of Jesus Christ," the Associated
Press said.
...Participating churches are the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.), the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the
International Council of Community Churches, the United Church of
Christ, the United Methodist Church, the African Methodist
Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church,
and the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. More negotiations
are planned to settle disagreements between Presbyterian and
Episcopalian methods of church leadership. Episcopalians are
stressing the need for the office of bishop to oversee church
matters, which Presbyterians reject.

[.. snip..]

A Bible was among the possessions of atheist Madalyn Murray
O'Hair auctioned by the IRS. The agency seized O'Hair's personal
belongings to pay back taxes after she disappeared four years
ago, the Associated Press said. "There is some irony in that
Bible," said Austin lawyer Jimmy Nassour, who paid $2,000 for it.
"I was willing to go up to $500, but I got caught up in the
moment." The Bible was presented by Oklahoma schoolchildren to
the prominent atheist, whose lawsuit resulted in the U.S. Supreme
Court decision removing mandated prayer from public schools.
Other belongings included a penny with the words "In God We
Trust" crossed out. O'Hair reportedly struck the words from all
her currency.

[.. snip..]

Scientists say they are on the verge of "building" artificial
life. "We are attempting to understand what the definition of
life is," J. Craig Venter of Rockville, Md.-based Celera Genomics
Corp., said. Venter and his colleagues, who are trying to map all
the genes, also are attempting to understand what is the minimum
set of genes necessary to sustain life in a tiny bacterium called
mycoplasma genitalium, Reuters news service said. They have cut
out mycoplasma genes to see which ones the organism could live
without and are down to 300 essential genes, from 470, that could
form the basis for putting together an artificial mycoplasma
genitalium, Venter said. Humans have 80,000 genes.

[.. snip..]

-----------
News from ReligionToday.com is Copyrighted by Media
Management. Content may be reproduced provided proper
credit is given to www.ReligionToday.com.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Disease Updates
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 23:13:48 -0500

LISTERIOSIS, MEAT RECALLS - USA (ARKANSAS & OHIO)

A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.healthnet.org/programs/promed.html>
<http://www.fas.org/ahead>

Date: Sat, 23 Jan 1999 09:25:25 -0800
From: James Chin, CDPC-mail <jchin@cwix.com>
Source: Nando Net, 23 Jan 1999

Two more companies voluntarily recalled meat Friday after deadly
_Listeria_ bacteria, which recently killed 11 people, were reportedly
found in their products. The action raises to four the number of
companies recalling their meat out of concern for _Listeria_ over the
past month. In one case involving meat produced by Bil Mar Foods, a
division of Sara Lee Corp, at least 11 people died and three women
had miscarriages, according to the Centres for Disease Control.
Agriculture Department officials said there was no evidence to link
the cases. No illnesses have been reported in connection with the new
recalls, officials said.

On Friday, Thorn Apple Valley Inc. recalled hot dogs and luncheon
kits produced over six months at its Forrest City, Ark., plant after
government tests discovered _Listeria_ bacteria in meat produced by
the Southfield, Mich.-based company. Recalled products include "EST
13529" and "EST P-13529" on the packaging. Thorn Apple Valley is
recalling products produced from July 6 through Dec. 30 that were
sold nationwide by a variety of companies and packaged under
different names, including Kroger and Safeway grocery stores. The
products were also sold to companies in South Korea and in Russia,
the department said. Agriculture Department and company officials
said they did not know the quantity of meat that was being recalled
in the case, but some said that due to the broad range of production
dates, the amount was sure to be big.

From July to December, the Agriculture Department said tests found
_Listeria_ in five out of 20 ready-to-eat product samples it
collected. "Based on these repetitive findings, as well as conditions
found in the plant, the agency concluded that there may be a
significant public health risk associated with the product being
recalled," the department said in a statement. The Agriculture
Department withdrew its meat inspectors from the Forrest City plant
on Dec. 31, effectively shutting it down after the company did not
comply with "sanitation requirements," the USDA said. The plant
remains closed.

