BPR Mailing List Digest: 10/29/99

Philologos
BPR Mailing List Digest
October 29, 1999

Digest Home | 1999 | October, 1999

To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Questions Raised in Bible's Accuracy
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 08:45:51 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Questions Raised in Bible's Accuracy

By Sari Bashi
Associated Press Writer
Friday, Oct. 29, 1999

JERUSALEM -- There was no exodus from Egypt, Joshua didn't
bring down the walls of Jericho, and Solomon's kingdom was a
small, tribal dynasty, an Israeli archaeologist says in a new
article.

Colleagues and critics accepted some of Zeev Herzog's evidence,
and questioned some of it -- but warned that by targeting the
accuracy of the Bible the research undermines the national myths
that are the basis of Jewish claims to the land of Israel.

Archaeological findings do not support and in many cases
directly contradict Biblical stories describing the birth of the
Jewish people, Herzog of Tel Aviv University wrote in Thursday's
Haaretz daily.

He reviewed evidence now commonly accepted by most
archaeologists showing that there was no exodus from Egypt at
the time the Bible says Jews left Egypt en masse, and that
Jericho fell in stages over an extended period -- and not in a
single raid led by Joshua.

More controversially, Herzog argues that the seeds of the
Jewish state are to be found in the 9th century B.C. when groups
of shepherds who had settled in hilltops established two rival
states, Judah and Israel.

Excavations of cities from the supposedly majestic time of
Kings David and Solomon a century earlier, he said, revealed
that the "cities" consisted of scattered buildings and the
kingdoms were small, provincial dynasties that exercised no real
claim over the land.

Herzog said Jerusalem, the majestic capital built by King David
to rule over an empire that spanned much of the Middle East, was
at best a small fiefdom.

Fellow archaeologist Amnon Ben-Tor of the rival Hebrew
University, a top critic of Herzog and his post-modernist school
of thought, said Herzog uses archaeology to satisfy a political
agenda, namely debunking the legends upon which the Jewish state
was founded.

Ben-Tor agreed that "there is a large measure of glorification
in the Bible," but said that inscriptions and excavations from
the 10th century B.C. show the ancient Hebrews had established a
state ruled by David and Solomon, that was substantial if not
magnificent.

Lawmaker Tommy Lapid, a secular rights champion who believes
human authors wrote the Bible, accused Herzog of trying to
undermine the educational and ideological basis of the state.

Herzog is "feeding propaganda to Israel's enemies who want to
negate our right to be here," Lapid said.

He said the Bible contained many myths, but that its basic
historical facts document Jewish claims on Israel and form the
basis for Jewish history, culture, language and literature.

Herzog's article addressed archaeological discoveries from the
last few decades, when archaeologists in Israel broke away from
seeking out physical evidence for Biblical events.

Their findings have not entered the public consciousness, said
archaeologist Moshe Kochavi of Tel Aviv University, because
Israelis are not ready to abandon their national myths.

Kochavi said books publishing these findings have met with
particularly vehement opposition from the 30 percent of Israeli
Jews who define themselves as in some way religious, many of
whom believe the Bible is the word of God.

"The religious scream out when books like these, saying there
was no conquest and that David's period was not majestic, are
written," he said.

Israeli adults and schoolchildren regularly tour archaeological
sites that guides say prove the Bible was right, and the state
devotes substantial resources to excavations thought likely to
reveal evidence of Biblical footsteps.

Liberal Education Minister Yossi Sarid, who recently stirred
controversy by expunging from textbooks what he says are myths
of modern Israeli history, said Herzog's work deserved
consideration.

"If it's interesting and well-founded, I don't see why it
shouldn't be presented in schools as an option," he told Haaretz.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19991029/aponline013030_
000.htm

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Drug-resistant TB spreads worldwide
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 08:47:44 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

Friday October 29, 1:18 AM

Drug-resistant TB spreads worldwide --report

By Grant McCool

NEW YORK, Oct 28 - Six years after health officials declared
tuberculosis a global crisis, deadly strains that are resistant
to various drugs are spreading faster than anticipated, Harvard
Medical School researchers said on Thursday.

In a report released in New York entitled, "The Global Impact
of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis," doctors said the phenomenon was
a "man-made problem" unknown five decades ago. They said
"multidrug-resistant tuberculosis" has been reported in 104
countries -- mostly in the developing world but threatening to
spread to Western Europe and North America.

"There is debate about quantifying infectiousness but there are
a number of experiences now from airplanes so that someone with
active pulmonary tuberculosis on an airplane can readily infect
other passengers," the report's primary author, Dr Paul Farmer,
said at a news conference.

"As some of my colleagues have noted, upgrading yourself to
first class will not necessarily protect you."

In 1993, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned the world
that the airborne bacteria that can afflict almost any tissue in
the body but especially the lungs, was a global emergency. The
disease infects about eight million people worldwide a year and
kills up to two million.

"The rapid rise of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis is a public-
health catastrophe of the first order," Farmer said in a
statement accompanying the report. "When patients stop taking or
don't take enough of the right medications, they develop
resistance to the drugs, and then spread new drug-resistant
strains of the bacteria."

The Harvard doctors recommended that health agencies
immediately carry out WHO's Directly Observed Therapy
Shortcourse (DOTS) to all tuberculosis patients and urged a more
intensive treatment called DOTS-Plus in areas where the bacteria
resistant to drugs is already prevalent.

In August, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention said that even DOTS, the best-known
strategy for treating TB -- making patients take a cocktail of
drugs and watching them swallow them -- had failed to stop an
epidemic in one Russian district. The researchers said cases of
multidrug-resistant TB even rose during their experiment.

Those with the drug-resistant form were more likely to have
been homeless.

The DOTS-Plus regimen recommended in Thursday's report requires
patients to take more drugs over a longer period of time.

The intensified treatment was successful in New York City
during the early 90s and for the past three years in Peru, said
Farmer, professor of the Harvard Medical School's Infectious
Disease and Social Change program. He also said the treatment
was cheaper per patient in the South American country.

Harvard's study was financed by the New York-based Open Society
Institute, a foundation backed by international financier George
Soros. It stemmed from the Institute's assistance to Russian
prisoners, who are among the highest carriers with some 100,000
diagnosed with active TB.

Researchers said that without at least $1 billion in new
funding for tuberculosis treatment, strains of the bacteria
resistant to drugs "will spread to all corners of the earth."
The development of new drugs was also needed, they said.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/991029/1/a47b.html

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Stratfor Report: Russia/Georgia
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 10:43:21 -0500

From: <owner-bpr@philologos.org>

STRATFOR.COM
Global Intelligence Update
October 29, 1999

Russia Pressures Georgia

Summary:

Russian border guards, withdrawing from offices in the Georgian
capital Tbilisi, left behind a little present - an anti-
personnel mine. The Russian gesture is a small example of a much
broader concerted campaign by Russia to reassert its influence
over Georgia and the rest of the Caucasus region. Russia must
reassert control over the southern Caucasus in order to ensure
its continued control over the northern Caucasus and continued
influence over Central Asian resources. The current Georgian
government is an obstacle to Russia's goals - an obstacle Moscow
is now committed to removing.

Analysis:

The headquarters of the Republic of Georgia's State Border
Guard Department was evacuated Oct. 27 when what media described
as an "anti-personnel cluster land mine" was discovered in an
office previously occupied by Russian troops. The incident
marred ceremonies commemorating the withdrawal of Russian border
guards from the building, part of an overall withdrawal of
Russian border guards from Georgia. Georgian border guards
commander Lt. Gen. Valery Chkheidze charged that Russian
officers refusing to accept that Russia had lost another
"colony," masterminded the incident.

But while Chkheidze framed the incident as a petty reprisal,
the mine incident and other Russian moves against Georgia are
better interpreted as a campaign to recover its lost colony.
Russia's departing gift was just a small example of the
increasing pressure Moscow is exerting on Tbilisi.

In Dagestan and Chechnya, Russia has finally set out to reverse
its national retreat. But Russia cannot regain lasting control
of the northern Caucasus without the cooperation of the southern
Caucasus, and Georgia and Azerbaijan have been anything but
cooperative. Moscow has accused both countries of assisting the
Chechen rebels by providing a conduit for the movement of people
and supplies.