In the second case announced Friday, Bosell Foods, Inc., of Cleveland
recalled 350 pounds -- a tiny amount by meat production standards --
of sliced ham. The meat was only distributed in the Cleveland area,
the USDA said. Involved in the recall are half-pound packages of the
"Dinner Bell" Virginia Brand Cooked Ham, Water Added, with sell-by
code 2-18-1999. Packages are marked with EST 2587 in the USDA seal.

A week ago, Oscar Mayer Foods, a unit of Philip Morris Cos. ,
voluntarily recalled two types of luncheon meat after an elderly man
in Kansas City, Mo., became sick after eating the company's deli
meat. Agriculture Department tests discovered _Listeria_ bacteria in
samples of the meat. Bil Mar's voluntary nationwide recall began a
month ago and company officials said they expected to retrieve
approximately 15 million pounds of meat. The company Wednesday took
out full-page advertisements in 60 U.S. newspapers to apologize to
customers...

Consumers with questions can call the Agriculture Department's Meat
and Poultry hotline, 800-535-4555, Thorn Apple Valley, 800-316-2855,
or Bosell Foods, Inc., 216-911-7600.

--
owner-bpr@philologos.org
http://philologos.org
http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pre-wrath Tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Shelley")
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 19:30:46 -0900

I just finished reading Marvin Rosenthal's The Pre-Wrath Tribulation of the
Church, and all I can say is WOW! I had never heard of the pre-wrath
tribulation theory. I have always been a little skeptical of the pre-trib
viewpoint, but I had never found a different (such as mid-trib or post-trib)
theory that I felt really made sense according to Scripture. I think the
pre-wrath theory, as it was presented by Rosenthal, was quite convincing.
Does anyone have any suggestions on other pre-wrath references or comments
on the timing of the rapture?

Shelley
"and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out
within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we
were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly," Romans
5:5-6

--- BPR

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Pre-wrath Tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Bek")
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1999 23:41:55 EST

In a message dated 1/25/99 4:56:52 AM Pacific Standard Time, bpr-
list@philologos.org, Shelly writes:

<< Does anyone have any suggestions on other pre-wrath references or comments
 on the timing of the rapture? >>

Hi, Shelly:

The wisdom of the Lord be with you.

Yes, that book about the pre-wrath rapture view written by Marvin J. Rosenthal
is an eye opener. I purchased it and read it back in Oct-91, and I continue
referring to it over the years.

There is, however, on little detail I haven't been able to reconcile
Rosenthal's pre-wrath rapture book (or with any book for that matter) with
what the Bible says.

It has to do with the timing of events. These are written holy facts:
1, Between the 6th trumpet (Rev. 9:13) and the 7th trumpet (Rev. 11:15), the
2nd Woe takes place (Rev. 11:14).

2. During this 2nd Woe, twice the Bible makes mention of a period of 3 and a
half years:
a) 42 months shall Jerusalem be taken by the Gentiles (Rev. 11:2)
b) 1260 days shall the Lord's 2 witness prophesy in Jerusalem (Rev. 11:3)

3. Within the sounding of the 7th trumpet, again the Bible makes mention
twice of a 3 and a half year period:
a) 1260 days is the women (people of God) nourished in the wilderness (Rev.
12:6)
b) 42 months are given to the Beast rising from the sea to do wickedly (Rev.
13:5)

So, if you look at page 147 of Rosenthal's pre-wrath rapture book, you will
see a chart titled "The Seals, Trumpets & Bowls" where Rosenthal sums all the
trumpets (which are contained in the 7th seal) within the later 3.5 years of
the last week, specifically within the time of Day of the Lord.

Well, so far, the Bible makes account of 7 complete years covering the 6th
trumpet and the 7th trumpet (2nd woe and 3rd woe) while, on the other hand,
Rosenthal adheres to the traditional view where everything, seals, trumpets
and bowls, take place over a 7 year period.

Also, there is the timing of the "Abomination of Desolation," but it's dinner
time for now. I trust the Lord that He will use His saints to shed light to
you and I in these delicious topics. I gladly welcome godly critic of what I
think.