Georgia and Azerbaijan have also made clear their desire for
membership in Western European political, economic and military
organizations, including NATO. In an Oct. 25 interview with the
Financial Times, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze stated
his intention to "knock loudly on NATO's door" within five
years. Georgia and Azerbaijan are already members - along with
Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Moldova - of the decidedly pro-Western
GUUAM group, which has grown from an economic alliance to
include security cooperation.

Part of that cooperation is already evident in the joint force
established to defend the new Baku-Supsa pipeline from
Azerbaijan to the Black Sea coast of Georgia. The pipeline and
plans for others like it add to Russia's motivation to reassert
its influence. The explicit purpose of the Baku-Supsa pipeline
and the planned Baku-Ceyhan pipeline through Georgia to Turkey
is to create a route for oil from Central Asian countries
outside the control of Moscow - posing both an economic and
strategic threat to Russia.

Therefore, in conjunction with its campaign in Chechnya, Russia
has begun to increase pressure on Georgia. This pressure
currently takes three main forms: threatening military
intervention on Georgia's border with Chechnya; backing
Georgia's three separatist regions, Abkhazia, South Ossetia and
Ajaria; and finally, supporting the major Georgian opposition
party.

First, Russia has explicitly warned Georgia to cease its
support for the separatist Chechen government and its armed
forces. Russia insisted that, if Georgia does not seal off the
80-km border it shares with Chechnya, Russia will. In an Oct. 26
interview with Moskovsky Komsomolets, Lt. Gen. Gennady Troshev,
leader of Russian troops in Chechnya, said Russia would "slam
shut" the border in an upcoming operation.

Moscow charges that not only has Georgia provided safe haven
and free transit for Chechens in the past, but that hundreds of
Chechen guerrillas have mingled with the refugees fleeing into
Georgia and are now massing in Georgian territory. Former
Georgian Defense Minister Tengiz Kitovani confirmed the Russian
accusations, claiming Oct. 27 that more than 450 armed Chechens
were massing in the village of Birkiani, in the Akhmeta
district, near the border with Dagestan.

Georgia's Border Guards Department vehemently denied the
charges. President Shevardnadze also denied that Georgia allows
armed Chechens to transit its territory, but refused to close
the border to refugees. If there is any truth to the Birkiani
story, Georgia could see a repeat of the Omalo incident, where
Russian aircraft "accidentally" bombed a Georgian village en-
route to targets in Dagestan.

On a second front, Russia is exploiting its influence in the
separatist regions of Georgia. In late September, Russia
abrogated a bilateral agreement and opened its border with the
breakaway region of Abkhazia, providing economic and military
opportunities for the region. [
http://www.stratfor.com/SERVICES/GIU/092899.ASP ] Though it
temporarily resealed the border in October, Russia reopened it
Oct. 26. Abkhazian leader Vladislav Ardzinba stated his
intention to ally with Russia against Georgia and its NATO
aspirations. Abkhazia has also reportedly begun taking over
facilities and equipment left behind by withdrawing Russian
border guards - items that technically should have become the
property of the Georgian border guard service.

South Ossetia has also demonstrated an affinity for Russia.
President Lyudvig Chibirov told Georgia's Prime-News on Oct. 25
that the region's government fully supported the Russian
campaign against "terrorists" in Chechnya. Chibirov said Russian
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is "on the right track." Chibirov
called Putin a "businesslike person," who would likely
contribute to the economic recovery of South Ossetia.

Russian border guards also reportedly left behind artillery in
the separatist region of Ajaria that has since been taken over
by that region's government. Ajaria has been Georgia's greatest
bane recently, withholding taxes from the federal government and
refusing to allow representatives of the ruling party into the
region. Ajarian police also reportedly confiscated and destroyed
ruling party campaign materials for the Oct. 31 parliamentary
election.