Okay, Shelly, the grace of God continue to be with you, and may the face of
Christ shine upon you.
Bek

--- BPR

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

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Jan 26, 1999 TV Programs
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:03:44 +0000

7:00 PM Eastern

 HIST - 20th CENTURY - Different Worlds: Hippies & Cults in America.
   A look at two social phenomena that symbolized the dissatisfaction
  of the young with traditional American values. Mike Wallace recalls
  how hippies of the rock generation sought peace and love
  through drugs and communal living, and how some were swept into new
  and dangerous religious cults. [TV PG]

8:00

 PBS - NOVA - "Mysterious Crash of Flight 201" - The
   investigation of a plane crash in Panama unearths
   clues.(CC)(TVPG)

 DISC - A MATTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY - In 1968 the CIA hires
   Howard Hughes to raise a sunken Soviet
   submarine.(CC)(TVG)

9:00

 PBS - FRONTLINE - "The Triumph of Evil" - America,
   Britain, France and the United Nations fail to prevent
   Rwandan genocide.(CC)

10:00

 NBC - DATELINE NBC - Some Christian teens choose
   courting rather than dating.(CC)

 DISC - THE FBI FILES - "World Trade Center Bombing" -
   Islamic terrorists are convicted in the 1993 World Trade
   Center bombing.(CC)(TVPG)

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (Jan 25)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Moza")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:13:21 +0000

Vatican Revamps Satan

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Discovery Channel Online

Mon Jan 25 , 1999 -- The Vatican will Tuesday try to revamp the
image of Satan, arguing that it needs a "more subtle and
sophisticated" definition of evil for the millennium, the London
Times reports. A new formula, formed by a Vatican panel of experts,
substitutes "psychological disturbance" for references to
the Devil as the embodiment of evil. "In revising the form of
words for exorcism, we have re-thought the nature of the evil we are
trying to root out," says one member of the commission.

Officials say the Church isn't revising "scriptural
references" to the Devil or suggesting that people should cease
believing in "the Evil One." But priests conducting
exorcisms should deal with evil as a force "lurking within all
individuals" instead of one that threatens people from without.
Monsignor Corrado Balducci, the Vatican's chief exorcist, says the
Church has to adapt to modern thinking and "be more careful in
distinguishing between possession by evil spirits and what are more
commonly called psychiatric disturbances."

According to Vatican officials, priests will be encouraged not to
refer any longer to the Prince of Darkness, the Accursed Dragon, the
Foul Spirit, the Satanic Power or the Master of Deceit. Instead the
formulas refer to "the cause of evil."

King Hussein appoints eldest son as future king

Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: (AP)

Mon Jan 25 ,1999 -- Jordan's King Hussein today appointed his
eldest son, Abdullah, as his future successor, Jordanian sources
said. Senior government officials watched while Hussein signed the
decree naming Abdullah crown prince, Royal Palace sources said on
customary condition of anonymity. They said Hussein's decree is
expected to be made public later today. The sources confirmed earlier
accounts by officials that Hussein made the decision Sunday to
designate Abdullah as crown prince.

Weekend News Today
http://upway.com/cgi-bin/went

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - What's New at BPR?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:11:57 -0500

Bible Prophecy Research and Study List
Additions and updates made since Jan 18, 1999
Vol 1, Number 13
Jan 26, 1999

Hi folks...

We added one new file to BPR and made several updates this
past week.

> Added: The Pope in the News
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/Vatican_Studies/vs-005-a.htm

Recent news articles on Pope John Paul II.

-----------

> Updated: The Book of Life
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/b-005-01.htm

> Updated: Gog
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/g-001-01.htm

> Updated: "...hail and fire mixed with blood...
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/h-001-01.htm

> Updated: Locusts
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/l-004-01.htm

> Updated: The Number Three
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/n-007-01.htm

> Updated: Time Intervals
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/t-002-01.htm

> Updated: Tree of Life
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/t-006-01.htm

> Updated: Clouds
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/c-002-01.htm

> Updated: Two Witnesses
http://philologos.org/bpr/files/w-002-01.htm

Thank you!
owner-bpr@philologos.org

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Pre-wrath Tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Debi")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 10:51:45 -0600

Hi I'm new to this list and don't even understand "This Rapture", can
any one give me scriptures as to where it is in the bible? Thanks Debi

Bek wrote:
>
> In a message dated 1/25/99 4:56:52 AM Pacific Standard Time, bpr-
> list@philologos.org, Shelly writes:
>
> << Does anyone have any suggestions on other pre-wrath references or comments
> on the timing of the rapture? >>
>

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Pre-wrath Tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("CL")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 11:27:55 -0600

> Hi I'm new to this list and don't even understand "This Rapture", can
> any one give me scriptures as to where it is in the bible? Thanks Debi

The rapture is a word to which some critics object because they say it
isn't in the Bible. In fact, it is in the Latin translation of 1
Thessalonians 4:17. The Latin *rapturos* means an ecstatic catching away,
as does our English word.
1 Thes 4:16,17
For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead shall rise
first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be *caught up* together
with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever
be with the Lord.

Another scripture that speaks of this happening is 1 Corinthians 15:51,52
Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep but we shall all be
changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed.

I believe it was this "rapture" that Paul refered to as the "Blessed Hope"
in Titus 2:13:
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God
and our Saviour Jesus Christ..."

Hope this helps!

Watching & Praying,
CL

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Pre-wrath Tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("JM")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 14:19:01 -0500

Thank you for the clarification, CL. Although I am not the original poster, I
do have a question maybe someone can answer. Does this rapture refer to the
"catching up" of the actual dead physical bodies, or just the souls? I have
always wondered about this, but never thought of asking for some reason until
now.

Thanks,
J. McCarty

CL wrote:
1 Thes 4:16,17

> For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice
> of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead shall rise
> first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be *caught up* together
> with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever
> be with the Lord.
>

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Pre-wrath Tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Debi")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 14:33:47 -0600

Yes it did, but I was confused as to what they were talking about. Pre,
mid. I too await Christs return but only at the 7th trump which is after
the ac. he comes on the 6th. I'm trying to understand what the
discussion is about.

<<<Another scripture that speaks of this happening is 1 Corinthians
15:51,52
> Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep but we shall all be
> changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
> the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
> shall be changed.>>>

 Now see,, I had always been taught that this was talking about where
the dead are vs 13,,14,,15.

> 1 Thes 4:16,17
> For the Lord himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice
> of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead shall rise
> first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be *caught up* together
> with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever
> be with the Lord.
>

This is very interesting. Thanks for answering and look forward to your
comments. Debi

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Debi question Pre-wrath Tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Bek")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 16:15:40 EST

In a message dated 1/26/99 8:56:58 AM Pacific Standard Time, bpr-
list@philologos.org writes:

<< Hi I'm new to this list and don't even understand "This Rapture", can
 any one give me scriptures as to where it is in the bible? Thanks Debi
  >>

Hi, Debi:

Warm welcome to the list. The grace of Christ be with you!

"Rapture" is a concept in the Bible which defines the moment when all the
saints of God will be "caught up in the air" to meet with Jesus Christ
Himself, and "forever be with the Lord" (1Thes. 4:17).

Since the "rapture" includes those who died, "sleep in the Lord," the rapture
concept also involves the resurrection of "the dead in Christ" (1Cor. 15:52,
1Thes. 4:16).

The resurrection of believers is at the heart of faith in Christ since the
Lord Jesus himself said "This is the will of him that sent me, that every one
which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I
will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40 KJV)

Therefore, according to the Bible, the change of events for a believer are:
1. Believe in Jesus Christ
2. Live in Jesus Christ
3. Die in Jesus Christ
4. Be resurrected in Jesus Christ
5. Be "caught up" to meet with Jesus Christ
6. The resurrection happens during the rapture
7. The resurrection takes place "at the last day"

Consequently, the rapture takes place "at the last day"

Nevertheless, Debi, four views have developed regarding "when will these
things be:"
1. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture: the rapture takes place 7 YEARS BEFORE the
last day.
2. The Mid-Tribulation Rapture: the rapture takes place 3.5 YEARS BEFORE the
last day.
3. The Pre-Wrath Rapture: the rapture takes place IMMEDIATELY BEFORE the
last day.
4. The Post-Tribulation Rapture: the rapture takes place IMMEDIATELY AFTER
the last day if not on the same day.