The third part of Russia's campaign in Georgia is concentrated
on the upcoming election. Shevardnadze alleged that Russia is
financing the opposition Union of Georgia's Democratic Revival,
which is headed by Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze. Abashidze is
widely seen as pro-Russian, and has supported the Abkhazian
government against the Georgian government. Shevardnadze
describes the opposition campaign as an attempt to stage a
parliamentary coup - not by force of arms, but by bribery,
blackmail and threats. The goal, argued Shevardnadze, is to take
control of Parliament and subsequently undermine and overthrow
the president.

Shevardnadze's accusations are likely more than mere campaign
rhetoric: Moscow previously stated its intent to support pro-
Russian officials and candidates in the Ukrainian election. In
fact, the Russian military commander in the Ajarian capital of
Batumi, Maj. Gen. Vyacheslav Borisov, publicly declared that the
opposition Democratic Revival groups would not only win the
election, but would proceed to sign a treaty allowing Russia to
maintain bases in Georgia for 25-30 years. Georgian officials
condemned Borisov's statement as gross interference by Russia in
internal affairs and declared the general persona non grata in
the country.

Russia has Tbilisi in a difficult position. Georgia's
separatist regions are allying with Russia, the major opposition
party is Russian-backed and Russia has threatened a combat
operation to seal off Georgia's border with Chechnya. The
assassination and hostage crisis in Armenia Oct. 27 only
intensifies this pressure. Russia's main ally in the southern
Caucasus, Armenia, is now politically destabilized, and has
already appealed to Russia for help. The Russian Federal
Security Service's elite Alpha commando unit was deployed to
Yerevan Oct. 28, and the pro-Russian Armenian military has
issued a public warning to the government that it will not stand
idly by while the country's security is threatened. [
http://www.stratfor.com/CIS/commentary/c9910282315.htm ]

In response to events in Chechnya and Armenia, Georgia's State
Border Guard Department announced Oct. 28 that it had doubled
the number of troops and mobilized all officers along the
Armenian border. And although Georgia has tightened control over
its border with Azerbaijan, the effort comes as too little, too
late. Closing off the Armenian border will not keep Russian
influence out of Georgia.

Russia has launched a full campaign to reassert control over
the southern Caucasus, and NATO is nowhere near riding to the
rescue. Armenia and Georgia are only a foretaste of Russia's
strategy for recovery of its lost empire. The campaign does not
require Russian armies to roll against its now independent
former satellites. Rather, Russia stands ready to bolster its
allies in the region and to exploit crises as they arise - or as
they are created. The strategy is in place in Georgia and
Armenia. Azerbaijan can only be next.

SUBSCRIBE to FREE, DAILY GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE UPDATES
(GIU) http://www.stratfor.com/services/giu/subscribe.asp

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To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Pope decries world's 'scandalous inequalities'
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 13:00:38 -0500

From: owner-bpr@philologos.org

POPE DECRIES WORLD'S 'SCANDALOUS INEQUALITIES'

Pope John Paul II Thursday decried the "scandalous inequalities"
between the world's rich and poor and said the use of religion as a
pretext for war was a blatant contradiction. "Any use of religion to
support violence is an abuse of religion." he said. Despite his bleak
portrayal of a world in crisis, the pope said there were some grounds
for optimism. ``I am convinced that the increased interest in dialogue
between religions is one of the signs of hope present in the last part
of this century,'' he said. ``Yet there is a need to go further.''

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991028/wl/religion_pope_1.html

via: Real World News
real_world_news-subscribe@onelist.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Is the government watching your computer?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 18:00:44 -0400

From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>

Is the Government Watching Your Computer?
Clandestine Eavesdropping Method Revealed Online

Oct. 27, 1999

By David Noack

NEW YORK (APBnews.com) -- Be careful what you type on your
computer -- someone may be watching, and it just might be the
government.

The release of two documents from the National Security Agency
(NSA) shows that the government has long had the ability, going
back at least a decade if not more, to clandestinely eavesdrop
on what people type on their computer.

The findings were revealed when the NSA recently released
sanitized versions of the documents to John Young, a New York
City architect and cyber-activist, who filed a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request May 14, 1998.

In all, Young asked for a total of 22 various publications and
papers dealing with TEMPEST, a code name for electronic
listening devices that can read and record the electromagnetic
signals that come from computers.