The following are "kosher" books which support the different views:
(By "kosher," I mean the authors mean well whether they are correct with
Scripture or less correct.)

For Pre-Trib Rapture, read "The Rapture Question" by John F. Wolvoord, or any
Hal Lindsay, any Chuck Smith books on the subject.
For Mid-Trib Rapture, read "Jesus Is Coming Again Mid-Tribulation" by Gleason
L. Archer
For Pre-Wrath Rapture, read "The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church" by Marvin J.
Rosenthal
For Post-Trib, read "Blessed Hope" by George E. Ladd, or "The Church and the
Tribulation" by Robert H. Gundry

Personally, Debi, I strongly encourage one to read the Holy Scriptures daily,
for the Holy Word of the Living God will teach the truth and give one
assurance of "when will these things be." After all, the Lord Jesus said
regarding end-time events: "these things have I told you, that when the time
shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them" (John 16:4 KJV)

Okay, Debi, may the wisdom of the Lord continue to increase within you, for
the Lord comes quickly!
Bek
  

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Debi question Pre-wrath Tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Debi")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 17:05:31 -0600

Gotcha!! I guess that makes me a Post trib. Okay and I didn't
understand all the book references but i see now whats going on. Thanks
so much, Debi

Bek wrote:
> Nevertheless, Debi, four views have developed regarding "when will these
> things be:"
> 1. The Pre-Tribulation Rapture: the rapture takes place 7 YEARS BEFORE the
> last day.
> 2. The Mid-Tribulation Rapture: the rapture takes place 3.5 YEARS BEFORE the
> last day.
> 3. The Pre-Wrath Rapture: the rapture takes place IMMEDIATELY BEFORE the
> last day.
> 4. The Post-Tribulation Rapture: the rapture takes place IMMEDIATELY AFTER
> the last day if not on the same day.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Pre-wrath Tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("CL")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 17:59:27 -0600

Does this rapture refer to the
> "catching up" of the actual dead physical bodies, or just the souls? I
have
> always wondered about this, but never thought of asking for some reason
until
> now.

I believe that 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 would show that it is the actual
bodies that are raised up, not just the soul.
1 Cor 15:51-54
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep but we shall all be
changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for
the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed. For this corruption must put on incorruption and this
mortality must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put
on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall
be brought to pas the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory...

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Pre wrath tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("CL")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 18:06:39 -0600

> Yes it did, but I was confused as to what they were talking about. Pre,
> mid. I too await Christs return but only at the 7th trump which is after
> the ac. he comes on the 6th. I'm trying to understand what the
> discussion is about.

There is a difference between the second coming of Christ, and the rapture
of the church. The rapture of the church is the event that people are
discussing to be pre-trib, pre-wrath, mid-trib etc. Not the second coming
of Christ.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - JMcCarty question Pre-wrath Tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Bek")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 19:18:17 EST

In a message dated 1/26/99 2:00:32 PM Pacific Standard Time, bpr-
list@philologos.org J.McCarty writes:

<< Does this rapture refer to the
 "catching up" of the actual dead physical bodies, or just the souls? >>

Both according to 1Corinthians 15:51-54, "the dead will be raised
incorruptible, and we [the living] shall all be changed" from mortal bodies to
inmortality and from corruptible souls to incorruption.
Bek

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Re: Pre wrath tribulation
From: bpr-list@philologos.org("Bek")
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1999 22:20:54 EST

In a message dated 1/26/99 7:18:09 PM Pacific Standard Time, bpr-
list@philologos.org writes:

<< There is a difference between the second coming of Christ, and the rapture
 of the church. >>

Oh? What is the coming of Christ if it's not to rapture His church?
Bek