TEMPEST, which stands for Transient Electromagnetic Pulse
Emanation Standard, is a technology that allows for this kind of
electronic eavesdropping.

'Compromising emanations'

Young received a 172-page document, in which about half was
redacted, called "Compromising Emanations Laboratory Test
Requirements Electromagnetic." The other document, which was 12
pages long, is called "NSA/CSS Technical Security Program," and
only a few sections have been hidden from public view.

The NSA released the documents Oct. 7. However, in a letter to
Young from the NSA, the agency stated that the rest of the
"publications, manuals and guidelines" related to TEMPEST were
being denied for national security reasons.

"The documents are classified because their disclosure could
reasonably be expected to cause serious damage to the national
security," wrote Sally V. Seward, deputy director of policy at
the NSA.

TEMPEST documents posted online

Young has already filed an appeal to get the remainder of the
TEMPEST publications and has posted the FOIA letters, along with
the two documents, on his Web site. He should know within a
couple of weeks if he will get access to the rest of the
documents.

In his appeal, Young argues that release of the TEMPEST
documents is needed to help counterbalance the personal privacy
threats developed for national security purposes.

An NSA spokeswoman said Young could do whatever he wants with
the documents.

"Mr. Young, having obtained these documents through the FOIA
process, is free to do with them whatever he wishes," said the
spokeswoman.

Public unaware of spy technique

Up until now, the public has been largely unaware of this
technology. But Young hopes to spark a debate about its use.

For the most part, the military and intelligence communities,
along with a growing industry created to combat the prying spy
technology, have been privy to the capabilities of the technology.

With the right equipment, the electromagnetic radiation given
off from computers can be intercepted from a remote location,
and then redisplayed in the case of a monitor screen or recorded
and replayed with a printer or keyboard.

"I first learned about it a couple of years ago. ... TEMPEST is
a terrific threat to privacy," Young said. "With standoff
technology there is no need for physical access to buildings or
equipment, and no law forbids its use. ... The only limitation
is the technological reach of the snooping equipment, which is
one of the secrets closely guarded."

Useful for corporate espionage?

He said that while the intelligence community may be using this
technology to spy on foreign governments, TEMPEST can also be
used by companies to spy on the competition and by domestic law
enforcement agencies to spy and gather information on citizens.

FBI spokesman David Miller said the agency could not comment on
Young's allegations of domestic surveillance using TEMPEST
technology.

Defenses developed

Computer security consultant Joel McNamara, who runs a Web site
dedicated to public information about TEMPEST, said that both
foreign governments and the United States are using this
technology to electronically eavesdrop, and a large industry has
been created to thwart the snooping devices.

"Emanation interception is not something anyone can do. You're
talking about relatively expensive and sophisticated equipment
as well as a fair amount of training. Someone engaging in an
intercept is going to be well-funded and not able to get
information from conventional surveillance techniques. The
threat to the average person is very minimal," said McNamara.

He said personal privacy plays a small role in using this
technology. The real goals, he said, are political and economic
espionage issues.

McNamara said that since computer monitors, hard drives and
modems all give off electromagnetic radiation, the right
equipment could reconstruct the data from these devices.

McNamara said that displays on computer monitors have been
spied on nearly a mile away. He said that spying from a
satellite is impractical because there would be too much
electromagnetic interference.

David Noack is an APBnews.com staff writer
(david.noack@apbnews.com).

http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/internetcrime/1999/10/27/tempe
st1027_01.html?s=emil

via: transhumantech@onelist.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Phone companies brace for New Year's Eve
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 18:21:34 -0400

From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>

Friday October 29 1:37 PM ET
Phone Cos. Brace for New Year's Eve
By KALPANA SRINIVASAN
Associated Press

http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/19991029/tc/y2k_phones_1.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - Major phone companies are sending an unusual New Year's
plea to their customers: Don't pick up that phone!

They fear millions of people will check for a dial tone just after midnight
on Jan. 1 to see whether their phone service survived the Y2K bug.

Add them to all the folks who ring in the New Year by calling family, and
there's a potential for a telecommunications traffic jam. Some callers who
pick up their handsets might hear nothing or get a fast busy signal.

But that won't necessarily indicate that Year 2000 problems have wrecked the
network, say companies.

"Just because you pick up the telephone at or around midnight Dec. 31st and
get a busy signal doesn't mean you've been bitten by the Y2K bug," said Bill
Kula of GTE. Y2K problems arise from breakdowns in computer systems that
read only the last two digits in a year and interpret 2000, or "00," as
1900.

The big phone companies say they've already solved their Year 2000 computer
problems, after spending more than $2.8 billion to upgrade their networks
and supporting systems. Yet they are shelling out extra cash to urge
consumers not to flood the system at midnight. They are using inserts in
phone bills, grassroots information sessions and advertising to spread the
word.

While the Federal Communications Commission says most small and midsize
carriers expect to be compliant in time, some - estimated to carry less than
1 percent of total phone access lines - may not be. The FCC doesn't expect
this to affect call processing and completion.

But Jim Lord, who wrote a book about the problem and publishes a bimonthly
Y2K newsletter, cautions about the telecommunications industry: "All of the
information we have is based on self-reporting."

There is also less certainty about international calls, since they could
hinge on the Year 2000 readiness of foreign countries' infrastructures and
domestic phone systems.

"I think some folks will be disappointed because they will try to call other
countries and some of those calls might not go through," said AT&T spokesman
Dave Johnson.

Phone companies, bracing for congestion, are urging consumers not to pick up
their phone just to see if the line is working and are hoping they will
space out their calls.

"Don't even test it," is the advice of Bell Atlantic spokesman Jim Smith.
"It's going to work. Don't make yourself nervous by running into a backed-up
network."

Several companies anticipate some phone system blockages during the weekend
- particularly in the hours right after midnight and in the morning when
people are calling relatives.

Estimates vary. But one high-end figure predicts the number of people
picking up their phones then will be 11 times that of Mother's Day - one of
the year's busiest calling times, said Dave Bolger of the U.S. Telephone
Association, which represents phone companies.

Consumers can clog the system even without dialing because just taking the
phone off the hook engages the system. Once the system reaches a certain
threshold, machines monitoring the traffic might start to block dial tones
or send fast busy signals.

U S West has tried to calm customers' nerves with newspaper ads showing a
sun rising over the trees and telling consumers that on Jan. 1, "the phones
will ring."

The company also set up a number that consumers can dial to simulate a call
in the Year 2000: The call is placed through Y2K compliant equipment through
systems with the date set one year ahead.

"This way, consumers are not just relying on our corporate speak," said
William White, the company's chief technology officer.

Another concern is that people might dial 911 to check the number, even if
there's no emergency.

GTE has "encouraged our customers to think about the millennium and the use
of the telephone as they would in a hurricane or earthquake," Kula said.

via: nhney2k@onelist.com

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - The Efficacy of Prayer
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 19:24:00 -0400

From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>

The Efficacy of Prayer

This ties in with what was stated in the post yesterday:

"...we now know that we have to ask--six days as measured by which clock?
In which frame of reference?"

I've been reading about geo-time. A second of geo-time would be two years of
real time. On the geo-time scale a man lives for half a minute. If the Earth
were a human being it would be about 70 years old now which is over 4
billion in geo-time.

Just think what that means in terms of your prayer-life. The Bible says to
pray continuously and we, mostly, think we don't have time or that it might
even be a waste of time. But just think that somewhere out there when you
pray for just one minute that's 120 years of you knocking at the same door
with your petition. As the parable of the persistent widow shows, even an
ungodly judge will render a ruling just to get you to stop making so much
noise--so take a minute and maybe you can change a lifetime.

Moza

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Edupage items
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 19:38:25 -0400

From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>

INTERNET2 GETS READY TO OPERATE
Internet2 developers conducted their first demonstration of the
new high-speed Internet, broadcasting online live audio and video
of a gall bladder operation. The Internet2 project gathers
academic, government, and corporate partners to build a
high-speed version of the Internet. The technology is designed
to enable the development of a new breed of advanced educational
and research-oriented applications. The demonstration of the
operation was conducted by inserting light, camera lenses, and
surgical tools inside of the body, creating internal views of the
operation. The application required a steady rate of 2 Mbps of
network bandwidth. Ensuring high-speed access and quality of
service is one of the top priorities of the Internet2 project,
says Guy Almes, Internet2's director of engineering. The
project consists of more than 120 research universities, as well
as companies such as IBM and Qwest Communications.
(Belfast Telegraph Online 10/26/99)

IBM TO ANNOUNCE NEW, FLEXIBLE TRANSISTORS
IBM has developed flexible transistors that combine organic and
inorganic materials for the first time. The technology can be
embedded in curved surfaces or flexible materials, creating the
potential for foldable electronic newspapers and computer screens
that could unfold from handheld devices. The technology may also
be useful in solar panels, making them easier to transport, said
IBM researchers. The chips allow for flexibility by
"self-assembling," solidifying from a liquid at low temperatures
to form layers of organic and inorganic material with the
necessary semiconducting capabilities. The combination of
organic and inorganic materials may both lower production costs
and increase performance, said IBM researchers.
(New York Times 10/29/99)

MICROSOFT TEAMS WITH NORTEL TO OFFER INTERNET CALL WAITING
Microsoft yesterday announced the availability of Nortel
Networks' Internet Call Waiting (ICW) service to MSN subscribers
in Atlanta, San Diego, and Seattle. The service enables MSN
dial-up users to receive phone calls while still connected to the
Internet, thereby avoiding the expense of a second phone line.
To eliminate call disconnections and missed phone calls, ICW
offers features such as incoming-call notification and
call-management functionality. Users receive a pop-up message
that gives a caller's name and phone number, and can then answer
the call over the phone or computer, forward the call to another
phone number, or send a personalized or generic call-back message
while still online. Microsoft is targeting its ICW offering at
home users rather than corporations, but experts say small
businesses and telecommuters might also be interested in the
service. In coming months, Microsoft expects to begin offering
ICW in 50 major U.S. metropolitan areas. By 2003, 21.6 million
households will use Internet call-waiting services, International
Data predicts. (InfoWorld Electric 10/28/99)

PC MAKERS TO LAUNCH 'WINDOWS-LESS' PRODUCTS
PC makers Gateway, Compaq, and Dell are contemplating marketing
Internet-oriented, non-Windows computers to consumers for much
less money than a traditional PC. The Internet computers, or
"appliances," will be priced anywhere from $199 to nothing.
Gateway and AOL are currently considering the "free PC" model, in
which an ISP covers the cost of the machine for consumers that
agree to a monthly Net-access fee. PC makers are emboldened to
make an effort to wean themselves from Microsoft because of the
software giant's ongoing antitrust battle with the U.S. Justice
Department. The vendors reason that Microsoft will be unable to
question their decision while the government is trying to prove
that Microsoft forces Windows on PC manufacturers. The explosive
growth of the Internet allows the PC makers to consider omitting
an operating system because many applications can be run from an
Internet host rather than a desktop, reducing the need for an
expensive and complicated software package.
(Wall Street Journal 10/28/99)

via: edupage@educause.edu

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - New meteor shower?
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Fri, 29 Oct 1999 20:18:29 -0400

From: "research-bpr" <research-bpr@philologos.org>

POSSIBLE NEW METEOR SHOWER?

Although no one is betting on it, there's a chance we'll get a
never-before-seen meteor shower on or around November 11th. SKY &
TELESCOPE's meteor expert Joe Rao explains that Comet LINEAR (C/1999
J3) may be leaving a trail of debris that Earth is about to encounter.
The orbit of Comet LINEAR comes 636,000 kilometers from intersecting
the orbit of the Earth. The comet was closest to the Sun on September
20th and crossed the ecliptic (plane of Earth's orbit) on October 2nd.
Rao predicts that the radiant will be in Ursa Major. See SKY &
TELESCOPE's Web site for details at http://www.skypub.com/.

SKY & TELESCOPE'S NEWS BULLETIN - OCTOBER 29, 1999

via: SEDSNEWS@listserv.tamu.edu

See http://philologos.org/bpr for additional info.

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